The Sequence of Events in the Return of Jesus
7.20.2025
Review
Last week, I mentioned that the Lord gave me 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 as I awakened on July 12, 2025
Then I was praying, and kept hearing the word – acceleration!
We could easily be the last generation. Time is speeding up. Time is short!
From the fig tree learn this lesson: as soon as its young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know of a surety that summer is near. 33 So also when you see these signs,all taken together, coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, at the very doors. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation (the whole multitude of people living at the same time,in a definite,given period) will not pass away till all these things taken together take place. 35 Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
I want to introduce to you another way of looking at Jesus’ return.
Jesus’ coming is a singular event.
It contains a number of phases as He returns.
Jesus’ coming is a parousia.
Parousia is used 29 times in 9 NT books.
Parousia
From – para – with
and – ousia – being.
Conveys the idea of an arrival, and a continued presence with…
It indicates a sequence of events.
When we speak of Jesus’ first coming, we think of the announcement of His birth to Mary, the incarnation in Bethlehem, His temple teaching at age 12, His growing up, His baptism by John, His public ministry, His crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension.
His second coming will include the rise of the antiChrist, the birth pangs spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24, the great tribulation after the antiChrist desecrates the temple, the resurrection of those who have died in Christ, the rapture of the church, the Day of the Lord, judgment on the wicked with the trumpet and bowl judgments, His physical return to Jerusalem in glory and power, and His establishing His millennial kingdom. (p.4)
Of the 17 times the word coming is used in connection with the return of Christ, it is used only in the singular and always with a definite article or personal pronoun (i.e., thy coming, the coming, or His coming). (p. 10).
So again, there is a sequence of events in the second coming of Christ.
That sequence includes the rapture of the church. The rapture of the church is a part of the second coming of Christ!
Revelation 4 and 5
These things that we read in Revelation, the gospels, and in the epistles about Jesus’ return will come to pass just as it is written!
Reveals God as the creator, owner, and sustainer of all things.
Reveals that God has a scroll in His right hand with 7 seals securing it. No one in all the universe could be found who had the authority to take the scroll from God’s right hand, open the seals, and then open the scroll.
Suddenly, a Lamb appears. This Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ. He was deemed worthy to open the seals on the scroll, and then to bring to pass the contents of the scroll.
In the scroll are the Trumpet Judgments of Revelation 8 and 9, and the Bowl or Laver Judgments in Revelation 15 and 16. These cleanse the earth from the defilement of Satan and from the disobedience of man. They make the way for Jesus’ return and His 1,000 year reign!
The Seals in Revelation 6 are the birth pangs spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24. Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 are parallel chapters and deal with the seals opening on the scroll.
Seal one – AntiChrist appears riding on a white horse.
Seal two – A red horse appears and takes peace from the earth as war breaks out
Seal three – A black horse appears, and famine and inflation come.
Seal four – A pale green horse appears; people die as the result of war and famine.
Seal five – Martyrs appear and cry out to God for justice.
Seal six – Cosmic disturbances occur. The sun, moon, and stars darken and a huge earthquake occurs that upsets life on earth.
Jesus appears in the rapture of the church right after this to take the church to heaven before the seventh seal is broken in Revelation 8.
In Revelation 8, heaven becomes silent for 30 minutes as the prayers of the saints, perhaps of all ages, come up before God.
When the seventh seal is broken, the Trumpet judgments begin, and with them the Day of the Lord begins. The Day of the Lord is the Wrath of God poured out on a sinful world.
The rapture has already occurred! The rapture precedes God’s wrath! We will NOT be here for the worst things that are coming.
Meteors hit the earth, changing the climate and causing massive amounts of destruction and death.
Believe me, you do not want to be here for this.
You WANT to be taken out of here by Jesus before this time.
The only way of escape is to be raptured away.
And only those born again and walking with God will go in the rapture.
Any sin in your life right now will leave an open door for the enemy to attack you. Keep the door to Satan shut by walking closely with God and seeking to be a witness for Jesus.
The world is changing rapidly, and Jesus is coming back.
Get ready!
Live ready!
Refuse compromise with the flesh and the devil!
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—
Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35 like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”
Action Points:
What can you do?
1. Develop a strong devotional time with the Lord. Read your Bible and pray to begin your day.
2. Ask the Lord to show you areas where you need to change, and be willing to change!
3. Pray for the salvation of your family and friends.
4. Ask God to use you to be a witness for Jesus every day.
The Utterance Gifts
7.16.2025
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 – NKJV
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: (2) You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. (3) Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. (4) There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. (6) And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. (7) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (8) for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (11) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
There are three major classifications of spiritual gifts…
Everything that God does through a believer will come under one of these 9 gifts.
Revelation – Reveal Something
Word of Wisdom
Word of Knowledge
Discerning of Spirits
Power – Do Something
Gift of Faith
Working of Miracles
Gifts of Healings
Utterance – Say something
Gift of Prophecy
Different Kinds of Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues
We’ll deal first of all with the utterance gifts.
Some facts about the gift of prophecy.
Prophecy is the most important of the three gifts of utterance. It takes the other two utterance gifts – tongues and interpretation to equal prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:5 – NKJV
I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
Prophecy – a supernatural utterance in a known tongue.
Different Kinds of Tongues is a supernatural utterance in an unknown language.
Interpretation of tongues is a supernatural revealing of what has been said in different kinds of tongues.
The Hebrew Word for prophecy means – to flow forth; to bubble forth like a fountain; to let drop; to lift up; to tumble forth; to spring forth.
The Greek Word for prophecy – to speak on God’s behalf or to be God’s spokesman.
In the Old Testament, prophecy is mostly foretelling.
Only the prophet, priest, and king had the HS on them. No one could hear the voice of the HS the way we do.
In the New Testament, prophecy is forth-telling. Encouraging. Not for guidance.
All believers are encouraged to prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:1-5 – NKJV
Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (2) For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. (3) But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. (4) He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. (5) I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
1 Corinthians 14:39 – NKJV
Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.
Some thoughts about prophecy and prophets.
There is no revelation in the simple gift of prophecy. It simply edifies, exhorts, and comforts (1 Corinthians 14:3).
The prophet’s ministry is a ministry office mentioned in Ephesians 4:11. Prophesying doesn’t make you a prophet.
A prophet has at least two of the revelation gifts plus prophecy working in his life.
1 Corinthians 12:29-31 – NKJV
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? (30) Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (31) But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
Are all prophets? Paul told the whole church to desire to prophesy, but that doesn’t qualify them to be a prophet.
Example of the simple gift of prophecy.
Acts 21:8-13 – NKJV
On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. (9) Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. (10) And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. (11) When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit,’So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'” (12) Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. (13) Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
The simple gift of prophecy edifies the believer but does not predict the believer’s future.
The gifts of prophecy plus the word of wisdom may foretell the future.
We are to prophesy according to our faith.
Romans 12:6 – NKJV
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith
Don’t try to prophesy without the anointing.
Prophecy is not preaching – To preach is to proclaim, announce, cry, to tell – always in the sense of expounding the Word. We preach the gospel. We don’t prophesy the gospel.
In preaching, the human mind (full of the Word) is operated by the Spirit. In prophecy, the mind of the Spirit is speaking through the natural speech organs.
Preaching is inspired, but it is not supernatural. Prophesying is supernatural –the mind is not involved.
Prophecy is not for guidance.
Example – In the late 1970’s when Susan and I were dating, a man used in the prophet’s ministry held an independent meeting in a local technical college auditorium. During the meeting a local pastor came up to Susan and me, and said he had a prophetic word for Susan. He said the Lord told him that Susan was going to be a missionary to Pago Pago – an island in the South Pacific! Susan knew nothing about this, and it was not in her heart. I told her to just forget it!
We are to be led by the Spirit of God, not by prophets!
Romans 8:14 – NKJV
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Proverbs 20:27 – NKJV
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.
