`Dottie Rambo wrote the song by that title, in 1966. She wrote over 2500 songs over her life time. Some of the lyrics are.. “The things that I love and hold dear to my heart, are just borrowed they're not mine at all. Jesus only let me use them to brighten my life, So remind me, remind me dear Lord.Roll back the curtain of memory now and then. Show me where you brought me from, and where I might have been. Remember I'm human, when others forget, So remind me, remind me dear Lord”....
The apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:1 “Beloved, I now write unto you, to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance...”
Peter wants us to know that so often, to advance, we must go back to our roots and remember how the Lord has led us, and think upon His faithfulness and how faithful He’s been along the way.
This is the concept behind Christian retreats, where we get back to essentials, and remember what our purpose and our priorities are.
It’s so easy to stray from the path of our purpose and veer off on some side road and find ourselves somewhere that we never intended to be.
It has been well said that Sin will take you where you never intended to go, keep you there longer than you ever intended to stay, cost you more than you ever intended to pay, and make it hard to get back to where you began in the first place (but for God’s grace).
When I lose my way, remind me dear Lord....
The doctor told a couple that it might help them remember certain things if they wrote it down on a piece of paper. One night the couple were watching TV, when the husband got up to go to the kitchen. His wife asks "Can you bring me some strawberries?" "Sure." "Aren't you going to write it down so you don't forget?" "No no. It's fine." "Well I also want some whip cream. You should write it down so you'll remember." "Don't worry. I've got it." "I also want some chocolate syrup on top. You *really* should write it down, dear." "Don’t worry, I’ve got it. Strawberries, whip cream, and chocolate syrup." The wife gives a sigh as her husband disappears into the kitchen. After 20 minutes of the sounds of banging and clanging, the husband finally comes back and puts a plate of eggs, bacon, and sausage in her lap.
The wife looks up at him and says ohhh, that’s so sweet of you to do that for me, just what I wanted, but "You forgot my toast?"
We have statues, and monuments to remember by. There are libraries full of history so we can remember. The internet has millions of files of information that we can go back to and remember.
Thank God, we have faithful witnesses who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write as they saw and experienced.
When the apostle John was exiled on the Isle of Patmos, after being boiled in oil, but miraculously coming out alive, he received a vision which became the book of Revelation. This was a back to the future experience which brought John through a very rough time in his life. As he remembered what was waiting for him in heaven, it made the trials and tests of this life much more bearable. For centuries, it has inspired multitudes of Christians to bear up under hardships and persecutions, remembering that it will be worth it all, if we endure till the end.
John believed that If God put him in it, then He put in him, what heneeded for it! We were made for this....If He brought us to it, He will bring us through it!
A quote in Dr. Seuss, says "Don't cry because it's over, smile because you had the opportunity." Wow, you’re about to grow!
And I like this anonymous quote... "Good times become good memories and bad times become good lessons that we were destined to grow through."
Don’t just go through it, GROW THROUGH IT!!
I love the fact that with all that the apostle John endured, as he was suffering on Patmos....boiled in oil, but survived, then put to work in the slave mines on Patmos.
It says, “He was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”.... This is the disciple who leaned on Jesus chest at the last supper, he was referred to as the “one that Jesus loved”, It was this disciple that Jesus committed his mother to from the cross “Mother behold your son, son behold your mother”... Tradition tells us that as a young man, Jesus took John in and raised him like a son. So, John’s meditation, on the isle of Patmos, where he was exiled, lifted him above his emotions and physical condition, above the politics and forces of darkness and brought him into the higher spiritual plain where he ascended into heavenly realms in the Spirit. From that spiritual plain, he gave us the book of Revelation.
Remind me Lord, that you have invited all your children, to be seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Certainly, one of the major roles of every minister of the gospel, whither they be teacher, evangelist, prophet, pastor or apostle, is to help folks to remember... To stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance... We are told that this is one of the major functions of Holy Spirit.... John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”.
The scriptures tell us that this is one of the major functions of the body of Christ....which is the biological church....
Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name”.
Think of it.... Somewhere, some angel scribe is recording our conversations with one another. As we stir up one another’s thinking on the things of Christ! Perhaps there are conversations we don’t want recorded, Huh?!!!
We would be surprised at the things God is raising memorials to.... kindnesses, patience, unqualified love, longsuffering, and faithfulness.. Mark 14:9 Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in remembrance of her.”..... What did she do?.... While they were at Bethany, preparing for the last supper, this woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, and broke the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus head. This act of unbridled, sincere and selfless worship, Jesus said will be remembered wherever the gospel is preached.... It didn’t matter what people thought, it didn’t matter what they said....She worshiped with all her heart!
Remind me Lord, that you put a great value on our worship!
I’m remembering the time when the disciples were fishing all night and in spite of all their training, their skill as professional fishermen, and their knowledge of the water, they caught nothing, and their nets were empty. We all know what it means to be ‘kopos’ (the Greek word ) for being weary to the bone, feeling discouraged, and feeling like you’re the wrong person for the task. You’veworked hard with little to show for it, you’ve tried your best and come up with nothing. And the nets are empty – and we wonder how we’re going to buy groceries, pay our bills, send our kids to college, look after aging parents, and find some way to move forward in our lives. We’ve all known discouragement. And we’ve known the fear of failing and many of us – if not most – have experienced those inner and outer voices telling us that God made a mistake, we’re not the person for the job, or it would be different....
