WINNING WORDS!--No.3

Copyright July 1988 by Heaven's Magic

         Winning Words!--Valuable information on love, faith & prayer that can make your life more meaningful.

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         God never stops loving you! What is God like? Some people picture Him as an angry God, an all-seeing eye Who carries around a big stick ready to clobber them, or a cruel tyrant, some kind of a monster Who's trying to frighten everyone into Hell. But actually, He is Love, He's a loving God Who is trying to love everyone into Heaven. He's so close, so intimate, so personal, so loving, so kind, so tender, so gentle, so concerned, & He's waiting with open arms. The only reason He follows us around is He's hoping we'll turn around & meet Him with open arms. He never stops loving us, no matter what we do. He never rejects us or withdraws His Love. He always has hope for us no matter how far we've strayed. So if you feel far from God, maybe it's because you haven't opened your heart to receive His Love & forgiveness. You need not continue to feel condemned for your mistakes & sins, only be sorry. Ask for God's forgiveness & be forgiven. If you'll even start God's way, if you'll just turn toward Him & start trying to find your way home, the Father will come running toward you & receive you with open arms of love!

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         Fret not thyself for tomorrow. It's always tomorrow that we are tempted to worry about, but God's Word forbids fear over the future. Jesus said, "Take no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself," the future will take care of itself, "for sufficient unto the day (today) is the evil thereof." That is God's warning, God's commandment & God's promise! You are to enjoy today & take things as they come, & let tomorrow take care of itself. "For as thy day, so shall thy strength be." God will give you power for the hour, grace for the trial at the hour & when it comes, not before. He Who hath begun a good work in you, is going to perfect it unto the end, for He is the Author & Finisher of our faith, Who hath delivered, Who doth deliver & Who will yet deliver! He loves you & cares for you & is going to take care of you no matter what happens. So for God's sake, don't worry about tomorrow! That's not your concern, that's not your worry, that's none of your business, that's God's business!
         "Oh, I've nothing to do with tomorrow,
         My Saviour has made that His care,
         Its grace & its strength I can't borrow,
         So why should I borrow its care?"

         Rest in the Lord, He's going to take care of everything.

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         Faithfulness in little things is a great thing. Never belittle any task that the Lord has given you, because even things that seem little are so important. You may think that what you're doing now is not very important, but you might just be in school for something that's more important than you realise. The Lord tests you with little things, & the more He finds He can trust you with, the more He gives you. He knows if you'll do little things diligently, faithfully & well, then He can trust you with big things. Jesus said, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much." Little things are big in God's eyes. God runs the whole World on small things, & He judges us by small things. The whole World & all the Universe & God's Kingdom is made up of small things, very small things, & without the small things it wouldn't be here. Are you faithful in the little things? Help us, Lord, to learn how important the little things are, & not to fail in even the least of them. Thy Word says it is required that a servant be found faithful, full of faith & faithful at their tasks. So help us to be faithful & obedient to You, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.

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         Start the day off right, hear from the Lord! You ought to try a little prayer time every day early in the morning before beginning your day's work, asking the Lord to help you, lead you & guide you. When you first wake up, before you do anything, talk to God, get your orders from Him for the day, & you'll be amazed how He'll solve a lot of your problems before the day even starts if you will simply listen to what He has to say. But if you go plunging into all your problems & troubles & your day's work without stopping to talk to the Lord & get your directions from Him, you'll be like a musician who decided to have his concert first & tune his instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God & prayer, & get first of all in harmony with Him. Don't ever think it's too hard to pray or "I haven't got time to pray." The busier your day, the more reason you have to pray, & the longer you ought to pray. If you'll just spend a little more time praying, you will find that you'll spend a lot less time working to get things done later, because if your day is hemmed with prayer, it is less likely to unravel. It's just that simple!

