Transformational Thanksgiving

The Bible warns us that one of the signs of the last days is that people will not be thankful. Romans 1:18, 21 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness ….because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
God has so blessed us that we can begin to take the blessings of God for granted in our lives. There is a growing sense of entitlement in our culture that, if we are not watchful, can begin to affect our relationship with God. Paul warns us that the result of this lack of thankfulness is that we become futile in our thoughts and our foolish hearts are darkened. The lack of thanksgiving results in a world full of greed, and corruption to the point of self-destruction. The tragedy of it all is that our thoughts are so darkened we don’t even understand that we are destroying ourselves and the future of our children.
The cure to this self-destructive trend in our society is transformational thanksgiving in which we purposefully begin to publicly glorify God and give Him thanks for what He does in our lives and gives to us. When was the last time you thanked someone at work, at home or in the market place for something simple he/she did for you? When was the last time you publicly thanked God and gave Him glory for something He helped you with on the job or at home, or something He provided for you?
We need to cultivate an atmosphere of thanksgiving. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Don’t just give thanks when things are going well or for the special things or special occasions,, but in everything give thanks. Thanksgiving should become a lifestyle that just flows out of us in gratitude to God.
Psalms 100:4-5 exhorts us to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” The gateway to entering into the transformational presence of God is through thanksgiving. We need to take our focus off of our possessions, which we think we cannot live without, and put our focus on God, His goodness, mercy and truth.
In this world filled with grumbling, complaining, criticism and anger, we need to be salt and light by developing lips that continually give thanks and praise to God. As we give thanks and glory to God, it will begin to change our perspective on life and will begin to affect others around us and transform our environment. Thanksgiving will produce love, joy, peace, longsuffering and patience in our lives.
Purpose in your heart today to begin developing a lifestyle of thanksgiving, and you will be amazed at what God will do.

Enlarge Your Capacity

Last week I was lying on my bed about 11pm at night in my hotel room in Bungoma, Kenya, praying and meditating on what I was going to share on Community Transformation the next morning at the Leadership Conference, and the Lord dropped two Scriptures in my heart defining two essential elements to community transformation.

 

The first Scripture was Isaiah 54:2-3: "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.”

 

The first essential element to community transformation is to enlarge your personal capacity. The command is for you to enlarge the place of your tent. It goes on to say, do not spare, don’t hold back, go all out, and allow the Holy Spirit to stretch you and lengthen your cords. Do not settle for the status quo, but allow the Spirit to stretch your faith, your capacity to love, forgive, and to serve. Allow the Spirit to nurture, develop and sharpen your God-given gifts and talents. As you grow, drive down your stakes deep into God so that you will not be blown away by the tempests of life.

 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” Do not allow the temptations and cares of life to rob you of your potential in Christ. Your ability to resist spiritual mediocrity will not only enlarge your capacity, but also affect your descendents and their place of habitation.

 

The second essential element to community transformation is found in Genesis 5:5:

“Then He (the Lord) brought him (Abraham) outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him,” So shall your descendants be.” What did the Lord bring Abraham outside of? His tent. For community transformation God not only needs to enlarge your capacity but also your vision. Because Abraham had left his country and laid down everything in his pursuit and obedience, God blessed Abraham beyond his wildest imagination. God had enlarged his tent so that he had over 800 servants who could fight and livestock beyond numbering.

 

However, at one hundred years of age Abraham had not received the son of promise, and God called him out of his tent to look at the stars and believe for the impossible, that he would be the father of nations. I don’t know where you are today, but God wants to do the impossible through you. First of all, you need to resist complacency, allow Him to enlarge your capacity, then step out of your limitations into His limitlessness and believe Him for the impossible.

Transformational Presence

Our failure to have transformational impact on our culture is because we have become so busy and self-sufficient that we have defrocked God of His Lordship and power in our lives. We think because God has blessed us and our nation that we are somehow okay. However, the blessings and prosperity of God in our lives is not what identifies us as the people of God. Our religious achievements with all our dedication, work, talents and technology has not transformed our nation.

 

What will transform our churches, families, community and nation is the transformational presence of God. In Exodus chapter 32 after Israel had angered God because of their idolatry, God told Moses, I’ll send an angel with you into the Promised Land. Yet, Moses who has just spent forty days in God’s presence replies, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." (Exodus 33:15-16) Are we satisfied simply with God’s provision and not His presence?

