What Are You Afraid Of?

I was asked a question in a men’s group: “What do I fear?”

My Answer: I have a fear that the Lord could take His Holy Spirit from me.

I’m not afraid like I would be if a lion came upon me. My fear is out of reverence and awe for who the Lord is. King David said in Psalm 51:11 “Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”

In Exodus 33:15 Moses said to God; “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”

The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:30 “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” He wouldn’t have said ‘don’t grieve’ unless it were possible to grieve the Spirit. Paul also said on numerous times: “Do not be deceived”. He wouldn’t have said ‘don’t be deceived’ unless it were possible to be deceived

My fear is that He could take His Spirit from me and I wouldn’t even know it.

(1 Samuel 16:14) “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from (king) Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.”

(Judges 16:20) “And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

No matter what God has called you to do, it is still going to be done ONLY through His power. He is the source of ALL of our power so we must be connected to Him as the source of our anointing.

Jesus said; “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

God wants to give us His power, His anointing. But we need to be good stewards of the anointing because it is borrowed power. It’s God’s power and anointing.

But too often people are busy for God, and not necessarily effective for God.

When we find ourselves in this position, we need TO RESPOND TO THE Grace and admit that something is missing in our ministry, admit that we are NOT as effective as we used to be, admit we don’t have His power working in and through us.

1 Peter 5:5 says that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

We need to HUMBLE OURSELVES- “I have no confidence in my flesh or in my ability! BUT I do have: Confidence in Jesus, and in His Blood, and in His Word, and in the Name of Jesus!”

Each of us will give an account for what we did with what we were given.

I Thank God for the Body of Christ - Thank God for the five-fold gifts: People who are willing to help us get the power and anointing back.

Where was the last place that you were effective?

Where was the last place that you were strong?

Remember your first love

Go back to the first time you heard the Name of Jesus and it thrilled you!

Go back to when you couldn’t get enough of the Bible.

Go back to where you read the Bible and consumed it.

Go back to that place of prayer;

“I need you….I want you….I thirst for you!”

You’ll never grow beyond your last act of disobedience. You need to GO BACK and admit where you blew it. It’s God’s power entrusted to us and He can bring it once again!

Even though you may not feel like you can be used again, God is able to help you recover it. Remember, it is borrowed power, NOT YOUR POWER!

God is NOT done with you! The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). We are created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10)

God entrusts us with His power to do His works: To heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons… (Matthew 10:8)

 

To preach the gospel to the poor; … to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; (Luke 4:18)

But we need to commit to take better care of the gifts He has given to us BEFORE we are used by Him. We do this by spending time with God in: Bible study, fasting, praying in the Spirit.

Hebrews 2:1 tells us: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”

We don’t lose the anointing overnight. Each of us have times when we have felt it slipping and we responded by saying; “I’ll get by; it’s OK, I’ll get through this!”

Men and women of old were more consecrated than we are. They understood holiness. They had the power and anointing because they had been good stewards.

We need to be more consecrated –more reverent to God, to give ourselves to God in EVERYTHING, which includes in the little things: the leaven, little foxes, little compromises things that cause us to waver in our consecration.

And suddenly you find yourself wondering why you are not seeing any power behind what you are doing. Wondering why people are not getting saved. Wondering why people are not being healed…

You can try to try to “fake it until you make it”; but I don’t advise it! You will be: worn out, burned out, used up – As some of you are today- trying on your own with no effective results and no longer wanting to dream dreams for your life.

WE CANNOT HAVE GOD’S POWER APART FROM HIS Presence

We MUST reverence His presence

We must be surrendered to Him!

We must be yielded to Him

I want to get my power from God! I want to be trust worthy! I want to be a good steward of the power and anointing!

How do you get the power? When the Holy Spirit has come upon you (Acts 1:8).

God WILL bring the power back to you- but you still have a part to play

We have to take hold of what God brings back to us.

We have to take and use the gifts and anointing that God brings to us.

We have to let God work through us.

And then the consecration really begins to inspect us every day.

To not assume that we are connected to the vine (John 15:5)

Not: manufacture power or make power!

We receive power - It is a gift from God-But we also need to check our motives.

Why do you want the power and anointing from God? Are you sure that your motives are right?

 

(Acts 8:18-19) “And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

The more God releases His power to us, the more that we must change to become like Jesus. If you really want the power gifts, you will want to become more like Jesus.

Let’s pray:

Father, if you’ll give me the anointing, and give me the power I promise I’ll do a better job of being a good steward of the power you give.

Father I want to do the work you’ve called me to do.

