Thanksgiving Message
{because more than anything else, I am thankful for}:
The Keeping Power of The Lord!
The morning verse will be:
“The Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:22
—Introduction to idea of God Keeping—
This is as it was sent to me, but it applies to me as well . . . a “KEPT” man._________________________________________
A Kept Woman / I Am a ‘Kept’ Woman
You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind, But GOD kept me sane. (Isa. 26:3)
There were times when I thought I could go no longer, But the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15)
At times, I’ve wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong, But the LORD kept my mouth shut.. (Psalms. 13)
Sometimes, I think the money just isn’t enough, But GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc.., (Matt. 6:25 -34) ( THIS IS MY LIFE VERSE!)
When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up.
When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30)
I could go on and on and on, but I’m sure you hear me!
I’m blessed to be ‘kept’
Do you know a ‘kept’ woman?
If so pass it on to her to let her know she is ‘Kept’
I’m “Kept” by the Love and Grace of God
1- GOD CAN KEEP US IN HIS FELLOWSHIP & KEEP US HOLY!
1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 / NLT
23Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.
The Will of God
“…the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13a)
More than anything else, Christians struggle and long to know God’s will for their lives. In fact, surveys reveal that the number one spiritual question believers ask is, “How can I know the will of God?”
The reason more Christians don’t know the will of God is that they don’t have a friendship with the Holy Spirit—the One inside them whose job it is to reveal all truth to them.
Let me repeat that.
You have Someone living in you who knows the will of God for your life. If you want to get to know the will of God, get to know the Holy Spirit. Your friendship with Him can truly change your life.
God wants you to know His will and His wonderful fellowship. The way to know the will of God is to know God! The Holy Spirit has a mind and a will, and you can know His thoughts and His will—if you know Him.
— Excerpted from The God I Never Knew by Robert Morris
2- GOD CAN KEEP US SAFE!
Psalms 121:5-8 / NLT
5The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.
6The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
8The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both
now and forever.
—–SAFE FROM MISTAKES—– GOD NEVER TRICKS US.
GCF: Garage Sale
I took four tires to a friend’s garage sale and was asking
$30 apiece. I needed to leave for a few minutes, so I asked
him to watch them for me.
“Sure,” he said, “but if someone offers less, how low are
you willing to go?”
“Try for more, but I will accept $15,” I said, and left.
When I returned, my tires were gone. “How much did you get
for them?” I asked excitedly.
“Fifteen dollars each.”
“Who bought them?”
“I did!”
////GOD NEVER TRICKS US, IF HE KEEPS SOMETHING FROM US; IT IS ALWAYS FOR OUR GOOD!////
– PARENTS “KEEP” THINGS FOR CHILDREN, UNTIL THEY ARE READY FOR THEM. [TO KEEP THINGS SAFE FOR US & US SAFE, TILL WE NEED WHAT HE HAS HELD FOR US].
3- HE LORD KEEPS HIS HAND IN HUMAN HISTORY.
Psalms 145:20 NAS
The LORD keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
– KEEPS HIS REMNANT FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION
1776—America declared independence from England. It was David revisiting Goliath. And, without historical precedent, America won its independence, the world’s first colony to break away from a parent country.
It had to be a miracle. Even George Washington thought so: “It will not be believed that such a force as Great Britain, after eight years of military employment, could be so baffled in their plans…by men oftentimes half-starved, almost always sick, without pay, and experiencing every distress which the human nature is capable of enduring.”
—-TIME IS CUT IN HALF AROUND THE CHRISTIAN CALENDAR
—-THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PERSONAGE IN HISTORY IS JESUS
—-THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BOOK IN ALL HISTORY IS THE BIBLE.
—-GOD MAKES HIS ROLE IN HISTORY CLEAR & KNOWN TO US!
4- THE LORD KEEPS HIS PROMISES
Deut. 7:9 New Living Translation (©2007)
Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.
Nehemiah 1:5
New Living Translation (©2007)
Then I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands,
– FAITHFUL IS HE WHO CALLS YOU, & HE WILL ALSO BRING IT TO PASS.
New American Standard Bible (©1995) 1THESSALONIANS 5:24
Made for Heights – Os Hillman
“The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights” (Hab 3:19).