 

What identifies us as God’s people is the transformational presence of God in our lives. It was the cloud and fire of His presence that lead Israel in the wilderness. It was His presence that caused the enemy to tremble and brought them into the fullness of His promises. It was the presence of Jesus in the boat on Galilee that brought peace to the storm and brought them to their destination. It was the presence of Jesus that healed the woman with the issue of blood with just a touch of His garment. It was the presence of Jesus with the two discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus that caused their hearts to burn within them and sent them running back to Jerusalem with the good news.

 

It was the transformational presence of Jesus in the lives of Peter and John that healed the lame man at the gate beautiful. When the authorities arrested them for their good deed and for preaching about Jesus, it says in Acts 4:13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

 

Do people recognize that you have been with Jesus? Time in the morning and evening is important, but what is even more important is that we invite His presence into every area of our lives. It was when Israel became impatient with Moses on the mountain that they reduced God to a calf. Oftentimes, in our rush to do things in our way and in our ability, we reduce God to a powerless calf in our life. A small God does not impose any threat to our lifestyle but He also has no power to carry us into the Promised Land.

 

Begin to develop a greater awareness of God. Give Him a greater place and authority in every aspect of your life, and His presence will transform your world.

Transformation vs. Reformation

2 Corinthians 3:18

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

 

In our western culture we think more in the sense of reform rather than transform. Reform means “to improve (someone or something) by removing or correcting faults, problems, etc.: to improve your own behavior or habits. “We watch TV shows, read books, hear teachings and sermons on how we can correct our faults and improve ourselves, our marriage, our children, our job, and our church. While these are good, God desires to do something much greater than what we can produce ourselves.

 

The emphasis in Scripture is on transformation. Transform means “to change (something) completely.” The word in Greek is metamorphoo from which we get our English word metamorphosis, as a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. When Nicodemus came to Jesus in John chapter three, his mind was so bound by the reformation of religion that he could not grasp the metamorphosis of the new birth.

 

For many becoming a Christian is adopting a religious belief and lifestyle. But, from its inception Jesus demands the transformation of a new birth. The reason we embrace reformation rather than transformation is that we can reform ourselves or attempt to reform ourselves, while transformation is supernatural and requires a yielding to and submission to God. We struggle with the supernatural because it is beyond our understanding and capability, requiring faith in God to do the impossible in our lives.

 

The other issue we face is that transformation requires dying to ourselves. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:24-25 Dying to self releases the transforming and explosive growth of the Spirit in our lives.

 

The wonderful thing about transformation is that it moves us from the natural into the supernatural, from our ability to God’s ability, and from provision to the promise. Transformation happens as we take our eyes off of ourselves, others, and the world and begin fixing our gaze on the Lord of glory, allowing His Spirit to transform us from glory to glory into His image.

Receiving the Promise

In Genesis 26:3-5 God reaffirms to Isaac his covenant with Abraham, “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

 

Over six hundred years later Israel stands on the bank of the Jordan River preparing to receive the promise God had given Abraham. For forty years they had walked under God’s provision in the wilderness, but now was the time to move from provision into promise. They faced great challenges of fortified cities, giants and great armies with chariots. Forty years earlier their fathers had stood on the banks of this very Jordan. But because of a bad report of ten spies, they retreated from the promise back into the comfort of provision.

 

Oftentimes in our lives we fail to move from provision into God’s promises for us. As I mentioned last week, we often let the promises that God gave us die in us because of time and circumstances. The challenges of entering into the promises seem often times overwhelming and impossible. God intentionally makes His promises too great for us because He wants to fulfill the promises as we trust and obey him. Notice God’s word to Isaac, “I will be with you, I will give you all these lands, I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham, and I will make your descendants multiply.” To receive the promise, we must maintain faith that He who is faithful will fulfill the promise. Because it is only out of that position of faith that we can be led by the Spirit to walk out in obedience today what God wants us to do in order to receive the promise.

 

God told Isaac, “I will give your descendents all these lands --- because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge.” Abraham was not some great preacher or evangelist. He was a herdsman who most of his life led a nomadic life like many in his day. But when God asked him to do something, He immediately did it whether it was leaving his home and country, or being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. In the midst of all Abraham’s wandering, he never forgot his charge, what God had charged him to do, his destiny. In all the places he traveled, all the challenges he faced and things he did, he never lost sight of the faithfulness of God and the promises God had given him.

 

As Joshua stood on the banks of the Jordan facing the giants of Israel’s past, the Lord appeared to him and said to Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. --- Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you. --- Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:3,6,9

 

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:” Heb. 10:35-36

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”         I Corinthians 1:20

Take Your Place

Psalms 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.”

