Uncategorized

Two choices we have in Marriage:
God’s Original Plan vs. Marriage under the curse

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;”
Genesis 2:21

• This passage gives us the Bible’s first mention of marriage which is God’s original intent.

• God’s original design was oneness.

• Adam and Eve were naked, they exposed all of themselves to one another with no shame.

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
Genesis 3:1-14,16

• Under the curse, we are deceived to believe that control is better than being dependent on God.

• Once sin entered man, Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together. They were the only ones there but they covered themselves. There was shame between the two of them and shame between man and God.

• There was shame, blame and condemnation.

• Verse 16: Be careful that the desire doesn’t rule. What this means is that under the curse, the woman would desire her husband but he would rule over her. As women, be sure not to allow the curse to give you an overwhelming desire to have a husband or for your husband to fulfill you. Your value and worth comes from God, not man.

Marriage in the New Testament

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”
Ephesians 5:18-28

• When we are filled with the Spirit, it is a constant cycle of being filled.

• As a woman, submit all that you are as a woman to your husband. As a man, submit all that you are as a man to your wife. Both the husband and the wife bear a part of God’s image. When we come together, that image is complete. If we allow  all that God put in us to lift one another up, our spouse can be all that God has called them to be.

• We can look at the relationship of Christ and the church as an example of how we are to treat our spouse.

• If we are walking in our marriage in shame, blame, and condemnation, we are walking in the curse.

• The great news is that because of redemption, you can choose to walk in blessing instead of curse at any moment.

How to walk in a Grace-filled Marriage & Family

Six Declarations to live by:

1. My primary source is God. My value and identity are in God.

– In the garden, they trusted God for all their needs. On your worst day, you are just as valuable to God.

– John 4:7 – The woman at the well was looking to be filled by men but when she encountered Jesus, she had the opportunity to be filled by Jesus and never thirst again.

2. I am filled by His Spirit, not by the performance of others (or my children).

– Don’t buy into the lie that you are only good enough once you’ve done enough.

– Ephesians 3:16 – “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”

– Under the curse, our spouse is our supply. Under grace our greatest needs are met by God.

– Galatians 5:15-16 – “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

– Galatians 5:21-22 – “Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,”

– Without the Holy Spirit, we will resort to marriage under the curse!

3. My spouse and my children are gifts to me.

4. My worth is not based on my performance.

– Don’t be concerned about appearances, they do not define you as a mother, father, wife, or husband. Be concerned with what God thinks of you, not others.

– The people around us need to know that they are more important than the screen (phone).

– Romans 5:8 – “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

– Christ delighted in you and delivered you.

– Proverbs 8:19 – “My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.”

5. I can separate my spouse’s identity from their behavior.

6. I can speak the truth in love!

– We should be able to find the solution in the word.

– Matthew 5:9 says blessed are the peacemakers, not peacekeepers.

– Don’t just be silent, deal with issues.

– Check your heart and motive.

– Revelation 2:2,4 shows us a way to deal with issues. Give three compliments and only one complaint.

“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”
Mark 3:25

• It’s time to highlight what unites us, Jesus!

• Marriage can be looked at like a triangle with Jesus at the top and you and your spouse on the two opposite bottom corners. The closer you and your spouse get to Jesus, the closer you will both get to each other.

• There is power in agreement. You both have to win.

• If we get divided, it won’t work.

• Everything that is of God is hated by Satan.

• Psalms 127:1 – “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

• Strong marriages make strong homes, strong homes produce strong churches, and strong churches create strong cities. The enemy will bring division in an attempt to destroy your home!

• There has to be a common denominator larger than you and your spouse.

• The power of agreement rests in a common denominator.

“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 18:19

• There is a supernatural blessing/anointing on agreement.

• With agreement, anything is possible.

• If the enemy can keep you focused on the disagreement, he can stop you from achieving anything.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”
Psalms 133:1-3

• God endorses agreement, there He commands his blessing.

• If you’re in an area of disagreement, you’re outside of God’ blessing.

“How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?”
Deuteronomy 32:30

• What is God’s blessing? It is Endowment, or, His “super” on our “natural”

• God blesses unity, there is harmony and power in agreement.

