After His Heart

August 11, 2021

Wednesday

Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

This is talking about loving God with every part of you. When you were redeemed, every part of you was purchased. Your spirit, soul, and body were redeemed and paid for. Moses had 613 commandments. Jesus only gave 2 under the new covenant. There is nothing more important than this. 

John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 

It is very important that you see the true vine represented here. There are many false vines. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. He is the only genuine Vine. You’ll never know the Father like He wants you to know Him without knowing Jesus.  That’s why when you pray, you don’t just run straight to the Father you stop and worship Jesus. They are one in the same. They stand co-equal. They have the same mind and totally agree. Yet they are separate entities and separate personalities. You must treat them accordingly.  You approach Him by worshiping Him and giving Him His proper place. That is all involved in loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. There are many vines you can connect to in this life and world. Most of those are false. The vine does not bear fruit. It is the branches that are supposed to bear fruit. The branches are too valuable to cut off. The reason you are not bearing fruit is because you are living in the low areas of sin. The vinedresser (God the Father) will take you up and tie you to the terrace; out of the dirt and off of the ground so that you can grow and begin to bear fruit. When you get up off the ground, He will begin to purge things out of your life that keep you from bearing fruit. The pruning never ends. He deals with one thing at a time. 

Malachi 1:1-3 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.
“Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’
Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”
Says the Lord.
“Yet Jacob I have loved;
3 But Esau I have hated,
And laid waste his mountains and his heritage
For the jackals of the wilderness.”

First words out of His mouth, “I have loved you.” All He is asking is that you love Him! David wasn’t a perfect person. He was a great public leader. But David knew how to repent. And He never went after another God. God loved Him! Through all of the Children of Israel’s history, God loved them. Even when they chose other things. Many think that the book of Malachi is about tithes and offerings, and while it includes that, it’s really about the heart! Pride and selfishness blinds you! Don’t fall into the trap thinking you love God, but you aren’t loving Him with everything you are! You can’t serve Him on your terms, it has to be His terms. 

1 Kings 3:3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

God poured out wealth onto Solomon like no other. Israel came to be the light of the world. God was giving all of this because Solomon loved Him! He was able to show the world that He is the true God. And He is a God who blesses. 

1 Kings 11:1-4 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. 

He started off good! God blessed His socks off. Then Solomon did the very thing God said not to do. God knew that intermarrying with women of other civilizations, would turn his heart away from Him. It was not a race issue; it was a heart issue. God is a jealous God. He will have no rivals! He wants you to be all in! Many people think they are all in when they come to church occasionally. Don’t be deceived! 

Joy!

August 8, 2021

Sunday

Acts 20:19-24  serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

The focus for this passage is verse 24. Paul had a lot of difficulty in his life. God raised him up and used him to keep the church on course. When you get on God’s path, there will always be some sort of opposition. We are living in a fallen world, but we are not of this world. We have been born from above. 

Who are you going to be? What kind of person are you going to be? Many people focus more on what they do in life, rather than what they are going to be. The Word should challenge you to be better! Even in our weakness and shallowness, God comes in and can begin a spectacular work! We see that in the Bible time after time!  Wouldn’t you like to be the kind of person that when things are going wild around you, it does not move you? What a testimony that would be. Regardless of what comes into your life, nothing could move you. It is possible! Jesus has already paid the price for everything. Salvation has been provided. We have to stand against in the face of adversity! 

Just because you have a symptom, does not mean that’s who you are! Do you believe that you are the righteousness of God? Then our job is to resist! We are saints and must refuse to take on the identity of sin, sickness, or disease! With the fear that is being spread by our current media, we must resist. The Bible says not to fear. To do that, you have to get Someone greater in you. We have to get the word abiding in us. How much time did you spend this week reading your Bible? The Word of God is spirit and life! Just like we need natural food, we need spiritual food! Be a Bible reader! The first step in battling the fear and death projected before us, is getting the word solidified and reinforced in our hearts and minds. 

Fear is self-preservation based on what will happen to me? Even if you die, you will go to heaven! So why are you in fear? Joy fuels your faith! Joyful people can’t be defeated! Don’t let the media depress you! Don’t fall into the temptation! The Bible says you can live in full health! You don’t have to die in sickness! You can have a joyful ending! Joy is fuel! It’s the gas that keeps you going. Joy is high octane living! 

