A Call to faith

The call to faith

 

 

Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.”

 

 

I love this story but let’s look at it a little deeper today

 

When Jesus “insisted” the Greek meaning here is that he told them it was absolutely necessary for them to go across the lake without him.

 

Jesus sent them into the storm, not to be mean, but Paul explains this in James 1:3 “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

 

They had just seen Jesus feed over 15K people with a few loaves and fish (5/2)

 

Who does that?

 

It is easy for us to see something God is doing…rejoice in it, then let it become a distant memory. When God is doing something in our lives, it is not only for the moment but to impact our character and lives

 

Jesus put their faith to the test to see if they would remember Jesus as the provider and the one who cares about the daily-ness of our lives.

 

If we are able to apply the miracles we see then we grow…however in our testing we are never alone

 

Where was Jesus?

Verse 23

After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

 

He was praying for them, they were not abandoned…he sent them to grow in their faith and he stood in the gap for them…it is what he is doing for us right now

 

Romans 8:34

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

 

You are never alone…but notice Jesus is praying for them and they run into trouble

 

Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.

 

How do you respond when you difficulties arise in your life?

 

– Do you run from them?

– Complain about them?

– Blame others for them?

– Do you feel like a failure?

– Do you feel as if God has let you down?

 

The challenge for us is do we believe that our lives are in God’s hands?

Do you believe the disciples we actually in danger? It certainly seemed to them that they were but Jesus was praying for them and the devil and their own fleshly knowledge were trying to convince them they were going to die.

I want to challenge you today that we need to begin to believe that God is in control of our lives and He has our future in the palm of His hands…I don’t believe the disciples were in any real danger here

 

  • God’s plan for them had not been fulfilled
  • Jesus was interceding for them
  • God had provided them with an opportunity for them and Him to shine

 

Going back to Romans here is what Paul stated right after his statement about Jesus interceding for us

 

Romans 8:35, 37-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

He is speaking directly to our hearts this morning that we would begin to believe the stuff we are going through is something if placed in His hands will cause us and Him to shine! Even if we don’t have any control over it…if we will choose to believe, the Lord will take it and turn it for our good

 

Just at the right time the Lord will meet us

 

Verses 25,26

About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

 

Obviously, they hadn’t grasped the concept who Jesus was, why?

 

  • they were in their familiar element
  • they had pushed the miracle aside
  • they were afraid…stuff of life had robbed them of faith

 

We are OK with God doing miracles overseas, in other parts of the country but what about right here…with and through you?

 

Is Jesus the same yesterday today and forever? The miracles he did then he has empowered us by the Holy Spirit to do even more now

 

We can’t allow our circumstances to control us we need to be mindful of the Holy Spirit always…even if the trouble is familiar

 

Let’s wrap this up

 

About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.”

 

The problem, the struggle, the trial, the challenge is still very intense yet right in the middle of it, even though Jesus had been praying for them…he still showed up

 

Notice he showed up in a very unusual way…they had never seen anything like this before

Their deliverance did not look like a deliverance to them but instead something quite the opposite…they were afraid they were going to die to instead of seeing Jesus they saw a ghost

Jesus knew where he was going and it was the disciples choice to wallow where they were or to reach out to Him…he would not have allowed them to die as we talked about earlier (Mark tells us in 6:48 he was going to walk right by them) they could have struggled all night until morning.

How often do we struggle with things and we fight but in reality Jesus is right there maybe not as we had expected but He is there if we would only cry out to him

 

He is the person giving us advice

He is slowing us down so we can listen

He is even using someone who is not a Christian giving us wise council (Nico, Nebuchadnezzar)

He is that “check” in our spirits

There was no reason for Peter to walk on the water…except that we see God can cause anything to happen…for Jesus to walk on the water was a “duh” moment…of course, he could do it he is God but for Peter to walk on the water…This is a whole another sermon

Here is my challenge today…Peter had little faith…it wasn’t that he had no faith it was just little but notice why Jesus was being critical

He wasn’t criticizing Peter for sinking, walking on the water, for being afraid in the storm…not really it was as this translation put is

“Why did you doubt me?”

storms come, struggles come, life difficulties happen it is not the battles with those things that bother Jesus as much as “do you trust him?”

Folks in light of what happened this past week it shows us all the more that we need to walk by faith to trust Him more

– Let’s value the miracles, the everyday ones, and the fantastic ones

– Realize the stuff you are going through God has you walking through even if the devil thinks he made it happen…God is on the move in your life

– Jesus is always praying for you

– Check your attitude and your trust when you come into difficulties

– Expect God to always show up, look for Him even in the unusual

– It is Ok to be thrown off by the wind, the waves, the things life throws at you just don’t doubt Jesus…He will never fail you or let you down

 

We are not to have faith in faith but instead faith in Jesus!

 

 

 

 

 

Messes Dirty, Laundry, and the real Christian Life Part 4 Samson

Messes, Dirty Laundry, and the real Christian life Part 4

 

Hebrews 11:1-3, 32-34

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was 

formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.

 

Let’s talk about Samson

 

On one hand he…

 

Killed a lion with his bare hands Judges 14:5-9

Killed 30 Philistines 14:19

Caught 300 foxes tied their tails together and burned all the grain fields 15:4-6

Killed a bunch more Philistines 15:7,8

Escaped from ropes and killed 1000 Philistines with a donkey’s jaw bone 15:14-17

The Gate Gaza –carried a 5-10 ton gate carried it 36 miles up 3200 feet higher Judges 16:3

Escaped from bowstring, ropes, and loom Judges 16:9,12,14

3000 killed in the temple of doom 16: 28-30

 

Then on the other hand he…

 

– Disobedient to his parents

– Decides to marry and ungodly woman

– Compromised to follow the customs of the world rather than God in the wedding set up

– Has lust issues and frequented prostitutes

– Lived with Delilah

– Arrogantly assumed because God’s gifts were still on him that God was giving his approval

 

Samson:

 

Rocky theme music plays as Samson comes on the stage in a Rocky-esk style (new york tough guys accent)

 

