This message is titled "Welcome to September"

I’m pretty sure, that I’m the first person to officially welcome you to September, since you left August. If you look at your calendar, it is prophesying to you, if you will see the prophetic in the numbers…. September is the 9th month that is now declaring itself into our lives and God has a lot to say about this month…The ninth month is a turn-around month, if you are able to receive it….One of the properties and characteristics of the ninth month is the fact that it is the completion of the gestation period for human pregnancy and the birthing of new life.

ISAIAH 66:7-9: “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things?” (that means, the things God is about to do, or make happen in your life would be an amazement to everyone) “Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children…Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? says the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? says Thy God.”

Zion always refers to the seat of power, as well as God’s spiritual kingdom. In Hebrews 12:22 Paul says, “We have not come to Mount Sinai, but “to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”. The spiritual is operating through the physical…. Peter, refers to Christ as the Cornerstone of Zion: 1 Peter 2:6 “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame”. 

When we receive Jesus as our savior, God places the corner stone in our lives. You don’t lay a cornerstone without the entire building being planned out which will be built upon it! God has the building for our lives planned out, He has the blueprint, and every item is covered as we live our lives open and available to Him. That cornerstone is the guarantee that the rest of the building is ready as we allow His will in earth as it is in heaven. Let the master build what He intends upon the cornerstone He has laid in you… 

Revelation 19:10 “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. The word of God is a prophetic book, which is prophesying into all of our lives, if we will receive it, the blessings become ours, and the curses and plans of the enemy are broken as the schemes of the accuser are exposed and annihilated !

If you were to ask many guys what season it is, they would tell you it is either Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Hockey, (maybe racing season). But God wants to invite us to His season of intense promise, celebrated by the Jewish people as the month when the biggest Birthday of all took place. When the creation of the first humans on earth took place. Statistically, September is the most popular month for Birthdays, and the 9th of September is the most popular day of the month for births! Mary was born in September, and Jesus was actually born in September and not December… (sorry to pop your religious calendar bubble) 

September is the month of beginnings. We did not begin as ameba’s that crawled out of the slime, grew legs and evolved into monkeys, that became humans. But as a fully formed, amazing, brilliant, perfect specimen of manhood, with Eve inside of him, in the form of his rib, waiting to be fashioned by God. Scientist were not there to observe, so they have a theory, but God was there to tell us about it!

After a lesson on creation at school, a curious young boy asked, "Dad? How did we get here?" the dad said "Remember God created EVERYTHING in six days. On the sixth day, he scooped up some dust and made Adam. He took one of Adam's ribs and made Eve. They had kids and their kids had kids and so on, so that's how we're here." Not entirely convinced, he asked his mom who was not a Christian, the same question. Well, his mom said, "Scientist tell us, It began with microorganisms. Over time they evolved--creating algae, fish, birds, tadpoles, for example. Eventually, -tadpoles ---evolved into monkeys and apes and eventually humans!!" Mom's explanation seemed more logical so the boy went back to his dad. "Dad are you sure about what you told me, cause Mom told me about evolution and how we came from monkeys." "Oh yes, Son. I told you the truth. Your mother was just telling you about HER side of the family."

September means “Seven” and was originally the seventh month on the Roman calendar, (that calendar was inaccurate) so it was changed to the ninth month on the Gregorian or Christian calendar in 1752. On the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashana (The Jewish New Year) begins at sundown on Sunday, September 25th and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, September 27th. It is still positioned as the 7th month on the Jewish calendar, and represents “Completion”…

Jesus said “I am come that you might have life”…. But satanknows the cycle of gestation which births new life, so he commits himself to steal, kill and destroy, the new life that is being formed in each one of us…I need to tell you that when you check the back of the book, it declares in Revelation, that WE WIN! When Satan is attacking our family, our health, our finances, and our mission and ministry… I take a quick glance at the back of the book, and YEP, WE STILL WIN!!! 

There was danger in the manger. When Jesus was born in September, Herod got word that a king had been born and Roman soldiers were sent throughout the area killing all Jewish babies from 2 years and under. So if you have been in a battle, then know that there’s an effort to kill the promise you carry within you before it can come forth. Jesus was born in September during the feast of Sukkot, which is the celebrated as the first day of harvest September 21-27th. This was the blessing of the harvest, I want to welcome you to your September harvest blessing….These feast are not one time things but operate in a repeated cycle of blessing. God operates in cycles, and the best is yet to come for you child of God. 

Pregnancy is measured in three stages which are called trimesters. God is bringing you to your third trimester. Get ready to push! The month of September is “LABOR-ROOM MONTH”. If you have ever been in a labor room, then you know that the most common language of the labor room is “PUSH, PUSH, PUSH!” When Zion travailed she brought forth! Labor and travail can be painful, but you’re about to birth the new thing of God! He would not bring you to labor, if He didn’t include a successful birth in His plan. 

Way back, deep in the woods, a redneck's wife went into labor in the middle of the night and the local doctor was called out to assist in the delivery. Since there was no electricity, the doctor handed the father-to-be a lantern and said "Here, you hold this up high so I can see what I'm doing" Soon a baby boy was brought into the world. "Hold on there," said the doctor "Don't be in a rush to put the lantern down....I think there's yet another one to come" Sure enough, within minutes he had delivered a baby girl. "Oh my, don't be in a great hurry to be putting down that lantern...It seems there's yet another one in there!" cried the doctor. The redneck scratched his head in bewilderment, and asked the doctor, "Doc do you think maybe that it’s the light that's attracting them? So child of God, welcome to some light that is breaking through in the LABOR ROOM of September. 

September is about finishing what is incomplete, and bringing it forth to manifestation. Many of you will feel a movement in your spiritual womb (men and women). That movement is what God planted In your spirit and it’s been growing and developing. You’re going to feel a release as I’m speaking prophetically today. Your spirit is bearing witness with God’s spirit, that this is your truth. In the same way that Gabriel came to Mary and said that she was highly favored, I say to you that you are also highly favored. You did not conceive through natural means but through the Holy Spirit. The seed that has been implanted inside of you will be birthed as you yield to Him. Know that it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. 

Luke 1:38 “Then Mary said, “Behold the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” As we say this to God, we place the results in His hands and offer ourselves as His willing vessels. Every mom knows that she doesn’t decide when the baby is coming, the Baby decides when it’s ready. We may call it a “planned family”, but it’s God and the baby that decide when the birth happens. The labor room of September is a place of expectations. An expectant mom should spend her time declaring positive, affirming, faith building thoughts, or she can become anxious and fearful. The labor room of September is a place of conflict and warfare. Satan will do all he can to destroy what God is producing. So we must affirm that we are joint heirs with Christ and more than conquerors through Him. He has won and we are handed the victory! The labor room of September is a place where life and death hang in the balance. God says Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. (I’ll take God’s word for it) The labor room of September can be a place of joy or sadness… Isaiah 61:3 “I appoint 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.” (Who will we believe) The labor room of September is a place of fear or faith… Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and you shall have it”. (We choose to believe)

Satan wanted to turn September into a time of death at 9/11, But we chose to not let that happen. You may see the rubble of shattered hopes, broken promises, injustices, false expectations, trust that has been destroyed, and victims getting victimized again and again…. All around you… and it may seem that the good guy gets the left overs and the bad guys keep winning….

But on 911 we chose instead to rebuild, to hope, to believe that there was much more beyond and to arise from the rubble and shine brighter than before! If mere men can do that, what can your God accomplish in your midst!!! You may not look like much right now but wait till they see you then…The new trade tower which was raised from the rubble, is now the tallest building in New York. It is exactly 1,776 feet tall. How many know that 1776 is the year the founders of this nation, signed the Declaration of Independence, and have the right to rule ourselves under the banner of our God! “One Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Genesis 18:14: “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah (her name means “to fill and release”) shall have a son.”

Genesis 21:1-2: “Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah (to fill and release) became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.”

TODAY I WELCOME YOU TO YOUR SEASON OF BIRTHING THE IMPOSSIBLE, IN JESUS NAME. This is the season for things to happen when it looked like there was no way it could be possible. John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” 

Four men are waiting in the lobby of the hospital due to Covid, while their wives are in labor. A nurse walks out and tells the first man his wife just had twins. He says, “That’s funny, I work for the Minnesota Twins!” A little later the nurse walks out and tells the second man his wife had triplets. He says, “That’s funny, I work at the 3M company!” Shortly after that the nurse walks out and tells the third man that his wife had quadruplets. Laughing he says, “That’s funny I work at the Four Seasons!” Finally, the nurse walks up to the fourth man who is very upset and extremely nervous. He is shaking and sweating. The nurse asks him what’s wrong and he replies, “I work at the 7 Up bottling Company!” This is your season of abundance, no matter where you work!!!! God has promised full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over!!!

God told Israel, every place your foot shall tread, I have given it to you… Walking upon it was a way of taking possession of it. We walk on it, through praise and thanksgiving, through speaking and confessing God’s word, God’s intentions, and God’s promises. We walk on it through obedience and surrender. We walk on it by standing in faith and refusing to be moved. We walk on it by letting God position us and connect us in His way and His time…God is prophesying over your life through His appointed September. 

This is the month of the latter rain which Joel prophesied about in the book of Joel for the last days…. The latter rain came in September to ripen the harvest, and bring the harvest cycle to completion. It was time for the harvest to go from the seeds planted in the field to the increase that is brought into the barn, from promise to reality and possession….The latter rain is prophesying into your life….

As I was writing this message, Holy Spirit said…

“September is your month for new things and open doors, in the name of Jesus. You will experience the hands of God over your life this month in an unusual way. God’s favor will be running after you and overtake you as you go! Your children will rise up with the blessing upon their lives becoming more evident and manifested. What others have failed to achieve, you will see come to pass. Curses that have been designed against your marriage, finances, business, ministry, or health are broken this month and its going to turn around. The seeds of offerings and tithe that you have given out in the past without much tangible results, will begin to speak out for you, and be gathered unto you beginning this month, in the name of Jesus. You shall be guided and protected from evil arrows that have been sent against you, and no weapon shall prosper against you. Sickness and disease shall begin to let go and fall away and off of you. You will feel the release that you have known in your spirit. In this month of September, whatever represent delay and failure that you’ve experienced, will be no more, it shall vanish like a mist. Court cases will turn around for your good, and the feeling that you are going up stream against the current, will change and push you instead of pulling against you. Surprise meetings will result in permanent friendships and relationships. The blessings from heaven shall fall like rain upon your family this month, in the name of Jesus. Every power and evil scheme, secretly attacking you shall be exposed in the name of Jesus. Every spirit of poverty and waste that has attached itself to your life shall be destroyed by holy fire, in the name of Jesus. The season of barrenness has expired and it’s shelf life has ended. The Lord is giving you a new garment of restoration, healing, deliverance, and success this month, in the name of Jesus. Problems you have carried for years, are ending this month, in the name of Jesus. There is a new anointing of favor coming to you, and prophecies that you have received before, they shall begin to manifest at this time, for it is the appointed time, in the name of Jesus”.

Let’s declare this together…..”We declare over the womb of September, there shall be good news conceived for our sake and the kingdoms. You shall not be aborted! You shall not be miscarried!! You shall not be still-born. You shall be birthed alive, In the name of Jesus. We declare that our Lord, shall protect and defend our harvest. Hear the word of the Lord, and bring forth my turn-around, and my breakthrough, in the name of Jesus. Because my help comes from the Lord, I have assistance and support beyond my abilities, so that the impossible becomes possible. In this birthing month, I will experience Divine acceleration and supernatural multiplication through my God. Holy Spirit, awaken all that is dormant within me, that it may be activated and manifested. I will lift up mine eyes unto THE HILLS, where my help comes from. My help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer my foot to be moved. I declare the protective shield of the Almighty, over my life and family. I invoke the protective shield of the Almighty against every storm which is fashioned against my life. The Lord is my keeper, I shall not be hurt or stranded. The Lord is my preserver, my destiny is secure. I shall not want, for He supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory. He has arisen with healing in His hands and authority over every ailment and affliction. I am His and He is mine, and nothing can come between us. He has won the battle so I can enjoy the victory, and receive the rewards of His triumph, in Jesus Name”.

Receive it and give Him praise for it. Praise Him like you believe it! This is your latter rain month. Oh, yes, Welcome to September, welcome to your reward, welcome to your harvest, welcome to the promise fulfilled. You will not come to the birthing without bringing forth! We release it!

What about Jacob’s limp….                                                                                             (That was actually my response around 12:30 Monday evening as I was lying there praying, and God told me to speak on Jacob’s limp this Sunday.. “What about Jacob’s limp”?)……So, I got up and wrote down a few thoughts as they came to me till about 1:45, because if I don’t write it down right away, it’s gone….vaporized. So, that’s how this message came about for today)….

Speaking of Jacob’s limp We have folks in our fellowship who have had parts removed, and parts installed. Winnie has had a hip installed, Scott is our bionic man, others have stints in their bodies and rods and bolts…In other words we are not the same as we were at one time….                                                                                                                                             It is estimated that the chemical elements of a human body are collectively worth $17.18. But when those chemicals are combined into vital organs, marrow, and platelets, the value of the average human body sores to approximately $45,618,575.82.(Hey, You are all millionaires)

I am sure you know that because of cellular attrition our bodies actually replace themselves every years. So every 7 years you get a new spouse without the messy process of leaving one for another. My wife is working on her 8th husband….and I’m working on my 8th wife….Children get new parents, Parents get new children, and as a pastor I get a new church, every 7 years. I’m saying this and realizing that I am in my 11th body. No wonder I feel so young!!!

Anyway, there are experiences in life that leave you a little different than you were before… and that’s what happened to Jacob in the bible…

Genesis 32:28-31. "And God said, your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince you have power with God and with men, and you have prevailed. v29 And Jacob asked Him, and said, Tell me, I pray, Your name. And God said, why is it that you ask my name? And He blessed him there. v30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for he said, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. v31 And as he passed over Peniel the sun rose upon him, and he halted (tsay-la'h …to limp)because of his thigh which God had touched."

The covenant promise first given to his grandfather Abraham, would now flow through Jacob and his offspring by the touch of God upon him! He would now spend the rest of his life, marked by that blessing in the form of a limp.

God was declaring, “Because of my touch on his life, this man will walk different now, than he ever did before”….Everyone would see Jacob’s walk and say, there’s a man who has been touched and blessed by God!

The path to blessing is the path of brokenness… Jacob started out full of himself, he rebelled against his father and mother, his brother, and most of the folks he encountered along the way. Most of you know that Jacob was a twin, and when his brother was born before him, he came out but Jacob was holding on to his ankle as though he was trying to pull him back in….

But now Jacob has encountered someone he can’t beat, someone he can’t hood wink, and someone who knows him better than he knows himself. His arms are too short to box with God, and the good news is that when you lose to God, it’s the best victory you could ever experience. That’s what this brokenness is about…. I’ll lose to God every time, because even though I may walk away broken, I now see myself in His eyes, I know myself as He knows me, and it causes me to walk a different way than I walked before.                                                                      I was counselling a lady when she stopped me and made a statement which no one had ever said to me…. She said “You’re speaking to me out of your own brokenness, aren’t you.”? In that moment, I realized that all of the things I was sharing with her, had come forth from God’s touch on my life from the valleys I had walked through, and it pierced into a deep place within her…                                                                                               It’s not about the number of days in our life, but it’s about the amount of life in our days!!!

Brokenness tears away the sham, the pretense, and the phoniness … and allows the real you that God intended all along to be released. 

All four gospels contain the story of a certain little woman’s brokenness, which is unusual, but God wanted to give it special emphasis for all of us….I’m going to use the one from Mark’s gospel. 

Mark 14:3 “And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as Jesus sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. 4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, why was this waste of the ointment made? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. 6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble her? she has wrought a good work on me”.

First, let me say that this alabaster box was made of translucent, white or tinted fine-grained gypsum which could be broken quite easily. These small flasks would be placed on a neckless to be worn around the neck of young women of marriage age. When their hand was given in marriage, they would break the flask and anoint their husband to be in order to honor him.

The word “gypsum” means (to take hold of) and in breaking the flask and anointing Jesus, she was declaring that there was no going back. She broke it so that once it was offered it was final….Next, the value of this broken container with it’s contents, was about 300 pence, which was nearly a year’s wages for a Roman laborer. 

So something of value was involved here. This box represents something of value to us that we give to God with no intention of taking it back. Also, notice that they asked “why was this waste of ointment made”?.. Friend when we offer our brokenness to God, whatever it cost to bring us to our brokenness was not wasted, it was, as Jesus said “to bring about a good work, for His glory.”

Don’t despise the process of your brokenness, because it causes something valuable to be released in your life. A depth, and an insight,  wisdom, discernment, humility, patience, compassion and maturity, which you did not possess before…And if we allow the process to come full circle, it leads us into Godliness…America is being broken because it needs to return to God… Without God we are a fragile nation….Revival is always conditional on a time of brokenness…

OK, The main character we’re looking at today is Jacob. And we want to look at Jacob’s limp. We have seen that his limp was because God touched him …. But the reality also is, that God uses this world with all of it's trials and troubles, pressures, and circumstances to bring us to our own places of brokenness before Him. And we’re usually kicking and screaming and fighting like Jacob, all the way…..But the Father is helping us to realize that we are no match for all that life throws at us in ourselves, without Him.

