Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Don’t Just Hang on in Tough Times, LET GO!

Posted: March 16, 2009 in Church, In Christ, Jesus is My Life, Job, Life, Overcoming Tough Times, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,
1

broken-clay-potI am really struggling with how Jesus Christ REALLY impacts the everyday life of normal Christians. It seems to me that most Christians see Jesus as just the doorway to God. Sunday is the day we go to meet with this God whom we met by asking Jesus into our life. That seemed to be the case yesterday. I went to a really BIG church yesterday in Houston. Over 20,000 people attend at five different locations. The choir and special singers at the location I was at sang beautiful songs to a God who seemed awesome to them. They sang about how this God can get them through tough times. Then a preacher appeared on an overhead video screen. I guess he was preaching somewhere, just not there.overcome He was preaching on Job and how he overcame tough times. He was able to job-covered-with-soresovercome because he kept on hanging on to this God. The preacher took a clay pot and just threw it down, breaking it all over the stage. He said that’s what this God did to Job. He smashed his life to pieces, and then this God bet Satan that Job would hang on to Him! That seemed a bit wierd to me, but I could see the point of the preacher. In fact, most people could get the point. After all, we all get dealt a few lemons from time to time. Some more than others. We can let the lemon sour us or we can learn to make lemonade. Right? The message was very simple, compassionate, and made sense. BUT DID IT BRING LIFE?

Jesus Christ said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is MY Way, MY Truth and MY Life. He also said that I could never come to this awesome God unless I come through HIM.

i-want-to-see-jesusI understood the message about holding on to God, about letting Him make sense out of all the broken pieces, but I did not see Jesus. I want to see LIFE! And Jesus told me I must see Him to see LIFE. I want to do more than just hold on to God. I want to do more than get advice for how to handle problems. I want to have Life! I want to have His Life! I want to know His way, His truth, His Life. That only happens as I discover and embrace the Life of Jesus in the mundane, every-day events of life.

Jesus told Mary & Martha “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11) He wanted them to know Him, but they only cared about what He could do for them. In verse 32 they said, “If you had been here Lazarus would not have died”. So Jesus wept (vs. 33), because they did not understand it is not what Jesus does for us that impacts our lives, it is WHO HE IS! He is our LIFE! We can have no life apart from Him. He is not just someone to introduce us to God. He is not just someone we casually mention at the end of an opening and closing prayer. Jesus is our LIFE. We can not pretend to know Him on Sunday and NOT EXPERIENCE His Life on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… Jesus is our LIFE, and His Life is meant to be as effortless as breathing.

hold-on-to-godSure, anyone can get through the tough times simply by holding on to God. But NEVER limit yourself to a survivor mentality. That is not Jesus Christ! Jesus is so much more! He is not a Survivor, He is a THRIVER! Jesus is our resurrection as well as our life! His resurrection means we can REIGN with Him. We are reigning over our problems and difficulties. We are reigning even while simply driving to work! Instead of simply trying to hold on to life, Reign with His Life living through you! Jesus is the Lord of every situation, from success to failure, from health to disease. The only way to encounter His Life and allow His Life to be Our Life is to LET GO! Let go of what you think you need to do to survive. See Jesus as your life. Allow Him to reign over every situation in your life. Jesus is Life, and we must allow Him to be our life. The power of His resurrection will flourish in our hearts. Regardless of the pain and suffering and difficulties we encounter.job19_25

Job himself realized this as he wrote in Job 19:25,26 – “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God.”

Even in the midst of his sorrows Job did much more than simply “hang on”. He thrived because his Life was totally tied up in the life of his Redeemer!

jesus-the-way-the-truth-the-lifeDon’t survive, THRIVE! Jesus is LIFE! His Life can be your life. Anyone can find the strength to hang on. How many of us have the strength to let go and trust Him? Let go of your situation and let Jesus be your life. He says “I am Your Way, I am Your Truth, I am Your Way!” If you want to overcome the difficulties of this life, let go and let ME be your life!

Foolish Honor – Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Posted: March 8, 2009 in Honor, Jesus Christ, Live Like You Were Dying, Muslim, Pathway of Blessing, shame, Steve Jobs, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
2

llywd

Watch Edited Steve Jobs Commencement Address
Last fall we went through a series of Sermons and small group studies that focused on How would you change your life if you only had 30 days to live. God really got a hold of my life during that study, as I prayed and prepared for sermons, as I thought about what He wanted to do with my life.

I had a dream, almost a vision a month or so after that, in fact it has happened a couple of times. In my dream or vision I was before God and I was literally shaking with fear. I saw how little I had done compared with what I could have done. I was ashamed; I could offer no explanation for my slothfulness, my selfishness, my laziness that led me to do so little of what His will had been.

God got me alone with Him at the beginning of this year. He relived with me the last 35 years of my life, and a lot of what He had done made sense. I made a lot of mistakes, but He showed me how His grace had brought me to this place in His time for His purpose, not mine.

Then He has been restoring to my life a much needed quality, honor. He said before you can go any further I want to see if you will be willing to live a life of honor. Honor for those He has placed as authorities, those he has placed as associates, those he has placed for my watch care. God has been working on me in a powerful way.

He has opened His Word to me as never before. He has given me a renewed Love for His ways, for His presence, for His Power.