I’m number 1! I’m number 1! No one can put me down…lions I tear them apart with my bear hands…Philistines…I took out a bunch here and then another bunch there…here a bunch there a bunch everywhere a bunch, bunch of Philistines….I’m good with foxes too…Noah had nothing on me…I gather those things up two by two, handling them with kit gloves of course (Pausing realizing people aren’t getting his joke…)he explains…you see young foxes are called “kits” so I would handle them with Kit gloves…oh forget about it! I took the foxes tied them together with a lit torch and burned all the fields of the philistines…people will learn not to mess with me…speaking of foxes I keep trying with the ladies and it never seems to work out…that is until now….Delilah WOW what a looker…just because she’s a philistine… don’t judge me….we have played this game she wants me to tell her the source of my strength so I said weave my hair into a loom…busted the loom, tie me up with bowstrings busted right out of them…tonight if she asks again…I think I’ll tell her the truth (Rocky music plays again) that’s my song, running late got to go…she said she’d keep an eye out for me…

 

Be honest… most of us battle with pride at times – either blatant pride where we are just arrogant or hidden pride where we are at time passive aggressively controlling people and situations through our “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be OK” attitude

 

 

 

What are the real dangers of pride?

  1. Broken relationship with God

 

James 4:6 “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

 

2) No room for God

 

Psalm 10:4 The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.

3) Arguments-conflict-sin

 

Proverbs 13:10 Pride leads to conflict;those who take advice are wise.

4) Strife

 

Proverbs 28:25 He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.

 

5) Putting our trust in all the stuff of life

 

Proverbs 11:28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.

 

 

Is there a good pride?

 

Ecclesiastes 3:22 “…there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work”

 

Feeling good about all that the Lord has done through you and in you

– your accomplishments at the job, at church, in your home

– taking pride in your children just for who they are

– taking pride in your growth and maturity as a human being and a Christian

 

These are things that keep you focused on what God is doing in and through you.

 

We see the very real danger in pride in Samson’s life in one simple verse

 

What do you think was Samson’s real weakness and why did he become weak?

 

Judges 16:20 When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.

 

God desires to bless us and change the world through us. Pride can blind us to fulfilling God’s plan…we can literally be walking through life and not realize that God has left us…we think everything is God but we have walked outside of His protection and even placed ourselves in a position of being opposed by God

 

Psalm 138:6

Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.

 

Matthew 23:12

But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

 

1 Peter 5:5

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

 

Wow

 

I want God’s care…how about you?

I want God to bless me…how about you?

I want God pouring out His grace on me…how about you?

 

How do we recognize pride in our lives? Here are some signs

 

– If we get offended easily

– If we are jealous of the accomplishments of others

– If we are angry that others haven’t noticed “what we do”

– If we hold unforgiveness

– If we are not serving others…we feel that is for others to do

– If we always demanding our own way

 

Why are those things bad?

 

Well God can’t have any part in that and if we are living with any of these things active in our lives we may be like Samson and not even realize God has left us (not that He has left us but His blessing and protection are no longer on those areas of our lives because they can’t be)

 

We have a lot to be thankful for and prideful, in a good way

– we live in an amazing nation

– we have food on our table or a way to get it

– we are seeing the Lord move in very powerful ways

 

 

I want us to nurture what the Lord is doing here and we can’t grow as family if pride is in the way…we can’t be effective in touching our region if pride is in the way…we can’t act as god(s) we need to allow God to be God and if we do we will see

 

If we walk and live humbly we will see God’s… support, encouragement, blessing, open doors, wisdom, provision, we will prosper, most importantly we will know God is with us and for us!

 

Let’s see what God will do…going to do things a little differently today. I am going to pray and the worship team will lead us in some worship I don’t want you to come to the altar right away…I know we are seeing some amazing things happen here and I know the Lord is working on all of our hearts..so please take a moment in closing worship to allow the Lord to search your heart…not because he is angry at you but because he wants to bless and promote you but you have an area of pride that He has been wanting to deal with…and now will if you will allow it

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Spirit of the Lord is on us!

The Spirit of God is on us to set us free and bring freedom to others

——————————————————————————-

Luke 4:18,19

 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

The Holy Spirit of God is upon the Son of God they are one. The role of the Son is to show us the Father, to take on the sin of the world, to ever intercede for us at the right hand of the Father.

The role of the Holy Spirit, in this case, is to anoint us to preach the good news, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set free the oppressed and to proclaim God’s favor

Let me ask you…Does the Holy Spirit dwell in and with you?

If so, then this is our purpose, our call also….because the Holy Spirit is the same yesterday today and forever too

But before we can make this happen for others the Lord has to do it for and in us.

For today’s purposes I need to share this part of the teaching today first and then we will continue with worship

1) Healing the brokenhearted when The Holy Spirit spoke these words originally through Isaiah He really was talking to many people today.

 

The word broken hearted means splintered, shattered, fractured by life with a divorce rate that has been at a steady 50% for more than 4 decades and in the last 20 years the increase of “families” without the commitment of marriage and with the redefining of marriage Moms and dads were created each for a unique purpose and needed in the health of a child. Single moms and Dad’s all do an amazing job but there is still a need for both parents to be healthy or the impact we can see will be splintered and shattering of personalities

 

Ministry opportunity flash….if your children are grown you can help by being a grandparent and a surrogate parent to some of our families that are headed by a single parent…they could use the love and support from you

 

With so many children being exposed to substance abuse and physical and verbal abuse in the home.

 

So many, primarily women, being abused in the homes

So many abandoned by their Fathers

So many parents not parenting anymore but instead choosing to be their child’s friend this too causes a splintering

The Lord knew this would cause brokenness in many individuals because of the family

The word “heal” here means to set free or loosen as in to set someone free from the effects of the shattering or splintering…the Holy Spirit’s job is to release us from the effects completely of the pain of rejection, abuse, neglect and bring us to a place where we each feel totally loved, accepted, believed in, and healed

If we can receive this then we can do this for others

If this is you please come and allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you as we continue on in worship

—————————————————————————–

The Spirit of God is on us to set us free and bring freedom to others

 

Luke 4:18,19

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

2) We need to understand when Jesus is reading “preach the Gospel to the poor” what it means

 

– We have received a good and joyful message

– We believe this message and are living the message

– We see everyone else in light of this message

– We recognize anyone who doesn’t know or hasn’t heard this message is poor of spirit, heart, and will

The Holy Spirit has been poured out on us so that we might have the power to be His witnesses Acts 1:8

What Gospel are people seeing and hearing from us if you are just a miserable and hopeless as the world why would anyone what to hear anything from you?