 

The table of the Lord is a place of abundance, a place of peace, and a place of communion. David draws this picture from the ancient Near East custom, where covenants were often concluded with a meal expressive of the bond of friendship. The head of the honored guest at the banquet was customarily anointed with oil. The cup running over was a sign of abundance. What an awesome picture of the relationship God wants to have with us!

 

Jesus reinforced this at the Last Supper with His disciples. In Luke 22:15 Jesus says, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you.” (NKJ) In the Message Bible it says, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you.” Then just as the honored guest would have his head anointed with oil in David’s day, Jesus in the custom of his day honors his disciples by getting down and washing their feet.

 

Sometimes we fail to understand how much Jesus desires to fellowship and commune with us. We become so busy running here and there, trying to meet our needs and the needs of our family, when He already has a table of provision set for us. We are desperately trying to prove ourselves and to demonstrate our value or worth, when He desires to honor us. We struggle with worry and fear in an uncertain world and struggle with the attacks of the enemy, when He has already set a table for us in the presence of our enemies. We struggle in our own might to serve Him, when he wants to anoint our head with the oil of His Spirit to empower us to do what we cannot do in ourselves.

 

Stop struggling and running and take your place at the Lord’s table. “In His presence is fullness of joy;

at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalms 16:11) The God of the universe “fervently desires” your presence. He has prepared a table for you and for me. He is honored to have us as a guest at his table. Even more than that, He wants to honor us. We are the apple of His eye, His joy and His desire. He wants to give us honor even before our enemies, for we are His treasured possession and he has redeemed us from every tribe, tongue, and nation by the blood of His Son. He wants to fill your cup until it runs over.

 

The one thing our Lord seeks above all else from his servants, ministers, and shepherds is communion with Him. His table is vast and is never lacking. This table is a place of spiritual intimacy and is spread daily with all that we need. David said in Psalms 27:4, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”

 

May you be blessed, encouraged, strengthened, and satisfied in the presence of the Lord today.

The Cave

1 Samuel 22:1-2

“David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.”

 

It was God’s anointing on David’s life that enabled him to kill the lion and the bear, to kill Goliath, and bring great victory to Israel. It was the anointing that enabled David to play the harp in worship to God to quiet the tormented spirit of Saul and enabled him to become the greatest general in Saul’s army, so that the women of Jerusalem sang, “Saul has killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands.” It was that same anointing that protected and sustained David as a refugee in the cave of Adullam.

 

It was in the cave of Adullam that God begin to pull together the men that would make David’s army. David’s mighty men started out as poor, disgruntled refugees, the outcasts of Saul’s kingdom. They went in the cave defeated and came out with the shout of victory because they had joined up with David’s cause and vision. It was in the cave of Adullam that they were trained for war and galvanized together as one to become David’s mighty men who would one day conquer and subdue kingdoms.

 

It was in the cave of Adullam that David wrote the Psalm of praise in 2 Samuel 22.

"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;

My shield and the horn of my salvation.

He teaches my hands to make war,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;

Your gentleness has made me great.”

 

The anointing of the Holy Spirit is upon our lives not only to enable us to worship God in the good times and to bring us victory over circumstances in life, but also the anointing of the Holy Spirit is upon our lives during our time in the cave, when no one sees us, and the enemy surrounds us and seeks to destroy our souls. It is in the cave that we truly discover God to be our rock, our fortress, our shield, and our salvation. It is here that our true character is tested and our hands are trained for war. It is in the cave that our vision is sharpened, and deep, life-long relationships are formed.

 

May you discover today the greatness of our God; may His anointing sustain you and renew your strength and vision for all He has for you.

 

In Christ

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as I look around today, I see so many facing challenges in their lives, whether it be with health, finances, family issues or ministry. I want to look at some promises today that will help you walk in victory whether facing the fiery furnace or a den of lions that seem to be ready to devour you at any minute.

 

Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”

 

This promise of overcoming circumstances and people that may come against us is based on two godly principals. First, as children of God, being more than a conqueror is our heritage. Because Christ overcame we will overcome also. He has defeated the powers of death, hell and the grave. We walk in His resurrection power. God does not promise to keep us from attack of the enemy, but the attack will not prosper because of who we are in Christ Jesus.

