Practice the WORD

Practice the WORD - God's Promises

One day as I was studying, I began to write down and pray the word of God. I wanted to remind myself of what God's WORD promises us and the best way to do that is to practice it. Meaning we need to recite it over and over again to ourselves and then think on it and finally act on it. Here are some of the scriptures that I study. I wrote down a few points that I prayed after reading the scripture, I hope they help you as well.

You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’” 18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. – 2 Chronicles 20:17-18

• God will fight my battle. - Therefore I do not have to try and figure everything out by myself.

• I must stand firm where God places me. - I have to be patient for God's timing and move as he instructs.

• God will deliver me. - Therefore, I do not have to fear anything that comes against me because there is no weapon that will prosper.

• I do not have to be afraid or discouraged. - Therefore, I can continue to have hope regardless of what my situations or circumstances look like.

• The Lord will be with me whatever I have to face each morning. - God promises we a full supply of new mercies every day. Therefore, I will make it through my day.

• Worshiping the Lord for his promises is done before the promise if fulfilled. - I can began to be grateful before I receive because I know God will fulfill all that I need.



Prayer: Lord today I thank you for fighting my battles and for delivering me from all and any difficulties I might face. I thank you that I do not have to be discouraged because you are a faithful God and you always keep your promises. I will thank you even now because I know that my answer is there, I am simply standing still and waiting for you to reveal it. Help me to stay where you have placed me. Amen.



7 Arise, LORD! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. 8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. - Psalm 3:7-8 (New International Version)

• God will deliver me when I ask. - God will answer my call for help.

• God will defend me from my enemies. - God will not allow my enemies to defeat me.

• Deliverance comes only from God. - God is the only one that can save me from my situations or difficulties.

Prayer: Lord I thank you for answering me call for help. No weapons that are aimed to destroy me or stop me will be successful against me because you are my God. You will deliver me from any problems as only you can. Lord help me not to run away from you in times of need, but help me to run quickly towards you for you are the only source of help. Amen.


6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. - Psalm 32:6-8 (New International Version)

• I should pray for my help. - Seeking God should be the first thing I do when difficulties arise.

• God is my hiding place.- When I seek God, He becomes my place of safety away from all that would try to pull me down.

• God will protect me from trouble. - God keeps me from the troubles that would try to take my joy and peace.

• He will surround me with songs that remind me of his deliverance. - His Spirit will help me to continue to walk in victory as I think on the right things.

• God will instruct me. - The Lord will lead me, if I listen.

• God will teach me how I should go. - He gives me His Word to guide me, if I will apply it.

• God will keep his loving eyes on me as he guides me. - God never leaves me to walk this way alone.

Prayer: Lord help me to always seek you first in all things. When I come to you first, you will provide me with a safe place, a place that keeps my from being overcome by my problems. You will teach me and guild we lovingly through this journey. You will even give me encouragement in the things around me, such as a song. Help me to so that I can stay focused on you and your goodness. Amen.


(Come back next week for the final installment)

Unusual Assignments Bring Miraculous Results~ Are you taking your position?- Part 4

2 Chronicles Chapter 17  

We are lulled to sleep by our traditions. Let me say this carefully so we understand what I am trying to convey. It is good to look back at our history within the church. It is good to hear about the early pioneers of the faith. But for many, they are figures in history. There are others that are coming into this church now that these names have little or no significance to. So when we talk about what has gone before, but we don’t see the hero’s of today, you actually discourage those coming behind. How do we discourage them, because we hear about what was done in our past, about greatness, but we want to know what are we doing with our future, where is the greatness, the power NOW? We have been lulled to sleep resting on our history. Those in the Bible talked about their history but it was to rally them to stand up and take their positions for the time they were in. When Jehoshaphat talks about God’s goodness it is to remind the people about what they could lean on for today. We are here for such a time as this. The saints of yesterday have their rewards because they stood and refuse to be lulled to sleep by their history; instead they used it to build on. They took what had gone before and stood on the shoulders of those earlier pioneers of the faith and looked further into the future. They become reformers of their time. A reformer is one that has vision, for without it the people will die. However, many of us today are lulled to sleep in our pride of where we have come from as if the work is complete, not so.




Now let’s take a look at how hardening our hearts lulls us to sleep like Asa.



We are also lulled to sleep because things don’t go our way. When God wants us to do something one-way and we do it another, we have moved into disobedience. When God sends us the correction it is to our advance to heed it. We must not be like Asa and have a tantrum and get mad at the messenger. The messenger is just like the UPS or FEDEX person they just deliver the package and if you have problems with the package, go back to the sender. Asa just like Ahab both wanted to imprison or stop the messenger, but God won’t let you stop his move, so you better watch out what you try to do to those he has anointed to carry out his ways. It is foolish to try and stop what God wants to happen. I envision it is just like a person standing with a superman suit on in front of a cannon and thinking they can stop a cannonball, yet what comes out is a missile, and that thing will blow a hole right through them. That is truly under estimating the power of God, you don’t have enough power to stop even the slightest move of God. Like Asa, if we refuse to heed the correction God is giving to us even now, we risk dying in our diseases of disobedience looking to other things to remove it, when only God can do it. He says lulled to sleep, by disobedience and refusal to stand. And when we refuse to heed God’s correction, we set ourselves up for hell. Many don’t want to talk about it, but I’ve got to say this. If God is calling you to repent of something you are doing and you refuse, you are playing a foolish game. It is foolish to think you can refuse God and still receive his mercy and favor. Do you know why hell is a place of torment? If you die in your sins you go to stand before God and in that moment you will experience the fullness of God. See here we know something about love, both the saved and the unsaved. We love our husbands and wives, our children, our parents and we feel and receive love in return. But when you stand before God you will experience the fullness of his love, only to have it quickly snatched away. What is the torment? To have known what you could have had, to be in the fullness of God, to fill his fullness of love, yet not receive it and to realize what you have missed. You will be forever in torment because for an eternity you will never feel the love of God again, but your mind will always long for it, your heart will always long for it to never have it fulfilled. See the worst thing about hell, is you miss heaven. There is no joy there, no peace there, but to be forever aware of what you could have had, because just as the saved will know the Lord more fully, so will the unsaved know more fully what they have refused (return next week for the next installment).

Week In Review

Unusual assignments bring miraculous results - Are you taking your position? - part 3

Preached in 2007

We are lulled to sleep by our worship. A few years ago, we had a birthday party for my husband's grandmother. We had gathered together to discuss who would do the food, who would do the decorations, what committee would be responsible for what, but she was never invited into the planning process. Then the day of the party came. We invited her into the party, told her to have a seat and we set about celebrating and honoring her. Some told about how important she was to them. Some told about the impact she had on their life. Songs were sung to honor her and for a few brief moments we allowed her to get up and give us a few remarks. She was quickly done and things were over. We thought it was a success. Well God says that works fine for a birthday party or an anniversary but not as worship to him. In churches across this country we are inviting God in, when we offer the invocation, we say come in have a seat and we will honor you. We will talk about you in our life, we will even say how you have changed our lives and we will sing songs to honor you, and for a few brief moments we will allow the guest of honor to say something through the speaker or preacher. We however, want the speaker to get up and give the message of God quickly sit back down and then we say, wasn’t that a good worship service? God says not. He wants us to be willing to let go of our plans and give him 100% access. So if that means that we skip something on the list and allow the Spirit to direct in another direction, we do so without getting upset, sitting down, folding our arms, closing our eyes and being lulled to sleep because we feel slighted because we were suppose to sing the solo and instead someone else was called or because you were suppose to do one thing and it was left out. Who is this about anyway, us or God? He says, lulled to sleep.


