Victory Life KY

Matthew 28, MSG,CEV- God authorized and commanded Me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. Now as with everything pertaining to Jesus and His Kingdom, faith is the constant. At the end of the day, you’ve got to believe this stuff!! And it starts with this, we’ve been commissioned, entrusted with supervisory authority by Jesus Himself, for a specific action. This assignment is ultimately about creating disciples that openly acknowledge our allegiance and reliance in Christ. I believe that everything Jesus did with His life on the planet was not only pointing to what He was about to accomplish on the cross, but showing us what humanity, anointed by the Holy Spirit is supposed to look like. As we go into chapter 13, Jesus begins revealing one of the foundational principles of how the Kingdom of Heaven operates in the parable of the sower. Matthew 13:10-13,NKJV- “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” As Jesus explains this parable, in Mark’s version He says this, “He who has ears to hear, let him. Then He goes on to say, if you don’t understand this parable, you won’t understand any of them. Luke’s writing of this account lets us know that the seed is the word of God. Matthew 13:19-23,NKJV- “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. v.20, But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; v.21, yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. v.22, Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. v.23, But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Throughout this chapter Jesus repeatedly tells us through different parables about what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. Then in chapter 14 He once again displayed the Kingdom in operation. Matthew 14:16-20,NKJV- “But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.” Jesus walks on water as well as Peter. And once again, “As many as were brought to Him were healed.” Matthew 15:11,NKJV- “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Matthew 15 also shows us the only other account Jesus referred to as “great faith.” v.28,“Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” Once again in chapter 15, Jesus heals all the sick that came to Him.Matthew 16, Pharisees seek a sign. Jesus warns disciples about Pharisee’s teachings. Matthew 16:15, “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” v.19,NLT-“And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” v.23,NLT- Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Then Jesus once again reminds everyone that when He returns He will reward each person according to their work. Matthew 17:1-3,NKJV- Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. V.5, “THIS IS MY SON, HEAR HIM!!” Matthew 17:14-20,NKJV- And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15, “Lord, have merc

Matthew 13:54-58,NKJV- When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55, Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56, And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” 57, So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” 58, Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Familiarity really does breed contempt (Scorn, disdain, depreciate, disrespect)Think about it, in our culture today, information is a very slippery slope. We assume because we’ve acquired a little info that we know what we’re talking about. No humility = unteachable I can’t help but wonder how many of us are guilty of this very thing when it comes to Jesus? Let’s help each other to not confuse information with faith. Let’s stay teachable. Think about it, because of the people’s familiarity with Jesus they allowed contempt instead of faith, they couldn’t see Jesus for who He was, because they had already concluded who He was and it limited what He could do miraculously. Here’s where I’m going with this, can the all powerful, almighty God be limited? Listen to Paul’s instructions from 1 Corinthians 10, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, but with most of them God was not pleased.Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Psalm 78 makes it clear that those of us that walk with God are to tell the next generation of His wonderful works so they won’t be like this stubborn, rebellious generation, that refused to trust God. In spite of all the miracles. It also reminds us of God delivering His people from Egyptian bondage, only to take them through the wilderness. The wilderness is that place where unbelief is sent to die. And at the same time, it’s the proving ground for our faith. Psalm 78:40-41,NKJV- “How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.” KJV, “they turned back” When God's people continually disregarded His guidance, not only does it grieve Him, but when we rebel with unbelief, we actually limit Him. Here’s the question we all need to consider; could our unbelieving, our ungodly thinking limit what God wants to do in our lives today? Obviously we all do this to some degree in our faith journey. v. 42 tells us that God's people simply forgot about His power that rescued them. Familiarity = contempt What if we started asking God to show us areas where we limit Him? Then believe Him for a new level of boldness and confidence to step into new areas of faith that He shows us. For most of us, this revelation starts with a willingness to change how we think. We serve a limitless God, so start thinking limitless thoughts. I promise you, God wants to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we can ask or think. Just like any parent with their children, God wants His children to succeed in their lives. These great examples we read of in the Bible weren't written just to show us what God use to do back then. Remember Acts 10:34, Peter says, "I see very clearly that God does not show favoritism." Truth is, God is counting on every one of us being more of a reflection of His greatness. King David said, "We are fearfully and wonderfully made." So let's make our minds up that we're going to believe that God will stretch us, or in the words of Jabez; 1 Chronicles 4, Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory... and God granted him his request. Our key text in Psalm 78 clearly shows us that God wanted to do more than His people allowed Him to. Think about it, He wanted to bring them into the promise land that first year, not forty years later. But because of their unbelief it limited God from bringing them into the promise land. Listen to Hebrews 3, Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, and they tested me in the wilderness. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. Remember, the wilderness is where unbelief is sent to die. Unfortunately, the children of Israel show us that when unbelief doesn't die, it thrives. And the result is still the same today, it limits God. Numbers 13:1-2, 26-33,NKJV- Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them. 26, Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showe

Matthew 10, Jesus sends out His first disciples. “You go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” 10:37, “He who loves father or mother, son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who loses his life for My sake will find it. He who receives you receives Me Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The legalistic, religious system of that day was a severe burden, but Jesus is introducing a brand new way of living. Let's be honest, we've all experienced stress, anxiety, worry, and fear. And the world we live in thrives on whatever will add to these. The real question we've all got to be honest about is, are we willing to make the necessary changes to not get trapped in these unGodly emotions? Let’s face it, staying focused on the negative is a guaranteed path to just the opposite of, “My yoke is easy, My burden is light.” Don't misunderstand me, I realize making a change in your thinking doesn't automatically change your situation. But until there is a change in our thinking, overcoming any obstacle will continue providing stress, worry, and anxiety. Let me ask it like this, how big of a role would you say our thoughts play when it comes to stress, anxiety, and worry? 2Corinthians 10:4-5,NIV- “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” God designed us so that His word will transform our thinking, which will transform our faith, which is how we're designed to live. But when we're in the middle of things not going right, that’s where stress and worry try taking over. Because when we're stepping out in faith, following Jesus, discovering our new life of faith, usually it's the challenges, the difficulties that trip us up. How many can related to this, you're running your race, you’re stepping out on your faith, you're focused on Jesus, and your motive is for Him to change you circumstances, but His motive is to CHANGE YOU!! Hebrews 12:1-2,NLT- Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. I can't help but wonder how many of us have been guilty of allowing whatever we've been going through to define us instead of keeping our eyes on Jesus? The faith question is, are we going to come to the place where we trust Him in the middle of the storm, the challenge, when everything isn’t going the way we wanted? Could it be, that if we continually stress and worry over something that it's actually revealing an area in our own life that we've haven't completely given to Him. Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” But the minute we come to the place where He actually becomes our shepherd, things like stress, anxiety, worry, and fear stop having the same kind of influence over us. Once again in Matthew 12:15, a great multitude followed Him and He healed them all. Later in the chapter Jesus is still teaching about the Kingdom and He says things like: A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. And a tree is know by its fruit. From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Just kidding...) v.36-37, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” As we go into chapter 13, Jesus begins revealing one of the foundational principles of how the Kingdom of Heaven operates in the parable of the sower. Matthew 13:10-13,NKJV- “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” As Jesus explains this

1 Corinthians 15:12-14,NLT- Tell me this, since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.Everything about eternity, heaven, Christianity, Jesus, all hinge on this one reality, there is a resurrection. JESUS IS ALIVE! *And the second a human chooses to believe Jesus is alive and exercises faith to be born again, they are raised with Christ. Their new life begins.The first thing humanity has to come to terms with is the fact that God designed everything connected to Him to be discovered through our beliefs. That’s what free-will is. “All things are possible...”Acts 4, Let it be known to all of you, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. And there’s no other name among men by which man can be saved.Easter, resurrection, Christianity, is all about acknowledging this one reality, Christ left His world and took on humanity, born of a women. His name is Jesus. And He became the sacrifice for humanity to have a way back.Philippians 2, Jesus, even though He had equal status with God refused to cling to the advantages of that status. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and became human! Having become human, He stayed human. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death.THEN HE GOT UP!! All anyone has to do is take a step of faith and choose to believe this simple message about Jesus.Here’s the thing, because humanity has been separated from a relationship with God because of sin, God sent Jesus into the human race, sacrificed Him and raised Him from the dead.It had to be this way because of eternal law. God couldn’t just make up a new exception for His new creation because eternal beings are subject to spiritual law just like we are. So by following spiritual laws already in place, He sent a sacrifice to atone for humanity’s sin.What the prince of darkness didn’t know was that from the beginning, God’s plan was to raised Jesus back up.This is why in Ephesians, Paul prays that we grasp the utter extravagance of God’s work in us who trust in the fact that He has raised Jesus from the dead. Ephesians 2, God, immense in mercy and with incredible love, embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. Then He raised us up and sat us down in the highest heaven, in company with Jesus, our Messiah. Now God has us right where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. All we have to do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. Jesus is God’s gift from start to finish!Remember las week as we were following Jesus, He’s recruiting His disciples and after calling Matthew, He goes to hang out with Matthew and his sinner friends, where He makes this radical statement from the prophet Hosea, “Go learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”Luke 15:1-2,NKJV- Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were openly critical of His association with sinners. And the fact that Jesus recruited one to be a disciple really frustrated the religious of the day. (Not much has changed.)But Jesus makes it clear that He will always be going to and calling the ones that are away from God.Sometimes I think the enemy isn’t so concerned about us coming in here, but when we start going out there, he’s gonna do everything he can to distract and disrupt.In Luke’s view from Jesus’ time at Matthew’s house, Jesus makes His point very clear with 3 different parables. (The lost sheep, lost coin, lost son) “He came to seek and save those who are lost.”Today’s title, “Running Back To You” was inspired from the father’s perspective about his son, from the parable of the prodigal son.This revelation of restoration absolutely releases the Kingdom of Heaven into humanity, and by design spark revival.There was a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, I want my inheritance right now. So the father divided the property between them.The younger son packed his bags and left home. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt.He signed on with a citizen there who sent him to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corn-cobs in the pig slop.Luke 15:17-19,NLT- When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, at home even the hired servants have foo

Matthew 28, MSG,CEV- God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. Now as with everything pertaining to Jesus and His Kingdom, faith is the constant. Remember, we’ve been commissioned, entrusted with supervisory authority for a specific action. This assignment isn’t just about telling people that Jesus offers humanity eternal life, it’s creating disciples that openly acknowledge our allegiance and reliance in Christ. I believe that everything Jesus did with His life here was not only pointing to what He was about to accomplish on the cross, but showing us what humanity, anointed by the Holy Spirit is supposed to look like. Remember, Jesus told His first disciples to go and teach others to do everything He told them. In Matthew 9, Jesus goes back to His home town and right away, guess what’s the first thing He does? He heals a paralytic. I like Marks version of this passage. Mark 2:1-12,NKJV- And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘ Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” —He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” Then He calls Matthew to be a disciple and immediately goes to hang out with Matthew’s sinner friends, where He makes this radical statement from the prophet Hosea in v.13, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matthew 9:17 Jairus comes to Jesus about his daughter and is interrupted by the women with the issue of blood. Once again Mark gives us much more detail. Jesus tells Jairus, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.” v.29, He tells two blind men, “According to your faith, let it be done to you.” Matthew 9:35-38,NLT- Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Matthew 10:1,NKJV- And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. v.7-10,“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” He warns them of persecution, He also tells them they’ll be brought before kings as a testimony.v.25, It’s enough that a disciple be like his teacher. v.27, Then he says whatever I tell you in the in the dark, speak in the light and preach from the housetop. Don’t be afraid, I know the number of hairs on your head. 10:37-40, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” In chapter 11, John the Baptist asked if Jesus was the Christ or do we look for another? v.4-5, “Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Remember, Jesus told the 11, it’s to your adv

Over the years, something I've recognized is that many wonderfully born again Christians are simply not comfortable praying. Especially publicly. And until we take some steps of faith and try, not only prayer, but anything pertaining to the world of the Spirit is something we'll always be uncomfortable with. In its simplest form, prayer is fellowship with the Almighty, our Father. But at a closer look, it’s how a human, born of the spirit, navigates that world. So, wherever you're at currently in your faith journey, wouldn't you agree we should all stay open to what God has for us? And because God designed us to believe, faith has to be at the center of everything we do, especially in the area of prayer. Hebrews make it clear, it’s really the only way we can even come to God. According to Jesus, Moses, and Paul, it’s how we’re built to live our new lives in Him. I’m talking about functioning in a world beyond our natural one. The just shall live by faith. 1 John 5:14-15,NKJV- “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” John 15:7,MSG- If you make yourselves at home with Me and My words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. And a big part of our prayer life is learning how to navigate the world of the spirit. A world you and I have been born into. This is why Paul tells us in Romans that those who live according to the spirit set their mind on things of the spirit. Hebrews 3:12,MSG- Watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. Remember these words from Jesus, “All things are possible to him that believes.” I know I probably come back to this point in almost every sermon, but if faith isn't a functioning part of our Christianity, chances are, our Christianity is pretty shallow. I can promise you this, you will continue being uncomfortable with a world you constantly question the realities of. Not to mention the fact that human nature can't help but fight against the things of God. The NT reminds us that they actually war against each other. This is why Hebrews tells us that our faith in God is the foundation under everything that makes life worth living. Proverbs 3:5-6,MSG- Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD ’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! A big part of a life of faith is accepting the fact that God's never going to ask us to do something we can't, or that He hasn’t already grace us to do. This is Paul's point to us from Galatians, "I live my new life, still in my humanity, by the faith in Christ." And the more we keep our eyes on Jesus, the more we are transformed into His image. Here's a revelation, what if we asked God to help us with our prayer life? And just like we develop natural communication skills, Christians can develop spiritual communication skills. To the point of spiritual language. But because of false teaching, unbelief, religious opinion, not to mention the stereotypes that exists, there is so much confusion on this subject. So talking about spiritual language is something we’ve got to get into. Here’s something to keep in mind, God is not a God of confusion.So when it comes to any biblical truth that we're unsure of, here’s God’s basic rule;1 Corinthians 13:1,NKJV- Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And when it comes to spiritual language, unfortunately there is so much confusing on the subject, that a big part of the body of Christ simply neglects its realities. Here’s the thing, as the born again, we are a new creation, a speaking spirit, currently confined to our humanity. At the end of the day, it's just like any other truth from God; it can only be appropriated by faith. Think about it, God is the designer and creator of His church. And I find it interesting that on its birth, He introduced spiritual language at the same time. And from that point there's not one scripture indicating that He changed His purpose for spiritual language, or that it's no longer necessary. The same Holy Spirit that came to empower The Church at its birth is still here and hasn't changed. Spiritual language is simply another dimension of communion with God and His creation. The Holy Spirit doesn't speak through you. You speak, inspired. Understand this, spiritual language is voluntary participation with the Holy Spirit. Every biblical account of tongues was done through the cooperation of believers. But for the sceptic, even if you refuse to put away the religious unbelief; listens to Paul's words in 1 Corinthia

Commissioned- Entrusting someone with supervisory authority for a specific action. Matthew 28, MSG,CEV- God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. As a disciple, at what point do we embrace the fact that everything Jesus told His first disciples is just as much a reality for us today. When you’re open to His guidance, never underestimate what He'll do through you. So don't underestimate yourself. Here’s something we all need to take a closer look at as part of His body here and now; because the minute Jesus started His ministry, He stared with teaching, preaching, and healing. And when He’s commissioning His first disciples, He tells them to train everyone they meet to do everything He told them.And one of the first things He shows His disciples is teaching, preaching, and healing. But as we look at today’s church, we’re good at teaching and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom today, but what’s up with the healing part? Did Jesus change His mind? Did He change His will? Is healing just for certain people? Did God give the modern day church doctors to replace His power? Was it just for the early church? Did it go away with the last apostle? Was it just to prove who Jesus was? What is the Christians final authority of truth? So if we go strictly according to scripture, what’s it teach us concerning teaching, preaching, and healing? So why would He train His first disciples to live and minister a certain way,Then command them to train everyone they discipled to live the same way,Then He move back to Heaven and expect us to live a different way and not even say anything about it to His closest followers, not to mention something in His Word? Now as with everything pertaining to Jesus and His Kingdom, faith is the constant. Matthew 8:1-3,NKJV- When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I AM WILLING; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:7,NKJV- Jesus told the centurion, “I WILL come and heal him.” We’ve got to understand that repeatedly God reminds us that He shows favoritism or partiality to no one. The scripture also makes it clear that Jesus and His word doesn’t change. Matthew 8:14-17,NKJV- Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses. Remember, we’ve been commissioned, entrusted with supervisory authority for a specific action. And that action is to go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all things Jesus told them. So does that include healing? When we follow the life of Jesus, why do you think He healed everywhere He went? John 6:38,NKJV- For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. He even said, "if you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." And according to the leper and the centurion, Jesus said, “I am willing”And God repeatedly lets us know in His word that He shows favoritism or partiality to no one. Not to mention the fact that neither Jesus or His word change. This assignment isn’t just about telling people that Jesus offers humanity eternal life, it’s creating disciples that openly acknowledges our allegiance and reliance to Christ. I think it’s important we have talks like this because there are so many different views on the life and ministry of Jesus, especially healing, unfortunately to the degree that we leave it out of the gospel message. Matthew 8:13, Jesus tells the centurion, “As you have believed, so let it be down for you.” Remember, Jesus told us, "if you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." So the whole if it be God’s will thing is out. I believe that everything Jesus did with His life here was not only pointing to what He was about to accomplish for all on the cross, but showing what humanity, anointed by the Holy Spirit is supposed to look like. Remember Matthew, You go and teachthem to do everything I have told you. Matthew 8:23-26,NKJV- Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Then they land in the region

