My Sunday morning message for January 7th, presented at Eagle's Rest Ministries, meeting in Key West, Fl. Join us each Sunday Morning in the auditorium of the Poinciana School on Kennedy dr. at 10:30 am, for a time of prayer, praise, worship and the Word.

Today’s message is titled “Increasing Your Level Of Expectation in 2024” 

Don’t you just wish sometimes, you could transform the picture of your everyday life. 

You know, when you were a kid you did that. You ladies dreamed of being swept away by a handsome prince, riding in on his white stallion to carry you away to live happily ever after in some fantasy land.

You guys pictured coming home to your castle every night to be greeted by perfect children, and a perfect wife who never had a bad hair day and who always had a perfect attitude and perfect appearance all the time. Kept the house, is a perfect cook, a perfect mother, and worked miracles....( You guys could win some points right here, by saying, “That’s exactly what I have”)

What happened? We all thought it would be different. 

We never planned to get caught up in the routine of every day life. But it happened....Time got the best of us. We have become Mr. & Mrs. average Joe and Sally McGillicutty, going with the flow! And here we are. And if you think I’m crazy, think about the following statistics which show that: 90% of the folks ate the same thing Monday thru Friday for breakfast that you ate last week.... 98% of the folks drove the same route to work and to church that you drove last week. 85% of the folks will do the same thing this week you did last week. 88% of the folks will go to bed approximately the same time this week you did last week. (unless you have a new baby) And 72% of the folks will have basically the same schedule, this coming week that you had last week and the week before and the week before.

We may have become so ordinary, we’ve become invisible… We’ve just melted into the scenery. Our passion is gone, the dream has been crushed, the great plan for the future, has crashed and burned, whether we admit it or not, we’ve stopped believing in “Marvelous Mondays, Tremendous Tuesdays, Wonderful Wednesdays, Terrific Thursdays, Fabulous Fridays, Spectacular Saturdays and Supernatural Sundays! And now we have Miserable Mondays, Terrible Tuesdays, Woeful Wednesdays, Thankless Thursdays, Fretful Fridays, Sappy Saturdays and Sporadic Sundays. 

Stir up your dreams, get your faith back and begin to believe again. You’ve never been at this place before, we’ve never come this way before, and this time is a time like no time has ever been before. You were made for this, it’s not just something you are doing, it’s who you are, it’s embedded in your identity. JUST BE WHO YOU REALLY ARE, AND YOU WILL DO WHAT YOU ARE MEANT TO DO! See yourself back on track again…how does it look, how does it feel, what is that like….Everything else is just smoke and mirrors, but this is your true reality! 

Don’t be part of the “Tater” family.... You know some of them... ”Ima tater” who tries to be like everyone but herself....”Roe tater who jumps from church to church, relationship to relationship, and every emotion on the spectrum....“Agi tater” is always stirring up something...”Gergi tater” is always bringing up some hurt, disappointment, or failure....”Hesi tater” the bottleneck on every project, venture or vision... “Temp tator” distracts, compromises, and generally is the what not to do person....Oh yeah, there’s “Dic tater” who thinks everyone aught to be doing what they’re doing, the way they’re doing, and when they’re doing it..... 

I told you about A patient who came into the doctor's office and appeared in a great hurry to talk with the doctor. When the receptionist asked about the problem, the patient said he thought he was becoming invisible. The receptionist told the patient she would have to check with the doctor to see if they would be able to squeeze him in or not. When the receptionist told the doctor about the strange condition of the patient, the doctor who was getting ready to leave, took a look at his watch, thought for a couple of seconds, and said, "Tell him I can't see him."! Upon hearing that statement, the patient yelled, “See, I told you, I told you that I was invisible!!” Be aware that you will encounter someone this week who has lost their direction, their passion, their purpose and their faith. You are assigned to make them feel visible, that someone cares, and believes in them. They’re lonely, abandoned, betrayed and carry an orphan spirit.

What happened, somewhere in the process, to make us invisible? Where is the joy? Where is the power? Where is the hope? Where is the faith? Where is the Zeal and passion? On and on I could go, but I need to move on…..

I want to challenge all of us to rethink everything today. So, you say to yourself, “Self, wake up, Come alive, Do something different. Change some things that are going on. Alter the picture. Get away from the worn out, repetitious and ordinary patterns.”…. begin with small things and work your way to bigger things…but begin somewhere, at some point, to do something different, new and innovative … 

So, throughout the day you make up your mind that today is going to be different. And because you do, (today will be different, cause you will be different)….say it with me….”Today will be different, because I am different”....

IT’S THE DIFFERENCE THAT TURNS DREAMS AND HOPES INTO REALITY (You say, yeah, right, pastor….you haven’t been in my home, for sure) 

But it’s possible, because of a culture of expectation, you have created over time and you refused to settle for less or second best! The options are the same old same old, low expectations.....You may be there, but today you’re leaving!

Listen, You’ve never been here before! Anything is possible!

Let’s Change the Rules! You have gifts, talents and abilities that are unique to you alone. No one else has your finger prints, your voice print, your eye print or your presence and essence. No one else brings your unique insight, your personality or your experience into all that you do.

We are not designed by a cookie cutter God. But, it’s easier to go along with the contented masses, and flow with the prevailing currents of society, than to rise above them. 

It is easier to imitate rather than to motivate and initiate. It’s easier to hide than to let them see who you really are! 

It is easier to be like the carbon copy, rather than be singled out as being the original, different and unique. It’s easier to go along with the thoughts of the many rather than develop your own thinking and set of life values according to the Word of God.

OH, YES, MY FELLOW TRAVELER….it’s time to be different. I’m not talking about modifying or altering God’s eternal truth, that’s unchanging and irreplaceable to you and me, but to be inspired, and creative within the all encompassing truths of God’s plan for each of us. 

When I personally came into this message of eternal truth, something very radically different happened to me. My sins, which were many and were a part of me, were removed from my records. My sadness was turned into joy. My hopeless condition was changed to provide me with the very God of hope Himself, who took me far beyond temporary, fleeting gratifications and from chasing the shadow things without substance. My plans, that were leading me nowhere, were changed to lead me to a city called Heaven. My life which was being ruled by the powers of darkness was eternally touched by heaven’s presence, peace, joy, love and reality. 

I told you, that when I got back from youth camp after being filled with the Spirit, I tried to be the same me as before, but I wasn’t the same me... I was filled with the Holy Spirit! I was different, so everything was different!

The devil does not mind if you become a Christian just as long as there is no long term effect of it on your life. It’s O.K. to change at first, just don’t stay full of expectancy and zeal for God. He doesn’t mind if you’re Spirit filled, if you want to, but quickly settle down into a routine of a church going, song singing, sermon hearing, way of life, without real hands and feet on it, and living it out in all areas of your life..

Insanity, is doing the same things over and over and expecting something different as a result!! Let’s do something different in 2024!

Paul says it this way…. Romans 6:13 “yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God”.

The devil has established some ground rules for us to live by. Oh, yes, He wants us to gradually buy into his rule book, after we come to God. And there’s always plenty of His messengers around to tell you to “sit down and stop rocking the boat” Why do you have to lift your hands and talk back to the preacher while he’s talking with Amen, Hallelujah Glory to God!.....He is out to swindle every Christian out of the best life God could possibly give them here, and in eternity…..

A newsboy was standing on the corner with a stack of papers, yelling, "Read all about it, read all about it!... Get the front page scoop! 100 people swindled by the daily news! 100 people swindled!" A curious man walked over, bought a paper and checked the front page. Finding nothing, the man said, "There's nothing in here about 100 people being swindled." 

The newsboy ignored him and went on, calling out, "Get the front page scoop. Read all about it. One hundred and one people now swindled!!!!!" 

Satan will swindle you out of everything God promised if you’ll buy into it! If you follow his rules, there’s a reason he loves displaying skulls!......Someone should figure out by now why Satan uses skulls as his symbol!! He wants you dead, and separated from God’s best, for all eternity!

#1. Satan’s first rule is the rule of expectation…. Settle into the church rut and tradition, just be religious, not a God chaser. Don’t touch anyone’s life with the gospel. Don’t worry about other people’s problems and troubles, you have enough of your own. Just be as good as other Christians who do the same old, same old thing. 

.Rule,#2: Don’t take it outside the doors of the church. Just be content to attend church and make it to heaven yourself. After all, your personal Christian convictions, are private stuff… and Satan says, you don’t ever talk religion or politics, it only causes division and arguments. 

Be content to feel God’s power during the church services you attend. Be content to sing with the saints and testify of what God has done just as long as you only do it in the Church. The devil really doesn’t care what we do while we are in church as long as we don’t allow it to get outside the church where it can actually touch lives and influence people’s eternity! Go ahead, cry, pray, praise and worship….but keep it behind closed doors…. 

Rule #3 Leave the real power in the past…. It’s O.K. to talk about faith and miracles and power as long as we are content to do that with the past in mind, from the view of our rear view mirror. Just talk about the good old days. Just get excited about what God used to do…What He did in bible days. Don’t get carried away and use that faith and power today, that’s dangerous because it just may cause some miracles to take place and folks might start getting restless and unsatisfied with Satan’s rules. 

Rule # 4 Pray without any real expectation….. Go ahead and pray your routine prayers, your memorized confessions and printed petitions. Pray for whatever you wish just as long as you don’t really believe and fully expect that God can hear your prayers and will actually do something about them. Surely, God is so busy anyway, and…you’re so unworthy… we’re no one that He should take notice of us. If plan A doesn’t work we’ll just get by with plan B, or C, or E,F,G…compromise has kept you alive this far, after all, the bible is symbolical, and not to be taken literally!!!! 

Rule #5: Be cool…. Cool it man….. Don’t get too carried away with this gospel message of hope and salvation. You don’t want to be offensive to others who don’t know this message of truth, they won’t understand. Calm down, about sin, water it down, compromise it a little bit and more people will like it. Just be sure to always make people feel good about themselves. Preaching about the blood is too gross for people, let the cross be just a piece of jewelry, worn around the neck, on your rear view mirror, or a feel good ornament, whose only value is the gold it’s made from. You can have cross tattoos, use God’s name while cursing, put religious symbols all around the house…. But never, never explain it’s redemptive power, and get others to receive the salvation it brings…. That’s just UNCOOL!!!! 

While returning from a trip to visit her grandmother, a woman was stopped by a state trooper for breaking the speed limit. Grateful to have received a warning instead of a ticket, 

she gave the policeman some of her grandmother's delicious chocolate chip cookies and went on her way. 

A little further down the road, she was stopped by another trooper. "What have I done?" she asked. "Nothing," the trooper said, smiling. "I heard you were passing out great home made cookies."

(If we fall for the devil’s tricks, he’ll keep on stopping us every time we set out to accomplish anything, and he will take every cookie we have, because we have given him the authority, through doubt, unbelief and disobedience, to keep stopping us and taking our joy, our peace, our contentment, and our victory!)

I would like to propose some rule changes today, that begins with ripping up every rule he wants to use against us! 

1 John 3:8 “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil”.

Colossians 2:14 “He (Jesus) has blotted out the handwriting of ordinances (the rules) that were against us, which were contrary to us, and taken it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.”

Psalms 2:4 “From His throne in heaven, the lord laughs at their feeble plans”… While you’re doing all that worrying, and fretting, and staying awake.....get a picture of the Lord laughing!! Laugh with Him!!

Rule Change # 1…..It’s time to change the rules! I’m taking back the Power.....There is a world that needs for us to change the rules. They need to feel what you feel, know what you know, and experience your experiences in Christ. For that reason, I can no longer be a Christian in name only, but I must be a Christian in deed as well! I have come to the place, that It’s more important what God thinks of us than what man thinks about us. We don’t need to fix what isn’t broken, and the gospel that has changed the world, doesn’t need to be changed, it just needs to be applied in creative new ways! We can change the label, to make it attractive and desirable, without changing the power, or watering down the truth! 

Rule Change #2….I propose that we take the church outside the church. Connect where people are… Usually that means that we must become their friends, and that someone that they know, cares about them and is there for them….meet them at the point of their need...Church in the streets, is the new rule change. I propose we change the rules and have church in our homes. I propose that we have church in our businesses. I propose that we have church in School….AFTER ALL, WE ARE THE CHURCH! I’m not talking about being disruptive, but I am proposing that we put the “Go” back in the gospel. 

Jesus went to the prostitute at the well. He talked to Zachaeus, in a tree on the side of the street . He stopped for the blind men on the outskirts of Jericho. He touched the lepers….This is connecting Jesus with our everyday life, in the people we interact with at some level! At lunch, at work, shopping, and every day stuff... Look for the greater purpose why you are there....

We need to carry this gospel to those who need it and not just keep it inside these four walls, where it’s been heard time and again. This is not Eagle’s Rest Lounge…. It’s Eagle’s Rest fuel and supply depot, outreach center and sending station. WOOF, WOOF……

Rule Change #3 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Not just yesterday…I must believe this! His power is as great now as it ever has been..... These are the good old days!!! He is still the Almighty God. And he gave to us His power and Greater things than He did, HE SAID, we SHALL do! I want to quit talking about what used to be and start believing what is. I want to quit discussing the miracles of the past and start seeing the miracles of the day. Reset your bible promise watch for today…..THE TIME IS NOW!!! This is our time!!

Rule Change #4 Change your expectations! Make a miracle rule change…What miracle rule change, do you need? Come on! What do you really expect today? The common thinking is it might happen in our life time. It could take place before the turn of the century. But I want to change the rules and believe it can happen today!! FULLY EXPECTING That it’s my time now.. it’s my appointed season! Today is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. On the day of Pentecost, they said, “This is it”…. “This is that, spoken by the prophets” it’s a now thing!!!! Now faith is the substance and the evidence!!

Rule Change #5 Change the prayer perspective……We are the body of Christ. When we pray we are not praying to a God far away in heaven. We are praying to God in our heart. He has chosen to live within us. We’re not bringing Him down, we’re letting Him out!!!! We expect that when people pray, things begin to change. We still believe that when prayer is made, that God will dispatch angels to provide an answer. Listen, we’re not trying to overcome God’s reluctance, we’re surrendering and embracing His will, plan and intentions for our life in every situation... 

We still believe that the God who touched the blind and lame and sick, still touches through the prayers of the saints today! We still believe in the old song that says, “while I was praying, somebody touched me”! We still believe that folks will call and say that God touched their lives during the same hour and moment you were praying! This generation needs a people who believe that together we can change the rules, and that Satan with all his trying has not been able to eviscerate the power of prayer in faith. Let’s not be so set in our ways, we miss the still small, gentle voice of the Spirit, who loves changing the rules. 

Someone here needs to walk out that door, totally believing and acting like they are one of the King’s Kids! (not this minute) And that when you go to the Father with your request, your Father who loves you will give you the desires of your heart. The rules say you can’t do this, but I propose that we change the rules. I believe we truly can, because if you don’t stop believing it, you can & will see it. 

There is a stirring in this city, because the church is praying and expecting what God expects. There is a change taking place in the lives of people, because the church is praying and expecting. Revival is sweeping the nation, why not here! We really are making a difference in this generation, because the church is praying and expecting. So let us take the next step and reap and teach and train others who will reap and teach and train others also. 

2 Kings 2:14 And Elisha took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? 

Judges 6:13 And Gideon said unto the angel, my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this happened to us? and where are all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, the LORD with a mighty arm did bring us up from Egypt? (Expectancy began to rise up in Gideon)

Jeremiah 2:6 They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness 2:8 The priests did not ask, "Where is the LORD?' 2:9 "Therefore I bring charges against you," declares the LORD. "And I will bring charges against your children's children, because you did not ask, “where is the Lord of our fathers”…..This is an amazing scripture. God is saying… I have something against you, and your children’s children will be paying the price for it….“you have set your expectations too low”

In a lot of things, we have high expectations….and I’m talking about things in our every day lives.... 

We expect good customer service, high quality products, and fair wages for workers. We also expect low, prices for good products. We expect to find our soul mate, and hopefully, if that has happened, it’s the person we’re married to or will be married to. We expect our leaders will do the right thing and tell the truth, We expect Godly men will be raised up in our government, men of the truth and Godliness....

We expect a product that comes in a package which says “New and Improved” to be, well….. “new and improved”, and we expect the sequel to be as good as the original, even though it rarely happens. 

And we expect the holiday season to be about love, friendship, and spirituality, not just more gross commercialism. (I mean, wouldn’t it be great to get through New Years Day before we get inundated with the commercialization of Valentine’s Day!) And, Oh, Yes, We expect the weather forecast to be accurate, occasionally, and we expect “free” to actually mean “free” without a payment in 30 days... 

Folks fully expect the Lotto announcer to say, “And the winning lotto ticket is…. “yours, baby, all yours!” or they wouldn’t buy the ticket in the first place….Our expectations are foundational in all we do….

Determine today to Kick out Satan’s Expectations... Come on give him a kick!

