The Shadow Casters 

Shadows are created when something is blocking the light. If there is something the light cannot pass through, darkness is created and we call it a shadow.  Anger, lust, jealousy, fear, unbelief, worry, greed, etc. are shadow casters, because they block the light of God from shining through us. These shadows, block our fellowship with one another, they also keep us from being the light in the world which God has commissioned us to be…Satan knows that if we will just be the light, folks that are lost and floundering, will find their way. So he’s committed to blocking the light, using every means he can to keep folks in the shadows.

Light does not cast a shadow. When light shines upon light, it only intensifies the brightness. I don’t believe Jesus’ resurrection body cast a shadow, because the light was able to pass through Him. Remember, He was able to pass through the wall and enter the room where the disciples were gathered. “It says He appeared in the midst of them, the door being locked”… The bible tells us He is the light, and there is no darkness in Him.

So when Jesus rose from the dead, light was shining through light.

John 1:6 “If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. v7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light,  walk we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin”.                         

Our challenge as those who walk in the light, is to get rid of as many shadow casters as we can as His light reveals them to us..His Truth eliminates the shadow casters, and we are able to reflect His light.                                                                                              

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. 14 A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a cover. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the area”. 

As a kid, I used to love horror movies about werewolves. And mummies, and monsters, and oh yeah, vampires. I would stay up late on Friday night and then be afraid to go to bed, because they were going to come into my room and eat my flesh and drink my blood…. Silly kid to choose to torture myself like that…. But one thing I learned, is that if a vampire came after me, the light would keep them back. I learned that they vaporize in sunlight. You have to fight them with the light… I never had to face a vampire with this knowledge, (thank God) but the principle is very real. You see, I stepped into a shadow world and allowed the shadows of fear to get in me and block the light of His presence and His peace…I have repented and broken the power of those things in my past.

Things that block the light, and cast shadows in our lives, are destroyed when we stand in the pure light of God!                                                                                         James 1:17. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no changing or shifting shadows.”

Darkness cannot overwhelm the light, it can only cast shadows.                                                               Satan knows that God’s light of Holiness, Righteousness, Integrity, Faith, love, Forgiveness, Grace and Mercy, is far greater than anything He has to resist it with.                          

So we must give our permission, to shadow casters, and embrace and nurture anger, lust, jealousy, fear, unbelief, worry, revenge, greed, and doubt, so that the light which is greater than darkness, is blocked from shining through us. He can’t cancel the light, he can only block it or cover it from shining….

Putting your light under a bushel, or cover, is about secret sins, unrighteous habits, and patterns in our lives that block the light from shining there….

In one of the national zoos, there is an area called– “The House of Night.” It’s a place where creepy and crawly creatures that dwell in the night crawl and fly about. She said that one day, when she stepped into the exhibit, it was immediately total darkness. And then… a small hand grabbed hold of hers. She smiled and asked “And who do you belong to?” The little boy quietly said: “I belong to you till these lights come on.” 

We don’t have to be afraid of the shadow casters that may have found their way into our lives. They are defeated by the Light of God.  John 1:6 told us that If we walk in the light, He cleanses us from all of sin’s shadow casters!!

We should be able to say to all the shadow casters, what David said to the Giant shadow caster, Goliath.                                                                    “I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down that all may know that that the battle is the LORD’s.

David was declaring that the light was greater than the darkness!

Daniel was in the den of lions, He was declaring that the light is greater than darkness

The Hebrews in the fiery furnace declared that the light is greater than darkness…

When Moses faced the Pharaoh, Light defeated darkness….           MARTIN LUTHER IN 1517, ONCE COMMENTED THAT, "FAITH IS A MATTER OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS." IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS ONE THING TO SAY "THE LORD IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD"; IT’S ANOTHER TO SAY, "THE LORD IS MY LIGHT."

All the shadow casters that ever existed, cannot defeat the light of God in You!!

David simply says "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadows, (Oh, there were things that wanted to block the light) I will fear no evil for You, Oh Lord, are with me!!!

I have a GPS in my phone. If there is a place I want to get to, I just say the name and street, and BAM!!! It shows a map to get me there. My phone won’t show me, unless I give it the information it needs…. God already knows where you need to be, before you knew it. He knows how to get you there if you ask Him.

Job 23:10 “He knows the way I take, when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. 11 My feet have followed in His paths, I have kept His way without turning aside”. 

