The picture on the screen appears to be a red car parked beside a white van, but it is actually a red car painted on the side of a white van….
Other things we could mention….A banana tree is not a tree – it is an herb… A cucumber is not a vegetable – it is a fruit… A shooting star is not a star – it is a meteorite… A koala bear is not a bear – it is a marsupial…. A firefly is not a fly – it is a beetle…. A horned toad is not a toad – it is a lizard…. A lead pencil does not contain lead – it contains graphite…. A prairie dog is not a dog – it is a rodent … Chop suey is not a Chinese dish – it was created in California… A Mexican jumping bean is not a bean – it is a seed with a larva inside… And that is just a few…
Speaking of things not being as they appear….
I am reminded of Billy Graham’s statement that in order to tell the difference between counterfeit money and the real thing, Federal agents don’t have to study all the counterfeit currency that has been printed, they only need to study the real thing, and when theyknow the real thing, they will be able to spot the counterfeit and will never be fooled again. The word of God, breathed by the Holy Spirit, exposes deception and lies….and to anyone who takes the time to know the truth, it will reveal all that is false….(Things are not as they appear)
If you know that water causes light to slow down and bend whichcauses it to magnify anything in it, then you understand why things appear larger under water… In the same way, the carnal mind with it’s carnal logic, also bends the light of truth, so that negative things appear larger than they actually are in reality! We must have our minds and eyes recalibrated by the truth of God’s word, in order to see and perceive things accurately!
If we went by appearances, we would think that the Holiday which we celebrate this weekend, was National Play Day… but it is a lot more than that. It is not as it may appear…. On May 5, 1868, the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo—first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866 and was recognized because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which all businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flagsand honored them with special tributes. Originally the nation was asked to take time at 3 pm on that day to offer prayer, for all who are affected by those who gave their lives. Let’s take time to place flowers on monuments today or tomorrow and get back to honoring those who gave their lives for our freedom to worship God according to our personal convictions, in a moment of prayer….
Next, as we consider things that are not as they appear, look with me at,
Mark 12:41 “Jesus sat down across from the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. v42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. v43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. v44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
There were many who thought that giving more meant that God would bless them more, but Jesus watched some folks put more in the offering than the widow, but He elevated the poor widow’s small amount above all the others. Jesus was letting us know that He did not judge by the amount that people gave, but what percentage their giving was, compared to what they had…. She gave all….
The Lord was praising the fact that she sought first His kingdom and His righteousness with all that she had and all that she did…..
When we give our voices, our time, our service, kindness, compassion and we give the best we have… (God knows what our best gift should look like)…..He also measures our motive in giving…. He measures a generous heart and spirit… He measures the faith that is behind the gift…. He measures with the measurement of faithfulness… Give generously, Give in faith, Give faithfully, and it shall be given unto you!!!!
Sometimes the things that happen in our lives are not what they
appear to be….
There was once a man who was ship-wrecked and stranded on an island. Every day he prayed, asking God to send someone to rescue him, but to his disappointment, no one ever came. Months passed and this man learned how to survive on the island. During this time, he accumulated things from the island and stored them in a hut that he constructed. One day after hunting for food and returning back to his hut, much to his dismay he saw that his hut was on fire along with everything else he owned! The only thing he had left were the clothes he had on. Initially he was in shock, and then he was consumed with anger and rage! In his anger he threw a fist into the air and began cursing God and yelling, “God, how could you let this happen to me? I’ve been praying every day for months about being rescued and no one has come, and now everything that I have is on fire! How could you do to this to me! Why did you let this happen?” As the man was on his hands and knees weeping, he happened to look up and a boat was headed in his direction. The man was rescued and the captain told him that they were out in the ocean when they noticed a column of smoke going up. When we checked it out, that’s when we found you!” (Things are not as they appear)
Matthew 16:24 “Jesus said, If any man will come after me, let him deny(surrender) himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”.
This tells me that our victory will sometimes come disguised as a cross… So, keep in mind that what the devil has meant for evil, God has intended for your good! What looks like a disaster, can be a blessing in disguise. What looks like a huge mistake can line you up for miracles.
