Renewed Living Prayer Ministry

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10 21 17

 

If faith comes by hearing grace comes by knowing Jesus christ.....

Have you ever felt like, man i wish i could just be cut a break? Ive been working hard, and yet i still feel like a complete failure. why cant i be as good as John doe?  Lets take a look at ephesians 2.

 

Ephesians 2

 

Some times we need to learn how to grace ourselves. We are cut from the same cloth but we are not all the same pattern ( relating back to the body sermon, not everyone is an eye, not everyone is a foot). You weren't made to covet John does spot in Life, you were called to live your own unique life with your own unique style, bumps, curves, textures, etc.)

 

Relate back to our fishers of men sermon ( some catch, clean, season, cook) the fish will be inedible if one person choses not to do our set job and function together. you may take care of one thing and John doe may take care of another....

 

Grace yourself, you have things that you need to be cleansed of and it is going to take time and effort. so if your not there yet. don't sweat it. Grace yourself!

10/14/17

 

Welcome to Part 2 or the 10 questions concerning spiritual gifts sermon series! consider mulling over these 10 questions, they teach you in depth about spiritual gifts..... We currently answered questions 7 and 8 today!

1 Corinthians 12:1-31

#1. What do these verses tell you about how you would know that something that is said to be from god is really genuine? (v. 1-3)

#2. What is your personal response to the statement that each one is given a manifestation in the spirit? (v.7)

#3. Read 1 corinthians 12:14-31 puals concern is not just unity, but diversity in the Family of God. Trace the argument paul uses in the previous section and this one to emphasize the need for many diverse expressions of the spirit in the life of the church. (1 corinthians 12:14-31)

#4. the corinthians apparently put the highest priority on one or two gifts. how would the church look if all the members had the same gifts or if they prized one ift over all the others.

#5. in what way is paul's argument a solution for our person feelings of inferiority or superiority in the body of christ. (v. 22-26)

#6. Describe in your own words how each one of the gifts paul lists here might be manifested. (v. 8-11 and 28-30)

#6b. although paul does not intend this to be a complete list of gifts, which of these have you seen at work in your own church, fellowship or small group?

#7. how in your own experience has excersizing spiritual gifts served "the common good" (v. 7) and prevented (rather than caused) "discord in the body" ? (v. 25)

#7b. what attitudes and actions would lead to disunity and schism in the body of christ?

#8. what comfort do you gain from knowing it is god who gives gifts and who "combines the members" of the body (v. 24)

#9. what have you learned about the character and the purpose of spiritual gifts

#10. what challenge do you hav from the exhortation to "desire the greater gifts? (v. 31)

2 Corinthians 12

 

Other churches have different missions or vision.

#7

Each ministry/gift is created as a benefit for all. but when we start coveting other people gifts or thinking our gifts are less important we can cause disention in the body and in ourselves.

 

#8

You are never a lone ranger.

Your arm doesn't leave your body to go do what it would rather and your heart shouldn't leave or else the body would die.

 

Question #8 v.24

God is the orchestrator of whom gets what. And to those whose gifts they feel are less dignified they have received a truly special blessing because they are considered important. God honors them specifically. They receive greater honor.

 

10/10/17

 

Do u ever think what you go through is for your advancement? not just to discourage you or to displace you, but to sift and refine you as a person.

 

My pastor had a vision one day of a sifter sifting and flour coming out the bottom. an important question for us to ask is what it means to sift...

 

To sift- to separate something with a siv, like flour wheat powder etc. To strike send and seperate.

 

In old days they'd use a burlap bag and shake it very hard. On the threshing floor they had a protocol to separate barley. they beat the bag until the barley seperated.

 

and then while she was preaching, the word that came to mind was to refine. But what does refine mean?

 

Def. Of refine- to purify, to separate what is purified from what is unnatural or not acceptable.

God looks to refine us and remove the things in life that hold us back, negative relationships, addictions, negative mindsets, sicknesses, etc.

 

Matthew 13:24-30

 

God is not done with you yet, whether you think your done or not. He had a harvest time set for you! be patient and wait on god, he will bring everything into perspective in his own perfect timing. so if you are waiting for something to fall away of imperfection continue to work on it with the lord.