Prophecy Directives
Understand the purpose behind the meeting you are attending. Before any church service where the ministry is open to spiritual gifts manifesting, ask God for spiritual gifts to manifest, and tell Him that you are open to be used in the simple gift of prophecy. Pray in tongues.
If the gift of prophecy manifests, it will start with a quickening inside of you. That is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Wait for the proper time, like a quiet time after a song during worship. We should never interrupt a pastor or speaker in a service, even if we sense the anointing rising up within us. Ask the Lord to make a time to give the prophecy if He wants you to give it. When a place opens up, speak the prophecy aloud. You will sense the quickening of the Holy Spirit! Stop prophesying when that quickening ceases.
1 Corinthians 14:32 – AMPC
For the spirits of the prophets (the speakers in tongues) are under the speaker’s control [and subject to being silenced as may be necessary],
Different Kinds of Tongues
A person receives the ability to pray in tongues when he is baptized with the Holy Spirit.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Every person baptized with the Holy Spirit should expect to pray in tongues, or in the Spirit.
But not everyone baptized with the HS will be used in the gift of different kinds of tongues.
And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
So, just as not everyone is in a ministry office – apostle, prophet, etc…, so not everyone will be used in the same spiritual gifts.
Every believer should receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, and every believer should expect to pray in tongues if they are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but not everyone will be used in the gift of different kinds of tongues.
Speaking in the unknown tongue and the spiritual gift of different kinds of tongues are the same in essence, that is, where they come from, but they are different in the way they are used. One is for personal devotions with the Lord, and the other is often manifest in public in a gathering of believers.
Here is what it is like when different kinds of tongues manifests:
You pray a normal way in tongues with a usual language that you don’t know in your daily time before the Lord, and you know the sounds it makes.
With different kinds of tongues, it is a different language than the normal one God gave you when you were baptized with the Holy Spirit; it will sound different, and there will be an internal quickening of the Holy Spirit when it manifests!
Example – Six months before Covid came, I was leading a prayer meeting at Victory on Sunday night, October 6, 2019. As I sat on a stool in front of everyone and prayed in tongues and in English, the other tongues I usually spoke in changed to what sounded like German, and there was an anointing with it.
The interpretation was that an event would occur that would shake our nation deeply, and that after this event, Joel 2:28-32 would be fulfilled!
Interpretation of Tongues
1. It is the least of the nine gifts because it is dependent on another gift for its operation. It takes the least faith to use. (1 Corinthians 14:5)
Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?
If you will ask the Lord to help you know what you are saying when praying in tongues, then when you need to, you will know what you’re saying in tongues! HE will reveal it to you!
Interpretation of tongues comes a number of ways:
it may come with phrases or sentences, or even words that you hear inside of you, in your spirit.
It may come in picture form in your imagination.
Are You Ready For Jesus’ Return?
7.13.2025
Intro
I woke up around 5:00 am on Saturday morning, and as I lay there awake, I asked the Lord what He wanted me to meditate on before I got up.
His answer:
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NKJV)
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Shout:
(Dake Study Bible Notes) Shout–Command
Greek: keleuma (G2752), a cry of incitement; an order; command in war; the call of preparation for action. Only here. Not the same word where shout is mentioned the only other time in the New Testament (Acts 12:22). Here it is the shout of command for the dead to arise, as in the case of Lazarus (Jn. 11:43). This will be followed by the shout of the archangel (used only here and Jude 1:9), and the trump of God, whose great and terrible blasts–like those on Sinai–grew louder and louder until the heavens and the earth shook (Ex. 20:18-19 Heb. 12:18-21,26).
Caught up:
(Dake Study Bible Notes)
Greek: harpazo (G726), to carry off; grasp hastily; snatch up; to seize and overpower; to plunder (note, Jn. 10:28). From this we get our word rapture, meaning the act of transporting, as harpazo is used in Mt. 13:19; Acts 8:39; 2Cor. 12:2,4; 1Th. 4:17; Rev. 12:5.
Caught up:
(Holman Christian Standard Bible Study Bible Notes)
The term “rapture” is derived from rapturo, the Latin translation of the Greek term. The Greek term means “to snatch or take away suddenly.” Paul referred to this event as a mystery (some truth previously hidden but now known) in 1 Cor 15:51-52 and said it will happen in the twinkling of an eye. “We who are still alive” implies that Paul thought the rapture could occur at any moment, even during his lifetime. The “archangel” or chief angel is probably a reference to Michael (Daniel 10:13; Jude 9).
This of course is the rapture of the church.
I was praying in this auditorium on Tuesday, and the Lord kept speaking to me the word acceleration.
It is as though things concerning Jesus’ return are speeding up.
Are you ready for the rapture of the church?
Are you ready to be snatched away by the Holy Spirit?
We could easily be in the season of Jesus’ return.
6 reasons we may be near Jesus’ return.
1. A treaty of some kind will signal the beginning of a seven-year period typically called The Tribulation.
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.
The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.
This could be a treaty, or some kind of agreement that creates a peace between Israel and her enemies.
This treaty will signal the beginning of the last seven years of time that God showed Daniel 2500 years ago of God dealing with Israel.
It is called “the time of Jacob’s trouble.”
It is called “Daniel’s seventieth week.”
It is called “The Tribulation,” even though this term is NOT found in the Bible.
At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.
At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. 2 Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. 3 Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever. 4 But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.
2. A Two-State solution is in the process of being brokered by the nations of the Middle East.
This would create a nation for Patestinians within Israel in Gaza.
For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.
President Trump just met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu this past week and it is suggested that they are talking about how to broker a peace agreement with the Middle Eastern nations.
I think that Trump being president is by the Hand of the Lord.
July 13 last year, his life was spared.
He is being used by God to set the world up for scripture to be fulfilled.
Once a peace agreement comes, there are seven years of hardship for Israel and the world.
3. The World is preparing for a digital currency, which will usher in a more specific control of finances here in the USA and worldwide for those who participate.
Artificial Intelligence will be used in a great way to steer world economics, world politics, and world oversight.
Digital currency will at some point replace the physical dollar, and physical money may at some point be phased out.
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. 18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
4. The Jewish temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and animal sacrifices will be reinstituted by the Hasidic Jews.
They are not messianic Jews, believing that Jesus is their messiah. They want the sacrifices to be brought back so that they can worship God their Old Testament way.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Here is another legal requirement commanded by the LORD: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer, a perfect animal that has no defects and has never been yoked to a plow. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Eleazar will take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle. 5 As Eleazar watches, the heifer must be burned—its hide, meat, blood, and dung. 6 Eleazar the priest must then take a stick of cedar, a hyssop branch, and some scarlet yarn and throw them into the fire where the heifer is burning. 7 “Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Afterward he may return to the camp, though he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. 8 The man who burns the animal must also wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he, too, will remain unclean until evening. 9 Then someone who is ceremonially clean will gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them in a purified place outside the camp. They will be kept there for the community of Israel to use in the water for the purification ceremony. This ceremony is performed for the removal of sin. 10 The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel and any foreigners who live among them.
Red Heifer
https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/red-heifers-in-the-bible/
The concept of the red heifer is addressed in the Bible in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 19. This chapter describes a detailed ritual involving a red heifer, which was to be used in the purification rites of the ancient Israelites, particularly to cleanse those who had come into contact with a corpse.
According to the text, the red heifer should be completely red, without any spot of another color, and it must never have been yoked or used for labor. The heifer is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in the presence of the priest. Then, the priest takes some of its blood and sprinkles it toward the front of the Tent of Meeting seven times. The entire heifer—its hide, flesh, blood, and dung—is then burned in his presence.
A key part of the ritual involves the ashes of the heifer. The priest takes cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throws them into the fire as the heifer burns. The resulting ashes are collected and used to make a water solution for purification. This “water of cleansing” is used to sprinkle on persons or things that need to be purified, such as those who have touched a dead body, a bone, or a grave.