Secondly, God declares that our righteousness of from Him. We do not stand in our righteousness but in the righteousness of Christ. This promise is not based on our goodness or our ability, but on who Christ is and what He has accomplished for us. We often fail to overcome because we are so aware of our weaknesses and failures, and we lose sight of who we are in Christ. Romans 8:1-3 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

 

I like to illustrate the principle of Romans 8:1-3 by placing a hanky over my fist. My fist represents my sinful nature, and the hanky the righteousness of Christ. The accuser of the brethren, other people, and even we ourselves often focus on what is under the hanky, while all God only sees is the hanky. I then begin to stuff the hanky into my fist to illustrate that over time as we walk in the Spirit, the righteousness of Christ that covers us begins to fill our life as we are changed from glory to glory in the image of Christ. However during the transformation process we are constantly covered by and stand in the righteousness of Christ.

 

Christ is our salvation, our healer, our provider, and our deliverer. God loves you not because of who you are or what you have done, but because of who He is. He is love. Victory is His because He cannot fail. Defeat is not in His nature. He has peace in the midst of conflict and turmoil because He is the Prince of Peace. As a born again believer, you are in Christ and it is out of your relationship with Him that you overcome and walk in love, peace, and victory no matter what circumstances you face.

 

Whatever weapon has been formed against you today cannot prosper because the God of the universe declares over you “this is their heritage and their righteousness is of me.”

Joy of the Journey

Psalms 16:11

“You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Our journey to the heart of God is a life-long journey of discovering the greatness of the God whom we serve. It is not a journey of works but a journey of faith and obedience that constantly yields new doors of blessing and fulfillment. The journey of works is a hard road to walk, filled with hills and valleys of success and failure. When we are successful, we feel great; when we are doing poorly, we feel discouraged, frustrated, angry or depressed.  We measure the progress of our journey by comparing ourselves to others and where they are on their journey.

The journey to the heart of God is a life-long journey of discovering who God is in all of His love, greatness, and power. It is an ongoing revelation of His awesome character and nature. This journey is not void of works, but these works are an outgrowth of relationship and not a proof of value or source of identity and affirmation. Our fulfillment and contentment is solely found in our ongoing relationship with the Father through the Spirit.

Look at the focus of the Psalmist. It is totally on God. “You will show me that path of life.” The path of life cannot be found in a do-it-yourself manual of ten easy steps to success. The path of life is found from beginning to end in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is cultivated on a daily basis in every aspect of life. The path of life is a discovery of Jesus in our marriage, family, and job. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) The path of life is found in Jesus Christ.

The Psalmist continues, “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” When you are in love with someone, it impacts every area of your life. It puts joy in your heart, a spring in your step, and a smile on your face. It has nothing to do with performance but radically improves your performance. It changes your perspective on everything. You respond to people and circumstances with optimism and joy. It is contagious! When you are in love with God, you will have a growing awareness of His presence and incorporate Him in every decision, everything you say and do. He becomes the center of your life.

The Psalmist concludes by saying, “At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  It is only in His presence that we have access to His right hand, which is filled with blessings and pleasure forevermore. However, blessing and pleasure is not the source of joy. His presence is our source of joy. Pleasures and blessings are simply an outgrowth of our relationship. When we truly get to know Him, the greatest pleasure is spending time with Him. Enjoy your journey with God.

Measure of Christian Maturity

 1 Corinthians 13:11-13

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” NKJV

 

In this portion the Apostle Paul writes about moving from childhood to maturity in our speech, understanding, and thought. This transition is purposeful. We don’t mature naturally over time any more than a child growing big makes him more mature. It takes willful, intentional decisions with the discipline to carry them out. He says we have to “put away childish things.” This is a process from seeing dimly and knowing in part to seeing Christ face to face and knowing Him as He knows us. It is a life-long process that we must pursue with our whole being.

 

The measure of maturity is faith, hope, and love. The Apostle says, “now abide these three.” These are the three pillars of the Christian life that we should constantly be developing which produce eternal results. This is a progressive work that the Holy Spirit wants to do in us. Romans 1:17 says, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Unveiled faces mean that we have to be transparent before God, if this maturity process is going to happen.

 

Maturity in faith comes through the Word because “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Maturity in love is a development of our character. I Corinthians chapter 13 clearly demonstrates that anything that is done that does not spring from love has no value. Love is manifested in obedience. Jesus said in John 14:21,“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.” The manifestation of love is in the fruit of the Spirit. Maturity in hope is demonstrated in ministry because hope exalts God and His kingdom. 1 Corinthians 9:10 says, “For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope , and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.”