I shared about brokenhearted already so onto the next part

3) “Liberty to the captives” – this is a funny phrase because it is the picture of a prisoner of war being brought out to freedom

When person was captured as a prisoner of war, Roman soldiers would tie their hands behind their back and a spear was shoved into their ribs…they had this sharp pain constantly in their back or side that is the literal translation of the word captives

When we are held captive by a sin, a mindset, a fear, a way of thinking, it is always right there eating at us Jesus has already proclaimed “FREEDOM” over each and every one of us.

Our minds can be totally set free, released from every harassing thought that has possessed us, the things that have controlled us in shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, and worry.

You can not set people free if you are not free yourself…the full immersion in the Holy Spirit can do this for you and then you can quickly discern that in others and God will set them free through you.

4) Recovery of sight to the blind – Jesus is the light of the world and he challenged us to be the light of the world to those in darkness

– people are in darkness because of their pain, their prejudice, their fears, their wounds, their ignorance, anger, rejection the Holy Spirits desire is for their eyes to be open to see the light God has for them so they can be in freedom

– of course, this also means literal healing of blind eyes but is not limited, as Jesus ministry was not limited to opening blind eyes but all kinds of healing

If the Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on you, Jesus promised we will lay hands on the sick and people will recover (Mark 16:18)

5) To set at liberty those who are oppressed

 

I had talked about this last week this has two meanings

 

– oppressed means to be pressed, pushed down or against, pressured

– it also means to be bruised like a stubbed toe

we can feel so pressed, burdened that everything is skewed by that pressure and we don’t even realize it.

The bruising is like a place in your head or heart that people keep hitting and every time they do it hurts you like the stubbed toe

6) To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord actually a more accurate translation would be the year of the Lord’s favor

 

– God’s favor means blessings in every way as you might suspect

– it also means

– rest

– joy

– answers to the questions

– insight and understanding into His word and character

– deep, intimate relationship

– the peace and assurance to know that nothing can or will happen to you apart from God

 

It doesn’t mean that you won’t go through struggles and trials but you can have the confidence God is with you.

All of this comes because we know the Lord and are filled with his Spirit.

All of this the Lord wants to do in us as the church and as I feel the Lord releasing me…like he did with broken-hearted today and oppressed last week (and this week by the way if you missed it)

If he does it in us first then we can bring this freedom to others.

Today if you have never been filled with the Holy Spirit or need a fresh infilling we are going to pray for you.

How do you know you have been filled with the Holy Spirit?

– Do you have a prayer language,

– Have you prophesied,

– Do you have real desire to share the Gospel these are generally some of the more normal signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit?

These are the “signs” we see in scripture for the fullness of the Spirit. When you are filled you natural desire is to want people to know the freedom you know

Please come

 

Dennis Cramer 10/14/2017

As you are looking for your “word” this is the order as you skim through to find yours

1) Denise Graves

2) Rachel Burgan

3) Amanda Burgan

4) Christopher Burgan

5) Jon Kozik

6) Matt Keffer

7) Chris Duranti

8) Stephen Mingrino

9) Kathleen Mingrino

10) Tom Rogers

11) Paula Kicinko

12) Joyce Vivio

13) Suzanne

14) Walter

15) Daryl Aitken

16) Sharon Doehne

17) Carrie Murt

18) Julie Anders

19) Kyla

20) Sydney

21) Kelly and Todd Clark

22) Stephen Mickey

23) Michele Petix

24) Joy Shutterly

25) Terri Pollok

26) Sarah Salay

27) Vicki Ellsworth

28) Tina Porter

29) David Orr

30) Cherie Orr

31) Sue

32) Lou

33) Tim and Lynn Nichols

34) Amanda Anders

35) Victoria Anders

36) Elizabeth Young

37) Tori (Joe Cervantes girlfriend)

It is time for fire – a frank talk to the church

Last Friday was amazing, and I really can’t get it out of my head.

 

I will pick up on the messes dirty laundry and real Christian life in a couple of weeks, but I need to expound upon some things that Ken shared over the services I was in with him and add what the Lord has been talking to me about for us.

 

God is breaking something loose here in our church, and I want to nurture that breaking loose

 

There are three critical elements that I want to prophetically speak to you about today…mainly because the Lord will not release me until I do

 

  • Preparation – I want us to go higher and deeper with expectation through the roof of what God is going to do every service

 

– There is a big difference between doing things for God and being with him – Mary Martha calling to be with him as we are preparing to come to church

 

-Jesus said something very distressing to the disciples John 16:5-7

 

“But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.

 

The Holy Spirit is here…He is not an it, and experience, a feeling, and emotion, a passing thought…He is a person…He is God, and He is with you, but at the same time there is a greater anointing in fellowship that’s why Jesus said Matthew 18:19,20

 

“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

 

In order for there to be agreement for this power there must be preparation of heart, mind, soul, …unity is intentional

 

For a priest to enter into the holy of holies several steps had to be taken

 

God was with the people of Israel always but to come into the most intimate of relationship with the Lord certain steps were taken

 

  • Priest was intentional about going in
  • Put on the right garments to come in….when you come to the church what are you wearing…not physically but the garment of praise, expectation, hunger, desire for Him or is it just common
  • He would bathe…are you washed by the word, have you bathed in prayer…are you really ready to come into His presence
  • He always brought an offering…you should never come to the Lord empty-handed but what I mean by this today is that you come ready to be completely surrendered to the Lord

 

Can you imagine what the Lord will do if every week we come with a hunger, expectation for Him..we have been faithful in the Word and prayer and without holding anything back we give everything to him…if so I believe we can expect the fire of God

 

Fire – this can come anytime we are gathered, prepared and ready for the move of God

 

I want us to look at three aspects of the fire of God

 

Fire that attracts and draws – Exodus 3:2,3

 

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

 

– the flames drew Moses nothing was burning but a flame was there….we will be normal nothing different but the firs of God in us will draw us to him and draw others to us

– People will naturally want to know what is going on as the fire burns

-People will see the flames from everywhere just as Moses was drawn

 

Fire that purifies – Matthew 3: 11,12

 

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

 

This references Malachi 3:2 where the God is speaking about Jesus purifying his people

 

“But who can endure the day of His coming?