I call this “How to keep releasing the victory that is in embedded in your challenges”…
1. Give more than you receive and do it cheerfully.
2. Don't believe everything you hear,
3. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
4. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
5. Don't judge people by their relatives or their appearance.
6. Instead of complaining, quote a scripture.
7. Say "God bless you" often and sincerely.
8. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
9. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
10. When you lose, don't lose the lesson you needed to learn.
11. Spend time alone, just listening to God each day.
12. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
So you just learned that your new job is not exactly what you thought it would be? Maybe you learned that one of your friends is much different than you thought they were? Or, maybe you discovered that your savings account has more zeroes than numbers….. and the zeroes are in front of the numbers and not behind them… Do you add labels to names and steam and fret and rehash it and obsess over it?
Well Poopsi, welcome to a sin cursed, fallen world, with fallen people.
What do you do when like Moses, you felt that you were following God’s leading and you were hearing His voice and putting the plan He gave you into action, but you have come to the Red Sea at flood stage….
Well take a look at it…..The people are placing all the blame on Moses….. The people voiced their longing to just go back to Egypt and call the whole thing off . But Moses cried out to God…..and God showed up, and He showed up big. God graciously made the impossible possible by parting the waters and leading His people victoriously over those who were opposing Him. (You see we often make it about us, but it is really God’s plan that He’s working through us, that they are opposing). Satan doesn’t just want to stop you, he wants to kill you and everyone who believes in you…
And why did that all happen?
So that God would receive glory (Exodus 14:18 “And all Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen”.
God placed you there to get Him the glory, when things went side-ways, and weren’t the way they appeared to be…He was setting you up to see diamonds made from lumps of coal!!!
What is it in your life that is not what it appeared to be? Who is it in your life that is not what he or she appeared to be? God has allowed you to be in that situation to bring him glory…. He wants to show up and He wants to show up Big!!!GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD!!
Let me submit to you a scripture in Romans 4:17, "As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations, (Abraham had no children yet) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickens the dead, and calls those things which are not as though they were."
Notice that God says, "He makes alive the dead, and calls those things that are not, (are not in existence yet,) as though they were already in existence.
He says we are to call things that do not yet appear….as though they were…
That tells me that we are not to go by the appearance of things, but call things that do not yet appear! OR CHANGE THE APPEARANCE OF THINGS!!
Mark 11:22-24 (Bible in Basic English" translation), "And Jesus, answering, said to them, Have God's faith. Truly I say to you, Whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and be put into the sea; and has no doubt in his heart, but has faith that what he says will come about, he will have his desire. For this reason I say to you, Whatever you make a request for in prayer, have faith that it has been given to you, and you will have it."
Notice that the Greek meaning here can be expressed, "to have the God kind of faith," or "use God's kind of faith." Now if Jesus is teaching us that we should actually use God's Faith... and make no mistake, He is saying to do that... then, we should use God's faith in the same way that God uses it.... by speakingand declaring!
Let's look at the rest of the verse... notice He says, "whoever will say."
It IS to anyone that will "say!" The qualifier is that you be willing to speak God's Word over the situation! And, notice, He is not saying talk ABOUT the situation, He is saying rather to talk TO the situation, or thing! You must "say to the mountain"what you want it to do!
A lot of people are simply not willing to "say it!" They won't speak their faith, because of Satan’s intimidation tactics…
2 Corinthians 4:13 makes this clear as well, "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore we speak."
We believe, therefore we speak!
We speak in a manner that changes the appearance of a thing, and brings Glory and Honor to God!
Opportunities are not entitlements; they are privileges to be used for God’s glory….
Things may not happen instantaneously, but they will happen at the right time for maximum results…. What we must understand is that when we refuse to go by how things may appear, but we speak words of faith which are founded upon God’s word and His will. We set in motion a process which can then bring it to pass….Things begin to appear, that had not appeared before….
