Tag: #godfocus

EPISODE 347 SMOOTH STONES AND JAGGED ROCKS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SMOOTH STONES AND JAGGED ROCKS

Imagine walking along a quiet stream, the water calmly flowing over the rocks. There are all types of rocks in the water. Smooth stones, small pebbles, and those with a jagged edge. Each one is in different stages of being in the water. The jagged rocks are normally closer to the edges, where the water is not constant. Because the motion of the water wears down the surface, causing the rocks to become smooth. But the rocks that are in the deeper part of the water are smooth, because they are in the constant flow of the water.

Christians are like those rocks; some are smooth stones. These are the ones who have been in the flow of the Spirit for a long time. They have been changed by the washing of God’s word. They wade out into the deep, desiring the deep things of God.

Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

The word cleanse is found in the concordance Greek #2511 word Chalaq (kaylack) means smooth then refers to #2505 to apportion or separate, divide, separate self. The smooth stones are the ones who have been made smooth over time or separated from other stones.

We are set apart for God’s use. We are separate people. He has cleansed us and continues to cleanse us as we spend time with him and in his word. His blood cleanses daily as we ask for him to sanctify us for his use. We are vessels set apart, cleansed for God’s purposes. Just like the vessels in the temple were cleansed and set aside for use in the temple.

In the sixth chapter of Corinthians, Paul is telling them that you cannot mix belief systems. Jesus and Baal do not mix. There are people trying in our time to create Chrislam, a mix of Christianity and Islam. The two don’t mix. They are like oil and water. But the people of Paul’s day were trying to mix the teaching of the Apostles with Baal.

2 Cor 6:17-18 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

We are called to be separate from the trappings and beliefs of the world. We have been cleansed and set apart for God’s use. He tells us to come out from among those who will not accept the love of the truth.

2 Thes 2:10-13 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

So many are turning to strong delusions. But everyone has an opportunity to seek God and ask him to lead them. If they truly want God to show them, he will. But they will have to seek him and desire to be in his presence. There are many that will not endure sound doctrine, but will turn to the fables of man. There is nothing we can do to help those who make choices to believe in fables. We can pray for God to open their eyes and go on. There are too many people out there who need us.

Other people are like the jagged rocks. They will not allow God to smooth over their sharp edges. They want to do things their way. Living like the world and following all the things this world says is the right way. If God’s Spirit is not flowing over us like the water in the stream, we will never be smooth stones.

Did you ever wonder why David chose 5 smooth stones? Remember, smooth means cleansed or set apart. God had those stones at just the right place to destroy the plans of the enemy. If a jagged stone was put into the sling it would not have flown correctly. It would not have accomplished the task that the smooth one can.

We, being smooth stones, can be in the right place to destroy the enemy’s plans. We just have to be willing to follow God’s leading. He will use us to do great things if we can just believe and trust in him. It should be our prayer that he makes us ready to be used for his glory.

Psalm 42:7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

I don’t want to be a jagged stone. I want to always be found in the flow of God’s stream. Wading out into deeper water to find out more about our Lord Jesus Christ. When the deep desires of our heart reach out for the deeper things of God, He will fulfill our desires.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 346- UNFINISHED

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The title of today’s episode: UNFINISHED

If I were to ask you if you have any unfinished tasks, I am sure each of you would say yes. Some of our tasks we cannot accomplish alone and need a friend to help. For other tasks, we need more information about how to complete the task. We may lack supplies or money to pay for the help or supplies necessary. The big factor is timing. We underestimate how long it will take to complete a task and run out of time.

Doing things for God is no different. Sometimes we need someone to come into agreement with our prayers and help us to accomplish our tasks. We could lack knowledge of how to deal with a situation. We then would have to leave things undone for a time until we get leading from God. Other tasks we may need equipment or supplies to carry out our tasks.

Leaving things undone can be irritating to the person that likes to check off the tasks and move on to the next. But people and soul-winning are not a to do list. We have to invest time in people. They need to be prayed for, encouraged, witnessed to and even taught about God. It is about building a relationship.