And who can stand when He appears?

For He is like a refiner’s fire

And like launderers’ soap.

 

– As we draw into the presence of God, we won’t be able to help ourselves other than to be cleansed and challenged to purity and real holiness in the presence of God Isaiah 6:5-7

“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”

 

It is one thing to be filled with the Spirit it is quite another to move in the real power and anointing because you are walking purified before a holy God

 

Fire that brings power –

Acts 1:8

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 2:2-4

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.

 

What is the power for?

 

AS we recognize we have this power, we must take it and use it

 

  • Release –

 

both the priest in the Holy of Holies and the disciples filled with the Spirit were called, after being in the presence of God… to deliver what the Lord has given so everyone would know

 

I know we understand about the gifts and everything regarding the power, but I believe God is raising the church and our church in particular to impact everything…He said greater works would he do and here is part of what he fulfilled

 

Luke 4:18,19

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

 

Starts with preparation then the fire comes that attracts, purifies and empowers then we must take it change our world.

 

God give us the region, the broken, the hurting the captive, The state, the nation the world

 

Psalm 2:7,8

“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

Messes Dirty Laundry and the Real Christian Life Part 3 Sarah’s Story

Messes, dirty laundry, and the real Christian life Part 3

We all go through it…times when it seems impossible to believe something good from God

It often happens when God’s timing for something and our timing are not coordinated…God has a plan, and we have a plan, but we want God to fit into our plan

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah explaining this difference

Isaiah 55: 8,9

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

 

This isn’t about God spanking us for not trusting Him or having false expectations…He is merely challenging us to trust Him that He has an even better plan because he loves us

 

Disappointment sets in and disillusionment sets in because things didn’t happen our way so out of that can be the beginning of unbelief

 

Sarah was that way…she had trusted God in so many ways following her husband to a nowhere land was faith on her part then being told she was to be a mother in her old age was too much

 

Genesis 17: 15-19

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai, your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

 

Sara knew God had spoken that she would have a son, but her belief was not in the completeness of God’s plan but that she would have a son but she thought she had to figure out how she was going to make it happen

 

Genesis 16:1,2

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go into my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.”

 

A son was born, and Sarai despised Hagar and Ishmael because of it

 

– when we try to make things happen our way they are always a cheap imitation of what God wants

– it always leads to more disappointment and disillusionment

– God’s plans will always be fulfilled even if he has to make an attitude adjustment on us to do it but for them, it took 14 years

 

But God always shows up

 

Genesis 18: 10-12

And God said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

 

Let’s here Sarah’s point of view

 

Sarah….comes on stage laughing speaking to Abraham off stage

 

That was a good one Abe…I love to laugh after all laughter is good like a medicine…did anyone ever say anything to you that was so ridiculous that you had to laugh?I overheard God saying something to my husband that just cracked me up….don’t you judge me! Here is the story God showed up at our home, so I rushed to make lunch… at ninety rushing isn’t what it used to be…as I’m throwing lunch together feeling my age with every push of the bread dough…God said I was going to have a baby…I burst out laughing…I didn’t mean to, but it just happened….I’m 90 years old….it has been a very long time since there was any possibility of my becoming pregnant we gave up on that a long time ago…did I mention I was 90 years old…it was impossible, inconceivable and in all ways ridiculous but sure enough less than a year later my laughter turned into a bundle of joy (lovingly fondly remembering that moment…then realizing Ishmael had placed Isaac on a sheep and was getting ready to chase the sheep around the yard) Ishmael get your brother off of that sheep…I don’t care if you think it would be funny…he’s your little brother and you’re supposed to protect him….(to the audience)kids when will they ever stop tormenting each other.. (Sarah leaves stage still yelling at Ismael)

 

Unbelief steals life from us… God’s promises are always true he cannot fail or lie

 

Hebrews 6:18

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

 

When God’s word says something or God says something to you directly, he will always come through…but he does it His way.

 

One of the most significant hindrances to belief is not a lack of faith in God but questioning whether He will fulfill His promise, open the door, heal, deliver, or meet me…we know God can do it but will he do it for me

 

I know I say many times “God is always faithful” and it can feel trite when you are going through something, but the key to overcoming unbelief happens way before you feel unbelief but even in your unbelief you can apply it

 

Be in God’s word…all day long every day we are saturated with negativity, pessimism, anti-Christ attitudes, and thoughts…I would challenge you to become aware of how many songs you hear, news broadcast you hear, television programs and movies that all blast you senses with things that attack your faith and belief

 

Think about it

 

Here are two verses I want you to apply to your life that will overcome unbelief every time

 

Romans 10:17

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

 

Because we are so inundated with unbelief, counter thinking to God’s word we need to be in God’s word daily to stand on His truth every day and that helps to build our faith

 

1 Thessalonians 2:13

For this reason, we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

 

Paul is encouraging us with the understanding that we can have daily, weekly, and monthly encouragement from men and women of God speaking into our lives…Each week and actually if you are reading the “thought for the day” every weekday God gives me a word of challenge and/or encouragement for you that I don’t say this arrogantly I say it humbly I seek him for and to present to you…it would scare me to present on Facebook or in the pulpit a word that was simply from me under the guise of God. Paul is saying when we receive the teaching from a man or woman of God we can welcome it as the word of God and use it for our growth and to overcome all unbelief.

