Many worry about their legacy. What will people say about them after the have died. Some spend large sums of money to buy a place to leave their names, a university football field perhaps. But our legacy in this world means little unless it is about our faith walk.
I want to talk to you today about what you leave behind. Some accumulate large amounts of money and assets to leave to the next generation. Some are not as fortunate to accumulate wealth by man’s standards. Some leave antiques and others are hoarders and leave large amounts of stuff that was only a treasure to them, other look at the stacks and stacks of stuff as junk.
Every day we have a chance to leave behind something of a more important nature than great wealth or keepsakes. Everyday, we have a chance to make an impression on the people around us. We may never see some of those acquaintances again. What impression did we leave with them? Will they remember our kind words? Will they remember our testimony or witness? Maybe we had prayer with them before we went our separate ways.
Everything in this life is temporary, except what we do for the cause of Christ. Every word we speak to encourage someone, every prayer we say, every time we show love, when there is no reason, it makes an impact on the eternal. That is our legacy.
Some have their names on libraries and hospitals as a part of their legacy. But I want my name to be written on the things that will not pass away. It is not always about what you take with you, sometimes it is about what you leave behind.
I Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
All the things we leave behind will not matter in one hundred years, except what we do that impacts the eternal. We need to be steadfast which means committed, unwavering, loyal. We need to be unmoveable, this doesn’t mean have a stubborn spirit. It means to not compromise on the truth. But to do it with love. Abounding in the work of the Lord. Abounding means flourish. We are to grow and flourish in doing the work of the Lord.
When we walk as God wants us to we will offer forgiveness when someone does us wrong. This doesn’t mean we have to be a door mat and allow people to abuse us. We can be assertive and stand up for ourselves, without sinning. We need to avoid anger, bitterness, fear, rage and unforgiveness.
I want you to think about what you will leave behind? More than any material thing, what will your legacy concerning the kingdom of God be?
There are many things that fire can do. It can purify something, such as gold, tried in the fire. It can cook food to make it safe to eat by killing bacteria and parasites. Fire can consume and burn to ashes flammable things.
We often say that we want to be on fire for God. When we are on fire for him we are like the burning bush that Moses saw in the wilderness. God’s fire is on us but doesn’t destroy us or consume us, at least not in the way that most things are consumed. Wood thrown on the fire is burned to ashes. So we can say that the wood was consumed. We are never reduced to ashes, but we are built up with God’s holy fire.
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
I often think about the story of Elijah on the top of Mt. Carmel. Israel was worshipping Baal and had turned from the one true God. Elijah told them they were going to have to choose. He proposed that the prophets of Baal should pray to their false god. He would pray to the one true God. Whichever God that answered by fire, he would be God.
The prophet of Baal went first. They prepared their altar and sacrifice. They danced, shouted and even cut themselves with knives. Their god did not answer. Then Elijah repaired the altar and had the sacrifice put on it. Then he made them pour water over the bull on the altar and fill up a trench around the altar.
Then he said a simple prayer and fire came down and consumed the sacrifice, altar and all the water. Have you ever thought about the sacrifice. It was a real sacrifice, there was a famine in the land. The people were starving, the water they poured over the altar was a precious commodity. God deserves only a real sacrifice.
If we push beyond our flesh and lay the will of our flesh on the altar daily. God will answer with his fire. His fire is the Holy Ghost, which brings the anointing of God upon our lives. The fire consumes the things in us that should not be there when we give them to God. He takes our sacrifice of who we are and leaves us more of God.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
If we are a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, we will have the fire to fall on our lives. He will help us to be transformed into the living sacrifice or light of the world.
We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. We renew our minds with the word of God. This will give us understanding to do things that are acceptable to God.
In the ninth chapter of Leviticus, the priests begin their work. The Old Testament is a type and shadow of the New Testament.
Leviticus 9:22-24 And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. 24 And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
Notice there was a fire that came out from before the Lord and consumed the sacrifice upon the altar. When people saw this fire, they shouted and fell on their faces. If we can become that living sacrifice we need to be, the fire of God will be upon our lives. It will cause people to want to fall down and give their lives to him. That is how we can be a good witness. We do not give the cause of Christ just lip service and say all the Christian things. But we allow God to send down the fire upon the altar of our life. We will never be the same and people will notice that we carry God’s fire and light.