In its simplest form, prayer is fellowship with the Almighty, our Father. But at a closer look, it’s how a human, born of the spirit, navigates that world. It’s so much more than simply asking God for something. Remember, our English word prayer is used a number of ways in the Hebrew and Greek language: intercede, petition, fellowship, worship, meditate, communion. Over the years, something I've recognized is that many wonderfully born again Christians are simply not comfortable praying. Especially publicly. Here's just a few reasons: I'm not use to it. It doesn't make sense. I don't know what to say. I'll do it if things get to serious. Everybody's listening to me. What if I mess up? God knows my heart. Truth is, until we take some steps of faith and try, we'll always be uncomfortable with the unknown. And when it comes to the subject of prayer, it's going to be very difficult to be successful at something we're not sure of. So, wherever you're at currently in your faith journey, wouldn't you agree we should all stay open to what God has for us? This why we all need to continue growing in our prayer life. It's how we entered our new life in Christ. And it's how we're suppose to live our new lives in Him. Think about it, according to Hebrews we're told to come boldly to the throne of Grace. And because God created us to believe, faith has to be at the center of everything we do, especially in the area of prayer. Hebrews make it clear, it’s really the only way we can even come to God. According to Jesus, Moses, and Paul, it’s how we’re designed to live our new lives in Him. 2 Peter 1:12-13,MSG- Because the stakes are so high, even though you’re up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, I’m not going to let up for a minute in calling you to attention before it. This is the post to which I’ve been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders—and I’m sticking to it as long as I live. Until we get the faith part of our new life settled, when it comes to the things of the Spirit, like prayer, we will constantly question it’s realities. I cannot over emphasis maintaining a confident faith attitude in our prayer life. And make no mistake, our enemy knows this, and will be relentless at distracting us. This is why it is absolutely vital we have a clear understanding of the fact that we are 100% righteous in Christ. I believe Paul is giving us an excellent example of a proper faith attitude for an effective prayer life. 1 Thessalonians 5:16,NKJV- REJOICE always, PRAY without ceasing, in everything GIVE THANKS, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Philippians 4,MSG- Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!So don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. Think about it, if our prayer life is established on faith, then we should be rejoicing because faith already has the answer. And if we know we’ve already got the answer, then why wouldn’t we be thankful? Why wouldn’t we celebrate? Now just like this natural world exists according to natural law, the spirit world exists according to spiritual law, according to God’s divinely instituted order. In other words, His Kingdom. And when it comes to anything pertaining to God’s Kingdom, including a healthy, successful prayer life, faith is the only way! Remember, Paul tells us, “the same way we got in is how we live in this new world.” Mark 11:22-25,NKJV- “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” Remember, unforgiveness hinders faith. Unfortunately, out of habit and religious tradition, instead of accepting our God ordained instructions, too many of us continue going to God about things He told us to deal with. v.23, For assuredly, I say to you, WHOEVER says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but BELIEVES that those things HE SAYS will be done, he will have WHATEVER HE SAYS. “Believe you receive it” this is faith, a heartfelt conviction based on the fact that we trust what God says. v.24, Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask WHEN YOU PRAY, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Now I’m not talking about some kind of mind game where we’re pretending something’s real that is

Commissioned- Committing or entrusting someone with supervisory authority for a specific action.Matthew 28:16-20,NKJV- Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. This assignment isn’t just about telling people that Jesus offers humanity eternal life, but extending His Lordship through us, His Spirit empowered church. It’s creating disciples that openly acknowledge our allegiance to Christ.Embracing the fact that all the commands Jesus gave His first disciples are just as much a reality for us today. Remember, Jesus said, anyone who believes in Me and the works I do, they will do also. Then Paul adds to that by making this statement in Corinthians, “imitate me as I imitate Christ.” It’s important that we understand we’ve been commissioned by the Lord to carry on His mission, to do the things He did, to follow His example, to imitate Him. Now, as with everything pertaining to God, Heaven, eternity, etc... the principle that governs this new world of Christianity, is faith. And the foundation it all has to be established on is God’s word. In Acts 17, there’s a group of believers that received the word of God with all readiness, and search the scriptures daily to make sure what Paul was teaching was truth. 2 Peter 1, God has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them we may participate in the divine nature... One of the most foundational truths about the Bible is that it is a living, continual unfolding of the revelation of Christ to His redeemed. God knew that without inspired revelation directly from Him to His people, we would be left with just human intelligence. But if we'll allow it, His word will transform our soul. How we think. Change the way a person thinks, change the way they believe, change the way a person believes, changes their life. That’s what repentance really is. We have to yielding to His Divine guidance. And one of the most amazing things about God's plan is that He chose from the beginning to use everyday people like you and me to advance His Kingdom. He commissioned us, supervisory authority. When we're open to His guidance, never underestimate what He'll do through someone who will dare to believe Him. So don't underestimate yourself. God knew that because of free will, humanity would have to have a point of reference that truth stems from. Living Word, written word. And because we've been created to live by faith, faith is the only way the bible, a spiritual book can ever be comprehended by a human. Hebrews makes an interesting statement, the word they heard didn’t profit them, not being mixed with faith. Remember when Jesus appeared to His first disciples giving them final instructions, commissioning them? Some worshiped, but some doubted.I believe this is God’s point in Hebrews, we’ve got to add our God given faith to the things Jesus tells us. Let’s go back to His instructions in Matthew, teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you. It’s very important that we approach our discipleship with this kind of faith filled attitude, “all things are possible to him that believes.” So as we go back to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, one of the first things we see is Him getting baptized, showing every follower the way. Remember, He’s the first born.Luke tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God. He’s the first born. Matthew 3:16,NKJV- When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. Here’s the thing, why would Jesus have to have the Spirit come upon Him? Think about it, He’s the first human born of the Spirit. And just like He had to have the Spirit on Him to do the things of the Kingdom, so does everyone else born of the Spirit. And in chapter 4, right away the enemy comes to tempt Jesus. Hey, if satan tempted Jesus, don’t think for a second you’ll be exempt. Matthew 4:4,NLT- But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” A key point here is to understand Jesus didn’t start His ministry until after the Holy Spirit came on Him. And the first thing he says is, “repent because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Change what you’re doing. Then He starts His recruiting plan for His first disciples at the same time that He’s establishing Kingdom realities. Matthew 4:23-25,NLKV- And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, pre

Luke 6:47-48,NKJV- “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.” Everything pertaining to the Kingdom of God has to be established and supported by God’s word. It is the believers source of truth. And when it comes to an effective prayer life, it is our play book. And the longer I walk with the Lord, I am convinced that the most important reality of prayer is how we experience a divine relationship with our Father. It’s an avenue of fellowship with our King, it’s also a direct line of communication with the Holy Spirit living in each born-again believer. In its simplest form, prayer is fellowship with the Almighty, our Father. At the end of the day, it’s how a human, born of His world navigates that world. And by design, faith has to be a central part of the born again life. Hebrews actually tells us its how we’re to come to God. Until we get the faith part of our new life settled, when it comes to the things of the Spirit, which prayer is, we will constantly question it’s realities. A clearer understanding of a healthy prayer life is embracing that reality that it’s simply how a born again human navigates the Spirit world. Remember last week, we talked about Adam, what did he need as far as provision? So what do you think his prayer life was about? What if God’s main thing He’s looking for is exactly what He lost with Adam, and that is simply a relationship with His creation. The Apostle Paul takes us a little further by giving us some excellent insight into a better perspective on prayer. Think about it, he’s actually praying that we’ll be able to recognize things God has already ready done for us in the spirit. Ephesians 1, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who HAS BLESSEDus with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ... 2 Peter 1, His divine power HAS GIVEN to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which HAVE BEENgiven to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. This is where faith plays it’s most significant role in the life of a believer. Bottom line, we have to believe the things God tells us in His word, before we see anything happen. I cannot over emphasis maintaining a confident faith attitude in our prayer life. And make no mistake, our enemy knows this, and will be relentless at distracting us. This is why is is absolutely vital we have a clear understanding of the Love our Father has for us. Seriously, His love for each of us is so incredible, think about it, He took ALL SIN!!! God only sees us in our spirit, not in our sin, not even in our humanity. We need to become more Son conscious than sin conscious. We are the righteousness of God in Christ. The righteous are as bold as a lion, and we are to come boldly into His throne of grace. And sometimes for nothing more than to just fellowship. What if we put fellowship with our Father right in the middle of our daily routine? I can promise you this, the more we practice fellowship, the more His nature, His personality, His attitude becomes ours. But if we’re always looking to our intellectual, human nature, not to mention, this fallen world to confirm something that makes no sense to our humanity, then faith and prayer will always be that mysterious, if it be God’s will kind of thing we’re always a little unsure of. Remember, Jesus told us that as we practice putting the things of the Kingdom first, many of these worldly things we want will simply come our way. Here’s another key Kingdom principle concerning prayer:1 Thessalonians 5:16,NKJV- REJOICE always, PRAY without ceasing, in everything GIVE THANKS, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Rejoice, Pray, Be Thankful— This is the will of God. Even though all three of these are all very significant qualities of the Christian life, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Holy Spirit put prayer between rejoicing and thanksgiving. Think about it, if our prayer life is established on faith, then we should be rejoicing because faith already has the answer. And if we know we’ve already got the answer, then why wouldn’t we be thankful? I personally believe Paul is simply establishing the proper faith attitude for an effective prayer life. Going back to Matthew, I want us to take a closer look at Jesus’ response to His disciples about prayer. Now the very first, most important truth around this passage is that we have to read it, think on it, interpret it in light of our new covenant. Second, Jesus was giving us a model for prayer, not something that was to be recited from some religious practice. Matthew 6:9-13,NKJV- “In this manner, therefore, pray:

Commissioned- Committing or entrusting someone with supervisory authority for a specific action. Matthew 28:16-20,NKJV- Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. This assignment isn’t just about telling people that Jesus offers humanity eternal life, but extending His Lordship through the Spirit empowered church. It’s creating disciples that openly acknowledge our allegiance to Christ.Embracing the fact that all the commands Jesus gave His first disciples are just as much a reality for us today. In John’s gospel Jesus actually tells us that we can do the things He did. Then Paul adds to that by making this statement in Corinthians, “imitate me as I imitate Christ.” It’s important that we understand we’ve been commissioned by the Lord to carry on His mission, to do the things He did, to follow His example, to imitate Him. And for every believer, the word of God has to be our only source of truth. It’s a light for our path. It’s flawless and forever settled. Jesus tells us His word is Spirit and truth. Paul tells us the word shows us the difference between natural and spiritual. And will transform our soul. 2 Timothy 3:16-17,NKJV- All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. Here’s the first thing, even though it may be hard to accept, the Bible was written for the people of God. Yes, anyone can read the Bible and get information, but revelation (a line upon line uncovering) only comes to the born again. Something else to remember, the Bible is 100% a spiritual book. 1 Corinthians 2:12-14,NLT- “And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” The scriptures tell us the word is alive, flawless, perfect, forever settled, the word will enlighten our path, it framed the worlds. The written word reveals the living word. In the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses, Mt of transfiguration, “hear Him” The number one confirmation of the OT is how much Jesus quoted it. What we know as the NT started as letters being circulated from church to church. But was over 200 years before a complete collection of what we call the NT was compiled. Something we have to keep in mind is that at the birth of the church, they had the luxury of having eye witness accounts from those that walked the planet with Jesus. They had first hand, anointed information from those who walked with the Living Word. And as local churches were being launched around the world; God inspired holy men, by the Holy Spirit to write these prophetic letters that would become, the Lord’s Written Word to His creation. 2 Peter 1:19-21,NKJV- “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Keep in mind, every writer of one of these letters except Paul walked with Jesus on the planet. Paul was actually taken to Heaven and was taught by Jesus Himself. Now as these letters began to be circulated, copies had to be made which are known as manuscripts. A manuscript is an exact copy of an original.Not one word could be written from memory.Every word had to be referenced to exact placement of an original.Each writing had to be checked forward and backward.From these manuscripts a NT was compiled. From there we moved to a translation, which is taking the scriptures from one language to another. Which finally resulted in the versions we have today. A version is primarily translated thought. Here's one example of the thoroughness of detail to accuracy. KJV, completed in 1611. Ordered be King James of England.Took 54 men, 7 years. Now that Jesus (living word) lives in Heaven, by His Holy Spirit, He has left us His written word to build our lives on. John 1:1,14,NLT- “In the

So as I was asking God what to share with you I always want it to be inspiring, uplifting, and exciting. So I was putting this talk together and well, I’m not so sure this talk is those things. I believe it’s definitely needed, but it felt more like one of those “Pastoral” messages than a fun one. I mean I hope it inspires and challenges you to make some positive change because it sure has in my own life. So ask the Holy Spirit to open your hearts this morning and receive what He wants to speak to you!Intro – Phil. 1:6 - And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.Is Jesus back yet? Then we are not done, it is not over, we still have God, his promises, and hope. Things may not look good right now. Let’s be completely honest our world is a wreck, but we don’t walk by what we see, we walk by faith. This is not the end, the way things are cannot stay this way, because God is not done with us.Nehemiah is a real life reminder to never believe in your circumstances more than your Heavenly Father.God’s people (that’s us) were scattered (alone), broken, and felt helpless because the walls of their city were down, no protection from the outside world. Today many feel helpless and alone due to covid, fear, financial loss, burdens, life, etc.Anyone that wanted to could attack them, steal from them, and hurt them. Often how we feel like it’s one thing after another in life– not looking good for God’s people.Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t give up, aren’t’ you glad that God wasn’t done with them and He is never done with us. Their situation was about to change and so is yours because God WILL continue until His work in you is done! (pray)I’ve heard the story of Nehemiah told a several times. Great story. The walls of Jerusalem were destroyed for 152 years. God’s temple destroyed, city in ruins for 152 years. Nehemiah, not even there, hears about his people and how broken their lives are and in 52 days, unites a divided people and rebuilds the wall. He changes a world that was broken for 152 years in 52 days! I have heard this story preached several times, but I have never heard anyone talk about how they got there.Funny right – it’s what we do. We talk about our issues, our problems, our impossible and unfair circumstances, but we never talk about how we got there.We talk about how it makes us feel, we update our social medias, post a pic of how hurt or stressed we are, but never think about why we are facing what we are. We even ask God, why are you letting this happen to me, why aren’t you fixing this?Preachers talk about the brokenness of God’s people and how tragic it isLike God is letting better yet causing all of the bad happen to teach us a lesson?! NOThere is a reason we are going through what we are and its not because of God, the majority of the time it’s because of us. Ouch right!God’s people, as we have a bad habit of doing, find other things to worship instead of God.God is good, but this God is more fun (they were worshipping idols and neglecting all of God’s instruction)Sound familiar?? Our world today!Worship music is cool, but listening to morgan wallen is more fun.Honesty is cool, but lying gets me there faster.Having an amazing marriage is awesome, but sneaking around online or flirting with others makes me feel alive.Loving my neighbor is nice, but telling them how I truly feel is just easierAll things other than GodGod’s plan was and is protection – The wall that was destroyed – that means God had told them to build a wall, God showed them how to protect what was valuable.God’s plan is always for good – we just think we know better.Jer. 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – this was written to these exact people and us.They were slipping and God tried to warn them, tried to keep them safe, but they did it their way. Anyone ever do it your way?? Yeah we all doThe walls came down and the city fell. Not because God let it happen, but because God’s people made it happen by their choices. There are and will always be choices and consequences.This is the place we often find ourselves – broken, hurt, not sure how to move forward because our walls have crumbled and cities fallen(the situations we are in).For 152 years they just allowed bad things to continue happening to them.Pretty dumb right – why didn’t they just ask God to forgive them, change and make better decisions? – Why don’t you? I know we don’t really want to hear that because that puts the responsibility on usMany times we don’t change because we think we messed up to bad for God to use us!I don’t deserve someone or something amazing so ill just settle for average. We are good at settling for whatever life throws at us. This isn’t my passion, but it’s a paycheck so it’ll do, we don’t really get along but I don’t want to be alone

Prayer is a subject of great debate among Christians, driven by opinion, religious tradition, experiences, and emotion. Way to often considered an optional, or something we turn to in difficult situations. But what is it, really? Bottom line, as with every other reality concerning the realities of God’s world, there’s only one true source to go to and that’s His word. Luke 6:47-48,NKJV- “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.” And the longer I walk with the Lord, I am convinced that the most important reality of prayer is how we experience a divine relationship with our Father. It’s an avenue of fellowship with our King, and a direct line of communication with the Holy Spirit living in each born-again believer. In its simplest form, prayer is fellowship with our creator, the Almighty, our Father. At the end of the day, it’s how a human, born of His world navigates that world. Let’s start with this, the word prayer is used a number of ways in the Hebrew and Greek language: intercede, petition, fellowship, worship, meditate, communion. And by design, if faith isn’t part of our life, when it comes to the things of the Spirit, which prayer is, it will be an area we’ll stay uncomfortable with as long as we constantly question it’s realities, and refuse to make it a part of your life. Let’s look at prayer from a natural perspective for a second, maybe from the viewpoint of a parent and a child; When children are young and immature, their primary communication is getting their needs met. But as they grow and mature, the relationship dynamic changes to one more of fellowship. Seriously, just like our natural communication has to be developed, spiritual communication is no different. 1 Corinthians 13:11,NKJV- When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. A clearer understanding of a healthy prayer life is embracing the reality that it’s simply how a born again human navigates the Spirit world. And as I said earlier, the most significant aspect of quality prayer is centered around our relationship with our Father. In Jesus’ sermon on the mount He begins laying out Kingdom realities, and prayer is one of those realities He highlights. And one of His most challenging statements is when He tells us to pray, “God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Matthew 6:31-33,NKJV- Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Keep in mind, a big part of this conversation is in response to His disciples asking Him to teach them how to pray. According to Jesus, if we’re seeking His Kingdom, the things will simply be added to us. For example, if we look at what Jesus is saying through the book of Genesis, it becomes very clear that God’s intention from the beginning is to be El Shaddai for all His people. Think about Adam, what did he need as far as provision? So what do you think his prayer life was about? What if God’s main thing He’s looking for is exactly what He lost with Adam, and that is simply a relationship with His creation. The Apostle Paul takes us a little further in Ephesians by giving us some excellent insight into some of the things we should be praying about. That God give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. That you may know what is the hope of His calling. That you walk in the riches of the glory of His inheritance. That you operate in the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe. Ephesians 1:20-23,NKJV- ...according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Notice the Holy Spirit led Paul to pray that they would be able to recognize what He’s already done. In that same chapter He also says this, The Lord Jesus Christ, HAS BLESSED us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ... Peter adds that God has given usexceedingly great and precious promises, that through these we may be partakers of His divine nature. In order for this to happen we’ve got to be more God inside minded. Consistently practicing His presence. Make it a lif

