1/19/2020 Miracle City Global
Judah Goes First
Kimble Love. We’re about to step in. Judah goes first. And I just know the Lord wants to do something mighty in here today. He wants eyes to be opened, ears to be unstopped, and hearts to be molded and shaped and turned back into hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone.
In this world we live in, there are things that pull on us. They try to get us offtrack, off the path that God’s created us to walk on. But greater is he that is in us than the one that’s in the world. It’s my prayer and my hope today that all that is released through the worship and the word, through the demonstration of Holy Spirit in this house, would draw you fully onto that path of righteousness that he foreordained before the foundations of the world for us to walk in.
That we can have the places we live and move and have our being totally in him. Not to be distracted. Not to be pulled off course, detoured in any form or fashion. But that we become a people who set our faces as flint towards the true course that he’s called us to.
Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you that you are moving mightily in our midst. Lord, we are your willing vessels. And we so desire to do your will. Lord, help us in our weaknesses. Strengthen our strengths. Open our eyes to see, Lord, our ears to hear. That we would not be a people that would be pulled to the left or to the right. But we would stay on course, on your river course, that which is flowing before us.
Lord we honor you today. This is your house and we are your people. So have your way and show us your goodness, your mercy, and your love. We bless you today, Lord, in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.
Kevin Long. I want to share some encouragement. I knew that Judah meant praise but I had not studied why Judah goes first. I ran across this article by Donna Patrick with WORDshop Ministries in Lewisville, Texas, and it spoke to me; and the Lord said to share it with you this morning.
There are times in all of our lives when circumstances can hurt so much to the point that the last thing we want to offer God is praise. There are situations that grip our hearts to the level of desperation. We feel hopeless, helpless, and powerless to affect any positive change. In Psalm 34 David make a conscious decision to bless (praise) the Lord at all times. He chose to continually keep the praises of God in his mouth.
Judah was the fourth son of Jacob. His mother, Leah, realized that Jacob didn’t love her and on that fourth son, she chose not to lament the fact that Jacob didn’t love her. She said, This time I will praise the Lord.
It’s from that passage that we derive the meaning of the term, Judah means praise. It was from this fourth son that the tribe of Judah descended. The tribe of Judah was the largest of the numbered tribes. It was from the tribe of Judah that Jesus Christ and King David came. There were two instances where the Lord said the tribe of Judah was to go up first against their enemies in battle.
The first occurrence is found in Judges 1:2 following the death of Joshua. When the children of Israel inquired of the Lord who should go up first against the Canaanites, the Lord responded, “Judah shall go up.” The second is found in Judges 20:18, when once again the children of Israel inquired of the Lord who was to go up first against the sons of Benjamin. Again, the Lord’s answer to them was “Judah shall go up first.”
Praising God when we see no logical reason to do so gives us power to face our obstacles. Praise changes our focus and shifts our minds off the problem and onto God’s power to sustain us. In our sacrificial praise, God may choose in His sovereignty to change us before He brings change to the situation.
Because King Jehoshaphat stationed a praise choir to march before the army in II Chronicles 20, by the hand of God there was no battle to be fought when they reached the battleground. The enemies of God’s people destroyed themselves.
I want to encourage you this morning. Let Judah go first this morning with praise. I’ve discovered over the years the enemy does not want us to enter in this morning. We know he’s battling against us, and when we make a decision that we’re going to praise the Lord this morning, and we’re not going to let anything stop us, there is power.
?This the air I breathe. Your holy presence living in me. This is my daily bread. Your very word spoken to me. And I’m desperate for you. I’m lost without you.
It may look like I’m surrounded by I’m surrounded by you. This is how I fight my battles. Judah goes first. Let the praise of your people rise.
Nothing is as strong as your love.
Michelle Chandler. I heard the Lord say, The purpose of Judah going first is to declare his victory before the battle begins.
?Victory. Victory in Jesus. This is how I fight my battles. My victory’s in Jesus’ name.
Danette Riley. I came here with, Lord, I just don’t know what to do. Have you ever been in a position that you just didn’t know what to do? Lord, my eyes are on you because I don’t know what to do. Then Kevin came and he shared the word about Judah going first. The phrase I heard this morning is, What’s your 20? The Lord’s been speaking to me in the CB lingo. Breaker Breaker 1-9 for 2019 and now the Lord said, What’s your 20? Where are you? Where are we?
In II Chronicles 20 is talks about Jehoshaphat. I’m going to declare and decree these verses because I know some of the things I’ve been going through are not only personal but it’s also what’s going on in the Body of Christ. I know the enemy is coming to try to steal, kill, and destroy. We know that. I’ve been extremely distracted. I’ve had things come and steal time, my energy, resources. So we’re going to be like Jehoshaphat. I declare and decree this over us in this house today.
II Chronicles 20: 1-18. After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.
I’ve got some ‘ites’ trying to wage war against me and my family and this family (at MCG). But we’re not going to lay down or sit down. We’ve already won. Judah, we have the victory. We are not warring for victory. We are warring from victory.
:2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).
:3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
Alarmed. I’ve been alarmed recently. Have you been alarmed in some areas. That alarm is to wake us up. Jehoshaphat was alarmed and the first thing he said was, We’re going to enquire of the Lord. And he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. We are in the midst of a fast right now.
:4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
Where else could we go? Lord, we’ve come from every town. Lord, we’ve come from every city. We’e come from across this state and across this nation and we seek you today.
:5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in front of the new courtyard and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.
Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’
:10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.
We declare and decree this morning that we are not being driven out of any place. The Lord has called us to occupy. This is our land. We declare and decree that God’s government rules and reigns in this place. He rules and reigns in our hearts and in this place. We are standing.
:12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
I have situations in my life that I do not know what to do but our eyes are on you, Lord.
:13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.
:14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
:15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat (Listen, Listen, Danette. Listen, Body. Listen) and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
:16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; (Take up your positions) stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”
:18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.
Father, I thank you. We thank you that we are taking our positions today and that we are standing firm. And Lord, that our eyes are on you. Praise you, Lord.