I would never attempt to do electrical work in my home. I need an expert, someone who understands how electricity travels. But I will take on some home improvement tasks that I feel qualified to handle. When it comes to people, we have to leave a lot undone until God says it is the right time. He is the only expert on perfect timing. We may do something that we can handle when it comes to helping others. Then God will send someone else along to provide something that they are qualified to do to help that same person. We are not meant to be everything to one person; we are meant to do all we can to help as many people as we can. God will never leave anything undone concerning his children. Unlike us, he will finish what he started.

Phil 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

There are times that God starts something in our lives, then it’s like he hits the brakes, and we are left at a standstill. We sometimes question if God really wants us to do certain things. Because to us, it seems like we have been at a standstill way too long. But in his great wisdom, he is waiting for everything to align with perfect precision. He will work things out at the proper time.

He often will give us a vision to do things long before the time for it to come to pass. I believe there are different reasons for his leadership. We need time to get used to certain ideas and believe we can do what God is asking. Other times it is because we need to research how to do things or enlist help.

We can be sure he will never ask us to do anything he will not empower us to do. God is a God of perfect order; he will not leave anything undone forever. We can be sure he has a plan.

Jer 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

He gives us an expected end. Whose expectations? Probably not ours, but he knows what to expect from us. He will never expect more than we can deliver. But in the process of doing his will, we will also grow in trust and wisdom. We have to pray and he will answer. He desires for us to seek him with our whole heart. If we can encourage others to search for him with all their heart, then they will find what they need, because they will find Jesus.

Job 12:13 With him is wisdom and strength he hath counsel and understanding.

When we stand before him one day, he will be able to say, “well done”. The only thing that will prevent us from completing what he has started is if we choose to walk in our flesh and not yield to his leading.

Matt 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

We have to trust God’s timing. Learning to walk out our faith walk with his leading. Sometimes we decide what needs to be done, and then God will reroute our day. The task we had planned remains undone. But if we can accomplish daily what God wants us to do, then we have done the right thing with our time. There will be another opportunity to finish what we started, some other day. The main thing is that we never miss our opportunity to be obedient to the leading of God’s Spirit. Because when it comes to his children, God will never leave anything unfinished.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 344 WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: What a friend we have in Jesus!

A friend is someone who will stand by you in the good and the bad of life. Especially, in the bad. Knowing that you have someone in your corner when many others walk away is a wonderful feeling. Jesus is our friend who will stand by us when everyone else walks away.

There are lyrics to an old hymn that goes, “What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.” Do we look at prayer as a privilege? Do we feel blessed that we can carry our burdens to God in prayer? What about the burdens of those around us?

I am reminded of a story in Luke; Jesus was in a house preaching. A large crowd was gathered there at the house. They were all pressed in and it was impossible to get from the back of the crowd to Jesus.

Luke 5:17-19 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

This man was very sick. These men were determined to get their friend to Jesus. They believed that He could heal him. Sometimes it takes determination to get a prayer answered. Sometimes it takes peeling back a few roof tiles to see things accomplished. How far are we willing to go to see someone get what they need from God?

Do we really pray when asked to do so, or do we say a couple of quick sentences in passing? Dear Lord, help so and so receive their healing. Amen.

There are times when it takes our faith to push a prayer through. There are times we have to take on their cause as if it were our own. If we were in the position of that man, needing healing and could not get to Jesus, wouldn’t we want someone to go the extra mile with us?

Luke 5:20-25 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

When the Pharisees saw what had taken place, there was little that they could say, because the man was healed. Jesus honored the faith of that man’s friends. It was a good day for everyone but the self-righteous religious people.

We have to be willing to sacrifice and stand in the gap for those who cannot reach Jesus on their own. Today, there could be many reasons a person may not be able to reach Jesus. They could be too weak physically. They could be bound in a prison of guilt and drug or alcohol addiction. They may feel they are unworthy to pray. The enemy loves to tell people that they have gone too far for God to ever forgive them.