Father, I want to see Jesus lifted up in my life and honored and glorified

I want to see lives changed for Your glory!

Can you say; “amen”?

You Can’t Help Me; I’m Overwhelmed!

When we think of the word “Overwhelmed” we often think that this is something bad.

We picture negative things such as being overwhelmed a day jamb-packed with things to do; and not enough time to fit everything in.

Or being overwhelmed in our minds by remorse or regret that causes the brain to be stuck in circular logic.

Or being overwhelmed in our feelings as though life all around us is squeezing in on us.

Or being overwhelmed by an attack; or over powered; especially by superior forces that have the potential to crush or destroy.

Or being overwhelmed such as in a disastrous situation that could bury, submerge, or cover us, like a flood, fire, tornado, hurricane, avalanche, volcano, earthquake, etc.….

So, if I were to say to you; “I hope that today you have an overwhelming day!”, you’d probably reply with; “No thank you!”

If you are super-spiritual you might reply with; “Get behind me Satan!”; but that wouldn’t be nice because I am really just trying to help you.

But “overwhelmed” isn’t necessarily really a bad word

With the right understanding and perspective, “overwhelmed” can be a

good word.

Or as George Costanza (Seinfeld) said; “…So, anyway, if you think about it, manure is not really that bad a word. I mean, it’s ‘newer’, which is good, and a ‘ma’ in front of it, which is also good. Ma-newer, right?”

But I digress…and some of you are more overwhelmed because I have taken time from your already busy schedule…

Hang in there; I do have a point.

“Overwhelmed” is a word that can be used to describe BOTH negative as well as positive situations. It can be bad or good depending on what’s whelming whom over.

If you have a sports team that has “an overwhelming offense”; that’s a good thing; especially if they are winning the game.

The word “overwhelmed” means ‘to load, heap, or address with an overpowering amount of ANYTHING’.

And “ANYTHING’ can mean overwhelmed with good things such as overwhelmed with provision of presents or food or clothing or cars or houses or job opportunities or extra days of vacation…

“ANYTHING’ can mean overwhelmed with good things such as overwhelmed with too many friends and too many invites to celebrations such as weddings or graduations or parties. 

“ANYTHING’ can mean overwhelmed with good things such as overwhelmed with hugs or kisses.

“ANYTHING’ can mean overwhelmed with good things such as overwhelmed with comfort or love or joy or peace or patience or kindness or goodness or faithfulness or gentleness or self-control or understanding or forgiveness. Can we ever have too much or be overwhelmed with these?

“ANYTHING” can mean (as King David wrote in Psalm 68:19) being overwhelmed or loaded (imposes a heavy burden) with benefits or blessings from the Lord!

So, I to say to you; “I hope that today you have an overwhelming day!”

I hope that you are overwhelmed by the goodness and grace of our Heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Especially if, when you are reading this, you are feeling as though your day is already (in a negative sense) overwhelming.  

Take some time to let this song minister to your heart...                                 

Your Table Is Ready...

When I go into a restaurant to eat, I give my name to the person at the front desk and they hand me a flying-saucer looking disk and tell me that they are going to prepare a table for me and that it will take 10, 15, 30, 45 minutes. The disk is a way for the restaurant to let me know when my table is ready. The hostess assures me that she will come back to get me when all is ready. 

Usually, I sit and wait and wonder with every person who is called if they have indeed forgotten about me. I stare at the red disk, “willing-it” with all my might to flash to let me know that it is time. I watch it thinking that if I blink I may miss the light going off and someone else will get my table.

Then, something strange happens; I settle in. I start to look around and get used to the environment I’ve found myself in. I begin to watch people as the chair in which I am sitting becomes molded to my body. I forget about the red disk and begin to wonder what might be the reason why each of the various groups of people came to eat at this restaurant…perhaps a birthday, or anniversary, I say to myself.

And then it happens! The disk begins to vibrate and to flash like an ambulance racing in the night! At first, I am bewildered; “What does this mean?” and “How do I get this thing to shut off?”; I think as I wake from my slumber. I leap to my feet, and almost embarrassed I race towards the front desk hoping that I am not too late.

All around me eyes begin to wonder why I get to go ahead of them.

And then, something changes in my swagger as I realize that I have been chosen, hand-selected by the restaurant to be ushered in, escorted to my table like royalty.

My hostess has returned to take me to the place that they have been preparing for me! I made it! Food and drinks await me! Everything I want has been prepared ahead of time; the table, the settings, the napkins are all arranged waiting for me!

Jesus said in John 14:2-3

“In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.”