?We sit at your table, Lord, here with you. We watch you vanquish our enemies.
This is how I fight my battles, at your table. And all I did was praise. Hallelujah, Great Defender. Gonna wrestle till you bless us, Lord. You’ve got more than enough to meet every need. He’s sufficient.
Danette. When Jacob wrestled all night with the Angel of the Lord, he said, I’m not going to let you go until you bless me. At daybreak, his leg was pulled out of socket. And the Angel of the Lord changed Jacob’s name. His name was changed.
Lord, we thank you that we’ve stepped into the new place. And as his name was changed to Israel, that place was called Peniel because he said, I have seen God face to face. We thank you, Lord, for divine face to face encounters. We thank you for face to face. We thank you that you are calling us ‘about face.’ We just thank you and praise you, Lord.
Just like when you changed his name, Lord, I thank you that those who come in, those who come face to face with you and encounter you—I thank you for name changes. Just like Abram was changed to Abraham; just like Sarai was changed to Sarah.
Lord, I thank you for this day and I thank you for your Word. I thank you for 5780, for What’s your 20 and the decade of Pey. Not only do we show up, but you are asking us to speak up. I thank you that the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth are acceptable in your sight. I ask you to take over because it’s what you want. It’s what you want to say and what you want to do in this place. Lord, I thank you for every person and for my family, Miracle City Global, and for all of our alignments, and for our families.
So, what’s in a name? On January 5 we had the Day of the Decree, and the Lord has given each one of us a word or phrase for the new year. I’m going to share a little about the word the Lord has given me. First, I want to come up under the umbrella of the word that’s been spoken over the house.
Betty’s word was Launch and now it’s Forward. Anna taught on her word, Restitution. That is payback with interest. So the areas in our lives where the enemy has stolen, not only is he going to pay it back, but he’s going to pay it back with interest. Kimble’s word is Joy.
Under that umbrella was Kimberley’s words. They had such an impact. They were Order. Revelation. Understanding of Mysteries. I hear that word Order in my life. I hear Order in the Court. Wherever, at home, I am setting things in Order. Some may call it spring cleaning. To the Lord, it’s Order. The Lord is wanting us to get our affairs in Order, whatever that looks like—financial affairs, our houses, etc.—Order.
And then the Divine Revelation that comes along with that. I’m hearing that phrase: There’s a place for everything and everything in its place. Order. Revelation. Understanding of Mysteries. I have internalized that.
I know it’s her word, but they teach us in school to steal the best and leave the rest. If a teacher has great bulletin boards or great lesson plans, steal them. Thievery is the best form of flattery, they say. You know what I’m saying. (laughter)
I didn’t want to say my word that day. On January 5 driving here, I had my word, and I believed it was the Lord. I said, Lord, you’re talking to me about so many things, and I need to know if this is the word. We were in Tevet and I didn’t realize that Dan is the tribe. Lord, is Dan the word? Is that my word? Because he said, I’m changing your name.
My name is Danette, but he said, I’m changing your name to Dan. I was named after my grandfather, Dan, and my grandmother, a combo name. I live in Richton and a lot of revelation comes to me on the way here. I know it’s the same with you as well. When we step out and we’re on the way, when we’ve made the move, then he gives it to us.
I’m going down Highway 42 and I get to the store we call Hilltop. I’m asking the Lord, What’s my word? And I see on the blue sign, Dandy Dan. What? Okay, I’m Dan. When I get here and people are giving their words and I’m like, You want me to say Dandy Dan? We’ve got Joy, Restoration, and you want me to say Dandy Dan?
It takes a lot to embarrass me, but, For real? So, Yes. Whatever he asks us to do, we do it. Dandy Dan. Dandy—Everything is just fine and dandy. You’ve heard that saying? It’s about time in my life that I can say, Everything is just fine and dandy. So I’m declaring and decreeing, in our lives, everything is just Fine and Dandy.
Dandy also means excellence. I want Him to make me a woman of excellence. He wants us to be people of excellence. I love the way he does what he does before. When he makes known the end from the beginning, and things begin to unwind and role out, it’s just jaw-dropping. I didn’t know Dan was the tribe of Tevet.
Then the name settled. It’s like the Hebraic calendar. We don’t follow it. For us, it’s internal. It follows us. Like the name Dan. It’s faith to faith and glory to glory. We’re moving. For years I had no idea who I was. He’s taught me to know who I am in Him and who he is in me. That’s where we are now. He is showing me and us, through this name, Dandy Dan, and he is laughing. I hear Him laughing.
All my life, even before I knew what Dan and Danette meant, internally I had a voice that would say, God is my Judge. God will judge. I’ve been in plenty of situations where there was a lot of judgment against me. That’s just the way it was, but the Lord in me would say, God will judge. God will judge me. He is my Judge.
As I declare and decree this word, the Hebrew word for Dan means Judgment and God will Judge. I know it. I feel the roar of Him in me to be able to declare and decree his government. What’s coming out of me now will be things that haven’t really manifested—this righteous indignation, this righteous anger. Order in His Court. And that we are going to declare judgment on the enemy.
Before he gave me the word, he had said for me to digest the book of Daniel. It’s my word but it’s for all of us. We know as the words manifest in here—Joy, Launch—it affects all of us.
Daniel set his heart to seek understanding. Then the Angel of the Lord came and said, I’ve been held up for 21 days. I’d love for an angel of the Lord to show up at my house and say, You have found favor with the Lord, Danette. You’re of high esteem. The Lord gave Daniel revelation about end times and he had face to face encounters. That’s where we are. He wants to have face to face encounters.
The place we’re in is so new. Past victories, all of the past, he wants to be the past. He is multifaceted and he wants to show us a side of himself that we’ve not seen before. Also in Daniel, Those that know their God will do great exploits. If we want to do great exploits for God, then we’ve got to know Him.