What are the rules of Satan that have affected your life? Rules that keep you stuck in the muck and mire of defeat. Rules that stop you from finding and enjoying the victory. Rules that keep you from real and intimate praise and worship. Rules that hinder your family, and your dreams…. 

I propose that we change every rule of Satan that has touched your life.

There was a time when the rules stated that if you were thrown in a fiery furnace, you would die. But, three Hebrews dared to change the rules and what was meant to kill them only promoted them!!!! There was a time when the rules said that if you were put in the den of over 100 hungry lions, you were fast food in a hurry. But Daniel dared to change the rules and what was meant to eat him only exalted him!!!.He turned the lion’s den into Daniel’s den! 

The rules were clear that when you came into the presence of the king of Persia you had to have an invitation, even if you were the queen. I’m glad Esther changed the rules and brought the king of Persia into the presence of Jehovah God and saved a nation of God’s chosen people. The rules were that if you were thrown into jail and put in chains, you could not sing praises unto God. OH, thank God, both Paul and Silas made a rule change and a captive audience all left the prison concert singing praise and the spiritual freedom they needed. The rules stated that if you were excommunicated on a desolate island with no friends and no human presence, and boiled in oil, that you would eventually lose hope and not be able to find the touch of God in your life. I’m so glad John the revelator made some rules changes on the Isle of Patmos and was in the spirit on the Lord’s day. 

What rules control you? Come on! Jesus is reaching out to each of us, offering to join with us and change the rules....Let’s change the rules. Let’s break out of the mold and do it different! It has happened to many before, and it can happen to anyone and everyone today. 

Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord, with a high level of expectation. Ahead of him, was the unknown. Behind Him was a disappointing past. Jacob was consumed with getting the blessing that only God could give. It would never come through manipulation and controlling people and events…. But he knew that he had to move forward through repentance and believing Jehovah was a God of second chances.. and if he could just get through the night, then everything could turn around…and it would be a new day. (have you ever had those nights) Jacob was holding on to the angel messenger with a level of expectation he had never known before…He was not letting him go until God blessed him, until he touched him, until he transformed his life…

I want to know, if there is anybody here today, that can believe, that if you kick out Satan’s rules, then put in place God’s rules for the best life possible…. When you reach out to Him, He’s always reaching back to you! And You can and will go beyond all your expectations and step over into the best life possible.

Is there anybody here today that will dare believe God, that the Lord, can and will turn some things around for you and your family?

Have a meeting with God at the place of expectancy, that will change all the rules, and usher in a new day of great expectation! Let’s hook up together today in changing the rules that are limiting your family, your job, your witness, your health, and your life !!!!

(tell someone.. “Let’s change some things, and get it back on track”…..

As I was putting this message together I wrote this thought..

I can almost Hear Jesus saying.....

“I Have Been Waiting For You...

Come with Me to the place of your first love. It is the place of your lost passion. It is the place where you will recover your joy and peace. It is the place where worry, anxiety and fear cannot enter because fresh revelation and clarity in the Spirit, banish these carnal and soulish things. Allow Me to restore and refresh the vision of your youth and renew the hope that was once so vibrant and strong. Through all the twists and turns, I have brought you to this place of deep desire to know My touch and hear My voice. I have been speaking, but there were so many other voices. I have been moving in your life, but you thought you could make it happen. Welcome back to My unending grace and My all-encompassing love. I have been waiting for you to return, now cast aside the restraints which have been placed upon the gifts I gave you, and the anointing upon your calling. Now, is the time of My fresh stirrings and the rekindling of the flame. Step through the veil and come into an open heaven. I have been waiting for you”. 

You know what..... everyone of us should get a sheet of paper when we get home and write down some of the rules Satan has been writing for your life… Then tear that sheet into a thousand pieces and burn it.....

and make another list of what God’s rules for your life are….Thenraise it to heaven and rejoice that a new day has come to you as you begin to raise the level of your expectations! God’s rules for your marriage, your job, your finances, your health, your thought life, prayer life, where you go and what you do…..I close with a scripture….

Ephesians 3:18 is your new marching orders…..That we may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height v9 And to know the love of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. v20 Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that is now working in us, v21 Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

If this message has ministered unto you and you wish to contact us privately, with a praise report, prayer request, or give to this ministry, our address is Eagle's Rest Ministries, P.O box 2820, Key West, Florida 33040.. Keep us in your prayers that we may be an instrument in the Master's hands, and Jesus may be exalted continually in our lives and ministry. Thank you in advance and God richly bless you.. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Prophetic Proof Of Christmas

Prophecy allows the prophet to be an eye witness to coming events....To see events as if he were there in person. The reader becomes an eye witness vicariously, as well.  It would be like watching an event which took place 50 years before you were born, but because the video camera captured it, you are taken back to the live action replay.

Jesus fulfilled many Messianic Prophecies. To be exact, He actually fulfilled over 300 Messianic prophecies.         

The odds of one person fulfilling only 8 of these Bible prophecies is 1 in One Trillion. That’s 1 followed by 17 zeroes.                                                                                     One person fulfilling 48 prophecies has 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power (that’s 10 followed by 52 zeroes).                                        And one person fulfilling 300+ prophecies, well, There’s just not enough zero’s! That’s something Only Jesuscould and did accomplish!

This baby born in a manger some 2000 years ago, marked the transition between the old and new testaments,                                      and separated time as we know it into BC and AD,                                                                      and it took us out from under the law and into Grace.                        Some folks are all about grace until you wonder if there’s anything off limits.Grace is not freedom to sin, but freedom from sin.... Salvation is not something done to you but it is something that is done through you. So, the real message of grace should be, how much has it changed you, since you received Christ. Has grace made a difference in how you live your life? Is your lifestyle any different because of God’s grace?                                                                                                     

John 8:32 “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” In other words, You can never discover real truth without Christ in His rightful place, and that’s first place!       

When it comes to proving that the babe born in a manger on the first Christmas morning, was none other than the promised Messiah, we need only to let Scriptures speak for itself. 

Thousands and thousands of Jews continue to discover theseundeniable proofs and are finding MESSIAH every day, and they’re being set free of the lie of Zionest tradition and ritual.

We’re going to look at some of these prophetic proofs, and see how Jesus’ life was laid out in detail hundred’s of years before his birth and He fulfilled them to the letter.

Isaiah the prophet, wrote his prophesies around 740 years before the Christmas story. David the Psalmist wrote about 1000 years before Christ. Zachariah wrote over 500 years before that first Christmas. Daniel wrote his prophetic words around 600 years before Christ, Exodus was written 900 years before Christmas, and Genesis was written by Moses about 1400 years before the Holy Child Jesus was laid in a stable manger.....

We’re going to look at some Messianic events fulfilled by The Messiah, that were written over a period of 1,400 years before His birth.

Also, it is important to understand that one person might fulfill a few of these prophecies but no one could fulfill all of them. Chances would be astronomical.....

For anyone who is searching and honestly questioning, fulfilled prophecy is the strongest confirmation thatJesus truly is the Messiah. The following prophecies are some of the examples found throughout the Old Testament.

Prophecy # 1, Tells us that Messiah Would Be Born of a Woman

The earliest prediction related to the coming of Jesus as the Messiah is found in the first book of the Bible.                                         In Genesis 3:15, God promises, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

What does this mean? In His judgment on the serpent (Satan), God promised one would come who would crush Satan’s power. Despite Satan’s ability to introduce sin to humanity, his power would one day be overcome by thisson born of a woman.

In Galatians 4:4, the apostle Paul explains this fulfillment, stating, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” Jesus is the one who was the predicted son “born of a woman.”

Know that there are divinely appointed “Set times” in your life which have already taken place, but you just aren’t there yet. God has solved the situation and circumstances before you even experienced them. Knowing this, gives you the advantage, because instead of the situation owning you, YOU OWN IT!

Prophecy #2, Declares That Messiah Would Be Born of a Virgin

One of the strongest prophecies related to the birth of Jesus is that the Messiah would be born of a virgin.                                         Isaiah 7:14 predicted this approximately 700 years before His birth, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: A virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Some have argued the word translated “virgin” in this verse refers merely to a “young woman.” While the Hebrew word can be translated either way, the Greek translation of Isaiah, made long before the birth ofJesus, uses a word specifically translated virgin. Those living in the time of Isaiah, understood this passage as referring to a person born of a virgin.         

Matthew fills in some of the details for us....

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”.

Matthew 1:22-23 specifically notes, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophetIsaiah, ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ (‘God with us’).”

Prophecy #3 Clearly States That Jesus is the Son of God

Matthew’s Gospel regularly, refers to Jesus as God’s Son, which is a reference to His earthly birth. Jesus was not a son, except in the mind and plan of God, until He was born in an earthly body. Before that He was referred to as “The Word”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. v2 The same was in the beginning with God. v3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. v14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”.

Matthew 3:17 at the baptism of Jesus, the voice of Godwas heard by everyone saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”                                                                 Clear and unmistakable proof that The Messiah, Jesus, was and is the Son of God. It’s in the bible and God’s word is truth. 

The Old Testament referred to the Messiah as God’s Son in Psalm 2:7. God said, “You are my son, today I have become your father.” Speaking of Jesus’ physical birth....When my first born came into this world, I was telling everyone I could, “I’m a daddy”, Oh, I was so excited.... I can see God here, just telling all the angels... I’M A DADDY!

Prophecy #4, Predicts that Jesus Would be Born in Bethlehem .

According to the New Testament, Joseph and Mary were from Nazareth but were living in Bethlehem of Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth, where they had gone to pay taxes. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but grew up in Nazareth. ..                                                                                                                                                                                                     

The phrase “can anything good come out of Nazareth?” was a common expression of that time, used to refer to things that were considered unimportant, insignificant or less than. 

This phrase is mentioned in John 1:46 when Nathanael expresses his skepticism about whether Jesus, who was from Nazareth, could be the Messiah. The King James Version of the Bible translates the text as "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

Oh, I love this.... God says despise not the day of little things, little is much when God is in it... A mustard seed can produce a mighty tree, one shall chase a thousand and two shall put ten thousand to flight.... insignificant things give God greater glory! 

You may not look like much right now but wait till we see you then....

A group of men were carrying on a friendly conversation. One of them remarked that he had learned to be especially careful about little things in his life. "Would you believe," he said, "that a little thing like a pair of socks changed the entire course of my life?" "I can hardly believe that," replied another man. "Well, it’s true! Once I planned to take a trip with some of my friends on a canal boat, but two days before we intended to leave, I injured my foot while chopping wood. It was only a small cut, but the blue dye in my homemade socks, poisoned the wound, and I was compelled to stay at home. While my friends were on their trip, a powerful preacher came to our town to hold revival meetings. Since I didn’t have anything else to do, I decided to attend. The message touched me deeply, and as a result, I surrendered my heart to the Lord. Afterward I saw that I needed to change my life in many ways. New desires and purposes took hold of me. I’m not the man I used to be, because of little things.

I guess you could say, God used little things to sock it to him!!!!

Matthew 2:3-6 Gives us some insight into the moment Herod got the news from the wise men that had come from the East....

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’

They were reading the prophecy of Micah 5:2-4. Which was written 800 years before Christ was born. There were two places known as Bethlehem during Micah’s time. So, Micah specifically referred to Bethlehem in Judah as the location of the Messiah’s birth. Further, this Messiah would become the shepherd (meaning the leader) of Israel.                                           When Jesus is later put to death, the sign posted over His head calls Him the King of the Jews. Herod was making a spectacle of Jesus, to tell everyone, “This is what happens to anyone in my territory who thinks they can challenge me”.....

Prophecy #5, Details that Jesus Would Come From the Family of King David...

For Jesus to be Messiah, He could not have come from merely any Jewish family. The Old Testament makes several specific predictions about the lineage of Jesus, some thousands of years in advance:

Genesis 22:18 tells us that He would be a descendant of Abraham.

Genesis 21:12 says that He would be a descendant of Isaac

Numbers 24:17 declares He would be a descendant of Jacob.

Genesis 49:10 tells us that He would be a descendant of Judah 

Jeremiah 23:5 declares that He would come forth from the lineage of David.

This explains why Matthew’s Gospel opens with the words in, Matthew 1:1-2 “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.Abraham was the father  of Isaac, Isaac was the father of Jacob, Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers” 

In Matthew 1:6 He continues to show that through Joseph, the earthly stepfather of Jesus, that he was a direct descendant of David. Though Jesus was born of a virgin, He was of the family of Joseph, and descendedfrom King David.

Luke’s Gospel also records the family line of Jesus, including a different list of names that are the family line of Mary. Luke reveals that Mary’s family line also includes being a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David, fulfilling this prophecy through both sides of the family of Jesus.

Luke 3:23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, of Joseph,(who was related to) David, 

32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,(who was related to) Judah, 34 the son of Jacob,

the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, (who was related to)

Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan, 38 the son of Enoch, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, (who was born), the son of God.

Prophecy #6, Tells us that Jesus Received Gifts

Though it received less attention than other prophecies, the gifts of the wise men also represent a completed Bible prophecy. Psalm 72:10-11, recorded by King Solomon approximately 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus, predicted a day when the kings of the Gentile nations would come to the Messiah and bow before Him:

Psalm 72:10-11 “May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts. May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.”

The Gentile (non-Jewish) wise men from the east traveled to where Jesus and His family were, with gifts in...

Matthew 2:11 “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”                                                                     (we need to remember that at this time, Jesus was 2 years old, and in a house, not a manger when the wise men arrived)

So, From the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly life, Gentile leaders bowed before Him and honored Him.

Prophecy #7 Describes Jesus as Immanuel

Isaiah 7:14 was written approximately 700 years before Jesus’ birth, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” In addition to His virgin birth, Jesus entered our world to fulfill His calling as Immanuel, meaning God with us.

Matthew 1:22-23 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” Matthew is confirming, as a contemporary of Jesus, that this impossible prediction had indeed, given us another proof that Jesus was God in the flesh.

John 1:1-2 adds further confirmation, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” The one who created the world entered it in human form. Jesus is the literal fulfillment of Immanuel.

These Prophecies were for those who were living Then, but they were also for proof to our time so that the world might know and make the discovery of Jesus, as God, Now, in our time.

God came to earth, so that we could go to heaven to be with Him forever.....Prophecy is one of the greatest proofs that Jesus is who He  said He was and who He is today, and that means He will do what He said He would do, now, even as He did then...

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. And that is God’s total plan of the ages, all wrapped up in one verse...(Christmas wrapped, I should say)!!

Today, we have seen how God revealed Christ’s coming in supernatural ways to affirm His greatness and glory. Those who are willing to do sincere investigation of the birth of Jesus will also discover that the baby in the manger is the Son of God who changes lives for eternityas they put their trust in Him.

This picture, of a man kneeling before the cross, to give the  Lord first place in his life, is the image of what Christmas is all about. The miracles, the wonders, God coming in the flesh, all the suffering, and all that God did over centuries of time, is all about each and every life that comes in surrender to Him. 

Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving, and to everyone who invites Him into their lives, no one should ever be satisfied to keep Him all to themselves, but they should want everyone to experience the freedom, joy, and fulfillment that the Messiah brings into every life that receives Him....

Let’s proclaim Him to a new generation of seekers, who are seeking the answer God has given, that is our hope, our peace, our giver of eternal life, here and forever more, in the ages yet  to come....

Praise His holy name....We acknowledge who He is, throughout time and eternity...

“Majesty, worship His majesty, unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise”..... Let’s stand together and exalt our Messiah, who was and is, and is to come!!

A few weeks ago I said that every time we open the bible, we are reading the will. When a will is read, everyone gathers to find out what they will receive from the individual who has passed on. Every church service is the reading of the will.

When 67 year old carpenter Russell Herman died in 1994, his will included a staggering list of things he wished to leave money to. Included in his plan for distribution was more than two billion dollars for the City of East St. Louis, another billion and a half for the State of Illinois, two and a half billion for the national forest system, and to top off the list, Herman left six trillion dollars to the government to help pay off the national debt. That sounds amazingly generous, but there was a small problem—Herman’s only asset when he died was a 1983 Oldsmobile. So, what he wanted to give, had no security to back it up....                                                                    I’m glad to report that in God’s will and testament, He is willing to give more than you can think or ask or even imagine, and He has been giving it out to all those who are willing to receive, for 2000 years....It’sincluded in the will.... So, let’s read some of the will today....

ISAIAH 53:4-5 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed (valued) Him not. He was stricken, and smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are (present tense) healed.

This passage in Isaiah foretells the great redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, paying the price to redeem all mankind from the curse resulting from Adam’s rebellion. As you can clearly see, it includes healing along with full payment for our sins.

In Matthew 8 we have the inspired commentary of the Holy Spirit Himself, affirming that the passage in Isaiah 53:4-5 includes physical healing.

MATTHEW 8:16-17 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."