Jacob arrives at this God encounter, from a place of loss. And he is struggling with Losing someone special. The grave has it'slessons. It teaches us and reminds us how frail we are and how fragile life can be. It teaches us how dependent we are on one another. It teaches us that life is short! We don’t have forever down here to get it right! Some folks got up this morning, not realizing that today would be their last day on earth to get the answers they have spent their lifetime searching for. 

Jacob’s loss has begun to weigh on him… He has lost his mom, his dad, and he comes to Bethel where the latest loss, his nurse from birth, who was around 130 years old, Is laid to rest at Bethel. She helped deliver his son Benjamin and his wife Rachael died giving birth to that son.

Jacob is struggling with those in his own household as well. He had sent his favored son Joseph, to find his brothers who were tending the cattle, and they stripped him of his robe, threw him in a pit, and sold him to a trader going to Egypt. Then they told Jacob that he had been killed by a wild animal. Their betrayal adds to another loss, the loss of trust. 

The Jacob who came to Peniel was a man whom life had broken to the place that God was now ready to use him. 

Peniel means “A face to face encounter with God”… It was show time, where the rubber meets the road, this guy was done fighting… It was a personal “Here I am God” time for Jacob….

When God touched him, he was still fighting, but the moment He touched him, he became a different man. 

God said, “you shall no longer be called Jacob, but you shall be called Israel, which means, the prince who prevailed with God.”

It had been a long, hard road, but the time of surrender has come. 

The fight has gone out of this man, and he’s ready to be used of God!

Little could Jacob know that a nation would come forth from him that would touch the world. That Jacob and 70 people would enter Egypt, but over 2 million would come out under Moses. But it could not have happened without the process of brokenness…

Jacob may have had a limp, but he is in good company….

Isaac was blind from the age of about 40…..Moses was a stutterer….Samson was born with a defect that affected both legs….  Ehud, one of the mighty deliverers of Israel, had a shriveled left hand….  In modern history, Albert Einstein was kicked out of school because his teacher thought he could not learn…..novelist Agatha Christie had a learning disability and could not write, she had someone else write all of her novels, plays, and stories while she dictated them…..Alexander Graham Bell had dyslexia….Thomas Edison had dyslexia and ADHD and had to be home schooled….. Franklin Delano Roosevelt suffered from polio 

and could not stand or walk without crutches yet was elected four times as President of the United States, from 1932 to 1944, and guided this country through the “great depression” and World War II.

I for one am glad that God didn’t put up a sign at the entrance of His kingdom that said “No limping allowed.” No struggling, no questioning, no wrestling, no suffering, no brokenness, no shortcomings, no imperfections…. It doesn’t say…“Only six pack, muscular, triumphant, dominant, prosperous, rich Christians who have it all together are welcomed here.” 

When I entered my first pastorate at age 33, I used to go down into the basement of the church and spend one hour just getting up the courage to go up and face the people for the service. I was handicapped by fear.

Jacob’s God would not buy into a loser’s limp and neither should any of us. Our limp, whatever it might be, changes the way we walk because it’s the walk of an overcomer. God said, Jacob, you’re not the same man, because you overcame all the odds, and you made it!!!

Jacob knew the old testament version of what Paul said…”It’sChrist in me the hope of Glory”…..

A while back I wrote a poem titled “Even now”, it says….

“Even now, I trust You Jesus.. Even now, I still believe…  

Even now I know you’re with me. You are strong when I am weak. 

The journey may get rough and hard. Sometimes I cannot see my way. 

My heart feels like a house of cards. So I trust You Lord, for come what may. How much does it really matter. If I gain the world, it’s incomplete. 

I could lose all I have gathered. But if I sow, I know I’ll reap. 

So, even now I trust You Jesus. Even now I still believe. 

Even now, I know You’re with me. You are strong when I am weak”.

How encouraging that Jesus said in John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.

Someone has said that our greatest potential lies just beyond the other side of our greatest fears. Jacob’s name before he met God face to face meant “loser”… but God said, I’m not having any of that, You shall be called Israel, for you have prevailed, you have overcome, you have overwhelmed what tried to overwhelm you!!!

Hey Jacob, why are you limping…. I’m limping because I let God have His way and I stopped struggling….

Hey Jacob, why are you limping…. I’m limping because God is reminding me, to put the past behind me, and be open to a brand new future…

Hey Jacob, why are you limping…. I’m limping because God is reminding me that I’m an overcomer, not a loser, He changed the way I walk!!

Hey Jacob, why are you limping…. This is to remind me that all the things I put my trust in will fail me, but He will never leave me or fail me….

Let me go back to the opening scripture for a moment…. When God tells Jacob who he is,  He wasn’t looking for a name that described his past, his failings, or his short comings…. 

He was naming him according to his potential and his destiny!God will not name you according to your issues…. But according to His intentions. We were beneath, but now we are above. We were sick, but now we are healed. When God changes us, we will not be what people remember from our past but what God declares about our future!!!                                                                               Lazarus refused to be called “Stinky” even though he was in the tomb long enough to stink…. But everywhere he went, they said “this is the man who was dead, but now he lives”!!!

Hey church, remember that Kamikaze pilots had a lot of potential.

But it turned out they were all one hit wonders. Don’t be a one hit wonder                                                                                        A tall, lanky, struggling student who was new at the school, was standing at the edge of the 3rd story roof of a school building and was about jump off and commit suicide.

When suddenly from the school grounds the basketball teacher yells to him, "Don't jump, I see you've got lots of potential, just let me work with you!" He saw what all the others had missed. You can’t judge a fish by how well it climbs a tree, and you can’t judge a pig by how well it flies! (unless it’s an elephant)

David had no social standing or public claim to fame, before he went up against Goliath. At that time, no one wrote of how he had beaten back a bear or laid a lion out like a prize fighter. When the famous prophet Nathan had shown up at the family home, even David’s own father overlooked him. He worked in faithful obscurity, but when he stood before Goliath, the nation learned that superficial, shallow human perceptions of this Giant killer disguised as a shepherd, were irrelevant when compared to his God-given potential when it was set free and released.

The obstacles that we all encounter are simply preparation for what comes next, in this life and in the next. The bear and lion we confront, are only rehearsals for the real fight which will reveal our potential. The obscure service is the proving ground where humility, patience and faithfulness are forged on the anvil of real life experience. Potential is like mining for gold, you have to dig through a lot of dirt to get to it, and bring it forth….but it’s well worth the effort.

God is empowering his people to be change agents regardless of where they might find themselves at the moment. This once unsung hero eventually wrote much of the Hebrew hymnal. And though he grew up undistinguished, God made him the standard by which all other kings would be judged.

As I was writing this message, the Lord said this to me….

This is a season when the Spirit of the lord is signaling that it’s time to launch out into the deeper water. Many have been satisfied to splash around in the waters near the shore, but a cry is going forth… “launch out into the deep, let go of the shoreline”… It’s time to do what you’ve been putting off, and what you’ve known in your spirit, but your mind gets in the way. It is in the deeper waters that the secrets of the Lord are revealed. It is in the deeper waters that the Divine flow is strongest. Go where the full current of the supernatural is drawing you, and allow it to take you where you’ve never been before. If you’ve only felt the river of God at ankle level, the knee deeplevel is calling. If you’ve only felt that river at waist level, the shoulder deep level is calling you. Fear will hold you back if you listen to it…. Know the shepherd’s voice and follow no other… For once you launch forth, you will never go back again. This is what you’ve hoped, dreamed and longed for, so let go now, and let the current take you, draw you, and bring you there….The deeper place is waiting…..

If you’re ready to walk in the new name that God has for you, and make that break once and for all, your potential is calling, and it’s louder than the voice of your past, it’s louder than the voice of your mistakes. You’ve been standing in that place where you wanted to take the leap, but you kept talking yourself out of it. Jacob decided it was time, David decided it was time, the woman with the alabaster box decided it was time. How about you….If that’s you would you stand this morning, right where you are…..

Prayer together…..Father, I thank You that You created us to reach our potential. In truth, You’re the only One who knows what we can achieve or who we can become. You know the plans You have for us, plans for good and not for evil, to give us a future and a hope. Our potential, like our lives, is shaped and fashioned for Your glory. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we exist to give You alone that glory. Lord, we can’t achieve that potential without knowing You. So for those who don’t know You, I pray that You would draw them to Yourself and bring them in. Let them come to know You as their all-in-all so they may find their everything in You.

And for those who do know You, Father, I ask that they would know You more and learn more about Your ways and Your desires. In that knowledge we can forgive ourselves and others who have wronged us as our lives line up with Your deep desires for us. Lord, You will never push us away or hold us back. You discipline us only for the purpose of renewal and restoration. You may move us to the wilderness for a season, but You always bring us out in love. You bless us that we might declare Your goodness and mercy. You burden us that we might press harder into You.

For those who don’t see their potential, whose eyes the enemy has blinded, I ask You to grant transparency, wisdom and vision. Let them throw off the old and burst forth into the new. Let their lives push past the pain and move over into the promise. And let them—let each of us—keep our eyes on Youas we press toward our true potential, the mark of our high and holy calling in Christ Jesus, in whose glorious name I pray—AMEN.

God desires for you to be healed and whole and free! 

Could we all just stand with someone today and together take the journey of faith into a new walk in His strength, and covenant blessing….This is the latter rain!!

As followers of Christ, we come to understand that whatever gifts we may have in our lives, are not just given to us, but they are also given through us. The gifts are about manifesting God’s abilities and desires through us.….They operate as He desires to operate them. God is actually giving these gifts to others but they pass through us. We become the delivery system, so that others may receive, glorify Him and invite Him into their lives or make a deeper commitment to Him.

1 Corinthians 12:4 “There are different kinds of gifts. But they are allgiven to believers by the same Spirit. v5 There are different ways to serve. But they all come from the same Lord. v6 There are different ways the Spirit works. But the same God is working in all these ways and in all people. v7 The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all".

There are two major, well known bodies of water in Israel. One is the sea of Galilee and the other is the Dead sea. 

The Dead sea is fed by the Jordon River, and is the lowest land based elevation on the earth. It’s surface is 1,412 feet below sea level and it is 997 feet deep. It is 31 miles long and 9 miles wide and It is the saltiest body of water on earth, with water that is 9.6 times saltier than the ocean. Nothing can grow around it, and even though the life giving water of the Jordon flows into it, there is nothing that flows out of it, so it gives nothing, but it only receives. The rate of evaporation is so high, that the Dead Sea loses more water through evaporation than the Jordon pours into it and is shrinking every year. 

The Sea of Galilee is also fed by the Jordon river. It is the larger of the two at 33 miles long and 13 miles wide. But it’s waters are only 141 feet deep at it’s deepest point. It’s banks and it’s waters are filled with life which flourishes within and around it. You see, it gives out as much water as it takes in. Jordon doesn’t just flow into it, but Jordon flows through it and keeps it flourishing vibrant, alive and sustained. Everything God has given you should not stop with you, but flow through you to bless all you come in contact with….

Jesus said to the woman at the well John 14:14 “ But whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give will become an endless fount of water springing up to eternal life.” To his disciples Jesus said                              John 7:37 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”                                                                                                                       Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who is working in you, both to will and to work his good pleasure”.                                           

Jesus is reminding us that our belly or our center, should be a place where rivers of what we have received of Him are flowing out of us. He has rivers to pour into us, but He has chosen for those rivers to flow through us….This principle is not about your potential, we all have great potential. But it is about using your capacity and increasing that capacity by how much you allow God to pour into you and out of you….

PLACE YOUR HANDS ON YOUR BELLY AND SAY “Into my inner most being, rivers are waiting to flow and I determine how much will flow out through me to increase my capacity” The more you allow, the greater your capacity….

We are ordained to be channels of blessing to others. We are not called to live only for ourselves, or to disregard the needs of others….

A guy went into the store for just a few minutes. When he came out there was a policeman writing a parking ticket for being in a handicap spot. So he went up to the policeman and said, "Come on, buddy, how about giving a guy a break?"

He ignored him and continued writing the ticket. So he called the policeman a pencil-necked ticket abuser. He glared at the giu and started writing another ticket for worn tires!

So the guy asked him if his psychiatrist makes him lie face down on the couch cause he's so ugly.

He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket!

This went on until he had placed 5 tickets on the windshield... the more he insulted the ticket writer, the more tickets he wrote. But the guy didn't care. His car was parked around the corner. We can’t ignore the needs of other people….This guy cared only for himself….

What’s flowing out of us to our spouse, our children, our neighbors and others in the community…. What do they see….

The only time that rivers stop flowing, is when there is a drought, a dry season, or a famine. Or something has blocked them and stopped the flow, And that should never be the case with those who are the recipient of His rivers. The river of God overwhelms any obstacle.

His rivers of the Spirit never run dry, and they are always flowing, no matter what is happening around us. They are able to overwhelm any barrier that stands in their way. Jesus is calling us to let His rivers flow in all the dry places of life, to all who have a dry season in their lives….

Matthew 10:8 “Freely give, even as you have freely received.”                               Oh, Yes, Let it flow through you….

After writing an entire chapter on the resurrection, Paul doesn’t’ tell us to hang on till Jesus comes, or store up everything for the end times, or separate ourselves from the world and just worry about “Your’s truly”…..no, look at it….

1 Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be stedfast, unmovable, as you continue to always abound in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor (your giving and good works) is not in vain in the Lord”.                            It may not happen right away, but you can believe the God of covenant, that it will happen!

We give the things we cannot keep, to keep what we cannot lose….                                                                                          Believe, and Let it flow…

After receiving so much from the Lord, we don’t want to stand one day as an empty shell, having no reward, but just getting in by the skin of our teeth… 

There was a minister who was attempting to console the widow of an eccentric millionaire who had just died. Standing before the casket, the pastor who meant well, said, “I realize this must be a very hard time for you, Mrs. Smith. Just try to remember that what we see before us is only the husk, it is just the shell of your dear husband– the nut has gone to heaven.”

We don’t want to stand before God, an empty shell with nothing to show for the life we have lived….

Stop Forcing, and Start flowing

The key to the principle we’re talking about today, is to struggle less and surrender more… Jesus said “out of your inner most being shall flow (please get that word..) FLOW…rivers of living water”…

I have never seen a fruit tree straining and struggling to bear fruit. Or stressed out because it had to produce.. It knows that there is a law of productivity. Apple trees produce apples, peach trees produce peaches, and so on…. 

It is in surrender to their purpose, that trees, vines, animals, fish and birds, reproduce and flourish. It is in surrender that they fulfill their purpose. We hear a lot about “surrender” but what does that really mean? Well, there is no one-step way to surrender to God, it’s a daily, moment by moment choice to give it to God. Let’s look at some ways that we can surrender to God spiritually…                                                                                                              Spending time in prayer is about intentionally giving our plans and desires to God, and opening ourselves to His intentions and plans for us. You never really pray without surrender.Scripture shows us that this is the way Jesus began and ended every day… He shifted the focus from himself and toward the Father. He said “Whatever the Father tells me is what I do. Whatever the Father says is what I say. I do nothing except what the Father tells me.

Now that doesn’t happen in a day or a week, it’s a life pattern you begin to develop, because of a deep desire to do the Father’s will…We will all continue to be God’s unfinished projects, until that which is perfect is come.. You and I will not continue to do something or be consistent about something that has no value to us or importance in our lives .                                                                     Newspapers carried the story of Al Johnson, a Kansas man who came to faith in Jesus Christ in his late 50’s. Why would they carry a story about someone coming to Christ? What made his story remarkable was not his conversion, but the fact that as a result of his newfound faith in Christ, he confessed to a bank robbery he had participated in when he was nineteen years old, but was never caught. Because the statute of limitations on the case had run out, Johnson could not be prosecuted for the offense. Still, he believed his relationship with Christ demanded a confession. And he voluntarily repaid his share of the stolen money! He surrendered his desires to the Father’s desires and plans.

David wrote in Psalm 40:8 “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Word is within my heart.”

Perhaps many Christians fail in getting to know the word of God, and becoming familiar with the bible, because they fail to see it as            the God breathed, God inspired letter from home that it is. If you view heaven as your permanent home, and this world as a temporary place you are just passing through, then every scripture is a precious message from home, sent from the Father.  

It’s a connection to the Father, sending His love, His resources, His desires, and His thoughts and intentions. 

Fasting is really a form of more intense surrender to the Father. It’s an important tool in opening our Spirit and bringing our soul and our flesh into submission. All through the bible we see breakthrough which is brought about by fasting and prayer. 

Moses fasted and brought the commandments down from Sinai, written by the finger of God. Jesus initiated His ministry with 40 days of fasting. Fasting is an opportunity to increase our spiritual capacity…                             Our flesh is the enemy in surrendering to God more fully, and the purpose in fasting is to diminish the pull and power of the flesh and empower the influence of the Spirit. 