The red heifer ritual is significant in Jewish religious law and tradition as it is the only means provided in the Torah for purification from contact with death, which is considered a source of major ritual impurity. The rarity and specific requirements of the red heifer make it a unique aspect of biblical law, and the search for a qualified red heifer has implications in contemporary discussions about Jewish ritual purity and the potential rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.
The temple must be rebuilt since the antiChrist will break his agreement with Israel and desecrate it three and one half years into the seven-year agreement.
Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand),
The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)
5. Jesus said that when He returns it will be as it was in the days of Noah.
When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40 Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. 42 So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.
Also, in Noah’s day, the Giants were born from relations women had with fallen angels. Their DNA corrupted the human race, and only Noah and his family were pure humans made by God without the tainted DNA.
Behind the scenes today, there is a race between nations to modify human DNA to create longevity and to help rid us of disease via DNA being altered and added to from animals with certain characteristics.
God will not allow this to happen again!
This is all part of an anti-God, anti-Christ scheme to rid the earth of God’s creation as we know it.
Population control, currency control, life control by a global hierarchy are on the way!
Satan wants to rule this world with his one-world, anti-Christ governmental scheme.
Jesus is returning and will defeat him and those working with him!
Revelation 18 – Babylon the Great will fall!
6. God’s main agenda right now is the evangelization of the whole world!
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Along with all of this, the Holy Spirit will be poured out one more time to produce the greatest harvest of people being won to Jesus the world has ever seen.
It will be accompanied by signs, wonders, and miracles!
Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. 29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike. 30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth— blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives. 32 But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the LORD has said. These will be among the survivors whom the LORD has called.
God spoke to me on October 6, 2019 during our Sunday night prayer meeting at the time, and told me thst there would be an event that would shake the nation, and after this event Joel 2 would be fulfilled!
We are on the edge of this right now!
Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you,vand His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Now is the time to give your all to Jesus if you are planning to do so.
Don’t wait.
Time is short!
Action Points:
1. Are you preparing for the changes that are coming by dedicating yourself completely to the Lord?
2. Are you spending time with the Lord first thing in your day, by reading the Word and by praying?
3. Are you actively praying for the salvation of those in your life that are not born again?
4. Are you actively looking for God to use you every day to share Jesus with people in your life?
National Blessing Is Directly Related To National Lifestyle!
7.6.2025
Introduction
Since we just celebrated Our nation’s 249th birthday, I want to talk about America, our freedoms, and our path forward.
I have friends in other nations who walk with God with hunger and zeal: In Europe, India, Russia, Africa, Central America, and Asia.
Their governments are not all friendly to Christianity and the freedoms we have in America. But the Lord works in their lives and gives them favor and blessing. Sometimes they live with great sacrifice.
We have been given the gift of freedom here in America that few nations enjoy. In fact, because of our financial strength, we lead the world in so many ways.
With our freedoms comes a huge responsibility to honor the God who gave our freedoms to us!
We as believers must lead a call God is giving our nation to repent of our wayward path!
Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people.
Righteousness [moral and spiritual integrity and virtuous character] exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
John Adams
1798 – Address to the Military
(http:patriotpost.us/fqd/results.asp)
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Back in 1983, a person who defected from then communist Russia told school students at our church – If you want to keep your nation, keep your morals. When you lose your morals, you will lose your nation.
Europe lost its evangelistic edge, and now churches there are bars and booze halls.
It’s the same way in England.
What will we do in America?
God’s desire is to bless nations! But we must live in such a way that we attract His blessing and help.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His inheritance. (13) The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. (14) From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; (15) He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. (16) No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. (17) A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. (18) Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, (19) To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. (20) Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
Our once great nation is in trouble. A rapid downward spiral – politically, economically, spiritually, socially, morally, is upon us.
What are the answers?
We live in a totally divisive age. Our nation is as divided as ever. Republican versus Democrats. Rich versus poor. Black versus white. Conservatives versus liberals.
The adage fits: United we stand, divided we fall.
Jesus said a house divided against itself cannot stand.
What is the role of the church in government?
The Church of Jesus is called to be salt and light in every nation it lives!
We are NOT to put any nation above the Kingdom of God! The Kingdom of God is like salt and light in every nation, including America!
Notice what Jesus said to Pilate:
Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him. (34) Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?” (35) “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?” (36) Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven first!
1 Peter 2:11-12 (AMPC)
Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves properly (honorably, righteously) among the Gentiles, so that, although they may slander you as evildoers, [yet] they may by witnessing your good deeds [come to] glorify God in the day of inspection [when God shall look upon you wanderers as a pastor or shepherd looks over his flock].
Notice what Peter said in living in a culture under Roman control:
Many of the leaders in Rome were cruel tyrants, but that did not stop the church of Jesus!
For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the king as head of state, (14) or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. (15) It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. (16) For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. (17) Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king.
God did not call us to win the political debate first of all! He called us to represent Jesus in our culture, regardless of where we live, or who is in control!
Our life as a Christian should transcend or supersede the country where we live and its values.
Erwin Lutzer – Is God on America’s Side, p. 9
We need to warn against a kind of “God is on our side” nationalism that makes the success of the church dependent on the favor of the state…The time may come when we will have a presidential administration that is hostile to Christianity.
(from Is God on America’s Side by Erwin Lutzer (Chicago, Il: Moody Publishers, 2008) , p. 9)
During New Testament times, Rome ruled the nation of Israel. The Roman emperors were godless men in a pagan culture. Roman culture was hostile to Christianity from its beginning, yet the church thrived under great persecution there.
History has shown that the best spiritual advancements in the church happen during periods of great persecution.
Christianity became a shadow of what it was after Constantine declared it the “State” religion in 325 AD.
We often use the phrase God Bless America. But the God of the average American is just a bit different than the God of the Bible!
The God of American civic life is distinct from the God revealed in the Word of God!
Our politicians frequently mention God Bless America, but what exactly do we mean by that statement?
Our ideas about God and His blessings are often separate from the Word of God!
But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, (17) Seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you? (18) When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have been a partaker with adulterers. (19) You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. (20) You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. (21) These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes.
Erwin Lutzer: Is God on America’s Side, p. 12
God is consistently banished from science, economics, history, education, and government. The role of religion, we are told, is to bless the soul, but not to interfere with our lifestyle or public policy.
The God of the American public has been described by R.C. Sproul as a “deity without sovereignty, a god without wrath, a judge without judgment, and a force without power.”
Or, as many people put it, “a bigger one of us.”
Almost every State of the Union Speech since 1984 has ended with God Bless America.
When the average American says God Bless America, it means various things:
(from Is God on America’s Side by Erwin Lutzer (Chicago, Il: Moody Publishers, 2008) , p. 14).
It may simply mean:
Lord, I pray that you protect us; especially I pray that my family might not die; or may I live in good health, may I be able to pay my mortgage, and above all, Lord, may the stock market not fall so my retirement is secure.
They implore the God who does not call upon us to forsake our cultural idols, but rather invites us to indulge ourselves … In contrast, the God of Moses and of the Old Testament Scriptures is the God who invites us to choose: “Choose Me and receive my blessing; disobey Me and be cursed.”
In contrast, listen to the God of the Bible:
Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: (27) the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; (28) and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.
Jesus introduced to us the concept that Satan is a thief that comes to steal, kill, and destroy life, happiness, and property.
When we obey God, the curse of the broken law cannot come near us. But, if we disobey, we inherit the natural default of the fallen world, Satan and ruin.
Could it be that those who speak of judgment are simply using these terse terms to describe what happens when a nation turns away from light and follows darkness?
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.
Nature turns against those who disobey God’s moral law.
Erwin Lutzer, p. 16 (from Is God on America’s Side by Erwin Lutzer (Chicago, Il: Moody Publishers, 2008)
The God of the Bible will not endlessly tolerate idolatry and benign neglect. He graciously endures rejection and insults, but at some point, He might choose to bring a nation to its knees with severe judgment.
Is that what is happening in America right now?