1 Corinthians 13:4-8,NLT- Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, boastful, proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. According to the New Testament, “love always wins” but if you think for even a second that our carnal, un-renewed human nature is simply going to walk in love because Jesus tells us to, make no mistake, there’s going to be a battle. Last week we talked about how human nature wars against our born-again nature. You see, the good fight of faith, many times is that war that wages in our soul. 2 Corinthians 10, We do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not worldly. We have divine power to demolish strongholds, and take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. Galatians tells us that for the born again, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Remember our faith confession from last week? “Lord, I commit to living a life of love. To be passionate and surrender excuses. I refuse to do nothing!” Ultimately, love has to be expressed. This is why we’re always saying, love is a decision, not an emotion. Unfortunately, a decision to do nothing is still a decision. And deciding to do nothing only make our influence weaker. 1 John 4, The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love.” John 13:34-35,NLT- “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Would God lead you to someone that He knows needs a touch of His unconditional love, specifically from you? What if it’s the one you’ve concluded doesn’t deserve it? You know, the one that did something specifically to you... Tell me love isn’t a battlefield! 1 Peter 4:8,AMP- Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins, it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others. MSG- Most of all love each other as if your life depends on it. Jesus didn’t wait for us to measure up, He didn’t wait until we got our lives straightened out, He refused to hold all our sins and failures against us. He started with love. This is why we repeatedly see commands throughout the NT telling us, above all things put on love. Remember, love isn’t an emotion, it’s a decision. At some point, those of us that confess to belong to Jesus have to stop assuming someone else will make sure the world encounters God’s love. God’s plan for every member of His body is for each of us to be an expression of Him with those He sends our way, or He sends us to them. And it starts with each of us, right inside these four walls. John 13:35,MSG- This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other. Thunk about it, it was Jesus who said, we would know a tree by its fruit. Psalm 15 says, He honors the Lord who holds to his own hurt and doesn’t change. In other words, keeps his word even when it hurts. He wants His love, His mercy, His nature, flowing through us. And He will grace us to be the person He knows we can be. John 17:21,NLT- I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. At the end of the day, there's always going to be someone He's leading us to, that's away from Him. Someone hurting or maybe confused about Him. Just like when Jesus showed up in people's life and said, "I've come that you may have life" This is why God graces us, gifts us, anoints us to introduce someone else to this new life in Him. Listen to how Paul encouraged, even challenged Timothy to embrace those gifts. 1 Timothy 4:14-15,AMP- Do not neglect the gift which is in you, that special inward endowment which was directly imparted to you by the Holy Spirit... Practice and cultivate, meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them as your ministry so that your progress may be evident to everybody. I believe he’s saying? "God, use me to be an expression of You every where I go." I truly believe that any of us willing to walk closer with Jesus, acknowledge His nature in us, embrace our giftings, it’s going to evident toward other people. Listen to Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 4, Now that you’re learning the truth about Jesus, it’s time to let go of your old nature. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God, righteous and holy. As Christians, as part of His body, Jesus is counting on us influencing those along our journey. Thing about it, someone has to take the high road. Someone has to go first. This is why

“We are strong, no one can tell us we are wrong. Searching our hearts for so long, knowing, love is a battlefield.” According to the NT, “love always wins” but if you think for even a second that our carnal, un-renewed human nature is simply going to walk in love because Jesus tells us to, make no mistake, there’s going to be a battle. Human nature in and of itself is selfish. Think about it, we think self preservation first, until what? Someone comes into our life that matters. Until love shows up. Paul actually tells us that human nature wars against our born-again nature. You see, fighting the good fight of faith, that war that wages in our soul is where the battle is won or lost. According to John, God is love. This is why love always wins, but it’s also why our enemy is relentless against us understanding these truths. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5,NIV- For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Peter reinforces the truth, reminding us that this world isn’t our home. And human nature constantly wages war against the soul of the born again. James 4:1,MSG- Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. Galatians tells us, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. So I’ve got us a confession of faith that hopefully will help us become better stewards of a little God inspired love. “Lord, I commit to living a life of love. To be passionate and surrender excuses. I refuse to do nothing!” Knowing that love can be battle. Let’s ask ourselves this, am I willing to be part of the solution? Remember what Jesus told us, if we see Him, we see the Father. And the Father is love, so if we keep our eyes on Jesus, following Him, what do you think you’re going to see? And for those that don’t think love is a battlefield, that sometimes, it’s literally a war in our soul, you try and stop judging the one you’ve already concluded that their failures are way worse than yours. I’m not talking about any of this, sooth our conscious with this, love’m from a distance junk. On purpose, extend some God love to that person. This might mean that we’ve got to let Jesus set us free from ourselves.Make no mistake about this subject, love is costly. Just ask Jesus. John 3:16,CEV- “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who has faith in Him will have eternal life and never really die.” Remember, we’re made in His image and likeness. And His likeness is love. In our last series we talked about being light, but in that same story in Matthew, Jesus said this, “We are the salt of the earth, but if it loses it’s flavor, it’s good for nothing.” Loving people adds a little seasoning, a little flavor to their life. Something Tracy has told me before is, “It’s easy to love the lovable.” But what about the one you know that you’ve concluded doesn’t deserve it? You know, the one that did something specifically to you... right? Tell me love isn’t a battlefield!! 1 Corinthians 3:4-8,NLT- Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, boastful, proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love always wins! Are you ready for this? When we show love, we’re showing others who God really is. 1 John 4:8,MSG- “My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love.” Would God lead you to someone that He knows needs a touch of His unconditional love, specifically from you? And you don’t think love is a battlefield? You really want to find our where your faith is? Let’s make this our prayer today, “God use me to be an expression of You.” I want you to listen to these prophetic words from Jesus that I personally believes should be part of the great commission. Luke 4:18-19,NKJV- “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor

Matthew 5:13-16,MSG- Let me tell you why you are here... You’re here to be light... God is not a secret to be kept...If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—SHINE!! Here’s the thing, being light comes from an assurance that God will be exactly who and what He told us He would. So if he says, shine, shine. What every believer has to come to terms with is the fact that God is absolutely sending each of us into this broken, corrupt, confused, deceived world for one reason!! Don’t think I’m going to hide you under something, I’m putting your out there to shine. Daniel is one of my favorite example of this. Especially right now, with the climate of our world. Daniel 1:6-7,NKJV- “Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.” Babylon wanted to erase all trace of God from the earth. This is where God inspired hope comes in. Remember, hope is this fixed, confident expectation. And according to Romans, we are to be bubbling over with this kind hope. This is why the book of Hebrews reinforces the reality that our faith is substance, assurance, the confirmation of the things we HOPE for. Here’s one thing for certain, the more we allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us, the brighter our hope, our confidence in Him shines. Understand, God is sending each of us into the world, but we will never change the world being conformed to it. Paul quoting the prophet Isaiah says, “Come out from among them a be separate” (Remember Moses) Daniel 6, King Darius places Daniel over all the nations affairs because God gave Daniel an excellent spirit. But all the corrupt politicians tried setting a trap for Daniel. They changed the laws of the land. Please understand, satan hasn’t changed, he still wants desperately to erase all trace of God. And in the natural it all looked like their plan worked. They threw Daniel in with the lions. Everybody say, “But God!” There’s not one time in scripture where there’s great victory without great challenge. So, hold fast your confession of hope! Because we are light! The enemy knows all he’s got to do is shake our feelings just a little, so lets prove him wrong. 2 Corinthians 3:4-5,CEV- “We are sure about all this. Christ makes us sure in the very presence of God. We don't have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all we do.” Zechariah 4:6,NKJV- So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.” Stop worrying about what’s going on around you. Stop looking at the things that are seen, and get focused on the things that are unseen. Hebrews 2, paraphrase, It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here. He made us like Him with the brightness of Eden; Then He put us in charge of His entire handcrafted world. Ephesians 2, Because of His great love for us He made us alive together with Christ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 2 Peter 1:3-4,NKJV- His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. Until we embrace this revelation concerning who we are, this world we’ve been born into and the realities of it will remain some mysterious, out of reach idea that’s really not for us to understand. From the beginning, God’s original assignment to Adam is still His plan; “I’ve given you dominion over all the earth.” Understand, we’re not just citizens of Heaven, we’re heirs to the Kingdom, appointed ambassadors of our King, assigned here to establish the very same dominion our Father gave to Adam. Empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is why Peter tells us in the book of Acts, when the Holy Spirit shows up and infills the believers, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.” Joel, The day of the Lord is upon you. Ahead of you lies a land as beautiful as Eden.The Lord says, Turn to Me, give Me your hearts, for I am merciful and compassionate, filled with unfailing love. Look, I’m sending you new wine and oil, enough to satisfy. Don’t be afraid. Instead be glad and rejoice in your God! I will restore all that was lost, stolen, or destroyed. And you will know that I am the Lord you God. Isaiah 43, paraphrase, Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon, and bring your enemies dow

Matthew 5:13-16,MSG- Let me tell you why you are here... You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—SHINE!! Jesus says this in John’s gospel, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me walks in that light." I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but light never tries to be light. If I make you light-bearers, you didn't think I would hide you under a bucket, did you? This is why our hope has to stay fixed on Him. Here’s the thing, if you're born again, you are light, and people will be drawn to it. God designed it this way because He created humanity. He knows that in the heart of every human lies the desire to be connected to Jesus, even if they don't realize it yet. And regardless of your style, or personality, the power of the gospel will work through anyone who will trust in it more than their own abilities. So be light. And I really think the fire that keeps our light burning is God inspired hope. Vines dictionary, HOPE- a favorable, fixed, confident expectation. The happy anticipation of good. Think about it, what if you were overflowing with hope? I know I would much rather hang around those kind of people. Hebrews 10:23-25,NKJV- Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Remember, hope is this fixed, confident, expectation. But I can’t help but wonder of there are some who may have lost their hope, either in the middle of the storm, or for some because things have gotten nice and comfortable. Maybe this is why in v.35 the writer reminds us to hold fast our confidence. Why God? Because your My light in this dark world. And your hope in Me keeps your light burning. Remember what Jesus told us in Matthew, If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—SHINE!! For the born again, this kind of hope, or should we say expectation, allows us to see into God’s world. After all, He is the God of hope. Romans 15:13,AMP- May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing, through the experience of your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. Story about a survivor of a shipwreck. He found himself stranded on some small island. After several weeks, discouragement set in. Heaven seemed silent and he was on the verge of giving up. As he set there distraught and broken, seemingly hopeless, a small thunderstorm rolled through and lightening struck the roof of his thatch hut and it caught fire. As he sat on the beach crying a coast guard boat pulled on to the beach."How did you find me?""We saw the smoke from the fire you built signaling for help.” Here’s the thing, even when it looks its worst, never forfeit your hope. This is why it’s so important to have people around you that will encourage you. God asked Abraham, is anything to hard for the Lord? Let this truth settle into your thinking, we are people of God. And of all people, we should be the ones overflowing with a confident anticipation of good. Bubbling over with God inspired hope. What if we were a little more intentional about helping one another stir up a little confident anticipation that God is still the Almighty. Here’s one thing for certain, the more we allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us, the brighter our hope, our confidence in Him shines. A major key to keeping this kind of God inspired hope up in our lives is by allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire our thinking. Remember what Jesus told us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me walks in that light." In Matthew and Luke, Jesus said, “The light of the body is the eye, and if the eye is single, the whole body will be full of light.” Our challenge today is that we’re so double, triple, minded. Seriously, who knows how bombarded our minds really are with everything but Him. This is why Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4, “Stop going along with the empty-headed, mindless crowd.” We have to make room in our thinking for some God inspired hope. After all, it’s only God inspired hope that faith can actually be the substance of according to Hebrews 11. Romans 4 reminds us that when everything was hopeless, Abraham believed God anyway, choosing to live his life solely on what God told him. This is why He inspire us to be transformed. To get our expectations up. Seriously, today’s the day the Lord

Matthew 28:16-20,NKJV- Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Commissioned- Committing or entrusting someone with supervisory authority for a specific action. This assignment isn’t just about telling people that Jesus offers humanity eternal life, but extending His Lordship to all of humanity through the Spirit empowered church. Creating disciples that openly acknowledges our allegiance to Christ. Matthew 4:23-25,NLKV- And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Chapters 5-7 is what’s called the sermon on the mount. He covers beatitudes, that we’re salt and light, that He’s the fulfillment of the OT law, deals with issues of the heart, love your enemies, don’t worry, don’t judge, put the Kingdom first, and lastly, build your life on everything He says. And what’s the first thing He does when He finishes preaching again? He start healing people. Matthew 8:1-3,NKJV- When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I AM WILLING; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. I think it’s important we have talks like this because there are so many different views on the subject of healing, unfortunately to the degree that we leave it out of the gospel message. Matthew 4:23,NLKV- And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Matthew 8:7, Jesus responding to the centurion said, “I WILL come and heal him.” v.13, Jesus tells the centurion, “As you have believed, so let it be down for you.” Heres a very important point, God repeatedly reminds us that He shows favoritism or partiality to no one. The scripture also makes it clear that neither Jesus or His word change. Matthew 8:14-17,NKJV- Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses. Commissioned- Committing or entrusting someone with supervisory authority for a specific action. All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Therefore go make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. So why would Jesus train His first disciples to live and minister a certain way,Then command them to train everyone they discipled to live the same way,Then move back to Heaven and expect us to live a different way and not even say anything about it to His closest followers, not to mention something in His Word? When we study the life and ministry of Jesus, why do you think He healed everywhere He went? John 6:38,NKJV- For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. He even said, "if you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." I believe that everything Jesus did with His life here was not only pointing to what He was about to accomplish for all on the cross, but showing what humanity, anointed by the Holy Spirit is supposed to look like.Remember Matthew, You go and teach them to observe all things I’ve commanded you.” Matthew 8:23-26,NKJV- Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. Then they land in the region of the Gadarenes and some demon possess men met Jesus and said, “have you come to torture us before

Keep in mind, one of our major points from this talk is our willingness and faithfulness here and now, because it does influence our life in the next dispensation. According to Jesus, Paul, James, Peter, there is reward for what we do here. This is part of what Jesus was referring to when He said, “Lay up for yourselves treasure in Heaven.” We have to understand, for the born again, there’s more to life than humanity. Think about this, which way of life is more of a reality to you right now? Natural or spiritual? Here’s the deal, living a spiritual life only happens one way. Living spiritual, living a life of faith is very intentional. Remember Paul’s words, “The same way you received Christ, walk in Him.” And that way is faith. Hebrews 11:1,MSG- The fundamental fact of our existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. And I know statements like this sounds crazy, but make no mistake, we’re designed to live by faith, and it won’t happen on accident. A key to a life of faith is keeping our focus on the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus knows all to well the dangers of vision drift. Hebrews 2:1,MSG- It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. Remember last week out of Hebrews we talk about not losing our confidence. Real faith simply chooses to accept that when God tells us something, we accept Him at His word. What if the reason the Bible teaches us that we’re to live by faith, is because God designed our born-again lives to function a different way? As a matter of fact, faith is the only way into His Kingdom. This why Jesus talked about the Kingdom more than any other subject, to the degree that He laid out in detail exactly how it functions this side of Heaven. And this is why he makes this radical statement in Matthew. Matthew 6:33,NLT- Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. MSG, Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. This chapter is right in the middle of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, covering serving, prayer, fasting, laying up treasure in Heaven, not worrying, but here’s one point I want to highlight: Matthew 6:22-23,NLT- Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! This is why its so important the born again has firm grip on the realities of the Kingdom of Heaven. John 17:15-18,NKJV- “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” Being sent like Jesus, starts with a willing and faithful heart. Isaiah 1:19,NKJV- “If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;” Make no mistake, willing and faithful to an unseen world demands faith. Hebrews 6 reminds us that we receive God’s promises through faith and patience. Hebrews 11 tells us that all those that are in the hall of fame of faith obtained their promises through faith. And this is why Paul repeatedly reminds us about living by faith. And in the world we live in today, much of society considers this way of living a little unrealistic, imaginary, according to Paul, foolish. But according to Jesus, the world has eyes but can’t see, ears but can’t hear, because their hearts are hard. The god of this world has blinded them. But God reveals His truth to our spirit. This means we have to stop letting the clutter of everything going on around us distract us. Remember, a faith life is very intentional. I believe God wants to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we imagination, so that people will see us and say, “that had to be God working in their life.” But we’ve got to get this one issue settled, for all of us that are born again, according to Jesus we’re no longer of this world. We’re built to live a different way, the faith way. Paul says, “It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.” 2 Corinthians 5:7,AMP- We walk by faith, not by sight, living our lives in a manner consistent with our CONFIDENT BELIEF IN GOD’S PROMISES. Here’s the deal, actually living this kind of life will require that we become more God dependent

