Exposing Satan’s Plans Against You Part 3
Exposing Satan’s Plans Against You
Part 3
Review:
WE know between Gen. 1:1 God created and Gen. 1:2 “earth was without form and void (wasteland) - a lot of time must have elapsed.
We know that Satan and his followers were cast down out of heaven to the earth and their presence is what made the earth formless and void.
God created man in His image and in a special place on the earth that God created for him called the garden of Eden. This garden was the ultimate expression of beauty and peace.
Outside the garden was so different. It was without order and and the blessing contained in Eden. God placed man in the Garden with a mission.
When you are in submission to God’s mission, you become commissioned for the GREAT COMMISION.
“Be FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY; (replenish) FILL THE EARTH and SUBDUE it.” Gen.1:28
4 THINGS identify their commission:
Be fruitful - productive. Ill Jesus’ only destructive miracle was cursing a fig tree for not having any fruit. Even though it was the time of year the figs would not have been ripe, He at least expected the fruit to exist and be forming.
“If a man abides in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” Jn 15.
Multiply – they were to have children and extend the boundaries of the garden. Because they had delegated authority they could extend Eden to cover the earth.
Fill the earth – reveals God’s target was all of earth. You can only imagine the earth had Adam and Eve not sinned!
Subdue it – Outside the Garden was chaos and under the influence of Satan and his demons. For this reason, a military term is used to describe their assignment. In a sense they were born for war that would bring the earth under their control in submission to God.
The reason they needed to subdue the earth was because it was under the influence of the powers of darkness. God could have destroyed the devil Himself, however He chose to defeat darkness through His delegated authority, made in His image, who were lovers of God by choice.
Ill. We see this similar thing with Israel. God gave them the Promise land – basically it is yours, I’ve given it to you. There are squatters there who think it is their land. They will resist you but don’t fear I am with you. I am going to give the land to you little by little, so that you can handle it.
This too was a huge assignment just like the assignment given to Adam and Eve. The original plan has never been aborted. It has been fully realized in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. He said,
“All authority has been given Me in heaven and earth. God therefore. . .” Mathew 28:18
Jesus fulfilled His promise to the disciples when He said,
“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Mtt. 16:19
Kingdom means King’s domain.
Their authority depended upon their relationship with God. As long as they were under God’s authority they had His delegated authority!
When you are in submission to THE mission, then you become commissioned FOR THE GREAT COMMISION.
Ill. Remember the Roman soldier who asks Jesus to come and heal his servant? Jesus agreed to go with him. Then the soldier said, “Lord it is not necessary for you to come to my house. I know how this thing works because I myself am a man under authority, and I have soldiers under authority to me. I say to one go and he does what I say.” Jesus replied I have not seen great faith like this in all of Israel. “Go they way, as you have believed so be it unto you.” The servant was healed that very hour.
Because the Roman soldier recognized and honored Jesus’ authority and he knew how authority worked, he knew all Jesus had to say was a word – and it would be done. Just give the word and You don’t have to go to my house – just give the command!
THE FALL
Satan didn’t just force his way into the garden and take possession of Adam and Eve! He couldn’t because he had no dominion or authority over them. Man was given authority and power to take dominion over the earth. He would have to deceive Adam and Even some way to get to their authority.
He walked upright and talked their language in the form of a serpent, not like a snake. He talked and seemed to make sense about eating forbidden fruit.
He has to get them to agree with him against God.
When we agree with the devil we empower him.
Paul wrote “You are slaves to the one whom you obey.” Rom. 6:16
With that one act man fell from ruler over the planet to a slave and possession of satan. Satan is still after God’s throne.
4000 years later Satan tempts Jesus (2nd Adam) in a similar way. Listen to what he says to Jesus.
“All this authority I will give to You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I will give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
Luke 4:6
Satan is saying, “I know what You came for Jesus. You want to get back the authority over the earth that Your boy surrendered to me. Just worship me and I’ll give it back to You!”
Why would Satan want Jesus to bow to Him? To get God’s throne.
God declared to Satan way back in the garden of Eden on the day man fell due to sin. “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise your head, and thou shalt bruise His heal.” Gen. 3:15
Satan did not understand what God was going to do in declaring that He will use the woman’s seed to give him a mortal head wound to kill him.
“Seed of the woman?” - mystery, hidden wisdom.
Satan thinks it must be Cain and Abel so he causes strife.
Satan listens to prophecy and gets clues. Abraham was prophesied to by God that his seed would be slaves in a foreign land for 480 years. When that time comes he knows a deliverer would be born. He inspired Pharaoh the thought to kill all Hebrew male children 2 and under.
Moses was born and hid and protected by God.
4000 years later Satan knows a deliverer is coming from prophecies. He does not know anymore about the future than you or I do from prophecy. So at the time he believes a king will be born king of the Jews, he gives Herod the same idea – kill all the Hebrew males 2 and under so that will eliminate a take over by the Jews of your kingdom.
Satan is not omniscient but he watches and makes an educated guess. Many make the mistake that Satan is the opposite of God. No he is a created being and is in no comparison to God. “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.”
Back in the garden of Eden, Satan denied God’s Word in front of Adam and Eve. “You shall not surely die!” They bought his lie and chose to obey the devil instead of God and ate what God said not to. When they made that choice – they changed masters. The Word of God says,
“Know ye not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey?” Rom. 6:16
Trials are designed to help us determine who we trust, who our master will be. Are we going to trust God when disappointments come, when loss comes, when criticism comes, or worse when betrayal comes?
God chose the redeem man with a man.
Think about it like this. An innocent lamb’s blood could not equal a human’s blood, man, the highest creature made by God.
All a lamb’s blood can do is provide a temporary covering over man’s sin but it cannot remove it.
“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.” Heb. 10:4
Atonement = covering
Yom Kippur – a yearly sacrifice
It would have to be man’s blood to pay for man’s sin. There is no other way!
God Himself stepped down from glory to earth as a man.
Phil 2 tells us He emptied Himself of His rights as God and took upon Himself the limitations of man. While Jesus never stopped being God, He did take on human flesh to complete the assignment that man failed to finish.
Satan was defeated by a Man – the Son of Man = God the Son
Son of Man – term used by Jesus describing His humanity.
Son of God – used to describe His divinity.
Jesus defeated Satan by living a sinless life and with His sinless death He made an overpayment for the wages of sin forever!
His resurrection has conquered everything including death, hell and the grave! As we join our life to His and accept His sacrifice as ours we now enjoy His victory over the enemy.
Our focus must not be on our unworthiness but His worth.
Not our unfaithfulness but His faithfulness. Not our inability but His ability.
Our identity begins with a revelation of Him not us. When we see what He has done on our behalf we begin to see our great worth.
Concl:
God took a great risk in giving us free will and choice of whether to serve Him or ignore Him.
Our freedom of choice is so valuable to God that He actually has to restrain Himself from manifesting His Presence in a way where our freedom of choice would be removed!
There is coming a day when God will reveal Himself in fullness and even then the devil and demons will bow the knee and declare He is Lord.
For now, God has chosen to veil Himself to see who will voluntarily worship Him. So the question is, “Do you want to volunteer to submit yourself to Him now while He is invisible?
PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Heavenly Father,
I bow and submit my life into Your hands. Please take the remainder of my life on earth, and use it to make a difference in this world. Help me see that there is more freedom in Your kingdom, than outside it. There is more freedom under Your rule, than in doing as I please.
Your kingdom operates different than the world. In Your kingdom we rise by going low, we receive by giving, and we live by dying to ourselves. May Your kingdom come and destroy the kingdom of darkness through my life and service to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Know God’s Person, Plan, and Power
Know God’s Person, Plan, and Power
Ephesians 1:16-23
Intro: Paul as spiritual father prays this for the church. It has 3 main parts.
I pray that God may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of HIM. Vs 17
Pray that we will know God’s person – personal experience. Intimacy as face to face, eye to eye.
I pray that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know the hope of His calling for you. Vs18
Pray for our eyes to see the hope of God’s plans for us.
Adversity and affliction come from the enemy who opposes you finding the hope, plans God has for you.
There is no spiritual progress without spiritual opposition.
Hope is an anchor to the soul. Hope is not wishful thinking but confident expectation of good. Whenever anyone loses hope it is because they believe a lie from the enemy.
Even when you have made a mess of your life, if you repent and turn back to God there is hope.
Some trials God has actually ordained that you walk through in order to learn to trust Him. Disappointment, loss, criticism, betrayal.
3. Pray that you know by experience the surpassing greatness of God’s power towards us.
Summarized this prayer for us to personally know:
Know God’s Person
Know God’s Plan
Know God’s Power
You have heard two other messages from Eph. 1 prayer about knowing God’s Person and about knowing God’s plan. Today is about knowing God’s power.
What comes to mind when we think of God’s power towards us is maybe healing the sick, raising the dead, or casting out demons and that is part of the reason He gives us power, to do the works of Jesus.
Ill. Disciples came back from mission trip excited over the power of God they discovered they had. His instructions were vague. Go and don’t carry any money, extra shoes, and don’t stop to visit with anyone along the way. “Whatever house you enter say ‘Peace to this house’ meaning [Freedom from all the distress that result from sin be with this family]. If they receive your peace, then your peace will rest upon them. Heal the sick and say to them the kingdom of God has come near you.
The seventy returned with joy saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” Jesus said, “I saw it as Satan falling like a lightning flash from heaven. Behold I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy. Verse 21 Then Jesus rejoiced greatly in the HS. Wonder what that looked like?
Nevertheless, don’t rejoice that demons are subjected to you, but rejoice that your names are enrolled in heaven.
He is saying don’t rejoice in your accomplishments for God, but rather rejoice in what God has done for you! This discourages pride as in Jeremiah 9:23-24, I Cor.1:26-29, 2 Cor. 10:17.
We have a tendency for pride whenever we operate in the power God gives us to see a miracle. Somehow to our flesh this becomes a badge of approval from God at least in our minds. We think it validates us. We are given gifts not because we earn them or have even proved that we can handle them. It is the sovereign decision of God to give gifts to whomever He chooses.
God has a different idea for us to experience power. He wants us to experience the same power that raised Jesus EVEN from the dead.
It’s interesting that when Paul describes this power God he uses the resurrection of Jesus from the DEAD.
Notice what he did not say. He did not say the surpassing greatness of His power towards us that made the blind to see, or that fed 5000, cleanse the lepers, or that made a gold coin show up in a fishes’ mouth to pay taxes, or that made a lame man walk, or anything else where Christ’s power was manifest.
Instead he focuses on Jesus’ resurrection from the worst thing that could ever happen to Him.
Death for Jesus was not just taking a nap for 3 days in a tomb. It was God the Son being separated from God the Father. It was taking on the sin of the whole world, all the world’s sickness at one moment in time and having it piled on Jesus all the sin, sickness, and evil and corruption in the world in one moment in time. This was Trinity’s worst nightmare but all knew it had to be done. It was the only way to rescue mankind from the justice of God that would mean eternal separation from God in hell.
Pic of Christ under the weight of the cross. https://www.google.com/search?biw=1440&bih=803&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=_l-hWtWlI47BzgK056SIAw&q=Jesus+crushed+under+the+weight+of+the+cross&oq=Jesus+crushed+under+the+weight+of+the+cross&gs_l=psy-ab.12...9970.13731.0.15653.16.15.1.0.0.0.113.1452.2j12.14.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.0.0....0.I3e3RPvL-F4#imgrc=_JDG3pdsLJeAtM:
The point is this; this same power that brought Jesus and Father through the worst nightmare of history- lives in us for the same reason.
When your worst nightmare shows up in your life you already have the power of God that overcame His worst nightmare, living in you enabling you to have His victory in your trial or adversity.
Jesus did not escape the cross – He “for the joy (of obtaining the prize) set before Him endured the cross, despising or ignoring the shame, and is now seated . . .” Heb. 12:2
That same verse is telling us how Jesus was able to humanly endure all that He did and at the same time telling us how we can endure our own crucifixion and shame.
“Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith . . .” Heb. 12:2 Amp.
In the KOG pain has a purpose. God may allow adversity to shape you ands strengthen you like a trainer puts weight on you to build strength.
God sent a lion, then a bear to David. When David conquered them then his confidence in God grew. He became stronger out of adversity that he went through. When the lion came at him and he conquered it – then he grew in lion strength. When the bear came he grew in bear strength. All this prepared him for Goliath.
Whatever adversaries we face and conquer, we then take from them their strength and it becomes ours. The spoils of war are the strength with which the enemy comes against us, and now their strength becomes our increased or added strength.
This is a radical way to look at trials and troubles in your life. This is why James wrote “Consider it all joy my brethren, when all kinds of trials and troubles come your way.” I have yet to find many people who get excited about a trial they are going through! This requires a whole different perspective and mind change.
Warning: whatever is overcoming you is taking your strength and making it stronger to continue to overcome you later.
“Whatever overpowers you enslaves you.” 2 Peter 2:19 CEB
Most of our prayers are about our comfort. God is not all that interested in our comfort, but He is interested in Conforming us to the image of His Son.
To know the hope of His calling is maintaining confident expectation in God, so that I can remain in a place of trust when disappointments come, when loss comes, when criticism come, or worst betrayal come.
We have resurrection power in us for this reason! In fact, we may not discover resurrection power until we experience the fellowship of His sufferings. Most breakthroughs do not happen until we have to come to the end of ourselves. This can be hard but necessary so that like Paul who learned and we must learn,
That the power may be of God, and not ourselves. 2 Cor. 4:7
What’s the goal of life? Paul said,
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death. Phil. 3:10
Both King David and Paul set good examples of us of how to handle trials and suffering you don’t understand.