The words of Steve Jobs rallied my heart this week. It was as if God was using the experiences of a very successful non-believer to bring some perspective to what He is wanting for my life and ministry, and what I hope you want for your lives and our church.foolish-honor

We are Looking at “Foolish Honor”

1 Cor 4:10 says we are fool’s for Christ’s sake. In order to understand what “Foolish Honor” is, we need to get our hearts around the story in Mark 14:3-11

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him. Mark 14:3-11 (NKJV)

In this section of Scriptures we see one of the greatest moments in Christ’s ministry, and one of the lowest moments in His ministry.

Godly Fool versus Ghastly Fool

mary-versus-judasHere, Judas thought this woman was being the fool. He thought he was the wise one, profiting from the betrayal of an even greater fool, the Messiah pretender Jesus of Nazareth. I think you and I know who the greatest fool was. It was the man who let his greed and lust for power blind his eye’s to the truth that Jesus is the Savior, the redeemer of mankind. Judas killed himself and even today is burning in hell for his sins. He is truly the fool. And so are you if you don’t come to Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. I’m not talking about fool’s that refuse the Son of God from being their personal Savor. I’m talking about Believers who are Foolish in their Honor of Christ.

I also believe that any Christian who let’s the world tell him how to live his Christian life is a fool. There are Godly Fools and there are Ghastly Fools. If a Christian is walking in the world and in the flesh he is a Ghastly Fool. God looks at your life and says, don’t you realize all that you have? Don’t you know who is living in you? Don’t be afraid to be a fool for me. Don’t be afraid of the world making fun of you, even Ghastly Christians making fun of you. Go ahead, let go, give up and be a Godly Fool!

To understand what was going on in Simon’s house, we have to get an overall picture of the place of Honor in the societies of the world.

honor-killingYou may have heard about the recent murder which happened when a prominent Muslim, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, beheaded his wife Aasiya. What you are not hearing is that this is an honor killing, sanctioned by the Koran. This type of thing goes on in Muslim countries, as well as Hindu countries. Most of these countries, because of their religion are what is called a shame-based culture. You do not do anything that brings shame to your parents, your family. Honor is something you gain by might or by birth. In a shame based culture it is ok to steal or do whatever as long as you do not bring shame upon the family. Shame based cultures are ruthless in their business practices. They will steal from you, they will lie to get an advantage, because that builds their honor up. When they get the upper hand it gives them honor. To appear weak or intimidated is to bring shame upon yourself and your family.

This man killed his wife because she was bringing shame upon him, and if he did not do this he would appear weak and the shame would be increased. This is why it is foolish to try to negotiate with radical Muslims, because they see that as weakness. They will use the negotiations to appear strong. They will lie to gain the upper hand.

America was a radical creation. It was an honor based culture, based upon Biblical morality. The emphasis was on honor for individual rights. Shame was a part of our culture, but only with regards to families. You did not get into trouble because it would bring shame upon the family name. Somewhere along the line fairness entered our culture, and we became a guilt based culture. Now the family structure had broken down, shifting the focus to “don’t get caught” When you get caught it brings guilt. Well, now we have decided we don’t like guilt, so America is changing the rules so that there is no guilt. Single parenthood is ok, living together is ok, bending the rules to be fair to this one or that one is ok. Gay marriage is ok, abortion is ok, teenage sex is ok, America is no longer an Honor based culture and we are barely a guilt based culture.

godly-foolThis woman lived in a shame based culture. What she did was so foolish, so shameful, because she wasted the dowry that her father had probably given her, she brought dishonor to her family, she brought dishonor to her name, and what she did could never never be forgiven in a shame based culture. She would have been shunned the rest of her life. The honor she bestowed upon Jesus brought shame to her and her family. She might as well have been dead. The honor she foolishly gave to Jesus was shocking to the Jews. But that is the Honor that Jesus wants us to give Him.

In fact, so amazing was what she did that Jesus said wherever the Gospel is preached; they will tell the story of what this woman did. And what that means is her story will be told for all eternity, because the Gospel will be preached for all eternity.

In this story we find Jesus being honored at a meal held at Simon the Leper’s home. Simon had probably been healed by Jesus, but they still called him Simon the Leper. Kind of like the guy called Tiny who is 6’6 and 300 pounds. Names just kind of stick with you.

A woman comes in, she is called Mary in John’s account, and she breaks an alabaster jar. She broke it, there was no fixing it. Once it was done there was no going back. Then she poured the contents on his head and on his feet. This was very fragrant oil called spikenard. The oil was worth a year’s wages. It was like taking a designer dress that cost 20 or 30 thousand dollars and using it to wash Jesus feet with. The people there called it a waste. Judas said she was foolish, for she should have sold it and given the money to the poor.

Jesus said “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” To Judas, this was the last straw. He went out and betrayed Jesus.ghastly-fool

What are the Lessons of this Story? They are many, but I want to combine the points that Steve Jobs has learned in his life, with what this woman by her simple act of Foolish Honor demonstrated.

The Gospel is meant to produce this kind of reaction! Jesus had to go to the extreme to satisfy His Father. He had to give his own life, and become sin, so that His righteousness would forever satisfy the demands of His Holy Father. Christ, in tirn, will never be satisfied unless we waste our lives for Him. He poured out everything for us, and likewise He expects us to pour ourselves out for Him.