• Grace is unmerited favor. When you are in agreement, you get God’s unmerited favor. The word says that one will bring a thousand to flight while two can bring ten thousand to flight.

“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:3

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”
2 Corinthians 6:14

“And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”
Genesis 11:6

• Ruth and Naomi had agreement.

• You have to get in agreement with people who will take you in a positive direction.

• You need a circle of people who are in agreement with what God says.

“And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.”
John 13:27

• The enemy is seeking to introduce division.

• In the events leading to the crucifixion, Judas was not in agreement with the rest of the disciples.

• The enemy can only break your household down from the inside.

• Jesus told Judas to betray him quickly because Judas’ division was holding up what Jesus was going to do at the day of Pentecost.

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”
Acts 2:1

• They were all in agreement!

• Bring the change in you, not the expected change in your spouse.

• Romans 16:17 – “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”

• 1 Corinthians 1:10 – “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

• 1 Corinthians 3:3 – “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

• Find the place of agreement and harmony and start there. Let that be the voice of reason.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

• If it has a purpose, there is a timestamp attached to it.

• There is no time in heaven because eternity cannot be measured.

• The timing of a thing determines how we celebrate it.

• Your future is already inside of you! It just takes time for it to unveil.

– A seed could turn into a forest if managed right!

– Think of a child who is strong-willed. If directed in the right place, that strong will could be great for sticking to convictions and walking unmoved into their purpose.

• The Winter season, though wet and dreary, is necessary for the success of the Spring season.

“For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.”
John 7:4-6

• Jesus knew what time it was.

• The season may look bleak but there will be a new season eventually.

• You may be like the tool that’s been hanging in a shed waiting to be used. One day, there will be a use that only you’ve been created for. You will be pulled from the shelf!

• Don’t disconnect your purpose from timing.

• It is in the secret place that you are being prepared.

“And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”
John 12:23

• Just because you’re supposed to do something, it doesn’t mean you’re supposed to do it right now.

– Something out of time can hurt you.

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:”
John 17:1

• What did you get done with the purpose and the time that God gave you?

• 2 Timothy 4:7, our lives need to finish the course. It doesn’t matter how long we live, it matters that we complete the assignment.

• Time is money but purpose is the steward.

• Your purpose is in control of your time.

• Let purpose dictate how you spend your time.

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”
Ephesians 5:15

• You don’t know how much time you have.

• If what you are doing does not advance your purpose, it is a waste of time.

• If what you are doing does not fit your purpose, it is a waste of time.

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10-12

• We’ve all wasted money but the beauty is that we can make more of it. We can never make more time.

Sunday, February 2, 2020 – 9:45AM Service

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord , ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.”
Psalms 34:7-16

• God loves you unconditionally. Even if you alone needed to be saved, God would’ve still sent Jesus.

• Don’t let the twists and turns of life cause you to miss what God has for you.

“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
Romans 3:4

• Even when we are unfaithful, God is faithful.

• God wants to guide us in life so that He can get the glory.

“My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”
Proverbs 3:1-12

• This passage gives us instruction on how to live a life that has a God-centered view.

• Peace! If you are really trusting the Lord, you will put Him first.

• Trusting in the Lord with all of your heart looks like putting all of your weight on Him (like when you sit in a chair without first checking to see if it can hold you).

• There are ways that you can tell in your life if you’re really “putting all your weight” on God.

• We have to represent the Lord in this earth realm.

Five things we can do to have a God-centered view of life:
1. Hate the things that the Lord considers evil: pride, arrogance, and the evil way.

– Proverbs 8:13: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”

2. Love people and treat them right. There will be some who cannot do for themselves, we should help them. How we represent God in the earth is a reflection of Him.

– Leviticus 19:10-14: “And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord.”

3. Give honor to whom honor is due.

– Romans 13:1-4: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

4. Your giving, tithes & offering should change. This is a way we reverence, honor and respect the Lord. As we give, it teaches us to put first thing first.

– Deuteronomy 14:22-23: “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.”

5. Train your mouth to speak right. If your heart is sensitive to God, your mouth will show forth that sensitivity.

– Luke 6:45: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
Deuteronomy 31:6

• Whatever God says is what we should choose to look on.