The reason is not as important as what we need to do to help. God will lead us to those we are supposed to help. We must be willing to peel back the roof if necessary and get them to Jesus. He has already done the hard part, he died for us all. They can be set free, as long as we are faithful and lead them to Jesus.

I am thankful for the friends that I have in my inner circle. I am thankful, for my wonderful family. But I am most thankful, that I know a man called Jesus, who will be with me to the end.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 343 GOD WILL MEET YOU

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: GOD WILL MEET YOU

Paul and Silas found themselves in prison. This wasn’t one of those white-collar country clubs, but more of a damp smelly dungeon type prison. They could have given up. They could have chosen to whine about their circumstances, but instead they sang praises to God. And at the midnight hour, which is the dawning of a new day, an earthquake shook the prison and opened the doors for all the prisoners.

We often go through things that help set others free from their prisons. When you have overcome something, you have power to help others overcome too. God didn’t care that they were in prison, he met them where they were and shined his light into the darkness. All too often, instead of us praising God in our prisons, we complain and beg for him to get us out. Sometimes we are there to learn a lesson. Other times we are there to show someone else that they can be set free.

The woman at the well came to gather water in the middle of the day. The other women gathered early in the morning when it was cooler. The other women shunned her and treated her badly. They didn’t like or trust her because she had been married four times and was currently living with a man. Jesus understood her more than anyone else. The others judged her for her choices. Jesus came and met her in her circumstances, and she became a follower of Christ. Jesus understood that she was not intentionally evil, but her choices were made out of her emptiness. Remember what I said yesterday, All excess comes from emptiness. She needed living water and God’s unconditional love. Jesus met her where she was at, she didn’t have to try to be perfect before God would help her, he lifted her out of her mess.

Gideon was about to fight in a great battle. He was nervous but God allowed him to hear what the enemy was saying. Even though Gideon was apprehensive about the fight, he trusted God. God told him to send everyone home but 300 men. To the natural mind this seemed crazy, they would be severely outnumbered. But God was about to meet them in their need and let them see that If God Be For Us, Who Can Stand Against Us. Gideon’s army with the help of Almighty God won the battle without even fighting. The enemy ran when they broke the clay pots and let their light shine.

Sometimes our earthen vessels have to get into a position of brokenness before our light can truly shine. It is not about who has it all together. It is not about who appears the most righteous or wears the nicest clothes. We do not want to be like the Pharisees and look the part on the outside, but inside we are dead and dark.

Our light shines best when we are just human beings trying to do the right thing. It is about His grace and Him meeting us in our circumstances. Whatever our situations of life we need to be like Apostle Paul.

Phil 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Paul wrote to the Philippians to be content in whatever state they find themselves. We can have inner peace through Jesus, even when our situations seem helpless and hopeless. We can abound in our relationship with God, while we may have needs in the natural world.

No one could have been in worse shape than Lazarus. Jesus didn’t say, He is not dressed right, so I can’t help him. What will someone think if I help him? He didn’t say that Lazarus was attending that church down the road, they will have to pray for him. No, Jesus went to where he was, in the tomb. He met him where was at, in the middle of his horrible circumstances. He called his name and told him to arise and come out of the grave.

He is God when we are sick. He is still God when we need a job or financial blessing. He is still God when we walk the floors at night praying for our lost family, when it looks like they will never see. He is still God when we feel battle-weary and want to give up. It doesn’t matter the situations we find ourselves in, one thing you can be sure of is that Jesus will meet us in our circumstances and he will deliver us out of them all. Our job is to simply trust that he will do what he has promised. He will take care of us.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 342 SELFISHNESS IS NOT FRUIT

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SELFISHNESS IS NOT FRUIT

I think you would be hard pressed to find any sin that is not rooted in selfishness. When we become self-centered, we can fall easily into things that are the opposite of self-control. The enemy will try to encourage us in our selfishness. When we are looking at ourselves and what we want, we take our eyes off of God. His will for our lives is unimportant at that point.