God knows how it’s going to turn out. When you are in sync with Him, you can know how things are going to turn out and you can have joy even in circumstance. You won’t be moved, and you’ll be joyful in the meantime! 

Jeremiah 33:10-11  “Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—of which you say, “It Is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say:

“Praise the Lord of hosts,
For the Lord is good,
For His mercy endures forever”—

and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the Lord.

Joy has a voice! You have to give it a voice in your life! To have joy you have to express it. You have to determine that this is the kind of person you are going to be. There is a difference in temporary joy and divine joy. There are things of this world that might supply temporary amounts of joy, but it won’t fulfil you. The joy that comes from being close with your heavenly father is a joy that will outlast any circumstance. You can have divine joy because you have the nature of God in you! People of joy succeed in life!  If there is anything that the world needs now it is hope and joy! Be that light in life. 

John 16: 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Even in a world with trouble, problems, sickness, tragedy, our savior has overcome. You can be a person who is not moved by any of it. You can be a person of joy! The enemy can’t handle you when you are that kind of person. Why? Because it is fuel for your faith! It is fuel for the light inside of you! Cheer up! Everything is going to be alright! Because the word says so! 

God The Father

August 1, 2021

Sunday

Matthew 6:5-6 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

He is telling us that a private prayer life is more important than a public prayer life. It is possible to come out of your private prayer time and have enough of Him that you can help other people. It brings the Father great delight to have a son or daughter that He can flow through to other people. He can’t do that if you don’t pray! Prayer is a privilege. It is life to your spirit. 

Matthew 6: 7-8 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 

You’re never going to know your heavenly Father outside of prayer and time with Him. He wants you to know Him! We have to move from the old to the new. We are a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. When you were born again, your spirit was made new, but not your mind. You still have the same body, thinking, feelings. The part that changed was your spirit. We have to move from seeing Him as an untouchable almighty God and start seeing Him as a Father! He is an Almighty God, but now He is your Father! In the Old Testament, they couldn’t know Him as Father because they were not born again. God is God and He will always be God. We worship Him and bow down to Him as God. But when you come to know Him as your Father, it becomes more intimate! It is hard to trust someone that you do not know. People know a lot about God. The things He has promised and provided. Yet they have problems receiving them because they do not know Him as their Father. A Father who loves them beyond anything they can know in their carnal, immature, childlike condition. He is a Father who yearns to lift, raise you up above, these lower realms of just existing and surviving the world you live in. And into a life of peace and well-being. God has put His very nature in us. This is something the Old Testament people never experienced. You can know God for yourself, not just how another person has portrayed Him to you. 

Matthew 6:9-13 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

He is God and will always be God, but He is also your Father! The motivation behind everything He does, is His love for His family! Fathers have a very particular interest in family. It’s what makes them a Father. Just because you have children, does not make you a father. Most of your life should be spent, giving up your will for God’s will. His will is always the best way. 

Fear is based on self-preservation. You’re fearful over what will happen to you. You have to get to the place to where you trust God to take care of you no matter what! When you get to know your Father, you will see how much He loves you. It is different from human love. It is never selfish! God wants you just for you. There is nothing you can give Him that He doesn’t already have. He just wants to spend time with you! 

Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

Who is your fortress? Who is your refuge? When you build up walls to protect yourself, it’s not giving God room to be your refuge and fortress. Everyone has these walls built up. You think it is keeping people and pain out of your life, but it is also keeping God out. He wants to be your protection. If you have fears and anxieties it is because you don’t know Him as your Father yet. Until you know Him as your father, you can’t receive what He has promised you. 

Ephesians 5:4-6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

See the distinction between God and Father? We should never get to the place that we don’t recognize that we need Him every single day. The prayer says, “give me this day my daily bread.” It is seen through actions!  When you get up every morning and spend time with him first, you are showing Him that you want and need Him! 