But Jesus answer to them and to us.... Remember, who you are in Christ. I can still make you what you need to be. He still knows how to fill empty nets! He still turns water into wine, He still multiplies manna in the wilderness, He knows how to turn a shepherd boy into a giant killer!
Remember who He says you are....He says you are forgiven, adopted, loved, whole, Strong, able, victorious, joyful, fearfully and wonderfully made, with a sound mind, a citizen of heaven, with a glorious future..
Remember what you have been given and who you are!
The words of a song by Lauren Daigle come to mind....
I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me, I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, You say I am Yours
And I believe, I believe, What You say of me,
If there is such a thing, I believe a lot of Christians have spiritual Dementia because they can’t remember who Jesus said they were .....
The phone rang and the lady of the house answers..."Hello can I help you."
The caller asked for "Mrs. Adoline, please." "Yes, this is her Speaking."
"Mrs. Adoline, this is Doctor Jones from the Lab that has your husband’s blood work. When your husband's doctor sent his blood sample to the lab last week, a blood sample from another man arrived with the same name...
We are not certain which one belongs to your husband. But, either way, the results are not too good." "What do you mean?" She asked with concern.
"Well, one of the specimens tested positive for Alzheimer's and the other one tested positive for HIV, but we can't tell which is which."
"That's dreadful, what am I supposed to do now?" Well, maam, "The MEDICARE Helpdesk recommends that you drop your husband off somewhere in the middle of town. If he finds his way home, just don't sleep with him! (It’s important to be able to remember certain things)
Isaiah spent the entire 40th chapter remembering the nature, power, person and character of God, and then he comes to the 28th verse.... Isaiah 40:28 “Have you not known? have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding. 29 He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But they that wait (expectantly) upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”.
If you’ve been in a health club and seen someone running on a treadmill, then that's the mental picture that comes to my mindhere. We're running as fast as we can to keep from falling off the back, and we desperately need to stop that torture machine and take a breather. But we can't reach the button that will turn the thing off. So, we keep running. For weeks. Months. Maybe years. And often we are running with a huge burden on our backs, full of all the things we think are "important" in our lives. Things like family, career, unhealthy bodies, financial plans, personal goals and "to do" lists. The trouble is, all of that running is beginning to catch up with us.We're worn out and exhausted. Even the wisest, healthiest and most capable among us feel it. There is a collective sense among us that our personal lives are controlling us instead of our controlling it, and we wonder if we are ever going to get the upper hand.
But God does have the “off button”...
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, (that’s about remembering) let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, (this is talking about a renewed mind) will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” Paul tells us that we need to make some quality choices. Guard what you let take up residence in your mind and heart. What you and I decide today will be ourfuture on or off the treadmill. Obviously, We can’t determine what will happen to us, but we can make the choices that are in our power which will get us moving in the right direction, then let God take over.
I found this item in the Preacher’s commentary...... “Remember that there is nothing that can happen to you that has not
happened to millions of others.”
“Remind yourself that as a human being, stuff can happen.”
“Remember, there are people who began their path to greatness, facing exactly
what you now face.”
“Remember to say, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to handle this, but with God, anything is possible.”
We remember the deliverances the Lord has accomplished and hope springs for greater deliverance.... We remember the way He has led, and we begin to believe for new guidance and direction.... We remember the blessings He has bestowed, and faith arises for greater provision.... We remember The victories He has won and we become confident that this battle is also won.....We remember the encouragements He has given us along the way and our joy springs forth.... and something deep within us cries out “Do it again, Lord”, “Do it again”!! “Do it again”!
The story of Adam and Eve is a story of rebellion against letting God be God. Once they believed the lie that God didn’t have their best interests in mind, they decided to go ahead without God and do what they wanted. They became, in effect, their own god. Too often, this is exactly what we do today. When God tells us to wait, we don’t trust him, but go ahead and find ways to accomplish what we want to happen anyway. We decide to be our own God.... Mark 8:36 “What good is it to gain the whole world now — (whatever it is we think we want)— and forfeit our souls’ or (intimacy with God, and staying in His will) ?
There’s a screaming child in all of us, that wants what it wants and it wants it now, if we don’t follow our better self! But we allow our spirit man to say....“Wait.” That’s miserable, uncomfortable, and sometimes painful to our flesh, so we will not let the little, baby god, take over when it wants to. We have learned that God is trustworthy and that “There is actually something happening while we see nothing happening”. God is using our waiting seasons to change us, before he changes everything else.” And suddenly we remember how we ended up on the treadmill in the first place.....AAAHHAAAAA! And, we take a deep breath, release our clenched hands, and let go of the impatient, selfish, ego part of us that wants to be God!! .
Some of the greatest figures in the Bible — Abraham, Jose"ph, Moses, David — had to wait for many years for God’s promises. Everything that happened in the meantime was used to prepare them, inwardly as well as outwardly. Then, when they reached their promise, they were blessed beyond measure. Be careful that you don’t let your ego self, take you where your Gifts and anointings can’t keep you, and Satan uses it to cause you to question and doubt your gifts and anointings.
It wasn’t about your gifts and anointings, you just got over into playing God.
Lord, let me remember that I’m not God!
The book of common prayer has a great prayer that it offers.... “If God says stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. And giveto me the Spirit of Jesus that I may be ready, Lord, for whatever may be required”.
I want to close with an amazing story ....In 1921 David and Svea Flood went with their two-year-old son from Sweden to the heart of Africa, to what was then called the Belgian Congo. This missionary couple met up with the Ericksons, another young Scandinavian couple, and the four of them felt led of the Lord to set out from the main mission station to take the gospel to the village of N’dolera, in a remote area.