Every Christmas, my mom would have her 3 children make a list of what they would like for Christmas. Then we would be excited to see which of the things we listed, would show up under the tree. We knew that one of the items would be there, Sothere was still a mystery about which one we would get. We already had something we hadn’t taken possession of, but we knew it was still ours. Scripture tells us what God has made available to us. It’s already ours, but we haven’t taken possession of it yet.                                                                                          As Peter, was writing to believers in New Covenant times, he tells them that they were (already) healed. That didn’t mean they were in possession of the healing, but that healing still belonged to them.

1 PETER 2:24 “He Himself, bore our sins in His own body on the cross, so that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness -- by His stripes you have been healed”.

Let’s declare together.....”I am a child of God.  I have receivedthe Lord as my Savior and He has blessed me with His righteousness.  My Lord has taken sickness and disease out of my life.  Sickness and disease cannot stay in my body because God has taken it away from me. I walk in divine health. I am healed and healthy in the Name of Jesus”.

Just as much as your hands or your feet belong to you, healing belongs to you. You do not need to ask God, if He will allow youto use your hands or feet. They belong to you. They were given to you as a gift that is part of you and You did not have to earn them in any way.

It is the same with healing. You could not earn it. It was a gift from God that is part of you. Jesus paid for it with His own suffering. By the wounds He suffered, healing became availablefor you. When you say “I am saved” you are also saying “I am healed”, “I am delivered”, “I am blessed”, “My God shall supply all my needs, according to His riches in glory”....

The normal human response to this great news is usually something like "If healing belongs to me, then why am I sick?"

Ownership and possession are not the same thing. You can own something that you have never taken possession of.

If you had money in a bank account in your name, but you did not know about it, it would do you no good.

If someone bought a house for you and gave you the legal ownership papers, it would belong to you. Even if you had never seen the house and were living in another state, it would still be yours. Even if someone else was living in the house, it would still be yours.

But if you wanted to possess that house and enjoy living in it, you would have to decide to move there. If others occupied it when you arrived, you would have to evict them and give them their walking papers. As the owner, the law is on your side, but you have to enforce the law that allows you to possess it. If sickness has moved into the house you own, it must be evicted as a trespasser. Jesus drove out the trespasser and healed them.

Jesus purchased for you the house called "Healing & Health" and the written Word of God is the legal notice of your ownership. Where you choose to live now is up to you. Just because this belongs to you does not mean the Lord will force you to live in it.                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                      So, we should not approach healing in a passive manner, waiting on God to do something. What we have torealize is that God has already done something about sickness and disease. Now we are supposed to do something. We are to resist sickness and actively receive and possess by faith the healing God has already given us in Christ.

Provision has been made by God. Now it is our responsibility to possess it.

Let’s declare together.....”When I call upon God, He always answers me.  He is with me in trouble.  He delivers me and honors me with long life. God is showing me His salvation right now.  He’s showing me His deliverance, His protection, and His healing power.  That power is flowing through my body this very moment.  God is healing me right now. I believe I have received my inheritance, and sickness and disease cannot prosper against me because God is my Deliverer and my Healer”.

This is exactly the way God worked with the children of Israel in the Old Testament. Father God told them that the promised land belonged to them, but when they arrived, it was still occupied by giants and they had to fight to possess the land.When Joshua first entered the land, many thought of it as a land of giants, but Joshua and Caleb saw it as the land of Joshua and Caleb.... Caleb said, “I am well able to take the land”.....It was all in the way they saw it.... 

It will be no different with you and me. For you to possess all that God says is yours will require you to fight the fight of faith for it, but your fight will not be with other people, but with your own feelings, thoughts, emotions, and will. Those things will keep you out of the faith realm and keep you in the natural realm of what you see and feel and hear, if you let them, and the giants will beat you down...

God told them “I have given you the land” (past tense) but you must still possess it!!! Just as you accept the Bible as evidence enough to believe that your sins are forgiven and you have a home in Heaven, regardless of how you may feel, you should do the same with what the Bible says about What God says is already yours.

With that out of the way, we can now focus on how to possess what already belongs to us, instead of begging God to give us something He has already given to us.

We went to West Palm for Thanksgiving. The ladies went shopping, while we guys went to the golf range. When we got back, to the resort, there was something Winnie was not able to find, so we made one more trip so she could get what she had been looking for. We found out while we were out, that her phone was missing. I got a call on my phone and the manager of the store said, she had found Winnie’s phone, but we would need to get there quick, because they were closing... Here’s my point. Even though Winnie was not in possession of her phone, it was still her phone. All she had to do to have it, was go get it.

Mark 11:24 Believe that you have received it and you shall have it

What evidence should we demand of God before we will believe that Jesus purchased our healing and it is already ours? Should we demand that our bodies show no symptoms of sickness? Should we demand a signed note from our medical doctor? Should we demand that God appear to us and tell us that His written Word is actually true, in order to believe it.

Are we not willing to accept the evidence of God's Word, but willing to always believe what the symptoms in our bodies tell us? Are the symptoms in our bodies more reliable than God? Or is His word enough.                                                                                                                      We can’t approach God’s covenant of healing, like Gertrude approached sky diving.... Gertrude was about to make her first parachute jump. The instructor said, “First, you pull the big cord. If it doesn’t work, you pull the little cord. There will be a red pickup truck waiting for you when you land.”

Well Gertrude jumped and when she pulled the big cord, nothing happened, so she pulled the little cord. Still nothing happened. “That’s great,” she muttered. “The way things are going, that red pickup truck won’t be there either.”

Should we ignore what God has said and trust completely in our physical senses, and medical doctors, as our supreme authority? There’s a reason why Doctor’s call their profession, “A Practice”... THEY’RE STILL PRACTICING!!...God is not, He doesn’t need practice!

*Who is the final authority? It may be true that sickness is in your physical body, but that is no proof it has a right to stay there. Do our symptoms make God a liar, or does God’s word make the sickness a liar! They can’t both be true...

Wouldn’t Winnie be foolish to think that because her phone was not in her possession, that it no longer belonged to her...While she was trying to find it, it was still, always hers..                                                                                           We can beg God to heal us, and believe He has when we feel no more symptoms of sickness in our body, Or, we can believe what God says in the Bible that healing was obtained for us through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, and therefore we should give the sickness no power,   and by faith possess the healing that already belongs to us in spite of the symptoms that we see or feel.. just like the lost phone, the gifts of God belong to us regardless of what we see or don’t see.                                                                                                                  

Mark 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Hey, church, there’s no child sized Holy Spirit and another Holy Spirit for adults or teens.... One size fits all...My son Chris is a Children’s Pastor in Virginia and he has the children do all of the ministry, and they pray for the sick and afflicted, just like in adult church. 

God's Word has told us what belongs to us. Now we must act on what we have been told, and resist everything contrary to our new reality, that Jesus has redeemed us from the power of the curse.                                                     

Let’s declare it together..... “Praise you Lord God. I give You thanks for all of your benefits and I thank You for forgiving all of my iniquities and allowing me to stand righteous before You. I praise You Lord, for healing all of my diseases. I believe I am walking in Divine health and I am healthy and whole. I thank You that You have redeemed my life from the pit and from destruction. The devil will not destroy me with sickness and disease.  I will not accept it Lord, for You have crowned me with Your loving kindness and tender mercy, and, satisfied my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s. My body is strong and full of health.  I look better and better every day.  My body is being renewed and every tissue and organ in my body is performing it’s perfect work.  I am healthy.  I am healed. I am whole”.

We choose to overcome, but Can we expect that all Christians will always follow God’s plan in sickness? Not any more than we can expect them to always resist sin. But just because we fail to walk in complete victory is not proof that it is still God's will for us to be healed, body, soul and spirit, and know that it is completely available to us. Scripture uses the same words to tell us Jesus bore our sicknesses as it does to tell us that Jesus bore our sins.                                                                

Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.” It’s a package deal!                                                                                                               

We know that we may still sin, but we understand that Jesus has set us free from sin's power so we don't have to remain under the power of sin any longer. We must learn to see sickness and resist it, the same way we would resist sin.

Salvation is a package deal. When we received Christ, we received our savior, our healer, our deliverer, our peace, and a friend that sticks closer than a brother.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  1 Peter 2:24 “For He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

Healing belongs to you. So decide to quit letting the devil steal health from you and your loved ones.

SAY THIS with me... “Healing belongs to me because Jesus already paid for it”.

   GOD’S COVENANT OF HEALING belongs to us. No matter what condition                                   

     Comes our way that we have to overcome.

     Exodus 15:26 “…For I am the LORD who heals you... (present tense).                   

I said last week that blessings and curses cannot occupy the same   space, so when you establish one, you evict the other.....We read the scripture from 1 Samuel 5:4 “But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his broken body remained”.

The head represented his authority which was broken off, his hands represented his power which was broken off! God has done that for us!

Satan is not greater than your choice when God backs you up, and the Holy Spirit of truth, confirms your truth confession!

Here are a few covenant statements in God’s word....

“Your words are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh”. “They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover”

‘We shall prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers”

“By His stripes I am healed”

“He forgives our iniquities and heals our diseases”

”Your words oh Lord, are life and health to those who seek them”

What a powerful truth and reality, we have been given!

The work is already done, the gift is already given, What we need has already been provided, Now, we reach out in faith and receive it!

Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and if they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them,  they will place their hands on sick people, and they will be healed.”

Let’s declare it together.....”Jesus, You bore all my sickness and disease so that I don’t have to bear them. You took every sickness and every disease known to man upon Your own body. I no longer have to bear what You Lord, have already borne for me. I will not allow any disease or sickness to live in my body because You took all of my weakness and gave me Your strength, You took my sin and gave me Your righteousness, You took my sickness and gave me Your wholeness, so I refuse to allow sickness and pain to have any place                                             

I am healed right now. I receive health in place of sickness, strength in place of weakness, and comfort in place of pain. I am healed because You took my place.  I am healed by Your finished work. I praise You Lord that Your healing power is flowing through me right now driving out every symptom of sickness and disease. I thank you that I am not healed by what I feel or what man says. I am healed by Your immutable promise, and provision which You already made on calvary”.                                            

My Sunday morning message for December 3rd, presented at Eagle's Rest Ministries, meeting in Key West, Fl. Join us each Sunday Morning in the auditorium of the Poinciana School on Kennedy dr. at 10:30 am, for a time of prayer, praise, worship and the Word.

Today’s message is titled "WHY GOD LIMITED HIMSELF".

There is nothing we could do that would prevent God from being a ruthless, destructive, cosmic monster… if He chose to be so. If He took sadistic glee in tormenting His creation at will, with whips and chains and ever burning hell-fire for all eternity, we could not prevent Him. (The truth is that Hell was created for Satan and his angels. It was never intended for any person, unless those people reject God and choose to follow the path of Satan through sin and self gratification).

So even though God could do and be whatever He wants, and no one could stop Him, He has chosen to operate within the laws and rules He Himself set up for Himself. In His infinite wisdom He has chosen to be a God of compassion and mercy and love… As God, He chose to work out a plan of salvation in which He is reproducing Himself after His own nature, through the men and women He created. In doing so, He has willed Himself to always and forever, limit Himself to certain laws, principles, attitudes, and behaviors which He has decided, and as part of that plan, we are to put on, the very mind of Christ with the values and principles He Himself has chosen to live by.” (does that make sense?)............ 1 Corinthians 2:14 “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct him?”

God’s Spirit not only places limits on Himself, but we who have the Spirit, understand that there are limits placed on us, which we cannot ignore...We have free will and free choice, but the Christian life is one of embracing boundaries and limitations which will then allow His power and authority to be manifested in our lives.

So, for our own benefit let us examine a few of the many restrictions God has imposed upon Himself…. While the Bible teaches us in Matthew 19:26, that “with God, all things are possible”, and in Luke 1:37 where it says “with God nothing is impossible”, Scripture also teaches that God can and will do nothing that is inconsistent with His holy character or divine nature. God limits Himself for reasons of His own justice and in order to maintain His own integrity. The only limits that can be placed on God are those He places on Himself.

Let’s take a look at some things that God CANNOT do, and we can all be thankful that He has chosen to limit Himself... The first limitation I want us to look at is..... God cannot die, or cease to exist (this is the symbol for infinity) Psalm 102:25-27 “ You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end”. Isaiah 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable”. God himself declares that He is eternal. God has always existed in eternity past, in eternity present, and eternity future. This is declared by the Apostle John and by Jesus—God the Son: John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. John reminds us that Jesus (who is “the Word”) already existed at the beginning of what we know as creation. If God sent you a picture, you would be looking at Jesus—Jesus existed in eternity past, He exists in eternity present and eternity future. Prophecy is not just us seeing the future, it is Jesus describing the future He has already been to.... When John wrote Revelation, He saw where Jesus already is.... Revelation 1:18 “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hell. Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” The next limit God placed on Himself, comes out of a children’s church session, as the teacher was sharing with the children about the power and magnificence of God. As he was telling them about how God created the earth and the animals, and that God can be everywhere at the same time, and he was explaining all the wonderful and amazing miracles that God performs. Then in the lesson, he confidently told the class: “God can do anything! Nothing is impossible with God!” As soon as he said those words, a young 6 year old boy slowly put his hand up to speak and the boy said, “There’s something that God cannot do – “What’s that”, said the teacher, “God can’t lie” was the boy’s answer.... GOD CANNOT LIE... What an awesome lesson from that young boy, because it is such a true statement about the God who can do all things, and yet, used His infinite power to place limits on Himself.... We could not say that God is truth, if there were any falseness in Him. We could not know the power of the truth that sets us free, if there were even a speck of untruth in Him. Paul describes the truth as a girdle which holds the other parts of armor in place. Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good”? If God could lie, then our hope, our faith and our trust would be in vain in the Lord. How many can Praise Him that His word is true, and He will do what He said.....Thank God, He cannot lie!

GOD CANNOT SIN – It is not in God’s nature to sin, to lie or to perform any kind of wickedness. God is holy, pure and sinless. God is not corrupt nor can He be tempted to become corrupt or to sin. His actions thoughts, and motives, are always good and righteous and just. 

1 Samuel 2:2 – “No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides Him, Nor is there any rock (dependability and reliability) like our God.” Someone has argued that if sin exists, and God made everything, then He created sin... It’s the concept of Ying and Yang. Where there is good, there is evil and where there is evil, there is good. This teaching is that good and evil are inter connected. And in the end, God and Satan will reconcile with one another. (somebody didn’t read the bible) But the mistake is that Satan is not equal to God, He is a created being, who rebelled. The cause of that rebellion, was his pride, and pride is the author of all sin, since pride drives us away from dependance upon the Father God, and puts ourselves in place of God. Pride is the lie that causes mankind to look to himself, for the answers that he is never able to find. I’ve heard it said, “Man is never more like the devil than when he is full of self-will.” The Greatest sin, is not murder, lying, stealing, drunkenness, or perversion... it is the rejection of God’s sacrifice for sin, through Jesus Christ. The pride of thinking we can be good enough in our own efforts. Let me add here, that angels have a free will, but not choice. Mankind has a free will and we have choice. When angels rebel, they are cast out of heaven, and cannot have a second chance. Mankind can choose to rebel against God and repent, and through grace we will be restored and forgiven. 

Isaiah 14:12-14 “How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!…For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne…I will sit also upon the mount of God…I will ascend above the heights…I will be like the most High” 

Self-will displaces God’s will, and the devil emerges. It was pride that caused Lucifer’s fall and subsequent condemnation. He uses it very effectively still today, to bring multitudes under his control. The next limit God put on Himself...... GOD CANNOT CONTRADICT HIMSELF – God cannot and will not do things that are not in harmony with His nature or which are contrary to His word. Once God says it, then He holds Himself accountable to His own word. God cannot change His mind when it comes to issues that are consistent with His very nature and His Godship. Numbers 23:19 – “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Be careful how you pick and choose scripture to make you feel good, or to justify your actions... You may end up like the guy who randomly picked a scripture out of his scripture box, to find out what God had to say to him for the day... One morning he pulled out Matthew 27:5 “And Judas went out and hanged himself”....do thou likewise..... In Genesis 22, after Abraham obeyed God and was willing to offer his son Isaac on the altar, where God stopped him and provided a ram caught in the thicket.... Here’s what God said to him...

Genesis 22:15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by my own name, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” If God said it to you, He will not change His mind, as your mind and heart are seeking after and set on Him... God’s word is as Himself He cannot change it.....The Bible does not contradict itself neither can God behave in any way that is contradictory to His nature. 

(Malachi 3:6 – “For I am the Lord, I do not change”.... 

(Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.)

GOD CANNOT BE ANYTHING BUT THE ONE TRUE GOD – False gods might try to imitate or counterfeit the power and nature of the one true God. However, God himself will not imitate anybody. God does not need to become like anyone or anything. God is God and there is only ONE God. Therefore God, for example, cannot become Buddha or Allah, or Vishu, or Krishna, or your higher power or a god from any other religion. Isaiah 43:10 – “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me”. There cannot be many Gods, If God is the one true God....All other God’s are Satan, in his many disguises and counterfeit attempts at God....