It’s like John, lying on his chest. As you lie on my breastbone, this is how you will develop a backbone. By laying on his breastbone, we will develop a backbone. Out of us ministering to the Lord as Priests, comes the Kingly anointing. When we are in his presence, leaning on his chest, he reveals his secrets to us; and some of these secrets are not to share with anybody. But some of them are.
Some of them are righteous decrees. We are in the decade of the Pey—the Decade of the Decree. We know it’s important what goes in and what comes out. The Lord said to me recently, I am raising the roof. He’s going to raise the roof here. It was a play on words—where your tongue has been stuck to the roof of your mouth.
I’ve been in different situations where I should have opened my mouth and said something but I didn’t. Have you heard the saying, If someone is talking negative about someone and you don’t say anything, then you’re agreeing with them? I’m talking about right time and right place, proper alignments, submitting to authority—first to God.
We’re in a time now that the Lord is calling us to show up and to speak up. I have been guilty of, I don’t want to ruffle any feathers. But when the Lord prompts us to show up and speak up, we have to. I’m guilty of running scenarios in my mind. When the Lord tells us to speak, we have to speak, because lives are hanging in the balance.
What’s your 20? God is so precise. Add the digits of 5780. It equals 20. We are in 2020. Back to the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Shot heard round the world, April 19, 1775. Add the digits of 1775. It adds up to 20. That’s the way he’s speaking to me. We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.
The prophetic words, Time and eternity have intersected. We are in the opportune place. We are at the Gate Beautiful. We are at the Right Time Gate. What happens? The enemy tries to come and move us off of, and tries to get us to believe anybody’s report but God’s report.
Isaiah 11:1-5 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse. From his roots a branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears. But with righteousness he will judge the needy. With justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. With the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
This is talking about Jesus, our Messiah. He was not moved by what he saw or by what he heard with his natural ears. We’ve heard, Let your conscience be your guide. Just go with your heart. Not! Go with your heart? Jeremiah says, The heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it? Your heart will lead you astray.
He wants us to have face to face encounters with Him. When we do that, then we’re not moved by what we see or hear. We’re out of the whirlwind. The past several days I have felt like I was in some type of vortex or tornado and I’ve been on the outer bands.
Remember when bad weather would come, Mama would say, It’s bad weather; everybody get in the house. If there’s trouble with a family member or something has happened, the troops rally and everybody gets in the house. The Lord is calling us to His house. He’s calling us into His tent so that we can be intentional with Him because these wars and rumors of wars, all this stuff is just going to intensify.
The Word says the dark will get darker. We wants us to be like Jehoshaphat. Stand and open our mouths. Declare and decree what God would have us to do.
Lord, it thank you that you daily bear our burdens, that you never forsake us or leave us. You’re the friend that sticks closer than a brother. I thank you that we’re in a house, that we can run to you and present the members of our body to you as a living sacrifice. I thank you for your Word and for every person in this room.
I thank you that we are gathered and not scattered. I thank you for the Holy Ghost shakeup and shakedown. The world may be shaking and other things may be shaking, but we are not shaken. Lord, we belong to you and you are faithful and your Word is true, and you are with us. Thank you for this time and what you are going to do for the rest of the day, in Jesus name. Amen.
Mid-Morning Service
Kimble Love. Welcome to Miracle City Global. I’m so glad you’re here and the Lord is, too. I’m glad you’re here at church being the Church. I heard a person say one time, You know you don’t have to go to church to get into heaven. And the lady responded, Well, you don’t have to jump out of an airplane with a parachute, either; but it sure helps. We’re not at church; we are The Church that is gathered together to have church.
Holy Spirit is living and moving and having his being here, and we rejoice in what he’s doing. How many of you believe we’re in the best of times? I believe we’re in times we’ve never experienced heretofore. Have you ever heard anyone refer to things in the Word of God as back in the Bible times? I’m here to tell you, we are still in Bible times. The Word is the Word and Jesus said it won’t be added to or taken away from. We are living out the Bible day by day.
Father, we are here today to worship you in Spirit and in truth. To rise up into our sonship, to be what you created us to be. Help us, Lord, to live out our lives according to your word, to your truth, to your precepts and your purposes. Help us to lean not on our own understanding but to trust you with our entire being. May that peace that surpasses all understanding come and guard our hearts and our minds through Christ Jesus.
Father, we look to you as the Author and the Perfecter of our faith. You are our very help in time of trouble. And you always watch over your word to perform it in our lives. So Lord, we yield to you. We say, Holy Spirit, have your way. Minister to our needs as we minister unto you through worship.
We thank you, Lord, that you are for us and not against us. I thank you that the victory is ours because the battle is yours. Have your way, Father, in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.
Shofar
?I’m living for you. I’m gonna be a history maker in this land, a speaker of truth to all mankind. I’m gonna stand. I’m gonna run into your arms. We’ll see miracles. We’ll see angels sing. We’ll see broken hearts making history.
Nita Maselle. I kept hearing this morning the Click Click Click. I knew the Lord had given me the word of a Divine Reset. I heard Betty saying that, too, in the last couple of meetings I’ve been in with her. It’s a Divine Reset.
Is he not perfect in his doings? I hear Click Click Click fitting into place. What didn’t seem to work before is now working. He’s doing it. Where you couldn’t, he can. Many things are coming together now. That’s when he said Lock and Load. And Loaded for Bear, which means thoroughly equipped; prepared for action; full capacity to hit the mark. Ammo packed with stuff and rainbows I saw.
He’s enlarging our capacity to perceive, to comprehend. Then he said, Understanding is here. I’ve longed for you to see me clearly. And we’ll be left covered with the residue of Him. Let the residue of your presence remain.
Around the same time, Betty was giving the word, It’s a 20 Season. Your time of waiting is over. He’s bringing completion of the cycle of waiting.
I saw that for some, he’s giving you fresh word, new things; and for some, he’s bringing a fresh word of an old promise that he’s refreshing because he’s ready to fulfill and do it in your life. I have promises from 20 years ago. I have a promise. I remember when I got filled with the Spirit that God gave me a promise. It was like it was vocal in the room. And I have not forgotten that. That was 40 years ago. That’s double 20.