There, they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his town for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to build their own mud huts half a mile up the slope.
They prayed for a spiritual breakthrough, but there was none. Their only contact with the villagers was a young boy, who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea Flood—a tiny woman only four feet, eight inches tall—decided that if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to lead the boy to Jesus. And she succeeded with the one God sent her!
Svea found herself pregnant and a little girl was born, whom they named Aina. The delivery was exhausting. Svea Flood was already weak from bouts of malaria so the birthing process took a lot out of her and she died only 17 days after Aina was born.
Something snapped Inside David Flood at that moment. He dug a crude grave, buried his 27-year-old wife, and then went back down the mountain.He left Aina with the Ericksons, and angrily went back to Sweden. Telling them “God has ruined my life!”
Within eight months, both the Ericksons were stricken with malaria and died within days of each other. Baby Aina was then turned over to another American missionary family who changed her Swedish name to “Aggie”. Eventually they took her back to the United States at age three.
That’s how Aggie grew up in South Dakota.
As a young woman, she attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis. There she met and married Dewey Hurst. They enjoyed a fruitful ministry and in time, her husband became president of a Christian college in the Seattle area. One day Aggie found a Swedish religious magazine in their mailbox. She had no idea who had sent it, and of course she couldn’t read the words, but as she turned the pages, a photo suddenly stopped her cold. There, in a primitive African setting, was a grave with a white cross—and on the cross were the words SVEA FLOOD.
Aggie got in her car and drove straight to a college faculty member whom she knew could translate the article. “What does this article say?”
"It is about missionaries who went to N’dolera, Africa, long ago. A baby was born. The young mother died. One little African boy was led to Jesus before that. After the missionaries had all left, the boy grew up and persuaded the chief to let him build a school in the village. He gradually won all his students to Christ and the children led their parents to Him. Even the chief became a follower of Jesus! Today there are six hundred believers in that village, all because of the sacrifice of David and SveaFlood." Aggie and her husband were attending an evangelism conference in London, England, when a report was given from Zaire by the superintendent of the national church there, representing some 110,000 baptized believers, he spoke passionately of the Gospel’s spread in his nation.Aggie could not help going to ask him afterward if he had ever heard of David and Svea Flood.
“Yes, madam,” the man replied as his words were translated into English. “Svea Flood led me to Jesus Christ! I was the boy who brought food to your parents before you were born. In fact, to this day, your mother’s grave and her memory are honored by all of us.”She is considered a national treasure. He embraced Aggie for a long time, sobbing.
“You must come to Zaire! Your mother is the most famous and honored person in our history.”
When Aggie and her husband went to N’dolera, they were welcomed by cheering throngs of villagers. She went to see her mother’s tomb with a white cross bearing her name. She knelt in the soil to pray and give thanks to God.
Later they were able to go to Sweden and Aggie sought out her birth father.
Aggie walked into the squalid apartment, which had liquor bottles strewn everywhere, and slowly approached her 73-year-old father lying in a rumpled bed. She called his name and He turned and began to cry.
“Aina!""I never meant to give you away!” “It’s all right, Papa,” she replied, taking him gently in her arms.
“God took good care of me.” Her father instantly stiffened and his tears stopped. “God forgot all of us. Our lives have been like this because of Him.” He turned his face back to the wall in anger.Aggie stroked his face and then continued, Papa, I’ve got a marvelous story to tell you!
"You didn’t go to Africa in vain. Mama didn’t die in vain. The little boy you won to the Lord grew up to win that whole village to Jesus! The one seed you planted in his heart kept growing and growing! Today there are 600 people serving the Lord because you were faithful to the call of God in your life!" "Papa, Jesus loves you. He has never hated you or abandoned us.”
The old father turned back to look into his daughter’s eyes.
He slowly began to talk. And by the end of the afternoon, he had come back to the God he had resented for so many years. Over the next few days, father and daughter enjoyed warm moments together. A few weeks after Aggie and her husband returned to America, David Flood died, with the knowledge that God had not forgotten....
Remind me dear Lord, that our labor, our prayers, our giving and nothing we do in your name, will ever be forgotten by You. So, all that we do, we do it unto You Lord, and only eternity will tell all that You accomplished. Little is much when God is in it!!
Let me begin by saying that if your happiness, your blessings, your successful Christian life, and all the things you are going to do for God, are somewhere else, you’ll never be happy, blessed, successful as a Christian, and you’ll never accomplish your goals.
“Daniel 11:32 “The people that do know their God (right where they are) shall be strong and do great exploits.”
Right where you are is where you begin, and when you get to somewhere else, you’ll still be right where you are!
I remember I pastored one church back in the days when we sang from the hymnal and we had pew bibles in every pew. On the inside cover of each bible they had put a label that said.... “Not to be taken from the church”.... And I thought perhaps they had a problem with people stealing bibles, which I thought would actually be a good thing. I even thought of making an announcement during the offering... “Please feel free to steal a bible. Or take two”, because it made me think that too often, in that church, the practice of their faith went no further than the church building. As I go about my life, I get the feeling that someone, somewhere put a label on too many Christians that says, “Not to be taken from the church pew”.....
Through the Covid pandemic, the number of people working from home is huge. Companies are issuing ultimatums for folks to come back to the work place or lose their jobs. But now, so many have enjoyed working away from the company’s physical location, that they don’t want to come back, and there is a huge movement to keep working away from the company’s physical location. I believe that’s pushing it too far. But what if the body of Christ was that busy outside of the church building, with the work of the ministry.