When the Philistines, who worshiped, Dagon, placed the ark, which they had captured, beside the statue of Dagon, look what happened....

1 Samuel 5:5 “After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it before Dagon. 

Verse 3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 

Verse 4 But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. His head was broken off, representing his authority. His hands were broken off, representing his power....

The blessing and the curse cannot abide in the same place. If you’re not being blessed then the curse is present and must be broken. Unforgiveness will put you under the curse.... a judgmental spirit will put you under a curse.... Keeping back the tithe from God will bring you under a curse (Malachi tells us that when we tithe, we rebuke the devourer) If you’re not being blessed, there’s a curse operating.....

Next, we see, GOD CANNOT TEMPT ANYONE WITH EVIL– 

James 1:13 – Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone”.

No one can blame God for causing them to sin. The choices we make, determine blessing or cursing. No one needs to ask, “Why did God do this to me?.... God is just, and He has given us the path to blessing if we choose to follow it, or the path to cursing, if we choose to follow it. No one will be able to say that God sent them to Hell. They ignored and resisted all His attempts to save them and push past them all....

GOD CANNOT HATE YOU – God is love. God hates sin, but He loves the sinner. God loves us even when we are at our very worst. While we were sinners, He gave the greatest gift He could possibly give, He gave Himself to die in human form. The price to remove judgment from us, was for the Judge to take our place. He passed sentence on Himself, so we could go free. 

Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

GOD CANNOT SHOW FAVORITISM – God does not have favorites. He loves us all the same. God does not judge anybody unjustly or unfairly. 

In Acts 10, When God led Peter to the Roman Centurion, Cornelius’ house, and they all received the message of salvation and then were filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter declares in.... Acts 10:34-35 –”In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. What He’s done for one, He’ll do for all!!!

If I hear that God provided finances for someone, then that’s for everyone who believes. If I hear that God provided healing for someone, I want some of that.....Miracles, signs and wonders, deliverance, promotion, and on we could go....Whatever He will do for one, He will not do for all.....

GOD CANNOT BE DECEIVED – He cannot be fooled because He is all knowing, all seeing, in all places at all times. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the end. 

Hebrews 4:13 – “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account”. He is pure light and all lies and deception are exposed in His presence. When we walk in the light, we are free of deception. But we can choose to be deceived and hear what we want to hear, and see what we want to see. 

There are folks that don’t want to be free because they don’t want to give up what they have become dependent upon. 

The Jewish people were free from Egypt, but still longed for what they had in Egypt, even though it meant they were slaves in Egypt. How many folks could be free, but they are not willing to give up what they are In bondage to.... I know of a fella who was healed, but lost his healing because he didn’t want to give up his disability check.....

Then there are those who have allowed themselves to be willing slaves of the devil, because they don’t want to change their life style. They thought they were in charge of their stuff, but in reality their stuff is in charge of them.... They could be delivered, but they are comfortable with their bondage. It might be eating, shopping, alcohol, chemicals, laziness, uncleanness, pornography, or many things which they know in their spirit needs to change, but they choose to hold on to it, and never go forward in their walk with God. 

Paul makes a startling statement in 1 Corinthians 5:5 “I have decided to turn such a person over to Satan for the destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord”.

In other words, let them have a good taste of what they’re playing with, and they’ll turn to the truth... You play around with the destroyer, and the destroyer will win.... So pray that they will wake up and their soul will be saved. Someone said that “If everyone knew what those who have died know, then everyone would be following Jesus as Lord and Master.” 

I am so glad for this one......GOD CANNOT STOP LOVING YOU. He cannot love us any more than He already loves us and He cannot love us any less than He already loves us. 

Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord appeared of old unto me, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you” Aren’t you thankful that God put limits on Himself, to never stop loving you. Let us be grateful and praise God for Who He is and What He is… a God of loving care, compassion, and forgiveness. He has set us the example and opened the way before us to follow in His steps. We never give up on anyone, because He never will!! Don’t be surprised if they get worse before they get better, because Satan will intensify his hold on them just before the break through comes!! But He will never quit on anyone, as long as their heart is beating and they are alive, He’s reaching out, and drawing them to Himself. 

Christianity is all about Christ. When we make it about other stuff, we open ourselves to deception and a lying spirit. It’s not about rules and regulations, it’s about Jesus.... It’s not about our works, it’s about Jesus. It’s not about chasing the blessings, it’s about the blesser, Jesus.... GOD CANNOT ALLOW A PERSON WHO IS NOT A CHRISTIAN TO ENTER HEAVEN – This lie of the enemy that somehow everyone is going to heaven when they die, has found it’s way into the church, and ministers who are called to preach the gospel, are insinuating such things as they conduct funeral services. Lulling the ignorant into a false sense of peace and security. I heard a pastor say that he attended a service where the minister indicated that the man who had died was safe in the arms of Jesus, and in a better place.... When he checked, the man had murdered his wife, then shot himself.... A person who is not born again / saved / and a practicing Christian cannot enter into Heaven, or God is not the God of the bible. 

Death is not anyone’s passport to heaven. That’s like saying that if I live in a garage, that makes me a car! To become a Christian, a person must believe and receive Jesus Christ as his/her Lord & Savior. The only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ. I am serving Christ today, because when my mom, lost her daughter, the pastor shared this truth, and she prayed and received Christ at her daughter’s funeral, then later on, led me to Christ as my savior....

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

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

Knowing the nature of God is very important. God will not ignore us if we call to Him and have a genuine desire to know Him and have a relationship with Him. 

Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it”.

There are MANY things that God will do in your personal life which are consistent with His word and with His nature. It is impossible for God to promise anything and not do it..... What Has He Promised You...Believe it, know that He remembers when the whole world forgets!!

If this message has ministered unto you and you wish to contact us privately, with a praise report, prayer request, or give to this ministry, our address is Eagle's Rest Ministries, P.O box 2820, Key West, Florida 33040.. Keep us in your prayers that we may be an instrument in the Master's hands, and Jesus may be exalted continually in our lives and ministry. Thank you in advance and God richly bless you.. We look forward to hearing from you.

​

Part 2....Removing The Mask Of The Anti-christ

Daniel 11:36-39 “The king (anti-christ) will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. 

He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.                                                                                                      So we see here, a description of the Antichrist:

......He will be arrogant and self-willed.

......He never stops talking and boasting about himself. Daniel 7 makes this clear when it emphasizes the “little horn” who makes big boasts.                  ......The Antichrist will be the ultimate egomaniac.

......He is a blasphemer. Webster says that in this case, his blasphemy is “the act of claiming the attributes of a deity”.

......He is deceptive, ruthless, and utterly devoid of integrity.

......He is outspoken in his public opposition to God.

......The whole world will blindly follow after him.

......His reign is limited by God. The “time of wrath” in verse 36 refers to the last half of the seven-year Tribulation period. Note that even though the Antichrist has enormous power, he can only do what God permits him to do. What is true now, will be true then.

.....He rejects his own spiritual heritage. Verse 37 says he has no regard for the “God of his fathers.” This expression has led some to think he must be Jewish and there might be some of that in his linage.                                       However, Daniel 7 says he comes out of the fourth beast, which represents the Roman Empire, and Revelation 13 pictures the Beast (a symbol for the Antichrist) arising out of the sea of the Gentile nations. Ezekiel 31:3 calls him “The Assyrian”..... But Whatever spiritual background he comes from, he rejects it totally.

......He opposes all organized religion.

......He will set himself up as a god to be worshiped. This is the “abomination of desolation” that takes place at the mid-point of the Tribulation when he will stop the sacrifices in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, offer a pig on the altar, and proclaim himself to be God.

.....It says He has no regard for the desire of women. This meansthat he is a homosexual. 

.....He worships military might. Verse 38 mentions a “god of fortresses,” it is the only time this expression occurs in the Bible. His bloodthirsty character allows him to ruthlessly kill millions of people in his drive for world domination, with no regard for the value of life.

......His power will come from Satan. This explains the “god unknown to his fathers” in verse 38. 

.....He will deceive the world with the help of Satan who will empower him to work miracles that will astound millions.

.....He will conquer many nations.

.....He will richly reward those who follow him...... For a short period of time he will appear to be the savior the world has yearned for. But the “Man of Peace” will soon reveal his true evil of his character.

Let me say it.... I believe he’s alive right now, waiting in the wings....

I’ve got to tell you, I enjoy nothing more than reading about the overthrow of this man of evil, murder, and violence..... I love it more than a good cup of Café con leche, or well made flan....                                                                                                                                             Revelation 19:11-16 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written that no one knows, but Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood and His name is "The Word Of God".

The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses 

and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter."  He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of the Almighty. On His robe and thigh, He has a name written, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords".

Ponder the scene for a moment. Millions of soldiers are moving toward the Middle East, armed with the very latest high-tech weaponry. They have more than enough firepower to destroy the earth several times over. And they fully intend to use their arsenals on each other. But at the last second something happens. Perhaps there is a sign in the sky that catches the attention of the combatants. Suddenly the armies of unregenerate men cease fighting each other and join together in a final assault on the Lord Jesus Christ.

As the Lord begins descending from heaven, the order is given to fire away. Rockets, missiles, atomic warheads, laser beams and particle beams all fly straight toward the figure on the white horseand the army that is with him. But before they can reach their mark, the Lord Jesus Christ along with the army that includes you and me, neutralize all of it, and strike down that vast army with the sword that comes out of our mouth, which is the word of God. All the missiles and warheads will be useless against our glorified bodies.                                                                     Scripture says we will be as the angels.... I’ve seen them and they are 8 to 12 feet tall! You are going to be something to deal with! I’ve always wanted to be taller......Why do we worry and fret over battles that are already won, before they begin...

And this battle is over before it starts. Men and demons, run for cover but there is nowhere to hide. The great day of judgment has come and no one can escape. 

I meet Christians all the time who say, “Oh, I don’t want to miss the rapture.” If you’re born again, you’ll be raptured. If Jesus is active and moving and working on the inside of you, you’ll be raptured. 

Scripture says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved”. It’s that simple; if you’re born again, you’ll get raptured.                                                    Now you might get raptured and then say, “I wish I had served the Lord more and been more committed to Christ.” Because, as the Bible says, “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” All your works, that are like wood, hay and stubble, will be burned up, but you’ll be saved. We use the expression “by the skin of your teeth,” but you’ll be saved. 

The old song says, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,” Is so true. Yes, you’ll struggle, you’ll get tired, weary, and exhausted. You’ll have to delay gratification; you’ll have to pass on other things in order to put God first... but it will be worth it all....

Now, we want to Look at what the bible says about the rewards we’ll receive when Jesus passes out our trophies and crowns...

Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you”.

There’s a reward for enduring persecution and not letting it make you bitter, or resentful, or unforgiving....

Matthew 6:4 “Let your giving be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly”.

There’s a reward for being faithful in tithe and offerings, God is looking to see that we put Him first and honor Him with all of our substance.

“Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done”. 

The Lord will reward us for all we have done in serving and ministering unto others. As we help others in their time of need in giving to the poor, in acts of charity and benevolence. Jesus said just a cup of water given in His name will be rewarded.. What have we done with God’s word. Are we people of obedience unto the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil”.

Have we used our strength, our minds, our talents and abilities, to serve the Lord, or only served ourselves....

Matthew 6:19-21 “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.

I hate to tell some folks, but we’re going to be rewarded concerning our motives in what we do. Hypocrites will not do so well here.... If we give begrudgingly, we lose our reward. If we grumble and complain all the way to the offering plate, we lose our reward. If we are stingy, we lose the reward for what we did give. The cheerful heart, and liberal spirit, will be rewarded on that day.... 

James 1:12 ”Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him”. 

Jesus talked about those who are tossed about, who are undependable, who are unstable, double minded, and inconsistent. When you can’t be trusted, and you can’t be counted on, you lose your reward.                           Say what you mean and mean what you say. Do what you say when you say what you will do. When folks constantly promise and don’t keep their word, it shows a deficiency in their character. Let your word be with integrity and your promises be solid gold! Jesus is going to reward each one for that. 

Matthew 21:28 Jesus said “But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29 ‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing. ‘I will go, sir,’ he said. But he did not go. 31 So, which of the two did the will of his father?”

Jesus is actually saying that those who don’t keep their word have stepped out of the will of God and receive no reward because they didn’t show up.....

Matthew 5:35 Jesus said....”Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one”. What the Lord is saying is that it gets easier and easier to not keep your word the more you do it....

Here's the last one..... - Matthew 25:21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

This is about contentment.... When we are not content, the real issue is that we don’t really trust God. Be the best where you are.... Do the best you can at what you’re doing. Scripture says, “Whatsoever you do, do it as if you were doing it unto the Lord.”....If we did everything as if we were ministering unto the Lord, how would it change things...

Wouldn’t it be better to say, “I lived for Christ. I served Christ. I followed Christ”? Then on that day, you will have works of “gold, silver, precious stones” for all eternity, instead of wood hay or stubble that didn’t make it through. Let’s look at that Scripture.....

1 Corinthians 3:10 “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 

13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames”.

Gold, Silver, and precious stones, are symbols of God’s Spirit, God’s word, the blood of Christ, lifting up the cross, time spent in His presence, it worship, praise, and thanksgiving, A grateful and thankful spirit, and love of God and one another....

Wood, hay and stubble are performance based Christianity. They do it to be seen of men, but when no one is around, they are someone else.    Paul says that it is about, when we are saved, and have God’s foundation, but we only build for ourselves.                                                            These are ego centered and not God centered. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.                                                                   The hay, wood, and stubble crowd say they are Christians, (which means followers of Christ), but when they walk out of the church, they leave Jesus in the church building and do their own thing all week... 

I want to hear Him say “well done, good and faithful servant, you’ve been faithful over a few things, great shall be your reward.  

Now, I know that we started out with the Anti-Christ, but by this point in the message... He’s not even a memory...The Millennium has now come and is gone.....

Let me tell you what waits for those who will inhabit the new heaven and new earth following the millennium..... 

Since Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden of Eden, a great division came between heaven and earth, which separates God and man. Heaven is “above” and earth is “beneath”....

But Ephesians 1:10 tells us that, in “the fullness of the times,” God will “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” 

All things will unite under Christ’s headship in the new heaven and new earth. The separation between heaven and earth will be no more, and it will truly be the days of heaven on earth.

God’s original intention, when He built the garden of Eden, was that it be “days of heaven on earth”... Eden was a prototype of what the world should be without Satan.

There will be a literal fulfillment of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, whenever we pray... 

in Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” 

We will not spend eternity in heaven following the millennium, because heaven will have come to earth!! Any beauty we experience here, will be far surpassed there. We will have laughter without tears, life without death, singing without the minor chords of mourning, contentment without crying, and pleasure without pain.                                                              We will spend each day in the presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The mystery of the trinity, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit will be cleared up, for we shall behold Him, and that which is in part shall be done away with, when that which is perfect is come.                                               The crown jewel of God’s restored creation will be a glorious, brilliant, and sparkling city; God’s Word calls it “New Jerusalem,” coming down from God and locating above where present dayJerusalem now is. It will be headquarters for all the saints who will come and go as needed. 

Revelation 21: 10 “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 

13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, (1400 miles) and as wide and high as it is long. 

(It will have a total area of roughly 3.37 billion cubic miles) 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick (216 feet). 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. (The city was in levels about 1 mile high each) The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, 

the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass”.

Think about something as we read about this incredible structure...      The earth's total land surface area is about 197 million square miles. The eternal city will have many times more living area than this, or 3.37 billion cubic miles! It will be the center of both the physical and spiritual universes...

After all things are made new, God will live among those he created. All those difficult experiences so familiar to humans, such as crying, death, sorrow and pain, will be gone and never return. Jesus then makes an incredibly important but often overlooked statement.

Revelation 21:6 “IT IS DONE I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End” 

This is the last Biblical declaration proclaiming something hasbeen completed or been accomplished. At this point in history, all prophecy has been fulfilled and all of the Lord's promises have been fully kept. God's great plan of salvation has now been successfully accomplished!

Revelation 21 also marks another important milestone. God's law was meant to act like a tutor who would help instruct us in holiness and godly living. It was written down, studied, explained to others and so on, all with the goal to imbed it into our character, to unveil clearly to all the glorified saints, the deeper mysteries of the incomprehensible plan of God for the ages to come. After all, we are the ones who will now carry it forth into the new heavens where God’s righteousness fills all in all...

And now, finally, 1 Corinthians 13:12 tells us, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known”.

But don’t wait, get all you can now, be filled with the spirit, filled with the word, filled with the fruit of the Spirit, and work the works of Him who has called you, while it is day, for the night is coming upon this world... Be the light, for all who grope in darkness, be joy to the downcast, hope to the hopeless, encouragement to the discouraged, healing to the wounded and afflicted, a friend to the friendless, and most important, one who carries Jesus to the world!