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         God gives us the majesty of personal choice to go His way or our own. If the Lord had wanted robots, He could have made everybody love Him, but He made us with free choice & a free will so we could choose to love Him. This is the Age of Grace in which we have to make our own decisions to love Him & serve Him voluntarily. We have to voluntarily choose to be righteous, & voluntarily choose the Lord & His way, His Word. The main reason we're here in the first place is to learn how to make decisions under God's guidance. From the Garden of Eden to the present, all of life is that way, that's why God put us here, to make decisions & choices, to search for the right things, to try to find the right direction, to learn to follow Him & His leading in the right paths to His goal. This causes us to seek Him more in prayer & to ask Him for the answers. It makes us more dependent on Him as our parent as we try to find the right way & get the right answers & go the right direction, make the right choices. He put us here in this World to make the decisions to do right or wrong. He tells us what's right & what is wrong, but then He doesn't make us do anything, He lets us make the decisions.

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         A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Living, the real thing, doesn't consist of things at all, because things cannot satisfy. They may temporarily satisfy the body, but they can never satisfy the soul or the spirit of Man, which cries out to God its Father for the joy & happiness & the eternal fulfilment that only God can give, & for which He created it to enjoy. If you think that things will satisfy you, look at the rich! They've got everything, yet something's missing, because this World will never satisfy their souls. It can satisfy their bodies, but not their hearts, & when they do satisfy the flesh, they're not happy for very long because you have to keep satisfying the flesh. The more they get, the more they want because this World doesn't satisfy the needs of the spirit, which only God can fill. Life, Jesus says, is more than things. It doesn't really matter how few or how many things you have, what really counts is love & joy & true happiness in your heart. And the greatest of all riches, the most valuable thing in the World that you can possibly have, is Jesus!

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         Why does so much of the World refuse to believe in God?--Because they choose to be ignorant. Do you know what God's greatest credentials are, the genuine proof of His authority?--His Creation, His glorious Creation is a constant testimony of the existence of a Divine Designer & Creator. As the Bible says, "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the World, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, His Creation, even His eternal power & Godhead, so that they are without excuse." Although the whole Creation testifies of the existence of the invisible God, the World refuses to receive the testimony because they're in rebellion against God. They don't want to know Him & they don't want to confess that He exists because if they recognise Him, then they have to admit that they owe Him some kind of obeisance & obedience. If the World & its inhabitants are God's creation, then they're His property, & if they're His property, then He's got the right to be Boss, not them. Those who refuse to see God in His Creation are like the farmer the first time he saw a giraffe & said, "There just ain't no such thing!" But just because they won't believe it, doesn't make it not so.

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         God never gives us burdens greater than we are able to bear. God is a loving & merciful God, He knows your frame, He remembers that you are but dust, & He knows how much you can stand. Even of our service for Him, Jesus said, "My yoke is easy & My burden is light. Come unto Me & I will give you rest." If the yoke gets too hard & the burden too heavy, it's not His yoke nor His burden, but our own or someone else's which we've unwisely undertaken or permitted to be placed upon us beyond the Lord's knowledge of our strength & abilities. Or maybe you're trying to carry too much & pull too hard instead of letting God do it through you by His power, His Love, His grace & His strength. His yoke is easy & His burden is light, it's not too hard & it's not too heavy. The Devil tries to say, "Well, this is too hard! This is too much! This is too heavy!" He comes along & tempts you to quit, "Oh, that's too much!" But Jesus said it is not, His yoke is not too hard & His burden is not too heavy. So if you take it from the Lord & do His Will, it's not going to be too hard or too heavy. He Himself will never suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able, He always gives us some way of escape.

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         Jesus said, "I will have mercy & not sacrifice." In other words, He was saying, "I would rather see you have love & not just a dutiful law-keeping offering of sacrifices & performing of duties. I'd rather you'd give love to somebody than just be so self-righteous." The drunks & the harlots & the publicans & the sinners came to Jesus for love & mercy, & He treated them tenderly, kindly & forgave them & gave them hope & love & strength. They didn't go to the harsh, rigid, self-righteous, unyielding, unforgiving, critical & condemning religious leaders who told them to be perfect or go to Hell, but they came to Jesus for His Love & mercy, forgiveness, encouragement & patience. Love throws a veil over countless sins, but some people are so self-righteous they think they never make mistakes. But if you yourself realise how much you need mercy, you'll be much more merciful to others. Remembering continually what sinners we are & how many mistakes we've made, helps greatly to keep us humble & to avoid that spirit of self-righteous pride which causes us to criticise & condemn others. When you realise that you need a lot of forgiveness & you need a lot of mercy, it really helps you to extend it to others. So let's be honest & humbly admit that we're all sinners & our only goodness is the Lord in us, & let's just try to help others do the best they can. Amen?