We are lulled to sleep by our programs, plans and agenda’s. When we planned for that birthday celebration, we didn’t let grandmommy know what was going on. It was for her, about her, to honor her, but we didn’t involve her in the planning. Just like we planned what we wanted to do for that party, in our churches we do the same things. We begin by planning things to line up with what we want, how we want to honor God and we forget that as long as we lined ourselves up with God first, we were successful, we had victories, we had healings taking place, we had deliverances from sin and demonic possession. We become comfortable and turn to our own thinking. So we plan our programs and then we ask God to bless them. Well that doesn’t seem like a bad idea, but the problem is it is based on our own ideas and understanding. We do like Jehoshaphat, and move from Judah and head toward Israel. We move from where God has placed us and turn to seeking after what looks good to us. Instead God says, stop asking me to bless your programs, and start asking me to show you what I want you to do, for that I am surely blessing. We plan our agenda’s a year in advance. I have no problems with list; I’m a list person. I’ll write something down on my list that wasn’t on it, just so I can cross it off, because I did it. But even with that, I still must be careful not to get so involved in doing what I think, that I miss what God is saying. When we get to the end of the year, is the calendar saving a soul? Is the calendar changing individuals from being converts, because God didn’t ask for converts, he asked for disciples? Are the things we plan teaching the basic training that disciples need so they can go out and do the same? Are the saints encouraged and strengthen. Sadly no, for agendas, programs and calendars do not save or change people, only the living power of God. Instead what happens is we get to the end of the year and the end of the business of doing all the events posted on the calendar and we are tired, and frustrated because we have been spinning our wheels and longing to feel the presence of God. Jehoshaphat took steps that led him away from Judah and away from being a reformer, and so has God’s people when they take any steps away from being a true reformer led by God’s Spirit. And just as Jehospaphat was led into aligning Judah up with the sinful behavior of their brother, Ahab, out of ignorance, so does God's people when they turn from teaching and preaching his truth to going after what is popular during the times, programming for the sake of programming. Lulled to sleep. (Return next week to read the next installment.)

Raise up a Child

RAISE UP A CHILD

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6

I have heard many people quote this scripture. Often times it is used in a way that seems to state that if you raise a child in a Christian home they will be saved. This isn't the right way to utilize this scripture. We all have to make a choice whether we accept Christ or not and God will not make us saved simply because we were raised in a Christian home. How then should we understand this scripture?

The Message version says point your kids in the right direction so that when they are old they won't be lost. In otherwords, as Christian parents, grandparents and mentors of young people; we are to point them in the right direction so that when they get older that which they have heard (if they apply it) will help them see clearly the way.

Oftentimes we do not realize that in order for us to point our young people in the right direction, that calls for us to actively be doing something. Let's take a look a few scriptures that show us what it is we should be doing to raise up a child in the right way, one that points them to God.



All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.  Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. - 2 Chronicles 20:13-16




* If we want our young people to realize the importance of prayer, we have to exhibit it in front of them. We have to take them to where prayer is going on. In this scripture the people all gathered, children included to go before God to request his help. The children were there to hear the instructions and to hear the promises of what God was going to do for them. They were being allowed to have a first hand encounter with what God could do. This is something we need to do so that our children will know that God does hear and he does answer.

* We must allow our children to see first hand  the power of God. In the scripture above, the children were right there in the midst of what the promise of God was. While they may not have seen how it was worked out, once it was, they had their own personal experience of knowing that God keeps his promises and that he does have power over all that touches our lives. We may not tell our children all the things that go on in our houses (there are somethings that are too much for them), but we sure can let them know what God has promised and what he has done because they are right there and can see what is going on. This also helps by exampling for them a heart of gratefulness to the things that God does for his people. If we do not show thankfulness to God why would our kids? We have the opportunity to show them that it was not mommy or daddy that made things happen, but God.


Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. - Matthew 19:13

* We must bring our children to Jesus. This means we must be willing to take our children where ever Jesus is being taught or exhibited. It is hard and I know first hand to get your kids up and out everyday. Sunday comes around and you just want to get that little extra sleep. However, you would not sleep late and keep your kids from getting to school. Why? Because you know the important of them learning to help them be ready for their future. Sunday school does the same thing, it prepares them for their spiritual future. What we are not aware of is this, if our kids don't see the importance of being around where Jesus is talked about through us, they won't see him as important. We must bring our children (not send them) to Sunday school, youth hour, retreats, etc. Why, so they can be placed in Jesus' hands over and over again.

* We must allows Jesus' hand to be upon our children. We must bring our kids to Jesus and those places that show him so that we can have his hand upon them. God's Word will help to soften the hearts of our children so that Jesus can become important to them. They can learn to love him. And we must be careful not to do as the disciples and rebuke them, turn them away. Jesus desires the little children to come to him and adults must make sure that the enviroment welcomes them, not turns them away.

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. - Deut. 6:7

* We must impress God's word upon our children daily. I must admit I am not always on point in this area. I have great plans to have family devotions and something gets in the way sometimes. However, God impressed it upon me that I cannot be changed without the hearing of the Word so why would I think my kids would be any different? We must impress the Word of God upon our children daily. While we are sitting at home and a teaching moment comes up where we can talk to them about the truth of God as it references a movie, a game or something they are doing. When we are out and about walking around we can talk to them about God's Word and how the lack of obedience is effecting our world. When we get ready to go to bed or get up in the morning we can start and end, with the word. When we do that, we direct our kids in the right direction so that seed planted may help them when they are older to do what is right.
 
Prayer: Lord help us to raise up a generation of young people that will change this world like it has never seen before. Help us to plant into their lives. Help us to talk to them about you, show them your power at work in our lives and help us to teach them the importance of prayer and walking right before you. When we do that we trust that as we lead them in the right directions, that your truth will be their for them to draw upon. Help our young people to see clearly the tricks of the enemy that desires to destroy them. Help this generation of parents, grandparents and mentors raise up our children right. Amen.

Week In Review

Unusual assignments bring miraculous results - Are you taking your position? - part 2

Preached in 2007

In this chapter Jehoshaphat aligns himself up with Ahab. And it almost cost him his life. The moment Jehoshaphat took the first step out of Judah and began toward Israel, he was stepping away from God’s purpose. Judah in this instance represents the place where God’s presence is. Jehoshaphat even though he didn’t mean to, was stepping away from God’s presence and the further he went out of Judah the less he could hear the sounds of Judah, until finally he could not hear Judah at all. Because of his turning away from God’s presence, his lost his ability to discern what was good and what was evil. He had stepped away from the presence of God just as his father Asa did. He was however different than his father because when the prophet approaches him in 2 Chronicles, chapter 19 and tells him God’s wrath is upon him he didn’t have a tantrum.

