In Australia, if you say “My shout”, then you’re letting everyone know that it’s your turn… If someone says “Can you shout me” they’re asking if you can cover the cost for them…. If someone says “It’s my shout” they’re saying they will pick up the cost of something….A shout-out, is to recognize someone in appreciation of them or something they did…. But in the culture of the bible, we see that SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO SHOUT IT OUT!Just saying it won’t do!

In the scripture which I open this session with, God is speaking to Joshua and giving him the battle plan for victory, even as the nation is entering the promised land….

Joshua 6:6 “Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

Anyone can shout after the walls have come down to your trial, test, or unsurmountable obstacle. But can you shout the shout of obedience and submission to God, when you see and feel nothing. But God has said to shout, and you don’t feel like it, or your flesh needs to see a reason to shout… as a matter of fact you feel more like screaming instead of shouting…..I like the words of Paul after he was converted

He said in Galatians 1:15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb, called me by his grace, and was pleased v16to reveal his Son in me, I did not confer with flesh and blood,"                                          1 Corinthians 15:50 I tell you this, brothers,flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the 

imperishable.

If the Israelites had consulted the flesh, they would never have shouted, and the walls would have remained unmoved…. I mean come on…. 6 days of marching, and 7 times on the 7th day! Most of us would have been calling 911!!!

For mankind, change is inevitable, for God, change is impossible. He cannot change. For God to change He would be in violation of every covenant, and every promise, and if He changed, even the balance of the universe would be in jeopardy! He is the unchanging one, and His word, His love, His mercy, His grace, His character, His purpose, His longsuffering, His covenant, His justice, His righteousness, His Glory and splendor and majesty, endure forever!

THE UNCHANGABLENESS OF GOD IS REASON TO SHOUT!!!

If we only make it about us, about our situations, ourcircumstances, and our conditions… Our injustices, our hurts, our wounds and scars, it will muzzle and snuff out, our shout….

But listen, John 8:36 declares “He whom the Son sets free, IS FREE INDEED”! The words “IS FREE” here, are in the present perfect tense in your life, not in a historic sense, but a progressive, ongoing, “IS FREE”… NOW AND FROM THIS TIME FORTH!!!We shout the victory we already have in Christ, no matter how the circumstances appear, we shout in order to see it manifest in our lives.  ​

Your feet shouldn’t touch the floor in the morning without your shout! You shouldn’t walk out of your house without your shout! 

The shout is your battle cry. Before the first step had been taken around Jericho, God told the people to SHOUT, FOR I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN YOU THE VICTORY! In the bible, the shout, was a declaration that God was on your side and the enemy would be overwhelmed with those odds…. The shout was lifted violently, to strike fear in the enemy and cause him to lose confidence and break his power. The shout is a declaration of your unmovable faith, your unshakeable trust in the maker and creator of all things, it is about tapping into the power of agreement to see thevictory before the battle begins. It is a speaking forth that what God has done He will do again, and even greater things! IT IS THE SOUND OF EXPECTATION!

Psalms 47:1 “Clap your hands all you people, shout unto God with a voice of triumph”!

On the count of 3, I want you to shout, HALLELUJAH!

Now, I’m going to whisper it…. (Hallelujah) Is it still a shout? 

When you blow out a candle, there’s no volume, but the candle still goes out. It’s not just about volume, but it’s about what’s coming out of your mouth. If I shout the promises, and I’m shouting the word of God…                                    It doesn’t make a difference about the volume if you’re in a situation when that wouldn’t be appropriate…. You can shout at a funeral, at the library or on the job…. And effect the atmosphere…Isaiah tells us that “His word shall not return void as it is sent forth into the earth”…. The word works if we work it! 

A shout is like a battering ram, to break down, break through, and push past, the barriers, the blockages and strongholds, that want to keep you from entering in… As we shout a praise to God, walls will fall… *……walls of sickness, walls of poverty, walls of oppression and bondage.  When we hit a wall that is keeping us from possessing what God has promised us, it is time to shout.  Bondages, strongholds, hindrances- COME DOWN! We need to shout them down in the name of Jesus.  

Our shout, is a command of authority given to us by the Lord, to put to flight the powers of darkness and challenge their authority, by confronting them with a higher authority.  

Let’s look at this scripture: Mark 10:46 And they came to Jericho: and as Jesus went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. v47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out, and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. v48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: 

but he cried the more a great deal, Jesus son of David, have mercy on me. v49 And Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he is calling you. v50 And he, cast aside his beggar’s garment and rose and came to Jesus. v51 And Jesus said unto him, What do you need, that I should do unto you? 

The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.v52 And Jesus said unto him, Go your way, your expectant faith (shout) has made you whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way”.

The shout of Blind Bartimaeus caused a powerful move of God.Amen? His shout caught the attention of Jesus, and in the end, itcaused a miraculous healing that broke through blindness and poverty, and gave Bartimaeus his sight. Oh, my, there was power in Bartimaeus’ shout. Here’s a shout that caused Jesus to stop in His tracks, and give His full and undivided attention to a blind beggar!

Our shout will stop angels in their tracks….. Psalm 103:20 “Bless the Lord, all His angels, that excel in strength, that carry out His will, harkening unto the voice of His word”!

When we shout out His word with expectant faith, we stop angels and get their undivided attention, that they may carry out God’s will in our lives and our circle of influence….

Stop worrying if God will do it, and shout what He said He would do, according to His word. My Lord, the Holy Spirit can say something to us 10 times, and we will need 5 confirmations….thedevil can say one thing into our minds and we’ll believe it and start acting it out, with fear, and doubt and worry. 

There is a story of a fella from Boston who died and went to Hell. Satan says, "We're gonna make you miserable." He cranks up the thermostat to 95. "No problem. Just like Boston in June," he says. So Satan cranks it up to 105. "No problem. Just like Boston in August." Satan's getting angry. He tries a new tactic. He punches the thermostat all the way down as low as it can go. 100 below zero. The whole place is frozen. The guy from Boston starts jumping up and down, and shouting at the top of his voice, "YEAAAA! The Red Sox must have won the World Series!" (Of course we know hell is not a joking matter)…..We want to do everything we can to keep anyone from going there…

Expel your fears, and cast them out with a SHOUT that says, “God said it, that settles it, whether I can get my head around it or not!!!

I’M GOING TO SHOUT!

Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given, seek, and you shall find,knock, and it shall be opened unto you. v8 For every one that asks, shall receive and he that seeks shall find, and to him that will knock it shall be opened”.

TRUST IT, BELIEVE IT, EXPECT IT!!! Don’t give up… You may try 10 things before the one thing that was always yours, opens up, so, keep on knocking…. The same word He spoke and the heavens and the earth and everything in them were brought into existence, is the word He delivers unto us.

A few months ago, we celebrated Palm Sunday. The good citizens of Jerusalem were looking for a deliverer to fight and win their freedom for them, like the Maccabees had been so many years before. They brought out their palms just as their ancestors had done. They wanted someone to lead them in breaking the grip that the hated legions of Rome had over them. They welcomed the Lord with shouts of joy, and threw their garments in his path. But they soon realized that THIS deliverer was like none they had ever known before. The result? Disappointment. And the disappointment moved them from Palm Sunday to shouting “crucify Him” in the blink of an eye.

Let me say this here… If you are always getting revelation that exposes everyone around you, but never gives you revelation that exposes you…. something’s wrong with your source of revelation….(repeat)

We have all known disappointment… perhaps with the Lord because the answer to a heartfelt prayer did not come in the way we expected. God didn’t work on our schedule, in our way, or it didn’t look like we thought it should. Or perhaps there was disappointment with the Lord’s Church, disappointment because the church was populated with broken people, making adjustments in their lives, just like all the rest of us. And your joyous shout was shut down. Stop reacting to what didn’t happen the way you thought, and begin to shout over what the Lord has already determined will be done….

Speaking of what has already happened…  A U.S. Navy destroyer stopped four Mexicans rowing towards Texas. The Captain gets on the loud speaker and shouts: “Ahoy, you 4 in the small craft. Where are you headed?" One of the Mexicans puts down his oar, stands up, and shouts, "Gringo, we are invading the United States of America to reclaim the territory taken by the USA during the 1800's." The entire crew on the destroyer double over in laughter.When the Captain finally catches his breath, he gets back on the loud speaker and asks, "So, just the four of you are doing this?"The same Mexican stands up again and shouts, "No, we’re the last 4. The other 20 million are already there.”                                     God has been where you are going. He’s got it covered. He has already invaded the enemies territory, and defeated the strongman. That’s reason to shout… 

I realized as I was preparing this message, that one of the things that steals our shout, is about where our treasure is… I am going to paraphrase a verse of scripture here, and I believe it is true…                                                                   Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.. NOW, let me paraphrase that…. 

“Where your treasure is, there your shout will be also”

We shout about the things that are important to us…. We shout at ball games when our child or grand child scores, or does well. We shout while watching sports on TV.. We shout when we find out we are expecting a child….We shout when our children are born… When they graduate, When we get a gift we’ve always wanted… When we got our driver’s license, When we get our first car….(on I could go)…., Things that have value to us….(isn’t that right)                                                             Where is our shout when it comes to eternal, spiritual, forever things? WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR SHOUT WILL BE!!  

When Habakkuk the prophet had lost everything, and was surrounded with utter desolation, he shouted forth "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, and take joy in the God of my salvation!" The Lord was his treasure!                                                                                                             Sometimes a shout is, to expel upon the breath and reject doubt and fear and heaviness from our spirits. We are bringing strength, confidence and power into us, in their place.Our shout is a way of casting it out!

So SHOUT IT OUT!

I’m reminded of the blind lady who went to a special miracle service that was advertised not to far from her. She went forward and was prayed for and received her healing. A month later she still couldn’t see, but she kept telling everyone about her healing. She would stand up in church and testify about how she was blind but now she could see. Folks would laugh and scoff. Some would tell her that she was making a fool of herself. And one night, she was standing in front of her mirror, and she was telling the Lord, “Jesus, I know you healed me, I felt your power, and I know it’s true, but Lord they don’t understand, so, show all of them what you did for me.” And as she finished her prayer,                           she saw her reflection in the mirror. She said “Lord, thank you, I always knew it, but now they can know it too”!

Shout it, when you don’t see it, until you do!!!

Zephaniah 3:16 “Do not fear, do not let your hands fall limp. v17The LORD your God is among you, He is mighty to save. He will shout over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

It’s an awesome thing, when we shout and the Lord shouts back to us…

He shouted into the darkness and there was light, He shouted into the storm and it was calm, He shouted over His people and they were saved and preserved against all odds. When His shout mingles with our shout, heaven and earth will move in obedience.

Psalm 149:5 “Let the saints revel in glory, let them shout for joy upon their beds. v6 May the high praises of God (praising in the Spirit) be in their mouths, and a double-edged sword in their hands”…

Let’s join our Lord and master in His shouting…. Let those of earth, join in agreement with heaven’s host in the shout of victory, the shout of the finished work, the shout of expectant faith and confidence in the promises of God! Let’s wake up shouting and lie down shouting….

There’s a shout that is coming, which will shake the heavens and the earth. It will pierce the cemeteries and every place where mankind has died. It will shake the very foundations of society and reap the precious harvest of the earth. It will signal the end of one dispensation and the beginning of another, and it will usher in the “Day of the Lord”….WHAT A SHOUT THAT WILL BE! 

1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first”.

Are you ready for that shout? Have you prepared by getting your family and loved ones into the place of safety? Stop worrying about being rejected, or ridiculed. When you watch them being turned away from heaven forever, being ridiculed will be the last thing on your mind. Are you ready for the shout that will separate you and your loved ones forever!

The shout that will separate the sheep from the goats, the righteous from the unrighteous, the rebellious from the disobedient.

It’s time to push through your fears and concerns and believe me, when you know that their soul is saved and you will see them in heaven forever… YOU WILL BE SHOUTING! OUR GOD IS ABLE.!

When God in the flesh walked the streets of Jerusalem, His presence often upset status quo and messed up the work of Satan everywhere He went! When He showed up, the sick were healed, the dead were raised, and water was turned into wine!   

In the middle of a storm, He went for a stroll across the sea without a bridge! He stopped a funeral procession and touched the coffin and the boy that was dead in the coffin, got out!  He stood outside of a tomb and spoke to a dead man, called him by his name and he came hopping and wiggling out of the grave! He went into a room and shut the door on a girl who was dead and while the funeral service was going on (how rude is that), He said, “Talitha Cumi,” which is to say, “Daughter, I say unto thee, Arise!” and turned the obituary into a party announcement! He wasn't too good at natural math, because he divided 5,000 men plus women and children into two fish and five loaves of bread and fed everyone with 12 baskets full left over! That’s crazy math! He wasn't too good at natural medicine either... He spat in the eyes of a blind man and the blind man opened up his eyes and said, “I don’t know anything about Him, but one thing I do know, once I was blind but now I see!”  He is Lord of all, and as powerful as they may be now, every knee in heaven and earth will bow and declare His Lordship!

So, why not shout out like the blind man, and invite Him to mess up your day, turn it inside out and put it together again!!!

Give forth the shout of command, the shout of break through like a battering ram against the gates of hell, for they shall not prevail against your anointed shout. Give a shout that brings down the walls of the enemy, Give a shout that is your battle cry which strikes terror in the enemy and causes him to flee…..

In announcing this title, I am not trying to just be cute, or different, but to use it as a hook, to hang some truth on for us today…. If you can go out of here connecting what I want to share with UFO’s then the UFO’s won’t be what it’s all about, but what it’s connected to….

Billions of dollars and massive time and energy have been invested to discover if we are alone in the Universe. Every year thousands of sightings are reported and like the illusive Big Foot, conclusive proof continues to remain in the realm of fantasy.                                                            

In June 11th, 1982, Universal Pictures, released the movie E.T. In one weekend it had 12 million in viewer sales, and was an immediate Blockbuster. It generated 435 million dollars and surpassed Star Wars, to become the highest grossing film of all time, at that time. 

That kind of turnout reflects the tremendous interest in alien visitation, UFO’s and the big question…. “Are we alone, in the universe”?               

Who could forget those Star-Trek years – as CAPTAIN JAMES KIRK of the USS STARSHIP ENTERPRISE, spent his whole career dealing with Aliens. And of course there is Luke Skywalker, Princess Leah, and Hans Solo, in Star Wars, as they cooperated with and fought some pretty weird extra-terrestrial life forms….

There are nights when I have looked up at the Milky Way band which we are embedded in, containing 400 billion stars, each with planets circling them, and wondered what it would be like to be abducted by a UFO and taken to their planet and be the first to share the gospel with their kind…. (WOAH….. REEL IT IN MAN)

By now, some of you are seriously weighing the credibility of your pastor, but take a deep breath, and relax because UFO’s and alien visitations and even alien abductions have happened all through the bible…. As a matter of fact, all of us should expect these things to happen in the coming year…The UFO’S I’m talking about are 

“Unbelievably Fantastic Opportunities”

Going all the way back to the creation, In Genesis 3:8 indicates that 

Adam and Eve had an alien visitation every day….God walked daily in the garden and taught them, and fellowshipped with them…. 

We used to sing a song that kind of takes this for granted in our time…check out the lyrics… “And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. He speaks and the sound of His voice, all the birds hush their singing, and the melody that He gave to me, within my heart it’s ringing….”

God walked with Enoch and one day they just kept walking, and Enoch didn’t stop until he flew right by death and arrived in heaven. His legacy is “That he walked with God”

Elijah was abducted by God in a fiery UFO, and did not see natural death, but passed from life into life… these two men, Enoch and Elijah are a dress rehearsal for the great resurrection morning when all the righteous will find their way to their true eternal home. 

Methuselah walked with God 969 years and died the year of the flood. We don’t know all the adventures he and God had….Methuselah was alive when Adam was alive and he was still alive when Noah built the ark….These were incredible men and knew God in a special way!

Genesis 32:30, we read that Jacob saw God: “So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face…” Jacob also saw alien beings called angels ascending and descending from heaven.

Genesis 19 Abraham entertained angels, who stopped by his home to tell him that they were on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham negotiates with them to save his nephew Lot….

Exodus 33:11 “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend”.

Jesus showed up in the fiery furnace with the Hebrew children and they could not be burned….And it’s not just ancient history….

I have heard countless stories of Jesus showing up in hospital rooms, in prisons, and homes in Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Nazi populations. 

During the six day war, when the Jewish people took back Jerusalem, there are countless accounts of Arab armies seeing 10-12 foot angels fighting for the Jews….The aliens showed up!

Tell someone… “You can always count on Jesus showing up.”!

The children were doing a reenactment of Jesus triumphant entry,  but because of a sore throat, 5-year-old Annie stayed home from church with her mother. When the rest of the family returned home, they were carrying palm fronds. Annie asked them what they were for. Her father said, honey, “People held them over Jesus’ head as he rode by on a colt,” 

“Well, wouldn’t you know it,” Annie grumbled, “the one Sunday I’m sick and Jesus shows up and offers pony rides!”

