Knowing the Father’s heartbeat for you…Part 1

Knowing the heartbeat of God for you…Part 1

 

I talked with you about God’s heart beat for you…

 

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness, I have drawn you.

 

 

Over the next few weeks, I want to give you specifics of how Jesus showed us the Father’s heartbeat in ways you may not have noticed before.

 

The Father’s heartbeat if to make sure you know you are valued for who you are and you are able to value others

 

We see each other every week in church, perhaps a couple of times a week but does anyone really know you….Do you feel like you really matter?

 

That leads us to another question do we believe we really matter to God?

 

We are surrounded by people all of the time

 

We work to accomplish task and goals but we don’t often feel connected or valued

 

We can have all kinds of success or very little success and be in the same boat…ask yourself…

 

Do people really see me?

 

How many people really know who I am?

 

You don’t have to be alone to feel lonely

 

We lead “fake” lives…facebook has perpetrated an entirely fake world where people seem happy, engaged, connected….we have hundreds even thousands of friends but no one really knows us

 

We have people like our post but when you ask them what it’s about they have no clue

 

People connecting with us through Pinterest, Instagram or Linked In but the connections are all surface but God’s heartbeat is to really connect with you

 

Luke 8:43-48

 

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

 

Great story…I am sure you have read it or heard about it dozens of times but in this story, we see the Father’s heartbeat in Jesus and a connection that is real. Let’s take a closer look

 

The woman had been hemorrhaging for twelve years, she had no hope. She was now an outcast in her culture because of her issue of blood she was not allowed to be around people the law said she must be isolated

 

Sometimes we feel like an outcast ourselves, we feel for some reason that we are isolated from the “in” crowd or others in general. We feel like we don’t fit in for some reason it could be guilt we are carrying, shame, low self-esteem, fear of rejection

 

This woman carried all of those things being a widow or at least a single, a woman in a male-dominated culture, the blood flow was a sign of sin in this culture so she was already being always judged. She fit in nowhere because of no man in her life, her blood flow, her guilt her self-condemnation, creating an impossibly low self-esteem…it was in her feeling this way that she did something in desperation…she was trusting in the stories she had probably heard about Jesus who went to other outcasts like Samaritans and lepers. She reached out…the next verses may seem harsh or embarrassing at first but they weren’t

 

Luke 8:45,46

 

And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”

 

Do you think the God of the universe, the God who knows everything, the God who knew He was going to die on the cross and when didn’t know who touched him?

 

This poor woman was already an outcast already feeling rejected and now it seems she is going to be pointed out for ridicule and more rejection.

 

Even being in a crowd of people she felt alone and rejected and it seemed more rejection was coming

 

Jesus keeps pushing the button getting everyone else all excited and confused…why would he do this to this poor woman….this is somethingsome of you believe this morningas well, that if you draw close to Jesus He is going to expose all of your sin, He will reject you or openly ridicule you, when that is the furthest from the truth…

 

if you have read anything about Jesus he never ridiculed or embarrassed regular people. He only had love and compassion for the broken and rejected.

 

Then here is what happened

 

47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

 

Many times if we really come into the presence of God, we have been touched by Him we feel unworthy. We think God will perform a miracle for others but not for us. God cares about so and so but not so much about me. So many others are far more important in the Kingdom than me

 

Remember… “he loves you with an ever lasting love” he is the one who loves you the most…

 

He felt that way and showed us that through this woman. Listen to what he said.. Luke 8:48

 

48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

 

This rejected woman, woman of low self-esteem, woman bound by guilt and shame. This outcast he calls “daughter”

 

He not only healed her but he made a big spectacle out of the situation questioning people causes a buzz to be about this unknown person. He took this person that everyone had rejected, everyone had made fun of, ridiculed…he made her the center of attentionnot to embarrass her but instead – to embrace her, -to value her, -to love her, -to raise herup to being a “daughter” of the King. When he used the word “daughter it not only meant child of God but one who was in right standing with God…he took a woman on the bottom rung of society and made her a princess…  His words “go in peace” meant you are righteous before God, she was not only made well, became a princess, but he made her completely right and free in God. That is what the Father’s heart beat is for you today.

 

This is the Father’s heartbeat for the world

 

This is the Father’s heartbeat for every person we see and associate with everyday

 

Many times people yell, throw tantrums, get upset are moody because they are simply waiting to be rejected again…we have the power like Jesus to lift them up to be the princes and princesses they are called to be

 

I don’t want to overload you with verses but here are a few to help you remember even when you don’t feel valued that what you are feeling is not the truth but a lie

 

Christ has set us free to experience true freedom Galatians 5:1

 

“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

 

WE never need to fear or worry, because God has got us no matter how difficult the situation Psalm 46:1

 

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

 

You are so loved by God that He calls you His child 1 John 3:1

 

“See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us his children, and that is what we are!”