He turned and went back to standing in his position of reformer. He repented of his folly. As soon as Jehoshaphat began his journey out of Judah, he began to leave his purpose and was being drawn away after foolish things. As soon as we allow ourselves to be drawn away from the place God dwells, we too leave our purpose and turn to foolish things. What had happened was Jehoshaphat had allowed himself to be lulled to sleep. He sat down, moved away from the place he should have been standing. Folded his arms, a show of self-satisfaction at his own efforts, closed his eyes, lost sight of God and fell asleep, a spiritual separation from God’s calling. He had allowed his ideas to take place over the work that he was doing for God. Instead of him going to Ahab, that wicked king or as one commentary calls him that depraved Israelite, he should have been back home taking care of God’s business. But when corrected, he woke up and continued the work. His father however refused and in his anger, was lulled to sleep permanently by his own refusal to listen and suffered for it. Both however were lulled to sleep, even though Jehoshaphat only for a while. When they turned from their first love, sat down, folded their arms, closed their eyes, they were lulled to sleep.

What do I mean by lulled to sleep? And what is God’s word speaking to us today? In this instance lulled to sleep means lack of action, which causes sleep, which represents spiritual death. There are two different ways we can be lulled to sleep. Sometimes we can be lulled to sleep because of the stubbornness of our hearts. We refuse to listen to God’s word and correction, so we sit down, which means to move ourselves from our position, fold our hands which means no evidence of works and close our eyes, refusal to see and go to sleep, die spiritually.


We are also lulled to sleep because of our own ideas and agenda that seem good, for we know that the ways of a man seem right in his own eyes, but none the less we are allowing ourselves to fall asleep. Jehoshaphat probably thought lining himself up with Ahab was a good idea because he might be able to bring back the two kingdoms that were divided. But nowhere do we see in that scripture that God called for him to do this, God was more concerned with him obeying his will instead of trying to bring everyone together, it was all his own bright idea.


God is telling his children, to wake up. God is telling us that we must stop being lulled to sleep; we must stop moving from our first love. Here we go, time to fasten on our seat belts, God posed a question in my heart, he said, what things lull my children to sleep today? First let us look at the things that lull us to sleep like Jehosphaphat, things like our own ideas or plans. (Return next week to read the next installment).

Week in Review

Unusual assignments bring miraculous results - Are you taking your position?

Preached in 2007

Today, we will look at some important points through the life of the king Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah and he took reign after his father Asa died. A little history about his father, In 2 Chronicles chapter 15 & 16 gives us the end of Asa’s reign. God sent his prophet to Asa and told him to turn to him and he obeyed. Starting with verse 8-12 of chapter 15, Asa became a reformer and turned the people to God. He renewed the altar of the Lord, even though this altar was probably no older than 35 years old, yet it was in disrepair. This shows us, when God’s ways are rejected; we see a quick decaying or death of true worship and devotion. We also see a quick death or decaying of things set aside for God that even includes us. Asa also removed his mother from being queen (vs. 16) because she had made an idol. So Asa was even willing to remove those in places of authority if they were not worshipping the True God. That is what a reformer does he or she removes individuals from a place of leadership that are not willing to allow God total access, no matter what position they may hold. Asa is restoring God’s people to seeking God and bringing their best before him. He has determined to stand for God.

Oh But in the 16th chapter, Asa became comfortable or complacent. When he became complacent, he became distracted. When he became distracted he began to rely on his ways and not Gods. Asa turns from his first love, which was to be a reformer for God and begins to lean to his own understanding. Asa took from the temple of God the gold and used it for his own purpose. As he was taking the gold out of the temple, he was moving further and further away from God. He was taking those things that should have been set-aside for God and using them for his own purpose. God gives gifts and provisions that should be used to build the kingdom, but if we are using them for our own purposes, we too move from God purpose to our own benefit. God had protected Asa against the battle with the Ethiopians. God’s wrath against Asa was that he had shown himself faithful to Asa, yet Asa turned away from the faithful God to rely on lesser things, man. I believe God’s wrath is strongest against his people who know him, and have seen his power and have felt his protection, yet they turn from him to lesser things for help or instruction. Asa relied on the power of someone else other than God and when he was corrected for it, he became angry. He had a tantrum.


I saw a child do the funnies this when he has a tantrum. What he does is he will sit down, fold his arms and close his eyes. I guess he says if I can’t see you, then what ever you say won’t count, you don’t count. After awhile of him keeping his eyes closed, he fell asleep.

So that is what Asa did in a sense. He became angry at the words of correction of God; he sat down, refused to stand for God anymore, folded his arms – a show of defiance, closed his eyes – refusal to see or acknowledge God’s presence and fell asleep - died spiritually. Because of this disobedience, he lost the favor of God. He was diseased and died sick (you can see that at the end of this chapter, vs. 12-13). He refused to turn to God and seek his healing and because of it, he died filled with sickness and disease. He turned to other things for the healing, but the only one that could do it was God and Asa refused, so he dies in his sickness. I don’t know about you, but surely I do not want the sickness of sin to lead to my death, do you?

So this is where Jehoshaphat reign begins. Now let me give you a bit of the history of Jehoshaphat. What amazed me is like Asa; Jehoshaphat had some of the same tendencies. We should note, these tendencies in Asa and Jehoshaphat are also in us. In chapter 17, Jehoshaphat came into power as a reformer. A reformer is someone who brings about a change, improvements, or a transformation. He came in setting things in motion for the Lord. In other words he was waking the people up spiritually to the things of God. He was making them take a stand. They had priest and teachers, before this, but they were not speaking God’s word or teaching God’s truth, so now Jehoshaphat was making improvements so that the people would receive teaching in the ways of God and the priest would function in the ministry of God and no longer be vessels of destruction or following their own ideas and ways. But even as much as God was leading him, Jehoshaphat did the same thing his father did, he turned from his first love, he became comfortable or complacent, he then became distracted and finally he began to rely on his own idea. This tendency in Asa and Jehoshaphat is present in us, when we become comfortable in what we are doing, we can become distracted. Now let me give you an overview of chapter 18, where Jehoshaphat turns to his own ideas (return next week for the next installment).

Words of Encouragement

Wrestling for your Breakthrough

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, [g] and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon. ~ Genesis 32:22-32

Jacob is seeking God's mercy as he prepares to face his brother Esau. He is afraid that Esau will hurt him because of what had transpired between them before he left home. Jacob finds himself along and he begins to wrestle with a man. Jacob wrestled with this man from the night time until the breaking of day. At that time the man saw that Jacob was not giving up and he touched him on his hip. Jacob said he would not let the man go until he blessed him. The response of the man was, what is your name? Jacob told him his name and he changed it to Israel.

Have you been in a place where what you faced was overwhelming? You did not see how you would come out alive. Bills and finances, emotional difficulties, unsaved loved ones and so many other things pressing on you until you felt divided, just like Jacob when he divided his family and sent them in different directions. Are your situations pulling you in different directions?

Maybe you are at the night time and you are all alone. There's no one with you and you find yourself wrestling for your answer. You are wrestling all through the night, and now day break is finally dawning. What does that mean? Sometimes we are in some dark places and we are wrestling through our prayers seeking God to answer us, bless us, bring us a breakthrough for what is overwhelming and soon to be upon us.

We must be willing to learn from Jacob's example. We have to be willing to wrestle through the night not giving up, not letting go. We have to wrestle so until God has to put his hand upon us to move us. And when He sees we are not backing down from seeking a blessing from him he will speak to us as he did with Jacob.

He will ask us what is your name? Strange question, not so. God knows your name, he simply is asking to get your thinking ready for what he is about to release in your life. He ask us, who are you? Who do I say that you are? By what name do I call you? And when we answer him, he is ready to tell us I have answered you and given you a new standing, a new name, your breakthrough. Jacob's name means "He supplants".  Jacob had gotten somethings because of trickery and being quick (first one out of the womb). Yet, God was now telling him you will no longer be mighty because of your own hands but because of mine. His new name is Israel "He strives with God" or "Prince with God".  It is also said to mean, Let God rule.  Jacob was now elevated by God to be worry of the honor of a prince, "a royal priest hood", and one led by God.