Real usefulness for God is measured in terms of waste…Our work for Christ springs from our ministering to Him.

How to Give Foolish Honor to Jesus Christ…

1. Do A Great Work For Christ!do-a-great-work-for-christ

  • The only way to be truly satisfied in work is to do what you believe is great work. (Work as unto the Lord)
  • The only way to do great work is to love what you do. (with all your heart soul mind & strength)
  • Don’t Settle (Reach for the prize of the high calling)

“As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.” Ephesians 6:6-8 (NLT)

Christ said: “She has done a good work for Me”

  • Christ never accepts mediocrity.
  • Christ wants His children to work with all their heart,
  • God is an all or nothing kind of God.
  • Foolish Honor means giving Honor to Christ with all your heart and all your soul and all you possessions.
  • It means Never accepting second best,  never settling for mediocrity
  • Be aware that there is a prize and you must reach for it, you must desire it. Those who come to God must believe He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Have You Done a Good Work For Jesus?

2. Learn to Give Foolish Honorlearn-to-gove-foolish-honor

  • If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? (I die daily)
  • Remembering you are going to Die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. (We are living sacrifices)
  • Death is Life’s change agent. (To live is Christ, to die is gain)

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut. Our Christian walk becomes routine, boring. There is no excitement, no challenge. Sometimes we try to get by doing as little as we can. We only read the Bible 5 minutes a day. We pray for 5 minutes, we go to church once a week, maybe twice. We give the bare minimum of tithe, if we tithe at all. We just do enough to keep in God’s good graces, to keep the thunderbolts away. We don’t want to be too radical in our Christian walk. We don’t want to create a scene, we don’t want to cause any problems.

“Why was this fragrant oil wasted? it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.”

Following Christ means dying to ourselves and what we want. It means letting go of our money our possessions, our reputation. It means pressing toward the mark, Living live wired for 220 voltage, not 120.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (KJV)

If you want to be a agent of change in this world, you must die to yourself. You must be willing to be a fool for Christ’s sake.

wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her

3. Follow Jesus with Foolish Passionfollow-jesus-with-foolish-passion1

Simon the Leper had been healed, Judas had been with Jesus for 3 years, but only one person in that room had a personal intimate relationship with Jesus.

She had gone out on a limb, she had refused to be mediocre, she had decided to give Him everything, even if it meant giving up her reputation and becoming a fool. Her foolish honor for Jesus meant the reward of intimacy with her Savior that those men never knew.

Are you just going to church because you think you should? Do you live your life by the opinions of others. Is your Christian walk stagnating, with no real intimacy with Jesus. You need to lay everything aside and follow Him with everything you have.

The one thing you would never do for Jesus is the thing you must be willing to do. You cannot hold on to anything that would keep you from following after Jesus.

  • Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. (Walk in the Spirit)
  • Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. (think Holy Spirit)
  • Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition (Follow after Christ)
  • “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” (Hunger & thirst to the point of foolishly giving everything to Jesus Christ)

Some of you rarely hear the Holy Spirit speaking to you. You live your life by what others say, or by what you think you are supposed to do. You don’t have an ongoing intimate walk with the Holy Spirit. You let things and dogma get in the way of fresh new revelation from the Holy Spirit.

And they criticized her sharply, but Jesus said Stop, Leave her alone. Only she had the courage toi listen to what her heart told her. She gave her all, and reaped eternal reward. She was honored by Jesus himself.

stay-hungry-stay-foolishAre You Hungry for the presence of God in your life? Are you Hungry for the Power of Christ to be reality in your life? Then you must be willing to be foolish. Foolish in your devotion to Christ, foolish in your giving to Christ. Willing to be shamed by others because you love Him so. Don’t allow the spirit of Judas to enter your life. Don’t allow your lust for pride, lust for money, lust for personal ambition, lust for what you want to prevent you from giving foolish honor to Jesus Christ.

Foolish honor is the key to renewed personal intimacy with Jesus.

Spurgeon preached:

“if we had this love it would be but natural to us to give to him, to live for him, and perhaps if we had ought at last to let him have it, – that so even dying we might give our friend in our dying testament a proof that we remembered him, even as he remembered us in his last testament and will. Oh brothers and sisters – what we want more of in the Church is, more extravagant love to Christ. I want each of you to show your love to Jesus, sometimes by doing something the like of which you have never done before. I remember saying one Sabbath morning that the Church ought to be the place of invention as much as the world. We do not know what machine is to be discovered yet by the world, but every man’s wit is at work to find out something new. So ought the wits of the Church to be at work to find out some new plan of serving Christ. Is there no man that can invent some new deed for Christ? Is there no brother that can do something more for him than has been done to-day, or yesterday, or during the last month? Is there no man that will dare to be strange and singular and wild, and in the world’s eye to be fanatical – for that is no love which is not fanatical in the eye of man. Depend upon it, that is no love that only confines itself to propriety. I would the Lord would put into thy heart some thought of giving an unwonted thank-offering to him, or of doing an unusual service, that so Christ might be honored with the best of thy lambs, and that the fat of thy bullocks might be exceeding glorified by your proof of love to him.