In a time when everything is too convenient, we must choose to deny ourselves, of food, of pleasures, and all that distracts from our greater need, that I decrease so He may increase in me… Our bodies were fashioned to need seasons of famine and seasons of feasting… Christians are called to live a fasted life.  We put aside other things so we can give our time, our finances, and our priorities to greater purpose  We feast to celebrate but we fast to transform….

Matthew 6.33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”

If this were a French movie, you could just write your own ending, but it’s not, and that ending has already been written. Fasting is part of God’s surrender package, which taps into the supernatural. 

Fasting sensitizes my Spirit to hear the voice of God. When we are at a crossroads and don’t know which way to turn, fasting helps us to hear God’s direction. When we are facing a difficult decision, or when there are too many voices in our heads, when like Job, our friends are encouraging us in the wrong direction… we need to put it all aside and get a bead on the most important voice of all, and let God speak. 

Fasting establishes our priorities….We come to places where what used to satisfy us doesn’t satisfy us any more. More food, more clothes, more television, more trips, more stuff, doesn’t do it anymore! We’re at a new place and we need a new plan. Our spirit is telling us something, it’s time to listen…When nothing else works, it’s time to fast!

As we surrender it creates an environment for miracles to flow. We come under God’s power and authority. An atmosphere is created for heaven to touch the earth and transform our circumstances of lack, chaos, and fear into God’s opportunity to usher in His peace, to supply our needs and saturate the atmosphere with faith for others as well.

Our Spirit becomes starved and weak, when we fail to nourish it with prayer and God’s word. Just as we need to nourish our bodies, we need to supply our Spirit and Soul with much-needed sustenance and nutrients that it desperately needs. When we allow our Spirit to reign, then the power of God within us, will create opportunities and transform circumstances so that He accomplishes what we never could. 

An important key to surrender is alignment. I can’t get to Virginia beach if I get on a plane going to Hartford, Connecticut. I can’t order a meal at Outback, if I’m looking at a menu at Denny’s. I can’t expect a paycheck at Publix if I’m working at Winn-Dixie…. There has to be alignment. Let me show you a scripture on alignment…                                                                                                                 1 John 5:14 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."                                                                                                                Forgiveness is an important alignment tool that we have been given. God’s word clearly tells us that we will be judged, if we don’t forgive. It’s like drinking poison and expecting the other guy to drop dead. Why would anyone allow the person who victimized you to keep victimizing you by letting them control you emotionally and spiritually. Unforgiveness is Satan’s way of holding you hostage. Unforgiveness is agreement with the Devil to let him hold you hostage.                                          Matthew 7:2 For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?

When you surrender in forgiveness, You bring yourself into alignment with freedom, healing, and breakthrough!

Let me add one more alignment tool, and that is Repentance. Repentance is a powerful tool for alignment. If Christ forgives you, then you need to forgive yourself. Christ didn’t save us to leave us where we were. He loves us enough to not leave us where He found us. Salvation is a package deal for body, soul, and Spirit. If we put our faith in Christ, received His salvation, and declared His Lordship, but we’re not following Him, we need the alignment that comes through repentance.

Luke 9:23 “And Jesus said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”.

Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore, and be converted (ep-ee-stref'-o)”…           This Greek word, connected to repentance, means “return to the obedience of God”….”To turn around and come back”…. This is spoken as a command and not just a suggestion… If someone you loved was about to get hit by a car, you would not make a suggestion. You would immediately be in a command mode… “Turn around and come back, now”…

There is an urgency here, that there is danger, that the alignment is urgently needed… “REPENT AND BE CONVERTED”….(or be aligned) There is an urgency from the Holy Spirit… There is too much that hangs in the balances, we may not see it, but He does….

There is a town in the remote portion of Canada called Wabush. It was completely isolated for a long time. But a road was cut through the wilderness to reach it. Wabush now has a road leading into it, and, only one road leading out of it. (A lot like Key West) If someone traveled the road for six to eight hours to get into Wabush, there is only one way he or she could leave.

Each of us, before Christ, found ourselves in a place of disobedience. And just like Wabush, there is only one way out—and that road was built by God himself. But in order to take that road, one must first turn around. That complete about face is what the Bible calls conversion, and without it, there's no way out of the town of disobedience.

I find it interesting that scripture requires both Repentance and conversion. Repentance is not enough if conversion doesn’t take place as well. Someone may feel the need to repent, but never take the next step to turn around and begin the journey that goesthe other way….

Alignment is what takes place as conversion begins. 

Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore, and be converted”.                                              So we surrender and come into Alignment because we value God’s presence, His plan and His purpose in our lives and we desire His anointing, His power, and His desires to flow through us, that many may know and follow Him…. 

Lord, help us to stop the struggle and start the flow….let it flow through us, so that others may know…

This one thing I do….

Often it’s not the many things we do but the one thing that makes all the difference. The one thing, makes the many things worth while. The one thing is what the many things were all about. Everything else pales compared to what got us to the one thing. Many folks live their entire lives to be finally remembered by the one great thing they did….

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already obtained, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.13 Brothers, I do not yet consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.…

Paul is encouraging the church of Philipi, to not give up even though it may not seem that they have accomplished much, to keep pressing on, because God is faithful who has promised. The one thing that He encourages them to do is to be faithful in what God has called them to do. But even more, to trust God, more than what they may see, hear or feel. 

In the book Second Calling, Dale Bourke writes that years ago, she attended a conference and when it was over, her friend Bruce offered her a ride to the airport. As they were about to leave, another man who was also at the conference, asked if he could get a ride with them. As they drove away from the hotel, she and Bruce asked the man where he worked, and he mentioned the Christian organization he represented at the conference. Bruce commented that, he had fond memories of that group, because once he attended a retreat of theirs, and that’s where he became a Christian. It was in 1972 in New Hampshire. Bruce went on to explain that eventually his whole family became Christians through his conversion, and went into full time Christian service. His sister was a Wycliffe missionary and Bruce himself became publisher of a major Christian publishing house, which brought many significant Christian books to the public forum. Bruce finished the story with a flourish saying that the conference had achieved worldwide impact. The man was silent. Then he said with shaky voice, “I led that retreat. It was my first time as a conference leader, and until this moment, I felt like a total failure. I have always believed that first conference was one of the biggest failures of my life.” Dale wrote of that meeting, “What had seemed like the simple act of offering a ride to a stranger had turned into a powerful reminder that God uses our efforts in ways that we seldom realize. 

We may spend the rest of our lives doing things that don’t seem at all successful. Yet God knows the purpose and in the end result, we are simply called to be faithful.” Could you perhaps be the one to lead the next world changer to a relationship with Christ. The next Joseph Prince, or Joel Osteen or perhaps the next TD Jakes or Kenneth Copeland. But there will be some discouragement to overcome, some intimidation to rise above, and some mountains of fear to put under your feet… 

Paul in another place refers to the good fight…1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses”.

The Good fight is not only about how you fought, but it’s about the cause you were fighting for. 

With all the pressures of our world, sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of what we are supposed to be fighting for. What was the purpose of it all. Why did certain things happen to us, that knocked us down, and caught us on our blind side. We were doing so well, and the next thing we were down on the mat, taking the 8 count. The rug had been pulled out from under us….

John asked his wife, Mary, what she wanted as they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. "Would you like a new mink coat?" he asked. "No, Not really," said Mary. "Well how about a new Mercedes sports car?" said John. "No, Not really" she responded. "What about a new vacation home in the country?" he suggested.

She again rejected his offer. "Well what would you like for our anniversary?" John asked. Mary said "John, I'd like a divorce," "Well”, John said, “I’m Sorry, but I wasn't planning on spending that much," 

What happened to you, is not the measure of “A good fight”…. It’s how you fought, and it’s about staying on purpose. Were you faithful, regardless of how hard you got hit. Did you get back on the horse that just threw you off? Get back on the tricycle that you just crashed. CM Ward, used to say, “if they tarred and feathered me and ran me out of town. God help me to have a big enough vision to get up in front and lead the parade”….

So many on this journey of faith have lost it in the battle ground of the mind. 

The enemy took them out by reminding them of what happened in their past. He threw every mistake they ever made, every wrong choice, and the moment they accepted that this is who they are, they got knocked down for the count. Get back up, look up, dress up in the garments of righteousness, and show up like you mean it! 

When He reminds you of who you used to be, remind him of his destiny, and that you’re going to be there to witness it!!!

Philippians 3:13- “but this one thing I do: forgetting what liesbehind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”.

If a runner looks behind him too much, they can stumblein a New York minute or lose sight of the goal they’rerunning for. Every race is a new race. No matter what happened before, there’s never been a time like this time.

We must even let go of the way God did it the last time, or how the Spirit moved the last time, because He will do it different this time. We can be so locked in to how it was done the time before, that we don’t listen to the new revelation or the new direction. I believe to some God is saying “Behold I will do a new thing, how can you know it if you are locked into the last time….?

If you don’t let go of where you were, you can’t get to where you are going….

Repeat after me… “I’m not perfect and that’s OK!” If you’re looking for perfection, you’ll be defeated, because that won’t come until you leave this body. But God is not looking for perfection, He’s looking for progress, He’s looking for obedience, humility, patience, longsuffering, which are qualities that people who think they have to be perfect, don’t have time for….They’retoo busy being perfect….

He says that His strength is revealed in our weakness. He says that those who humble themselves, the Lord will exalt in due season. Every weakness you have is an opportunity for God to show His power….

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “The Lord said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me”.

Paul boasted in his weakness, because then all the glory and all the praise went to Christ and not to Him….

Instead of the enemy using Paul’s weakness against him, He channeled it to the praise and honor of Christ! Hallelujah!

God knows that in our weakness we lean in greater measure on Him.                                           The Devil will keep beating you up and defeating you unto you come to an understanding of the Christ in you….

It was Paul who also said in Colossians 1:27 “It is Christ in me, who is the hope of glory.”

You want to see God’s glory, look at the triumphant Christ, crucified on a cruel cross. You can see God’s glory in the situations where we are being crucified with Christ and we maintain our good confession and keep our eyes on the prize, and His presence and his glory is very present there….

Job 23:10 “But He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (with his glory).

Job went through what he went through, knowing that when it was finished, God would be glorified and get all the praise! He was helpless to do many things, but this one thing he could do, he could be faithful!

Faithfulness was Paul’s solution to moving on from the past… He said from his prison cell, “I press toward the mark of the prize”… He is telling us that he got busy being faithful to the tasks which God had given him to do. Pressing beyond his feelings and his emotions, and all the distractions to fulfill his purpose, moment by moment, one task at a time…         

I like the little story of one woman who refused to give up on her goal….

This woman was complaining to her friend, “All my husband and I do any more is fight. He’s abusive, insensitive, and just generally stinks! I’ve been so upset,I’ve lost 20 pounds.” “Well I’m sorry to hear that, dear, but If it’s that bad, why don’t you just leave him?” asks the other friend. Oh no, my goal is to lose another 15 pounds first.”

We have to come to a point when we transform ourthoughts into tangible actions. Whatever is needed to get us to the next stage of our job, our family, our personal growth, our professional achievement, or spiritual involvement needs to be given action at some level, starting now, today, because tomorrow never comes. If you feel that there are things you can’t do…..(this is where the pressing comes in)…. DO WHATEVER YOU CAN DO!!

Make that phone call, get that address, fill out another resume, knock on a door….

God will honor you in what you CAN DO…. After all He told us to…

Ask and it shall be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened! (Say it with me)…. “I will ask and it shall be given, I will seek and I will find, I will knock and the door will be opened”!!! That’s transformative action! Welcome to the Transformative Action Institute! 

Now if you

Listen to what the Lord promises you, if you will do The One Thing!

1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain”.

When the real estate market bubble burst, we had put our house on Ramrod up for sale. The sale sign, and the advertisement produced one person in 3 years who even offered a bid on it. I walked around the property and spoke over and to it, then the Lord said, “You say you want to sell, but you don’t act like you’re moving…” I said, but Lord, we have no offers. He said, “go out and get all the boxes you need and put them in the downstairs.” So the next day, I went dumpster diving and filled my downstairs with boxes. Within a week, we had a contract on the house, and the agent was willing to do all the paper work and closing for 1,200.00!

The one thing I could do, I did, and God did the rest….

There’s something you can do now, to begin to move things forward. You might come up with many things, but it’s the one thing that is going to make a difference. It’s the one thing that will turn it all around. Do the one thing! It’s not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord!!! OH, somebody needs to hear this!!

Jesus said, many call me Lord, Lord, but don’t do what I say!                                                                           Paul said “This one thing I do!” Not just what I say, but what I do about what I say!

A couple had stayed for a few nights at a hotel, and as they were ready to go, the man saw a survey on the desk and told his wife to hold on because he felt he should fill out the survey. He gave the hotel high marks, and complimented them on the quality of their towels, but when it got to the box for any complaints, he wrote… “The towels are so large, I could hardly close my suitcase”

You can’t take the hotel towels if you want the anointingthat brings abundance!!! (at least they didn’t take the pillows)!!

Do the One Thing you Can do and leave the results to God. The one thing you do, may look as though it has nothing to do with getting you where you need to be, and nothing to do with what you’ve been praying for. But the one thing that was required of David was to take lunch to his brothers who were in the Israeli army, facing the Philistines. That one thing positioned him in the face of King Saul, who put him in the face of Goliath and the rest is history! That one thing was a king maker!

The one thing Elijah did was to ask the widow woman for a little pancake to eat, and it resulted in a miracle which fed her and her son and all the neighbors, for the duration of the famine that gripped the land. That one thing was a famine breaker!

The one thing that Moses could do well was handle a walking stick and God used that rod to work miracles, defeating Egypt, opening the Red Sea, bringing water from the rock, and defeating their enemies….That one thing was a History maker!

What is the One Thing you have that He’s waiting to use.

I was looking again at the time when Jesus was visiting Mary and Martha, He told Martha in Luke 10:42 that “one thing was needed,” While Mary had found peace in her“one thing” as she sat at Jesus’ feet in worship, Martha was “worried and troubled about many things,” including serving everyone. But Martha didn’t realize that while she was faithful in serving, it was not about the one thing that was needed, and that was to make it all about Jesus, not just all about the serving. She was getting a bad attitude, and getting critical, because her serving had become more important than the one she was serving….(does that make sense?)                             It’s not just what we do but how and why we do it that matters to God…

It’s one thing to act, it’s another to make even the most menial tasks all about Him…

Romans 11:36 For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. Amen!”

Paul said that everything is from God. He is the first cause, the source, the Alpha. Then Paul said that through Him everything is. God is the effective cause of everything in creation. Man has been credited for creating many things, but all he has really done is discover what has come through the Father. And finally, Paul said that everything is to Him. He is the ultimatecause, He is the Omega. It all returns to Him and He will receive the final credit, the honor and the glory forever.

Everything and everyone fulfills their greater purpose in bringing Him glory. It is our chief aim, and our highest purpose. We are to honor Him and His ways through our thoughts, our choices and our actions. It’s always tragic when people lose sight of that…. Gregory’s obituary appeared in the Times Newspaper. He died as a transvestite in Miami. Married four times with six children he had once been a celebrity and successful pediatrician. But Gregory succumbed to alcoholism and his license to practice medicine was suspended. Haunted by self-doubt and unable to live in the shadow of his father, When he died, he was known as Gloria in a women’s prison. When he was just 19, Gregory’s father blamed him for his mother’s death from cancer and did not speak to him for ten years before killing himself in precisely the same way Gregory’s grandfather had done before him. You see, Gregory, or Gloria, was the youngest son of Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemmingway’s parents were regular churchgoers but detested their son’s ungodly lifestyle. Eventually his mother refused to see him. One year, for his birthday, she mailed him a cake along with the gun his father had used to kill himself. Hemingway never got over his hatred for his mother or her Savior. And it seems his own children paid dearly for the lack of love and grace he experienced from his parents.

How ironic that Ernest Hemingway, spurned by his religious parents, as messed up and confused as he was, an emotionally abused child, who in turn abused his own children, took his own life as his father whom he did not want to be like, had done. The greatest shame is that the one thing that they all could have done, could have changed history as we know it…

Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created”.

Many things may be important, and many things may compete for our priority, but they need to stand in line, because the Lord is letting us know, “one thing is needed.” David wrote in Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house (presence) of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon

the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple (His dwelling place)”.

When David’s enemies were pursuing him, more than better armor, swords, or chariots, David asked for God’s presence….