Matthew 28:16-20,NKJV- Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Commissioned- Committing or entrusting someone with supervisory authority for a specific action. This assignment isn’t just about telling people that Jesus offers humanity eternal life, but extending His Lordship to all of humanity through the Spirit empowered church. Creating disciples that openly acknowledges our allegiance to Christ. Mark 16:14-20,NKJV- Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. Instruct all the new disciples in the practice of all that I commanded you. Jesus tells us in John that the things he did, we are to do. Paul actually tells us in Corinthians, “imitate me as I imitate Christ.” So understand that we’ve been commissioned by the Lord to carry on His mission, to do the things He did, to imitate Him will require a higher level of faith and understanding.And for every believer, the word of God has to be our only source of truth. It’s a light for our path. It’s flawless and forever settled. Jesus told us His word is Spirit and truth. Paul tells us that the word is what transforms our soul, and Hebrews lets us know that it’s God’s word that shows us the difference between natural and spiritual. 2 Timothy 3:16-17,NKJV- All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, one of the first things we see is Him getting baptized, showing every follower the way. Remember, He’s the first born. Matthew 3:16,NKJV- When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. Here’s the thing, why would Jesus have to have the Spirit come upon Him? Think about it, He’s the first human born of the Spirit. And just like He had to have the Spirit on Him to do the things of the Kingdom, so do the rest of us born of the Spirit. And in chapter 4, right away the enemy comes to tempt Jesus. Hey, if satan tempted Jesus, don’t think for a second you’ll be exempt. Matthew 4:4,NLT- But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” A key point here is to understand Jesus didn’t start His ministry until after the Holy Spirit came on Him. And the first thing he says is, “repent because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Then He starts His recruiting plan for His first disciples. Matthew 4:23-25,NLKV- And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Chapters 5-7 is what’s called the sermon on the mount. He covers beatitudes, that we’re salt and light, that He’s the fulfillment of the OT law, deals with issues of the heart, love your enemies, don’t worry, don’t judge, put the Kingdom first, and lastly, build your life on everything He says. And the first thing He does when He finishes preaching is start healing people. Matthew 8:1-3,NKJV- When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Th

Revelation 22:12,NKJV- “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” Matthew 16, Jesus says He going to return in the glory of the Father and He will reward each one according to His works. 1 Corinthians 3, paraphrase, The work of each one will be shown for what it is, for the day of Christ will reveal it, and if his efforts survive, he will get his reward. Here’s the wake up call, our willingness and faithfulness here and now, not only effect our reward from Jesus, but it has significant influence in our life in the next dispensation. This means as a new creation in Christ, we’ve got to be open to a completely new way of living that is not limited to just the here and now. Philippians 3, Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine. For I have told you often before, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. And they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of Heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. So while we’re here let’s remember Jesus’ instructions occupy. And even though we’re talking about being rewarded for our work we do for the kingdom, and make no mistake our Father wants to reward us, He wants to distinguish you! (Gideon) Our motives should never be the reward. Think about this, which way of life is more of a reality to you right now? Natural or spiritual? Here’s the deal, living a spiritual life only happens one way. Colossians 2:6,AMP- “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him.” And a person only receives Christ one way, by faith. And living a life of faith doesn’t automatically happen anymore than our natural living happens. Hebrews 10:35-38, 11:1,NKJV- Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Living spiritual, living a life of faith is very intentional. Remember Paul’s words, “The same way you received Christ, walk in Him.” And that way is faith. Faith- Strong’s concordance, persuasion, confident, belief, trust, reliance. Hebrews 11:1,NLT- Faith is the reality of what we can’t see. MSG, The fundamental fact of our existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. And I get it, just listening to a statement like this sounds crazy, right... Faith is the reality, our handle on what we can’t see. Basically, according to Dr. Strong, living by faith is living by this divinely inspired belief, this trust, it’s a confident reliance on everything God says. Keep in mind, we’re designed to live by faith, and it won’t happen on accident. You see, vision drift is real thing, and I honestly believe this is the primary reason Jesus asked, when I return, will I really find faith on the earth? Hebrews 2:1,MSG- It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. Listen to Isaiah instructions, “Keep your mind stayed in Him.” To the degree that what God says becomes more of a reality than anything in this natural world. Romans 8:6,NLT- So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Seriously, we’re going to be thinking about something; why not think on the things God says about us? Remember, “I’m coming quickly” A real life of faith isn’t trying to get God to do something, but actually discovering and enforcing a reality God has already created. This is why Ephesians teaches us to pray, Lord, open the eyes of my soul so I can comprehend what you’ve already done for us. The challenge is growing to the place where our soul no longer relies on this physical realm to confirm spiritual realities. Truth is, the biggest thing standing between an obstacle and an opportunity is an attitude. The right attitude keeps things in the right perspective. It's all in how you see something. Think about it, it’s our attitude that determines our approach to any situation. Let’s take on the attitude that we're just one step of faith away from victory, promotion, breakthrough. Let’s keep a faith attitude. The prophet Isaiah said, Wrap your mind around this. I am GOD, and from the very beginning telling you what the ending will be. Assuring you, I’m with you. Assuring you I’ll do exactly what I set out to do. I’ve said it, and I’ll most certainly do it. Real faith simply chooses to accept that when God tells us something, we accept Him at His word. Our biggest battle isn’t really the devil, it’s our re

“I thought 2020 would be the year I get everything I want. Now I know 2020 is the year I appreciate everything I have.” What if we all had a little more of this kind of attitude as we take on the new year? Here’s something else to keep mind as we step into a new year, God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble. One thing I’ve discovered over the years is that willing and faithful are always associated with humility. So our prayer is that this talk inspires our thinking, inspires our faith, challenges every one of us to embrace the reality that our lives here and now are not all there is to a life in God. Seriously, get this settled in your thinking, our eternity is underway right now. And while we’re still here, each of has an assignment for the Lord. Remember, everything around our new talk has to be centered around this truth, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL NEVER BE BASED ON WHAT WE DO, OUR REWARD IS. As we move into another year, let’s help each other refocus our attitudes, refocus our faith, be an encourager, and according to Jesus, “OCCUPY TILL HE RETURNS.” Another translation of this word occupy is to do business till I get back.I really believe this is a word from the Lord for us for 2021! This statement Jesus made, “OCCUPY TILL HE RETURNS.” is from the parable in Luke about the minas. Revelation 5 tells us that Christ has made us kings and priest, and we shall reign on the earth. Take a second, you ever think about what kind of role the next chapter of your life will be? Remember, Jesus makes it very clear that He’s got something wonderful in store for all those willing and faithful. Revelation 22:12,NKJV- “And behold, I am coming quickly, and MY REWARD IS WITH ME, to give to every one according to his work.” What I’ve discovered is that Jesus actually talks about reward a lot, so maybe we should give a little more consideration to this reality. 1 Corinthians 3, paraphrase, The work of each one will be shown for what it is, for the day of Christ will reveal it, and if his efforts survive, he will get his reward. Here’s the wake up call, our willingness and faithfulness here and now has significant influence in our life in the next dispensation. Moody was right, what we do here and now is simply training for our next chapter. Luke 16, Abraham told the rich man, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. Stop thinking simply from this 3 dimensional world. You are a brand new species of being. Made in the image of your Father. Corinthians 2, We have received God’s Spirit, so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things we aren’t using words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them, they can’t understand it. Make no mistake, embracing the reality that we are these brand new creations in Christ. We’re living, thinking, free willed spirit beings, made in Christ’s image. So thinking other dimensional demands transformation of the born again soul. Here’s a major key, the moment someone gives their life to Christ and becomes this new spirit being, it comes with an assignment. Remember, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL NEVER BE BASED ON WHAT WE DO, OUR REWARD IS. Don’t let anyone deceive you, people that want nothing more from Jesus than to escape hell, will not be in the same class as those willing and faithful in serving Jesus. Listen very carefully, God is not a man that He can lie, and He does not change, His ways and His word are forever settled. When we follow Jesus through the gospels, the thing He talks about more than anything was the Kingdom of Heaven. A major part of His assignment was making access to His Kingdom for the born again. Restoring what Adam gave away to satan. Making us heirs to the Kingdom. And according to Paul, as long as the heir remains a child, he’s no different than a slave. Even though he’s master of it all. And Matthew 6, Jesus goes into great detail about how things in His Kingdom function. Matthew 6:1,3-4,6,16-18,NKJV- Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. v.3, But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. Later in this same chapter Jesus makes this radical statement, Don’t lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. v.4, And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assure

As I grow in my own relationship with Jesus, one thing that’s becoming more and more prevalent is my understanding of spiritual clarity. You look at every generation of people throughout the Bible and you’ll see that God is always looking for that group He can work through supernaturally. And as we dig into things, at the top of the list has to be us making our minds up about the fact that God and His word never change. Malachi 3:6, I am the Lord, I do not change. Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Psalm 18:30,AMP- “As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him.” MSG, “What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every GOD direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him Makes it.” The thing about a spiritual life, just like our human life, it has to be developed. But one big difference is that spiritual living requires faith to access. Which means that each of us will have to make ourselves available to His word and His Spirit in order to access a world we can’t see. For example, right now would you say you’re a spiritual person? Are spiritual realities a consistent part of your life? How would you describe your spiritual clarity? 1 Corinthians 2:10-14,NLT- It was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Make no mistake, embracing the reality that we are living, thinking, free willed spirit beings will absolutely require some spiritual clarity. And it starts with the understanding that giving our lives to Jesus means we’ve become a new creation, a new type of being. 2 Corinthians 5:17,NLT- “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a NEW LIFE has begun!” And the God ordained foundation of our new spiritual life is His word. God sent us His word to show us our new life in Him. He makes it very clear that’s what our new lives are to be built on. I cannot stress enough the importance of a healthy, consistent relationship with your bible. Truth is, the Bible is how our intelligence learns to recognize His voice, His leading, His nature. It truly is the window, not just into the spirit world, but more specifically, His Kingdom. But without a foundation in God's word, we only have human reasoning to resort to. Truth is, the unrenewed soul will always be at the mercy of human reasoning. But, if we're willing to grow, according to Proverbs, God's Spirit will enlighten our spirit to spiritual realities. On the other hand, if we continue refusing to take the time to renew our thinking to what God is saying, putting spiritual realities first will always be challenging. Let's keep this in mind, since "old things are gone" God will be communicating, He'll be leading our born-again spirit, not our intelligence or our emotions. Romans 8:16 actually tells us that the Holy Spirit will bear witness, communicate, lead our spirit. Which means that our mind is going to have to process all that. It’s why the mind has to be renewed. So remember, it's God's word that gives us clarity between the natural and the spiritual. It's His word that enlightens our path, and His Spirit leads by it. John 6:63,NLT- The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. As we continue our spiritual development we will actually come to the place where our spirits will see things our intelligence still has to catch up with. Think about it, that's how it is with God's word, there'll be things we'll read and our intelligence doesn't comprehend, but in our spirit, by faith we choose to accept it as truth. This is why God created us and instructs us that we are to live by faith, not intelligence. But because our intelligence processes everything we do, it has to be transformed in order for us to get better at recognizing spiritual realities. The reason the Holy Spirit leads the way He does is because we are free will creations. And as we mature in Christ, He knows we're going to make more and more Christ-like decisions. He knows as we continue our spiritual maturity that we'll make the same choices He would. The spiritual life we've been given all hinges on our transfo

When it comes to our life in God, He never gives us the complete picture because He created us to be people of faith and if He were to give us every detail, then no faith is needed. This is why Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Being able to live this way comes out of time with God and His word. It’s the things God promise us that develop the faith that is in us. Here’s one of God promises that will help, He told us that if we’re willing and obedient we would enjoy the good of the land. So our prayer is that this talk inspires our thinking, inspires our faith, to move past thinking that our lives here and now is all there is to a life in God. Seriously, this is the shortest thing a believer will ever do. So as we say goodbye to 2020! Let’s help each other refocus our attitudes, refocus our faith and according to Jesus, “OCCUPY TILL HE RETURNS.” Listen to the apostle Paul, he makes it very clear that we are to redeem the time we have here because the days are evil. “Joshua addressed the People of Israel: “How long are you going to sit around, putting off taking possession of the land that GOD, has given you?” So what do say? Let’s make 2021 the year we’re more about the Master”s work. After all, this portion of what we call life is going by quicker than any of us give thought to. Jesus makes it very clear that He’s got something wonderful in store for all those willing and faithful. Revelation 22:12,NKJV- “And behold, I am coming quickly, and MY REWARD IS WITH ME, to give to every one according to his work.” I truly believe 2020 was a wake up call for God’s people. Statements like, “Behold, I’m coming quickly” should take on a fresh meaning for us all. And I know in my own life, a time of reward from the Lord wasn’t always something I gave much consideration to. But the more I began to dig into this subject, there more revelation God was giving me on this subject. Jesus actually talks about reward a lot, so maybe we should give a little more consideration to this reality. 1 Corinthians 3:13-14,AMP- The work of each one will become plainly, openly known (shown for what it is); for the day of Christ will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done. If the work which any person has built on this Foundation, any product of his efforts whatever survives, he will get his reward. Here’s the wake up call, our willingness and faithfulness here and now has significant influence in our life in the next dimension. Here’s the revelation every born again has got to come to terms with, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL NEVER BE BASED ON WHAT WE DO, OUR REWARD IS. A big part of our reward is absolutely connected to our position in the Kingdom of Heaven. Moody was right, what we do here and now is simply training for our next chapter. Revelation 5 tells us that Christ has made us kings and priest, and we shall reign on the earth. Take a second, you ever think about what kind of role the next chapter of your life will be? (Parable of minas in Luke) God is counting on those that have accepted this truth and are making themselves available for it, embracing the reality that we’re actually in training right now. Stop thinking simply from this 3 dimensional world. You are a brand new species of being. Made in the image of your Father. Remember, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL NEVER BE BASED ON WHAT WE DO, OUR REWARD IS. Don’t think for a second the people that want nothing more from Jesus than to escape hell are going to be in the same class as those willing and faithful in serving Jesus. Listen very carefully, God is not a man that He can lie, and He does not change, His ways and His word are forever settled. The Kingdom of God is not a democracy. And without a doubt, God is not a socialist! The fact is, the more Jesus can trust you with this life, the more He will entrust you with in the next dispensation. When we follow Jesus through the gospels, the thing He talks about more than anything was the Kingdom of Heaven. (150 references in the gospels) The crazy thing is, the majority of todays church gives little consideration to the things of the Kingdom. But here’s something we should consider, Jesus talked about it so much that some His closest disciples tried securing their positions right then. Matthew 20:20-23,NKJV- “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am b

Isaiah 9:6,NKJV-“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And HIS NAME will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus told us that He would do whatever we ask in His name, He will do anything in His name, that every knee will bow at His name. There’s no other name under heaven by which man can be saved. Mark 16:17-18,NKJV- “And these signs will follow those who believe: IN MY NAME they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Jesus was God’s plan from the beginning, He is the Lamb slain before the foundations of the world. So knowing the power of free will, God wanted a family that would willingly choose Him. This is why Christmas still remains our greatest celebration we take part in, so lets make sure Christ stays at the center of our celebrating. But without a doubt, CELEBRATE! Remember, the whole reason Jesus came to the planet was for us to have a life with Him beyond humanity. To have and enjoy the good life in Christ with the blessed assurance of eternal life. And even if the world around us drifts further away from the real reason we celebrate Christmas, let’s make sure we help each other, not only acknowledge but share what Jesus did for us. Think about it, Jesus wants to use your style, your personality, and as long as we're connected to Him, He said He would make us stand out like a city on a hill. Like a light on a lamp stand. Because of the way God designed us, He knows that in the heart of every human lies the desire to be connected to Jesus, even if they don't realize it yet. So never underestimate the power of the gospel working through anyone who will trust in it more than their own abilities. This Christmas, let the people you come in contact with experience Christ in you. Things like peace, joy, love, God’s goodness and blessing. Deuteronomy 28 tells us that when the people of the earth see the goodness of God on our lives, they will know that we are called by His name. Listen to what Peter says, Because Jesus we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven, and the future starts now! This is why Christmas still remains our greatest celebration we take part in, so embrace your life in Him. John 10, “...I came that you may have and enjoy an abundant, excessive, extraordinary life.” He left His world and came to ours, giving His life that we could not only become citizens of His world, but joint heirs of His kingdom. This is why it’s so important that every believer stays aware of the fact that God has predestined us to be conformed to Jesus' image. So, the next time you start thinking you’re not whatever, you can't make it, or you can't overcome this, remind yourself of who's you are. Remind yourself, you’re born of Heaven, heirs of the throne, sons and daughters of the Almighty. And to top it off, called by Jesus Himself to represent Him in the earth now. Ephesians 1:5,MSG- Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. This Christmas, let the Holy Spirit inspire your thinking. After all, we are celebrating the fact that the Savior came for us. 1 John tells us, embracing a life with God, us living in Him, and Him in us, means our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. Think about it, what better time than Christmas to be an expression of our Savior. After all, it was Jesus that told us we’re a light on a lamp stand, a city on on a hill, anointed to inspire others. A Christmas inspiration! Remember, Jesus didn’t come to our world to condemn it but to save it. Regardless of how you may celebrate Christmas, ultimately there's only one reason this holiday even exists. Christ left His world to come to ours to make a way for us to go to His. Jesus actually told us, "I came so you could have life like me." Christmas is above all things, a Salvation Celebration. A celebration of a brand new life. Listen to the angels words out of the gospel of Luke. I'm telling you the greatest thing humanity has ever heard. And it will bring great joy to all who receive it. The Savior, ourLord, has been born today in Bethlehem! And the incredible thing about this new life Jesus made for us is that just like a Christmas gift, God's abundant grace and gift of righteousness only has to be received. 2 Corinthians 5 paraphrase, When we look inside, we see that anyone united with Christ gets a fresh start, they become a new creation. The old life is gone; a new life is underway. This is why Christmas will never be just another holiday for the Christian because we know that Christmas proclaims we have a Savior. The Psalmist wr