All excess is rooted in emptiness. When we live a sinful life, we are searching for something we are missing. We look for that fulfillment in many places other than God. He is the only one who can give us the fulfilment we seek. Not having any fruit in our lives will cause us to be excessive in our pursuit of the wrong things or rotten fruit. It may look good at first glance, but once you bite into it, you find out that it is rotten, moldy, and bitter. However, the fruit that God gives is pure and perfectly balanced. Selfishness is the opposite of self-control.

God’s word teaches us to be selfless and walk in love toward others. When we become filled with the Spirit of God, our lives will start to develop fruit. We will walk less in our self-centeredness and more in our love and compassion for others. It is impossible to be Jesus’ hands and feet in the earth while maintaining a self-centered attitude.

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

As children of the Most High God, learning how to allow God to create fruit in our lives is important. Our flesh is weak and wants the quick fix, what is comfortable and appealing in the moment. The growth process is anything but quick and comfortable. We have to learn to wait on God to do his work.

The process is a little easier because we know we can trust him with our lives. He knows what is best for us, and he has our best interests at heart. God sees who we need to be in the future and develops strength in areas we are going to walk.

Allowing Jesus to penetrate our hearts will prevent us from betraying him with selfish motives. Not everyone who attends church is on the right path. Some are there to network and grow their businesses. Others are there to deceive and manipulate people into bad relationships. Some are there for monetary gain in other ways.

We cannot fully trust people until they prove their fruit. Every one of us has a measure of discernment. Some develop their discernment, and others choose to ignore it because they do not want to think badly about someone. Learning to be led by God and listening to our discernment will keep us out of trouble.

The perfect example in the Word of God was Judas. God allowed him to walk with them. He was selfish and sold out Jesus for a little bit of silver. But until that point, he could have gone either way. He could have resisted temptation and done the right thing. But his selfish greed outweighed his need to do the right thing.

We often think about Judas’ actions as something that was meant to be, but if he had not betrayed Jesus, the Pharisees would have found another way. Jesus would still have chosen to die for mankind.

God knows something we have to learn. We must allow people to make their choices good or bad. We never know when God will change those people and cause them to develop fruit. Not everyone grows fruit at the same pace. In order for anyone to grow the fruit of the Spirit, they must first receive the Spirit of God. It is the Holy Ghost that causes us to develop fruit. The more we surrender to the leading of God’s Spirit, the more fruit will grow in our lives.

It is almost like self-control is needed to develop the other fruit. We have to control our impulses to do selfish things for ourselves at the expense of others. Having self-control will cause us to walk in love, joy, peace and grow in Christ.

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

If we walk in the Spirit, we will not be selfish wanting to do what our flesh say, but we will have enough self-control to keep our focus on God. We will desire to do what God tells us to do, not what we desire.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 341 WHAT IS IN YOUR CUP?

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: What is inside your cup?

A cup can be fancy and clean on the outside but inside can be carrying a deadly disease or poison. These are like the people that are poison to the body of Christ. They look the part of a Christian, they may even dress a certain way to impress those around them. They wear a uniform of their belief of what holiness looks like, but inside they are full of gossip, hatred, bitterness and anger. Some commit sin and hide it under a good reputation.

God will only allow this type of behavior for so long. When he gets to the point that he has tried to get them to change and they refuse, he will turn them over to a reprobate mind. If they continue to attend church and play the part of the “good Christian” but are full of evil, God will expose them.

Psalm 34:14-16 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Look how long he waited for Eli’s sons to change. They were committing sins within the temple. He warned Eli to stop them, but he allowed it to continue. God killed Eli’s sons and when Eli heard the news that they were dead he fell backward and broke his neck.

Jesus warned the Pharisees that they were evil inside, but on the outside they dressed to impress and did things to make everyone think they were holy.

Matt 23:25-27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Jesus told them they were like tombs with whitewashed on the outside, but inside they were full of dead men’s bones. They were filled with all manner of uncleanness. This is why it is so important for us to be vigilant to check out those we listen to for our spiritual well-being. A large portion of those in the ministry are motivational speakers who water down the truth. As Christians, we cannot allow these people to pour poisons of complacency and wishy-washy half-truths into our cups. But we have to ask what we want in a minister. Are we asking for the full truth even if it hurts our toes? Are we telling the ministry that we desire the deep things of God?

