The word “redound”, is found no other place in the entire bible…so I thought that was
very significant…Here’s the scripture where we find the one time use of this word…
2 Corinthians 4:15 “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. v16 For which cause we faint not, and though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed (or re-aligned) day by day. v17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
The word “redound” in the original Greek is “per-is-syoo'-o” and it means “excessive,
over and above, more than you imagined, abundant, and beyond measure”!
Whenever the family is home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, it seems like we
always have a “per-is-syoo-o” meal, because we all eat as much as we hold and there
are always plenty of Left-overs for the next day and for snacks. (how many love left-
overs)? How many love EXCESSIVE, OVER AND ABOVE, MORE THAN YOU CAN
CONTAIN, ABUNDANT, BEYOND MEASURE….MORE THAN ENOUGH!!!!
I want to read that same scripture which we read before from the message bible…..
2 Corinthians 4:15 “Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! v16 So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. v17 These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration He is preparing for us. v18 There is far more here than meets the eye”.
I used to use the drive-through window at the bank a lot, because it’s convenient. But it seemed that no matter which lane I chose, it ended up being the slowest, and longest lane of all.. It got so I would predict that no matter what lane I chose, it would be the slowest….Winnie said to me one day, you’re getting what you expect….So I started saying “watch this, no matter which lane I choose, it’s going to be the fastest”… and sure enough, everything changed!
What I want to say to all of us today, is that we may not be saying it out loud, but our self-talk may be convincing ourselves that bad stuff will always happen, and whatever we do, Murphy’s law will always find us! Ants end up on our food, and flies always find our pick-nick lunch! Negative faith is still faith! And it will manifest tangible substance in our lives…. Someone said that “The tingly sensation you get when you realize you love somebody, is what it feels like when common sense leaves your body”….
I’m reminded of the wife who woke her husband up at 2:00 in the morning because she heard a noise downstairs. Someone is in the house, she said. Oh, you are always hearing stuff, the husband said. But she insisted and he took a golf club in hand and went downstairs. Sure enough, there really was an intruder in the house. The husband said…look, don’t be alarmed, I just need you to come upstairs and meet my wife… she’s been expecting you for years now!!!!
That’s exactly what we are told in Hebrews11:1 “Now faith (even negative faith) is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.What we expect to happen, begins to have dominion over our lives…..and rules our thoughts.
If I rub a screw driver against a magnet, it will magnetize the screw driver, and the screwdriver will begin to act just like a magnet…. This happens because the atoms in the magnet re-align the atoms in the screw driver and when that happens, it’s called a “domain”…
The screw driver is now referred to as a “Domain magnet” The screw driver now has dominion, and will attract other metals (are you with me?)..
Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion”…This Hebrew word means ( to rule over, to reign over, to subjugate, to take by superior power) We are all like magnets…we are re-aligned by God’s superior power, and He has given us dominion… to act like Him!
We read God’s word and the Holy Spirit begins to re-align us…. We pray and as we are in His presence, the Holy Spirit starts re-aligning us…. Someone begins to speak God’s truth into us, and we begin to experience re-alignment!
Scripture tells us that we are re-aligned by truth….2 Corinthians 13:8 “For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth”. (We do not shape truth, but truth shapes and re-aligns us). That’s why we are told that the truth shall set us free indeed….because we can begin to make the transition over into “per-is-syoo-o”
That’s why Romans 8:31 In all these things we say, If God is (“per-is-syoo'-o”.. excessive, over and above, more than you imagined, abundant, beyond measure) for us, then who can be against us? (how can we lose)
Take a look at …Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ, (my way of seeing, judging and experiencing things) nevertheless I live, yet it is not I, but Christ living in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”.
To live by the faith of the Son of God, is “To be Faved”…. This means I now have the favor which comes by His faith which has come to bear upon my emotions, intellect and will and has re-aligned me to act as He would act, as I allow the faith of God to operate in me….
That long wait at the post office or the DMV can be a frustrating and negative experience. Or it can be “Faved” and seen as a tremendous opportunity to either meet a new friend or to take this time to pray, meditate, and be re-aligned. It can be used of God for an eternal impact in the life of someone else. With an attitude of redounding Grace, it can be seen as a chance for you to be a domain magnet!!!
This is a good place for …2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. v18 And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. v19 This means that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, ….and has committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation”. (or the opportunity to take dominion over the situations and relationships and transform them) But too often we say nothing and no word goes forth to act as the catalyst of change….
Once upon a time there was a prince who, through no fault of his own, was put under a spell. (that’s what the enemy wants to do to us) The spell caused him to only be able to speak just one word each year. But he could save up the words so the following year he was allowed to speak two words.
He met a beautiful princess and fell madly in love. With great self-discipline, he decided to save his words so he could look at her and say, "My darling."But then he decided to tell her that he loved her, so waited three more years without speaking. But then he realized that he wanted to ask her to marry him. So he waited another four years. Finally, nine years later, his joy knew no bounds.
Leading the lovely princess to the most secluded and romantic place in that beautiful royal garden the prince heaped a hundred red roses on her lap, knelt before her, and taking her hand in his, he said romantically, "My darling, I love you! Will you marry me?" (nine words!) The princess tucked a strand of golden hair behind a dainty ear, opened her sapphire eyes in wonder, and parting her ruby lips, said: "HUH?" (back to the drawing board)
The good news is that we never again have to be stuck in a situation, if we understand the power of redounding grace!
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall be sustained by the fruit thereof”. (So be sure to taste your words before you send them out)! God gives us the opportunities to turn opposition into gates of breakthrough and advancement and instead of retreating, we begin to triumph and take new territory for Him.
This is the prayer that Paul lifted to God as he believed for the church in his day….