Notice what happened to Israel when they walked away from God and His blessing and chose their own way…
Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. (2) By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed. (3) Therefore the land will mourn; and everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea will be taken away. (4) “Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; for your people are like those who contend with the priest. (5) Therefore you shall stumble in the day; the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother. (6) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
America is not immune to destruction and decline! We live and act as though we are not in trouble, and we are!
What should our response be as Christians to our national decline?
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. (14) You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Listen to the call to repentance that preceded the word of a coming revival:
Judgment was coming. After calling for repentance, Joel prophesied a great move of the Spirit. (Joel 2:28-32)
Joel 2:12-17 (NLT) – A Call to Repentance
That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. 14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the LORD your God as before. 15 Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. 16 Gather all the people— the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room. 17 Let the priests, who minister in the LORD’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar. Let them pray, “Spare your people, LORD!Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery. Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”
So, what do we do now?
Action Points: 4 Ways You Can Make a Difference:
Light a candle instead of cursing the darkness!
1. Be a light to others.
Show them a different way to live by walking with God!
Bless and encourage others with your words, be unselfish, choose sexual purity, be truthful, treat others the way you want to be treated.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
2. Pray for our nation.
Would you join me in repentance for where we the church have allowed our nation to go?
Would you be willing to take some time every day to devote to praying for revival that begins with a repentant church in America? We will determine the future move of the Holy Spirit in America by what we the church choose to do, or refuse to do.
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts…
3. Live in a way that makes Jesus interesting.
People are looking for what is real, truthful, and bare bones honest.
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, (16) keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (17) It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
1 Peter 3:15-17 (TPT)
But give reverent honor in your hearts to the Anointed One and treat him as the holy Master of your lives. And if anyone asks about the hope living within you, always be ready to explain your faith 16 with gentleness and respect. Maintain a clean conscience, so that those who slander you for living a pure life in Christ will have to lie about you and will be ashamed because of their slander. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if it is in God’s plan, than for doing evil.
4. Tell people what Jesus has done for you.
We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Don’t be afraid for people to disagree with you.
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. (19) Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (20) Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.
(16) Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.”
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. (19) For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. (20) So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. (29) That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Seek God Until Every Part of You Finds Him!
6.29.2025
Introduction
I have been walking with Jesus for 49 years this year.
And for the last few months or longer, I can sense the Lord urging me closer, urging me to watch how I spend my time, and be careful to honor Him with my thoughts, my lifestyle, my relationships, and with what I give my attention to occupy.
It seems that God is seeking to draw all of us closer to Him.
How close are you to the Lord?
Where do you have compromises?
Where do your personal values counter God’s eternal, Kingdom values?
To what sin do you easily yield to? Selfishness? Pride? Anger? Gossip? Self-promotion? Lust? Pornography? Fornication? Harmful habits like smoking, alcohol consumption, overeating? Worry? Drug addiction?
God is asking us to lay aside distractions before Jesus returns, so that His power and glory can flow unhindered through us.
The greatest move of God the world has ever seen is right in front of us!
He wants us to get ready for it!
Listen to His drawing heart:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25-27 (CEV)
A husband should love his wife as much as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He made the church holy by the power of his word, and he made it pure by washing it with water. 27 Christ did this, so that he would have a glorious and holy church, without faults or spots or wrinkles or any other flaws.
Ephesians 5:25-27 (Easy to Read Version)
Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He died to make the church holy. He used the telling of the Good News to make the church clean by washing it with water. 27 Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be holy and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other thing wrong in it.
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 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.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (MSG)
Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face to face! 17 They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! 18 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.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (TPT)
Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom. 18 We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
John 15:1-5 (TPT)
I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. 2 He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. 3 The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed you. 4 So you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine. 5 “I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless.
Make them holy by Your truth; teach them Your word, which is truth.
Listen to God’s appeal to all of us through James:
What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. 4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
The return of Jesus in the Rapture for the Church and in His Second coming for the world is rapidly approaching!
When are you planning to give Jesus your all?
When are you planning to make a full surrender of your will to Him?
If not now, when?
You are Christian – what is it going to be like to stand before Jesus and let Him talk to you about what could have been – if only you would have yielded your all, your whole person, to Him?
I can sense His beckoning hand asking us to yield.
Judgment is approaching for the world without Christ. It’s part of the cleansing process as Jesus prepares to return and set up a 1000 year rule over this planet!
So, it’s judgment for the world, and consecration for us!
Listen to Hebrews 12:
You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”
22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. 25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. 28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a devouring fire.
For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” 19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
Come and take a journey with me into a place of complete consecration to Jesus of every part of your life!
We’re going to have a time here of seeking the Lord, and of personal consecration. Every church needs to do this now! There is no time to wait!
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
2 Corinthians 5:10 (AMPC)
For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing].
You spread out our sins before you—
our secret sins—and you see them all.
Psalms 90:8 (AMPC)
Our iniquities, our secret heart and its sins [which we would so like to conceal even from ourselves], You have set in the [revealing] light of Your countenance.
To the degree that you withhold, God withholds!
Don’t forget: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you! (James 4:8)
Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].
9 [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. 10 Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (TPT)
For it is Christ’s love that fuels our passion and motivates us, because we are absolutely convinced that he has given his life for all of us. This means all died with him, 15 so that those who live should no longer live self-absorbed lives but lives that are poured out for him—the one who died for us and now lives again.
Excerpt From Ever Increasing FAITH by Smith Wigglesworth
https://books.apple.com/us/book/ever-increasing-faith/id452129021
“God brings us into a place of perfect love and perfect faith. A man who is born of God is brought into an inward affection, a loyalty to the Lord Jesus that shrinks from anything impure. You see the purity of a man and woman when there is a deep natural affection between them; they disdain the very thought of either of them being untrue. I say that, in the measure that a man has faith in Jesus, he is pure. He that believes that Jesus is the Christ overcomes the world. It is a faith that works by love.”
Action Points:
- Are you willing to make changes in any area of your life that is out of sync with the values of the Bible?
- Are you willing to allow God to deal with you about any area of your life?
- Are you willing to make changes right now in what you think and how you live your life daily?
A Good Father
6/18/2025
Cameron Peedin
Today is Father’s Day, and I think it would be fitting to discuss the importance of being a good father to our children. Also, I’d like to discuss how God has been the perfect example of a good father to us all along as His sons and daughters.
If you did not have a good father growing up, I want to encourage you to allow God to be the Father you never had through an intimate relationship with Him.
2 Corinthians 6:18 (NKJV)
I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.
No matter how perfect our earthly fathers may have seemed, they were flawed. In some way or other, our homes were dysfunctional. God wants to show us, through His Word, how an ideal father can and should be.
Where do men learn their masculinity from?
Excerpt from “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge:
Masculinity doesn’t happen by accident; it’s bestowed intentionally. A man learns how to be a man by a man or in the company of other men. He can’t learn it from any other place, other boys, or from the world of women. It has to be from a father figure in his life.
In biblical times, fathers always received the blessing, not from their mothers, but always from their fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It was very important for a man to receive his blessing from his father.
Masculinity also comes from a father affirming his son of his masculinity and also affirming that he is his son.
Even Jesus needed affirmation from His Heavenly Father.
Matthew 3:17( NKJV)
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’.
Paul speaks about Titus, his spiritual son, and affirms him as his spiritual son.
Titus 1:4 (NLT)
I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.
Some of us may not have physical sons or daughters, but you have spiritual sons and daughters; your role in their lives is just as important as a physical father.
Where do women get their value from being a woman?
Quote from the book Strong Fathers Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker (30 years practicing pediatric and adolescent medicine, and counseling teens and parents)
And I have watched daughters talk to fathers. When you come in the room, they change. Everything about them changes: their eyes, their mouths, their gestures, their body language. Daughters are never lukewarm in the presence of their fathers. They might take their mothers for granted, but not you. They light up – or they cry. They watch you intensely. They hang on your words. They hope for your attention, and they wait for it in frustration – or in despair. They need a gesture of approval, a nod of encouragement, or even a simple eye contact to let them know you care and are willing to help. When she’s in your company, your daughter tries harder to excel. When you teach her, she learns more rapidly. When you guide her, she gains confidence. If you fully understood just how profoundly you can influence your daughter’s life, you would be terrified, overwhelmed, or both. Boyfriends, brothers, even husbands can’t shape her character the way you do. You will influence her entire life because she gives you an authority she gives no other man.
