Power Of Shouting

Key Scripture:  "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, "Shout!"  Joshua 6:10

Power Point:

Usually God is going to stretch us in the process of answering our prayers.  We ask for wisdom and sometimes some very strange ideas pop into our heads. Events change so that what we asked for becomes “unseeable” and seemingly impossible.

     Years ago, my husband and I had been Christians for only a few months.  We were basking in the glow of that new relationship and one night my husband said, " I haven't offered God my job for His blessing." We did that.  Two weeks later, he was getting ready to go to work the next morning and his company called him and told him that they were downsizing and his services would no longer be required.  Dennis was their top salesman.  Because of the recession, they could not afford to pay him what he was worth. Following the shock, and the fear, and obvious confusion, we began to dig into the Word with greater intensity, especially in the area of faith. For the next three months, Dennis found employment at an Exon Car Care Center.  They loved him.  He was in line to become manager, even though they knew he was looking for other

employment. When we offered God that job, we were sure he was just going to increase Dennis's sales, but God had a better idea!  The day we "lost" our job,

we "found" out how to walk in faith. It wasn't what we "saw" that mattered. It was WHO we saw that mattered. That was one of the most extraordinary times of our spiritual lives.  We asked for increase and we were literally taken down to nothing. Eventually, God led us to start our own company, which led to that increase which was above and beyond what we ever could have envisioned. You see, our eyes were still trained to look around us, and God knew that we needed to learn to live life by looking to the kingdom within us. 

     One of the chief failings of the children of Israel was that they always looked around them, not above them.  They looked at their circumstances. They looked at the giants. They looked at each other.  On their first battle into the Promised Land,  God gave them a very strange strategy for war.  Shut up and march.  Can you imagine the cat-calls from the enemy on the walls of Jericho?  Seven days.  Seven silent marches.  Really?  God knew He would have no problem in taking the city with brute strength.  He'd done it before and He'd do it again. The key thing here was to get His children to listen to Him, to stop complaining about His methods, and to walk by faith. 

He gave them a very strange battle plan. Wait on His direction. Walk.  And don’t say a word!

The result?

"And it happened that when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the walls fell down flat…and they took the city. "

     You may be marching around some walls today, wondering why God's strategy is so strange.  Could I give you some advice?  Wait.  Walk.  And unless your mouth is filled with praise and thanksgiving, Shut up! God has the perfect plan.  At the exact right moment, at the exact right time you will hear His voice telling you the way He needs you to walk. He'll tell you when to shout.  And you will see the walls that barricaded your promises fall down flat. God is working ALL things for your good in this process. He's got a better idea. 

Wait.

Walk.

And if your mouth is not filled with praise and thanksgiving...well, you know.

Power Thought:

"This peculiar march, day after day, with no apparent result, was a test of their obedience and trust."  NSFB.

Wait expectantly.
Walk by faith.
It’s all over but the shouting!

Copyright (c) 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

Power Of The Critique

Key Scripture: "Jesus said, "Forsake the habit of criticizing and judging others, and then you will not be critized and judged in return. Don't look at others and judge pronounce them guilty, and you will not experience guilty accusations yourself." Luke 6:37

Power Point:

     I was recently part of an event to acquaint people with a ministry I'm  part of.  It was a LOT of  hard work. As you  may expect, the last two weeks were chaotic, frenzied, and harried as we realized the things we had forgotten to do, and realized the things we hadn't known that we should do.

     After the event, the Board members met to rehash the day and discuss what we thought. The idea was to critique the event, which, to my mind, means  that you applaud the good, and learn from the mistakes.  It's very easy to cross the line from critiquing to criticising isn't it?  Before we knew it, we were submerged in negative comments.  They seemed to feed on each other. The interesting thing is, that following that day, we have received so many compliments; so much praise for a job well done. The results of God's blessing on that day have become very obvious.

     Critiquing can be a good thing. We have to make sure that in the process of analyising or evaluating something we don't simply become critics. The dictionary says that a critic is someone  who tends too readily to make captious, trivial, or harsh judgments; one who is a  faultfinder.