 

We all go through times of not feeling like we are important to the people we want to feel important too, but God lifts us up. You have to choose to believe it!

 

Just as important today is I want us to be aware that there are people you know, you see everyday, that God wants you to be sensitive to His Spirit enough, to recognize where they are and be Jesus to them as Jesus was to this woman…it doesn’t matter why they are the way they are we must try to help them and if they will be helped…set them free

 

 

Knowing Real love!

Knowing Real love!

 

We have talked about how God is love

 

We have talked about how God’s love for us is an everlasting love

 

We have talked about how God adores us

 

But what happens when that love is put to the test?

 

 

Ephesians 3:14-20

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.

 

Paul is in prison, he is suffering and he wants the Body of Christ to not lose hope

 

16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

 

 

Too often we don’t believe fully the love of God for us that sustains us,

 

How do I know? Let’s look at the next verse

 

18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

 

we can walk through times of doubt, times of grief, times of fear, times of confusion and you know He is still there loving and adoring you

 

19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

 

God’s power, His anointing, His authority is not based on our perfection but based on an understanding of His great love for us…

promised in John 10:10 “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

 

We are made complete in life and power…real life and real power because we have come through it all knowing we are loved!

 

Becoming the most powerful influential people on earth Part 4

– We know we have a loving heavenly Father, someone who loves us the most

– We know we are to honor Him by living a life of doing right things

– we know the only hope the world has for peace and joy is seeing our lives as right thinking, right living, and right language…this shows the world His Kingdom and how we can bring hope, freedom and love to our world.

– we know that we have been created to do God’s will, the very thing that because of our skills, talents, and abilities will fulfill us

– we know that He wants us to trust Him daily knowing that He is a very loving caring Father who will never fail you

 

So let’s wrap this up

 

Luke 11:2-4

 

So He (Jesus) said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.”

 

Today we may be talking about the most difficult part of living the Lord’s prayer.

 

Every one of us has gone through a bunch of heartache and rejection. We have all been wounded, hopefully mostly unintentionally. We have been fired from jobs, ripped off by companies or people not paying us if we have a business.  We have been lied to, stolen from and in other ways taken advantage of or taken for granted….people have hurt us!

 

The enemy seeks to kill, steal, and destroy and through all of these things and he is very successful.

 

Families and friends don’t talk to each other for years, careers are killed, dreams go unfulfilled all because of not heeding this principle Jesus taught us to pray

 

4 And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

 

When we choose forgiveness, we are taking the power away from the event and the person who hurt us.

 

The word translated “sins” here really means  sins – a moral and spiritual debt that is owed.

 

We must first realize our own sin and that it is a great debt that is owed to God and as we recognize that debt, we can then see, comparatively speaking, a person’s sin against us is generally little compared to our sin against God.

 

Both hurt real relationship.

Relationships need forgiveness to flourishand you can not have a relationship with the Lord unless you walk in forgiveness.

Unforgiveness rarely hurts the person who hurt you, but it always hurts you.

The Mayo Clinic says this about unforgiveness

 

If you’re unforgiving, you:

  • Bring anger and bitterness into every relationship and new experience
  • Become so wrapped up in the wrong that you can’t enjoy the present
  • Become depressed or anxious
  • Feel that your life lacks meaning or purpose, or that you’re at odds with your faith
  • Lose valuable and enriching connectedness with others

 

From a spiritual standpoint it cripples you, it limits the intimacy of all relationships, and it may end up keeping you out of heaven

 

Matthew 6:14,15

 

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 

I’ll talk about this more in a minute

 

Here is the trap of unforgiveness

 

  • In many cases the anger, which lead to unforgiveness is justified, something horrible has happened to you….

– some thing has happened to you as simple as a neglectful event to as serious as a molestation, rape, maybe even the murder of someone close

– no one would blame you for holding unforgiveness because the event is so tragic, at least to you, but the question is who is the unforgiveness hurting?

 

2) It is easy to justify that holding forgiveness from someone is even the righteous thing to do because they don’t deserve it

– It could even be that someone broke one of the commandments and it has affected you! They stole from you, dishonored you, were hypocritical (bearing false witness)

– If you hold unforgiveness how are you acting any more like Jesus than the person who originally offended you?

 

  • We don’t believe it is hurting us in any way, we convince ourselves because it is justified that no damage is being done

– We seem to be able to go about our daily business unaffected but how often does our mind go back to the offense? How many times does something we are doing on a day-to-day basis remind us of the offense? How much have we closed ourselves off from others because of feeling like they may hurt us?