Like a campfire that brings warmth and comfort on a cold night, we can be a little warmth and comfort to a person with a broken life. God can and will use a life fully surrendered to him.
Faith is a hard concept to grasp at times. Jesus told his followers that if they had faith as a grain of mustard seed, they could say to the mountain move and it would move. I believe this is true, there have been times that God has moved mountains for me. But what do we do if he doesn’t? We have checked our faith and we know that there is not any doubt that could hinder our mountain moving. But it still won’t move.
God in his vast wisdom, knows all things and understands what is best for us, even when we don’t. He knows that if he moves that mountain, that in the long run it will weaken us. Sometimes we are meant to climb the mountain that is in front of us. We see it as an obstacle to be removed. He sees it as a learning experience. A place that we will grow in grace and knowledge of who he really is and who we are meant to be.
Maybe the big picture depends on that mountain staying and you overcoming it. If he allows it to exist, the end result is better for us. We can trust that God knows the way. Our outcome will be better than where we began.
We are trying to take a class in faith that can move mountains. God is trying to teach a class on being an overcomer. Given the choice, I will take God’s class any day, because he is the master teacher.
Part of being a Christian is submitting ourselves to the father’s will. Jesus prayed in the garden, if it be your will let this cup pass from me. The mountain in front of him was mount calvary. He didn’t want to climb that mountain. He had a choice, he still had free will. He could have avoided the mountain. He could have even made a choice to go around the mountain and bow to satan. But he chose God’s will and took the hard climb up that mountain. The father had a plan that was bigger than Jesus avoiding the mountain.
Just as our salvation depended on Jesus climbing Mt. Calvary, it could be that someone watching our lives needs to see us climbing our biggest obstacles. They need to witness us being full of God’s grace under our fiery trials.
Job 23:6-10 Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. 7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. 8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: 10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
When we are climbing our mountains and struggling, sometimes we feel all alone. Job often felt alone during his testing time. But like Job, God is not far from us. He is there like a wise parent cheering us on. Every step we take will remove the will of our flesh and we will come out of the process stronger and more like God.
Professional mountain climbers, study their mountains. They know when there is ice and snow on their path. They learn everything they can about the terrain and elevation. Many will even talk with others that have conquered the mountain. They will pack their backpack with the proper gear. Getting to the top is all about what you take with you and what you leave behind. The less burden you have the easier it will be to climb. We have to let go of the things that weigh us down and learn to move forward.
I guess the point of this post today is knowing the will of God and know the mountain. As we approach the foot of the mountain, we need to size it up. Then ask God, is this a faith lesson that I can say to this mountain, be removed; or is it an obstacle to be conquered. Once we know the nature of the mountain we can get busy. But every mountain is to be approached with intercessory prayer. We will get our answer about our mountains from the one who created everything we see. Then we will know what to take on the journey.
Romans 8:26-28 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Do not be discouraged if you have been praying against a mountain. The problem may not be that you don’t have pure faith as a grain of mustard seed. Maybe you do not have any doubt within you. Maybe the mountain in front of you is not one to be moved, but one to be conquered, for the good of those who are watching your faith walk.
The greatest gift we can give to God is to be fruitful and win souls for the kingdom of God. By conquering the mountain in front of you, you may reach many souls. So take a deep breath ask God for help you deal with the path ahead, then start climbing. You will make it, because God is with you.
People on TV are doing lots of things for a chance to win One million dollars. Would people go to a church and pray until there was only one left, for a chance to win one million dollars. How long would they be willing to pray and worship? Now I understand that true prayer and worship is a heart thing and not for monetary gain, but hang in there with me for a moment. The point is it is hard to hold peoples attention for a couple of hours, twice a week.
One million dollars is nothing to compare with what we receive when we spend time with God. His favor is beyond anything we can imagine. He has the ability to give us the best life here and eternal life beyond. Life with Jesus is an adventure. He will push us beyond our limits to show us that there is no limit in him. He will open doors that there is no way we could have ever walked through them without him. We say he will make a way where there seems to be no way. Do we believe it? Only when he gives us a red sea moment.