What if we as believers were so mindful of Jesus’ words, to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel”, that there was a total turnover of who’s in church because we are out in the world, and we’re enjoying winning souls, healing the sick, delivering the oppressed, and declaring the favor of the Lord, and we’re getting a whole new group of folks into the church building to be trained and discipled, so they can do the same. We should all come to church and have to introduce ourselves to all the new folks there.... because we’re so busy winning souls, restoring the backslidden and getting them to church, there is constantly a turn over in the crowd who are attending.
I remember the G-12 movement, which was made popular by Juan Ortez who pastored in .... Buenos Aires, Argentina. The concept consisted of each leader in the church, choosing 12 people, to mentor. Then after one year, each of those would choose 12, plus the leader would choose 12 more, and repeat the concept. The church began to multiply 12 times 12 times 12, and on and on.
Jesus chose 12 men, to mentor, and those 12 reached the world. We see this In Revelation 4:4 “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads” 12 is the number of God’s spiritual government, and is the spiritual pattern in the old and new testament. There were 12 tribes and 12 apostles. So, we see that the G-12 movement was very scriptural, and was God’s pattern for the New Testament church.
Jesus practiced mashed potato love. The early church was with average people who came together with one purpose, and that was to love God, and one another, lift up Jesus and one another, and operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, in unity with one another. When you mash potatoes, it’s hard to tell which potato is which. They just all blend and work together. None are more important than the others, because they are all important. None are above the others because they are all together. They were all going their individual way to somewhere else, until they all came together for a common cause where they were.
Jesus prayed “ That they be one even as we are one.” As we are all on our way to somewhere else to do the work of lifting up Jesus, he told us that right where we are, whatever else we are doing, and whoever we are with, our First God given goal, is to put Him first, and then become one with one another as He and the Father are one. We can’t do that without putting Him first, then all the rest can happen.
All the apostles were on their way to somewhere else when God chose them to be leaders in the church. Some were on their way fishing, another was on his way to collect taxes, another was on his way to a career as a physician, but they were all on their way to somewhere else.
God loves to cause a disruption in our journey to somewhere else.... Paul’s journey to somewhere else, was disrupted by a meeting with the one who is the way, the truth, and the life....Andhe found his way, he found the truth and he found a new way of living.
Moses was on his way to somewhere totally different than where he ended up. He was on his way to enforcing the bondage of a nation of
people. He was raised for it, and groomed for it. Then it was all disrupted and he was exiled to somewhere else, and it was thereGod captured him. Somewhere else became where he was to be all along, and when God was finished with him where he always wassupposed to be, he ended up leading those very slaves to their national inheritance that they had received from God.
God will have the final say on our way to somewhere else. When your family, your friends and those you’ve known all your life, and grew up with, look they’re headed somewhere else, you need to shout within your spirit, “My God will meet them somewhere else”.....
God is waiting to disrupt their journey, to somewhere else....
The woman at the well was going to the well for something else. She had come to the well to draw water, and left with the living water. Everything she thought was somewhere else was right where she was.
Isaiah 43:19 “See, I am doing a new thing! Even now it is springing up. I want to show it to you. I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Thank God for the Divine disruption, because otherwise we would never discover God’s new and better way.
Sometimes things don’t go according to plan and we end up walking the path of disappointment, because we were on our way to somewhere else and where we are is not what we hoped for, worked for, planned for, and invested our time and energy into, We can thank God that He has intervened in our plans to get us to where He knows we should be....As rough as it may be and uncomfortable, He has been fighting for us, and working behind the scenes, to get us to that new place and new thing. The place of our disappointment is the tipping point where the correction, the connection, the correlation, the intersection between God’s ways and our ways comes together.
Would you say, “Whatever it takes, Lord”.... Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God intended it for good.”
I love the song....”He didn’t bring us this far to leave us, He didn’t teach us to swim to let us drown, He didn’t build His home in us to move away. He didn’t pick us up to let us down, He didn’t pick us up to let us down”...
Sometimes you might feel like the Israelites who were trapped in a mountain pass, with the Red sea in front of them and the army of the Pharaoh and his chariots thundering toward them. And just when all seems lost, God hits the switch and opens up a pathwayin a direction, you would not have chosen before, because you didn’t consider it before and wouldn’t have chosen it...
I didn’t choose ministry. I was on my way to rock and roll, with a band that represented my life’s dream. Sing and play and travel. The lights and sounds and wild side were calling my name.... Like Job, I said about the ministry, “The thing I feared most, has come upon me”.... God was a party pooper, a spoil sport, and a wet blanket to my dreams.
Like David, I was on my way to somewhere else.... When God showed up.
David was taking lunch to his brothers, who were in the army. And had the lunch sack on his shoulder, when he heard goliath roar his threats. They were facing the mighty Philistine forces, in all it’s might and power. In the midst of this atmosphere of war, God calls forth David when his mind was on something else, to change his destiny and the direction of a nation. Getting David to the giant was God’s idea not David’s. Somebody say, “God has a better idea”.
“I've seen You move, You move the mountains. And I believe, I'll see You do it again. You made a way where there was no way, and I believe, I'll see You do it again, I’ll see You do it again!”