Personal Prayer Life

July 28, 2021

Wednesday

Matthew 6:5-6 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

The picture is that they would have no prayer life if they were not in public. If the only time you pray is in public, you are in trouble. The most important thing is to establish a private prayer life, and then it will show up in your public prayer life. To have powerful prayer in public, you must have a private prayer life. Jesus called them hypocrites! In verse 6 when a reward is mentioned, it is referring to His presence! Any time God grants you His presence it will give you victory in any part of your life. Prayer is the most important thing you can do. Consistence is key! God will use any one if they will pay the price. The price is prayer! That’s how you get God in your life. Prayer is where you Spirit ascends above your flesh. If you are just existing and surviving through life, that is not the Gospel! Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and life more abundantly!” Nothing is more important than your time with God. You have time to do the things you want to do! You have to take up your cross daily! How sad it would be to live and die without knowing the power of God. 

Matthew 6:7-13 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

If God knows the things we need before we ask, why do we ask Him? He is telling us here how to get answers to prayer! Meaning, God has a way to do this, a procedure! Then in the next two scriptures, He talks about forgiving! It is vitally important because unforgiveness will hinder. Your prayer life.

1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

You have to keep your heart clear with other people and it starts in your marriage. No one wants their prayers hindered. God says to keep your heart clear of any animosity. This applies to everyone! Not just your spouse. 

To get the results that Jesus got, we have to get to know God for ourselves. The only way to do that is to spend time with Him. Your perception of your Father has to change. We know a lot about God, but we do not know Him. There is a difference. Reading about someone or learning about them from another person’s experience is not the same as spending time with them for yourself. Make a decision to know Him for yourself. Love is gauged by what we do, not what we say. It does something to the heart of God when He sees a person that wants Him for who He is, not just what He can do for them. There is nothing more important than going to Him and getting your daily bread. God is open to anyone, anywhere, under any circumstances, if they will just want Him. 

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. 

Man does not live by natural bread alone. Just like you have to have natural bread, you have to have spiritual bread! 

Proverbs 30:7-9 Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

Verse 8 is saying, give me only my daily bread. He was saying, “Lord don’t give me more than I need today. If you give me more than I need for today, I’ll get independent of you.”  What an attitude to have! Our world system teaches us to get all that we can, God is not like that.  He is your Father! He does not want you to worry about any of that. He only wants you concerned with serving Him, and He will take care of your daily bread. HE will meet your needs! The economy, the government, nor circumstances are a problem for Him. His kingdom is a higher kingdom! That’s the way your Father is. You have to get to know Him like that. Get to the place that you cannot live without Him, every single day! When you have a dependency on God, you won’t be self-dependent. Self-dependency is pride. 

Psalm 68:19 
Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah

He gives you everything you need for that day. Because He knows exactly what is going to happen that day. You do not! When trouble arises, you’ve got what you need to deal with it! He is God! You are the lesser! When you bow to Him, He loads you down with exactly what you need. God will never create a life for you that makes Him unnecessary. He is your greatest need! He has plans for you that are so far beyond anything you can imagine. You have no ability to do them on your own. The Christian life is impossible to you! The only way you can live it is with His help. 

God will do anything and everything for His family. Before anything, He is a Father. He loves you! If you have a heart for your family too, you’ll pursue God because you know you need His help in your family! We need fathers in the home! Get to know God as your Father! You have never had anyone love you like God does. 

Unity

July 25,2021

Sunday

Psalm 133:1-2 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.

It’s good and it’s pleasing to God, for His people to sit and dwell together in unity. We have been born of God, we are brothers and sisters now! We have to view ourselves as a family. Every church has a head; every home and family has a head. The anointing always starts at the top and flows down.  The picture here is Aaron as the high priest. It started at the head and flowed down to the beard. A beard always represents maturity. When there is strife and contention, it is because people are immature. Churches and families have been destroyed from this very thing. God can bless unity. You don’t know the desperate need of the person sitting beside of you. The need that only the anointing of God can meet. If there is strife there, it will stop the anointing, and that person will leave without their need being met. We have to make it a mandate and require that our church walk in love. 

Genesis 12:1-11 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.

8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.  Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.