When we are going through some of our difficulties and things seem to be overwhelming us, let me encourage you as I encourage myself that God has a plan in place. He is allowing these situations because he wants to bring us to that place that our faith in him will not let us stop seeking him, crying out to him, even to the place where we will wrestle for our breakthrough. We will come away from our wrestling time with God broken. Yes, broken. God has to break some things in us so that we will always remember how we were humbled during our time with him as he prepared us for our breakthroughs.

Is your name changed? Have you moved from being one know by doing it in your own power to one that allows God to rule? Today, let us seek God's hand to break somethings in us so that we can receive the breakthroughs in our lives.

Prayer: Lord today, we seek a breakthrough for our situations and circumstances that seem to be overwhelming us. We will not back down, we will not give up. While it might be night time and we feel all alone, we will stand here until the light shines upon our situations and we see your answers. We are wrestling for our breakthrough today. Let it come, in Jesus name, Amen.

Words of Encouragement

FRET NOT!

Because it changes nothing.

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. - Psalm 37:1-11

As I was preparing the message for this month, September I went to this Psalm. I realized that I wrote something last month from this scripture and I was about to look for another one. Yet, God stopped me and told me we needed to hear the message again.
 
This scripture starts off with a direct instruction for the people of God. That instruction is do not fret or worry about what evil people will do. The reason why we should not worry is because God already has taken care of that.
Instead he instructs us do something positive. The positive things we are told to do instead of worrying are: trust, delight, commit, rest, and cease from anger. Why do you think we are given these instructions? Well first what can we change with worrying? Can we worry or fret away the enemy? Can we change our situations and circumstances by worrying? Will our finances or relationships be better because we worry? The answer is no.
 
On the flip side, if we do as the Psalmist instructs us we can see some change, even if the change is only in ourselves. So let us take a few moments to look at the things that can change.
 
Verse 3 says "Trust in the Lord." And in our trusting in him it should compel us to do what is good. When we do that we see that it will result in us being able to dwell in the land and be fed. This feeding from God is both physical and spiritual. When you and I determine to trust God it results in a change in our actions. We move from worrying (which keeps us standing in the same place) to actively pursuing God and his plans for our lives. Like the sheep that follows the shepherd, we too will be fed and taken care of.
 
Verse 4 says "Delight thyself also in the Lord." While you and I are trusting in God we should also find delight (pleasure in being in the presence of the Lord and in doing his will) in him. This attitude of gratitude results in God granting the desires of our hearts. Partly because as we dwell in his presence our desires change from selfish ones to ones that line up with God. We then move from worrying, which makes us focus on what we do not have and keeps us from having a grateful heart to one that delights in all that God is, all that God does and all that he does through us.
 
Verse 5 says "Commit thy way unto the Lord." I often hear of individuals trying to get jobs, or trying to do things and they want God to bless it. What we fail to understand is this key point, if we want God to bless us and what we are doing we have commit our ways to Him. That means I cannot do what I want and still believe that God is going to bless it. And we should not be fooled into thinking because something "bad" hasn't happened to us when we are going our own way, as if that says that God is pleased with us. It is fact simply us living off the mercy of the Almighty God and we should change our ways to line up with his before he removes his mercy from us because of our stubbornness and unyielding spirit. When we commit, we move from worry that says "do it, because God isn't moving fast enough" to saying, "Lord, I trust you and where ever you say go, I will go."
 
Verse 7  says "Rest in the Lord." Resting in the Lord also requires us to wait on him and not get fretful (worried) when things are not moving as quickly as we desire. When you and I rest in the Lord we are willing to say Lord,you are more than capable of handling my situation and I wait on you. And in the waiting time help me to commit even more of myself to you. When we worry and fret, we somehow believe the lie that we have to take control of our lives and we know best on how to pick our relationships, our behavior, or whatever it is we think we need RIGHT NOW. Our fretting moves us to make RIGHT NOW choices that lead from resting and trusting in God.

Verse 8 says "Cease from anger." What are you angry about? We often get angry when things are not moving as quickly as we would like them to move. This results in us looking at others around us and thinking, why do they have it good even though they are not doing what God says, maybe it doesn't take all this for me to live for God. I can do like the "evil man" and have my own way and then I'll receive the blessings. The psalmist warns against this thinking because again he states that God will cut off the evil ones. So the instruction for the people of God is not to get angry or to grow weary in doing what is right. Instead, we must not make RIGHT NOW decisions and miss receiving God directed decisions. We must not fret or worry, because it changes nothing for the positive, in fact it really changes us for the worst.

I pray for us today, that we would seek God to help us commit to him and to rest, trust and lean on him. Lord help us your people to turn from trying to doing things our way, with our own ideas and turn to doing things your way and in your will. Amen.

Words of Encouragement

Theme: Women charged by the Spirit

Preached Metropolitan Church of God

Detroit, MI, 2007 (Part 3 of 3)

What does it mean to be charged? Charged – excited (eager, energized, animated), stimulated (inspired, stirred, moved, motivated, encouraged), electrified (exhilarated, amazed), thrilled (delighted, overjoyed, pleased, ecstatic).

So the day you gave yourself completely to God was the day, he said, I empower you with my Spirit. My Spirit will transform you from the misfit you were, to the mighty vessel of honor I have ordained you to be. I now charge you to go forth. I give you a mandate. I want you to go forth in the excitement of my spirit. I want you to stimulate, inspire, and stir the hearts of men and women. I want you to motive and encourage the people and move them to taking a closer walk with me. I want you to amaze with the transformation that has happened in your life, because no one can heal the brokenness of your heart the way God can. I want you to be overjoyed in me, pleased to do as I say and delighted to be my servant, my child. I charge you.

There are some of you right now that God has given a vision of what he wants to happen in your life, but you have hidden it because you can’t believe it can come to pass. Let me tell you, nothing, I say nothing is impossible with God. I stand here before you, a picture of what God can do. I did not like to talk in front of people and I surely could not image he would want to use me for anything. Yet, next May I’ll be graduating from Mid America Christian University with a 4.0 average. A girl who was told she would never be anything or was stupid, but God said I have the last word on that. A girl who didn’t think she could speak well or could write well, in a few weeks my first book will be available. God said I have another plan. Remember you are never God’s second choice! Whatever the world says you’ll be is not what God says. He has the final word on our lives.

Let’s take a look at one other transformed life, Mary Magdalene. “And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him. And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out whom went seven devils. And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.” (Luke 8:1-3)

What do we know about Mary Magdalene? She was a woman sick and possessed. She was not in her right mind, who could be possessed with seven demons? She was infirmed or sick; if not from a physical illness surely from the sin in her life. We know that Jesus healed her of all that possessed her, he set her free from the sin that she was entangled in he released her from her island of misfits.

While we do not know a lot about Mary’s beginnings, we do have more information about her latter part of her life. She was a woman that had met the savior and had felt the beauty of his touch on her life. The ugly life she had before had been transformed into something beautiful. The ashes of her life were now turned into beauty. She was able to come with other women that had been changed by Jesus and minister in his work. Mary also came with others to prepare Jesus’ body after he was crucified (Mark 16). It said they came early in the morning at the rising of the sun. As I thought about this, instead of them coming to the rising of the sun, they came to the find the risen son. They came to be part of the witness of Jesus’ resurrection. Mary had been a witness to his treatment and his crucifixion. Now she would be a witness to his resurrection, she would be able to tell others about the power of Christ to raise lives from sin and to transform them. She would be able because she had been one of those people transformed and now she was united with other transformed women to see what Jesus needed. These women came to prepare the body of Christ for burial, well we, as transformed women today need to band together and be about the service of God and we then become like those women that were preparing the body of Christ for burial. This burial isn’t an actual burial, but as we help others be transformed we become help in the burial of their sinful condition and then the rising of the son in their lives can be witness by us as we walk together. Are we transformed women about the business of the savior are we looking to see how we can serve Jesus?

What is God’s plan for your life? He wants you to know you do not have to be the best of the best to come to him. He doesn’t expect you to be good at anything. He doesn’t choose us based on what we have or what we think or what positions we hold. He simple says come as you are, that means with your brokenness, your hurts, your fears, and your issues. And when you come, he says, I will heal you. I will restore wholeness to you. He takes the brokenness of our lives and creates the beauty inside. He takes those things in us that are pleasing to him and he cultivates them and shapes them. Those things that need to be removed, he removes until we look more and more like his Son.

But he doesn’t do all this so you can keep this transformation to ourselves; he wants us to go find those other misfits that are in need of a savior. The beauty of the body of Christ is we are all a bunch of misfits that God put together and made us work in unity. We become like that band of women in the scripture working together for the purpose of Christ. That can only happen with the power of God.

My question to you then is this; do you want to be a woman charged by the spirit of God? Then come and yield yourself completely to him. Allow him to transform your life from what it is to what he wants. If you have a relationship with Christ then ask God to revive you for the mission he has especially for you. I cannot fill your place, only you are the one. See it was thought that someone else was going to be here today, but I was God’s first choice all the time. We are never second choice for God. We are always the ones he has called to do the work he has called us to do. Today, rededicate yourself to the work of the Lord. You were once a misfit, but God changed you into a vessel of honor. So he says go to the uttermost parts of the world and find those other misfits and bring them into the kingdom. Help someone know that they have a place with God. We have someone that seeks us and ask us to be his disciple. We have been given a great honor, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Are you charged for the journey? What if you are a misfit? Do you know sitting right in your midst is your light? There is another woman sitting here ready to hold you hand through the darkness and help you find the light of Christ. They won’t judge you, but love you as you allow God to heal your hurts and brokenness. You have to first accept the gift of salvation that God offers freely to you today. When you do, he will give you his Spirit so that you can make it in this world, and he bonds you with others so that you no longer have to walk alone, you have a home, a place to belong. You are wanted, and no longer an outcast, a misfit. I leave you with this poem I wrote as God spoke to my heart one early morning.

Tribute to a Friend, Brenda

Today is Tuesday, August 10 and I just recieved news of the passing of my dear friend, Brenda. It feels unreal to me, but yet it is the truth. I wanted to tell her so many things, but we did not have the time. I wanted to be there for her, but things went differently.

So how do you mourn the lost of a 20 year friendship? For me the only way I know is to write it down. I have no doubt that she loved me and that she knew I loved her. I was able to tell her that when I visited her a few weeks ago. She looked at me and said, I am so glad to see your face and I love you so much.

I felt bad because I didn't know she was sick. I had called recently but I often got the voicemail. Sometimes I left a message and other times I didn't. But to see her and know that she had been going through broke my heart. I believe I may have even spoken the words, "...but I didn't know."

Even in the midst of her own difficulties I believe that she did not want me to be burdened so she told me, I know you didn't know. I wasn't really able to talk about it, but you're here now...

Brenda Parks-Simmons has been a dear friend to me as well as to others, I know. She has been support to me when I faced some difficulties in my life. And when she went through a time of difficulty I was there standing with her as well. We were able to cry as well as laugh with each other.

Brenda and I were not related but she was so much more to me. She was my friend, my sister that God gave to me when I was in need of a sister. There was a time in my life where I felt really lonely and I asked God to give me some sisters that would love me for me, he sent me two sisters and Brenda was one of them. We went to the Women's coventions together; Brenda, Pam and I. We had good times together.

Brenda found a wonderful man in Hampton and they had two beautiful girls. I was happy for my friend when Hampton came into her life. Glad to see her receiving happiness in her life at a time when she needed it. She had someone who loved her and received the children her heart had longed for.

I prayed, like alot of other people for God to grant her desire to be able to continue to raise her beautiful daughters. However, God had a different plan. And as believers sometimes it is really hard to wrap our hearts around what our heads know. I know that God is going to give Hampton the strength he needs to raise his girls, but my heartaches that these beautiful girls will not have their mother.

I believe God was preparing me for this time, but I didn't want to hear it. On Sunday when I was preparing the blog he took me to the picture that I have at the top of this post. I picked this picture, but I didn't know why. I put a caption in memory of Sis. Bessie Park and I clearly heard, you'll have to write a tribute to Brenda. I said NO! This thought came again to me yesterday evening. So today, I realize God was preparing me, but even still, my heart aches. But today, I sit and write my tribute to my friend. To let someone know about this special women, Brenda. You may not have known her, but if you know anyone that knew her, she has in someway actually touched your life. See, she believed in me and encouraged me which in turn helped me to be a better me. So when you see me, you see also the touch of Brenda's life on my life. You see her life print upon my life.

I also want to say this publicly to Hampton. You are a good man. You treated my friend special. I am grateful to God that she had you to stand by her, to love her and to bless her time with the beautiful daugthers, Kara and Karrington. You my brother gave a new meaning to her life. She may not have let a lot of people into that dark time in her life but when you entered in, along with you came a new hope and a new understanding that God had not forgotten about her. Thank you for loving her and my heart breaks now for your great lost.

So today, I needed to grieve my own way. I needed to tell somebody that today as we go along our normal routines, somebody will be missed. That somebody is Brenda Parks-Simmons. You may not know her but she was my friend. She was more than my friend, she was my God-given sister. She was special in my life and the lives of many people. The sun has grown just a little dimmer for some today. Oh, we will in time move from this place with the help of the Lord, but for today, it is a little cloudy.

Pray with me for the family of Brenda, they have suffered two losses so close. The lost of our dear Sis. Bessie Park (Brenda' mother) and now Brenda. The family and friends are feeling the lost.

Prayer: Lord, today I ask that you touch the family of the Parks and the Simmons. Give them the strength they need to go forth. Bless her children and give Hampton the ability to care for them as you word promised to be the mother to the motherless. They will need you guiding them, strengthen them and carrying them in this time where they are the weakest.

Help them as each day goes forth. Step by step you will give them what they need to carry on. Touch the hearts of the friends and loved ones that she touch, forour hearts are also broken. Bless her god-children that will miss her as well, Chrissy, Jackie and any others that she took into her heart. Thank you for such a beautiful honor of knowing a person such as Brenda and though she may be gone from this world, let her love linger in the hearts of all she touched. Thank you Amen.

In loving memory of my friend,
Brenda Parks - Simmons

One of my sisters sent me the words of this song to help me today, and I share it here:

When it seems that no one cared if i should live or die.
When no one bothered asking, why I go alone and cry.
When my burdens get so heavy that I can not face the day,
Then I feel His arms around me and I hear Him gently say....