“And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
Numbers 13:28,30-32

• Will you hold on to what God said or take on the view of the people?

• An evil report is any report that does not line up with what God has already promised.

“Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh–barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.”
Joshua 14:7-12

• What has God told you to do? Will you trust in Him?

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”
Psalms 34:7-17

• God wants to show himself strong in. your life. It shouldn’t be based on what you think, feel or even what you were taught.

• Allow your mind to be transformed and not conformed to the pattern of this world.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020 – 6:30PM Service

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 14:6

“And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”
Mark 5:25-34

“For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:20

• We have to look inward and answer the question “who are you behind the mask?”

• How are you doing when no one is looking?

• verse 25: Before you seek a natural physician, seek the supernatural physician.

• verse 26: The woman with the issue of blood declared before she demonstrated. Many people stop at declaration with no demonstration to follow! You have to “put your feet where your mouth is”.

• Expect from God himself, not your Pastor or your worship team.

• Receive the “more” of him. Don’t throng (brush up against) him. To touch means to fasten to. The people in the crowd who just brushed up against him were not changed. However, the woman who touched him was made whole of her plague.

• She touched what was touching Jesus and got healed!

• There is a difference in what is given at church versus what is available. The atmosphere is provided but its up to you to touch God and receive from Him.

• In the midst of the two miracles at hand, Jesus demonstrated his non-discriminatory policy. Jesus was traveling with Jairus to his house to heal his daughter when he was touched by the woman with the issue of blood. Jairus was an important religious leader. Due to customs at that time, the woman would have been considered unclean and not permitted to be around family or the public. She was unimportant, yet Jesus stopped to make time for her.

“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
John 20:21

• We are called to walk in power!

• The same power and anointing that God sent Jesus with is the same anointing and power that Jesus sends us with. We are supposed to be able to perform miracles out of that same anointing.

“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.”
Acts 3:6-8

• Peter and John were able to heal the man laying at the gate because they had faith. The man touched what was touching Jesus (the disciples who spent time with him.)

• Touch what is touching Jesus!

• When people touch us, do they touch him?

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”
Acts 4:13-14

• There is an effect that you have on those around you when you have been with Jesus.

• There is a by-product of encountering Jesus.

• Blind Bartimaeus was told to be quiet when he hollered out to Jesus. Scripture says that he cried all the more! That should be us. When people tell us to be quiet about our Jesus, we should cry all the more.

• When you know what Jesus has done for you, when you have encountered him, you won’t be able to help yourself in telling others who he is!

• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood up when others bowed down to culture. That should be us. When culture is against God, we are to stand with Him!

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Malachi 4:2-3

• When the Sun (Son of God) shines, we are healed, joyful, strong and victorious.

• Make up your mind. Be about that life. All or nothing. If you have decided to follow Jesus, there is no turning back!

• If people are looking for Jesus, may they find him in us!

Sunday, January 26, 2020 – 9:45AM Service

“And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”
Psalms 40:3

• What was good in one season has become expired in a new season. Anything expired for a long time will become toxic.

• You may feel stuck in a season.

• Notes about scripture here!

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”
Psalms 40:1-3

• Suddenly is always preceded by a waiting season.

• Although our culture has made things faster and easier to access, there are still some things we have to wait for in life. Destiny is not a one-click thing.

• How you wait in the waiting room of life matters.

• We are to wait with a readiness. Do not pursue a million-dollar destiny with a two cent prayer life.

• We wait because:

1. We’re not looking! If you’re waiting for something, you need to be looking for it and expecting it. God cannot move a parked car.

2. We’re not ready for the next step. Sometimes you are in a “meantime” season to develop you. Just because you see what God has called you to, that doesn’t mean that you are ready for it. Example: Just because you see yourself married, it doesn’t mean you are ready to be married. Submit those waiting seasons to the Lord.

• How do we wait?

1. Through daily submission.

2. Through prayer.

3. Through community.

4. Through serving.

5. Obedience in tithes and offerings.

• God wants to put you on solid ground.

• Where there is no direction, there is no connection. This is why we wonder in seasons because if we are not connected to God, we get no direction from Him.

