Power Of Dams

Key Scripture:  Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way.  (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive).

John 7:38

Power Point:

     My friend, Julie and I were talking together yesterday about a recent ministry time.  We both had experienced “troubling” things right before we got in to the car to go to minister to someone.  The Lord has been talking to us at great length about “Worship”  and “declaring His promises”. We made a definite commitment to do just that. So our entire time in the car was spent singing and praising and stirring up God’s promises out loud and with great vigor! We did not make one mention of our difficulties.

     Later, as we made our way home, we were discussing how “easy” this Sozo time was; how beautifully everything had flowed and how the Holy Spirit had brought such revelation. It didn’t take us long to figure out why. We had set aside our problems and embraced the Presence of God and made Him Lord over our problems.

    This week I heard someone say that "Faith is a channel".  And it is isn’t it? If you look up the word “channel”, it means to “direct something in a particular direction.  To form a “groove”.   In other words, you make a groove for water to flow.

     Julie was telling me that on part of their land they were having a problem with standing water.  In the last year or so the power company had taken heavy equipment on their property to destroy a beautifully built, STRONGLY built beaver dam on a neighboring property. As a result of their work, water can’t flow on their land anymore. It just stands there.

     STANDING Water is water that stands still. It doesn’t flow. It doesn’t do anything. The longer it stands, the more it becomes, brackish, or ineffective.  Unless you channel  that water-unless you direct it into the right groove, it will never do what it was meant to do. It causes problems for everything that lives around it.  Like Julie and her neighbors, the standing water on their land makes it very muddy. They can’t even walk there because their feet would sink in that mire. Now its up to the power company to figure out a way to get the water moving again. They have to find a new channel for all that water to flow.

    In the spiritual realm, we can dam up the power of all that Jesus died to give us.  Beloved, you’ve been made a joint-heir with Jesus. He’s given you a constant source of water that is full of LIFE, and full of power, to bring heaven to earth.  He’s given you His Holy Spirit to be on constant “go” mode in order to do what Jesus did; in greater numbers, and with greater power.

Have you thought about that?

     Is something damming up the flow of all that wonderful living water in your life? Why are you in a dry place?

Could it be fear or unforgiveness or a lack of passionately pursuing to understand all that you are in Jesus?

      Have you not been reading your manual on “Flowing Water for Dummies?” Ah. 

     The good news is that you can tear down that dam right this minute! Your very own personal Power Company, which includes your heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are ready to put on their hard hats, destroy those dams, and get the water re-directed and flowing again into every area of your life. They want it for you, even more than you want it for yourself.  Smith Wigglesworth once said, "God is more eager to answer than you are to ask."  I believe that.  Do you?

     Beloved, there’s no need for you to stay “dammed up”.  You can be "Powered UP!"! Let the power of God in you go to work for you and make a new channel for His life to flow. 

How can you help this project of dam destruction?

-Praise and worship are absolute keys to making the rivers flow again. They bring God on the scene. He inhabits our praises, remember?

 -Making your requests known to God and then receiving the answers.  BELIEVING that God is Who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.  For you. For always.

-Identify and search out what your manual says about how to flow in the Spirit.

-THINK on THESE things. The other things dam us up. Don’t give them the time of day. 

-Passionately pursue your inheritance.

Power Thought:

“May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so  that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with HOPE!” Romans 15:13, The Message

Flowing just seems like more fun doesn't it?

Power Of His Promises

Key Scripture: "Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the unchangeableness of His purpose..it is impossible for God to lie. This hope we have as an anchor to our soul."   Hebrews 6:17,18

Power Point:

“God is the one who puts the dream in your heart….He wants to AMAZE you with HIS GOODNESS.”   Joel Osteen

So, you’ve been obedient. You quit your job believing that God had something better in store for you.  Or perhaps you stepped out in faith and gave money to someone who needed it more than you do.  You’ve got a dream that’s based on the fact that God is good and He wants to amaze you and everyone else in your life with that goodness. But it hasn’t happened yet.  It doesn’t appear to be even close to happening.  What should you do?