You have to choose not to let any ill-will into your heart. If you let it get in you, it creates a root of bitterness, hatred, and revenge. When people enter into strife and contention without resolving the issue, you end up separating yourself. This is not a good attribute of a Christian. That’s not a good example of walking in the love of God.  Lot and Abram were two different men looking for two different things. Lot was looking for a way to better himself. He wanted more things. He lifted up his eyes and saw all of that land that was well watered and green, and he had his own things and growth in mind. He made a decision that looked better in the natural. He was drawn in by the wrong things and if it had not been for Abraham, He would’ve lost his life.  He did lose his wife and his two sons-in-law because of this decision.  He exposed his daughters and family to that situation based on that decision.  Strife and contention will destroy lives and families. Lot should have recognized the importance of being connected to Abraham and His God. And made whatever decision necessary to stay connected to them. Separation was not the right path. 

We have to learn to let things go. People get stuck in unforgiveness for many years, not knowing that they could be free if they just let it go.  Families and churches are destroyed because of this very thing. It has affected all of our lives to some degree. How sad it is that a family is driven apart because of pride. When you forgive and let it go, it does not make the other person right, it sets you free! You must set a standard in your life to walk in love! Make that decision! Aren’t you glad that God is a forgiving God?  He has forgiven you of so much! As christians, we have to strive to do the same. 

Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Love, bless, do good, and pray for. If you want to make it in life, do these four things. Do these and God’s blessings will rain in your life. Why? Because God is that way. What if God cursed everyone who has ever cursed Him? He is kind to the thankful and the unthankful. What do you do when people hurt you? This will locate you in your development of your love walk. It requires love to walk in unity. It takes the love of God to pray for your enemies. You have to have something greater in you, than what’s working in them. 

It’s those who work through the worst of times that get to enjoy the best of times. Jesus went through a lot of difficulty. So did His followers. People seem to have a fairy tale vision of church. It is simply not so. It is real people, real life, real world, and real problems, real devil, and real God. It would be a lot easier if we went through it all together with unity and love! Make it a priority in your life. Follow after love! Pursue it! It won’t just fall on you! If you yield to love it will grow and get stronger in your life. You can also yield to strife and contention, and the same thing will happen. That will grow and get stronger. Choose to walk in love! Recognize that people’s rejection of you, is not God’s rejection of you. 

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 8 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails.

The motive of natural love is always selfish. The motive of divine love is always selfless. It always has the other person in mind. Love always wins. Choose love. 

Hope

July 21, 2021

Wednesday

Romans 15:13  Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God is the God of hope. We know His as a faith God and a God of love. But hope does not seem to get the same attention as faith and love.  Hope is crucial for a healthy human existence. Our hopes should be up all the time! 

“’In all of my many years living on planet earth, I have never seen a time when people seemed so full of despair and hopelessness. By almost every avenue of media, we are bombarded with news that is designed on purpose to destroy the hope of God loving people. This avalanche of bad news extends across the whole spectrum of life from the pulpit to the decisions made at the highest government levels. It seems almost everything points in the direction of hopelessness.”

Faith gives substance to that which you hope for.  (Hebrews 11) Faith is of the spirit, or heart. Hope is of the soul. If you don’t have a strong image, there’s nothing for faith to give substance to. You can say all the right things all the time, but it can’t bring forth what hope does not have. If hope can’t see it, faith can’t bring it. Faith brings into reality, that which you hope for. 

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

You can say all the right things and have all the perfect confessions, but if you do not have the right vision, it cannot work. Hope is so vitally important. Hope is how you see; Faith is what you say. It takes both working together to produce results.  Without hope there is no joy or peace. If you can’t see it, you won’t have it.  You can see it! What creates hopelessness? The things you see and hear that affects your soul.  If you’re hearing and seeing death, destruction and negativity all the time, it will affect you! Does bad news bring joy? No! You’ll know when you are getting into Godly hope because the Holy Spirit will release a level of joy and peace. Where there is no joy or peace, there is no hope.  If you want to walk in God given health, you have to see yourself well!  The vision has to be strong and alive in you! If all you see is your past, that is what you will project into your future! People won’t move toward what they don’t think they can have. The reality is that you can have anything you want from God. Until you settle that within yourself, you will never move toward it. You have to have a vision of you winning and overcoming! If all you see is your failures, that is what will wait for you in your future. If the image in your head does not line up with God, you have to change it! 