 

Luke 22:31-34

When you have returned to me..... that implied peter tried to fight the fight of faith and failed. He didn't succeed, the devil pulled peter away at one point. He was wheat being sifted in the bag being thrown about. At times we will fall away and struggle in staying on the straight and narrow. And we will think that god has removed himself from our presence, but we need to know sometimes he does it just to refine us, maybe he wants us to learn something, maybe it is to help bring something to our awareness that we overlook, some times its to break us of bondage, never the less god has his reasons, we need to pay attention and when we have obtained what he needs us to obtain to get back on the straight and narrow path.

 

And remember, Not all who feel like a tare, are actually a tare, rather they are wheat, but the revelation does not come until they are fully developed.

10/7/17

Be a Fisher of men

Matthew 4:18

Notice, The disciples didn't even ask what Jesus meant by being "fishers of men". They followed Jesus' lead and watched the rest unfold.

 

Being a fisher of men can mean different things for different ministries and regions. Each church is different and meets the needs of each region they are in.

 

For Example, We cover those who are lost broken and need a reprieve. Notice people will come to our church to get what they don't get elsewhere. And it's not made to be a bad thing, each ministry caters to a different needs, what we provide may not be in their call.

 

We are put in specific ministry with specific gifts to minister to specific people that God has called.

 

We (ministries) work as a team, one catches, one cleans, one seasons, one cooks. To better explain this metephor our pastor used fish as an example, their are steps to take to properly cook a fish, you need to catch it, clean it (remove bones and organs), season it (salt, old bay, all purpose seasoning, etc) and then cook it to perfection.

 

Ministers need to know what is going to catch their fish. What bait metaphorically will lure them in.

 

Babies need self help gentle ministries. Because they are still on the bottle. Others need stronger ministry because they are ready for meat in small pieces. Some may need strong nitty gritty deliverance ministry because they have grown to eat the meat on their own.

 

None are more important than the next.

 

We need to remember that One misstep can disrupt the kingdom work. One cannot clean who are supposed to cook. Stay focused on your call. And we can't all be the same type of ministry. Who would catch, who would clean, who would season, who would cook. If they lose sight, fish won't get caught, the shard bone will be left in and will be a choking hazard and if not seasoned will be left bland and raw. We want to make sure that the people we recieve into our ministries get what they need to complete their walk in christ.

 

Galatians 2:7-9

 

Only Jesus can be all to all people, so remember to stay focused on feeding them the most important information. Jesus! what we cannot do to help them Jesus can!

 

1 Corinthians 12

 

This sermon ties back into tuesdays sermon. and to corrolate them lets look at paul and peter.....

 

Paul covered the gentiles and Peter covered the Jews and together they covered everyone's needsTheir end result was the same although their functions were different.

10/3/17

1 Corinthians 12:1-31

There are many examples where you need a team of people and everyone has a position. God created it that way purposely. And their is no restriction of gender or age, God has a plan for all. And he always makes sure there is a leader at the helm.

What would it feel like if you were part of a team but no one contributed? Remember we need to be able to support one another when they are in need.

1 cor. 12:27

Each part of the body is essential to our survival. Each of us and the spiritual gifts we bring to the church are essential . From showing up to being an intercessor to being a singer dancer preacher teacher evangelist and so on.

Our pastor then asked us a 10 question series and here were the answer below (we will post the original questions as soon as possible).

#1. They (the person in question) will not curse the name of Lord. Do they declare on the regular that Jesus is Lord. This is how you garentee guenine messages from the Lord.

#2. Each person is given a mission/gift to use for the glory of his kingdom. And that the gifts we receive we use in UNITY with one another in ministry. Because the church is an extension to Jesus himself. But if the church is not unified how does it remain alive and fulfill its purpose?

#3. The need to work together no matter how big or small the function. Not every one is called to be a nose an eyeball a foot a wrist.

#4. It sounds silly. Like we said before, We can't all be an ear. Our ministry would be great in one area but would greatly lack in others. We should be pleased to do that which Christ request us to DO.