Ephesians 3:17 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you, may be rooted and grounded in love, v18 and be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height v19 and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. v20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that is now working in us.”
Paul is praying that the church would get a clear view of redounding grace so they might understand what is possible as they allow Christ to work in and through them in every situation.
Peter and John got a revelation of redounding grace, as they were bound in prison and God blew the doors open…. Paul and Silas experienced it as they were in the lower parts of the dungeon and began praising God, the prison was opened up and all the prisoners and the jail keeper were saved… the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace experienced redounding grace in the form of the fourth man who showed up in the fire with them….and John the revelator experienced it exiled on the Isle of Patmos, as he was in the spirit on the Lord’s day and gave unto us the book of revelation….Nehemiah faced incredible odds as he set out to rebuild the broken down walls of Jerusalem. He encouraged the people with God’s word, and everyone became re-aligned by God’s truth, so that the enemy was held back and the wall was completed.
Because of this Redounding Grace, a shepherd boy, was able to stand before Goliath and declare, *….1Samuel 17:47 “And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear, for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands”.
Change happens because at a cultural level, things begin to shift as people become aware of the reality of God’s truth. As the atmosphere changes, and we encounter the greater measure of His grace, suddenly we find ourselves thinking and seeing differently than we had before.
The anointing bypasses all the intellectual barriers and people begin to believe things they couldn’t believe before. There’s a gateway of fresh revelation that we go through, and when we go through it, we clear the way for others who will be following us down the road. We have been made spiritually alive so that we can bring others into that same spiritual place of understanding and experience which we have been brought to.
Our circumstance or situations in life do not have to dominate our thoughts, our words, or our actions….Some people have a way of getting on our last nerve….
One lady said that her mother-in-law asked her for her phone number, so she told her how to set up on speed dial. They agreed that she would type in MOM….That way every time 666 showed up on her ID, she would know that it was her mother in law!!!
What we think and how we think, will determine the direction we are headed in life whether we want to end up there or not. This is why Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things”.
Instead of judging our outcome by the negative things around us, every child of God should be meditating on at least 14 scriptures, that will open them up and release the redounding grace of God. We must train our emotions, intellect and our will in the language of the Word of God….
1.) How about…Matthew 19:26 “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ~ 2.) Luke 1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God. ~ 3.) Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. ~ 4.) Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. 5.) Matthew 17:20 If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.” ~ 6.) Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people are one, and now nothing will be withheld from them, which they have imagined to do. ~ 7.) 1Corinthians 10:13 God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape….. 8.) John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ~ 9.) Mark 11:24 Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you have received [them], and you shall have [them]. ~ 10.) Isaiah 41:10 Fear not; for I [am] with you, be not dismayed; for I [am] your God: I will strengthen you, yea, I will help you, yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. ~ 11.) Jeremiah 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, you have made the heaven and the earth by Your great power and stretched out arm, [and] there is nothing too hard for You ~ 12.) Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ~ 13.) Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. ~ 14.) Psalm 91:7-11 A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, which is your refuge, even the most High, your habitation. There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
How many believe this is a much better thing to fill our minds with than a lot of negative stuff?
With our redeemed mind, we are constantly putting together a virtual model of our new reality. Our mind uses the material we give it, to do this with. Our eyes, ears, touch, taste and past experiences, are all the building materials for this. However, we also tell our brains constantly, which things have the greatest priority. As Christians, our greater reality, is the truth of God’s word as that applies to the world around and within us.
The person you’re observing is dealing with dual realities. There is the physical reality and the virtual reality which only exists in images of his mind. To the outward observer. His actions make no sense, but to someone who is into his reality, everything has a purpose which others cannot make sense of…(for those viewing the Power point)…The next slide is called augmented reality, where a gymn floor suddenly produces a whale breaking the surface of the water without any glasses or viewer….
I start with God telling Abram that he would be the father of many nations, while he was childless… Then God changed his name to Abraham, “father of many”… so that everyone would be confessing his new reality every time they called his name!
I didn’t appreciate my name… until I found out that my full name means “Man who is a Christ Bearer in the spirit of Elijah”.. Now I enjoy writing it out, because it declares something into my life….
Since we are a Spirit first, which has a soul or intellect, that lives in a body, we are constantly deciding what our greater reality is…. There are many levels of truth, there is intellectual truth, physical truth, and spiritual or eternal truth.
Christ has told us to place God’s eternal truth above all other truth.
We are told in Acts17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” Jesus told us in John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickens the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”.
Here He is telling us that His words are designed to quicken our spirit man, and that lets us know for sure that His word should be our greater reality. What we place greater value on, will be our treasure. What we treasure, we will place in a secure place, so we have it when we need it.
Luke 12:31 “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. v32 Fear not, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. v33 Provide for yourselves treasure in the heavens that fails not, where no thief breaks in, and the moth cannot corrupt. v34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. Whatever we have stored up in our hearts becomes our treasure.
Satan wants to use physical pain, emotional hurts, and negative thoughts to defeat us. But no matter what the circumstances are we can be "prosperous," and "have good success," because if we’ve filled our storehouse with God’s word, then what’s in our heart will come out of our mouth... and that word, God's Word, will have the power within itself to cause itself to come to pass! The word is the seed of it’s own fulfillment!!
Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
I want us also to see where it says in Romans 8:5 “For they that give priority to the flesh focus on the things of the flesh; but they that give priority to the Spirit, focus on the things of the Spirit”.
So once again we see that the counsel of God, is to continually re-align our focus on the things of the Spirit, which rule over, and have influence upon the things of the physical world. We actually have a guarantee from God about this…
In Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing that I sent it to do. v12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. v13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign and it shall not be cut off”.
We are the point of entry, where the Spirit of the word, comes in contact with our circumstances and the areas of our influence in the earth. We are now the answer to God’s prayers…“That His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