If we seek God’s truth and make sure our cup is clean inside. We will find ministry leaders that have clean cups full of power and the anointing of the Holy Ghost. These are the ones you want to align with and allow them to pour into your life. Because what they pour into your life will be anointed of God. It will strengthen your soul and help you walk a strong faith walk.

When God’s light is inside of our cup we will shine on the outside. There will be no poison within us. Others will be able to see with the reflection of God’s light within us.

This is why it is important to do all we can to walk in the light of God.

Deut. 28:1-2 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

If we try our best to walk in the commandments of God and do his will, his blessings will overtake us. In other words, if we do all we can to walk in God’s ways, his blessings will overflow from our cup. We want only good things to flow from the cup of our life. It is time to search and ask the question, “What is in my cup?”

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 340 VICTIM OR VICTOR?

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: VICTIM OR VICTOR

Are you a victim or are you victorious? Even if you have been a victim, you don’t have to stay a victim. The enemy wants nothing more than to destroy us. But we can have victory through our faith in Jesus. We can pray all we want but if we don’t have faith to believe God for what we are asking it is just noise going into the air. The word says faith without works is dead. Before some of you get excited. Works only will not accomplish anything either. It is like running on a treadmill; it expels energy but will not get you anywhere. But us working with God and believing for him to do what we have asked can accomplish great things.

It is time we look at the situations of life through our faith. We cannot see the Goliath’s of life, through our natural eyes. We have to always see our giants in comparison to our God. We cannot compare them to our own fleshly weakness.

It is easy to get nervous and anxious about situations in life. When we walk in our flesh, we can become anxious. But when we walk by faith, we are strong and bold. The strength comes from the Lord.

Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

God doesn’t want us to be anxious about anything. The enemy loves to cause us to be anxious. Anxiety is one of his many tools. If we are anxious, we are not walking in faith. Our own emotions are in control of the situation. But when we pray, we can turn that anxiety over to Jesus and he will return to us the strength needed to walk by faith.

Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

God will take our anxiety and give us peace as long as we are willing to surrender it to him. But we cannot speak words out of our mouths about how anxious we are, or the enemy will have a stronghold.

Take some time and ask yourself if you are holding on to things that make you anxious. Maybe someone said something that made you feel inadequate. Maybe something happened to you that caused you to be afraid. It is not wrong to feel these feelings. We would not be human if we didn’t experience emotion. But it is what we choose to do with those emotions that makes us victims or victorious. If we walk by our flesh and pet those emotions and start feeling sorry for ourselves, we can end up in full-blown depression. But if we rise up against the emotions and ask God for help to overcome, we will be victorious.

How many times do we tell the stories of old: David and Goliath, the three Hebrew men in the fiery furnace, the parting of the Red Sea, and other miracles. Each situation came down to faith over fear.

Moses had faith that God would see him through, after he had a God encounter. No bush had ever burned like that before, but it took him experiencing the fire of God to increase his faith. He knew that God would not bring them halfway out of bondage. Moses trusted that God would do what he had promised.

But because of unbelief, those who were in bondage were never fully free. They were made to wander the desert for forty years. Only those born in the process got to see the promised land.

We are the same way, God finds us in bondage to sin. He starts the process of bringing us out. But our flesh will never get to the promised land. But only what is born in the process, our spirit man will ever cross over to the promised land. We will only cross over if we learn to walk by faith.

Faith is seeing with our spiritual eyes what we are asking God for, when in the flesh it has not shown up yet. But it is crucial to see it with our faith and know God will bring it to pass in the right season.

Many times, we ask God to open doors for us. We may be at the right door, but if we walk through too soon, we may not be ready for what we find behind the door. God, in his wisdom, knows just the right time to open the door.