We’re talking about aliens, and I am looking at aliens right now as I face you in this room (you’re not scary at all)  The Apostle Peter says we are strangers and aliens.                                                                                                 1 Peter 2:11-12 “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among this world that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God in the day he visits us”.

We who are Christians are called to serve an alien entity, who came to earth 2000 years ago, to show us how to fight evil alien forces which also came to kill, steal and destroy. 

Before the foundation of the earth, his coming was planned… before the heavenly rebellion, before mankind, before sin, before all of that, the visitation was put in place.

So, understanding this…. We then realize that it is all spelled out in the original Star Wars trilogy…..not Spielberg’s version, but the version we find in Ephesians 6: 10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit (the alien tongue) on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”.

MAY THE REAL FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!

The old song says --- “This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore….” If you are a Christian, you are not a permanent resident here… Jesus called us to live like aliens—to fix our minds on radically different priorities. Your ultimate allegiance is in heaven, your citizenship is there, You are an Alien and a stranger…                                                                  All Believers in Christ are aliens in this world. It’s difficult for us to fit into a world that is out of touch with the values, and principles of our home land….That’s what our struggles are mostly about. Because we are in the world but not of the world. We are just passing through… call it pilgrims, sojourners, pioneers, way markers, or aliens. We speak another language…. The bible…. We meditate on it, we decree it’s truths, we pray it, we teach it, we memorize it, we live it!!!! And, I am glad today to be an ALIEN FROM ANOTHER WORLD, How about you!

I love the sci-fi movies where those who are aliens have special powers… THAT’S US AS WELL!!!

The head alien (Jesus) endued us with power from the home land…. He said as I have overcome the world, you shall overcome also in my name. He said “The things I have done you shall do also in My name”… He actually bestowed on us these powers saying….                                                     Matthew 10:7 “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ v8 and Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse all kinds of diseases, castout demons. (KA POW) Freely you have received, freely give”, 

He even gave us power over the grave, saying “because I live you shall live also”

What a great tragedy it is when a believer throws away his faith and hope in the amazing future world that we have been promised,and renounces his citizenship there, and lives for "this present world."                                                                                                  John said it well, “The world is passing away and its desires, but the one who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17)

I want to stir you up to use the means God has given you to maintain your alien identity in a world constantly pressing you into its mold.

If you lose money you’ve lost something needed. If you’ve lost a friend you’ve lost more. But if you lose your identity, you’ve lostthe most important thing of all.

In some ways we can judge the invisible things by the visable… (by their fruit you shall know them) Here’s an interesting measurement of our claim to the lordship of Christ…..                                                                            1 John 4:20 says, "If anyone says I love God and yet hates his brother, he is a liar, for anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen."

I heard that a Pastor and his board chairman got in a heated argument over a detail in the building program. The pastor, being diplomatic, said “I suggest we go home and pray to God to grant us peaceful hearts”, as the chairman stormed past him into the churchyard. *……After worship the next Sunday morning, hegreeted the Pastor warmly, saying, “I took your advice, and I went home and said a prayer.” “Great!” said the Pastor. “So did I! I prayed that God would grant us both peaceful hearts and a fresh start.” “Well”….The chairman said, “That’s not what I prayed, I asked God to give me patience to tolerate you.” (He was almost, but not quite there)

So, love fervently…. Give cheerfully….Pray earnestly…. Believe intensely. Seek Him unceasingly…..Know who you are….Live out the Word….Never settle for less…..Make each day count…..Know where you’re going…..Know Jesus more, and more, and more…

We know that being a Christian begins with a supernatural act. That means it is not of this world. (beam me up Scotty) If we could do it, Christ would not have come. We could make the leap ourselves. Salvation is an action which is of another realm….                                                                                                                      Jesus taught his disciples to pray “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).

This work which is activated in us and joins us to the realms of heaven, enters us to make us part of the supernatural realm. We are granted full citizenship, full participation, access to Divine counsel, power over Satanic intruders, permission and authority to act in God’s behalf, the right to speak His word as though He were speaking, and the ability to live forever…. 

Colossians 1:12-13 “He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”              In the summer of 1805, some Indian chiefs and warriors met in council at Buffalo Creek, New York to hear a presentation of the Christian message from the Boston Missionary Society. After the sermon, Chief Red Jacket responded, “Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this area. These people are our neighbors. We are well acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest and less prone to cheat the Indians, we will then consider again what you have said.” Well, we know how that went…. It’s a wonder that any Indians ever received the gospel….

Unless you have had a supernatural act, done in your life from another realm, (we call it salvation) you will find it impossible tolive the kind of life the bible calls supernatural, it’s the will of God in us, as we journey through this world. 

It all starts, with receiving Him as savior, then take the next step and receive Him as your Lord and master. Both steps are necessary. The first is instant, the second, we walk out daily as we grow and learn through His word, which is our manual for this pilgrim life.                                                                            John 17:16 “You are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”

John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, the world hates you as it hated me”.

You’ve made him your savior, but have you taken the second step, and made him your Lord and master….

One day, the disciples were telling Jesus what the people around them were saying about him… One by one they chimed in, then Jesus asked them the most important question of all…”Who do you say I am”…. God makes this thing personal, and unavoidable….

Daniel in the lion’s den wouldn’t have survived if he didn’t know beyond a doubt who He was…I think of Paul in prison, when the jail burst open and they were set free… It was because they were sure and completely confident who they were…. Then there’s Peter, saying to the lame man, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." They knew who they were!

An old man with a cane hobbled with great difficulty through the hallway and into the pastor’s office and passed the women who were having their prayer meeting in an adjacent room. He was bent over and obviously in great pain.

Twenty minutes later he came out, walking upright and moving with grace and speed. “Praise the Lord, some of the ladies shouted, that’s wonderful that the pastor prayed for you and you were healed.”          “Well you’re close,” the old man told them. “What the pastor did, was to give me a new cane. Mine was six inches too short!”

The pastor gave him something better to lean on! That’s what God wants all of us to have… something better to lean on… Hallelujah, He’s our blessed assurance… Our strong foundation… A shelter in the time of storm… Peace that passes all understanding… Our shield and fortress… A mighty tower which we can run into…. A safe place… The rock that won’t roll… Our standard bearer… Our deliverer and lifter of our head….He’s theeverlasting arms… our comforter…. Faithful friend… our healer… helper in time of need… Justice and truth… Our keeper and confidence… Our reason and hope….Eternal lover… Master and King….  

And it’s about making Him Lord and Master…. I need all of that… how about you….

Would you take a moment as we close and crown Him Lord and King in your life this morning before we leave this place. 
Let’s pray…. Lord Jesus, I declare and establish that You are the Christ, my Great King, my Good Shepherd, my Only Master, my Helper, my sustainer, my Priest and intercessor before the Father, my True Light, my Truth, my Way and the Light of my life, my Wisdom, and my Everlasting Salvation.                                                                                                                                                                    I give You my heart and I ask you to take me, and use me as Your servant to spread Your mercy, grace and love to my world. I ask the Holy Spirit to make me more like You. I want to give You a central place in my heart, and I ask that you would teach me Your ways, that I might walk in Your will and plan for my life.                                                                                 May I always hunger and thirst after you, as I deal with all the issues of my life. Let Your words fill my spirit, my thoughts and my mouth as I speak with wisdom and truth. Lord, I desire to honor You in thought, in word, and in deedas once again, I commit myself unto you, as my Lord and my Master. I pray this for Your honor and glory, In Your glorious name, amen. 

He gives us something better to lean on! When the world seems all wrong, when it looks like it can’t be fixed, when everyone has turned against you, Yes, we have something better to lean upon and He won’t let us down!

As I announce the title to this message, I’m reminded that Moses told the people in Numbers 11:29 “Would to God that all the LORD'S people would prophesy, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them all”!

To prophesy in the Bible is to speak under inspiration…to declare forth the promises of God—and the intentions of God. His promises of peace and not destruction, promises of grace and mercy, of truth that reveals deception, and of hope that drives away despair, leaders who will do what is just and right in the land, and Salvation and safety for the people. A prophet is an office in the body of Christ, it is an abiding gift, to build up and strengthen the church. But we all can speak as we are inspired by the Holy Spirit. 

Proverbs 18:21"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits". Or death and life are in your words!

Romans 6:23 “To set your mind on the flesh is death, but to set your mind on the Spirit is life and peace”. 

There is a song by Bryan & Katie Torwalt, titled “prophesy your promise” Listen to the lyrics…

“I found You in the middle of my mess, You had been there all along, With open arms and open heart, You called me in, And You didn’t hesitate at all, And the lies I once believed, They crumble with the weight of Your truth, And the fear that gripped my heart Is arrested, So that I can see You. When I only see in part, I will prophesy Your promise, I believe You, God Because You finish what You start. I will trust You with the process, I believe You, God. You set a table in the middle of my war, Cause You knew the outcome of it all. When what I faced looked like it would never end, You said, watch the giants fall. Fear can go to hell, and Shame can go there too, Cause I know whose I am God, I belong to You”.

Revelation 19:10 “The Word of the Lord is the spirit of prophecy”. God’s word is already inspired, and God breathed. 

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. 

We are being instructed here, that God’s word produces in us faith, so that we can move into the unknown with confidence that things we cannot see are being formed and shaped by God’s word coming out of our Spirit by the Holy Spirit which is transforming our voices into the creative Roush, or the God breathed word of prophetic substance.

We are familiar with Hebrews 11:1 which states that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence (hypostasis) of things not seen” But let me present you with something you might miss here….

When you can receive this in your spirit, you understand that the reality which you are believing for, in your life, your home, your job, your city, is waiting to be spoken out by the promises of God that need to be come out of your mouth in a consistent and unrelenting persistence, which refuses to give up or quit.

Hebrews 11:1 is not about what faith is, as much as it is about what faith does! It is the very beginning of everything that really matters spiritually, and it originates in the Spirit realm but affects everything in the natural realm in our lives. By saying that it is the "evidence" or in the Greek, “hypostasis” we are actually saying that we have received the "title deed," of the things we hoped for…If then, you hold the title deed, you will begin to talk and act like it is already yours, not like it will some day be yours….

As part of this presentation by Paul, on this “hypostasis” faith, he gives a list of some bible characters who exampled this for us. He points to Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.

When you understand that God has already given you the title deed to what you cannot see, and you begin to speak and act like it, miracles begin to be released to bring it to pass…                                                            The children of Israel walked across the Red Sea on dry ground, manna came from heaven, water came out of the rock, enemies were defeated against all odds….The walls of Jericho fell down flat…and there are Gideon, Samson, David and Samuel, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised. God shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, their weakness was turned to strength. Women received back their dead, who were raised to life again.

Hold on to your “hypostasis,” your title deed… for it has great recompense of reward!

As we look at all this, It’s important that we keep in mind, a portion of scripture in James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures”.

We need to grasp this…. When our motive is to honor God, and to serve Him, and to put Him first, these things become our covenant with our God. But when we begin to make it about us and not about Him, we forfeit this principal because James tells us we are asking amiss… or with the wrong motives and desires….

Someone has said “Generally, a person has two reasons for doing something...There is One reason that sounds good, and then there is the real reason”.

The Israelites were told by God that He would bring down the walls of Jericho if they would walk around them 6 days and 7 times on the 7th day. But if you read the story, he told them to march in total silence, because he didn’t want them to speak words that would cancel the victory He was about to give them. God knew the power of the tongue! The 7th day, the 7th time they blew their trumpets, broke the pitchers which hid the torches, and shouted or (prophesied to the walls) and down they came! Marching only worked when they obeyed!

Speaking of motives, A young fellow who worked in an investment house was impressed and very appreciative at the interest his fellow workers took in the news that his wife was going to have a baby. Every day one or more of them would drop around to his desk to inquire: “How’s the wife doing?” “What does the doc say?” “Any news, daddy?” “How many more days till the big event?” What he didn’t know was, the reason for all the interest in his future fatherhood, was really about winning the office bet about the birth date, they had all put money on.

What if we got up every morning and asked ourselves… “Am I doing the things that I truly believe in and am I doing them for the best possible motives”?

God looks on the heart, while others may look on the outward appearance….                                                                                                       There are a lot of metals that on the surface look like gold. Centuries ago, people discovered that unscrupulous operators would take advantage of this to trick people into paying for worthless metal. In order to determine whether gold was genuine or not, scientists devised an “acid test.” The item that is supposed to be gold is rubbed on a black stone, leaving a mark on the stone. Gold is what is called a noble metal, meaning that it is resistant to the corrosive effects of acid. If the mark is washed away when acid is applied, then it is not real gold. If it remains unchanged, the nobility of the gold is proven by the acid test. 

The trial our faith, comes to confirm if our faith is in the right things and if our motives are right. Many folks do the right things and say all the right things, but they have motives that will not stand the tests….             1 Corinthians 3:13 “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is” 

The difference between the Powerball faith and the Gospel faith is the difference between luck and trust.

The Powerball is all about luck—and your chances are one in 176 million, which is not very good odds.

The Gospel is all about trust—which is confidence that God will come through, not just for one in 6 billion of us, but for the whole world.

There’s another big difference—With Powerball, one lucky family, or maybe two, experiences salvation, freedom from debt and a change of their lives.

But Gospel faith is not just for one person or one family, although it’s personal for each of us. The Gospel faith is for the whole world, for the salvation of everyone, so that we experience a change in the way the whole planet runs. It’s about justice and righteousness and peace and salvation for all. Everyone’s a winner. Because It’s a sure bet.

When it comes to the lotto, as opposed to the promises of God, There’s a big difference in the math. People play Powerball trying to spend a little to get a lot. Turn $3 into $580 million. Did you know that your odds don’t actually increase the more you play? It’s a myth, because the lottery doesn’t work like chances in a raffle. With lotto, no matter how many tickets you have, your chances are still just one in 176 million.

With God’s promises, the more you invest in faith and hope, the bigger it grows and the bigger the payout. Give it all, get it all and more, full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over!

Begin now, to prophesy God’s word into your world… You can begin with “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven”….

Prophesy a world of peace and justice, for the angel declared “peace on earth good will toward men”. Prophesy the world living together in harmony with God’s design. Prophesy right relationships, security, trust, and fulfillment of God’s intentions in the earth. 

And you can know that these are not wild fantasies and lottery dreams—they are the hopes of every generation, the sure outcome of free grace, the covenant of peace and justice and righteousness and safety and salvation from the God who was and is and is to come. For the time is coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill my gracious promise. Thanks be to God!

A young girl, who had never traveled, by train, knew that In the course of the day her train would be crossing two rivers and several wide chasms. The thoughts of that, begin to cause fear in her mind and the more she thought of it, the more fear rose up. As they drew near the *…..first river, the conductor noticed her fear and leaned over, telling her, “You can relax dear, somebody has put bridges for us all the way”. The girl was able to lean back with a long breath of relief and confidence and enjoy her trip.

He had just handed her the “hypostasis,” title deed to her destination!

So, lean back, child of God and prophesy the promises! Declare forth your destination… He has gone before you and built the bridges into your future, so you can arrive at your destination!

How about prophesying John 14:3 He has gone to prepare a place for us, and if He is preparing a place for us, He will come to us and welcome us into it, so that we may also be where He is”…

That’s what Peter did in the storm…. He cried out “It is Jesus”, then he said “Jesus, if that’s you, then let me come to where you are.”

The words we speak will either build us up or tear us down. It will attract our fears or transport us into His promises. Our tongue will either bring blessings or curses upon us—from both God and man—in both the present time and for eternity.

There is great power in your mouth! 

We have all heard the stories of how a false witness has condemned people to spend years In prison, even though they were innocent. We have also heard stories of how the right words can give hope to a 

suicidal person and turn them from death to life. A slanderer can destroy the reputation of a good person. A wise counselor can steer young people through the perils and vulnerabilities of their youth, and guide them into paths of success. How many lives were destroyed as a result of the words spoken by Adolf Hitler in the 1930s and early '40s?

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”.

Proverbs 10:11 "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life"

Our words can reconcile people and make peace. Our words can make marriages sweet, families strong, and churches healthy. Our words can give hope to the despairing, help with understanding, and spread the gospel. Our words are the result of what we fill our spirit with.                                           Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart (the spirit) his mouth speaks”.

A critical spirit produces a critical tongue. A self-righteous spirit produces a judgmental tongue. A bitter spirit produces a bitter tongue. An ungrateful spirit produces an unforgiving tongue.                                                                                                                                                                   But a loving spirit produces a gracious tongue. A faithful spirit produces an accepting tongue. A peaceful spirit produces a forgiving tongue. A trusting spirit produces an encouraging tongue.

So, fill yourself with the promises of God, and that’s what will come out!

One day John Wesley was walking with a troubled man who expressed his doubt as to the goodness of God. He said, “My life has seen so much trouble and turmoil.”

At that moment Wesley saw a cow looking over a stone wall. He said “Do you know why that cow is looking over the wall?”“No,” said the man with furrowed brow and fearful heart.

