Let's Go!
January 1, 2012
What can be said about what's happening at "The Life"? God is moving us into new areas, new methods, and new ways. God has been preparing us for this new season we have entered in. It's an exciting, adventurous, and unchartered journey all wrapped up into one! The Spirit of God spoke to us at the dawning of 2012 and said very clearly this is not the year to blend. Blend means "To put together into one mass so that the different parts become one". God is calling us out to not look, talk, act, or sound like the world at all. 2 Corinthians 6:17 says,"Therefore, come out from among them and be SEPARATE, says the Lord...". How do we accomplish this? By being sold out, Totally Devoted, and not afraid to be unique in who God created us to be. We must be willing to break out of the stereotype and mold that we as Christians and the church has restricted us to be in. There is a desperate world, full of desperate people, that needs each of us to be as unique as He created us to be! We are on a mission to allow the voice of God to be heard by the world around us. We will AMPLIFY His name! His heart will be heard, seen, and known by this ministry!
Action!!!
January 15, 2011
2011 is the year of "ACTION"! Since the beginning of this year the Spirit of God has made it abundantly clear to us that we are to stop sitting back talking, wishing, hoping, procrastinating, compromising, and be launched into action! We have determined to stop allowing excuses to stop us because there will ALWAYS be excuses! What is action? "Something done or accomplished; a deed.....Organized activity to accomplish an objective." God is calling the corporate body of Abundant Life Ministries to get ORGANIZED and UNIFIED to fulfill the vision He has given us, literally to accomplish Kingdom work. We are continually talking about, casting the vision, and encouraging one another to be active. Read what the Word of God tells us to do in Hebrews 10:24 (NLT), "Let us think of ways to MOTIVATE one another to ACTS of love and good works." What has God laid on your heart to do to touch peoples lives? What dream do you have to help people that you have put on the back burner, that you gave up on, that you began to think you can't do it? People of God, as you begin to walk God will guide, as you begin to move God will respond, as you begin to step God will direct! God will never give you a dream you can't see through, He will never give you a heart to help others and not provide the solutions to see it through. So, I motivate you today to get "ACTIVE." Be the hand of Christ that touches someone today. Be the voice of Christ that encourages someone today. Be the resource of Christ to bless someone today. I motivate you to perform acts of love and good works for your neighborhood, community, city, county, state, nation, and world!
If you would like to experience the Body of Christ in action then come experience what God is doing at Abundant Life!
The Conditions For Rain
October 25, 2010
God has been speaking to us here at Abundant Life in such a prophetic way. It has been awesome and humbling to say the least! In early September when in the middle of an intense Worship Service the Spirit led me to 1 Kings18:41 when the prophet Elijah said, “I hear the sound of an abundance of rain.” We have not been the same ministry since. The promise of rain is so exciting because it represents refreshing, reviving, growth, life, and prosperity. So, forgive me if I take a minute to praise and celebrate, I’ll be right back…….O.K. I’m back.
God has set a natural law in motion for rain...Job 28:26 (NKJV) - He made a LAW for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt.” What does this law consist of? What is the process God made for rain? This cycle is made up of four main parts: Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, and Collection. Now that we know there is a set law for natural rain, I am even hungrier (or should I say thirstier) to find out the Law for the Spiritual Rain cycle!
First, it must start with evaporation or in other words, loss. In order for God to send the rain we must be willing to lose some things in our life! Elijah said in 1 Kings 8 that the reason there would be a drought was because the people were living in sin, but when they repented then rain would be released. Isaiah 30:22-23 says, “You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, and the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, “Get away!” 23 Then He will give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground...” Do you see that? When they “lost” or got rid of their sin, then God released the rain. If we are REALLY DESPERATE for a new, powerful, life changing move of God we MUST be willing to lose anything or anybody that is hindering the conditions of rain.
The next thing we have to do to have the perfect conditions for rain is…..(this is my suspense builder)……….pray. I am not just talking about a five minute prayer. I am talking about a lifestyle of prayer. The condensation/precipitation process is when many tiny water droplets are evaporated into the sky and there are so many droplets that they begin to collide into each other, and when they collide they join together to form bigger droplets. After enough of them have joined together through constant collisions they get so heavy that gravity can’t hold them any longer and they begin to fall. What did Elijah do to call forth the rain and end the drought? He got in the posture of prayer and began to pray. What did Samuel do to cause the heavens to release the rain? He called on the Lord! Our lifestyle of prayer sends up so many declarations that they begin to collide and join together and the next thing you know….Spiritual gravity can’t hold the answers back a second longer and the rain begins. You are literally setting the conditions for rain in your life!
The last thing we need to do to cause the rain? Live a lifestyle of “Total Devotion” and obedience. Dueteronomy 11:13-14 – “13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul- 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil.” Total Devotion means EVERY single area of your life is devoted to God’s will. Your relationships, your finances, your job, your marriage, your music, your t.v., your private and secluded times….Total Devotion includes your whole life.
I could continue but I am going to stop here. Just read this last statement and never forget it. God would RATHER send forth the rains from heaven then hold back the rains, but we must make sure the conditions in our life and churches are prime for the rains to build and fall!
Faith Expanded
September 19, 2010
Romans 12:3 (New King James Version)
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
I would like to share with you a revelation my wife and I received about this scripture. This scripture says that each one is given a measure of faith. The thing that confuses many people is it seems as though some individuals have more faith then others. Have you ever known someone who had almost all their prayers answered? Surely God must have given some people a whole lot of faith and given me just a little bit...right?
