|
Courage or Discouraged? Dis – To separate from. To be discouraged is to be separated from courage. What is Courage? The strength of purpose that enables one to withstand fear or difficulty. Physical courage is based on moral courage-a reliance on the presence and power of God and a commitment to His commandments If we become discouraged we become separated from the strength of purpose that enables us to withstand fear or difficulty. This happens when we disconnect from the presence of God. Discourage: To prostrate; hence, to break down, either (literally) by violence, or (figuratively) by confusion and fear. We lay down and give up! Three things that cause discouragement: Violence Confusion Fear What Is Our Assignment? Our assignment is to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this city and to the world. Violence, confusion and fear are all from Satan. We can not let one of his devices stop us! Here’s what the Lord says… Deut 2:36b What did God say to Joshua? No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Psalm 44:1-8 What Is God Saying To Us? He is saying He has assigned us to this city. Our assignment is to win this city for Him. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 Our Declaration… We declare that we see the Glory of God resting upon our city. We declare that we see the salvation of God setting the sinner free. We declare that we see sickness, poverty and all the works of the enemy driven away. We Declare We See… Addictions broken Demons driven out The Gospel Of Jesus Christ Sets The Captive Free! Do Not Become Discouraged…Be Encouraged! Where there has been barrenness there will be births… Where we have plowed, watered and sown there will be harvest. 2 Timothy 1:6-7 Don’t let go of your courage. Stir up the gift of God in you.
Courage is the strength of purpose that enables one to withstand fear or difficulty. Physical courage is based on moral courage which is a reliance on the presence and power of God and a commitment to His commandments. It is the moral convictions we hold in our hearts that causes us to stand boldly and courageously in the face of danger, spiritual as well as natural. Philippians 4:13 Joshua 1:1-5 Jesus said the same thing to the disciples: Matthew 28:19-20 Joshua 1:8-9 Because God is with us we can do whatever is put before us. Our success is based on the presence of God in our lives. Our courage is not natural, but supernatural. God told Joshua to not let the word depart from his mouth. He also told him to meditate on the word. What you meditate on is what you will speak. Speaking the word will build your faith. Faith will cause you to stand with courage Our courage, our boldness is based upon the Word of God. If the Word says we can, then we can! Confession of faith… I am what the word says I am. I can do what the word says I can do. I have what the word says I have. More on this topic coming soon. Be Blessed!
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful. Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army. In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.- 2 Chronicles 3,5,8,11-15 His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful. But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. -2 Chronicles 26: 16-19,21 Isaiah had an encounter with God that changed His life. That encounter with God had a direct effect on Israel. When the presence of God came Isaiah’s first words were… "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips." The presence of God shook the temple, filled it with smoke or cloud, and brought the fire of God to burn up the impurities of Isaiah’s words That encounter propelled him into his ministry to Israel… Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Facts Regarding An Encounter With God Unscheduled by Man The word encounter conveys the idea of an unforeseen meeting. When Isaiah went to the temple that day, he had no idea that something life-changing was about to happen. The Presence of God Will Come “Suddenly” Man can not schedule a suddenly of God. We cannot manipulate this kind of experience, but we do have something to do with it. We need to be hungry for Him and put ourselves in a position for Him to encounter us. Still Happening Today Bible accounts describe God having unexpected, life-changing interactions with people. Since the Lord never changes, He continues to deal with humanity in powerful, unanticipated ways. Our hunger for Him, our pursuit of Him, our faith in Him attracts Him What Hinders An Encounter With The Lord? Too Many Distractions We need to position ourselves and hunger for Him. When He comes in a dramatic way it will produce in you an overwhelming awareness of His presence. When you encounter God there will be an awareness of His holiness. When the Lord appeared to Isaiah, He was accompanied by angelic beings who covered their faces and feet in utter reverence for His absolute purity and perfection. They cried out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." This glimpse into the spiritual realm overwhelmed Isaiah with an awareness of God’s glory and holiness. Too often we attempt to bring Him down to our level, but an encounter with God opens our eyes to recognize His holiness and we elevate to His way of being. Think about it. Every great leader in the Bible is someone who had a Life-Changing encounter with God! The apostle Paul was transformed from a legalistic Pharisee into an anointed Apostle of Christ, why? An encounter with Jesus! One God encounter changed timid Gideon into a warrior leader. A burning bush encounter with God changed Moses from a directionless shepherd into a leader of millions. Their vision, their faith, their authority, and their anointing all came from an encounter with the presence of God! The Apostle John had a post-resurrection encounter with Jesus that gave us the book of Revelation: After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. -Revelation 4: 1-2 This Is An Invitation!