  • It is time for us to show Jesus Extravagant, foolish Love and Honor.
  • Someday you will stand before Him. Will you be trembling with fright as He shows you what might have been if you had shown Him foolish Honor.
  • Will You hear the words: “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

Honor Church Leaders That it May Be Well With Your Soul

Posted: March 2, 2009 in Church Leaders, Double Honor, Full Reward, Honor, Jesus Christ, Pathway of Blessing, Rechabites, Soul, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
7

honor-church-leadersIt is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. Ex 12:42

Have you ever had a night so wonderful, so memorable that you could remember every detail of that night one year later? What about 5 years? What about 50 years? The Jewish people have been remembering a night that happened over 3700 years ago. Wow, that must have been some night! Such a night was remembered because of its importance to the God of this universe and to the people of this world He created.

Moses had instructed all the people two weeks earlier to take a yearling lamb, without spot or blemish, and on the 10th day of the month bring it into your home. Then four days later they were to kill that lamb, eat the lamb, and take its blood and put it upon the lintel of their front door. At midnight, the Angel of the Lord went throughout the land of Egypt, and wherever he saw the blood of the lamb, he would pass over the house. Where there was no blood, he would enter the home and slay the first born son.

You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. (Exo 12:24-28)

This story is an excellent demonstration of the importance of Honor for church leaders, your pastor, deacons and Sunday school teachers.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Heb 13:17)

applying-the-bloodNow imagine if Joe and his wife Sarah had skipped church to go fishing or shopping or whatever. Moses and Aaron had instructed everyone on what to do. They weren’t at the meeting. They got back into town and didn’t know what all the buzz was about. They heard snippets of lamb and blood, but they thought that sounded absurd. They started talking to their friends and got them questioning what Moses said. Don’t you think that is a bit extreme? To waste a perfectly good lamb like that? Blood on my new door post? Why I’ll never be able to get that off! Why I just spent $500 on a new door! Before long a whole group of people had decided to ignore Moses and Aaron. So they lightly regarded the words of Moses and influenced other people to do the same. Honor leads us to value church leaders, and give weight to what they tell us. Dishonor leads us to scorn and devalue what church leaders tell us. To treat it like some teenagers treat the words of their parents.

Midnight came, the Angel went into their homes, they heard a noise, that woke them, going into their son’s bedroom, they found his throat cut. In fact, every one of their friends who scorned the instruction of Moses discovered the same grizzly scene.

a-cry-goes-out-at-midnightAnd Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. (Exo 12:30)

What kind of night would be remembered for 3700 years? The night that meant the difference between life and death for you and your family.

do-not-curse-church-leadersHonor for church leaders is critical for your lives? Why? Perhaps we can glimpse the ways of God by reading Acts 23:1-5. Paul demonstrates the importance of Honoring Church Leaders. When he was commanded to be slapped by some old guy, he hurled a stern verbal insult at him. Then someone whispered in his ear that the old guy was Ananias, the High Priest! He quickly apologized, quoting Exodus 22:28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” God equates cursing a church leader with reviling God!

When you honor your church leaders, you are honoring God. They are God’s messengers, God’s representatives. We demonstrate our honor of God by honoring the Leaders He has set before us.

Jesus took this cursing one step further. It is not the words you speak that matters, it is the heart attitude you have. You can say “yes” with your mouth but be going “Yea right like I’m gonna do that” with your heart.

Paul said: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls. Church leaders are keeping watch over your souls. That is their job. And how you honor your church leaders will determine the reward of how goes your soul.

Honor Determines the Destiny of your soul.

Joh 12:26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

honor-determines-the-destiny-of-your-soulPaul wrote to obey your leaders, for they watch over your souls. The Gospel of Christ is inexplicably tied to the preaching of His Word. If you do not honor the messenger, you dishonor the Word. God honors his servants, for they follow Christ, and He honors His Son.

The Cross is the Anchor of the Christian Walk. Our daily walk, our daily life in Christ must begin at the cross. At the cross we lay aside our fleshly wants and desires, our sin and selfishness, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. At the cross we lay claim of the exchanged life. At the cross we identify with the Resurrected Reigning Jesus Christ who lives in us and through us. At the cross we realize that God uses pastors and deacons and elders and teachers to build up the church, to work to conform us to Jesus Christ. We honor the cross in their life and the fact that they are God’s messengers to us.

To dishonor the preacher, the pastor, the Sunday school teacher is to scorn the Savior whom they serve.

Can’t I go direct to Jesus? Yes you can. But understand the God has a divine order of things. He has given gifts to the church to build it up, to teach to chasten to rebuke to instruct. If you fail to honor God’s Way, you are playing with the destiny of your soul.

parable-of-the-talentsJesus told a parable of the ruler who gave talents to his servants, and then went away. One servant said he feared the master, so he went and hid his talent.

He failed to honor his pastor (so to speak) and robbed himself of spiritual rewards.

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Mat 25:14-30)

dishonor-robs-you-of-light-and-rewardsWhen you fail to honor the requests of your church leaders, you rob yourself of these benefits:

  • You rob yourself of spiritual light for salvation,
  • Your rob your children of spiritual light, for they will grow up with an attitude of scorn toward the church, toward the pastor.
  • You rob yourself of rewards for God uses His messengers to speak to you, guide you and to watch over the welfare of your souls.

roast-preacherThe Pastor, the Sunday school teachers, are entrusting you with wealth in the form of spiritual truth. To honor them means to grow in the truth they teach, to honor their teaching. The benefit is eternal. When you fail to honor them, you will walk in darkness.