13 Biblical Characteristics of A Good Father
1. Be a provider for your family.
Our Heavenly Father provides for us and is the perfect model of a good father.
Philippians 4:19 (NLT)
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)
So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
As fathers, we should be providing for our families and model ourselves after Him.
2 Thess. 3:10 (NLT)
Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”
I Timothy 5:8 (NLT)
But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.
Providing goes further than just paying the bills or putting food on the table. As fathers, it’s our responsibility to ensure our family is provided for in every area of life – financially, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We are little pastors of our home.
Proverbs 27:23 (NLT)
Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds
Fathers should take regular inventory of the state of their home and pray about the needs of their family.
I know many fathers who provide financially for their family very well, but are not present mentally, emotionally, or spiritually in their homes. And even though they are financially well off, the state of their home is in turmoil.
2. Live your life as a recommendation letter for Jesus.
When you send a letter of recommendation for someone, you represent and validate that person’s life with your word and your recommendation.
2 Cor. 3:2-3 (NLT)
The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. 3 Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you.This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.
The way you conduct yourself in public and live your life daily is a letter of recommendation to your son or daughter for a relationship with Jesus.
Fathers, you represent a relationship with God to your children. That’s why it is so important that we live our lives with Christ at the center of it all. If we’re not, we only repeat history and what was instilled in us from our fathers instead of our Heavenly Father.
Even though this verse is to the leadership of the church, it is a great example of what a father should be like:
I Timothy 3:2 (NLT)
So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.
3. Discipline your children
As a good Heavenly Father, God has to discipline us as His children and expects us to do the same to our children.
Hebrews 12:6 (NLT)
For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.
Psalm 94:12 (NLT)
Joyful are those you discipline, LORD, those you teach with your instructions.
You can not be your child’s friend and parent at the same time. You must be a parent first.
Prov. 13:24 (NLT)
Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.
Proverbs 23:13-14 (NLT)
Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them. Physical discipline may well save them from death.
Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.
Any time I have to discipline Avalyn, I always make sure that I tell her that I love her and that I’m doing it because I love her. I also share this scripture with her and tell her that if I don’t discipline her, it says that I don’t love her.
Never discipline out of anger. Take some time to cool down before disciplining. If you don’t, you could be doing more harm than good.
4. Spend quality time with your children.
God desires for us to spend quality time with Him, and it is modeled in scripture.
James 4:8 (NLT)
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
Psalm 63:1 (NLT)
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 62:8 (NLT)
O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.
When you are with your children physically, be there mentally as well. Put your phone down, and step away from work or social media.
Fathers, have those deep heart-to-heart conversations with your children.
Schedule times you set aside for your children to connect with them on a deeper level, not just surface things.
5. Be their first teacher.
The Holy Spirit is our teacher. If we have to be taught, we have to teach our children.
John 14:26 (NLT)
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.
Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
A father should be their children’s teacher. It doesn’t mean that you have to have all the answers, but the things you do know need to be taught by you.
Don’t let the public school system be the first teacher in your child’s life; they need to hear it from you first.
Biblical principles will not be taught in a public school setting. You can expect the complete opposite.
Deut. 6:6-9 (NLT)
And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
6. Be compassionate and tender.
God is tender and slow to get angry. He is a perfect model of how to be a tender, loving, and compassionate father.
Psalm 86:15 (NLT)
But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
Are you slow to get angry, or are you quick to get angry?
If you are distant, angry, and stern as a father, it may have been modeled to you as a child by your father.
There is a time to be stern, but if that’s the way you are all the time, there’s a problem.
Psalm 103:13 (NLT)
The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
Put your arm around your child when they have a hard day. Something as simple as that can go a long way. Or ask if they would like to talk about their hard day.
You don’t always have to have the right answer; just knowing you care and are there to listen will go further than you’ll ever know.
Quote from Strong Fathers Strong Daughters:
A daughter identifies easily with her mother, but you (the father) are a mystery to her. You are her first love, so the early years of your relationship with her are crucial. The love you give her is her starting point. You have other loves in your life, but she doesn’t. Every man who enters her life will be compared to you; every relationship she has with a man will be filtered through her relationship with you. If you have a good relationship, she will choose boyfriends who will treat her well. If she sees you as open and warm, she’ll be confident with other men. If you are cold and unaffectionate, she’ll find it hard to express love in a healthy way.
7. Be a man of your word.
God is a perfect example of being a person of His Word and following through with what He has promised.
Numbers 23:19 (NLT)
God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
Matthew 24:25 (NLT)
Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
Do what you say and say what you do.
If you say you’re going to do something, follow through with it. They always remember!
When you do not follow through with promises, there’s a development of distrust with your children. Later in life, they may have trouble trusting their Heavenly Father because of unfulfilled promises by their earthly father. Always remember that fathers inevitably represent God in their lives to their children.
8. Don’t provoke your children.
Eph. 6:4 (NLT)
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
The things that you so easily get angered with in your children are the very things that are, or have been, present in you.
We get so angry at our kids because they act just like us, and we’re mad about it. Then in turn, we provoke them.
9. Love their mother.
Ephesians 5:25 (NLT)
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.
For boys:
How you love their mother sets the stage for how a man will treat his future wife and other women.
For girls:
How you love their mother will let your daughter know how her future husband and other men should treat her.
10. Don’t give up on them.
God has never given up on us, as His children. We should never give up on our children.
2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
…For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
Luke 15:20-24
So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ 22 But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
This verse is the exact representation of what our Heavenly Father’s love is for us.
Even through our rebellion, stubbornness, failures … this verse said that he was “filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”
Our God is so full of love and compassion; He will never give up on us, so we should not give up on our children.
Never give up, loving them, pursuing them in a relationship, and praying for them. It’s never too late.
11. Pray for your children.
David praying over his son Solomon:
2 Chronicles 29:19 (NLT)
Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.
Every single day, pray over your family and children privately between you and God, and then also with your family and children in person.
Your family needs to know that their father is their spiritual covering, and they need to see you praying over them.
It should be normal for your children to hear you praying over them every single day.
Encourage them to pray with you about anything that is on their heart.
Joshua 24:15 (NLT)
…But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.
Pray over your children’s future spouse and your future grandchildren.
12. Speak scriptures over your children.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)
For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
God is singing over us with joyful songs. As God sings over us, we should be quoting scripture and even singing scripture over our children.
Examples of good scriptures to confess over your children:
Jer. 29:11 (NLT)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Numbers 6:24-25 (NLT)
May the LORD bless you and protect you. 25 May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.
2 Tim. 1:7 (NLT)
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
13. Be their protector.
Psalm 91:4 (NLT)
He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Psalm 28:7 (NLT)
The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
Just as God is our protector, fathers, we should always be in the mindset of protecting our families: physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Our family should know that we have their back in every situation.
Isaiah 52:12 (NLT)
For the LORD will go ahead of you; yes, the God of Israel will protect you from behind.
They need to hear and see you praying for protection over them every day.
Practical things:
Walking on the sidewalk closest to the road with your children/wife on the inside.
Sit facing the door in a restaurant, and always be aware of your surroundings.
Protect your children’s eyes and ears by actively knowing what they’re listening to, or watching on their phones/tablets. Know who they are talking to online, and what they’re conversations are. Actively check on their internet activity..
Your family needs to know that if anyone messes with them, they’ll have to go through you.
Action Points
○ Create room for God to be the Father you may have never had.
○ Acquire multiple resources to help you become a good father.
■ For Daughter Dads: Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker.
■ For Son Dads: Wild at Heart by John Eldredge.