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         What He's done for others, He can do for you. All through the Bible, the Lord miraculously empowered & protected His Prophets & Apostles, & the same miracles of power, protection & judgement that occurred back in Bible times can happen now. The Bible says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today & forever." If Jesus could do those miracles in His day & the Apostles', then He should still be doing them today. God is still the God of miracles. What He's done before, He can do again. In fact, Jesus said, "The works that I do, ye shall do also. And even greater works than these shall ye do because I go unto My Father." Jesus also said, "All power is given unto Me in Heaven & in Earth," so if you have Jesus you've got all that power. God has not only promised all this power, but He's promised it for right now if you need it & have faith for it. He has promised it for ages & it's been done before. God empowered ordinary people, just like you, to do the same things before. You're not only going to be able to do miracles in the future, but you can do them now if you believe God's promises. "It is no secret what God can do, what He's done for others, He'll do for you! With arms wide open, He'll carry you through, it is no secret what God can do." Think how much good you can do in His Name. Are you exercising your power, the power of Jesus' name?

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         Real love is to fulfil the part that God created you to play. God said to King Saul, "I will make thee another man," & to David too. God made him another man, He turned him into something he wasn't. In some ways, it's almost like playing a role, but when God has given you a role to play & you can put your heart into it & play it with enthusiasm & real inspiration of the Lord, & by the power of His Spirit, you become that creation of God. God has His Own plan, God has His Own way, God knows what He's doing. So for God's sake, let Him do it, & just look to Him to find out what He's doing & what He wants you to do! What you don't want to do is miss His best, the highest & best thing that God wants you to do, the boat to get you to where you can really accomplish something, God's special place for you in His Kingdom. If you're willing to be what God wants you to be, not what you are, but what God wants you to be, then He can mightily use you! So are you willing not to present your programme to God for His signature, not even to be presented with God's programme for your signature, but are you willing to sign a blank sheet of paper & let God fill it in without your even knowing what His programme is going to be?

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SIDE TWO

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         Why does God allow wars? If there is an all-powerful God behind the scenes, people often ask, why would He allow such horrible wars? Why doesn't He put a stop to all that if He's in control? Although God hates war & its blood-thirsty perpetrators & is soon going to intervene & set things right when He destroys them that destroy the Earth, He hasn't yet, because in so doing He would have had to put a stop to the main idea of His whole great design--Man's choice. Man brings all this evil upon himself through his own sins, his own hand, literally dying by his own hand because of his refusal to receive the Lord, follow God or obey His Word. But if people would just return to the Lord & repent of their sins & ask for His forgiveness, He would lift the curse & remove the whole thing. But they won't, so He has to let the wars come & all the horror that Man brings upon himself to show what a mess Mankind is without the Lord. Are you a person of peace, or a wager of war? Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Join the peacemakers & help bring peace to the hearts & minds & souls of men!

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         The best way to find God's Will is to say "I will" to God. God may give you your choice, but He alone knows what's best, so you better ask Him to find out what His best is. How do you find the Will of God? The first requirement in finding God's Will is having no will of your own. According to the Scripture, you're to surrender your body, surrender your mind, surrender your will & be not conformed to this World, but as the Bible says, be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may know what is that good & acceptable Will of God. Ask the Lord to lead & guide you & open your heart & mind to His truth, & help you to understand it & follow it in utter abandonment, utter yieldedness to God.--Utter yieldedness of the mind, utter yieldedness of the body, utter yieldedness of your own will. Then you'll know, & you won't have long to wait. If you're His child & you're letting Him do the choosing, what's He going to choose for you? He's going to choose that which is the best for you. He knows, He loves, He cares, nothing His truth can dim. He gives the very best to those who leave the choice with Him.