– Apart from walking in forgiveness, at the very least our relationship with the Lord is hurting and most likely with others as well.

 

 

With this in mind I have to bring up a couple of scriptures

 

Love requires forgiveness

 

1 John 4:8

 

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

 

 

Real love requires us to walk in forgiveness but as we know the fruit of God (the Spirit) is also love joy peace etc…

 

This walking in love is not just because God wants it, we should want it too. We should want the freedom that comes from walking in love..

 

Jesus had plenty of opportunities to be offended to hold unforgiveness.He was investing his life in a few key leaders and many times they just didn’t get it

 

– Jesus we want to be the greatest in the Kingdom

– Jesus we are offended for you let us call fire from heaven

– don’t you know we could have given that money to the poor

– if you would have only done what we asked of you he wouldn’t have died

– Jesus I’m not going to let you go to the cross

– Jesus here is a kiss

– Jesus, who is hitting you?

– the whole thing with the cross

– they didn’t believe him at his word that he would rise again

 

He is love so he chose to live in love! This is what we do when we forgive. This is a reflection of who God is. Unforgiveness makes us miserable and can make us miserable to be around.

 

Bitterness can set in; we can develop a negative view of the world and God’s plan for us. It robs us of our joy even when we feel justified in holding it, we are still robbed of our joy

 

When Jesus taught us to pray to forgive it was so that we would live in his joy, love and peace and help bring others to the same thing but it is a choice, Paul challenged the Philippians to choose right choices and thinking

 

Philippians 4:8

 

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

We also need to understand we need to choose to not only forgive others but to forgive ourselves as well

 

Paul struggled here too

 

Romans 7: 15-21

 

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

 

We struggle with sin and the struggle is a good sign, meaning our conscience has not been seared because if we did not care about the sin we will break relationship with the Lord.

 

God really loves us and learning to forgive ourselves proves that we trust God enough to forgive

 

If we don’t believe we are forgiven then we are saying, “God what Jesus did on the cross was not enough for me!”

 

What happens if we don’t forgive ourselves and others our hearts gradually harden, if we reject God’s love in this area, we will reject His love in other areas as well. We can eventually walk away from Christ. We will no longer want nor desire Christ forgiveness and wind up in hell first a hell of condemnation and misery on earth than an eternal one apart from God.

 

What is funny is the way this sermon landed on Mother’s day but learning to walk in freedom and forgiveness is an mothering aspect of God’s heart a real mother longs for their children to walk in freedom of condemnation and to be free.

 

What about you today?

 

Are you carrying unforgiveness for yourself or others

 

Do you now understand how much that is hurting you in your health, personal relationship and your relationship with God?

 

Do you want to choose freedom this morning even if you still feel the person is undeserving of your forgiveness?

 

Today is your freedom day…but you must choose!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most simple basic truth everyone needs but few really know!

God’s great love for you!

God loves you

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are limited or expanded by the love we walk in!

The authority as a man of God that a walk in is based on love!

When God was speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to his people he said this of you and long before we were born

Jeremiah 31:3

“The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness, I have drawn you.”

In fact Jesus wanted us to understand this relationship when he taught us how to pray just by the few words

Luke 11:2

Our Father in heaven,

Psalm 139 1-18

O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

2 You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

3 You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

4 You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

5 You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!

8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;

if I go down to the grave, you are there.

9 If I ride the wings of the morning,

if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me.

11 I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night—

12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

16 You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

18 I can’t even count them;

they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,

you are still with me!

Jeremiah 31:3 again

Jeremiah 31:3

“The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness, I have drawn you.”

Zephaniah 3:17

For the Lord, your God is living among you.

He is a mighty savior.

He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” 

1 John 4 tells us that God is love…it is not just a feeling but a person

Everything we do is limited by our understanding of how much God loves us and how we can love others

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.1 John 4:18,19

2 Chronicles 16:9a

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

You are called to change the world…

Romans 8:1,2

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Becoming the most powerful influential people on earthPart 3

– We know we have a loving heavenly Father, someone who loves us the most

– We know we are to honor Him by living a life of doing right things

– we know the only hope the world has for peace and joy is seeing our lives as right thinking, right living, and right language…this shows the world His Kingdom and how we can bring hope, freedom and love to our world.

 

Luke 11:2-4

So He (Jesus) said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth, as it is in heaven.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.”

 

Now comes one of the scariest parts of this prayer….Jesus not only wants God’s Kingdom to come and that is it in our lives as we live the way He has called us to live, but now He tells us to pray His will be done on earth as it is in heaven

 

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

 

When we talk about God’s will being done in general what do you think about?