Newsweek magazine reported on a poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, that when Americans of all religions and those having no religion were asked, “Do you believe that the world will end, as the Bible predicts, in a battle between Jesus and the Antichrist?” 40% answered Yes and 42% said No. Of those who answered Yes, the following question was asked, “Do you believe the Antichrist is on Earth now?”  47% answered yes, and 31% answered No 31%, 22% said they Don’t know.

*........Let me tell you why I believe the world is ready for the Anti-Christ right now, today... Here are some clear signs of the Spirit of the AntiChrist already working and preparing for the lawless one’s coming.....

Instead of repenting and changing our ways, we change how we identify sin...

Instead of Pedophilia, we call it “Minor attracted people”... Instead of sexual exploitation or Pornography, we call it “art, or adult entertainment” .... Instead of sex clubs, and wife swapping, we call it “broadening your thinking”.... Instead of adultery, we call it “Open marriage”..... Instead of gender mutilation, we call it “Gender transitioning”...... Instead of fornication, we call it “Intimacy”.....Instead of calling it lust, we call it “love”.... Instead of calling it good and evil, we call it “phobias, prejudice, judgmentalism, or hate speech”.... Instead of calling it baby killing and murder, we call it “abortion, or a woman’s right to choose”.....Instead of calling it drug addiction, or alcoholism, we call it “sickness or a dependent personality”.....Just change how you say it and all the sin goes away and everyone is nice and good again, and we’re all going to heaven anyway, so who needs Jesus!!! God help us if that’s heaven, because it would just be more of what we already have here!! 

*.........Throughout history many names have been suggested as candidates for the Anti-Christ. You will find thousands of sites representing all possible points of view, some biblical, some anti-biblical, some satirical, and many that are just plain weird.

Here are a few people who have been nominated...... Roman Emperor Nero, The Pope, Napoleon, Mussolini, Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Saddam Hussein, Joe Biden, Bill Gates (Think about that the next time your computer crashes.) and hundreds more.....                         The only thing we know for sure is that every guess so far as has been wrong. 

By definition we can’t know in advance who the Antichrist will be because he will not appear to be an evil person at first. It’s not as if he’s going to run for office with the slogan, “I’m the Antichrist. Vote for me.”  

*.......Our number one task is to get well acquainted with the real, author of the bible, who has described what is coming. And that is the one and only Jesus Christ, and have an intimate relationship with Him. We are to study His word so we will not be caught unprepared and then we will recognize the counterfeits when they show up!                                                             Billy Graham made the statement that Government agents don’t spot counterfeit money by studying every counterfeit bill that has ever been printed.... But they become well acquainted with the genuine bills, and then they are easily able to recognize the counterfeit.

*........666, the number of the anti-christ, says a lot about him.... You see, in biblical numerology, 7 is always connected to God as perfection, wholeness, and completeness. Genesis tells us that on the 7th day, God rested, His work was perfect, complete, and whole. The tribulation is 7 years, meaning that it is designed by God to complete, perfect, and and fulfill the justice process of God in this time of earth’s history. 

By identifying antichrist as 666, God is declaring that this man can never be God, even though he makes that claim. If he could be God, he would be 777, not 666. He’s furious because he knows he will always fall short of wholeness, completeness and perfection. He will always be a counterfeit, a fake and a fraud!!! He’s furious at every Christian, because we have been joined to 7 in Christ. He has moved each believer, from 6, (Imperfect, unwhole, and incomplete) into 7 (perfect, whole, and complete) 

Man was created on the 6th day, and with all his knowledge, science, technology, politics, and grab for power, he will always fall short in all his attempts to kick God out. If he could, then air, and light and life itself would cease to exist. Only in Christ can mankind find what he is really searching for.

Antichrist is a created being and only borrows what the creator has created. He has nothing that is original, and he knows that he falls short, and is incomplete, unwhole, and imperfect....

THAT’S WHAT HIS NUMBER SHOUTS if anyone would pay attention!!!

*........Last week we talked about the battle of Gog and Magog, and the 4 kings who would gather the armies that will surround Jerusalem. Those armies would then be destroyed by Divine intervention... You are probably wondering when this battle will happen...

*........Let’s quickly look at a simple time line... Where we are in the blue line, the ark of the covenant will be found and it will be announced that the temple will be rebuilt. The rapture will take place, then the battle of Gog and Magog will take place. I believe it will take place just after the rapture, when the antichrist will seize it as an opportunity to make peace and elevate himself to prominence on the world stage. *........Daniel 11:36-39 “The king (anti-christ) will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place”.

Then comes the 7 year tribulation period, when the Anti-Christ will have power on earth to deceive mankind. . After he has secured his position, he will reveal who he really is.... Even the tribulation is a 7, when God accomplish His perfect justice in the earth at the end of the earth age.

At the end of that 7, God will say, “Enough” and close it down, and personally, come and take over the government of the planet for 1000 years.   

Those who have been raptured will be enjoying the marriage supper of the lamb, and then receive our rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. It is called the judgment seat, because as the story of the talents in the bible relates to us, those who have been faithful receive more, those who have buried their gifts, talents, and abilities and not given God glory through them, or acknowledged that He is the giver, will lose their reward. Scripture says they will suffer loss as their “hay, wood and stubble is burned up in the fire, while those who have given their best, their most valued time and effort, it shall pass through the fire as silver and gold, which is only made more valuable by the flame. All who arrive in heaven will enjoy some supernatural vacation time enjoying our glorified bodies, in the presence of Jesus, and getting our new assignments. 

At the end of the 7 year tribulation, the battle of Armageddon will usher in the second coming of Christ who returns to the earth with all the saints to defeat the anti-Christ and his armies and usher in the millennial reign of Christ on the earth. 

You can see also, that the final battle will come after the Millennial (thousand year reign of Christ) on the earth which will be followed by the final judgment, when Hell, Satan, the anti-Christ and all his hosts, will be cast into the lake of fire. 

At this point God will renovate the earth and the firmament, and we will inhabit the New Heaven and earth.... here, it is translated “Cosmos”, so it involves far more than the firmament around the earth, or our solar system....And we shall rule and reign (the cosmos), with Christ, throughout eternity.....

Isaiah 14:15 But you (satan), will be brought down to Sheol,(Hell) to the lowest depths of the Pit. 16 Those who see you will stare in disbelief,   they will ponder your fate: “Is this the onewho shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble, 17 who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?”…

What a moment, when we see the one behind all our trials, attacks, battles, and deceptions as he really is.... All lies! His entire kingdom built on lies, His power taken by fraud, a trespasser, and a master of smoke and mirrors. 

In 1849 a wagon train was traveling through Death Valley to follow the gold rush into California. As this particular wagon train struggled through Death Valley, the hottest place in California. Hot and thirsty, they looked ahead and saw a lake off in the distance. They began to cheer and quicken their pace to get to the refreshing water, But it was just a mirage created by the intense heat, and the harder their pressed on to make it to the water, the more frustrated they became.

Likewise, Satan is a master illusionist, who makes those who are vulnerable, believe something that isn’t true.

God put this scripture in Isaiah, so that we don’t have to wait to see what the spirit of evil, and wickedness really looks like, behind all the illusion, but we can see it now and operate against him in the power of Christ as His anointed.

Listen to what the bible says....

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.

Our first and greatest defense against the schemes of the devil is to live in a right relationship with God. “Submit to God” (v. 7). This means to “put yourself under God’s authority.”

Pride makes us vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. Pride was the devil’s downfall, and he wants us to be prideful. It is one of his chief weapons in his warfare against us. “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18).

Jesus was able to use God’s Word because He knew God’s Word. If we do not know the Word, we cannot use the Word. Satan knows if we have the word of God in our hearts. A sword can deflect an enemy’s attack only if we are able to handle it skillfully and precisely; otherwise, we are left vulnerable to Satan’s deception.

Be Constantly on Guard

Be Ruled by the Word

Be Filled With the Spirit

Be Humble before God

Be A Person of Prayer

Father, in the Name of Jesus, thank you for opening supernatural doors in our lives today. Thank you for a double portion of your Spirit as we take back everything that the devil has stolen: Emotional Health, Physical Health, Finances, Relationships, Children, Jobs, Homes and Marriages. We cancel every plot, plan and scheme the enemy has devised against us in the MATCHLESS NAME OF JESUS. We declare that  NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST US WILL PROSPER. I speak LIFE into every dead situation. And, I thank you that nothing is over until YOU say it's over!                                                                                                                      Where there is pain, give Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your Divine ability.                                                                                                                  Where there is weariness or exhaustion, I ask You to give understanding, patience and strength as we submit to You. Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask for renewal and greater intimacy with You. Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release inspired, bold, fearless courage. Where there is an issue that is blocking the way, reveal it, and break its hold. Father in the Name of Jesus, I proclaim that this is a season of intense physical, emotional, mental, and Spiritual favor from the Lord.                                                                                                                A place of joy and laughter, a place of strength and refreshing, a place of Your glorious presence invading every aspect of our lives. Thank you for the fresh scent of miracles in the air, for the sound of revival, and the fragrance of a powerful new anointing. To God be all the Glory, for great things He has done, is now doing, and will continue faithfully to do. In Jesus mighty name, Amen

Ezekiel 38:2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him…” Gog is a man….. right now that man is VlatemarPutin, Magog is the land of Russia,

The King of the North is Russia, The King of the South is the Arab, Islamic forces, The King of the West is America and Europe, who will be lead by the anti-Christ, who will force every person to receive his mark in their right hand or their forehead, those who will not, can notbuy or sell, and will ultimately be decapitated, The King of the East is China, who alone is able to put together a 2 million count army according to scripture….                                                                     These are the four kings playing the final game of thrones and may I add, they are demonically empowered and directed….

They all want ultimate power, to control and rule the world, and without Jesus Christ in peoples lives, these kings will deceive and fool the nations. 

In Genesis 10:2 Magog is one of the sons of Japath, these sons migrated from Asia Minor, to the North, to the area of Russia. Gog is a descendent of Esau. Jacob and Esau have had an on-going quarrel which has lasted for generations. The crises in the middle east, which we are seeing right now, is a family feud that was never really settled.                                                                                                 Haman, the general under the king of Persia, was responsible for the first Jewish holocaust, in the land of Persia, which is modern day Iran. Mordecai, discovered the plot and Queen Esther, his adopted daughter, was used of God to thwart the plan Haman had, to terminate the Jews.  

Historians found that Hitler’s grandfather was Jewish, Hitler was a descendant of Esau… Jewish scholars have found that all four kings are descendants of Esau….Their objective is to destroy the Jewish people and cleanse the land of them.                                                                                                                                    God said in Malachi 2-3 “Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated.” That’s a strong statement…. God looked through the window of time and saw the river of blood which would happen to the Jewish people through Esau’s descendants. 

The king of the north is a descendant of Esau, described by Ezekiel as the “Chief Prince”…. Of Rosh which again, is the present day Russia.                                             Putin, is presently joining up with China and Iran to increase His power, in order to dominate the world. Ezekiel 38: 5-6 lists the 5 major nation armies in the end time invasion of Israel. Persia is mentioned, which almost brought about the first holocaust, against the Jews. But Haman and his sons hung on the very gallows he built for the Jews.                                                                                                 There is a principal here… The way you treat the Jewish people, God will treat you as a nation. God said, Genesis 12: “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” It was true then, and it’s true now, and it will be true forever…..

Ezekiel mentions other nations which are less prominent in the forces that will advance on Israel…..There’s Ethiopia, and the Islamic, and Arab nations. Then there’s Lybia, Gomer and his bands…. Gomer and his bands include the Germans, followed by the French and the British. Ezekiel also mentions the armies of Beth-togarmah from the distant north, which is modern day Turkey…  

This demonic anti- semitic spirit hates the Jews because they wrote the book which we call “The word of God”… the Bible. Every scripture was originally written by the anointed hand of a Jewish scribe. Jesus Christ, the son of God, was a Jewish rabbi, He’s coming back as a Jewish rabbi, wearing a glorious prayer shawl.

Those nations and kings who are making alliances right now and who will soon fill the valley of Megiddo, which is 25 miles long and 10 miles wide, with the destruction of Israel on their minds, are also the descendants of Ishmael, the son Abraham produced through Hagar, his wife’s hand maid…. (man they did some weird stuff in the Old Testament) Hagar and her son, were cast out, and that resentment has lasted for thousands of years. (Man, a little forgiveness would go a long way here and change history)

In Ezekiel 38:7 God says “you, Gog (or Russia) shall command them”. You will lead these anti- semitic army nations, “And My fury is going to come up in my face.” Believe me, you want to be in on the love of God, and never in on the fury of God…. This will be a one day war…. We might say it is when Gog meets God!!!   There is nothing that matches the beauty of heaven or the horror of Hell, forever cut off from God. Our loving God is also a God who loves justice.

God is saying here, when you go to destroy my covenant land and my covenant people, NOW YOU’VE TAKEN THE FIGHT TO ME! Ezekiel 39:2 tells us that when that wrath is released, God eliminates 5 out of every 6 people in those armies…. Every person will have a choice, but there is a point of no return, where mercy and grace, give way to sowing and reaping… and we are allowed to reap the very seed we have sown….

WE ALL WANT TO BE ON THE GOOD SIDE OF SOWING AND REAPING!

Psalm 2:1-3 “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed One, saying, 3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”

That’s where we are living right now, friends…. They can kill theirbabies if they want to, it’s their bodies, they shout….. they can throw the word of God out of public schools, but put anything and everything else in, and allow cross dressers, and satan worshipers in for show and tell…. They can throw out morality and decency, and teach our children that pronouns like “he” and “she” violate people’s rights…..They want to get rid of boundaries, and laws and let people just do what is right in their own sight…

Those words are the final statement of the book of Judges 21:25 “In those days Israel had no king, and all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes”.

BUT GOD WILL HAVE THE FINAL SAY…. 

Ezekiel 38:21 tells us that there will be multitudes who perish by “friendly fire”….as those armies gather “And every man’s sword shall be turned against his brother.”                                                                                                                       With 5 armies, speaking 5 languages, they’re going to turn on one another in all the confusion. Then God let’s them know that it is He that they are fighting and He says, “ I will rain down upon the enemies of Israel, great hailstones, fire and brimstone.”

As one fellow said…”Our arms are too short to box with God.”

When the Anti-Christ comes, the church will be gone and there will be a global panic, and economic crash…. Let me settle for you once and for all, when the rapture is going to take place….

2 Thessalonians 2:7-9 “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains (holds it back) will do so until He (the Christians) are taken out of the way (the rapture).  And then the lawless one (the anti-Christ) will be revealed, whom the Lord will then consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.  The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders…”

So the church is preventing the Anti-Christ from making his appearance. He can’t have power until we are gone. The Holy Spirit will still be here, because many will be saved during the tribulation. A great revival will take place. If folks can’t stand up for the Lord now, how will they do it, when it will cost them their life, to stand up and be counted. 

Just an insert here…. When you hear that they have discovered the ark of the covenant, start doing rapture drills….. Because they can’t build the temple without the ark. The temple was built to house the ark, where God’s glory and presence rested, that’s it’s only purpose. With no ark, there’s no purpose for the temple. The church should be the house of His presence, without that, it has no purpose…… So, things will happen fast when the ark is discovered. The anti-Christ is going to help make the temple happen, to gain favor with the jews, and also to fulfill the Muslem prophecy of the Mahadi… The Muslims have a prophecy that the one who will lead them in ruling the world, will sit in the Jewish temple and announce that he is God, so there must be a temple….

The anti-Christ will make a 7 year peace compact, and all will be deceived, that he was able to do this. During that time the temple will be rebuilt, and they will accept him as Messiah, Israel will be caught off guard by this period of peace, and the temple they build will be the Anti-Christ temple, because when it is finished, he will march into the Holy of Holies, offer an unclean pig on the altar, and declare that he is God. He will break the peace treaty, and at that point his evil face will be revealed for what it is, Satanic. 

It is at that time, that the Four Kings will descend on Israel, with all their bands, and the 3rd temple will be destroyed and will not be rebuilt until the millennial reign of Christ. Along with their anti-semitism, these nations want the gas and oil which is abundant in Israel. There are 20 million Muslems living in Russia today. Putin is going to use their hatred of Israel to take what he wants from the Jews.

Already we see China making gestures to Russia, because they want Tiawan and Russia wants the Ukraine, so it’s a mutually beneficial alliance. The Arabs have nuclear capability, so that benefits them all….

But God is in heaven, provoking it all, saying “come into my trap”…“Come on”… but as soon as you touch the soil of My covenant land, You’re finished!!!

So, how did Russia, so far North, become an anti-semitic nation? 