 

Maturity requires that we grow in all three areas: faith, hope and love. Some people may exude love but have no faith or hope, and so produce little. Others may have great faith and hope resulting in great ministry, but their life is bankrupt of love. We often measure ourselves and others by our strongest area, when, in fact, our level of maturity is as great as our weakest area. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

 

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things….And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

 

Results of Expectation

1. Expectation causes us to seek God with persistence.

 

Psalms 123:2 “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.”

 

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

 

Luke 15:8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?”

 

2. Expectation causes us to believe God fervently.

 

Matt 17:20 “For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

 

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

 

3. Expectation causes us to yield to God.

 

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.’”

 

The problem is that we want to bring God into the limitations of our lives. We expect God to do things in a certain way within the limitations of human thinking, understanding, and ability. We often want to maintain control. Do things our way. The only way to get out of our box into a limitless God is to totally yield to Him. When you get on a plane, you lose all control. If you are afraid to give up control, you will never fly.

 

Ephesians 3:20-21 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

 

Let God do far above or beyond what you could ask or think by the power that works in you.

An Everlasting Covenant

 

Psalms 105:8-10

 

“He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.”

 

We serve a covenant keeping God. The Bible says it is “His covenant.” God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, who holds all things together by His word, is the one who makes His covenant with us. Thus, He is bound by His word to keep it for us. The writer of Hebrews shows how powerful this covenant is that God made not only for Abraham but for those of us who believe. Hebrews 6:13-18 says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. …Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise (that is you and me) the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”

 

The King of kings and Lord of all the earth, El-Shaddai the Lord All-sufficient, Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord our Provider, the Great I AM of our past, present and future has made a covenant with you. It is “an everlasting covenant” that has no expiration date. His covenant to us came into existence at “the word he commanded,” the same command that said “Let there be light” and there was light”, and we have had light every day since the creation of the world. It never changes! God’s covenant with you and with me is even more certain than creation because God said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away.” His covenant cannot fail because it is based on “two immutable things” God’s character and His word.

 

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20) The promise is made by God, and in Christ they are Yes and Amen. But the promise is fulfilled through those of us in Christ Jesus for the glory of God. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” Just as with Abraham, God has made a covenant with you that you may show forth His glory and be a blessing to your family, your church, your neighbors and the nations.

 

I want to encourage you today that God is a covenant-keeping God. Take time to review the covenants in His Word. Pray and allow these to become alive to your situation. Do not let doubt or disobedience hinder you from pressing into those promises. Remind God of His promises and be willing to step out in faith and maybe do something that you have never done before. Step out of the box of your routine and ability into the vastness of God’s greatness, and see Him work on your behalf.

Living on the Edge

Matthew 10:37-39

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

 

Through the annals of history God has called men and women to live on the edge. He called Noah to build an ark for the saving of his family, Abraham to leave his home for a country he knew not, Moses to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, Elisha to burn his plow, sacrifice his oxen and pursue Elijah for the double anointing, Esther to risk her life going to the king to save her people, Jeremiah at great personal risk and sacrifice to warn his people of God’s judgment, Peter James and John to give up the family business to follow Christ and become the founders of the church, and Christ who gave up His rights as God, made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the cross for our salvation.

 

I just returned from Niger where I encountered men and women living on the edge to see the kingdom come to this barren land. I was especially struck by a Brazilian lady whose husband was back in Brazil for three months for surgery, leaving her to run the ministry on her own. They lived in one room of a three-bedroom concrete house. One bedroom served as a food pantry, while volunteers lived in the other room. Their kitchen, dining room, and living room is a center where they prepare meals daily and bring hope to 200 children. They have no privacy, live on the edge financially, and are threatened by bearded men who sometimes sit outside their home in an attempt to intimidate them from sharing the love and hope of Christ to these children.

 

Living on the edge looks different for each one of us, but every one of us is being called and drawn to that place by the Holy Spirit. Living on the edge is outside of our comfort zone and place of security, it is the tug of the Spirit to involve ourselves in something beyond us, our capacity, and ability. Living on the edge is that place where the natural meets the supernatural, the temporal meets the eternal, and light encounters darkness. Living on the edge is the cry of every one of our hearts because it is where we encounter the face of God.

 

Break out of the mundane, take a risk, respond to God’s Word and the tug of His Spirit and live on the edge for God.

Kingdom Provision

1 Kings 17:2-4

“Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

 

1 Kings 17:8-9

“Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

 

There are some observations the Lord quickened to me from these two stories.