Job showed us that light is greater than the shadows which came his way…..Shadows are proof in themselves, that the light is shining….

A young mother was putting her daughter to bed one night. Her husband was gone and they were there all alone. The moon was out, the wind was howling and lightning was flashing in a frightful way. The daughter was becoming frightened and asked her mother if the moon was God's night light. "Yes, dear," the mother replied.

She asked, "Does God turn out his light when he goes to sleep”? "No honey, she said, God never sleeps." Hearing that, the little girl quietly said: "Well then, if God's going to stay up all night, there's no sense both of us being awake." And with that, the little girl turned over and fell asleep." Her trust in God’s light was greater than her fear of the shadows!

II Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound (so-fron-is-mos'…. Self disciplined, enlightened) mind”.

A lot of people are wrestling with shadows…. They have done all they know to do to be successful, yet they remain in a place of constant struggle. The promise of full life has remained elusive for them; their children are in rebellion, their marriage is unstable and sicknesses has becoming a vicious cycle in their lives. Just when they think they’ve got one thing worked out, other things get out of control. They are constantly struggling with something they cannot seem to identify. They come so close, they’re almost there, they’ve nearly got it, but it just stays beyond their reach. It’s called wrestling with shadows….

We can get distracted by these shadow casters….. and find ourselves doing things we never thought we would ever do…..as an example of this… I remember one Sunday night after a Sunday night service, we got so involved with fellowship, and closing up the church, that when we got home, someone said, “Where’s Chris”? We searched the house, looked in the car, and realized he had been left behind at the church. I rushed back, unlocked the door, and found him sound asleep in the very last pew. He never even knew He has been forgotten! We got distracted with other things and didn’t take care of the main thing.   

The next scripture gives us an inside look at what causes us to get off track and over into majoring on minors….struggles that cause us to  fall short in spiritual fulfillment.

Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters, (who have absolute ownership and power over them) for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and (any other absolute owner) ”.

What is being described here is a state of mind called “double -minded”

A double minded person cannot be totally committed to anything. Because their struggle comes from the indecision about who they will ultimately serve and give the right of ownership to their lives. 

Here’s another scripture which describes the source of the struggle…

1 Corinthians 10:21 “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too”. 

This is really about light and darkness. We cannot walk in the light and walk in darkness at the same time, they are opposites and contradict one another….

We should be like plants that are drawn to the light. They will twist and bend to get to the light. They will even grow sideways in order to get in the light and out of the darkness. We should be the same way and what ever it takes, we want to be in the presence of the one who is the light of the world. 

The children were doing a presentation for the church’s children day celebration. A little boy forgot his lines in the presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son's memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered to help him, "I am the light of the world.? The child beamed and with great feeling and in a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world.?

Light can shine in darkness without being defiled by it….

So if we’re struggling and don’t seem to be able to break through or break free… we may be wrestling with things from the spiritual shadow world, which we have given a place to and these shadow casters are blocking the light. They need to be removed so we can receive the blessing and come into the place of God’ calling in our lives….

Let me give you some brief examples without getting too deep, and keep it at a very applicable level….

Scripture tells us that if we honor our father and mother, we will be satisfied with long life…. So disrespect and dishonoring our parents will create a struggle between light and dark, because this becomes a light blocker which will set up a struggle in our family and relationships…. (can anyone see this)… Once you give up territory to the devil, by eating at his table, and opening yourself to rebellion, unforgiveness and vindictive attitudes, not to mention disobedience to God’s commands.

Let’s look at another one…. Sexual perversion, pornography, lust and unnatural desires, is drinking from the cup of the dark Lord, Satan. As far as the Bible is concerned, it opens a person to shadow casters, and causes them to wrestle and struggle with shadows that keep blocking the light in their life.                            

2 Timothy 2:21 “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts and passions, Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Keep companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts”. 

Why do some people enjoy the blessing of the Lord on a constant basis, while others are constantly struggling and never coming into the blessing?

Stealing from God and man, sets up folks to wrestle with the shadow casters, who are always blocking their light. We steal from God by not honoring Him with the tithe, and we steal from our fellow man, by not honoring their possessions and their space. 

People who don’t pay their bills are actually thieves. They were given credit or a loan with the promise to pay, but when they don’t, they have taken what doesn’t belong to them. 