Be sure to Give God the glory in the midst of what you’re going through. And give him the praise while you’re going through it, not just after you see the new thing. Don’t be like the guy who was running late for a very important meeting and couldn’t find a parking space. (right now everyone is looking for an empty space aren’t you) So he’s driving all around this huge parking lot that’s totally filled. “Lord,” he prays. “I can’t stand this, If I don’t make this meeting, I’ll be fired, if you open a space up for me, I swear I’ll give up drinking and cussing and go to church every Sunday.” Suddenly, the clouds part and the sun shines on an empty parking spot like a spot light from heaven. Without hesitation, the man says: “Never mind, Lord, I found one myself!”
Let me recommend some scriptures for you to read that will help you when God is interrupting your plans. My favorites are those inside the bible. That’s right take your pick... Genesis to Revelation the stories are there, and God won’t do for them what He’s not willing to do for you....
Have you ever been betrayed?
Take a read at Joseph and his brothers who were in the land of promise. They had made it to the place every Jew had ever prayed to be. But what might have been great for everyone else, was not God’s choice for Joseph. God’s choice for Joseph was the last choice Joseph would ever have made for himself. During the unspeakable act of his own brothers throwing him in a pit, selling him to a travelling caravan, being sold as a slave, and being thrown in prison, God was bringing him to his destiny in Egypt.....W...H...A...T?!!!.
JEREMIAH 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"
Have you had to deal with loss.... Take a read at Moses’ mom. They were killing Hebrew babies in Egypt. Surely, Moses’ mom, could not wrap her head around the fact that putting her baby son in a reed basket and hiding it in the crocodile infested waters of the Nile river, was God’s very best solution.... how could she know that putting her baby somewhere else, so far from what she had planned and wished in her mind and dreamed for her child, was exactly what God had chosen for the future deliverer of Israel...When you trust God in the times of disruption, God will get you to places that you could not get to in an entire life time or longer, if you’ll submit to his divine disruption.
Have you wondered how things ever got so out of control. How the path your children have taken, could be so different than what you’ve prayed and called out to God that it should be.
Is what you’re seeing way different than what you planned....Theplan was that all your children would grow up loving Jesus Christ.... The plan was for them to have children and raise them that way as well....The plan was that everyone would come home on holidays and dad would cut the holiday bird and each family member would talk of their love for God and their desire to serve him. and it would be such a pleasant time as everyone loved one another and got along so well because they all loved the Lord......but that’s not the way its turned out..... Don’t be so quick to flush it all because you believe what you see, more than what God has promised you...
A man with terrible eyesight was visiting Texas. When he gets to his hotel room, he sees the bed. “Wow, this bed is big!” “Yes, Everything is bigger in Texas,” says the bellhop. The man heads downstairs to the restaurant, he settles into a huge chair and orders a root beer. A mug is placed between his hands. “Wow these drinks are big!” The waiter replies, “Yes, Everything is bigger in Texas.” After drinking two mugs of root beer, the nearly blind man asks where the bathroom is. “Take the Second door to the right,” said the waiter. The blind man heads for the bathroom but accidentally enters the third door, which leads to the swimming pool, and he falls in. Popping his head up from under the water and flailing his arms, he shouts, “Please Don’t flush, don’t flush!”
So don’t be to quick to quit believing and “Don’t flush” what you don’t see now, and don’t understand. God’s doing it a better way. "
Things can load you down and wear you out. When David faced Goliath, notice that Goliath was loaded down with armor, a heavy sword and spear, a large shield and the expectations of all the Philistines. David on the other hand was traveling light. He had just a sling. He had put aside the burdensome armor that Saul tried to put on him. Saul wanted to put his disobedience, and rebellion and his fears and doing things his own way on David. But David said “I cannot fight with this”... We need to travel light, not be burdened down about all the things we will never understand because it’s different than it appears to be. We will never see ahead as far as God sees, and we cannot understand in the natural mind what God has planned in His higher ways and thoughts. Listen to the words to one of David’s songs...(We call them Psalms)... Psalm 55:22 (Amplified bible) “CAST YOUR BURDEN ON THE LORD (releasing the weight of it) and He will sustain you. HE WILL NEVER ALLOW THE RIGHTEOUS (those who choose His ways) TO BE MOVED (made to slip, fall or fail). So travel light....
David’s reply to Goliath reveals the contrast between them. Goliath said, “I will, I will, I will” but David said “The Lord will, The Lord will, God will, God will”.....“You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; (natural weapons, natural strength and understanding) but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand… so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel…” That is the way David lived while he was in the wilderness, facing lions and bears. He didn’t know that it was training him to defeat the giant. What you’re going through or you’ve been through, is preparing you for a life changing event that is coming. Daviddid not declare what appeared to be, He called out what did not yet appear! God is looking for a mouth piece that He can speak creative words through, and create something from nothing....
Isaiah 51:16 “I have put My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish, and to say”..... Jeremiah 1:8 “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. 9Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth”. Exodus 4:12 “Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say."
When the pain became unbearable and I made the decision to go to the hospital on Monday night. We thought it was a heart attack because the pain was in my chest, running to my left shoulder and up my neck. I began to ask God why He would have me be there. What is the bigger picture and how did this fit His plan. After spending Monday evening in the holding area adjacent to the emergency room, I was put in room 315, on Tuesday evening, when a Nurse came in named Charlotte and was logging me in. I asked her about her family, and she told me she had a son. I then noticed the picture of a baby on her phone screen. I asked the Lord to let me know what to say to her and I said “is that your grand baby?” She turned and said no and I want nothing to do with it. I asked whose it was, since it was on her phone. She said that her son’s wife had gotten pregnant by someone else, and she wanted nothing to do with this child, because of what his wife had done. Boy, I was praying under my breath. I then told her about our niece Ann. Ann was raped by a black man. Everyone told her to abort, since the child was from rape. She refused and said it is not the child’s fault it happened, so why should it be punished. She said, God loves this child and has a special plan for his life, otherwise He would never have been born. How can I destroy someone that God came and died for. I need to love what God loves. She and her husband raised the child as their own, and he has graduated and moved on as a productive member of society. Charlotte broke down in tears and thanked me, saying yes, God loves this child and so will I. It opened the door for further ministry, and Charlotte said that it had changed her life and she would never be the same again. Hallelujah.