David had his world falling apart and living in the wilderness hiding for his life from King Saul and now even the men who were broke, busted and disgusted that he had raised up. His mighty men of David. These guys turned against him and he is totally alone in the wilderness. There he “strengthened himself in the Lord.” How we don’t know. But he did write many psalms in this time. One of them is
Psalm 42, 43 where he is very depressed. He says,
“I shall again (still) praise Him.”
“Praise” in Hebrew = Yada – to throw a spear and is described as thrusting hands upward making a prophetic sign of breakthrough.
I am not going to stay depressed, disappointed. Instead I am going to press through into Your heavenly atmosphere.
What you dwell on, you dwell in.
Concl:
First I need to speak to the bride of Christ here today and listening on podcast. You like Queen Esther are here on planet earth for such a time in history as this. God’s plans for your life are for this time in the earth.
Has it ever occurred to you that our job on earth is to prove the will of God? To show other people what He is like. We are to cause unbelievers to be provoked to jealousy so that they want the same relationship with God that we have.
We have supernatural power residing in us. We don’t have the right to say that “we are only human”. Paul rebuked the church for behaving like “mere men” I Cor. 3.
The gates of hell are located in our minds anytime we agree with the enemy. I empower him and surrender my strength to him when I agree with him about anything instead of agreeing with God. I empower demonic forces and become a gate through which the enemy can steal, kill, destroy in my life and in others.
We must change the way we think because God is greater than this.
Ill. Years ago in this church on a Sunday morning service I was beginning to preach then a wave of God’s glory swept over me unlike anything I have ever known. Immediately I began to weep and could hardly catch my breath. All I could say is, “We are not ready, we are not ready! He is coming and we are not ready!” I wept the whole service. I was undone.
I was reminded of this the other day. I wondered since then are we anymore ready?
Last week, I mentioned the parable of the 10 virgins. Five ran out of oil of intimacy and missed the feast of the marriage supper. They had to go buy oil – it costs you something. You exchange your time, energy, life for it. This represents your passion/hunger for God and the things of God.
There seems to be a difference between the church and the bride of Christ.
Ill. If you have ever been around a bride to be. You can talk to her about the super bowl, but she is not interested in that. You can talk to her about politics but again she has no interest in it. She is preoccupied with her wedding plans and being ready for the Bridegroom. She has no interests in worldly things. All that is on her mind is my wedding day is coming. I don’t see that mind set in many in the church.
I guess you have to decide do you want to be a church or the bride of Christ? You may need to stop some things, or get rid of some things and downsize your complicated life to keep it simple and focused on your real purpose. I suggest you come to the altar and make some sacrifices that you know He is asking you to give up.
After all your purpose in life can be summed up to 3 things.
Know Him personally.
Know His plan.
Know His power.
An “Open Contract” with God
An “Open Contract” with God
Ephesians 1:16-23
Intro: I hope to convince you to say yes to God today before you even know what He wants you to do or any details.
If you won’t and try to play it safe you may miss the adventure of a lifetime! For example: Russ (here last week) in 2015 I was given opportunity to go to Israel. I believe a man was to travel with me. I prayed and ask and then during soaking one night here at GT HS had me ask Russ. Will you go to Israel? Ask God. He did and said HS told him yes to commit but he did not have finances. All we had was God said to say yes. Next finances came. There in Israel God spoke to Russ that he would be back and spend a year! How? Financially? Job?
Came home and he kept working on how for a year. Eventually arranged to leave his work and use what money he had even through he did not have enough for a year in Israel. One snag after another and today he is involved working with a solid ministry and the bonus is he got the wife of his dreams. All this because He said yes without knowing the details of how he would be able to do it.
We did similar thing in packing up and going to Bible College. Not enough money – just a yes to God’s strange call w/o understanding.
At end of this message I hope you will say yes to God before you know what He is asking you to do. If you don’t say yes now you may miss the adventure or a lifetime.
Ephesians is a letter written by Paul to a church in a city of Ephesus. In it he is explaining how we “In Christ” people are to rule with Christ in the Kingdom of God. Watchman Nee book “Sit, walk, stand”.
Sit with Christ– place of resting in identity with Christ’s accomplishments. Walk in Christ is the daily application, and standing in Christ is the maturity of dealing with all kind of spiritual opposition.
Paul started this church and as a church father prays for them like they were his children. In fact, two of his prayers are in Ephesians that reveal the Father heart of God for His children.
Eph. 1:16-19 KJV.
This prayer request is that we God’s people would realize, grasp, understand, and utilize some things God has already given us. What are they?
1. That God would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in deep intimate knowledge of Him.
2. That we understand the hope God is calling us to; that is the rich inheritance He has for us.
3. That we might know His unlimited great power in and for us as demonstrated by Christ’s resurrection.
Life here on earth is all about us getting to know Him (God). Not just about Him but firsthand experience in knowing Him yourself.
You can spend your whole life chasing career, money, the good life. But at some point you will have to face the reality that all those good things you have will never fill the place that the Creator designed in your heart for Him.
Once you’ve tasted the Lord then you are forever ruined for the ordinary life. Life without God is meaningless! What’s the point? The creature was created by the Creator and Paul’s first part of this prayer is that we might know God intimately.
“And this is Eternal Life, that we might know You, the only true and real God, and likewise to know Jesus Christ as the Messiah, Whom You sent. . . that we might have Jesus’ joy and gladness filling our hearts.” John 17:3, 13, 23 KJV/Amp
The relationship between the Father and the Son is most amazing. There is no competition, no stair step down like Father, Son, then HS.
This kind of relationship does not just happen because you show up. It comes to those with hunger who say, “there’s got to be more than this.” He put an on going hunger for more of Him in you.
You have to make time for love making with God. If you wait till the end of your day to spend time with God, you will be too tired for love making. The problem is we get distracted with other things. We have an Americanized Xnty that is lukewarm at best. We think a Christian is anyone who believes in Jesus. Do we really know Him? This is our primary purpose in life!
The devil knows the Bible better than most Xns. Other people may know the Bible better than you. Does that mean they are closer to god than you? No. You should know the author of the Bible because He is your ABBA and you’re His son. Passion will drive you to do things others won’t do.
1. Pray for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in deep intimate knowledge of Him.
Be careful what you ask for! He will see to this.
This sets the stage for everything else in your life. Jesus is not just an addition to your life – He is your Life = oneness with Him.
2. Pray that we understand the hope God is calling us to; that is the rich inheritance He has for us.
God’s hopes are hidden or else it could not be hope. Hope that is seen is not hope. His hope is not hidden from us but for us. The hope of His calling is an ever unrolling of a scroll with our name on it.
An inheritance is what you get when someone dies and leaves it for you. For us Jesus has died and given us a rich inheritance. Some of it we get now and some reserved for later depending on how well we steward the first part of our inheritance.
The first part of our inheritance Jesus has for us is that we are no longer orphans without a Father. We are welcomed into the family of God to be a son via a spiritual re-birth of Holy Spirit.
Have you been born from above? If so you have HS as a down payment or guarantee of your inheritance in heaven, showing you’re are a Son of God.
Galatians 3 tells us the Law (commandments) was like a school teacher that brought us to the realization of faith in God’s grace for salvation.
Galatians 4 talks about HS is now our Tutor or Governor while we are still a minor or child. Time on earth is about us maturing to become mature sons of God so we can receive the rest of our inheritance when we leave this world. God’s hope is our maturity in the Spirit-led and directed life now.
“For all who are LED by the Spirit of God are the (mature) Sons of God.” Romans 8:14
Receiving your full inheritance is not just going to heaven, that is your home. It has to do with how you are stewarding your life now in your present circumstances to be mature enough to be led by the Spirit rather than by circumstances, feelings or flesh.
The Father has been generous in giving us the HS as the down payment in good faith as the first part of our inheritance. We have His life living in us now.
The question heaven has for us is this:
What are you doing with your inheritance?
Are you wasting it on yourself like the Prodigal son? Are you using it for yourself alone? What are you doing with the gifts, abilities, talents God has given you to use?
In Matthew 25 Jesus teaches 3 parables and all tie together as one message. Parable of ten virgins – 5 were ready for the Bridegroom and 5 ran out of oil because they were not expecting Him to return so soon.
Parable of talents: Master gave servants talents or gifts: Gave one 5, another 2, another 1. HE went away and when he retuned expected profit. The unprofitable servant was the only one cast to outer darkness. Parable of sheep and goats divided when Son of Man returns. His sheep on rt hand He says, “Come inherit the kingdom prepared for you … for I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was in prison. Then the righteous shall say Lord when did we see you in this way? When you did this …
This is not so much randomly giving help to a homeless person, but it could be. The point is this, you laid down your life so HE can do the things through you that He wants done!
What will you do with your inheritance?
Pray that we understand the hope God is calling us to; that is the rich inheritance He has for us.
If you will learn to let the HS lead you instead of you leading– He will take you places you never dreamed. He will arrange divine appointments with people you never could have made happen. He will give you encounters you would have never imagined.
January 10th this year Pam and I felt like God was asking us for Pam not to go to work for now and lay that down and focus on getting things organized at church, visiting people, and whatever other things He would lead us to do. We said yes without knowing any details. He unfolds each day and sets our agenda and we follow.
When we give up some things we want or want to do we don’t lose.
Do you think the little boy that gave up his lunch to Jesus to feed the multitude, went away hungry?
Pray to have intimate personal revelation of Jesus.
Pray to know His plans/His inheritance for you.
Pray to know the unlimited greatness of His power in us and for us which He demonstrated when He raised Christ from the dead.
Know His Person
Know His Plans
Know His Power
ConcL: ill. Joined MC with plan to be military police. Ended up going in “open contract”. But it was the best thing – got me where God had man share gospel and I got saved and everything changed.
I am saying to you. Go to God with “open contract”. For the next month, 3 months, 6 months I will do whatever You tell me. I will lay aside my goals, plans, agenda and be open contract. Try this for one month or 3 before you make a lifetime commitment. This is measurable.
Exposing Satan’s Plans Against You
Exposing Satan’s Plans Against You
Everything in this world breaks down and degenerates in time. Hot coffee turns cold, bodies get older and break down through time.
We live in a fallen world – fallen what what God created.
God now does not have full control over everything that happens here. He gave authority to man. Man was given dominion over the earth, but man gave it to the devil. Enter sickness, disease, death, pain, suffering.
Because you are made in God’s image – Satan hates you.
You want to see God in full control? Go to heaven – no hospitals, no prisons, no funeral homes.
Does God have an answer for a fallen world? Yes.
“And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening, life-giving Spirit. But is was not the spiritual life which came first, but the physical and then the spiritual.
The first man is of the earth, earthly minded; the second man is the Lord from heaven. Now those who are made of the dust are like him who was first made of the dust (earthly minded); and as is the Man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven (heavenly minded).” I Cor. 15:45-48 KJV/AMP
Board write out:
First Adam Last Adam
Had human nature Had Heavenly nature (God’s)
From earth From heaven
Made a living soul Living Spirit
Earthly minded Heavenly minded
When Adam fell (sinned) all of creation fell with him. Animals for the first time started eating animals, snakes bite people.
When Jesus comes back to earth
Pic of Isaiah 11:6-8 11
Pic of child riding lion.
When Jesus comes back to earth to rule and is in charge the world will be different.
Between Gen. 1:1 and verse 2 a lot of time must have elapsed.
Gen. 1:1 In the beg G created h and e.
Gen. 1:2 The earth was without form and void (an empty waste) . . .
Why was it an empty wasteland? Something happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.
Notice what God said to man after He created them.
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and REPLENISH THE EARTH, and subdue it . . .” Gen. 1:28
ill. If I ask you to replenish my coffee cup what am I asking? To re-fill it again. This hints that the earth was already filled with something or someone and God wants man to replenish it. What could it have been?
Angels: Various types
We know God created the angels, which are spirit beings that have celestial bodies.
Seraphim – Isaiah 6 perform priestly duties around God’s throne.
Arch Angels – Michael guards Israel (Daniel). Gabriel brings Good news (gospel) announces Jesus’ birth. Arch Angels are chief or leader angels.
Cherubs Cheribim is plural - are angels known for their power and beauty. Not fat naked babies. Guarded Eden after man removed. Ezekiel chapter 1. They move at speed of light and have 4 faces: Lion, ox, man, eagle. Some say 4 gospels are Mathew (Lion gospel), Mark (ox), Luke (man), John (eagle or heaven).
- They are guardians of God’s throne. God resided in Eden. They guarded Eden by removing Adam and Eve and standing guard not to re-enter.
Ezekiel prophesied to a earthly King of city of Tyre who was a personification of evil like Satan. In fact God describes Satan in this prophecy.
“You are full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering. Every precious stone was thy covering, the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes.
. You were the anointed cherub that covers. . . You were on the mountain of God. You were perfect in your ways until iniquity was found in you. Your heart was proud and lifted up because of your beauty . . . I cast you to the ground.” Ezekiel 28:12-17
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! . . .
For thou has said in thy heart
5 I will’s of Satan pic
Rev. 12:4 says 1/3rd angels fell with Satan.
Satan was a high ranking angel named Lucifer in heaven that covered something. Law of first mention reveals cherubs guarded entrance to Eden. Guarding what? Maybe God’s throne? His kingdom righteousness? WE don’t know.
We know Moses told by God to make an ark with a mercy seat and two cherub angels on top.
Exodus 25:19-20 KJV.
Pic of mercy seat and ark
Inside this ark was the ten commandments written in stone.
God gave ten commandments twice!
First time given to Moses who in righteous anger threw down tablets and broke them when saw people in idolatry.
Second time God gave Moses ten commandments in Deuteronomy 10:1-4. This time put them in the ark under the mercy seat.