I believe he is reminding me of that and refreshing that. It’s like he is giving me fresh hope and a new understanding that he’s going to complete that thing which he promised to do. The time is right. He is setting us in place. And he’s going to download a fresh word and a fresh understanding to put on that, to put on the promises of old and the promises of new. He’s giving us new and refreshing some of the old he’s bringing back.
I just say, don’t think like you thought in the past where you’ve let go, or you thought it would never happen, or you’ve listened to doubt, or you’ve had unbelief hit you. Or circumstances didn’t line up and you never saw it. Let go of the past. Because he’s giving you fresh on this. It’s a fresh word. He’s ready to do it.
Maybe he just had to let you have some time to figure out that you couldn’t do it. So we can stand now in a place of being receptive and say, Lord, you do it. And then if he gives you a word, you’re not going to hold back. You’re going to let it go. Full power and (ammunition) to bring forth the promise this time. We’ve learned better.
We know better now how to stand. How to steward the precious promises of God. And we’re not going to let it go. He’s not letting it go. And we’re not letting it go.
So Lord, we say Yes and Amen to all your promises, all your words. We say, Yes Lord, a fresh reminding of what you’re saying in our life for today, and we’re going to forget about how we handled yesterday. We’re going to forget about the past. We’re going to stand in the fresh and let all that you planned come forth in Jesus name.
He said, Divine Reset. And he is doing it.
Lane Bass. I feel it stirring in me along those same lines. It’s an Isaiah 6 moment, when King Uzziah died, which means Pride. He came into the presence of the Lord and had an encounter. Not only was he changed and humbled, but he was ready and willing to go forth in that power that you’re talking about, Nita, that anointing.
So Lord, we just receive this word. We receive the book of Isaiah right now.
?I count on this one thing. God will not fail me now. He’s working all things out. Yes I will lift you high. Yes I will bless your name. Yes I will sing for joy when my heart is heavy. All my days, yes I will. I choose to praise, to glorify the name of all names.
There’s no sound louder than the captive set free. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. You are my deliverer, the freedom I’m living in. You are my promised land.
Kimble. How many in here are redeemed? Well, say so! So! Let the redeemed of the Lord say So! I thank the Lord that he has redeemed our souls and our bodies, our lives. Everything about us he has made right and made us righteousness through Him. As we continue to worship and come to the table of the Lord, we celebrate the redemption, the price that Jesus paid for our sin.
Say with me, I am sinless. He who is without sin cast the first stone. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I wasn’t trying to trick or deceive you. But I kind of did. Through the eyes of God, when he looks at us, it’s not that we’re not sinful beings, we have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.
When we sin and realize we have sinned, and we repent and turn away from that, through the eyes of God, he looks at us through the blood of Jesus. Our sinful and lawless acts he remembers no more. He casts them as far as the east is from the west and throws them into the bottom of the pit to be remembered no more.
I want to speak a word of liberation to you. Whatever you’ve done, if you have truly repented unto God, it’s as if it never happened. That’s to us, where we may have sinned against God by our willful and unlawful acts, and we’ve repented and received God’s forgiveness.
And we have to forgive the sinner, the ones who have come against us. Because the Lord needs to cleanse our hearts if we have aught against any brother or sister. How many of you say you love God and hate your brother who you see?
Jesus paid the price at the cross of Calvary. He gave up his right. He could have taken over right then and the whole world would have been lost. But by his grace and his mercy, by his steadfast love for his creation, he went to that cross, despising its shame. But he stuck to his mission. He stayed on the path. He didn’t go to the left or the right. He didn’t look for a way out. He went straight through the middle of it because he knew the outcome, for the joy was upon him. The revelation was within him.
He knew what the outcome was if he fulfilled his mission. He came to do the deal. He lived to die, to take our place, to redeem us, to bring us back into right standing, right relationship, back into the family of God, his original intent. Before the foundations of the world he was slain.
Today we come to the table to partake of the bread that represents his body, the juice that represents his blood, and we’re going to remember the sacrifice that he paid when he went to that cross. He stayed in step. He didn’t waver. Like a lamb led to the slaughter he went, because he saw each one of us. And he knew the full impact of what he was going to do. So that we could live and move and have our being now in the fullness of God, to become the sheep of his pasture once again.
We also going to bring our tithes and offerings and first fruits into the storehouse, invest in the kingdom of God to see his kingdom advance throughout this land. I’m here to tell you. The kingdom of God is advancing. Although the enemy is fighting, and he is cursing and he is deceiving and he is continuously trying to steal, kill, and destroy, our God is greater.
Righteousness exalts a nation. And I declare that righteousness is exalting this nation. Righteousness is rising up in various parts of the world, even as I speak at this moment. People are being saved, delivered and set free even now. I encourage you to be a part of that.
So come today. Eat of the body of Christ. Drink of his blood. Take in the new covenant that Jesus has given us. Remember the sacrifice in Jesus name.
Lord, today we thank you for your body that was broken for us. We thank you for your blood that was shed for us. I thank the Lord that we have been redeemed by your blood, that means made righteousness, created in your image, received eternal life and fellowship and relationship with God the Father, with God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Today as we come and partake, we are saying Yes to the full benefits of the new covenant that you have purchased and given unto us. That is salvation, deliverance, healing, provision, all that we need for life and godliness in this earth as we go forth as the sons and daughters of God displaying his glory, declaring his word, and seeing his kingdom advance throughout the world.
We bless you, Lord, and we thank you. We give you praise in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.
?I fix my eyes up you. All praise. All praise. You are my greatest miracle. Every cell in me must respond.
We believe for more. All praise to you, Lord. Take me back to the beginning. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.
All my days have been held in your hand. From the moment that I wake up, I will sing of the goodness of God. All my days you have been faithful. You’ve been so so good. I have lived in the goodness of God. Your goodness is running after me. You’re never gonna let me down. You are good good oh oh. Come and be the King of my heart, Lord.