In Hebrews, Paul likens himself to a runner, who is running after Christ, and who has laid aside everything that might slow him down from his pursuit. The people of that time understood his meaning, because the runners of that day, would compete in the nude, so that there would be no restrictions to keep them from running the best race that was possible. These guys lived for the prize at the end of the race but they trained for the race itself, so they could win the prize.. We run the race of life for a greater reward than any earthly prize…

Hebrews 12:1-2. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily hinders us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

My children are all reminding me that I’m at the age where I should be thinking about retirement. (4 more have been added since this picture on the screen) Well, I have come to the place in my life where ministry is not just what I do, it is who I am. Whatever the future holds, I see myself sharing the unsearchable riches of Christ, as long as there is breath in my body, or I am caught up in the clouds of glory to be with Him forever. There was a time, when I was a farmer, then I was a grocery clerk, then I was a college student, and then I was a meat cutter, which was the last job I had outside of the ministry. But through all of those things, I sought to do the one thing…. Seek His presence, and what He would have me do to make Him known, accepted and honored by whoever I could. 

I haven’t been perfect, or without cracks and flaws, but I have always desired to be His ambassador, and seek His presence…. I hope that many will join me…. Many folksmay never attend our church, but as long as they get hungry and thirsty for Him, it will be worth it all! It’s what I live for…Jesus said that we are to be salt and light in this world that we live in…

If we will do the one thing, it will have a domino effect, and we will find that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us… Many things which could not happen without Him will begin to happen in our lives. Connections, resources, abilities, and directions, we never thought possible will become possible….FromHim, through Him and for Him!

Ephesians 1:3-4 “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love… having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.”

He has already chosen each of us, but we must choose Him, every day, all day.

We were reserved for God’s pleasure – to know him and love him and serve him; That’s what the word predestined means. We are reserved for Him….

We were created to be part of God’s family –We are at home in His family. We have been made heirs and joint heirs. He has left us a covenant inheritance. 

We were redeemed to become like Christ – As we believe and receive, God looks at us and He sees Jesus in us. His righteousness, His power, His authority and His Spirit. 

We were equipped for serving Him – with a unique blend of talents, skills and passion. He has given each of us everything we need for a life of victory and success. 

We were made for a purpose – To have fellowship with Him, and to introduce other people to Christ, so that they too might live for the praise of His glory. 

Grace is the source of our new position in Christ. 

Faith is the means of access for our new position in Christ

Good works is the product of our new position in Christ

Romans 8:38-39 'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

The amazing news is that nothing can move you from your position in Christ unless you allow it…..

For He has given us power over all the power of the enemy that nothing by any means shall be able to hurt you (violate you against your will). What’s happening on the outside cannot determine your position on the inside….

Oh, that we might know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, and that we might be filled with the fullness of God. The fullness which He has intended for all of us to walk in and live in as we do His good pleasure! Can you say, “Thank You Lord for choosing me, and giving me your fullness”….

Prayer….. Father, in Jesus name, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray that out of Your glorious riches you would strengthen me with power in my inner being so that I might fully offer myself to You. I pray that I would be rooted and established in love, that I might grasp how wide and long and high and deep Your love is. I believe that you are able to do far more than I can even imagine by Your power that is now working in me. 

I ask you to transform my mind and my spirit daily, that I might receive the blessings and opportunities you have planned for me. I choose to step out in faith for I know that You hold the future and You have plans for my life for good and not for evil. When the world sends out hate, help me to love. When the past won’t let go, help me to remember Your grace. When the enemy taunts with lies and surrounds me with darkness, help me to stay in your light. 

When a relationship feels broken or I’m betrayed or rejected, help me to forgive by the power of Your Spirit.By faith, I move through the new doors which you are opening before me, that no one will be able to shut. The power of Your presence in me, prepares my path before me and strengthens me so that I can succeed and prosper, even when it seems impossible, even when it doesn’t make sense. I know that You are the same yesterday, today and forever, and you will do exceedingly above and beyond what I think or ask, In Jesus name, Amen!

Before we close, I wrote down a word that Holy Spirit dropped into my Spirit….           I think this is the time I am to share it… 

"This time ahead will be a time of unexpected outcomes, a time of unforeseen conclusions. If you only lean on the natural wisdom or even common sense, it will fail you. God is about to pull some surprises in your lives, but it's much bigger than that, for it involves the country and in the world. Everything looked like it was going to be one way, but it will end up another. God is going to have the last word, no matter what it looks like now. It truly is not by might nor by power, but by the sovereign will and purpose of God".

Receive the blessing….

Jehovah-Shammah…The God Who Is There

I was reading Ezekiel, and found something which I had not really zeroed in on before, but this time it was quickened in me, and I knew it needed further study. I'm talking about Ezekiel 48:35 “The distance all around the city will be 18,000 cubits (five and one half miles). And the name of the city from that time on will be Jehovah Shammah, The Lord Is There.”                                                                                     This verse is describing the Millennial temple, and the Holy city with the glory of God resting upon it, which Ezekiel was shown by God.            Herod’s temple which was standing in all it’s splendor when Jesus was alive, had no glory resting on it, because Jesus was there and He was the embodiment of God’s glory, not the temple. 

The temple which will be built in the future, will have no glory upon it, because it will be the Anti-Christ temple, where the man of iniquity, will sit upon the altar of it, and proclaim that he is god. The temple which Ezekiel saw will be built after the anti-Christ temple is destroyed and it is about the restoration of all that God intended for His people, with the Glory within and upon it… it was to be named “The Lord is There”.

When I was a kid in school, every morning as the first order of business, we would say the pledge, and then the teacher would call the roll, and we would answer “here” or “present”, some kids would say “Yo” or just grunt… But the teacher kept score, because you were only allowed so many absences, before Mom and Dad were called in for a meeting, and if you were late a certain number of times, it equaled an absence. So being present was important.

When the roll is called, you can trust Him, He has chosen to come and bring His presence and glory within the dwelling place of the lives of His people. We are now His habitation of choice….He is the God who is there.

John 14:17 "He dwells with you and shall be in you".                                                                                           1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you”?

And especially Ephesians 2:21 “In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place by His Spirit”.

I want you to notice that Ephesians is showing us two separate processes that are taking place… 

The first describes the building of a house, the second, describes moving into the house and making it a home. There is a great difference between my building a house and my moving in, to reside in that house and make it my home. And there is a great difference between the Holy Spirit's work in saving a soul, and His coming to reside, abide and control the innermost spirit and life of the one who has been saved.

Many have received the house of salvation, and acknowledged Him as the Owner, Proprietor and Keeper, but they have not taken it to the level of "a habitation of God through the Spirit"where He moves in to live!                                                           When we move into a house, we immediately begin to put our stuff, all the things we like, and need, and fill it up so it’s not just a house, but our home…. The pictures, the furniture, the paint on the walls, the plants and the carpet, all reflect something about us and our family. 

God is no different… He wants to call our home, “Jehovah Shammah”      (I am present there”….) He wants to move in and never leave you, nor forsake you. He wants to be with you forever. Your best friend, who never forsakes you. The one whowas where you’ve been, The one who is where you are and The one who is where you haven’t been yet!

So we invite Him in, but we put “No trespassing” signs all over the place. We invite Him to come in, but we want to tell God how to be, what to do and when and where to do it. A God that you control, is not really God at all!! We need a savior, but we don’t want a king living in our home… Because a King expects things to be done His way at His choosing, and in His time.

But when He becomes “Jehovah Shammah”, whose presence is there, He brings all His stuff with Him to make it His home….Too often, the struggle we have is about “JUST WHOSE HOME, AND WHOSE LIFE IS THIS”!! 

But when you invite a king into your home, they tend to act like kings! So, He moves in and brings His stuff with Him… 

Like the fruit (or what flows out) of the Spirit… 

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” 

So He says, “I want you to love and forgive that person”…. But you have a “no trespassing sign” there…. “What… love them, I can’t stand them, so why should I forgive them”…. And little by little the glory diminishes, and we embrace resentment and bitterness, instead of the fruit of the spirit. And the bitter root grows…The power of the bitterness comes when we keep agreeing with it and we nurture it and empower it….There are many physical ailments which are the product of the root of bitterness… arthritis, heart disease, vascular problems, digestive track ailments, ulcers, headaches, systemic toxicity.. and on it goes….I remember one lady who came up for prayer and the Spirit told me she suffered from acute arthritis because of the root of bitterness. We rebuked it and renounced it and she was healed and set free….    

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. v15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many”. (Receive your healing and freedom)

When we obey God and trust Him, we understand that as we forgive, we are releasing that person to God so He can do what we could never do…

When He moves in and makes our house His home… we give Him more and more control of our lives, He begins to do in and through us what only He can do – His presence begins to shape our character and grow us to become more like Christ. 

I’ve found that praying in the spirit, sensitizes my spirit, to be tuned in to His voice and His promptings. He invades my thoughts and emotions and allows me to hear and do things that would not be available to me other wise. Begin your day with prayer in the spirit and end it that way. Allow it to become a normal part of your day…. 

You can’t start a fire with wet wood, but when the wood is dry and cured, it easily catches fire! Praying in the Spirit, makes it easier for God’s fire to ignite your soul!

We desire the Gifts of the Spirit of God, but it is the Fruit of the Spirit that provide the foundation for all the gifts. The fruit are about our redeemed character as Christians under His influence and His rule. Paul tells us that without the fruit of the spirit, we become sounding brass and tinkling cymbals! The gifts are to operate out of love.                                         The gifts are about manifesting God’s abilities and desires through us.….Theyoperate as He desires to operate them. God is giving these gifts to others through us. We become the delivery system, so that others may receive, glorify Him and invite Him in. 

It’s a wonderful thing to be friends of the King….

1 Corinthians 12:4 “There are different kinds of gifts. But they are all given to believers by the same Spirit. v5 There are different ways to serve. But they all come from the same Lord. v6 There are different ways the Spirit works. But the same God is working in all these ways and in all people. v7 The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all. 

v8 To some people the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge. v9 To others the same Spirit gives faith. To others that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. v10 To others he gives the power to do miracles. To others he gives the ability to prophesy. To others he gives the ability to identify spirits. 

To others he gives the ability to speak in different kinds of languages they had not known before. And to still others he gives the ability to explain what was said in those languages. v11 All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit, for He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides”.

A dad was having family bible reading with his wife and 4 kids, and he was reading this scripture when he asked, "Is there anything God can't do?" All was silent. Finally, one boy held up his hand. He said, "Well, Bobbie what is it you think God can't do?"

Bobbie said, "He can't please everybody." This kid nailed it!! I don’t want to pop anyone’s bubble, but King Jesus doesn’t move into our lives to please us, because He will often ask things of us, that the flesh and the natural mind are not pleased with. 

Paul talks about this very thing but it’s not a problem, when we let Jesus come in as the ruler in our lives…                                                                                1 Corinthians 12:25 “ let there be no division among you, stop taking sides. Begin to take care of one another. 26 So that If one of you suffer, everyone else suffers with them. If one of you is honored, every one shares in their joy”.

He says that when Jesus comes in to rule our lives, we will get along, we will support one another, and we will honor and bless one another. The world should be able to follow the example of those who say they are Christians, when the king is in residence.

One fellow who was struggling with letting God call the shots in his life, wrote the following poem….

O Lord I'm your willing servant, You know that I have been for years

I'm here in this pew every Sunday and I've stained it with many tears

I've given you years of my service, I've always given my best

And I've never asked you for very much, So Lord I deserve one reques

Please don't send me to Africa, I don't think I've got what it takes

I'm just a man, I'm not a tarzan, Don't like lions, or rivers, or snakes                             I'll serve you right here in suburbia, In my comfortable middle class life. Please don't send me out in the bush, Where natives are restless at night. I'll see that the money is gathered, I'll see that the money is sent

I'll wash and stack the communion cups, I'll tithe 11 percent

I'll volunteer for the nursery, I'll go on the youth retreat

I'll usher, I'll deacon, I'll go door to door, if I can keep warming this seat.

Rick Warren writes “Here’s the amazing thing. In America it’s ok to be passionate about anything except God. It’s not politically correct -- to be passionate about God. I can be passionate about movies. I can be passionate about sports. I can be passionate about politics. I can be passionate about fashions and clothes. I can be passionate about restaurants (and some of us really are). But I cannot be passionate about God. That’s a no-no.”

Paul asks the church an important question concerning what we should be passionate about…. followed by a powerful conclusion….           

1 Corinthians 12:29 “Is everyone an apostle? Is everyone a prophet? Is everyone a teacher? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in languages they had not known before? Do all explain what is said in those languages? 31 But above all, you should want the more important gifts. But now I will show you the best way of all”.

I’ve got to ask, after all that we have seen here, what could be the more important gifts? Jesus gives this truth to us….

He has been debating with the religious leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees and in this atmosphere, a scribe speaks up. This scribe had dedicated his life to manually copying the scriptures. Then he would count the letters on the page to ensure he copied it correctly. He had more than likely spent years reading, writing and memorizing the Holy Scriptures. But you see, knowing the scriptures and understanding them are two different things. Understanding them, THEN applying them to your life is yet another thing.

So, this scribe knew the scriptures, but wanted understanding. He asks Jesus in Luke 10:26 “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” v27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” v28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live (spiritually).”                           

We can be physically alive and spiritually dead.                                                  

To embrace Christ, is to embrace spiritual life. To embrace Christ is to embrace abundant life! To embrace Christ is to embrace full life! When we read the scriptures with the desire to apply it in our lives, we will read a lot slower… and we will read intentionally….that we may understand and apply it….

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new”!

We cannot say we love the Lord, and not obey Him. We cannot say we love the Lord and not trust Him, we cannot say we love the Lord and not love one another. Jesus said if you hate others, you don’t love me, because if you love me you will love others. He let’s us know that while we can hate sin, we must love the sinner!

When I was a Kid, we had a snake crawl into our well and die. The water started tasting really bad, (I shudder thinking about it)…so we pulled the cover off of the well, and there it was, tainting our water source. Well they let someone down into the well on a rope and pulled it out, and then treated the well for about 3 weeks, until the water was drinkable again.

Is anything in your well that the Lord is trying to remove if you would just let Him….. that might cause the well to be unattractive to someone who is thirsty and is looking to you at their point of need?

We have to protect our well, and guard it from anything that would cause the water to be bitter and undrinkable. Jesus said we should be the source of His living water….And remember, He said that it should be springing up! That means it should be visible and available….

You may remember the college students who smeared limburger cheese under the nose of a fellow student. He woke up and said, PEWWW, this room stinks. He walked out in the hall, and said THE HALL STINKS. He went out in the yard, and yelled, THE WHOLE WORLD STINKS! 

Well, sometimes it’s not our family, our marriage, our job, our neighbors or our fellow Christians that stink…. It’s the bitterness, and hurt, and resentment in us that is doing all the stinking…

When we fail to let God rule in the center of our lives, life stinks!!!

Let me suggest that we might use Dr. Gary Chapman’s research on the five love languages as a good tool in growing in our passion about the King of our hearts .

He begins with “Words of Affirmation”… Jesus said the same… He said when we pray, we say “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name..” Do we spend time talking to Him about how awesome and loving He is, and maybe thanking Him for the good stuff, even when you’re going through the rough stuff.  The Psalms of David reveal the frustrations of someone who loves God passionately, doesn’t always understand Him, and yet trusts Him, even in the midst of some really horrible stuff going on in his life. David wrote Psalm 3, when he was on the run from his own son. Absalom was taking over the kingdom, and his advisors told him that as long as his dad was alive, he’d never really be the king. Can you imagine the pain and heartache of having his own son trying to kill him?

Psalm 3:1 “O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 2 Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." 3 But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. 4 Unto the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill. 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. 6 I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. 7 Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! 8 From the Lord comes deliverance. May Your blessing be on Your people”.

The bottom line in David’s prayer is that God is there, present as king and ruler, no matter the circumstance.

2. Quality Time is the second love language. This means you may need to delay and put aside other things to give that time to Him. First things first…and all the other things will work out. Isn’t that what it says in Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”.

I recall that President Kennedy, left instructions with his aids, his secretary, and his security personnel, that no matter who he was meeting with, kings, ambassadors, rulers, or whoever, if his son John, John, came to see him, let him in. Often great men of authority would be interrupted as John, John entered, and climbed up in his father’s lap, to spend time with his dad. God always has time for you!

3. Receiving Gifts is the third love language. I know it’s well worn, but I’ll say it anyway… 

We must give the gifts we have received back to God before they can truly be anointed and effective for the kingdom. We do that by using what we have for enlarging His kingdom in the earth. If we look at every gift we have as something God allows to pass through us as a blessing to others, then He gets all the glory….Each day, let us give our gifts back to Him to bless and multiply…

4. Acts of Service. Is the fourth love language. Real love is not an emotion, it is an action which flows out of trust. Jesus asked the question, “How can you call me your Lord, and don’t do what I tell you.” 

Matthew 5:16 –“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Many folks may not hear your gospel, but they will hear your acts love and service, with no other agenda but to serve, in Jesus’ name….

Hospitals, shut-ins, transportation, and visits of encouragement are always available means of this love language…

5. Physical touch is the fifth love language. Winnie needs her hugs and kisses… (Come on ladies, am I right) It’s the power of touch. If someone gets here and they haven’t had a hug, or no one has told them “I love you”… then this should be the place where they receive reinforcement, and the Love of Jesus.  