Wesley said, “The cow is looking over the wall because she cannot see through the wall. To his friend he said, “That’s what you must do with your wall of trouble—look above it instead of standing there staring at it, unable to see all that God has planned beyond.”

Luke said it so well in, Acts 20:32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance (the title deed) among all those who are sanctified”.

Like a hungry child, fill up your mouth so that it just automatically spills out everywhere and to everyone around you! Put so much in your spirit, you can’t contain it all…. And it just keeps spilling out….           

Let your mouth be “a fountain of life”… Encourage, more than you correct and criticize. Say something affectionate to a loved one at an unexpected time. Catch someone in the act of being good…Seek to speak words that are “good for building a person up and inspiring.”

In spite of Israel’s failings, short comings and rebellion, listen to how Isaiah speaks forth in line with what God has promised, and not the thing he may have see at the moment….

Isaiah 43:1 “But now, says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 

v3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. 5 Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; 

v6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth — 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

What if you put your spouse’s name, or your children’s names, or your friend’s and neighbor’s names in there? 

You would be prophesying the promises of God not the problem….

Bobby McFerrin sang a cute little song in 1988 that swept the country….

“Don’t worry, be happy”…. Ooh, oooh, oooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh…. Don’t worry be happy….(Here’s some of the lyrics)….

“Here's a little song I wrote, You might want to sing it note for note

Don't worry, be happy…In every life we have some trouble, Butwhen you worry you make it double, Don't worry, be happy. (come on, everyone) Ooh, oooh, oooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh…. Don’t worry be happy….

Ain't got no place to lay your head, Somebody came and took your bed 

Don't worry, be happy. The landlord say your rent is late, He may have to litigate. Don't worry, be happy…

Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style, Ain't got no gal to make you smile

Don't worry, be happy. Cause when you worry your face will frown

And that will bring everybody down..So don't worry, be happy..     (Everyone now) Ooh, oooh, oooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh…. Don’t worry be happy….”

That song tells us what to do, but not how to do it… What I’m giving you today is how to be Happy!!! ​PROPHESY THE PROMISES! COME ON… PROPHESY WITH ME TODAY…..

We can prophesy the promise of Hebrews 13:5 “He will never leave you, nor forsake you. 6 So I may boldly say, The Lord [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me”.

We prophesy the promise of Romans 8:28 – “All things work together for good to those that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose”.

And how about 2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and a sound mind”.

Let’s keep going…Isaiah 59:19 “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him”.

And let’s do Isaiah 61:3 "He has appointed unto them, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

You are prophesying right now church!!! Let’s keep this going…..

Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…”

Let’s do 2 Timothy 1:12 "For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep all that I have committed unto him."                                                                        *…….. One more before we close…. 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God are “Yes in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen is spoken to the glory of God”.

In closing, I declare the promise of 2 Peter 1:2-10 over your life and the lives of those around you….Join me in this powerful Prophesy…..”Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and Godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if youdo these things you shall never fail. In Jesus Name!

AMEN, let’s allow the promises of God to shine down and activate His covenant with His people in every situation we find ourselves in. God said it, we believe it, and that settles it!!!!

One beautiful December evening during the holiday season, Ken Chi and his girlfriend Jung Lee were sitting by the side of the ocean. There was a romantic full moon, and Ken Chi said, “Hey baby, let’s play Wee-wee-chu.” “Oh no, not now.      Lets just look at the moon”, said Jung Lee. “Oh, c’mon baby, let’s you and I play Weeweechu. I love you and it’s the perfect time,” Ken Chi Begged. “But I had rather just hold your hand and watch the moon.” “Please Jung Lee, just once… play Weeweechu with me.” Jung Lee looked at Ken Chi and said, “OK, we’ll play Weeweechu.” But only one time….Ken Chi grabbed his guitar and they both began… “Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.”

I have titled my message….”Joy to the World The lord is Come”                             I like the fact that the song by the same name says “The Lord is come”… because He is still coming into the hearts and lives of multitudes, every day around the world!

Luke 2:10-12  “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

In the heavenly realms of God’s glory, there is no sadness that can enter, no disappointment, no sickness and no death. And with all of that atmosphere of Divine perfection, permeating everything, God looked down at earth and saw the dark shadows of turmoil, trouble and spiritual darkness cast across the people of earth.                                                               AND WHEN THE ANGELS PROCLAIMED WE BRING YOU GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY, JOY WAS BORN! Into the earth… The Father in Heaven wrapped up all that Divine wonder, all that amazing atmosphere which exuded from the very presence of the Father, in the womb of a virgin, and He deposited it in a package called “Baby Jesus”…. sent it to earth and laid it in a manger bed….                                                                                                                           

Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that “The Joy of the Lord is my strength..

He came in a time when grief, sorrow and disappointment hung over society like a dark cloud. Hearts were weighted down with heaviness and people’s steps were filled with anguish, as they stopped thriving and were only surviving. It was an atmosphere that was a magnet for every evil work of the enemy. These things not only effected  people’s outlook on life, but it became systemic and faith and hope became the victims. There are few things that Satan relishes more than people who are in despair and bowed down with doubt and discouragement. When people lack spiritual comfort and joy, the Deceiver rejoices because then he can rule them with their feelings and fulfill their fears and negative words.2 Corinthians 2:11 Paul is speaking about someone who is experiencing excessive sorrow, and he gives us this advice….      “encourage and comfort him, lest somehow he be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.... in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes."

When JOY WAS BORN in Bethlehem, a flashing “EXIT” light was attached over the door that used to say “No Way Out”….. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me”.

Scripture tells us that when Mary who was pregnant with Jesus, went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, as the two ladies came together, the baby Elizabeth was carrying, suddenly leaped for Joy in the presence of Jesus, who was in Mary’s womb…. We need more of God’s children to get a visitation of that exuberant, overwhelming, all encompassingjoy, in the presence of Jesus….

Isaiah 9:2 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. v3 You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people rejoice before You as they rejoice at harvest time…”  Now in Isaiah’s day, harvest time was a time of days of celebration, with dancing and loud music, trumpets blaring, along with much shouting and laughter!

Isaiah goes on to say, Isaiah 61:1-3 as He speaks for the lord, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me because He has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord... To comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness." Can you receive it!!!!

The angels said We bring you G00D Tidings OF GREAT JOY…..                   And FAITH WAS BORN INTO THE EARTH! The words “I believe” are a vital link in every faith journey.  (say it with me… “I BELIEVE”)                                                                                 Mark 11:24 "I say unto you, that all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and you shall have it."

I believe in doctors, and when I put my case into that doctor’s hands, I believe he can keep me well, and cure me of whatever ails me…. I believe in lawyers, and when I leave my case in his hands, I trust him to represent me, plead my case effectively and fight for me. I believe in  bankers and when I put money into their hands, I trust them to protect it, keep it accounted for and make it available to me when I need it with interest.  

I believe that my God sent a Savior, so that when I put my helpless case into His hands, and trust Him to do what I cannot do for myself—He will do exceedingly beyond all that I could hope, ask or imagine!                                  I must come to the place that I accept the fact that when my faith is weak, His faith is strong. If He could stuff God Himself in a baby’s body, what else can He do! I will rely on His faith when my faith is small. I will understand that He has more faith in me than I have in myself. I have come to understand that His faith has already supplied all my needs according to His riches in Jesus Christ. And I am greatly encouraged by the words of Paul….

Galatians 2:20 “I live, but it is not I, but Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”.                                                                                                         This verse deals with two levels of faith. Experiental faith and Positional faith. Experiental faith will fail you because it only extends to what you have or have not experienced. But it is Positional faith that will see you through, because it is based on the faith of the Son of God.

One of the gifts of the Spirit listed in Corinthians is the gift of faith. That gift is the very faith of God. Or, to receive and operate in the faith of God!

When Thomas asked to touch the marks where the spear went in and the nails pierced his hands, Thomas was relying on experiental faith. He said “except I see it and touch it, I will not believe”…. But Jesus said      more blessed is he that has not seen and yet believes”….                        Jesus encourages us to move from experiential faith to Positional faith in order to receive the greater blessing!

Faith is not merely your holding on to God--it is God holding on to you.

Saint Augustine said “Don’t seek to understand that you may believe, but seek to believe that you may understand”.

He took care of all that I need, before I knew Him. He made every provision for my entire life, before I was born.* All I have to do is receive the faith of the Son of God, and begin to walk in it and watch Him do what I could never do. Watch Him make happen what I could never make happen. 

After being out of town for a week, before Christmas, Tom was rushing to buy his wife a last minute gift to bring to her. “How about some perfume?” he asked the cosmetics clerk. She showed him a bottle costing $90. “That’s a bit much,” said Tom, so she returned with a  smaller bottle for $50. “That’s still quite a bit,” Tom squirmed a bit. Growing disgusted, the clerk brought out a tiny $30 bottle. Tom was getting impatient and said, “What I mean,” he said, “is I’d like to see something real cheap.” So the clerk handed him a mirror.

Don’t have cheap faith……Jesus gives us the gift of faith, but there are attributes which we must add to our faith so that it is deep, and wide, solid and established. Faith must not abide alone….

Our instructions are found in 2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, (moral excellence), and to virtue knowledge, (insight and understanding) v6 And to knowledge temperance, (self-control) and to temperance patience, (steadfastness) and to patience godliness, v7 And to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity (to unselfishly seek the best for others). v10 Wherefore brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall.” 

The angels announced, we bring you Great Tidings…. So take your faith, deep, and wide and solid and complete, in the faith of God!                                 

When the angels announced Good Tidings…HOPE WAS BORN INTO THE EARTH! Having to hope when things are hopeless….it is then that hope begins to shine it’s brightest.                                                                 Someone said, “Hope is the thing a person must not lose, because when you lose hope, you lose the most important thing of all”.

There was a little town in Arizona named Flagstaff. The town was to be flooded, as part of a Government project which would create a large lake where the town was. For years, the construction of the dam took place. In the years before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the entire town were stopped. What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months? Why repair anything when the whole village was going to be wiped out? Why build anything, when it would soon be unusable. They even stopped decorating for Christmas. So, monthby month, the whole town became more and more run down, more neglected, and sank more into ruin. *……Someone put up a sign on main street…"Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present."

Jesus came to give us power in the present, because we have hope for the future!

Scripture tells us that wise men from the east made the journey to Bethlehem and they said we have come to worship Him… Were they wise because they worshiped, or did they worship because they were wise. They came in hope, they followed the star in hope. They could have done other things, but they worshiped Him. They could have done many good things, but they did the best thing, they worshiped the hope of the world. They saw with their own eyes what they had only hoped for, because they dared to believe what they could not yet see!

The angels announced that they were bringing great tidings….         PEACE WAS BORN INTO THE EARTH! And with the Gift from heaven, the kingdom of peace entered a war torn and weary world.                                               The world is not the way it’s supposed to be. You didn’t need me to tell you that; you already know as much. People’s lives are not the way they’re supposed to be. God has always had something else in mind. It was on his mind in the beginning when he went about creating the world and everything in it. He always had and still has A vision for shalom…      it means wholeness. Flourishing. Interconnectedness of all things. The way things are intended to be. It means right relationship with God, right relationship with others, right relationship with all of creation. But the shalom was disrupted, relationships became fractured. And up went the walls. Walls all around us; walls between us; walls within us. Our own hearts divided against us. But God laid a sledgehammer in a manger that would break down dividing walls…beginning with the wall between ourselves and our God… He made a way that would allow us to come into His presence, free of all condemnation, shame and guilt. Isaiah called His name….”Prince of Peace”….

Corrie ten Boom told of not being able to forget a wrong that had been done to her in a Nazi prison camp. She had forgiven the person, but the situation kept popping up in her mind. So she went to a local pastor and she confessed her failure. The pastor told her, “Up in the church tower, is a bell which is rung by pulling on a rope. But you know what? After the bell ringer lets go of the rope, the bell keeps on swinging. Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding dong. Slower and slower until there’s a final….. DONG, and it stops. The same thing is true of forgiveness. When we forgive, we take our hand off the rope. But if we’ve been tugging at that bell rope for a long time, we shouldn’t be surprised if the old thoughts, and memories keep coming for a while, until the final “DONG”…..The fading memories are just the ding-dongs of the old bell slowing down till it stops.” Jesus came at Christmas, to cause the old bell of anger, the old bell of resentment, and the old bell of shame and unforgiveness from continuing to ring until the final….”DONG” sounds out                                                                                                                                                              

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.

There is a true story of the famous “Christmas Eve Truce” of 1914. Kaiser Wilhelm the second, had sent thousands of Christmas trees to the front lines in order to boost the morale of the German troops. After the trees were set up over their trenches, in sight of the enemies’ lines, a German soldier began to sing the beloved Christmas hymn “Silent Night” in German. His strong voice pierced the cold, wintery night and all the rest joined in as the opposing enemy armies sat in their trenches gripping their rifles. “Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace”. Soon the French and Scottish troops, huddled in their separate barracks, begin to sing along in their own languages. Then something remarkable happened. Slowly, soldiers from all sides began to climb out of their trenches, and meet in the war zone between them, without their weapons. They began to engage each one other in conversation, exchanging gifts, as they participated inhonoring the blessed babe of Christmas!                                                              Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be sons and daughters of God. Let it begin with each of us. Let it begin within our own hearts. What is impossible for us is now made possible with God.

When the angels announced they were bringing Glad Tidings….                         LOVE WAS BORN INTO THE EARTH.                                                                                                                               God is love and so, when Jesus was born love entered into human history in a new and unique way. When a person believes in Jesus, A new level of love is birthed in them by God the Spirit.                                                                                                                                 If you are a parent then you know that the day your child was born, a new dimension of love was born in you. 

My love for David in no way diminished my love for Chris or Karen. I love, each of my children with all my heart. That love does not diminish the love I have for Winnie. As each child was born, a new love was born in me. And I suspect that if we had more (Winnie would kill me) anyway, with every child, the same thing happens. A new love would be born. Parental Love is like that and so is the Christ love that is born in us.

1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love unto us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

Each one of us has 100% of God’s love. That also means that we all have 100% access to God’s Joy, His Faith, His Hope, and His Peace. 

Christmas means we have 100% access to Christ by the Holy Spirit. And His Love is not pushy, it is not manipulative, and it is not presumptuous. God’s love was revealed in a common birth, to a common young girl, in a remote village, to very ordinary people. I think if I were God, I would have had a 100 foot angel appear in Holigraphic imagery in every major population center at the same time, and announce that God had come in the flesh, whether you liked it or not and you better like it!!!

But God chose to not impose His love on anyone, because then it would not be love given in return. The point was not just that God so loved, but that He wanted us to volunteer our love to Him in return, totally and completely.

God so loved that He gave….. Love gives without strings attached. Love does not pull back it’s expression, if it is not returned in kind. That’s the difference in emotional love and Agape love. Emotional love gives out of obligation, or manipulation. If you don’t love me, I won’t love you. But the Love that was Born on Christmas, is found in ….                                                        1 John 4:10 And this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.…

Love is like an echo, you get back what you send out…..

JESUS IS BORN IN THE EARTH….Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. We have been given, access, favor, grace, mercy, admittance, New life, and a new future by the gift God placed in a stable manger, 2000 years ago. Hallelujah! 

Prayer……”Lord, I thank You for Christmas, when you came into the earth to bring us Your Joy, Your Faith, Your Hope, Your Peace, and Your Love. When I think of the lengths You were willing to go to in order to put my life in order, it makes me want to shout, to celebrate, and to cry with thankfulness. 

You know me so well, and I am so grateful that in that foreknowledge, you provided for all my needs, for all of my life, and in eternity too. Without You, I would still be lost and in sin. But because of everything You have done for me, today I am able to celebrate the real Christmas. 

My life is blessed, You are my Lord, Heaven is my home, and Satan has no right to control me. I am eternally thankful for who I am in Christ. Thank you for Your birth, Your life, Your sacrificial death, Your resurrection, and Your coming again in the clouds of glory. I will praise You for the rest of my life and throughout eternity, in Jesus' name I pray, Amen!

Winnie and I have both gone through the lost phone, credit card, debit card scenarios, where you realize how dependent you have become on those little gadgets. There’s a lot of your life in those digital containers. So you end up backtracking to all the places you’ve been for the entire day, starting with the most recent and working your way down. What a relief to find these pieces of your cyber identity. But have you ever come to the place where you acted in such a way or spoke in such a way, or even thought in such a way, that you misplaced your cross somewhere along the daily routines of life.

So, my message askes the question “Where is the cross in your life”?