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         I will not doubt though all my ships come home with broken sails. When everything goes wrong & seems contrary to the Word & the usual, only those with great faith can say with Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." Even though the Lord let the Devil nearly destroy him, Job didn't say "uncle" to the Devil, nor even to his wife who told him to curse God & die. He just kept on believing & obeying, & he came out doubly blessed & lives forever. But a lot of people faint on the way to victory, they get weak & tired & they give up, they weaken just before that final hour, they suffer so many things in vain. They go through so much & then miss the victory. Like Esau, they give up too easily. He despised his birthright & settled for something he could see & easily believe in, rather than for something he couldn't see & had to have great faith for. So when things look darkest, don't look down, look up! Be not fearful, but believing. Keep believing & obeying no matter what happens! Don't get down in the mouth, murmuring & discouraged, but praise the Lord & thank Him for the glorious victories of the future by faith, even if you can't see them now. Amen? Keep the faith & keep on keeping on for Jesus! You'll be glad you trusted Him tomorrow.

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         Beware lest ye be led away from the simplicity of the Gospel. The first temptation of Man by the Devil was something to make Man supposedly wise--knowledge! Likewise today, many books are written with the demonic, Satanic wisdom of the Devil himself, cunningly devised to deceive & lead you astray, to pervert, warp & twist you spiritually to where you don't know what is true. But the Bible says that God is not the author of confusion. He likes things very simple. That's why it's wonderful to have the Bible as a guide, then you know what's perverted & what's normal, what's right & what's wrong. The Scripture says, "The wisdom of this World is foolishness to God," & you cannot fill your mind & heart with Worldly wisdom, the foolishness of Man, without it affecting your spirit.--Just like you can't wade through the garbage & the gutter without getting besmirched. So for God's sake, be satisfied with Christ's Kingdom of Light, & don't go poking around in the Kingdom of Darkness, or you may fall back in again & be sorry! Why waste time on complicated, confused theories & thoughts of Man when the Bible is right there, so simple, direct & to the point. Stick to the refreshing water of the Word that feeds your soul, renews your mind, lifts your spirit, encourages your heart & purifies your whole being. Amen?

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         Warning!--Please refer to the Maker's manual before operating your machine! Any intelligent person always thoroughly studies the instructions to a valuable machine before they even touch it or attempt to operate it, & as a result, they save themselves a lot of time & trouble & possible permanent damage to their equipment as well. But those who are too impatient to read the book first, or think they already know how to operate it, or don't want to confess that they need the help of the instruction book, usually have nothing but trouble. Why struggle through life needlessly when your Creator, your Maker, your Manufacturer, God, has had some men of His write a Maker's instruction manual with definite diagrams & already stated specifications for the complicated business of living & operating your own body, mind & spirit. You could waste an awful lot of time & do an awful lot of damage to yourself & a lot of other people by not taking time to read the Book first to learn the right way to operate your soul in order to save it for His use without abuse, & get it finally safe to Heaven forever. Don't take chances, read & follow the Book! Amen?

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         "They shall learn war no more." We are peacemakers who try to bring peace to men's hearts & minds & souls & bodies & countries. But we'll never have total peace until the Lord gets rid of the God-damned warmakers, the evil hearts that make war. But thank God, He is soon to deliver the Earth from them that destroy the Earth with all their wars & waste & wanton destruction & pollution. Only then shall the men of peace & the God of peace & the Prince of Peace rule & reign & bring peace on Earth which shall never end under the reign of Jesus Christ, the Son of God & Prince of Peace Himself. There'll be no more wars, no more horrible havoc & destruction & cruel senseless diabolical murderous loss of life & suffering, no more dead & dying, noise & confusion! The Lord promises, "There shall be nothing that shall either hurt nor destroy nor pollute in all My Holy Kingdom." There shall be no more evil in all God's Kingdom on Earth, only a Heaven-on-Earth rule by the Lord & His children from the Heavenly City. Then we'll be free from war with real peace brought by the Lord & His Kingdom forever, the Kingdom of Love where we'll make love, not war! There'll be love & laughter & peace ever after, tomorrow, in God's tomorrow, when the World is free of wars!

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         You may have a lot of gifts & talents, but if you don't have love, it's nothing! You can read the Bible all you want, but if it doesn't come to life by the Spirit, it's not going to do anything. You can quote it word for word right out of the Bible, but if you don't live it in love, it doesn't do any good. You can have all the gifts of the Spirit, but without love, it is meaningless. You can be tops in your field, but if you don't manifest His Love to others, then it's all in vain, because love is the most important thing! Faithfulness in your work is very important, to endure it as a good soldier & to work hard, but if you don't have love, you don't have anything. If you don't have love & show love for others, especially those in the Lord's service who are close to you, your neighbours, then in the Lord's eyes the good works don't really count. What's the thing that proves we are the Lord's disciples?--Love! Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love for each other." "This is My commandment," He said, "that ye love one another as I have loved you." He ordered us, His disciples, to love one another. So love! Amen?