• The new song (new season) was given to David in this passage because he waited patiently for the Lord and he allowed God to give him direction while in the pit.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Psalms 23:6

• There is power in submission and this is what gave David confidence. He was submitted to a will that was greater than him.

• Submission welcomes God into your situation.

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;”
Hebrews 5:7

• God heard Jesus’ strong cries because of the reverent submission to Him.

• The key to your life is connection to God. You will never fulfill your purpose in life outside of being connected to God.

• When you feel beaten and tired, you may have lost connection to God. Example: a satellite dish out of position cannot receive a signal. You are the same. When you are out of position, you cannot receive a signal from God.

• When Elijah predicted there would be no rain, he had to wait for what he heard to manifest.

• God has spoken so much over us that we have to position ourselves for what he is doing.

• When we wait for God, He picks us up from the miry clay. Miry means dirty dirt. God is not intimidated by your dirty dirt.

• You’re not responsible for the timing of God, you’re responsible for the position.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 – 6:30PM Service

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31

• Everything that God has created was created to bring Him glory.

• When we get a hold of what God has called us to do and we do it, we bring Him glory.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
Colossians 3:17

• There is something attractive about someone giving God the glory for success in our lives.

• Everyone likes glory given to God but no one likes pride.

“And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.”
Psalms 72:19

• Glory is: using your life to make God know. It is the kabob, the expressed image of God.

• We are living scripture, in some cases, the only bible some will read. (2 Corinthians 3:2)

– “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:” 2 Corinthians 3:2

• The church was formed based off two questions Jesus posed to the disciples in Matthew 16: Who do men say I am? Who do you say I am?

• The “church” are the people called out of darkness to share with the world who Jesus is.

“And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word:”
Numbers 14:20

• May the Lord be glorified in all that we do, in the way we treat others, the way we raise our kids, the way our kids behave, etc.

“But now, O Lord , thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”
Isaiah 64:8

• God wired us a certain way when He created us. What is your element, what do you do that causes others to say that you are in your element?

• Your purpose is revealed by your design and your potential is revealed by your purpose.

• Purpose produces design while design creates potential.

• When Adam was in the garden, God called him to care for it. Although Adam was designed with the potential to reproduce, God never called him to do it when he was alone. It was only after Adam named all the animals and realized that he was without a mate that God created Eve and then God told him to multiple.

“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?”
Romans 9:20

• The created thing cannot answer why it was created.

• You cannot be what you are not. God’s design tells of what you were created for.

• He won’t give you a word that you cannot perform.

• The purpose that God has for your life will not go beyond your natural ability. For example, if God has created you as a man, He will not give you a word that you need to be a mother.

• We cannot judge a man for being what he was created to be. An example would be judging a person based on the color of their skin. Racism is evil. When you judge a person based on their creation, you are not actually judging them, you are judging God, the one who created them.

“To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,”
Ephesians 3:10

• The passage here uses the word manifold. Manifold and the word motley are semantically related. These words can usually be used interchangeably. Manifold is defined as marked by diversity while motley is defined as variegated in color. So, this passage teaches us that God is diverse!

• Many people say that God does not see color. This is impossible because He created color. He is so big and so diverse that when He created man in His image, He created an innumerable diverse representation of a God who can’t be defined by one look or color. God does see color and He is too big to just be one color!

• The church cannot all look the same either. We can’t all be the pastor or the worship leader. However, if we all serve in the purpose and capacity that God has called us to, then we make up the full body of the church.

• Don’t be something you are not, be who you are.

Sunday, January 19, 2020 – 9:45AM Service

“And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And David enquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand. And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them. So they came up to Baal–perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baal–perazim.”
1 Chronicles 14:8-11

• David asked God’s permission, he asked the Lord if he would have victory.

• Your faith can act as gas or breaks for God. Your level of expectancy is the difference in knowing that God can do something and believing that God will do something.

• Take the breaks off God! Could it be that the only thing holding God back is your level of expectancy? He doesn’t need your faith in order to move but He choses to use it.

• In this passage, David took the breaks off of God.

• When you carry presence into purpose, you will be opposed. Your anointing attracts attacks. The enemy will come after you not because you are out of the will of God but because of the anointing on your life.

• Don’t be surprised when trials come! (1 Peter 4:12)

• Leaders, we never outgrow a war or a fight. We should rise up and still lead the fight just as David did.