They found that I had (pleurisy) which is an inflammation in the lining around my lungs. I totally believe I went through the pain, and discomfort, for a meeting with Charlotte, which I would never have chosen, but I asked God to let me appreciate and embrace what I could not understand at the moment. When it was over, all the pain and symptoms were gone by Wednesday. Because things are not always as they seem to be! Winnie and I were able to minister to several others as well.
Isa 55:8 “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, Soare My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
God is telling us today that Things are much more than we cansee.
The doctor examined Larry and said, “Everything looks great. How are you doing mentally and emotionally? Are you at peace with God?” Larry told him, “God and I are tight. He knows I have poor eyesight, so He’s fixed it so when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, poof! The light goes on. When I’m done, poof! The light goes off.” “Wow, that’s incredible,” the doctor says. A little later in the day, the doctor calls Larry’s wife. “Bonnie,” he says, “Larry is doing fine! But I had to call you because I need to get further information on his relationship with God. Is it true that he gets up during the night, and poof, the light goes on in the bathroom, and when he’s done, poof, the light goes off?” “Oh, no,” exclaims his wife. “He’s using the refrigerator for the bathroom again!”Things are not what they seem, especially for Larry. There’s a song by Rachel McCutcheon that says....Your ways are higher than mine. I want mountains to move, You want me to climb. So I'm gonna' trust Your work, Your will, and Your time. Your ways are higher, much higher than minethan mine”..
Roman's 8:28" must travel the great journey of 12 inches if it’s ever going to do us any good.... It must go from our head to our heart..... “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”."
Oh, when you know by faith but you cannot see. You believe because God said it, but it’s still in the spiritual realm not the physical. You know in your head that it’s true, but the 12 inch journey from your head to your heart, is still taking place.... it’s in that transition period, that many folks lose their faith, punch their hope ticket and check out. We wish we could see what He sees. There are times when God gives us a glimpse of His plan, but it’s often a little bit at a time. So we stand on the promises, we rest in blessed assurance, and we trust the one who knows the end from the beginning. And we believe that God is still speaking if we will only listen....
I believe I have a word from God for you..... Are you still trying to figure things out according to your ways, not according to My Ways. When you ponder My Ways, you will 'hear' how to 'walk' how to 'do' and how to 'speak.' Ponder My Ways. Spend more time pondering My Ways and less time thinking about your ways and you will find my favor, and the blessing of divine provision. You sometimes convince yourself that your ways are My Ways. Well this is the time for that to be corrected. The Holy Spirit in you will show you. He will reveal and adjust and apply. Let Me speak to you when you are praying and I will speak of My Ways and those mysteries of My Ways will speak to you as you are praying in the Spirit. They are aligning you and bypassing your thinking, so that your hearing and your spiritual sight are clearer. Align yourself with Me, for when you walk in My Ways, you're walking in the abundant life I have for you. All the paths of life, true life, come through Me. So look at the priorities you've set in your life and ask yourself the question, 'Do these priorities align with my priorities?' Know that I See what's in your heart. I care so much about you. All you have to do is talk to Me about how you 'really,' feel and where your thoughts really are, where your heart really is. When you turn to Me with that, then I can come in and help you change it, help you turn it around from expecting bad news to Good News. I know your sorrow, for I know you. You have hidden your sorrow over the way things turned out and how you’ve pushed it down in the recesses of your heart. Release the sorrow. You deserve to be free. It’s time to lay down your sorrow at the foot of the cross. When things are fluctuating all around you and within you, know that I Am the solid and sure place for you. If you see it and hear it, you can have it. Receive My Love. Receive My grace, receive the finished work which I have planned for you in this moment. let your worries go, and know that I Know All about you and I know everything that you need me to 'work' on, and I Am working on it even as you sleep. Know my rest for your Spirit, your mind, and your body which is always available to you. Come here by My side, My children, and walk with Me, hear the voice of your Father, know my touch, let me hold you and comfort you and see how much I love you!
Receiving and Keeping Your Healing and Other Blessings.... Since we’ll be talking about your body and Soul today, I came across this little account... A science teacher was grading a science test at home that she had given to her elementary-school class and was reading some of the answers. The subject was “The Human Body,” and the first question was: “Name one of the major functions of the skin.” One child wrote: “One major function of the skin, is to keep people who look at you from throwing up, skin covers a lot of gross looking things”....
A pastor was praying with folks around the altar, and he got to Gladys the gossiper, and said “Spirit of God come upon this, your servant, and close up all the places where the blessings are leaking out”....
I may be sharing this in a way you may have never really considered. But let’s get started with Luke chapter 4....Jesus took the scrolls and read from Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy....
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”…
Park the car right here for a moment.....
Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in Isaiah, and repeated it here in the gospel of Luke, to let those who were listening know, that this prophecy was about Him. Then He made it clear in John’s gospel, that the Spirit which anointed Him, was going to take what was on Him, and put it on every believer who received Holy Spirit into their lives.