Most grew up with fairy tales, some still think that the story of Jesus is just a fairy tale. Reality TV has been the downfall of the younger generation. They grew up thinking that a life full of trauma and drama was reality. The people on those shows were always up in one another’s faces yelling and fighting. This is how some of them act in their real lives.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
We are not meant to live a life of chaos all the time. We are supposed to walk in peace. A life lived for Christ is one full of excitement and peace. When you say to God, here is my day, do with it what you want, where do you want me to go. It is exciting to see what he does with it. I have a friend that does street ministry; that is her calling. Every morning, she gets up and asks God where he wants her to go that day. He sets up many divine encounters for her. She has been able to pray for people that were sick, suicidal, depressed, on drugs and in desperate need of a savior. She lives her life with passion.
I however, have a calling to be an encourager of others. My calling reaches to the saved and the unsaved. Because I have prayed for everything in my life to be a strength to others, I often cross paths with people that are suffering from depression. More recently, I have been able to help a few people that are dealing with grief in different ways. As I walk out my own grief, I have been able to reach out and encourage others.
I have another friend that dedicates her life to prayer. That is her calling, she is an intercessor. God has worked miracles through her prayers. She is passionate about praying. Her life is an adventure, because when you war in the Spirit, in prayer, it is never a boring day.
Our callings are all very different in many ways, but we all can walk in the peace of God. Because of Jesus’ love for us. He gives us the peace that passes all understanding. It goes beyond our feelings or emotions of the day. It goes beyond our circumstances and how things appear in a particular moment.
There is a Christian saying, “A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to unravel.” I find this to be true, when we put God first his peace will surround us. He helps to hold our lives together. His Spirit will lead us. He will lift us up above the noise of reality. Our reality becomes peace in him.
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Take some time to think about your reality, is it one of chaos and drama. Or is it one of peace even when life’s storms are raging. Which one is your reality? It is never too late to ask God to help your reality to be one of peace that passes all understanding.
Exodus 3:11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, That I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
God probably gets tired of human beings doing this to him when he tells us to go and do something. We see ourselves through the lens of our flesh. We see our brokenness and flaws. We don’t think that we can handle the task he asks of us. We are thinking in the fleshly realm. Yes, within us, we are not ready. Yes, within our flesh we cannot accomplish the task God asks. We need to remember that God will go with us and will accomplish what he needs to in us and with us. God sees that it is time for us to move into the place he created for us.
God prepared Moses by allowing him to be raised as royalty in the house of Pharaoh. He knew all their ways because he grew up with the current Pharaoh. Moses would not be intimidated by Pharaoh, because he grew up with him as a cousin. He allowed him to have empathy for the people of his bloodline, the Hebrews. Then he sent him into the wilderness, to be a shepherd. While in the desert he learned the ways of survival and how to navigate the desert. Jethro his father-in-law, was a Jewish Priest.
He learned the ways of his people. During his time with Jethro, he unlearned the religion that was in him. The religion of the ways of Egypt. Allowing him to be a good leader of God’s people. If he had not spent time in the wilderness, he would not know the ways of the one true God.
He was prepared, even if he didn’t feel like he was ready to lead the children of Israel. But if God says you are ready, then you are ready. He will be there every step of the way to lead and guide. God knew what he had put in Moses; unrealized potential that Moses was yet to discover.
Maybe Moses reacted in fear of what others would think. After all some of them in Egypt knew he murdered someone. Who was he to lead, when he had made such big mistakes in his past? He made all sorts of excuses, he stuttered, he was not an eloquent speaker. God knew all those things about him but chose him anyway.
What we tend to forget is that God sees the big picture. He sees those we will reach and those who will slip through our fingers. He sees all our good attributes and all of the ones we try to hide from even ourselves. Still, he calls us to go out and try to make a difference in the world around us. What if we were like Noah, he didn’t even convert one person to God. But in his faithfulness, he was able to save at least his family.
We all have family members that are lost. We may not be able to reach them, maybe we will, only God knows. But he will honor our efforts and send others to them if we pray. He may never ask us to lead a large group of people out of bondage, like Moses. But he asks us to be fruitful where we are and let our light shine.
The best way to shine that light is to be kind and love people. Go out of your way to help someone. Then be ready when they want to know why. It opens up the door for us to tell them about a man called Jesus.
If someone would have asked Moses if God knew what he was doing, he would have answered yes. We would answer yes, God knows what he is doing. Then why do we doubt when he tells us what he wants us to do for him? Because we are not the ones actually doing the work. He tells us to witness, but only God can deal with the heart. I fully understand the feeling of running from the calling of God. Many people can relate. But he will empower us to walk in the calling. It is a process that lasts a lifetime.
