I Won't Go On Without It!

2 Kings 6: 1-7

In our text, we find a school of prophets being led, or instructed by the Prophet Elisha.  We find that these young prophets or disciples feel that they have outgrown their present facilities.

We don’t know how long they had been in those facilities but they reached a place in time where the walls were closing in on them, they were feeling pressured, uncomfortable, They felt it was time for expansion.

In other words: They out grew their environment.

It is perfectly normal that in the process, of growth and maturity that as we grow into some things we also grow out of others.

I don’t wear the same size shoes I did when I was 5 years old.

I don’t read the same material I read when I was 5 or 10 years old.

I don’t think like I thought when I was 5 years old.

I out grew something’s.

Some of you are stuck in an environment that is too small for you because you refuse to change, you refuse to let go of what you are familiar with and comfortable with even though it’s causing you grief and pain.

Some of you need to reevaluate your friendship circle; because God is trying to take you somewhere but short sighted, low living, lukewarm people are holding you back.

I made up my mind a long time ago, that if you can’t handle where I’m going I have to cut you loose.  I love you but I can’t let you hold God’s church back.

Abraham knew when he was headed up the mountain with Isaac, everybody couldn’t handle what he was getting ready to do, so he left the young men at the bottom of the mountain with the ass.

Ge 22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

It doesn’t make you any better than anybody else, it just means you are more determined to fulfill your God given destiny.

Every man took a beam:

This means each man must carry his share of the load. It means that each person must be personally involved and committed to the work, and each person must make a personal investment.

They cut down wood: (They went to work).

It’s amazing how many people want something for nothing.

They want a great church but they want the Pastor to build it.

They want a great marriage, but they don’t want to take time to cultivate and nurture that relationship.

They want prosperity but they don’t want to have to work for it.

The door to success is marked PUSH.

That means if you want something in life, you have to work for it.

So what are you waiting for, Get to work!

A Prophetic Word

I want to share this prophetic word given by one of the women in our church.

"God is patient and waiting for His people to act.  Do not be afraid for He has it all in His hands.  We are His children, we belong to Him.  Keep your eyes open for much is going on around you.  It may come at night or noon day, but keep your eyes open for much will happen.  It will be a fast work.  One will be here and one gone.  No one knows when.  The time clock is ticking and we haven't much time.  Doomsday is about to happen so look out for one another, be kind to your neighbor for trouble shall come as a thief in the night.  Beware and be prepared.  It is out of your hands.  Remember, God is with you."

Given by Mary V., October 17, 2010

Agree or Believe?

Mark 16:15-20

Faith has been called the believers 6th sense. Faith is the believer’s ability to see what cannot be seen with the natural eye, to hear what cannot be heard with the natural ear, and to taste what cannot be tasted with the natural taste.

Faith is this supernatural sense that is birthed in the human heart when Gods word is heard, received, believed, and acted on.

Faith enabled Elijah to hear the sound of an abundance of rain when not one drop had fallen from the sky in 3 1/2 years.

Faith sustained a widow woman through the famine, her meal barrel wasted not and the cruse of oil did not fail until the Lord sent rain according to the word of the Lord by Elijah.

By faith a widow woman went from nothing but a small pot of oil, to an abundance that satisfied her creditors, and blessed her family

Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, … prepared an ark to the saving of his house … and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Heb 11:30 by faith the walls of Jericho fell down, (after they were compassed) about seven days.

Notice the action words connected with faith in those sentences: Moses (moved).

The walls of Jericho were (compassed, or walked around for seven days).  Noah built!

Faith is not agreement to the truthfulness of the word of God.

If Gods word is true (we know it is,) why do we not see more of the power of God manifested in our lives?

I believe the answer is in understanding what Jesus meant when he said “Believe”.

We have raised a generation of mental agree’ers ,  agreeing with the mind to the truth of the word.

But from Jesus perspective believers are more than agree’ers they are doers.

James 2:19 tells us that devils believe and tremble but they don’t do any righteous works of faith.