John 16:13 “When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew (or demonstrate) it unto (and through) you”.
Jesus told us that Holy Spirit would demonstrate to us and through us, liberty to the captives, healing to the sick, freedom to the oppressed of the devil, and the favor of the Lord! (doesanyone come to mind?)
Let me tell you first, how to increase your faith and anointing for these things. Jesus told us we should be receiving them and doing them. Jesus said in John 6:63 “The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” So, First....Get full ofthe Word of God.... The Word is anointed and Spirit breathed. If you want to see people saved, fill up on scriptures about people getting saved. If you want to see captives set free, fill up on scriptures about captives being set free. If you want to see the sick healed, fill up on scriptures about the sick getting healed. If you want to see the oppressed of the devil set free, fill up on scriptures about deliverance. (Faith comes through and by the Word of God)
As a believer, your Spirit will receive a transfer of the anointing embedded in the Word, which will cause those very things to begin to happen in your Christian walk. If the Devil hits you, the Word should come right out of you, instead of that other blankety, blank stuff!
The word of God will retrain your brain from all the stinking thinking which we’ve all been programed with all of our lives. The believer’s brain is begging for the Word so it can be whole and healthy. Holy Spirit is referred to as fire, because there are some things in us that need to be consumed, that are nothing but brain trash....BURN HOLY SPIRIT!
The Spirit is referred to as water because we need a good cleansing with the heavenly “shout it out spot and stain cleanser” CLEANSE US HOLY SPIRIT!
The Spirit is referred to as Wind and breath, because there are things that are depriving us of the heavenly atmosphere. May God breathe upon us mightily once again. BREATHE OH BREATH OF GOD!!
When you get your healing, your freedom, your deliverance, if you don’t stay in the word, and keep fueling your faith and your confidence, you will find that the enemy will steal it from you and make sure you’re worse off than you were before. I see it all the time.
Stay free, by staying in the word, staying in prayer, and staying filled with the Spirit!
Your Spirit man needs to feed on the Word just as much if not more so, than your physical man needs nourishment. What you feed will grow and develop and what you starve, will wither and die, or at least be sickly and unwell.
Genesis tells us that Spirit was breathed into man by the very breath of God. God Himself "breathed into (man's) nostrils the breath (The RU-ACH) of life and He became a living soul or PSYCHE, a conscience being, capable of knowledge, reasoning, emotions, and inter-relations". Notice that the spirit came first and then came the soul, which made the body alive. God created the order in which man was to function and we only function well and whole in God’s order.
1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually (of the Spirit) discerned”. When the body rules, self indulgenceis in control. When the soul rules, rebellion against God is the norm. When the Spirit rules, a person comes into harmony with God’s plan and purpose.
Many people are physically well, but their spirit is diseased, deformed, or totally dead, because the wrong ruler is in control!This will constantly be talking your Spirit out of what the Word says you can have. One day a primary school teacher was talking about Jonah and the whale. He said that it was impossible that a whale had swallowed Jonah, since whales live on small crustaceans such as krill, plankton and schools of tiny minnows. A young girl disagreed with him saying that the Bible said it had happened so it must be possible.
The discussion went on and both the child and teacher were insistent that they were right.. Finally the girl said that when she got to heaven she would ask Jonah herself. The teacher replied, ‘but what if Jonah is not in heaven but is in hell?’ Immediately the girl replied, ‘In that case you can ask him for yourself!’
So, because many are in a state of confusion about the connection between the Spirit and the soul and the body, I want to take a moment on this. It’s important because it has a lot to do with staying healthy mentally, emotionally and physically....
OK, we are not a body, we LIVE IN a body. (someone said, “as long as we have a body we are never homeless”) We are not a soul, we HAVE A soul. We ARE A SPIRIT that has a soul, which lives in a body. This body is the earth vehicle which we have each been given, so that we can operate in and have authority in this physical realm, which by the way, God designed to be a very spiritual place! This realm was given to man as a spirit being, who could interact with God the Spirit, and that spirit is designed to be healthy, prosperous, wise, fully equipped, eternal, and was created in God’s own image.
Romans 8:16 “The Spirit itself (God’s Spirit) bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children (having the image) of God.” Your spirit knows, whither your soulish self acknowledges it or not, that Holy Spirit is there pressing against your own spirit and constantly bringing up the important subject, of your being created in the image of God. Holy Spirit is a master of communication.
That doesn’t mean that we always yield to those inner promptings, but it means that every person is at some level,having them. We are instructed in Hebrews that we play an important part in how much these promptings influence our total life. We hold the key that opens the veil which allows the Spirit’s promptings to enter our physical reality. We must intentionally give attention to these inner spiritual messages, spiritual urgings and red flags.
Hebrews 5:14 “But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, (who have developed in spiritual principles) even those who by reason of use, have their senses (faculties) exercised (through obedience and self-denial) to discern both good and evil”. We may refer to it as conscience, a moral gyroscope, an inner compass, core values, a sense of duty, inner promptings, scruples, gut feelings, or an inner voice. But for believers, we fine tune those senses by the Word of God!
The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. You may have read a bible verse many times and it didn’t really quicken in you and then suddenly the verse comes alive. We call that “the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.” He will never lead you contrary to the Word of God but will always be in line with the Scriptures if we will receive and acknowledge it.