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever wants to save his life (hang on to the old life) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (lets go of the old life) for My sake will find it”.…

Well, as of today, there are only 18 more shopping days until Christmas. Typical of last-minute Christmas shoppers, one mother was running furiously from store to store. Suddenly she became aware that the pudgy little hand of her three-year-old son was no longer clutched in hers. In a panic she retraced her steps and found him standing with his *…...little nose pressed flatly against a frosty window. He was gazing at a manger scene. Hearing his mother’s near hysterical call, he turned and shouted with innocent glee: "look mommy! it’s Jesus - baby Jesus in the hay". With obvious indifference to his joy and wonder, she impatiently jerked him away saying, "we have too much to do to take time for that!"                       We don’t have to ask “Where the cross is in her life”….                                            (it got lost in the shuffle of things)

There was an article in Forbes magazine entitled "You’d Cry Too If It Happened To You." In that article, 11 men and women were asked to answer the question "Why are we so unhappy?" They all agreed we are unhappy because we have lost our moral and spiritual center. Listen to what Peggy Noonan says (I quote) "Poet W. H. Auden called his era ’the age of anxiety.’ I think what was at the heart of the dread of his day, was that folks could discern that they were beginning to lose God-- banishing Him from the scene and from their consciousness, and losing the perspective that He is a vital part of life’s daily drama”. She goes on to say It is a terrible thing when people lose God. Life is difficult enough, and people’s lives are riddled with fear, when they suddenly realize that to lose God, is to lose man’s greatest source of consolation and coherence"

We were in a huge mall in Washington, and I had to go to the men’s room. When I got back, I couldn’t find Winnie. I started describing her to one of the employees on the floor, and I said, I can’t find her, and she isn’t answering her phone. “He looked at me and said, “A wife is a terrible thing to lose.”…. (I don’t know what his story was) In Luke 15 Jesus tells of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son. He says there was great rejoicing when each was found. But in each case Jesus says “How much more should we rejoice over every sinner that is found” It’s as though Jesus is asking each of us “Where is the cross in your life”  

Every state in the U.S.A. has a state flower and a state tree as symbols. Some also have a state fish, a state bird, a state stone, even a state insect. Massachusetts has nineteen such symbols. The Florida state tree is the Sabal Palmetto, the state flower is the Orange blossom, and the state bird is the Mocking bird. Folks from Main have been called “potato pickers”, folks from Connecticut have been called “Nutmegger’s”, Virginians are called “sore backs”, and North Carolinians are called “tar heels”. So when we got married, a “potato picking”, “Nutmegger” joined up with a “Sore back” “Tar heel” and our kids are really mixed up!!!                                                                                                  But Christianity has only one symbol, THE CROSS. (Hallelujah)                                                                                    If we or the world could be saved through human kindness or meditation, Jesus would have formed a sensitivity group and urged us to share our feelings. He might have come as a psychiatrist, but we didn’t need someone else messing with our head. He didn’t come as a politician, because the solution was not government but the soul. He didn’t come as a doctor because the real health issue was about the curse. He didn’t come as a global unifier because His kingdom is not of this world. But He came as a sacrifice for sin, because the world needed a savior!        

He didn’t come to restructure society, He came to save it! He didn’t come to make bad people good, He came to make dead people alive in Him. So He took up the cross, called disciples, gathered the church, and asked us all to follow him down a very different path of freedom.                     

Alexander the Great built the world’s first lighthouse. It was on the island of Pharos, at the entrance to the harbor of the city that bore Alexander’s name, Alexandria. It was Built in 280 B.C., and it stood six hundred feet high. It kept ships from being dashed upon the rocks, it gave sailors a reference point, and it guided the storm tossed and weary back home again. We consider the world’s greatest lighthouse to be the cross, towering above our sin and weakness, shining through our trials and our struggles, and guiding us through our storms and our adversity. It shines unceasingly, unerringly and unfailing. It reaches to the highest mountain, and it shines in the lowest valley. It’s the cross that gives me strength from day to day, it shall never lose it’s power!

The Cross is about intentional living….. It effects our level of accountability, our discipleship, our spiritual growth, our giving, our finances, our serving, our calling, how we love, how we learn, our joy, how we deal with pain and sorrow, and not only how we live but how we die, from day one, till the last day on this earth!

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”.

Young Johnny didn’t like salads, but he loved croutons. So for years when his mom had a salad, he would always ask her for her croutons. This had gone on for so long as he grew up, that heassumed his mom didn’t like croutons. That is, until one day, at around 12 years old … they were eating and he happen to say, “Mom, I’m so glad you don’t like croutons cause I’ve been able to have all of yours for all these years. Well, his mom just startedlaughing … and she said “Honey, I like croutons”. Which really surprised him- “Why do you always give me your croutonsthen”?. “Because I love you more than I like croutons”. HMMMM                                        Let me say on a grandeur scale, the measure of God’s Love for us, that is revealed through the cross is difficult to get our head’s around… But the gospel says….Hebrews 12:3 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God”. (He loves us more than He despised the shame and the agony of the cross)

The cross shapes and governs how you love.                                               Hebrews 9:28 “For consider him that endured (in love) with such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds”. 

The cross is vertical and horizontal. Through the cross, we are united vertically as we come back home to the Father, through Jesus our sacrifice, by the work of the Holy Spirit. Through the cross we are united vertically as we come into the understanding that we are all His creations, made for His glory, and designed with a divine plan. The cross declares that we all share a common bond. Sinners in need of a Savior, loved equally and fully by Christ.                                                                                                       The cross is a symbol of Unity. But there can be union without unity… tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline. And you will have union, but you will certainly have nothing that even faintly resembles unity!

Matthew 5:21“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22“But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. 

But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24“leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. And first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”.                                             (God puts a high premium on unity)            

Jesus didn’t come to start a religion, He came to start a relationship. Oh, my, think about it….God says in Matthew, that He feels so strongly about the horizontal aspect of the cross, that you can bring your tithe, and still lose your blessing if you are holding anger, resentment, and ill will, against your fellow believer. 

So it asks us all the question, “Where is the cross in our relationships”…. Are there some cobwebs in some areas that need to be brushed off and cleaned up… The best cleaning ingredient you can use is repentance and forgiveness…                                                                                                          

Has the cross made a difference in who you choose for friendship and who your core group is. I understand that Jesus was the friend of sinners, but that was not his inner core. It was the twelve and they were that core group for one another. Who do you chose in your social life, to fuel you up, and build you up and keep you going strong in the word and in faith. Who are you letting speak into your life and who are you letting bring correction when you need it, or are there some cobwebs growing there. You say, I’m a loner, me and Jesus got it all worked out. I don’t need anybody to tell me what it’s all about!  

Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day (the coming of the Lord) approaching”.

One pastor recruited the youth in the church to help him serve coffee after the sermon every service. One Sunday the pastor who was always encouraging fellowship among the church asked one of the young men if he knew why they served coffee after the church services. "The boy said, "it’s to help the people to wake up before they start driving home."

Well if you got to bed late or didn’t sleep well, try not to snore!Sorry that we have no coffee available for you…..

The horizontal part of the cross, (our fellowship) is vital to provide balance in our Christian walk. 

Our failure to let Christ rule in our hearts vertically … always has horizontal implications. The Lord is very serious about the horizontal and the vertical place of the cross in our lives…. Because one is a reflection of the other. Distance from Christ becomes distance from his people….

Matthew 10:32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. v33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. v37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. v38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me”.

Maybe that sounds a little harsh, but let me say,,,The cross is our symbol of victory. It is in the face of overwhelming odds that we look at the cross and declare because He lives we shall live also. Because He overcame we shall overcome also. If we walk around speaking defeat, and failure, and sickness, then the cross was for nothing. With our mouth we declare his worthiness by declaring, and acting, and living in the reality of His finished victory. His victory is my victory, His victory is your victory! My mouth declares His worthiness!!!                                                                               Your picture is on God’s refrigerator…. Just like we keep pictures of our kids and grandkids on the refrigerator. God lovesus so much that if He had a refrigerator, our picture would be right there on it.

Parents, have you noticed when we go to an event in which our kids are participating, we really only watch our kids or grandkids? Your kid may be on the sidelines or the bench instead of on the field or court, but you’re going to be watching him or her. There may be 30 little girls out there at the dance recital, or 20 other kids in the Christmas play, but your eyes (and your video cameras) are focused on your kids. If they happen to make a football tackle or a goal or perform a beautiful grand pirouette ,we want to tell everybody, “That’s my girl!” or “That’s my boy!”                                                                                                                        That’s how our heavenly Father watches over us with love and compassion. As the song based on the word of Goddeclares…..                               “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!”

Perhaps you heard about the guy that bought his, wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas? His friend asked him, "Hey, I thought you said that your wife wanted one of those dressed out 4-Wheel drive Humvees for Christmas”." "That’s right, She did”, as a sly look came over his face, “but where am I gonna find a fake Humvee?"...

Where is the cross in our lives, because there are a lot of fakes that are trying to pass for the real thing. You can fool some folks all the time and you can fool everyone some of the time, but you can’t…(well you know the rest)

The old song says, “I will cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down, I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown. To the old rugged cross I will ever be true, it’s shame and reproach gladly bear. Till He calls me some day to my home far away, where His glory forever I’ll share. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown”. (Thank You Lord)!

We lived in Miami for a year, before coming to Key West in 1976. We had some dear friends, Mary and Ted, who helped us move in a U-Haul truck. Mary had claustrophobia, and was very fearful of the narrow bridges at that time, which had to be crossed to get to Key West. But she had never been to Key West, and was more excited to see Key West, than she was afraid of the bridges! As I think of that….

I think of how God, through the cross, built a bridge that would reach from this sin cursed world, with all it’s struggles, pain, sorrow, and trials, and that cross would bridge the gap between this earthly dimension, and into the dimensions of heaven’s glory! And like Mary, we might draw back at times from what the cross demands of us, but our excitement and joy at seeing heaven and all of it’s glory, far out weighs any misgivings we might have!!! In college, some of us were talking about what we would do when we got to heaven. One guy said, I’m going to check out my mansion. Another said, I’m going to check out the ability to fly… Another said, I’m going to find all my family that has gone before. The last guy said, I’m just going to fall at Jesus feen and worship Him for about 100 years… Boy, we all wanted to change our answers!!!

Before they were called Christians in the New Testament, they were called “The people of the Way”…. I like that… and the fish symbol was their secret form of identity… We are the people of theway, just make sure we don’t get in the way of those who want to make the journey!

Jesus said in Matthew 23:13 13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, and youwill not let those enter who are trying to”.

The word “woe” in the Greek is a judgment. It signifies impending doom, condemnation or the wrath of God. Jesus used it more than anyone else in the bible….

When we keep the cross at the center, we won’t be blocking others who desires to enter in, and we will never hear God pronounce “Woe”..Amen?

Mahat-ma Gandhi, a Hindu, is considered the father of modern India. His birthday, Oct. 2, is a national holiday in the second-most populated nation on Earth. In 1891, after graduating law school in London, he moved to South Africa to practice law. The racial system of apartheid was strictly observed in South Africa.Gandhi was fascinated with all who searched for truth and studied the Bible along with other religious texts. He loved the Sermon on the Mount and seriously considered becoming a Christian. One Sunday, he decided to visit a church in South Africa. Gandhi’s skin was light brown, as he entered the church, a South African white man said with a belligerent tone, “Where do you think you’re going?” 

Gandhi replied, “I’d like to attend worship here.” The man said, “There’s no room for your kind here. Get out of here, or I’ll have some of my men throw you down the steps.” Gandhi never seriously considered becoming a Christian again. This incident might have been one reason he later would utter the famous quote: “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians”. 

Who knows what India would have been like today if Gandhi had been welcomed into church that day and given his life to Christ? We’ll never know…..Because someone blocked the way, a nation was affected….

While we decorate our Christmas trees this season. Let’s remember that the real Christmas tree was decorated by God Himself, as He hung Jesus upon it for the sins of the world. That none should perish, but that all should have eternal life through Jesus His son!

Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that we could barely get by. The cross is our symbol of victory over poverty spirits, over everycurse that came through sin, it declares that because He lives, we shall live also because the same spirit that raised him up, lives in us. 

There is no child and adult Holy Spirit, No female and male Holy Spirit, No preacher and church member Holy Spirit. The same spirit that Paul, Peter, John, Matthew, Mark, and Jesus had while on earth, lives in every believer, no matter what age, or the gender, race or color. THE SAME SPIRIT THAT RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD, DWELLS IN US! It’s the same power, the same anointing, the same source and availability. It is the crucified life that fully releases Him in our lives. 

Colossians 3:16 Let the revealed Spirit word of Christ dwell in you richly….that means extravagantly, abundantly, fully, and bursting at the seams! (in other words, you can’t help yourself)!It’s bursting out!                                                                      So where is the power of the cross, of victory in our lives! Let us cling to the old rugged cross, let us never cease to cherish it and be devoted to the difference it brings into all of our lives! (AMEN CHURCH)!!!

Prayer, “ Lord Jesus, as we remember Your bleeding body hanging on the cross, it provides a firm foundation to our faith. The nails and the spear, Your grief, the anguish of Your soul, and the depth of the agony you endured in Your love for us, inspire us and fire our hearts with praise and gratitude. We will bless You Lord forever and give our love and devotion to You every day of our lives. 

Let us always be bursting forth with your love, your joy, your grace and mercy, that You made possible, everywhere we go and in everything we do. Always let our direction in life begin and end from the place of the cross of Your victory. 

Let us never forget that this is where it all begins and it is ourconstant guarantee that we too shall overcome by the power of redemption through Your finished work. We too can shout “It is finished, it is done.” Because of the cross, I have a sure foundation, and the sure hope that all things will work together for our good and Your glory!                                In the mighty name of Jesus….                                                                                 I’ve placed a table in front of the cross, and I want to give each person a blank sheet of paper. Don’t write any thing on it. God knows what it is….write on it with your finger, But if it’s guilt, the cross has covered it all… if it’s insufficiency, lack, or incompleteness, He bought redemption for you there… if it’s a physical need, He paid the price for your healing…. Take a moment, and bring that paper with whatever need or request it is and lay it before the cross of our victory….

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen” 

My message today is “This Too Shall Pass”….. When I had the privilege of my only experience of passing a kidney stone, (thank you Jesus) …they comforted me with these words…. “This too shall pass” .. But at the moment, all I wanted was some morphine to stop the pain…                                                                                                                            I heard those words spoken by Winnie, while she was carrying each one of our children. “This too shall pass”…I’m sure every expectant mom has uttered these words….                                                                                                      When each of our children entered their teen years, Winnie and I comforted each other with those words…”This too shall pass”….and thank God it did!                                                                                                     Speaking of young people, I often see where young lovers have carved their names in trees, and most folks think it’s cute and romantic, but it makes me wonder why so many young lovers carry knives with them on their dates…Hmmmmmm!

One of our favorite TV detectives is Columbo, with his junky car and disheveled appearance, he is always underestimated by those he is investigating. And it throws them off guard and gives him the advantage. His famous set up in every show, is that he asks questions of the suspects, who realizes they are about to be caught, then he leaves the room, but he doesn’t actually leave. He waits for them to trip themselves up by making a phone call or saying something to their partner in crime, who is nearby. At that critical point, he re-enters the room and says, “excuse me, but just one more thing”….. Gotcha!!!                                                                “Just one more thing”…. That’s the way it always is with the human experience… JUST ONE MORE THING! THERE IS ALWAYS ONE MORE THING TO GET THROUGH, TO WORK OUT, TO RESOLVE, AND TO OVERCOME….

I want you to try and remember that stress, that disappointment, that deep concern you had on a certain date in the past… the date I’ve selected is October 10, 2013, (are you thinking) Oh, you can’tremember. You just proved that whatever it was, “This too shall pass”!

My mom’s favorite saying to us was “Get over it, in 100 years, you’ll never know the difference…. She was so right!

Many folks believe that the statement, “This too shall pass”… is in the bible, but it isn’t a bible quote….(SAY WHAAAAAAA!) It was one of the favorite quotes of Abraham Lincoln, and it is also said that an Eastern monarch gave command to his wise men to invent a sentence, that could always be displayed, which would be true and appropriate in all times and situations. And they presented him the words: "And This, Too, Shall Pass” It can make you laugh and rejoice, because you are glad that a lot of things are over and behind you…. It can make you cry because you wish so many of those wonderful and cherished times could have lasted a lot longer or never ended at all…

Someone has said, you can never really go back home, because you’ve changed and it has changed…..You’re at a different place now. But the truth is also that you can never really leave home, because it’s part of you…..We visited one of the churches we pastored many years ago. We were shocked, because we hardly knew anyone there. Folks had moved on and new folks had come. Those who were there before were forgotten, and their accomplishments were now replaced by others who had taken their place. New methods, new vision, new personalities, but the same message of the gospel. (hallelujah)

When I hear the words “This too shall pass” I hear another statement. “I shall pass this way but once. Any good that I can do, let me do it now, for I may never pass this way again” And I am reminded that we must all do what we can do now, in this present time, because what we do will either help the next ones who are standing in the wings, or it will make it harder for them. How I raise my family, gives them a foundation for raising their families. How I do ministry will give the next person a leg up, or make it harder for them. This sign in the harbor is one we all need to take heed of “You’re responsible for your wake”…..