Don’t take the easy way out and apologize for God.  Don’t shift your beliefs to compromise the power of God.  Don’t limit His desire to be wonderful in your life.

I was talking to someone the other day and I asked her if she had a “promise” for the situation she was in.  She said, “No, He never does that for me.”  Before I thought, the words flew out of my mouth, “How can you have faith if you don’t have a promise?” She said, “It’s hard.” Well, I should  think so!

     Beloved, God’s promises for you are the vehicle for your faith. If you don’t have any to hang on to, your faith will never grow up to be “amazing”.

His promises are the rainbows over our lives.  They are the glory of God’s goodness for us.   They are the hope for tomorrow; the foundation of our faith.

They express who HE is and what WE can become.

They wrap around us like a warm cloak on a cold day and protect us from the winds and the storms. 

They define His will perfectly.

They call out those things that be not until they are.

They secure our blessings. 

They ignite our faith.

They restore our heavenly perspective.

I have a promise for you today.  It should cover any situation you may find yourself in.

"God is for us."  Romans 8:31. Think about that.

     Wherever the enemy is trying to seed your thoughts with doubt about God’s goodness and His good plans for you, tell him to “Shut UP! Stupidhead!” and continue to declare and believe what is written.

That’s why He’s written His promises down for us in black and white. We have His word on every subject very clearly defined.  It is VERY near to us. His Word is in us and around us. It is alive and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword. What we believe about what He has said to us is what sets us free.

I heard someone say the other day, “My hope level is the indicator of whether I am believing lies or truth.”  If you are FIRMLY persuaded that God will keep His promises, then you are firmly anticipating good to come from your situation, in your situation and through your situation.

     You are firmly convinced that God will show up and do something wild and crazy. You refuse to limit your options. You keep on keeping your faith bright and sparkling.  You never, never, never give up! 

You take such joy and delight in His love for you that it does not occur to you that He would fail you. After all, He already gave you His Son in order that the enemies of your soul would be destroyed and the power of the gospel would never disappoint you.

So, pick yourself up.  Dust yourself off. Do NOT under any circumstances listen to the voice of the Enemy. Everything he says is a lie anyway.

Let the Truth set you free.  Indeed. 

Let hope arise, Beloved.  Again.  Because God is good and because He has amazing plans to surprise you with His goodness today.

Power Thought:

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…”  Colossians 3:16

If His word is very near, then He is very near.

Power Of Just Perfect

Key Scripture: "The God who arms me with strength, and He makes my way perfect." Psalms 18:32 NLT

Power Point:

      Being perfect is not something I can identify with.  As far as I can tell, there is nothing perfect about me! My nose is not perfect.  I can’t see without my glasses.  Sometimes, (rarely, of course), I have negative thoughts and find myself letting them spill out of my mouth.  Sometimes I have a few too many inches on my hips or those little brown spots appear as if by magic on my face. My mirror does not reflect perfection. How about you?

     Would the people in your life be the first to say, “She or he is just perfect! They never do a wrong thing or say a wrong word." Possibly not.

    Aren’t you excited to know that there is someone who thinks you are just perfect for Him?  Isn’t it wonderful to know that there is someone who loves to be with you all the time, and never sees a spot or a wrinkle or a flaw. Beloved, you are flawless to your heavenly Father.  You are absolutely and unqualified perfection in Him. Why?  Because Jesus is perfection.  Because Jesus took away all your sin you are perfect now- not tomorrow or the next day-but NOW.  You probably don’t feel perfect. Your mirror, like mine, may not reflect perfection, but dear one, He sees you with different eyes.  Your imperfections are only possibilities for Him. He sees the finished product.

     The first thirty years of Jesus life were perfection. Then came that glorious day when God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. That day all the perfection of being a God/man was released in abundance.  From that point on, the powerful anointing of God changed everything.