Luke 19 discusses the parable of the minas, and when the master passes out the minas, he makes this statement, “OCCUPY TILL I RETURN” Occupy, do my business, exercise dominion, run thingsTill I return, there is a day He’s coming back Here’s two key statements Jesus made about His return, Blessed is the servant the master finds watching for Him, then He said, Blessed is the servant that’s busy about the master’s work when he returns. Matthew 24:36, The day and hour no one knows, not even the angels, only the Father. Just like Jesus expected the people of that time to be able to recognize His first time coming, He absolutely expects the people of this time to be able to recognize the time of His coming. This being said, we should absolutely be watching for Him at the same time busy about His work. You heard me say this so many times, “The new is in the old contained, the old is in the new explained.” 1 Corinthians 10:32,NKJV- “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God,” We introduced our talk last week with Paul’s revelation Jesus specifically gave him for the end time church. Galatians 1, I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. This revelation from the Lord to Paul for every born again was pinned to the church of Thessalonica. So as saints begin to pass away and the Lord still hasn’t returned, the church had questions, especially when different teachings began to circulate. Think about it, they’re just grasping this new revelation of the resurrection from the dead. So Jesus calls Paul to Heaven and teaches him. 2 Corinthians 12:2-4,NLT- “I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.” In 2 Peter he actually acknowledges Paul’s revelation contained things hard to understand. They hadn’t heard Paul’s revelation yet since he had just received it from the Lord. So the Holy Spirit is going to use this churches concern about saints that have already passed on to the other side, as well as for the saints that will be on the planet at the time of this special event. Now as we get into this remember what Jesus told us in Luke, blessed are the one that’s busy about the master’s work when He returns. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18,NLT- “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14, For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15, We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16, For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17, Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18, So encourage each other with these words.” And I know there are different views on this subject, and I can take some scripture and partially support some of those beliefs, but I can only support one with 100% confidence from the scripture, and it is this same revelation God gave the apostle Paul. So when it comes to this event that we call the rapture, there are types throughout the Bible. But God’s children going through the great tribulation, we can’t find them. As a matter of fact, Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:21, There will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. Remember, even though we’re talking about His return, Jesus was very clear, occupy till I return. Blessed is the servant the master finds watching for Him and busy about the master’s work when he returns. He wouldn’t have told us to be watching and busy about His work at the time of His return if it wasn’t important. I believe He wants us to use this revelation God gave Paul as an evangelistic tool, not some religious scare tactic. But if we cant have a confident, intelligent conversation about these truths, people will be just like they were in the days of Noah when God delivered his people from the wrath to come. Jesus actually tells that it will be as it was in the days of Noah when this event takes place. They went about they’re business, ignoring, mocking, even coming against what Noah was doing, until the day the Lord shut up the ark. Here’s what we’ve got to stay open to, this revelation stands along side all other Ho

Isaiah 9:6,NKJV-“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Genesis 1:31, NKJV- God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Think about it, The Almighty laid down His deity and took on free will, yielding Himself to humanity for the sole purpose of making passage for humanity to come back, not only to eternity, but into a divine relationship with our Creator. Philippians 2, When the time came, Jesus set aside the privileges of deity and became human! Having become human, He stayed human. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death.Because of His obedience, God lifted Him high and honored Him far beyond anyone or anything, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth will bow in worship before Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that He is the Lord of all. Jesus was God’s plan from the beginning, knowing the power of free will, God wanted a family that would willingly choose Him. John 10, “...I came that you may have and enjoy an abundant, excessive, extraordinary life.” This is why Christmas still remains our greatest celebration we take part in, and is ultimately our responsibility to make sure Christ stays at he center of our celebrating. That being said, CELEBRATE! It’s why we will always respond, Merry Christmas, not happy whatever.Christmas — Christ, the Anointed One Mass, festival, celebration A celebration of the Anointed One. The Creator became the created.The King of all existence exchanged His royalty for humanity.The Author of time stepped out of eternity and subjected Himself to time. As we celebrate the Christmas season with all our favorite traditions, the decorating, shopping, the time with family, the gift giving, the parties, stay Christ centered. Remember, the whole reason Jesus came to the planet was for us to have a life with Him beyond humanity. To have and enjoy the good life in Christ with the blessed assurance of eternal life. And even if the world around us drifts further away from the real reason we celebrate Christmas, let’s all of us help each other acknowledge what Jesus did for us. After all, we're going to Heaven. And one of the most amazing things about Jesus coming was that He chose to use us, everyday people to be an expression of His goodness and mercy. Extending His characteristics to beyond around us. For all of us that follow Jesus, my prayer with these couple of simple talks during Christmas is to stir up a little God nature in all of us. Ultimately that would be His goodness and love. You see, Christmas, regardless of how you celebrate it, is all about Him arriving and empowering others. Think about it, Jesus wants to use your style, your personality, and as long as we're connected to Him, He said He would make us stand out like a city on top of the mountain. Like a light on a lamp stand. 2 Corinthians 3:18,MSG- When God is personally present. Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him. Because of the way God designed us, He knows that in the heart of every human lies the desire to be connected to Jesus, even if they don't realize it yet. And regardless of your style, or personality, the power of the gospel will work through anyone who will trust in it more than their own abilities. This Christmas, let the people you come in contact with experience Christ, in you. Things like peace, joy, love, God’s goodness and blessing. Remember, God didn't send Jesus into the world to condemn it, but to save it.Let’s help each other this Christmas, right in the middle of challenging situations to still embrace just how good our God is. King David said, Open your eyes and actually see how good God is. Blessed are those who look to Him. If you really want God’s best, worship Him; worship opens doors to all His goodness. What if we became a little more intentional about believing Him, expecting His goodness to be a regular part of our lives? Why not make this Christmas a turning point for all of us? To the degree that we place a demand on His world. Here’s the thing, God loves us right where we’re at, but He loves so much that He doesn’t want to leave us where we’re at. Deuteronomy 28 tells us that when the people of the earth see the goodness of God on our lives, they will know that we are called by His name. And as I began studying this truth from God’s word, there’s a common theme throughout the scriptures, God is good, and God does good. Psalm 34, paraphrase,I sought the LORD and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Those who looked to Him and were radiant.The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, with awe-in

Luke 19 discusses the parable of the minas, and when the master passes out the minas, he makes this statement, “OCCUPY TILL I RETURN” Occupy, do my business, exercise dominion, run thingsTill I return, there is a day He’s coming back A conversation many have been having lately has been centered around the return of the Lord. So I felt like maybe we should talk about it, but as we get into it, the thing I want to stress is that Jesus’ main point was us occupying until He returns. In Luke 12 Jesus is once again talking to His disciples about occupying and in v.37, Jesus says, Blessed in the servant that the master finds watching. In v.43, He says, “Blessed is the servant that’s busy about the master’s work when he returns.” Then He said to the multitudes in v.56, “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times.” Just like Jesus expected the people of that time to be able to recognize His first time coming, He absolutely expects the people of this time to be able to recognize the time of His coming. One of the things His disciples repeatedly asked about was the timing of the restoring of the Kingdom, and in Acts 1 He basically tells them, timing is the Father’s business, but you will receive power. In other words, be ready and occupy till I return. Matthew 24:36, The day and hour no one knows, not even the angels, only the Father. But in v.32, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branches have already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.” So as we approach the age of the church coming to its end, we should definitely be about the masters work. Because after the church, that’s when the judgement of God will come on the earth. The only judgement the church will face is the judgement seat of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:10,NKJV- “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 1 Corinthians 3:11-15,NKJV- For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” I believe Moody was right, everything we do this side of Heaven is preparing us for what we’ll be there. And I realize there are many different views around the events of the end, so what we have to do is go to the only true source to support any belief. You heard me say this so many times, “The new is in the old contained, the old is in the new explained.” God gives us a simple revelation that will make understanding events of the Bible much easier to interpret. 1 Corinthians 10:32,NKJV- “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God,” Here’s the thing, having this simple understanding concerning any truth from the scriptures is a key component of clarity; who’s talking, who they’re talking to, and what they’re talking about. So with this in mind, there are glimpses of Jesus’ return throughout the scriptures, but the major players are, Daniel, Revelation, Jesus In Matthew 24, and Apostle Paul. We’re going to start with Paul’s revelation Jesus specifically gave him. Galatians 1:11-12,NKJV- “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Even though we are able to get a glimpse of what’s next on God’s calendar, we stay about the masters work until!! Maybe even get a little more dialed in because we recognize our time is short. That being said, the next event the church should be ready for is our departure. This revelation from the Lord to Paul for every born again was pinned to the church of Thessalonica. Keep in mind that after Jesus’ resurrection He appeared, disappeared, and reappeared many times over His last 40 days on the planet. To the degree that those closest to Him got used to it. Acts 1:11,NKJV- “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” This would be Jesus’ last disappearance for a while, but there were many that were expecting the same thing they had seen repeatedly over the last month. But days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and no sign of Jesus. And as saints begin to pass away and the Lord still hasn’t returned, and keep in mind they didn’t have any kind of reference, like a bible, not to menti

John 10:10,AMP- “...I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”Abundance (perissos) surplus, extraordinary, more than enough, excessive. The only way we become who God has designed and called us to be, the only way we participate in this extraordinary life is by embracing who we are from His perspective. Isaiah 26:3-4,NLT- You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. Think about it, right now, what kind of self image would you say you have? What about your in Christ image? I bring this up because Jesus’ promises, our inheritance is directly connected to our comprehension of our new identity. Remember, John instructs us that we will prosper as our soul prospers. Let’s be more intentional with our God life, like Isaiah says, fixing our thoughts on Him. 2 Corinthians 3:18,NKJV- But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. MSG, “When God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” This is why transformation is absolutely essential. Throughout our journey of faith, we will all be presented with uncertainty, and it'll be in those times that we'll have the opportunity to trust God. One of the most inspirational OT characters is Joshua, because he represents the overwhelming majority of Christians. He's just a regular guy that decided to put his faith in God and do something with it. He’s about to become one of God's new leaders, helping people, leading people to step into God's promises. Joshua is a great example of how God honors the faithfulness of someone simply willing to do whatever is asked of him. What we've got to make sure we don't miss here is that Joshua’s willingness to obey God is what actually open the door for God's advancement. Regardless of where we may find ourselves in our journey of faith, let Joshua's example of faith inspires us to keep our thoughts fixed on Jesus. Joshua 1:1-9,NLT- After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. 2. He said, Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, THE TIME HAS COME FOR YOU TO LEAD these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you, 4. from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 6. Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.9. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. One of the first things we've got to recognize is how God continually encourages Joshua to stay strong and courageous. Joshua inspires us that even though we have God’s help, it’s still on each of us to take the necessary steps of faith to embrace our next with God. See yourself as a one of God’s courageous, influential followers that have something to offer, that you’re ready to step into God's next for you. Be courageous. Maybe one of our biggest takeaways from Joshua is the reality that, we cannot be who we're suppose to be and who we used to be at the same time. Remember what v.8 tells us; Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. The challenge with this way of life is that His word, His promises, many times take our faith to what seems risky. It's in those seemingly uncertain times that we learn to rely on Jesus. Like Joshua we've got to allow what God tells us to shape our courage, passion, motivation, even our expectations. This means that there will be times when we've got to stop focusing on what we're

John 10:10,AMP- “...I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”Abundance (perissos) surplus, extraordinary, more than enough, excessive. One of Jesus’ primary purposes was restoring to His creation the Father’s intent from the beginning. This is why in 1 John He tells us another key component if His coming was to destroy the works of the devil. But what about when we’re not seeing the abundant, overflowing life? It’s at this point that we have the opportunity to start walking by faith not by sight. Embracing the abundant life right in the face of uncertainty, fixing our trust in Jesus. Refusing to accept anything other than what He said will absolutely require a little courage. And the key is knowing He is with us every step of the way, leading us in His triumphant victory parade. Zig Ziglar said, "It's not a lack of time people struggle with, it's a lack of direction. Joshua 1:9,NLT- This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” God’s with Joshua to do what? Possess the land God promised. And make no mistake, stepping out in faith like Joshua will demand a certain mind set. Isaiah 26:3-4,NLT- You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. This phrase, thoughts are fixed in the Hebrew language refers to imagination. And for the born again, the more our thoughts are fixed on Jesus, the more inspired our imagination will be. Or we could say it like this, the more inspired our spiritual imaging will be. This is why getting our thoughts fixed on Him helps us with our new identity, which in turn helps with our courage. Psalm 23:1-6,NKJV- The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2, He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3, He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. This Psalm is a perfect example of how we mange our thought life better. After all, we’re created in His image and likeness. And this is why time in His word is so vital, it’s absolutely the key to influencing a Godly thought life. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5,NKJV- For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The only way we become who God has designed and called us to be, the only way we become courageous is by embracing who we are from His perspective. FIXING OUR THOUGHTS! Think about it, right now, what kind of self image would you say you have? What about your in Christ image? I bring this up because Jesus’ promises, our inheritance is directly connected to our comprehension of our new identity. Embracing our God identity will demand that we move out past human logic. And let’s face it, Jesus operated way out past logic. (spit & mud) With the corruption and manipulation driving mainstream media, we have to keep a diligent watch over our thought life. Because we move in the direction of our most dominant thoughts. Let’s be more intentional with our God life, like Isaiah says, fixing our thoughts on Him. 2 Corinthians 3:18,NKJV- “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Throughout our journey of faith, we will all be presented with uncertainty, and it'll be those times that we'll have the opportunity to trust God. One of the most inspirational OT characters is Joshua, because he represents the overwhelming majority of Christians. He's just a regular guy that decided to put his faith in God and do something with it. Let's not forget, Joshua's original name meant, Helper. And as God continued developing him, He led Moses to change his name to describe his new role. He would become God's new leader, helping people, leading people to step into God's promises. Joshua is a great example of how God honors the faithfulness of someone simply willing to do whatever is asked of him. What we've got to make sure we don't miss here is that Joshua’s willingness to obey God is what actually open the door for God's advancement. Regardless of where we may find ourselves in our journey of faith, let Joshua's example of faith inspires us to keep our thoughts fixed on

Listen to president Lincoln’s words as he addressed our nation, “We often forget the source from which the blessings of our fruitful years come. No human wisdom or mortal hand has devised these things. They are the gracious gift from the Most High God, I therefore invite my fellow citizens to observe this day of thanksgiving and praise to our Father who dwells in Heaven.” As Americans, we honor the holiday our forefathers believed in. But as Christian, thanksgiving is so much more than a national holiday. Thanksgiving should be at the heart of ever believer confessing Jesus as their savior. Giving thanks to God is really a declaration of our trust and reliance to the goodness of God no matter the circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,NKJV- “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Since is our last Sunday before Thanksgiving, listen to what the apostle Paul says about a thankful heart. As we open our soul to this words, here’s something to keep in mind, this world is not our home. Colossians 3:12-17,NKJV- “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; v.13, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. v.14, But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. v.15, And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. v.16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. v.17, And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” I honestly believe that as we embrace a more thankful heart, it will absolutely be a turning point in our life of faith, which is ultimately embracing God’s promises, right in the face of challenging situations. And always remember this, a consistent life of thanksgiving is a faith inspired acknowledgement of all God has done for us. This includes the unseen. Cultivating a lifestyle of thanksgiving is the doorway to receiving more from the Lord. This righteous response of thanksgiving is truly an exercise of humility, and what’s comforting is that God gives more grace to the humble. Moses is referenced as one of the meekest of his generation. What’s interesting is that he was also the most used of God in his generation. King David said, “Let’s give thanks at the remembrance of His name.”Offering up heart felt thanksgiving is one way we glorify God. Luke 17:11-16,NLKV- Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12, Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13, And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14, So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15, And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17, So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18, Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19, And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”” The thing I love about this guys heart was that he stopped right away and went back to thank Jesus. When we follow the children of Israel in their journey out of Egypt, they didn’t have this kind of faith inspired attitude of gratitude. Remember, gratitude is a declaration that God is faithful and good. Their unbelief hardened the hearts to what God had already done for them. Think about it, all they had to do was genuinely give God thanks and step into what He’d already given them. Truth is, unbelief and unthankfulness go hand in hand. Psalm 78 actually gives us some clear insight into just how destructive ungratefulness can be. “They limited the Holy One of Israel.” Seriously, faith thanks God for the unseen. For the things taking place in the spirit. Understand this, spiritual doesn’t mean imaginary.Actually when it comes to giving thanks, I would go as far as to say, there’s spiritual power in thanksgiving. And this is why I’m convinced that a major key to receiving more from God is simply being more thankful. Acknowledging what He’s already done. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58,NKJV- “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” In a single act, Jesus wiped out sin, guilt, and death and now He’