Reagan called it the “Trickle down effect”.... Whatever happens at the top always trickles down to everything else. Scripture tells us that if the Soul is not under the rule of our spirit, then it becomes our enemy. The body is the outer level, followed by the soul which is the carnal mind and self identity and the spirit is created and designed to be the leader. It is the Spirit that must give the soul it’s spiritual identity, so likewise the retrained soul or intellect, then gives the body it’s proper sense of wellness or wholeness. Matthew 16:26: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and neglects (training) his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for (not training)his soul?"
This is a self evident truth, that is as apparent as the sunrise or sunset. This is not rocket science. These things are self evident. If you’re looking, no one has to tell you that the sun is rising! Darkness is leaving and light is coming! It’s like asking someone if they are a Christian. If they are, it will be self evident. I have seen so many folks who received Christ as their savior, but never retrained their soul, so the soul continued to run the show and convinced them to leave the church, and their faith, leaving them spiritually shipwrecked and physically needy.
Matthew 6:22 that says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes (your perspective) is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.”
If you seek happiness you will never find it, because it is the bi-product of a positive view of life, a good conscience and healthy life values. God has already decided that we are highly blessed, anointed and with authority in the earth. That’s in the spirit, but the soul has to be trained and convinced of that fact.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Now, that’s how God sees us Spiritually... Redeemed, healed, spirit filled, filled with wisdom and knowledge, anointed and FREE AT LAST, THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, FREE AT LAST!!! If you turn to Revelation, you know WE WIN! No matter how it looks or feels in the moment, WE WIN!
But if the soulish man is not subdued, ruled over, and trained, then it is, “GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY”.. “HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT”....
Now notice Ephesians 1:4 “According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”
God decided that we were chosen, holy, without blame, and loved with Agape love, before the world was formed. Because God thought it, and God said it, it was so. So now we have to rule our soul, and train it, so that our soul will not contradict what God has decided, and stop blocking it in negative, toxic messages to our body and our emotions.
Ephesians 1:8 “God has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, (the ability to do the right thing) 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself, (since the foundation of the world)
So we see here that we were designed to be filled with all wisdomand the ability to do the right thing, and know the mystery of His will...
Ephesians 1:11 In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Now would you say...”TheBest Is Yet To Come”.....
Listen to me, please. Before the world was formed, God adapted you, and gave you an inheritance. If your daddy was a billionaire, and you were 3 weeks old. You might be crying and complaining about a diaper rash, and needing your bottle, and needing a nap. It’s all you can see in life, but you are the heir of a billion dollars, even though you don’t understand it yet. You’re going to grow up, and one day you can get your head around it, but it’s true in the moment before you can even understand it..
Say with me, “I am an Heir, and joint Heir with Christ” ..... That means that no matter how your soulish man feels today, and no matter how everything looks today.... YOU ARE NOW AN HEIR.... YOUR INHERITANCE HAS ALREADY BEEN SETTLED before the world began. Don’t let your soulish self, talk you out of receiving and keeping your inheritance. It’s yours!! The soulish self is all about your feelings, your emotions, and your self will....
You’ve discovered your God image, and what God designed you for, before the foundation of the world!!!!
Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”.
We can see here, that being filled with the spirit of the word, brings a separation between the soul’s influence over the Spirit, so that the Spirit can become active, healthy and alive!!
When this revelation takes place in us, we begin to know Him, whom to know is truth, life, Spirit, Wisdom, and there comes a demonstration in the earth of the anointing that sets you apart unto Him...
The anointing for all you need in life is activated by worship... giving Him the honor and reverence which He is due. Giving accolades and reveling in His presence. Getting overwhelmed by His very majesty and splendor His eternal omniscience.
The second thing that activates the anointing is The Word of God, which is His revelation of Himself, for He so longs for mankind to know Him....His will, His intentions, His pleasure, His plan, His love, His power, His provision... Wow!
The third thing that activates the anointing is prayer, or intimacy with Him. (And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own) I talked about access last week, and He wants you to access a new level of intimacy with Him. Where you talk together about everything through out the day. And you let Him into your deepest inner conversations, where no one else is allowed to go.
You will never spend another lonely day in your life. You’ll never be bored again. You’ll never lack something to do. Your schedule will be so full of His appointments, His stuff, you could be the only one on a deserted island and still be busy for Him!!
Living His life through our spirit isn’t something we’re used tobecause our spirit is so used to competing with our soul and body for every decision.
When our thoughts, feelings, and intentions of our soul are directed by our spirit, we find it easier and easier to release the things God has already planned into our lives.... Health, joy, prosperity, and fullness of life. When we exercise our spirit by praying the Word of God, the Word releases the full life of God through us.
Declare with me.....”Lord Jesus, I turn away from living in my soul. I turn to You in my spirit. Lord, I want to live by the Spirit.”
We see a prayer which Paul prayed for the Thessalonian believers... (Drum roll please!)
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify (set you apart for Himself) completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I started this message with “How to receive and keep your healing”....
How many can see, that receiving and keeping your healing, and your emotional and mental health, has a lot to do with retraining your soul and keeping your spirit in charge of your total well being.... Our Spirit is ready for a demonstration ofliberty to the captives, healing to the sick, freedom to the oppressed of the devil, and the favor of the Lord!
God said it was yours, don’t let your soul talk you out of it!
The more we train our soul, the more healing, gifts and blessings we will see in our lives....
Yes, there are things that God has embedded in our Spirit, but we all need our soul imprinted upon by God’s word. It’s already yours, don’t let your intellect, emotions, sensory faculties, social self, and will, talk you out of it. Receive your inheritance. It’s waiting for you.