Jesus said “As you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me.”… Paul tells us that Jesus is the head of the church which is his body. A two headed person is in for some trouble. We come under the headship of Christ. How powerful is it to let our hands be His hands, our feet be His feet, our voice to be His voice and our touch to be His touch. Lay hands on the sick and they shall recover… receive one another in the love of Christ.

Information alone doesn’t transform cities. Conferences alone can’t transform a city! Education alone can’t transform a city! Having citywide ministry programs or large networks alone cannot transform a city. Only the presence of Jesus can bring transformation, and only individual people willing to cry out for His presence can become the kindling for God’s fire to ignite in lives. Hallelujah, Jehovah Shammah, His Presence Is Here is what makes the difference!!!       

Take a moment right now and find someone and give them a Jesus hug, and tell them, “Jesus loves you and I love you”!

Prayer… Father, I pray that You will visit us, and make Your presence known in our lives and in our city. Give us faith to believe that You can change this city through prayer and through acts of love and compassion. Let Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Help us to cultivate Your presence in our lives. We choose to partner with You for transformation. Remove the distractions in our lives that keep us from Your presence.

Lord we repent of any pride or personal idols that have taken us away from giving you first place and preventing us from being more like You. Take away any luke-warmness in our hearts and set us on fire for You. I thank You for the new spiritual identity and authority as I pray, obey, and reach out to others. Remove any compromise and complacency in my life. I want to bring light into the darkness and carrying Your presence wherever I go. 

Lord, I want to know You more. “Blessed are those who have learned to honor you, who walk in the light of your presence” Give me joy in Your presence and help me to bring joy into the lives of others.. I pray Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple… "  In Jesus’ name, amen.

We’re going to close with body ministry, that’s when the church reaches out to one another in prayer and petition… Get with someone in these closing moments and go before the Father in their behalf….

Let each other know what you would like them to agree with you on…If any two or three shall agree, it shall be done….

“Six Little Words”…. 

At the university commencement exercises, the School's President rose to address the graduates and confer their degreeson them.                              He began by explaining the meaning of the traditional Latin phrases used to rank their performances. 

 For example, if a student graduates "Cum Laude," it means "With Honors." 

Next, he explained that "Magna Cum Laude" means they graduate with “High Honors”. And if a student graduates "Summa Cum Laude," they graduate with “Supreme Honors”.

Then he announced, “there is a new honor I plan to use in the future to be called ‘Magna Cum Pellidentium,’ which means ‘By the skin of your teeth.” Well everyone had a good laugh, 

But, too many folks, who know the Lord, and quote scripture, are trying to get through PELLIDENTIUM, “by the skin of their teeth”…. They spend very little personal bible study time, or prayer time, and very little preparation in speaking what they believe to others who might ask, in a clear, concise way….                                                                                    I Peter 3:15. “In your hearts set apart a central place for Christ as Lord; always be prepared to give an effective answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have” 

Thinking of this, we might look at the story of Daniel, who along with his friends, the three Hebrew princes, were taken captive by the nation of Babylon, and who would not bow or bend to the Godless culture they found themselves in. Daniel was thrown into a pit with hungry lions in it, and we all call it the story of Daniel in the lion’s den… but what if we called it the story of “THE LIONS IN DANIEL’S DEN” 

It gives it a totally different view point, because it places the authority with Daniel and not the lions! It completely shifts the center of power in the situation….

God had always intended for this incident to be the pivotal moment, where the king would know that God was with Daniel, and it would be the transitional event, that would elevate Daniel from a position of, getting by with the skin of his teeth, into graduating with supreme honors!

If you look at it the way God sees it, you are NOT in the Lion’s den, The lions are in YOUR DEN…. (six little words that make all the difference)

We need the God kind of view point to get the God kind of results.

Daniel could not be passive about His Godly convictions, even though the king’s word was law in the land…. Because Daniel served a higher power that superseded the King’s authority. The way he lived before he got to the den of lions, gave him favor when he was thrown into the den of lions….

Matthew 10:32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, (or lions) I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, (or lions) I will also deny him before My Father in heaven”.

Like Daniel, we can no longer remain passive as the world sinks further into darkness. We need to see it like God sees it and say it like God says it!!

When you see a house on fire, you take some kind of action…. When you see someone in harms way, you sound the alarm…. If there is action you can take, you are commissioned as a Christian to take it….

I heard the story of the couple who had been married for a few years. When arguments and disagreements became a constant thing in their relationship, they decided to seek counselling in hopes of saving the marriage. He was incredibly insensitive and dull, She was hyperactive and dominating… NOT A GOOD MIX.

When they arrived at their first counselling session, things did not start well…The husband slumped in the chair, while staring down at the carpet, and it was clear, he would rather be somewhere else!

The wife however launched into a 90mph conversion, describing all the wrongs within their marriage.

Every problem it seemed, could be traced back to him, his failures, his insensitivities, his failure to communicate, and she went on & on & on.

After 15 minutes of the wife talking non-stop, the counsellor stood up and without saying a word, walked around his desk and bent over in front of the wife. He stood her up by her shoulders, gave her a big hug, and kissed her long and passionately for several minutes on the lips. He then sat her down….Looked at the husband and said, “That is what your wife needs at least once a day”

The stunned husband thought for a minute, scratched his head and said;

“Well, what time would you like for me to bring her by for you”…..

Some folks are way too willing to just get through by the skin of their teeth, and let the chips fall where they may! They take no personal ownership about where they are headed, but leave it to the fickled hand of fate, where so many others have crashed and burned…. 
Moses would have preferred to just stay in the wilderness, with his wife and new family, off the Egyptian radar, and not do anything that would raise any red flags which would get the Pharaoh’s attention… They had a name for anyone who would dare stand up against the Pharaoh… and that word is DEAD!! They ended up dead! 

You see, just like Daniel needed to see the situation with the lions, the way God saw it, Moses had to come to the place that he had to see Egypt as God saw it….The Hebrews weren’t just in Egypt, Egypt was just a player in their story, and their destiny….                                                                           JOHN 14:1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many places prepared. if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to secure a place for you. 3 And if I go and secure a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 I can show you the way to the place where I am going."

Since we’re talking about six little words…. I came up with a few six words summaries…. Here’s a six, six word declarations….Beginning with John 14:3 …“Where I am You can be” (powerful six words)

How about….”Destiny is a journey of transformation”.

And then I wrote down….“God has purchased everyone a ticket”.

“The price God paid was Himself”. 

“Find God’s will everywhere in everything”.

“God still moves in the unexpected”.                                                     (There’s a message in a message) You get two for the price of one!                                                                     With all the ups and downs, the in’s and out’s, the twists and turns, God saw the Jews, not as captives in Egypt, but in the land of Canaan, dwelling in their own houses and farming their own land, ….

The challenge was to get Moses to see, what God had in store, so he could show the people!                                                                                     Where we are at the moment, is not where we will be when God is finished with our story!

He is the God of where you’ve been, He’s the God of where you are, and He’s the God of where you’ve never been yet!                                                      You talk to a lot of folks and they spend all the time talking about where they’ve been… Then other folks spend all the time talking about where they are now… But not many folks will spend their time talking with you about where they’re going….

There is a tribe in Africa, that has a very traditional greeting for strangers… They ask “Where did you come from”…. “What are you doing here”… and “Where are you going when you leave here”…. Boy, that covers it all!

Have you seen what God sees about you….

Here’s the way Jesus put it….”Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven”…. That’s the lens through which we are to look at the past, the present and the future….Stop regretting your past, and moaning about your present situation…. We’re getting ready to cross the Jordan and enter the future He already prepared for us!

God gave Abraham a very graphic look at what his future was and while he had no children because Sarah was barren, yet he saw his future, and it looked fruitful and abundant…. Look at it…

Genesis 22:17 “I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore”. Guess who’s report Abraham believed… It says he hoped against hope… When he had nothing but God’s promise to base anything on, he chose to believe the promise….

In other words, God is looking for people who will see the things in earth as God sees them in heaven…. Will you be that person…?

Proverbs 29:18 in the New King James version… ‘‘Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint, and do their own thing.”

The difference is in having a Biblical world view, when most of our society has a secular world view which is often at odds with God’s view as He moves us forward, into the rest of His story for our lives.

(Look at someone and ask them….”What about His story in your story”…)

Let me put two faces in front of you…. the Apostle Paul, and Osama bin Laden…..

What do you think of when I mention the Apostle Paul?

His Conversion. His Missionary Journeys. That he wrote much of the New Testament. That he shared the gospel with the Gentileworld. That he planted many Churches. 

OK what do you think of when I mention Osama bin Laden?

September 11, Terrorism, Hijacked planes, and Bombings..

So what do Osama bin Laden and the Apostle Paul have in common?

They are both responsible for killing Christians, they are both responsible for persecuting the church. But it was the end of their stories that sticks the most in our minds….Paul accepted God’s vision for his life, Osama bin Laden did not!

Everyone in this room has a past! We have all been places and done things that we regret! No one in this room can do anything about where they have been…Those tickets have been bought and that journey has been taken, the passport has already expired!

But just like the Apostle Paul we can sure do something about where we are going!

We don’t have to just plod along, getting through by the skin of our teeth, hoping we end up accidentally at some sweet destination!

John 14:6 Jesus said unto him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”.

The tickets to your God ordained destination, are very expensive. As a matter of fact, you can’t afford that ticket even if you were the richest person on the planet. But the God who brought you this far, has provided a ticket to get you to where He planned as your destination.

It’s time to switch tickets!

An executive of a certain company, had to go to Sydney Australia, for an urgent business meeting. He had to be in Sydney by five o’clock or the company he was president of for twenty years, was going to be taken over and he would lose everything he had invested in all those years. When He found this out it was one o’clock in the afternoon, His secretary rang up all the airlines but there were no seats available, all the flights were fully bookedbecause it was a long weekend. He told his secretary to put his name in for any cancellations. Finally, a phone call came in at 2:00, Qantas had a last minute cancellation on a flight departing at two thirty. He threw all he needed into his brief case and raced out of the office. He rushed in the airport door at twenty nineminutes past two and raced over to the check in counter. They were expecting him and gave him his boarding pass and told him to run down to gate twelve as the final boarding call had already been announced and the plane was about to depart. He ran for all he was worth, waving his boarding pass as he was ushered into the plane. As soon as he got in, the doors were shut and the flight attendant took him to his seat. Much to their surprise the seat was already taken, the seat had been sold twice. She apologized and took him to first class and gave him the last seat there. At last he could sit back and relax. Wow, it was all going to work out after all. He would get there just in time and he even scored a first classseat. The plane roared down the runway and into the air. It didn’t seem to long and the captain came over the loud speaker, “Good afternoon ladies and gentleman I am Captain Jones, on behalf of Qantas airlines I would like to welcome you aboard. We are on schedule and climbing to thirty five thousand feet, we should be landing at four o’clock. The weather for our arrival in Perth, Australia will be a fine with a temperature of fifteen degrees…..(He had boarded the wrong flight, in the wrong direction)….

If the captain gave the announcement right now, would you be on the right flight?

Are you on flight number seven, His will in heaven…. Or flight six, six, six and you’ve been tricked!

The Apostle Paul was on the wrong flight, but he switched planes and fulfilled his destiny and made a difference in the world…

Matthew 7:13 Jesus uses these words: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few will find it." 

I like Phillip’s answer to the Lord…. He said “Lord show us the way” (A prayer we should all be praying every day)

He would not promise us that He is going ahead to secure a place for us (a life for us) if He wasn’t willing to show us the way…

But even more than showing us the way, He wants us to understand that HE IS THE WAY….

Jesus answer to Phillip is the same as His answer to each of us…. He said “I Am the way, the truth and the life”. You just can’t get there any other way….If we could do it, He would not have come, He would not have died a sacrificial death on the cross…

Praise the Lord, we are not in this alone. We can know that He is absolutely faithful in every step of the journey. It was never just up to us. He is always there assisting, encouraging, leading, comforting, giving direction, adjusting and disciplining us, as weneed it. What would you be able and willing to do beginning today, if you knew beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus was doing it with you and through you?

Hebrews 12:2 says we are to “look (and keep on looking) unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”.

Oh Yeah, there’s another six little words that make a big difference. “He is the author and finisher”….

I find it interesting that God wants us to focus on how we make the journey, more that where or when we will arrive. If we will focus on the “how”, then He will take care of the where and when…That’s about walking in His will and walking in His way….

Look at it….Micah 6:8 tells us the “how” of our journey: "He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you? To do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"

So we’re not only to give priority to the direction we are going, but how we live as we’re going and doing….

Also look at Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, trust in Him, and He will do it.”

That’s another six little words, that makes all the difference… “Commit your way unto the Lord”…

That word commit, simply means “keep giving it to Him, keep turning it over to him”…. Don’t get sucked in by it, don’t get miredup in it. Release it all to Him. When the Devil is knocking on your door, let Jesus answer the door!

It would be like getting on a bus, with heavy bags of groceries, and instead of setting all that down in the seat, you stand there struggling with the weight of it all.. No, you sit down, set the groceries in the seat, or the floor and let the bus carry the weight of you and the groceries…

That’s exactly what Paul said to the church of Ephesus….SITDOWN… Ephesians 2:6 “He has made us to sit down together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your weight on Him because He cares for you”.

Hey, there’s another six little words that make all the difference….   “Cast all your weight on Him”!!!

We load ourselves down with the cares of life and the amazing thing is, that when it comes to your God ordained destiny, you already have all you need to arrive where you need to be… Didn’t He say, “Before you call I will answer you, before you cry out, I will hear”….Six little words…
BEFORE YOU CALL I WILL ANSWER….

let me show you this in….

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 4 even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”

Please don’t get me wrong, we should prepare and believe that God will prosper our efforts and our labors… BUT… 

Everything in this world that is good, can easily become the cares of life, and push us out of the blessing of what God has provided for us.                            

Scripture tells us in Mark 4:19 “For the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things enters in, chokes out the word, and it (the promised blessings) becomesunfruitful”.

The answer is in the words which David gave us earlier… Commit your way unto the Lord… (six little words) followed by another powerful six words “HE WILL BRING IT TO PASS”…

So let’s review some six word statements that we need to remember…Let’s say them together….

See what God sees about you…..Keep on giving it to Him….Commit your way unto the Lord….He will bring it to pass…..Cast all your weight on Him… Before you call He will answer…. He is the author and finisher….  He will take care of you…. God still moves in the unexpected….

let’s stand together as we pray…

*……Lord Jesus, thank You for Your deep and constant love for me. Thank You for  suffering on the cross for my sake, so that I could have forgiveness and eternal life. I desire to seek you first, and love you above all things and all people in my life. It is in loving you, that I am able to love myself and others more. 

Lord, let me not look and rely upon anyone and anything else for what you alone can give. Help me to love as You love, asking nothing in return.  I will no longer allow past hurts, failures, or injustices to rule my present reality. I cease from my struggles and I rest in your strength and the victory which you have already given me.

Lord, through the work of Your Spirit in me, I am clean, my mind is clear, and my heart is at peace. I give the enemy no place to effect me any longer, for I receive the truth that sets me free. Thank you for protection over my mind, body and Spirit, through the blood You shed for me.

Jesus, I commit my life to you, as I seek first Your will, and the things which You approve. You know the answers before I ask the questions, so give me an open and receptive Spirit, that I may lead my heart, submit my will always to You, and walk in Your ways, In Jesus Name…. 

First Things First

The idea of prioritizing the things of our lives is simple…. Whatever is first, automatically pushes everything else further down on our “What’s Important to Me” list. There is no room for anything else if something is already FIRST!! That place is already taken…

Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Mammon, is referring to riches, wealth and acquiring earthly things and putting that before our service and commitment to the Lord)                                            

A TV hostess was interviewing Herman Edwards, a former NFL pro-football coach, and she simply asked him the question, ''So what do you think happened with Tiger Woods, at the peak of his career?'' Without hesitation he replied, ''Tiger simply had his priorities in the wrong place.'' The constructive power of proper priorities can take any ordinary life and turn it into an extraordinary adventure. The destructive power of misplaced priorities can take a gifted life and crush it into a million pieces.      

 As powerful as a horse is, he accomplishes very little until he is harnessed. Steam or gas never drives or pushes anything until it is compressed and properly channeled. Niagara with all of it’s force, is never going to turn it’s power into useful electricity that we all depend on, until it is hooked up to turbines. A computer may have a wealth of knowledge but until it’s plugged in, it’s just a box….Nolife ever reaches it’s full potential until it is properly focused, commited, and disciplined.

We must lead our heart, not follow it… If we live by what we feel, we will also fail by what we feel…What we feel must be attached to what we know is best “As many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God”.

Paul admonished the church of Rome… Romans 6:19."I speak after the manner of men because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you have yielded your body as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity, even so now yield your body as servants of righteousness unto holiness." 

We become what we yield ourselves to…. We may feel strongly about something, but is it wise….