If we are in the Spirit, when we analyze then we are not just looking for the faults, we're looking for a resolution.  If we are in the flesh then we will be harsh, narrow-minded, and always focused on the flaws, the faults and the shortcomings.

     Beloved, the Lord will allow you to see the places in other people's lives where they may be missing the fullness of His life in them.  He wants you to intercede for them so that they won't miss any part of all that He has for them.  It is not your job to point out their

faults. He's actually already aware of them.  It is your job to abide in His loving heart, and pray from that heart that those who are missing the mark will be restored.       

     In fact, in Galatians 6, He says, "If you see a believer who is overtaken with a fault, (a mistake) and has fallen from the place of victory, may the one who overflows with the Spirit, seek to restore him to Christ.  Win him over with gentle words which will open his heart to you, and will keep you from exalting yourself over him."

"Love empowers us to fulfill the law of Christ as we carry each other's troubles."

That's how we "critique"in the Spirit.

We overflow with the Spirit. 

We seek restoration for them.

We win them over with gentle words.

We do not consider ourselves above them.

We love from Christ's heart of love within us.

If you've been a faultfinder, or a critic, perhaps you might want to re-think your approach. How is that working for you?

The Bible says that it just won't work, and unfortunately, you release that same attitude back into your own life. Whatever you sow, you will reap. What is it that you want to reap? I choose love, don't you?

Power Thought:

 Jesus quoted this proverb:  "What happens when a blind man pretends to guide another blind man?  They both stumble into a ditch."

We are supposed to be blinded by love?

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work

The Power To Choose Life

                THE POWER TO CHOOSE LIFE

In the book of Deuteronomy, God lays out the blueprint of His plan for our lives.  He is very detailed in what the choices are.  We can choose life and live under the Blessing of God, or we can choose death and live under the curse. There is not a third choice.  If you haven't chosen life,  you've chosen death. If you don't vote, you are voting death by default.

Tomorrow we have the choice to go to the polls and choose life. Each person running for office in this country has chosen a platform.  No matter what that person says or does in their campaigns, they are representing that platform.

In our Declaration of Independence, the founders made the role of government very clear. They understood that there was a Creator, and that He had given to us certain "inalienable", (God-given) rights.  The purpose of government is to protect those rights. The people we elect to office must stand on a platform that protects those rights.

Our job is to be salt and light on the earth. When we don't "choose", don't vote for godly leadership, or don't pray for godly leadership, we are still choosing by default.  We are choosing death.

              "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when a                            wicked man rules, the people groan."

                                            Proverbs 29:2

Here are some facts that may interest you:

Only 16% of the electorate elect the president.

Only one out of eight voters elect their senators and governors.

Seven out of eight Americans did not choose the present administration.

In the last presidential election, many people were frustrated and apathetic. They simply didn't vote. Beloved, when you don't vote, you are still casting your vote by default. You're not standing for what God stands for. You're not fighting for your rights. You're not using the choice He has given you to live in blessing.

When you sign a contract, you need to know what is in it, don't you?  When you go to a polling booth, you need to know which party that candidate supports and whether they will defend your inalienable rights, the ones that God gave you.  It is not the job of the government to supply you with happiness.  God is our source for every good thing.. It is government's job to defend your right to be free, to pursue happiness, and worship that amazing God.

God has given us the right to live in a nation that protects His purposes and plans to bless His people.  Will you be a good steward of that choice? It takes only a few moments to Google the Party platforms and be informed. Which one will protect the rights to life, the right to worship your God freely, and maintain your right to pursue happiness as a result of those rights.

The people we elect tomorrow will select the next judges in the land. 

Justice depends on that.

The people we elect tomorrow will make the laws that govern us, and determine whether we are a people of God, or a godless people. 

Blessing depends on that.

It is YOUR God given right and responsibility to CHOOSE LIFE.  Will you? 