Let me explain to you how faith works. Have you ever seen one of those emergency inflatable rafts that when you need to inflate it you pull the cord and it immediately inflates into a full size raft that will seat 8 - 10 people or even more? Well here is the principle, before the raft inflates it's small, it's compact, it has the capacity to expand into a life saving device, and the truth is it IS a raft, but until it's expanded it cannot be used for the function or the purpose for which it was made.
God has given each of us a measure of faith. The reason we feel like some people has more faith is because their faith has been inflated, expanded, or in simple terms, been put to use! 2 Thessalonians 1:3 say's, "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly". If you are not satisfied with your level of faith then you must be willing to be put into situations and circumstances that will cause your faith to be expanded. It is time that we, as Christians, begin to allow the deposits that God has made in eCh of us to grow into full blown, full functioning life preservers for us, our families, and the world around us!
What Is Your Capacity? (Part Two)
September 9, 2010
So how do we expand our capacity? How do we go from the Holy Spirit being housed in a limited capacity in our life, to an unlimited capacity in our life? The answer is so simple yet soooo powerful! Listen to what Jesus said: Mark 4:23-25 - If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” "Consider carefully what you hear," (Hold on, wait a minute! This is Jesus talking, and before He makes His next statement Jesus takes the time to say, “Listen carefully...Pay attention to what you are about to hear...what Jesus is about to say is so important that He essentially says, “ATTENTION, ATTENTION!” O.K. back to the passage) he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." Luke 6:38 says, “The measure you use will be the measure you receive.”
Whoa! Did you get that? This unlocks the question almost every Christian has asked themselves at some point or another. “Why does some people operate in so much authority and power?” “Why does God do so many miracles through them?” “Why does (fill in the blank with the name of a great man or woman of God) walk in so much victory?” “Why is “so and so” always so joyful, kind, have so much peace?” The answer is simple...The more of the Spirit you use, the more you will receive. Body of Christ, we have the opportunity to enlarge our capacity, we just have to take the limits off our mind, thoughts, and and understanding of HOW MUCH of the Spirit we can house! Get radical in your thoughts, get radical in your actions, get radical in your faith!
Let me close with this scripture: 2 Kings 13:14-19 - 14 Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. "My father! My father!" he cried. "The chariots and horsemen of Israel!15 Elisha said, "Get a bow and some arrows," and he did so. 16 "Take the bow in your hands," he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.17 "Open the east window," he said, and he opened it. "Shoot!" Elisha said, and he shot. "The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Elisha declared. "You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek."18 Then he said, "Take the arrows," and the king took them. Elisha told him, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times."
See what limited thinking will get you? Some success... No limits thinking? Complete destruction of the enemies in our lives!!! No limits! Expand your capacity!
What Is Your Capacity?
September 9, 2010
I want to challenge you with a question...What is your capacity? What do I mean? Let’s first look at the definition of capacity. It is defined as, “the potential or ability for holding, storing, or accommodating.” Now let me remind you of an encounter that Jesus had in Mark 5. Jesus had just gotten to a new region and a man that was demon possessed, out of his natural mind, living in a cemetery, unable to be bound or held by chains came running up to Jesus. Jesus immediately addressed the unclean spirits and asked, “what is your name?” The response was, “Legion, because we are many.” The word legion in the day of Christ meant 6,000 Roman Soldiers. In other words, this one man had the capacity to hold 6,000 unclean spirits. Why do I bring up this account? Because I believe that if one man can house that many UNCLEAN spirits then we have the capacity to hold at the least, that many attributes of the Holy Spirit! When will we understand that the Spirit of God wants to fill us, not to the limit of what we have just experienced, seen, heard of, or felt. The Spirit of God is saying, “take the limits off of me!” Our capacity to house and accommodate the Spirit of God is so much greater then what we realize. Do you remember what Jesus prayed in John 17? He said, “Father, I give them the GLORY that you’ve given me.” Jesus also said, “Greater miracles will you do.” Our capacity for victory, power, authority, miracles, peace, joy, love, kindness, self-control, knowledge, wisdom, creativity, and the like are only limited by the room we make for the Spirit of God in our lives. So again, I ask....”What is your capacity?”
What Are You Making?
August 23, 2010
With such a Mighty God why do we ever doubt what He can make? Why do we ever doubt what He can produce out of our lives?
Why do we ever say, "This is all I will ever be! Things can't change for me, I've done too much! I've caused to much hurt...I have a track record of failing...I'm a liar, a thief, nobody really knows what I truly am, and what I'm capable of!"
My message to you is this...God knew who we really were when he called us to Himself! He says I can make something out of this! Trust Me!
Who else can take handful of dirt and make a human creation? You don't have to be much in the beginning but when He gets through with you...you won't be recognized by nobody around you. If God is creative enough to make man out of dust, He is creative enough to make a new person out of a broke down, battered individual!
Every time He gets that creative look in His eye I get excited, because no matter how small and menial the element starts out In His hand! A masterpiece is born!
Your smallness, your lack of anything, your inabilities, your issues, etc, can change with just a touch, that's just first contact. Then He'll gather you up in His hand, and He'll remove your past, your stains, He'll blow away the old in you, and begin to create something new! He then reaches into Himself for the final touches and pulls out His nature, pulls out His love, pulls out His Spirit, His purpose and plans, and fills your life with Himself!
I am here to tell you today that God is more then capable of making you into a successful, overcoming, and victorious child of God!
Vision Exposed
August 1, 2010
Abundant Life Ministries Vision
Proverbs 29:18 (Message Bible) - If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.