#5. The weaker parts are NECESSARY. And the unpresentable parts are very important and they prevent division and breaches in the body. If one suffer we all suffer

October 1st

Does is ever feel like the enemy (the devil, satan, lucifer, etc) has been busy building walls in front of every path you try to take? You know, when your so close to your deliverance that you can taste it? and then just as you are about to recieve your deliverance the enemy takes a huge brick and mortar and starts throwing them down in your way? now that ive asked you that, have you ever tried to knock a wall down? it takes alot of muscle and eventually it exausts you where you are no longer effective in doing any damage. Sometimes you need a friend or two to help you take down a wall. the same is true in Christ. we pray for eachothers advancement, healing, favor, health, finances and families. not because were forced to, or because the bible tells us to, but because our prayers are that much more effective when we do them together in unison.

September 30th

the importance of your role in the body of Christ.

the body has many parts, and believe it or not, each part is valueble and has a purpose. As being part of the body of christ their are things we must be reminded of to truely keep the body functioning in unity. think about it for a minute, what would happen if the heart stopped beating? or the stomach stopped digesting? or the eyes stayed closed? and what would happen if the eyes tried to be an ear? or an ear tried to be a foot? or a food tried to be a hand? Not a very successful body, huh?

Not envying other roles and positions is a biggie! God gave you your part in the body and nobody can do it better than you! Realize despite the rank in your role, big or small, hidden or out front, glorious or disgusting, God has ordained it and it has a purpose. And be prepared to cover your brothers and sisters when they need someone to lean on, in other words like a regular body not every part is to be seen. that is why we use clothing to cover them, and when the parts are internal we use skin and ribs and muscle to cover the vital parts. if your job is to be skin, muscle or bone, cover and remain strong your brethren need you the most to be successful!

 

September 26th 

We broke back into the Armorbearing book by Terry Nance, and at the end of chapter 2 there is a checklist used by armorbearers to make sure they are on point with the lord and the leadership over them. a few questions will come up like these below....

do you know your pastors vision for their ministry?

do you help them develop and complete that vision?

are you beside them when they need you most?

do you remain vigilant of possible threats to your leaderships safety as soon as they arise?

do you refresh, encourage and want to see your leader to their advancement?

do you put their wellbeing before your own?

are you willing to change your schedule to accomodate your leader?

do you perform the tasks asked of you swiftly and completely?

do you anticipate your leaders needs and have an eye for detail?

So how'd you do? these are just a few characteristic a person with a strong armorbearing spirit will carry and should carry in order to help carry your leader to success in god's will.

 

6/12/17

You may not be locked up in a natural jail cell, but many of you are in bondage. And if you are subject to bondage you should be praising him despite that. Do you ever question what it is you can do? Are your eyes stuck in the natural and on your incapabilities? do you often repeat, I can't do this because... I can't do that because..... I can't, i can't, I can't, its too hard, its too difficult, i don't know how, etc?

Listen, when your held captive and you have no where left to move what are you left to do? but bless the lord while your stuck! isn't that what paul did? Change your perspective, don't look through your natural eyes, look through your spiritual eyes. pay attention to what you focus on.

is your focus on the king or is it on the circumstances that distract you?

Remember the lord does not  give you more than you can handle, and gods not a man that he should lie, so if this is true why as christians aren't we walking in it?

and even when your hands are tied, count it all joy. he has a purpose and a reason for it. and when you still can't see it remember Meschach, Shadrach and Obednego. they refused to worship the golden image, the flesh, their situation in the natural, and instead chose to trust the lord through their circumstance. and they were mighty blessed because the spirit of God was present with them in the fire. Praise God!

Leave a trail of clete marks behind you…. A sermon on finishing your race strong. 5/30/17

Have you ever watched sports, soccer, football, baseball, track and field? When you look at their uniforms it represents the team they play for, the colors, the style etc. so if were to say they wear a blue and white uniform youd say they were…..? or blue and orange…..? how about green and white…..? and all those sports teams require special shoes. Youll notice with most indoor sport they need special high top sneakers, when they are in track they need lightweight shoes with good traction, when playing on a field they need cletes. A cleate is a shoe with spikes at the very bottom that help you keep your footing when you run in the grass and keep you from slipping and falling.

Now having those can be very helpful if your on a sport team. But what If your not… the good news for you is we are all on a team. Were on christs team. As Christians we own a jersey of our own to represent our team and we own our own cletes to rip through the ground. What does your jersey look like, are your cletes stained with the green from the grass you’ve been running through! Or are they clean and untouched? Lets take a look at pauls jersey and cletes…

 

Acts 14:19- 27

Stoning, Escape to Derbe

19 Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

Strengthening the Converts

21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 25 Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.