Lane. We acknowledge you King Jesus. We welcome heaven in this place, in our hearts and minds. We worship you King Jesus upon your throne. We see you high and lifted up.
Nita. I got a fresh word for the Lord. He said, Pride will take a back seat in this season, far removed, far removed. It can’t stand with Me! Rejoice that pride takes a back seat in this hour. I’m removing Pride from my body.
Pride is a false estimation of oneself. Pride is either underestimating or overestimating who you are. When you underestimate, it’s false humility and it limits you. When you overestimate, it’s walking in something that you’re not there. For pride to go, that means you’re walking in truth and a true estimation of who you are in Him.
I got excited. I got excited because that’s great. Pride has been a huge stumbling block in the church. And if we can walk without pride and walk in a true estimation with the Lord, he can do all things. So my expectation is high in Him.
Lane. So we humble ourselves before you in this place, God, in our hearts and minds. I just had the right picture of who you are and how good you are. Thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your love towards us when we mess up time and time again.
?Daddy God, Our Father. I just wanna be where you are. I just wanna be near your heart. There is nothing like your love. Jesus I love you. Holy Holy. You are Holy Holy. Abba, I belong to you.
Rosemary. When Nita spoke about pride, Father said to me, Now that pride is out of the way and cut off, I’m going to restore the children back to the fathers. Restoration. Generational restoration. I declare and decree everyone in our families, everyone that we touch and people we don’t even know, they will come back and follow him. He will get the glory in Jesus mighty name.
Kimble. How many of you saw Paisley run up to Lane a few minutes ago? I saw that and some might think that’s not a good time to go up to Daddy; Daddy’s busy. But that’s the way our Father is. He wants us to be as little children. Not thinking about what Dad’s up to, but I’m going to do whatever it takes. I’m want to get to my Daddy and I want to get to him now. God is never too busy for his children. As a matter of fact, he loves it when you interrupt him—but he doesn’t get interrupted.
He’s always ready. He’s always willing. He is always there for us—not just in time of need but all the time. In the times of joy. In the times of blessing. It’s us. When things are going good we keep God at an arm’s distance. Things are cool. I got this. Until we get near the edge and fall off the cliff—Oh God, where are you? He’s a full-time God. He’s open 24/7. He never dozes or closes. He’s always open for business.
Just as we desire his presence to come and fill our space, he desires for our presence to be in his space. Because that’s the kind of God that he is. He’s a good good Father. He loves us and he’s always there for us. Praise God.
Lane. The word Rosemary brought is so right. I agree with that. I wanted to say that I felt something happening in that moment. It was supernatural, really powerful, about the hearts of the fathers being turned to the children and the children’s to the fathers. There was healing that happened in that moment just now. I have faith. I just know that something happened. Healing came to me and healing came to Paisley in that moment. So I’m thankful and I’m grateful. I just want to give glory to God.
That’s what he’s doing this morning. He’s bringing healing to the fathers and to the children and anything involved in that relationship, whether it’s Heavenly Father or an earthly father. Father issues in the natural. Father issues in the spirit, in the heavenly realms. Those fatherly issues are being wiped out by perfect love. Perfect love casts out all fear. And his love covers over a multitude of sins.
He’s healing, this moment, right now. Lord, we receive your healing. We decree and declare, we release your healing over our hearts and minds, Lord, any scattered places, any fragmented places in us, that we are fully whole, wholly whole in our Abba, our Daddy God, right now in Jesus name.
Kimble Love. Just let that healing power hit you right where you are. Our God is the God that heals, who delivers and sets free. He does it all. I don’t do it. No man can do it. But it’s God and God alone. We’re just his hands and his feet, his mouthpiece in the earth to speak the word in truth and love with a demonstration of God’s power.
Father, we thank you for your healing virtue that’s in this house. We thank you that you are healing hearts and minds and souls and spirits, that you are refreshing and renewing and bringing fullness of joy to your people. I thank you that you are raising us up to be whole and complete and not lacking anything. That we walk in the fullness of your purpose, and that we see and display your glory throughout the land.
Father I thank you that you give us instructed tongues to know the word that sustains the weary. That you waken us morning by morning with a sense of purpose that must be fulfilled according to your set purposes. We yield to you, Lord. Continue to move and have your way in this place in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.
Thank you, Worship Team. There’s an atmosphere in here that’s just heavy. It’s a good heavy. It’s interesting that Nita had the word about pride.
Proverbs 18:12-17 NIV. Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
You can’t make this stuff up. In the Passion translation it says,
A man’s heart is the proudest when his downfall is the nearest, for he won’t see glory until the Lord sees humility.
:13 Listen before you speak, for to speak before you’ve heard the facts will bring humiliation.
:14 The will to live sustains you when you’re sick, but depression crushes courage and leaves you unable to cope.
Anybody ever been there?
:15 The spiritually hungry are always ready to learn more, for their hearts are eager to discover new truths.
:16 Would you like to meet a very important person? Take a generous gift. It will do wonders to gain entrance into his presence.
Here is what I want to emphasize.
:17 There are two sides to every story. The first one to speak sounds true until you hear the other side and they set the record straight.
The first to speak sounds right until another comes along with the truth and sets the record straight.
Father, we thank you for your word today. I thank you that you have called us to be a people that are instant in season and out of season. I thank you that you have written your word upon our hearts and you have called us to a place of walking in truth, displaying your glory, and releasing your light. You have called us to be a light to the world and may our light always shine. May we not be moved or deceived by the pull of darkness.
Father, help us to rightly discern your word, rightly discern our walk, rightly discern the things we hear and see. And may it’s foundation always be based upon the truth of Your Word before we run off on a rabbit trail, chasing after something that sounds good or tickles our ears or is appeasing to our circumstance.
Father, we want to be a people that are controlled by your Holy Spirit—not mindless robots, for you have given us free will, but that we would handle the truth of your Word, that we would be led by your Spirit and walk in all truth. And speak nothing but the truth so help us God. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.