Once a year on Yom Kippur the HP sprinkles blood on mercy seat. Why did God tell Moses to put the law under the mercy seat?
He is saying to us, “I don’t want to see the law that men broke. I want to see the blood and have mercy.” Cherubim are angels that cover the mercy seat with the blood is sprinkled.
What does God want from me?
What does God want from me?
Eph. 1:16-23
Intro: Have you ever wondered what exactly does God want from you? His answer is, He wants you. He chose you for His bride. He wants you to know Him.
Paul’s prayer that we should pray for ourselves.
K. Hagin prayed this 6 months and life totally changed. I’ve been praying this for the past 3 weeks for you and me.
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of ____. By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light that you may know what is the hope of ___ calling, and what the riches of the glory of ____ inheritance in the saints, . . .” Eph. 1:16-17
What are the 3 missing words?
Him, His, His
The goal of life is all about knowing Him intimately and deeply, as He really is. I remember when I first loved Jesus because I had a revelation of His love for me. He put a hunger in me for Him, so that only He can satisfy it. It was like a love affair began. After a while I got busy with duties and noticed the love affair had faded. Not because of lack of love, but because I became too busy with duties.
Some of the busyness came from Xn duties. What’s wrong with being busy for the Lord’s service? (See I Cor. 13:2-3. Doing all these sacrificial things profits me nothing!)
Service separated from relationship = zero
The enemy tries to get us to focus on living the Christian life more than on Christ Himself!
You tube video clip of Lucy in the candy factory
Salvation is not just a matter of Jesus coming into our lives. This idea keeps man the center with Jesus as an addition or enhancement. To become a Christian means we enter into HIS LIFE.
- John 14:6, John 15, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3-4, Acts, 17:28
God’s glory is manifested when Christ is manifested in and through us.
PIC of vase and flowers
We are the vase that is to display His life. For this to happen we must follow the words of John the Baptist. “He must increase and I must decrease.” (The decrease only happens as we hand over control, ownership, including our trials and suffering to Him.)
Ill. Married to Pam 42 years this 9-11. Do I know all there is to know about her after 42 married years? No. Every year I am amazed that our love grows deeper every year. It’s the same way in knowing God. I’ve known God for 42 years also and I can tell you there is no bottom to this well. He is calling us into a deeper love, “rooted and grounded in love.”
What does “knowing Him deeper” look like?
Example: After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus two discouraged disciples walked the road to Emmaus. A stranger joined them on their walk. They did not recognize it was the resurrected Jesus. He asked why they were so depressed.
They said haven’t you heard the news. Jesus of Nazareth, Who was a mighty prophet of God was just crucified by the Romans because of the chief priests and our rulers who condemned Him to death. We had hoped that He would free Israel from Roman rule but they killed Him.
- To them, Jesus was simply a means to an end to make their lives more comfortable – better, an enhancement.
- Because of their wrong beliefs they were depressed/defeated.
- If they had believed the prophets, then they would have understood that God orchestrated all this and be rejoicing!
We need fresh eyes to see what God wants us to see.
It’s been 3 days and now some ladies who went to the tomb said they found His body missing, and they also said they saw a vision of angels which said He was alive. Others who heard this went to tomb themselves and saw the body was gone but did not see Him alive. Then Jesus said to them,
“O fools and slow to believe and trust in all the prophets have spoken: Wasn’t it necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things before entering into His glory and majesty?” Luke 24:25-26
We still face the same challenge as they:
1. Not having spiritual revelation of HIM in His Word.
2. Slow in believing His Word.
God does not want us to read the Word just to find out what we need to do and go away with a bunch of laws to do. He wants to open the scriptures to see Him.
How can we see Jesus in the Word?
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets He explained to them all the scriptures about how they were referring to Him.”
- Story tell verses 28-30. Drawing closer to Emmaus (which means warm springs). Reading Word washes, uncovers what is covering your spiritual eyes from seeing Jesus.
- He ate with them and broke bread giving thanks to God and suddenly
“Their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight.” Luke 24:31
Why did He vanish? It is more important for us to see Him by faith in His Word than in the flesh. If the disciples’ faith in Jesus was based only on seeing Jesus in the flesh, then what hope would we have?
The eyes of our heart must see Him. An unseen Christ is unexperienced, untasted to see how good He really is.
“I pray that the eyes of your heart be enlightened . . .”
Eph. 1:18 NAS
ill. Lady (Victoria) – witnessed to her she asked me if I ever seen Jesus myself, in person – I said YES – I had to explain not in physical like you think but I have seen Him. I don’t think she believed me. My first revelation of Jesus is what began a chain reaction of changes still being made in my life today for the better.
Ill. One time I asked God where do You want me to read in Your Bible today? HS said to me – Pick any place and I’ll meet you there! I’ve read the Bible through many times. But there are things there you have already read but you did not see until HS reveals it to you.
It is the ministry of HS to bring us revelation of Jesus. Jesus said of HS
“HE (Holy Spirit) shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:14
How do we see Jesus in the Word?
It is not education you need, but revelation.
Start praying Ephesians 1:17-ff pray for yourself daily.
Lord, I ask You to give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the deep intimate knowledge of You. I ask you to flood the eyes of my understanding with light, so that I may know what is Your hope in calling me to Yourself. . .
Watch what will happen in the next few weeks:
“HE (Holy Spirit) shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:14
ill. I believe when Jesus walked these 2 disciples through Genesis He took time in Genesis 22 where Abraham offered up his son Isaac. Hidden in this is a beautiful picture of what Jesus came to do.
Maybe he said it like this. What Abraham and Isaac arrived at the place of sacrifice, Isaac looked directly at his father and said. “Papa, I see the fire, and the wood, but where is the lamb?” That question must have ripped Abrahams heart down the middle. He calmly replied, “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb.” He was speaking more prophetically than he knew!
When he was about to slay his son, God said, “Don’t slay him but look.” He saw a male lamb caught in the thicket of thorns by it’s horns.
“Abraham lifted up his eyes and LOOKED (perceived, considered). .”
Gen. 22:13
He saw something that he could only see by revelation from God.
He saw a prophetic vision of the true Lamb of God, that God would provide Himself as the sacrificial Lamb. How do I know this?
Ill. In Jesus’s day the Pharisees mocked Him after He said these words. Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day. He saw it and was glad. ” You are not fifty years old, and you claim to have seen Abraham? He replied, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:56-58
What did Abraham rejoice at? Revelation from God. That day on Mount Moriah Abraham saw a prophetic picture of Jesus (God Himself) would become His Sacrificial Lamb. So from this revelation he called the place Yehovah Yireh – God will see to it, or the Lord will provide.
Concl: Why is this important for us? God told Abraham, “Now I know that You love ME because you have not withheld your only son, the son you love from Me.
Do you know why God said that and it is recorded for us to read those same words?
It is so we today can believe and say with confidence,
“Dear God, now I know that You love me because You have not withheld Your Only Son, the Son Whom You love dearly, but You gave Him us to die on the cross for me, as my Sacrificial Lamb.
Did you know this – I mean really see this today. It is what the HS has received from Jesus to reveal it intimately to you.
Don’t forget in Abraham’s case God stopped him from sacrificing Isaac. In Jesus’s case, no one stopped the sacrifice. No one spared God’s heart the grief. The entire story reveals the Father’s heart for you.
God does not treat sin lightly. It must be judged to the fullest extent of God’s law. The wages of sin is death with no appeal. When you see Jesus unveiled in the scriptures like this you will occupied with Him. I pray you have your own Emmaus walk with Jesus. Let Him bathe you in His Word and open the eyes of your heart.
Life is all about Him and His calling to you.
We need fresh eyes – HS to flood our hearts with His light to see Jesus in everything we are involved in.
Like a GPS when you fail to follow the instructions to your route.
It will say, Recalculating route
Maybe you hear the HS whispering this idea to you today. Get back to the love affair you once had with Jesus. I have been praying for all of us Eph. 1:17 prayer.
Viva La Resistance
Viva la Resistance
Intro: WWII General Charles DeGual broadcasted a famous speech across radio Viva la Resistance – meaning continue the struggle or resistance of the Nazi’s invading to take over France. This was a time France almost gave up and the Nazi’s won.
Some of you have not had a certain breakthroughs needed yet. Even though you have prayed you don’t see any changes. You are tired from the long ordeal of struggle. You have fought a good fight but nothing seems to be getting any better. You are thinking about quitting. The word of the Lord to you is “continue the struggle and stand against the enemy’s plan-
Viva la Resistance!
I hope to encourage you to get back to prayer with reset book.
Heard people say things like, “I don’t understand that ever since I committed to going to church it seems like things got worse in my life!” Many of them give up and backslide. They need this encouragement Viva la Resistance!
Shout it out as your war cry!
Even the Apostle Paul who had a dramatic conversion and calling from God experienced this. Why is it so hard to do what God has called me to do? Why am I having so much trouble doing God’s will? Why isn’t God helping me? Maybe He is, by letting you have a Revelation: Things are not as they appear.
Ill. Most people pray or try to pray. Why is this so hard? Hard to stay focused? Maybe you’re not alone with God after all?
- You try to witness. Maybe even trained but then you freeze. Or you try to share your testimony and get your words all jumbled up. Why is it so hard to do what God wants you to do?
Jesus taught that He came to give us abundant life. When people first heard this they must of thought – wonderful – now life will be better! But oddly just prior to saying this in the same breath He declares, but there is another invisible person, a thief, lurking in your neighborhood who is planning on stealing, killing and even destroying your destiny. In other words – you have opposition!
Ill. Sarah had wallet stolen this week in her safe neighborhood a thief broke into many cars and stole things.
Yet many Christians without any regard there is a dangerous thief secretly out to steal from you is like sticking your head in the sand in unbelief. We live in a fallen world – we experience attacks of Satan attempting to kill, steal and destroy us.
That is why the Apostle Paul, a spiritual giant, Visions, 3rdheaven, preacher, teacher, wrote 2/3rds NT, started churches, pleaded with the church, “Pray for me that God give me utterance to make known to people the mystery of the gospel as I should.”
Okay Paul, if you know God called you to do this – what’s the problem? Just go and do it! Paul would say you don’t understand all that is involved here. The day I committed my life to God and His will is the day I found out I had an enemy. From now on I know, there is no such thing as coincidence.
You sense of urgency in his voice when you read his letter.
“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with various kinds of prayer. We must keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, praying for all Christians; and pray for me, that utterance may be given me that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, as I ought to speak.”
Eph. 6:18-19 Amp/KJV
“Various, (all) kinds of prayer” ill. Car to mechanic with only one screwdriver? Special tools designed to reach that spot. Certain kinds of prayers help us reach certain spots other prayers don’t reach. Prayers of declaration, praise, thanks, tongues, etc.
Rt word at rt time, the rt person in the rt place is like Atomic bomb to the enemy’s opposition and plans.
I don’t think we (church) can reach our destiny without going deeper into prayer. Almost 15 years of GT and we have had almost every kind of opposition inside and out you can think of to try to choke us out financially, division, disappointment, disagreements. Ministry is not for the faint of heart. My friend (An Evangelist) who as minister visits all the area churches told me one time – don’t think you are the only one. I know of this and that happening in almost every church.
Every church that is trying to move with God has opposition!
Ill. When first opened this building we had a conference with some big name speakers/musicians and in one night the building packed. One couple shared with ushers with tears that Ten years prior they drove by this spot and HS told us to begin a church here. Why didn’t they? I don’t know
–Paul said his plans to go to Thessalonica were thwarted by Satan!
- You Men from being the spiritual leader at home. Keep you from coming to church, having time alone with God, etc.
- Maybe the strife in your marriage is not just you two.
- Maybe the pressure you feel is not just you!
You made a commitment to God – good. Now you feel the struggle and the pressure. Don’t give up - Viva la Resistance
- You were made for the struggle!
Why doesn’t God stop this? God is not a child abuser. He knows what He put in you. You have what it takes but you don’t realize it.
WE need to encourage one another to not give in to pressure!
There is a real devil – and it’s not one of your relatives! Ill. A husband use to come home drunk every night. One Halloween she thought she teach him a lesson. She dressed up in devil suit and jumped out at him in the yard when he walked home drunk. He said, “Who are you?” She snarled I am the devil. Are you afraid of me? He said, absolutely not, I’ve been married to your sister for 40 years.
Seriously the devil is an invisible spirit being. The word devil describes what he tries to do:
Devil – Diabolos – Dia = to pierce all the way through
Ballo = to throw
“To throw something again and again until it has pierced through.”
Ill. His method is to work behind the scenes to assault your mind, emotions, body, over and over again until he gets through. What he has tried before he will circle back and try again. Bible tells us what to do. Recognize what is happening is spiritual attacks!
“Submit yourself to God, RESIST THE DEVIL, and he will flee.”
James 4:7
I know your tired of his mess. But you can’t quit now. Don’t think that if you quit that the enemy will back off of you! That is a lie.
He is already defeated – war is won – you don’t fight the devil for victory but from victory of the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
Even though he is defeated he still comes to mess with you.
But listen to God - If you will resist him the right way – he will flee your presence.
“Resist” = anti – against, histemi – to stand.
Stand on the truth. Don’t cut and run. Don’t quit. Just stand there and say, Viva la Resistance
Ill. Stay alert - Don’t let him pull on your emotions to get into strife and hurry, and worry, and fear. You see what he is orchestrating and the trouble he is trying to cause so You see same bait as before where you got pulled into his net. Satan I see you! Last time you got me offended at someone and pulled me down for a long time.– I refused to take offense, I refuse to get jealous, I refuse to get angry and hurt, bitter. . .Do just the opposite instead of giving into the tempter – resist how?
What does this resisting the devil look like?
Not a fighting stance like you might think. It is simply to stand in and with the truth. That’s all. Viva la Resistance
If I lose my cool I use some verses to get it back quick.