I think of the incredible epitaph which is spoken about David and the life that he lived. Yes, he fell and he got up, and he fell, and he got up, but oh what he accomplished, even to the point that David, had a heart after God…. But here’s the awesome statement that became God’s permanent record of David’s life….                                                                                       Acts 13:36 “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep and his body was buried with his fathers…” Who here wouldn’t want to hear God speak those words over your life….

Once I preached on the topic of "Suffering" and following the service a

woman met me at the door and said, "I really had no idea what suffering really meant till I heard your sermon". I’m still not sure how to take that comment…..

When I hear the words “This too shall pass”…. I see the principal of seed time and harvest… One sows, another waters, but we all rejoice together in the harvest…. The old slogan of years past is still true today…. “Only one life, will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” As we sow the seeds of Christian charity, believing that the Lord of harvest will always fulfill His covenant with the seed, our labor shall never be in vain in the Lord. Little is much when God is in it!

A man working on the Golden gate bridge needs a cable to hold on to in the strong winds, and the dizzying height, something to hold him steady and keep him from falling. I believe this declaration can be that kind of stability in our lives….”This too shall Pass” can be a life line….

To be a believer in Christ is to understand that with all the things that have come and gone, we are part of a world within a world, a kingdom within a kingdom, that shall not perish and shall never pass away.

While the words “This too shall pass” are not in the bible, there are some verses which give us a look at the grand scheme of kingdom overview….. Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.                                                                                                                     1 Corinthians 13:10 When that which is perfect comes, that which is in part will be done away.                                                                                                

God deposited His perfect gift in imperfect vessels, so that the perfect is not going to come, it HAS COME. Eternity is within us, which makes us immortal and eternal beings. What if we lived as though we could never die? The bible refers to physical death as sleep. It’s like waking up to a new day. The bonds of earth will pass, and loose us to ascend to our God and enter that heavenly realm, where we shall be with Him eternally. We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is…                                                Pinch your flesh container and say with me… “This too shall pass”…                                       Scripture tells us Job 23:10 “He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          And God is making it clear right here, that His blessings and promises, far outweigh and far exceed any human failings and curses which we may encounter in our earth journey, in its many trips around the sun, as we encounter the solar system as well as the molecular world of plagues, diseases, and various afflictions. Then there are the lessons of life we must all learn in the school of hard knocks… Not to mention the trials and tests we must all endure. But He tells us not to focus on all these things, but focus on letting the gold which these things produce in us… shine, shine, let it shine….

Often, this gold making process in us is like watching a parade. You can only really see about 4 or 5 floats or marching groups at a time. But if you go up in a helicopter, you see the beginning of the parade all the way to the end and everything in between, So the key is to move up higher like Paul on the deck of the sinking ship. It still sank, but Paul moved up higher and saw the end from the beginning, and he saw that this too would pass. He saw the outcome and was able to save everyone on the ship, by getting wisdom that is from above. God sees the beginning and the end of our parade, He sees that you have already overcome, He sees that you came through it stronger and better off than when you went in. 

No, we won’t be spared every time, but we will be purified and more valuable to the kingdom when the process is finished…. 

Isaiah 41:9 “You are My servant.’ I have chosen and not rejected you. 10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness”.

Everyone who believes in Christ will be healed, either here or here and there. We will all receive perfect bodies, no longer susceptible to sickness or disease, or malfunctions of any kind. One day Winnie is going to rise and they’ll find a metal hip joint on the ground with no body attached. Cherie’s knees will be left behind, and they’ll find a prosthetic laying around with no Scott anywhere to be found. Paul says “and we shall be changed”…. That’s another way of saying “This too shall pass’….

There’ll be no more memory problems, weight problems, or dysfunctional issues of any kind. We shall be like Him….

No matter what problem, troubles, trials, tests, storms, turmoil, plague, pestilence, or limitations we have encountered… “This too shall pass.”    In the midst of all that is not yet, is the inspiration and the hope of what will surely be…. And it becomes the due north needle on the compass of our journey. 

It’s the slaves in the bowels of a slave ship singing and African chant… (Hum it) and God used it to touch John Newton’s heart and he quit the slave trade when he wrote the words to that mournful chant. And the pain of those slaves came through as….

“Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like Me, I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see”…. Through many trials, toils and snares, I have already come. Twas grace that brought me here thus far, and grace will lead me home. When we’ve been there ten thousand years. Bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we’ve first begun…. 

I have bad news and good news for you….The bad news, you are dying! It’s no joke, biologist tell us that every day, to some extent, each of us are dying...The cells and atoms in our bodies are dying. In fact, every atom and every cell that is now in our bodies will die off within the next seven years. In essence, we are experiencing a daily dying of our physical being. This too shall pass…..But the good news, you are being restored! Just as the cells and atoms in our bodies are dying, likewise new ones are being created to take their place. It is my understanding, (and I make no claim to being a biologist) this process makes a complete transition every seven years. So that every seven years, you become a completely different person.

Every seven years Winnie gets a completely new and different husband….

But one day that cycle will be terminated and there will be no more death or dying. We will become new and stay new forever….

The finish line in a race is all the way around the track from the starting line…. God will usually require that we finish what we’ve started before we begin something new. While we are still here in this season and time… we have to live by the principle that Inorder to step into a new season of life we have to complete the last one. Often, God won’t give us a new word until we’ve been faithful in the last word. When it comes to this principle, many folks want to keep their cake and eat it to.

God will often take us through one thing, before He puts new things on us. The danger is that we compare what’s happening in our lives with what’s happening in the lives of others, but that only creates discontent, and frustration. Jesus told his disciples when they were comparing themselves with the other disciples…. “What is that to you, your focus should be on following me.” 

The weather service has super computers that can do 232 trillion operations a second and it still cannot tell the weather a month into the future. God knows the end from the beginning. With all our comparisons, we cannot grasp why our heavenly father would work a certain way in one person’s life and another way in someone else, even though they may be in the same situation. But they have a different destiny….

In one situation God told David to go up to battle and he would win…     In another situation God told David if he went up to battle he would lose. David could have thought that because he won the last time, he would win this time, and he would have been DEAD wrong! David was a warrior king and lead his army into battle, but there came a time when God told him to no longer go to war with his men. His season changed, and now he was to be the ruler and the statesman and not the fighter. 

Each season may require a different strategy, so as we enter the new season, we can’t take for granted that it will be like the last time… This too shall pass….

Have you ever struck out? You were sure you could at least get on base…. I need to be careful when I say this, but you can miss your seasons and still fulfill God's purpose for your life. Let me explain it by using a baseball analogy. You can strike out several times and still win the game. Striking out doesn't mean its all over, just that at bat is over. The best hitters in the world are also some of leaders in striking out. Sammy Sosa had more strike outs than anyone else in baseball for 3 years in a row! 1997 - 99. But...In 97 he had 36 home runs, in 98 he had 66, and in 99 he had 63. In the record books of the top ten home run hitters in a season in baseball, he occupies positions 3, 5, 6.                                                   

If you miss a season it can have serious repercussions, but you can still have a great final season, if you just don't quit. All of us can admit that we’ve missed what God wanted us to do at one time or another. But praise God, that is what makes grace so amazing, and that is why we sing so much about it and celebrate its power in our lives.

Don't make permanent conclusions about your present seasons. Whether you speak them out loud or just start thinking them….

"I just mess everything up" …."I never get it right"…. "I will never love again, I’ve been hurt too badly"…."I don’t think I will ever find happiness"….. "Things will never get better"… Listen, No one needs all that extra pressure when they’re in a difficult season!

How different would David's story have been if 1 Samuel 30:6 didn’t say, "And David encouraged himself in the Lord”. Listen, we have enough things to discourage us without discouraging ourselves! Stop presiding over your own funeral. Stop digging your own grave!

We are the people of the resurrection…. And “This too shall pass”!!

If the devil hands you the mike to say some final words, stand up there and shout out… 

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.                                       38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And then finish it off with 2 Timothy 1:12 “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day”. (When This Too Shall Pass)

Prayer….. Lord, when things get complicated and intense, calm my heart, and bring me to Your place of peace. I know that no matter how things turn out, when You are at the center of my life, I will still be standing when it’s all said and done. Let Your Spirit keep me balanced as my spirit stays open to your truth.                                                              Lord, Grant me courage to do what is right, no matter what others around me are doing. Speak Your words into my spirit and let Your will be at the center of my convictions. When I am weary and fear and worry and doubt surround me on every side, let me trust in Your mercy and find rest in You.                                                                                                         I know it may not be easy and it may take time, so give me patience and perseverance that I may remain strong and resolute. I place my path, my direction, my goals and my very life in Your wisdom, Your love, and Your grace. In Jesus name, Amen.

Revelation 21: 4-6 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done”…

Stuart Hamblin wrote country and western songs and before he got saved he was well known in that day and time for a song hewrote titled "I won’t go hunting with you Jake but I’ll go chasing women" He also wrote “If You've Got The Money, Honey, I've Got The Time”… “The Twist”… “Young Love”… ”Hello Mary Lou” ..”Oh Lonesome Me”.. “This Ole House”…“Blue Moon Of Kentucky”.. “I Walk The Line”…

Well, Stuart got saved and John Wayne made a bet that Stuart wouldn’t last six months writing gospel songs. Sometime after the six months was up, Stuart saw Wayne who told him "you cost me some money, Stuart-- I made a bet that you wouldn’t last six months". Stuart said "It’s no secret what God can do". John Wayne said, that sounds like a good song title and so Stuart went home that night and wrote the song "It is no secret what God can do." And the rest is history.. He was inducted  into the country music hall of fame, He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was known as one of the most prolific gospel song writers of all time. I guess John Wayne really called that  one wrong. 

You see, Stuart Hamblin, had a new beginning and became a new man….

As the line says in his song “It is no secret what God can do”…..”WHAT HE’S DONE FOR OTHERS, HE’LL DO FOR YOU”…..

When I was a kid, we used to play “soldiers” we would run around with make believe guns, sometimes they were toy guns or sticks, shooting at the other team and play “war”. During the battle we would get shot, fall down, count to 10 and jump up saying “new man coming *……in”. Those were the days, when we jumped up and said “new man coming in”. What a privilege in Christ to jump up and yell, “New man coming in”

When Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, the relationship between God and man was changed, and God immediately beganmaking arrangements to bring man back to him. To do whatever it took to hit the reset button and restart that relationship. Right then and there, he made them a promise.. Satan will bruise your heel but you will crush his head.                                                                                                            A mother and her 7 year old daughter were reading the story of Adam and Eve and how sin came into the world, Jessica and her mother talked about why bad things happen in the world. Later that week, Jessica was sick and had to stay home from school. Feeling quite miserable, she told her Mom, “If only Adam and Eve hadn’t eaten the fruit, I wouldn’t be sick.” And before her mother could answer, Jessica added, “Of course, if they didn’t eat it, we’d all be sitting here naked!”

Every time we see the rainbow we’re being reminded that God is in the business of making all things new again!                                                                                                              When the sin of man reached it fullest, and God decided to do a reset, God found Noah, and through the flood he made all things new again,Through Abraham God started a new relationship with man, and all things were reset and made new again. And then after 400 years of silence God spoke again to man, in the form of a little child in a manger in Bethlehem. 

He isn’t dependent on what we might think is possible, but He makes the impossible, possible so that all things can be new again.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 5:17 made this statement “Any one who is in Christ is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.” 

We often refer to salvation as the new birth. But what if we called it the “New Beginning”… because it truly is. This new birth brings about a new perspective, a biblical outlook in which we see everything is in God’s hand…even the mysteries of life that we can’t understand.

By His grace, He’s given us a new way of life.

By His love we have a new relationship; we are God’s children and Hisfriends.

By His power we have a new freedom, our trust is in something eternal.

By His Spirit we have a new heart; we are dead to sin and alive in Christ.

By His word we have a new direction, His will, His way, and His time.

By His promises we have a new confidence; All fear is gone.

By His wisdom we have a new purpose, and new meaning.

In Gal. 6:15 Paul also wrote to the church… “The only thing that counts is the new creation.”

Paul is telling us….”Don’t go by how it looks, how you may feel, or even what you have known”….. The only thing that counts is the new creation. One man said, “I was a drunk, spent all my money on booze, neglected my family, and was a terrible husband, but somewhere at the end of my rope, I met God. I gave my life to Jesus, and since then I am no longer a slave to drink, no longer a slave to pornography, I dropped my filthy language, and my family has been restored.”                                                                                                 Over and over again, in the midst of our sinfulness God is hitting the reset button and making all things new again.

In Genesis 1:1 God created something out of Nothing, and He is still able to do everything that needs to be done to create a new beginning, out of NOTHING!

It doesn’t matter where you’ve been, or what you’ve been through. It doesn’t matter how you’ve failed, or how you’ve fallen short. God says that your new address is a NEW BEGINNING! 

We’re like the man who had an old shotgun which he brought to a gunsmith, hoping to get it fixed up. After looking it over, the gunsmith said, “Well, this would make a very good gun if it had a new stock, and a new lock, and a new barrel.” God’s new beginning is lock, stock and barrel….I have to admit that I have had a couple of cars that could have been good running cars if you jacked up the radiator cap and drove a new car under it…..

You can see this in John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, (a new beginning) I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am (in your new beginning). 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”…  you already know the way, to God’s new beginning….                                            BELIEVE, TRUST, AND OBEY!      

Let’s say that a guy was jumping around screaming with joy and you couldn’t help but notice it. He was making such a hoopla you would have thought that he won a million dollars. People stopped what they were doing, you could see the smiles on their faces when they heard the man shout for joy - then, you could see the shock on their faces as the realization came over them that the man making all the commotion, the man who was shouting, and jumping was a man who had never walked a day in his life. Let’s say that this man had sat at the gate called beautiful in the Temple for over 40 years. In over 40 years no one had ever seen him walk, stand or run. They looked once, they looked twice, and yes it is indeed the man who cannot walk - and he is shouting and jumping around. He has met his new beginning….

There’s a scripture you need to hang on your refrigerator… 

Acts 3:20 “Times of refreshing shall come from the Lord….” Refreshing here, is renewal, to be revived, to breath again, to be restored, to enter into the blessing……

An elderly couple passed away and found themselves at the pearly gates. An angel was there to welcome them. First he showed them their mansion. The husband, overwhelmed by the sheer luxury of it all, asked, "How much does this place cost per night?" The angel replied, "Sir, this is heaven, it doesn’t cost anything." Then they were taken to the dining room where table upon table was piled high with the most delicious foods you could imagine. Againoverwhelmed by the glory of it all the man asked, "How much for the meals?" The angel said, "You forget, this is heaven, it’s free." Then they were taken to the most fantastically beautiful golf course they had ever seen. As the man stood there open-mouthed the angel said, "Now before you ask, there are no greens fees, this is heaven, everything is free." The man looked at his wife and said, Why did you take such good care of me, I could have been here 10 years ago!"

How about believing with me, that we can have some heaven to go to heaven in!!! I believe that’s what the Father has in store….

When I see our Father God, in the book of Revelation, declaring, “See, I’m making all things new.”….. I thrill at the fact that the one who says that in the future, is the same one who speaks to us here and now. He’s the same….. there is no shadow of changing with Him…. We fully believe that what He can do then, He can do now! He tells us…. “I Am the Alpha and the Omega, I Am the beginning and the end”.

In his book Dare to Believe, Dan Baumann illustrates the unique experience of knowing that something is ours, yet having a future longing to enjoy it more fully. He explained that at Christmas time he would always do a lot of snooping, trying to figure out what was in the gifts underneath the tree. 

One year he discovered a package with his name on it that was easy to identify. There was no way to disguise the golf clubs inside. Baumann then made this observation: "When Mom wasn’t around, I would go and feel the package, shake it, and pretend that I was on the golf course using those clubs on the fairway and the green. He says….I was already enjoying the pleasures of a future event; namely, the unveiling, and then the enjoyment of those clubs. It had my name on it. I knew what it was." But only "Christmas would reveal it in its fullness." Friends, It may look like hell right now, but Christmas is coming!!!

There are many areas of our lives where our Lord, has gift wrapped new beginnings for us, but they are waiting to be unwrapped and enjoyed. They already have our name on them, they are already ours, we just need to unwrap them and step into them….

Jesus unwrapped new beginnings for the blind, the lame, the leper, the demon possessed, the deaf and oh yes, the dead….!!!

What if we lived knowing our new beginning was just around the corner, like we knew it was already ours, Our name is right there on it…. Can you see what it feels like, what it looks like, and how it will change your entire life!

Whenever and wherever Jesus shows up, New beginnings show up with Him…. Isaiah 43:19 “ Behold I will do something new! Now will it spring forth, will you not be aware of it”?

This indicates that we can have a new thing and not be aware of it. So I thought about that…. What would keep us from being aware of the very thing we dreamed of and prayed for when it comes. Or what would keep us from receiving it when it is already ours?