27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

-As we see in the scripture paul was ministering to the people and as he was ministering, some of the people became outraged and began to stone him, nearly to death. He was bludgeoned to the point where they thought he was dead and dragged his body out of the city and left him there on the border. Truth was, he didn’t die but he was bruised, sore, busted up face lips arms legs ribs, possibly even broken bones. And that man could have felt completely justified to not go back into that city knowing there was a possibility he would get stoned again. But as scripture says he got back up and went back into the city and stayed there another 24hrs until the job he had to do was done. And then he continued on to another city after that and continued to minister and encourage the other Christians iin the area, despite his scars and pain. Imagine that.

 

-Pauls jersey was covered in blood and dirt and sweat. In 2 corinthians 11 it gives a track record of all the thing he had to endure in his lifetime.

 

2 Corinthians 11:23-28New King James Version (NKJV)

23 Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

 

 

- Paul endured many things he had been imprisoned multiple times, deprived of food, of clothes, of a bathroom, of sleep, of basic human rights. He has been beaten with whips 5 times, beaten with rods 3 times, stoned once, shipwrecked 3 times and forced to float abroad in the sea for a day. He was robbed, fought with those who knew him well and had to constantly deal with ministers in neighboring cities and was constantly worrying about their salvation and their faith walk.

- But despite all of that he kept going. He never stopped running his race. Like many athletes, he endured the unexpected. They endure injuries constantly, get suspended from games, endure bad media, get fiired, get moved to other teams, etc. but they never stop playing, because they are still under contract with their managers. Much like paul and much like athletes we are held under contract with god to finish our race strong as he has called us to do.

1 corinthians 9:24-27

1 Corinthians 9:24-27New King James Version (NKJV)

Striving for a Crown

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

 

-and now we are going to look at another star athlete of the bible. Job.

 

Job 1:13-22

 

- Note that job lost everything. When I say everything I mean everything, his home, his kids, his car (or camel in that day) his donkeys, his oxens, his way to make finance, his fields, his friends and his wife. Now granted his friends and wife didn’t die, but they didn’t support him at all during his time of tribulation, infact they made it worse. Put yourself in jobs shoes, or cletes should I say. Your beautiful kids are taken from you and die in natural disasters, and at the same time you find out that your posessions have been stolen from you and yet while all this is going on you lose your job and so you turn to your spouse, the one person you expect to love you unconditionally tells you to curse god and die. Now job could have justified all that had happened to him and just gave up. I know if I were job I would feel bitter, angry, upset, unforgiving, lost, pitiful, disgusted, and doubtful too because this is our first response when things go wrong. But job didn’t he kept his faith and kept on running despite all the things he lost.

- Jobs jersey was no jersey, because his was taken off his back and his cletes were the only shoes he had left and were worn and torn but none the less he wore them and never stopped going in them.

 

- And there are many other good examples. Nehemiah was attacked while trying to rebuild the wall. Noah was looked at like he was crazy for years. Joseph was left for dead and sold into slavery then framed then arrested before god delivered him. The point is all these men had a task to fulfill assigned by god, but despite where they started or what they had to go through they did it, they finished their race, and they left their cleat marks where we could find them. The bible. Which leads me to ask you, have you left your cleat marks where people can see them. Have you torn up the ground to finish your race. Are you determined? Despite what comes up against you? Or are you letting the things that are thrown up against you stop you? Are you encouraging others to win the race even if it looks like the odds are against them? Are you running the race even if you feel like youll lose? Did you stop trying altogether when the attacks came? What kind of cleat marks are you leaving for the next generation of Christians to see? Did you keep running after the abuse, did you keep running after lies were spread about you, did you keep running when your bank account had a negative balance, did you keep running when the car was running off of fumes. Did you keep running when your kids were acting out and wouldn’t listen to a word you had to say. Did you keep running when the judge declared you guilty. Did you keep running after the doctor told you, you have only monthes to live? Did you keep running when they told you they were repossessing your home? Did you keep running when your boss shamed you and demoted you? Did you keep running when the devil kept trying to throw your past up in your face? Did you keep running despite never ever feeling good enough to keep going on? God wants to see you run! Forget about all the garbage you went through. Those things don’t define who you are. God defines who you are, and he built you strong enough to handle them and he built you smart enough to know when its time to let your garbage go. How many of you are ready to restart your race? How many of you are ready to let your garbage go.