We are a Body of Believers Totally Devoted to God in every aspect of our life. We have turned from the old sinful life and every form of idol worship we had put before God. We have completely burned, crushed, destroyed, and annihilated every hinderance that would disrupt our relationship with God. Now, we have returned to God’s heart, plan, destiny, and purpose for our lives. We want to live God’s blueprint for our lives. This means we will become the God Man, The Real Man...The God Woman, The Real Woman. This obedience to His Word makes us better Husbands/Wives, Fathers/Mothers, Sons/Daughters, Men/Women, so that every aspect of our lives will manifest the Word of God, bringing God Glory and making Him Famous! Through Total Devotion we have come face to face with God’s Love for us and as a result, we realize that God has called us to love laterally (showing one another the same Love we have received from God). We are once again on the Potters Wheel and He is completely making us new! This is what He is making:
A Body of Believers that is a real, living, breathing, moving, animated, visible, true Body of Christ...
We are a Body that:
Is close knit, that loves and cares for one another, creating a unity and bond of love...
Helps and aids in times of troubles...
Celebrates and rejoices in times of victory...
Meets the needs that arises amongst the body...
Promotes the Growth and Maturation of one another...
Is actively involved and participating in the life of the church...Each joint supplying...
Is in full support of each ministry inside the church that is designed to build up, equip, and edify the family...
Each person giving and sowing prayer, time, and finances into the Body...
Each person making the necessary investment in the lives of the children and youth...
Has fellowship with one another outside the parameters of normal church service times...
Only speaks words that build up and edify one another, avoiding strife which leads to division...
Guards and protects the vision, the word, and the Pastors and leadership of this house...
Is united in the corporate Praise and Worship of the House...
Is ready to receive and respond to the Word taught to the House by applying and carrying it out...
Is always poised and ready to promote spiritual, numerical, and financial growth to the body...
We are a body that shows the Love of Christ to our community, our state, our nation, and our world...
By Serving...
By Giving...
By Helping...
(Examples: Retool 4 School, Storehouse, Feeding The Hungry, Helping the Elderly, Being involved in our community)
Our priorities will always be:
To see the lost saved...
The sick healed...
The bound freed...
To continue to and never stop unifying people of every race, ethnic, and economic background...
Fruit of Devotion
July 7, 2010
We have a new anthem....God has spoke a Word into our lives that has forever changed our understanding of how to live in constant victory, success, and freedom... This simple, yet life changing word, is “Total Devotion”... Total Devotion is the only option we have as believers...
This Total Devotion produces something in your life for you and the lives of others... Total Devotion produces...it brings forth; it yields, it causes something to occur or exist; it brings forth (a product), it causes something to come into existence. It generates, creates, and puts on a public performance...
Total Devotion produces “The Fruit of Devotion”.... The cause and effect of your devotion...The “devotion” is the Cause and the effect is what happens as a result....
Fruit that produces life has ALWAYS been apart of God’s plan...Being fruitful is the very nature of God, one of God’s first commands to us was “be fruitful and multiply.”
John 15:8 says, “My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit, and show that you are my disciples.”
Remember I said total devotion puts on a public performance? Jesus said in this scripture when you bear much fruit (which is accomplished through total devotion) then God is honored. Honored means “to make one renowned” renowned means “to make famous.” Wow, what a revelation! Our goal, our objective, our purpose in life is “To Make Him Famous!” We need to spread His notoriety, popularity, reputation, God’s name needs to circulate by you spreading His reputation with your life!!!
When we live “totally devoted” we make God famous! How? We put God’s character on display by producing His fruit…the fruit of the spirit, His love, His power, His kindness, His giving nature. When people are around you they should see His fruit. Read Matthew 12:33 (NET Version) –“ Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good, make a tree bad (diseased or rotten), and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.” According to this scripture if we are living righteously then we should automatically be producing good fruit. The Word says, “a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit.” If the world around you is not seeing good, God inspired fruit, being produced in your life that is benefiting them, then you need to go back to “total devotion” so you may be a good tree, producing good fruit. Rest assured, know this…a tree will be known by its fruit!
Let’s all make it a point to live “totally devoted” so we can “Make Him Famous!”
Total Devotion
July 1, 2010
The Lord has released a Word to Abundant Life Ministries that has ignited a new fire in the heart of the ministry. It is a word, that if applied, will literally change your life. Don’t believe me? Just keep reading….
The reason we have struggles in our Christian walk is simple…we are withholding a part or portion of our life from the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. So, if we want to begin living in success, freedom, liberty, and power, then all we must do is live in “Total Devotion!”
Devotion means – “To Love, be attached to, long for, to cling to.....passionate, often selfless affection and dedication...adoration, love, and commitment”
Total Devotion means you are totally passionate, dedicated, committed, and clinging to God in EVERY area of your life. We cannot afford to continue to keep parts of our life exempt from the Spirit. There are many promises to those who live in “Total Devotion”…
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NET) - Certainly the Lord watches the whole earth carefully and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him.
Psalm 91:14-16 (NET) - The Lord says,
“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he is loyal to me.
15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life,
and will let him see my salvation.
You want some examples of people who were “totally devoted?” What about Noah, the entire earth was corrupt, so much so, God was ready to destroy the earth. According to Genesis 6, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Why? Because of his lifestyle. Through the life of a “totally devoted” man, his whole family and the entire earth was saved. Want another example? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were given a command to bow down to the god of King Nebuchadnezzar, if they did not, they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. How easy would it have been to go ahead a compromise “just this one time?” No, they refused, what was the result? God saved them and they became a living witness for the power and love of God! (We will get into this message during the later post, “Make Him Famous.”)
If you need God to intervene in your life, if you need Him to strengthen you, if you need Him to transform you…then commit to “Total Devotion.”