Until the door opens, we have to have faith in the hallway. We have to continue to see with our spirit the things we have asked for that are behind the door. At just the right moment, God will take out his key and unlock that door. He will gently push it open, revealing what your belief and faith have built behind the door.

We have to know that God didn’t create us to be victims but to be victorious. Even when we have walked through seasons of being victims to the enemy. We will come out victorious, God is with us.

Be encouraged, keep walking by faith, do not be discouraged, God holds us in his arms. We are safe, forgiven, strengthened and empowered for what the new day will bring. We must remember that we always have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 339 -SPIRITUAL WARFARE – USING OUR FAITH TO FIGHT SATAN

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SPIRITUAL WARFARE -USING OUR FAITH TO FIGHT SATAN

Today is the conclusion of the spiritual warfare series. In this time of struggle and stress that the church is going through right now, we need to know how to stand against the enemy. The subject of spiritual warfare goes far deeper and is more detailed than I have covered. I encourage you to dig into the word and do research for yourself.

2 Cor 5:7 We walk by faith and not by sight.

This is a reminder that we cannot go by what we see. We fight our battles with our faith. Part of the armor of God is our shield of faith. In other words, our faith is a defense against the enemy. Because we choose to see things through our faith and not how they appear to be at that moment.

A strategy is needed when we make our battle plan against the enemy. Picture a room full of generals with maps and intelligence reports scattered about, trying to create a plan. Sometimes we have to defend ourselves from attacks. Other times, we need to go on the offensive and take back territory.

We must understand the tactics of our enemy, his vulnerability, his territorial strongholds and how to break the lines of defense. We have to be determined to win. Belief in our cause will give us the strength to keep pressing forward.

We are in a battle for a billion soul harvest. I cannot think of a better cause than that, when heaven rejoices over even one soul coming to Christ. How can we not do all we can to tell the world that there is a better way.

When David looked at Goliath, he saw an enemy of his God. He was determined to take him out because he defied God. The Philistine had been mocking God and God’s people. David looked at him through his faith. He didn’t let how he looked in the natural shake him. He didn’t compare himself to Goliath. He compared Goliath to his God. Actually, the giant was minuscule compared to his God.

If David had looked at Goliath with human eyes not through faith, then Goliath would have seemed huge. David may have fallen into fear like all the rest of the army. He would have believed a bad report like the children of Israel when they went into spy out the land. But Joshua and Caleb looked at things through their faith. They stood boldly and proclaimed that we are more than able to take the land. They understood there were giants. But they chose to look at things in comparison to their God.

This is how one would walk by faith and not by sight. We have to look at our enemy through the lens of faith. Yes, to our natural, physical being, the enemy is more powerful. He has had thousands of years to manipulate mankind. He is good at the art of temptation and trapping. But we have to change the way we see our enemy. We need to look at him like David looked at Goliath. Compared to our God, he is minuscule. The enemy is nothing.

This is how we win our battle; we allow God to fight for us. He will guide us and lead us.

James 4:6-10 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

James used a lot of wisdom when writing to the church. He called out the spiritual issues of the church. But he also encourages the church that they can walk in victory if they do certain things.

He tells us to walk humbly and submit ourselves to God. If we resist the devil, he will flee. But we have to resist. It doesn’t say play with him, allow just a little bit of sin, after all the enemy says a little will not hurt. We are wise enough to know a little opens the door to the enemy to get a stronghold.

James says for the double minded to cleanse their hands and purify their hearts. To stop being double minded. In other words, we must have a made-up mind. We cannot flip flop between two opinions. We have to choose the right side and not give room for the enemy to get a foothold.

James says to cleans our hands. In other words, the things we do, our works or the work of our hands must be spiritually clean. We must have a pure heart. It takes work to fight against the enemy and not be double-minded, have clean hands and a pure heart. We can do these things, with the help of our God.

Never go into battle with an attitude that you will not win. If this is the attitude you may as well not go to battle. We have to believe we will come out victorious. We cannot win alone, but we have to go.

