Word of God Ministry

SUBJECT - THE POWER OF ''IF''
I want you to take a careful look at the subject scripture. Now, I want you to take a look at these other scriptures.

Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? 'IF' God be for us, who can be against us?

Isa 1:19 'IF' ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Isa 1:20 But 'IF' ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Mat 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, 'IF' ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also 'IF' ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

What do all of these scriptures have in common?? The two lettered word, 'IF.'

There are many other passages of scripture in the bible that also use this word, but, suffice it to say, I am not going to name them all.

Let's examine just what the significance of this word, is.

First 'IF', is, among other things, a conjunction. That simply means it joins two conditional ideas together in one sentence. Meaning, in order for both parts of the sentence to be true, a certain condition, has to be met.

Looking at the subject scripture, for example, we are told, the only way to get our land 'healed', and back on track, is 'IF', God's people [Christians] turn back to Him, and repent.

The next passage tells us, 'IF' God be for us, who can be against us?? Once again, a certain condition, has to be met.

The next passage sets up the condition, that 'IF', we be willing and obedient, to Him, we shall eat the good of the land. The next verse of that passage, gives us a warning, as to what will happen 'IF' we refuse, and rebel.

The last scripture sets up the condition of, 'IF' we have faith, in God, through Christ, we will be able to move mountains.

All of these scriptures, and others present us with a choice to make. Make the right one, and we will be blessed. Make the wrong one, and we will be cursed.

In our everyday lives, we often put ourselves in the position of making promises to do things. We make dates, sign contracts, car notes, mortgages, and the like, and we don't give it a second thought as to 'IF' we will be able to fulfill the obligation we have put on ourselves.

'IF' I say to you, I will meet you tomorrow, at a certain time, even if I don't mention it, it is readily implied that I will meet you, 'IF' I am able to.

The thing is, there are always prerequisites that have to be met, before a certain result can be achieved.

Our problem today, when it comes down to God, is that too many of us think, it is an automatic thing, irregardless of how we act, towards Him, that He is right there with us, to support whatever we are trying to do.

I know people, some saved, and some not, that are living their lives to please themselves, that take the stance, that God, is for them, no matter what. They conveniently ignore that word 'IF!' It is as if God has no choice in the matter.

When we take the position that God just has to support what we are doing, or trying to do, then, when things get hard, or fall apart, as they inevitably will, then we figure it either has to be, some 'test' we have to go through, to prove our faith in Him, or the other alternative is, God isn't the god, we thought He is.

It never enters in to our carnally[wordly] oriented minds, that He is the one that is tearing down what we are trying to do, because we are at complete odds with Him.

In the little space that I have left on this tract, let's look at a brief summary of the scriptures that I mentioned, in more detail. [NOTE: There is a CD on this subject, available online at our website, in the Ministry Store link, that goes in to greater detail].

The subject scripture, is addressed to one particular group of people, and that is, Christians. We hold the key as to whether this nation, can be turned around, from the edge of destruction. What we say, and what we do, has to be in line with God, in order for Him to move to heal this land. Make no mistake about it, if God doesn't do it, it won't get done.

Our problem is, too many of us, get caught up in carnal mindedness [worldly thinking], where we tend to believe, there are certain things where God, should be involved, and then there are other things where, we think we don't really need His input.

Let me tell you this. If it wasn't for God's input, you wouldn't be able to breathe. So, just what part of what's happening in your life, do you think God is not needed??

Anyway He says, 'IF' we will turn from our wicked ways' again talking about Christians, He will forgive our sin, and will heal our land. Once again, that is 'IF' we do it.

We then go to Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? 'IF' God be for us, who can be against us?

Here we see the assurance, that as long as God is for us, He is, as many say, more than the world against us. There is nothing that anyone can do, that will cause us to be defeated, with God, on our side. Of course, the prerequisite is, 'IF' He is on our side. 'IF' He is not, then, you are essentially out there on you own. Sad to say, many Christians, are out there on their own, when it comes to certain areas of their lives, because they choose to leave Him out of many of the decisions they make. Then they wonder why they are having such a hard time. God needs to be a part of everything we say and do, or else we are headed for trouble.

Next we have, Isa 1:19 'IF' ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isa 1:20 But 'IF' ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

This is almost self explanatory. You have 2 options. You can either be willing and obedient to God, and as a result, have all of the best, life, and the land has to offer, or, you can refuse and rebel, and suffer the consequence of being destroyed.

Many Christians today, tend to believe, erroneously, that Christ does not bring what we call evil, on us, as was done in the old testament times. Let me explain it to you this way. Take electricity. It is one of the things we totally depend on. Practically every thing we do, or have, is the result of electricity. Imagine a world without it. However, as great a 'friend' as it is to us, if we handle it the wrong way, it will kill us. Does that make it bad?? Of course not. We mishandled it, and the inherent properties of it, caused us to suffer.

Well, the same thing goes for Christ. As long as you play by the rules, you have blessing. However, if you choose to ignore the rules, and do things the way you want to do them, then, don't blame Christ for what happens to you. In fact, if you think about it, you can't even blame the Devil for it. God put the warning out there, and you refused to heed it. Now you are paying the price.

We then have this scripture. Mat 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, 'IF' ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also 'IF' ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and bfe thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Here Jesus is encouraging His disciples, by telling them, that under the right conditions, they will be able to do Great things. Once again 'IF' is the key.

Have you ever wondered why it is, so many Christians are suffering all sorts of problems like job loss, homelessness, illness, poverty, loss of loved ones, mental problems, and the like?? Especially when Jesus told them they could do great things. It is because they stopped operating by faith in God, and His Word, and started operating according to what some family member, friend, group, or other entity said, that was out of line with God's Word.

Jesus told His followers in John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

When we consider all of the things Jesus did, while He was here on earth, as the bible says, there is not enough room to write them all down. Then we have Him telling His disciples [the Church], that they would do Greater works than He did, because He was going to the Father. Can anyone tell me where miracles like the ones Jesus did, are going on, on a consistent basis, in this nation?? Name a church if you can.

What has happened, is too many preachers, have lost their focus on God, through Christ, and are now focused on, economics. That means saying and doing things that will draw more people in to the church, which in turn leads to more money in the offering basket.

They adopt the idea that the best way to get more people in their congregations, is to be 'politically correct', 'go along to get along', tell the people what they want to hear, and so on. It is all about business, paying the bills, and such.

What they fail to consider, is, 'IF' their church was 'demonstrating' the power of the Gospel [1Cor. 2:4-5], like healing the sick, opening blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears, causing the lame to walk, causing those possessed with devils, to have their minds cleared, and so on, their churches would be so filled, they wouldn't have enough room seat the people.

But of course, that is not the way it is in most of our churches today because, they have lost their primary focus, and that is, faith in God.

What we need, starting with Chrstians, is to turn from the wickedness of our sinful ways, [Oh yes we have evil ways], then God will heal our land. It is not the sinners [the unsaved] that are the problem, it is not even the Devil, but it is those of us that name the name of Christ, that are the REAL problem.

We can, through Chist, change the nation and the world, for that matter, 'IF!'
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