Genesis 15:1-5 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

God changed what Abram was looking at. He gave them a new vision and a new image. Then He changed their names and changed what they were saying. Before He got their confession lined up right, He gave them the right image to look at. He didn’t just hear, he saw! God spoke to him in a vision on purpose!  He had to change what he was looking at! Abram and Sarah had everything they ever needed in life. They were wealthy and needed nothing other than an heir. The very part of their lives that they couldn’t produce in, is the very part that God used them in. God wasn’t just thinking of Abraham and his generation. He was thinking about future generations. It affected people for generations to come. All they had ever seen in that area was failure. God knew if He didn’t change their image of failure in that area, He could never produce Isaac. Abraham had settled for second best. God has the best in store for you! 

Hope has to see it before faith can bring it!  You have to see yourself well, blessed, and happy. You have to see yourself as successful! You have to see yourself the way that God says you are!  If God says it, that is what you have to believe.  You can believe it, you can have it, and you can be it.  What you see and what you say has to agree with what God says. 

4 hours developing Godly hope is more effective and productive than 4 years of mindless confession apart from hope.  Confession is right in its place. But it needs hope to work. If hope can’t see it, faith can’t bring it. 

Go & Get Your Water

July 18, 2021

Sunday

Exodus 17:1-4 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”

So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”

3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

The Old Testament speaks of them in their day, but also speaks to us in our day. It’s a picture. They had no natural water. Why would God want them to camp there? God doesn’t always lead you down the easiest path. He led Jesus straight into the wilderness to meet with the devil himself. He does not do bad things to us, but that does not mean He won’t lead you through tough times.  You don’t grow in the easy places. You don’t grow when everything is going your way. Growth comes in the tough places, if you don’t run. So, they have come to this place with no water. Their reaction was poor. 

What kind of Christian do you want to be? What kind of home do you want to have? Do you like a life with no water? It is a picture of a life with no Spirit. In the natural, you can only go so long without water. You can have it either way, you get to choose. God does not want you to live with out Him. When you get too far away from God, the further you get away from His life and the water. Any time there’s no Spirit or life, there’s going to be contempt, confusion, strife, contention, etc. You have to know where to go to get the water for yourself. It is available to anyone who will go get it! There was a difference in the way the children of Israel reacted to the situation, and the way Moses did. 

Exodus 17:5-6 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”

Moses knew where to go get the water. He went to the source! Instead of responding in anger and bitterness, he went straight to God. This is what we have to learn to do in life. When things get tough, that’s not the time to look around down here. The answers aren’t down here on earth with man’s wisdom. Moses turned to God because that’s where the answers are! How do you respond when things get tough? You can have water when no one else has water. Just because you haven’t had that in the past does not mean it isn’t possible. You only have to learn to pursue and get it. You have to know where to turn and you have to know to stay there until you get the answer. 

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.

This water doesn’t always come instantly. You have to pay the price. Moses spent 40 days and nights on the mountain to get the 10 commandments. Then, after breaking the tablets, he had to spend another 40 days and nights on the mountain. To wait on God, your flesh and motives have to die. They control you more than you know. Consistency, patience, and diligence are rewarded! God rewards those who diligently seek Him! You have to start where you are! 

To hear from God, you have to get up on the mountain with God! When you get up there on the mountain you get a perspective that you will never have down here. His thoughts are higher! The water is on the mountain! 

Matthew 17:1-5 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Only on that mountain is where change takes place. The true, lasting, supernatural change takes place up there. Change is good! We as christians, should always be improving. Notice in verse 4, Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” God has such good things for us up on that mountain with Him. And He wants every part of you! Go to Him daily!  

The Man in the Middle

July 11, 2021

Sunday

Salvation was provided on the cross by the Lord Jesus Christ. It belongs to every man. All they have to do, is believe in their heart and confess with their mouth, and they can be saved. So does healing. Healing was provided on the cross.  God wants everybody saved. God wants everybody healed. That’s the will of God. Faith begins where the will of God is known. 