1.      It was a time of famine.

2.      God commanded provision.

3.      God revealed the source of provision to His servant.

4.      The provision came from a most unlikely source.

5.      God provided for the provider as well as the servant of God.

 

I want to encourage you today, that even though we live in times of tremendous financial uncertainty, that God’s kingdom is not dependent on the kingdoms of this world. We need to move our source of confidence and provision from this world system and our system of support and put our confidence completely in God for our provision.

 

God commanded provision. Commanded is past tense. Even before the need arose and even before he revealed it to his servant, God had already prepared the provision. ( pro vision means seeing something before it happens.)

 

Hearing God’s voice. This is why it is so important that we put our focus totally on God as our provider. The provision is already there, we just need to hear from God to access it. We need to seek God for our provision and respond to the voice of His Spirit. God may nudge you to send and encouraging email to someone or to maybe contact someone that you have not touched base with in a long time. It is when in the business of our lives we take time to hear and obey those simple little nudges of the Spirit that we open the door for the supernatural.

 

Unlikely source. Who would have ever thought of depending on ravens and a starving widow for provision? Sometimes we keep dipping into the same wells all the time, when God’s provision is from some new place totally unexpected.

 

If Elijah had not obeyed the prompting of the Spirit and asked the widow to give him the last little bit of bread she had, she and her son would have starved to death. When we respond to the prompting of the Spirit in presenting our need, it not only brings provision for us but it may be the salvation of the giver, and part of God’s plan for their provision.

 

Jesus said in Matthew 6 that we should not be concerned about what we are going to eat or wear, “for your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:8

 

Whatever your need may be, may you discover God’s provision for you and may you be a source of blessing or provision for someone else.

Knowing Christ

Philippians 3:8-9

 

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ “

 

Paul opens this chapter in Philippians by giving his resume. Paul was great and successful in both the secular Roman world and the religious Jewish world before he ever met Christ. He was born into an important family, had the best education, had risen to the top of his field, and was successful in everything he did. Paul was zealous for God and his church. He was at the top of his game. But Paul considered all that rubbish in comparison to knowing Christ.

 

Knowing Christ is not the key to greatness and success, nor is greatness and success evidence of knowing Christ. Knowing Christ is greatness and success. In Africa they have a proverb that says, “It is not important who you are but who you know.” In the world and the church we idolize fame, greatness, and success. Our bookstores are filled with books on how to be successful. We parade it on TV and reward it with our time and money. We often gain our sense of identity by what we do and what we possess. However, the things we put such importance and on which we spend so much time and money may bring us some fulfillment and pleasures in this world. But they are rubbish in God’s world compared to knowing Christ.

 

In Luke 10 and John 12 we see two stories of Jesus visit to the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. In both stories Martha is busy serving, and Mary is at Jesus feet in worship. In the story in John, Lazarus was seated at the table fellowshipping with Jesus. In Luke, Martha complains to Jesus that Mary is not doing her part in helping serve. Jesus response is very revealing of the heart of God. “And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:41-42)

 

All three elements of fellowship, service, and worship are important in our walk with the Lord. But Jesus identifies that what Mary was doing as most important and would not be taken away from her. Everything we do that is of eternal value stems out of our relationship with Christ. The proof of our relationship with Christ is not in our accomplishments but our character as evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This fruit will come forth in our lives in the good times and the bad times. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Enlarge Your Tent

Isaiah 54:2-3

"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.”

 

This wonderful promise begins with a command from God to “enlarge the place of your tent.” In order for God to fulfill His plans and purposes for our lives, we need to make room or create the environment for God to work. Many times we pray for things, but we do not see the fulfillment of our prayers because our lives are so cluttered or bound by our limitations that God cannot work.

 

The Apostle Paul exhorts us to “build yourselves up in your most holy faith.” (Jude 20) He also says that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,” (Romans 10:17) and that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) There are steps we have to take by faith to create the environment for God to work. We have to diligently seek Him, and in doing so, we come to know Him, recognize His voice, and know His ways.

 

Once you have enlarged your place, you can now lengthen your cords. You begin to stretch yourself and reach out beyond the borders of your limitations. Begin to do things that you have not done before. Isaiah says, “do not spare.” The NIV says, “do not hold back.” Don’t hesitate! Go for it!

 

But as you reach out in faith into the unknown of God’s promises, you must “strengthen your stakes.” Jesus told us in order to survive the flood, we need to “digdeep and lay the foundation on the rock,” by coming to Him and “hearing His sayings and doing them.” (Luke 6:48) As you expand into Satan’s territory it is essential that you take time to dig deep into Christ and drive the unshakable stakes deep into Him.