Like Jehosophat’s army, I shared with you yesterday. He didn’t have to fight with natural weapons. But they did fight with worship, they had a part to play. They had to show up at the battlefield to collect the spoils of war. We have to plan to be victorious by walking by faith. This refers to fighting a good fight of faith.

Eph 6:13-17 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

I want you to notice verse thirteen. We put on the whole armor of God so that we can withstand evil. Then the verses go onto list the different parts of the armor of God. It takes this armor to equip us to be able to stand against the enemy. We could not discuss warfare without touching on our protection or armor.

Every episode of this series has been to encourage you and give you a desire to study how to war and defend against the enemy. We have to go into training or boot camp to understand how to fight our battles. There used to be commercials that encouraged kids to read books then they would say, Knowledge is Power. When it comes to our enemy, the more we know how to stand against him.

Be bold and stand strong against our enemy. You can win the battle if you stand with God. Allow him to lead and be willing to face your fears and doubts, putting them under the shield of faith. Be sure to plan for victory, never allow the enemy to cause you to talk defeat. Our words have power. Using the word of God is the fiery darts against the enemy. I hope this series has encouraged you to stand strong and fight the good fight of faith.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 338 SPIRITUAL WARFARE -WORSHIP IS OUR WEAPON

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SPIRITUAL WARFARE – WORSHIP IS OUR WEAPON

I have been doing a series on spiritual warfare. In episode 334, we covered keeping a watch for the enemy. Our adversary, satan, is on the prowl to destroy the body of Christ. We have to be on guard and keep watch for his traps and tactics.

The second thing we covered in episode 335 is our battle for holiness. We have to walk holy before God and resist the temptation to sin. The enemy is constantly trying to get us to fall into sin. We have to keep a guard on our thoughts and hearts so as to not fall into the traps of the enemy.

The third topic we covered in episode 336 was how the body of Christ needs to reconnect to the power of God. We must set aside our fear and man’s doctrines and spend time with God. We need to connect with the power of miracles and other tools the modern-day church has lost. We will be able to connect to that power source if we spend time in earnest prayer and fasting. These things are missing from our modern church. Episode 337 was all about prayer and fasting.

Today I want to talk about the power of praise. We often do not think about praise as being a weapon. Praise connects us to God in a way that nothing else does. We can break free of a lot of things with praise and worship. It helps us to untether from religion and connects us to God when we yield to him and zone out everything else. Getting into a place where it is just you and God, and you forget everything but your praise and love for God.

Worship is our weapon; every praise we lift sends explosions into the enemy camp. Worship breaks the narrative of the enemy, because we can leave the thoughts behind us. Every thought of the enemy that comes to cause us to be negative and to bind us up, we can break with worship.

One of my favorite stories is found in 2 Chr. 20, King Jehosophat had three different armies coming against him. The people were praying and God said,

2 Chr 20:15-18 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

They spent time praising the Lord because he told them not to be afraid because they had a large number of enemies threatening them, he promised to take care of the battle. He told them the enemy would be destroyed without them even shooting one arrow or drawing their swords.

2 Chr 20:20-21 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.

Their worship was their weapons. To the natural mind, this seems crazy to put singers in the front of the army. From the natural perspective they would be the first ones fired upon. But Jehosophat knew that God had said they would not have to fight, so he sent the praise team before the army.

2 Chr 20:22-24 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

I love how these three armies destroyed one another. It is like Haman being hung on his own gallows in the story of Esther. What the enemy plans to harm us will only elevate us, as long as we keep our perspective right before God. We need to praise and worship him. Releasing the darts of praise will cause the enemy to run or to be destroyed.

Evil spirits cannot stay where the anointing of God is, they have to flee. Our worship invites the presence of God. The anointing breaks yokes. We will not be tethered to the things of the enemy if we worship and do not dwell on the negative.

Complaining is the opposite of worship. Complaining is music to the ears of the enemy, because he will agree with your negative words. He will have an opening to work through if we allow ourselves to be full of negativity.

This is why we have to focus on the good things, even when life is not reflecting the good. We have to remember this world is not our home, we are just passing through.