He was surprised to see a coveted empty seat in the VIP box, atthe super bowl game, a diehard fan remarked about it to a man sitting nearby. Oh, yeah, it was my wife’s seat, the man explained, but she passed away “Oh! I’m very sorry to hear that,” said the man. “Yet I’m really surprised that another relative, or friend, didn’t jump at the chance to take the seat reserved for her.” “Beats me,” he said. “They all insisted on being at her funeral.”(You can’t have your cake and eat it too)

This great adventure called ''life'' places before every one of us hundreds, (and if you live long enough), thousands of possibilities. Some are bad, many are good, and there are a few that are the very best. Each one of us, as we make those choices and exercise those decisions, has to ask ultimately this question, ''What priorities take first place in my life?'' The sum total of our life will be determined by the priorities that we decide on, when we put “First Things First”…

Appreciate what you have now, don’t wait till you lose it to appreciate it. Perhaps this is the reason we fail to put many things first that should be first in our “Important to me” list. 

We fail to put first things first as we begin to live our lives in the realms of “If only” and we start wielding the wand of “I wish” as we pitch our tents in the city of “Regret”…. No one just falls into a broken marriage, drug addiction, alcohol dependency, financial disaster, or many other things we could list…. 

But what brought them to the place of camping out in the graveyard of regret, was one wrong priority, one bad decision, one missed opportunity at a time, that led to another and another.                                                                            I have experienced that the critical intersection at the point of where I was and where I needed to be, begins at an altar of “Here I am Lord, take me, break me, bless me and give me away.” Not my will but thy will be done…. I can’t do this, but if You’ll show me the way, I’ll take it…

A High School teacher wanted to make an important point, so he took a wide mouth jar and filled it with rocks. “Is the jar full?” he asked. “Yes,” came a reply. “Oh, really?” he said. Then he poured sand into the jar to fill the spaces between the rocks. “Is it full now?” “Yes,” said someone else. “OK, let’s see?” He then filled the remaining spaces between the rocks and stones with water. “Is it full now?” he asked. “Probably not,” said another student, who wasn’t sure at this point. Then he asked,  “What’s the lessen we learn from this?”. A student replied, “No matter how full the jar is, there is always room for more.” That’s good, but not quite,” said the teacher. “The lesson is: to get everything in the jar, you must always put the big things in first, then everything else falls in place.” First things first!

I challenge you to make a list of the big dreams in your life and see them clearly once again. Don’t wait for a more convenient season, or when things look a little better…. Start a scrap book, a diary, or just begin to break it down in it’s various components in your mind…. But don’t put it off… start now… the journey of weight loss, the plans for that dream trip, meeting new friends, getting involved in some area of the church life… Whatever it is, take the baby steps that will become giant steps later on…

So many times we defeat our own selves….                                                            The old folks used to say, “A watched pot never boils”…

One old fella, who was recovering from a heart attack, said that he had to deal with a lot of trouble in his life, and most of it never happened.

A doctor, who was paralyzed and bedridden, remained unusually cheerful and positive through it all. His smile was so brave and radiant that everyone forgot to feel sorry for him. His children were inspired by him, and when one of his boys was leaving home for college, the doctor gave him this advice: ’Johnny,’ he said, ‘…please remember the biggest troubles that you will have to face are the ones that never show up.’ 

Worry, about your kids, worry about your sagging skin, worry about your job…. I used to worry about losing my hair….I don’t worry anymore….

What a great tool Satan has loosed upon us, to let us just defeat ourselves with fear and worry….. about things that never happen!

But Jesus made it simple…. “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these THINGS, will be added unto you”. Maybe not everything I ever wished, but everything He knows I truly need and is best for me. God doesn’t always work in straight lines….

I know you’ve heard it, read it before, but look at it with me once more…

Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. (and they’re always eating) Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you- you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the ungodly run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom (the will of God) and his righteousness (what God approves), and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”.

That’s always such good advice for all of us….This scripture tells us, If I put His will and what He approves first… My needs will be supplied… What a promise!!!

When I think about what the Lord has done in the past, how can I worry about the future…. We were bent but not broken…. we had pain, but we also had healing…. We were disappointed but not overwhelmed…. We saw lean times, but oh, hallelujah, we saw abundance… We got lost at times, but He brought us through safely…. When I think of what the Lord has done, Howcan I do anything but praise and worship Him!!

Did you notice that Jesus talked about the birds and the flowers OF THE FIELD, not greenhouse flowers and well kept birds in an Avery….They were things that literally LIVE BY THE LORD’S PROVISION, outside the realms of man’s help or assistance!

If we feed our spirit and mind on what God has done in the past, in our lives and the lives of others, then our heart and soul will not fall into fear and worry as we move ahead into the future!What He has done is transformed into faith for what He will do… Now I’m not advocating an experiential faith alone…. He said it, I believe it and that settles it…. Actually, He said it, that settles it whether I believe it or not….  

But faith allows me to participate in the process!

The principle of first things, is not a spare tire that I take on the journey… it is the gas in the motor that drives the engine of God’s word and moves me forward….

Jesus taught that putting first things first is the solution to handling conflicts with one another. Matthew 5:23-24''Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and while still there, you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. FIRST be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.'' 

Jesus taught that putting first things first is the way to avoid hypocrisy in your life…. Matthew 7:5 “How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck out of your eye and not see that a plank is in your own eye... 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a 2x4 in your own eye”?…                                                        

Come on church, that sure cuts down on finger pointing!!                                                  Putting First things first, is the cure for fear and worry….                               2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. 

This scripture tells us that if we live in fear and worry, then we don’t have a right mind…..Webster calls it “An unhealthy mental state”….Our country is in trouble because we are not putting first things first… our homes are in trouble because we’re not putting first things first… Democracy has been perverted because we are not putting first things first…. Dear Lord, where does itstop!

If I were to come by your house holding a foil covered dish. “Hey, how are you doing, A few days back Winnie made a strawberry cake. It was so good. It came out of the oven hot, moist, and sweet. I wish you could have tasted it. Today, as I was eating the last piece, I thought of you in the middle of the last bite. So, I put my fork down and thought, I’m taking the rest of this slice to my friend.”

Now, change the scene, and now I’m knocking at your door holding a hot pie plate with oven mitts. “Hey, how are you doing. Winnie pulled this out of the oven a few minutes ago. It’s still piping hot. No one has touched it. I got here as fast as I could. I want you to have the first piece. So, I want you to have the whole pie (although I did bring my fork in case you want to share).”

What a difference, not only in where I placed you in my priorities, but how it made you feel…. Now you’re not looking at me like someone that is not in their right mind, giving you the last bite of the last slice.

Perhaps that’s how God feels when we offer Him crumbs that are left over.

God is big on firsts…. If you check the Strong’s concordance you will find 7 columns of references about firsts in the bible….

Try this one…. I John. 4:19 “We love Him because he first loved us”

And I really like… Romans 8:31-34 "What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even His best, His first, His only Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with Himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for He is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor, interceding in our behalf."

When God’s people put Him first, His blessings began to floweverywhere.

Pete Richards was one of the loneliest men in town. He owned and operated a gift shop that had come down to him from his grandfather. Today, a little girl entered the store, She said, “Mister, could I look at that string of blue beads in the window?” Pete took the beads out of the window and spread them on the counter. "EWWWW, They’re just perfect," said the girl. "Could you wrap them up pretty for me, please?" Pete asked, "So, who are you buying these for, they must really be special!" "They’re for my big sister. She takes care of me now. This will be her first birthday since Momma died. Jean Grace wanted to buy the very best gift for her big sister. "How much money do you have?" asked Pete. She took a small paper sack out of her coat pocket and poured out the coins on the counter. "I emptied my piggy bank, It’s everything I have saved up" 

Pete carefully pulled back the necklace. The price tag was visible to him… but not to her. "Just a minute," he said and went to the back of the store.From the back room he asked…. "What’s your name?" "Jean Grace", she replied. He placed the neckless, wrapped in red paper and tied with a pretty ribbon on the counter. She smiled big over her shoulder as she ran out the door.

Through the window Pete watched her go, Something about Jean Grace and her string of beads had stirred him to the depths of his being. Once upon a time, Pete had been in love with a girl with the same yellow hair, and large blue eyes. That necklace was supposed to be HER birthday present…. But on a rainy night—a truck had skidded on a slippery road—And her life was crushed out of his dream. Pete Richard’s world had become very empty and meaningless, until Jean Grace came through his door. When the last customer had come and gone, as Pete was closing shop, a young woman tapped on the glass door, Her hair was golden yellow and her eyes were blue. Without speaking, she took from her purse a package loosely unwrapped in its red paper and a bow of green ribbon with it. She opened the box and place the string of blue beads on the counter. "Did this come from your shop?" she asked. Pete answered softly: "Yes, it did." "Are the stones real?"…"Yes, they are"

"Can you remember who it was you sold them to?" Her name was Jean Grace and she bought them for her older sister’s Birthday present."

"But how did she pay for them?" "She paid the biggest price anyone can ever pay, She gave all she had." "But why did you do it?" He placed the gift in her hand. "It’s because she couldn’t give anything more valuable than all she had for you." 

When God gives, He gives His all, and He gives to all –but not all receive the gift and not everyone appreciates the price that was paid so we could have it. Oh, what a precious gift!

He gave His best, let’s not give him the last piece of strawberry cake that is half eaten!!!

Of all the 7 churches of Revelation, it was Smyrna that received the blessing and commendation from the Lord…. 

Revelation 2:8 “These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

They were the gold nuggets in an evil time – no matter how much manure gets thrown on top of them, they remain pure gold. They didn’t let the garbage become their identity….They never lost sight of their first love. 

Without that, we are just a social club, that spouts religious rhetoric… Having a form of Godliness but denying the power that is a part of it….

God can’t bless some folks as He would like to, because they have done nothing with what they already have. If He blessed them with more, there would just be greater neglect and a greater mess….

When folks lose sight of what is first, and most important, things just begin to pile up, until nothing makes any sense any longer…

When the order gets reversed, everything goes down hill!

But the solution is simple…. Put God first and everything else begins to line up….Matthew 22:37 “Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”…

I’m out of time…. So let’s pray…

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your deep and constant love for me. Thank You for suffering on the cross for my sake, so that I could have forgiveness and eternal life. I desire to seek you first, and love you above all things and all people in my life. It is in loving you, that I am able to love myself and others more. 

Let me not look and rely upon anyone and anything else for what you alone can give. Help me to love as You love, asking nothing in return. 

I will no longer allow past hurts, failures, or injustices to rule my present reality. I cease from my struggles and I rest in your strength and the victory which you have already given me. 

Lord, through the work of Your Spirit in me, I am clean, my mind is clear, and my heart is at peace. I give the enemy no place to effect me any longer, for I receive the truth that sets me free.Thank you for protection over my mind, body and Spirit, through the blood You shed for me.

I commit my life to you, as I seek first Your will, and the things which You approve. You know the answers before I ask the questions, so give me an open and receptive Spirit, that I maylead my heart, submit my will always to You, and walk in Your ways, In Jesus Name….

After the church service, one woman shook the Pastor’s hand and said, “Today your sermon really made clear to me the peace and love of God!” The pastor was thrilled. “No-one has ever said anything like that about my preaching before. Tell me why.” “Well – it reminded me of the Peace of God because it passed all understanding and it was like the Love of God because it endured forever!” ”

I like the advice one guy gave…. When you hit the bottom, stop digging!

Is that deep or what!!?

Well, today my message title is “How To Stay Sane When Everything Is Falling Apart”

There is a very powerful verse which I want to lay as a foundation for the message today, in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”.

Something very interesting happened to me on Monday as we were scurrying around getting everything ready for the storm to arrive early Tuesday morning. So, Winnie grabbed the recycling to drop off as we were going out. I had my briefcase with my computer, which I was going to drop off to get fixed, and something in my other hand. We went down in the elevator and I took the bag from her, to empty in the recycling bin and set my briefcase down while I did it. We then went shopping and when we were finished I was going to take the computer in to see about fixing it…. but it wasn’t in the car… I had left it setting by the recycling… (PANIC TIME) When I look back, I laugh at myself, but I wasn’t laughing then!

We rushed back only to find it gone… I called the manager to inform him so he could check with the staff, or if someone had turned it in, and before I had a chance to go to the worst casescenario in my mind… (in the natural that’s what we do) The Holy Spirit said to me…. “The story Jesus shared about the lost son, the lost sheep and the lost coin, was not about the loss, but about the recovery!.. Say it with me… “It wasn’t about the loss, it was about the recovery”….. TOTAL PEACE CAME INTO MY SPIRIT… The manager, called and said he would check the video surveillance… to see who had taken it, and within an hour there was a knock on our door by one of the staff, with the briefcase in his hand! 

When God spoke to me, I’ve got to tell you…. I couldn’t get panicky if I tried…. There was such peace that entered into me….Ihad received a transformed mind, by the mind of Christ…..God will give you such peace that you can’t get upset if you tried!!!

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus”.       

We have a guardian and a watchman, who stands ready to transform our minds and give us the mind of Christ… our peace isn’t a philosophy or a mental discipline…. Our Peace is a person!

Staying sane in an insane world is about aligning ourselves with the Prince of Peace Himself ….Let Go of Things You Can’t Control, so you can focus on things you can do to bring about the best outcome that God wants for you…He’s right there making His peace available!!

Years ago, when the kids were small, we decided to go to Canada. The idea of driving to a foreign country got everyone excited. It was a great time and we got to lunch time and picked a restaurant. I parked the car, we went in, ate and came out to find that someone had vandalized our car. Along with other things, they took all of our 8 track tapes. (back then cars had 8 track players) They were all our favorites! As I begin to launch into a tirade, Holy Spirit said “Give it to them”…. I said, I can’t, they stole them… “No, give them to them, and bless them”… WHAT!!! “Do it” Holy Spirit said again….. So I stood there and said I give them the stuff, and I (choke, choke) bless them with it”…Let the message on them bring them to Christ…. Immediately, my anger ceased, my spirit calmed, and peace came! One of the kids said, “Great, Maybe we can listen to our music now”…. (Don’t push it, I’m at peace, not brain dead)

But God let me know that I was not to allow something I could no longer control, begin to control me and ruin the rest of my trip! LET THE PEACE OF GOD GUARD YOUR MIND AND HEART!

Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

We are called to peace, as agents of peace, to be ruled by peace…                   Isaiah 9:6 “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." --                                                                  Jesus is referred to as the “Prince of Peace”…. Seven centuries before the birth of Christ, God pulled back the curtain on the future. He told Isaiah about the coming Messiah, the One He would send to save his people from their sins, the One whose birth forms the tipping point of all history. All of history would be recorded as occurring before or after the birth of this “Prince of Peace”… BC and AD….

And then you realize that everywhere Jesus and His followers have been and it’s still true today…. Conflict and controversy, accusations and violence have followed…. 

We know that Herod began to kill all Jewish babies up to 2 years old….trying to destroy this “Prince of Peace”…. His followers were murdered, Christianity has been the thing of wars and even genocide… The slaughter of the Jewish people by Hitler, was really just another attempt by Satan to silence the Prince of Peace once more…. 

Yet with all the persecution, the attacks and attempts to silence…. Our distinguishing characteristic is to be that we are a people of peace….                 Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves, therefore be as wise as serpents and as peaceful as doves”.                             It’s important to have the qualities of peace in our lives…. It doesn’t say do this, it says BE THIS!!

Peace is a quiet conscience….Peace is a restful mind 

Peace is a surrendered will….Peace is a hopeful heart 

Peace is caring and understanding… Peace is our position in God 

Peace is the gift of God….Peace is proof that Jesus is Lord

This Peace which the bible speaks of is not just something we do or the way we do something. It is about the fact that we are constantly living out, who is the Lord of our lives.

Peace at any price is not peace, it is surrender…. If our peace comes at the price of compromising our values and principles, then the Prince of Peace, no longer rules our hearts. That’s why our Lord said, “where your treasure is, there your heart is also” Peace is never worth sacrificing the truth to attain it. Truth, presented in love, is a priceless treasure….                                 

One of the former presidents of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences along with historians from England, Egypt, Germany, and India have come up with some startling information: Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars, large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed would pay for a band of solid gold that could wrap around the world, 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick!

The theologian Matthew Henry wrote…. "Our safety consists not in the absence of danger but in the presence of God. Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but it is rather the confidence that He is there with us always. Peace is such a precious jewel, that we should be willing to give anything for it, unless it cost us the truth”. 

We are built for battle, and we are fashioned for conflict…Paul said it well Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. This wrestling is about who will rule, and we must actively fight that battle!

Ships were not built for the harbor, but for the wind and waves, the currents and the dangers of the open ocean…. Airplanes were not built to park at the airport, but to be launched into the storms and jet streams, and thin air of the heights of the open heavens. We were not built to live a passive existence, but we were fashioned for battle against powers and principalities who wish to rule the hearts and minds of mankind!

A famous painter announced a contest in which artist would present their ideas of what peace looked like. It finally came down to two artists.