 

Hundreds of people from around the world read my blog, directly from the blog every day it is easy for you to think well it is just my Pastors thought for the day, but it is something that could change your attitude and help you overcome every day

 

The Pastors and other teachers that are here are all called by God to help you become the man or woman of God you are called to be

 

The key to the enemies’ game of creating unbelief is

 

– making you feel unvalued or unimportant

– keeping you away from God’s word, and dishonoring the people God has raised up to bring faith to you as well as swamping you with the daily dose of pessimism and negativity

 

It is a battle to overcome unbelief please understand this, that God loves and believes in you…you are extremely valuable to Him

Knowing this key to your life will help you understand that he will be faithful to you just because he loves you

 

Ten differences between Faith and Unbelief…they will be an encouragement for you

 

 

The Puritan writer John Bunyan listed 25 difference between faith and unbelief here are the ten that are most relevant 

 

  1. Faith sees more in a promise of God to help than in all other things to hinder. Unbelief sees more in the things that hinder than in God’s promise to help.
  2. Faith sees love in the heart of Christ when he speaks to reprove us. Unbelief sees anger in God’s heart when he says that he loves us.
  3. Faith gives comfort in the midst of fear. Unbelief brings fear in the midst of comfort.
  4. Faith helps the soul to wait when God defers giving. Unbelief takes the huff if God makes us tarry.
  5. Faith will suck sweetness even out of God’s rod, but unbelief finds no comfort even in his greatest mercies.
  6. Faith makes great burdens light. Unbelief makes light burdens heavy.
  7. Faith lifts us up when we are down, but unbelief throws us down when we are up.
  8. Faith brings us near to God when we are far from him. Unbelief puts us far from God when we are near to him.
  9. Faith purifies the heart. Unbelief keeps the heart impure.
  10. Faith finds the ways of God pleasant and admirable. Unbelief makes them heavy and hard.

 

 

 

Messes, Dirty Laundry, and the real Christian life Part 2

Today I want to cover another topic that many Christians deal with, they become overwhelmed by and the enemy keeps them trapped by and God wants to set people free today.

 

The enemy makes you feel like a failure but if you recognize the root of this situation you can use it not a deterrent to faith but as a stepping stone to it.

 

Let’s look revisit the hall of faith this week and look at our heroes

 

How can we ever live up to them?

 

Well let’s take a look at them

 

Hebrews 11:1-3, 7-10

 

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 7….By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

 

Abraham left everything to follow the call of God. Can you imagine one day saying to everyone you knew

 

 

 

  • We are packing up and leaving everything we know… business, family, friends
  • We don’t know where we are going but we will know when we get there
  • I don’t know how long we will travel and others will be living on our land but God is giving it to us
  • BTW I’m 75 years old and I’m going to be a father soon

 

That takes faith…amazing faith

 

Have you ever found yourself having great faith like this?

 

You see the Lord move in your life, you see an answer to prayer that really is a miracle.

 

But then something happens that hits you in your area of weakness

 

In the tradition of the Nomads if a man saw a woman he liked and she was the wife of another they would simply kill the husband and take the woman as their wife. Abraham had this nearly happen to him…twice

 

Genesis 20:1,2

Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, 2 Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

 

Let’s hear from Abraham

 

Abraham: I know I’m going to get killed this time…I got away with it once…those Egyptians they are all “wrath of Ra” kind of stuff so God was able to protect me there but this King Abimelech he is a different kind of guy….hey you (talking to the audience) don’t judgment me which one of you packed everything up and took all your stuff and your family 600 miles we aren’t talking planes trains or automobiles here we are talking…I heard from God, who by the way I never heard from before, we packed everything up my wife, staff, and all our stuff and left…see I am a man of faith, even a prophet…but this thing…oh why am I cursed with such a beautiful wife….this is real….God I’m going to die this time I just know it…(cell phone rings) “Hello, King Abimelech…your sending Sara back and you need me to pray for you…so you’re not going to kill me? I’ll be right there….(to audience) I knew it all along I knew God would protect…see ya got to go get my wife

 

Genesis 20:6,7

In the dream God responded to Abimelech, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

 

The devil knows our weaknesses perhaps even better than we do He knows what buttons to push..even though Abraham had lied he was still a prophet of God according to God

 

We have all been there one day we are floating on cloud 9 everything is going so well…we have mountain moving faith in operation it doesn’t seem like anything can stop us then WHAM!!! Something hits us and fear grips us and overwhelms us

 

Does that mean we are a failure? Does fear completely cancel out our faith?

 

We need to realize fear is really about a lack of control and God wants to show us how he can be in control of what is out of control.

 

I know this sounds weird but to me at times, fear can be a precursor to faith

 

From a positive side…anytime God asks us to do something new… there is always going to be a little bit of fear and trepidation.

 

The first thing the angel had to say to Mary Luke 1:30 was “Don’t fear” in Matthew 1:20 Joseph is told not to be afraid to marry Mary

 

Joshua is told by God as he takes the reigns of leadership Joshua 1:9

 

“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

 

But what if it is not doing something great for God but you are facing something the doctor says, a financial crisis, or any other way your world is falling apart…that doesn’t make you a bad Christian it just makes you someone who God is helping to get to the next level.

 

Fear is a choice….after the initial shock

 

When we are afraid we can choose to live there or we can choose to ‘fearfully and with great trepidation” choose to trust the Lord.

 

Fear can help us to see where we need the Lord the most

It can at times help us to grow in our faith

It can protect us from doing the wrong thing

It can cause us to stop and seek guidance and wisdom

 

The negative of fear is it is a reaction to our lack of trust in the Lord…but once again God knows we will go through this and is always prepared to help.

 

 

David was serving the Philistines and threatened by Saul. His enemies were all around him….he was afraid for very real reasons when he wrote

 

Psalm 56: 3,4

But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. 4 I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?

What can mere mortals do to me?

 

As I mentioned earlier with Joshua and Abraham all the great men and women of God faced fear, they struggled just like you and I but they didn’t push it down, ignore it or hide from it…they dealt with it head on.

 

I hope in this series if you get nothing else you begin to grasp that our messes and dirty laundry are nothing to hide from but to bring them to the light so they can be dealt with and we can grow

 

Notice how David handle his fear

 

  • took it to the Lord honestly telling Him he was afraid
  • In the midst of his fear he began to remember the promises of God and praise him for them
  • He reminded himself of who God is (in the midst of his fear)

 

The Lord did deliver, we know the story…he still went through some tough times but he kept coming back to trusting the Lord

 

Isaiah 41:10,13

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

 

For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

 

The enemies of Israel have just taken out everyone and God is reminding them that even though they went through this tough time if they choose to trust him as they have turned back to him he will never allow their enemies to defeat them again.