Rafael Isenberg researched this, and he wrote, “The kingdom of evil and apostacy is none other than communist Russia, who are descendants of the Roman Empire, who are predicted to cover the entire world before Messiah comes. The original Roman empire separated into two branches, and the daughter of the Roman Emperor, married the Russian Emperor. Remember that Rome destroyed the temple, and crucified the son of God. So there’s a lot of hatred there. That marriage, brought the evil seed of anti-semitism to Russia”. 

                                                                                                                                              The four kings, Russia, the Arab nations, the European Union, and China have two things in common…. They want to dominate the world, and they hate the Jews. Egypt tried to destroy the Jewish people, and the first born of every family died who did not have the blood of the lamb on the door. The cattle were dead in a week, locust ate the crops, God drowned the armies and Pharaoh and turned them into fish food. The Babylonians tried to snuff out the Jews, where are they? The Persians are gone, the Greeks are gone, the Romans are gone, where are those goose stepping Nazis that followed the living devil, Adolf Hitler… they’re gone!!

But you will find Jewish people walking through the museums where they have the memories and artifacts of those nations on display!

Daniel 12:4 “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased”.  

We’re there….at the time of the end… Knowledge has increased so rapidly that what you learn now may be replaced next week…. Until 1900, for 100’s of years people rode horses and horse drawn wagons. Then came cars and planes and super sonic jets….Folks used to die in the same community they were born in…. now, families are spread all over the globe….Communication has advanced from tell a woman, to television, to global internet and wi-fi… People running to and fro is what the prophet said…. We’re at the time Daniel talked about, at the end.

Listen to Matthew 24:30 “And then at last the signal (the trumpet) of my coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning (from the unprepared) all around the earth. And the nations of the world will see me arrive in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. v31 And I shall send forth my angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they shall gather my chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven”.                    

The next thing we’re going to hear is the Trump of God….I hope you’ve got your rapture wings on…. Cause the dead in Christ will rise first then we which are alive will be caught up together with them, and so shall we forever be with the Lord!!

Get prayed up, look up, pack up, cause we’re going up! When you see these things coming to pass, and they are, look up for your redemption draws nigh!

How many in this room would say, ‘Pastor I have people in my family, that I’m not sure they’re ready for that trumpet to sound”…. I don’t want to have them go through all that’s going to happen following the rapture…

The old song said, “Wait a little longer, please Jesus. There are so many wandering out in sin. Just a little longer please Jesus a few more days to get our loved ones in.”

There are no guarantees, and it could happen any hour….But it will happen.. Don’t take that chance, don’t gamble with their eternal soul, separated from you and God forever. Whatever it takes, let’s believe together for a salvation miracle. It is a miracle, you know, every time a sinner comes home to Jesus….  

Closing prayer, for families and family members…..

O Lord Jesus, we desire nothing greater than to see Your Glory revealed and that folks would come to know You better and for some, that they might know You for the first time. Open hearts that are still closed against you, and open their understanding that in knowing Your plan for them, lives would changed and spirits would be made open.                                                                                                                                                                                                         Give me an understanding heart, that I may see the precious lives that you treasure all around me. Lord we cry out in behalf of the people, all around us, that their eyes may be open to Your truth so they might receive Your mercy and forgiveness. Help us, that as we walk in love, You would shine through us to dispel the darkness, so that all can run into Your transforming light.  Bring our loved ones, friends and neighbors into Your saving grace.

Holy Spirit, bring conviction unto righteousness, and draw those who are away from you to faith and to repentance. 

Lord Jesus, as we lay aside all the weights that might hinder and distract us, may we join your multitude of harvesters in this end time harvest, as we look for Your appearing. Continue to move upon our hearts to mold and shape us more and more for Your honor and glory we ask.

For it is all in Jesus’ name, Amen.

It’s Harvest Time”…by Pastor Charles C Elliott

You may be wondering where we are in end time events, with all that is happening in the world right now... I have one answer... it is harvest time, in the spiritual realm…. It’s always the season of harvest!!                                                                                                  Matthew 9:35 “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. v36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. v37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; v38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into His harvest”.

Who is it, that needs a church?  The answer is very simple:  EVERYONE!  The unsaved and unchurched need a church to present Christ in a meaningful way, and to teach and disciple them, because we all deal with the same issue, and that is the issue of sin and the curse!  The saved need the church to stay on mission through fellowship, encouragement , common goals and vision, and to be a support mechanism and sending station to the world.                                                                                                             Let me share with you some statistics about our harvest field….How many people are there in the Florida Keys?  I would refer you to the 2023 estimate which accounted for a population of app. 80,000.  If that is the case, then the harvest has hardly been touched since only about 14.4% or 11,000 of those in the Keys attend church on any given Sunday!                                                                               We have 4 million 436,000 visitors each year in the keys. If you reach just 10% of those, it would mean that 44,360 visitors would attend our churches each year…. And if you lead just 1% of those to the Lord, you would be bringing 4,436 souls to Christ every year! Truly we live in a mission field!  Let me break down who our neighbors are, here in the keys… 65% are white, 10% are black, 23% are Hispanic, and the rest constitute the 2% that is left. Since the open borders, that mix may have changed...

Notice also, that of those we live, work and play among, 17% are under 19…. 17% are 20-34…. 13% are 35-44…. 17% are 45-54…. 18% are 55-64.. 11% are 65-74 and 6% are 75 and over.

That’s our mission field, that’s where the Lord’s harvest field is for the church of the Keys….. If the followers of Christ began to consider the harvest as a clear mandate from God instead of a suggestion, I’m certain that some amazing and positive things would lie ahead for the church in’\this coming year… and far beyond! The harvest season would be harvest season on every level, and /that includes every individual!!!

Evangelism is and has always been embedded in the culture of the church of Jesus Christ, wherever it is located by God. Disciples who left home and comfort for the cause of souls, missionaries who were consumed with winning the lost at any cost, and nameless, faceless, unknown believers, who answered the call to the harvest, and because they did, we are privileged to sit here today, with a faith, a hope, and our eternal future secured! SOMEONE ANSWERED THE CALL OF HARVEST!

It has been said that the church is always just one generation away from extinction and each generation must find it within themselves to insure and guarantee the health, strength, vision and fruitfulness of the next generation!

When we come to the place that we dream it, pray it, think it, declare it, and live it, we will accomplish that unfinished mission of the church.

Our perceptions are where our realities spring from…(think about it).                                                                   Romans 11:33 is about transforming our perceptions and priorities….

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! ….v36  For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen”.

If our perception is that the job or career we have is about God placing us strategically in connection with others for kingdom purposes, then we will operate out of that perception, and use it as a springboard to witness to others. (That’s an old picture, Craig looks much better now)                      

If our perception is that where we live was planned by God, in order to influence our neighbors and friends with His eternal purpose for their lives in mind, then we will use our home and our activities to witness to others about the one who placed us there for that purpose. 

If our perception is that our recreation and other activities is always about God setting us up to bring folks into an encounter with Him, then we will use it as a witnessing opportunity. It’s all about our perceptions. We picked apples in the blue ridge mountains, and all the way home, Winnie gave them away as an opportunity to say “God bless you” to folks.

This should be the loftiest goal on our “to-do list”….What iftogether we made the adjustments that are needed, of Sharing our Christianity… Can we begin to Dream it, Plan it and Envisionit??? I believe that God blesses actions, initiative, faith and movement toward His own goals for His priorities. Our daily challenge is to align our vision with His vision, and supernatural things WILL begin to happen…..

Matthew 16:18  And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock (the revelation of who Jesus is) I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. v19 And I will give unto you, the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”…..                                             Remember that Jesus said these same things to all those who will get aligned with His vision of building His church family in the earth, based on the revelation of who He is! (He will give you the keys to the kingdom)

More than half of the people you pass every day are without Christ. And it is a growing population. More and more people each year are added to this category. And if we were to throw all the folks that do go to church, into the mix, but have never made a profession of Christ, it would probably be 75% or possibly much higher, which, by the way, is the percentage Jesus referred to in the parable of sower and the soils.     That is why Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous.”                                   There are people to reach; there is a work to be done. And of the greatest dangers of the modern church is that we don’t see this as the most important work we are called to do. But sadly, Most everything else comes before the work of reaching the lost with the Word of God.

As Jesus looked at the multitudes around Him, He was moved with compassion for them. This word literally means “to be moved in the heart.” He saw the reality of the need of the people all around Him. He saw them as they were spiritually, and He sought to share His insights with His disciples. He still wants to share His insightswith you and me today! He wants us to see the plight of humanity as He does. He wants us to be able to see the harvest through His eyes. And when that happens, it is a defining and transformative moment!  Our greatest challenge as a church is to see the folks around us like Jesus saw them! 

On one hand is a family that seems happy. They have good jobs, plenty of money, a nice house and all the things this world can offer them. Plenty of people like that live in the keys. But, if you could look at their hearts, you would see turmoil, fear, loneliness and desperation. They have no answers to the deepest questions of life. They need the Lord! But God loves the up and outer the same as the down and outer.

And then there is another family. They don’t have as much as the first family, but they have jobs and they have a place to live but they’re barely getting by. Their lives are driven by alcohol and drugs. They seem hard to the Gospel and they’re antagonistic toward those who try to tell them about Jesus. But, if you could strip off the layers of their lives and peer into their souls, you would see people who are confused and afraid to  die and even afraid to live. They are people without hope and they need someone to see them as they really are and will still love them, and  that’s the very person who can reach them for Jesus! That’s you and me!                              But what’s of greatest importance is thatJesus saw that at the end of their earthly existence, without a relationship with Him, they were all doomed to spend eternity separated from God and everyone they ever loved and held dear. They’ve had some hell here, and now without Christ they’ll have hell for all eternity..

That’s what we can never afford to forget, when it comes to our friends, our neighbors and our families. They may look like they have it all together, but if they are without Christ, they are destined to spend forever in a place that was never intended for them, but was created only for Satan and his demon slaves. Can you see them as they really are this evening... not rich or poor, good or bad, but without Christ?

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, was one of the last of his family to surrender his life to Christ. He referred to himself  as a “brand plucked from the fire”, because when he was 5 years old, their 3 story home caught on fire while they were all sleeping. Seven of the children and his parents, got out safely, but John was fast asleep, and when they realized he was not with them, the fire was so hot it prevented anyone from going in…. An onlooker, had another man climb up on his shoulders, and reach up to the boy, who was engulfed in flames coming from the window, and pulled him out. The man on the bottom had to lean against the hot burning building to keep his balance and suffered 3 rd degree burns to his hands, face and chest, but because of his rescue effort, Wesley was saved, just one boy, but because of that one boy, the Methodist movement swept around the world. 

I think of the person who lead Billy Graham to the Lord, or Paul Crouch, or TD Jakes. And what about Joel Osteen, or Kenneth Copeland, Rodney Howard Brown, John Kilpatrick, Reinhart Bonke, David Wilkerson, Oral Roberts, or Creflo Dollar, and of course Kenneth Hagin…. Their ministry now, and then, was because someone plucked those brands from the fire… and because of someone’s obedience, those ministries were set inmotion…WOW! I can’t but help recall, while we’re on this,           

Doctor Cho of Sheol Korea, pastor of one of the largest churches in the world, with 800,000 people with 10 services every Sunday to accommodate the crowds! When he was a young man lying on a filthy cot, dying of Tuberculosis, coughing up pieces of his lungs, a young Christian girl, in college, was out witnessing, and found him dying, she told him about Jesus, and led him in the sinners prayer. She gave him a bible, and he never saw her again, but his life has touched all of Korea and most of the world! (that’s what one young girl, seeing as Jesus saw, was able to do)…..May we see the harvest through God’s eyes!!!!

—David Livingstone said "If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King ever be considered a sacrifice?" 

—F.B. Meyer said "I believe that if there is one thing which grieves the Master's heart with unutterable grief, it is not the world's iniquity, but the Church's indifferences to lost souls."  

Do we see what Jesus sees?....Jesus didn’t just see how full the church was, he saw how full the harvest field was! He said “The harvest is truly plentiful”… That’s the “Go” in the Gospel....

They only saw the rat-race, Jesus loved the rats in the race! They saw the problems, Jesus saw the potential! They saw peoples condition, Jesus saw their destiny! They saw the bondage, Jesus saw His amazing Grace! They saw trouble, trials, and sacrifice, Jesus saw the harvest! Do we see people as they are, or do we see them as the Lord can make them to be when they come to Him? We need to see like Jesus sees!

John 4:27 “And as Jesus was sharing with the Samaritan woman at the well his disciples came, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What are you doing here? or, Why are you talking with her? v28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and said to the men, (she was living with) v29 Come, see a man, who told me all things that I’ve ever done, is not this the Christ? v30 Then the people she shared with went out of the city, and came unto him. v31 In the mean while his disciples were calling him, saying, Master, come and eat. v32 But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that you do not know of. v33 Therefore the disciples said one to another, Has someone brought him food to eat? v34 And Jesus said unto them, “My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work. v35 Do not say, “There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest”? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are ripe and ready to harvest”

Sometimes you have to persevere like the young soul winner who was out in the farm country, looking for lost souls…. He came upon a farmer working out in his field and being concerned about the farmer's soul the young man asked him, "Are you laboring in the vineyard of the Lord my good man?" Not even looking up, and continuing his work the farmer replied, "Naw, these are soybeans I’ve got here." "You don't understand," said the soul winner. "Are you a Christian?" With the same amount of interest as before, the farmer said, "Nope my name is Jones. You must be lookin for Jim Christian. He lives about a mile south of here." Determined to not give up, he asked the farmer, "Are you lost?" The farmer said "Naw! I've lived here all my life.”  Well then "Are you prepared for the resurrection?" the frustrated soul winner asked. This gotthe farmer's attention and he asked, "When's it gonna be?" Wow!!! Thinking he had finally broken through, the young man said, "It could be today, or tomorrow, or the next day." Taking a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiping his brow, the farmer remarked, "Well, whatever you do, don't say anything to my wife. She don't get out much and she'll wanna go all three days."

Jesus not only saw that the harvest was plentiful, but he saw that it was pitiful!!! He said there’s plenty of harvest, but the number doing the harvest is pitiful….or there are very few working at the harvest! 

It’s the little red hen syndrome…. No one was there to help, until she reaped the corn, processed it and made the bread, then everyone showed up….. When the table is set, everyone shows up, but no one wants to prepare the food, set the table or clean up afterward….Everyone wants the fruit of the ministry, but only a few want the work of the ministry! It’s the Holy Ghost Jimmy club….(Gimme, gimme my name is Jimmy!!!)        The problem is that a lot of folks want all the reward first, or they don’t do the work…. But if we only do what we get rewarded for in the moment, we probably won’t do much! 

Matthew 6:18 “Don’t work to be seen of men, but to be seen of your heavenly Father which is in secret, and your Father, which sees in secret, shall reward you openly. v19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust will corrupt it, and where thieves break through and steal it. v20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can corrupt it, and where thieves cannot break through or steal v21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”.          

In Matthew 4:19 …Jesus told the disciples, if you follow me, I’ll make you “fishers of men”, Now, it doesn’t take rocket science to know that to fish, the fisherman has to go where the fish are…. to the water! 

Those who farm know that the harvest doesn’t just gather itself. You’ve got to get out there, get down in the field and do the dirty work of harvesting it. Wouldn’t it be nice if the green beans picked themselves , and piled themselves on your table? What if the okra, the squash and the corn plucked themselves and came to you to report for duty? Well, it doesn’t work that way! To harvest the field, you have to go to where the harvest is. We can sit in the church, but never see a harvest until we go where the lost are sitting & spending their time. For the Christian, the purpose of your job, is to be where the people are, You go shopping to be where the people are. It’s not just about a pay check, or the shopping, it’s where people are that need to come to Jesus. 

A Christian arrived at the gates of heaven. An angel met him and asked, "What is your Denomination?" The man tells him and the angel looks down his list, and says, "Go to room 24, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."  Another man arrives at the gates of heaven. "What is your Denomination?"  The man tells him, "Go to room 18, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."  A third person arrives at the gates.  Again the angel asked for their Denomination and was told....

"Go to room 11, they were told, but be very quiet as you pass room 8." 

The man says, "I’m sorry but may I ask why I need to be quiet when I pass room 8?" "Well, said the angel, the folks in that room are under the impression that they're the only ones here”. …..Aren’t you glad Jesus said. “whosoever will, may come”?….

Evangelist D.L. Moody said...."The only monument I want after I am dead is a living monument composed of those I have won to Jesus, with two legs going around the world, telling everyone about the salvation of Jesus Christ."  

I am always amazed and inspired that D.L. Moody, who saw tens of thousands, come to Christ in his great evangelistic meetings, of 1860’ to 1890, after his nightly services, when he had refreshed himself, and enjoyed fellowship with his host,                                                                                he would go out into the streets of the city he was in, and not return to rest, until he had personally led someone to Christ! He never wanted to allow himself to become careless about the lost, but his desire was to keep it personal.. He loved seeing folks come to Christ!