 

How about when we talk about His will being accomplished in your life?

 

That’s where it gets scary…are you afraid God will make you live in a mud hut somewhere….sell all that you have, stand on a street corner and preach

 

Any and all of that is possible with a couple of caveats….

 

Those things will not be God’s will for most of us. How do I know? God’s will for you is something that will fulfill who you are!

 

We need to always remember God has a specific plan for your life

 

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

 

God has formed you in your mother’s womb with a very specific plan for your life.

 

– You are not a random formulation of molecules put together by chance

– Each of us was specifically designed to fulfill a purpose

– We were specifically designed to solve a problem in the world

 

We have each been given the tools to do both of thee things and so much more

 

Romans 12:3

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

 

When you were born you were given a measure of faith….the ability to accomplish God’s will for you in this world.

 

God gives each one of us the tools in our toolbox to fulfill the dream that he places on our hearts

 

Because he created us with this dream we often think it is just a dream we thought up so we don’t think it is really something that will honor God or we give up on it thinking it to be childish or an impossible dream…we want to do it but don’t see how it could happen or don’t understand how it really blesses God

 

When we fulfill our purpose, we honor God…it doesn’t matter if we are a store owner, lawyer, homemaker, carpenter, plumber, street sweeper if that is our skill set, our giftings and we do it to the best of our ability we are fulfilling God’s will here on earth!

 

 

Hebrews 13:21

… may He (God) equip you with all you need for doing his will. May He (God) produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

 

You naturally and supernaturally fulfill His will and bless Him when you use your skills, abilities, talents, to their best he will also use your skills and talents to fulfill His general will

 

Which is wrapped up in 2 Peter 3:9

 

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

 

God’s will is that no one should go to hell but that everyone would come to Christ. He sent Jesus to the whole world (John 3:16)

 

So He places you into jobs, vocations, hobbies, and interests that fulfill who you are. As He does He also surrounds you with people that think similar to have interest similar to yours so you can share the Gospel and minister in a way that seems very natural to you. You do the things you love to do and are able to fulfill God’s will.  He has given you the exact gifts you need and the personality you need to flow in the correct gifts of the Spirit to minister to every need.

 

So if you want to live in a mud hut God will make that happen but it will be because that is the place in the world where you will most feel fulfilled.

 

Once we recognize the one who loves us the most, we are in a position to constantly hear from him and honor Him by being in His word, talking with Him, thinking, talking, and acting right and believing His purpose for your life Then you because you know Him you are in a living active relationship with Him you can begin to ask for your needs.

 

Funny thing is if you have accomplished the first part there will be no worry as to whether God is going to come through for you…you are in a relationship with Him that guarantees he will meet your needs.

 

Give us our daily bread

 

Luke 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

 

Here is the key…Jesus is saying in real relationship with the Father, don’t worry about tomorrow

 

Matthew 6:34

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it’s own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

 

Jesus is saying ask because the Father expects us to ask He will not give you a snake or a stone when you ask for bread or food but realize that you don’t need to worry in real relationship…God will meet you day by day you can be at peace.

 

Jesus said in Matthew 7:7

 

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

 

So as you are praying don’t be afraid to ask for what you need but understand because of your relationship it really is already handled for you.

 

In a couple of weeks, we will wrap this up

 

But for today….do you know God’s will for your life?  Have you rejected where God has you because you through it wasn’t God’s will are you expecting God to use you to impact the world from right where you are? Are you expecting God to give you the gifts of the Spirit to touch the people around you?

 

What are your genuine needs? Can you trust God in your relationship with Him to supply

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Becoming the most powerful influential people on earth! Part 2

Who do you think are the most powerful influential people on earth? (Review from last week)

 

Politicians

Entertainers

Businessmen

Athletes

Scientist

 

Who? Each of these are influential in their own way but I believe there is another group of people who are the most influential people in the world.

 

Those who prayed and

 

– the iron curtain came down

– Isis was stopped

– Hitler was stopped

– the Mon Valley will be changed

 

Prayer is one of the keys to life for a Christian but for many, it becomes a drudgery or an exercise in futility

 

During the sermon on the mount, the disciples had often noticed Jesus praying they recognized the impact of His prayers and asked, “Teach us how to do what you do when you pray”

 

Luke 11:1-4

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth, as it is in heaven.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

 But deliver us from the evil one.”

This is a beautiful prayer but meant to be a pattern rather than a rote prayer and teaches us to understand how to see the mountains moved.