 

 

 

 

6/10/17

During a recent saturday service we had a blast. We spent our service in praise and worship and in sharing praise reports that god has done for the people we have been praying for and for the people in the ministry!

Praise god!

James 1:2-5

Profiting from Trials

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

• Our Pastor, before she was a pastor, had a pretty tattered life, she has participated in some of the most wild and crazy things this world has to offer, and when she was bad, oh was she bad. but when she got saved she had to learn that it required being good, and she strove to be oh so good. she applied her self in the extremest of limitations.
• She taught us that you need to aim high for the things you desire in life or you will fail, even if you can't hit the target the first time! the point is that  your target is as high up as you can imagine.
• We as christians need to remove the fleshly mindset from ourselves when making decisions, our fleshly mindset comes with built in limitations and will keep you from reaching your potential. instead we should be leaning into god with everything we do and every decision we make, why? because with god all things are possible!
• we also grow in patience and perserverence when we subtract our flesh from the equation.

1 kings 17

*when we give despite how little we have, it unlocks our blessings, so remember when your in drought don't doubt, the rain is coming!

1 Kings 18

*notice in the story the people got hooked up with the man of god. they followed his commands and trusted him and ran everyday looking for the rain clouds during the time of drought. And when he saw the small cloud the size of a mans hand in the sky his faith amplified and he said, Believe! Get ready because the rain is coming! the people did not doubt. they waited on god. and i want you to know elijah sent his servant out 7 times before they even saw that tiny little cloud in the sky! but that little cloud was just enough to boost their faith. and let me tell you that rain came! and it came! and it came! so much so that the drought had ended and all the glory was give to god.

But what about you, are you believing despite what you see? what runs through your mind when you see the little cloud on the horizon?

lets take another look at luke 5....

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic

17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.[a] 18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

* Notice the title doesn't just say jesus heals a paralytic, it says jesus forgives and heals a paralytic. But why does it say that? because it is easier to say your sins are forgiven you vs. you are healed. We as people find it easier to recieve salvation and forgiveness then to recieve healing, especially if we dont see a physical manifestation of it right away. When we accept salvation, we know we are saved even though we can't see it right? the same is true for your healing, your deliverance, your breakthroughs and your blessings, even though you can't see them it doesnt mean they aren't there! 

As we grow in the christian faith we watch people get healed, delivered and set free and you should know the enemy sees it too! And he is laying seeds to distract you and to occupy your flesh and to get your focus off of the spirit of God.

We as christians operate in error when we let our flesh rule. what does it look like when we let our flesh rule? its when other things become more important than God. Social media, food, shopping, our jobs, relationships, talents, addictions, etc. all of these things can be used as something that can occupy our flesh and get our focus off of god. and we need to know that  anything that god sees you put before him will be stripped away from your life. And as we advance and grow in the spirit of god those fleshly desires become stronger, it'll become strong to the point where you will want to have a baby fit on the floor because you want what you want, how you want when you want it, but you know you should not have it, because it will tamper with gods anointing.

Luke 5:17-26

Be hungry to be in Jesus' presence.  We can imagine how the man in the bible got paralyzed, but we dont know how it truely happened or how long he had suffered the paralysis and why. But we do know he had a few really great friends who were desperate on his behalf and went beyond the call of duty to see him get healed. And let me tell you Jesus responded to their desperation! he saw their faith and dedication and was moved with compassion because they cared so much and desired to see him get healed by the healer!

How much faith do you have? are you like the men who broke through the roof and lowered their paralyzed friend down? do you have the faith it takes to remove your infirmities and illnesses. what are willing to trade in your walkers and canes for today? Remember God does indeed respond to your faith and desperation for him, he wont leave you especially when you need him the most.

