Resisting the Enemy – Pastor Gary Snodgrass

Resisting the Enemy

Paul and the viper

Acts 28:1-6; Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

Malta was derived from a Greek word meaning “honey” Malta was known for it’s production of honey.

The snake didn’t phase Paul, he simply shook it off into the fire and moved on! snake didn’t even phase Paul, he simply shook it off into the fire and moved on!

Paul knew his authority over the evil one, he knew God wasn’t finished with him yet and nothing was going to take him out. Smith Wigglesworth (a well known British evangelist) when awakened by Satan himself said “Oh it’s just you”. He then rolled over and went back to sleep! Shaking the snake into the fire was prophetic of the devil being cast into the lake of fire for eternity.

The snake attacked Paul because of the heat.

When things start heating up is when the enemy manifests himself the strongest, it’s also when God’s overcoming power is at it’s greatest!

There is no situation that God can’t deliver you out of if you trust Him!

-A point to be made here is; “Be careful of what you are carrying around, it may contain a snake”! And, it could end up biting you!

-Notice that Paul didn’t bring attention to the situation.

He didn’t bring glory to the enemy by rehearsing the situation!

-Notice how the natives were watching Paul when the snake bit him.

As a result of Paul’s reaction to the snake, they changed their mind about Paul.

They first thought he was a murderer, then thought he was a god.

Others are watching you in your times of trouble and the way you react may have a significant affect on them

-Paul introduced the power of God (as well as Christianity) to the natives of the island after the devil had tried to take him out.

An important official named Publius hosted Paul and others for three days. It was during this time that Paul healed his father of a sickness. As a result, many of the natives brought their sick to Paul and he healed them.

-Even though they had lost all in the shipwreck, when they left the island, they had everything they needed!

Resisting the devil

James 4:7; Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

-Submit means: to yield oneself to the will and authority of another
-Resist means: to set ones self against, to resist or stand, to oppose
Authority over the enemy begins with submission to God
“Resist the devil” means more than just words.

-The seven sons of Sceva;

Acts 19:11-16; Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

-These men were only interested in the manifestation of the power, not the source.
Don’t we do this sometimes when we seek the gift and not the giver.
We are to praise God for who He is, not for what he does.

-The devil is not afraid of your words if they are not backed up by the power and character of God!

If you want to exercise authority over the enemy, you must be connected to the power source!

Remember, never try to resist the devil in your own strength.

How do you really resist the devil

-Making the right choices when faced with temptation, spending time in God’s Word (Information, meditation, revelation, transformation), allowing the fruit of the Spirit to Produce God’s character in your life, walking in love, controlling anger, walking in forgiveness, walking in truth and integrity, attending church regularly, walking in harmony with your spouse, giving to those in need, being humble, resisting pride, staying in communion with God through prayer, worshiping God, and tithing.

All of these things are biblically sound and are contrary to the devil’s ways.

We are instructed not to give the devil a place;

Ephesians 4:26-28; Be angry, and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

-We give the devil a place by not walking in love, being untruthful, by a lack of knowledge of God’s word, a lack of prayer, lacking compassion for those less fortunate, anger, lust, selfishness, striving with our spouses, not raising our children with godly principles, lack of church attendance, disobedience, unforgiving, judging others, laziness, and so on.

If the word says “give the devil no place” then you have the ability to hinder his work in your life.

-We can’t blame our bad decisions on the devil, he only gives us the opportunity, we make the decision!

Bad decisions have bad consequences!

When you put yourselves in compromising situations, you are opening the door to the enemy.

Don’t let your past direct your future

-Paul knew the secret for fulfilling God’s direction for his life.

Phil 3:13; Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

-”Remember” is one of the enemies favorite words of accusation, he so desires to keep you so tied up with your past that you can’t move ahead.

Do you remember when you did this and did that! How can you call yourself a Christian? You will never amount to anything!

-Well, let’s turn this around devil, how about you doing a little remembering also,

Do you remember Jesus dying on the cross and rising after three days?

Do you remember Him breaking your hold on mankind?

Do you remember Him giving Christians authority over you?

And, if I interpret the Bible right, your future isn’t too bright either!

-Paul could make these two statements only if his past no longer controlled him!

2 Corinthians 7:2; Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.

Philippians 3:17; Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.

-We can’t let our past failures influence our future!

Not believing that your past has been forgiven, means what Jesus did by His death and and resurrection wasn’t enough.

Who’s the problem, God or the devil?

-We must understand where the problems in our lives originate!

The church has made it somewhat confusing as to who causes the problems in our lives but, I believe the Bible makes it pretty clear!

Some have even believed God gave them cancer, was responsible for the death of a loved one, caused them to lose all they had, and so on.

-If the enemy can get you to believe that God is the source of your problem, you won’t be willing to resist him.

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 mor abundantly.

The abundant life doesn’t mean we won’t face problems but, we know who to turn to in the midst of them.

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

Luke 17:1; One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!

-Someone might say “well, the Bible says to thank God for all things”, wrongly quoting I Thessalonians 5:18 which actually says “In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

It doesn’t say “for all things give thanks” it says ”in everything give thanks”.

There is another scripture we have to deal with

Ephesians 5:20; giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
-The word “for” here is better translated “concerning” all things.

We thank God for being with us in the situation and walking us through it, and that it wasn’t worse than it was.
The preceding two scriptures would appear to contradict themselves which, of course, can’t be.

We are not to thank God for things that would contradict His Word. Abortion, adultery, sickness and disease, temptation, and so forth.

-Don’t interpret the whole Bible by one text but, rather, one text by the whole bible.

Sometimes we want to interpret a scripture to suit our needs rather than
what God meant it to mean, it’s called self-justification.

In summary;

  • Your past is your past, don’t let it dictate your future!
  • God is not your problem, He’s your solution!
  • Be careful not to give the devil a place!
  • You resist the devil by the life you live more than by what you say!
  • Don’ try to resist the devil in your own strength!

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

what’s next Part 4

What’s next? Part 4

 

We have talked about many of the gifts so far, are any of you starting to practice them yet?

 

Can someone share his or her experience?

 

Today I’m going to talk about prophecy, speaking in tongues, prayer language, and interpretation of tongues but I need to start with two other gifts that many of you may have and may use daily but don’t realize they can be amplified as you surrender them to the Holy Spirit.

 

 

1 Corinthians 12:27,28

 

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.

 

Helps and Administration, these are two very practical and vital gifts of the Spirit that the church literally cannot survive without them

 

Helps

 

The spiritual gift of helping, service, or ministering, covers a wide range of activities in its application.

 

The word Antilepsis is translated “helping” and is found in 1 Corinthians 12:28.  It’s meaning: to help or aid in love within the community.

 

The Holy Spirit endows some believers with this gift to fill the many gaps of ministry and meet the needs of the church as it fulfills the Great Commission.

 

Everything about this gift is practical as Bill Wilson our friend from New York says wondering about your call? The need IS the call!

 

While it starts as a practical gift, empowered by the Holy Spirit it is never a drudgery mostly a joy, and leaves you with a feeling of accomplishment because it is not about any pat on the back from a person but about knowing the Holy Spirit is empowering you for something that He desires to have accomplished. This gift fills in the gaps that are so needful for the Kingdom and the Gospel to be advanced and the church to touch the most amount of lives

 

We see people with this gift in passages like Acts 6:1-7, 1 Corinthians 16:15-16, and many others.

 

Administration – 1 Cor. 12:28; Acts 6:2-3

 

This is a unique term that refers to a shipmaster or captain. The literal meaning is “to steer,” or “to rule or govern.”

 

With this gift the Holy Spirit enables certain Christians to organize, direct, and implement plans to lead others in the various ministries of the Church.

 

This gift is closely related to the gift of Leadership, but is more goal or task oriented and is also more concerned with details and organization

 

Again this gift is very practical some shine in this gift all of the time and if they really shine it is because the Holy Spirit is empowering them in their natural ability to go to a supernatural level able to anticipate needs and solves problems well before they arrive.

 

This gift can tie in with the practical side of the prophetic understanding what the needs are and how to organize the solution before a problem happens

 

Which brings us to prophecy

 

Prophecy

 

The spiritual gift of prophecy is an extraordinary and unique gift.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1 to “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”

 

This gift is a blessing to the church and should not be quenched or despised (1 Thessalonians 5:20).  Those who have the gift of prophecy differ from the Old Testament Prophets who spoke the authoritative Word of God directly.  Their words were recorded as Scripture as they proclaimed, “Thus says The Lord,” whereas the messages from those with the spiritual gift of prophecy must be tested which means they can be wrong (1 Corinthians 14:29-33; 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21; 1 John 4:1-3).

 

These messages can take the form of exhortation, correction, disclosure of secret sins, prediction of future events, comfort, inspiration, or other revelations given to equip and edify the body of Christ

 

1 Corinthians 14:3-4, 24-25

 

But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church

 

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you

 

Practically speaking here is a way you can begin to flow in this gift. Being that it is, by Paul’s definition, an edification, exhortation, and comfort, you can begin encouraging people, helping them to see the best in themselves, asking the Lord to show you ways to encourage others and help to build them up

 

You see God sees the best in people, (1 Corinthians 13) He encourages them to be better, do better and as we do that, we begin to understand the Father’s heart for people, we begin to see them through His eyes and the Holy Spirit begins to work through us to enhance what we are seeing through God’s eyes

 

As we learn to see through the Lord’s eyes, we learn to hear His voice more clearly and are able to speak to people more of what is on His heart developing the prophetic gift within us

 

Share prophetic word about what will happen if we begin doing these things

 

Tongues, interpretation of tongues, praying in the Spirit

 

I don’t know of any way to practically start speaking in tongues or interpreting tongues

 

I know some will try to help others to receive their prayer language by saying repeat after me, or things like that. Sometimes that helps sometimes it hinders. Learning to speak/pray in tongues for most of us is a battle of mind versus spirit. It just doesn’t make sense to our minds to allow our spirits to communicate directly to God.

 

Which brings us to a Praying in the Spirit

 

1 Corinthians 14:14 “For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying”

 

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians 6:18

 

There is a key difference here between praying in the Spirit and functioning in tongues for the benefit of the body…it would be like having a personal word of knowledge or word of wisdom for someone and having a public word…if you are praying in tongues it should be quiet and focused as if praying in English but if you are going to make a proclamation in tongues it needs to be loud enough for all to hear but also must be interpreted

 

Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” Romans 8:26

 

Likewise, Jude (the half-brother of Jesus) encourages us to pray in the Spirit (Jesus’ brothers James and Jude were in the upper room when the Holy Spirit descended Acts 1:14)

 

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” Jude 20

 

I have found praying in the Spirit to be critical to building me up so I can handle the daily-ness of life, which generally changes the environment and reveals areas that need work and areas that are being overcome

 

Please take the leap of faith…begin choosing to flow in a gift. If you have not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit I hope this has taken some of the fear or concern out of it for you and that you would be willing to come

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s next? Part 3

What’s next Part 3

 

I want to continue this morning sharing about the gifts of the Spirit

 

Rick Warren author of the “Purpose Drive life,” and pastor of Saddleback church says this about the gifts of the Spirit

“God gave me a gift, not for me but for you, and God gave you a gift, not for you but for me. If you don’t use your gift, you’re depriving me; if I don’t use my gift, I’m robbing you.”

1 Peter 4:10,11

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

What are some of these gifts that Peter is talking about? Some are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 before we go there again…

As I mentioned through the Rick Warren quote and through Jesus words in Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The gifts are for us to touch the lives of others…salvation is for us but the world needs us to flow in the gifts of the Spirit so that they might know Jesus is real

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills

 

Part of the reason the gifts generally start more gently is they are given to any Christian regardless of level of maturity…always be aware just because someone has a particular gift doesn’t mean they are mature, that was part of the problem in the early church but hopefully it encourages you to not be afraid to be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit because you are “not mature enough”

 

Two weeks ago I talked about words of wisdom, healing and discerning of spirits and how they may practically be seen in your life in the beginning stages…let’s see how far we get today

 

Lets start with the “word of knowledge”

 

Word of knowledge

1 Cor. 12:8 – “for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit”

  • Information that was not be obtained naturally
  • An utterance of facts given by divine inspiration through, mind, vision, dream, or some other insight that would otherwise remain unknown
  • teaching based on divine insight and revelation.

 

This gift may start in you in one of two ways very naturally.

 

– You could be working on a project, car, craft, your taxes even and not have clue what to do, you stop and pray and the Lord gives you the understanding of how to solve the problem. God will use this type of thing as you are working at your job, in your hobby it is not a guess it is a divine insight given to you in a very naturally supernatural way to show everyone that God really cares

 

Another way this gift may start in your life is you may be struggling with something and not knowing what to do, not having any insight into a solution and the Lord gives you a dream that gives insight into the problem.

 

Reinhard Bonnke dream story

Standing on the street corner in the Hill

 

The Lord has the solution to every problem. He sees everything from every perspective…he wants to give us the insight we need and to help others through knowledge they know we would not know naturally.

 

God can give you this gift and make it effective in raising your children, doing better at your job, having greater success in your business and of course using it in the church to share with people things that you would not know other than the Lord communicating it to you

 

Gift of faith – 1 Corinthians 12:9, Acts 4:19,20

 

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

 

This is not to be confused with saving faith

 

The Holy Spirit distributes this gift to some in the church to encourage and build up the church in her confidence in God.  Those with the gift of faith trust that God is sovereign and He is good.  They take Him at His Word and put the full weight of their lives in His hands

 

Tegucigalpa – both the mortars and the flight

Kyrgyzstan – no connection

Sudan –

Flight into Pittsburgh

Meeting the president of Kyrgyzstan

 

A simple way this may develop in you is that you are no longer afraid. You hear the news, you see all that is happening around you

 

If we are afraid we will never do the things the Lord has called us to there is no reward without risk and faith is spelled R-I-S-K

 

We can not proclaim to trust the Lord and live in fear

 

You can have this gift easily but deciding to live this way and watch the Lord multiply your peace and joy…what an impact you will have on those around you

 

We need this gift more than ever in a world filled with nothing but division and fear…imagine what this will do for others

 

Working of miracles (1 Cor. 12:10; Acts 6:8)

 

The spiritual gift of miracles is described in Scripture much like the gift of healing.  It is found in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and the Greek phrase

 

10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

 

energemata dynameon – literally translates “workings of powers.”  The double plural most likely means that these gifts were diverse and were not permanently available at the will of the gifted believer, but instead were bestowed at various times and circumstances.  Thus, the gifts are subject to the divine will of God and His purposes and are not decided by the one who performs the miraculous works.

 

We know that Jesus performed many miracles in His earthly ministry, even more than those recorded in Scripture (John 20:30-31, Acts 2:22).

 

I am not sure there is a simple and easy way to move in this gift other than when you need one just believe and expect it

 

Too often we believe God to be the God of the Old and New Testament but not the same God today.

 

I am here today in so many ways because of a miracle…don’t tell me God can’t do the impossible…every day I believe for one miracle after another

 

Siberian gas

Dead baby raised

 

This gift and faith often go hand in hand…however one way we can see this happen on a regular basis from my point of view is leading someone to Christ…every person who surrenders their lives to Jesus is a miracle every Mom that walks through this door for our outreach, every child that comes for VBS all of them being drawn by the Holy Spirit is a miracle

 

To me the greatest working of a miracle I am looking for is for you to begin to believe and walk in the fullness of the Spirit in a way that touches everyone around you…that you begin to see the power of God in your life.

 

Can I ask you today…can you see the need for these gifts in our everyday lives

 

Can you imagine with me a world where Christians are solving problems by the power of the Holy Spirit, where they are walking in the full confidence of God’s protection and purpose, and where the impossible is made possible on a regular basis

 

Can you imagine the hope, peace and life we could bring to the world if we lived this way…if God awakened a Christian to know that a shooter was going to a school, or simply that a child will need extra lunch money to help another child. You were never afraid because you had a supernatural trust in God

 

Our brothers and sisters in persecuted countries around the world live this way…I have seen it first hand…will you?

 

 

 

 

Love Yourself

Love yourself

 

Weird huh! Just thinking about that makes some feel weird, out of place, but it is a command of God…I’ll get to that in a minute

 

Do you ever look down on yourself?

Do you ever feel that you aren’t good enough?

Do you find yourself responding to people out of insecurity?

Do you find yourself critical of your family heritage?

Do you wish you had been born into a different family, race, class?

Do you always have to hide who you are, you are afraid to be who you are?

Are you afraid to spend time alone?

Are you always conforming to the wants of others and becoming who and what they want you to be?

Do you fail to acknowledge and appreciate your own achievements?

Are you very self-critical?

Do you fail to take care of yourself, physically?

 

Some of these things can be positive if kept in a balance…we want to serve and love people and sometimes it takes loving like this to do that… but all of them can be signs that you don’t love yourself.

 

Here I go again bringing that up! Two weeks ago I shared this about when Jesus was confronted by a lawyer regarding which law was best

 

Matthew 22:36-39

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

 

Two weeks ago I focused on our need to love others and that is absolutely needful but… allow me to stress another point

 

We must love ourselves if we are going to truly love others….don’t get weird on me…stay with me

 

I mentioned this last week Peter and John were on their way into the temple when a lame beggar asked them for money

 

Acts 3:6

But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

 

Notice what Peter said, “what I have is what I can give to you!”

 

As a Christian what is inside you to give? If God is love yet you reject yourself, the way He created you, your family heritage, your gifts, your calling if you don’t feel like you have anything to offer what is that saying to God?

 

Loving ourselves came seem counter to Jesus command to lay down our lives for others and for him….but what value is it to give up something that you don’t value in the first place

 

I know you have heard this but “God doesn’t make junk”

 

The basis of our walk in Christ is love. The honest and real way we will change the world is by our love. The power of the gifts flowing through us is based on our love.

 

When we don’t love ourselves…

 

We are being critical of God and His love for us

 

We get mad at God. We don’t believe he is going to come through for us. We feel somehow we are less valuable or less important than others

 

John 3:16

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.

 

Romans 5:8

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

 

We are acting as if we aren’t part of the family of God

 

We feel as if God will take care of so and so, God will meet their need but he won’t meet mine.

We are afraid to trust in the promises of God because somehow they don’t apply to us. He sees and knows everyone else but isn’t interested in us or what we are going through

 

We demand that God does things our way…he loves us too much to do that children would eat candy until they are sick, would get hurt if we didn’t protect them

 

1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

 

1 John 4:7,8

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

 

We have rejected the value God places on us

 

We feel we have to work to please God or to strive to make him happy with us

 

We are constantly angry or worn out trying to be “good enough”

 

We strive to get his attention so he will “look at you”

 

He already loves you more than you can comprehend and all he longs for is that you will know how much you are love and love him in return

 

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness, I have drawn you.

 

Psalm 139:14

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

 

This is what we need to grasp today

 

God so loved you, saw you as so valuable that he sacrificed his son’s life for your life (pop illustration) you are just that important John 3:16

 

He sees you as so valuable that he has chosen you to be the object of His great love Jeremiah 31:3

 

He so values, loves and trusts you that He has created a very specific plan for you, designed to use your skills, intellect, personality and all to be a blessing for you Jeremiah 29:11

 

We can’t fully function in the power of God apart from knowing that we are truly loved, valuable, and have His Spirit of love preeminent in our lives….the ability and authority we have to bring freedom, joy, peace, salvation, strength to others is directly related to the way we see ourselves in the light of God’s love

 

1 John 4:12,13

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this, we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

 

Psalm 139 if needed

 

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;

You understand my thought afar off.

3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,

And are acquainted with all my ways.

4 For there is not a word on my tongue,

But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

5 You have hedged me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”

Even the night shall be light about me;

12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,

But the night shines as the day;

The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

13 For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book, they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

 

What you have inside of you is all you can give out, the level of your belief limits the level of your impact in the lives of others.

 

Some today need a heart healing to come to the place of loving themselves, others, others need the Holy Spirit to release them to forgive themselves and/or others. Some today know that God simply wants to do a work in them to help them love themselves and others more