Consider James 3:6 "And the tongue is a fire, among our members, and it sets on fire the course of nature”…
In the original Greek, this is translated, (it sets in motion the cycle of natural events). Just as Satan uses the very power of your own words against you, so likewise God uses the power of your words to work in your behalf to set things in motion to bless you and fulfill His plan in your behalf!
The problem with so many is that they see their need to follow Christ, but they never make the decision to allow that challenge to affect the way they live their lives….
There was a large group of people gathered. They were divided by a fence which ran between them. On one side of the group stood Jesus. On the other side stood Satan. Both Jesus and Satan had each had gathered a group of people.
But many had climbed on the fence and were content to sit on it and not make a commitment. Satan and his group were about to leave, when he suddenly stopped and looked straight at those on the fence and said “You can come with me now." They said, "But we have chosen to sit on the fence. We didn’t choose to follow anyone." And Satan said, "But what you didn’t understand is that I own the fence." Many have thought that sitting on the fence in their Christian walk was being neutral, but no action is the same as the guy who drove the car while the thieves went in to rob the bank. He can try to say he didn’t rob the bank but he didn’t do anything to stop it either.
We cannot be neutral when it comes to abortion… We cannot be neutral when it comes to things that are clearly contrary to the bible…. We cannot be neutral about issues that are anti-familyand anti-God…
The enemy wants to convince us that good is evil and that evil is good.
True faith is spelled A.C.T.I.O.N … Faith is not a doctrine, IT IS A HAPPENING! Faith and belief are synonymous.. Faith is about speaking into existence what you believe, and then believing it will come to pass.
Mark 11: 19-22 “And when even was come, he went out of the city. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which You cursed is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” (or … “Have the God kind of faith.”)
Peter was excited that Jesus had spoken to the problem (the fig tree) the evening before. And to Peter’s amazement … by the next morning the tree had dried up from the very roots. When Peter drew this to the Lord’s attention, Jesus then began to instruct His followers concerning how to develop this “God Kind of Faith.” Jesus is telling us to “talk directly to the problem” in our life, and “not talk to God about the problem”.
We can also see that not only did these faith filled words speed up the natural process which brought it to pass! It can also mean that the natural process is over-ridden and superseded…
Scripture calls this “The quickening”….
Ephesians 2:1“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins”
Ephesians 2:5 “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (for by grace you are saved;)
Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you”.
So to hold sway over the course of nature, we need to speak quickening words that will re-direct and hasten the natural process.
What are you saying about your life? What are you saying about your job, your spouse, your children, your family, your friends, your co-workers, your health or your finances?
In the spiritual world the faith filled confession of God’s word releases containers of power that can change your life, direct your future, and allow you to get your life in line with God's Will!
These Word containers can carry God's Power to literally heal your body, bring financial blessing to your circumstances, and bring the promises of God's Word into this natural realm to bless you and your family!
We need to be saying things such as…
”I am a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new”…. “ I am an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ”… “I have been delivered from the power and dominion of darkness”… “I am blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”…” I AM FREE! And whom the Son sets free is FREE INDEED!”
I am free from all generational curses, known and unknown.
I am free from fears, anxiety, stress, and worry.
I am free from depression, oppression, grief, and guilt.
I am free from all unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, hatred, and unforgiveness,
I am free from all fatigue, tiredness, insomnia, and weariness.
I am free from all addictions, self- abuse and destructive habits.
I am free from all spirits of infirmity, sickness, and disease.
I am free from poverty, lack and debt. I loose prosperity, and declare
I am debt free in Jesus’ name.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (natural), but mighty through God (supernatural) to the pulling down of strong holds (barriers or obstacles); Casting down imaginations (mental images of something that is not real), and every high thing (that we give authority and prominance) that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (bringing your thoughts in line with God’s Word and kingdom values and principles).”
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” .. In another place Jesus told the disciples that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak…
Luke tells us in his book..Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching ”
Matthew goes on to tell us the story of ten virgins, which is all about being in a spiritual state of readiness…. Five had oil and five did not. It is a visual reminder about maintaining our vigil.