One of my bring me back to my place verses is Isa. 30:15
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
In quietness and confidence is your strength,
But you would not.” Isa. 30:15
“In returning to Me and resting in Me you shall be saved;
In quietness and in trusting confidence shall be your strength.” AMP.
This is what the Christian like is to look like.
Calm – Confident – Committed yourself and the matter to God.
We shock the devil by not reacting like we use to. We are not rattled, frazzled. We are alert to the schemes of the devil. We calmly, confidently commit the matter at hand to God, and with piercing eyes we pull out our 44 magnum – which is all prayer – the most powerful weapon on earth, and point it directly at him. He has been caught now.
Pic: Eastwood
“The devil is a punk!” Dan Delibro (The Godfather of GT)
What happens next?
“He will flee”
Why? Because he is a thief who realizes you recognizes him – he flees like to escape the consequences of being found out. God is telling us ahead of time this is how things will work out if you do it My way.
Push-back – God allows the enemy to bring us opposition to train us to stand up to him – we are made for struggle with him we get stronger and better at life when we maintain our resistance against the devil by just standing on God’s Word no matter what.
Ill. Boot camp PI – I seriously was thinking of trying to escape boot camp. I thought if I told my congressman what was going on it would be a good idea. The pressure was great. But today I am so glad I did not run away from the pressure and opposition.
Ill. I learned when I started preaching there was great spiritual opposition. Why is there such spiritual opposition to try and stop or hinder preaching? Rt word at rt time like Atomic bomb! I am a better preacher today because of the opposition.
“The devil is seeking someone to pressure and make them cower and run. Resist him by being firm in the faith. But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to His glory, will Himself complete you and make you what you ought to be.” I Peter 5:9-10 Para.
Concl: So today I just believe God wanted me to tell you something and encourage all you who have been going through a long battle. Don’t give up. The pressure may be the very thing you need to become the strong man or woman of God you will need to be in the days ahead.
Viva la Resistance
We need fresh eyes to look at the problems that plague our lives so we can face them God’s way. Right now you may not see any good coming out of your trial. If you quit, you will never see it. One day it could be that the pressure was the very thing that made you strong enough for what you will face in the future?
My Prayer for Today
Lord, because You have given me the promises of Your Word and the right to use Your name, I refuse to let the devil bombard my mind any longer. Right now I stand up to resist him, oppose him, and put him on the run. Devil, you will no longer have free access to my mind and emotions, for I am standing up to resist you. I tell you to GO in Jesus’ name! And, Heavenly Father, I thank You so much for giving me the great privilege of using Your Word and the authority of Jesus’ name. Viva la Resistance!
My Identity in Christ Part 6
My Identity in Christ - Part 6
Because of Christ’s redemption,
I am a new creation of great worth.
I am deeply loved,
Completely forgiven,
Fully pleasing,
Totally accepted by God and
Absolutely complete in Christ.
What does it mean to be a Christian?
The word “Christian” is only used 3 times in the Bible. But the phrase
“In Christ” is used 27 times in the book of Ephesians, and over 160 times in the NT. If Paul had a name for his ministry like some traveling ministers do, it would have been “In Christ” ministries, because that is what he wrote about more than any other thing. The best way to describe what a Christians truly is, is with this frequent phrase “In Christ”. A supernatural union of Christ living in you and you in Him.
Identity theft = where someone uses your SSN or drivers license or personal info to get money, loan, access to your stuff.
PIC : Identity Theft
Just like our fingerprint identifies our physical body,
Pic: fingerprints
Your physically identity lasts only as long as you live in a body. But your spiritual identity lasts forever. Yet most Christians have had their spiritual identity stolen from them and they don’t even know it.
Our Spirit-print Identity is “In Christ”.
This defines who you are to God. The way He sees you.
Pic - Fingerprint with Cross
160 times in the Bible the words “In Christ” are used giving us a revelation of our spiritual Identity to God. Here are some:
1. You are a new creation – 2 Cor. 5:17
“If Gary be in Christ, old things have passed away and all things become new.”
2. You have no condemnation – Rom. 8:1
“There is no condemnation for _______, who is in Christ Jesus.”
3. You can never be separated from God’s love – Rom. 8:39
“Nothing – absolutely nothing – can separate _______from the
love of God in Christ Jesus.”
Wherever “In Christ” is used in scripture, there is a revelation of your identity in Christ (How God sees you).
“You are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.” Col. 2:10
What does it mean to have your identity in Christ? It’s not just a matter of claiming Bible verses for yourself! To have your identity in Christ means that you’re placing your confidence for living the Christian life in what the Lord Jesus accomplished for you!
To be in Christ means you’re learning to do all that you do with Jesus in the Kingdom of God. It means that you’re yielding to the life of God in you and through this you are living the Spirit-led and directed life.
The Exchanged Life or the Yielded Life:
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, Yet, not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loves me and gave Himself for me. Gal. 2:20
We cannot live the Christian Life. If we could then Jesus died in vain. Jesus is the only One who can live the Christian life, which is His Life being lived through us yielding to Him.
“For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that are required for living the Christian life, through the knowledge of Him Who called us . . .” 2 Peter 1:3
Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.
2 Peter 1:3 Message Bible
What difference does it make for me to know that as a Christian I am already complete in Christ?
It is a matter of “being” versus “doing”. It is a matter of resting in the finished work of Christ and not “trying hard” to live the Christian life. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of Hosts.” Zechariah 4:6
“While the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered today, let us fear that any of you should come short of reaching it. . . for we who have believed do enter that rest. . . Again He sets a new today, and gives another opportunity to securing that rest. . . Let us then be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest of God [to know and experience it for ourselves].” Heb. 4:1-11 Ampl/Paraphrased.
This “rest” is not doing nothing. It is not inactivity; it is activity that is directed by the Spirit of God.
These people who clearly grasp their identity in Christ, have Christ dwelling in them and they dwell in Him. He is the source of their life and it shows in everything they do.
C. S. Lewis wrote: These people have an inner serenity which adversity cannot disturb; it is the peace of Christ.
They have a spiritual power that physical weakness cannot destroy; it is the power of Christ. They have a hidden vitality that even the process of dying and death cannot quench; it is the life of Christ.
To use Biblical expressions, “The peace of Christ rules in their hearts,” “the power of Christ is made perfect in their weakness,” and “the life of Christ is made manifest in their mortal flesh.”
The most common description in the Scriptures of a follower of Jesus is that he or she is a person “in Christ.”
My Identity in Christ
Because of Christ’s redemption,
I am a new creation of great worth.
I am deeply loved,
Completely forgiven,
Fully pleasing,
Totally accepted by God and
Absolutely complete in Christ.
Concl: Talking to my son Andrew on the phone once a week from prison. Usually I close our conversation by always saying, “Remember who you really are Andrew. You are a mighty man of God. Remember who you are!”
ill. Alexander the Great was a mighty man of courage and conquered every land he could conquer till he became conqueror of the whole world. Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military generals who ever lived, conquered almost the entire known world with his vast army. One night during a campaign, he couldn't sleep and left his tent to walk around the campgrounds. As he was walking he came across a soldier asleep on guard duty – a serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard duty was, in some
cases, instant death; the commanding officer sometimes poured kerosene on the sleeping soldier and lit tithe soldier began to wake up as Alexander the Great approached him. Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man feared for his life. "Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?"
Alexander the Great asked the soldier. “Yes, sir," the soldier responded in a quivering voice. “Soldier, what's your name?" demanded Alexander the Great. “Alexander, sir. “Alexander the Great repeated the question: "What is your name? “My name is Alexander, sir," the soldier repeated. A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, "What is your name? “A third time the soldier meekly said, "My name is Alexander, sir. “Alexander the Great then looked the young soldier straight in the eye. "Soldier," he said with intensity, "either change your name or change your conduct."
Opening the Door of Utterance for your Pastor and You!
Opening the Door of Utterance for your Pastor and You!
Colossians 4:2-4 and Ephesians 6:19
Intro: The 2 weakest areas of the church are:
1. Prayer – getting people to have a strong consistent prayer life.
Today when you leave one book per family called Reset – about building a consistent prayer life. Church bought it for you to equip you.
Pic of book "Reset"
2. Witnessing – sharing the gospel.
Both of these involve using your mouth for utterance of words.
Both attract more opposition/devil to shut down.
The moment you do what God is telling you to do, is the moment you meet the enemy trying to stop you. “There is no such thing as unopposed spiritual progress”.
Ill. Friend told me about commitment he believed God had him make last week. This week called and told me ever since then been under attack in many ways. It is because you are attacking what the enemy has been doing and he is fighting you back to stop you!
- Many made commitment last week. If everyone keeps that commitment, and not back-off then deficit is met. But some not use to opposition from the enemy may back off!
There is an invisible enemy and warfare going on all the time around you. If the enemy can keep you comfortable living a Xn life just to yourself then he will keep you deceived and comfortable till you go to heaven.
- Most of the church is spiritually asleep (prayer life is mostly about their own life and family not about KOG making impact world.)
- Most church could care less about commitment to God and is seeking comfortable life. God promised a reward to those who diligently seek Him (Heb: 11:6) not the comfortable life – heaven.
- Not about tearing down kingdom of darkness to establish KOG. You can tell this by listening to people’s prayers.
Ill. Isaiah’s vision of throne room of God. I am undone. God’s angel hot coal touched lips – your sin is covered. THEN he hears conversation between Trinity. Who will go for us? Who shall I send? Volunteers.
Go and preach to a people who will not listen, who call evil good and good evil, who are wise in their own eyes, who are like heroes at drinking alcohol. You are going to preach to them and only a 10th of them will return to Me and My holy seed will be in them.
Why such minimal results?
The war with Satan is over and we win but we still have opposition.
Eph 6:10 tells us our opposition is not just flesh and blood we can see. It is mostly spiritual forces opposing us that we cannot see like :
Principalities (demon princes over municipalities).
Powers
Rulers of the darkness
Wickedness in the atmosphere
Eph. 6:12
But if you wake up to the truth, realizing nothing is coincidental for a child of God and that you have a calling and an assignment on your life with limited amount of time to do it – then hell has to put out a contract on you to stop you at all costs. Use anything you have access to stop them- family, friends, finances, fears, future. Follow, stalk them, and do what you can to stop their faith in God from moving. Shut them down! Most don’t believe this.
The reason the church is making so little impact is not because the devil is so powerful – it is because the church is not accessing the using the gifts God has given to the church.
Ill. Imagine the devil has army parked outside this church. Tanks, soldiers with combat equipment, snipers, hand grenades and his army is attacking the church. We decide to fight back and assign everyone a be be gun and say go get them.
WE have been given special weapons that we are not launching!
What are they?
“When He (Jesus) ascended up (to heaven) He led captivity captive (meaning He led a train of defeated vanquished foes captive), AND HE BESTOWED GIFTS ON MEN. . . HE HIMSELF APPOINTED AND GAVE MEN TO US, some to be Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, some Pastors, and some Teachers; For the maturing of the saints for to do the work of the ministry and to build up the church.” Eph. 4:8-12
Book of Ephesians written by Paul. Has 2 prayers of His for the church to pray for themselves. It has Spiritual warfare revealed in it and armor of God available. At the very end of the book the Apostle of God reveals something vital for us to see.
Here is the Apostle Paul. Highly educated man PhD of his day. Man of words. Deeply spiritual – visited 3rd heaven throne room of God. Started many churches, missionary, wrote 2/3rds NT, exercised many spiritual gifts, has had visitation of Jesus Christ personally. Yet here is revealing something critical for us to see.
“Please pray for me, that utterance may be given me,
that I may open my mouth boldly to proclaim boldly the mystery of the gospel. . . that I may declare it boldly and courageously as I have been assigned to do.” Eph. 6:19-20 Amp.
Paul was a man of words. He could preach/teach at the drop of a hat. He had loads of revelation, experience but here he is asking for “utterance may be given me” from God that he has not even thought of or known.
Here is a man sent by God with an assignment on his life from God. He has had tons of experience and firsthand knowledge about God but he is asking for people to pray for him to have utterance!
“Pray that Holy Spirit would have power over my intellect, and power over my voice, that Jesus would be glorified in a way that could not be done otherwise.” Wigglesworth.
The devil tries to hinder the preaching. Prayer for the speaker is needed to give freedom for God’s Words come through him/her.
Words from God flowing through the speaker bringing the river of Life of God and freedom!
Ill. Some great preachers had people called by God to intercede for them so that they could be effective with their calling.
Charles Finney – had intercessor Daniel Nash
Charles Spurgeon – D. L. Moody had over hundred in basement below the pulpit while he preached. When he stomped his foot that was a signal to intercessors below you better step it up a notch in prayer.
Paul knew and I know that the effectiveness in our calling lies not in our charisma, or skill in communicating but it lies in the hands of the people who know God have the weapon of prayer.
Ill. I saw a vision the other day. It was a person violently praying. They looked scary praying like they were cutting through and fighting invisible spiritual foes. Sometimes acting out like cutting through thick forest with machete. Other times digging trenches for the water of God to flow, so that the preacher could come in and preach swept up in the flow of God with words, utterance he received from God.
If there hasn’t been much prayer specifically for the preaching – then preaching is hard to do. You may be able to do some nice teaching but with a struggle feeling the hindrances and even witchcraft prayers against you. It is laboring and exhausted afterwards.
“Be alert and intent in your prayer life . . . pray for us that God may open a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ . . . as I ought to speak.” Col. 4:2-4 Amp.
Apparently the Apostle Paul is limited in what he can do until the church prays for him. But if they pray specifically a door will be open that is otherwise closed to them.
What will this open door give them access to?