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         God waits for us to be humbled & pray for help. The Holy Spirit gently descends & can be easily shooed away, it doesn't land where it's not wanted. God goes where there are open & receptive hearts that are hungry for the truth. He seeks the low & the humble & the contrite heart, but resisteth the proud. He giveth grace to the humble, so as long as you are calling, you can expect God to answer. As long as you are seeking, God will show the way. As long as you're empty, you'll be able to be filled. It's just like salvation, it is not until you recognise that you're a sinner that you're desperate enough to seek salvation. But when you break down & confess you're a sinner & recognise that you need help, then you cry out to God to save you & God comes into your life. He says, "Ye shall seek Me & find Me when you shall search for Me with all your heart." When you cry out desperately to Him with a hungry empty heart asking Him to fill it, He will. He's more willing to give than we are to receive. He just keeps sending & broadcasting as long as we are willing to receive, but He does not force Himself on anyone, He doesn't push Himself. He waits lovingly & meekly for you. God puts the responsibility on you, so call on Him for help & He will fulfil His promise to "show thee great & mighty things that thou knowest not of!"

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         Jesus is the ultimate manifestation of God's spiritual Love. The Bible tells us, "God is Love, & God is a Spirit." He is the great Spirit of Love that created you & me & this beautiful World & the entire Universe. To show us His Love & to help us understand Himself, He sent His Own Son to Earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ. God loved you so much that He gave His most priceless possession, the most cherished thing He had for you--Jesus. "That whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life!" He loved you enough to send Jesus to take the punishment for your sins, if you'll just receive Him & thank Him for it. He shared His Love with the whole World. God is pictured in His Son, Jesus, a Man Who loved everybody, even the poorest & worst of all. He came for love & lived in love & died for love, that we might live & love forever! His death brings life, forgiveness & eternal joy to those who love Him in return. He's loved you dearly, more dearly than the spoken word can tell. You can never understand the Love of God, it's too great, it passeth all understanding. You just have to receive it & feel it with your heart.

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         Isn't it wonderful to know Jesus? Isn't it wonderful to be saved? He that is our God is the God of salvation--total salvation--body, mind & spirit. God has rescued us from the very gates of death & Hell. If you have received Jesus, the battle for your soul is won, & it's a permanent victory of salvation forever. You'll never have to worry about being saved any more or going to Hell, or whether you're going to go to Heaven or not. You have eternal life through Jesus, which is the gift of God, & you cannot lose it, for He will keep you. You are His! God says He's blotted out thy sins as a cloud, & as a thick cloud He's put them behind His back & will remember them against you no more. You're all clean now, not dirty any more, no longer under the power of the Enemy. You can start life all over with the Lord, for you're a "new creature in Christ Jesus, old things are passed away & all things are new!" You're born again!--A new man, God's new child with a new plan & purpose in living. He'll meet all your needs & solve all your problems, He's just that wonderful! He'll give you peace of mind, purity of heart, rest of soul, & happiness of spirit now & forever! My sins are gone, thank God for peace at last, the blood of Jesus covers all my past!

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         Have you experienced the love & salvation & new life that we've been talking about on this tape? Many people today believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but they have never actually had a spiritual experience with the Lord & been "born again" by personally asking Him into their hearts. Jesus promised that if you open up your heart & ask Him to come in, He will come in. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door (of your heart) & knock. If any man hear My voice & open the door, I will come into him." You can receive Jesus right now by simply praying this little prayer:
         Dear Jesus, please forgive me for all my sins. I believe that You are the Son of God & that You died for me, & I now invite you into my heart. Jesus, please come in, & help me to love others & tell them about You, so that they may find You too. In Jesus' name I ask, amen.
         Well, if you prayed & meant this prayer, Jesus is now in your heart & you have Love that you will never lose, that will never let you go, for you are now His child forever!

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         For more inspiring tapes & literature, please write us today at the address on the cassette jacket. God bless you! We love you!