 

Last week we talked about to have an effective prayer we must understand

 

– God as Father

– have honor and respect for who he is

– we have to live and be Kingdom minded – we have to move from a self-centered mindset to a God-centered mindset and in the process, God will meet all of our needs as we are focused on Hid Kingdom needs

 

Today we need to visit this part of the prayer

 

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth, as it is in heaven.

 

To become the most influential people we must live God’s Kingdom as we pray for it…we must “do” God’s Kingdom

 

When the world says, “What does the Kingdom of God look like?” they should be able to look at the church and say, “Oh that’s what it looks like!”

 

So what are we to model Romans 14:17

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

 

It is righteousness first, apart from righteousness there can be no peace or no joy.

 

Think about it many organizations march for peace, but bring none. many try to find happiness (joy) in so many things but find none

 

There can be no peace, no joy without righteousness first.

 

In fact, one of the signs of the anti-Christ will be that he will proclaim “peace and safety” 1 Thessalonians 5:3

 

“For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.”

 

There can be no real peace without righteousness.  The world needs an example of righteousness….if the world does not see an example of righteousness they can never come to Christ, they will have no hope, they have no opportunity to truly come to freedom…this is not how God works….I have said this many times but there are still multiple voices out there that do not read their Bible but they say “look at the signs of this and that” but Jesus said these are going to come but this is not the end…the end will only come after the whole world will have had the opportunity to accept or reject Christ…that will only happen if they can see Jesus in us and apart from righteousness they will not see Him.Matthew 24:14

 

So when we are praying for the Kingdom we need to realize we must have right thinking (thinking like Jesus) right actions (acting like Jesus) and right language (talking like Jesus) to change the world we need the Kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven but that happens only by the world seeing Jesus in our thinking, actions, and language.

 

How do we develop that?Simply reading God’s word, living God’s word, and praying God’s word

 

The Bible is the love letter of truth and freedom to the world. The world thinks they know what the Bible says. Many Christians believe they know what the Bible says but in most cases it has not been read let alone studied

 

You can not live righteously and allow bitterness, laziness, guilt, fear, prejudice, anger, greed, hatred, bondage control you

 

His truth causes us to be ambassadors of hope, love, joy, peace, grace, and freedom but we must walk in the Kingdom truth to bring it

 

So when you pray, “Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’…it is not this nebulous prayer it is us acting on God’s word living the Kingdom, righteousness, peace, and joy

 

This is a key reason many Christian’s prayer life is anemic and many prayers go unanswered.

 

It is simply getting real with our walk of faith.

 

We should never be surprised that the world system is getting worse and worse that corruption grows greater every day, that sin is more rampant that mindsets are so anti God

 

If you read your Bible this has all been stated and prophesied BUT

 

We are called to be light, salt and the city set on the hill

 

Isaiah 60:2,3

Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. 3 All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

 

No matter how dark the earth becomes it is not a negative thing for those of us in faith because that is where the light shines the brightest people can see the hope, joy, love, and freedom more clearly

 

Romans 5:20, 21

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us righteousness, right standing, with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Sin is going to grow more and more, brokenness will cause more and more sin. We see it in families all of the time but where there is more and more sin, God’s grace is even greater but notice it is once again righteousness that makes the difference

 

The kingdom of God we are praying for is, righteousness that can then allow peace and joy that is real and the darkness is overcome.

 

Where are you today?

 

Can you pray His Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven and expect it to happen in your life? Do you have areas in your life where your influence is limited because of a lack of right thinking, right actions, and right language?

God’s heart is that you walk in the light that personally you have hope, joy, peace, love, and freedom always and are then able to bring others to the same.

 

God wants you to walk this way…most of our lack of walking in righteous is because of pain, rejection hurts from our past..allow the Lord to embrace you and bring healing to you

 

 

 

Becoming the most powerful influential people on earth

Who do you think are the most powerful influential people on earth?

 

Politicians

Entertainers

Businessmen

Athletes

Scientist

 

Who? Each of these are influential in their own way but I believe there is another group of people who are the most influential people in the world.

 

Those who prayed and

 

– the iron curtain came down

– Isis was stopped

– Hitler was stopped

– the Mon Valley will be changed

 

Prayer is one of the keys to life for a Christian but for many, it becomes a drudgery or an exercise in futility

 

During the sermon on the mount, the disciples had often noticed Jesus praying they recognized the impact of His prayers and asked, “Teach us how to do what you do when you pray”

 

Luke 11:1-4

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth, as it is in heaven.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.”

This is a beautiful prayer but meant to be a pattern rather than a rote prayer and teaches us to understand how to see the mountains moved.

 

It all begins with what do you believe about your relationship to God? If we are speaking to someone to whom we are unfamiliar how do we know our request will even be heard? How do we know if heard that it will be taken seriously?

