Yesterday ended is a podcast dedicated to the healing words of Jesus Christ and his story of redemption. Each podcast contains an original poem so that I can portray a confession of our faith of scripture in unique and succinct ways. Come with me on a journey to become a new creation and to declare old things dead and our life anew in Christ. What we meditate on will determine the direction and fruit of our lives. Let's live today speaking the words of life.
The victory we have in Christ can be felt in our everyday life. We can overcome depression. We can overcome fear. We can be confident. We can be free from worry. We can be free from anxiety. We can have emotional healing. We can have hope. We can be set free from our past. The Bible declares the goodness of God. The Bible is more than Christian psychology it is truth. The truth of God brings mental health, spiritual health and physical health. We can walk in peace. We can overcome the traumas of life.
Are you walking in the fullness of God's power? Are you fully aware of your authority in the Holy Spirit? Do you know God has equipped you through Christ for your work in the body of Christ? Do you realize God's working with you in your ministry? Welcome to yesterday and healing the traumas of life. Do you struggle in your service in your church family? Are you fatigued in your Christian walk? I'm your host Denis Dobbin and I'm here to teach you about using his equipping. Give a listen.
Are you walking in the fullness of God's power? Are you fully aware of your authority in the Holy Spirit? Do you know God has equipped you through Christ for your work in the body of Christ? Do you realize God's working with you in your ministry? Welcome to Yesterday Ended, Healing the Traumas of Life. Do you struggle in your service in your church family? Are you fatigued in your Christian walk? I'm your host, Dennis Dobbin, and I'm here to teach you about using his equipping. Give a listen. And now this is the 26th episode this year. I can't really say why my numbers have changed over the years, other than there are some times I've gotten very busy with the rest of my life. For those who have been listening a while, you know I have my own business of assembling playground equipment for homes, and I am an artist and make wall hangings and small craft items from wood. When it comes to using his equipping, there are times where when I sit down to write the script for a podcast and it flows out with little effort. And then there are days when I start and then discard what I started with and start over. There are days where I am closely connected to the Holy Spirit, and there are days where I am distracted. I'm sure that never happens to any of you. The biggest challenge I have is writing the original poem for each episode. I really like writing poetry, and I know over the years I have written some that were more dictated from the Holy Spirit than me making it up. And then there are days where it's more me. When I go back sometimes and listen to an episode or read a poem from one of the episodes, I stop and think, I wrote this? Nah, it wasn't me. Sometimes I am amazed at what God has spoken to me because it speaks back to me. I get healed by reading what God has given me. I think I've mentioned this before recently, but I'll say it again. I'm not producing this podcast because I know it all. I'm producing this podcast because I also need healing. The key that makes writing the script and the poem more of a joy than a job is how much I have prayed into an episode and being at peace. Being at peace, I can hear to receive. There are many times as I am working that I stop and I sit quietly in prayer. I know the title of what I'm speaking about. Many times I have already selected all the scriptures that I will use. But then how do I make it all come together? What experience might I use to show you you're not alone in your challenges? What examples can I give to make what I'm teaching clear? What can I say that will help you in your walk with God in the body of Christ? How can I teach you about using his equipping? He said freely you have received, freely give. He called you to follow his example. He gave you power, the ability to do miracles, he gave you authority, the right to act in his name. You don't need a suit and tie in the office Jesus gave you. You are clothed with him to fulfill the work he gave you. You have been made an able minister of the New Testament. You can do the works Christ did, and greater than He. What will you do with the calling on your life? What will you do to build the kingdom of God? What will you do to show the world his love? What will you do with the equipping you've been given? There's a saying that I've heard many years ago that takes the pressure off of us. It goes like this God does not call the equipped, he equips the called. God has placed his spirit upon all those who have spoken for him throughout the ages. One night Jesus went and prayed all night with the Father. The next morning he calls the twelve and commissions them for their work in the kingdom. Luke nine verse one. Then he called his twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. Christ gave the apostles the ability and the right to use it to kick out devils and cure diseases. It's repeated again in Luke chapter ten verse nineteen. Behold, I give you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. We have the authority and ability to bring the power of the kingdom of God against the kingdom of our adversary. It started with the apostles, and then his disciples, and continues now in the age of grace in the body of Christ. Acts chapter one, verse eight. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Jesus promised the disciples that they would receive and be able to manifest miracle working power after that the Holy Ghost came into their lives. All those who confess Christ as Lord, and have asked him to be their Savior, receive the Holy Spirit into their lives. No amount of personal charisma can kick out a demon. No amount of medical training can bring about instantaneous healing as the Holy Spirit. I'm not speaking against the medical industry. I am thankful for doctors and medicines and the like, but they are not first aid. First aid is going to God directly. Second aid is going to a fellow believer to get prayed for. Third aid is going to the doctor. I'm thankful for him, but I place my trust in God who has equipped me through Christ to be a teacher and a witness of the gospel of grace. God enables us. Second Corinthians chapter three verses four through six. And such trust have we through Christ to Godward. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. My abilities do not come out of me. I am not a self made man. I freely admit to my frailties as a human being. I have learned to humble myself and recognize that He has made me an able minister. If my podcasts have blessed you, it's because of His anointing upon them, and I pray for that fervently. What has God called you to do? And you can't say He hasn't called you. Everyone has something to do in the body of Christ. And when everybody in the body works in the power and authority God has given them, signs, miracles, and wonders will be an everyday occurrence. Everyone is a servant. What level of service you give is up to you. What level are you at? Many years ago I worked for a fancy restaurant owned by a Japanese family. The father had started the company and eventually one of his sons started working with the company. He was one of the managers. At one point I hadn't seen him for a number of weeks, and when I ran into him one day in the parking lot, I asked him if he had been on vacation. He replied, I don't take vacations. I love my work, and it brings me pleasure. I have to admit that was a bit of reproof for me. At that time in my life I was looking for the next level of blessing. What was God going to bless me with next? And as I turned and walked away after that conversation ended, God asked me a question. What is the next level of discipline you're going to step up into? Now on my wall, across from my desk, I have a small poster. It has four letters on it. N L O D. Next level of discipline. As I have looked at it and prayed over it the last couple of years since I put it up, I have added a few new subjects. The next level of delight, next level of desire, next level of devotion. What do I do with my life? Am I disciplined? Am I willing to push harder? Am I willing to work longer? Am I willing to deny myself, pick up my cross and follow Christ? What do I delight in? What are the desires of my life? And what is the next level of devotion to Christ? And don't forget, God works in you both to will, to want to do it, and to do of his good pleasure. That lesson was a big one for me. What's my next level of what I'll do with what he's given me? As I said before, we are all called to do something in the body of Christ. It mentions it a bit in Romans chapter 12, verses 3 through 8. For I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith, or ministry, let us wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth on teaching, or he that exhorteth on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity, he that ruleth with diligence, he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. What has God called you to do in the body of Christ? Whatever he's called you to do, he's given you the grace and faith to enable you to fulfill that assignment. God is within you helping you and guiding you in your work in the kingdom. Hebrews chapter 13, verses 20 through 21. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, amen. The word perfect in the Greek language is defined as to fit out, furnish, or arrange completely so that someone or something is fully ready for a specific function or purpose. I heard an archaic definition, how it was used in the Greek culture, of a ship that was completely outfitted for everything it needed for a successful voyage. Whatever you need for your life and your work in the body of Christ, God through Christ has given you. We simply need to believe He has done so and lean on Him and not our abilities. 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, establish, strengthen, settle you. In Hebrews, God identifies himself as the God of peace. Here in Peter, he identifies him as the God of all grace. In Hebrews, he makes us perfect. Here in 1 Peter, he repeats that he makes us perfect, but adds that he will establish and strengthen and settle us. He's given us the tools, but he didn't walk away after he gave us the tools. He's still working with us to bring his kingdom about. It's time to lean on him and use his equipping. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. I quote these verses to myself regularly, and I have to say, I am in awe that the Lord defines himself as my helper. If you need help, the Lord will help you, because he will never leave you or forsake you. No matter what is going on in your life, God is there. He's not there to condemn, he's not there to judge. You were judged in Christ and found righteous. Take some time today to give thanks to your Heavenly Father. Take some time to let Him embrace you and empower you.