Mothering The Promise
May 9, 2010
"Mothering The Promise: Birth, Nurture, Release"
First off...Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there!!! I just want to release a quick word to you about the role and job of a mother. I take you to 1 Samuel to look at a woman by the name of Hannah who wanted a son in the worst way, she was barren and unable to have children. In these days it was a disgrace to not have any children, her husband even had a legal right to divorce her. She was facing ridicule, and I'm sure self esteem issues. Finally, she got to the point where she said (paraphrased), "Lord I don't even want a son for me, give me a son so I can give him to you." Wow! You want to know how to touch God's heart, be willing to give Him back whatever He gives you! Hannah's prayers were answered and she gave birth to her son. The next thing she had to do was nourish him. She nourished him for the next several years and prepared him to serve in the temple. After he was weaned (probably around 4 years old) Hannah took Samuel to the temple and did just what she promised God she would do...she dedicated Him to God to left him at the temple to be raised by the Eli, the Hight Priest. Hannah literally mothered the "Promise" in her child. Women of God, it is very possible to mother your child, feed them, clean them, provide for them, but never mother the Promise in your child. It is imperative you begin to see beyond what you think your child can or cannot do and see the greatness inside your child...you must begin to nourish the giftings God has given your child. Year after year Hannah would return to the temple with a new ephod, priestly robe for her son, Samuel to wear (SIDE MESSAGE: Dress your child for their promise, what God is calling them to be...stop dressing them in what the music industry, hollywood, or classmates are wearing, and teach them that they will dress and present themselves as a smart, educated, clean, modest, and successful young person.) She continued to nourish his promise and that is why Samuel began to serve as a priest in the temple as a boy, even though Eli had two sons who should have been in line for the position, the future priest would become Samuel, because mamma was willing to birth, nourish, and then release her child into his promise.
P.S. Because she gave her first child, God gave her five more children! Sounds like a powerful giving message, huh?
Love everyone...Be Blessed
A Great And Effective Door
March 19, 2010
"A Great and Effective Door"
1 Corinthians 16:9 – “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries”
Let’s explore this simple, yet powerful statement written by the Apostle Paul.
God gives you a promise, an open door, it is a new place that manifests and God makes available to you. This “open door” is a literal, tangible place that God has given you to walk through. Our goal and purpose in life is to make it to this place, through the “open door” that He has provided.
Satan’s goal is to make it seem impossible to reach your open door. He wants you to feel like it’s not even worth the effort any more to try. How does he do this? Through the “power of the protest” (previous entry in Pastors Message). Discouragement and depression comes into our lives through thoughts, feelings, tragedies, peoples words, etc. These protests comes between you and your promise. Satan’s purpose is to declare to you the opposite of the law that has been written for you, the opposite of your purpose, the opposite of your promise. Satan wants you to believe that what has been promised to you, the open door that God has made available to you, will never be obtained.
This becomes such a frustrating way of living! You can see the door, you can get an idea of what it may be like entering into God’s promise for you, but distraction and discouragement make it feel impossible to reach! So what do we do? Many of us try to enter the door, our promise, with all of the unresolved issues still attached to our lives, but we can’t fit through the doorway with so much excess surrounding us!
Let me show you some examples of what it’s like when God speaks a promise and how the enemy stands between the person and their “great and effective door”:
• Genesis 15 God spoke to Abraham, the “great and effective door” God gave Abraham was that his descendants (the children of Israel) would be given a “promised land”…a land full of freedom, blessings, and overflow. God spoke and it created a tangible door for them to walk through. Between them and their promise stood many adversaries. A man and woman being old and barren, not able to have children. The children of Israel being in slavery for 430 years. The person who was sent to lead them out couldn’t talk clearly, he stuttered, and was scared and intimidated.
• Genesis 37 tells the story of Joseph who had a dream that he, the youngest of all his brothers, would be a ruler and his family and others. His “great and effective door” God had for him, the tangible place for Joseph to walk into was a palace, a position in command. What was his opposition? The opposition he had to battle through was being left for dead in a pit, being sold into slavery, being accused of attempted rape, and being thrown in prison.
• What about the disciples? John 14:16 (KJV) –“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” The promise the disciples were given was the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Teacher, the Power of God! The promise created the place the disciples had to get to, which was the upper room. The opposition they had to battle through was protests of fear, doubt, worry, and sadness, the opposition was monumental, they were discouraged and went back to what they knew. (They were promised Comfort! What came next w as Chaos!)
Almost every occasion you read about in the Bible where God gave a promise, there was always something that came between the promise and the place where the promise manifested. Why does this happen? Because we have an adversary. Adversary is defined as “one that opposes another in a battle, contest, controversy, or debate…an opponent.” When the adversary comes he brings adverse conditions, discouragement, and difficult times. Let me however tell you the great news: You’ve been made more then a conqueror, you are an overcomer, nothing is impossible for God, you’ve been fearfully and wonderfully made!
So what does the adversary target when he comes? Your heart…the very center of our thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, will, and character...the inmost part of us. The reason why he targets our heart is found in Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) it says, “Above all else, guard your heart, FOR IT AFFECTS EVERYTHING YOU DO.”
Your heart is the target and your thoughts is the path he uses to get there...
Luke 6:45 (NKJV)- "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
So what does God gives us to protect our heart?
John 14:27 (NET) - “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.
(NKJV - Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid)
Philippians 4:7 (NET) - And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Do you see this promise?!?! The peace of God is given to you to guard your heart and mind! This is why it is imperative that we surround ourselves with people, places, and things, that bring peace and not turmoil…thoughts of peace and not thoughts of strife.
Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) - You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You , Because he trusts in You.
Stayed - when you refuse to abandon ones belief...hold your ground, be firm and unyielding...
We can’t expect to walk into our promise without peace, thanksgiving, and the joy that being filled with the Holy Spirit brings! No matter what the opposition is or how big it seems you were made to succeed! God has given you a great and effective door to walk through, so start walking!