Holy Spirit spoke to me once when we were struggling to pay our bills and keep our head above water. I saw something that I wanted and was going to buy it, when Holy Spirit said, “If you buy that, you’re using money that is not yours without their permission” “WHAT?”….. Well, if I couldn’t pay my bills because I bought that thing…. Then I was using money that wasn’t mine to purchase it. I was stealing…. 

Romans 13:8, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law (or pays their vows)."

When we violate this principle, we set up a conflict between light and darkness in our lives. And those shadows will keep blocking the light from multiplying our seed, and increasing our harvest. A vicious cycle will be set up that will produce a cycle of defeat.

Our heavenly Father wants to break the cycle of wrestling and struggling and making little or no headway….

Some great news is found in Colossians 2:14-15 says, “For He has blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”                                                                               It may be that folks allow self defeating patterns to continue in their life because they don’t understand the value of what the Lord offers them…and all they have to do is reach out and take it….                             A man once robbed a bank in Ottawa, Canada, stealing $6,000. But the interesting part of the story is this: When they arrested him and took him to jail, they discovered he had used a 1918 Colt revolver to commit that crime. Now, anyone who knows anything about guns already understands the point of this story. This colt revolver was valued at more than $100,000, yet this man robbed a bank for only $6,000. He could have simply sold the gun he used for the robbery and walked away with more than ten times what he got in the robbery. But he didn’t sell the gun because he didn’t know the worth of what he already had.

1 John 3:8 “He that commits sin has yielded power to the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the power of the evil one”.

Where there is the fruit of pride, rejection, covetousness, envy, rebellion or anything that is a shadow caster, and light blocker, there are roots that are nourishing and feeding it. What if Jesus turned to you like He did to Peter, and said “Get thee behind me Satan”… Woah! Peter didn’t realize he was being used of Satan, but he was….

It’s not about a certain thing or sin, it’s about the power we give Satan to block God’s blessing from coming into our lives. We’re giving Satan the club he is beating us with….

As I was sharing this morning, if anything I have mentioned brought back the memory of a time when you allowed the light blockers and the shadow casters, to enter and keep the light of God from bringing His full blessing, then we’re going to pray a prayer together right now, and break that cycle, and command the blockers to leave, because their power is broken from this day on…It’s like turning on the lights and watching the darkness flee from the room.

Matthew 4:16 “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." 

So whatever it is, if down deep inside you feel there is something preventing you from receiving and walking in the promise God has made to all His children… pray with me….We’re going to get serious here…God wants you to be free! He who the Son sets free is FREE indeed!

(Lay your hand on your chest, as we all pray together)

Lord Jesus, I repent of anything I have done which has given the enemy any power or authority in my life. I refuse to let the light blockers any longer to have power and authority to keep messing with my blessing, in the name of Jesus.

I choose to stand in the light of God where there is no darkness and no shadows. I cancel all satanic claims against me, my health, my family, and any blessing God has for me, in the name of Jesus.

I break off every addictive behavior, and any activity or pattern which is opposing me in my walk with the Lord, in the name of Jesus.

I bind the spirit of death and hell, that wants to kill my dreams, my hopes and my future, and stop my walk with the Lord, in the name of Jesus. I pull out the root, so the fruit can no longer grow. I break the power of every dark force that is trying to make a claim upon my life, I send you back where you came from, in the name of Jesus.

I crush the head of any spirit of deception, fear, intimidation and compromise, in the name of Jesus. I erase every accusation of the accuser that has been sent against me and I cancel it by the blood of Jesus. I call upon the fire of the Holy Spirit, to begin to burn in my body, and burn up every connection, every link, and every cord which the enemy has used against me, in the name of Jesus.

I break every generational curse, every dark force, every stronghold, and every net from the past that wants to entangle me, in the name of Jesus.

Now, I thank you, I praise you, and I exalt you Father, in Jesus’ name. For He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. 

Jesus said “Call and I will answer you and show your great and mighty things which you cannot imagine”…

So come on, let’s give Him the kind of praise that believes things have been broken off, and things have been opened up so the blessing that has been hindered can now come and rest upon His people….

Calling All The Gatekeepers

As I think of gatekeepers, I think first of those who bring race horses into the gates, and calm them to prepare them for the race, I also think of those who are the flagmen for Jets on aircraft carriers as they are launched from the gate and off the carrier.

I want to use as my launch scripture for the message today….