 

What fear are you facing right now?

– is it your future

– your finances

– health challenge

– your kids/family/marriage

 

When God told Israel through Isaiah that he was there to help here is what God promises when we are afraid the word “help” means

 

– to surround

– to protect

– to supply all that we need to overcome

 

Fear is very real and it is nothing to look down on yourself about or to feel defeated over.

 

Whatever you are going through God wants to help you

 

He sees your fear and understands it but also wants to help you through it

 

– be honest with God about how you feel

– Remember His promises to you if you do know any it is time to get into the Bible here are a few

 

Proverbs 3:25,26

So don’t be afraid of sudden disasters or storms that strike those who are evil. 26 You can be sure that the Lord will protect you from harm.

 

Psalm 23:4

I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I won’t be afraid. You are with me, and your shepherd’s rod makes me feel safe.

 

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

 

John 14:27

I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.

 

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

 

– Trust Him that He is going to come through for you despite your fear.

 

God doesn’t love you any less because you are battling fear…in fact He wants to draw even closer to you to surround you, protect you, and give you all you need

 

Will you let him today?

 

 

 

Messes, Dirty Laundry, and the real Christian life

Messes, dirty laundry and the real Christian life Part 1

 

Take a look around the church this morning….

What do you see?

Many people come into church after that have been through a rough week, month, or year and believe…everyone has their act together, everyone is so perfect

But if you really spent time with any family you would hear real stories of messes, dirty laundry and everyone learning to trust in God’s faithfulness on a daily basis.

 

The statement on the wall in the lobby says, “we do real” here and I know the enemy would like to condemn you, make you feel imperfect, make you feel as if you can never attain to being the person God has called us to be…

 

Even the Apostle Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament knew God had more work to do in him

 

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Philippians 3:12

But we have this hall of faith, this cloud of witnesses to live up to. How can we ever live up to them?

Well let’s take a look at them

 

Hebrews 11:1-7

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

 

Able and Enoch we really don’t know enough about for today’s teaching but Noah, we have a lot of information about.

 

Here is how we are introduced to Noah

 

Genesis 6:9

“This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.”

 

We know the story God was going to destroy everything Noah said no problem I’ll build an ark and the animals came two by two. Rain for 40 days and nights…He and His family were the only people left on the face of the earth.

 

Do righteous people, godly people do stupid things?

No, not truly righteous and godly people….well you better think again

 

Genesis 9:15

One day he (Noah) drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.

 

Let’s hear from Noah today

 

 

Noah comes walking on the stage obviously drunk maybe interacts with a few people

 

Noah: Ok…OK don’t judge me, the grapes just got a little fermented who knew they would taste that good…For a little over a year I shoveled manure, lived in a cramped space with every animal DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT’S LIKE?….lions roaring, kangaroos hopping, skunks spraying… you get the picture. Starting out the new life I had a little trouble, not as good with raising pigs as I thought…I thought I’ll talk to Joe the pig farmer then I remember Joe’s dead…ran into the same problem with shearing the sheep…never did it before would like to have asked Earl the shepherd how to do it but Earl’s dead…don’t get me wrong (Noah still staggering and slurring his words) I’m so grateful God protected me and my family…I love Him you know…I just miss everyone so much I have PFTD you know that’s Post Flood Traumatic Disorder it makes it hard to cope. (Noah makes his way back to the prayer room and passes out there at end of lines, no one can see) Excuse me I think I’m going to be sick and pass out now, just not sure which I’m going to do first. Wow, these clothes are really uncomfortable!

 

OK, OK we don’t know exactly why Noah got drunk just he was still a righteous man…did he get drunk all of the time? No, but any of us can blow it, grief does funny things to people

 

As Christians when we lose a loved one, lose a job, lose a friendship, go through a divorce, have a miscarriage, lose a dream, or some other devastating thing, grief can set in.

 

We want to put on the smiling face and just get through it or we want to break down and cry, get angry, or just get depressed for a while then we feel guilty or others make us feel guilty for not being the “good Christian”

 

That being a good Christian thing is what trips us up. Perfection is sometimes what we believe we are to obtain but that is not God’s plan for us…His plan is for us to become perfect in him and that only happens by learning to be real, honest, and surrendering daily to Him.

 

Being a good Christian means going through stuff, letting God be God in our lives

 

Let me ask you something

 

Is the Bible God’s word?

 

Is everything in the Bible true?

 

If so then let’s look at what the Bible has to say

 

When I am counseling people who have just lost a loved one I will remind them of Jesus words.

 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4

First, something we need to realize it is OK when we have a loss, regardless of what it is or how important or unimportant it may seem to others it is OK to mourn that loss

 

Mourning here means to experience great loss. It is not “Christian” to hide the pain and hurt of the loss…it is Christian to walk it through and trust the Lord to bring the comfort

 

Jesus is saying here in “Blessed” “how fortunate are those that mourn” why because as we mourn, whatever the loss is, we will have the Holy Spirit meet us in a very real place and He can in our pain, despite our pain, through our pain pour the fruit of the Spirit to get us through it.

 

Speaking of getting through it Remember Isaiah 43:2

 

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,”

 

Being a Christian does not mean that we go through life oblivious to pain, struggle or trial. Can you imagine what Noah and his family went through in very practical ways….

 

-what do you feel like with just one rainy day let alone 40

– what would it feel like that everyone you knew was dead mother, father, aunts, uncles, neighbors

– living in a confined space with all those animals and their bodily fluids and cleaning constantly, feeding nonstop, and the noise

– We know when they got off of the ark, they had no idea how many months days or years it would be

 

We sometimes mourn things thinking we have missed God’s plan when in reality what we are going through, as uncomfortable as it may seem, is God walking us through the fire and the flood.

 

God does not normally cause things, we would interpret as bad to happen but if we are willing, He will use them to give us strength, wisdom, courage and to help us build trust with Him.