The Enemy of Your Promise
March 8, 2010
The Enemy Of Your Promise:
QUESTION: What is one of the greatest enemies people face when they have a promise they are trying to obtain? ANSWER: Discouragement
Discouragement is a feeling of despair in the face of obstacles, it means being deprived of confidence, hope, and enthusiasm, which causes a deterring action. Discouragement depresses you by the devaluing of your spirit, it literally depreciates you and makes you feel less than, small, and unimportant. What happens at this point is your spirit is now pushed down, and weakened from the loss of hope, confidence, or courage. It’s a feeling or spell of a spirit disheartened. It’s a loss of freedom, and an influence that inhibits and restrains, it limits you, and makes you less hopeful or enthusiastic; it hinders and holds you back. It makes you ineffective by applying an opposite amount of force. It frustrates you and forbids you to move forward. It comes to neutralize your power and authority you have in Christ and stops you from making entrance into your promise. Discouragement can also be known as depression.
Have you or someone you know ever experienced these symptoms? Let me tell you about a group of people who did:
Numbers 21:4-5 - "Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
The Israelites were literally on their way to their promise here, but before they could obtain their promise, the scripture says, “they became very discouraged.” What could cause people who had already seen the hand of God move so powerfully in their life (freeing them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, the Red Sea miracle, not to mention being led and fed in the middle of the wilderness) speak against God and Moses, their leader? Discouragement….they were vexed in their minds and emotions. Notice how discouragement works, in verse 5 they say, “there is no food” then their next statement is, “our soul loathes this bread.” Discouragement and depression will literally cause your feelings and emotions to lie to you, making things seem worse then what they are. Discouragement caused this group of people to turn from the direction and instructions of God, the things God had said, written, and established were followed for only a short period before they were overturned by discouragement.
It is our enemies desire that we be put through strain, and that the things that have matured in our Spiritual walk to be removed. Satan wants to sift us just as he did with Simon Peter in Luke 33:31 – “And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.” (Small side note: “you” in this verse is actually the plural form of you i.e. “all of you” or “you all”)
God wants to fill us, and satan wants to empty us! Sift literally means “to take out residue...By inward agitation to try one's faith to the verge of overthrow”
Satan wants to cause an inward agitation…To upset; disturb; To impair or destroy the composure of your Stand in God’s word!
He tries to subject your faith to great strain or hardship and tries to deter you, your trust, your belief, your established ground, your promise...all the way to the verge of overthrow. Satan wants to overturn everything that’s been promised to you, and cause you to walk away from your inheritance!
IT’S AN INWARD AGITATION!!!! Satan’s tactic is to so inwardly agitate you, to the point of your faith being overthrown by him.
If you or someone you know has been dealing with discouragement or depression you need to understand that a pill can’t penetrate your spirit or your soul, it can only physically dull the effects by tricking the functions of your body (it literally masks the real problem.) The experts say they don’t know what really causes depression/discouragement. They say it’s probably from a chemical imbalance or a trauma in your life…I agree WITH THEM!!!! There is an IMBALANCE, but it’s a spiritual one! I don’t know about your serotonin levels, but I do know there is suppose to be an infilling of peace, an oil of joy, and a hope that overflows. We can’t keep lacking in our spiritual balance, because it will soon manifest in the physical realm…if laughter does good like a medicine and joy brings laughter, then it’s a spiritual need first! This issue is a spiritual attack and you need a spiritual solution!
If you want more information about how Discouragement/Depression attacks you and how to combat it, read the next post titled “The Power of the Protest.”
The Power of The Protest
March 8, 2010
The Power of the Protest
It’s time to expose how discouragement and depression works and the tactics it uses!
You must understand that Satan uses discouragement to prevent your progress by expressing disapproval or raising objections, discouragement persuades (a person) not to do something
The first thing the enemy is going to do is “Express”: Send forth his words to manifest and communicate, his feelings and opinions on the matter.
The next tactic he uses is Disapproval: He manifests and clearly communicates his disapproval of you, he uses condemnation and harsh criticism. He severely criticizes you, blames you, and finds fault with you
The third thing Satan does to discourage you is he Raises Objections: He literally protest against you!!! Satan brings up opposing arguments to declare you dishonorable for God’s love, use, and purpose. Satan even tries to refuse you access to what’s yours. He expresses Strong opposition, often by argument.
Discouragement is no small weapon it’s very effective and tends to leave its victim in hopelessness and despair, beaten down by depression and all it’s symptoms.
Let’s look at the power of this protest!
Protest can alter a society’s inner balance and can undermine, overthrow, and completely destroy and ruin the sticking together and the strong sense of enthusiasm and dedication to a common goal that unites a group of authority figures. Protest target and achieve a specific shift in policy by creating pressure for reforms and remedies to the changing standards. Protest can manipulate public opinion and achieve extra-constitutional regime change.
Examples of just a few successful protests in America:
The various protests against racial segregation, taking various forms, are well known — the Montgomery bus boycott, the sit-ins, the various demonstrations in the South — and all led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and various Supreme Court decisions that effectively ended legal racial segregation in the South.
Protests in the 1960’s and 1970s undoubtedly led to affirmative action for women, moving more women into better positions in the economy.
Through protests 6 States now grant same sex marriages and 3 more doesn’t grant them but they do recognize them as a civil union.
Law’s and policies, some good and some bad, are changed or written because of the power of protests...
I know of an innocent man who had never committed any wrong, no crimes, no sin who, because of the protests of people, many of who use to support him, was beaten, crucified, and put to death, even though the governor did not want to do it, but he succumb under the Power of the Protest...”Crucify Him, Crucify Him, Crucify Him!”