Psalms 24:7  Lift up your heads, O you gates (gates don’t have heads, people do) and be lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. v8  Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

The Hebrew word which is used here for gates, is “Shoh-are” and it means “One who escorts, ushers, or brings you in… One who guards the gate” The Hebrew word for “Doors” which is used here is “the place of entering in, or brought it”….
As we stand at the gates of this new season in our lives, we not only look at the things coming our way, but we look above and beyond them, to the one who has planned for all things to work out to thegood of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes and plans. 

There are things that will frighten us and things that will excite us in this coming season, but as His children, we know that they will all have to pass through His hands first.

Maybe the Lord will return before the year is out and maybe not…..But whether He returns or not, we are called upon to “occupy until He comes”

Revelation 12:11 says that just like we have now overcome, we will continue to overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.

What do you see? Our perception of what is ahead, becomes ourreality, and powers our faith or our fears for what is coming in the days and weeks ahead! It determines whether we achieve or not, whether we move ahead, stay where we are with no progress, or go backward…                                                                          There are three kinds of people, those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who stand around wondering what happened.

Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said unto Moses, why do you cry unto me? speak unto the people, that they go forward. (That’s what faith does) Faith keeps moving forward, following His voice and His leading.Sometimes you have to command yourself to do what you don’t feel like doing. I have to command myself every morning! Your body is not who you are, Who you are lives in that body! I have to command my mind, my emotions, and my will, by my redeemed spirit….(look at this)

Luke 9:62 And Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit (yoo'-thet-os…positioned or well placed) to (benefit or receive the benefits of) the kingdom of God. When you’re plowing, you first position yourself by looking across the field and targeting where you want to end up and you keep your eye on that spot. Otherwise your row will be anything but straight. It will be all over the place….

The truth is that we can have whatever He wants us to have if we are willing to surrender, to His plow, and we can accomplish whatever is in our hearts, if we want it badly enough to give it all up if He asks us to…and if we are completely convinced it can be done with God as our helper, there is no power that can stop us!You gotta know when to hold up, know when to fold up, know when to walk away, know when to run…..

I’ve said it many times and I will repeat it again…We have been given 4 phase power…. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you”…..The 4 Greek words for power are, Dunamus, Ischus, Exeusia, Kratos…. The power to overwhelm what is trying to overwhelm you…(Dunamus) The power to cause little to become much… little is big…(Ischus) The power of delegated authority. When He sends us He backs us up fully.….(Exeusia) The power of invincibility..If He has sent us nothing can stop us (Kratos) If He says you’re going to the other side, it’s a done deal, no matter what stands in the way! He empowers who He sends!

It’s easy to look at how much better someone else has it….It’s easy to blame someone or something else, for our lack of success or progress... but in the end, we need to take personal responsibility for climbing up to our own full potential. In Christ we are tapped into power from on high!                                                                                       Colossians 3:1 So, if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things which Christ has provided. v2 Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on above all this- that's where the action is. See things from His perspective.

Gate Keepers see the bigger picture….We need to see things from the vantage point of where Christ is seated, and look at that which is far above what we see in the temporary realm! Because of that we don’t get locked into the moment. The past is the place we are getting ready to leave….God’s new beginning is the place we’re going…..and we have the road map, called the Bible, full of all the information we need.

A wealthy man and his wife, looked around the table at his family who had gathered for the family meal. "Boy, he said, “I do not have a single grandchild," and he gave a big sigh. "Listen everyone, I'll give a million dollars to the first one of my kids, who presents me with a little one to bounce on my knee this year…... Now, let's all say grace before we eat." When the old man opened his eyes from prayer, his wife was the only other person at the table.

(It’s amazing what the right motivation will accomplish)

Ralph Waldo Emerson…..”Write it on your heart that every day you live is the best day of the year”.

Steven Spielberg….None of us, by the end of the year, are ever really the same person who entered the year.

Tom Peters….This year, celebrate and showcase everything that you want to see more of in the rest of your life.

Jonathan Edwards….My first life commitment is that I will live for God. My second life commitment is that If no one else lives for God, I will anyway.

When Jacob stopped running and began to seek after God and walk in obedience to the Lord,  Genesis 28 tells us that he came to a place called Haran and he fell asleep. While he slept, heaven opened and a ladder was revealed with angels ascending and descending between heaven and earth….he had come to a place of New beginning in his life, it was a gateway that had opened upbringing the glory of heaven to where he was. Jacob called the place Bethel, but God was trying to show Jacob, THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY THE GATEWAY through which the things of heaven were entering into this world. You are the gatekeeper, you are the place where heaven enters earth….