Sometimes we have Roast Preacher on the after church menu. This teaches dishonor to our children. Learn to Honor the Pastor at meal time.

Honor Determines the Prosperity of your soul.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Psa 92:12-15)flourish-as-the-cedar-tree

Those who honor church leaders honor the Lord. They will be planted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of our God.

“Well I go to church. I give a little money.” But that is not being planted. Planted implies you grow roots. You establish relationships. I’m not saying that you should be here every time the doors are open. But you should seek to Honor God by your faithfulness to the leadership of the church.

I have a friend whom I used to teach in Sunday School. We along with some others helped to start Lenexa Baptist Church in 1990. After a year or so we called a young clothing salesman from Oklahoma. He had pastored a couple small churches in Oklahoma. He was kind of green. He and I spent some time together at youth camp, and he shared that he was Calvinistic in his theology. But he was still very evangelistic. I respected his views and advised him to keep it under his hat. Well, he let it slip one Wednesday night, and it got spread among the deacons. One deacon, my friend was quite adamant about getting Pastor Steve to resign. He got several other deacons stirred up. They called a meeting in which they called on Steve to resign. I, along with another deacon stood up for Pastor Steve and called for respect for Steve, and pleaded for sound minds to prevail. Well, they got all upset and quit, and all of a sudden a church that was pushing 150 became a church of 90. (Steve stuck it out and today Lenexa Baptist runs a couple thousand plus every Sunday)

I believe my friend’s life was impacted by his dishonor. He lost his wife and he lost his children. He is became a Pastor, and has struggled in pastoring. Now he is pastoring even though he has had a divorce. His children are alienated. He has struggled with honor in his pastorate. I believe when you dishonor church leaders, you will reap dishonor in your life.

I was witness to another deacon revolt at a growing young church in Olathe, and I stood on behalf of the pastor once again. This time seven deacons decided to leave. I don’t know how their lives turned out, but I do know it destroyed the heart of the pastor Tom Grove. It also caused the church to fold. He had done nothing worthy of their treatment, and a man’s ministry was destroyed. Other lives were affected. Woe to all those who cause others to stumble.

honor-determines-the-direction-of-your-familyHonor Determines the Direction of Your Family

Eli is a picture of the way dishonor for God can ruin your family and even your descendants.

And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus the LORD has said, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. (1Sa 2:27-34)

eli-fell-over-and-diedThose who Honor God, He will honor. Those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Your children will not honor you, God will not honor you. Sure enough, his sons were slain, and when Eli heard the news, He keeled over and broke his neck and died.

How Honor Built a Godly Family

rechabites-honored-their-fatherHave you heard of the Rechabites? Read about them in Jeremiah 35.

Jeremiah called the descendants of Rechab in to the temple and offered them wine to drink. But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’

They had honored their father Jonadab for over two hundred years. And because they had demonstrated honor, Jeremiah offered this word from the Lord: “But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.””

When we honor the Lord, and we honor the lord’s messengers, we can ask God that of our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and beyond there will never be a time that one of our descendants will not stand before the Lord God. To me that would be the greatest reward, that my children and grandchildren would walk before the Lord. This is a Godly Heritage. This is a Legacy, that my family stands before the Lord!

Do You Doubt the importance of Honoring your church leaders? God repeats the command:

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (1Th 5:12-13)

They are the only ones whom God says are worthy of Double Honor.

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (1Ti 5:17-18)

If you have dishonored your church leaders in the past, confess your sin, there is mercy and forgiveness at the cross. Confess your sin to your children, there is mercy and forgiveness at the cross.

My Dad was an Area Committee Coordinator for the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts. It was late 1979 and early 1980 that the Institute was rocked by a scandalous discovery. It was discovered that Steve, Bill Gothard’s brother, was carrying on affairs with some of the staff secretaries. Rumors flew around the country. Some accused Bill, and at best said he should have known about it. Many said he did know and was even involved. It drove Bill to resign from his own ministry. But the board did a thorough investigation and asked Bill to come back. There were other problems as well.

looking-unto-jesusThrough it all my Dad kept faithfully serving, never got involved in the rumors, never showed any dishonor toward Bill or the organization. I couldn’t believe it. I remember one day going in to my dad’s office and saying, Dad, how can you continue to serve Bill the way you do?

He just looked at me and said, Son, I keep my eyes on Jesus.

Revelation of Truth comes in the Darkness

Posted: February 24, 2009 in Faith, Revelation, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

liftupthecross1cThe Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth in John 16:13. Jesus declared Himself to be the Way the Truth anf the Life. So the Holy Spirit is He…the one who reveals the Truth of Christ to darkened hearts. Revelation must and will always precede faith. Faith embraces REVEALED truth. Faith never embraces the obvious. Lack of Faith usually involves lack of Revelation.

Our prayer should be “Holy Spirit open my heart to know Your Truth you have for me today. Make your way clear to me”

Revelation comes in the midst of darkness. God made the light to shine upon a world covered by darkness. When our way is obscured by obstacles, when difficulties cloud our view of God’s pathway, the Holy Spirit stands ready to illumine our way with the Truth. Ask Him to reveal His Truth. In fact, His Revelation will not come as long as you are using your fleshly eyes to see the way. You must be willing to close them and lean not unto your own understanding. Don’t fret about missing anything. The Holy Spirit will reveal His Truth when things are darkest and you are most willing to seek Him.