So how does Satan utilize the Power of the Protest against you?
It starts with the words of the enemy entering in through thoughts, feelings, emotions, or possibly through the words of others...
“You can’t do this”
“You’re a failure”
“You’re not smart enough”
“You should be scared”
“You’ve made too many mistakes”
When you fail to take authority over them, the protests begin to build. You have to literally see the enemy surrounding you with poster boards chanting their statements just like you’ve seen protestors do on street corners throughout the cities of America. In the same way these protestors make the city, county, and state officials change their policies and laws because of the agitation and pressure of the protests, the same thing happens to individuals. You soon begin to believe what the protesters are saying and begin to confess these feelings and thoughts over yourself.
At this point the “spirit of heaviness” comes and depresses you. The spirit of heaviness is defined as:
Lacking in strength as to be barely audible
Not Strong...Ineffective
Deficient in brightness
Make dim your understanding
Unable to see a clear picture
So what now? What can we do about this?
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) –“ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
We must combat the protest with prayer and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is your “actively grateful language.” You must constantly thank God for the promises of His Word. For every protest satan is raising against you there are many promises of God in the Word that tells you the opposite. Thank God for His promises.
As you do this, “peace” surrounds you to literally guard your heart and mind from the lies of the enemy. Peace will push back the protestors and require them to be silenced!!!
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV) –“ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
The way to combat the protest of discouragement and depression is not through a pill or a natural means, but in order to fight protests you must change your garment!
The Bible says, “God has given us a garment of Praise for the spirit of heaviness...”
So when you praise God, adore God, give Him thanksgiving, and worship Him, your praise makes a garment that, according to the greek definition, means:
To cover
To envelop
To conceal
To cut you off from the sight of your enemy.
Heaviness can’t find you anymore...reaching for you but can’t touch you...trying to depress you but can’t get near you.
Take the power away from the protest!!!
Don't Remain Empty
March 3, 2010
Don't Remain Empty
Matthew 12:43-45 says, "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house empty, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
There are many times in our life that we deal with sin and compromises. You may be struggling with blatant sin, i.e. sexual immorality, lying, anger, uncontrolled tongue, or you may be struggling with less obvious sins that you don’t even consider, for example: complacency, compromise, unforgiveness, lack of love, and so on. The fact is, sin is sin, and all sin is a direct influence from the enemy. The Word says, “satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy,” and the Word also says, “all sin leads to death,” therefore we can ascertain that if you are dealing with sin in your life, you are being influenced and attacked by one of satan’s cronies. So what must you do? Be cleansed of course…but we are going to find out, we must also be filled!
When we repent of our sin, we kick out, we eject, and we force out the enemy from our lives. Whether it is the first time you are saved or you are a Christian who allowed the enemy to gain entrance in your life through sin, when you repent, ask for true forgiveness, and turn from your error, then the sinful spirits in your life leave. You are now empty as it says in verse 44 of our text (“when I find the house empty.”)
Let’s define “Empty:”
1) to cease from labor, to loiter
2) to be free from labor, to be at leisure, to be idle
3) to be unoccupied, empty
The oversight many people make is they stop at the cleaning out process, because they repented, they temporarily feel better so that is all they do, but look what happens to us when we make this blunder…The enemy comes back and because things are empty, he comes back in but not by himself, but with seven other allies and your new condition is worst then the first.
So what must we do? Simple, don’t remain empty! We must be filled! Read some other messages we have posted on this subject. Being filled with the Spirit is the most essential, vital, crucial, and indispensable key to our successful Christian walk. The same disciples that denied Christ, abandon Christ, didn’t understand the parables of Christ, after they were filled, instantly began to preach, teach, heal, etc. because of the infilling of the Holy Spirit! It is not God’s purpose for us to remain empty, because when we are empty our condition will be worse then the first.
In addition to being filled, Ephesians 4:22-29 teaches us a powerful principle of what we need to do now that we have been made new. I will let you discover this truth on your own. (Hint: Replace) Enjoy!
Four Types of Filling
March 2, 2010
Four Types of Filling:
Throughout the New Testament there are four different words for “fill.” We are understanding that in order to be used, to be successful, to be victorious, to be made NEW, we have to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So, read and discover the different opportunities we have to be filled!
PLERES - full, i.e. filled up (as opposed to empty)
of hollow vessels
….a surface, covered in every part…..
thoroughly permeated with
…..full, complete
, lacking nothing, perfect
This type of filling is a saturation, it is a complete change in property. Last week we used the example of when a cucumber goes into the process of being soaked (baptized) in the vinegar solution to become a pickle. Once this happens the pickle can never go back to its former state. It is completely and ultimately changed. Here are some verses that used the “Pleres” filling:
Luke 4:1
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil.
Acts 6:2-4 (New King James Version)
2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full (pleres) of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;
Acts 6:8
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
PLETHO - accomplish, furnish, supply, to inspire or influence thoroughly; to stain or dye deeply; to pass or spread through every part.
This type of filling usually comes to fulfill a particular assignment or task. It is the total Holy Spirit takeover to say or do the complete will of God. In Mark 6 Jesus sent the disciples out to preach, heal the sick, and cast out demons. They were not yet baptized in the Spirit (this came at the day of Pentecost) so they needed to be “filled” for a particular task. After this occasion they did not walk in the same authority or knowledge until they were “filled” “Pleres” in the upper room (Acts 2.) Here are some examples of when “pletho” is used:
Luke 1:67
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.
Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Luke 1:15 (John the Baptist)
"For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
If you notice, after each occasion in which they were filled they did something (prophesied, spoke in tongues, prepared the way of the Lord)
PLEROO - to make full, to fill up, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally; to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure, to fill to the brim… fulfill, to cause God's will to be obeyed as it should be, and God's promises to receive fulfillment…
This type of filling literally means “to be filled to the brim”…You will have a precise and correct knowledge of His will (commands, precepts, desires, pleasures, choices)… You will know what God wishes to be done by us through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we live and use every opportunity his gives.
Look at the times “Pleroo” is used:
Ephesians 3:19
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19 (amplified)
19[That you may really come] to know [practically, [b]through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses [c]mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] [d]unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and [e]become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
Ephesians 5:17-19 (New International Version)
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled (pleroo) with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
Colossians 1:8-10 (New International Version)
8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill (pleroo) you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
CHORTAZO - To eat; be full; gorge- to stuff with food or fodder
fodder- animal feed, food given to animals instead of them searching for food and provision, themselves….
This is when we have gotten a Word and we feel better...when we go to church and are blessed and exhorted, so we have the strength to keep moving forward...
If you are hungry God gives you the bread of life freely, He has provided you enough spiritual food to fully satisfy you, to stuff you, to complete you....
Look at this time Chortazo is used:
Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
The Power Within
February 22, 2010
The Power Within
John 14:17 declares, “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.” Wow…what a promise! I recently wrote an article about Obed-Edom that taught us that we are the temple of God, we are the literal dwelling place of the Spirit of the living God. The verse we just read confirms this fact. Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit and He said that the Holy Spirit will dwell WITH you and be IN you. I love the distinction here that say’s the Spirit of God will not only be with you on earth, with you on your job, with you while your ministering to a hurting person…but He will be IN you!
So, how do we get the Spirit of God IN us? Quite simply put, it is when you are saved, converted, born again. It is at this point that you become a new creation and the Spirit of God comes to dwell. This is an awesome and mind-blowing opportunity, but I am here to tell you today that there is more to be experienced! “More,” you may ask? Yes, more. Let me take you to John 20:21-22, this is after the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus. Up until this point the disciples had not been able to experience the New Testament salvation that you and I are living in today, because Christ had yet to die for their sins, nor had He gotten the keys to death, hell, and the grave. While Christ spent His last few days on earth before He ascended to heaven to take His throne on the right hand of God, He spent time preparing His disciples. This passage shows the moment the disciples experienced salvation (like you and I), and indwelling of the Spirit of God, "So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.”
As I said before this is awesome, to receive the Spirit of God in your life, but Jesus said (paraphrased), “this is not enough.” Listen to this next interaction Jesus had with the same disciples (remember, Jesus has already breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit) Acts 1:4-5 - "And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which, He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now". Do you see that? Jesus commanded them to go and wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is where you move from the INDWELLING of the Spirit of God in your life, to the INFILLING of the Spirit of God! This is when you go from powerless to powerful, this is when you go from not making a difference to be a witness in all the earth (Acts 1:8 - "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth").
I want to end this letter today bringing some clarity to being “baptized” with the Holy Spirit. We associate the word “baptized” with the experience we share in where we are submerged under water for a moment, then raised back up again a second later, representing us dying to our old self, our sin, and being raised up or born again, and made brand new. It is an awesome declaration of our commitment to Christ. We get our word “baptize from the word “baptizo” which means, “to immerse, to submerge, to overwhelm, to saturate.” The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped' (bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first (bapto) is temporary. The second (baptizo), the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. Whew! Check that out! Once the cucumber is baptized (baptizo) in the vinegar it will forever be changed, it is now a pickle. Once the cucumber becomes a pickle, it can never again be mistaken for a cucumber, you don’t put cucumbers on your burger or hotdog, you put pickles on them. The entire makeup of the vegetable is changed once it is baptized in the vinegar, it can never go back again to its original state! This illustration shows us how we have the opportunity to be completely changed from the inside out. We won’t just appear different on the exterior but even more then that, we will be different from the inside. We will be full of the fruit of the Spirit, we will abound in love, we will walk with authority, we will experience miracles on a regular basis, our life will have meaning, our life will impact those around us, we will undoubtedly become NEW. Now do you see why Jesus made it clear we are to be baptized (baptizo) in the Holy Spirit? We are to be soaked in, submerged in, immerse ourselves in, and to be saturated in Him. When we do this we will never again be the same, it will be no more “church as usual” but “church UNusual” because we will get back to the ways of the early church that are found in the book of Acts.
I believe this is the reason so many people that come to the altar and give their heart to Christ end up either turning away again, or live, for the most part, ineffective Christian lives, because they have not been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Body of Christ, it’s time to recognize we need to be baptized in the power and life changing ways of the Holy Spirit!
This Is How We Know What Love Is
February 15, 2010
"This Is How We Know What Love Is"
What if a friend of yours walked into your home with a shoebox on each foot claiming it was their new shoes. They did everything in their power to convince you that the things on their feet, which was so obvious to everyone else were shoeboxes, were shoes. The reason you would not be convinced they were shoes is because they do not share the same properties as shoes. For example, they have no sole, no traction or grip on bottom, they have no kind of shoe lace or strap across the top, they have no durability, thus they will tear up very quickly, and to top it all off, instead of helping and aiding the person in walking they actually became an obstruction and hindrance in their ability to walk. To sum it up, they are using something out of its purpose, and don’t even realize that is what they are doing.