This election really has me worried Church and I think we have to recenter our Faith and our attention to God. Not a man, but to God... A lot of Christians are tore up right now, I need to ask where is our faith? I found myself on election night checking and kept checking the results and the Lord called me out. “John where is your faith? In me or in who I let into the oval office?” Don’t get me wrong here, God can use anyone to achieve His will. He will use those that say YES! Josephs brothers meant harm and evil, but God used it for good. Daniel being thrown in the Lions den was meant for evil, but guess what, God got the glory. Or how about the fiery furnace, so hot that the guards throwing them in died from the heat, but the three thrown in didn’t even smell like smoke. Just because its not how we think it should be or match our picture does not mean it is not Gods will. Luke 22:42 Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Even Jesus, asked God to let it happen this way, but your will Father be done. Jesus understood that the Fathers will and plans are ALWAYS best! I know I have tried to fit Gods plans for my life in a box or my own understand. When will we understand that we won’t always understand. God can see the whole picture so even though we may be in valley or storm we don’t see the other side, we won’t understand the outcome, until it is finished. So Church Are we willing to allow God’s plan, have faith and give Him control? Or does it have to be how we thought everything should shake out. We are not called to understand we are called to have faith in Him! We should be Obedient to His Plans. Obedience is our responsibly……. the outcome is God’s responsibility. I want to be clear, I am not making a political statement nor am I trying to say what His plan is, we are seeing it unfold. There is a bigger plan at hand, so don’t sit down and have a pity party, instead have a prayer party. Stand up and press in.. Stand up and pray.. Stand up and fight...... When I say fight not on Facebook, but In the Spirit, our battle is not against one another James 3:7-12“People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.” Church we are called to be different. It doesn’t matter who the vessel or person that’s in the office, they are still made in Gods image and He loves them. We got to stop with the name calling and instead share love! If we spent the energy we use bashing on social media and sharing our opinions, on praying against the evils, Gods will to be done, we would find an inner peace that only God can provide. We can only share Jesus by being light not by being right. I can’t say it any better than Jesus did in starting in Matthew 5:43 Matthew 5:43 -You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’q and hate your enemy. 44But I say, love your enemies!r Pray for those who persecute you! 45In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47If you are kind only to your friends,s how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Or how about Ephesians 4:29 NIV “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Love God and Love people, ALL people! We got to stop fighting one another, casting stones at one another and instead press into the Word and become prayer warriors. If we share the love of Jesus over our opinions, we will change this world. The forces of darkness should tremble when we say Let’s pray! Our faith should not waiver, because of this and God is in control. So, if you're like me who said things during this election that wasn’t very “Christ” like or things you wish you could take back, this talk is for us together. But this is why our God is so good, He will take what we give Him, we don’t need to get it right we just give Him what we got. If you got broken faith its better than no faith. I heard this from another Pastor, and it has stuck with me - We will never give god our more than enough if we don’t give him the not enough. We can’t give him big faith if we can’t give

In 1789 President George Washington made this statement to our nation, ‘It is our duty as a nation to acknowledge the providence of the Almighty God, to be humbly grateful for His protection and favor. And to render unto Him our sincere and humble thanks. As we enter another holiday season, for me personally, Thanksgiving is the kick off of the season, but at the heart of thanksgiving, it’s so much more than a holiday, it’s an attitude of our heart. It’s part of the nature of the born again. What if we were to live a life of thanksgiving? Let the holiday be and everyday. Psalm 9:1,AMP- I will give thanks and praise the LORD, with all my heart. Thanksgiving and praise go hand in hand. Hebrews 12:28,NIV- “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” Psalm 95, “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods.” Psalm 100, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” When we take closer look into the scriptures, there are several Hebrew and Greek words that we pull our English word thanksgiving from; and the one word that they are all centered around is worship. And at the heart of worship our characteristics like humility, reverence, honor and adoration. What every born again needs to realize is that this kind of thankful, worshipful, reverent heart is truly the threshold for the supernatural. So be assured that this kind of heart truly demonstrates faith, and absolutely requires expressing. Daniel 6:10,NKJV- “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and GAVE THANKS BEFORE HIS GOD, as was his custom since early days.” I honestly believe that as we embrace a more thankful heart, it will absolutely be a turning point in our life of faith. Psalm 116:17,NKJV- “I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD.” This is the example Daniel demonstrated. Here’s something we should all keep in mind, faith inspired thankfulness simply acknowledges what God has already done for us. The Alabaster Box Luke 7:37,NLT- “I tell you, her sins, and they are many, have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” A person forgiven little shows little gratitude. We see it all over today, an entitlement, complaining, ungrateful heart is always focused on self, focused on what we don’t have. We’ve gotta take this home with us today, a thankful, worshipful, reverent heart is truly the threshold for the supernatural, connecting us on a more authentic level with God’s presence. At the end of the day, the closer we grow in our relationship with Jesus, our natural response will be a more authentic worship. Psalm 34, “I worship GOD every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. I live and breathe GOD; David said, “Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” For the people of God, a thankful heart is at the forefront of worship. Psalm 95:2,CEV- “Come to worship Him with thankful hearts and songs of praise. Worship is a spiritual avenue for the people of God to connect with our Father on a more authentic level. To bring the one thing God’s creation can actually offer Him that He loves and enjoys. Psalm 89:5-7,NKJV- The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints. For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? God is greatly to be FEARED in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in REVERENCE by all those around Him. It was King David that said, “In my deepest reverence I will worship you.” I can’t help but wonder that in our self made, super comfortable atmosphere we’ve created in the 21st century church that we’ve allowed our times of worship to become more of a performance time, than true reverence for our God. With absolutely no condemnation, I’m asking everyone of us to take an honest look at our own attitude of reverence to our Father. Psalm 29, Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 147, It is good to sing praises to our God, it is pleasing and beautiful to Him. Great is the Lord and mighty in power. He understands the infinite, He Numbers the stars and calls them by name. This is why Jesus told us that the Father is seeking those who will worship Him. It's really not so much about style and preference. It should never be about what kind of mood we're in, or what we think we might nee

Luke 18:4-5,NLT- The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!v.8, But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith? MSG, But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when He returns? We have to adopt a completely new way of thinking in order for us to appropriate the things of God, to live a life of faith. This is why Ephesians teaches us to pray, Lord, open the eyes of our soul so we can comprehend what you’ve already done for us. Help us understand living a life faith. Hebrews 11:1,AMP- Now faith is the assurance, title deed, the confirmation of things hoped for (things divinely guaranteed), the evidence of things not seen, the conviction of their reality. Faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses. The degree of success in our faith is in direct proportion to our conviction of what God says. Not just hearing, but doing! Now when it comes to faith I believe Jesus gave us the most direct and practical instructions concerning how humans are to exercise faith. Mark 11:23,NIV- “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Jesus's instructions in Mark's gospel was in response to the disciples seeing what happened after Jesus spoke to a tree. And when they questioned Him about the tree, He gave this command; "Have faith in God" His lesson for them then, and for us today is that we would know how to exercise our God ordained authority as heirs in the spiritual world, impacting our natural world. Pay close attention to this, because way too many Christians are unbelievers when it comes to these truths. Jesus told us to speak to our mountains, not speak to God about are mountains. Make no mistake about it, speaking God inspired words of faith over your situation will absolutely change the course of your life in the here-and-now. We have to understand, faith is a spiritual reality and it is absolutely voice activated. Jesus is very clear in the fact that speaking faith from our hearts effects change in our world, from His. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” Psalms 107:2 NKJV- Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, who He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy. I will accomplish my dreams. God is putting the right people are in my future. The right opportunities are headed my way. Blessings are chasing me down. I am the head and not the tail. I will keep a positive outlook. I will overcome every obstacle. I will outlast every adversity. Things have shifted in my favor. What was meant for my harm, God is using for my advantage. My future is bright. My best days are still out in front of me. I will become everything I was created to be. I will have everything God intended for me to have. I am the redeemed of the Lord, and I say so today! Because God designed our born-again lives to function a specific way, He’s actually expecting us to live according to our new nature. To be persistent in living a life of faith. Romans 1:17,NIV- ...The Righteous Live By Faith Truth is, Christianity was never meant to be a bunch of religious, legalistic traditions, but actually living our lives according to a new covenant, appropriated by what we believe, based solely on God’s promises? According to Hebrews, this kind of faith not only understands that God’s promises are spiritual, but accepts them as Him speaking directly yo us. Hebrews 11:7,MSG- By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. Here’s the thing, against all logic, criticism, fear, ridicule, the unknown, Noah stepped out in faith and built what God asked, based solely on what God said. Chances are pretty good that if faith is involved, there will be times we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations. Think about this, Noah had never seen rain, the thing God said was coming. This is what makes this such a faith example, Noah acted on things not seen. While God was asking Noah to build something for Him, at the same time, God was building something in Noah. What about us today, does God expect the same kind of faith out of us today? Being a Christian isn't just receiving a new life in Christ, it's actually living it! This is why Paul makes statements like, “It’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me,” because the life I now live I live by faith in Him. I honestly don't think God gave us new lives in Christ just to hang around here doing our own thing until we get to Heaven. But discov

Romans 5:17,AMP- “For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive God's overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness, putting them into right standing with Himself, reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Much more surely those who receive God’s overflowing grace will reign as kings in life through Christ. This is why Jesus wants us putting the things of the Kingdom first, each of us have an assignment from Him that will absolutely require that we be governed by His system, not the one of this world. Matthew 16:19,NKJV- And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. In Mark 5, Jesus commands wind and water, then the demon in the Gadareen recognized the authority in Jesus. And in Luke 10 Jesus said, “I give you authority over all the power of the enemy.” Unlike that time in history, today because of the power of the church we deal more with demonic influence that possession. This is why the apostle James teaches us to not just be hearers of God’s word, but doers. As the born again of the Lord, we’re designed to live a different way, created by Him to bare fruit. Truth is we are chosen by God for an assignment. 1 Peter 2:9,NKJV- “But you are a CHOSEN generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” CHOSEN- (gr. Eklektos) picked out for special privilege and assignment. This is why in Luke, Jesus says, “It has been given to you, My chosen ones to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Revelation 5, You are worthy for You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth. God’s plan has always been for His people to establish Kingdom dominion and represent Him to the rest of the world. Romans 5, Much more surely those who receive God's overflowing grace and free gift of righteousness, will reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). We have to become more righteous conscious, because righteousness is literally a spiritual force that cannot be contented with. If you’re born again you are right with God. Start thinking, “Sonship” because the enemy will be relentless at trying to keep us sin conscious. The danger with that type of thinking is that the longer we stay sin conscious, the less we’ll be son conscious. Romans 5:1-2,NLT- “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” 2 Corinthians 3:18,NKJV- “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” And now that Jesus, the last Adam has placed us back in right standing with God, we’ve got to go back to God’s original assignment which is to replenish the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over it. And this is why God makes statements like He does in Romans 5, the righteous are to reign is this live as kings. Genesis 1:31,NKJV- Then God saw everything He had made, and indeed it was very good. What every born again must come to terms with is that in Christ we’ve been brought back to this original design, its simply in seed form and has to grow, so let it grow! Remember, everything within the Kingdom works according to seed time. While I’m here, be aware that our enemy will continually try planting in our life. Like he did in the garden. Example. Children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt, but Egypt was still in the them. (Calf) We have to keep this in mind, God’s word is incorruptible seed and if we plant His seed and stay with it, we will be changed. Remember Corinthians, “Same image” Let’s make sure we’re speaking seeds of faith into our soul, its the only way the Kingdom operates. Let’s make sure we’re putting faith on what we say. Remember, our tongue is the rudder of our life. Talk from a Kingdom perspective. Luke 17:5-6,NKJV- “And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” According to the apostle Paul, the perfect law of liberty will show us what we’re suppose to be like. The world is waiting on the sons and daughters of God to manifest His Kingdom. But because of the way the Kingdom works, we have to continually monitor what our soul is exposed to, it could very

Matthew 6:33,NLT- “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” MSG- Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now. The main reason Jesus made this statement is because God has an assignment for every one of us that will absolutely require that we be governed by His system, not the one of this world. In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us that anyone who will humble themself and become like a little child will the greatest in the Kingdom. Remember, Jesus told us everything pertaining to the Kingdom of Heaven is like someone sowed a seed. So if we’re ever going to take part in the things of the Kingdom, if we’re going to fulfill our God ordained assignment, we’ve got to have these conversations. Talk about it, think about it until we begin experiencing a life of the supernatural, of the Kingdom. Our thinking has to be renewed because the truth is, everyone of us go in the direction of our most dominate thoughts. And according to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is in us and it’s brought into this realm through believing and speaking. In God’s Kingdom words are so much more than communication. Words actually contain spiritual reality. Think about it, we’re born of incorruptible word. This is why Jesus told us that if we would believe what we say would come to pass, we would have what we say. But right believing and right speaking starts with right thinking. “As a man thinks...” The soul of a human is the governor of our life. It consists of our mind and will, and it works in connection with our spirit. This means, thoughts are spiritual. Here’s a perfect example, how many times did Jesus address issues with a person directly from their thoughts. Thoughts are seeds. And make no mistake our enemy will be relentless attacking our thoughts. And this is why James tells us we cannot continue to live double-minded and expect to function in a different reality. James 1:7-8,MSG- If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get His help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.” John gives us further insight with his statement, “As our soul prospers,” so we have to ask ourselves, what’s the dominant influence in our soul. How single minded would you say you are concerning the Kingdom? So, as each of us as people of God grow to the place where we’re seeking, steeping our life in Kingdom realities, putting the things of God first, praying His Kingdom come, His will be done, the more effective our influence becomes. I think at the end of the day, everything about our talk, everything concerning the Kingdom hinges on this question that Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:13-19,NKJV- “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” v.14, So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”v.15, He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” v.16, Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” v.17, Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. v. 18, And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. v.19, And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”” v.19,NLT- “And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” v.19,MSG- “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.” Jesus, our King said, “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom. Keys are principles, precepts and laws. They also represent authority and dominion, which was transferred to us at the great commission. They are the proclaimed word of the King. Psalm 19:7-8,NKJV- The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. This is why the apostle James teaches us to not just be hearers of God’s word, but doers. God told Joshua, obser

Luke 18:4-5,NLT- The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!v.8, But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith? MSG, But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when Hereturns? We have to adopt a completely new way of thinking in order for us to appropriate the things of God, to live a life of faith. This is why Ephesians teaches us to pray, Lord, open the eyes of our soul so we can comprehend what you’ve already done for us. Help us understand living a life faith. Hebrews 11:1,AMP- Now faith is the assurance, title deed, the confirmation of things hoped for (things divinely guaranteed), the evidence of things not seen, the conviction of their reality. Faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses. The degree of success in our faith is in direct proportion to our conviction of what God says. Not just hearing, but doing! This kind of faith, this unwavering trust and enduring confidence in God is the bridge to spiritual living. Remember last week we looked a how Peter began to drift off when he wasn’t looking at Jesus, and Jesus asked him why he doubted. Remember the epileptic son, Jesus told them because of your unbelief.Unbelief can come in different ways. Here’s a few, ignorance, distraction, and rebellion. God is looking for believers that will stick with Him long enough that they become unwaveringly confident in Jesus. In other words, standing in faith. But living a life of faith will not happen on accident. Remember, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. It’s so easy to drift. (Peter on water) You see, vision drift is real thing, and our enemy is a master of distraction. I honestly believe this is why Jesus asked, when I return, will I really find persistent faith on the earth? Hebrews 2:1,MSG- It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. Hebrews tells us that faith is actually spiritual substance. It’s divinely imparted access into God’s world. Allowing us the opportunity to become all God has already told us we can be. The prophet Isaiah said, Wrap your mind around this. I am GOD, and from the very beginning telling you what the ending will be. Assuring you, I’m with you. Assuring you I’ll do exactly what I set out to do. I’ve said it, and I’ll most certainly do it. Let’s take our faith up a notch today by simply accepting that when God tells us something, we accept Him at His word. Remember what God said in Jeremiah; "I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” Here's the thing, if we're going to discover all God has for us, then we can't let challenging situations, difficulties or disappointments distract us. Why not expect God to actually be God? Think about this, you could be one revelation away from your greatest breakthrough. So let this talk encourage you, more importantly, let God's promises inspire your faith. Here’s the deal, at the end of the day, God designed us to live by faith. Unfortunately, actually living by it is one of the most overlooked spiritual realities God gave His creation. I’m convinced this was Jesus’ point when He said, will I find this persistent faith? Now when it comes to faith I believe Jesus gave us the most direct and practical instructions concerning how humans are to exercise faith. Mark 11:23,NIV- “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Now in light of what Jesus has told us, let me say this; faith isn't magic. And it's definitely not some confession formula for getting things from God. But without a doubt, according to Jesus Himself, speaking Divinely inspired words over our situation is exactly what He was instructing us to do in His faith lesson in Mark. Once again, it's not some magic confession formula, but make no mistake about it, speaking God inspired words of faith over your situation will absolutely change the course of your life in the here-and-now. Jesus's instructions in Mark's gospel was in response to the disciples seeing what happened after Jesus spoke to a tree. And when they questioned Him about the tree, He gave this command; "Have faith in God" His lesson for them then, and for us today is that we would know how to exercise our God ordained authority as heirs in the spiritual world, impacting our natural world. Pay close attention to this, because the overwhelming majority of Heaven bound Christians are unbelievers when it comes to these truths. Jesus told us to speak to our mountains, not speak to God about are mountains.It is God alone that's the source and foundation of this kind of