But once revealed, quickly embrace it, even grab it (lambano) as though it was the winning lottery ticket. Only Faith embraces the invisible, the revealed Truth. The opportunity to walk by faith will not linger long. The Holy Spirit demand’s immediated obedience and embrace. He wearies of ‘doubleminded dullards’. His light will not be wasted on those who ignore it.

Prayer: “Open my heart Lord and quicken my steps to walk in your revealed truth”

From my Devotional Site “Pathway of Blessing”

Honoring Father and Mother – No Drama Queens Allowed

Posted: February 15, 2009 in Curse, Drama Queen, Ephesians 6, Full Reward, god, Honor, Pathway of Blessing, Power of God, Promise of God, Uncategorized
0

slide2Over the last few weeks we have been discovering the value of Honor in finding God’s path for our life, in growing in faith, in seeing the Power of God in a real intimate way, and in realizing our full reward here on earth! God has been dealing with me in learning to honor our political leaders. I have been praying for our National as well as Local leaders. I have been asking God to build honor for them in my heart. In honoring my social authorities, I have been seeking to honor Jesus Christ and seeking how He would pastor our church. God brought a Debate coach into mind that I had failed to honor in high School. I had always honored and respected him until we got political. We got into a big shouting match during a class and I walked out, in fact I think we both walked out. I never went back.

Well, God brought my forensics coach into my life this past week. I was able to thank her and honor her as I probably never really said so when I was in school. She is going to get Tom Cameron’s number for me so I can call him. I look forward to honoring him after I ask his forgiveness.

This is what the Pathway of Blessing series is all about. It is about seeking to know God’s ways and then walking in His path. God’s path is a path of blessing. God’s path is a path of earthly rewards. But God’s pathway is found only as we honor those authorities and leaders God has placed in our life.

This discourse we are going to look at the Value of Honoring our Mother and Father. In looking at honoring our Mother and Father, we will discover some amazing truth about the promises of God. We will also learn a bit about drama queens or kings and why this growing phenomenon will prevent many people from finding God’s Pathway of Blessing.

“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3

honor-father-and-motherHonor for our parents is not a recommendation, it is a commandment. Keeping God’s commandments is evidence of our love for Jesus Christ. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” John 14:21

We also see: “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it”. 2 John 1:6

With God, it is all about obedience to His word: “ keeping the commandments of God is what matters” 1 Corinthians 7:19 (NKJV)

result-of-born-again-lifeIf you habitually ignore the commandments of God, perhaps you have never had a genuine encounter with the Holy Spirit. God says: “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:20 (NKJV)

If the Holy Spirit isn’t producing “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control, then you need to honest with yourself and say I’ve never been born again. The Spirit of Jesus Christ doesn’t live in me. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 Jn 2:4) If you know Jesus in a real intimate way, you will have a heart drive to follow Him.

Let’s review what HONOR is:

Honor: to value, to esteem, to respect, to treat favorably, to have high regard for. If we view our parents through the eyes of honor we will communicate with them in respect and love. Honor is displayed in deed, word and even thought. But all true honor originates in your heart.

dishonor-of-parentsSo if a young or old person speak in a flippant, careless or irreverent way on a regular basis toward their parents or grand parents, they are displaying outwardly their lack of true honor for their parents. Jesus told us: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”. (Matt 12:34)

You can display dishonor by your behavior, by the tone of your voice, rolling eyes, disgusted look, dragging your feet to carry out a request, complaining and so forth. I’ve mentioned before a time when I was 12 that I have never forgotten. My mom had said something I didn’t want to hear and I looked at my friend and did this: (crazy sign). My mom saw me out of the corner of her eye and she slapped me so hard I thought my head would pop off. She said don’t you ever disrespect your father like that again.

I learned to respect my parents, but I’m well aware that: Dishonoring our parents has become a normal way of life in America.

dishonor-of-parents-is-funnyWe have gone from “Father Knows Bes”t to Homer “Doh” Simpson! Or Psycho Dad Al Bundy. It is funny to make fun of your parents. It gets big laughs from the viewing audience, from the kids at school. It is expected. “Well Jim, that’s part of growing up. It’s ok to make fun of your parents” But God doesn’t think it is very funny.

“ ‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Deuteronomy 27:16 (ESV)

cursed-are-those-who-dishonor-parentsDo you understand how strong a word “cursed” is? It is the word awrar, and it means to bind, hem in with obstacles, render powerless. The serpent was cursed, when he caused Eve to sin. Does your life feel as if you meet one road block after another? Do you have sins that you feel powerless to overcome, they have you bound up? Perhaps you have dishonored your parents. You may expect that God only curses murderers, thieves, sexual perverts, yet God said more than once that the one who dishonors his father or mother is cursed. To dishonor your mom or dad means to treat them as common, ordinary, or menial. At worst it means to treat them shamefully, even humiliate them.