The plague that has infected the church world is that of calling the agreement of the mind a vital and living faith, calling it believing, but it is not believing without corresponding actions.

According to the scripture faith has corresponding works, and without works it is dead, that means that a believer is a doer.  So the question you and I need to ask ourselves is this:  ARE WE AN AGREE’ER OR A BELIEVER?  I trust you are a believer, and if you are, act on the Word today!

It's speaking english that is killing us!

I received this in a forwarded email and thought it worth sharing.  Enjoy!

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies:

1. The Japanese eat very little fat

And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat

And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine

And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4 The Italians drink a lot of red wine

And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats

And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION......

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

The Rock that doesn't Roll

Luke 6: 47-49

The storms our text is talking about are unforeseeable storms.Supernatural in design and origin.  Unavoidable.
This storm is not the consequence of bad or selfish or carnal decisions.
This storm is a product of satanic conspiracy.
It is designed to destroy your faith, to take you out.

It is a fiery furnace designed, formed, created for the sole purpose of destroying your life.

Nebuchadnezzars fiery furnace was supposed to prove publicly that the faith of the three Hebrew children was worthless; it was his intention to publicly humiliate the testimony and the confession of these three children of faith.

That’s the purpose of the storm: that’s the reason that it comes.

It comes to humiliate you, to ridicule you, to destroy your faith in God.
To put you on display and say to the world they couldn’t make it, and neither will you, I destroyed them, and I’ll destroy you too.

And the sad truth is: There are many in the church that have been blown away by the storms and have fallen.

And Jesus tells us why: Because they built their house on the sand.
They went to church, they heard the preacher, they shouted, they danced, they even paid their tithes, they talked in tongues.

But they built their house on the sand.

Sand means (surface, moving, shifting, changing, unstable).

They built on their religious affiliation.
They built on their good deeds.
They built on their morality, and legal righteousness.
They built on their own wisdom and knowledge.
And all of these things are but sand moving and shifting with the rising tide.

Jesus reveals that when the house is destroyed in the storm, it is a foundation problem.
Everything is dependent upon your foundation, and this is where so many people miss it.

They want to build something they can be proud of that will impress others.
They want the anointing and they want to minister.
They want to preach, they want to teach, sing, or evangelize.
They want big houses, fancy cars, reputation, and popularity.

And they put all of their energy into what you can see, and they fail to build a strong foundation.

Jesus said: The wise man dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock.
The wise man understands, that the most necessary thing in his house is the foundation.
The wise man is more concerned with what others cannot see, than what they can see.

Jesus spent 30 years of his life laying a foundation for a 3 1/2 year ministry.

We know Jesus was born, we saw him at 12 years of age in the temple, but we know nothing of his life up until he was 12 and we know nothing of his life after 12 years old until he started his open ministry at 30 years of age.

What was Jesus doing in all those silent years?
He was building; he was laying the foundation for his ministry.

Jesus was teaching us how to build our lives.

Mat. 6:1-8 He taught us to do our praying in secret in the closet, to do our alms between ourselves and God, to fast secretly unto the Lord, not seeking attention from others.

This is the foundational life, (Then he says, when you have done these things secretly, Your father, God, will reward you openly).

The wise man will dig down deep.
The wise man is willing to invest time and effort in building a good foundation.

Jesus reveals that the reason one man’s house was destroyed by the storm, and the other was not, was all because of the foundation.
Laying the foundation for a successful life is hard work.

Anybody can shout, dance, run, speak in tongues, but digging a deep foundation requires hard work.  Prayer, tithing, giving, faithfulness, evangelism, commitment!The wise man digs down deep.  You have to dig past feelings, emotions.
Dig past popular opinion.  Dig past head knowledge.  You have to dig past second hand revelation, in other words you can’t build your life on who everyone else says Jesus is.  You’ve got to know him for yourself.

There are storms in life that are unavoidable.There are storms that take us by surprise.
There are storms are supernatural in design and origin.
But the revelation that Jesus brings to us is this.