○ Glean from good fathers or parents in the church who are parenting well, and try to meet with them regularly to help you become the father/parent God made you to be.
Faith Treats the Future as Present!
6.8.2025
Introduction
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
One of the greatest things I learned about the Lord when I was young was this principle of faith He lives by!
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
I will come back to this.
Dr. J. Oswald Sanders Quote:
Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.
Believing right now that you receive answers to your prayers is the key to overcoming the pressure and needs that life brings your way!
God does not respond to need. He responds to faith!
Smith Wigglesworth:
There is something about believing God that will cause God to pass over a million people just to get to you!
Satan wants you to doubt, to look at your thoughts and feelings, and to be afraid that nothing will ever change for the better!
Kenneth Hagin:
If Satan can keep you in the arena of thought, he will whip you, but if you can keep him in the arena of faith, you will defeat him in every challenge.
Your enemy can outthink you, but if you keep him in the faith, arena he has nothing that can defeat you if you will stand.
I learned this first in my late teens when I came to Jesus. I had been in church for almost 18 years! Did not know this!
You may be facing a huge crisis right now.
Faith, believing that you receive, is the ingredient that will get you through it.
Many speak of faith as an abstract – it’s somewhat nebulous and innocuous. As if faith is just something you have to help you grunt through life, but it doesn’t change anything.
But faith is a force that comes from your spiritual life that will bring you through the toughest things that life brings your way!
Jesus said:
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.”
But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.
When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28 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.”
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”
Faith always receives right now what God promises!
When praying for certain things personally, it’s important to remember that faith is never future tense.
Faith is always past or present tense.
Hope is the future tense.
To cooperate with the Lord and receive from Him, keep your tenses right!
If you’re just hoping that one day in the future things will be different, you’ll not receive from the Lord.
It’s not hoping one day in the future that things will be different, but it’s believing that God has already answered, or is answering your prayer that brings results!
Notice what Jesus said about praying in faith in Mark 11:22-24.
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 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.
This next verse has simply revolutionized how I have lived my life.
Therefore I say to you, whatever things (John 15:7) you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Question some have – I would be lying if I said I have something and I don’t have it.
You’re not saying you have it, you are saying you believe you receive it. There’s a big difference.
Mark 11:24 (AMPC)
For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].
Mark 11:24 (New Century Version)
So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you.
Mark 11:24 (God’s Word)
That’s why I tell you to have faith that you have already received whatever you pray for, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24 (English Standard Version)
I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.
Mark 11:24 (Complete Jewish Bible)
Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, trust that you are receiving it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24 (Bible in Basic English)
For this reason I say to you, Whatever you make a request for in prayer, have faith that it has been given to you, and you will have it.
Hebrews 11:1 (New Century Version)
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
Dr. J. Oswald Sanders Quote:
Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.
Example: The Certificate of Occupancy and sign off for the building project we finished 2 years ago kept being put off.
Thoughts bombarded my mind telling me it would not happen for a long, long time, and expenses would keep going up!
I acted on Mark 11:24!
Two years ago, our retention pond was simply not ready and I found out that it would cost over 60,000.00 to bring it into compliance. That money was NOT in our budget.
To deal with it, I acted on Mark 11:24.
Here we are, two years later, with the pond, the Occupancy Certificate, and the childcare open!
Declare the end from the beginning!
Isaiah 46:9-10 (AMPC)
[Earnestly] remember the former things, [which I did] of old; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose,
Jonah did this!
For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
Are you willing to declare the end from the beginning?
Call those things that do not exist as though they did!
Romans 4:17 (NKJV) (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;
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.” 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. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Speak and act as though you believe you have what you have asked God for.
If you are depressed, weighed down, feeling low, ask God to set you free from it, and then believe you receive and say you believe you receive while the feelings are still there.
If you are believing for healing – pray – then start acting and praising and thanking God as though you were healed already, even before the symptoms stop.
Don’t ignore the problem. Speak God’s Word in the face of the problem!
If you are believing for finances, then pray, believe you receive, and act like, talk like, and praise and thank God like you already have what you asked for!
If you are believing for a job, act like, talk like, and praise and thank God like you already had what you asked for.
Examples of faith receiving right now:
Joshua
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua: See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
God spoke to them in the past tense about Jericho. The walls were still up. Yet God had promised that the city was already theirs!
Abraham
Now the LORD had said to Abram: get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
God changed Abram’s name to Abraham! Exalted father became “father of a multitude.” He and Sarah had zero children when God changed his name!
(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.
Jesus spoke in the past tense when praying for Lazarus to be raised!
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
Faith is a fight!
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Fight – Greek – agœnízomai:
to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary)
The fight is to defy negative thoughts and feelings when it looks like it isn’t working.
Make it your habit every day after you pray and ask and to say out loud what you believe!
Action Points:
1. Am I willing to pray and to believe that I receive what I pray for right now?
2. Am I willing to talk and act like I believe I receive the answer before any changes come?
3. Am I willing to fight negative thoughts and feelings even when it looks like nothing has changed?
Open Yourself Up to the Helper!
6.1.2025
Introduction
The Holy Spirit wants us to open ourselves to His help and aid!
Jesus never expected you to live only with your own skill and ability.
We need a power or ability that is way beyond our own today!
The challenges are mounting up. It really looks as though Jesus’ return could be sooner than we think.
The pressure on the mind and on the physical and mental life are at high tide!
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Get ready for a fresh move of the Holy Spirit worldwide!
There is coming, and we are now entering a great moving of the Holy Spirit. It will be unprecedented in our time.
Kenneth Hagin at John Osteen’s Church 1.18.1979
God often speaks in metaphors and in symbolism.
There are two works of the Holy Spirit in your life:
1. The Indwelling – The Metaphor for this experience is a Well.
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
2. The Baptism With The Holy Spirit – The Metaphor for this experience is a River.
If you are a farmer, you know that there is no harvest without water.
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Two Jewish feasts are aligned with harvest in Jewish culture:
The Feast of Pentecost was associated with the spring grain or wheat harvest. It needed what they called the latter rains for a plentiful harvest.
The Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering was associated with the harvest of oil and wine in the autumn of the year. Early rains preceded this harvest.
On this same day, the Holy Spirit fell in OT Temple dedication during King Solomon’s reign:
So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.
When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. 11 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of the LORD.
Fast forward now to Jesus at this same feast.
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
On this last day of the feast, there was a ceremony called the Outpouring of Waters.
Water was taken from the pool of Siloam and poured on the altar while Isaiah 12:3 was quoted:
Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Siloam means SENT. The water from Siloam came from Gihon Spring, outside the city of Jerusalem. Gihon means bursting forth!
Jesus made this statement while the water was being poured on the altar.
He was saying – I am Siloam – I am sent by the Father. I will be crucified outside the city. I am the spring of Gihon – from my side will burst forth blood and water, and from that flow you will live!
This is referring today to the Baptism with the Holy Spirit that came to the church on the Day of Pentecost – 50 days after the Passover feast.
There is NOW beginning a fresh moving of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers to prepare us to receive the harvest of people coming into the family of God!
These rains in the New Testament are associated with a move of the Holy Spirit at the beginning and the end of the church age…
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Much rain is needed so that a tremendous crop is harvested.
The time will come,” says the LORD, when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine!
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it.”
Water and rain are a type of the Holy Spirit in the Bible…
And the prophets speak of an outpouring of the water of the Spirit before Jesus returns…
Isaiah 44:3 (TPT)
I will pour refreshing water on the thirsty and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit on your children, my blessing upon your descendants.
Isaiah 55:1-2 (MEV)
Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
‘And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts.
‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.
Ask God to include you in the fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit!
Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.
Ezekiel saw into the future and saw the temple of God in the future.
In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. 2 The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. 3 Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. 4 He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. 5 Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through. 6 He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank. 7 When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river. 8 Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure. 9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows.
And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.