I want to talk to you about a word that appears throughout the Bible. It’s an action verb and it starts at the very beginning. Deceived. To me, Deceived is a synonym of Pride. Because if a person is operating and walking in pride, they are deceived that they can do anything apart from God. Whenever we cut God out of the equation in our life, that’s pride—if we think we can do anything without Him.
I know I’ve done things without him and I know I’ve done things with him. With him is better. He wants us to be totally dependent on him in big matters and little matters. He wants to be in our thoughts every waking hour and even when we sleep because he is there with us and for us 24/7.
Throughout the Bible there’s been great deception, and the enemy has come to deceive God’s people.
Matthew 24:4-14. Jesus answered, Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name claiming, I am the Messiah; and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things just happen, but the end is still to come.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
How many in here have ever been deceived? How many have deceived somebody? All of us in here have been deceived in some form or fashion at some point in our lives. It’s not a good feeling when you find out the truth of the matter.
There are all kinds of deceptions that go on. There’s friendly deception, joking with somebody, or pulling a trick on somebody. Then you have evil deception, where the purpose and point of the deception is to get you to do something that goes totally against what you really believe—or is a flat-out lie. To cause you to do something you really don’t want to do but you’re caught up in the moment and you do it.
Or something is expressed to you as truth and you find out later that is was a lie. There is a great deception that is going throughout the world. There’s a great deception that’s being broadcast throughout this nation. We’re going to have to stand firm and know who we are and what the truth of the word is.
How many of you have read something on facebook that somebody posted? Oh my, can you believe that? And then find out later it wasn’t even real? If it’s on there it’s got to be the truth! That’s a big deception.
We need to know what the truth is and have discernment of what’s false. I heard a saying by someone older and wiser when I was a kid, Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see. Sound advice. Never be quick to respond to what somebody says until you check it out first.
The enemy is moving willfully to deceive the nations and especially to deceive God’s people. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He put man and woman together and put them in a garden; and told them to take dominion over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and the animals, plants, everything.
What’s the first thing that happens? They’re deceived by the serpent. Surely God didn’t say. Surely you won’t die. They were deceived. You know why? Because they stepped out of humility and entered into pride. Yeah, you’re probably right. God’s holding out on us. We’re going to eat of that forbidden fruit or that fruit we were told not to eat, and we’re going to be just like Him.
You see, they were already just like Him. They got talked out of their purpose. They got talked out of their birthright by the deceptive words of the enemy.
Deceived — To mislead by a false appearance or statement; to delude. They deceived the enemy by disguising the destroyer as a freighter. To be unfaithful; to while away; to mislead; to falsely persuade others; to practice deceit; engaging in a manner that easily deceives.
Related words are to fool, trick, victimize, cheat, swindle, dupe, betray, disappoint, entrap, circumvent, falsify, defraud, delude, scam, clip, rob, ensnare, hoax, hook, hoodwink. That means to put something over on someone. And it goes on all throughout the world in our daily lives. There’s always someone out there trying to get you to do something, to pull you this way, to try this new thing.
Matthew 24:24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I (Jesus) have told you ahead of time.
We’re living in a day and age where things are taking place. They look great. They look like scientific breakthroughs. Those thing are going on. Jesus is talking about people portraying to be something they are not, claiming to be the Messiah, claiming to be the Anointed One. Come follow me. And they’re doing signs and wonders.
‘Back in the Bible days!’—Back in the Old Testament Moses went to Pharaoh and performed signs and wonders. But Pharaoh had magicians that performed signs and wonders also, false signs. But Moses’ signs and wonders ate up the signs and wonders of the Egyptians. Greater is He. Greater is He. True signs will stand.
:26 So if anyone tells you, There he is, out in the wilderness, do not go out; or, Here he is, in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
When Jesus returns, we who believe—if we’re still here (which I don’t think we will be). But I don’t know because the Word says that no man knows the day or the hour. There are things I think we’re going to see fulfilled that haven’t been fulfilled yet. They’re coming. But if I’m here and somebody runs and tells me, Pastor, Jesus is at the Reed Green Coliseum, I’m going to say, Not! Jesus is at the Super Dome in New Orleans. He needs to be there. But I’m not going to run down there and see him because I’m going to know that I know that I know, because I know Him. I’m not going to be deceived in that manner.
I’m not going to say never, but I’m going to do my best to walk in the truth of the Word to know that I know that I know. I pray for discernment every day. And I pray that you do, too. I also walk with an alertness and an awareness of my surroundings, of people, places, and things wherever I go. I watch people. Do you? I’m not a shopper but I would be with Betty and I would find a bench in the mall to wait, and I was always watching. You can learn a lot about people just sitting there watching. Always be aware that someone is probably watching you wherever you are. So behave. Walk like a son of God.
We need to be aware of what’s going on around us. The Word of God says that our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour. That’s the way the enemy operates. He tries to throw little bits of bait your way to draw you into his trap.
I have a few items I want to share with you this morning. This is a camouflage jacket. The enemy is really good at using camouflage.
What’s the purpose of camouflage? To blend into an environment or habitat. But you don’t just blend in, you become concealed. You’re not able to even be seen. To deceive your prey. If your prey can’t see you and doesn’t know you’re there, he’s going to be unaware. The enemy conceals himself from us by wearing camouflage.
As a hunter, I’m always looking for that better camouflage. It gets improved every few years. Or this is the latest greatest. I got into that pull several years ago. I had to have the best camouflage, the newest thing. One day I’m going to be invisible! I’ll walk into the woods and they won’t even know I’m there!
There are scent covers. You can spray this stuff all over you and you smell like a tree or dirt or mud, whatever. I got some stuff one time that smelled like swamp water! Cover scents you can put out—smells like a deer, a buck or a doe, etc. in order to trick, to deceive, to conceal the truth. I got out of that cycle of chasing after all of these things. My Dad and Granddad’s generations didn’t have all that stuff and they were successful hunters. What did they do? The secret is to blend in, to be still. Just be still.