I Cor 3:6-8 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
What if Moses had refused God’s plan? Do you think he would have left the Children of Israel in bondage? No, He would have raised up someone else and Moses would have been left out of God’s miracles.
Humans need to understand that it has little to do with us and everything to do with Him. He is the one who gives the increase. He is the one who worked through Moses. God will work through us if we allow him. But we have to be willing to surrender our will to him.
Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
God doesn’t need perfect people. He doesn’t need our talents or skills. He needs one thing from us, and that is our surrender.
Armies all through history have found themselves surrounded. Situations look dire, it is in those moments that battles are lost or won. The next moves of the ones surrounded will show what they are made of and if they will survive.
When we are battle weary it is easy to lose heart. If an army finds themselves in a position to be battle weary, it is easier to give up. If the ones surrounded are strong in faith, in other word they believe in their cause, they will not give up easily.
I am sure many history buffs could give me some more modern-day accounts than the bible. But since I am not one that is glued to the History channel. I will turn to a story of Elisha.
In the book of Second King Chapter Six
Elisha was given a warning for the King of Israel. The King of Syria was upset that Israel has slipped through his hands. He wanted to know who had betrayed him. He was told that Elisha had warned the King of Israel. The king of Syria sent an army to Elisha to destroy him.
2 Kings 6:14-16 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. 15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do? 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
I am sure his servant thought he was crazy, because he looked around and there was the two of them. All around them were horses and chariots. His servant was about to learn a valuable lesson. Things can look one way to our flesh, but when we look with faith, we see something different. We walk by faith and not by sight. What we see with our natural eyes will cause fear. What we know God is going to do by faith will give us strength to keep fighting the good fight of faith.
We cannot allow the reports on the evening news to paint a picture of how dire our situation is in America. They only tell us the worst things to cause us to fall into fear. It is the tactic of Satan to cause us to fear. Because falling into fear is turning our backs on our faith. Faith says God is in control and any one of us plus God is a majority.
2 Kings 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
We can get so wrapped up in looking with our natural eyes that we do not see the full picture. We can be surrounded and still win the battle. We do this because of Jesus.
The children of Israel are another perfect example: They were boxed in, a sea in front and vast desert to the right and left. Their enemy was closing in fast on them. God had stood between them with a pillar of fire on the Israeli side and a cloud of darkness to the enemy.
He will always give us the light and fire we need to see clearly. We cannot look at our enemy as having us surrounded. God opened the Red Sea for the Children of Israel. He will make a way for us also. We need to have a little faith of the heart and ask God to show us his army that surrounds us.
Psalm 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
We are surrounded by the glory of God just like the pillar of fire. We are blessed to be surrounded by his angels that protect us. We will never be defeated as long as we stay under his covering. We may not see them, but we have more for us than are against us.
The news would like you to think that the whole world is liberal. The news would like you to believe that there is nothing you can do to save America. But we have to go to battle on our knees, declaring that God will save America. Things are not always as they appear.
Elijah was in a cave hiding from Jezabel. He told God that he alone was the only one left standing. He was feeling surrounded and battle weary. But God told him that he had seven thousand prophet that had not bowed to Baal. Elijah was not alone even though he felt alone. God had other believers, and he had angel armies.
Today we are not as alone as we feel sometimes. It is easy to look with natural eyes and get overwhelmed at the way things appear. But we are not surrounded by our enemy. We do not stand alone. The body of Christ is alive and well, there are many of us. It is time we stood strong for the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If God be for us, who can be against us. David face Goliath while an entire army cowered in their tents. But David knew God would not leave him and that with God on his side, he was the majority.
God separates out people sometimes for his purpose. Gideon had a very large army, around 32,000. But God made him send thousands of them home, he narrowed his army down to three hundred men. When God dwindles down the army around you, he is calling you to a battle that he has created you to fight.
God delivered a very large army of Midianites and Amalekites into Gideon’s hand. The scripture says they were like the sand of the sea and their camels were too many to calculate.
There are many other stories in the word that we can draw encouragement from if we take the time to read them. Who is on the Lord’s side? Remember, we are in the majority, even when we are alone, as long as we walk with God, we have no reason to fear. Even when it appears to our natural eyes that we are surrounded.