All those who believe, become the gateway or the doorway to heaven, where the things of heaven ascend and descend between heaven and earth!

When the Israelites cried out in Egyptian bondage, God came down to a man named Moses. He was the gate keeper. We are the gate to someone’s victory, someone’s liberation, someone’s defining moment.                           Ephesians 2:5 “God embraced us. He took us and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! v6 Then He picked us up and set us down in heaven's highest places in the company of Jesus. v7 Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. v8 This is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It is certain that He is able to finish all that He has begun throughus”!.  

(would you tell someone… “Don’t you dare give up on God”….)

Don’t remember what God has forgotten.....and don’t forget what God said He would remember. We can only walk in one direction at a time.  The problem comes when we try to look backwards whilewe're walking forward with Him….I need to tell someone, don't listen when others say you're finished, what’s the use, it’ll never happen…. Shut your ears to that, until you’ve reached the place God is bringing you to. Jesus  knows who you are, and what you did and He still loves you, but He loves you enough to not leave you like He found you”….                                                                               Don’t be so busy wishing for the visitations of the past that you miss the greater things God has yet prepared for you and through you….

Louis Le'Amour once said, "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished, but you will find that it is only a new beginning."

Genesis 1:1 – tells us that In the beginning God created something new that had never existed before, and God is STILL creating today.  He's creating new opportunities, new direction, new vision and new anointing.  God is creating new hearts.  He's creatingforgiving hearts to replace bitter ones, He's creating hearts of faith to replace hearts of fear.  He’s creating loving hearts to replace toxic, jealous, vindictive hearts. He’s replacing broken hearts with hearts that are healed and full of new hope.                                     Yes, we can rise up and walk in newness of life, this is a brand newday a new window to the rest of your life is opening for each of us to view something bigger, and better and beyond all that has come before!!!

And each one of us is actually the gateway, where God enters earth and begins His wonderful, mysterious, amazing work!!!!                                                                             Richard Rohr said that “Spiritual Maturity is the ability to joyfully live in an imperfect world” I came across some reminders that we are living in an imperfect world…we know…

1---That Light travels faster than sound. That’s why many people appear smart until they begin to speak.

2---If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments.

3---Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

4---Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.It’s an imperfect world, but we are the gate way to new beginnings.

Paul said…1 Corinthians 16:9  “For a great door of opportunity is opened unto us…and there will be a "right time" for each of us. v13 Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, v14 keep on loving and never stop”.

In 1 Samuel 17, when the Philistines faced the armies of Israel, King Saul only saw the giant Goliath and it limited his ability to perform in an effective and successful manner paralyzing him into inaction…He saw only the problem, and not the opportunity that God had given into their hands.

That’s why David rejected the armor of Saul, because he could not fight and win, in the fear and the intimidation that had gripped Saul. David had developed his own weapons and skills…So, Saul sat in his tent, while David ran forward towards the enemy and to better things to come. 

While David saw Goliath, (all 91/2 feet of him) he also saw something else above and beyond the giant, something greater, and something that made him more than a match for the challenge he faced. It was more than the wealth, more than the position he would be given and the kings daughter (ya’ll give a whistle) which David had been promised if he won! David knew that Goliath wasn’t fighting him, he was fighting God, and all David had to do was get his own fears, intimidation, doubts, and unbelief out of the way and LET GOD WIN!!! Fear, intimidation, doubt and unbelief, are no match for a person whose values are founded on faith and trust in God! With all that tried to stop David, he succeeded because he guarded the gates that brought heaven into earth. God could reign on the throne of David’s life and ambitions.                                                                                                        In order to guard the anointing which we have received of the Lord, we must guard the thought gate, the heart gate, the eye gate, the ear gate, and the mouth gate. These are all places of entrance into our spirit. It is so easy in this day we live, to allow your spirit to become confused by all that is taking place in the world around us. As the old saying goes, "the smallest boat can cross the biggest ocean as long as the ocean stays out of the boat"!

Proverbs 16:32 "He that controls his emotions is better than the mighty; and he that rules his own spirit (is greater) than he that takes a city".

The conquest of ourselves, and our own passions, requires more dedication and commitment, and a more steady, constant, and regular management, than ruling a city. When our emphases is on our rights, and our feelings and our injustices the new level of faith and prayer…..and the greater level of living for God is hindered and blocked, and we are not wide open for God’s fresh supernatural manifestation in the earth!