Les Brown grew up to become one of the greatest motivational speakers of the last generation, but before he became one he was a disk jockey. he would go into the radio station every day and ask the boss for a job and every day  the boss sent him away and got so sick of seeing him come back that one day when he came in again and asked if a position was open he said boy go get me a cup of coffee! Les started interning, getting coffees and lunches for the associates, picking up special guests, etc. and soon there after an opportunity opened up for him to dj live over the air and because he was so successful at it his boss kept him in that position. but you see those opportunities didnt just fall in his lap over him doing nothing. he was HUNGRY for that position and did not stop trying until he got it.  Our question today is HOW HUNGRY ARE YOU?

One of the ministers in our church went through something similar to Les, she was trying to get a job and would go to the boss every day and ask him for a job and he would brush her off, wouldnt make eye contact with her and got frustrated everytime she came in the door. she went back every day for almost a week, and the boss would tell her sister and brother in law (because they worked there too) TELL HER TO STOP COMING! I DONT HAVE A JOB FOR HER!  and then one day after another failed attempt her mom said, bake him brownies! and although it was a strange request she did it, and brought the boss the brownies she had made and he finally caved and gave her a cashiers position.  and it didnt seem so hopeful at first because she struggled to get things done correctly. but she never gave up and improved and eventually got promoted and became very depended upon.  She was hungry for that position and worked at it and relied on god to provide the rest.

Are you hungry to the point where the only way your hunger will be met or your break through will come is if god does it?

look at 1 Kings 17:7-16

* God COMMANDED the widow to provide for elijah, how ever the woman did not look as though she got a command from god, she was so desperate. she only had a little oil and flour in a jar, that she was going to cook for herself and her son and then starve to death. But because she  was obedient and was hungry enough for a miracle, and desperate enough to listen to the man of gods promise they NEVER ran out of food and they didnt die. that flour and oil lasted until the season of drought had ended. Her obedience and desperation was the stepping stone to her future.

2 Chronicles 20:1-30

Remember the battle is not yours, its the lords!

Note how Jehosephat spoke of God during his time of battle! it wasnt negative, you can see the trust he put in the lord and how he was not dependant on himself or his army but on god and god alone.

remember that despite your desperation and your hunger, god is going to use your life to format anothers, like jehosephat and the widow and Les brown. You may go through, but just know it is for a devine purpose!

Matthew 1:18- end

 

Moms. They aren’t born that way. They are born as woman. Some would think that being born a man or being born a woman is a standard thing, nothing extraordinary. And to an extent your right, its been happening for thousands of years, generation after generation, humans give birth to humans and animals give birth to animals. And this just so happened to one average woman, very young around her teens. She was known in her town as a plain, simple, good girl, who comes from a good family and is engaged to a good, well known man with a good reputation. Same old right? Wrong! God was planning on taking that very simple, plain woman and make her the most blessed woman on the planet, he chose her to carry the messiah, but he wanted the world to be one hundred percent unable to deny he was the one who did it. He impregnated her by the holy spirit and he did it before she was married to her husband, which caused her to be looked at poorly, no one believed her, not even her fiancée at first. He had to have his own visitation with god before he came to terms with it. so now we have a previously ordinary woman who is walking through town, pregnant, not married, fiancée debating whether he wants to stay with her, mocked by her townspeople, shamed and disgraced her family, probably feeling guilt and shame she was not required to feel, because she did nothing wrong. And just when she thought that was bad enough a king in a neighboring kingdom was looking to kill all the young born sons in fear his kingdom would be stripped from him and her unborn son and she was looked at as a prime target to be murdered. But none the less she wore that coat for 9 months and carried that birth to term through the torment and pain. Not to mention their were no epidurals back then, or hospitals okay? You gave birth on some towels and a cold dirt floor. And despite all the negativity that was going on, god planned jesus’ grand arrival so extravagantly, from where to have it, to having wise men bring him priceless gifts and a star shining just right over his birth and having angels rejoicing in the heavens as he crowned. At that point was she truly considered extravagant, extraordinary, why, not just because she brought our savior into the world but because she became a mom who beat all odds. And that’s not even the end of the story, this woman may have had the savior as a son, but she still had to feed him, teach him the basics, to walk, to talk. To confirm his purpose here on the earth, to build his relationship with the father and as she did that and has he gained in wisdom and power through the father she had to learn to learn from him. I would imagine her life raising the messiah was like something you would not see everyday. Living with Christ was like living constantly on your toes. Anyhow….

