1 Corinthians 15:46 First but the natural, and then the spiritual.
John 3:5-8 (NIV) 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'
Matthew 7:7-11 (NLT) 7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
1 Samuel 1:12-18 (NLT) 12 As she was praying to the LORD, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” 15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” 17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” 18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.
1 Samuel 1:19-20 (NLT) 19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the LORD once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the LORD remembered her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the LORD for him.”
Revelation 22:17 (NLT) The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.
John 7:37-43(NLT) 37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) 40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.” 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.” 43 So the crowd was divided about him.
When we drink of Jesus the river takes over!
The result isn’t simply satisfaction but participation.
John 7:39(NLT) By this he meant the Spirit…
This River…
Ezekiel 47:1 12(NLT) 1 In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. 2 The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. 3 Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. 4 He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. 5 Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through. 6 He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank. 7 When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river. 8 Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure. 9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea. All the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim, the shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean. 11 But the marshes and swamps will not be purified; they will still be salty. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
So.....
1. Come and Drink
Psalm 63:1-2 (NKJV) 1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
2. Get in the River
There are depths to the river.
3. Let The River Flow
When we drink of Jesus the river takes over!
John 7:37-39(NLT) “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit
"Peace is not determined by what is happening around me but by who is within me.”
Isaiah 66:12-14 (ESV) 12 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.
ANXIETY///
John 16:33 (NIV) In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Peace comes from the inside.
John 14:25-27 (NIV) 25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
The flow of peace
1. Belive the right things
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) Cast all your anxiety(cares | cares and worries) on him because he cares for you.
“When we give more attention to worry, frustration, or irritation than focussing on his power, we are giving power to that tension to govern our life.”
2. Say the right things
Proverbs 10:11 (NLT) The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain….
Proverbs 18:21 (NIV) The tongue has the power of life and death
3. Do the right things
“God does not require obedience for his benefit but for ours.”
Isaiah 48:17-18 (NLT) 17 This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. 18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
4. Praying about all things.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“We don’t pray with a posture of panic but a posture of praise!”
John 7:37-39(NLT) “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit
Psalm 36:7-9 (NIV) 7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
Eden: We were Created in the context of delight.
1. Provision and contentment
2. Having nothing to hide
3. Unhindered relationship
A God of delight.
Delight is His River
Psalm 46:4(NIV) There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God….
Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT) For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
“Purity of heart comes from delighting in God not doing things for God.”
Romans 14:17 (NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
When delight is right....
1. Performance is pleasurable.
2. Prayers are perfected.
Psalm 37:4 (NIV) Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Acquiring Delight
1. Look at him
Psalm 34:8 (NLT) Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
*See, to drink deep: Behold OR GAZE.
We become what we behold. We receive how we perceive.
Isaiah 60:5 (NIV) You will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy.
2. Look to Him
Where are you looking?
Delighting is a decision based entirely on where we set our attention.
Psalm 34:5 (NLT) Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
Posture your heart towards his presence.
Psalm 16:11 (NIV) You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
3. Remain in Him
1 Peter 1:8(TPT) You love him passionately although you did not see him, but through believing in him you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory
John 15:7-11 (NLT) But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. 9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
Ministry:
Acts 3:19 (NIV) Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Romans 15:13 (NIV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
John 7:37-39(NLT) “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit
Water flowing from the temple…
Ezekiel 47:1-5 (NIV) 1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side. 3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in--a river that no one could cross.
“In the River there is always more in store.”
Depths with the Spirit.
1. Drawing
John 6:44 (NLT) For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me.
2. Born Again
John 3:5-7 (NIV) 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'
3. Immersed
“In the River there is always more in store.”
Psalm 42:7 (NIV) Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
Immerse/Baptize
Matthew 3:11 (NLT) “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
To Overflow you have to be overfilled.
Have you been immersed in River?
Going deeper in the River.
“In the River there is always more in store.”
1. Desire
Matthew 5:6 (NIV) 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
2. Ask, Seek, Knock
Luke 11:9-10 (NIV) 9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
3. Continue
Matthew 13:33 (NLT) Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
Ephesians 5:18 (NIV) Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Ministry:
Isaiah 44:3-4 (NLT) 3 For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children. 4 They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.
Acts 19:2 (NIV) "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
Ezekiel 47:12 (NIV) 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."
John 7:37-39(NLT) “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit
…
John 4:14 (TPT) If anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never thirst again and will be forever satisfied! For when you drink the water I give you it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, springing up and flooding you with endless life!”
…
John 4:19-30 (NIV) 19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?" 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
John 4:39-42 (NIV) 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."
Rivers move boarders.
He Expands us.
You don’t get authority without flexibility.
Luke 5:37-39 (NIV) 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.'"
2 Corinthians 3:3, 13-18 (NIV) 3….You are a letter(epistle) from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
How do we remain flexible?
Proverbs 3:11-12 (NLT) 11 My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. 12 For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Ephesians 4:30 (NLT) And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own…
Madison Sponsler
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
John 8:44 NLT
“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Proverbs 18:21-22 NLT
“20 Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction. 21 The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences”
Zack Massa
Diligence
Ephesians 4:22-24
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Patience
Hebrews 10:36 (Amplified)
For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.
How do we find the motivation to be diligent and patient?
Genesis 29:20
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
Hannah Massa
Psalm 135:15
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 17 They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
1Corinthians 10:6
7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”
Colossians 3:5
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
2 Corinthians 10:5
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Jonah 2:8
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.
John 4:23
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
John 4:28
28 The woman left her water jar beside the well…
Nathan Hernandez:
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
JOHN THE BAPTIZER
Matthew 11:1-6
“After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee...
...When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
"And BLESSED is the one who is not offended by me.”
STOP PUTTING THE BLAME ON THE WRONG GUY
PROTECT HIS CHARACTER & GUARD YOUR HEART
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked
Romans 8:35-39 (NIV)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ... 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 7:37-39(NLT) “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit
John 4:6-19(NIV) 6 Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well(Jacobs well). It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." 11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." 17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." 19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet....
The Woman….
1. She was a woman.
2. She was a Samaritan.
3. She was immoral.
4. She was guilty.
5. She was broken.
Jeremiah 2:11-13 (NLT) 11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! 12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the LORD. 13 “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!
Have you have been drinking from the wrong source?
Cisterns are fragile
You were not re-created to simply sustain but to provide.
John 4:14 (TPT) If anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never thirst again and will be forever satisfied! For when you drink the water I give you it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, springing up and flooding you with endless life!
1. Jesus cares for broken.
Psalms 34:18(NIV) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
2. Jesus rebuilds the broken
Jesus doesn't repair the broken he rebuilds them.
Mark 2:22 (NIV) And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”
He won’t give you the new without giving you the capacity to carry it!
3. Jesus installs wells
……
Hebrews 10:22-23 (NIV) 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
James 4:8 (NLT) Come close to God, and God will come close to you.
2 Timothy 4: 6 (NIV) For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Mark 10:17(NIV) As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'" 20 "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22 At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
“His success was killing his opportunity at the race that he was asking Jesus to join in!”
“We find our place running God’s race.”
The Race
1. It’s a grace race
“Grace is not simply about covering our lack, But about empowering us to run the race.
His race requires grace.
His race is not ABOUT you but it INVOLVES YOU.
“We find our place running God’s race.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
2. The race is a chase
Matthew 6:33-34(NIV) 33 But seek first HIS KINGDOM and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own
3. The race has a pace
“Intenders are as productive as pretenders!”
“The kingdom is at hand but you got you got to let go of what is in your hand to take hold of it.”
1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. (NLT) So I run with purpose in every step.)
Ministry:
1.Get in the race.
2. Back back on track.
Galatians 5:7 (NLT) You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?
3. Weary in the running?
Hebrews 12:1(NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Acts 12:1-17 (NIV) 1…King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating." 12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.
The Church is experiencing revival.
The Church is experiencing persecution.
The Church is hurting.
The Church is experiencing uncertainty.
“When trouble comes our way people that pray keep the mission in play”
Stability in the midst of uncertainty
1. Community of Faith
-All that is concealed won’t get healed.
-Me issues are we issues.
Romans 12:4-5 (NLT) 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
1 Corinthians 12:26 (NLT) If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
“The more isolated we become to more powerless we will be.”
2. Fervency of Prayer
Worry is an invitation…to fear.
“Reacting in fear is giving glory to the darkness.”
Worry is an invitation…to pray.
Acts 12:5 (NIV) …the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
Acts 12:12 (NIV) ….where many people had gathered and were praying.
