I want to encourage you today with what I believe the Lord is doing
Isaiah 60:2-3
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Jesus called us, “the light of the world” our light doesn’t come from our skills, abilities, personalities, or any of our gifts really but it comes from our surrendering to Him, giving up worry, fear, anxiety for the choice of trusting Him completely so then through our skills, talents, and abilities the world can see our light…we are in the world but are beyond it….
Jesus in His high priestly prayer in John 17: 14-16 said this
I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
You and I are beyond this world, Jesus is praying for us that the evil one, the one who moves in deception, the one who is pure evil, rebellion and sin, the one who hates God and you and me that he would have no place in our lives…why? So we can always be beyond this life, above it, filled with joy, peace, love and so much more and lead others to that same place….confusion is what Satan does best and the Lord has prayed that we would be delivered from him…
In my prayer time this week with Mark I felt the Lord reminding me of something……
Haggai 2:5-9
’My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.’ 6 “For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 8 The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 9 The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
God, I believe even in the midst of all the confusion and struggles, wants to make the glory greater here than in the past….what does that mean, that the fulfillment of His words over this place….
First those of you that have seen God really move in the past, what was that like? Take a moment to remember the former glory….Why did he stop…lots of reasons but what I think he wants for our corporate worship now is….
it will be a place of peace, life, hope, a place where people will gather from all around the world, a place where God is continually honored and His people are continually blessed. When you come here or are part of this family you will “feel” His presence always, giving you the confidence, success, love, peace and joy in all you do.
I get that the news and life just make it wearisome for some of you…as I was praying I have a passage of scripture for all of those who are burned out, weary of the news, masks, COVID, the border and everything else yelled and screamed about daily from offices to the media
Isaiah 40:28-31
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of His understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
The key is trusting the Lord….but how do we do that…..the scripture tells us the way we think is the way we will become so the first thing we do is change our thinking
We have to read, know and believe God’s word
-Nothing is impossible for Him
– All things are possible through Him
– His ways are higher than our ways
– He is sovereign (God has got it all)
We have to believe that he will always be there for us so that we never feel alone
John 12:20-21
Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration 21 paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.”
When these Greeks came to Jesus, they were a different race, a different culture, may have been even a different religion but Jesus did not refuse them, he saw them
You are children of God; He will never refuse your prayers
He is always with you
You are never alone
If He is for you, who can possibly be against you
He has given you power to bring peace, life, hope, healing to every situation
We often wonder will our prayers be answered does God really care about what I am worried about….Jesus answers that I believe in the way He treats a leper in Matthew 8:1-3
When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Jesus had just been in prayer, after leaving and coming back a leper approaches him full of belief…I know you can do this if you want
When we are worried and concerned about so many things God wants to take care of them, no matter how large or small….Jesus even told us that God cares for the sparrow, the flowers and so many other things and they don’t have to worry about getting their needs met, God will do it for them…
Guess what? You are more important than they are….
I challenged you last week to come and get prayer for whatever was blocking you from being who God had called you to be to get prayer so that you could change your world…Today, let’s let God deal with the stuff…to secure you….to give you the confidence you need to be who God has called you to be, to change your world, that He really is going to take care of you regardless of the stuff….will you do that today, will you believe that today, so we can be the light he has called us to be….will you recognize was has been stealing your joy, your hope, your peace and allow the Lord to refresh you…its up to you this morning