As we gather here today, on the threshold of new beginnings and new things from God that are waiting to enter through our lives…We are compelled to “Keep Move Forward” in our way of thinking. What are the areas that we have been thinking too small for too long. What are the areas where we must think bigger for our Church, our Home, our Family, and our Life in general. What can we do, moving forward, to be the gateway for God to do bigger and better things in our life, in the days and weeks ahead?Everyone that is part of a family, is the gateway into their home… Every employee is the gateway into the workplace…. Every neighbor is the gateway into their neighborhood….

Ephesians 3:18 “Reach out and experience the breadth! Test the length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! 19 Live in the fullness of the love of God. 20 God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it by working through us, deeply and gently, by His Spirit.”

We are compelled to “Move Forward” in our emotions, in the season ahead. We can’t be wearing our feelings on our sleeve. We must let God rule our feelings by His Spirit within us. We can’t let those around us rule over us by controlling our emotional health.We may have prayed. We may have Fasted. We may have done all the right things, but until we “Go Forward” in our emotions, we can undo everything else, and our emotions will lock us into past hurts, offences, injustices, broken relationships, and unresolved conflicts…… when we move forward in  emotional health and stability! As we are emotionally delivered and set free, we will experience Unrestrained, free and liberated praise, worship and love flowing forth in power, 

1 Timothy 1:5 The point is simply to love with your whole heart - love which is uncontaminated by self-interest, ulterior motives and counterfeit faith, by a life that is open to God. 6 For those who fail to adhere to this, soon wander off into emotional dead-ends.

Also look at Proverbs 4:23 “Guard the entry to your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow all the issues of your life.”

When I’m driving my car, vital information is relayed to me through the dash board. Oil pressure, speed, tire pressure, milage, and who’s too close to me, the condition of the road, battery charge, and how much gas, to mention a few… 

What if you had an emotional or heart dash board, which allowed you to constantly get a read out about your heart’s condition. There would be red, green and yellow lights along with other information feed back. Fear, pride, greed, self-pity, resentment, anger and a needle which would indicate if you are becoming spiritually lukewarm. Oh, yes, there would be a flashing light to let you know you hadn’t prayed or read the word and a green light would come on if your spiritual tank was healthy and full.                                             Philippians 4:13 from the Passion Bible...

It’s time to be the best version of you that you can be. It’s time for you to take a stand and embrace happiness. It’s time to stop blaming others for what you have or don’t have. It’s time to stop wondering why I’m not providing things that I’ve given you the power to go after yourself. It’s time to laugh more, to stop making excuses, to stop looking at your situation as if it’s hopeless. It’s time to take steps, no matter how small, toward your dreams. I have made you powerful!

I recall that a missionary had observed how each person in the village had their own path which led out to their personal place of prayer and meeting with God. When a person had a solid prayer life, their path would have no grass on it, but if they weren’t keeping up their prayer habit, *……everyone could tell, from the grass on their God path… 

Is there grass growing on your God path? Is it time to renew your commitment and passion for Him? Is it time to remember the vows you made to Him, and the zeal you once had for Him….We are the place where God enters this earth, we are the gate keepers….

Our Father in heaven, as we stand at the beginning of this new season we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we move into the future. We each have our hopes and expectations for what lies ahead of us—but You alone can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands in Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during the coming days. In the midst of life’s uncertainties, You assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.                                                                 

Lord Jesus, In the midst of life’s disappointments and heartaches, You are the stability and comfort we need. In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost. And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sufferings around us in our world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. 

We pray for our nation and its leaders during these difficult times, and for all those who are seeking to bring peace and justice to our dangerous and troubled world. We pray that You would bring our divided nation together, and give us a greater vision of what You would have us to be. Your Word reminds us that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” As we look back, we thank You for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we have deserved. 

May we not remember what You have forgiven and forgotten but may we never forget all Your mercies that have brought us to this present place, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives. Father, we thank You for the promise and hope for this new season, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. We ask this, in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come. In Jesus’ name…..Amen.

I speak to each one of you, as the gatekeepers God has ordained you to be. This is a call for the gatekeepers, who guard the gates and refuse to let the enemy have any place. Our pastors are are believing God that all which God has designed and prepared for you, and all that He has fashioned you to be, will come together in an awesome display of what is best for your life and all those around you in this season ahead. That you truly will be the gateway, through which God can operate freely and powerfully in your circle of influence and connections…. and in all the things that touch your life and your family.