Sadly, could it be that we are more aware of the latest movies, the play-offs, the party/entertainment scene, or the latest political special report, than we are about spiritual warfare, or engaging in spiritual battles over our families, or our loved ones or our city….
We have a generation like no generation who are isolating themselves from reality and who are buried in their video games, social media, and the latest pop cult movement.. (I for one, am very concerned)
And I’m concerned that they have exchanged entertainment for responsibility, personality for character, and instant gratification for eternal values and purpose….
Watching includes staying alert, being on guard, being informed, and being prepared….
There was once a spider who lived in a cornfield. She was a big spider, and she had spun a beautiful web between the corn stalks. She got fat eating all the bugs that would get caught in her web. She liked this home and planned to stay there for the rest of her life. One day, the spider caught a little bug in her web, and just as the spider was about to eat him, the bug said, "If you let me go I will tell you something important that will save your life." The spider paused for a moment and listened because she was amused. "You better get out of this cornfield," the little bug said, "The harvest is coming!" The spider smiled and said, "What is this harvest you are talking about? I think you are just telling me a story to save your hide." But the little bug said, "Oh no, it is true. The owner of this field is coming to harvest it soon. All the stalks will be knocked down, and the corn will be gathered up. You will be killed by the giant harvest machines if you choose to stay here."
The spider said, "I don't believe in harvests and giant machines that knock down corn stalks. How can you prove this?" The little bug continued, "Just look at the corn. See how it is planted in long, straight rows? It proves this field was created by an intelligent designer." The spider laughed and mockingly said, "This field has evolved and has nothing to do with a creator. Corn always grows that way." The bug went on to explain, "Oh no. This field belongs to the owner who planted it, and the harvest is coming soon." The spider grinned and said to the little bug, "I don't believe you," and then the spider ate the little bug for lunch.
A few days later, the spider was laughing about the story the little bug had told her. She thought to herself, "A harvest! What a silly idea. I have lived here all of my life, and nothing has ever disturbed me. I have been here since these stalks were just a foot off the ground, and I'll be here for the rest of my life, because nothing is ever going to change in this field. Life is good, and I have it made."
The next day was a beautiful sunny day in the cornfield. The sky above was clear, and there was no wind at all. But that afternoon, as the spider was about to take a nap, she noticed some thick dusty clouds moving toward her. She could hear the roar of a great engine, and she said to herself, "I wonder what that could be?"…..
Things are not always as they appear to be on the surface….Things may look great on the surface, but fall short when we see them below the surface. We’ll know them by their fruit….Inspecting fruit, is not judging, and we can’t judge spiritual things with carnal measures…But we inspect that we may bring healing and restoration!
We are going to be on this earth for just a short time, but we will spend forever in eternity, so while we are here, we are called upon to see the invisible and hear the inaudible, so we can do the impossible…
Closing Prayer….
Lord, you told us to pray for Your Kingdom to come here on earth and we know that your Kingdom is in us, so, we pray that we will be able to surrender to you in such a way that your Kingdom may be revealed through us, throughout our world. You also told us to pray for Your will to be done so, we pray that You will give us Your Mind and Your heart and Your eyes so that we may know Your will and bring it into our circles of influence, right here where we live our lives each day.
May Your will be done in myself, my family, my church, my work place, my neighborhood, and my city.
Father, we thank You that Your kingdom has come to our own personal sphere of influence. Your kingdom is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
We come before you and humble ourselves in prayer and we seek Your face and turn from our unprofitable ways. We turn from our self-centeredness, pride, selfishness, jealousy, envy, and we ask for Your forgiveness as we ask for Your Kingdom to come in greater measure in our lives.
We thank You that Your Kingdom has come to our city by Your being in us.
We thank You that every place the souls of our feet shall walk, through outour city You have given to us. We thank You that Your will is being done through those who believe in and follow you. We pray that the Holy Spirit would call more of His servants into the harvest.
let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in our lives, our families, ourchurch and our city!
In the mighty and precious name of Jesus….