Battle fatigue comes when a warrior has been battling for a while without rest and renewal. In most wars there is a front line. That is the location where the heat of the battle is going on, where the two sides are clashing in combat. In the rear, is the support, those who have the supplies and the medical support. If a soldier stays in the battle too long without rest it can have an effect on everything, even the outcome of the battle. The soldiers rotate out, going to the rear to get sleep, food and clean clothes. To take a break so they will be strong enough to go back to the fight.
We often feel like we are suffering from battle fatigue, when it comes to our fight with satan. The word weary means to be tired, exhausted, lacking strength, or having your patience exhausted. Our enemy is all about stopping us by any means necessary. If he cannot distract us with sin and get us to turn back. He will try to keep us from fighting the good fight of faith. He will cause distractions to wear us out if he can. He sometimes seems to come at us from different directions. That is when we have to stand strong.
We are living in a time that everything seems to be in chaos. A large portion of society is on anti-depressants and anti- anxiety medication. Because it is an emotionally difficult world in which we live. They take these meds to help them cope with their weariness in this life.
A wise preacher friend of mine always told me to be on guard. It is possible to be mentally tired and be ok. It is possible to be physically tired and be ok. But not to allow myself to get mentally and physically tired at the same time, because that is when sickness will attack. The older I get, the more I realize there is a lot of wisdom in his statement.
In order to get rid of mental fatigue we need to find the source. Sometimes we overpack our schedules are physically tired, which brings on mental fatigue.
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
If we keep an eye out for our level of weariness, we can keep our mind straight. By doing that we can keep fighting the good fight of faith. Because we will be alert to the attacks of the enemy. If we allow ourselves to become weary we will faint or become weak. Then the enemy will get the upper hand.
What can we do to keep from getting overwhelmed by the enemy? We renew our minds with the word. Read scriptures about being strong and say them outloud at declarations.
Psalm 18:2-3 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
The Psalms are full of verses about battle, strength, facing the enemy, winning and how we can depend on the Lord our God.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Labor and are heavy laden sounds like being battle weary in this spiritual warfare we are fighting. We can rest our minds by sitting quietly and worshipping the Lord. Pray and ask for his strength, renewal and peace to help with our battle fatigue. God is always there and never grows weary.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
When we are mentally exhausted we cannot think straight. The enemy attacks us through our thoughts. He tries to get us to compromise, when we are tired. Our strength comes from the Lord. He will give us overcoming power.
Not one place does the Bible say that we have to win the entire war on our own. We just have to stand strong and face what we have in front of us. We just have to battle what is in our reach. The big issues we do our small part and continue on our journey.
For example: Child trafficking. It is impossible for one person to stop this major issue. But we can do our part by praying for the enemy to fall. We can pray for the children to be set free. Pray for empowerment for those who are on that front line battle. While we are battling the smaller things a little closer to our sphere of influence.
When we call on Jesus, nothing is impossible, but we have to call on him. He will go before us and fight our battles. He will renew us and lift us up, if we put our trust in him.
Isaiah 40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
This passage always makes me feel like if we just wait on the Lord, we will be able to spread our wings and soar like an eagle. High above our storms in a place of quiet peace. He truly is all we need.
I want to encourage you today to stay strong, allow God to renew your strength when you get weary and remember that we do not fight this battle alone. Our enemy is the forever loser and the body of Christ will be triumphant over him. So put on your armor and go to battle.
“A lie told often enough becomes the truth” originated with Vladimir Lenin.
This idea has been adopted by Adolf Hitler and many politicians. The truth is sometimes hard to discern. We have blindly depended on the media to tell us the truth. But many truths are left unsaid, and many lies are being spoken. Not only by the media, but by so-called preachers in the pulpits. People hear lies about what verses in the word mean until they believe it. It becomes traditions of men.
Our society has bought into the latest lie, If it is true for you then it is your truth. So if you believe you are a pink flamingo and stand in the yard everyday on one foot, people are supposed to call you a flamingo. This is not truth. This is madness. The truth is you are a human being not a flamingo. It doesn’t matter what you believe, even if you believe it with all your being, you will never be a flamingo. It doesn’t matter what the Disney movies tell you about wishing on a star.