THE BIBLE SAYS:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.  But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.  "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(1Co 15:51-57 NAS)

WE DON’T KNOW HOW LONG WE HAVE ON THIS EARTH.

The Bible tells us that “Now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2).

IN SPITE OF WHAT YOU’VE HEARD, God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.

Jesus said; "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

Jesus said; "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.  (John3:16-17 NIV).

SO WHY aren’t most people experiencing life as described in the Bible verses we just read?

SIMPLY PUT, IT IS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE SINFUL; in other words, they don’t live as God wants them to live. Because of that, they are distant, or separated from God, and they cannot know and experience God's love and plan for their lives.

In the Bible we read; "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23).

When God made people, He intended FOR EVERYONE to have a loving relationship with Him. But because people have free-will, often they choose to go their own independent ways; doing what they want, and a relationship with God is broken.

The Bible calls this sin. Sin is anything that separates us from God; it means to miss the mark.

In the Bible we read; "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). 

In other words, the price of doing whatever we want results in a spiritual separation from God,

And life apart from God is death. God is holy and just. He cannot simply wink at sin.

His holiness commands payment for our sin.

John 3:18 Whoever believes on Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

BUT GOD DOESN’T WANT US TO STAY SEPARATED FROM HIM, so He made a way to "bridge the gap" that divides us from Him. This way is through Jesus Christ.

JESUS CHRIST IS GOD'S ONLY PROVISION FOR MAN'S SIN. Jesus paid the price for our sin with His death, burial, and resurrection: sinless substitute. Through Jesus (and Jesus alone) you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.

Remember that we read in the Bible that "the wages of sin is death?" Well, In the Bible we also read that Jesus died in our place;

"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).  "Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).

SOME PEOPLE WANT TO DO IT ALL ON THEIR OWN, thinking that Christianity is too narrow; there must be several ways to get in.

IF I WAS TO TRY TO GET BACK INTO BODY BUILDING, there would really be only one way to do it: Diet and exercise. No short cuts as shown in the infomercials on TV. No fad diets. I have to follow the prescribed plan. The same is true for getting right with God.

YOU MIGHT BE THINKING THAT GOD IS WRONG TO SEND PEOPLE TO HELL.

It is not God’s plan to send people to hell. Hell was created for the devil and His angels.

People go to hell because they reject God’s offer of salvation. That is like a restaurant where you need a tie to get in and you refuse to take the tie offered to you by the hostess.

If you don’t go to heaven, it is because you have rejected His offer for forgiveness.

YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, "I ALREADY KNOW THIS." But it is not enough just to know this; you must personally and individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. After that, you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.

In the Bible we read; "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12)

HOW?  WE RECEIVE CHRIST THROUGH FAITH BY BELIEVING THE BIBLE: 

"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

WE RECEIVE CHRIST BY PERSONALLY INVITING JESUS INTO OUR LIVES. 

JUST TO agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience.

RECEIVING CHRIST involves turning our wills and lives to God and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. The Bible calls this "repentance". What that means is to "change the way you think"; in other words go another direction- with our thoughts, words, actions; with how we live our lives.

RECEIVING CHRIST involves agreeing with what God calls sin. The Bible calls this “confession”. Confession means to agree with what God says and remember, Sin is anything that separates us from God.

GOD WILL ONLY GIVE ETERNAL LIFE TO:

1.   Those who are sorry for their sins.

2.   Those who are willing to turn away from what the Bible calls sin.

3.   Those who put their complete trust (have faith) in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WE NEED TO CONFESS AND BELIEVE JESUS:

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved: for with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. For the scripture says, whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him: for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13 

SO, HOW DO YOU GET RIGHT WITH GOD?

1.   Stop trusting in your own efforts to please God and begin to trust in what Jesus Christ has already done.

2.   Ask God to forgive you for your sins.

3.   Invite Jesus to come and live in you.

4.   Ask Jesus to take His rightful place as Lord and Savior of your life.

5.   Turn away from whatever the Bible says is sin.

§  This is only possible after you have made Jesus the Lord of your life.

You can do this right now by praying (speaking to God) in your own words like this:"

LORD JESUS. I WANT TO STOP TRUSTING MYSELF AND WHAT I CAN DO AND START TRUSTING IN YOU AND WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE WHEN YOU DIED ON THE CROSS FOR ME.

I KNOW THAT I AM A SINNER AND I AM SORRY FOR MY SINS.

I ASK YOU TO FORGIVE ME.

AND I INVITE YOU TO COME AND LIVE IN ME.

I WANT YOU TO BE THE SAVIOR AND THE LORD OF MY LIFE. BY THAT I MEAN STARTING RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL BE #1 IN MY LIFE.

