The Good News Is The Bad News Is Wrong!

Richard Roberts

Description

How do you react when bad news visits your door? What happens when you are suddenly blind-sided and your life is being ravaged by a deadly, incurable disease? What do you do when it looks like your business is going down the tubes and you're about to lose everything financially? Where do you turn when you've just received the shocking news that your son or daughter is hooked on drugs or alcohol?

Does God have a miracle when bad news strikes?

In the society in which we live, where we watch news on television or the internet 24/7, is it possible to believe that the bad news is wrong?

I say a resounding, YES! And I've written this book to let you know that even if it looks like you're going under, and you're about to be engulfed in the roaring waves of the sea, Jesus Christ declared, "Let us go over unto the other side." The devil may be in the storm business, but Jesus is still in the going-over business. The Bible, God's Word, is still the same Good News message that it was two thousand years ago. And the good news is the bad news is wrong!

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Spiritual Growth
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 07 décembre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780974675688
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Copyright © 1993 by Richard Roberts Tulsa, Oklahoma 74171
Published by Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association P.O. Box 2187 Tulsa, OK 74102-2187
BK 644 Printed in the United States All Rights Reserved Reprinted 6/07
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
ISBN 978-0-9746756-8-8


Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: God Has a Miracle When Bad News Strikes
Chapter Two: Trusting God Even When the Circumstances Say It’s Too Late for a Miracle
Chapter Three: When Jesus Finally Showed Up on the Scene, It Looked Like the Situation Was Already Over
Chapter Four: When Jesus Was Moved to Action, People Sometimes Got Mad
Chapter Five: “Roll Away the Stone!”
Chapter Six: God Calls the Things that Are Not as Though They Were
Chapter Seven: “Loose Him, and Let Him Go!”
Declaring the Good News of God’s Word over Your Life


Introduction
It’s a sign of the times we’re living in when we pick up the newspaper or flip on the television set, and it seems as if there’s nothing but bad news blaring across the headlines: “Terrorists Threaten Future Attack!” “Raging Floodwaters Leave Hundreds Homeless!” “Earthquake Rocks the West Coast!”
In the society in which we live, where men and women commit terrible, brutal crimes, and where we watch, glued to our TV screens, as violent mobs clash in the streets, is it possible to believe that the bad news is wrong?
And what happens when the bad news visits your door? Sometimes you get blindsided, and you suddenly find your life being ravaged by a deadly, incurable disease, or it looks like your business is going down the tubes and you’re about to lose everything financially, or you’ve just received the shocking news that your son or daughter is hooked on drugs or alcohol. Does God have a miracle when bad news strikes?
My friend, I believe He does. I’ve written this book to let you know that even if it looks like you’re going under, and you’re about to be engulfed in the roaring waves of the sea, Jesus Christ declared, “Let us go over unto the other side.” Even though the devil may be in the storm business, Jesus is still in the going-over business (Luke 8:22). The Bible is just as real today as it was two thousand years ago, and the message of God’s Word is still the same today. And the good news is the bad news is wrong!