Psalms126:5 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. v6 He that goes forth weeping, and bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his harvest with him”. 

JESUS SAW THE SECRET OF SUCCESS IN THE HARVEST… and He told folks what the real power was….He said  “Pray to the Lord of Harvest”!  The Lord of harvest is Holy Spirit! We come before the Father in Jesus name, and petition the Holy Spirit, when it comes to salvation, conviction of sin, and the drawing of men and women to the place of acceptance, of Christ, repentance, and justification and God inside mindedness, It’s the Holy Spirit’s area of expertise. 

John15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, that proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me.”

John 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. v8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment v9 Of sin, because they believe not on me v10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more v11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world (Satan), is judged. (notice the Holy Spirit is in you to judge Satan)

v12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot handle them yet. v13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. v14 He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you”.

The Holy Spirit must prepare the soil of the heart. He must water the seed of the Word that is planted and He must cast the sunshine of grace upon the lost heart, or there will never be a harvest! You want miracles? The new birth is the greatest miracle you will see! But for this amazing miracle to happen, we are to sow the seed, pray over the harvest and be available to do what the Lord of the Harvest would ask of us. It will happen when we see the harvest as the Lord sees it!!!

Let me close with this…. 130 years go in New York City, the glow of earlier religious awakenings had faded. America was prosperous and felt little need to call on God. But in the1850s the third great financial panic in American history swept away the fickled structure of easy wealth. Thousands of merchants were forced to the wall as banks failed, and railroads went into bankruptcy. Factories were shut down and vast numbers were thrown out into the streets to join the multitudes of the unemployed. In October 1857, the hearts of people were in great despair, while debt and hunger stared them in the face.

On July 1st, 1857, a quiet and zealous Christian businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier accepted the call of the harvest, in downtown New York, which was quite a challenge because of the homeless, poverty strickenpopulation of the lower city. Burdened by such great need, with few resources, Jeremiah Lanphier decided to invite folks to join him in a noonday prayer meeting, to be held on Wednesdays once a week. And he distributed a small printed announcement to hand out….

It said “HOW OFTEN SHALL I PRAY”?  As often as the language of prayer is in my heart; as often as I see my need of help; as often as I feel the power of temptation; as often as I am made sensible of any spiritual decline or feel overwhelmed by the spirit of this world. In prayer, we leave the business of time for that of eternity, and the interaction with men for interaction with God. A daily Prayer Meeting is held every Wednesday, from 12 to1 o’clock, in the annex building located in the rear of the North Dutch Church, corner of Fulton and William Streets (entrance is off of Fulton and Ann Streets). This meeting is intended to give merchants, mechanics, clerks, strangers, and businessmen generally an opportunity to stop and call upon God amid the joblessness occurring in their respective vocations”. So, at twelve noon, September 23rd, 1857 the door was opened and the faithful Lanphier took his seat to await the response to his invitation …. Thirty minutes later, at 12.30 p.m., a step was heard on the stairs, and the first person appeared, then another, and another, and another, until six people were present and the prayer meeting began. On the following Wednesday, October 7th, there were forty intercessors.

In the first week of October 1857, it was decided to hold the prayer meetingdaily instead of weekly …. Within six months, ten thousand business men were gathering daily for prayer in New York, and within two years, a million converts were added to the American churches ….

Probably, one of the greatest revivals in New York’s history swept thru the city, and far beyond. There was no fanaticism, no hysteria, simply an incredible movement among the people to pray. Before it was over, 1 out of every 5 persons in America had been saved by the grace of God! Think of it....1 out of every 5 people saved....

That is what God can do when people begin to see the harvest through His eyes. May God help us to get His harvest vision! And see the Lord, as the true gate keeper of this city! We’re going to believe God for a Holy Spirit sent, life changing, church transforming harvest…..Can you get in agreement with me?....

Let’s pray together….Lord we pray that any and all demonic vultures and parasites that are feeding on the seeds we have sown, be evicted and terminated, in the name of Jesus. We declare that our labor shall not be profitless and unproductive and every evil force be broken and paralyzed and rendered powerless. Lord, we put to shame and uproot every evil force that would neutralize our labor, our efforts and our energy put forth in Your name. We break open and bring down every stronghold that is keeping back and hindering the harvest from coming to us and all that is holding us back in Jesus name. We take possession and claim ownership to every God given promise, and declare that every instrument, transaction or contract used against us be completely disorganized, canceled and destroyed, in Jesus name. We declare breakthrough concerning growth, increase and success, today in the name of Jesus. We declare that we shall be equipped, enabled, and prepared for a great ingathering in Jesus name. 

We dismiss and cancel out every imagination, image, picture and thought of failure. We declare that there shall be no barrenness in our lives and that we are productive, fruitful and increased, in Jesus name.  Let every good thing devoured by the enemy be returned 40, 60 and 100 fold, now, in the name of Jesus. Let that which hinders us from the greatness and effectiveness which You have planned for us, begin to give way now, in the mighty name of Jesus. Let all imprisoned, misguided and misused potential begin to blossom, and come forth now, in the name of Jesus. We dismantle every assignment against the vision and that our children and their children’s children, to ten generations shall be saved, and their lives transformed.  We declare that the garments of reproach are removed, so that favor and honor may come. We declare that we shall no longer sow but not reap the harvest in the name of Jesus. We declare that we shall no longer reap but not enjoy the fruits of our labor, in the name of Jesus. 

We declare that we shall not be subject to the power of the emptier, in the mighty name of Jesus. We declare that we shall not be prey to the wasters and robbers of the harvest, in the name of Jesus. Lord, grant unto us the power to retain, maintain and safely deliver the harvest, in Jesus name. Let there come re-arrangement, re-organization and re-routing of situations and circumstances in order to create a path to miracles, in the name of Jesus. We bind, plunder and render to nothing every anti-testimony, anti-miracle and anti-harvest force, in the name of Jesus. We receive victory over all the plans of wickedness, and we declare that we are no longer the tail, but the head, no longer beneath, but above, for we take our rightful place as power changes hands in every area of our lives, and signs, wonders and miracles begin to abound. Lord, we receive your mandate and we petition the Lord of Harvest in the name of Jesus, and we thank You, Lord Jesus, for giving us the victory for your glory and honor, amen!!!

The Purpose Of Storms In Our Lives

So, since we’re talking about storms today, here’s a little storm humor to start out with......

A new pastor made his way to his rural church in the middle of a terrible storm on Sunday morning, arriving with only five minutes to spare, before service. He entered, turned on the lights, and took a look around. No one had come for service. An old farmer, wind blown from the storm, and wet from the rain, strolled in just as he was ready to turn everything off and go home.

The preacher said, “Hello, Joe. Nobody else appears to be able to make it. I don’t think there will be a service today.”

“Well, Reverend, I know I’m only an old farmer, but I can tell you this: if I take a load of hay out to the field to feed my cattle and only one cow comes up, I still feed it”.

Embarrassed, the pastor answered “Without a doubt. You are correct. I’m going to get ready.”

So the pastor began the service and, inspired by the farmer’s faith and dedication, he preached for an hour and a half.

After the service, the pastor approached the farmer and said, “So Joe… I hope you enjoyed today’s sermon.”

The old farmer looked at him, shook his head, and said, “Reverend, if I go out to feed the cattle and only one cow shows up, I still feed it, but I don’t give it the whole blessed load of hay.”

Well, get ready for the whole load, and hopefully we make it for lunch.

Our storm scripture is....Mark 4:35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Cross over to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.                                                                                                                                                                         

Did Jesus know this storm was coming? Absolutely. This storm was part of the day’s applied truth for the disciples. Jesus was going to use it to teach them some things about Himself and some things about themselves.

May the Lord bring His truth, home to our hearts, in a personal and penetrating way today, in Jesus Name....

Every person here has what I call “Storm theology.” Storm theology is what you believe about God when things seem to be going horribly wrong. Listen carefully..... storms penetrate the veneer and probe beneath the exterior of our lives and get to the heart of the matter.....

Storms in life have the ability to bring to the surface what’s really inside of you. 

Storms will reveal to you whether you live by fear or by faith? 

Storms will reveal to you if your heart is full of trust or doubt. 

The way we react to God during a storm reveals the truth about ourselves, whether we want it to or not.

Storms have a way of revealing the truth about you’re real motives. 

So, in those times when you follow Jesus, and you end up right in the heart of a storm, you learn some things about Jesus, some things about yourself, and some things about storm theology.           

Mark 4:35 begins with the words, “As Evening came”... so we know that it had been a full day of ministry.....

Jesus started the day in a religious storm, as He was confronted with some Pharisees (the religious leaders of the day) who said that He was possessed by Satan and that this is where He got His power to do all the miracles. They also accused Him of blasphemy which was punishable by death. This was intense stuff and an adrenaline pumping confrontation.

Then there was the storm of family tension, as Jesus’ brothers came to see him and try to take Him away because they thought He had lost his mind. They thought He was delusional, so Now you have the added strife with the family, as they questioned His credibility.

Then you have a storm called physical weariness and exhaustion. If Satan can’t get you to sin, he’ll try to just wear you out and wear you down.... It had been a long day, as Jesusand the disciples spent the day under the hot sun, and Jesus taught the crowds in parables and then He had to privately explain them to His disciples. He taught about the parable of the farmer scattering seed, the parable of the lamp, the parable of the seed cast into different soils, the parable of the mustard seed and a host of others. This continued throughout the day under the heat of the sun.

But now Jesus would give them a practical storm of testing, to see how much they had really learned as they get in the boat to cross over.                  

God’s Word is intended to produce faith and faith must always be tested. It’s not enough for us merely to learn a lesson or be able to repeat a teaching. We must also be able to apply that lesson by faith, and that is one reason why God uses “Storm Theology”...   

Rom. 10:17 faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Notice the words Jesus had used, as this all begins to unfold....Jesus said in verse 35, “Let’s cross to the other side”. Jesus told them He was staying behind, but He said “Let’s cross to the other side”.... 

He will never send you where He is not with you.....

On this side of the lake Jesus had performed miracles, confronted the Pharisees, taught about the Kingdom of God, the crowds are growing and everything is looking good. On this side, the disciples faith and trust in Jesus has been easy, exciting and fun, but on the way to the “other side” they are about to be tested.                                       Like it or not, there are storms on the way to the other side waiting for every true hearted believer... Just reading the many personal stories in scripture, it is safe to say that a storm is headed our way...

On the way to the “other side” of good health, there may besickness and disease. How will you respond? Your faith is going to be tested on the way to the “other side.”

On the way to the “other side” of the dream marriage may bea broken relationship. How will you respond on the way to your break through to the other side? Your faith is going to be tested as you move to the “other side.”                                                                                   On your way to the other side, of every need supplied, may be a time of insufficiency and lack. How will you respond? Your faithfulness is going to be tested on your way to the “other side”.

On your way to the “Other Side” of confidence and peace, youmay feel inadequate, intimidated, and fearful at the task before you. How will you respond on your way to the other side?

On your way to the “Other Side”, you may lose the job which you counted on for the future, and you’re feeling the financial pressure, and you wonder how you’ll be able to even give God His 10%, How will you respond as you pass through the storm to the other side”..

We are told that other boats started out with them, but they turned back before they reached the other side. They never made it through the storm. They lost sight of the Other side...

One moment you are doing fine and the next the bottom falls out. One phone call and you find yourself in the middle of a storm. 

One doctor’s visit and you are in a storm. One conversation and you are in a storm.

There is no way I can explain the specific reasons behind all the storms we will experience, or that we are now experiencing. Only God holds the answers to our questions and each situation is unique and has its own “Storm Theology.”                                                           However, we can learn from the storms that others have gone through. Understanding the purpose behind their storms will help us find a purpose in our own personal storms.

For Ezekiel, the other side was through a bone yard.....

Ezekiel 37:7 “So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise , and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. v8 And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 

v9 Then He said to me, "Prophesy breath (RO-USH spirit wind), into them. 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army”. 

There is one word that made all the difference….That word is Covenant! Even though all hope was gone, and the valley was filled with dead things....God saw the other side, and imparted that vision to Ezekiel.  

Friend, when you can’t stand on anything else, STAND ONGOD’S COVENANT FOR THE OTHER SIDE…. When faith is gone and hope is zero, STAND ON WHAT GOD SAID WASON THE OTHER SIDE… When it all looks dead and over, YOU CAN BELIEVE WHAT IS WAITING ON THE OTHER SIDE…. 

When Noah entered the ark, it was about WHAT WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FLOOD and that beautiful rainbow God put up in the sky was His covenant contract signature, that they would make it..

When Abraham had no children, he had covenant (scripture says his body and Sarah’s body were dead) yet he dared to believe that he would be the “father of many nations” and his descendants would find a city whose builder and maker was God ON THE OTHER SIDE….                                             

If you saw someone having a conversation with a skeleton, you might think he’s on drugs, drunk, or needs some time at the funny farm…. But God tells us to preach and prophesy to SKELETONS….. Some of you talk to your spouse, your kids, your co-worker, to your finances, your health, or to your situation in life, and it’s like talking to a skeleton!

Ezekiel was prophesying to folks who WERE DEAD…..THAT’S D….E…..A…..D!!!!! DEAD, Pushing up daisies, expired, done, over with!!!

Our Covenant mandate given us from God, is to Speak life into dead things. Speaking the God breathed word. What Ezekiel discovered is that … the word of God we speak and prophesy with, that we declare and decree with…contains the very “RO-ASH” or breath of God… That breath can do what you could never do…. I believe this dry bone valley is declaring to us that God delights in taking broken, poured out and used up things and demonstrating how He can take it, bless it and restore and resurrect it so that it is better than before ON THE OTHER SIDE!!. LORD DO IT AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN!!!

We can all be encouraged that Jesus clearly stated that THEY WERE GOING TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE, because He was the one who sent them to the other side.                                                                                             If He has predetermined an “Other Side” for each of us, then we can be confident, that no matter how intense or severe the storm, when we are under His authority and command, WE TOO WILL GET TO THE OTHER SIDE!

Hurricane Andrew, hit Homestead, Florida, 31 years ago, as a category 5. It was one of the most expensive such disasters in U.S. history. The killer storm left thousands of families, without homes. Nearly 85 percent of the town of 31,000 wasdestroyed. Homestead Air Force Base was wiped out. In total,Andrew destroyed more than 63,500 houses, and damaged more than 124,000 others, caused $27.3 billion in damage, and left 65 people dead, from Coral Gables to Homestead. Many of the survivors were asked the question: “How has this storm changed you life?” Almost without exception, each of them responded with a similar basic answer: “I have learned what is really important in life!”                                                                                      Storms have a way of clarifying what is important. They sift through all the clutter and debris in our lives and clarify our goals and priorities. Storms are designed to give us a new direction. The disciples’ storm came because they were trying to follow God with too little faith in God. You may remember that Jesus rebuked them for having such “little faith”.... In each case the storm came to activate personal faith.                                                                                   

Storms will activate our personal faith that has been tucked away for a more convenient season. People begin to turn to God when there is nothing else to turn to.

Jonah’s storm came because he was running away from God.                                             God told Jonah to go preach salvation to Nineveh, but Jonah didn’t think they deserved grace and mercy so he caught a ship to Tarshish. He had faith in judgment but not in grace. That’s like I’ll let Satan have this one, and I’ll choose God’s side later, If I happen to agree with God....Have you been in a storm, because you didn’t agree with God....

Jonah caught a ship to Tarshish to get away from God’s purpose for him. So his storm came to give him new directionand put him back on track...Just like He did for Jonah, God will send a storm to renew our sense of purpose and direction.

Storms can teach you about yourself. 

In one of the storms, the disciples encountered they cried out....“Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” That is a very revealing question....They asked, “Teacher, don’t you care…?” They called Jesus “teacher” not Lord. So their understanding of Him was not where it needed to be and instead of asking, “Lord, can you help us?” They questioned His love and concern for them. This is the temptation when we become afraid. Because we see the storm in our life as so large and powerful, and we see God as less than He is and we doubt His love and care for us. That’s like asking God if He is still God!!

That’s exactly what the devil wants you to do. Their fear blinded them to who Jesus really was, and needed to be to them. What will we exalt in the storm?                                                                                    SHOUT IT WITH ME.... “JESUS IS LORD”!! (Repeat it again)                                                

John 6:66-67 Tells us that at one point in Jesus’ ministry many of his disciples began turning their backs on Him—they walked away, and no longer followed him. Jesus turned to the inner core of His disciples, those twelve he had hand-picked to follow him, and said, “Will You leave me too?”.....