 

Once you have enlarged your place, lengthened your cord, and strengthened your stakes, a wonderful thing happens. You can now stretch out the curtains of your dwellings. Curtains are the cloth or skins that make up the tent covering, providing, privacy, security and safety from the elements, not only for yourself, but also for your household.

 

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” Today, believe that God has great things for you and prepare yourself for them because “your Father who is in heaven gives good things to those who ask.”(Luke 11:11)

Stand Still

Sometimes we find ourselves surrounded by challenges and problems that seem to have no solution. Maybe we have been experiencing victory and success, or at the very least, life has been going along pretty normally when: Bang! an unexpected crisis hits our life that throws everything into a tail spin. Israel found themselves in this situation in Exodus chapter 14. God had delivered them from four hundred years of slavery with awesome miracles and power. They were so excited leaving Egypt with the wealth of Egypt in their hands on the way to the promised land. Man, life was good and God is great! Then they ran into the Red Sea with mountains on each side and the Egyptian army at their back.

 

When challenges, problems, or crises unexpectedly strike our lives, and there seems to be no way out, our initial response is not always the best. Like Israel, maybe we become frantic or fearful, or anger sets in and we blame God or others for the problem. Despair whispers, “Lie down and give up, there is no way out.” Cowardice cries, “Retreat; God’s way is too difficult, I’ve made a mistake and should have never tried this, it was good for a while but it isn’t working any more. Human Effort determines, “If I just pray a little harder, work a little more, or try a different way, I can get out of this. Presumption declares, “If the sea is before me, by faith I am going to walk into it and expect a miracle from God.”

 

Faith though does not listen to Despair, Cowardice, Human Effort or Presumption. As with Israel, the command may be, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord… The Lord will fight for you, and you will hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13,14) Great faith is not based upon what we do, but our willingness to trust God totally in the midst of the storm and impossible situation. Do we really believe in a supernatural God who can do far above what we could even ask or think?

 

In Matthew 8:8 a centurion came to Jesus and said, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." Jesus immediate response was, “I’ll come to your house and heal him.” The centurion’s response astounded Jesus. He said, “Just speak the word and my servant will be healed.” Verse10 says, “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

 

Sometimes the greatest faith is when we cease from our labors and stop crying, pleading, and begging God for what we want or expect and just stand still. Stand still, attentive to God, ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the voice of God, ready to do whatever He asks, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. When Israel stopped complaining and stood still, quietly waiting, the word of the Lord came, “Go forward, lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel will go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” (Exodus 14:15-16)

 

No matter what you are facing today, God is not at fault, nor is he surprised or caught off guard. He knew what was going to happen even before you were born and already has a solution in place. It may not be your solution but His solution. Stop your frantic activity, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.

Spirit of Truth

John 16:7, 13-15

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you….When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

 

I have said for years that since Satan has been unable to destroy the truth, he decided to bury the truth in a flood of information. We live in that day of misinformation when we often cannot tell what is true and what is error. Our minds and lives are often cluttered with so many bites of trivial information that we don’t have time for that which is most important. The tyranny of the urgent drowns out what is most essential in our lives.

 

We are in need of the Holy Spirit like never before. Jesus told His disciples that He had to go away so that He could send the Holy Spirit. Jesus is in heaven at the right hand of God making intercession for us, but the Holy Spirit is the one here on earth who dwells within us. Jesus calls Him the Helper, the Paraclete, the one who comes along side us and works on our behalf.

 

Who do your turn to for help on a day to day, minute-by-minute basis? I have a friend of mine that likes to say that the Holy Spirit is a genius. He is a genius in marriage, family, ministry, business, finances, health and anything else that you are involved in or are challenged by. He can be instantly accessed at any moment or in any situation. He is not limited by geographical, political, economical or cultural limitations. We can become proficient at accessing the recourses of the internet, but how proficient are we at accessing the Holy Spirit? Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” The Holy Spirit is our source of identity in this world. Without Him we are like everyone else around us functioning in the blindness of our limitations.

 

Jesus goes on to say that through the Holy Spirit we have access to everything that is His, and He has full access to the Father. So, by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ we have access to everything that is God’s. In the midst of an age of relativity, He will lead us into all truth because He leads us to Jesus, “the truth, the way and the life.” There is no one else like Him, the beginning and the end, the bread of life, the light of the world, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In the midst of the chaos and uncertainty of our times, we need to tune in and yield to the Holy Spirit as never before to bring order and peace into our lives and our world. Shut out the clutter of life and take time to hear His still quiet voice in your life today.