Lean on Me when you have no strength to stand.
When you feel you're going under, hold tighter to my hand.
Lean on Me when your heart begins to bleed.
When you come to the place where I'm all you have,
You'll find I'm all you need.

Lean on Me when you have no strength to stand.
When you feel you're going under, hold tighter to my hand.
Lean on Me when your heart begins to bleed.
When you come to the place where I'm all you have,
You'll find I'm all you need.

When the road ahead seems rugged and the path is getting steep.
I feel that I can't make it and my heart begins to weep.
Then I turn to see whose coming to help me on my way
And I see that my Savior and I hear Him gently say....

A sweet friend, with a sweet and loving spirit. In 20 years of our friendship,I never remember one time of her raising her voice or getting anger with anyone. She simply forgave and continued to move on.

Words of Encouragement

In memory of a dear sister, Sister Bessie Parks

Theme: Women charged by the Spirit

Preached Metropolitan Church of God (part 2 of 3)

Detroit, MI, 2007

There is a kid’s movie “Rudolph the red nose Reindeer” that I thought about when I prepared this message. I see things in the everyday. If you remember in this cartoon, there was a group of toys that were rejected so they were sent to the island of misfits. There was a train with square wheels, and a jack in the box, with the name Charlie, who wants to play with a jack in the box named Charlie in the box? There was a boat that didn’t float. These toys wanted to belong to someone, but they could not fulfill the purpose of what the toy should be, so they were rejected.



Rudolph, who was a misfit himself, went to this island and met the misfit toys. In the course of the movie, Rudolph found his purpose. That stormy night when they thought Christmas wouldn’t come; Rudolph’s nose, (his time to shine, his bright light) was what was needed. That nose of his that everyone laughed at, talked about, and said didn’t belong, was just what was needed to help. And you know what happened, that misfit Rudolph didn’t forget about those that he had met on the island of misfit. He went back to that island and got those misfits. He helped those misfits find places of importance. I hope you’re following me.



There are many women in our world that are misfits. We have some that have been banished to the island of emotional misfits. They have been hurt by life. They have been so wounded that they don’t fit in anywhere. They feel discarded, angry, lonely, hurt and the list is endless. They don’t know if they’ll be able to make it, so instead they are left stranded on the island of emotional misfits.



There are some women that are banished to the island of worthless misfits. They have been told all their lives they won’t be anything and will not amount to much. Nothing they do seems right. They have sought approval from one relationship or another, but again they are abandoned. So instead they are stranded on the island of worthless misfits.

There are some that are banished to the island of rejection misfits. They wanted to belong somewhere, but everywhere they went, they were told you are not good enough. You are not smart enough, you are not pretty enough, or you just are not our choice bunch. So banished they are to the island of rejection misfits.



What will get them from those places? That is where we, as the church come in. Each one of us was a misfit. We didn’t fit in somewhere. Some were in the pitiful group. Some of us didn’t trust, we didn’t have faith, we flip-flopped in our decisions. We didn’t understand fully what we were supposed to be doing. Jesus didn’t choose you or I because we were the best or the brightest. Sometimes I wonder why he chose me at all? Yet he did. He chose us and what he did was tell us to come and follow him.



When we do, he promises us he will give us his Holy Spirit to equip us for the task ahead. What is that task, to tell others about the transforming power of God.



What does a transformed woman look like? A transformed woman is one that has been changed; she is no longer the same as she was before. She doesn’t walk the same, talk the same nor does she think the same. There is a conversion that takes place. The old self is exchanged for a new one. In other words, the old man is dead and the new one is made alive through Christ Jesus. There is a switch that takes place. Jesus took your punishment and mine so that we would not have to, and he replaced our old, sin sick spirit with a new one, a cleansed one. So when we accept Christ the first thing he does is give us his Spirit and we must give him access so he can transform us. If each of you stood up and gave your testimony of where God really brought you from, we would rejoice in hearing how great a God we serve.



Unfortunately, we are too afraid sometimes of being transparent before others. We are afraid others will judge us, or look at us crazy because of where we came from. But let me tell you this that is especially the reason you have to tell. There is someone stranded on the same island of misfit, that you were rescued from. You have to be like Rudolph and let your light shine through the elements that blind others from seeing, so you can help them get off the island. See misfits know where other misfits are. You know what someone looks like that is depressed, if you fought with depression. You know the signs of someone lonely if you faced loneliness. Jesus came for the ones in need of healing. He came for the sick in soul and spirit. He needs you and I to go and offer this gift of transformation to the other misfits.



If you look up misfit, I believe my picture might be under the definition. If you look at me, it doesn’t look like anything could have been wrong with me or in my life. But I was a broken child, who became a broken woman. I was on my own at the age of 14, looking to find somewhere to live. I lived with my father, but his live in girlfriend hated me. She would not allow me to eat in the home unless I did things she told me to do. She had my father put out all of my other brothers and sisters and moved her nephew into our home. This nephew tried to rape me. When I told my father, I heard his girlfriend say, I was a liar. He never stood by me. When I had to go to court for this, he stood with the accused. Talk about rejection for a young girl.



So I went to live with my mother. That wasn’t any better. My mother had become an alcoholic and my stepfather was verbally abusive to my brother and me. He was physically abusive to my mother and I would hate to see the bloody fights and having to leave the home with my mother drunk, hoping that wouldn’t be the night we died at her hands. My stepfather thought it was his responsibility to tell me daily I would be nothing, I would have nothing and no one would want me for anything other than my body. He tried to sell me to the old men in the neighborhood, and when I refused, he made a joke about me being gay. What made me decide to leave my mothers home was she was fighting with my stepfather with a gun and it went off. She told me to come get it, but I thought if he kills me, she’d probably still be with him, so I said no. I decided then I would leave. The day I left my mother’s home I thought to myself, is this all there is to life? These were just a few of the scares because I had others. I was sexual abused, the first time I was seven years old and the last time when I was raped in college. Not by the same person, but by 5 different, random people. Truly something had to be wrong with me, why would these things happen to me? I had to be defective or something, right?



So you can image I was a misfit with residency on several islands. I could not image me being useful for anything or anyone. Yet, one day, Jesus said, follow me. And I did. He took this broken person and created something wonderful inside. He took the ashes of my life and brought beauty from it. When the Lord called me to preach I couldn’t accept it, because in my mind the words of my stepmother rang in my spiritual ear, she is a liar. Yet God told me, I know you. I have tested your heart and I know you.



You expected one person to be standing here today, but in his own way and for his own purpose, God ordained for me to be standing her. That’s what is so wonderful about our God. I might no be well known, I might not seem to be one chosen to have entrance to see the president, but that doesn’t matter to God. His Spirit worked things out so that this once misfit could tell some other once misfits and current misfits the good news. See there is somebody stuck on the island of misfits waiting for you. You have been charged by the Spirit to go and rescue them (come back next week for the final installment).

Words of Encouragement

Women charged by the Spirit

(repost of message preached in 2007)

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” ~ Acts 1:8


As I read this scripture, I had a few questions.

1. Who gives the power? This is a simple enough question, but it still needs to be answered. I cannot give you the power, nor can I take it away from you. Solely God gives this power. He instructs the Holy Spirit to indwell within the hearts of all his children. This spirit is the same spirit he sent to woo you and I. This was his prevenient grace, the Holy Spirit calling us to repentance. You or I couldn’t even accept salvation without the Holy Spirit because we were too lost to realize we were lost. God’s spirit had to bring us to the point of clarity to understand we needed saving. When he did, God’s Spirit then was promised to dwell within the life of all believers. And there should be some evidence of his indwelling. We should look like children of God. We shouldn’t be liars, cheats, or any thing that continues to reflect fleshly things. We should however show forth the fruit of the spirit, love, peace, longsuffering and the like. If there is no evidence of God’s spirit in our lives, then maybe we need to go back and check where we are standing with God. His spirit does not pick or choice just a few select to dwell in, but those that are yielded to God are the ones that the Spirit dwells within. So we must check ourselves to see if we are truly yielding all to God.

2. Who has the power? God gives the power to all that come accepting his gift of salvation through the blood of his son. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” – Joel 2:28-29. That means God does not limit who is able to come to him. In our society we have limitations on who can go to talk to the boss. You cannot just walk into your boss’s office and demand audiences you might get fired. If you wanted to talk to the president of the United State you can’t go into his office. Even those that are granted entrance have to be put through some rigorous things before they become part of that choice bunch. We are limited in access. With God, however, he does not limit who can come. There are however, some requirements for access. You have to be his, period. We cannot live an unsaved life and think we will have the Holy Spirit directing us because the two don’t mix.

3. What is the power for? – The ultimate purpose of the indwelling Spirit is so that the people of God could enact the standing orders of Jesus that he gave to his disciples before he ascended (Acts 1:2-7). That mandate has not changed for you or I. He didn’t want them wasting time on when would God reestablish the kingdom, see they were looking for power to come in God setting them back in power as a nation, they were looking for an earthly kingdom. (Acts 1:6) God’s purpose was to establish a spiritual kingdom in the earth. God doesn’t want you or I worried about earthly things, either instead he wants our complete focus to be on the building of the spiritual kingdom. And you can do that even as you go about in your day to day. Jesus was instructing them to prepare themselves to be transformed by the divine visitation of the Holy Spirit that would help them tell what they knew about Jesus Christ to others (Acts 1:8). What did they know? They knew Jesus as the Lord of all creation, redeemer of all who trust in his death for their deliverance, and stern judge of all who reject his call to repent and pledge their loyalty to him. Yes, I said he is a stern judge. We only want to talk about heaven, but never tell people that there are consequences to your rejection of Jesus. That is hell eternally, a place where there is no joy, no peace, no love of God. That is what makes hell punishment. You are forever aware of what you have rejected.

4. So how does the Spirit charge us? Let’s look back at the word transformed. To be transformed means you have been changed or altered. As I was thinking about being charged by the Spirit, my mind first went back to the disciples. Did you know they were a group of misfits? In our day, they wouldn’t get the invitation to go into see the president; they wouldn’t be part of the choice group.

Let’s look at the disciples for a moment. When we read scripture have you every wondered why the disciples so quickly left what they were doing and went with Jesus? As I was studying with a pastor friend of mine, I found that it was customary in the Jewish culture for boys age 5 or 6 to study in schools called “bet sefer”. They studied and memorized the Torah. Boys that excelled would move on to the next level in their education. They would study more complex oral traditions of the Torah.

The local rabbi hired by the community or small village/town would use this level of education to teach using the question and answer method. Male students became a religious adult at age thirteen and if a student were gifted enough he could continue his studies with the rabbi in secondary school called “Beth Midrash.” If the Jewish male student was not a good enough scholar to advance to this next level of education, they were encouraged by the rabbi to go home and continue to learn the trade of their family, as this would be far most purposeful in making a living in the coming years.

Those that went on would continue to study the rest of the Hebrew Testament. At age 15, the truly gifted would travel to study with the famous Rabbi. The student would be asked a series of questions by the Rabbi, if he was able to answer them to the satisfaction of the Rabbi, he would then become his talmid or disciple, if not, he would be sent home and told to take up the family business. It was rare for a Rabbi to ask a student to be his talmid, even though some would ask the Rabbi.

So why do I tell you this? The disciples were all from this same culture as Jesus. They had all gone through the same training, but they were not good enough to be the talmid or disciple of the rabbi, that is why they are about their business as fishermen and the like. Yet here comes Jesus and calls the misfits to be his Talmid, disciples. What an honor. First it was an honor because they didn’t have to go and ask him, he came seeking them. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” (John 15:16)

This group had some characters in it. There was a doubter, There was one that was quick to react, but would become doubtful to accomplish what he asked for, so he sank. They didn’t understand the nature of Jesus always and fought amongst themselves who would be in a place on honor on Jesus right hand in heaven. They scattered when trouble came. They couldn’t stay awake in times of need. This group was the ones rejected as disciples by the rabbis of their time. They were all banished to a place of misfits among the people. Oh they went about life, but they knew they had not cut it as disciples to the rabbi.

Jesus took this misfit group and taught them, walked with them and offered them something wonderful. That was because he knew what they would become. The after picture was something to behold. This same one that denied three times, never denied again. He became bold for the cause of Christ. The doubter stopped doubting. The ones that ran and hid during difficulties now stood even as martyrs for the cause of Christ. What happened? The Holy Spirit transformed them. They went from misfits trying to find a place to fit in, to having a divine assignment given to them from Jesus himself. They went form misfits, to mighty vessels of honor.



Come back next week for the next installment in the message.

Words of Encouragement

Study notes from  the message: What are you doing with the Crumbs?

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. "Bring them here to me," he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. ~ Matthew 14:13-21

This is a message that I preached twice, yet I cannot let it go (or better yet, it will not let me go). In this scripture we see something about the two main characters, Jesus and the disciples.   What does this teach us about Jesus? What does it show about the disciples?

Jesus was moved with compassion. Whenever you read in scripture that Jesus had compassion on someone, he did something. Jesus' compassion is his love for people and it causes him to see the need and respond.

Jesus performs miracles. When Jesus took the fish and bread he did the miraculous. Yet for God this is simply him being himself. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell or take up resident in the miraculous. This is simply God doing what he does, being himself. It is miraculous to us because it is impossible by any other means, than God.

Jesus brings results. When Jesus performed the miracle, the needs of the people was filled. The scripture says they all ate, were filled and satisfied. And there were leftovers!
 
Now what does this scripture show us about the disciples?
 
Disciples were moved by situations and circumstances. The disciples saw the crowds. They saw the remote place they were at (a remote place is a place without provisions and supplies, it has a lack and is seemingly too far away from what is needed). They wanted Jesus to send the people away to take care of their needs, yet Jesus wants them to do it.
 
Disciples did not see the potential. When Jesus told them to feed the people they began with the "only" statement. The disciples saw the fish and bread in their hands and they did not see what Jesus could do with it. It was too small to fill such a big need.
 
Disciples did not see their part in the results. The disciples because of their lack of vision did not see the results that Jesus saw, therefore they did not see that the little they had would result in the final outcome.
 
What's the point? Jesus because he sees the needs does what seemingly to us is impossible and brings about a result. In this instant, God saw the need of the people to be fed, therefore he took the little from the hands of the disciples and performed a miracle. He then gave it back to the disciples so that they could do their part and feed the people. And all were filled and satisfied. Yet the miracle of miracles is there were leftovers. How could what was so small in a place that should have not provided provisions, result in needs being meet and more to spare?
 
What does that mean? When God performs a miracle in your life, there are some "crumbs" leftover. It is in those out of the way places in our lives that God takes the little we have and performs a miracle.  What are we suppose to do with the crumbs? The disciples collected 12 baskets, a basket for each disciple to carry or be responsible for. Each disciple of Christ has a basket of "crumbs" that many would eat from. In chapter 15 there is a women that speaks to individuals willing to take even the crumbs of what Jesus has to offer.
 
Are you offering to others the crumbs so that they will be blessed? Sometimes we look at the little and think it is not important but this message speaks to how God can use even the littlest of things to glorify himself.
 
Prayer: Lord help us to stop looking for the big thing, the dynamic thing to happen in our lives and because of it we are missing the miracles you are doing with the little that we have. Help us Lord to feed people from the baskets of "crumbs" that are the leftover from the blessings in our lives. You have do one miracle after another and because of it we have some leftovers. Help us to stop holding onto them, but to feed those in need so that they too will be feed, filled and satisfied. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

The Week in Review

“LEAD ME”

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:24

Belief test


1.Do you believe that the devil or Satan is not real but a symbol of evil?

2.Do you believe that all religious faiths teach equally valid truth?

3.Do you believe that Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jews and all other people pray to the same god, even though they use different names for god?

4.Do you believe if people are generally good, or does enough good things for others during his or her life, they will earn a place in heaven?

5.Do you believe when Christ was on earth he committed sins, like other people?


You would be surprised how many people (youth especially) answers these questions contrary to what we would expect a Christian to answer. This goes to the fact that many have allowed the views of the world to infiltrate their belief system. Last week I posted the “Search Me” notes. This is important for us to allow God to show us ourselves so that we can see if our beliefs are in line with a godly view or a secular worldview. Below are some of the lies we allow ourselves to embrace and the truth that will set us free from those beliefs.



VIEWS


ABOUT TRUTH

Lies the world says
You cannot know what is true. Truth is relative; there is no absolute truth.



What God says
God is truth. His Word is the standard for truth.
Psalm 119:142 Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true


Lies the world says
Lying is sometimes good or best. White lies are okay.


What God says
God hates lies
Proverbs 6:16-17 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,


ABOUT LANGUAUGE

Lies the world says
You must tolerate contradictory views; don’t speak against the opinions of others.

What God says
Fear God and not man
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.


Lies the world says
Swearing is okay. Vulgar langage can be funny.


What God says
Do not swear speak only words that build others up
Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.


ABOUT PRIDE


Lies the world says
Take pride in yourself and your talents (in a self righteous manner).


What God says
God is the source of all your talents
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.


Lies the world says
You can do anything you set your mind to


What God says
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you
Phil 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength



VIEW OF SELF

Lies the world says
Think of yourself first


What God says
Treat others the way you wish to be treated
Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.


VIEW OF AUTHORITY

Lies the world says
Questions authority


What God says
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority
Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.


Lies the world says
Not all rules apply to you.


What God says
God has established the authority in our lives
Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.


Lies the world says
Respect those that respect you and those who treat you well.

What God says
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,


Romans 12:1-3 (The Message)
Place Your Life Before God

1-2 So here's what I want you to do, (God helping you): Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

3 key points:

1.Make a commitment to God.

2.Be a living sacrifice to God.

3.Respond to the will of God.


Final points:

= Go to the word of God for direction and the right way to think (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

= Apply the truth of the word to your life (Matthew 7:21).

= Pray


Make these commitments:

•Evaluate your current beliefs and values

•Form personal and biblical convictions

•Depend on God to help you as you seek to apply the truth to your life.



Why, because God took the time to form you in your mother’s womb, therefore he wants to direct your life, for you are fearfully and wonderfully made!

Words of Encouragement

What do I have to offer?

Jeremiah 1:5-8 (The Message)

5"Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations—that's what I had in mind for you."

6But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me. I don't know anything. I'm only a boy!"

7-8God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.' I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there. I'll tell you what to say and you'll say it. Don't be afraid of a soul. I'll be right there, looking after you." God's Decree.

We can read this scripture and see how it applies to Jeremiah, but can I tell you these same words apply to you and I? Before we were born, God already knew what his plan for us was. It is the same thing David said in the 139 Psalm.  God has shaped and molded each of us and he has a divine plan for all his creation.
 
The tragedy is we miss accepting his calling upon our lives. Jeremiah had an excuse. He said, I'm just a boy. I'm too young, I don't know enough, one excuse after another. It is not just Jeremiah, but we do the same. We are overwhelmed with the idea that God would want to use us, so we make excuses why we could not be called by God. We say, but I'm a woman, or I don't have enough education, I don't know enough, and that's the way the excuses go.
 
What would God's answer be to us? It is the same as the one he gave to Jeremiah. Do not tell him what you do not have or what you cannot do. He tells us that he will give us what we should speak and he will strengthen us for the journey that he is calling us to. What is he calling you to do? His call for you may not be to preach, but maybe it is. His call for you is what he has decided for your life and to find out what that is, we must go to God and ask him to show us.
 
When he does we cannot say, what do I have to offer? God is not looking at us for our skills or abilities because what we need he will give us. He is looking at us to offer ourselves. We all have that to offer. I pray that this month of June we really seek God closely to find out what his direction is for us.
 
Ask God to show you the answer to these questions, but you must become quiet to hear what he has to say.
 
1. What is your mission or call for my life?
2. What things am I holding onto that are hindering me from moving forward into what you have for me to do?
3. Help me to see those things that I am afraid of and then give me the strength to overcome them.
 
Lord: I thank you for desiring to have me as a part of your plan and as part of the family of God. Lord help me to see my part in the mission. I know I ask the question of what do I have to offer, but really all you desire is me. Help me to release myself into your hands so that I can be what you desire. Help me to hold onto the promise that you gave to Jeremiah that you would be with me and help me every step of the way. Today, help me to move forward so that I can make an impact for Christ, amen!

The Week in Review

“SEARCH ME”

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts – Psalm 139:23

When I think about God searching me I also think about what happens with the information. What I mean is this, it is one thing to ask God to search you but are you willing to hear the results of what he shows? God already knows all about us it is really about you and I being willing to see through His eyes the results.


I often have what I call self-inventory times. This is where I check myself to see how I line up with the things of God. In several retreats that I have done with young people, I have given them a self-inventory sheet. I will attach that here today. Take the inventory and see where you line up. Are there some areas where you see you need to work on? What do you do then with those areas that need work? We will answer that next week, so come back. Take the inventory now to see where you line up.


SELF-INVENTORY SHEET

1.Are you on fire for God?

2.Are you taking your personal relationship with God more seriously? Or do you have a personal relationship with God?

3.Does your life resemble the values of the world more than the Word?

4.Do you love holiness and hate sin?

5.Do you strive to fight the sin of your heart and not simply address your sinful behaviors?

6.Do you like attending church?

7.Do you enjoy reading and studying your Bible?

8.Do you have strong personal convictions?

9.Do you pray and what do you pray about?

10. Do you enjoy reading the Bible? Do you experience God teaching you when you read your Bible?

11.Do you worship God? Why do you worship?

12.Do you think about God? What aspects of God do you think about?

13. Do you confess your sins to God?



Your Motives

Why do you pray?

Why do you read your bible?
Why do you go to church?
What do you think about in times of corporate worship (the entire church coming together)?

Why do you do good works?
Why do you acknowledge sins in your life?


Your Relationships (do you put God first in your friendships?)
Do you talk about God with your friends?
Do you tell non-Christians about your faith?
Do you enjoy spending time with Christians?

Do you desire to serve others?