You can be still and concealed and hiding, but the prey is too far, out of range, or doesn’t come my way. What do you do? Pull out the game call. We’ve heard the phrase, If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. They make game calls that sound like a duck. They make decoys, floating pieces of plastic, formed and painted to look like a duck, and you pull them with strings to look like they’re swimming out on the water. Now they even have them with wings that flap and they spin around to draw the ducks in.
When the ducks fly over at a distance, you use the game call to sound like a duck. It amazes me. That will catch a duck’s attention and they will come in. They’ll be drawn. They look and see all these decoys on the water and it looks like a safe place. We can land here and it’s okay because there are already a lot of ducks there. They fan their wings and come in floating and Bang!
How many times are we lured into a place? Oh look, they’re already doing it over there. It must be okay. Every time I go to the beach, when I get in the water the first thing I do is look for Mr. Jaws! Ever since I saw that movie, I’m looking for Mr. Jaws. Then you encourage yourself because you see all these other people out here. There’s safety in numbers! So you draw your courage in that.
I draw my courage in, Lord, I’m going to get in this ocean and you’re with me, and if it’s my time to become Jonah, then it’s my time. I’m not going to worry about it.
We need to be aware of our surroundings. We need to know we’re in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.
Romans 16:17-20. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
Quit going back to the dog that bites you every time you go there. Quit going back to those places.
:18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
Do not be naive. You be always on the outlook. You be always on alert. Always be observant.
:19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
God is watching out for us if we’ll let him. He has already won the war. The battle is won. We just need to walk in the fullness of our sonship, walk in obedience and humility unto Him. I’ve heard people say, The victory is the Lord’s; the battle’s won; we’ve won so I’m just going to tiptoe through life. NO! You have to maintain what God has already done. You might say, What are you talking about?
I have a house with a lawn. In the summer that grass grows and I have to get out and cut it. Once I’ve cut the grass and trimmed the hedges, weed-eat and edged, I can sit back and say, This is beautiful. This yard is complete. I have taken victory over this yard. I’m going to get the Yard of the Month sign. But in three to four days it looks like the jungle has taken back over. If rain hits grass in Mississippi, next day it can jump three inches. So I go cut it again. And do it again.
You have to maintain that which has already been taken care of for you. Grass is going to grow. And God wants us to continue to grow. He has the victory. He has won the war. We know the outcome. But we still have to maintain the walk in discipline. Walk in His grace. Receive His mercy. Walk out our salvation daily with fear and trembling, seeking to hear Him and follow His voice, to stay on course and to walk in the truth of His Word.
Ephesians 5:5-14. For this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
We have got to put the deeds of darkness completely behind us. There needs to be, just as in the Father, in us no shadow of turning.
We need to walk upright, walk in the truth. Seek out all things. See what Father has to say about it. Not be led by our emotions. Not be led by what someone says that just sounds appealing to us. But totally walk in the will of the Father. To know what the truth is and stand for the truth and nothing less.
What has light got to do with darkness? Light and darkness are opposite things. Light is full of power. Darkness has no power. Light is the fullness of light. Darkness is the lack of light. If darkness had the light, then it wouldn’t be dark. When you walk into a room you say, Turn on the light. Do you ever say, Turn on the darkness, when you leave? No! You don’t ever turn off the dark switch.
All darkness is is the absence of light. Therefore the only way darkness has power is, it has to tap into the light source. Hold up your hand and say, I am light. That’s all the enemy has to tap into and rob off the grid of the light of God’s people in order to operate. He does that through deception. He does that by deceiving, by enticing, by being concealed in areas where sometimes you don’t even see him and you don’t know he’s there.
We are the light. Say again. I am the light. And in me there is no darkness.
Colossians 2:2-10. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then all these things will be added unto you. That’s what the Word of God says. That’s what Jesus said. Whatever it is you’re looking for, seek first His kingdom, seek first His righteousness, seek first His ways. Then. How many times do we try to get the cart before the horse?
We go and do something God hasn’t told us to do, but we think it’s the right thing to do, and we ask God to bless it, and Thank you Lord. And the Lord says, I didn’t have anything to do with that. That’s going to be short-lived. I’ll let you get by with it for a little while, but it’s going to fail. I don’t want those kinds of short term satisfactions. I don’t want to win the sprint. I want to win the marathon. I’m in the race for life. I’m not going to sit down, put up, shut up or back up. I’m not going to retire. I’m going to keep going as long as there’s breath in me and I’m able to go—Joshua, Caleb, 80s—keep going strong. I’m just as strong as I was in my 40s. Those 80s are rapidly approaching. I’ve passed my three decades. I’m headed on to the fourth one. He is my strength, my portion, my forever. And I’m going to see his glory cover this earth like the waters cover the sea. I can hear the waves. I can hear the waves increasing.
:4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
How many of you have ever been in a discussion with someone and what they’re saying sounds okay? It might even sound right and you might even want to start to agree with them. But there’s always something in there that, I don’t know about that. Don’t be quick to come into agreement with someone on what they’re saying until you investigate, until you take what’s said before the Lord and ask his opinion about it.
I can’t tell you the number of times I was in sales meetings when I was in the business world and people would come along with new ideas and new proposals. They start off with, We’ve been working on this several weeks, and this is our proposal. We’re going to run it by you, and we want you to sign off on it and say it’s okay.
I’d look over it and read over it. You’ve been working on this how long? At least two or three months. And you want me to make a decision right now, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it? Not! I’ll take it home, read over it, absorb it, and I’ll pray about it. See what the Lord has to say about it. A lot of times they’d go, Oh, here we go. Sorry! That’s the way it goes.
Don’t come force something on me that you need a decision on in just moment, or try to railroad it through, without me having the time to read it, dissect it, pray about it, and see. Lord, forgive me. How many times are bills and laws passed in our government and nobody’s even read it? Oh, we’ll read it after it gets passed. I’m not saying it happens all the time, but it does happen. Be discerning. Seek the truth in all things.