The paintings were covered over until a winner was decided. One had painted a tranquil lake that reflected the trees along its banks. There were sheep grazing on the rolling meadow, as azure skies with cotton clouds hung overhead. Surely this was a picture of peace….                            But the last painting to be unveiled was a stark contrast… it had dark, ominous colors which revealed a storm with streaks of lightening. A rocky cliff with rushing dark and dangerous torrents rushing down. And there, growing out of a crack in the cliff, was a twisted tree that grew out over the water fall. But in it’s straggly branch a little bird had built a nest and was nestled there on its little hatchlings, safe and secure in the midst of all the dangers and turmoil…. A declaration of peace!!

Judges 18:6 “He said to them, “Go in peace, the way in which you are going has the Lord’s approval.”

It’s not about the comfort or lack of it, It’s not about how easy or how difficult, and it’s not about what you pictured it aught to be and if it is or isn’t like you pictured…. It’s about the Lord’s approval!!!

OH YES, THAT’S SHALOME! You are familiar with that word for peace… but did you know it also means “fulness and completeness in mind, body and circumstance”. It also means “well-being, wellness and prosperity”. This is spoken as “Shalom Lehkhem”..(Say it to someone)…

So many folks today are looking for peace in all the wrong places. Jesus said “My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives”…. He was letting us know that the kind of peace we’re all looking for, does not find its source in this world or the things of this world….                                                                                       A fellow found a solid gold turkey wishbone. Engraved on it was the instructions for the finder, that they would be given 3 wishes. For his first wish, heasked for money, SHAZZAM, he got millions… For his secondwish, he asked for world peace, POOF, all politicians around the world disappeared. For his third wish, he asked for his family to be happy together and just get along, The genie scratched his head and asked the guy if he was sure…. He said that he was very sure, and ZAAP, the guy immediately disappeared! Now his family can have peace….

How often do we think that if God would just change everyone else, we could have peace. If this or that would change… if my mother or father had been different, I would be better off…. If I had better kids, a different boss or job…. On and on and on…..

David had it right…. Psalm 51:10 “Create in ME a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me”.…

It’s me, it’s me, it’s me Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer…..

2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to righteousness without regret, but worldly sorrow leads todestruction”.

Let me say it like this… Repentance leads to God’s approval!

Every time I run my debit card at the store and the scanner says “You’re approved”…. I tell the cashier…. “Yeaaaa, I’m approved”, and I have a little celebration…. They don’t understand, but I just went way beyond a debit card approval…..I’m celebrating God’s approval…

Repentance leads to Righteousness which brings God’s approval!!

We can stay sane when everything is falling apart if we know we have God’s approval on our lives!!

We need to be careful about whose approval we see as important in our lives. Jesus caused a lot of conflict because He only sought the Father’s approval in His time on earth….To Him, the Father’s will, was more important than comfort, money, fame, or Face book friends…..

There was a brilliant genius who invented a computer whose artificial intelligence surpassed any that had ever been created…. It’s creator claimed it could solve any problem…. The leaders of the world asked it, how to solve the problem of poverty… It factored in vast amounts of information and produced a paper which it submitted to the UN, and in a few months, everyone was living a better life…Impressed, they asked it, How can we achieve world peace?... The computer produced a paper which they followed exactly, and Walla, in a few months, wars and conflict ceased and the world was filled with love…. Next, they asked the computer, “Is there a God?” … The calculations were made and the answer was… “Insufficient information”…So they gathered all the scientist and engineers and gave the information to the computer. Again it said there wasn’t enough information…. So they went out and gathered all the theologians of every religion and belief system, and they gave THAT information to the computer and It responded…. They awaited breathlessly…To the question, “Is There A God”…. The conclusion is… “THERE IS ONE NOW!”….

God is whoever you give power and tribute to…. So the question still remains for all of us to answer…. “Who Is God to us”?

Elijah challenged the nation with the question “Choose you this day whom you will serve, if Jehovah is God then serve Him, if Baal is God, then serve Him…. Elijah knew that if folks would just make the choice, then God would prove Himself time and again… The trick is to find people who will make that commitment and refuse to be distracted….

One Teen ager, said “Give me the strength to change the things I can, the grace to accept the things I cannot, and a great big bag of money. – Bill, Age 13.. (Well, we know that money is Bill’s God)What’s your God…

Oh, here’s one….My young brother asked me what happens after we die. I told him we get buried under a bunch of dirt and worms eat our bodies. I guess I should have told him the truth--that most people go to hell and burn eternally --but I didn't want to upset him. –Jimmie, Age 10 (We can see that Jimmie’s God is people’s favor, and pleasing people)                       What’s your God…

One more…. Often, when I am reading a good book, and oh, I love reading, I like to stop and thank my teacher. That is, I used to, until she got an unlisted number. –Lisa, Age 15 (Lisa’s God is knowledge, and she can’t get enough of it) What’s your God…

On one occasion, God told the people, “You shall have no other Gods before Me….

God told Moses to tell the people in Deuteronomy 10:12

“What does the LORD require of you, but to hold the LORD yourGod in the highest esteem, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD God with all your heart and with all your soul, and all that is in you.”

That’s the Peace of a quiet conscience…. The Peace of a restful mind….

The Peace of a surrendered will….The Peace of a hopeful heart…It’s the peace of honest self-examination….It’s the peace of God’s approval… It’s the peace of a clean heart and a right spirit… And it’s the peace that comes from the confidence that God is with you….

May God give us Transferrable Peace, Jesus said “When you enter a home, declare peace upon that home…. (the Shalom Lehkhem) is a deliberate transfer….. Remember it means “fulness and completeness in mind, body and circumstance”. It also means “well-being, wellness and prosperity”. Let’s start a peace pandemic….                                                         This is also a generational peace…. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever…. If you commit to walk in it, the next generation will see and receive His favor, and His blessing and walk in it too…                                        I’m not talking big money, big homes, luxury cars, fancy clothes, etc…. You can have all that and not have peace! You can be in a crowd and be alone…. A house is not a home, You can have money and be poor in spirit….You can be at the party and be depressed and lost, because you’ve lost your way…..

You can start right where you are…. Whatever has happened, wherever you’ve been…. This is the first day for the rest of your life….Everything starts from here…. This is your new beginning….

Let it all go, leave it all behind, the hurts, the failures, the condemnation, the injustice, and the pain of the past….and decide to walk in His Peace.

MY Peace I give unto you…. Hear Him today….That’s the Alpha and Omega speaking, the beginning and the ending, the author and finisher….

Now, take your place with Him above it all, in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus our Lord…..You are above not beneath, You are over it not under it.

Take your rightful place, child of God!

Wow, A Blessed Father’s Day to all the dads and if your dad is no longer with us, I pray that you will walk down memory lane and enjoy revisiting some of the good times you had together. We are all, at some level imprinted with the lives of our dads.                                                           So my message today is “Give Them Something To Talk About”! And it comes from a very controversial time in one father’s life…                                   I wrote a poem a while back titled “What is Man”…. It seems to issue a challenge to all dads and all of us…on this Father’s day… it says…

“God’s glorious plan works through our hands, though angels heed his call. For what is man that You are mindful of Him, or consider him at all. The mystery demands that we understand or it makes no rhyme or reason. For the serpent knows that redemption flows, in the second Adam’s season. For Hehas chosen us, made from dust, to break the destroyer’s power. Lord stir us up, and wake us up, in this time and in this hour. To hinder Hell, and fill the realms of heaven to overflowing, by the simple seeds of truth and love, that we His men are sowing. So pick up your cross and lift it high, for the vic-tory is won, and on that day not far away, You’ll hear Him say “Well Done”.

So, as I mentioned, this message title, Give them something to talk about…. Is extracted from the bible account of a Dad who certainly could be voted as the best dad ever, since he was chosen by the Heavenly Father to be papa to His earthly son, Jesus. 

Eyebrows were raised, his as well, through this discovery that the woman he loved and was engaged to, now was pregnant, even though he had honored her virginity, and it really gave every one something to talk about…. And there was a lot of tongue wagging, and the buzz was abuzz, about this young couple. It really lit up the grape vine with some juicy morsels….a lot of “what if’s” were swirling around the village….God must have winked as He really gave them something to talk about.       Matthew’s gospel gives us some insight into why Joseph was chosen as the earthly father figure in the life of Jesus.

Matthew 1: 18 “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after Joseph had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus”.

This tells me that God chose a man who was open to the will of the Father in his life. When everyone was trying to blast their relationship out of the water, He stayed open to the God shaped outcome, even though he couldn’t wrap his head around it. 

We can see here that Joseph did not find it strange to hear from God ... I believe the Spirit is saying that righteous dads expect to hear from God!

They will not act, even in times when they are overwhelmed by all the world is throwing at them, until they get the Father’sperspective about it. When God appeared to Joseph in a dream he heard it with his spirit, not just his head… He didn’t mark it up to the pizza he had for dinner… and 

the way he responded tells us he was accustomed to hearing from God.

He didn’t stop praying, until God had a chance to speak.                                       How often do we pray one way prayers without giving God a chance to really speak back into our lives…

I’m wondering perhaps if the reason many folks don’t hear from God, is because they don’t like what He’s saying…..Judas sat at the table, he heard what all the others heard, he saw the miracles, he was part of the inner circle, but his heart was somewhere else… He had his own agenda, He marched to the beat of another drum….The truth that c1ame to set him free only hardened him in his rebellion and his secret agenda….

2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions”

The only human conclusion Joseph or anyone could come to when a young lady gets pregnant out of wedlock, is immediately that God impregnated her…..RIGHT?………NOT!!!

I mean, if I came home and my wife said to me at 77 years old, “I’m pregnant”…. I must tell you, my mind WOULD NOT immediately go to the fact that God Did It! I would really need to hear from heaven!!                                                                             Peace came to Joseph, by hearing God, not from the natural mind. My son David was coming home from Southeastern college in Lakeland. He figured he would arrive at about 10 pm, and about 1am, we began to pray… God showed me the rear end of his car and then him eating a cheeseburger. I turned to Winnie and said, ‘he’s OK, there’s trouble with the rear end and he’s eating a cheeseburger”. Finally he called at 1:30 am, and said something happened to the rear end, and he was sitting at a deacon’s home in South Bay, eating a cheeseburger! The deacon had been at a wedding and saw him broken down….

I can almost hear God saying “Let’s give them something to talk about”!

But even though there was no natural explanation… Joseph obeyed God!

If you hear God, you may have to say “I’m sorry”… or “I was wrong”… Anyone ever have a hard time with that…. (I DO!!)  But because it’s hard, if God says do it, the challenge is, will you go against your own feelings, or natural mind, and do what God is saying into your spirit?!!! Which voice will win out… in the contest of wills!                                                                                                                     Do you routinely hear from God, and would you recognize His voice if He spoke to you today? If our children see and hear, that we are following God’s instructions, and they see the difference it makes in our lives in the thick of it all…. They will learn to seek God for their own lives… They are watching and listening….whether we think they are or not….                                 A down home country preacher had a teenage son, and he felt it was getting time for the boy give some thought to what profession he would be choosing in life. Like many young men, he hadn’t thought much about what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it.

One day, while the son was at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his desk, four objects: a Bible,- a silver dollar,- a bottle of whisky and- a Playboy magazine

I'll just hide behind the door", the preacher said to himself", and when he comes home from school this afternoon, I'll see which object he picks up. If it's the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a businessman, and that would be okay, too. But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunkard, and, Lord, what a shame that would be. And worst of all, if he picks up that magazine he's gonna be a skirt-chasing narcissist."

The preacher waited anxiously, and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house whistling and headed for his room. The boy tossed his books on the desk, and noticed the objects setting there. With curiosity, he looked them over, then he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped it into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink while he admired that month's Centerfold. "Lord have mercy on us all", the old preacher whispered in dispair, "he's gonna be a Politician" 

Well, God needs some Godly politicians too….if they can put down the other items on the desk…and grab the bible…. Amen..

When God told Gideon to go up against the vast army of Midianites, the first thing he had to overcome was his own self image and the low estimate he had of himself. He heard God, but doing it was another thing!  

Judges 6:11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat (at night) in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 

13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Even after Gideon obeyed, it wasn’t very encouraging… He could only gather 32,000 men against the Midianites, then God told him to have all those who were afraid to go home, that left 10,000. Then God said that’s too many, so he gave them the drinking water test, and that left 300 men against 135,000 enemy soldiers. 

Size matters with our God, because He wants the glory that is due unto Him…..when David slays Goliath, When Daniel survives the lions, When Esther wins over Haman, and when Elijah defeats the 6000 prophets of Baal… God got all the honor and glory, and everyone knew it’s not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord!!!

God is looking for a people, through whom He can get all the glory!!!

Notice what the response from Joseph is, as soon as he awakens from sleep and this dream he was given, (No matter what everyone was saying, or what the grapevine was busy smearing)  

it says "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son..."

There is no hesitation, he was a man used to doing what God asks of him.

Obeying God was normal ... not abnormal for this man, how about us today? Our children need to see us delight ourselves in the Lord if we ever hope for them to see their relationship with God as a positive thing and not just as a duty or obligation! The voice of God will birth His new thing in the earth through His people…. It will impregnate you with new hope, faith, inspiration, dreams, visions, and ability….

And here’s some deeper thought for you to ponder this morning….

It is easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men.

Some men only want to shine, but others cast a shadow on their children that touches generations.

If you’re not building your dreams, you’re probably building someone else’s.

Too many men are looking for the right person instead of being the right person

They may not remember everything you said, but they will never forget how special you made them feel.

Joseph was a father to Jesus in every way ... when the life of Jesus was threatened, God again spoke to Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt. I find it interesting that because God knew that whatever it took, Joseph would obey, he financed the trip to Egypt, by sending wise men from the east, to present them with gold, frankincense and myrrh, to cover the cost, when Jesus was just around 2 years old, which would have been close to the time they had to flee…Those wise men had to have left months before, in order to arrive at exactly the right time.

Oh, how many times has His provision been sent forth, before we cried out and it was on the way before we knew we had a need!

Joseph had his priorities correct: God first, and everything else after that….isn’t that what He tells us?...

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (doing the  right thing by Him) and all these things will be added unto you.”

God wanted His only son, to be raised by a man who would always do the right thing, even when it went contrary to the world and the flesh….

Joseph was careful to recognize God's ownership of this child in his care and that he was just a steward of this gift into his life ... and as soon as Jesus was 8 days old they brought him to the temple to be dedicated.

This was more than just dedicating the baby, it was also accepting responsibility as a parent to recognize God's ownership of the child and as a parent to live before their children as an example of Godliness.

So, Baby dedications are not just cute ceremonies, and they are not just about the baby, it is as much about the dedication of the parents in this new journey, as it is about the baby being dedicated to God.

I think of the famous story of Babe Ruth and the umpire who called him out on his 3rd strike ... Babe Ruth got into a heated argument with the umpire while the entire crowd of 40,000 people cheered the Babe on. Ruth told the umpire, "There's 40,000 people here who know that the last one was a ball, you tomato head!" The umpire replied with confidence, "Maybe so, Babe, but mine is the only opinion that counts ... you're outa here!"         

No matter what the world says, or your spouse, or your kids, or your boss, the only opinion that ultimately counts is God's! It is He, that we will stand before and give an account for what we did with what He gave us…

Clarence Kelland said “My father didn’t just tell me how to live, he lived, and let me watch him do it.”

Jean Paul Richter….. “The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home, are eventually heard by the world”

Frank A. Clark ….“A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he intended for himself to be.”

“Build me children, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when they are weak and brave enough to face themselves when they are afraid. Who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.“Build me children whose good intentions will not take the place of good deeds, and who will know You, oh God… the foundation stone of all knowledge. “Build me children whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, who will master themselves before they seek to master others… who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

“And after all these things are theirs add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so they may always be serious, yet never take themselves too seriously. Give them humility, so they may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom and the meekness of true strength. “Then I, their father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain’.”

–That was the prayer of Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur

Jesus, the son of God, the son of man, represents the full scope of our humanity. What it means to be who we are created to be. And we discover our full potential and our Divine destiny when God is placed at the center of our lives. And everything else, every other relationship—including spouse, children and parents—thrive and succeed as they revolve around that orbit of consecration.                 

You may recall the words of Jesus when He became separated from his parents at 12 years of age, when they finally found Him, He said “I must be about my Father’s business”….

What a goal, what a marker to shoot for in our lives… To be so fixed and anchored to what is pleasing to the Father, and so directed of Him, that we could rise above our emotional baggage, our past hurts and injuries and injustices… our likes and dislikes and set patterns…. Our attachments to people and things…. that we could “be about our   Father’s business” 

As Christian men and women, is that not the highest goal and loftiest aspiration of any life. 

We are all children of the same divine parent. Our vocation, our purpose, and our destiny is to have our lives be a witness to the love, power, and presence of God. Parenthood itself is our Father’sbusiness.  And that business is, like Mary and Joseph, to help our children connect with the answer to their spiritual hunger, to find their own destiny with God at the center of all things. To discover their place. Even if it means some struggle and inconvenience in our own journey. It is in seeking Him first that we find our own true identities…To help them uncover their gifts and apply them in the pursuit of their God given purpose….

Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name”….Hallowed means (To be greatly revered and honored, dedicated, honored, sanctified, blessed, consecrated, andanointed)

Before everything else, God is a Father. All that He does He does as Father. That is who He is. He creates as a Father and he rules as a loving, just and merciful Father. It is only when we see that God rules His creation as a kind and loving Father that we will be inspired by the destiny He plans for each of us as His children.Hallowed be His Name!

It’s a Father’s plans to sustain us, provide for us, oversee the best for us, to protect, comfort and nourish His image in us. To know that the life and image of our Father, has been deposited in us, so that we are more than flesh and blood, but the dreams, and hopes, the potential and sum total of what He embedded in us. Things that can only be measured by eternity’s scales. Hallowed be His Name!

The whole of us is far more than our parts and what is in us, is far more than what has poured forth from us this far…. We are more than what is against us, we are more than any flaw or weakness we may see in us. You see, the Father has gone before us to prepare what’s ahead of us and prepare us for it. That’s why Father God, calls us more than conquerors, because He has won the battles and now He gives the victory unto us…. 

Because He lives, I live through His life, because He overcame, I overcome in His triumph. That’s what a Father does, He goes before and prepares for His children to come….Hallowed be His Name!

See His footprints, follow His steps, He has prepared the way for you… This is how I fight my battles, This is how I fight my battles, This is how I fight my battles, This is how I fight my battles, This is how I fight my battles, This is how I fight my battles…   It may look like I'm surrounded, But I'm surrounded by You. It may look like I'm surrounded, But I'm surrounded by You. It may look like I'm surrounded, But I'm surrounded by You. It may look like I'm surrounded, But I'm surrounded by You……                                                                                                                                                       

Oh, Yes, The Father has you surrounded right now!  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of wickedness in high places….                                                                           Thank God, Jesus has met all of these powers and forces head on and triumphed gloriously, so we may stand in His triumph and keep moving forward. Every place that we have jurisdiction, we have delegated authority. The term “Dad” is a description of jurisdiction, as well as husband, grandfather, great grandfather, son, uncle, nephew, cousin, etc. these all connect us to areas we can access through authority by jurisdiction….They are legal entitlements where we have been given influence… (does that make sense)? So as we pray together over these men, we are agreeing together and releasing their God given authority in all of these spheres of influence!  In all their assignments….

What If We Are The People We’ve Been Praying For God To Raise Up?

There’s no way Zacchaeus could have known that Jesus would be coming to his house with an encounter that would bring this dishonest tax collector, into being a follower of the Lord who would be written into the bible record for generations to read and learn from. This is just one example of a least likely individual being raised up to the call of God to fulfill their purpose, after all, dishonest tax man Zacchaeus’ name meant “pure, or innocent”. Let’s look at the account from scripture….

Luke 19:1 “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Who could have imagined….The nation of Israel was crying out to heaven for hundreds of years, that deliverance would come from a basket case like Moses, who grew up, as a stutterer, who struggled with speech, how could he ever imagine that he was the answer they were praying for!

Who could have known….A small North Carolina farming community, that was committed to praying for God to raise up a voice that would move the nation back to God, would discover that in their little country church was a boy who would be the answer, named Billy Graham…

Who would have thought it…. A mother was barren, but God opened her womb and the child she bore was given to the priest to raise for God’s service. But when God began to speak to him, the priest failed to see that Samuel was the answer that they had prayed for, but God found a way to use this prophet in powerful ways.

In the cancel culture we live in, how important it is that we establish and cultivate, and emphasize eternal truths that will outlive us all!!

(What if you raised your children as though they were destiny’s children, and there are no coincidences, so you raise them, knowing you were chosen by God to bring them into their Divine destiny)                                                                                                                 What if we got up and started our day, realizing that we were called, anointed and impowered to release something from God into the earth…

The disciples that God used to shake the world were just ordinary, fishermen and local folks that no one would have taken much notice of, until Jesus entered their lives and said “I will make you.” And He did!

Esther was just a teenage girl who used her beauty for God, to win the heart of the king of Persia, and save a whole nation of people. What a question God asked her…. “What if you have come into the kingdom for such a time as this”

Ruth was an outsider, from a despised race of people, but God gave her a connection through her mother in law Naomi, who introduced her to Boaz, that would bring generational blessings to the entire world. She was the grandmother of Joseph, the chosen father of Jesus, who was included in the linage of Christ!

I want this to ring in your spirit today…Zechariah 4:10 Do not despise (or underestimate) the day of small beginnings.

We’ve heard the saying that “Little is much when God is in it”….

All through the Bible, we encounter a multitude of examples of God using people – not because they are perfect, not because they have something nobody else has, not because they are mega rich, not because they are super talented… but because they are available.              One guy said, “Dear God, So far today I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, I haven’t lost my temper, I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or over-indulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of this bed and then I’m really gonna need Your help...

What a powerful prayer Isaiah prayed that we all should pray daily….

Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I, Send me!”

God is speaking who is listening?… He is declaring His ability, His intentions, His strength in our weakness, and His total knowledge of who we are and how we can be used of Him…. All we have to do is listen and obey, and be available to Him. His job is to go before us and prepare the way, and create the conditions for His plan to succeed. 

It never ceases to amaze me how an ordinary day can turn into an extraordinary, supernatural one in just a matter of seconds.

God often has a way of interrupting us in the middle of our ordinary, daily experiences and in essence, He says to us, “Ah-Hah! I made you look!”

David was on his way to take lunch to his brothers who were in the Israeli army, in a stand off, with the huge Philistine army on one side of the valley, and Israel on the other. As David is doing his ordinary task in an ordinary way, it suddenly turns supernatural, and he is standing over the slain body of the Philistine giant that just moments before was taunting the entire army…. 

What do you have that He can use to produce something supernatural?

I often sing the little Song to myself….. “It’s in my hands, I hold a miracle. Though not much to me, it matters to Him and He’ll take what I give to Him and make it what it needs to be, a miracle, it’s in my hands!”

A basketball in my hands is worth about $25.00.

A basketball in center Joel Embiid’s hands is worth a $148 million dollar contract with the 76ers. It depends whose hands it's in.

A baseball in my hands is worth about $12.00.

A baseball in Mike Trout’s hands, with the Angels is worth a contract of $36 million a year for the next 12 years. It depends whose hands it's in.

A tennis racket in my hands and I might hurt myself .

A tennis racket in Venus Williams' hands is a Wimbledon Championship, and 42 million. It depends whose hands it's in.

A rod in my hands will keep away a poodle.

A rod in Moses' hands will part the mighty sea.

It depends whose hands it's in.

Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish

sandwiches. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in God's hands will feed 20 thousand people. It depends whose hands it's in.

Nails in my hands might produce a makeshift birdhouse.

Nails in Jesus Christ's hands will produce salvation for the entire

world. It depends whose hands it's in.

I’ll put this in the category, of IF GOD BE FOR US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US …. I was driving to the bank, and I saw a little mom with her two children. She was walking behind them, guiding, and directing, and making sure they were safe and securefrom all the things around them that could injure or destroy them. I couldn’t help but think how this is what our heavenly Father does. Looking ahead, for everything that could go wrong along the way. Telling us to watch out for the dangers and obstacles along the way. Steering us around the stumbling stones, and barriers that are in the way, and warning us of snares and things that might entrap us. He’s gone before us, and no matter what path we walk down, God is way ahead. The Lord is always going before us. No matter what mountain we come up against, He has already climbed it. No matter what journey of uncertainty we encounter, God is 100 steps further. He's laying out our path and preparing our steps. Sometimes it feels like we’re on the journey alone, but we are not!!

Tony Campolo, tells the story of a pastor who was trying to motivate a man in his church to become involved in ministry. Finally, the man relented and agreed to be the driver for a group of ladies who wanted to lead a monthly worship service for the residents of a local retirement community.  As the ladies led the service, one day an elderly man in a wheelchair rolled up beside him and took his hand.  He held it all throughout the worship.  This continued month after month, until one Sunday afternoon, the elderly man didn’t show up at the service.  The man asked one of the nurses, “What happened to the elderly man who was always in service?

“Oh,” she said, “he’s near death. He’s just down the hall. Maybe you should go in and visit him. He’s unconscious though.” So the man walked down to the room and entered. He took the elderly man’s hand and held it. As he was led by God’s Spirit, he prayed for him. And when he said, “Amen,” the elderly man gently squeezed his hand. As he was leaving, he bumped into a woman coming in.  She said, “He’s been waiting for you. He said he didn’t want to die until Jesus came and held his hand. I tried to tell him he would see Jesus once he went to heaven, but he said, ‘No. Once a month, Jesus comes and holds my hand, and I don’t want to leave this world without holding his hand once more.” Our greatest challenge is to be Jesus to someone today….

You may not ever get a “thank you”, or get any indication that you made a difference, but the Father will record that you were faithful.

The best way to miss God is to follow the crowd. Too many folks spend their time following the sheep that are following the shepherd, instead of following the shepherd…

Christian author Max Lucado tells about the time he had to catch an early morning flight. He was really tired and dozed off while waiting for the plane. Suddenly he was roused from his sleep by the noise of a crowd moving toward the boarding ramp. He hurriedly gathered his belongings and joined them. When he took his seat on the plane, he slipped into another nap. Some time later he awakened to the bright morning sun shining through the window. He heard the flight attendant announce their estimated time of arrival in Houston. The problem was, he was supposed to be going to Denver! He had awakened in the terminal and saw the crowd boarding the plane, so he simply followed the crowd—and boarded the wrong plane.

The issue is not where I want to go but where has God planned for me to go. Have I sincerely asked Him. The path you are called to walk, is a narrow path, and there’s not very much room for a lot of other folks! It’s your path and your calling. You can be alone in a crowd, and you can be miserable with folks enjoying themselves all around you…

I realized once again how close Moses came to disqualifying himself, as the great deliverer of God’s people. Careful that you don’t disqualify yourself….Paul told the church of his day “I will not be numbered among those who oppose themselves…. Listen to Moses…

In Exodus 4:10 “Moses said to the LORD, "Pardon your servant, LORD. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." So first, he disqualified himself by saying that he was a stutterer…

In Exodus 3:11 “But Moses asked God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" ….Here Moses is basically telling God “Here I am, send someone else”

In Exodus 4:1 “Then Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.” I think God is exposing all of our excuses here!!!

In Exodus 6:12 “But in the LORD's presence Moses replied, "If the Israelites (my own people) will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?"…. What if Jesus gave that excuse….Scripture tells us He was wounded in the house of his friends!!

God would not let Moses off the hook….Because He chose Moses before Moses chose Him. God has a very interesting book, and in that book, our purpose and our mission in life is recorded…. God will not give up on His story for us because He wrote it….

Psalm 139: 12 “Even the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body, all the days ordained for me were written in Your book, before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them”!

ALRIGHTY THEN!

Here’s another God word that offers insight for us and it is so good that I am compelled to read all 4 verses…..check it out…Get your eyes and ears on church….

Romans 8: 26-28 (Message Bible) “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right beside, helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, and our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, He knows we our pregnant with hope, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is working into something good”.

Verses 29-30 “God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him and align them with the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity which He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision as to what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. Then, He established them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun”.

COME ON GOD!!!

Someone asked me recently, when I thought Jesus was coming back… I told them that I wasn’t on the planning committee, but I was one of the members of the welcoming committee!!!

Make your plans and know that you can trust management….

I heard of a pastor who was an avid golfer, who was taking part in a local golf tournament. As he prepared to tee off, storm clouds began to roll in. The organizer of the tournament pointed them out to the pastor and said with a smile, "Preacher, I trust you’ll see to it that the weather won't turn bad on us." The pastor shook his head and said, "Sorry. I'm in sales, but management is the boss’s job!"

There are times when we pray, when we minister, when we share our faith, and follow God's guidance, that it's important and very liberating  to remember that the results aren't up to us. That’s up to management.  We can’t compare earthly management methods with heaven’s. Our God already knows the finish before the beginning. When He makes a promise and says “I will”… it’s a done deal! But that doesn’t eliminate our part in the process….  

The wicked city of Nineveh was scheduled for destruction.Nineveh means “lifted up”….For 100 Years it was the flourishing capital of the Assyrian empire and 500,000 lives hung in the balances.                     God knew Jonah’s name and his location, his fears, his emotional baggage and his mental condition . He knew where he was headed and where he needed to go. When God called him, he basically said “don’t bother me, I’m on my way to Tarshish. The name Tarshis, means “the Refinery” how appropriate is that! Jonah’s plans didn’t include God’s plans and some refining was needed..                                                                And that’s where it gets really fishy!!! God prepared a great fish…. What is your fish, that will take you where you didn’t plan to go! God says go this way and you’re going that way… You’re in the refinery and some crazy stuff is going on, and guess what… to you, it’s insanity, but God is turning things around just the way he planned. He’s got you in the fish.. and it was designed just for you….He’s directing your mess! You know the story…                                                                                            Jonah landed at Ninivah, He preached, the people repented, and a city was saved….But history records that they returned to their Godless ways under future kings and archeologists have discovered they were later destroyed by fire, and never rebuilt, according to the charred remains of the heaps of rubble they found.. so much potential lost!

Would you turn to someone and say….”Listen up, God is speaking to you and you would do well to listen. Someone is waiting for your obedience” You have the answer to someone’s question, Youhave the way to someone’s lostness, You have the supply to someone’s lack, and you have the solution to someone’s dilemma….

Come on, I want everyone to read this list with me… OK….I’llread the first part, then you read the second part (what God says) 

You say, I can’t figure it out… God says, I will direct your steps

You say, I’m too tired… God says, I will give you rest.

You say, It’s impossible.. God says, All things are possible

You say, It’s not worth it.. God says, I give it value and worth

You say, I can’t forgive myself.. God says, I have forgiven you

You say, I’m not smart enough… God says, my wisdom is available to you

I look back to moments that were not of my own choosing, and think of pastors, missionaries, evangelists, college ministries which God has raised up, and lives were transformed because of simple moments of obedience on my way to somewhere else…..

God’s call is purposeful. When He calls upon us, He not only sees the seeds in the apples, He sees the apples in the seeds in the apples, and He sees the apples on the trees, in the seeds in the apple….Take it further…. He sees the apples in the orchards in the seeds in the apples…

He is the alpha and the omega, the author and the finisher, the beginning and the ending….of all things.

I love the Hebrew word for Bible… it is Mi-qra. It means something very personal about the word of God… it is a noun formed from the verb qara which means “to call” The Bible is not just a book to carry around and read for information about God, but a voice that we are to listen to. I like that. This word of God that we name Bible, is not at its root a word to be read and looked at and discussed. It is a word to be listened to and obeyed, a word that gets us going in His directions, walking in His purposes, and achieving His outcomes… Fundamentally, it is a call… God calling us into His custom made purpose for our lives.

We must thirst for His voice like a desert thirsts for water, we must desire His word, as a starving child hungers for the smallest morsel of food, We must search for His light, (our light) like a lost traveler in the blackness of a moonless night! 

What use would it be to me to be able to formulate the deepest meanings of Christianity, and to be able to explain all the Greek and Hebrew meanings of original text, if it had no deeper personal meaning for my life?…I certainly do not deny that we have an imperative to get knowledge and wisdom, that through it men may be influenced and persuaded. But most importantly, it must come alive in me, and be my personal call from the voice of God.   

Jesus died our death, to make it possible for us to live His life!  He took our sin that we might take his righteousness. He was mocked and rejected so we could have His favor. He overcame so we might overcome also through His victory.                                                                  He gave us His Spirit, that we might know our greater purpose, and that we might have a constant helper. He’s the witness within us, He’s God’s wisdom unto us, He brings truth, hope, comfort and power, He opens us to God’s gifts and spiritual nature, He reveals Christ likeness, He equips, and reveals to us the Father’s will, and so much more….                                                                              Take a moment and give the Lord praise…..

Let’s pray this prayer together ….. Lord Jesus, I thank You that You listen to me and guide me by Your spirit to follow Your Word and to enjoy what You have given to me according to Your purpose and providence. Lord, I pray that I would hear Your voice today as You lead, guard, protect, direct and govern me. Father, I thank You that You desire to guide me in spirit and in truth to obey Your Word and enjoy an abundant life. 

Lord, I thank You that You have called me Your friend so, I may come boldly to the throne of grace to find help whenever I have a need in my life. Lord, Your Word says that when we draw near to You, You will draw near to us. So, I draw near to You today as I seek Your truth and wisdom for my life. I want to know You more, hear You more and obey You more. 

Jesus, Your Word says Your sheep know Your voice and we will not follow the voice of a stranger. Help me to know Your voice and not be deceived by allother voices. Help me to guard my heart from the distractions of this world and the people around me who are not on my path to You. Help me to view all decisions through the lens of Your righteousness.

As I seek You today for instruction, correction and guidance, You said if I ask for wisdom, You will give it to me liberally. So, I am asking for wisdom to hear You clearly and consistently today and every day. Help me to feel confident in knowing and obeying Your voice. I praise You and thank You for it, in Jesus’ Name.