Consequences of Dishonor

Noah became a farmer after the flood. One day he drank some fermented wine and got drunk, took off all his clothes and passed out in his tent. We can only speculate why he did this, or if he did it on other occassions. What happened next is what we need to take note of. His son Ham, went into the tent, saw his dad naked, and went outside and told his brothers. We don’t know exactly what Ham said but I imagine it was something like this: “Hey guys, you are not gonna believe this, Dad is a drunk as a skunk and naked as a jaybird! You gotta see this!”

they-honored-noahHowever, Shem and Japeth showed honor to their drunken father and grabbed a garment, held it up and walked backward into the tent, covering their dad without looking at him. They did not want to see the shame of their father. When Noah wole up the next morning, he realized what happened and said:

“Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.” Genesis 9:25

This prophetic word from Noah, the only statement of Noah recorded in the Bible, was played out for several generations. cursed-by-canaanThe Canaanites, the descendants of Ham, were cursed and eventually overtaken by the Children of Israel at God’s command. Ham dishonored his father and brought a curse upon his descendants. Noah’s behavior brought no such curse. In fact, Hebrews 11:7 says that

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 11:7 (NKJV)

noah-was-righteous1Ham is not mentioned in Hebrews 11.

Noah’s moral failure became a test of honor for his three sons; it revealed their true heart. Note: Ham was accurate in his report. His father was drunk and naked, yet Ham was wrong in principle. You could certainly justify his reaction. He was being truthful. Yet the principle of Honor and Kingdom authority says he was wrong. Have you passed God’s Test of Honor for your Life?

Dishonor Grows Over Time

jacob-loved-rachelDishonor for parents is like a disease. If left untreated it grows over time. Case in point: Most of you are familiar with the story of Jacob, how he was tricked into marrying Leah and finally got Rachel after working 14 years for her. Well, what you may not remember is that Rachel and Leah had an ongoing feud over who Jacob loved more. Leah kept having babies. In spite of the babies, Jacob loved Rachel, but Rachel was barren. Leah felt unloved, even though she was the one bearing Jacob all the children. She thought that her children would cause Jacob to love her.

leah-and-rachel1“The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”

Rachel devised a plan to get back at her sister. She let her handmaid Bilhah bear children for her.

And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. Genesis 30:7-8 (NKJV)

Reuben, being the firstborn, grew up with all this strife. He had to have felt for his mother, and resented the way his dad loved Rachel more than Leah.

He got personally involved one time. He went out into the fields and found some juicy mandrakes. He brought them in for his Mom. Rachel saw her eating these juicy delicious mandrakes, and desired to have some. So Leah made a bargain with Rachel. “I’ll have Reuben get you some mandrakes if I get Jacob for the night”

The fact that Leah had to pay to have Jacob sleep with her meant that most nights he spent with Rachel. Evidently Reuben had a dishonor for Jacob that grew and grew the more he saw him neglect his mom. Finally, when Rachel died in childbirth, Reuben committed the ultimate dishonor to his father, he slept with Rachel’s handmaid Bilhah. Jacob didn’t do anything at that time, but when it came time for Jacob to die, he gave Reuben’s birthright to Joseph’s two sons. Reuben is not even listed in the genealogical records as Jacob’s firstborn son.

The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogical records as the firstborn son. 1 Chronicles 5:1 (NLT)

Jacob’s actions were wrong, in that he neglected Leah for Rachel. Reuben saw his father accurately. However, the bitterness he had in his heart poisoned his whole outlook on life. He let go of the honor a child naturally has for his parent and embraced an attitude of resentment that fostered dishonor. It grew to the point where he could justify his behavior toward his dad. He lost his birthright. Hannah honored Eli and received her full reward. Reuben dishonored Jacob and lost his reward.

wrong-behavior-not-affect

Don’t Allow Someone Else’s Wrong Behavior to Affect You

Moses: Moses had one of the hardest jobs you can imagine. He had to herd Three Million Drama Kings and Queens across a desolate desert.

What is a “Drama Queen or King”?

no-drama-queens1

People (mostly girls – but boys play their part) who like to blow everything

totally out of proportion because they either :

a) Want to seek attention

b) Have some emotional dysfunction and it’s their duty to make life harder for everyone around them

c) Just simple can’t get over it. (Urban Dictionary)

“The term “drama queen,” or less frequently, “drama king” is usually applied to someone who tends to overreact to seemingly minor incidents. A drama queen often views the world in absolutes, and only has two settings on her emotional control button; zero and ten. Psychologists might describe a drama queen or king as a neurotic personality with histrionic tendencies, meaning they tend to become needlessly dramatic whenever order is disrupted.

In literature, the character Scarlett O’Hara from Margaret Mitchel’s “Gone with the Wind” would be considered a drama queen by today’s standards. A drama queen is notoriously self-centered and self-absorbed, often viewing friends and relatives as lesser beings assigned to take care of her personal needs. A drama queen’s worst enemy is solitude, so she tends to be very outgoing and sociable, although many of her friendships tend to remain at surface level. Others who have experienced the drama queen’s sudden outbursts in the past may have a feeling of walking on egg shells around her, not wanting to be the person who delivers upsetting news or offends the drama queen in any way.”

spoiled-bratsWhen I was growing up we didn’t call people “Drama Queen’s”. We called them spoiled brats. If I acted like a spoiled brat my Dad would take the board of education and deal directly with my seat of knowledge. Now I don’t mean to make fun of what happened to the Hebrew Children, but Moses must have felt like he was dealing with a bunch of spoiled brats. Or “Drama Queens” in modern language. Because of their fear about going into the Promised Land, He was forced to wander in the desert for 40 years. For 40 years he had to babysit all those Drama Queens.