Colossians 1:12-13,NKJV- Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed (transferred) us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Matthew 6:33,NLT- “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” MSG- Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now. Make no mistake, God has an assignment for every one of us, but absolutely requires that we be governed by His system, not the one of this world. This is why Jesus made such radical statements like, “whoever loses his life for Me with find it.” “Take up your cross and follow Me.” But one of the greatest lessons the early disciples teach us is their unwavering trust and expectation that had in Jesus. I realize keeping the Kingdom of Heaven first place in our lives can be very challenging and this is why having an eternal perspective is crucial. 2 Peter 3:8,NKJV- “Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”1000 years = 24 hours500 years = 12 hours250 years = 6 hours125 years = 3 hours72.5 years = 1.5 hours36 years = 45 minutes This is why James tells us that our life here on earth is like the morning fog. So let today’s talk remind all of us that according to Jesus, “The time is at hand” God’s plan from the beginning was for His will to be done on earth like is in heaven. A major key to this reality is a consistent understanding that it’s 100% Christ in us manifesting His Kingdom. Isaiah makes it very clear it will be the Anointed One and His Anointing that destroys the yoke. That manifest through each of us. Like Esther, God set her up. What about Joseph? What about you? Remember, Jesus told us everything pertaining to the Kingdom of Heaven is like someone sowed a seed. Every aspect of the Kingdom of Heaven works according to this principle of sowing seed;The gospel, love, kindness, healing, prosperity, etc... The seed can be working and we not see the fruit of it yet. Genesis tells us that as long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest will be in effect. 1 Corinthians 3:6,NKJV, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. And according to God, every seed produces after it’s own kind. Ultimately, God’s Kingdom is spiritual in its reality, it’s other dimensional. Remember last week we made this statement, it will be the quality of our intake that determines our output. So when we go to the word, let’s practice going with a little humble expectation. The challenge for most of us is that we spend the bulk of our time investing in the natural man. And if we’re ever going to experience things of the Kingdom, of the supernatural, we’re going to have start thinking and talking supernatural. Because at the end of the day, everyone of us go in the direction of our most dominate thoughts. The Kingdom of Heaven is of another dimension, it’s a place that cannot be managed by human intelligence. Since everything pertaining to the Kingdom is already in the born again, everything we’ve been created and called to be is in us, in our spirit. Seed! You see, God inspired faith comes from His word. His word is seed sown into His creation. Keep this in mind, we’re not built to base our believing on our human experiences, but on what our God says we are and what we can do. 1 Corinthians 2:12,NLT- And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.” But until the seed of this truth is sown into our soul, it all remains a mystery. Remember, Jesus told us the Kingdom of Heaven is like someone sowed a seed. Actually the Kingdom of God is in us and it’s brought into this realm through believing and speaking. But right believing and right speaking starts with right thinking. “As a man thinks...” The soul of a human is the governor of of our life. It consists of our mind and will, and it works in connection with our spirit. This means, thoughts are spiritual, and they are without a doubt the primary target of our enemy. Think about it, how many times did Jesus address issues with a person directly from their thoughts. Thoughts are seeds. And this is why James tells us we cannot continue to live double-minded and expect to function in a different reality. James 1:7-8,MSG- If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get His help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.” John tells us, “As our soul prospers” so we have to ask

Hebrews 12, Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross... Looking unto Jesus, keeping our eyes fixed on Him. Think about this, not only was Jesus completing His assignment, He was fulfilling the prophetic, as well as establishing God’s will in the earth. But also, as the first born, showing us what a life in Him looks like. Maybe the big question is, who is He to you? Seriously, is Jesus our Lord, our Master, our teacher, the First Born, then what’s He telling us when he says, follow Me? Keep our eyes fixed on Him. Isaiah says, “Keep your mind stayed in Him.” Romans 8:6,NLT- So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Romans 12:2,NLT- “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Here’s the thing, the more I stayed focused on Jesus, the more I’m learning that this life of faith has to be developed just like a human life. Luke 18:6-8,MSG- Then the Master said, Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for His chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t He stick up for them? I assure you, He will. He will not drag His feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when He returns? We have to adopt a completely new way of thinking in order for us to appropriate the things God has already done for us. A real life of faith isn’t trying to get God to do something, but actually enforcing a reality God has already created. This is why Ephesians teaches us to pray, Lord, open the eyes of my spirit so I can comprehend what you’ve already done for us. There has to be transformation in our soul for us to experience faith. A revelation we’ve got to embrace is the reality that our born again spirit is made just like Jesus, but until our soul aligns with our spirit, our human nature will continue to control our life. As a matter of fact, the NT teaches us that God has already given us everything necessary for a dynamic spiritual life. A life only acceptable through faith. So we must understand this reality, God designed us to live by faith. Hebrews 11:1,AMP- Now faith is the assurance, title deed, the confirmation of things hoped for (things divinely guaranteed), the evidence of things not seen, the conviction of their reality. Faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses. The degree of success in our faith is in direct proportion to our conviction of what God says. This kind of faith, this unwavering trust and enduring confidence in God is the bridge to spiritual living. Here’s something every believer needs to be aware of, we can have faith, and doubt can still affect us. Matter of fact, one of our biggest struggles is assuming knowledge and information are faith. Matthew 14:31,NKJV- “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” God is looking for believers that will stand right in the face of pandemic and uncertainty, without being discouraged, fearful, and especially angry and bitter, but unwaveringly confident in Jesus. In other words, stand in faith. Our enemy loves keeping Christians distracted thinking, “I’ve got faith, so why isn’t it working?” When in reality it is!! Even though God designed us to live a certain way, until we stop resorting to our human reasoning to determine the realities of His word, our faith will remain undeveloped, and doubt will continually manipulate our thinking, effecting our faith. Remember, faith is the assurance, the conviction of things divinely guaranteed. Matthew 8:7-10,NKJV- “And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. ” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Keep in mind, we’re designed to live by faith, but it will not happen on accident. Remember, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. It’s so easy to drift. (Peter on water) You see, vision drift is real thing, and our enemy is a master of distraction. I honestly believe this is why Jesus asked, when I return, will I really find persistent faith o

Colossians 1:12-13,NKJV- Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Qualified- made competent, sufficient, and authorized.He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed (transferred) us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. And in chapter 2, He disarmed the powers of darkness and made a public spectacle of them. Jesus will have a group of believers that will embrace their new covenant assignment. They will have a working knowledge of the world of the spirit.1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminds us that God has chosen the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are so that no flesh can glory in His presence. This is why developing a life of faith is absolutely vital, it’s the only way into that world. The minute we give our lives to Christ some very significant changes happen;We become a brand new creationWe become citizens of the Kingdom We become heirs of the KingdomWe become ambassadors for the Kingdom Our assignment is taking the culture of the kingdom everywhere we go. And this is why Jesus told us to pray His Kingdom come, His will be done. Then He takes it a step further by telling is to seek the kingdom of Heaven above all else. Matthew 6:33,NLT- “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” MSG- Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now. Remember, the heir, as long as he remains childish is no different than a slave. This is why it’s absolutely vital that we’ve got to have a clear understanding of who we are as people of God. Here’s the thing, whenever you hear something from God’s word that doesn’t fit your thinking or believing, instead of just rejecting it, ask God to elevate your thinking to match His word. C’mon guys, we’re the created. Which means we don’t serve our King by trying to figure out everything about His ways, but through faith, we serve Him, simply by trusting His way is right. In Mark 1, when Jesus started His earthly ministry, one of the first things He did was preach the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. His disciples asked Him, what’s the Kingdom of God like? And Jesus goes right in to the parable of the sower. Matthew 13:24,NKJV- “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.” Luke 8:11,NKJV-“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” Every aspect of the Kingdom of Heaven works according to this principle of sowing seed;The gospel, love, kindness, healing, prosperity, etc... Genesis tells us that as long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest will be in effect. Galatians 6:7,NKJV- “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” The moment we give our life to Christ, we actually become seed our Father plants in the earth with an assignment. 1 Corinthians 3:6-8,NKJV, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. Let’s keep in mind, the things of the Kingdom of Heaven are design to function in a different dimension. But the tendency of humanity is to think faith can be accessed and managed by human intelligence. Remember, Jesus told us the Kingdom of Heaven is like someone sowed a seed. And according to God, every seed produces after it’s own kind. It’s God who gives the increase. Think about it, we don’t have to know how tomatoes grow to enjoy tomatoes. 1 Peter 1 tells us that we’ve been born of incorruptible seed through the word of God. In Luke 17, Jesus told us that the Kingdom of God doesn’t come through visible signs, He said the Kingdom of God is within you. Ultimately, God’s Kingdom is spiritual in its reality, it’s other dimensional. And if we’re ever going to experience things of the Kingdom, of the supernatural, we’re going to have start thinking and talking supernatural. The Kingdom of Heaven is a place that cannot be managed by human intelligence. Since everything pertaining to the Kingdom is already in the born again, everything we’ve been created and called to be is in us, in our spirit. You see, God inspired faith comes from His word. His word is seed sown into His creation. Keep this in mind, we’re not built to base our believing on our human experiences, but on what our God says we are and what we can do. 1 Corinthians 2:10-12,NLT- It was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we

Colossians 1:9-15,NKJV- For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; v.10, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; v.11, strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; v.12, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.v.13, He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed (transferred) us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,v.14, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. v.15, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Not only has Christ transferred us into His Kingdom and qualified us to partake of the inheritance, according to chapter 2, He’s wiped out the handwriting of requirements, disarmed the powers of darkness and made a public spectacle of them. As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs to the throne, ambassadors for Jesus, our assignment is taking the culture of the kingdom everywhere we go. In order for this to be a reality in our lives, we’ve got to have a clear understanding of who we are as people of God. Galatians 4:6-7,NKJV- “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” 4:1, Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all. Remember last week, “Let them have dominion” This reality is the fundamental principle of the Kingdom of God into this visible world God gave His creation. Remember Psalm 115, The heavens are the Lord’s, but the earth He has given to the children of men. Jesus’ mission to the planet was to restore what the first Adam gave away. 1 John 3, For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He destroy the works of the devil. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49,NKJV- “And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.” Here’s a revelation to keep in mind, according to Revelation 13, Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundations of the world. 1 Peter 1:20,NKJV- He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. In Matthew Jesus is teaching about the kingdom and in chapter 13 He says, With parables I will tell you things kept secret from the foundations of the world. In Matthew 25 Jesus is once again teaching about the Kingdom, talking about when He will separate the sheep and the goats, In v.34, “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Hebrews tells us that we are to enter into His rest through our faith in Him, but some will not, even though everything has already been finished from the foundations of the world. This is why Jesus instructed us to pray, The Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Why would Jesus want us, the people of God, praying this way? Because we’re the one’s that are actually suppose to be controlling things here. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. But I’m believing like with Esther, God’s calling a group to rise to the occasion for such a time as this. Isaiah 61:1-6,NKJV- The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, v.2, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, v.3, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. v.4, And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. v.5, Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. v.6, But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the ric

Colossians 1:11-13,NLT- We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs to the throne, ambassadors for Jesus, our assignment is taking the culture of the kingdom everywhere we go. But here’s the thing, possibly one of the biggest challenges the born again face isn’t so much the powers of the kingdom of darkness, it our refusal to embrace the world we’re born of, embracing a way of living that is beyond humanity. Listen to Paul’s words again, He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. Make no mistake, comprehending all that Christ has made available for His people demands a new paradigm, the Kingdom of Heaven can only be accessed by faith. Philippians 3:17-20,NLT- Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of Heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. Here’s my prayer, that we inspire and equip our next generation in discovering their life in the Kingdom of Heaven. As we dig into our talk, a key principle in understanding the Kingdom is to not think geographical, but be open to multidimensional thinking. In Luke 17, Jesus tells us, “Indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you.” Let’s lay some foundation as we unpack our talk. Genesis introduces God’s beginning of what we know as our physical world. In Genesis 1, God says, let’s make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over all the earth. Psalm 115, The heavens are the Lord’s, but the earth He has given to the children of men. Gen. 1:26, Let Us make (asa) man in Our image.Gen.1:27, God created (bara) man in His own image.Asa- to make out of something already existing.Bara- to create out of nothing natural. The invisible taking on the visible. Adam was 100% spirit and human.Jesus, the last Adam 100% spirit and human. What’s really interesting is that this word, man in Genesis 1 literally means spirit species. The nature and essence of God Himself. “Let them have dominion” is the fundamental principle of the Kingdom of God into this visible world God gave His creation. Adam was the first royal representative of the Kingdom of Heaven, places in charge of this world. This is why the angels of Heaven asked God, “What is this man you created like you?” The NT calls Jesus the last Adam because He came to restore all that Adam lost through his rebellion against the Kingdom of Heaven. And because of Adam’s position, when he accepted satan’s temptation he abandoned his royal position as well as his dominion. This is why Colossians is so powerful, God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. One of Jesus’ primary objectives was restoring God’s original creation to his God ordained position. A reality many of us have the tendency to let slip is the fact that the Kingdom of Heaven is designed for complete reliance on the King. Remember Psalm 115, The heavens are the Lord’s, but the earth He has given to the children of men. God put man in authority over the earth. Kingdom of Heaven principles aren’t even legal here without an heir of the Kingdom exercising dominion. Galatians 4:6-7,NKJV- “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” 4:1, Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all. Bottom line, if we’re ever going to live supernatural, we’ve got to start talking and thinking supernatural. Romans 8 tells us that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. God wants to distinguish you! (Esther) But according to the apostle James, we cannot continue living a double minded life.Another way to say it would be, double Kingdom. Romans teaches us that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.This is why a human has to be born again.John 3:3,NKJV- “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 15:45-49,NKJV- “And so it is written, “Th

Jesus is absolutely expecting us to finish what He started. As His body on the planet, our assignment is to continue all He commanded us. Remember, Peter tells us God has givenus everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him, and He has given us His great and precious promises, so that through them we may participate in His divine nature. Everything Jesus did while He was on the planet in a human body was pointing us to what He was about to fulfill at the cross. Here’s a revelation that every Christian has to get settled, The Word of God is the Will of God. Once we get settled on what His will is, then we have to allow it to transform the way we think. After all, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” John 6:38,NKJV- For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 8:28,NKJV, When you lift up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me. John 9:4,NKJV, I must work the works of Him who sent Me. John 14:10,NKJV- ...The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the work. Matthew 8:16-17,NLT- That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.” Think about it, why would Jesus, emphasize healing the entire time He was on the planet, instruct His first disciples to do the same, then leave us to live a completely different way than He did and not tell us? Exodus 15:26, “I am the Lord who heals you.” So which one is more real? What we see, what we feel, or what He says? Once we make up our minds about what He says, will we stay with it long enough to let the fruit of His word produce is our physical lives. This is how a life of faith comes into manifestation. The thing is, it’s still up to us to actually engage our faith, start speaking to our mountain. Hebrews 4:2,NKJV- For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. There has to be a transformation in our thinking in order for us to appropriate the things God has already done for us. To the degree that what God says becomes more of a reality than anything in this natural world. Isaiah says, “Keep your mind stayed in Him.” Practice getting in agreement with God. Practice living more God inside minded. Is it possible that we’ve settled into a place of selective believing based totally on signs of confirmation. In other words, walking by sight, not by faith. This is why the apostle Paul told us, “The same way you received Jesus, live your life in Him” This is why Jesus repeatedly said, “All things are possible to him who believes. Matthew 9:27-30,NKJV- When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened. God wants us at a place where we live everyday of our live with intentional expectations. Trusting in every word He’s said to us. Proverbs 3:5-8,NIV- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. And since Jesus lives in Heaven now, He's actually expecting His body here to be just that, His body. Empower by His Holy Spirit. And the only way that happens is by faith. He actually designed and commanded us to live by faith. To finish what He started. As a Christian, at some point we’re going to have to make our mind up as to which part of the word of God is true. When you follow Jesus through the scriptures, which part is true? When He healed everyone that came to Him for healing, is it true? When Jesus said, “The works that I do, you can do also,” is it true? Until we make our mind up which part is true, I’m not sure it’s actually possible to be in faith. James 1, When you come to God, you must come in faith, not doubting. The one who doubts is like waves blown around by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. Does what we believe have anything to do with our salvation? Then why would we think differently about healing? Here’s something to consider, Is what the prophet Isaiah said concerning Jesus true? Is what Matthew and Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote true? And if we follow the life of Jesus through the NT

We’re talking about the type of atmosphere that describes the tone, the mood, really the influence an individual has on their surroundings. Our subject is so crucial with what we’re facing in our nation because as disciples of Jesus, He made it clear that we are the light of the world today. And like we said last week, we should be the alternative to the current culture, not just another reflection of it. We need to set the atmosphere. This is the question we introduced last week; what kind of atmosphere accompanies us?What kind of tone or mood not only follows us, but goes before us? I’m bringing this up today because God has plans for each of us, as citizens of His Kingdom to take the culture of His Kingdom wherever we are, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, governments, etc... We are actually ambassadors for the Kingdom of Heaven. And it is Christ in us, empowering us to exercise Kingdom principle in a world we are no longer a part of. Listen to Paul’s description of a modern day disciple from Corinthians, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. John 17, paraphrase, Father, I have given them Your word. Because they are no longer of this world, just as I am not of this world.Sanctify them by Your word. And as You sent Me, I’m sending them. John 17:22-23,NKJV- “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” Acts 10:38, NKJV- How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Back to our original question, what kind of atmosphere accompanies us?What kind of tone, mood, attitude are we setting as an ambassador? Especially knowing we’ve been anointed with same Holy Spirit. And like we said last week, do we have any control over our atmosphere? We have to embrace the reality that if we are still here, and The Almighty has graced us to do something, chances are it's going to involve other people. So, the closer we follow Him. The more we're going to do the same things He did. I honestly believe that the closer we are to Jesus, the better our attitude will be towards others. Really, towards everything. This is why we’ve got to set the right atmosphere. When we’re moody, it’s way too easy to look past the one God's wanting us to influence. Hopefully having talks like this will encourage all of us to trust God to help us manage our moods and attitudes, instead of them managing us. Romans 12:2, NLT- Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. This means taking the time to think more intentionally about our God life. Seriously, we’re going to be thinking about something anyway. So why not make the time to establish a few more Godly habits. Because we get use to responding a certain way to certain feelings. A big one we have the tendency to overlook is our nonverbal communication. We actually get use to certain moods and attitudes, and a lot of times we don't even recognize the effect they're having on us, not to mention those around us. A big part of the life of faith is actually practicing what God tells instead of simply giving in to what we're use to. More specifically, setting the right atmosphere, being the thermostat. Usually the reason we give in to what we're use too is because we've allowed those wrong emotions to have so much of an influence that they've become habits. Galatians 2:20, NLT- My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Since Christ is living in us, let's trust Him to help us with those areas where our old, crucified nature still tries to have control. Let's practice exercising enough faith to own our emotions instead of them owning us. Instead of just responding out of a certain emotional habit to something, let's start making the choice to respond based on trust and commitment that His way is better. But until we choose to develop our new lives in Him, living according to His leading will always remain a challenge. And our emotions will continue their control, good or bad. Which means, the more we get use to giving in to them, the more we're use to them, which means the more control they have in our lives. This means that we've got to be open