As outrageous of a scenario as this seems, people are found using things out of there purpose all the time. Nowhere do I see this more then in the area of “Love.” Things that should be obvious to the person who is claiming to have love are not obvious. They go around “stamping” the word love on the things they have a strong emotion or feeling for, even if what they are claiming to love (the something or someone) does not have any of the real properties of love. Why do we claim to love things or people, then weeks or months later we don’t want anything to do with them any longer? I believe it is because we use the word “love” as an adjective. An adjective is a descriptive word that paints a picture of how something looks, tastes, feels, sounds, etc. In other words, you make me feel good, therefore I love you….I am attracted to you, therefore I love you…We’ve been through so much together…therefore I love you. We often base the word love on a temporary feeling or emotion…but love is so much more!
Love is the PERMANENT nature of God, it is unwavering, unchanging, it is consistent, and unmoved. When we say, “I love you” to someone, what we are saying is, “I am permanently going to have the nature of God toward you and that is never going to change.”
1 John 3:16-18 (NIV) This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
The verse above clearly states, “This is how we know what love is.” This is how we will be able to determine if what we have is the real properties of love. This scripture tells us that the way Christ laid His life down for us, is the way we should lay down our lives for our brothers (fellow man). This is what love looks like THE LAYING DOWN OF OUR LIVES…Life meaning the soul; the seat of feelings, desires, affections, intense likes and dislikes.
This means a life given up in favor of another:
My feelings, desires, likes and dislikes surrendered…
My feelings, desires, likes and dislikes abandoned…
My feelings, desires, likes and dislikes put aside…
My feelings, desires, likes and dislikes released…
My feelings, desires, likes and dislikes yielded…
Do you get the idea yet? Christ had to have his life laid down to carry out the purpose God had for Him, He couldn’t have subjected Himself to all those things, the beatings, the mocking, the torture, and abuse without His human feelings, desires, likes, and dislikes being put to death. It is not about you, your wants, desires, feelings, but it is about others. Love is laying self down for someone else, being the answer God created you to be for someone else, not letting the way you feel, your desires, likes and dislikes, determine the way you respond to God and your fellow man. Can you begin to imagine this real love being applied to marriages, parent/child relationships, friendships, strangers, etc., and not the temporary, divorcing, imitation love that we have come so accustomed to… Again I say, “THIS IS WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE!”
When God Comes To Dwell With You
February 8, 2010
O.K. imagine this....you hear a knock at your door one day so you open it up, and who is standing there? Your king (or president depending on where you live). As if that was not amazing enough, the request he has for you is mind numbing...he ask you if you can take something off of his hands for a while. Struck by the intrigue and awe of what is happening to you, you inquire, “what is it?” The response is enough to make you think you are getting pranked, but there are no hidden cameras, no actors, no surprises the response is straight forward and serious....The king answers your question, “will you allow the literal presence of God to stay in your home for a while?”
This is essentially what happened to Obed-Edom in 2 Samuel 6:6-12 (read this today, then read it again and again). This account of Obed is not known by many, but I feel like it needs to be discovered by all. Obed-Edom literally means worker/servant worshiper, in other words he was an average joe, he was not a priest or from a family line of royalty but he was chosen to house the “Ark,” the literal dwelling place of the Spirit of God. Needless to say, once he allowed the presence of God to dwell in his house, his life was never the same again. The passage says, “The Lord blessed him and his entire household, and everything he had.” (You can read more about this message on the blog entitled “The Truths of Obed”)
Wow! I wonder....did anybody back then notice God’s commercial break of things to come? I mean how did God get into the house of a common man who wasn’t even a priest? A King brought Him in...right to his door! Hmmm.... God wanting to be in the household of every man.....but who sends a King to knock on doors? Let me answer this rhetorical question for you, “Our father God!” Revelations 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in...” Jesus, the King of Kings, knocks on the door of your heart, He is requesting entry so the Spirit of God may dwell on the inside of you! God doesn’t want to be housed in a natural building, a temple. Because of the work of Christ we now have the opportunity to be the dwelling place, the house, the temple of God! 1 Corinthians 3:16 states, “Do you not discern and understand that you are God's temple (His sanctuary), and that God's Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you...”
The reality is just as weighty and impacting the decision that Obed-Edom made to allow the Ark (the tangible presence of God) into his home, our decision to allow Him into our heart is just as impacting! The literal Spirit of God comes to dwell and live in you! You are the temple of God!
Salt of the Earth
January 18, 2010
Recently my wife and I ministered on the topic of being the "Salt of the Earth." Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 - "you are the salt of the earth, but if salt looses its saltiness, how can it be make salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." We began our message by having some individuals come up front and unwittingly take a taste test of some popcorn, crackers, and peanuts. Normally, they would have enjoyed this opportunity to snack during church, but what they soon found out is they were all unsalted. It only took them just a second of tasting each item to discover they were missing this all important ingredient. It became very obvious when salt is not present, it is noticeable to all. It has become very obvious that this world is missing a very important ingredient...men and women of God being salt. Why did Jesus compare us to salt? Salt was so valuable during His day that roman soldiers were actually paid in salt. Listen to this fact...we actually get our word "salary" from the word "salt." This brings an entire new revelation to this passage, we are to be a thing of great value, something that enhances and makes the world better. The "New Man" is called to be the salt of the earth, are you salting your family, friends, and coworkers?
NEW
January 11, 2010
Let me tell you what I hear God saying for 2010, just one simple word..."New!" New can be defined as, "having existed before, but only recently discovered." I believe that this year God wants us to begin to discover who we are and what we are suppose to be doing as children of God. We spent last year focusing on "growth," growing spiritually specifically. Anytime there is growth, then something "new" is produced. It is time that we, as the Body of Christ, begin to be new, do "new things" as Isaiah 43:19 says. Abundant Life Ministries is determined to do new things in our community, in our ministry, in the lives of hurting people. The world has seen enough of church as usual, that is why we are becoming NEW individually and corporately.