When Jesus ascended to Heaven He gave 5 speaking gifts for the church to access and to equip the church. Apostle, prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher. The Pastor can serve in all of these as needed.
Apostle – govern, P = guide, E = gather, P= guard, T= ground
PIC of 5 G network
Just happened to be reviewing some parts of my journal years back in 2009. I wrote about a dream I had. I saw myself as a chest of drawers.
PIC of Chest of Drawers - 5 fold gifts
Bottom drawer was calling as Pastor. Had a lot of teeth marks on it and was banged up. Next drawer up was teacher, evangelist, then smaller ones on top prophet and apostle. Few weeks ago Pam and I both got prophetic words from a proven prophet in Daytona Beach. We did not know it at first but later realized 18 years ago this same woman prophesied over us at channel 55 taping. There she stopped what she was doing and pulled us out of the audience for a prophetic word. It was recorded on TV so I had a VHS tape and pulled it out and listened to it again. Much the same as she had prophesied the other night, that there is both an apostolic and prophetic calling upon both of you. A fathering and mothering calling. Time to start moving in this calling to oversee people and launch some ministries.
- None of us choose our calling or anointing. God chooses it. It is a high calling that you cannot reach by yourself.
- Paul said to know no one after the flesh or just as a man, but to recognize and know them after the calling God has on them.
Ill. This is the man or woman that God has called to speak to me through and help me achieve my destiny in God.
They are here
As an Apostle - to help me Govern my gifts and calling.
As Prophet – to help Guide my gifts and calling.
As Evangelist – to help me Gather the harvest of my life.
As Pastor – to Guard my life from the enemy.
As Teacher – to Ground my life in God’s Word.
Help me Govern, Guide, Gather, Guard, and Ground my life in God’s will for me.
- All of us are called to pray – but some of you are assigned by God to intercede like Daniel Nash or those in the basement for Moody.
Ill. Apostle Paul preached in Damascus and a mob of angry people wanted him arrested. He escaped by night over the wall of the city hidden in a basket and lowered down to the ground by ropes. Maybe some of the people holding the rope thought, “I wish I could be used by God like Paul”. You may not be given a speaking gift to do that. But you are holding the rope for the man who was used by God to write 2/3rds of NT. Those holding his rope will get the same reward as he will.
- Some of you have the gift of helps. You are called by God to hold the rope for me so that I can do what God has called me to do. Help me in spreading the gospel, help me succeed in what God has called me to do here and the ripple effect throughout the world. Help me broadcast over internet, or radio, or TV. Help me access the door that God will open if you pray. Hold the rope!
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Pastor, I will hold the rope for you, so that you can do what God has called you to do for His church. I will pray for you that God give you:
R – Revelation for the hope God has for us (church). Eph. 1:16 23
O – Open door of opportunities that only God can make happen.
P – Powerful utterance (words from God through you to us).
E – Equipment (people, materials, favor) to accomplish God’s purpose.
Colossians 4:2-4, Ephesians 6:19, Acts 9:25
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Those in the full time 5-fold ministry get attacked more and sometimes beat up by the enemy more than the average Xn. The Apostle Paul and the prophets did. Why?
Because one word from the appointed office speaking gift will light a thousand candles not just 100 or 200.
When you carry something from God that He intends for you to give to others to bless them – then somehow the devil knows this and puts a contract on your life to keep you from accessing and using this gift from God given you.
It is called,
“Possession with the intent to distribute.”
Matthew 29:19-20
If you have ever been arrested for drugs you understand this. This would be a great T- shirt.
I have known for a long time that I am to be speaking to thousands beyond this immediate area. But I don’t say that because it sounds like I am bragging about myself. That is not what I am saying. What I am saying is Pam and I cannot access this higher calling beyond this concentrated area, without the specific prayers and called intercessors to hold the rope for us. If this is your calling to help us, then you get the same reward. It works like this. We cannot reach this high calling of God without people praying for us. And the church will not benefit from the 5 –fold ministry gifts imparted to us unless we are prayed into that place by your specific prayers.
Here is a picture of what I am trying to communicate. Apostle Peter was called by Jesus to preach the gospel. He went out and did this with a fair amount of success. But after Jesus ascended and told them all to wait together until the Promise of the Father comes. They were all in one accord in upper room praying for days and waiting as God said.
Day of Pentecost – fire and sound of wind – strange tongues – glorifying God – Preached stood up to preach spontaneously and 3000 saved. HE preached before this. This was not his first time but never had he seen results like this! This was supernatural.
What happened was because the people had been praying – He was easily able to access this new office of Apostle and Prophet and he preached a prophetic word that rocked the world.
He stepped into His higher office calling and the church was blessed and equipped to spread the gospel supernaturally throughout the whole world. He could not have done with without the church praying. The church could not have done this without Peter’s calling! It took both! Just as it does today.
That is why the super smart, talented, gifted, Apostle Paul says,
Pray for me that utterance be given me by God.
Pray for me that a door of opportunity will be opened by God.
This is why I am asking you to do that same thing for us. For now, we live on the front line and called to lead this church in every part of it’s ministry. I want us to move up and access the office calling and see this ministry soar into the supernatural lifestyle.
Concl: Cards printed with specific prayer target requests for us.
If you want one, some will be here on altar. You can start right now while you are answering the call to pray.
My Identity in Christ Part 5
My Identity in Christ Part 5
Because of Christ’s redemption,
I am a new creation of great worth.
I am deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing,
totally accepted, and absolutely complete in Christ.
I am totally accepted by God!
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.” Eph. 1:6
God's love for us is beyond our ability to fully understand, but not beyond our ability to realize, accept and enjoy. The apostle John wrote in I John 3:1:
"See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God; and such we are! . . .”
I John 3:1
Why do so many Christians when they sin feel driven away from God? When they should feel driven toward His great love, with a repentant heart. I have known Christians who let one sin drive them away from God when in fact they were truly sorry for that sin, but because of it felt unloved by God. This is a great problem with pastors and ministers today as they see their flocks eaten away little by little with no explanation, plain or clear cut.
What too many Christians lack today is a real understanding of the grace of God. Paul truly had a revelation of the grace of God like no other. He wrote:
"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! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen."
Romans 11:33-36
In OT days it was sin that separated us from God (Isa. 59:2). But now because Christ has dealt with our sins once and for all, why do we let sin keep separate us from God?
Wrong believing causes wrong living!
Where do you think we get the wrong thinking from? Not God!
The problem is rooted in not knowing God deeply and the love that He has for us and not understanding the grace of God towards us. We need a greater revelation of God and God’s love for us and His grace towards us.
Paul’s prayer for us in Eph. 1:17-19.
"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power."
The Psalmist said in Psalm 103 that God made his acts known to the sons of Israel but He made known His ways to Moses. What Moses knew about God that the others did not know was His grace. Many times today we have received God's grace, but we have only known His acts, much like the children of Israel who Moses led. We know His acts, but do not know and understand His ways, that is, His grace. We as individuals must have a revelation of the "Grace of God" or we will not know just how accepted we are. The letter to the Ephesians tells us in Ephesians 1:6:
"To the praise of the glory of His grace, where in He hath made us accepted in the beloved." Eph. 1:6
There is much which lies in the realm of being accepted in Christ Jesus. In Ephesians 2 we are admonished to: "Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace." Eph.2:13-14
The Desire To Be Accepted By Others Is One Of The Strongest Desires In The Human Life And That Desire Literally Affects Every Area Of Human Behavior.
The desire to be accepted by others determines what we wear, what we drive, where we go, how we act, what we do.
Ill. Recall what silly things you did in order to be accepted as a child or teenager? Your hair a certain way? Clothing? Dangerous things you did?
When someone steps on the property of the church they are looking for signs they are accepted or rejected within the first 5 minutes. Pastor Don Moore’s comment about how friendly he felt this church is!
Though Jesus Christ I Am Completely Accepted By God
Every religion man practices is man's effort seeking to be accepted by God, whatever they conceive Him to be.
Ephesians 1:6 says we are accepted by God. I do not live my life seeking acceptance by God. Many Christians are living their lives with the deep inner motive of trying to be accepted by God. So many Christian fear that they will not be accepted by God, when the Word of the Lord plainly states we are accepted in Christ already.
We must make sure we are not striving to be accepted by God by doing things we think please Him. We are accepted because of Christ. God says so in His Word. Do you believe Him?
If we strive at anything it should only be to know God more and in truth.
In coming to know God better we discover what He is really like for ourselves. One of the things God calls us to do is
“Be holy for I am holy.” I Peter 1:16
Give me some reasons for trying to live holy:
1. God said to.
2. Because we love God.
3. Since He saved me it is the least I can do.
None of these reasons are the actual reason to live a holy life, although they are indeed a part of the whole; but only a part and give us a distorted view.
Ill. Like the 3 blind men trying to describe what an elephant is like. The one blind man touching the leg would say an elephant is like a tree. The one holding his trunk says he is like a snake. The one with hands on the sides of the elephant says he is like a house. All 3 are right have an incomplete picture of the whole elephant.
The reason God calls us to live holy is not to be accepted but to fellowship with Him and get to know Him better than we do now. It is God’s desire to reveal Himself to us and for us to draw close to Him.
The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who really loves Me; and whoever really loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show (reveal and manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.] Jn 14:21 Amp.
Jesus said in John 15:26 that the Holy Spirit would testify of Him. If we are to learn more about God, learn more of His nature, His love, then we must live our lives in the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit. Then God can be revealed to us and therefore through us to those around us.
The problem of acceptance is different in every person. Many people grow up never having felt accepted as children, and often parents cause children to feel unaccepted. The number two cause of teen-age deaths second to traffic accidents is suicide. There are many causes of teen suicide; but a big one is that they feel unaccepted.
Is it any wonder that Christians who do not perform well in their own eyes, or measure up to the behavior they think a Christian should have, tend to shy away from God when they sin rather than be drawn to Him?
We need to know more than ever to know your true identity in Christ. In Christ we are totally accepted by God through Christ alone.
You are getting older but ARE YOU getting better? Part 4
You are getting older, but are you getting better? Part 3
One of the older stand up comics was George Burns.
You may remember him in the movie, Oh God.
PIC - George Burns in Oh God
You older people may remember way back a TV show Burns and Allen.
She played a flighty blond and he was the straight man. They close the show the same way each week.
“Say goodnight Gracie. . .”
PIC - George Burns and Gracie Allen
Some George Burns standup jokes in his nineties.
“It’s nice to be here. At my age it is nice to be anywhere.
People ask me about my age and the secret to longevity. I tell them don’t die. I can’t afford to die; I would lose a fortune. By the time you turn 80 years old you have learned everything. The problem is you just can’t remember it. I am in my nineties and I smoke between 10-15 cigars a day. At my age I have to have something to hold onto.
When I was a kid in school I still can’t understand why I flunked American History. Because when I was a kid there was so little of it. “You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there.”
“The secret to a good sermon is having a good beginning and a good ending, then having them as close together as possible.”
“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old!”
George Burns
This is the last part of a 3-part message: You are getting older, but are you getting better?
The longer you have walked with God the better you become.
One of the ways you can tell you are getting better as you get older is you are more calm.
The first thing God wants for us to get better as we get older is to Be calm.
The older you get and the longer you walk with God the more patient you become. You do have control over growing in patience.
“Let patience have her perfecting, maturing work in you, that you may be mature, fully developed, lacking in nothing.” James 1:4
- This patience is a fruit of the HS grown in our hearts and freeing us from hurry, worry, fretting.
- We have learned by
“feeding on His faithfulness” Psa. 37:3
The second thing God wants us to have as we get older and better is to Be confident.
“Trust in and be confident in the Lord …and feed on His faithfulness.”
A life that walks with God will grow in confidence in God and confidence in the Anointing He gave you. People will admire an older person who carries calmness, and confidence because they walk with God. You can visibly see people with a firm foundation with God manifest calm and confidence. They are unshakeable and you know they walk with the Almighty. There is one more characteristic that God wants you to have in order to get better as you get older
Be calm
Be confident
Be committed
Haven’t you met people who are Christians and have become mean, grouchy, negative, old people? If you don’t make a definite commitment to get better, then you will become one of those people you say you don’t like.
Ill. Like Mr. Wilson on Dennis the Menace movie.
PIC - Mr. Wilson
He didn’t like children at the beginning of the movie. He was grumpy and mean and selfish. But at the end he learned to value and love kids – even Dennis.
PIC - Mr. Wilson and Dennis the Menace
None of these things are going to just happen. You have to be intentional and determine you are going to get better with age.
By default, without determining to get better, even if you are a Christian, you will naturally get grumpy, grouchy, negative, complaining, cynical. You have to commit your way to the Lord for change to happen.
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose every care of your load on Him]; trust {lean on, rely on, be confident} also in Him and He will bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:4-5 Amp.
There are a lot of things competing to win your heart. Hell will dangle anything in front of you to get your heart to go after anything other than the Lord first.
“Delight yourself in the Lord. . .”
“Delight” = to find your joy in the things of God FIRST.
The Lukewarm church was at one time an on fire church that has cooled off. Why? “Left their first love.”
God is to have first place in our hearts. If He does not have the priority of your life and time, then idols have grown in your life and removed God from first place.
“Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God”
When Christians or churches lose their purpose and priority they start to decline. If they continue eventually with “a form of religion” they eventually die spiritually while physically alive.
You know churches that are dead – in form only. Somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000 churches close their doors every year. Southern Baptist researcher, Thom Rainer, He says between 8,000 and 10,000 churches will likely close this year. Why?
The reasons may vary but the primary reason is they forgot their purpose.
Why are we here? What is the purpose for having a church here when there are so many other churches around?
We have a purpose and we must not forget our individual purpose.