God is getting ready to do a new thing, in these last days. We cannot make an idol of our denominations and doctrines. We cannot make idols of preachers or pastors. They are people that are hopefully called of God. (Although, some of the TV ministers have been placed by evil people to water down the gospel.)
There is only one truth, that is the truth of God. We are at a point when we need to question everything. Ask God for his understanding and guidance. The movement God is trying to birth in the earth is one of pure religion or pure truth.
I often think of how the Israelites followed a cloud in the desert. The glory of God was light to Israel and darkness to the Pharaoh. God has shown himself to people all through the bible in different ways. But he never deviated from who he was or from his character. He is love and truth.
We have to get to the point in life that we are lead by the Spirit of God. That is the function of the Holy Ghost in the earth. He is here to lead and guide us into all truth and righteousness.
John 16:13-15 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Who’s report are you going to believe? God’s report or the lies of the enemy. He is a master of telling lies. If we are not careful, he will deceive us into lying to ourselves. God will lead us into all truth, if we let him. It is too bad that people’s noses don’t grow like Pinocchio. Since that doesn’t happen, we have to rely on the Spirit of God inside of us to show us the truth.
“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.—William Penn-A quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British Colonial Era.
Those words are still true today. There is no such thing as a little white lie. Either something is true or it is false. There is no middle ground, no way to sugar coat it. The truth is fact, even if no one believes it.
Prov 30:5-6 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
We can trust God’s word, but even there we have to make sure we have the proper translation. Not all translations are created equal. Some even skip verses when it furthers the agenda of evil people. The church has been infiltrated by those who want to lull everyone to sleep with big smiling, feel good message about your best life. All the time for them it is about gaining larger crowds for monetary gain.
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
We can depend on God because he is pure and good and true. He wants only what is best for us. We have to get serious about our prayer lives and ask him for his leading. If we truly depend on him, we will not go astray. God is truth, God is Love and God is purity. Only in him can we find the absolute truth about life, happiness and eternity.
It is so simple and yet we make it so hard sometimes. If we depend on him and look to him, he will lead us and guide us. As long as he is in the lead, we will never go wrong. But we have to be honest with ourselves, have we really yielded everything to Christ? The true answer to that question will give you the answers you need for your next step in life.
When I was in elementary school, I got really upset with my parents because they would not allow me to go home with a friend after school. She had been to my house a few times, and my parents didn’t mind. I didn’t understand, why my parents would set that boundary. They knew something I didn’t know, her mom was a drug dealer. I can only imagine the dangers I could have been in if they had let me go to her house. As an adult, it is actually a scary thought. I am sad to say that she didn’t have boundaries that she passed away at least ten years ago. I wonder if she would have still been here, if her mother had set boundaries for her.
I am glad I grew up with boundaries. Many children today do not have parents that care to set boundaries for them. The parents are too self-absorbed with their own lives and leave the smart phones to educate and entertain their children. They are allowed to do whatever they want, without boundaries.
We have laws and rules in our society to keep people safe. For example: People put fences and signs around their swimming pools to protect neighborhood kids from drowning. But to the kids that just seems like they are being mean to them.
God gave Adam and Eve one boundary. Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In his wisdom and understanding, he knew what would happen. They were disobedient and broke God’s boundaries. Sin and chaos came into the world. They were innocent in their understanding. They had no idea how dangerous it would be to eat the fruit of that tree. But God did.
The world thinks they are having a good time, running around doing all sorts of sinful things. They think that God is either being unfair because he doesn’t want them to have any fun or he just wants to be a dictator.
Like my parents, God gives us boundaries out of love for us. He knows the price of sin and that it is extremely high. The price of sin was to watch as Jesus suffered a brutal beating and crucifixion. This price he paid to restore the boundaries lost by Adam and Eve. Jesus’ blood put us back on the innocent side of the equation. If we do not accept God’s work of the cross and continue down the road of sin, we will pay with our souls. That is an extremely high price to pay for a moment of sin.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We can set boundaries for ourselves. If we struggle in an area of life, we may add an extra layer of protection. But we have to be careful not to make that layer a religion. Not everyone will need that extra layer you choose to place on yourself. Religion is one of the biggest tools of the enemy. Religion divides God’s people when we get wrapped up in traditions of men.
I often say that we need to be careful who we allow in our inner circle or sphere of influence. Life is about boundaries. We need them and it is ok to set them. If you have someone in your life who is dragging you down, it is ok to distance yourself from them. Some people are like a vampire, sucking all the joy and energy from your life. Pray for them and love them from a distance, unless God leads you differently.