The door is now open in Heaven. Jesus is the door. (John 10:9) The door to Heaven has been open since Jesus reconciled us to the Father. That’s an invitation to all of us! Immediately, John was “in the Spirit”, going farther into an amazing God encounter. Every Bible passage is an open door – an invitation – to your next encounter with God. Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."- Matthew 7: 7-8 Be Blessed, Pastor Dave
The Presence Of God Will Command A Response There are two responses shown in this verse: The Pharisees Response The Disciples Response The Pharisees response is to not acknowledge Him and to stop anyone who does acknowledge His presence. They said “rebuke your disciples”. A religious spirit opposes the passionate cry of heart felt worship. The disciples joyfully shouted with a loud voice. They made much to do about Jesus coming into Jerusalem. Jesus did not stop them and He still to this day inhabits the praises of His people. Mark 10:46-52 The gospel has been watered down so much that it is normal for the church to go through the motions and never have a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Confession: Father, I Will Praise You With My Whole Heart, I Will Follow You With All My Strength, And All My Might And All That Is Within Me. The disciples response is to erupt in praise and worship and cry out His Name and magnify His glory. 1. We must respond to the presence of God with praise and worship 2. We must respond to the word of God with verbal acceptance as well as accepting it into our spirit. 3. We must respond to the gifts of the Spirit when the gifts are in operation. If you don’t respond because you are too embarrassed, or shy, you cut yourself off from your victory. Sometimes a word of knowledge is given and the Holy Spirit does not prompt us to have you come down front for prayer. That is because the person the word was for is receiving with their faith. Sometimes we ask you to come to the front so we can lay hands on you, this is because the Holy Spirit is going to manifest another gift like the working of miracles or gifts of healing. When the gifts are flowing, faith is flowing as well, learn to respond quickly to the Holy Spirit. The greater the response the greater the manifestations of the Spirit. This is what the Lord says: Where is the house of Isaiah 66:1? Hebrew word for house means family… Resting place… Matrimony… Abode… The resting place or the house God is looking for is a place of relationship as in a marriage, a family. When we live our lives with Him in deep relationship, His presence will have a great effect on our lives. The more we are In His Presence the more His presence purges us of our weaknesses So repent (change your mind and purpose)turn around and turn (to God) that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean) The only way the Holy Spirit will come and move among us is if we welcome Him. Stephen said… "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!" The word resist is from a Greek word “To Oppose." It is derived from 2 Greek words. One means to substitute and the other means to fail or to fall. If the Holy Spirit is resisted, He is opposed. When He is opposed there will be a substitute. When He is substituted then man is in charge. When man is in charge man controls what happens. When we welcome the Holy Spirit to have His way, we submit to God’s plan. and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.-Revelation 1:6 NKJV Kings Rule. Priests Minister. We rule and reign with Him and minister to Him with our worship. Our ministry to Him is called waiting on Him. We don’t wait to see what He does before we do something. We worship Him and seek Him and He will move. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” -Acts 13:2 NKJV Ministered= worship, obey.
Texts for further study on this topic include: Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:13-14, Psalm 130:5, Isaiah 30:18, Habakkuk 2:1-14 Be Blessed! Pastor Dave |
AuthorPastor Dave White is Senior Pastor of WOLCC, founded in April of 1995. Archives
November 2015
Categories |
RSS Feed