Will you stand for what God stands for? Will you take a stand for LIFE?

Know what you are voting for:

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Democrat_vs_Republican

2 Chronicles 7:14

When I shut up the heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to deour the land, or send pestilence among MY People,

If MY people:

Humble themselves and pray,

Seek MY face,

Repent,

THEN:

I WILL:

Hear from heaven,

Forgive their sin,

Heal their land.

Isaiah 1:18

Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord.

Though your sins be as scarlet,

They shall be white as snow…

If you are willing and obedient,

You shall eat the GOOD of the land.

Allow the Children to come unto Me.  Jesus. Matthew 19:18

Support the right of children to pray and read their Bibles in school.

And God formed man and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.  Genesis 2:7

Support the right to life for every person.

This (woman) is now bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh…Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  Genesis 2:23,24

Support the God-designed, and blessed marriage between a man and a woman.

If you would like to learn more about what the Bible says about God’s plans for us, you will be blessed by the last two weeks of programming on Kenneth Copeland, Believers Voice of Victory.

http://www.kcm.org

Choose Life Beloved. 

Power Of What Jesus Does

Key Scripture:

Power Point:

     When I am blasted with unkindness and unforgiveness, it hurts.  It's not something I am used to.

     What I love knowing about Jesus is that He gets down to where I've been tossed on the ground and He speaks words of admonition, love and grace, and comfort.  His kindness flows over the wounds of unkindness and heals them.  His grace and mercy put me back on my feet, and back into life,                                                                 arm in arm with Him. 

     Do you remember when Jesus looked Peter in the eye and told him that Satan would be trying to tempt him?  Then, after Peter had betrayed Jesus, Jesus looks Peter in the eye, again. Without a word being spoken, Peter is convicted.   He knows the magnitude of his betrayal.  This was his friend, and this was the Son of God.  How wonderful it must have been when after the resurrection, Jesus makes sure that Peter knows he is welcome, and wanted.  "And be sure to tell Peter to come."

     That's what Jesus always did. That's what Jesus always does.  He accepts us, and admonishes us with the most extraordinary grace. And then it’s over; really, really over. He won't mention it again. He's the loudest cheerleader on the side-lines of your life urging you to run your race-and help you to win it. He jumps into the race with you and laughs and says, "Come ON, _________, you can do this!  We've got this!" I'm in it with you.  And I never lose.  LET'S RUN!"

     Do you remember the sack races where you stood side by side with a friend and each of you put a leg into a burlap sack?  You had to learn to run together in order to win. You couldn't run on the strength of your own legs, you had to develop a trust and a rhythm to run together to win the race.  That's what Jesus does with us. He is stronger, but He wants to develop a rhythm with you so that you can run just as He does. And win.

     From the side-lines you can hear all the clouds of witnesses cheering you on.  Those witnesses have experienced exactly what you have experienced. They've failed. They've sinned.  They’ve fallen from grace, but Jesus got back in the race with them too.  That's why they're cheering so loudly.  They KNOW from personal experience how Jesus does things. That's the real cause for celebration isn't it?

      He does not condemn you.  It's not His nature.  He simply says, "Go and sin no more."   Get back into your rhythm with the King of kings.

     Run past your accusers.  They seem very unimportant compared to Jesus, don't they?  Run past your sin.  Looking at it now, through Jesus's eyes, it only makes you love Him more as you realize how He has dealt with it. You still have hope. You still feel loved.  In fact, if you asked Him today about the sins you committed yesterday, He would say, 'Huh?  I don't remember." Maybe that's one reason He's full of joy all the time.

He loves setting people free.  That's what Jesus does.

     Jesus is full of grace and mercy.  You can't upset Him or keep Him from accomplishing His purposes in you.  He knows that when you finally give up on your own self-efforts at righteousness, you'll come to Him and be transformed by his grace and mercy. Beloved, you'll be astonished at the party He throws for you.

Power Thought:

Jesus has always planned a flourishing finish for you. That's just what Jesus does.   Philippians 1:6

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work