Chapter One: God Has a Miracle When Bad News Strikes
It was a high moment for the people of God when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egyptian captivity. For generations the Hebrews had been held in Pharaoh’s cruel bondage. And after they had escaped from Egypt, they traveled many days through the burning, blistering sands of the desert until at last they looked out across the horizon and caught a glimpse of the shimmering shores of the Red Sea.
In a moment’s time, they found themselves surrounded by a sheer wall of jagged, forbidding rocks on one side, while those rough, muddy, windswept waters stretched out in front of them as far as the eye could see. Not only that, but when they looked around, there was a great cloud of dust blowing in the hot desert wind as Pharaoh’s army thundered down on them from behind!
Suddenly, the Israelites were gripped with fear. They began murmuring against Moses, exclaiming, “Weren’t there enough graves in the sands of Egypt? Have you brought us out here into the desert to die?” (See Exodus 14:11–12.)
So Moses lifted up his rod and declared, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever” (v. 13 NKJV). He was really saying, “Listen to me, people! The good news is the bad news is wrong! God is bigger than all those dreadful things that you feared were going to happen!”
As the people plunged into those mighty, rushing waters, the sea rose up in a wall on both sides, and the children of Israel crossed over on dry ground. Then, all of a sudden, as Pharaoh’s proud army galloped into the midst of the dry seabed, their chariots and horses and fighting men were swallowed up in the rolling waves of the sea. How was it possible? It was possible because the good news is the bad news is wrong!
And what about the story of Joshua in Joshua 6? I can just imagine the young leader of Israel standing in front of those massive walls of the city of Jericho, no doubt thinking, There’s no way in the natural that those walls are coming down!
But the Bible says that the Lord brought a great word of faith to Joshua, declaring, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor” (Joshua 6:2 NKJV). He was really saying, “Joshua, the good news is the bad news is wrong! You thought those walls were impenetrable, but I’ve given the city into your hands.”
Then the Lord told him to do something very strange — to march around the walls of that huge, well-fortified city once a day for six days, and on the seventh day, to march seven times around those towering walls while the priests carried the ark of God on their shoulders. Then the Lord commanded them to blow the trumpets and shout a great victory shout, and the walls of Jericho would come thundering to the ground.
Surely the people must have been murmuring and grumbling, “Oh Joshua, do you really believe those walls are coming down?” And with the ears of my spirit, I can hear Joshua answering, “Those walls may look impenetrable, but by the power of the Lord, they’re going to come crashing to the ground, because our God is greater!”
No doubt there were many who had gathered that day to laugh and mock and scorn as the people of God began their fateful march around the city. But when the seventh day rolled around, and they had marched the seventh time around the walls, there was a shrill blast of the trumpets and an ear-splitting roar of victory, and the walls came crumbling to the ground in a great cloud of dust! And it all happened because Joshua trusted God’s Word more than the bad news.
And what about the story in 1 Kings 17:9–16 of the terrible news that greeted the little widow in the city of Zarephath one day? The land was gripped by a deadly famine, and when she scooped up the last handful of meal from her barrel and began to pour the remaining oil from her little cruse, her circumstances were screaming at her, “You’re not going to make it! Your supply is running out!’ Just imagine how fear must have struck in the pit of her stomach.
When fear strikes, it seems to completely blot out the reality of God!
I imagine she must have been scared spitless, wondering how on earth she and her son were going to survive.
In the midst of that grim scene of hopelessness, the prophet Elijah carne on the scene as she was gathering a little bundle of sticks. “What are you doing?” he asked her.
‘‘I’m gathering sticks to build a little fire,” she replied. “I’ve got just enough meal and oil for one last supper for my boy and me, and then we’re going to eat it and die.”
I’ll tell you, that was mighty bad news! But Elijah looked her in the eye and spoke good news into the situation: “You think you’re going to die, but if you’ll give me the first portion of your little supper, your meal barrel shall not diminish and your cruse of oil shall not fail.”
No doubt the widow was startled at first, shaking her head and staring at the prophet in disbelief. But somehow that message reached down and grabbed her heart, and she heard the voice of the Lord speaking to her circumstances. You see, God knew He had to get her faith moving. He realized her faith wasn’t doing her one bit of good lying dormant in her heart. Her entire future hinged upon her decision that day!
What was she going to do? Was she going to obey the word of the Lord through the prophet Elijah, or was she going to listen to all the other voices that were clamoring around her — the voices of her friends and neighbors, her family, and even the “Zarephath Times?”
And that may be where you are in your life today. Perhaps you’re struggling with some heartbreaking dilemma right now. You may be grappling with all of the rumors that are flying around you at work, the opinions of your friends, even the headlines in the news media. Are you going to put your faith in those negative voices, or will you trust what God is saying through His Holy Word?
In a moment’s time, this woman exclaimed, “I’ll do it!” She took the very first portion of the last supper she had and gave it to the prophet Elijah, and she and her son ate the rest.
Did the bad news she was dreading finally come to pass? Did she and her son swallow their last morsel of food and then die? Those were her own predictions for her life, but when she took a step of faith, that little seed she sowed began to burst out the windows of heaven! The Lord multiplied her little bit of meal and oil and rained down on her life with a full supply of miracles!
Now God didn’t give the widow a whole barrelful of food in a single day, but He never once let her supply diminish! Every time she went to her meal barrel and her cruse of oil, there was enough food left to cook one more meal, and then another and another and another. In fact, it is estimated that she cooked over 1,000 meals from that nearly empty meal barrel and cruse of oil! How is it possible? It’s possible because the good news is the bad news is wrong!


Chapter Two: Trusting God Even When the Circumstances Say It’s Too Late for a Miracle
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister [Mary] and Lazarus [their brother].
So, when He heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was.
So when Jesus came, he found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my