One moment He was just perfect and the next moment He was propelled with the Perfect Power to pursue His destiny. From that moment He went about doing good and healing the sick and raising the dead. Because He could. Because the Holy Spirit made a difference in Him, and because it was God's perfect plan for Him. 

     The power of God transformed Jesus. You can see that it was a process, just as it is with us. Jesus did not raise people from the dead at the age of two. He GREW into His calling. But He was still perfect. God said so.

     Did you know that you have the same power available to you that Jesus had?  You are already perfect in God’s eyes if you have given your life to Jesus. Are you ready for the next step? Are you ready to run your race with POWER?  

     The Holy Spirit is the power of perfection in our lives.  He’s Jesus’ best gift to us. Perfection without power is "just" perfect. Perfection WITH Perfect Power is the role model Jesus has given us.

Power Thought:

You are perfect for Him.  You ARE perfect for Him.  You are perfect for Him. You are perfect FOR Him. You are perfect for Him. 

You are perfect for Him, just perfect.

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  Matthew 5:48

Power Of "Unto The Lord"

Key Scripture: “Whatever you do, put your whole heart and soul into it, as into work done for God, and not merely for men-knowing that your real reward, a heavenly one, will come from god, since you are actually employed by Christ, and not just by your earthly master.”  Colossians 3:23, Phillips.

Power Point:

     Can you imagine yourself walking into heaven and seeing a huge video screen playing a movie of your life? Everyone in heaven is sitting in comfortable seats with their popcorn and drinks enjoying the playback of your life.  There is laughter and there are tears and at the end everyone applauds.

I was thinking today about the apostle Paul.  I was chewing on some of his words and then I thought how my life had been changed by those anointed words. Can you imagine his surprise when he entered into his heavenly reward and on a large screen, everything he had said, and done is being displayed for everyone to see?  Now he can see two thousand years beyond his death and how people’s lives are still begin transformed by his writings.

Imagine how he felt when he realized that HIS words were inspired by Holy Spirit and are the foundation of Scripture in the New Testament as we know it.

“But they were just letters.

But those were simply the thoughts I was having at the time.

I never imagined…"

     What is the “daily” thing that you are doing right now?  What is the everyday, sometimes boring, sometimes mundane thing that you are working out in your life?  Can you imagine that someday, when you get to heaven, and look back with Jesus over your life, that the very things you just “did”, that you thought were routine, were a part of God’s plan to change people’s lives?

Could I encourage you in the “everyday”?  Could I promise you that ALL the things that you have done “unto the Lord” will be flourishing long after you have gone? All the giving, all the praying, all the acts of faith-will live beyond you. All the difficult places that you pushed through will make sense.

What you leave behind today, will still be flourishing tomorrow.

The processes that you are struggling with here will be testimonies in heaven.

     

     Blake Healey, in his book “The Veil “ gives us a vivid account of how important everything we do “unto the Lord” is viewed in heaven.

Blake says, “The words we speak in the physical realm move mountains and bend destinies in the spirit realm.  Here you encourage someone; there you give the tools to climb out of a pit.  Here you lay your head on someone’s shoulder; there you’re marking a life for blessing.  Here you say a simple prayer; there the hosts of heaven receive their battle commands.  Here you sing a pretty song; there you stand in the throne room of God releasing glory to the king of all kings.  Here you drop a check in an offering bin; there you set your crown at His feet.  On Earth you pray for a sick person; in Heaven you are a co-heir with Christ pouring the bounty of His kingdom on His children.”

     Beloved, when Holy Spirit nudges you here, He’s got a heavenly plan.

Someday you’ll understand.  For now, simply obey, in faith, believing.

Your life matters to Him. The daily acts of obedience and faith, matter to Him. They are charging up heaven with heavenly dynamite because in some way you are bringing heaven to earth. Your words and your actions matter.  You may not see it today, but trust me, someday you will.  On a big heavenly screen. With a standing ovation.

Power Thought:

Doing all things as unto the Lord mean that all things work together for good, forever. so put your heart and soul into it.