 

Until this moment in time God was known as “I AM, God the provider, protector, judge,” but Jesus showed us the Father

 

John 14:10,11

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”

 

John 15:15

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

It is the relationship first that causes prayer to work so Jesus teaches us to pray by saying

 

“Our Father”

 

He is not just any Father but He is our Father. There is an intimacy, in that we believe He truly knows and loves us as “our Father” He adores us as His children…we are the same DNA it is seen in the fruit of the Spirit.

 

We recognize how much He loved us because of the sacrifice He made of His own Son!

 

So when we are preparing to come to him and we want to see the world changed it must be to a person who really knows us and that we truly know…we have His heartbeat and He has ours…seeing things happen is easy because of relationship and expectation of things happening is natural because of relationship.

 

We have a genuine Father and the real power behind Him is His love!

 

Once we recognize Him as our loving heavenly Father we have to take another step if we want to come to a place of answered prayer and changing the world

 

“Hallowed be your name”

 

I know this is an odd and archaic phraseology. However, as know we are loved by God and he is our Father we must recognize a reverence and respect for him…If a president, (pick your favorite one) walked into this room would you keep chatting, would you ignore him, would you go up to him with a snarky comment? Would you go to him with your list of demands or would you be quiet, wait for him to speak, would you want to hear what he had to say, would you be willing to discuss with him your needs and listen to his response….would you honor him….Moses took off his shoes…a centurion felt unworthy for Jesus to come to his home. It is not really about actions as much as it is heart….but our actions reveal our heart…when you are coming to the Lord are you recognizing that He is your Lord, in other words, are you in His word, do you honor him with the way you talk, your actions toward others, daily working on your stuff to become more like Him

 

Colossians 3:17

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

 

When we honor God we recognize his role in our lives, that He really is Lord and we reflect that in all we do. So when we come to him in prayer our hearts are already in a position to share His heart for the world, our communities, our families, and our lives….as we honor the Lord he hears and answers our prayers and at the same time as we live a life that honors the Lord we see our prayers being answered as we have grown to have His heart for every situation in our lives

 

Next are two types of requests the first being

 

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

 

You have heard me share about this verse recently. We are the ones who live and love in such a way to bring to release the Kingdom in the lives of others all around….His Kingdom brings love joy, peace, hope, freedom and so much more and we have it in our hearts.

Jesus’ purpose in telling us to pray His kingdom come first is a faith walk.

 

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. NKJV

 

When mankind fell we went from being “God-relationship” centered to being self-centered….seeking God’s kingdom first does a couple of critical things

 

  • It shows the Lord we are returning to God-centeredness
  • It shows the Lord that we trust him with all the stuff we need

 

When we are praying God’s Kingdom come we are asking for the hope, the love, the joy, the peace all the things man tries to create but is unable to….God’s Kingdom established will ultimately meet every need of every person

 

Most of what we think we need is only a poor substitute for what God already has for us in the Kingdom

 

– His kingdom will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory

– His Kingdom brings right relationships through real love…God is love

– His kingdom allows us to have the fullness of days and success because he placed his dreams and visions in us to fulfill.

 

We serve in social service ways to meet the needs of people and this shows our love of both God and man but when we are talking about the Kingdom we are talking about changing the hearts of mankind Let me give you an example of what I mean….before I say this I am not against a strong defense, our military or police but this gives you a different take

 

25,000 children on average die every week from malnourishment and poor sanitation yet if even a portion of the money spent on armaments were to be available for proper water, hospitals, and sanitation we could put an end to these needless deaths

 

I am by no means promoting disarmament but it is fear, greed, and hatred that cause the spending of this disproportionate amount of funds…If the Kingdom were established in our world; peace, love, joy would replace greed, fear, and hatred.

 

No one can solve the problems of this world as believer’s we can bring the solution to this world….as we pray then take action and watch God take action the Kingdom of God will be established

 

See it needs to begin in our hearts first…we can’t change a world if these things don’t live in our hearts…so when we come to God we must come first with our hearts in line with His Kingdom if so we will change the world….more on this next week

 

Today do you know him as loving, caring Father?

 

Is your heart in line with His heart in living like you honor Him?

 

Is your heart in line with the Kingdom or are you still living in fear, bitterness, jealousy, envy, hatred, and anger? Today lets get it right let’s make your prayers and your life world changing

 

 

 

 

What’s the big deal about Easter?

Something that happened 2000 years ago that no one today has witnessed today.

 

Some say Jesus is only a myth and didn’t really exist

 

Jesus is mentioned in writings by both Jewish and Romans nonbelievers as having been an actual person Josephus a Jewish historian who wrote of the time of Christ and both Tacitus and Pliny men who held the highest offices of state in the Roman government with disdain wrote about Jesus.

