The Davinci Code

David Copeland May 23, 2006 11:58 am

As I was preparing for a revival service a couple of days ago, the Lord impressed on me to go back and look at 1 Timothy 1:18-20. Look at how it reads out of the Message Bible:

18) I'm passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle,

19) keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we're in. There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith.

20)Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.

I have realized every time God dispatches a word for the Body of Christ, satan comes immediately to steal away the Word that is sown in people's hearts. There is always a period of time from when God gives a revelation, or a promise and the time it is manifested in the natural.

It's during this time of a dream and a promise dying that Paul reveals three things to Timothy that applies to us:

1.Hold on to the prophecies. The King James reads "…according to the prophecies that went before on thee…" The Message states "…the prophetic word… prepared us for this…". There have been so many promises and prophetic words spoken over my life in the thirty years I have lived for God, I could stack them to the ceiling! Some of them were fulfilled within a short time. But many of them are only now being fulfilled, some having been spoken 25 years ago!

We have entered into a season of acceleration though in which many things that have taken many years are now being fulfilled quickly! I want to plead with you that have promises and words that are right now mocking you: hold on to your word!

2. Hold on to your faith! Verse 19 says in the Message "…keeping a firm grip on your faith…" KJV says "Holding faith…" When I read that I can see a golfer or a baseball player who is tightening his grip on his club or baseball bat to keep it from slipping out of his hands. Three simple attacks come to steal our prophetic word or promise:

Discouragement

Doubt (that the Word was really from God)

Delay

This is the time to tighten your grip on your faith in God and remember this key verse from 1 John 5:14,15: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

15) And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

3. Hold on to your conscience! The Message says "keeping a grip on your faith and on yourself…" There are some words spoken to us that are meant to hurt us and harm us; discourage and make us doubt; but God never makes us a promise to be playing around with our emotions or our faith. If He speaks it, it's because He intends for it to come to pass. And when we search our hearts, we will know for certain whether we have received it with a clear conscience with God the Father! We didn't receive these words out of hype or manipulation, but out of a genuine encounter with Jesus!

If you would like to hear this message in it's entirety as we ministered it in Pattison Texas, we will sow this into your life for a limited time, free and postage paid. It is such an important word for the Body of Christ for this hour I want you to have it at our expense! You can call our office at 334-576-7265 or simply e-mail us at david@revivalnowministries.net. Tell us you want the message on CD "Keep Your Grip!" Please leave us a phone number to contact you to verify your mailing address.

Thank you to all of our regular monthly supporters. I say this every month, but Pam and I mean it from the bottom of our hearts: we love all of you and appreciate you for your faithfulness, your generosity, and for you for believing in us!