Have you felt there was more, but you don’t know exactly how to get there? You knew that you were capable of more than you’re seeing right now, but it would be too uncomfortable to take the steps necessary to take that journey… Or perhaps, you have no trouble seeing others doing the very things you secretly desire, but you can’t see yourself doing it…

Believe me, I never could have seen myself doing what I’m doing today. I was a popcorn speaker. Pop up, open up, and sit down! I was terrified to speak in front of anybody. I thought I had nothing to say that everyone had not already heard. My first sermon in church was on a Wednesday night, when the pastor was away, and he asked me to do the sermon. I got up, a nervous wreck, spoke for 5 minutes and the pastor’s wife stepped up and bailed me out! At that moment, I was thoroughly convinced that I would never be a preacher. But then, I received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and you couldn’t shut up the Holy Spirit in me.. *……In other words, the Holy Spirit is saying “Go for it”!!!!

I love Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatever opens up, grab it, and do it. And do it heartily unto the Lord!” 

Galations 6:9 “Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap the reward if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith”.…

This is the process which allows us to discover our strengths and weaknesses and turn our weaknesses into our strengths. It is the program God has given us to find and use our gifts to build up and encourage the body of Christ. In the process, we begin to step over into the New beginnings which God has put our name on….

The way you finish your current season will determine how you begin the next one. So finish well….

Remember the words of the prophet Zechariah 4:10, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin”         I don’t know what doors you are waiting on God to open in your life, but I want to encourage you—press into the doors God has offered to you right now and watch Him go to work on your behalf. You may not feel like your current role is one of significance, but I can assure you—anything God has given you to do is significant. It is your new beginning, and it’s custom made for you…

Missionary Jim Elliot so famously said, “Wherever you are, be there with everything you’ve got”.

When Isaiah spoke to the Jewish nation and said “ Behold I will do something new! Now will it spring forth, will you not know it”?                         This verb “know” in the Hebrew language is “YADDA”, IT IS far more than cerebral awareness and consent. It has to do with the total giving of yourself, as in the husband-wife relationship within marriage. Adam knew Eve and she bore a son… Abraham knew Sarah and she bore him children. This is a knowing, which gives birth to the new thing of God! Often when a couple are expecting a child, the husband will say “we are pregnant” …That’s about the level of commitment by both of them…                                                  God says I will make a new beginning, and we say… We are making a new beginning…YADDA! I KNOW IT!!

Sometimes we miss God’s new thing because we don’t feel that we deserve a new beginning. We just settle for whatever we’ve got. When you feel like that and think like that, you have to know that God doesn’t agree with you. God sees you through the eyes of Grace and mercy. And when God sees you, this is what He says…                                               Deuteronomy 28: 8 “The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand unto, and He shall bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 11 And the Lord shall make you plenteous in goods…..12 The Lord shall open unto you His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in His season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend and not borrow. 13 And the Lord shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you hearken unto the word of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them…”

When you do what only you can do, God will do what only He can do. God is a promoter of the faithful, not the discontent or impatient. In other words, if you want God to promote you into the next season, of your new beginning, get busy investing yourself right where you are, (whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might).

We could certainly say of Paul, that he did what he did with all his might. He was killing Christians wherever he found them with all his might. God knew that here was a man that was totally committed to what he was doing… Listen to his words…                                                                         "Forgetting what lies behind, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the Heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus." Through the Spirit, God has transformed Paul, and being open to that Spirit, he finds himself ready to act in new ways to relate to God in a totally new beginning.

I challenge us all to watch for those new ways God is presenting to us, to get on board and follow them to the new thing God has for us.

When Paul says “forgetting what lies behind”…. He’s telling us not to limit Him to what He’s done before, or what we may have experienced before. 

When the children of Israel were up against the Red Sea, and the Egyptian army was bearing down on them… Moses had to quite them down and hear God for that time of transition… Egypt, coming down on them with Chariots and horses and foot soldiers, represented the former things. The other side of the Red Sea represented the New Thing. How easy it was for them to let the former things, hijack the new thing. The deciding factor was which one would they believe was the most real to them….Your new thing has to be more real that the former things…..

Perhaps you are hearing this right now and facing a situation so overwhelming that unless God does something that transcends human imagination, you don’t know of any way that it can ever work out.                                                                                             But think of this…Maybe what the Lord’s getting ready to change IS YOU rather than the circumstance, and then, He can change the situation! 

Perhaps God wants our focus to be on the creator of New Beginnings more than the new beginning itself!                                                                                                         Winnie was after me to tell her the surprise I had for her on her Birthday. But I refused to tell her, because I wanted it to be a beautiful surprise. Even though she pressed me, I refused to give in…

God is like that…. He wants us to know that it’s coming, because we trust Him, and we trust His word, and we trust His character. 

His perspective is so much more far reaching, because He sees the new thing, and then all that the new thing is connected to, with all it’s ramifications for our lives and the lives of others. If He were to tell us, we would limit it to our small, Key hole view, and miss everything that it really is, in it’s far reaching implications. He sees the seeds in the apples on the trees in the seeds in the apples on the tree…. and that has already taken you into thousands of degrees of connection!!

He saw that I would skip my senior year of high school, and go to college, where I would meet my partner for life, and end up in New England where she lived, and become the pastor of our first church there. And by meeting her, have 3 children, who would follow us in the ministry, and meet her nephew, who would come to Key West and be a vital part of the ministry here, and by coming, he would meet his wife, who would also be his partner in the ministry, and on, and on, and on…

I’m glad I told some folks about God’s new beginning. The lady that T-boned me in a blizzard in Connecticut and as I pried my damaged door open and walked over to her driver’s door window. The Holy Spirit whispered to me that God had arranged this meeting. That’s what I told her, “God allowed us to connect”. Well, that shocked her, but it opened a door to introduce her to Christ. She received her “New beginning”, went to bible college and became a missionary.   

New beginnings have far reaching implications beyond which our minds cannot begin to fathom, as we step over into them in simple obedience. 

What the Lord wants us to understand when He says He’s going to do a new thing and “Now shall it spring forth” …. It is already in process. You can’t see it yet, but it’s already set in motion; just like after a long, cold winter, up North, there’s a change going on inside the Earth, where it can’t be seen underground, preparing to bring the approach of spring. In the midst of what has perhaps been the cold, bitter winter of your soul—or the drought of a long dry spell—the Lord says He has set in motion that which will bring about deliverance and bring a time of growth, development, refreshing, and fruitfulness.                                              When you’re upset, weak, lonely, worried, anxious, depressed, in danger, need courage, struggling with loss, struggling with finances, struggling with work, in danger, or you have sinned or missed God…. He has a “NEW BEGINNING” FOR YOU!

When God’s “new thing” sprouts in you, it may look like winter, but you will catch the fragrance and beauty of the springtime of His purpose before you ever see it.  Hear Him as …God would say to you… “Hear my words as I declare the kinds of things I can do and My inexhaustible resource of wisdom and power. Don’t confine Me to what I’ve already done or try to anticipate what I will do next. And though you may be captive, exiled, or guilty, My “new thing” is still there for you. I am your complete Deliverer, making a way for you where there is no way. I am renewing my covenant with you.. I have not forgotten my promise to you and My word will not return unto me without all being fulfilled. It shall be line upon line and precept upon precept. I have waited so that I could be generous and abundant unto you. You are coming into my fulness and my completeness. You shall put on my fulness like a garment and you shall not take it off. I come in My wholeness and completeness to make you whole and complete. My “new thing” will prepare you for whatever is to come, and out of it, you will find new themes and new mountain peaks, in your praise unto Me as you view horizons which you have never dreamed that you would see. Trust and obey”….

God has a New Beginning for someone here today….

It 

was told to me, that Moses was walking down the street when he bumped into George W. Bush when he was president. “Hello,” Bush said. “Nice weather we’re having, huh?” Moses took one look at the President, turned, and ran as fast as he could in the other direction. A short time later Moses was walking down the same street and there was George Bush again. Once again Bush tried to initiate a conversation. And againMoses turned and ran the other way. Bush was tired of this bizarre treatment, so the next time Moses ran away from him, Bush chased him down, and demanded to know why Moses was avoiding him. Moses who was out of breath, told him, “The last time I talked to a bush I spent 40 years in the desert.”

We have come through one of the most turbulent election cycles in our lifetime. Relationships have been sacrificed on the altar of politics. violence and revolution has become the new paradigm..... Justice has becomes the casualty, and truth has become trampled in the streets... Before the election, there were people we liked a lot and some we didn’t like that much. After the election, we still like the people we liked and don’t like the people we didn’t like that much. The big difference now is that we are all grouped into “winners” or “losers”…. Many folks have been afraid to voice their political opinions because it will put them as a target for somebody, regardless of where they stand. I have heard so many remark at how things have shifted so quickly, and how things are easily accepted, which would never have been accepted or even permitted just a short time ago….

But life will try to put us in categories, and label us. So often we grow up in either the group of winners, or the group looked at as losers…. 

In the body of Christ, that should not be the case….                                         In Luke 15:3–7 Jesus told His followers a parable…."Which of you, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn't leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends, his family and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance."

My message today, is titled “God Always Wins”….. Wars may rage, plagues and pestilences, famine and political ideologies may seem to be ruling the day, but God will always have the last word. Even if He has to chase us down….

Romans 8:28 still says….”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”.

God always wins. But not every person will win with Him – only those who put their trust completely in Him thru thick and thin – who refuse to be beaten by circumstances but instead see God’s creative hand shaping His purposes in the thick of it all. 

Paul, was in prison but refused to be a prisoner of the situation, or let it be the measure of his effectiveness or his life’s calling. 

We may wonder how Paul could keep his faith up and sing praises in such terrible circumstances. How could He stay happy while things looked so bleak? I’ll tell you how.                                                                           Read It in Ephesians 3:1: “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles.” You can miss it if you don’t read it correctly …. Paul doesn’t say, “in prison for Christ Jesus.” He says, “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.” Small word – big difference. Everyone else looked at Paul said, “Oh, man, tough luck to be a prisoner of Rome.” Paul looked at it all and said, “What a privilege – I’m a prisoner of Jesus Christ.” Paul knew what most of us never get. It’s not about us; it’s about Him. It changes your whole life when you see that every circumstance in your life is at His direction and for your good – even the ones that look like prison at the time. He’s in charge, and He can be just as exalted by our adversity as by the good times, and that’s all that matters.  So, if you put your name in there, it changes everything…. 

(your name) ____________, a prisoner of Christ, here for God’s glory!!! GOD ALWAYS WINS! He cannot lose… after all it isn’t just history, it’s His Story! He is the central figure, after nations, kings, presidents, and all the kingdoms of this world have come and gone….HE REMAINS! 

Graeme Keith was treasurer of the Billy Graham Association for many years. He told of riding an elevator with Graham once when a man got on and recognized the evangelist. He said, “You’re Billy Graham, aren’t you?” Graham answered, “Yes, I am guilty of that.” The man said, “Well, you are a truly great man, I am so honored to meet you.” Graham answered, “No, I’m not a great man. I just have a great message from God, and I’m delivering it the best I can.” 

The Apostle Paul knew that, and it allowed him to live a humble but joyous existence –  not boasting in Himself, but boasting in the service of His Lord and Savior, regardless of how God brought it about.

I Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

God never loses. It’s a hard truth to grasp; it doesn’t always look that way. It sure didn’t for Paul. He had long hoped to arrive in Rome as a preacher; instead he arrived as a prisoner.

Where others saw defeat, Paul saw, and experienced victory even in his chains. Paul saw God using his adversity to forward the gospel, turning his test into triumph, a hard place into a high place, a rocky path into a red carpet, and lock-up into a set-up for God’s glory!!!!                                                                              Orrin Woodward….. “

A person either hates losing enough to change or he hates changing enough to lose.”

If there had been no prison, there would have been no letter. To the Philippian church. The Philippian believers were greatly edified as they saw the attitude which Paul exemplified. And, that letter became part of the inspired Biblical collection, so that not just the Philippians were edified, but Christians over two millennia! Paul also wrote to the Colossians, the Ephesians and Philemon from that prison situation. Had he not been “put on the shelf” those letters may never have been written. And had he wallowed in his own seemingly God-forsaken circumstances, none of this would have happened.                                 

Paul reminds me of John Bunyan whose preaching was so biblical and powerful that it was rejected by the compromised 17th century Church of England. They jailed him in order to silence him. So, he *……preached in the jail courtyard. Soon not only were large numbers of prisoners coming to hear him preach, but hundreds of citizens of Bedford and the surrounding area came daily and stood outside the prison to hear him explain Scripture. So, they revoked his outside privileges, *…..placed him in a solitary cell and thought they had silenced his voice. 

But Bunyan spoke loudest of all through what he wrote in that cell – We know it as “Pilgrim’s Progress” – perhaps one of the greatest Christian classic, that has ministered to millions of people – the most widely read and translated book of all time outside the Bible itself.                                  GOD ALWAYS WINS! 

Israel arrived at Canaan 40 years after they were delivered and walked out of Egypt. Has there ever been a people who saw God’s hand at work in their behalf more than they did…. Going before them, keeping their bodies even in old age, bringing water from a rock, raining down manna when they had no food, defeating their enemies, showing them the way through the wilderness….and all that with his visible glory!!                                                                      When they finally got to the place of entering into Canaan, Moses sent 12 spies into the land to check things out, but they brought back a mixed report. 

Their view of God, determined their view of their situation. Joshua and Caleb said, “Man, it’s a great place God has brought us to– full of fertile soil, flowing with milk and honey.We have never seen such an abundance.” But the other 10 said, “Man, it a tragedy waiting to happen. They’ve got giants there that make us look like grasshoppers. They said, the tragedy is that God ever brought us out of Egypt to this terrible place. Everything here wants to kill us. We will all die if we go in there.”

They Judged God by the standards of Man and it lowered their expectations. They forgot that God Always Wins!!!

When Hudson Taylor went to China as a missionary, he adopted Chinese dress, including the pony tail. One day as he waited for a boatman to ferry him across a river, a wealthy Chinese man came up, insisted he have the boat and pushed Taylor into the mud, unaware he was a foreigner. Taylor was angry but did not strike back. But as he got up, the Chinaman recognized he was a foreigner. He said, “What! You a foreigner and you did not strike me back when I struck you?” Taylor replied, “The boat is mine. But come; I will take you wherever you want to go.” On the way, he was able to share Christ.                                                                                The gospel advances when we place gospel values and principles over personal rights and feelings –it’s becoming harder and harder in our entitlement generation– but it is the attitude that puts us on God’s winning side.                                                                                                                                                                                          James 1:2 “ Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, knowing that it’s intended for good purposes in your life”.                        Martin Luther said, “Live as if Christ died yesterday, rose this morning and is coming back tomorrow.” In other words, live like it’s about Him, not you”.

An airline passenger, was weary from a long week, frustrated with the crowded conditions, and beset by crying babies around him, and finally asked the flight attendant, “Is there any way I can get bumped up to first class?” She replied, “Not unless we hit some turbulence.” 

My dear friends, I promise you that whatever turbulence comes into your life, God intends it to bump you up to a better place.                                                          So let’s do as James suggests and as Paul exemplifies:                                 

We might as well go ahead and get it settled…. GOD WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD… HE WILL HAVE THE FINAL SAY!!!

As they took Jesus’ lifeless body down from the cross and laid it in a borrowed tomb, Satan was boasting to all the demon hoards“This time I win.” And for that dark Friday and dismal Saturday it appeared he had.

What Satan intended as the ultimate evil, the most hopeless of hopeless situations…..God used for the ultimate good. The tomb that man had shut up and the powers that be, had sealed as final and done…. God rolled the stone away and Jesus walked out on Sunday morning. Hey, hey, Friday may be here, BUT SUNDAY IS COMING, Resurrection is promised, redemption drawethnigh, restoration is His guarantee!!!

PSALMS 118:17 "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD." Come on…. Make it personal… “I SHALL NOT DIE BUT LIVE AND DECLARE THE WORKS OF THE LORD”!

There is no scene so dark that God cannot brighten it.

There is no label so permanent that God cannot change it.

There is no heart so hard that God cannot soften it.

Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turns it however he wills to”.

That person can be a boss, a spouse, a child, a co-worker, a classmate, a politician or judge, a parent or even a king.

It’s not over till it’s over and it’s not done until it’s done!                                                                It doesn’t matter how hard the enemy fights or how bad it gets, our God can change things. No matter how the enemy punches, God has a counter punch.

Our unwillingness to get along, and to forgive and cooperate with God’s program, is not going to stop God from completing His plan. There is no power, there is no authority, there is nothing in all the earth that can stop God from accomplishing what he has set out to do. Period.

Someone said, “Self-control is to a person what brakes are to a car: without it, a crash is inevitable.”                                                                       Joseph showed self-control when he could have retaliated against his brothers. As second in command he had the power to crush them for what they had done to him, but he didn’t. Instead he blessed them….       As believers we march to a different drummer. The high road in the Christian life is not revenge or retaliation but forgiveness. Remember the Lord is our defender and HE ALWAYS WINS!

There are some battles where God has to do most of the fighting and our part is standing strong in our faith, keeping our confession right, and stay open to His quite inner voice…..

Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”.

Too often we remember the tragedies of life rather than the celebrations of life. We identify more with the hurts and injustices done to us than the promises God gives us in each of those situations. So, rather than focusing on our hurts, failures, hardships, disappointments, and regrets, let’s build some monuments that remind us of how God took care of us and how God used those times to make us what we are today. To give us concern and compassion for others, because we believe and are fully persuaded that as Philippians 4:19 declares “My God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. v20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen”.…

The Jewish people still celebrate the victory God used Esther and Mordecai to bring, in one of the dark days in their national history. They celebrate how God took care of them and every generation is reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God.It’s called the Feast of Purim and they read the book of Esther and whenever the name Haman is mentioned they boo and hiss and beat on wood but every time the name Mordecai or Esther is mentioned they shout and cheer.

They are remembering that GOD ALWAYS WINS!

WHEN GOD WINS, THE PEOPLE HE USES ARE OFTENUNEXPECTED

A shepherd boy, David, becomes the King of Israel

Fishermen who Jesus chose, become world changing apostles

A baby adrift in a basket, named Moses, becomes a national deliverer

He took Joseph from a prison, to the second to Pharaoh

Paul, the persecutor of Christians, became the apostle to the gentiles

A rugged wilderness man named John, prepares the way of the Lord

And a baby lying in a manger in a cow barn becomes the King of Kings!

If we said we have never felt that God could use us, or that others could do a better job….. we’d be lying…. We’ve all felt that way at times….no one is an exception….. Speaking of struggling with the truth….

A Minister was walking down the street when he came across a group of kids, who had surrounded a dog, and concerned thatthe kids were hurting the dog, he went over and asked "What are you doing with that dog?" One of them said, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we've decided that whoever can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."

Of course, the minister launched into a lesson about lying .."You kids shouldn't be having a contest telling lies! Don't you know it's a sin to lie," and then he ended with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie." There was dead silence for about a minute. Just as the reverend was beginning to think he'd gotten through to them, the smallest child gave a deep sigh and said, "All right, preacher, you get to keep the dog."

I Corinthians 1:25 “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. v26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. v27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to amaze the strong. v28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, v29 so that no one may boast before him”.

I think what Joseph said to his brothers as they stood before him in Egypt, where they had come to purchase grain, after their betrayal, after being sold as a slave, and after years of prison… They didn’t recognize him because he looked like an Egyptian, and held the position of second only to the pharaoh, who was the most powerful person in all the region. And as they knelt before him, he fought back the tears, as he spoke those powerful words that said it all. 

“You meant evil against me, but God intended it for good.”Genesis 50:20

One of my favorite John Piper quotes is “God is always doing 10,000 things, and we might be aware of three of them.”

If life shows us anything, it shows us that….

God is at work when evil seems to be winning…

God is at work when our plans have become frustrated 

And God is at work all the time, any time.

Because God always wins, we can submit and surrender and let Him lead and direct our lives. He will use us, no matter who we are or where we’ve been or what we’ve done!

Maybe Satan has been using you for a punching bag, and putting the label of “loser” on you…. “You should have done better with the family thing”…. “You should have done better with the job, or your Christian walk”…. Or whatever he has tried to get you with the loser sucker punch. 

Your God Never Loses…. Give it all back to Him… while you’re struggling with your 3 things, He’s already working on 10,000 ways to turn around those very situations.

Even as believers face death and the grave, they can go forth shouting, “Ain’t no grave can hold this body down”….. God Always Wins!!!!

Give it totally to him, today and trust Him when you don’t understand….

Our Prayer…….Lord Jesus, I know that I need to walk in forgiveness, because you’ve forgiven me, the moment I ask. But I realize that the reason I struggle with a lot of things is because I haven’t forgiven myself and others that I need to. I believe You died and rose from the dead, so that I could walk in victory in every area of my life. Lord I praise you for the wonderful future that you have prepared and I will not lose heart when faced with the pressures, anxieties, and troubles that come in this fallen world.

Thank You, Holy Spirit for preparing us for kingdom living, which breaks off the labels and shackles of the present circumstances. Continue to transform us into faithful servants who live to hear you say “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.” May we walk by faith and not by feelings, opinions, or the situations of the moment. Lord, You know our hearts better than we do.. You do not see us according to our flesh, but through your transforming work of redemption. Renew our minds and give us confidence with the truth found in Your written and revealed words. 

Guard our hearts from a critical spirit, and help us to not lose our direction when we feel the pressures that would lead us into doubt. May we always remember the cost of our freedom and the sacrifice You willingly made. Help us to live our lives for Yoursake at our workplace, with our friends and families, and wherever else we may go this week. We bow our hearts before you as we lift our voice in praise, In Jesus’ name….

Once again as you have done many times before….. Let it go, because God always wins! You can trust Him with it…..See it leaving your hands and going into His hands… See it coming off of your shoulders and landing on His shoulders….. You don’t have to carry it    any more!!!

GOD’S GOT THIS

This little guy whose picture is on the screen, has discovered his feet and he is infatuated with them. My hope is that we will all rediscover our feet so we can watch our step, before we leave here today…

I want to open by sharing about a young couple, who were madly in love, and decided to get married. But as the wedding day neared, both grew nervous over secret problems they had never shared with anyone. Privately, the groom-to-be approached his minister. “I’m really concerned about this marriage,” the young man said.

“Don’t you love her?” the pastor asked in surprise.

“Of course,” the groom said. “But I have unbelievably smelly feet—and I’m afraid my fiancée won’t be able to stand them.”

“Oh, is that all?” the pastor replied. “Look, all you need to do is wash your feet twice a day and wear socks all the time.”

Meanwhile, the nervous bride had privately approached the minister’s wife. “I’m so worried,” she sobbed. “I have really bad breath when I wake up each day!” “Oh, that’s nothing,” the pastor’s wife replied,” everyone has bad breath in the morning. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, you don’t understand,” the bride implored. “My morning breath is so awful, my fiancé won’t even want to be near me!”

“Well, I have an idea,” the pastor’s wife said . “Set your alarm just a few minutes before your husband wakes up. Run to the bathroom, brush your teeth, and gargle with mouthwash before he gets out of bed. The key is not to say anything until you’ve taken care of your breath.”

In time, a beautiful wedding was held and the bride and groom enjoyed the day without once worrying about their secret problems. For several months they managed to keep their issues to themselves.

Until one morning, the husband awoke before dawn to find that one of his socks had come off in the night. Frantic, he searched the bed, afraid of what might happen if he didn’t find his sock soon. His bride woke with a start, and, without thinking, blurted out, “What in the world are you doing?” “Oh, no!” the young man wailed. “You swallowed my sock!”

Where the feet go, the entire body goes with it. Without good balance, there is no stability. What affects the feet, affects the whole body and can limit what you can and cannot do. 

I recently read that one of the top things that puts soldiers out of commission is foot problems. If you can’t walk, you can’t fight, you can’t fulfill your normal duties, and you are greatly hindered in doing a lot of things…

Here’s some foot facts for you….75% of all Americans will experience foot problems at some time in their lives….If you think you need a new pair of shoes, the oldest preserved shoe, incidentally, is 5500 years old…. The average adults takes 4,000 to 6,000 steps a day…25% or sixty million Americans in the United States have flat feet…. there are 250,000 sweat glands in your feet…. it wasn’t until the 19 hundreds, that women’s shoes were different from men’s…. Plantar fasciitis affects about 10% of the US population….. 25% of all the bones in the human body are in your feet. When these bones are out of alignment, your entire body is out of whack.

I have a Kodak moment of a time when Winnie and I both were affected by plantar fasciitis and had great difficulty walking. It was very painful and uncomfortable. We had to do special exercises to get our feet back in working order. Instead of our feet being just an appendage, it was like our entire life had become all about what our feet had limited us to do….

Lana Wilder is quoted as saying “The dream is only out of reach when you choose to keep your feet flat on the floor and refuse to take the leap.”

Our feet are about the way we walk, how we walk and where we walk. 

God told Moses in Deuteronomy 11:24 “Every place where the sole of your foot shall tread I have given it unto you”.  At that moment God instituted a program of foot care for Moses, that would influence an entire nation of people, and change all of history!

It is concluded by most, that Moses was second in line for the throne of Egypt. He was groomed and shaped to walk that path, even though he was Hebrew by birth. His training was designed by God, in Egypt’s palaces, with access to the best education available, to prepare him to lead his people out of Egypt to the promised land. The oppressor was being prepared to be the liberator…                                                                               The mystery of righteousness was at work in the midst of the mystery of iniquity! Believe me, the natural mind can’t figure this kind of thing out…. It’s a God thing, and it is marvelous!!

But Egypt was instilled and implanted within him. When he was forty, Moses saw there were two different pathways he could walk out through his life. One path, the Egyptian path, involved being known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, involved the pleasures of sin, and involved in being caught up with the treasures of Egypt. 

Moses realized something: that if he stayed in Egypt, he would probably follow this path of sin and worldly pleasure. He knew that for the good of his soul he needed to follow the other path. This other path, the Hebrew path, involved refusal of his adoption as an Egyptian, it would involve mistreatment, disgrace and walking away from whatever his heart desired in material goods.

So by faith, Moses chose to be identified with the people of God. By faith, Moses chose to be mistreated along with the people of God.

Deep within, he knew that faith demanded a response to God's Word, and God's revelation. Moses knew from revelation that Israel was God's covenant people, the chosen people, the people of the promise, the people belonging to God. His feet were taking him, where his brain was struggling to understand. So, Moses identified himself with these people. 

That's what the path of Moses’ feet was declaring louder than any words could say. The world says, I won’t believe you when you talk the walk, I’ll believe you when you walk the talk!!

I quote Kate McGahan “We set our own limits. Some of us do like the Chinese women who bind their feet. The binding is painful at first but eventually you get used to it and the pain is not as bad. The saddest part of all is that by binding your feet with the choices you have made, you forget that there was ever another way to live.”

God wants to amaze you with what He can do as you let him guide your feet…. And take the binding off….

I heard about a quick thinking country boy, who applied for a salesman's job at a huge city department store, you could get anything there. The boss asked him, "Have you ever been a salesman before?"

"Yes, I was a salesman in the country" said the country boy.

The boss liked the looks of him and said, "You can start tomorrow and I'll come and see you when we close. You’ll get paid hourly + commission"

The day was long and boring for the young man, who was used to staying very busy on the farm, but with little pay. So, finally 9 o'clock came around. Sure enough, the boss showed up and asked, "How many sales did you make today?" "I only managed to make One" said the young man. 

"Only one" (the boss was shocked), "Most of my staff make 20 or 30 sales a day. How much was the one sale worth?"

"Three hundred thousand, three hundred and thirty four dollars," said the young man. "How in the world did you manage that?" asked the completely amazed boss.

"Well" said the young man "this man came in and I sold him a small fish hook, then a medium hook and finally a really large hook. Then I sold him a small fishing line, a medium one and a heavy duty one. I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down the coast. I said he would probably need a boat, so I took him down to the boat department and sold him that twenty eight foot schooner with the twin engines. Then he said his Volkswagen probably wouldn't be able to pull it, so I took him to the car department and sold him that new Deluxe dual cab Cruiser."

The boss took two steps back and asked in astonishment, "You sold all that to a guy who came in for a fish hook?"

"Well, No" answered the country boy "He came in to buy a box of Tylenol forhis wife and I said to him, You're weekend's already shot, you may as well go fishing." 

God can make your way prosperous and give you good success….“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delightsin his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD shall lift him up”. He said that He would make us the head, not the tail, above not beneath…..

Craig Lounsbrough has good advice for anyone…“I can get on my knees and pray all day, but until my heart and my ego are down on their knees, nothing will be different once I’m back on my feet.”                                         We’ve got to give the Lord something to work with!….

To Moses successor, Joshua, God spoke once again about the feetto a new generation…. Joshua 1:2 “Now therefore arise, you and all your people, and cross over the Jordan into the land that I am giving to you. v3 I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised”

Sorrow may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning!

A little further on in Deuteronomy 11 after this great promise that God would give them every place their foot would tread…. He tells them in verse 26… Deuteronomy 11:26 "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse." This word came as the camp was pitched between the two mountains, Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal…                                            Gerizim means blessing, and Ebal means the curse…. They had to decide to direct their feet close to the blessing or walk next to the curse. 

If you were to ask most people, “Do you want to be blessed or cursed”? Most folks would say they want blessing! But the bible says in the last days they would call good, evil, and evil good. Sowhen things get all twisted and perverted, often folks become oriented that whatever they desire to do in their own walk, will be good enough. I hear folks say, “I’m going to hell, and I’ll have plenty of company, and we’re all going to have a hell of a party”

Moses had to have a revelation from God to break with Egypt and the lifestyle he had been groomed for…. You see when God told Moses to take his shoes off, Moses was taking off his preconceived ideas that had hindered and disqualified him for the walk that he must walk. He took off prejudice, compromise, the world’s rose colored glasses, wrong priorities, and that being good is good enough. He put on God’s favor, compassion, heaven’s values, and God’s will for his life. When God shows up, leave your shoes and your worries at the door…

God is letting us know that it is not about our ability, but our availability! When He calls, He qualifies and equips…

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path” .. David is saying that our walk needs some foot care from the one who created our feet and the path they are to walk in, if we are to keep from stumbling and falling, and not lose our way to the mountain of blessing, take your shoes off. 

How many have mistaken Mount Ebal for Mount Gerizem… and we now have a lot of very busy Psychiatrist, rehab centers, broken homes and families, heart issues, addicts, and a rising crime rate… 

The little children’s song…”Oh be careful little feet where you go, oh, be careful little feet where you go, for the father up above is looking down in love. Oh, be careful little feet where you go.”

Mahatma gandhi said “I will not let anyone walk around in my mind with their dirty feet.”

Don’t let other people’s dirty feet, cause you to be compromised in the path God has called you to walk in… Don’t let the compromised living of those around you, influence your commitment to get to the promised land of your personal Divine destiny. Don’t let the pull of the world’s shallow fun and compensation for the pain in their lives, fool you in coming short of God’s glory in your life. 

Hebrews 11:1: begins with the words …“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for”

We must be like Moses, who saw the end of the journey from the beginning and lived, spoke, and acted as though it was as good as done. Listen to his words as he speaks in the past tense of fullfillment, even though they had not actually walked in it yet and were far from Canaan…

Deuteronomy 26:1 “And it shall be, when you come (with his words, the past overtakes the future and delares it so) When you come into the land which the Lord your God has given you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, (he’s laying it out before they ever lay eyes on it) v2 that you shall take the tithe of all the produce of the ground, 

which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. v3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have cometo the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.”

Moses is saying, “If God says it, it’s a done deal, you can walk it out, you can put your foot on it”….

The Hebrew children had come into possession by an ancient deed which secured it for them from generation to generation. God held the title deed to what He had promised, so that no one could snatch it from them, or trick them out of it. And He is holding the deed to your promise. Your healing, your abundance, your marriage, your future and your hope. And the devil and all the demons of hell cannot snatch it out of His hands…. Hallelujah!

It’s already given, and He will not repent of what He has given. God is not a man that He should lie. That means what He has given is available to those who will see it as done, and receive it by a covenant God to His covenant people. Claim your covenant deed…. With man it is impossible but with God all things are possible, to those who believe…..

We must surrender our plans to His plans, our way to His way, our thoughts to his thoughts, He knows the way that I take and after I have been tested I will come forth as gold.. Keep on walking…..

A woman went to the doctor for her yearly physical. The nurse started with certain basic information. "How much do you weigh?" she asked. "I’m 115 lbs" she says. The nurse puts her on the scale. It turns out her weight is 150. The nurse asks her, "And what is Your height?" "I’m 5 foot 8 inches" she says. The nurse checks and sees that she only measures 5 feet 5 inches. She then takes her blood pressure and tells the woman it is very high. The woman starts crying, and yells “Well Of course it's high, when I came in here I was tall and slender! Now I'm short and fat!" The world will mess with your head if you let them!

We must give up our fantasies and accept God’s word as our reality. 

When God met Moses at the burning bush, and told him to take his shoes off, (in that moment, God was preparing, and anointing Moses’ feet to walk out of Egypt, followed by the nation of Hebrew people”….Moses wanted to tell God. “Here am I, send Aaron…. But God knew him better than he knew himself….

God was preparing his feet by fire… His feet were being purged of every trace of Egypt’s influence, and his mind was being cleansed of his stink’n think’n, so that he could fully walk in and stand as the representative of Jehovah as he spoke to Pharaoh and released the plagues of God’s confirmation seal, which brought Egypt to it’sknees….

God is preparing your feet now, to walk in places you have not been, have not seen, and have not even imagined. 

I want you to see this scene which John captures for us in…..                 John 13:4-14 “As Jesus Rose from supper, He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feetand to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you shall not be able to go with me.”

Jesus was anointing their feet, blessing their feet, preparing their feet, for an amazing journey that would lead from an upper room of communion and into their destiny, to bring God’s kingdom into the earth. 