This river flowing out of us will minister life to those we touch…
Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. 29 In those days I will pour out My Spirit even on servants—men and women alike. 30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth— blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives. 32 But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved…
Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to be poured out on you?
Have you received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit?
Jesus told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit just as the church age began:
Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
As we go into this era of time before Jesus returns, He wants us to walk in this anointing of Holy Spirit power!
He is beckoning us today to let go of our dry life and step into His river!
Action Points:
- Do you want that River of water to flow through you?
- Have you received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit?
- Are you walking in the light of this experience?
- Are you living in the power of this experience?
If not, you can today!
The Ministry Power of the Holy Spirit!
5.28.2025
Prepare now for a new moving of the Holy Spirit.
The evangelism that takes place before Jesus’ return must be accompanied by the Spirit’s fullness and power!
Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. (2) For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.
The foundation for Spiritual Gifts manifesting is the Baptism with the Holy Spirit!
Spiritual Gifts are as a result of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Remember that there is a dual working of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life.
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:13 – NKJV
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
Romans 8:9 – NKJV
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
John 14:17 – NKJV
If you love Me, keep My commandments. (16) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — (17) the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (18) I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Analogy of the Indwelling Spirit – A Well of Water
John 4:14 – NKJV
But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The Baptism With The Holy Spirit
Luke 24:49 – NKJV
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Acts 1:8 – NKJV
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Analogy of the Baptism With The Holy Spirit – A Fountain.
John 7: 37-38
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Old Testaments believers did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. They were not born again. They lived by outward law. Their hearts were stone!
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon the prophet, the priest, and the king to do exploits for God.
Seven of the nine Spiritual Gifts were manifested under the old Covenant.
Two of the Gifts of the Spirit are distinctive of the church age (Different Kinds of Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues).
Jesus’ ministry began with the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Any spiritual manifestations that God performs through a believer will come under one or more of these nine Spiritual Gifts.
Jesus ministered as the Son of man, not as the Son of God. He ministered as a man anointed by the Spirit of God.
Don’t forget that He was tempted just like us, yet without sin.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Philippians 2: 5-7
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (6) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, (7) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. (8) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Amplified
Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] (6) Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [ possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, (7) But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. (8) And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
Jesus laid aside His God powers, and lived as a man. He WAS Deity, but laid aside the power of the office of being the second member of the Trinity.
Vs. 7 – but made Himself of no reputation…
Greek- Kenoo
To empty out, drain, make void
What did Jesus empty Himself of?
He emptied Himself of:
1. Living as equal with God.
2. His God form or body that He had from eternity past.
3. Immortality of the body.
4. The glory He had with the Father.
5. His God authority in heaven and on earth.
6. His Divine attributes and powers He had with the Father from all eternity past.
Notice that Jesus miraculous ministry began after He had received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3: 21-22 – NKJV
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. (22) And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.
Luke 3:23 – NKJV
Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age…
Luke 4:14- NKJV
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and the news of Him went throughout all the surrounding region.
Luke 4:15-24 – NKJV
And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. (16) So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. (17) And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: (18) “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; (19) To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD. (20) Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (21) And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (22) So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is this not Joseph’s son?” (23) He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'” (24) Then He said, Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
Jesus ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit and not in the power of being the Son of God.
That’s the reason He could say:
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.
The Gifts of the Spirit should function through the body of Christ as they did through Jesus!
John 3:34 – NKJV
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
Amplified
For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaims God’s own message], God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!
Collectively as the body of Christ, we have the same anointing that Jesus had individually. We have a measure of the Spirit personally!
The Classification of spiritual gifts:
Revelation Gifts- Gifts that REVEAL something
The Word of Wisdom
The Word of Knowledge
Discerning of Spirits
Power Gifts – Gifts that DO something
The Gift of Faith
The Working of Miracles
The Gifts of Healings
Utterance Gifts – Gifts that SAY something
The Gift of Prophecy
The Gift of Different Kinds of Tongues
The Interpretation of Tongues
******************
The Gifts are for Today!
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; (18) 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.”
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.
Luke 24:49 – NKJV
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Acts 1:8 – NKJV
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Mark 16:20 – NKJV
And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.
Acts 6:8 – NKJV
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
Acts 8:6 – NKJV
And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Acts 4:29-31 – NKJV
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, (30) by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” (31) And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Acts 5:12 – NKJV
And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.
Hebrews 2:3-4 – NKJV
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, (4) God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
1 Corinthians 2: 1-5 – NKJV
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. (2) For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (3) I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. (4) And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, (5) that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Developing A Disciplined Life
Hebrews 12:11 ()
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
Today, I want to discuss how to develop a lifestyle of discipline and its importance to accomplish everything God created you to be.
I’ve never known anyone who has been successful and did not learn how to develop certain disciplines in their daily lives.
These disciplines were built around their life and lifestyle, enabling them to have a pathway to achieve whatever it was in their heart to achieve.
Everyone Is A Leader
You are leading your family, friends, coworkers, business, ministry, or all of the above.
If you want to be a true leader, you have to create disciplines in your life that will help you not only lead, but also stay leading.
Mike Tyson said, “Discipline is when you have learned to do the things you don’t like, with the same passion and intensity as the things that you do like.”
Your life will never consist of the things you like all the time.
You are going to have to do things that you don’t like, or even despise, to get the job done or to get to the things you do like.
Things I don’t like to do:
Planning Meetings-department team meetings, service meetings, Men’s Encounter planning meetings, post-event meetings
I don’t get up in the morning and get excited about going to meetings.
Things I love to do:
What I love doing is what I’m doing right now, getting in front of people and teaching the Word of God, seeing the lights come on in people’s lives, and seeing the life changes that happen during services or an event that I helped plan.
What I love hearing, and I know that Pastor Mitch feels the same way, is when you get that phone call or email from someone saying that their life has changed because of the Word of God or an event that you helped plan and lead. That’s what I live for; that’s the stuff I love!!!
But if I didn’t do the stuff that I don’t like to do, which is hours of planning meetings, hours of studying the Word of God, I wouldn’t get to do the stuff that I love and see results and fruit from it.
Work On Creating Self-Imposed Discipline
Proverbs 25:28 “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.”
One of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control
Galatians 5:22 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
Self-control in the Greek “egkrateia,” which means “self-mastery” or “temperance” in English. It encompasses the ability to control one’s desires and passions, particularly sensual appetites. The word is derived from “en” (in) and “kratos” (strength or power), signifying strength within oneself.
Since self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, it must be maintained and developed. If you are going to grow an orange tree, you have to water it, make sure it’s nurtured, and take care of it. If not, it will not grow, and eventually it will die.
If you are growing in life, you have to grow in your ability to have self-control. Many successful people do not need many outside boundaries imposed on them. Why? Because they harness the ability to have self-control.
Why do we have people in prison? Because they had no internal boundaries, society had to put a boundary around them. Not only are we harmful to ourselves, but we are also harmful to others when we don’t have boundaries and self-control in our lives.
Why do we have divorce? It’s a great divide between one person and another person who were once one. When a thousand little boundaries have been violated and are never put in place or checked, the court has to draw a great big one and divide up possessions, children, property, money, etc.
Someone or both parties didn’t keep their desires and passions in check; now society has to build a boundary where there wasn’t one before.
When it comes to success, we are our biggest enemy.
Satan isn’t the biggest enemy most of the time. It’s our minds and our self-will and (lack of) self-control – these are our biggest enemies. It’s our passions and our desires that take us outside the boundaries that we have set to be successful. Those are the biggest things we have to war against.
Romans 7:23 (NLT)
But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
Some things want to take our lives and purpose out, and we have to make sure that we implement specific disciplines in our lives so that we can control ourselves.
I didn’t say control everyone else or your husband, wife, friends, or children. The only thing you can control is yourself – your passions and your desires.
Anyone can be successful and make it to the top, but character, coupled with a disciplined mind and heart, is what keeps them there.