Lets look at another example,

 

Luke 1:5-25

 

Here we see a woman and a man both married, righteous before god, no kids yet because the woman’s womb was shut, but god was going to take this woman and completely change her life. But before he did it, look at what her life was like beforehand. Sure she had a husband and sure he was a priest and he was great at his job and finances were okay, but she herself had something medically wrong with her where she could not bear children. And at that time, that’s what determined a woman’s worth. So in the eyes of her peers, she was considered worthless. Worthless. Meanwhile she is getting word by the lord that her cousin miles away is going to conceive and is having not only a baby, but the messiah by the same god that she has been praying to so she can conceive. I want you to get inside the potential thoughts that may have raced through her head. And granted the word never mentions her doubting gods power, but maybe her husband did. And maybe that’s why god silenced him until his son was born. So now we see God change the scenario, we see he tells Abagail shes going to have a son, and not only that shes going to have a boy but he even picked out the name. and he started showing Abagail what his life was going to entail, being looked at as an essential stepping stone to receiving salvation and serving the coming king Christ. And him being the reason many believe in Christ and become baptized. And that she, she was going to be the mother to a son who baptized our savior and witnessed the descent of the holy spirit upon him, an akward hairy, young man who enjoyed the taste of wild honey and crickets and was going to pave the path for christs entry in the earth and would be decapitated because of his righteousness. Imagine she got to be the mother of this amazing man, she got her prayer answer, was healed of barenness and the title of worthless being stripped from her and got to bring a son into the earth, but no average son, a special, important, essential child. And all the while jesus was holding the tongue of zecharias until his perfect plan was complete. Imagine her absolute joy. She became extraordinary, as did her husband, her son, her cousin and nephew.

 

And this is where I wanted to take the sermon. Ladies all of you are considered extraordinary because you have given birth. Because you have brought another life onto the earth and you allowed gods divine plan he had predestined for them to play out according to his plan. That is why God sees you blessed. We have a special blessing ladies because guess what? God made it so you could carry a second life sometimes even a third or fourth within you and carry it for extended periods of time and provide food for the growing child from yourselves and men im sorry but you can not do that. And he has blessed you women with extraordinary skills and giftsets, to teach, how to do things, what to do, what not to do. He causes you to be able to multi task so that your family may lack absolutely nothing. He gives you wisdom in how to maintain finances, how to discipline, how to fix things that are broken or lacking. He gives you an unusual amount of strength, endurance, and stamina to get up early and prepare all you have to do for the long day ahead of you. He gives you an unthinkable amount of grace and mercy and love that you in turn pour onto us the children. He gives you this power and authority to mold your children and push them in the direction they go. And in turn your children honor you just because you truly deserve it.

 

Ephesians 6:1-3

 

What does it mean to honor?

 

To highly respect/to esteem. In the greek it means to hear. To listen and to observe. And how do we show our moms we respect them? By loving them and listening to them and being obedient to them. And I can imagine that those of you that honored your mother turned out pretty well put together huh?

Tell me if any of these sound familiar….

Don’t touch that, youll hurt yourself!

Don’t touch that you don’t know where its been!

Don’t jump on that!

Don’t run in the house!

Don’t pick that scab it will get infected!

Don’t make me get up!

Don’t pick your nose in public!

Don’t eat that youll get worms!

Eat your vegetables so you can grow nice and strong!

Be good!

Clean up after yourself!

Its bed time!

Keep clean undies with you at all times in case you have an accident!

 

And im sure a lot of you are smiling because you have either said that before or have been a child and heard it!

And I encourage you today if you are a mom to continue to be that extravagant extraordinary person that god has made you like in proverbs 31 (Read).

And if you are a child, treasure your mother she became extraordinary when she gave birth to you and you became blessed by god when you chose to honor your mother and father and follow after their example. And god will reward you with long life and it will be well with you!

Proverbs 19:26-27

Proverbs 6:20-21

Proverbs 1:8-9

Deuteronomy 5:16

Exodus 20:12

 

Saturday morning

John 8:6

 

Jesus was seen writing/drawing in the sand but to this day we don’t know what he wrote.