The book of Habakkuk inspired Martin Luther’s reformation and the book “Hinds Feet on High Places” by Hannah Hunnard. Habakkuk encourages us to question what God is doing in our lives.
When we are thrown into suffering for a period of time, or our enemies are prospering while we are just barely getting by, we wonder about the equity of God and life. Habakkuk affirms that God is God and we are made to scale the mountains of adversity. We just need to be still and know He is at work. He is who He says He is and does keep His promises.
God equips His people to scale the heights even in the midst of great challenges. He enables us to go to the higher places with Him where we are set apart from the world. Sometimes the way we have to go to get us there is through suffering and sorrow, but if we rest in Him and trust Him we come out where He wants us.
When Jesus told the disciples He was going to send the Holy Spirit to them, it was in order for them to scale the mountain before them with a new form of power they had not experienced.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
If you find yourself in a place of doubting God and His plan for your life, know that this is a normal aspect of your journey in God. However, know that God has made available His Holy Spirit in order for you to accomplish the tasks that lie ahead.
Ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to achieve the heights for which He has created you.
————-
How The Lord literally appeared to me and made His promises known.
– SWIFT IS THE SWORD WHICH COMETH OUT OF MY MOUTH AND QUICK IS IT TO ACCOMPLISH THAT WHICH I WISH.
– His promise marked in my Bible by my mother.
– My Vision of The White Horse!!!!
– HIS WORD IS SURE…. The Lord Keeps His Promises.
5- THE LORD KEEPS US FROM EVIL.
1st John 5:18New International Version (©1984)
We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.
– HE KEEPS US FROM THE ENEMY
– MOMENTS IN DREAMS, WHEN I COULD ONLY THINK THE NAME OF JESUS. EVEN THE THOUGHT OF HIM CAN BRING FREEDOM.
6- THE LORD DOES NOT KEEP A RECORD OF OUR SINS.
Psalms 130:3 NLT New Living Translation (©2007)
LORD, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?
Amazing Grace
Amazing grace—how sweet the sound. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that grace is the greatest thought to ever enter the mind of man. Grace encapsulates in one word the essence of the Christian gospel.
This amazing grace of which we sing is what we are saved by. We are saved, we are redeemed, we are taken to heaven, we enjoy paradise, we avoid the pains of hell—all by grace. Therefore, it is a term of exceeding importance, is it not? And yet I’ve discovered, over many years of talking to many people, that the meaning of grace isn’t clear….
We may be able to define it some way, but one thing is certain: We can never comprehend it, because it plumbs the profoundest depths of human thought. It scales the dizziest heights of divine revelation.
And though we may get ahold of a little corner of it, we can never fully comprehend it with our minds. It is, indeed, beyond full comprehension; it is the greatest thought in all the world.
— Excerpted from Cross Purposes by D. James Kennedy
7- THE LORD KEEPS THE GODLY / OUR SOUL IN HIS CARE
1 Peter 2:25 / Bible in Basic English
25 Because, like sheep, you had gone out of the way; but now you have come back to him who keeps watch over your souls.
Fisherman’s Prayer
God grant that I may live to fish until my dying day
And when it comes to my last cast I then most humbly pray
When in the Lord’s safe landing net I’m peacefully asleep
That in his mercy I be judged as big enough to keep
“NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP, I ASK THE LORD MY SOUL TO KEEP!”
My mother taught me to say this prayer as a child. I still say it today. It is the Promise of God that I am most Thankful for. If we give ourselves to Him; God will keep us!
1- GOD CAN KEEP US IN HIS FELLOWSHIP & KEEP US HOLY!
1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 / NLT
2- GOD CAN KEEP US SAFE!
Psalms 121:5-8 / NLT
3- GOD KEEPS HIS HAND IN HUMAN HISTORY.
Psalms 145:20 NAS
4- THE LORD KEEPS HIS PROMISES
Deut. 7:9 New Living Translation
5- THE LORD KEEPS US FROM EVIL.
1st John 5:18New International Version
6- THE LORD DOES NOT KEEP A RECORD OF OUR SINS.
Psalms 130:3 NLT New Living Translation
7- THE LORD KEEPS THE GODLY / OUR SOUL IN HIS CARE
1 Peter 2:25
gutsisthekey 