They were always complaining about this about that. The slightest thing would get them going. Nothing was ever good enough for them. God would do something to stop their complaining, part the red sea, drown Pharoah and his army, make manna fall from heaven, send quails, make a pillar of fire, but nothing God did ever satisfied them. They went from one big drama to another. Moses left them for just a few days and you would have thought the whole world was coming to an end. The made a golden calf and startted having a worship orgy around their new “god”.

You will never learn to honor your parents if you are a drama queen or king. Because life is all about God and what He wants you to do. And he wants you to get over yourself and realize you must learn to honor your parents, honor your teachers, honor those authorities in your life if you are going to grow in your trust of Him!

moses-was-angry-at-drama-queensYou could tell Moses was starting to crack even then because when he came down from the mountain, he saw what was going on and he threw the tablets of stone down, breaking them in pieces. Another time they were complaining because there was no fresh spring water. All the bottles of Evian were gone and they simply knew they would all die of thirst. So God told Moses to speak to a rock and then water would gush out of it. But at this point, Moses was so fed up with these “Drama Queens” that he gathered them together and said:

“Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out.

Now Moses let their bad behavior affect his good judgment. He struck the rock twice. God told him:

“Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” Numbers 20:12

Psalms 106 explains what happened:

They angered Him also at the waters of strife, So that it went ill with Moses on account of them; Because they rebelled against His Spirit, So that he spoke rashly with his lips. Psalms 106:32-33

We cannot blame our wrong behavior on the bad behavior of others.

blame-gameReuben’s father was not honorable toward his mother, but that did not justify Reuben’s dishonorable attitude and behavior toward his father. God says to honor your father and mother, regardless of how good or bad they are in our eyes. Or how honorable of dishonorable their behavior is. Jacob had a terrible unloving attitude toward Reuben’s mother. But that did not justify Reuben’s dishonorable attitude and behavior toward Jacob. Noah did a terribly stupid thing, but that did not justify Ham’s disrespect toward his father.

I know most of you are thinking “What about when they…?” There may be times when you have to take a stand. But you never take a stand against your parents unless it is from aplace of Honor and Rspect. While you are to honor them, you may decide that to obey would be contrary to God. It could be asking you to lie to a teacher, or something much worse, involving some kind of abuse. Respectfully you must decline and make them aware that you mean no disrespect, but you will not violate God’s law in such and such. You may have to get your civil authorities involved if the situation of abuse or drugs is destroying your life. Many teenagers disobey their parents in the name of Jesus, when there is an underlying attitude of disrespect and even rebellion. Disobedience in the name of God is only powerful if it is done from a deep seated sense of respect and honor for your parents.

Believe me, they know the difference.

I have known youth directors who encouraged their youth to disobey their parents and come to youth meeting when the parents have grounded them. But what the yout pastor doesn’t realize is that dis-respect and disobedience is probably the reason they were grounded in the first place. Having them disobey to come to church is going to drive a wedge further into the relationship.

TWO FOLD REWARD

two-fold-rewardEphesians 6 said that there are TWO rewards when we honor our mom and dad. First, that things would go well with you. You will experience success in life the way God values success, peace, joy, love, self control. Your path will be clear. Second, you can live a long life.

You may be saying, “But I know someone who honored his parents and … Why didn’t this promise apply to them?”

The Power of Praying the Promises of God

Who found a wife for Isaac?pray-gods-promises

Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’–let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”Genesis 24:12-14 (NKJV)

God brought Rebekah forward that day. Isaac was promised many descendants because he was the son of Abraham. But Rebekah was barren. What was God up to? What about the Promise? Isaac had to pray the promise. “Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived”. Genesis 25:21 (NKJV)

Spiritual Truth: We Must DECLARE It!

must-declare-gods-wordSimply because God has given us a promise in His Word does not mean it has become OUR promise. We must claim it for our own! Scripture says God’s Word is established in Heaven, but Jesus says we must pray that God’s WIll is established on Earth as it is in Heaven! Our prayers are the Track that our powerful God moves upon!

  • Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. (Ps 119:89 )
  • Teach us to Pray: “Thy Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven”
  • By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established. (2 Cor 13:1)
  • You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you. (Job 22:26)
  • Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss (James 4:2,3)
  • Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (Matt 18:18-19)
  • I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; Deuteronomy 30:19 (NKJV)

You don’t have to chose death, it is already working. But You DO Have to Chose Life

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Prov 18:21)

Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Lamentations 3:37 (ESV)

prayer-lays-the-trackThis command is the word “(t)sawa”. It pictures the enjoining of one with another in order to carry out a charge. It also pictures says that the one giving the command provides the power and the means to accomplish the charge.

God has placed His Commands in this BOOK. They are the Commands that will bring Life. He is looking for people to join with him and declaring those commands and promises, and thereby seeing them come to pass. Thee is this giant Locomotive loaded with all kinds of power and provisions, and we are the track upon which this Locomotive travels. We speak it, We pray it and God does it, when we enjoin ourselves with Him!

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7 (NKJV)

Have you honored your mother and father? It is never too late. If they have passed on, you can repent before God and honor them in your hearts.

Have you claimed the promise of a “well” and long life? Go ahead, provide the track for God’s Power. Speak it and it will be so, for God has commanded it!

Older Entries
Newer Entries