Prov 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
If we surround ourselves with wise people, we will become wise. People that dig into the word of God for guidance and wisdom. If we are surrounded with corrupt people that do not live within the boundaries of God’s word. We will be influenced to go down a wrong road eventually.
Prov. 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
When we walk the road of life with wise people, we will be able to smooth off the edges of the others like an iron file does a blade. This process will sharpen the knife, and smooth down the file. Both will be changed. The knife will be ready to use for the purpose it was created. The same goes for us. Walking within the boundaries of God’s plan will help us to be ready to do what he created us to do. Having true friends will make the journey sweeter. They will tell us the truth, even when it hurts. This will help us to stay within our boundaries.
So do not despise the boundaries that God has set for us in his word. In his wisdom, he does know what is best for us, even when we don’t see it.
The title of today’s episode is: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Almost not a day goes by that I don’t get a call to pray for someone. Some of the situations seem impossible to my natural mind. Some diseases are ruthless and destructive. To my natural mind it seems like there is no hope. People lose loved ones and the pain is so smothering that to the natural mind they will never recover. Grief is a powerful thing.
Others call because of concerns for family and friends. They are worried about their souls, while their family is bebopping along the road of life, without a worry. Sometimes our natural mind doubts that their family will every be saved.
Then we pick up our lens of God’s word and suddenly none of the situations seem like they will win. Suddenly nothing is impossible. The word tells us:
Genesis 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
A lot of time passed from the time God made the promise to Abram and the time he became Abraham and it was fulfilled. Notice the question, Is anything too hard for the Lord? The answer is always no.
To the outside world these stories in the bible seems like they are just stories of a very creative author. Think about it, a creator made man from dirt and breathed life into him. He flooded the entire earth, but saved one family in a big boat with all the animals. He parted a Red Sea to let the Israelites through, then drown their enemy in the same water. Then he was born of a virgin. Grew up and worked many miracles, even raising the dead, before he submitted to being brutalized unlike any man before or since, to save us from our sins. He did all that to make up for the places that we broke God’s laws.
Many believe it is all made up and not real, because they are looking at these stories with natural eyes. To natural man these things seem silly, made up and not believable, mere fairy tales. But to us who are saved, who have believed that these words are true, they are power.
When we are called to send up prayers we can do it with faith. Because we know that these stories are true, we can believe for the impossible looking situation to work out. Because we believe in God, it is easier to get out of bed each morning and face a new day. We do not know what will happen before we lay our heads on our pillows that night. But his word tells us that he will work out all things for our good.
Jer 32:17 Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
Nothing is too hard for God. We just have to have faith that he will work things out. I often quote 2 Cor. 5:7 We walk by faith and not by sight. This is one of my stand on, stay strong verses. When my natural mind starts to see a situation as impossible. I realize I am looking with natural eyes. I take out my lens and look at it through the word. Suddenly the impossible becomes possible.
Even those that were with Jesus had moments of weakness. We cannot beat ourselves up for being human. Everyone has moments of weakness and let doubt creep in, look at Peter when he was walking on the water. All it took was one second of doubt and he sank.
God knows we are human, and he has given us ways to increase our faith. His words are full of stories to strengthen our faith walk. There is power in prayer. There is power when we bind together with other believers in prayer and worship. But most of all we have to stay in that word and get to know the character of God. Then we will have less doubt and more Jesus.
I personally have seen many miracles happen. My family has always believed in the power of prayer. I have experienced miracles. These people that look at the word of God like some outdated history book are missing the point. God’s word is real, alive and full of what we need to give us amazing faith because of God’s amazing grace and the cross of Calvary.
There is an old hymn that often goes through my mind. The lyrics say that we have to, “Only believe, only believe, all things are possible, only believe.” Then it becomes something we say to God. “Lord I believe, Lord I believe, all things are possible. Lord I believe.”
When we believe, we will see miracles. My grandfather would often say, “A believer is a receiver and a doubter goes without.” I always want to be found in a place of faith and not doubt or fear. The enemy sends doubt and fear to destroy our faith. We have to look in the word and tell the devil that believe God for our miracles.
GOD FOCUS--Psalm 34:3 O magnify the Lord with me.... 