The purpose for GT is to preach and proclaim the gospel of grace and bring a revelation of the grace of God that sets people free from sin, guilt, shame, and the bondage of religion.
WE have a Biblical example of God turning things around for God’s people in the book of the prophet Haggai. It was a time the God’s church was going down in decline. Attendance was low and money was so low that they could not maintain the Temple properly. The building was deteriorating as a sign that people’s spiritual lives were deteriorating. When the Temple of God didn’t have the money to maintain the ministry it was because the majority of the people were not putting God and God’s business first.
Haggai list the reason the Temple was declining in every way. God told Haggai the prophet the reason.
“Consider your ways! You have sown much but reaped little. You do not have enough. You earn wages and put them in a bag with holes in it. Consider your ways.” Haggai 1:5-7
The people of God were building their own houses and letting God’s house be undone. The solution was for the people to repent and make God’s house and business first and then He would fill it with His glory. The Lord aroused the spirit of the people and they came and did the work of the ministry, then God filled His house with the glory of the Lord!
But God said this to them. “Consider from this day forward”- in other words mark down this day to remember when things began to change. When you committed to put God’s house, business first – from this day forward consider you had seed in the barn, your fruit trees brought forth fruit, from THIS DAY I will bless you
The day they COMMITTED THEIR WAY TO THE LORD, making God’s business and house their first priority.
When Self interests began to replace God’s interests.
- People lost their passion.
- They lost their perception.
- They lost their purpose.
Ill. Chicago Daily News was at one time one of the greatest news papers with huge circulation in the world. They won a Pulitzer prize for journalism. For 102 years it was in business then one day they announced they were closing the doors and going out of business. One journalist for the paper was asked why did this happen? His answer was simple but profound.
“We forgot our purpose.”
When their priority shifted from reporting news to making money they lost their purpose and eventually went out of existence.
Ill. April 3 this year will be 15 years for GT. If we would have had everyone who has come and gone in past 15 years this church would have been 2-3 thousand in size. Frustrated I have asked the Lord if I need to step down and let a younger person take over. He made it clear to me – no! Not now.
I want you to BE calm, BE Confident, and Be Committed.
A couple of weeks ago Pam and I made a commitment and covenant with God. Most of you know my wife has worked as a nurse and for an agency. Let’s pour all we have into church and getting things done, set up new programs etc. and Pam not get an extra job. Let’s put God’s ministry and God’s church first and walk through any open door He has for us to minister and see what HE will do in growing the church. Already we are seeing things happen in our life for better. Why? Commitment to God and His ministry first! I believe He wants to same thing to happen to each one of you!
I believe God is talking to some people here about the same thing. If you will make a covenant with God today and put His business first and do whatever He puts in your path and walk through every door, He opens and say yes to His business first – refocus.
- Matthew 6:33
The Challenge from the Lord to us is to:
“Commit your way to the Lord” = Put God’s business and ministry first in our life, then watch what the Lord will do.
Concl: God likes commitment from His people. It is like establishing priorities and remembering your purpose. I don’t know the specifics of what that will look like in your life but mark down the day you make this type of commitment. Because when you do things begin to change and get better in your life.
What God has been dealing with us about I also know He is dealing with the people I am called to lead.
- It is not time to coast or step back and see what will happen. It is time to step up and “commit your way fully to the Lord”. His business first, His church first and then He will take care of your other things.
My Identity in Christ Part 4
My True Identity, My Identity in Christ Part 3
(Revealing the Father’s heart for you.)
My Identity in Christ
Because of Christ’s redemption, I am a new creation of great worth.
I am deeply loved by God,
I am completely forgiven,
I am fully pleasing to God,
I am totally accepted by God and
I am absolutely complete in Christ.
Do I believe this?
Warning: “If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.” Isaiah 7:9
Knowledge is not the same thing as believing.
I know what I believe, but am I believing what I say I know?
One of my callings as Pastor and teacher is to get you established in your true Identity. This means to see yourself the way God sees you.
Your identity in Christ must be rooted in “Being” before “Doing”. This requires some unlearning on our part. For example, I cannot base my identity as Pastor – that is what I do but not who I am. If I base my identity in what I do then I will lose my identity and be lost when I no longer actively pastor a church. Some people are lost when they no longer find their identity in what they do for a living.
I never understood that God saw me a different way than I saw myself until a few years ago. I learned that I was seeing myself through eyes of betrayal, hurt and rejection and in turn was constantly striving for approval and perfection. When I learned that these beliefs were lies authored by this world, my life was transformed. My eyes were filled with light and opened to see truth like never before. I realized that the truth of my identity is how God sees me, but I needed to understand exactly that was.
All this comes from a wrong identity and not knowing the Fathers heart for you. This is why we are doing Identity study on Wed nights.
If what I am about to say is hard for you to believe, then, you still do not have your identity in Christ settled yet. Here is the statement and pay attention how your soul reacts to this when you first hear it.
When God looks at you, He does not see anything wrong with you.
He sees what is missing of your experience of Him, and He is committed to helping you unpack the Father’s heart towards you.
Phrase: They got a lot of baggage. Meaning they have a lot of unsettled issues in their life that they are dragging along with them. If that person is a Christian, then what they have is not baggage but luggage that is not unpacked yet. There are things about Christ they have not yet discovered. They will discover the greatness of Christ as they unpack issues in their life with Christ leading them.
The issues you have had or are dealing with in your life, you know, the things you wish would go away, are actually the very things when unpacked that Christ will reveal Himself to you in personal and unique ways.
Ill. Let’s say you have an alcohol addiction. When stress comes you go to drinking too much to cope with the stress. People might say you are an alcoholic. But not God. He sees you in Christ and fully pleasing. However, there are some experiences you are missing in Christ that would help you walk in freedom over addiction. Jesus is committed to help you unpack your luggage and find freedom. Your ministry is always related to the thing you struggled with. If you are not free from a certain bondage it is simply you have yet to experience the truth from revelation about Christ in that area of your life yet.
In church we hear a lot about dedication and that is good. But I personally know from experience that you can dedicate yourself over and over until your dedicator is broken. You need something more than just dedication.
Paul’s prayer for all of us to pray for ourselves.
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:
By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you. . .” Eph. 1:17-18
Your dedication to God is directly related to your revelation of God.
Our personal revelation of God is what fuels our dedication.
A man with a testimony (an experience with God) will never be at the mercy of a man with an argument.
You can argue about theology but you can’t argue with my experience.
My identity is based on Christ’s redemption for me:
1. I am a new creation of great worth. 2 Cor. 5:17
2. I am deeply loved. John 3:16
3. I am completely forgiven. 2 Cor. 5:21
4. I am fully pleasing to God because of Christ’s sacrifice. Rom. 5:1
“Therefore since we are justified (given right standing with God) through faith, let us grasp the fact and enjoy that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:1
“Justification means that God not only has forgiven me of my sins but also has granted me the righteousness of Christ. Because of justification, I bear Christ’s righteousness, and I am therefore fully pleasing to the Father (Rom. 5:1).”
I am saved by grace as a gift, not because of my performance.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” Ephesians 2:8
1. “Because of justification, I am completely forgiven and fully pleasing to God. I no longer have to fear failure.
2. Because of reconciliation, I am totally accepted by God. I no longer have to fear rejection.
3. Because of propitiation, I am deeply loved by God. I no longer have to fear punishment.
4. Because of regeneration, I am a new creation of God. I no longer have to fear shame and guilt of my past.
You need a revelation of the way God sees you to fuel your dedication to God.
Getting Better As You Grow Older
Getting Better As You Grow Older
(Be confident - Part 2) Psalm 37:3
Intro: I am getting older and I intentionally want to get better and more like Christ. I am going for the goal. At the end of my life on earth I don’t want any gas left in my tank. I am going to pour out my life in serving the Lord wherever and however He leads.
Review- “Fret not” = because you see evil people doing better than you. 2 Corinthians 10:12 says,
But they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
- Friend was watching big time TV ministers and said to me. You could have been one of them – world wide ministry.
- God knows where I live. He has my cell number and besides that we talk every day throughout the day. Right now I am right where I am suppose to be and doing what He wants me to do. Don’t start comparing yourself with others – God has a plan for you!
Be calm. Last weeks message.
One of the ways we can measure if we are getting better is Patience.
Patience fruit Spirit. “Let patience have her perfecting work, that you may be mature and fully developed (with no defects), lacking nothing.” Jas 1:4 Amp.
“Ruthlessly attack hurry.” Ill. Good book: Unhurried Life
Give God thanks for stop lights for helping you to slow down instead of getting frustrated all the time! “Have you ever noticed that people driving slower than you are idiots, and people driving faster than you are maniacs?”
Ill. Minister bought used lawn mower at a yard sale. When he got it home he could not get it started and brought it back complaining it wouldn’t run. “It’ll run” said the man at the yard sale. “But you have to curse at it to get it started.” The minister was shocked and said, “I have not uttered a curse word in 30 years.” The yard sale man said, “Just keep pulling on the starter rope – the words will come back to you!”
As we get older we should be growing in patience because we walk with God who is love. He is with us and teaching us in everyday circumstances how to get better by growing in patience. The older you get the more experience you have to get better at life.
Ill. I hear older people say the older I get I don’t have the patience I use to have. That should not be! All your life you should be growing and maturing in the fruit of the Spirit. Your fruit should get sweeter with age not more bitter. You actually have control over whether or not you have more patience. “Let P have her . . . “You have to be intentional about this or you will naturally default to mean and grumpy.”
Inspection – Correction – Direction
Some practical things: Practice smiling more at people. Be aware of your face is a billboard. Does it say I love Jesus and I am going to heaven, or does it say, I don’t like anyone and get out of my way.
We all should be getting better as we walk with God who is love.
Our hearts should be characterized and covered with CPR.
C – confidence
P – peace
R – rest
Today in part 2 of getting better as you get older I want to talk to you about one thing. CONFIDENCE
“Trust and BE CONFIDENT in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and FEED SURELY ON HIS FAITHFULNESS, and truly you shall be fed.” Psalm 37:3
The longer we have walked with Him the more unshakeable trust we will have as a result of a close walk.
ill. What was lacking in that first generation of children of Israel that did not make it into their destiny of the Promise land?
Confidence in God and in themselves. Psalm 78:41 “they turned back and tempted God and “limited the Holy One of Israel.”
Unbelief manifested as lack of confidence.
An unbelieving heart from a believer that walks with God???
It is not that you can’t believe but that you refuse to have confidence in God that you can’t see to put your confidence in things you can see.
That is no different from an atheist. We have believers who are practicing atheist.
Have you heard the news? April 1st is now an official holiday – National Atheist day.
“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.” Psalm 14:1
He is refusing – resisting the truth – no God for me.
Believers do the same thing when they do not exercise confidence in God.
Confidence is like fuel in an airplane. Without it you crash.
You can see confidence on someone when they walk in a room.
Jesus modeled it. Don’t have to be loud, pushy, demanding.
Quiet confidence comes from letting God be in charge!
“In returning to Me, and resting in Me you shall be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength, but you would not.” Isa. 30:15 Amp.
The more dependent we are on God the more confident we become in Him. The older I get the more I lose and have to let go of things in this life and depend upon the Lord.
You may lose your spouse. You may lose strength. You may lose ability to work and make the money you use to.
God may be weaning you to learn to let go of things and come to Him and ask for His help and depend upon Him for what you need.
“Feed on His faithfulness.” Psalm 37:3 Amp.
Be Calm and be confident.
If you can’t be confident in God, then you will only have self confidence.
Self confidence without God confidence is pride.
“God resists the proud.” I Peter 5:5
I must grow confidence in God and confidence in myself.
Don’t mistake low self confidence for humility!
Low self confidence usually comes from low self worth.
“I don’t think I can, rises from a deeper, I don’t think I am.”
- If you quit and give up to quickly = low self confidence.
- If you fear failure and won’t try = low self confidence.
- If you care too much what others think of you = ‘’ ‘’ ‘’.
I must grow in confidence in God and confidence in myself.
You should come out on Wednesday nights for Bible study. The teaching is on knowing your true identity in Christ and teaching about the Father’s love for you.
You grow confidence in God by life experience with Him and feeding on His faithfulness. You grow self confidence by experiencing what God can do with you when you are yielded to Him.
What gave teen ager David such confidence to face GOLIATH?
Gen. Douglas McArthur and his army was surrounded by the Japanese on the Philippines. He gathered his leaders and said these words.
Pic Douglas MacArthur
“Men, we have intelligence that reports the whole Japanese fleet has surrounded us. The enemy is in front of us, the enemy is behind us, the enemy is to the right and to the left of us. Then he took a long pause and then said, They can't get away this time!”
1. Confidence will create the creativity in you to solve problems. Teddy Roosevelt said, “Anytime anyone asks you if you can do a job tell them, ‘Certainly I can.’ Then get busy and go find out how to do it.”
2. Confidence in God will grow courage with God.
3 things confident people have:
1. Humility – they understand their place in life with God and others.
2. Authenticity – they are comfortable in their own skin.
3. A calling from God – a purpose that is bigger than themselves.
A calling from God does not mean you know how everything is going to turn out. In fact, most leaders live with great uncertainty about their future and dreams. For example, the Apostle Paul.
I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.
Acts 20:22-24 MSG.
Fear and faith always compete with each other. The one that is strongest at the moment will always win.
Feed your faith and starve your fears!
Hell is after your confidence in God!
The devil knows he cannot beat a confident Xn.
- He attacks your finances to affect your confidence in God’s provision – so you will back down off tithing and offerings.
- He attacks your health, your family, anything to get you to back off your confidence in God or His Word.