John 6:38, NKJV- For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. So, when we follow Jesus through the scriptures and He heals everyone that came to Him for healing, according to Jesus’ own words, healing has to be the will of God. Exodus 15:26, “I am the Lord who heals you.” The thing about this statement from the lord is that it was one of His first covenant promises to His people after he delivered the from Egypt. Jesus is absolutely expecting us to finish what He started. As His body on the planet, our assignment is to continue all He commanded us. John 14:12, NKJV- Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. v.16, And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever v.26, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. There has to be a transformation in our thinking in order for us to appropriate the things God has already done for us. For us to finish what He started. Remember, Peter tells us God has givenus everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him, and He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them we may participate in His divine nature. 2 Timothy 3:16-17,AMP- “Every Scripture is God-breathed, given by His inspiration, and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action, v.17, So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I believe without a doubt, the one sure thing He gave His creation was His Word. And according to this passage, His word was given to train us in righteousness.So according to this passage, why would He show us and instruct us one way in His word, then expect us to live a different way and not say one word about it in the scriptures that He left to instruct us in righteousness? God wants us at a place where we live everyday of our live with intentional expectations. Trusting in every word He’s said to us. Proverbs 3:5-8, NIV- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Remember Abraham refused to waver at God’s promises through unbelief. One of the biggest things that will help any believer is to make our minds up that Jesus is still the very same person we see in His word. Hebrews 13:8-9, NIV- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. And since Jesus lives in Heaven now, He's actually expecting His body here to be just that, His body. Empower by His Holy Spirit. And the only way that happens is by faith. He actually designed and commanded us to live by faith. Hebrews 4:2, NKJV- For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. And this is why Paul challenges us to stay in the words of Christ until faith comes. So, we can make our minds up that Jesus is still the very same person we see in His word. Is it possible that just maybe instead of living by faith, we’ve settled for waiting around for God to perform another miracle? We have to get this issue settled; Jesus has done His part. He’s actually seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. So regardless of what we face, we’ve got to get this reality settled. He is the Lord our Healer. He named Himself that. He also gave us His written word to reveal His living word. To reveal Himself to us. The apostle Paul actually tells us that the things written about the children of Israel were written for our admonishment and warning. Numbers 21:4-9, AMP- And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom, and the people became impatient (depressed, much discouraged), because [of the trials] of the way. v.5, And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and we loathe this light (contemptible, unsubstantial) manna. v.6, Then the Lord sent fiery (burning) serpents among the people; and they bit the people, and many Israelites died. v.7, And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, that He may take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. v.8, And the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery se

You ever been to a restaurant that had a big fireplace, soft lighting and music, and thought, this is a cozy atmosphere?Or one that’s got a live band full of energy?Maybe you walk into a hotel and there’s something friendly and inviting about this atmosphere.What about at a ball game and the energy is so exciting that it’s contagious. This kind of atmosphere is basically describing the tone or mood of a place, the influence of an environment. And from a staff perspective, this is something we talk about in a regular basis from an organizational viewpoint. But our focus today is geared specifically to each of us individually. I am fully convinced that God has a mandate for this generation, Plans for each of us, as citizens of His Kingdom to take the culture of His Kingdom wherever we are, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, governments, etc... With this in mind, let me ask you this, as a Christian, you ever find yourself getting sucked into the narrative of the agenda driven media, filled with division and just meanness and evil? The atmosphere they’re setting is 100% kingdom of darkness influenced. This means that Christians have to provide an alternative to the anger instead of fueling it. Here’s a wakeup call for all of us, Jesus said we are the light of the world. And make no mistake, the unchurched world is watching. We absolutely should be the alternative to the current culture, not just another reflection of it. We need to set the atmosphere. The challenge we face according to Jesus is, the wheat and the tares are growing together, and the line dividing good and evil cuts right through the soul of humanity. With this in mind, what kind of atmosphere accompanies us?What kind of tone or mood not only follows us, but goes before us? I’m bringing this up today because, I’m fully convinced God has a mandate for this generation, and that is to take the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven everywhere we go. This life will require something not of this external, worldly system. As ambassadors it is Christ in us, empowering us to exercise Kingdom principle in a world we are no longer a part of.God has called us and anointed us to go into the world. John 17, paraphrase, Father, I have given them Your word. Because they are no longer of this world, just as I am not of this world.Sanctify them by Your word. And as You sent Me, I’m sending them. John 17:22-23,NKJV- “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” So back to our original question, what kind of atmosphere accompanies us?What kind of tone or mood not only follows us, but goes before us? The follow up question should be, do you have any control over your atmosphere? Would you say you’re a thermostat or a thermometer? John Wooden said, "Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." The ability to make the best of any situation really comes down to our attitude. Attitude will be your best friend or worst enemy. You know the old saying, "When the attitude's right, the future is bright." But something I believe to be just as important is that the present will be much more enjoyable. So often it’s the right attitude that gives us the right perspective. The story of Goliath is a great example: The Israeli army saw him to be too big to kill. David saw him to be to big to miss. Remember, God has a mandate for this generation, and that is to take the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven everywhere we go. This mean we have to be united! Acts 4:32, MSG- “The whole congregation of believers was UNITED as one—one heart, one mind!”And when it comes to other people, the right atmosphere can pave a new way, or repair an old one. We have to embrace the reality that since we’re still here, and The Almighty has graced us to do something, chances are it's going to involve other people. In John 10 Jesus said, "I came so that you could have abundant life." So, the closer we follow Him. The more we're going to do the same things He did. Everywhere Jesus went, He made the best of the situation. He brought out the best in those around Him. I honestly believe that the closer we are to Jesus, the better our attitude will be towards others. Really, towards everything. Being aware that it’s our moods and attitudes that set our atmosphere, here’s a few characteristics to consider: 1. Believe In Yourself- Believing in yourself means you've gotten comfortable with self-improvement. 2. See the Best In Others- JM's The 10 Principle3. You’re an Optimist4. Persistent- Your attitude is, that if you stick with it, breakthrough is right around the corner.5. You Own It- You step up, stop blaming, assess yourself, then change. Remember what Coach Wooden said, "Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." This is why we’

John 6:38, NKJV- For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. So, when we follow Jesus through the scriptures and He heals everyone that came to Him for healing, according to Jesus’ own words, healing is the will of God. Exodus 15:26, “I am the Lord who heals you.” 1 Peter 1:3, NIV- His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness MSG- Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. Acts 1:1, NKJV- The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach Jesus is absolutely expecting us to finish what He started. As His body on the planet, our assignment is to continue all He commanded us. Remember what Paul wrote in Corinthians, We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Proverbs 4:20-22, NLT- My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. (Medicine to your flesh) What if you started applying God’s word to your condition, like you would be taking prescribed medication? And the closer I walk with Jesus, the more I’m learning that a faith life has to be developed just like a human life. When symptoms start dominating our thoughts, act swiftly, taking every thought captive. There has to be a transformation in our thinking in order for us to appropriate the things God has already done for us. For us to finish what He started. Romans 4 gives us very clear steps for being and doer. I call it the blueprint for fighting the good fight of faith. Romans 4:16-21,NKJV- Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all v.17, (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and CALLS those things which do not exist as though they did; v.18, who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” v. 19, And not being weak in faith, he did not CONSIDER his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. v.20, He did not WAVER at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, c.21, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Abraham gives us 4 faith principles to successfully live by faith. 1. v.17, He CALLED himself what God called him, out of things not seen. 2. v.19, He refused to CONSIDER his body, his circumstances. He didn’t deny his condition, he simply refused to consider it. We can’t make a faith confession in the morning, then spend the rest of the day considering our condition. 3. v.20, He would not WAVER on God’s promise. So 4. v.21, being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Remember, Proverbs tells us that God’s words are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. What if you started using Abraham’s method in applying God’s word to your condition, like you would taking prescribed medication? There has to be a transformation in our thinking in order for us to appropriate the things God has already done for us. Remember, Peter tells us God has givenus everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him, and He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them we may participate in His divine nature. Here’s the thing, will we stay with it long enough to let the fruit of His word transform us to the place where we actually participate in His divine nature? 2 Timothy 3:16-17,AMP- “Every Scripture is God-breathed, given by His inspiration, and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action, (Instruction, rep roof and conviction, correction, discipline, training)v.17, So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I believe without a doubt, the one sure thing He gave His creation was His Word. And if His word was given to train us in righteousness, then why would He show us and instruct us one way in His wo

I love how the Message paraphrases how God describes His church in Ephesians, “I’m building a home, using all of you, irrespective of how you got here.” Remember, Jesus said, On the revelation of who I am I will build my church. God is still calling believers together to love one another, pray for each other, and serve along side each other reaching their community for Christ. Truth is, serving is an invitation for Jesus to be more involved in our lives. He actually said that it’s a true sign of greatness. Finding Your Fit is a life long journey of surrender. Jesus actually told us, “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Christianity isn’t just believing, it’s belonging. Finding Your Fit is personally accepting the responsibility of advancing our purpose as part of His body in the earth. This is why we’re always encouraging you to get involved, because serving in your church is the most effective way you’re going to discover the gifts God has already graced you with. And regardless of where you are in your faith journey, don’t ever entertain the thoughts that you don’t have anything to offer. As we continue growing as disciples we find ourselves growing past just coming to church, and like His first disciples, we simply bring Jesus what we have and watch him us it. Today Jesus is telling us the same thing He told them, just give me what you've got and I'll work with it. Jesus says, give me your upbringing, your failures, your lack of experience, your fears and insecurities, and watch what I can do through you. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, serving becomes part of our nature, not to mention, one of our greatest acts of worship. It’s where we discover Jesus at new levels. This is why being part of a local church has to be about more than just showing up to hear something. Hebrews 10:24-25 (MSG) Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. For all of us that consider ourselves disciples we can't just assume this will happen by itself. There's something about encouraging and helping out that's a big part of worship. Remember Paul writes, we’re all one body, with one Spirit, called to the same glorious future. He goes on to say, Jesus fits His whole body together perfectly. And as each part does it’s own special work, it cause the whole body to grow healthy and full of love. So never underestimate the significance of God orchestrating personalities, giftings and talents in making a local church unique. As we continue growing in our relationship with Jesus, there will be a shift in our thinking from it being just about us to those around us? From coming to get something on Sunday, to bringing something. Jesus actually told us, the greatest among you will be servants. The truth is, the more devoted we are to Jesus, the more devoted we'll be to His church, the one He’s called us too. Ultimately, being part of a local congregation is where we worship together, grow together, we laugh together, hurt together, discover who we are together. Think about it, what if we all come together, considering one another, exhorting one another, encouraging one another,What if we take responsibility for creating a loving, restoring, healing atmosphere? Acts 4:32 (MSG) “The whole congregation of believers was UNITED as one—one heart, one mind!” Ephesians 1:22 (NKJV) He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Scriptures like these bring clarity to our new life in Christ, not only individually, but also as a local congregation. This is why Proverbs tells us that when we're not open to Divine guidance, we're left to make our own decisions. But when we make ourselves available to His guidance, Kingdom advancement will be a priority to us. Matthew 6:33,NLT- Seek the Kingdom of God above all else... Think about it, right now, how teachable would you say you are? Our God ordained transformation only happens one way, and the more open and teachable we are, the more the Holy Spirit can express Himself through us, individually and corporately. This is why understanding who we are as people of God, as living members of His body the Church, is crucial. Matthew 10:40 (NKJV) “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me." What if tomorrow, what if next Sunday you’re the one someone sees Jesus through for the first time? Listen to Paul's prayer for us, I’m asking the God of our Master, Jesus Christ: To help you in knowing Him personally, To be focused and clear, So that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do. As a local congregation, something we should all help each other remember is that regardless of where we are in our faith journey, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is still right where He said it was. (Pete

Mark 3:13-15,NKJV- “And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.” Acts 1:1-2,NKJV- The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen. Jesus is absolutely expecting us to finish what He started. As His body on the planet, our assignment is to continue all He commanded us. Matthew 9:38,NLT- “So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into his fields.” Workers to do what? Remember, “The things Jesus began to do and to teach.” We have to remember, faith for any subject comes from hearing the word of God on that subject. So unless we preach and teach healing, there’s no way there can be faith for healing. Think about it, if you were one of Jesus’ first disciples, you went everywhere with Him, and you were telling new people about Jesus, how would you describe Him? I believe that’s the question we need to ask ourselves, do we honestly believe that Jesus still heals, or are we waiting for a confirmation? In other words, are we still walking by sight instead of faith when it comes to healing? Remember what Jesus told Jairus?And the nobleman’s son? Think about this, if Paul told us that the accounts of the OT were written for our admonition and correction, why would the accounts of Jesus be any different? John 6:38,NKJV- For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. So when we follow Jesus through the scriptures and He heals everyone that came to Him for healing, according to Jesus’ own words, healing is the will of God. 1 Peter 2:24,NIV- He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” Everything Jesus did while He was on the planet in a human body was not only fulfilling the prophetic, but pointing us to what He was about to fulfill at the cross. Exodus 15:26, “I am the Lord who heals you.” 1 Peter 1:3,NIV- His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Remember what Paul wrote in Corinthians, We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Proverbs 4:20-22,NLT- My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. (Medicine to your flesh) What if you started applying God’s word to your condition, like you would taking prescribed medication? Because we live in a fallen, cursed world, outside the practice of medicine, or a miracle, healing only happens by faith. And the closer I walk with Jesus, the more I’m learning that a faith life has to be developed just like a human life. When symptoms start dominating our thoughts, act swiftly, taking every thought captive. When we don’t see or feel immediate change, this is where believing actually comes into play. There has to be a transformation in our thinking in order for us to appropriate the things God has already done for us. For us to finish what He started. Deuteronomy 30:19,NLT- Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! God gave us the power to choose. Our lives aren’t just on automatic. We actually have to choose God’s blessing. Even though God designed us to live a certain way, until we make a conscious evert to stop resorting to our human reasoning to determine the realities of His word, our faith will remain undeveloped. Here’s the thing, follow Jesus’ life through the NT and there’s no way you can honestly say healing isn’t part of His purpose. Matthew 28:18-20,MSG- Jesus told His disciples: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” What if, we don’t see something like healing operating in our church today simply because we fail to talk about it enough to allow the Holy Spirit to establish faith in us concerning healing? Romans 4 gives us very clear steps for being and doer. I call it the blueprint for fighting the good fight of faith. Romans 4:16-21,NKJV- Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace

Matthew 10:39, ...He who loses his life for My sake will find it. Have you ever entertained the thought of allowing Jesus to disrupt your life for the advancement of His church? Offering you life to Him as a living sacrifice. Make no mistake, God’s plan from the beginning was to bring His kids together for the advancement of the Kingdom on the planet. Jesus said, I will build My church. Never underestimate the significance of God orchestrating personalities, giftings and talents in making a local church unique. Listen to how Paul describes it, Jesus fits His whole body together perfectly. And as each part does it’s own special work, it cause the whole body to grow. The moment we give our lives to Christ, we become part of His body, and we each have a role to play. 1 Corinthians 12:27,MSG- You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. God continually calls believers together to love one another, pray for each other, and serve along side each other reaching our community for Christ. It’s import to realize that in this process, at the same time God’s revealing, He’s preparing. Finding Your Fit is a life long journey of surrender. Ultimately, Christianity isn’t just believing, it’s belonging. For example , being a part of Victory simply means that you’re taking the next step in your commitment to being part of His body. Ultimately we’re all one body of believers. But God graces each of His churches with a personality, much like He does individuals. Romans 12:4-5,NLT- Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Finding Your Fit is personally accepting the responsibility of advancing our purpose as part of His body in the earth. Which is, Helping people discover and develop a life in Christ. I love how God describes His church in Ephesians, “I’m building a home, using all of you, irrespective of how you got here.” This is why we’re always encouraging you to get involved, because serving in your church is the most effective way you’re going to discover the gifts God has already graced you with. And regardless of where you are in your faith journey, don’t ever entertain the thoughts that you don’t have anything to offer. Matthew 14, We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered. “Bring them here to Me. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. As we continue growing as disciples we find ourselves growing past just coming to church, and like the 12, we simply bring Jesus what we have and watch him us it. Jesus says, give me your upbringing, your failures, your lack of experience, your fears and insecurities, give me you ideas and creativity, your time and effort and watch what I can do through you. This is why we're continually trying to get as many as possible involved in serving in their church. It’s one of our greatest acts of worship. It’s where we discover Jesus at new levels. This is why being part of a local church has to be about more than just showing up to hear something. Hebrews 10:24-25,MSG- Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. There's something about encouraging and helping out that's a big part of worship. Romans 12, So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. It’s one of our greatest acts of worship. I promise you, when we make those around us better, it automatically makes us better. As a matter of fact, something significant happens in the lives of new believers when someone more mature, another disciple for example, looks out for them, helps them become part of our process called church. Remember, we’re all one body, with one Spirit, called to the same glorious future. So never underestimate the significance of God orchestrating personalities, giftings and talents in making a local church unique. You ever wonder why Jesus set up His church the way He did? Think about it, we are these frail, fickle, flawed people. But because He created us to be like Him and left the decision entirely up to us, His grace allows us the privilege of discovering who we can be when we come together. This is what happens when we let Jesus disrupt our lives and we embrace His call. Ephesians 4, We are all one body, with one Spirit, called to the same glorious future. It goes on to say, Jesus fits His whole body together perfectly. And as each part does it’s own special work, it cause the whole body to grow healthy and full of love. God continually calls believ