I don’t want Jesus to ever wonder if I’m going to stay with Him....       I don’t want Jesus, after watching my actions, or hearing how I talk, and how I think, to wonder if I’m going to stay true...                                          I want to have Him turn to the Father, and say what He said about Job, “He will never deny me”... Or about David, “He’s a man after my own heart”... Or about Abraham, “I can trust Him with generations yet to come”.... I want Jesus to brag on me, no matter what people say.....                                                                                                

Mark 9:23-24 A father was facing a demonic storm, and brought his demon possessed son to Jesus inquiring if Jesus could cast the demon out. The father pleaded with Jesus, requesting Jesus to have pity on them and cast out the demon if He could. Jesus said, “’Everything is possible for him who believes.’ Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’.

When the storms begin to blow in...How do you respond, when Satan is telling you, “What difference does it make, serving and following Jesus faithfully”. “Where has it gotten you.”  Or “Think about yourself, your needs, your enjoyment, do it your way”....

Notice Peter’s answer: John 6:68 "Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God”.

HE STILL SPEAKS TO STORMS!

Don’t let the storm cause you to end up like the five foolish maids in Matthew 25:1 five of them, allowed the cares of life to catch them unprepared, they lived only for this life and not for eternity, but five of them stayed prayed up, they kept their testimony effective, they lived the life, they talked the walk and they walked the talk... 

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. v2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. v3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, v4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. v5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

v6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ v7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. v8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 

v9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ v10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut”.

When the storms of life come upon you, where do you turn? Do you turn to Jesus, or do you jump overboard. Do you seek to deepen your faith in God, or do you run from God? Your past is not your past if it’s still showing up in your present, and you will never run fast enough to run from yourself....

It’s a humbling experience to turn to God and say, “God I’m not sure about what you’re needing to work in me, but I need some relief—rescue me, save me, get me to the place you need me to be.” 

If you’re hearing from the master at all, then you’re trying to get to the promise, the vision, the goal or destination, that He put in your heart. But you need to know that you’re going to have to go through some things to get to some things.....and know that your blessing is still waiting if you push through to the “other side”....                                            The other side that He promised is waiting as you move through this storm....

Have you walked on water lately?.. Maybe it’s because His voice has been drowned out, and you can’t hear his words, because you’ve let the storm have a voice in your Spirit...

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me”.

Sometimes the storm comes to blow open and expose the secrets we’ve been hiding in the closet of denial.....It’s not the past if it’s still showing up in your present....

The anointing can’t rest on what you’re hiding. The blessing cannot rest on what you’re running from. The Holy Spirit already knows all our secrets... If you’re praying for power in your life, start with your closet...You cannot be spiritually mature or emotionally healthy, if your past secrets are still showing up in your present reality....What an incredible release comes, when the weight of all the secrets is gone...Lay it all down, and if you think you have... then why does it keep showing up, and cycling through your life....

Listen to Him speak now what He spoke to the disciples in the storm.....

Matthew 14:27 “Be of good courage, it is I, be not afraid”.

What does that look like?....Jesus had just fed up to 20,000 people with a “Happy Meal”.... but that didn’t cause them to fall down and worship...But when He stilled the storm, they all fell down and worshiped Him... The storm caused them to worship Him...            What if He’s looking for your worship in the storm?.... Just to get on your face before Him, and recognize that you are nothing without Him, and with Him, you have everything....

Our courage comes from the unchanging Lord and master, who said He would be the same yesterday, today and forever. Everything else may be changing, but He remains faithful, and His word is ever the same....Hallelujah, He’s there in our storms....to give us courage...

I am often reminded of the plaque hanging at the foot of my bed, which glowed in the dark. Hanging there on the wall, it’smessage, comforted me and gave me courage in the storms of my life... It said, “Forget not in the storm, what God has promised when the sun was shining”....

We become our choices, we are the decisions we make.

And if you can tune out the storm, you will hear what Peter heard, before he walked on the water.....He said Jesus is that you.... And Jesus replied with one word that sums up the entire New Testament, “COME”..... You that are weary, “COME”.... You that are afraid, “COME” .....You that are lost, “Come”.... I am here in your storm.... Before You called, I answered, Before you cried out, I heard you... 

When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person that walked in. That’s what the storm is all about. You will see Jesus differently and you will see yourself differently.

There are some things you can only learn in a storm. So learn them.

Not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear a path. Some storms help you to see some things more clearly.

You are either headed into a storm, in the middle of a storm, or you are coming out of one. Learn from your storms. God is teaching you something about Himself, about yourself, and about the storms of life. You have been given a “Storm Theology”, let’s refine it, improve it, and apply it. See the storms of life as an opportunity for God to display who He isand what He can do in your life.

I want you to close your eyes and see Jesus walking toward you in the storm of your life.... whatever that may look like... I want you to hear Him say... “COME”.... 

(Lyrics) Oh, come unto me, I will give your rest, cast your cares upon me, hear me and be blessed. I am meek and lowly, come and trust My might; Come, My yoke is easy, and My burden’s light.

I open this message with a little story I came across....

A truck loaded with thousands of copies of paper back dictionariescrashed, losing its entire load in the street. Witnesses gathered and were stunned, startled, shocked, surprised, awed, dumbfounded, flabbergasted, astounded, amazed, astonished, overwhelmed, speechless, perplexed, aghast, wide-eyed and awestruck. Meanwhile, those waiting to receive the shipment of dictionaries were at a total loss for words.

Sometimes that’s what I feel when a scripture just comes alive and on fire within my spirit! I want to begin with one of those scriptures....thathad me stunned, awed, astounded, amazed, wide-eyed and awestruck..... 

Romans 11:17 (New Living Bible) “But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—the lineage of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, (non-Jews) who were branches from a wild olive tree, (outside the covenant) have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing (miracles, signs and wonders) God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment and provision from the root of God’s special (covenant) olive tree”.

My message today is titled “Grafted Into The Branch”....                                       We are by nature the product of a wild vineplanted by the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, which produces bitter and sour grapes. We are by nature, sinners, who cannot please God. But the good news is that...

Jeremiah 23:5 tells us...“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, 'that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth'"                                                                                                               When we received Christ, the Holy Spirit cut us off from the wild branch of Adam and grafted us into the true branch, Jesus Christ.    As long as we are joined to Jesus Christ, we will receive of His life.                                Just like the root of the tree sends out all that is needed into its branches, so Christ Jesus sends all that is needed, flowing from Himself and into us. But, just as when you cut a branch off of the   main trunk, it shrivels up and dies unless it remains grafted in.Just the same way, we would wither and lose our eternal lifesource, if we were separated from Christ. Our blessingswould wither and fall off. Our flowers which are the promise of things to come, and the fruit which is the product of our divine connection, would fall off.                                                                     John 15:5 “I am the vine (the source) you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit, but apart from me you can do nothing”.

What’s so powerful to me, is that we are being told here, that the life, the resources, and full provision of the vine, now flows into whatever is grafted into it.... Wow!! Wow!! Wow!!

Jesus is wholeness.... that same wholeness now flows into all who are grafted into Him, through salvation.... Jesus is righteousness and Holiness....and now His righteousness and Holiness flows into all who are grafted into Him, through salvation.... No sin or anything of the Devil could be found in Him, and now that very same spirit, flows into all who are grafted into Him, through salvation....

Romans 8:11 “If the same Spirit (divine life force) that raised Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, He shall quicken (dzo-op-oy-eh'-o... re-animate, restore, energize, re-vitalize, and empower) our mortal bodies also”

In the natural realm, You cannot ingraft, outside of a species or biological family..... for example, apples must be grafted to apple trees, Oranges to citrus trees, peaches to peach trees.....You can’t graft mangoes to Avocado and get a “man-acado”.... melons must stay with melons, citrus to citrus, apples to apples...etc. 

But in the spiritual realm, you can have every type of race, gender, ethnicity, genetics, personalities, talents or intellect all grafted into one spiritual family, called Christian, with its many expressions, and manifestations, yet with one common source which is Christ. Amazingly, that common denominator, over-rides and brings together, all the things that make us different, and makes us one spiritual family....flowing from a common spiritual source.

Romans 12:3 “For through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body (grafted) in Christ, and individually parts of one another.                                                                                                                             6 However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor, 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, and practicing hospitality”.

No matter what your race, culture, or other factors, it is said that we all bleed red! But in Christ, it goes beyond that and we all share one common Spirit, one common faith, one common family....

Turn to someone and tell them, “Wow, we all resemble our daddy”...

Now tell them,....”How can I help you?” (that’s what hospitality sounds like)... “How can I help you?”

Notice that with the ingrafting process, we are grafted into all the promises that have been made to others who came before us....

Romans 11:16 If the dough offered as firstfruits (the shew bread in the holy place) is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root of the tree is holy, so are (the ingrafted) branches.

The shew bread, in the temple, was made according to the instructions given unto Moses, in order that it could be placed in the temple, and be worthy of representing Christ, the bread of life, from which the lumps, (that is us), could be taken.... The oil in the tree with branches, represented the Menorah, which was the symbol of Christ with all the branches that are grafted in, as the oil flows from the main trunk into all of us....

Galatians 3:26 For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized (grafted into)Christ are now in Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one, as you are (grafted) into Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the (ingrafted) promise”.

Before Abraham, there was Christ. Christ was the word made flesh. He was forever and always is, the promise made flesh. That promise came into the world, to offer all people of earth the opportunity to be grafted into the God life, and all the resources that come with it, as we remain grafted into Him. 

Galatians 3: 14 “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the (ingrafted) Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith”.

The promise of the Spirit, is the fruit of the Spirit, and the Gifts of the Spirit, and the offices of the Spirit, and ministry in the Spirit....          John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes (is grafted) in me, and will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father”.

Why, because we know it is not us, but it is the life of God that flows in and through us that is the source. We are just the branch of the Menorah that the divine oil of the spirit is flowing through. If we could really get a hold of this, it would shake our world!!

The disciples were amazed as they returned with this testimony....

Luke 10:10 “After this the Lord appointed and sent seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few...... 16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” 17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

What happened to these 72 folks who had never experienced any of these things before.... They were grafted in by faith in Jesus....and the source of power and authority, began to flow through them...

When I was in Lothian Maryland, we had a fellow who was a millionaire, who would attend our church there. Bill didn’t like to dress up, and loved spending time in his shop. So I would drop by, to just sit and chat. He always had coffee on, and would grab an old stained, unwashed, chipped cup, and fill it with coffee. He never washed them, just swished some water in it. He would always say, “the coffee is great, just don’t judge it by the cup!” I said some extra prayers as I drank it, and hey, I’m still alive!!

That statement stayed with me all these years....Sometimes we get so caught up with the appearance of the cup, that we can’t enjoy the coffee.... We can get so focused on appearances that we don’t let the oil flow.... or we can get so caught up with people’s past, that we don’t let the ingrafting process work... Everyone has some chips and stains and places that are pretty worn out....But if we stay grafted in, something transformative and supernatural will happen!

Lucy, Charlie brown, Linas, and the gang were playing baseball. Lucy ended up in the outfield. Charlie Brown pitched the ball and Linas made a solid hit. The ball was headed straight for Lucy, and she got underneath it, but as it came down, she missed it. When Charlie Brown, asked what happened. She said, well, I started remembering all the times I had fumbled the ball, let it bounce out of my glove, or just totally missed it, and I let my past get in my eyes.....

Satan loves to do that, but I want you to know... God knew what He was doing when He chose you, and He never makes a mistake....

If He grafted you in, then His life, His power, His resources are now flowing through your life, your situation, and your outcomes....

Listen to who you are as you’re grafted into Christ....

Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being”

The YOU before Christ, is not the same YOU, THAT’S GRAFTED INTO CHRIST!

2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (say that’s mine)                                                                                In Christ Jesus you have become a new creation and an expression of God.

Ephesians 2:6 “God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. (say that’s mine)                                                                                 

2 Corinthians 1:20 “All the promises of God find their full expressionin Christ” God’s yes and amen, now finds expression in you.... (saythat’s mine)                                                                                

Philippians 4:19 “My God will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus”. (say that’s mine)                                                                                 

Philippians 4:7 “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. (say that’s mine) 

The roots determine the fruit.... Notice something important here... it is no longer the roots of your past, the roots of your present situation, or the roots of what you or anyone else thinks about you... All that now happens is not about your past roots of insufficiency, insecurity, fear, or past failure....it is now about being grafted into Your new source, which is Christ.... 

A divine exchange has taken place.... “Not I, but Christ in me, the hope of glory!!!!

When God now looks at you now, He looks for Christ in you....

You are loved because of Christ in you now.... He is crazy about you,                            You can love others, because Jesus now loves them through you...

You are chosen because of Christ in you now....

You are forgiven because of Christ in you now...

You are blessed because of Christ in you now... so be a blessing! You can put up with other folks, and give them mercy and grace, because of Christ in you now....

If these things are not happening..... start with repentance that you have allowed Satan’s lie to creep in.... repent that you have allowed, fear, doubt, self love, and unbelief to find a place....

Then invite all that Christ said you are back into your life, and determine not just to do that, but to be that....                                              1 Peter 2:9 “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special (ingrafted) possession, that you may show forth the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” 

We’re not really talking about anything new here.....

We are actually becoming who we already are in Christ....                               But if we don’t grasp that, we can’t become that!

How many times are we told what to do, in order to become... But the truth is, we need to identify and embrace our true identity in Christ, and then what we need to do, will flow out of that.... 

Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed because they have no knowledge”…

A certain hog farmer refused to have anything to do with the church because of some hypocrites who belonged to it. He always referred to two or three of the attenders when he critized the church and it’s pastor..

One day the pastor of the church came by to buy a hog from him. After looking over the farmer's entire herd, the pastor pointed to a scrawny, sickly, ugly little runt and said, "I want that one."

The farmer tried to change his mind , "Why, Preacher, you don't want that one. He's the scrawniest runt I ever saw. Look, here are some fine hogs over here." "No, no, no," said the preacher, "I want that little scrawny one."

After the purchase was completed, the pastor said, "Now I am takingthis pig all over the county and telling everyone that this is the kind of hogs you raise!"

"Hey wait a minute, Preacher, that's not fair," the farmer protested. "I raise fine hogs. An occasional runt isn’t a true reflection of my whole herd."

"Well, sir, I’m only following your example of condemning a whole church because of the spiritually stunted Christianity, of a few of its attenders,"                         The farmer got the point and eventually attended the church!

Don’t be a stunted Christian, because you don’t know who you are in Christ! Stop identifying yourself by your faults, and failures....                                                                                                                  Our identity in Christ is one of those critical truths that, if we grasp it early in our Christian life, it will resolve all kinds of problems and issues later on. God tells us that we are already his, secure in Christ, and that having set us free from the power of sin, he is utterly committed to transforming us into the likeness of Jesus. 

Become what you already are in Christ....                                                   We are not going to be delivered, we are the delivered!  Scripture says... “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His dear Son”,                                                                                                                    We are not going to be set free, we are free.... scripture says “Whom the son sets free (present tense) is free indeed”....                                                                  Our needs are not going to be supplied... scripture says “Thanks be unto God who supplies (present tense) all my needs according to (not out of) His riches in Glory”.... 

We are not going to be healed, we have already been healed.... scripture says, “by His stripes, we WERE already healed” 

We are not without direction and guidance... scripture says....My steps are ordered of the Lord”. “For He knows the way that I take”....

Begin today believing God has already done it.                                                 When Jesus died on the cross, He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father. (Ephesians 1:20) You don’t have to wait for God to do something, He is waiting on you to do something. It is time to believe Him and follow Him. Know His Word, Listen to Him, and Obey Him. YOU HAVE IT!You have been grafted into the source of every blessing....                                                                              

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things”(Can someone say “All Things”?)

What does “all things” mean for you?

I want to close with some scripture about all things....Guesswhat “All Things” means....it means all things!                                                                                 Ephesians 4:6 “There is One God and Father of all, who is over all things and through all things and in all things”.                                                                                                                               Colossians 1:16 “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for Him”.                                                                                                                       1 Corinthians 8:6 “For there is one Lord, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.. One Lord, Jesus Christ, for through Him are all things and through Him we exist”.

Closing Prayer.....”Lord Jesus, In this moment You have brought me to, I let go of all thoughts and concerns that have filled up my mind. As I let go, I am able to receive. When my hands are formed into tight fists, I cannot open my hands to receive anything. When I hang onto control, and I close off my heart and my spirit, I cannot receive the blessings You have for me. In letting go, I receive your loving presence around me and within me. When I am feeling overwhelmed, I let go, so that I may receive your peace. When I feel afraid, I let go, so that I may receive love and courage. I let go of problems and challenges in order to receive your guidance and clarity. Lord, I let go because I trust you. You will hold me up, and carry me forth to where I need to be. I let go and trust in the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, inside of me. Help me to cease my struggle and surrender to You. I gladly receive the freedom, and release of letting you lead me and guide me. When I am weak, You make me strong, when I am confused, you are my way, when I am insufficient, You are my sufficiency. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, my fortress, my deliverer, my provider, my ever faithful one, my God, in whom I trust. In Jesus name.