 

Don’t allow anyone to belittle your grief…don’t feel you are not a good Christian because you are grieving some kind of loss…instead, use your time of grieving to allow the Lord to teach you more about himself.

 

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

 

In the midst of our loss, our sense of grief, our mourning the Lord can be there and minister to you when you are ready and when you are willing…he can teach you about His strength, His help and watch and learn what it is to walk in His righteousness.

 

In the middle of your loss, he will come and bring life to you when you feel the most at loss

 

Psalm 119:50

Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.

 

Grief over a job loss, dream loss, a loved one, a baby, a relationship, or anything is real and Christians even good ones go through it but that is the point of it we must allow the Lord in His gentle, unique way to take us through it and then walk us out of it.

 

Hebrews 4:15,16

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

 

He gets it…He really does…The enemy also gets it and wants to keep you there…there is an appropriate time for grieving, mourning, and feeling the loss and then it is time…because He understands exactly what we are going through to allow him to start lifting us out of it pouring out the grace that we need

 

Today we want to do that…if you are ready then we want to pray that the Lord lifts you out of that burden you have been carrying for so long

 

BUT

If you aren’t ready…that’s OK come and allow someone to pray with you that you can sense his comfort with you right this moment right in your grief and so you can sense His help, His strength, His love, Jesus wept with those that mourned once the weeping was done He took action…let us help you get through the mourning

 

If you are feeling depressed, angry, frustrated, loss, confusion, all of these may be signs of mourning Come let the Lord meet you there!

 

 

 

 

 

Who are you really?

Who are you really?

 

a teaching that should radically change your view of who you are

 

We are told by people everyday who we are some emphasize our failures and make us feel small and useless and some emphasize our successes and make us feel good but it creates in us a performance mentality make us feel if we don’t keep performing we will not be loved and accepted.

 

God sees us differently and today I want you to see what the Word says God sees who you are!

 

Even if you have been walking with the Lord for a long time you may need to be reminded of what God’s word says rather than what people say

 

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: John 1:12

Such a simple verse sounds very “yes that’s nice”, sort of vanilla

What this verse says is that you have no reason for failing to become a success….you have so much more going for you according to this verse than you know!!!

Ok don’t look at me like that….you believe God’s Word, the Bible is true right???

While our translations are correct sometimes the emphasis is not what it should be as we read the text.

Have you received him?

What Paul is saying is

 

– Have you realized you are a sinner in need a savior?

– Have you realized you are at your greatest when you decrease and He increases?

– Have you realized your goodness is not good enough?

– Have you said, “Jesus I give you control”?

– Is He in control of your job, attitude, finances, future, and family?

 

If these things are applicable to your life, if you are daily trying to walk this kind of walk then you have welcomed Jesus into your life and are daily choosing to follow Him….you have received Him!

 

Are we all good with that? Everybody good?

 

Say with me “I’ve received Jesus!”

 

What does John say next “to them He gave the right to become children of God”

 

Another vanilla thought, nothing exciting except what it really says

 

The word translated here “right” is the Greek word “exousia” which means delegated power, delegated authority, or influence.

 

The moment you received Christ, the moment you invited Him to take control of your life He delegated to you the power to become a Child of God.

 

Stop for a moment and think about this…at that very moment He delegated all of the power, authority and divine influence that is in the name of Jesus, into your life

 

So don’t ever allow anyone to make you think you are weak, useless, less than what you are. You have the power and authority of the Almighty God living in side of you daily working in you to fulfill your destiny and to impact the world!!!

 

Say with me…I am walking in power and authority

 

That same explosive, phenomenal, amazing power and authority that was resident in Jesus lives in you (I need an explosive fireworks video here)

 

So what’s holding you back???

 

I know stuff…stuff from your past, from what you believe about yourself, stuff other people have said about you

 

I’ve got more good news….let’s look at one other verse

 

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.

 

Ok we just got done saying we have all received him right?

 

The word used here “Kainos” which we are translating as “new” means brand new, recently made and it also means something that was made superior.

 

See when you came to Christ he made you absolutely completely new you are not your old self you have been made into something superior to your old self

 

Say with me “that’s amazing!

 

Then you add to that the word translated “creation” which carries the same meaning as the creation of the world. The Holy Spirit is telling us as the universe was created out of something that had not existed we are not a revised version, corrected version of our selves or even and improved version we are totally and completely new.

 

None of our failures, nothing anyone has defined us by, nothing from before we came to Jesus matters. You are a completely brand new creation in Christ nothing that happened before you came to Jesus matters

 

Why do we allow it to hurt us, feel the weight of it, because the devil has convinced us this amazing miracle has not really taken place but to the father it has!!!

 

Think about it…what is holding you back from fulfilling you destiny, purpose, or walking in freedom? None of it has any right to limit you!

 

When Christ came to you and you received Him he created you to be free from your past, free from all the family drama you went through, liberated from all your former hang-ups

 

You can….

 

So stop laying claim to your family’s genetic problems, inheritable sicknesses, dysfunctional behavior, disorders, hang-ups, curses, or any other negative thing that was a part of your life before Christ. That old person no longer exists. They are dead. You are brand new.

 

Let me take you today to one more verse

 

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

 

This verse is saying on the day you came to Christ God put forth all of his creative artisanship to create you in to a most beautiful masterpiece.

 

There is nothing cheap about you…when you received Christ all of God’s creativity, wisdom, intelligence artistry went into making you completely new.

 

No one has any right to call you or define you as dumb, stupid, a failure, to beat you up with your past. According to the scripture all of those things are lies, false feelings you are utterly and completely new.

 

As a Christian every time we ask for forgiveness it is all new as well!

 

But I still feel like a failure?

I still am acting like my unsaved self or I carry the things from my Father or Mother

I am constantly reminded of my former self

 

All I can tell you is what God’s word says…You must make the choice to believe it and allow The Holy Spirit’s power to transform you to come into alignment with God’s Word

 

God holds his word above his name and what I have described for you today is really who you are!!!

 

Are you ready to believe it?

 

– You have been delegated all of the power and authority in Christ to accomplish all He has called you to do

 

– You are nothing like your old self you are completely brand new made out of new stuff

 

– Not only are you made out of new stuff but you are a masterpiece work of the Father’s hand exactly what the world needs to bring them to freedom

Is that amazing or what?