Psalm 103:1-5  Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

There are benefits that are provided when you give your life to God and serve Him in His kingdom. Many go after God for what He can give them. But there is a difference in that motivation and going after Him for who He is. When you have great need, you go after Him to get the need met. He will honor that in the early years because that is the maturity level that you have. But, if you want to walk in the best that God has, you come to the place where you go after Him for who He is, and then you enjoy the benefits of just living and loving Him. It’s a higher walk. The benefits really belong to the person who loves and pursues God. 

Deuteronomy 30:11-20  “For this commandment which I command you today is [c]not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 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; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Moses gave 613 total commandments. Jesus had 2. Love God, and love people like yourself. The reality is, when you love God with everything in you, and you love people like yourself, you fulfill all the other commandments. The whole book of Deuteronomy is about loving God with everything within you. 

Every day you get to choose the life you want. God gave us the right to choose. You can love God, or you can choose to love something else. You can choose to worship Him, or you can worship anything else that you choose. You can go in any direction you want to go. The life you have right now, is the life you have chosen.  You are where you are because of your choices. God wants to be known. He does not want you to wait until you get to heaven to get to know Him.  He wants you to experience Him in your everyday life. The church, for the most part, has settled for life without God. The choice is yours! You’re the man in the middle. You can choose to go any way you want. Serve and love God, or not, it’s up to you. What you believe, you ultimately become. 

Believe/Belief

Be-live

Be-life

When you believe something, you’ll live it.  When you really believe something, your life will mirror it. When you were born again, you got a new spirit. But not a new soul, nor body. You have to work at changing your belief system. It needs transformation. You don’t renew your mind from the outside in, you do it from the inside out. If you will set your heart on loving and serving God, you will get there much faster. Get up every day and choose to love God. At the end of the day, your heart is not in, what you heart is not on. 

It is God’s will that we walk in health just as it is His will that we are free from sin. God is not withholding anything from us. When you approach God the Father with ANY need, He does not say, “wait a while,” or “not right now.” What transpired on the cross is the will of God. Jesus bore your sins that day. He carried your sickness and diseases to the cross. It is never the will of God for any person to die in sin. Nor is it His will for anyone to die in sickness and disease. You can choose to live in health and the blessings of God, if you want to. That’s good news! 

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.

You can labor your whole life and work hard to build what society would call a successful life, but if it isn’t what God had planned for you, it was in vain. There is a plan for your everyday life. Every person that has ever been born has a detailed plan for their lives. It was laid out before they were ever born! You have to live with that in mind! Even Christians fall to this. You can be a good person of character and integrity. You can work hard and love your family, but if you didn’t accomplish what God had planned for you, it was in vain. The sinister part of it, is that the kingdom of darkness will cater that life to you. To get you to accept that over the plan of God for your life. You think because you have been good and done what the world teaches as a good person, that you’ve done the right thing. But God, says unless He has built your life, it was all in vain. You will stand before God at the end of your life. Don’t you want to be able to say you accomplished what He had for you?  God’s will, and God’s way is the best and highest plan. The best that the world can give you, it does not compare to the best that God can give you! God will make a way for you when there seems to be no way!  You need provision? He will provide! You need healing? He will be there! When God is there, all of His benefits come along with Him!  There are benefits to wanting Him! You have as much of God in your life, as you want! 

Receiving Your Healing

July 7, 2021

Wednesday

Romans 10:1-9 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (That is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (That is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

When you became born again, you became an heir to everything that He is. Everything that He has provided through Christ Jesus belongs to you. But just because something belongs to you, does not mean you are living that as a reality in your life. God has already done His part!  When you are experiencing sickness and you try to get God to heal you, it’s wrong thinking. He has already done it! It was done at the cross! You just need to get in line with how He perceives it, so that you can receive it.  He wants you to receive what He has already provided. It’s a close to you as your own beating heart. Get your heart and your mouth in line with His heart and His mouth. Until you do that, you won’t receive because that’s how He gave it. These are things that never change. 