 

In the earliest writings of Jewish rabbis they renounced the birth of Jesus as illegitimate

 

The Gospels and all of Paul’s letters were written within the lifetime of many who witnessed Jesus and easily could have refuted them but they did not

 

Some say Jesus didn’t really die on the cross just passed out from the torture

 

– Modern Forensics and medical research have described to us that no one could survive the type of torture Jesus went through from the beating with the cat of nine-tails to the crucifixion itself and then evidence of blood and water flowing out of their piercing His side (See “A Physicians view of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ” by Dr. C Truman Davis Or “on the physical death of Jesus Christ”, Journal of American Medicine March 21, 1986

 

– Jesus death was never disputed by the Jews, neither his enemies nor his friends. Those who hated him try to cover up his death and resurrection through bribery.

 

Some say he didn’t rise from the dead

 

– His life was witnessed for forty days after the crucifixion

– the earliest creed pronounced by the church which included many who were alive at the time proclaims Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

 

So you are saying to me maybe Jesus did live, die, and resurrect what does it mean to me?

 

According to Psychology Today magazine, our greatest fear as human beings is death

 

The resurrection takes care of that one in a very big way

 

It shows us God’s absolute power over life and death

 

John 3:14-16

And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

 

Revelation 1:17,18

 

Jesus is talking and he says….“Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

 

God spoke through King David in Psalm 139 when he said “And in Your book were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”…..all of our days are number by God life and death are completely in His hands.

 

When this life ends our new life begins with Him face to face 2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

 

To further emphasize we don’t need to live in fear of death or anything for that matter.

 

If this all happened then Jesus words are true

 

– He prepared a place for us in heaven John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

 

– He promised us life and life abundantly…in a contrasting statement Jesus compares what life is like when we live a life trusting him versus a life of trusting in ourselves John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

 

John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit confirms that not only does Jesus give life but He is life and gives it freely to anyone who believes

 

1 John 5:11,12 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

 

– friendship with God John 15:13-15 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. We must understand that God not only loves us…but he likes us as well

 

– Joy – with so much heart-ache, fear, and shear exhaustion He promised us joy John 15:9-11 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

 

 

It proves to us that Jesus is who he claimed to be

 

If He said he would arise from the dead and he did then you can count on everything else that he said to be true

 

This also deals with our second greatest fear as human beings….being abandoned, rejected, unloved

 

– he claimed to be God…John 8:58

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him.

every time Jesus used an “I AM” statement he was further emphasizing his divinity

 

“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)
“I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6)

“I am the only way to the Father” (John 14:6)
“I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25)

“I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11)
“I am the door” (John 10:9)
“I am the living bread” (John 6:51)
“I am the true vine” (John 15:1)
“I am the Alpha and Omega” Rev.1:7,8)

One of His favorite titles for himself was that of son of Man

Daniel 7: 13,14

As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

Jesus was not hiding his divinity but he was not arrogant to say of himself all the time…I am a teacher, Messiah, or prophet but the PhDs of the law knew what he was saying, they threatened to stone him, called him a blasphemer knowing exactly what Jesus was saying

– that God loves us

God loves us – John 3:16, 17 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

 

Contrary to popular belief Jesus didn’t come to condemn anyone but the religious but to bring everyone to the truth of his love…then when we come to that truth we don’t need condemnation because real love draws us to him and away from sin, religious and all the things that makes us feel alone, abandoned, rejected

 

God ‘s love seen …“thief on the cross” –

– man recognized Jesus as Lord

– nothing he could do but ask

– today you will be with me

 

This is just part of the big deal about Easter…but now that you know this, allow me to ask a couple of questions

 

Believing the Easter story is true gives us hope that there is life after death and there is…we will all live eternally live the challenge is where? Heaven is based on believing that Jesus is who he said he is, a relationship with Him which in a relationship we are welcomed into His home as our new home because of relationship, not rules but love..Do you have a relationship with Him? Do you know him as a friend? If not we can make that right on the Easter morning

 

Second, you may have had a relationship with Jesus at a point but life happened and you forgot about keeping that relationship strong…let me tell you a secret….God hasn’t forgotten about you! He still sees you, He still knows you and loves you…prodigal son story Luke 15:11 – 32

Is it time for you to come back home?

 

Be the agent of change – stepping out of our comfort zone

Acts 2: 2-9

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

 

A couple things about this passage – I believe that this is literally every person heard the Gospel message in their own language but I believe it can be taken another way

 

  • we need to share the love of Christ in a way that everyone can understand it (hear it in their own language)
  • we need to not be afraid to cross-cultural, economic, racial barriers and the Lord will show us how to reach them “Are not all these who speak Galileans?”