Saul had lost his kingdom through disobedience. He still sat on the throne for a time period after Samuel told him that the kingdom was no longer his to rule. Saul even went to a sorcerer the witch of Endor to try to get insight into the future. Further opening up doors to the enemy the devil to take over and control him. He was tormented by evil spirits in the night and could not sleep. He called for someone to play music for him.

David played a harp with the anointing of God and the evil spirit would depart from Saul. This is proof that the anointing through praise will break the torment of the enemy. The evil spirits have to flee when we worship.

Just any musician would not work. People have talent and can play music beautifully, but if it is not anointed it will not drive away evil spirits. David, however, knew how to worship God. He learned when he was a shepherd boy. His pure praise was what elevated him to the position of King.

David didn’t always do the right things. He, too, fell into sin. But his willingness to repent and try again was honored by God. Our heavenly father doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He just asks us to worship him honestly and with a pure heart toward God.

We can win our spiritual battles with our enemy if we send up praise. Remember that worship is another weapon we have to fight off the evil that tries to overtake us. More spiritual warfare on tomorrow’s episode.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 335 BATTLE FOR HOLINESS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: BATTLE FOR HOLINESS

The enemy will try to get us to fall into sin. He will lay every trap he can to trip us up. If he can cause us to sin, it opens the door for him to sneak past our armor. Then he can really cause us problems. The only way to make sure he doesn’t get a foothold is to be aware of what is happening in our lives. We need to pay attention and ask God to make us aware of anything that is in our lives that is an attack of satan.

Living a life of holiness will give us the strength to combat the enemy. But we cannot live this life fully on our own.

Matt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

This verse tells us that the weakness is in our flesh. That is why the word tells us to walk in the Spirit. We will not fall into sin as long as we stay in the spirit. I know that statement may sound simple, but as long as we are in these fleshly bodies it is anything but simple. That is why God is faithful to forgive when we repent and why he gives us his amazing grace.

We should all aspire to be able to say what Timothy said at the end of his life.

2 Tim 4:7-8 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

How do we fight a good fight of faith? As with every spiritual battle. First, we have to know that we have protection from the enemy.

Eph 6:10-13 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

This passage tells us to put on the whole armor of God. The complete covering of protection. This is the only way we will be able to stand against the enemy. Verse twelve tells us that this is not a physical battle. We wrestle with principalities, powers, darkness and evil in high places. If we keep on the whole armor of God, we will be able to withstand the enemy. This is the only way we will be able to take a spiritual stand against the enemy.

2 Cor 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

This verse tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. We have to fight this battle with spiritual weapons. We can pull down the strongholds of the enemy with God’s power.

We can win the battles one at a time, by the power of God that is within us. We can have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot win if we do not look the Lord. The enemy is stronger than our flesh. But with the Holy Ghost on the inside of us, our flesh is reinforced and strong enough to stand against the enemy.

Learning to walk in the Spirit is a lifelong journey. Overcoming our flesh is one of the biggest challenges we have as Christians.

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

As children of faith, we have to understand the weapons we have in our arsenal.

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Prayer is one of our most effective weapons against the enemy. We fight our battles on our knees. But also, we can do like Jesus did in the wilderness and use the word of God. It is our sword. To combat the enemy’s words in our minds. When he tells us lies, we need to say the scriptures that combat the lie.

Just as Jesus told satan to get behind him, we have the authority to resist him and tell him to leave.

But if we have sin in our lives, that leaves an opening for the enemy. This is why I called this episode the battle for holiness. The whole bible is about making the right choices and choosing to be holy. If we can walk in the spirit of holiness, we will not leave a foothold for the enemy.

Eph 4:23-27 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil.

We renew our minds with the word of God. When we are saved, we put on the new man, one created in righteousness. This tells us to not give place to the devil. It is so important to cut off his attacks immediately. When those thoughts come into our minds, this is why we need to take them captive and cast them down.

Stay alert, looking for his attacks, stay strong by building up your faith through prayer. He may be roaming to find someone to devour, make sure it is not you.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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