To receive from God all that has been provided through Christ Jesus, all you have to do is believe and say. You can’t get simpler than that. When you were born again, you had to believe in your heart, and say with your mouth. Jesus bore your sin on the cross. He became your sin, was judged as you, took your place, suffered under the penalty, then was raised up justified. It was a completed work. He did His part, and when we do our part, we are able to partake in the same victory! Jesus bore our sickness the same day on the cross. So, how do you receive your healing? The exact same way. Believe in your heart and say with your mouth.  That day on the cross, Jesus took our sin and sickness up off of us, put it on Himself, carried it back to where it came from, and left it there. He came back victorious, and we are free from it. It is now our job to believe that happened, and say, “Thank you Lord I am healed.” You aren’t trying to get Him to do it, it has already been done!  We need only to receive it. This applies to everything that was paid for on the cross. You maintain your walk with God through your words! If you want something you have to say it! You’re at where you are now, because of what’s coming out of your mouth! 

Psalm 119:89 Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven.

God already knows what He believes. It is settled. It cannot be changed! When you decide that you’re going to believe and say what lines up with what God believes and says, it’s called faith.  In our day and age, we are surrounded by opinions all day every day. From news to social media people are expressing their opinions more than ever before.  It affects us more than we know. But truth trumps facts. Facts are circumstantial. Truth points to a higher reality. It is the highest form of reality that exists. Feed on God’s ultimate truth! You can believe anything you want to! You can say anything you want to! That can work for you, or it can work against you. Quit talking the problem! By your words you are held in bondage, or you are set to liberty. 

Romans 10:10-17 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

If you will believe this and do it, you won’t be disappointed. He won’t let you down! It says so in verse 11. This works for ANYONE! Feed yourself the truth and let it push the doubt and fear out of you! You can be healed and whole! You can have peace! You have to speak it! 

Your Inheritance

July 4, 2021

Sunday AM

Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

In order to inherit you have to be strong and courageous. Although Jesus has bought and paid for it, there’s an enemy camped between you and it. We are not trying to get the victory; Jesus already got the victory for us. The moment you were born again, the victory became a reality in your life. Everything Jesus provided is already ours. But it requires action on our part.  The bible calls it faith. It’s simply believing what God says is true.  It takes strength and courage to rise up and take your inheritance. 

Joshua 1:7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

To have courage, you’ve got to be encouraged. There won’t always be someone around to encourage you, and for this reason you have to learn how to encourage yourself. When you walk in strength and courage, it does not just bring good things into your life! It brings good things into the lives around you! Move from being a person who needs constant encouragement, to someone who is an encourager! To do that, you have to know how to respond to tragedy. 

1 Samuel 30:1-6 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

What a terrible day for David and his men. This city was given to David by the King of Gath. These men had been away fighting, and when they returned, their city and homes were burned to the ground. Their wives and children had been taken along with all their belonging. The passage says that David was greatly distressed, as his own men were threatening to stone him. But David knew how to respond to tragedy. He strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Regardless of what happens to you in life, it is how you respond that is important. 

1 Samuel 30:7-8 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”

So, David went to God, and he prayed. You can get to the place that no matter what comes against you in life, you can be strong enough to win. But you have to do the things that make you strong. Sooner or later, trouble comes to all of our lives. And there’s no trouble like trouble, when it’s your trouble. We need to be able to face it with strength, courage, faith, and resilience! We must learn how to strengthen ourselves, and the best way to do that is through your prayer life! God has been talking to us about it for 3 years! Develop your prayer life! Learn to go into prayer on a daily basis! Get your daily bread! It is best first thing in the morning! If you’ll do it first thing in the morning, your mind is not cluttered with matters of the world. It’s much easier with a clear mind. When you pray, everything that God is, flows into you. If you need peace for that day, you’ll receive it. He prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies. DAILY! Jesus is God. He sees everything in your life out ahead that you cannot see. He prepares a table for that day because He sees what’s going to be in your day. You’ll have exactly what you need to be successful for that day.   Whatever you need, He gives it to you. He is your shepherd. 

1 Samuel 30:16-19 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all.

Jesus recovered ALL! Take ahold of it through prayer. Walk in victory by strengthening yourself daily. You’ll look around and see that you have everything that God paid for, provided for, in your life. It is a fail proof plan. It hinges on you!