The Fragrance of Christ

2 Corinthians 2:14-17

 

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?”

 

No matter who we are, where we are or what we are doing in the world, as believers in Christ we are called by God to be the fragrance of Christ to those with whom we come in contact. One key element to being able to diffuse the fragrance of Christ is our ability to always walk in triumph no matter what is going on around us because Christ has bought for us the victory. The picture Paul gives here is of an army returning victoriously from battle, and as they enter the city, people in celebration would fill the air with the sweet smell released by the burning of spices in the street. To the victorious it was an aroma of life. To the conquered it was an aroma of death.

 

Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:13) Our ability by the Spirit to be of good cheer in the midst of the chaos around is a sweet aroma that encourages and brings life. Paul and Silas after being beaten and put in chains in prison sang praises to God. The Bible says all those in the prison heard them. In the midst of a terrible situation, the fragrance of Christ diffused throughout the prison leading them into triumph and bringing many to Christ.

 

The second element to diffusing the fragrance of Christ is to grow in the knowledge of Him in every place. The word “knowledge” here is not just knowing about Christ, but a knowledge that comes from intimate relationship with Him and is life-changing. It means to saturate ourselves with Christ so that His character and nature just naturally diffuse His fragrance in our lives at all times and in all situations. In John 12, Jesus visits the home of Mary and Martha. Martha was busy serving Jesus, Lazarus was at the table eating with Jesus, while Mary was at His feet in worship anointing His feet with “a very costly oil, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” It is out of a life of worship that the fragrance of Christ is diffused wherever we go.

 

In 2 Corinthians 2, there are two kinds of people, “those being saved and those who are perishing.” Both should smell the fragrance of Christ in us. You can tell you are emanating the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ by the response of those around you. To those who are perishing, “we are the aroma of death” because they hate who we are and what we represent. Hiowever those who are being saved, we are “the aroma of life leading to life.” The aroma of Christ in us, while repelling the world, will attract those who are destined for salvation.

 

Jesus said, “I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:19-20) Let us be careful that we don’t so blend with the culture that we fail to “diffuse the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”

What Do You Hear

What Do You Hear?
Revelations 2:17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."' NKJV
Two keys to entering into the promises that are common to all seven churches in Revelation are an ability to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches and the ability to overcome. We live in a world inundated with constant sound, voices from every area pulling upon our attention, drowning out what God is wanting to speak to us to enable us to overcome and come into the abundant life Jesus has provided for us.

In I Kings chapters 17 and 18 there had been no dew nor rain in Israel for three years and there was “severe famine.” God had supernaturally provided for Elijah with ravens that brought him bread and meat and a widow who only had a “handful of flour” and “a little oil jar.” Elijah came into this supernatural provision in famine because of his ability to hear the voice of God in the midst of insurmountable challenges and the courage to obey that voice. But God’s plan was not only to provide for Elijah, but to use Elijah to impact a nation.

In chapter 18, Elijah calls down fire from heaven, kills the prophets of Baal and then in verse 11 makes a startling pronouncement to Ahab: “Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” There has not been rain nor dew in three years, there is not a cloud in the sky or even a hint of rain, yet Elijah hears what others do not hear, he hears the sound not of a little rain but the sound of abundance of rain. While Ahab eats and drinks, Elijah prays in what he has heard in the Spirit. Seven times he bows down and prays, six times he sends his servant to look and there is nothing, but the seventh time the servant sees “a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea.” Elijah leaps into action and outruns Ahab’s chariot to Jezreel in the midst of pouring rain.
To survive, overcome, and lead in today’s world, we need to hear what others do not hear. If all we do is listen to what others say, what we see on the news or read on the internet, magazines or books, we are simply being influenced by voices around us whether good or bad. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Our ability to act with faith and confidence even in the midst of drought and famine is rooted in our ability to clearly hear the voice of God and to pray it into reality.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.” God has hidden manna for you to eat today if you will shut off the shouting voices of the world and get into God’s presence. For those who hear and overcome there is also a new name that “no one knows except the one who receives it.” A name in Bible times defined identity. God has a new identity for you that does not come from this world, no one can give it to you, and no one knows it but God. He wants to reveal it to you if you, will hear His voice and respond in faith and obedience.