James 5:16 (NKJV) …The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
They were uncertain about the outcome.
-Faith is not the absence of uncertainty, but trusting God in the midst of it.”
-Our certainty does not lie in the answer we want but in our God who hears us.
3. Urgency of Mission
“When trouble comes our way people that pray keep the mission in play”
Stability is not mean immobility. The church is most stable when it’s moving.
Ephesians 2:10(NIV) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
Luke 10:25-28 (NLT) One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
“We work best at loving God by loving Him in our work.”
John 15:10 (NIV) If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
2. What are you working for?
What is the treasure?
“When we stand before him our reward will not be the reward in his hand but the look in his fiery eyes!”
3. Where are you working from?
Ephesians 2:4-10 (NIV) 4 Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
By Grace through faith….
Our New Nature
Now work is not dreadful it’s delightful!
1 John 5:2-3 (NIV) 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.
“To weaken the striver let love be the driver.”
Developing a healthy hustle muscle
1. Seeing yourself as an Investor(not a earner)
“We are investing in a relationship not earning a wage.”
2. Setting our attention & affections
3. Start Responding
1 John 4:19 (NIV) We love because he first loved us.
“To weaken the striver let love be the driver.”
Genesis 27:1-38 (NLT) 1 One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.” “Yes, Father?” Esau replied. 2 “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.” 5 But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the LORD’s presence before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. 10 Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.” 11 “But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. 12 What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.” 13 But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!” 14 So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. 16 She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. 17 Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread. 18 So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said. “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?” 19 Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.” 20 Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The LORD your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” 22 So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. 24 “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “Yes, I am,” Jacob replied. 25 Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said to Jacob, 26 “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.” 27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the LORD has blessed! ….30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt.
Abba is not like Isaac.
1. Abba has perfect vision: He sees all
2. He can taste and smell: He knows what he wants
“He is specific in the asking we need to be persist in the bringing.”
3. He does not have limited resources.
Properly appropriating the Fathers blessing.
1. Identify Manipulation
Properly Identifying manipulation.
1. It’s from the enemy
2. Most manipulation is in our mind.
2. Stop Pretending
3. Properly adorn yourself
What are you putting on?
Abba can feel and smell the imposter.
1 John 1:7 (NLT) If we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Galatians 3:26-27 (NIV) 26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
4. Come Close
Ephesians 2:13 (NIV) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
"Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.”
2 Corinthians 2:15 (NIV) For we are to God the aroma of Christ….
The blessing flows out of intimacy.
“Transformation doesn’t happen in the striving but in the clinging.”
Genesis 32:22-31 (NIV) 22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 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. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 27 The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. 28 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." 29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
Who is the Man?
Christophany Pre-incarnate appearances of Christ.
Why did he show up?
He showed up because Jesus answers.
Genesis 32:9 Jacob prayed....
He showed up because Jacob was afraid.
He showed up because Jacob was alone.
He showed up to alter Jacob’s identity.
Who intimated?
Who won?
They were wrestling for the same thing!
Was the match necessary?
Change is painful.
Hosea 12:4 (NLT)….He wept and pleaded for a blessing from himself.
“It wasn’t Jacobs ability to fight but His ability to cling that transform him!”
“Transformation doesn’t happen in the striving but in the clinging."
Cling to God in the midst of your struggle!
Luke 11:5-11 (NLT) 5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Psalm 126:5-6 (NLT) 5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. 6 They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.
Prayer is not just about the end product but an enduring process.
The blessing comes…
When Jacob is holding on.
“Transformation doesn’t happen in the striving but in the clinging."
2. When Jacob asks.
3. When Jacob is genuine with who he is.
4. When Jacob was seeking to know God,
In the clinging we find…
1. A New Identity
2. A New Walk
Colossians 1:9-13 (NIV) 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
Colossians 1:15-20 (NLT) 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself….
John 8:50, John 14:9 “If you have seen me you have seen the father.” John 10, Matthew 14 & 28
2. He performed the greatest work
Colossians 1:20 (NLT) …He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
“If you cannot be satisfied with the Love of God poured out through Jesus, you will never be satisfied!”
John 15:13 (NLT) There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Matthew 23:11-12 (NLT) The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Philippians 2:6-11 (NIV) 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
3. He imparts greatness.
Colossians 1:20-22 (NLT)…He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
Because he is in you you have greatness inside of you.
1 John 4:4 (NIV) You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Jesus is greater than anything you can do.
He is greater than any issues you have.
John 16:33 (NIV) In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Ministry:
John 14:6 (NLT) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Genesis 25:27-34 (NIV) 27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.) 31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." 32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" 33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
The Birthright: Entitled to the firstborn.
1. Leadership: Assumed the authority, rights and responsibility the family.
2. A Double Portion of the inheritance.
3. The specific special blessing of the father.
Jacobs desire for the birthright was appropriate.
“Good intentions without good decisions don’t matter.”
ESAU….
Hebrews 12:16-17 (NIV) 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
Things to remember in the Drive of Desire
1- Don’t pass up your position.
Romans 6:20-23 (NLT) 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Grow up and take your rightful place in the family of God!
2- Value virtues over vices
Don’t blow it for the bowl.
“With every choice we make we are revealing what we value most.”
Romans 8:5-10 (NIV) 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
3. Choices have Consequence
James 1:13-15 (NIV) 13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
3- Seek repentance
2 Corinthians 7:10 (NLT) 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
Psalm 51:10-12, 17 (NIV) 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast(loyal) spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. ….17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Genesis 25:21-27 (NLT) 21 Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. 23 And the LORD told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” 24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! 25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. 26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. 27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
“Pray for your Promise and prepare for the fulfillment.”
Proverbs 14:4 (NLT) Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.
Jacob was born for greatness…
Greatness always carries tension.
Our striving must come from the right posture.
Striving was part of Jacobs nature.
“God doesn’t need your gifting, your personality, strengths, your passions. He wants your dependance.”
John 3:3 (NLT) “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“When we are too focussed on our own nature we tend to remove God from the equation.”
We become self-dependent we can also become insecure.
Striving was part of Jacobs nurture
-Rebecca heard what the Lord said & she was gonna make it happen.
-She wanted God’s will but didn’t want to do it Gods way.”
“The promise is not just what you possess but who you become.”
Halt that Hustle…
1. Stop fighting for the wrong approval
Galatians 1:10 (NIV) Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
-We function from and towards the approval of God.
2. Give into Grace
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT) 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
3. Settle Down
Psalm 46:10 (NLT) “Be still, and know that I am God!”
4. Establish a new stride
Depending on Jesus by focussing on Jesus.
“Our striving should never be to exercise our strength but to depend on his.”
Philippians 3:6-16 (NLT2) I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. 15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.
Ephesians 1:3-8 (NLT) 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
Isaiah 53:3-6 (NLT) 3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.
Why so much suffering and pain?
To show you that we are worthy of healing!
Isaiah 53:5 (NLT) He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
False assumptions concerning healing:
1. Somebody Sinned
Jesus was already punished for your sins.
John 9:1-7 (NIV) 1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7 "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
“Pharisees tend to place a priority on process over people.”
John 9:24-25 (NLT) So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” 25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
God longs to heal his Children because it brings attention to his goodness!
2. Somebody doesn’t have faith.
James 5:14-15 (NLT) Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well.
Mark 9:24
3. God doesn’t want to. It’s not God’s will.
Healing is critical, ask any sick person!
“We don’t build theology around unanswered prayers!”
Luke 5:12-13 (NLT) 12 In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
Appropriating Wholeness
1.Believe
2. Nurture expectation
It’s not if it’s when!
-Speak/Declare:
-Meditate on the Word.
3. Steward wholeness
4. Pray
God’s will is to be prayed in.
Matthew 6:9-10 (NIV) 9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
HEALING IS A MANDATE.(MARK 16:18)
Matthew 10:7-8 (NLT) 7 Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!
Genesis 28:10-22 (NIV) 10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." 18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
Jacob moves on….
“…When he reached a certain place”
“The significance of moments defines the significance of places.”
Jacob lays down…
On a rock…
Psalm 62:1-2 (NIV) My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation….
Isaiah 26:3-4 (NLT) 3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! 4 Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.
We rest on Christ the Rock.
1 Peter 2:4 (NLT) You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God.
When we rest in God dream we find…
1- Providence
“There above it stood the LORD”
We can have Confidence in the Providence!
2. A Person
John 1:51 (NLT) “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”
3. Permission
“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
Hebrews 4:16 (NLT) So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
4. Power
Permission to get what we need, and power to delegate what others need.
“All peoples on earth will be blessed through you….”
"How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
Gate:(Shawhar) Opening of heaven an opening that was split open.
Psalm 24:6-7(NIV) 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah 7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Easter gave us permission, Pentecost gives us power
Pillows to Pillars
- “God anoints moments and makes them monuments!”
Soul- Mind, Will, emotions.
Heart and Mind
The human soul is the part of a person that is not physical.
Matthew 27:27-31 (NLT) 27 Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29 They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. 31 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
Thorns are an ancient symbol of a curse.
Genesis 3:17-18 (NIV) 17…"Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
1. DYSFUNCTION- Things inherited
2. SHAME- From bad decisions
3.EMOTIONAL TRAUMA-
Christ has broken the curse!
Galatians 3:13-14 (NLT) 13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
Because we are Cross-Worthy we can be Curse free!
Head games
-Accusation
-Humiliation
-Shame
Isaiah 53:3-5 (NIV) 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
PEACE OF SOUL
1. Peace has been purchased and promised
John 14:26-27 (NLT) 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. 27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
2. Peace must be placed
-By placing faith in Jesus
Colossians 3:15(NIV) Let peace rule in your hearts through faith.
-By making sound decisions
Romans 16:19-20 (NIV) I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
-By renewing our mind
Romans 12:2 (NIV) 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
How?
The Washing of the Word (Eph 5)
I have hidden your word in my heart….(Psalms 119:11)
Meditate on Christ, what the said and the work he finished!
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
3. Peace must be protected
Philippians 4:6-9 (NLT) 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
We protect peace by praying and by thinking on the right things.
4.Peace is a person
Peace has little to do what is happening around us but who is residing in us.
Ephesians 2:14 (NIV) For he himself is our peace.
“The weight of his presence will crush the weight of the presence of our troubles.”
Psalm 23:5 (NIV) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT) 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
1 Corinthians 12:31 (NIV) But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
LOVE IS GENTLE
Colossians 3:12 (NLT) Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
2 Corinthians 6:3-6 (NLT) 3 We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. 4 In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.
Ephesians 4:2 (NLT) Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
2. Love is Kind
“Kindness is not reacting to the treatment of others but reflecting the heart of Jesus.”
We want to be radically unfair in our kindness!
3. Love is Not Rude
James 3:17-(NLT) But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
4. Love is not easily angered.
Psalm 145:8-9 (NIV) 8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
5. Love keeps no record of wrongs
2 Corinthians 5:19 (NIV) God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.
Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
The test of genuine gentle love.
Jesus always takes it a step further….
Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV) 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
“We are most like Jesus when we lay down our lives and love our enemies.”
Romans 5:10 (NIV) When we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son,…
1 Corinthians 13:4-13 (NIV) 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Love is Selfless
1. DOES NOT ENVY
Envy is at the core of comparison.
WARNING: Envy can nurture a bitter spirit.
Proverbs 14:30 (NIV) A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
James 3:14-16 (NIV) 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
“When I am loving well I celebrate what others have, even if it’s something I long to have.”
2. DOES NOT BOAST/ IS NOT PROUD
Envy is focuses on what I don’t have, pride is bragging in what I do.
Pride: (KJV) Puffed up. gk Inflated.
Gifts are meant to speak of the giver of the gift not to puff the pride of the recipient.
2 Corinthians 10:17-18 (NLT) As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.” when people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.
Although gifts emphasize our value they also reveal our lack.
“Humility is the prerequisite of perfect love.”
Matthew 6:1 (NIV)"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Philippians 2:3-8 (NIV) 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
“You cannot love someone that you put yourself in front of.”
Both of these things (envy, boasting proud) are very self-focusses….
3. NOT SELF-SEEKING.
At the heart of self-seeking is Narcissism.
Many confuse love with happiness.
Ephesians 5:21(NIV) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Nurturing Selfless-love
1. See yourself Investment not a waste.
“When I realize I have something to offer, I find joy in offering it.”
Matthew 16:24-26 (NIV) Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
2. Go First. Be the first to be last.
“We experience love the most when we are showing it.”
John 15:11-13 (NLT) I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! his is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
3. Have confidence in God’s love
1 John 4:16-17, 19 (NLT) 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. …19 We love each other because he loved us first.
Luke 24:32 "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (NIV) 1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
Love is gentle
Patient: Love is the long road and we are willing to suffer-long.
Kind: Seeking to be radically unfair in kindness
Not rude: Not harsh or easily agitated.
Not easily angered: Doesn’t live in reaction.
Keeps no record of wrong: Those that are forgiven by God find joy in forgiving others.
Love is selfless
Does not envy: Loving well celebrates what others have, even if it’s something we long to have.
Does not boast: Love is not puffed up or inflated.
Not proud: Humility is a prerequisite for perfect love.
Not self-seeking: Love is not about personal happiness.
Love fights:
Does not delight in evil: Never glad to participate in sin or affirm sin in self or others.
Rejoices in truth: We embrace and speak the truth tenderly in Love, understanding that truth sets people free.
Always protects: We defend, protect, and provide safe spaces for others.
Always perseveres: Love always sticks around, stays faithful and fervently fights for. Love outlasts evil.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT) Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
LOVE BELIEVES
1 John 4:7-13, 16-17 (NLT) 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. …16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
Ephesians 4:29-32 (NKJV) 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
John 13:36-38 (NLT) 36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.” 37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
Matthew 26:69-75 (NIV) 69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said. 70 But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. 71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72 He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!" 73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away." 74 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Then we see a change…He made the switch from Fear to fierce.
Acts 2:14 (NIV) Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd…
Exactly what Jesus prophesied to him in Matthew 16
Matthew 16:15-28 (NIV) 15 "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Core values to switch from Fear to Fierce.
1- Identity
Proverbs 28:1 (NIV) …The righteous are as bold as a lion.
Focus on him and who you are becoming.
When you understand your identity it changes the WAY you function.
2. Purpose
John 21:15-17 (NLT) 15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”
“Our Purpose is responding to loving Jesus by loving what he loves, taking care what He cares for.”
3. Love
Peter was struggling with shame and regret.
“Nothing says I love you like I trust you.”
4. Power
Acts 1:8(NIV) You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.
Acts 4:31 (NIV) 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Paul to Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:3-7 (NIV) 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline
James 2:23 (NIV) "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
Jesus doesn’t simply want obedient followers, He wants intimate friends.
Mark 3:13-14 (NIV) 13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve--designating them apostles--that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.
Luke 10: 38-42 (TPT) As Jesus and the disciples continued on their journey, they came to a village where a woman welcomed Jesus into her home. Her name was Martha and she had a sister named Mary. Mary sat down attentively before the Master, absorbing every revelation he shared. 40 But Martha became exasperated by finishing the numerous household chores in preparation for her guests, so she interrupted Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t you think it’s unfair that my sister left me to do all the work by myself? You should tell her to get up and help me.” 41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? 42 Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.”
Switching to the better way
1. Urgency for Intimacy.
James 1:22 (NLT) But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
John 15:14-15 (NIV) 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
We are functioning as friends.
-“He isn’t calling you to be busy he is calling you to be fruitful”
-“Business is the enemy of fruitfulness.”
-“Doing for Jesus will never substitute being with him.”
The result of intimacy takes us from being busy to being fruitful.
John 15:4-5 (NIV) 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing
2. Centrality over priority
Matthew 6:33 (NLT) Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Luke 10:25-28 (NIV) 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live.”
“God isn’t looking to be first on your list he is looking to be the center of your life.”
“We don’t fall in love we grow in love.”
Growth happens by lingering at his feet.
3. Lingering over Laboring
Psalm 27:4 (NIV) One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
“Lovers will always outwork, outlast, & outclass laborers."
John 15:5 (NIV) Apart from me you can do nothing
Lingering is the better way…
Ministering to Jesus is the greater ministry!
—————
1 John 4:19 (NIV) We love because he first loved us.
John 13:8-9 (NLT) 8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”
Luke 10: 38-42 (TPT) As Jesus and the disciples continued on their journey, they came to a village where a woman welcomed Jesus into her home. Her name was Martha and she had a sister named Mary. Mary sat down attentively before the Master, absorbing every revelation he shared.
Mark 4:9 (NIV)"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Mark 4:13-14 (NIV) …Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word.
Mark 4:20 (NIV) …Seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
The listening lifestyle
Switching From Hearing to Listening.
John 10:27 (NIV) My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
1 Samuel 3:1-11 (NIV) 1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down…10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 And the LORD said to Samuel…
1. QUIET DOWN
Mark 6:30-34 (NLT) 30 The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. 31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. 32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.
Psalm 46:10 (NIV) Be still, and know that I am God.
2. OPEN UP
Revelation 3:20 (NLT) “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
Matthew 13:14-15 (NIV) ...ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused….
John 13:23-26 (NKJV) 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. 25 Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to Him, "Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it." And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
“We listen best by leaning in close.”
4. Stay tuned in.
1 John 1:1-3 (NIV) 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Matthew 2, Luke 4, 1 John 3
Jesus faced opposition…
1. In the beginning
Matthew 2
Matthew 2:16 (NLT) Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under.
2. Throughout his life.
Luke 4
Luke 4:29-30(NLT) 29…They mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.
3. Near the end
Luke 22:42-44 (NLT) 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
We will face opposition. We cant get out of it.
Jesus came to destroy the devils work!
1 John 3:5-10 (NLT) 5 You know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. 7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
The works of the devil…
The only power the devil over us has is the power we give him.
Ephesians 4:27 (NIV) Do not give the devil a foothold.(place)
1. Sin
“Our choices reveals what kingdom is superior in our life.”
2. Distractions
2 Corinthians 11:2-4 (NLT) 2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. 3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 4 You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
Distraction can lead to deception.
3. Deception & Manipulation
2 Corinthians 11:14 (NLT) Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
4.Fear/Anxiety/Worry
Fear is a way the enemy tries to undermine our trust in God.
5. Destruction: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, Mental, Relational
6. Shame
Shame is believing a lie that God is good but his goodness is not as powerful as our sin.
Shame is believing the lie that we are not forgiven or that we are not enough.
Living in Triumph
Romans 5:17 (NLT) For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Jesus partners with us to advance the destruction…
Romans 16:20 (NIV) The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
1. Stand up under temptation
Temptation proves the quality of our character.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Jesus tempted in the desert(Luke 4)
Satan will attack us when we hungry, tired, alone, physically weak.
Matthew 26:41 (NIV) "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
-Stand in your identity: Know who you are.
Your power is rooted in position.
-Stand on the word: Know what God says.
“There is a quiet confidence when we rest in the authority of what God says.”
John 16:33 (NIV) "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
2. Submit and Resist
James 4:7 (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Submitting our behaviors, thoughts, composure, attitude to Jesus. Then resisting anything contrary to Jesus.
3. Embrace mercy moments
When it comes:
Angels ministered to him. Matthew 4:11 Luke 22:43
When we go to it.
Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT) 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need i most.
4. Walk it out.
How do we walk in freedom? One victory at a time.
Because of one victory for all time.
Hebrews 2:14(NLT) Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.
Ministry:
John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
If the devils mission is to steal, kill, and destroy then life is found when Jesus Restores, Resurrects, and Rebuilds.
John the Baptist:
Matthew 3:1-2 (NIV) 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Jesus:
Matthew 4:17 (NIV) From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
The Disciples:
Acts 3:19 (NIV) Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM IS NEAR.
🚦2019 Year of the Green Light.
Genesis 12:1-4 (NLT) 1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed
1. The promise of dominion(new territory)
2. The promise of reproduction
3. The promise of blessing & increase
Galatians 3:26-29 (NLT) 26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on the character of Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Dominion, reproduction, blessing.
The light is green!
2 Corinthians 1:19-20 (NLT) 19 Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. 20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
Switching Gears
“Going and growing ain’t always easy.”
1. From Hype to Hope
Hebrews 10:23 (NIV) Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Isaiah 49:23 (NIV) Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.
2. From Waiting ON to Trusting IN
Isaiah 40:31(NIV) But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
“Waiting on drains, waiting upon fills.”
Timing can be tricky…
1. Often timing has more to do with us than it does God.
“Don’t call your delay God’s timing.”
“Don’t call your distractions God’s timing.”
2. Often times the fulfillment of promises due to our failure to participate.
3. Trusting Gods timing means He is working and so am I.
God’s job is to fulfill our job is to be faithful.
Hebrews 11:11 (NIV) By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
3. From Idle to Accelerate
When God speaks we move.
“Delayed obedience is disobedience.”
“You cant experience the Gospel without Go.”
ITS GO TIME!!!!!
1. Because of Christ