There are so many music artists, sports stars, and celebrities out there who have become legends because of their talents and gifts, but who have made a mess of their lives because of their lack of self-control. They’re in the tabloids constantly for doing outlandish things, in and out of jail, can’t keep a marriage going, etc.
Society praises talent over discipline. God praises discipline over talent.
This past year, so many pastors have been exposed because of scandals where they had no boundaries or accountability.
Where there is no accountability, sin will reign.
Now these pastors are having to step down from their positions. It hits the church as badly as it hits the world. The enemy would love to rip apart the church from the inside out through corrupt leaders and pastors.
The main killer of marriages, churches, jobs, careers, and relationships is a lack of discipline.
Ruggs was set to be a multimillionaire, a legend in the NFL, a household name, possibly, but a lack of self-control sabotaged all of it.
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
My lifestyle has to be brought under subjection, so that my calling has legitimacy.
Whatever you want to accomplish in your life, you have to have a lifestyle that accompanies it.
There are things in life that are not morally wrong. The question you need to ask yourself is, “Is it wise?”
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.
The fact that I can do something doesn’t necessarily mean that I should do it. Does it benefit me in where I want to go in my life, or will it take away from where I want to go?
Discipline earns trust. There’s a reason why you are here at Victory Church. It’s probably because you hear and see our senior pastor and trust his leadership and life because of his lifestyle of discipline.
Why are so many athletes spokespersons for so many products? Because when we see a person who is an MVP or a hall-of-famer, we immediately admire the discipline that it took a long period to achieve that kind of success.
We, as a society, automatically have a level of trust in them. Their life is not wildor out-of-control, but tempered to what their goal is. And they have sacrificed time, blood, sweat, and tears to get to where they are.
You can’t live any old way and achieve what you want to achieve, just like these athletes.
But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
Everyone who is going to walk the way to success is going to walk the narrow road.
John Maxwell’s story:
Someone came up to him and said to him after meeting with thousands of people doing a conference for leaders, and said, “I want to do what you do.” He responded, “Ok, but do you want to do what I did?”
John didn’t just become to GOAT of leadership. He had to work hard at it. He’s written 51 books. Can you imagine the time and effort it takes just to write one book, let alone 51?
This guy has had best-sellers multiple times. That just doesn’t happen. Do you want to do what he did, to do what he does?
A lot of people want to do what Pastor Mitch does, but do you realize the time, the effort it takes to be a Pastor and do what he does? You’ll have to get up and preach when the last thing you want to do is preach. You’ll have to go through rejection and emotions you thought you’d never have to go through because of the love you have for the people you are shepherding. You’ll have to smile when you want to cry.
You Have To Have Vision
Where does discipline come from? It comes from Vision.
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
The word perish doesn’t mean die here. It means to cast off restraint, run wild.
There have been times in ministry when I wanted to throw in the towel and quit, but my vision kept me put and saved me.
Sometimes, when I wanted to give up on things or even people that I loved, my vision saved me.
Times when I felt completely depleted, physically, mentally, and emotionally, times when I was tired and didn’t want to keep going, my vision kept me going.
Times when I’ve lived a tight life and wanted to do something stupid, my vision kept me.
If the lack of vision makes me cast off restraint and run wild, then the vision brings restraint, purpose, and structure to my life.
The vision helps you know what to do or why you’re doing it, what to say “yes” to and “no” to.
What is the vision for Victory Church? It’s Helping People Become Who God Created Them To Be.
The church’s vision is my vision. I want to see everyone in this place be who God created them to be. I don’t want to get to heaven and realize that I didn’t do the work of the vision God created you and me to do here on earth and in this church.
My vision is to be everything God created me to be and that is, be the best follower of Christ I can be, be the best husband I can be to my wife, be the best father I can be to Avalyn, be the best son I can be to my mother, and be the best pastor I can be here at Victory Church.
If someone comes to you and wants you to do something stupid, if you have no vision, you’ll do anything they want you to do, without restraint. But if it doesn’t align with your vision and you say “no”, the vision said “no”. Does it align with your vision? Then the vision said “yes”.
Vision tells you who to let into your life. Vision tells you who to keep out of your life.
The vision tells you what activities you can participate in. The vision tells you what activities you cannot participate in.
If you are a football player and the position you want to play requires you to weigh 350, but you weigh 250, you can go to Cookout and get a couple of burgers and a milkshake for a few weeks to gain some weight. But if you weigh 450, guess what, you’re going home and fixing yourself a salad for a few weeks, eating nothing but lean protein and greens, doing high cardio to lose weight to get the position that you desire.
Why? Because the particular vision is driving that particular activity.
There are 2 different visions to get what you want.
Show me a person who lives any way they want – that’s a person with no vision. Show me a person with no discipline – that’s a person with no vision.
A girl who will date any guy who shows her attention – that’s a girl who has no vision for her life. And vice versa with a guy.
Show me a guy who gets up whenever he wants, goes to bed whenever he wants, has no personal responsibilities, no job, that’s a guy with no vision. He doesn’t know where he’s going.
What gets me up in the morning? I have a vision. I have a purpose. I have responsibilities. I have a daily routine.
Why do I work 5-6 days a week? Because I have a family to provide for, and things I want to accomplish in life, and it requires finances to achieve them. Also, there are people I want to see come into the kingdom of God.
There are things I cannot be involved with, not because they are morally wrong, but because they are not beneficial for the vision for my life and where I want to go.
You can’t go there and do what I do, you can’t do that and do what I want to do. You can’t have that habit and go where I’m going. You can’t be in those same situations and atmospheres and do what I want to do. You can’t run with those people and do what I want to do.
So the vision of what I want to do with my life is answering atmospheres, answering activities, answering people, answering conversations I can and cannot have.
The vision is driving everything in my life. The vision tells me how to spend my money.
Rivers and Swamps
He asked me, ‘Have you been watching, son of man?’ Then he led me back along the riverbank. 7 When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river.”
The life-giving fruit was not in the river; it was on the riverbanks, on both sides of it.
Rivers have boundaries. The fruit of our lives is created by the boundaries we form, and it will save and heal us many times over if we put them into place.
We also have to ask ourselves: Are we drawing our strength from ourselves, pride, selfish ambition, self-indulgence, etc., or are we drawing from The River of God and His presence?
But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh [and wholesome for animal life]; they will [as the river subsides] be left encrusted with salt.
What’s the difference between rivers and swamps?
A river has banks, boundaries, direction, and it’s going somewhere. It has a destination. Boundaries and banks produce fruit and life.
A swamp is water with no banks. The water that had no boundaries had a stench and produced no life. It’s stagnant and has no destination.
People who live with boundaries: There will be things that they will and won’t say, places that they will and won’t go, and self-imposed disciplines in their lives. No one needs to call them out on anything. They do it because it’s in them.
People who live a life without boundaries: This person’s life is a trainwreck, has no boundaries, and anything goes. Anyone can come into their life, and they’ll run with them. They’ll listen to anyone and anything. They’ll go anywhere. They’ll do anything. They’ll sleep with anybody. They do not bring value to others, they suck people dry.
Which one are you?
It takes 21 days to create a habit. Many people stopped going to church regularly because of COVID and have not gotten back into the habit of going to church. Now, five years later, someone who used to be on the frontline in their church, (they were in that river, God was using them in ministry,) is stuck in the habit of staying at home, producing no real fruit in their life, and not being involved at their local church.
As a result, their lives are in shambles. They’re willing to go anywhere, do anything because they chose to slack in an area where once there was discipline.
But just as you can create bad habits, you can create good ones too.
Today is the day you can start creating good habits and setting boundaries and disciplines in your life.
Action Points
- First, ask God to reveal the vision and purpose of your life, and then write it down. Suggestion: “God help me be everything you created me to be.”
- Run with that vision and implement daily disciplines in your life to fulfill that vision.
- Cut out useless things or people from your life that are causing your life to be a swamp. Decide to be a river, running with purpose, boundaries, and fruit. When you leave this earth, you want to make a fruitful impact.