“Cast not away your confidence, which hath great compensation of reward. For you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. . . Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Heb. 10:35-36, 38
Concl: Every change in your life begins with a decision by you. You only have today. Past is over and future not here yet. Heb. 4:7 “Today” = God keeps resetting the promises for you every day in hopes that you will say “yes” today to Him and start living with confidence in His promises to you. When God says “Today” it means it is still a live promise for you to grab hold of today and experience Him.
Those of you who know you have received X but have not been following Him. Today HS is calling you to change that.
Change begins now! Get back to your place in God. Repent at this altar and let God do heart surgery on you now. Come.
Those who have never received X as Lord and Savior and want to receive God’s forgiveness of sin and be made clean with God – come.
You are getting older – but are you getting better?
God wants you to let Him have His way with your life. HE wants you to be like Jesus. Be calm. Be confident in God and in yourself in His hands.
My Identity in Christ Part 3
My Identity in Christ
Because of Christ’s redemption, I am a new creation of great worth.
I am deeply loved by God,
I am completely forgiven,
I am fully pleasing to God,
I am totally accepted by God and
I am absolutely complete in Christ.
Do I believe this?
I know what I believe, but do I really believe what I say that I know??
Many people have a hard time believing that they are completely forgiven by God and and as a result end up making guilt payments for most of their lives.
- What do you think I mean by making guilt payments?
- Guilt payments are a result of wrong thinking and believing.
However, this kind of wrong thinking frustrates the grace of God from working effectively and setting you free from all of sins effects.
Ill. Book of Galatians is all about this.
“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the LAW, then Christ is dead in vain.” Gal. 2:21
We became righteous because of what Jesus did on the cross for us!
I am completely forgiven of all sin.
But I may still have to suffer some consequences on earth even though I am completely forgiven by God.
Artie the bank robber.
When were you forgiven of all your sins? Before foundation of world X slain – Rev. 13:8. Also Romans 5:8 KJV then verse 9-10 in Ampl.
When did you receive forgiveness of all your sins? The day you received X.
“As many as RECEIVED HIM, to them gave HE the power to become the sons of God, to those who believe on His name.” John 1:12
How did you do this?
“With the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Rom. 10:10
Jesus’ death was an overpayment to save the whole world – an overpayment that paid for all your sins even in the future and you still have credit in your account at the end. This credit is called favor and grace from God in our lives with Him using us and working through us to bless others.
I am completely forgiven!
Get this truth established in your heart by making it part of your daily confession with your mouth. Once you get this established then the enemy will not be able to fool you with your feelings. Sometimes your feelings are contrary to truth. Maybe you feel God has not forgiven or you are just too bad to be forgiven. Then You NEED this truth and must get your heart, mind, feelings, wrapped around this.
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace that we may RECEIVE MERCY,
And FIND GRACE to help in time of need, coming just when we need it. HEB. 4:16 KJV/AMP
Mercy is simply received by faith.
Mercy is God not punishing us for what we deserve.
Mercy and grace are often confused. Grace and mercy are not the same. To summarize the difference: mercy is God not punishing us as our sins deserve, and grace is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it. Mercy is deliverance from judgment. Grace is extending kindness to the unworthy.
Grace is often defined as unmerited favor but it is so much more. Grace is God giving us ability and favor to do things that we could not do on our own.
Spiritual gifts in the church are grace gifts I Cor. 12
Considering the list of the nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 we can classify them into three categories to get a better overview:
1. Revelation-gifts bring to light what was hidden.
- Word of wisdom
- Word of knowledge
- Discerning of spirits
2. Power-gifts manifest God’s power visibly.
- Faith
- Gifts of healings
- Working of miracles
3. Speaking-gifts communicate grace to hearers.
- Speaking in tongues
- Interpretation
- Prophecy
All spiritual gifts operate the same way the gift of salvation operated in you to bring you redemption.
“By grace through faith”
Back to God’s mercy and grace for us today.
We are told to come boldly or CONFIDENTLY to God’s throne to receive mercy and find grace.
On what are we to base our confidence to be able to come to God and confidently receive mercy and confidently know we will find grace?
- Most will say based on God’s Word and that is true but I am looking for something more specific here.
God tells us to come confidently knowing we will receive mercy based on one thing.
Propitiation
“If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” I John 2:2
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” I John 4:10
ill. Remember the movie last week of the bridge tender and sacrificing his son for the sake of saving people on the train?
Propitiation is not a word we use much today.
Let’s think about what these words mean, then, beginning with the word expiation. The prefix ex means “out of” or “from,” so expiation has to do with removing something or taking something away.
(Board “Expiation” Ex – to remove or out of. Jesus has removed our penalty for sin. “Propitiation” Pro – for or to add to. In the Latin it seems to have the meaning of mercy and grace added now.
Ill. Let me explain it like this. God’s throne is described as having a mercy seat. The Mercy seat was the stone lid covered with gold on the ark of the covenant.
PIC of Ark of Covenant
Inside the ark of God’s covenant was:
1. The law which we could not fulfill – Jesus did.
2. Aarons rod – the priesthood we could not – Jesus did.
3. Manna – supernatural provision – Jesus is the bread
Now the lid could be removed and we can find grace- ability to keep the LAW – through Jesus, to enjoy the priesthood and be kings and priest of God – through Jesus. To have access to supernatural provision Manna – through Jesus.
Because we are completely forgiven we have access to grace that people before the new covenant did not have.
I am completely forgiven is an important part of our true identity.
“. . . the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin [keeps us cleansed from all sin].” I John 1:7 kjv/amp
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Co. 5:21
- This capsulizes the whole gospel in one verse.
“For our sake God made Christ virtually to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we become righteous without sin and acceptable to God in right relationship with Him by His grace.”
2 Cor. 5:21 Ampl.
He paid a debt He did not owe,
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song,
Amazing grace all day long.
Christ Jesus paid a debt that
I could never pay.
Last words or Apostle Peter are written to us
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18
WE already have all the grace we will ever need.
But we can grow in grace by accessing the knowledge experientially of Jesus through the Word. How and what will this look like practically in my life today.
It will look just like it did the day you believed that you received the forgiveness of all your sins – freedom. But now that You have this You can give it away to anyone, no matter how bad they have treated you or yours.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, Whom you were sealed for unto the final deliverance from evil and consequences of sin. Let all bitterness, anger and wrath and resentment and slander be put away from you: and become useful and helpful and kind to one another, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.
Eph. 4:30-32 AMP/para
You are Growing Older but ARE YOU Getting Better! Part 1
You are Growing Older but ARE YOU Getting Better! Pt 1
What are the marks of getting better? Psalm 37
Intro: The growing older part you may not have control over but the getting better part you do have control over!
David wrote this psalm when he was a senior adult.
One of the largest retirement villages in world all around us.
“The fields are white unto harvest” literally with white hair.
WE are going to start a new singing group called the “the retirement village people” with a new song.
Comic PIC
Retirement may mean you slow down or you don’t work like you use to but it is never to imply that you quit. Being a Xn and a minister is my life calling. I will never retire from my calling until heaven.
Could it be that all your life has been preparation for your best life now?
Jesus spent 30 years in obscurity and daily work for 3 years of ministry? God did not consider those wasted years.
Ill. Talking to youth minister Miguel about retired people moving all around the church. We always want young families and youth and children! One gold mine is all the retired people around us.
They have time, money, experience. I would like to see a mentoring program of retired people connected to young people teaching a vast variety of subjects, musical instruments, how to subjects.
So many retired people in the villages are living empty wasted lives and will end up sad, depressed, or even suicidal while living what their dream of what they worked for all their lives and found it empty.
The average household net worth in Villages is 364,291. Another source reports this to be 2.3 million.
- All the golf, dancing, eating and drinking all you want = zero.
Why?
Recently heard of a survey from Yale that said, people that you would think are set for life in money, two homes, retire young, are some of the unhappiest people in the world!
75% of the people who have won the lottery would say they are unhappy.
Same survey revealed the happiest people in the world are people who live life facing outward instead of inward. In other words, they have found happiness by taking time to help others in some way. Whether it is in volunteering, mentoring, helping the less fortunate, ministering in some way – this is the secret to happiness no one expected.
What kind of older person do you want to be?
You can be better or bitter but you can’t be both!
This psalm 37 is one of my favorites because it is written by a senior adult David who has a wealth of life experience he is offering us here.
One of the first things that should mark an older more mature person who has had a lot of life experience is a sense of calm.
They have weathered many life storms and they have learned not to hit the panic button every time something unexpected happens. One of the characteristics of getting older but better is a possessing a sense of calm when adversity happens.
Be calm.
“Fret not yourself because of evil doers, neither be envious against the workers of iniquity.” Vs 1
“Be still and rest in the Lord. . . fret not yourself because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath . . . ” Psa. 37:7-8 Ampl.
An older and wiser King David is talking to us like a father. “Be calm. Don’t get yourself in a huff over anything. Relax – be patient.”
Isn’t retirement about finally slowing down! Just don’t go slow in the fast lane because it causes some people road rage. I am not going to say names but her initials are Pam Washburn!
My mom and Dad’s parents were from hills of Tennessee and very country. People use to sit on front porch and talk or make music. I remember listening to their conversations because of their strong southern hillbilly accents I heard words I did not know like this.
“Last week we bur- reed your second cousin.
Burr-ree in the Southern Dictionary means bury.
Burr-reed = buried. For example:
“Last week we burr-reed your second cousin.”
Then I would hear the dumbest question ever from the other person. “Did he die?”
I was thinking maybe one day the other person might answer and say, “No he didn’t die, but we got tired of waiting!”
Hurry + Worry = an Rx for BuRRy
Hurry is a soul that has un-yoked with Jesus.
Worry is a soul that has un-yoked with Jesus.
Fretting is a soul that has un-yoked with Jesus.
BUSY = Bound Under Satan’s Yoke
As we get older in the Lord we become more patient and calm in adversity. WHY?
Because we have had a longer love walk with Jesus than younger people! After 41 years of a love walk with God I should have learned that I may not be able to trust me because I am not always faithful but He remains faithful even when I am not.
“Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt you dwell in the land and FEED ON HIS FAITHFULNESS . . .” Psalm 37:3 Ampl.
How? Yoked with Him Who is called LOVE. People who truly walk with God are patient people. Patient with God, patient with themselves, and patient with others. How do I know this?
- I Cor. 13 chapter is a list what love is and how it acts. The 1st characteristic of love IS –
“Love is PATIENT and KIND . . .” I Cor. 13:4
Patience is learned by life experience WITH GOD. Have you learned
Patience? “Let patience have her perfecting, maturing work in you, so you may be fully developed, with no defects, lacking nothing.” Ja.1:4 Ampl.
Pic of kitty and dog: Good to have friends teach you.
Everyone needs friends who will be truthful to them. If you can’t sing and you think you can – you need a real friend!
Pic of man praying for patience:
Pic of dog with dog biscuit on nose:
Patience is about slowing yourself down in the inside, and trusting God has ordained your steps on the outside, to be in the right place at the right time.
When you slow down you see things other people do not see.
Ill.Paraphrase Luke 10: 30-37. Priest, Levite, Samaritan. Two religious guys and a man no one expected anything good from walk past a divine appointment God placed right in front of them.
“Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:37
(You can’t “go and do likewise” and be in a hurry!)
The context of this parable of Jesus comes from a lawyer asking Jesus an important question:
What am I to do to have (Eternal Life) the life, (the plans) that God wants me to live?
Jesus’ answer is Love God with all you have and then your neighbor. Then He tells a parable we all know but most of us have yet to hear God talking to us through this parable: So pay attention!
3 men looking for God’s plans and purposes for their life:
1. They all walk the same path or road.
2. They all see the same things.
3. Two of them do what most people do because they are in a hurry.
4. Only one stops to consider what God has placed in his path.
Priest – maybe he became a priest thinking this how God will show me purpose and meaning for my life = found empty.
Levite – If I stay in the service of the church = empty.
Both of these men think this is an interruption to God’ great plans for my life so I must keep on going to get there!
Samaritan = God has ordained my steps. He puts people in my path for a reason. I will stop and consider what God wants to do with me concerning this need.
Jesus taught us to find our real life by losing it.
The first two guys see this real need but they consider it an interruption to their lives and ignore it and keep moving on with their agenda.
“My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered THE INTERRUPTIONS WERE MY WORK.”
Henri Nouwen
Are we missing the work of God because we are in a hurry to do other things that God has not told us to do? Hurry can be a sickness!
Having God in our life should make us distinctively different and noticed by the hectic pace the world is trying to keep up with.
I want my grandchildren to learn from me. I want them to notice that Papa has a calm about him that I want to have.
When they ask me how I do it then I can say I have learned to “feed on God’s faithfulness and this makes me calm inside no matter what is going on the outside.
Some scriptures I have been meditating on:
“ Blessed is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your Word, that You may give him power to keep himself CALM in the days of adversity . . .” Psalm 94:12-13
Have you received His power to keep yourself calm in the days of adversity?
“A CALM and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy and wrath are rottenness of the bones.”
Proverbs 14:30
The best exercise for your body is to have a calm and undisturbed mind and heart. Do you have this?
“Surely I have CALMED and quieted my soul like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting].” Psalm 131
“As for you, be CALM and COOL and STEADY, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully perform all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Tim. 4:5
The calmest, coolest and steady people on earth to be admired should be those who have walked the love walk with God for a long time and found He is faithful and true.
These particular people are “getting older but they are also getting better.”
As wine ages it gets better, sweeter. Are you? You may have moved here to retire. God places a question to you today.
Retire or Re-fire? What will it be?
Your ending is more important than your beginning! Finish Well!
You are Growing Older but Are You Getting Better?
Concl: You can but you must be intentional. You don’t coast into this kind of life. You present yourself to God today as a Living Sacrifice.
Romans 12:1-2
I will continue more on this subject of getting older but getting better next week. So bring someone with you who needs to hear this.
