Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "receive". Here are some of the Scriptures that contain this word:


Mark 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. KJV

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. KJV

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. KJV

John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. KJV

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. KJV

James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. KJV

This is the Greek word "lambano". Strong's Concordance says: to take in. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to take with the hand; to lay hold of; to take in order to carry away; to take what is one's own; to make one's own; to claim , procure; to seize, lay hold of, apprehend; to take possession of. The Theological Dictionary says: to grasp; to seize. As born again believers in Jesus of Nazareth, God has ALREADY blessed us with so much! Look at 2 Peter 1:3-4:


2 Peter 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. KJV


God has already GIVEN, now we must learn how to "receive"! We must find the Scriptures that cover the promises for what we need from God and  then we have to take them from the spiritual realm and bring them into the natural realm by faith! Remember that faith comes by hearing and hearing (and hearing....) the Word of God (Romans 10:17)! That means hearing it taught, hearing ourselves say it, speaking it to others, thinking about it until it becomes real on the inside! That's the faith that will "take" or "receive" it! This is a life-style, not a once in awhile thing! We will continue to grow in these things right up until the time that we go to be with the Lord! When we make this a consistent life-style, we won't even realize how strong our faith has become until we are actually faced with something and we find ourselves reacting with a calm and quiet confidence! I LOVE those times! Here is an old song from Hillsong that we have used before called "Faith":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "free". We see this word used in John 8:32 and 36. We'll start with verse 31:

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. KJV

The "make you free" in verses 32 and 36 is the Greek verb "eleutheroo". Strong's Concordance says: to liberate; to exempt from liability. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to make free; to set at liberty. In verse 36 the word "free" is the Greek adjective "eleutheros". Strong's Concordance says: unrestrained; not a slave. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: freeborn; unrestrained; not bound by obligation. The Theological Dictionary of the New testament says: to be at one's own disposal. Here are these same verses from the Amplified Bible:

31 So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. 32 And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. 36 So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free. AMP

Most of the words translated free in the New Testament are one of these two words. Jesus set us free from sin when He gave His life on the cross. We received that freedom when we confessed Him as Lord. Continuing in His Word, by reading, studying and meditating on it on a daily basis, makes us His disciples and puts us in the position to operate successfully in this life and in this world. We are "free", as believers, to make our own choices. When our choices line up with the Word of God, we will receive the results, here in this life, that the Word of God promises! When our choices go against the Word of God, we will have to be satisfied, here in this life, with the result of those choices! None of these choices we make, after we have received Jesus as Lord and personal Savior, will affect our eternal salvation! God has put us in complete control of our lives on earth and given us the guidance of His Word and the Holy Spirit to make the right choices that result in blessing! We are truly free! Thank You, Jesus! Here is an older song from Hillsong Kids called "Free":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is the title of the new series we're looking forward to at The Spoken Word Church! It is "revival". The word itself is not found in the Bible in any of the usual translations that I've used. The dictionary definition (from various online sources) says: the condition of being revived; a restoration to use, activity, vigor, vitality; to live again, to receive again a life which has almost expired; to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished. The dictionary definition for "revived" says: to restore to consciousness; to restore from a depressed, inactive our unused state. Many people think of revival as a time when many people receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. Revival is actually the Church waking up to the things of God, developing a hunger for the Word of God, and returning to their first love! Revelation 2:4 in the Wuest Expanded New Testament says this:

4 But I have [this] against you. Your love [for me], that earliest love, you abandoned.  Wuest

When born again believers in Jesus of Nazareth return to their first love, the result is a passion for reaching the lost! We know that God desires that NONE be lost (2 Peter 3:9). We delight Him by sharing the Gospel so that others may hear and be saved. So, people being born again is not revival, but the results of revival! We will be learning in this new series what God does, what we must do and what to expect to see happening because WE are revived! As we stir ourselves up to receive this teaching, we will see results we haven't seen in awhile! I'm ready and I believe that you are, too! Here is a song by Robin Mark called "Revival". As you listen, remember that when WE stir ourselves up to BE revived, He rises up big within us and flows through us to others! When the song says "send revival", it really means "send ME"!

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "root". Mark 4:16-17 says this:

16 And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy; 17 And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away. AMP

"Root" here is the Greek word "rhiza". Vine's Expository Dictionary says: is used of cause, origin, source. The reason that these people fall away is because they do not have the root (origin, source) of the Word within them. They do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them. They are not believers. 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us this:

14 But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated. AMP

You DO have the Spirit of God living in you, so you CAN receive, know and understand the Word of God! That is why studying the Word is so exciting, because it has meaning to you! The more you prepare your heart to receive from the Word (I like to pray Psalm 25:5 before I study), the more understanding you will have. As you act on the Word, the understanding of that Word will take root in you and you will be able to continue to build on that, layer upon layer, growing more every day! I LOVE how that works! 

A look at the negative aspect of "root" is found in 1 Tim 6:10:

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. KJV

If we are going to believe the Word of God, then we have to realize that the root cause behind every thought or act of evil is the love of money! This is the Greek word "philarguria" which Strong's Concordance says means: avarice. The Dictionary definition of avarice is:  excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain. This is not necessarily money, but anything someone desires that they feel they don't have. It is like a hunger that is never satisfied and a thirst that is never quenched. This drives people to do things that most other people would never think of doing. Having this understanding of human nature may help you in every area of life! I believe that God is going to use you to minister to some people that many of us will never come in contact with! You will do great! You ARE a mighty man of God! Here to encourage you in that is Hillsong with "Stand In Awe":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!