 

The result of people hearing the good news in a way they could understand it, by men and women moving in the power of the Holy Spirit, who was not afraid to be uncomfortable speaking to people of different cultures, races, economic strata

 

5000 people came to the knowledge of Christ

 

Do we need this today? Jesus said “yes” it should be who we are!

 

Allow me to explain what I mean….this is why I know we need to move in the gifts in our schools, neighborhood, places we work, shop, and live

 

Matthew 5: 13-16

You are like salt for everyone on earth. But if salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it make food salty? All it is good for is to be thrown out and walked on.14 You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, 15 and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. 16 Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.

 

Jesus is saying that we are salt, light, and a city on a hill!

 

We are “a city on a hill”

 

What does it mean to be a “city on a hill” the best word to describe it is conspicuous. You can be seen at all angles all of the time.

 

The minute you proclaim that you are a Christian people begin watching you, they begin analyzing your life…they want to know

 

– is this real?

– is this religious?

– are you playing a game?

 

Jesus is saying all of us collectively become “a city on the hill”

 

Jesus also said we are the light

 

– There is no substitute for light, nothing can take its place. As Christians no one can take our place or do our jobs, there is no substitute for us

 

– Light is the only answer to darkness. When light comes there is no problem with darkness.

 

He called us salt

 

We are to give flavor to an otherwise bland world – take an egg for eggsample J totally bland but sprinkle on a little salt and it has flavor

 

We are to make the world flavorful but for whom? God! We need to think of ourselves as little salt granules spread throughout the earth spreading love, grace, prayers, and worship in a way that make the earth acceptable to God in a way that the earth would not be without us (as it will experience after the rapture)

Salt also prevents rotting or another word for that is corruption! In the time Jesus walked the earth there was no refrigeration. To preserve meat, it was salted to prevent it from rotting or holding back the forces of corruption. It is our responsibility to hold back the forces of corruption—moral corruption, social corruption, political corruption—until God’s purposes of mercy and grace have been worked out for this world of ours.

 

Not everyone is looking for hope, love, life, joy or freedom. Believe it or not, some are content in their misery, selfishness, and corruption. Still, many more have no concept that they can have joy, life, and freedom until they see that someone else has it.

 

As a “Spirit-filled” believer just simply being who we are, allowing the light, salt, the Spirit of the living God live through us (our identity is in Him) we are like the 120 from the upper room that day we begin to share the love of Christ in a way everyone can understand it.

 

We are no longer intimidated by social position, cultural, racial, or educational differences, but the power of the Gospel will naturally supernaturally flow through you. We have the tools in our toolbox!

 

As a Spirit-filled believer, you have at least three key tools that make being salt, light, and a city on the hill possible… I am assuming that you are doing things on a daily basis like reading your Bible and praying.

 

Remember

 

The gifts of the Spirit “What’s next part 2-4” 1 Corinthians 12 and 14

 

Moving in them in very practical ways at first (if you missed any of the teachings you can always go on the app or www.christiancenter.us to hear the whole story)

 

Prophetic – begin encouraging people

Healing – you will begin to have a heart for the sick and broken

Discerning of spirits – you begin to see people in the bondage, brokenness, hurting and are able to show them Jesus in a way that sets them free

 

Love – others and yourself “What’s next part 1” and “Love yourself”

 

– God values everyone, so should we

– be generous with your time, talent, and treasure

– Eliminate all forms of prejudice

– Always treat others as people Jesus died for

– Act like Jesus in word and deed

– You are the object of God’s great love Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16

 

 

The rest of the fruit of the Spirit –

 

I have taught numerous times on the fruit of the Spirit but just as a reminder

 

Galatians 5:22,23

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, kindness, faithfulness, 23 self-control; against such things, there is no law.

 

Luke 6:43,44

 

A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.

 

John 15:5

 

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

 

We will naturally supernaturally also flow in the fruit of the Spirit, we have to if we are tied into the vine, that is Jesus.

 

As a Spirit-filled believer it is against our very nature to not have the fruit of the Spirit flowing in us…remember last week 2 Corinthians 5:17

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

 

We become like the 120 who shared that day that 5000 came to Christ by living every day as salt, light and a city on the hill through flowing in the gifts, knowing we are loved and loving others. The fruit of the Spirit is a natural outgrowth of who we are

 

This causes us very naturally to be agents of change…we naturally change the world…we must change the world…if we love then we will change the world

 

Please take this challenge today…step out of your comfort zone and be the agents of change God has called you to be