My Identity in Christ Part 2
I don’t have anything worthwhile to say unless I have first heard something from God! I would like this on my pulpit! Then add the words of Isaiah 50:4
My Identity in Christ
Because of Christ’s redemption, I am a new creation of great worth.
I am deeply loved by God,
I am completely forgiven,
I am fully pleasing to God,
I am totally accepted by God and
I am absolutely complete in Christ.
Do I believe this?
Last week I introduced this identity statement to you and went over how when you are born again you become a new creation that never existed before. It costs God the highest sacrifice to redeem you.
Now I want to focus on some more parts of this truth.
I am deeply loved by God
Do you really believe this?
How do you know this other than by reading it in the Bible?
Without personally knowing this by revelation from God you will never believe this identity statement and also find it hard to trust God.
Many people (Xns) feel rejected and not loved by God because of some bad experiences that have happened in their life. You need the living experience that God loves you regardless of your behavior.
You will never desire the KOG over the KO self until you personally experience God and the deep love He has for you.
How do I know personally, experientially that God loves me?
- Is because only what I call good things happen to me?
- What about when God allows bad things to happen?
What causes people to repent of sin? Romans 2:4 identifies it.
“. . . it is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance.”
Romans 2:4
This is something you have to experience personally.
O taste and see the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8
5 senses and their spiritual counterparts:
1. Seeing - visions, dreams, circumstances
2. Hearing – Word, preaching.
3. Smelling – nose detectors, atmospheres
4. Feelings – HS emotions, peace?
5. Taste – sweet, sour, salt, bitter
Ill. Have you tasted and seen that what God calls sin, evil, or wrong is bad for you and is what causes pain and hurt in your life?
Have you tasted and seen that what God calls good and right is what blesses your life with joy and peace?
- At that moment when you first taste sin of immorality it tastes sweet and it is addicting and then one day the bitterness of shame, hurt and pain it caused you and others hits you. This is not God punishing you – this is a result of you not believing God’s way is good and anything contrary to His way is pain.
- Ill. Eden – don’t eat that fruit. The root of temptation was questioning the love of God for you. If God deeply loved you why would He tell you no.
Do you know for sure and can you say without any question?
I am deeply loved by God.
Don’t answer out loud. You life is speaking louder than your words!
Much of my Xn life I have questioned this!
This issue is what will determine if you stay in faith till the very end.
When you are in agony, pain or hurting it can be hard to see that God loves you. Look at what Job said during his most painful times: "If I go to the east, [God] is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him"
(Job 23:8-9).
If you were to ask Job during this time in his life, what might he say?
I don’t know for sure if He really loves me.
Taste and see the Lord is good = this is learning through life experience that what may start out sweet may turn bitter, but in the end it was all good. Some things in life are bitter to us, but causes us to go where we would have never gone without Jesus.
- Andrew Brunson in prison in Turkey. Bitter now but?
Goodness always teaches us something true about God that we did not know.
We learn Him by personal experience in all the complexities of life.
Paul’s prayer in Eph. 3:17-19
May you be rooted and grounded in love!
PIC rooted and grounded
May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, and may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete as you come to know (through experience for yourselves) the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience; that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God’s Divine Presence Himself. Eph. 3:17-19 Ampl and NLT.
Experiencing love goes beyond knowledge and understanding!
What keeps you from being filled with the fullness of God is, not experiencing the love of Christ personally.
How do you know from experience that God deeply loves you?
We must re-learn who we really are and un-learn who we have been.
Many of us believe that we have to earn God’s favor. We think, “I read my Bible, so He loves me.” Or, “Things aren’t going so well, so it must be because I’m not doing it right.”
This passage in Zephaniah can help us overcome this faulty thinking: The Lord your God is with you; He is mighty to save and deliver. He will quiet you with His love and rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
In this passage, God tells a rebellious people that He actually stands over them singing and rejoicing, like a mother sings over her children to calm them down.
He wants to deliver us and quiet the stress of our heart with a love that’s not contingent on our performance.
Romans 5:8 also reminds us of this truth. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In spite of our sinfulness, God demonstrated His love by sending Christ to die for us.
God’s love is not like any other love you have tasted. It is unconditional, it’s free, and all we have to do to experience it is accept it, and rejoice in it. Let’s stop trying to earn God’s love and let ourselves experience it simply by believing God!
“If you will not believe you will not be established.” Isa. 7:9
Everything from God we must receive by faith in Him!
Our needs do not move God. Only faith moves God.
You need to get this issue settled once and for all in your life. Do you really believe and can you say will total assurance that will never doubt again, not based on the good things or bad things that happen to me in this life:
I am deeply loved by God.
Gods Dream for 2018
The avg age lifespan for a man in America is 76. So let’s say IF you live to be 76 this means:
If you are …30 years old today – you have about 2400 weekends left.
40 years old today – you have about 1900 weekends left.
50 years old today – you have about 1350 weekends left.
60 years old today – you have about 800 weekends left.
If you are a 74-year-old male – don’t buy any green bananas!
In the Hebrew language numbers have meanings:
20 = twenty dream and twenty visions in the Bible. 20 has to do with personal revelation and waiting or serving God until it is fulfilled.
18 = multiplying life for the believer. Abundant life!
8 = new beginning.
Pic of Hebrew number Chet
The Hebrew number for 8 is called Chet (rhymes mate) purposely resembles a gate or door way to a new beginning.
Pic of gate
God is opening up a gate before us in 2018 to experience life His way. But we have to leave our way in order to experience His way.
New Year we set goals and make resolutions.
2018 is not to be a do over of 2017.
God will not pour new wine revelation into old wine skins.
God is shouting, “I don’t want a new improved you. I don’t even want you trying harder to do better!
Jesus was talking about materialism and living to make money when He said these famous words as a warning to us:
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mtt. 6:24
Replace the word “mammon” – money, materialism, selfish desires with the word “Yourself”.
“You cannot serve God and Self.” Mtt. 6:24
Today is like God putting a gate before us. Will you leave self, and all your selfish desires, ambitions, goals and dreams and serve God without knowing where He is taking you?
God is saying this to us:
What I want from you is what I have always wanted from you:
Total unconditional surrender and trust in Me without any guarantees other than that I am with you.
This means you become God’s bond slave.
Bond slave was one who was given freedom from being a slave but voluntarily choose to continue to be a slave to their master for life. They took a piercing mark of ownership in their ear signifying to anyone that their primary responsibility was to listen first to their master.
Pic of Tattoo
Becoming a bond slave is a serious thing. It means you have reached the final decision that you cannot take your life back. You have decided to finish your life in this condition as a slave to another. You cannot quit when things get hard. You can’t change careers. You are in this for life!
Paul reached this point in his life. He had many hardships and opportunities to quit because ministry is hard work, long hours, heavy burdens and low pay. No one would blame him if he did walk away.
Somewhere along the way Paul that God’s calling upon him was for life. Whether in good times or bad he was going to stay with his calling to be God’s slave, servant. In Romans 1:1 he identifies himself in a unique way. The word he uses for servant is bond slave.
Bondservant of Christ
God is saying to you this:
What I want from you is simple; total unconditional surrender.
Total unconditional surrender involves two things:
1. Initial surrender – Salvation is the starting place.
2. Lifetime of re-surrendering.
Lifetime of re-surrendering is rededication to your calling. When we are living in right relationship with God we are like a train running on tracks.
Pic of train on tracks
But when a Xn is not living in alignment with God he is like a train off the tracks. PIC train off tracks:
Looking back over your life story you would see there are some chapters titled
Unsurrendered !
You don’t want the next chapter to bear this title.
I realize I am talking to some here today who know they are not living in surrender to God even though they would say Jesus is their Lord. I want to warn everyone of the high price of holding out from God by telling you a true story.
In March 10, 1974 almost 30 years after WW2 and man named Hiroo Onada became famous and his story was in every newspaper.
Pic of Hiroo Onada:
For 29 years he refused to believe the war had ended. He hid in the jungle and lived off the land and evading people. Leaflets were dropped by a plane, announcements over loud speakers, but he refused to believe. Finally, he received a personal command from his former CO and was persuaded to surrender. Listen to his own words,
“I felt like a fool. What had I been doing all these years? The best years of my life were wasted by fighting a war that had already been won.”
- He had been resisting a life he could have had.
Some people express resistance to God outwardly but others it is more hidden and subtle from our eyes but not His.
We all are born with a determination to run our own life, our way and therefore become unwilling to submit to the King of Kings. We have had years of resistance to what God wants us to do. Like Hiroo Onada we have hidden out in the jungle of life instead of surrendering to God. After all surrender might demand a radical altered lifestyle.
Ok so you consider yourself a Xn. But have you ever considered God wants you to surrender the right to run your own life to Him?
Reasons for lack of surrender:
1. Some may not have ever realized what it means to surrender to God. You mean my money belongs to God, my kids, my body, time?
2. Some are afraid what might happen if you surrender some part of your life to God.
3. Some know but are willfully rebelling against God’s call on their life. They know what God wants but they are not willing.
- Danger – Either you are a real Xn or not?
- Rebellion invites correction from God.
Whatever your reason for holding out on surrendering to God the point is You are the one missing out on God’s dream for your life.
Resistance to God costs for more than surrender to God!
Concl: Never heard anyone on their deathbed say things like, “I wish I had worked more hours. I wish I had watched more TV?
You need a new vision of the One who runs the Universe. If you saw Him as He is you would gladly surrender everything to Him.
No one can serve two masters. Mtt 6:24
Kingdom of Self rule or Kingdom of God?
The kos and koG are at war with each other. The kingdom of Self will not go away just because you choose the KOG. The kingdom of self has to be destroyed by You! It was built one thing at a time and it will be destroyed by dealing with one thing at a time too. There is no other way! It will not be easy. It will be painful but it has to be torn down by you. Today He may show you one thing He wants you to address and tear down.
Today is first Sunday of 2018 – I see two gates open in front of us. One is called the KOS and the other is the KOG. Not many people are going through this KOG gate – in fact only a few. You will make a choice before you leave this place today which gate you will go through to 2018.
There are a few crises in life we will have to face. The greatest crisis is the surrender to God by your will. As long as we continue to refuse to surrender to the will of God – we are never free. There is no peace until you are willing to accept God’s terms – unconditional surrender. This is God’s dream for you and me for 2018.
My Identity in Christ
Because of Christ’s redemption,
I am a new creation of great worth.
I am deeply loved,
Completely forgiven,
Fully pleasing,
Totally accepted by God and
Absolutely complete in Christ.
(Not because of what I do.
Not because of what others say about me.)
When a person becomes born from above by HS he is a brand new creation that did not exist before this.
Holy Spirit of God merges with your human spirit.
S + s = Ss ( 2 Cor. 5:17)
Your soul and body are still the same.
Bible calls it the inner man and outer man. The outer man is perishing but the inner man can be renewed and get better daily.
Your old human spirit was dead to the things of God. Now God’s HS has come to dwell in you making your human spirit born again, new and alive to the things of God. Before you were born again you lived like this:
Soul (mind, will, emotions) ruled your body.
Now, your human spirit is alive and merged to the Spirit of God. You have to re-train your soul and body to obey the Sspirit.
Sspirit rule over your soul and body.
Now you notice a tension inside you more than ever.
“For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to the flesh; for these are antagonistic to each other [continually in conflict with each other], so that you are prevented from doing what you desire to do.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: they are immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, anger, selfishness, divisions, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like. . . But the fruit of the Spirit [the work His Presence accomplishes] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self control. Against such things there is no law.
Gal. 5:17-23
The Spirit has desires and the flesh has desires.
The flesh is opposed to the Spirit.
The flesh is driven by works.
The Spirit leads producing fruit.
3 types of people:
1. Lost – without God
2. Saved – Spirit led
3. Saved – Carnal, immature.
Brethren, I could not speak to you as spiritual men, but as carnal, even as babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for you were not yet strong enough. For you are still carnal (under the control of ordinary impulses). For as long as there are envying and jealousy, and arguing and divisions among you, are you not carnal and living like mere unchanged men? I Cor. 3:1-3
What are the indications of being a carnal Christian?
1. Milk of the Word -immature
2. Carnal impulses
3. Envy
4. Jealousy
5. Arguing and divisions
How does knowing my true identity in Christ help me mature? Why is knowing our identity in Christ and what God did for us important for spiritual growth? How can we come to know and live out our identity in Christ?
This identity statement is not just psychology. It is based on what God says about us being in Christ.
Because of Christ’s redemption,
I am a new creation. . . 2 Cor. 5:17
I am deeply loved, Jn 3:16, Rom. 8:31-9
Completely forgiven, Heb. 10:18
Fully pleasing, Col. 1:10
Totally accepted by God and Eph. 1:5-6
Absolutely complete in Christ. Col. 2:10
I say this out loud every day to myself. You should too. Keep this card where you will see it every morning and say it out loud.
Why is this important? The first thing a child learns is his identity. Who you are and who you belong to. Belonging is important to people. We need to belong. Israel had 12 tribes. You would belong to one tribe. It gave you worthy and value to belong to someone bigger than yourself.
Early in life the devil tries to steal your identity and give you another false identity like:
You are a bastard child. You are illegitimate. No one wanted you. You were a mistake. You are a failure. You are worthless. You are dirty, shameful, or just you are a bad person. You are hopeless, etc.
Some people go through life w/o getting their identity straight. AS a result, they miss their destiny.
Let’s stand up and speak out your identity. Your homework this week is to say this out loud to yourself at least everyday once.
Because of Christ’s redemption,
I am a new creation of great worth.
I am deeply loved,
Completely forgiven,
Fully pleasing,
Totally accepted by God and
Absolutely complete in Christ.