 

And while he was writing a woman accused of sin deserving of being stoned was brought before jesus. And the Pharisees were hoping he would say something that would not only condemn her, but to condemn himself as they were looking to find something wrong and sinful in him. But his answer stopped the accuser’s dead in their tracks and forced them to release her. He told them he who has no sin may cast the first stone. Amazing huh? The only man without sin was jesus himself. And not only did they no longer condemn her but neither did he. He gave her back her life and freedom and told her to sin no more.

Now you may ask, why did he do that? She clearly did something against the law and she should have had to take the punishment. Jesus saw fit to have unexpected mercy and grace on her and on all of us, otherwise none of us would be able to complete our walk. Because we have sinned, we have fallen short of the glory of god and are all deserving of death. We have all failed.

But the good news is we have gods grace and mercy too, when we slip and fall into sin he forgives us. Allow gods mercy and grace to change you, show mercy and grace to others. Be the light and salt of the earth that he called you to be.

 

Do you know how powerful you are?

Are you sure?

God made you more powerful than you think.

in reality you are a powerful landmine to the enemy, you can blow him out of your circumference if he gets too close! its sad many christians dont realize this power that god has bestowed upon them, the enemy presents them a situation and they fall subject to it. they just live day to day as if it cant change. but this is where they are wrong, they can TELL their body, their mind, their situation, their job, etc. how its going to go, where it is going to go and when its going to go and your words are so powerful the enemy cant even resist or deny.

when your righteous mindset and your word come on one accord, nothing can keep those words from manifesting, but notice we said righteous, selfish fleshly mindsets the lord will withhold if he so chooses.

Lets take a look at the book of ruth as an example. Naomi, Ruth and Boaz are a famous example of favor in the bible but it didnt start that way. Naomi and ruth moved out of naomis home land because of famine. Naomis husband and two sons, one of which ruth was married to, died. Naomi became very bitter hence her self proclaimed nickname mara.and dispite her attempts to send ruth home, she would not leave her. (much like how elisha would not leave elijah despite the fact that he was rude, crude and constantly tried to remove himself from elisha). both ruth and elisha refused to be swayed by the way their situations looked, their only thoughts were, GOD WILL BLESS ME.

God was about to bless naomi and ruth greater than they could ever imagine.

in ruth 2:1-12 listen to how boaz acknowledges everything ruth has done for him in the field and how he acknowledged everything she lost and went through. and made sure she was protected, fed, favored and full of blessing.

in ruth 3:1-11 listen to all the blessings boaz declares over ruth because of her obedience and godly nature.

in ruth 4:1-12 listen to the ten witness' declare the blessing over boaz and ruths marriage.

in ruth 4:17-end we see the major blessing that bloomed from their hardship, they set up the lineage for jesus to come forth later in the bible!

learn from ruth and elisha, make a decision what your outcome will be, despite what your situation looks like now, the greater comes later. All the headship in our church can verify this truth, we have all been appointed our tests and trials and the enemy had taken his best shot, but everytime we had prevailed, why? because we made our decisions how our situations would end and we declared it outloud!

 Have you ever been to the gym or worked out beyond what you feel you can handle and then you wake up the next day sore? That is because your muscles tear when you work out. Now you may think well thats not good pastor, but in reality it is. In order for your muscles to grow larger they have to tear first. The same thing applies to us in the spirit, how in shape are you in the spirit, are you flexing your spiritual muscles or are you a weakling that can be blown away by the wind? Remember if your not feeling the strain your not working  hard enough, you should always challenge yourself in the spirit because it keeps you from becoming complacent. And how do you do that, you read your word, pray without ceasing, fast, help those in need, evangelize, get involved in your local ministry, grow in your gifts and prepare or the storms ahead.

WAIT! WHAT STORMS? with spiritual growth comes advancement, and when you advance in god the enemy looks to knock you down. so be prepared! Pastor patrick is a master when it comes to preparing when natural disasters arise, he ties everything down so it doesnt fly away, salts before snow storms, makes sure were always stocked on water, batteries, flash lights, non electric chargers and radios, etc. and we get through storms simply, even tho the winds blow and the power goes out we dont fear and keep everything under control. Take this example and apply it in the spirit and even the fiercest storm the enemy throws at you will seem like a mere drizzle!