:5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
I want people to say that about me. Man, you are so disciplined. Your faith in Christ is so firm. That is amazing. Are those the kind of compliments you’re getting? That’s a blessing. I’ve had people say, Oh, you’re one of them. One of them? One of those Christians. Why do you say that? You’re just all glowing and stuff. I can tell just looking at you. Praise the Lord. You never know who you’re around. Always walk Christlike in your business, in your job, in your school. You never know who you’re going to be entertaining.
:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
Do not be ensnared by someone’s deceptive philosophy. There’s a lot of that going on. As the Body of Christ, as a child of God, we need to know who we are, and what we believe, what the Word says about it. That we’re able to stand against every deceptive word that may come our way. The enemy doesn’t want us to follow Jesus. We’re born-again, spirit-filled, going to heaven when we check out of this earth, and there isn’t a thing the enemy can do about it.
The only thing he tries to do is get us so deceived or to get us offtrack that we become a picture of hypocrisy, how Christianity doesn’t work, that we give Christianity a bad name, and we make Jesus look bad. That’s what he tries to do, get us off. He can’t stop us from going to our eternal home. But he can come in to steal, kill, and destroy. He can come in and cut things off and divert things. But God is all-powerful.
I don’t want to be deceived by the enemy. I don’t want to be pulled offtrack. I don’t want to cause disruption to the body of Christ. I want to be all that I can be to bring glory and honor to my Father.
:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
The fullness of God the Father, of God the Son, of God the Holy Spirit, indwells each one of us. That is the all-powerful head over every power, every authority, anything that we will ever face in our walk. You talk about supreme authority, God in us, the hope of glory.
God has given us the ability to stand and not be overcome by the snares of the enemy. That’s why I say we always have to be alert and observant and watch what’s going on around us, not only in the natural but even in the spirit realm.
James 1:22-25. Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Have you every known anyone who could quote scripture better than you ever could? Memorize the Bible. Tell you where it’s found. Quote Jesus’ words in red. But they live like hell? Don’t just read the Word. Don’t just know the Word. Don’t just memorize the Word. But allow the Word to penetrate your entire spirit. And do what it says! Do what it says!
I’ve heard people say, Do as I say, not as I do. Our walk with God is, We do what He says. And we walk according to His preset purposes. What you say is one thing. But what you do speaks volumes. You can say anything you want to say, but what you actually do is what really speaks. God wants to get what we say and what we do in sync.
:23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
Anyone have a problem knowing what you look like? Would you know you if you bumped into you on the street? Would you? Or would you hide? I’ve felt like that sometimes.
Oh, I hope they don’t see me. I look terrible. Can’t believe I left the house looking like this. You just run to the store to get something. Oh, I won’t see anybody. And then everybody you know is there, Man, are you alright? You don’t look so good. Bad hair day. Sorry. Just ran in here for some Mr. Clean so I can mop the floor, whatever.
But God wants us to take His Word in us, so that we become a reflection of Jesus in this world.
:25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
I don’t know about you, but I like to be blessed. God wants to bless us I think a whole lot more than we want to be blessed. We pray this prayer: God, get me out of this jam this time, again. Or Lord, just get me over this hump this time, again. He shows up and he does. But God wants to bless us so abundantly that we don’t get in that jam again. Or we don’t have to climb that hurdle again.
He wants us to be blessed exceedingly abundantly more than we can ever hope for, think, or imagine, because that’s who He is. That’s what His Word says. We need to come into agreement with what His Word says and therefore we can walk in the fullness of it.
I John 1:5-9. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
:8 If we claim to be without sin, (that goes back to that trick question earlier) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (Forgive me for that. I set you up—all you that said you didn’t have any sin. In Jesus your sins are covered. I didn’t mean to deceive you, but it was a pretty good object lesson.)
God’s people deceived people in the Bible. Jacob deceived his father and took his brother’s birthright. David deceived his enemies, acting like a madman so they wouldn’t kill him, and they let him go. Deception. Abraham deceived the king, told him Sarah was his sister. Am I condoning deception? No. I don’t think we’re ever supposed to deceive anyone.
:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Always be seekers of the truth. Don’t let man’s persuasive arguments, persuasive words come and try to get you offtrack. We’re all running a good race. We’re running the race of faith. We’re running the race of truth. Don’t let anyone come in and cut you off. Stay on the path. Stay on the track.
Ask the Lord to give you increased discernment in this day and age we live in. Because there are already false witnesses. There are already false prophets. There are lies streaming left and right. Be careful about who you listen to. Be careful about what you watch. Whatever you see, whatever you hear, take it to God and let God order and direct, to filter out that which is not of Him. There will be a lot that you see and hear in this world that’s not of Him.
Allow Him to speak to you, speak to your spirit, to release the truth. And that you’ll know the truth. You’ll not be led astray by the lies of the enemy.
Father, I thank you today that you are the Light. You are the Way. And you are the Truth. Father, I believe and I declare that you have called each one of us for such a time as this. To be discerners of the truth. To seek the fullness of understanding, wisdom, and revelation that only comes from you. Father, help us to be a people that aren’t swayed by the circumstance, by the events, the happenings throughout the world, but who will stand firm and steady in the truth of your Word.
May we be fully discerning in all matters that concern us, Father, so we’ll not be drawn to the left nor to the right, but we would walk out the true calling and purpose that you have on our lives individually and collectively.
Father, I thank you that we go forth in unity and unison. That our ears are able to hear your voice, and that we respond to you acceptably. Father, I ask that you surround us with your favor. I thank you, Lord, that you bless the work of our hands and that you give us the ability to produce. And that you cleanse our hearts and our minds, our souls and our spirits, that you cover us with the blood of Jesus, and that we rise up as your shining lights in this dark world.
Father, I declare that this world’s darkness is fading. And that your power and your anointing and your grace and mercy are at flood stage and are beginning to rise even higher. So, Lord God, I thank you that you are for us and that you make a way where there seems to be no way. And you continue to lead us in all truth, for it’s in Jesus name we pray. Amen and Amen. So go forth. Don’t be deceived. Don’t be lured by the camouflage, the decoys, the calls of the enemy. But walk in fullness in Jesus Christ.