 

Not feeling it? Great that is why I was given this to teach, God wants you there come today and allow someone to pray for you and allow the Lord to put these verses to work in your life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing for what’s next

Preparing for what’s next

I believe the Lord is going to bring great success to our church families, the Valley, our state, and nation

I believe as you begin to apply the things we have been learning through the teaching, your reading your daily devotions, your time in prayer every day God is giving us success

WE see it in the miracles we hear the Lord is performing here, every week someone shares with me the impact the service had on their lives, and I hear from many of you how the Lord has used you to touch hearts and lives….that is really a large portion of the purpose of church to equip you to impact the world.

The Lord is moving us on to success and blessing for what He has in store for us next…The position and authority he has called us to, but we must not neglect what He is doing in us now and especially not neglect what God is doing in you now.

WE begin this morning with a promotion story

Joshua 1:2

“Moses My servant is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 

God speaks to Joshua directly for the first time….He has promoted him and promises great success

Joshua’s preparation for leadership and success was built over time 40 years to be exact

I believe as we look at Joshua’s preparation we can learn how to be a success and prepare for the next steps

In the chronology of the Bible, we first see Joshua here

Exodus 17:9

And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”

Somewhere along the line Joshua was trained to be a soldier. He used those skills to honor the Lord.

Many want God to pour all kinds of blessings on them. We want to see God move in our lives. God may have even placed a desire or a dream in your heart. Joshua shows us first how to begin to see that fulfilled it is all a matter of choosing to trust

1) Joshua trusted in the gifts and skills God gave him

 Joshua served the Lord with what the Lord had given him…

One of the odd things I see about human nature is that the things that come easiest to us we don’t seem to value….we want to do something else that seems in our eyes harder or more valuable in some way and in some ways it is more valuable to us because we don’t have the skills

People who come by being a parent easily don’t think anything of it

Ron or Dean with dry wall and mudding they have done it so much

Even one of the greats in baseball Roberto Clemente, in an interview about his greatness he simply said, “I love baseball, and I come to play!”

If we choose to recognize that anything we can do, is a skill and a gift and every good gift comes from God then….

Do what you can to the best of your ability, and it will honor God

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might.” 

In preparing for what’s next, we need be faithful to use what God has given us now!

2) We see Joshua trusting in the people God has placed to mentor Him!

Joshua’s hope was not in the perfection of Moses but in Moses love of the Lord

Exodus 24:13,14

So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”

Moses and Joshua leave the people in the hands of Aaron and Hur and head up the mountain of God.

Moses had the advantage of being in the presence of God for the 40 days he was up there….Joshua was alone feeling nothing from God, seeing nothing from God. He may have even been fasting like Moses

His hope was in trusting God, in Moses. He knew he was called to serve and didn’t doubt that call…No one will ever be a good leader until they learn to be a good servant…God will never trust someone with authority who doesn’t know how to work under authority

Romans 13:1-5

For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 

God places authority into our lives to help make us the best we can be

– Protect us – helping us to see what we sometimes can not see ourselves, literally defending us at times, spiritual authority protects by helping us understand God’s word, call to living, and His commands and praying for us.

– Present truth – often we do not want to see the truth we would rather deceive ourselves to save ourselves from pain…Unless we deal with the truth, the pain may be worse later… It is like when you do not discipline your children because it is hard on your heart or too wearying, later they end up not getting a solid career, into the right school, or even end up in trouble with the law…Speaking truth lovingly saves us pain

there is also a very positive side of authority speaking the truth and that is when the devil has lied to us and tried to tear us down, robs us of our hope and dreams…those in authority can speak life back into us…The truth of God’s word and restore hope

– Challenge and cause growth – the authority in our lives like our Fathers and Mothers is meant to push us to grow…To challenge us to become everything we are called to be. We will only grow to our fullest by having the authority train and challenge us one of the greek meanings behind this is the training of a vine, so it will produce more fruit.

When it came time for Joshua to lead, Moses and the Lord knew he could be trusted to obey the instruction of the Lord because he learned first to obey the instructions of the man of God, God had placed over him

He trusted in the presence of God

Exodus 33:11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant  Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

This takes a faith walk to believe that God is real and that He created you for a purpose…That faith walk in order to be a great leader needs to grow into knowledge

Proverbs 2:5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

We must have a real life knowledge of God to moves us to the next place to know as Hebrews writes that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, to know that He is good, to know that He is, to know that he is real, powerful, present, he knows everything.

This is only developed by spending time with Him. Joshua was not satisfied with having a relationship with the Lord only through Moses; he wanted a real relationship with him in person where he got to know the Lord and his ways

Psalm 103:7 says He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

Joshua wanted to know God not just what he could do

When you understand who God is you are ready for promotion insecurities and fear fade away…By knowing who God is, it is easy to discover who you are and your gifts and call…you can stand up for anything and also stand against anything

He trusted in the word of God

This is probably the most famous story of Joshua’s life

Numbers 14:6-9

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

God had promised Israel a land of their own. He did not say how they would get it. Every promise of God was just as He said but they had to fight to get the promise….God knew there were giants and high walled cities, rivers to cross, mountains to traverse when He promised the land.

To move into the next step, you must trust God at his word for the first step.

First missions trip God told me to go….no permissions, no plans, no meetings set up, no hotel or transportation arrangements and me responsible for $50K of equipment I learned to rely on the Lord rather than my abilities

Shot video on the great wall BBC paid 100K for permission, met numerous persecuted Christians met the head of the three self-church, had the military always two steps behind us…there was no communication back home.

Joshua saw the problems but believed in the promise more than the problem…

Are you prepared for what’s next?

– When the Lord can trust you to use what you have

– When He can trust you to trust Him that he placed the leadership over you

– When he can trust you to get to know Him

– When He can trust you to trust Him at His word

Then you are ready…you may say I’m too old, too settled, too comfortable…you can make excuses all day, but until you are dead God has a NEXT plan for you if you the next plan is death, don’t you want to go see Him and have Him say “well done?”…why waste time…prepare for what’s next