As you hear this message today, he’s anointing, blessing and preparing your feet as well, for the places He has already given to you, the places that are already yours, that He has planned for you long before you arrive. You just have to walk them out as though you already have them…..

That’s the meaning of Ephesians 1:22 And He (The Father) has put all things under His (Jesus’) feet and given Him to be head over all things unto the church, (that is a description of delegated authority and power of attorney) which is his body (His physical and spiritual representatives in the earth).

Past completion of the finished work, comes together with present reality through the claims of faith, so that future promise might now be our guaranteed possession! (let me say that again)                                                       Can you Say … “I have the answer and I’m waiting for the right questions”

Jesus said to the disciples, Luke 24:39 “See my hands and my feet, that I am He. Handle Me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me having”.

Jesus wanted them to handle His feet, and his hands, His side and head… They were the deed of inheritance he made available to us, written in blood, and the canvas was His body.    

His feet were nailed to a cross, so your feet could walk in power and authority. His hands were nailed so that you could lay hands on the sick and they would recover. His side was pierced so that His compassion through us, might pour out to all who needy, His head was pierced so we could receive discernment, wisdom, and knowledge. He did it all so you and I could stand on and claim the promises, and cross over into every covenant guarantee He has given unto us.

Chorus, ‘ I’m Standing, standing, standing on the promises of Christ my savior. Standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God”…..

Prayer……Father, thank You for establishing my steps. Thank You for shifting things in my favor. I declare that You are ordering my steps and leading me into the life You have prearranged for me.Lord, today I stand believing that You are working behind the scenes on my behalf. I thank you for giving me Your strength to continue believing until I see every promise fulfilled. As I walk in love and wait on Your marvelous plan to unfold. I declare that You are opening doors for me that no man can shut. Father, thank You for Your protection, Your faithfulness and goodness in every area of my life. I stand strong on Your word as I set my heart and mind on You. It is Your Word of truth which releases me and sets me free as it deposits faith in my heart. I receive Your strength to make it through the challenges I face and I declare that You have equippedme for victory in every area of life. Lord, thank You for completing what You have started in me as I continue walking in Your truth.                                    Lord Jesus, I am confident that you are bringing me into victory as I put my trust in You. I speak life and joy and health into my family, my community and my own life and I believe Your word which goes forth out of my spirit and my mouth, shall not return void, but it shall accomplish all that it is sent forth to do, in Your mighty name, Amen!

RECEIVE AND WALK IN THE TITLE DEED WHICH IS WRITTEN ON THE PARCHMENT OF HIS FLESH….

It’s time to take your shoes , and let Him give you what He desires… He has already declared that it’s yours, long before you ever get there to set your foot upon it…..

Listen friend, God sent someone who was willing to come and take His shoes off for you. Those unshod feet, walked up Calvary’s hill, carrying the cross that should have been mine. Then those beautiful feet were pierced by nails. But those feet marched into hell and took the keys from Satan, and marched out victorious as our kinsman redeemer. All this, so that we might receive the inheritance that Satan had stolen, but the nail scarred feet of Jesus, are our guarantee that it has been redeemed.  

Exodus 6:8 “And I will bring you there, concerning all which I did swear to give you, and I will give it you for an heritage, I am the LORD”.

And each one of us are in charge of our Attitude…

But a Positive Attitude is still missing an important ingredient….  

So let me begin with a letter from a grandma to her granddaughter…            “Dear Grand-daughter, The other day I went up to our local Christian book store and saw a 'Honk if you love Jesus' bumper sticker. I was feeling very excited that day because I had just come from an inspiring choir performance, followed by a powerful prayer meeting. So, I bought the sticker and put it on my bumper. Boy, am I glad I did; what an uplifting experience I had afterwards. I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, and I was just lost in thought about the Lord and how good he is, so that I didn't even notice that the light had changed. It’s a good thing someone else loves Jesus because if he hadn't honked, I never would have noticed.

I found that a lot of people love Jesus, because they were all honking! While I was sitting there, the guy behind was not only honking, but he leaned out of his window and screamed, 'For the love of God, let’s go, go!'

What an exuberant cheerleader for Lord he was! Then Everyone joined in and started honking! I just leaned out my window and started waving and smiling at all those people who also love Jesus. I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love that I was feeling!

There must have been a man from Florida back there because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach. Then I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up in the air.

I asked my young teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant.

He said it was probably a Hawaiian blessing. Well, I have never met anyone from Hawaii, so I leaned out the window and gave him the blessing right back. My dear heavens, it seemed like a lot of folks were enjoying this spiritual experience!!

A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me.

I’m sure they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed. So, smiling my best smile, I waved at all my brothers and sisters, and drove on through the intersection.

I noticed that I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again and felt kind of sad that I had to leave them all at that red light, after all the love we had shared.

So, I slowed the car down, leaned out the window and gave them all a big Hawaiian blessing, one last time as I drove away Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks!! Love, always, your Grandma…

Well Grandma was sincere, but she lacked understanding….She had a great attitude but she lacked understanding. She was positive but out of touch with reality….

1 Chronicles 12:32 “The men from Issachar, were men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do…. These were among those who had gathered to David to change their environment, usher in a new order, and make David King.  

I would have to also add to this story…..Proverbs 4:7 “And with all yourgetting get understanding”.                                                    

But let me give you the scripture I want to build my message on today 

Psalm 149:4 “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people, He will beautify the humble with salvation (wholeness and completeness). v5 Let the faithful ones be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud on their beds. v6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword (the word of God) in their hand, v7 To execute correction and realignment upon the nations, and righteous judgment on the people. v8 To bind kings of darkness with chains, And their rulers of wickedness with fetters of iron. v9 And to institute on them the written verdict. This honor (favor or privilege) have all His saints. Praise the Lord”!

Notice that verse 6 says “ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth”

When the bible tells us to give Him high praises, it is praise that has moved to another elevation, and has become mature and rises above the carnal mind, the emotions and fleshly feelings.

It is praise with understanding. If you only praise God when things are going well, your praise has not become high praise yet. If you only praise God when you feel like it, your praise has not become high praise yet. If you only praise God when you come to church, your praise has not become high praise yet. If you don’t understand that praise is Spiritual warfare, your praise has not become high praise yet. If you only praise God for what He does and not for who He is, your praise has not become high praiseyet….  

Paul writes about this process of elevating everything through praise with understanding, in …..Ephesians 2:5 “But God, has quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ   (by grace you have been saved), v6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”

That should make clear to us, our part in changing the atmosphere…                         The atmosphere at the high elevation of a mountain, is different than the atmosphere at the foot of the mountain. It’s about elevation.

God is declaring that if we will increase our elevation by rising up into heaven’s atmosphere, as we get a higher perspective, it will change the atmosphere in the situations and circumstancesaround us as we bring heaven into the earth. We move out of tunnel vision, and begin to see the bigger picture of divine purpose, in our job, our home, our relationships, and our circumstances. 

There’s a song titled “When you walk into the room” which beautifully describes how everything changes when Jesus shows up in any situation…                                                                                                          “When you walk into the room, everything changes. Darkness starts to tremble at the light that you bring. And when you walk into the room, every heart starts burning, And nothing matters more than just to sit here at your feet and worship you. When you walk into the room, sickness vanishes as a mist, every hopeless situation ceases to exist. And when you walk into the room, the dead are quickened too, ‘Cause there is resurrection life in all You do”.

Notice it says in Ephesians 2;5 that “He has quickened us together in heavenly places with Christ” That’s about a change in elevation, and moving into a higher view point with better understand.

Jesus physically ASCENDED into heaven, so, we can nowspiritually ascended into heaven, and have access to the throne of God….

Jesus physically SAT DOWN in heaven, so, we can spiritually sit down in heaven, which is a description of resting in something that is already established and divinely decreed.

One day every Christian will physically rise, ascend, and be seated in heaven, but RIGHT NOW this is true of us spiritually.

When Ephesians 2:5&6 uses the term “Heavenly places”….What does the phrase "THE HEAVENLY PLACES" mean for you right now?

When you understand that you now are a full participant in the finished work of Christ, and that all He accomplished is right now available to you, it elevates you above the limited, tunnel view of your physical situation, and ushers you into the realm of faith, where the substance of what you hoped for, becomes the evidence you can now receive…. (repeat)

The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen…

The Bible commands us, Romans 12:2 "Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. (Your understanding)                                                                                                                                                   Our calling is now and always, to elevate the place where we are. The reason you have been under such heavy attacks from the enemy, is because he knows that you have the potential to elevate where you are to a higher level and sway people’s hearts towards God. So he sets up detours, and pitfalls and snares along the way. He hits you with matters of the heart, for he knows that where your heart is, your treasure is also… He distracts, he manipulates, he deceives and gets you so busy, you don’t take care of the higher things because you’re to busy fighting and wrestling with carnal stuff!!!

You can’t give something you don’t have…. You can’t call others to a place you have not come to yourself… You can’t teach what you have not learned…You can’t impart what you have not received….

Ephesians 1:19 “To know what is the surpassing greatness of His power unto us who believe. These are the working of HIS STRENGTH AND HIS MIGHT v20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places”.

Strength and might are two attributes that flood the atmosphere where His presence is. Strength and might are released into the spirit of God’s people enabling them to cast off their burdens and supernaturally believe the impossible is possible. It ushers us into a “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us”!                                                                Samson changed the atmosphere and he brought down the house…. He shook himself and Strength and might became manifest in his life…. As a result, he changed the environment from one of oppression, captivity, bondage and intimidation by the Philistines, to one of liberty, praise, worship and fulfillment of destiny! (can someone give me a shout)

Oh, what an amazing thing it is to see the glory of the King saturate a place and to witness the release of His holy zeal that transforms downcast souls into mighty ones! Strength and might come when we usher in His presence, when the mighty ones “give unto the Lord, the glory due to His name,” when we “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”

When the atmosphere changes, repentance comes! Yes! The Spirit of Truth begins to convict our hearts, and causes folks to be conscious of righteousness and holiness….                                                                                                                                                    The Spirit of Truth is manifested to reveal things hidden and things veiled in shadows. In this atmosphere, believers who are bound by deceptions and dark manipulations, step into the light and are released from the weights and encumbrances which have hindered and distracted them.  

A holy zone is ushered in, where amazing things happen and transformation can take place. Bondages are broken, the light of heaven begins to shine, truth has the power of penetration and lives are changed forever.

Paul and Silas’, when they were in the depth of the dungeon, in prison chains could have felt that the enemy had won, but they began to lift up high praises and the chains fell off during their session of praise! Daniel began to lift up high praises and stopped the lion’s mouths, The Hebrew children remained steadfast in their praise unto god in the midst of the fiery furnace, and Jesus showed up in the Old Testament and brought heaven into the midst of their hell….

Word based faith brings forth High praise, with understanding, which will quench the fiery darts of the enemy, it will lift up a shield before you which will allow you to advance when everything is against you.                                                                                                                                                                      Praise is a “sacrifice,” If it was easy, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice. It’s something that we offer to God sacrificially, not just because we feel like it, but because we believe He is who He says He isand wish to honor Him and bring pleasure to Him.                                                                                                         Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” When you thank someone, you are honoring them….

I remember when I fell and damaged my left shoulder so that I could not lift my arm without intense pain. It was war! I forced that injured arm to praise the Lord. It was a sacrifice. IT HURT to lift it!! I fell asleep every night for a month with my hands lifted and propped up on the headboard, praising God for who He was, and what He had done for me in Christ Jesus. One night, all the pain and all the damage to my shoulder, just lifted off of me, and I was free from that night on….

PRAISE IS A SIGN OF SPRITUAL HEALTH 

For those with a healthy spiritual life, praise is natural. It easily flows from the heart of one who has a healthy relationship with God. For others, lack of understanding, fear of embarrassment, and pride weaken the spirit-man and praise is silenced.                                                                                                               PRAISE GIVES US ACCESS TO GOD. 

Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and come into His courts with praise”. This verse refers to Moses’ Tabernacle in the wilderness. The Tabernacle was divided into three parts. The Outer Court, The Inner Court, and The Holy of Holies where God’s glory was manifested.

There was only one gate - one entrance - into The Outer Court. If you wanted to approach God, you had to go through the gate, into the outer court, then move into the inner court and finally into The Holy of Holies. The gate you come through to approach the outer court, is thanksgiving and the inner court is praise. When you arrive at the Holy place, you fall down in worship. In Moses’ day, only the High priest could enter the Holy place, but when Jesus died for us, the veil of the Holy place was torn in half so that we might enter it and understand what that makes available to us…. Hallelujah!

PRAISE DOESN’T JUST CHANGE THINGS AROUND US, IT CHANGES US

I’ve seen the hardest of hearts melt. I’ve seen hearts made repentant. I’ve seen friendship restored and marriages heal. I’ve seen children coming back to their parents, and parents return to their children in an atmosphere of praise and worship. In praise, our focus shifts from us to the Lord. From problems to The Solution. From pain and to the promise. From hurts and brokenness to renewed hope.                                                                                                  High praise comes through the process of submission. When there is an atmosphere of praise and worshipthere is submission to purification. It is like a refiner’s fire. Silver and gold in their natural state are compromised with other elements. So they must be heated until the impurities come to the surface and can be skimmed off, leaving the purified silver and gold behind. In the same way, as we enter into high praise, we are released from all the impurities, allowing us to enter into God’s purification process. 

That happened on the day of Pentecost and the fire settled upon them and it elevated all who were near by!

PRAISE DEFEATS THE ENEMY. Judah means praise, and Revelation 5 tells us that our Lord Jesus, The Lion of the Tribe of Judah (The praise tribe) has overcome!  HE’S THE LION OF OUR PRAISE! When we enter into high praise, the enemy hears the roar of the lion!

In Judges 1:1-2 we read, “Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”                                                                                    God told The people of PRAISE to go in first to the enemy. The people of Praise entered the battle first and were given the victory.

In 2 Chronicles 20:21, King Jehoshaphat “appointed singers unto the Lord, that should praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, they were to say, “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.”  The choir and the orchestra went ahead of the warriors! It worked. The enemies were defeated and Judah never even had to take out their swords!  

So start singing out with your praise! Sing His high praise over your situations and circumstances. Sing over your spouse, your kids, your fears, and your thoughts! Rejoice over your life, and lift up your voice in songs of praise.                                                                                                                                                        The Bible says Psalm 22:3 God inhabits in the praises of His people. that In other words, God “dwells” in the atmosphere of His praise. This means that praise is more than a reaction of coming into His presence... praise to God is a vehicle of faith which takes us into His presence and power! Praise and worship is the “password” which allows us to enter the awesome and amazing realms of His glory. Praise transports us into the realm of the supernatural and into the power of God.

David continues on to say Psalms 34I:1 “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth”. 

Too often, praise to God is something that many people leave at church, an event that happens only when they come together with other Christians. However, praise should be a part of a believer’s lifestyle, inter-mingled as a part of their daily prayer-life. At work, in the car, at home in bed, or anywhere; praise to the Lord brings the refreshing of the Lord’s presence, along with His power and anointing. Hallelujah!!!!

I want to close with this prophetic word God put in my spirit… I wrote it down so I would get it right…

This is the hour that Jesus is shaking up our world view. I see Him calling out to many who have been sick, frail, in tremendous pain, weak, wounded, plundered and some even left for dead. He says over us, “Dead bones – (our life, our families, our churches) – COME TOGETHER. Be joined, built up and restored.” And there is a rattling sound happening now. Right NowToday! With every connection and organ and cell in place working properly. Be brought together and be made whole.” And we are coming together, we are being healed and being united. We are being given the strength to stand in the brilliant, transformative truth that is pouring through us and regenerating us. “Breath of the Spirit – fill with Life! It is time. Now is the time. So, Arise My Love! The grave and the grip of death, which wants to send us backward instead of forward, no longer has a hold! It’s time to dance!! Sing with me as I sing with you, Beautiful songs of the Spirit arise. As we Praise, see what He is about to do! The bells of Freedom are ringing!” Shouts that shatter barriers and break down dividing walls, have been amplified! Holy Spirit, enter into us in a fresh visitation. Open wide our hearts and spirits to You. Help our unbelief. We invite You into our bodies, minds and desires. Strengthen our spirits to be able to receive revelation of who You really are and Your great design, in and through us. 

Open the dusty drawers, clean out things in our closets that simply clutter and take up space, with no purpose or profit. Cleanse, purge, prune us of all that is not of You. Reveal to us the places we are full of unbelief or pride, fear or doubt, anger or bitterness. Root it all out, Jesus. Plow up our hearts to be ready with good soil for all the seeds of Your Word You want to plant in us. Fruitful, beautiful things from You that can now grow and abound. We now take up the weapons, tools and authority You have given us and bring every thought captive for Christ. We now receive creative designs, fresh insight, new direction, and knowledge and wisdom that is from above. To the praise of Your glorious grace!

Let us receive it, in Jesus Name!!!!