If the house has the right foundation it will still be standing when the storm is over.
He is the rock that never rolls.
He is the foundation that never shifts.
He is the friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
He is the captain that never lost a battle.
He is your shelter in the time of storm.
He is your fortress, and your high tower.

You can make it to that rock, and if you’ll build on the rock, you’ll make it.  CAUSE HE IS THE ROCK THAT DOESN’T ROLL!

My top 10 church pet peeves!

My top 10 church pet peeves!

The dictionary defines a Pet Peeve this way:  a particular and often continual annoyance. 

So with that definition in mind let me share with you what peeves this pastor!

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

1.       You are too sick or tired to go to church on Sunday, but not too sick or tired to go to work on Monday.

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

2.       You pay extra money for a front row seat at a ballgame and yet come early to get a back row seat at church.

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

3.       You can afford to buy new computers, ipods, iphones, etc. but can’t afford to give God His tithe!

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

4.       You can sit through a 2 hour movie without going to the bathroom but can’t sit through a worship service without getting up and down to take care of your business.

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

5.       You go to a movie and sit through all the credits before you get up to leave but leave the worship service before it’s over.

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

6.       You stand in the foyer during the sermon talking to your buddy instead of being inside the sanctuary listening to the word of God.

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

7.       You get together with your friends to intercede, however there is more sharing (also known as gossip) going on than there is intercession.

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

8.       You have no problem taking instruction and direction from your boss at work, but get mad if the pastor at church gives you instruction or direction.

You might peeve this pastor if . . .

9.       You don’t faithfully bring your children to church when they are young and then are heart broken when they won’t go to church when they are older.

And last but not least, you might peeve this pastor if . . .

10.   You can yell, scream, gesture and clap at a football game and can’t lift your hands and open your mouth to worship God.

Thanks, I feel a little better now that I've got that off my chest!

Cave Time

CAVE TIME?
1 Kings 19:1-19:18

Elijah goes from the mountain top, to a Juniper tree and from there Elijah’s next stop is a cave
Why is Elijah hiding in a cave? 

The answer is fear.  The bible says Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done, how he slew the false prophets and called down fire and rain from heaven, then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with the message that She was going to kill him.

There is so much that can be said about Elijah’s experience, however in this blog I want to point out the following:

The cave is a place of two anointings, it is the place where we either transition into the anointing for the future, or we resign ourselves to the anointing of the past.

When Saul was pursuing David, it just so happened that Saul decided to rest in the same cave where David and his men were hiding.

1sa 24:3
And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a CAVE; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the CAVE.

I want you to get a mental picture of what is happening:  David and his men are hiding in a cave in the middle of the desert.  Saul decides to take a rest room break and odds against odds, he chooses the exact same cave David and his men are hiding in.  While Saul is taking care of business, David and his men crowd up against the walls in darkness, watching Saul as he was literally totally exposed in weakness.

David’s men encouraged him to kill Saul but he would not put his hand against the Lords anointed.

1sa 24:6 And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.

Here, at the same time, in the same cave, there are two anointing. There was yesterday’s king with yesterdays anointing.

Saul was a king and he was anointed, and he had been used of God, and he had done some great things in the anointing, but Saul had failed to make the transition.

Then there was tomorrows King (David) who represents the transition to the fresh, the new, and the future.

In every cave there are two anointings, and there are two kings.  There are the old and the new.  And it’s up to you which one comes out of that cave, (You can either come out transitioned into the new and the fresh) or you can come out resigned to yesterdays anointing, (If you do you will live the rest of your life looking back, talking about how it used to be, what God used to do, How God used to move.)
At some point we will all come to this place, it is here that we must decide whether we are going to transition into the new or we are going to resign ourselves to the old.

The old was not bad, it’s just time to change.  Saul had a genuine anointing but it was time to change.  Elijah had a great anointing but it was time to change.

Your cave experience is the place of change, of newness, of a fresh start.

When Elijah left that cave he was a new man, he was fearless, Jezebel meant nothing to him anymore, He wasn’t looking back anymore, he had a new anointing for a new day.