• Rephaim, the place where the Philistines spread themselves, means “valley of trouble” or “valley of giants!” This was a vulnerable place for David and his army because this was not territory that they had overtaken.

• The enemy knows how to hit you where you are vulnerable. We should be aware of the enemy’s attacks and know that it is coming. Don’t be surprised.

• Could your breakthrough be tied up in your last act of disobedience? Partial obedience is disobedience.

• Because of the victory, the name of Rephaim was changed to Baal–perazim. There are names in your life that God wants to change. He allowed you to be the way you were in the past so that he could take your personality, change your heart and use it for His glory. He wants to change shame to freedom, depression to joy, anxious to peaceful, empty to whole, hurt to healed, lost to found, blind to having sight, deaf to hearing. God wants to show up on your scene and change your name.

“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”
Psalm 22:3

• God inhabits the praise of His people. To inhabit is to sit down and reside among.

“And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjath–jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the Lord, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.”
1 Chronicles 13:6

• David and his men had to pass through Praise (Judah) to get to breakthrough (Perazim).

• Judah means praise. Perazim means breakthrough. On the map, you could see that one would have to travel through Judah to get to Perazim. This would mean that you would have to travel through Praise to get to Breakthrough!

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren; And Judah begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;”
Matthew 1:1-3

• The genealogy of Jesus shows us that Judah (which means praise) begot Phares (derived from Perez/Perazim which in earlier passages, the place meant breakthrough). Notice that Judah’s son was named Perez. In other words, Praise is breakthrough’s daddy!

• What you know and and what you feel don’t always line up. When you don’t know what else to do, do what you know to do: PRAISE HIM!

• Praise births breakthrough.

• Praise does a few things:

1. Prepares a seat.

2. Takes our eyes off us and gets our eyes on who He is.

3 Praise paves the way to breakthrough. Praise births breakthrough!

• Breakthrough is within your reach. God is very big, He is very close, and He is very good!

• When you are squeezed in life, what is in you comes out. Let praise come out.

• The more you are in His presence, the more you get to know who He is. The more you know Him, the more you can praise Him.

• Praise is acknowledging who God is.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020 – 6:30PM Service

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”
2 Timothy 1:9

• We can only be what our creator purposed us to be.

• Our purpose goes beyond our conception, and our parents.

• God is mindful of you. You are not a mistake. Ask God His purpose and plan for your life.

• Know this: the world needs who God made you to be.

• Many times, we are self absorbed and this hinders our ability to realize our purpose.

• Remember Elijah. He called fire down from Heaven and it actually happened! Right after that, he was suicidal and asking God to end his life. At that moment, he had to have been self-consumed to about the fact that Jezebel ordered his death. He wasn’t thinking about the big God he served and the events and victories that had already taken place in his life. (Ref. 1 Kings 19)

• There is a purpose in you that goes undetected until you begin investing in others. You find purpose when you serve others and when we put our focus on how we can serve someone else.

• The enemy wants to isolate us but we find purpose in each other!

“For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?”
1 Corinthians 12:14-17

• There are specific uses for all parts of the body.

• You’ll never find contentment trying to do what other people do. Do what you’ve been designed to do!

• Purpose is revealed by design.

• Your purpose cannot be fulfilled in isolation.

“There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.”
Proverbs 19:21

• Purpose produces design.

• Design produces potential, ask God what is your potential.

• God won’t change His mind about what He created you to be.

• Your purpose will not go beyond your natural ability or design.

“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Psalms 138:8

• God will never forget His original plan and purpose for you. It could be years later, He hasn’t forgotten.

• God wired and made you. Return to the Creator of the thing to find out the purpose of the thing that was created.

• What do you have to potential to be? If you want to fulfill your purpose, get plugged in and be a tool ready for use! When you don’t understand something’s purpose, abuse is inevitable.

• Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines the word “abuse” as “To use ill; to maltreat; to misuse; to use with bad motives or to wrong purposes; as, to abuse rights or privileges.”

• A related word would be misuse. The Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines the word “misuse” as “To treat or use improperly; to use to a bad purpose.”

Sunday, January 12, 2020 – 11:30AM Service