I WANT TO TURN AWAY FROM EVERYTHING THAT YOU AND THE BIBLE CALL SIN.

I TOTALLY COMMIT MYSELF TO OBEYING YOU; EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE.

THANK YOU LORD JESUS" 

Let HOPE Arise

The month of March in Minnesota can be a very sad and very depressing month.

 

For those of us who have learned to enjoy the cold of winter, it is the month when ice rinks, ski hills, and lakes, and paths for snow shoes, cross country skiing, and snowmobiles melt and we pause to join the rest of the residents of the Minnesota and ask; “Why do we live in this desolate place?”

The beautiful fresh white snow from the winter turns in to a frozen, dirty, filthy pile that holds on to every piece of debris that has come across its path over the long winter.

Even if the snow does melt, another storm usually comes and dumps a half a foot or more of snow as a last shot at whatever hope had been arising. “We almost made it another winter…”, we say to ourselves; “And then someone moved the finish line and we have another month of winter!”

And those are on the good days…

During this time period, people tend to not be as “Minnesota-Nice” because their vitamin D levels are completely depleted and for most days the skies are bleak and grey and void of hope, causing great sadness.

I had one of those days last week. Right before we left our house to go to help cook a meal for church, Cathy and I got into a conversation that quickly ‘went south’. Our emotions (I blame the string of cloud-filled days cooped up) kept us from really responding in a loving way. 

No matter what was said, we both reacted as though we didn’t hear what the other had said and silence became the place where both went to avoid further hurt.

We got in our truck and drove to our destination without saying anything to each other; trying to place our commitment to serve above the need to fix our hurts. Basically, we were like two porcupines trying to embrace without poking each other.

As I drove, my mind was further drawn into discouragement and isolation by the bleakness of the sunless skies and dirty snow. My dullness to my emotions was only shaken as I swerved to avoid the deep crevasses we call “potholes”. All around me seemed to be death and darkness; not light or life.

Soon after we arrived, Cathy and I got to work and kept our conversations focused on the tasks at hand.

At some point Cathy mentioned to the homeowner where were doing the cooking that there were tulips up in her yard; adding that they were quite tall.

Tulips; where did she see tulips amid all of that death and decay? She saw them next to the same house that I had arrived at. She saw them in the same gardens that I had walked past; the ones still covered with dead leaves, stick, snow, and debris.

She saw something that was always there just below the surface of my reality. Life was waiting to come up; hope was about to arise.

Later that evening at our LifeGroup, I was able to share about how I had reacted wrongly and died to myself in order to bring forth life. I am happy to report that Cathy and I ended our day on the same page.

 

My friends, there is a purpose for the death in order to bring new life that is waiting to arrive.

The bleakest month of March in Minnesota is a picture to also remind us that there is always hope waiting to arise.

Even beyond the clouds, above the sun was still shining, even though it hadn’t been seen by us mere mortals here on the earth.

Even on the darkest day when death seems to have taken over everything, there is still hope…new life beneath the surface; beyond the death of winter.

A little over two thousand years ago, a group of men and women spent three days that were even worse than a Minnesota March that just didn’t seem to end.

These men and women had stood and watched their friend and teacher Jesus get tortured by a severe whipping and then stripped naked and brutally nailed to a cross and left to die; which He did.

Afterwards, they watched as His lifeless body was placed in a tomb and the tomb sealed with a very large stone that was rolled in front.

These men and women were without hope and saw nothing good coming out of this situation. The coldness of their reality filled them to great despair.

They had no confidence that hope would arise.

And yet it did, for after three days, Jesus was resurrected from the death that tried to hold Him in the grave. Beneath the cold earth life was waiting to spring forth.

And because of Jesus’ triumph and victory over death, we too can have confidence that beneath the surface of our “darkest winter that doesn’t seem to be ending”, there is hope waiting to arise!

To see it, we, like Cathy did when she saw the tulips, need to slow down and let the hope arise.

We need to let Jesus come to us like He did to the men and women who were in such despair and hopelessness. We need to let Jesus bring hope in way that ONLY He can bring it; through His Word (the Bible), through worship of Him, through spending time with Him.

And because of His death and resurrection ALL who ask can have new life!

 “…One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15 MSG)

This new life can be yours TODAY!

“This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came His way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss. They called Him every name in the book and He said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used His servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:24 MSG)

Need further help? Someone is waiting to talk with you. Call either:

1-888-NEED HIM or 1-877-2GRAHAM (1-877-247-2426).

Scripture taken from The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson