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Angels and Demons VIII, “Realtionship between demonic access, prayer, and fasting” Bible Study 11/03/10

Posted on November 5, 2010 by growintheword

Angels and demons VIII

Relationship between demonic access, prayer, and fasting

Synopsis of Bible Study 11/03/10

Delivered By Bishop Walker II

Remember we asked you what are your 3 greatest struggles were. We also asked how they manifested themselves (the struggles), how they affected your core values, and who is to blame these manifestations. Having said this, it is important to note that they are access points and the devil wants to get into those access points in order to control us. The devil’s main objective is to prevent God’s will from manifesting in our lives. The Devil knows what God wants to do in and through us and he wants to prevent that from happening.

Attacks

Ephesians 2:2 says ²Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: – Translation; We remember what we used to be. We might not know what caused our behavior at the time, but we remember what we used to be. Now that we have come into revelations by God’s word, we identify that maybe this was a spirit. Demons have been attacking our life and thank God we are not that same person, but we remember how we used to be. So now, when we see people act like we used to, we are compassionate instead of judgmental, because we recognize that it is a spirit. They may not be aware of it, but because we are living in revelation we know it is the same spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience. Satan’s object again is to prevent God’s will from manifesting in our lives.

1. Satan has been opposed to everything that promotes God from the very beginning. Isaiah 14:13-14 says ¹³For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. –In this scripture, Satan says he is going to be like God. He understood God was getting the worship and he wanted to prevent this and have the worship go to himself.

2. When Jesus was sent to the earth, this is the purest of the glory of God. God’s will was that Jesus to come and save us from our sins. Consequently Matthew 2:16 says ¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. – When Herod felt he was being mocked, because they the Wisemen wouldn’t tell him where Jesus was, he decided to kill all the males. Satan wants to keep God’s will form coming to past.

3. Satan has no problem when you are his side, but when you are saved, this is when the controversy comes in.

4. Satan attacks the intellectual through mysteries.2 Corinthians 11:14 says ¹⁴And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. -Satan knows that you will recognize him if he comes at you straight up, so he packages himself to look like he is from God, so that he can gain access. You ask how intellectual people drink cyanide and get caught up into cults? It is because he Satan appeared as an angel of light.

5. Satan attacks those who are unlearned or without knowledge. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says ³For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: ⁴(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) – What is the root word of imaginations? It is images. What are images? They are pictures that must be developed in dark places. In other words they need a dark room experience to be developed. The devil wants to create images in your mind and in your life to defy what your reality is going to be. Ex-Things don’t look right in our life, but we don’t walk by sight, we walk by faith. The Devil is visual and God is audible. If faith comes by hearing and hearing by word of God, we must not allow the images Satan is showing us to take control of our life. Ex-If you are not careful, Satan will have you thinking the church hates you, because no one hugged you during visitation time. They are just images that Satan is showing you. You have to be careful.

6. For the religious person, the devil attacks through religious systems. 2 Timothy 3:5 says ⁵Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. –These are people that look like church (throw together theological phrases and put on religious garments), but they don’t have the power to back it up. It is just a mirage.

7. We must get a picture that transcends our situation. Corinthians 4:4 says ⁴In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. -This word gives a picture of your destiny. This picture spoken into your life must transcend the image the devil is trying to show you. If the devil can blind your mind, you will sit there and believe that what is being proclaimed by the word over life as being impossible due to your current circumstances. You will think the message isn’t for you.

4 major sins of Satan

1. Four major sins of Satan is lying, murder, malice, pride. John 8:44 says ⁴⁴Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

a. This scripture references the lying and murdering.

b. Malice means to cause physical harm.

c. Pride is exalt oneself above God or to get the bighead. .

Areas of access points

1. Remember last week we talked about being careful about what we open our spirits up to and we references Deuteronomy 18:10-14 where is says ¹⁰There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. ¹¹Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. ¹²For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. ¹³Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. ¹⁴For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.- Now we will put these things into perspective.

a. Use of Divination – A person who is a fortuneteller. This is an access point for the devil. When you mess with this, you are opening your spirit up to Satan. Prophesy don’t cost anything, it is free. Fortunetellers are nothing but prophets gone wild. The gift of prophesy is true, but when it goes demoniac, it manifests as fortune telling.

b. Observer of times – This is the use of horoscopes.

c. Enchanter– It is a Sorcerer or magician. It is one who has spirits and demons at their command.

d. Witch– A woman who is compact with the devil and practices sorcery and enchantment. It is the Spirit of witchcraft which is also an act of disobedience.

e. Charmer-One that attracts with affection. It manifests in a Jezebel spirit (this is not just a female spirit). This is one who uses charm to seduce power for position or self game.

f. Consulter with familiar spirits-one that asks counsel or information with familiar sprits.

g. Wizard– This is a male version of a witch (black magic).

h. Necromancer-Those that try to commune with the dead.

Prayer

1. Everything we just shared all comes in at the outer-core. We have a question to ask. How many of you struggle with prayer regularly? We have an assumption. That assumption is that the majority of us who pray accumulatively at best commune with God 3 hrs a week. We are not talking about simple communications with God like “forgive me” or “Thank you for the food”. This is not communing/praying with God. When you really add up the time you commune with God undistracted it equates to about 3 hrs per week. Now take a look at your cell phone bill and notice how much time you spend communing and texting with others.

2. Why is it so difficult to pray? It is because prayer is difficult. Why is it when we try to pray, we get distracted? What is it that causes us to get sleepy when we pray? What is it about prayer that causes this? Prayer is that inner-core, the place where the spirit touches God. The devils objective is to prevent God’s will from manifesting in your life.

3. God’s will is manifested when you ask. When you seek it shall be found. Knock and door will be open. The reason you don’t have isn’t because you don’t ask, it is because you ask a miss. How do you feel when a person that hasn’t called you all year all of a sudden calls and asks for a hookup? Imagine then what God is saying. It is not that you aint asking, you are asking a miss. Satan then says he knows how to get us.

4. Why is it so difficult then for us that say we are spiritual? We take notes in church and attend church all the time. Why then when somebody asks us to pray, we can’t pray? How would you feel if your husband or wife had something to say to you, but wasn’t comfortable saying it, so they asked somebody else to ask you on their behalf? You don’t need any help asking your spouse anything, because you have intimacy. The point is we are not comfortable, because we don’t know what to say. Where is the intimacy? Like the Pharisees prayed in open to be seen, people have got us thinking that we are supposed to pray a certain way. Matthew 6:5-6 says ⁵And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ⁶But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. -Some people pray long every time, because it is their only time they pray with God. They have to be seen of men. The devil is trying to prevent the will of God from manifesting in your life.

Demon Exorcism

1. How a mute spirit attacks. Mark 9:14-17 says ¹⁴And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. ¹⁵And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. ¹⁶And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? ¹⁷And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; – Master in this scripture translates to teacher. A mute spirit is that spirit that says, I will attack you in a place where you won’t say anything. He will attack us in a way that causes us to turn it all in. You can’t beat this demon this way. This demon makes you withdraw, retreat, and convince yourself you can’t handle it on your own. This demon knows that in your inner-core, there is enough word to talk yourself out of it. If Satan mutes you, you will slip into depression.

2. Where ever you go, this spirit will tear you. Mark 9:18 says ¹⁸And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. – The boy’s father says this spirit tears his son. He has internal things that have not been reconciled. In this likeness, no matter where we go, we are torn from the inside out. It is making us manifest in ways that is not consistent to God’s will.

a. The mentioned in this scripture is yuck mouth – When you do talk, cursing comes out.

b. Gnashing of teeth- You are mad at everyone and suspicious of everyone. Everyone here is the person that has done you wrong in your mind. Now you are suspicious.

3. The man said he brought him to the disciples and they couldn’t help him. In like manner, we have these kinds of spirits, and we can’t do anything with them. Ex- Someone said, I love Jesus, but I can’t stand his wife. Who is Jesus wife? The church is his wife. People can’t stand Jesus’ wife (the church) because, she doesn’t speak, she is some timey, uppity, and doesn’t have any power. The father brought this demon to Jesus’ disciples, but why can’t we get this demon out? Exorcism is the power and authority within you to cast out what has got control of you.

4. Why can’t we exorcise our demons out of us? ¹⁹He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. ²⁰And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. -When the spirit got in front of Jesus, it foamed at the mouth and fell down on the ground, and start wallowing. Remember 2 Corinthians 4:4 says ⁴In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. – The devil wants you to see images so great that you doubt that God can change your situation. There is Jesus, the multitude, the boy’s father, the son with the dumb spirit, and the disciples. When the spirit gets in front of the Word (Jesus), he gets an audience to show up. The devil says if he can get the attention off of Jesus and onto himself, they won’t believe in Jesus’ power. This is the demon that wants to discredit God’s power and authority by manifesting and showing out. Ex- This is why everyone who you see shouting in the church is not of the Holy Spirit. Anything that distracts us from the word of God, is not of God, because the Holy Spirit and the Word work together. This demon has to show out. This demon will have you joining church every Sunday trying to exploit you..

5. Jesus wants to know how long this boy has been possessed. Mark 9:21 says ²¹And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. -Jesus raised this question to bring the boy’s father into accountability.

6. The father gets a revelation. Mark 9:22 says ²²And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. -The father gets a revelation by Jesus asking how long he has been like that. No one had ever asked him this before. You didn’t just get your struggle, you inherited it. You are not just fighting your demons, but somebody else’s demons. This is why the doctor wants your family history when you go to the doctor. The same is true in the spirit. If these demons attacked your mother and father, it is a strong possibility that they are coming after you too. This is why we bless babies.

7. Some demons are inherited. Mark 9:23 says ²³Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. -The reality is, whatever is wrong with his boy, is wrong with him. Believing is not what you see, it is what you know. Jesus never asked what he does. Jesus asked how long the boy had been like this. The father is locked on what he sees. Jesus reminds that if you can only believe that all things are possible, and then all things will be possible. This demon wants you to think all things aren’t possible. This demon will have you thinking that you will have to live the way you are living, but you don’t if you believe.

8. The father wants to believe. Mark 9:24 says ²⁴And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. – Now the father has moved from communicating to communing. The unbelief is not inside is our body and our mind, the outer-core. We believe what the Pastor says, but we start doubting when we step back into our situation.

9. This enemy is trying to set the stage to prevent God’s will to come into his life. Mark 9:25-26 says ²⁵When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. ²⁶And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.-Jesus orders him out and told him to never to come back. How many of you have no idea what an exorcism looks like? How many would tip out if one manifested right now? How many people have witnessed an exorcism? Ex-Bishop says he have seen demons on people while he was preaching. He explains that he sees so much when he preaching. Bishop says he sees all kinds of demons trying to distract him while he is preaching. Satan wants to distract your Pastor, because he knows that if the word your Pastor preaches comes forth, God’s will can be manifested in us. There are demonic manifestations in the people that even the unbeliever cannot deny. Ex – In 1995 rolled up on Jefferson. There are demons you wrote on your paper last week. They want to manifest. They may not make you get on the floor and foam at the mouth, but they still need an exorcism. Once they come out, you need to know what their response is going to be.

10. Demons want to harm you on the way out. In verse 26, the demon came out and the boy was as he was dead. Mark 9:26 says. ²⁶And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. Demons don’t come out quickly, they come out fighting. They come out wanting to inflict harm on the person they are in. When he comes out he wants to cause so much damage, you think you will not make it. Nobody says you’re not going to make it when you have a demon, but when that devil comes out they will say it, because the demon wants to leave you dead.

11. Jesus took him by the hand. Mark 9:27 says ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. –

12. They wanted to know why they couldn’t cast him out. Mark 9:28 says ²⁸And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? – We want to know the same. Why do we keep coming to church and can’t get right of this?

13. Jesus answers with a solution. Mark 9:29 says ²⁹And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. -Jesus is saying if you want this demon to come out, he is not coming out with our form and fashion of prayer. We have to learn how to fast and prayer together. Our spirit has to push through all that mess in our flesh, but if your flesh can submit through fasting, it will die. You will then fight from your spirit and not your flesh. Ex – Jesus asked the disciples to watch for one hour while he prayed, but they fell asleep. They fell asleep because of their flesh. When they came from Jesus, Peter cut the ear off of one the soldiers. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. You can’t deal with something in our flesh. When Jesus fasted 4 days and nights, the angels came and ministered to him. It is this point that you abstain, so God will sustain us. The flesh is saying got to have it, but your spirit will say he will sustain us. In this time, God will say, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that comes out of the mouth of God. If you submit to fasting (denying self of food), you are in such a place of communion so when you pray, you can fight a good fight the good fight of faith. Ex- In 1995 on Jefferson Street, Bishop Walker use to go and lock himself in the church at 10 at night and lay at the altar. He would be praying and fasting and before you knew it, he would look up and it would be 5 in the morning. What kind of person does this? It is a person who is not in the flesh. The real reason we can’t defeat the demons on us is because we are trying to pray with our cute prayers. This mute rebellious foolish spirit that we thought was a dumb spirit; Jesus called a dumb and deaf spirit. The reason he wasn’t the boy wasn’t talking was because he hadn’t been listening. Some demons can only be done away with fasting and praying. Some demons will only be exorcised form when you come to place with total dependency on God. You can kill them in your flesh. You have to let God do it, because you can’t!

Posted in Angels and Demons | Tagged Bible Study, Bishop Walker, demonic access, Direction, Encouragement, Faith, fasting, God, Mt Zion, prayer | Leave a comment

Breaking the Cycle Part V, “Breaking the cycle of immaturity” Sermon 10/31/10

Posted on November 5, 2010 by growintheword

Breaking the Cycle Part V

Breaking the cycle of immaturity

Synopsis of Sermon 10/31/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker II

Text: 1 Corinthians 13:11 ¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

The Christian journey is one of maturation. We mature or evolve and develop into what God’s intent is for our lives. It is a process by where we grow in order that we might be entrusted with more. God will never entrust us with what we do not demonstrate the ability to handle. There are many people who have chosen to resist the process, because of their level of commitment and dedication which results from their lack of spiritual maturity. You would be amazed of those that want the benefits of being a Christian, but don’t want the responsibility. Much like this, there are people that want the benefits of being with us, but don’t want the responsibility that goes with it. We live in world where people are fascinated by fantasy and fiction. This makes it easy to stay immature and to play around, because risk stimulates carnality. This explains why people are so reckless in life and why people are so careless. Some people go through life and play with other folks life, because they are playing with their own life. This is important, because a person that is immature is literally content with talking the part of a Christian, looking the part of a Christian, but they are not at a point where they can be the part that God has called us to be as Christians.

Look at Jesus when he enlisted the disciples. This is really the process of discipleship. Jesus says, “I am taking you from where you are”. Jesus knows where they are, but he says to them that if they follow him, there is an evolution that is going to take place within their lives. In other words, they are going to become something they otherwise would never have become had they not followed him. There are certain indicators and certain tests that measure our levels of maturity. Every now and then, God will give us a test not to show him where we are, but so that we may know where we are. The rate at which a person can mature is directly proportioned to the embarrassment they can tolerate. This is why Paul shares with the church of Corinth who were known for being immature. Paul shares that God wants to break this cycle of immaturity in our life. There is so much that God wants to do in and through us, but many of us are still playing church. We don’t pray the way we ought to for instance. It just becomes some ritual to us and there is no sincerity in what we do. As a result, when we go through crisis, we find out that our ritual (of praying) really doesn’t have the power to get a breakthrough. God says it is time for all of us to reevaluate our lives, our crowds, and the places that we hang out at and then we need to start reflecting on our spirit of maturity. It is really time for the church of at large to grow up. Some people are still depending on others to do for us what God has empowered us to do for ourselves. We have to get to a point where we are ready to grow up. We have to be determined to break this cycle of immaturity.

Paul in Corinthians 13:11b says ¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: – In other words when we was a child:

a. We communicated as a child. -What came out of our mouth was clearly immature stuff.

b. We comprehended life as a child – Our comprehension was based on what our spiritual maturity allowed us to comprehend.

c. We made conclusions as a child. – We never had the whole picture. So we went through life with a very distorted view of what life was supposed to be for us.

If we are going to break the cycle today, we are going to have to change our character.

I. Must Change your Character

1. Character is behavior on display. It is that virtue that makes us who we are. It is that thing that determines destiny.

2. God will only release the full magnitude of blessing upon those that have character. Gifts can get the blessing, but character allows you to keep it.

3. The text says when I was a child. Paul acknowledges that all of us go through seasons where we are just childish. Ex- Some people would like for you to believe that they were born with a tambourine in their hands and they came out speaking in tongues. They want you to think that they were always deep and spiritual, but the truth is all of us have been at the place that the next scripture talks about. Ephesians 2:3 says ³Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. – We were naughty by nature, because that was our childish way. You have to admit that all of us have been there, but you have to get to a point where you know the indicators of spiritual maturity.

4. Indicators of spiritual maturity:

a. You are a worrier– We worry too much. You will know when you are not in a place of maturity, because you worry yourself to death. You come and get a word and as soon as you get bad news you still worry about it. You up all night long and you can’t sleep or eat. You just got a worry demon on you all the time. This is a sign of immaturity. You got to remember what Philippians 4:6-7 says. It says ⁶Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ⁷And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.- In other words, when you grow up, you are able to sleep at night, because you don’t worry.

b. You’re a Whiner -Because you are a worrier, you become a winner. You are always complaining about something or another. It is never about you and always about everyone else. You whine about every single thing. This is that murmuring crowd Paul talked about in 1 Corinthians 10:10 where it says ¹⁰Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.- The point is this, murmuring is an indication of spiritual immaturity.

c. You’re a Wimp- Because you are whiner, you end up a wimp. You end up being a pushover. If you not mature, you look mature and you look spiritual, but really you are not. The Devil is not intimidated by you, because he knows it is just an act. This is why he comes at you like he does. He knows you are going to tuck your tail and run. You walking around pretending to be something that you are not. 2 Timothy 1:7 says ⁷For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – We are not a wimp!

5. Again in the text Paul says ¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child…We must understand that what we do determines who we are.

6. What we do determines who we are. When we say we are saved, there are certain things that we must outgrow. Grown people in the natural, don’t play in playpens. Ex – If you go McDonalds and you see a 20 yr old really playing with children in the pen (really playing, really sliding, really bouncing the balls), then you would say something is wrong with that person. We are like them, we are spiritual in God’s word full of the Holy Ghost, but look at some of the places we dwell. People are looking at us like we are out of our mind. You mean we haven’t got past this type of behavior yet? Paul says grow up!

7. Your character is on the line. The devil has a systematic way to attack our character, because he is after our destiny. Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, it becomes destiny. – In other words, watch what you think about, because if it sits there long enough, you will start speaking it and because you start speaking it, it won’t be long until you will talk yourself into it. Once you talk yourself into it and you get away with it, you think you can do it again developing habitual behavior and now all of a sudden it becomes a habit. Now that you have this habit, it defines what you are. For example, now you don’t just drink, you have become an alcoholic. You are being defined by your condition. Now that it starts affecting your destiny you are distracted from your destination. The real issue is, at the end of the day when you are sitting around, and if the Lord blesses you to be on this earth another for 90yrs or longer, when people define your life, what will be said about how you end up? What will be sum total of your character? Once you change your character, it puts a demand on changing your crowd.

II. Change your crowd

1. Changing character puts a demand on changing your crowd. You will realize that many problems we have has lot to do with the people we hang around. We are fine by ourselves most time, but we need a partner in crime. We need a coconspirator.

2. Paul says in the text, “¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, (I understood life as a child)”.

What this indicates is that a person that has difficulty choosing the right crowd of has:

a. Low self esteem – This thing allows us to live beneath the potential that God has for our life. In other words, we don’t have a clear understanding of who we are. As a result, we spend time with people and we want them to define and affirm us. If no one ever told us we was fearfully and wonderfully made, if no one told us that we were the head and not the tail, if no one told us that we were a royal priesthood and chosen generation, then we will attach ourselves to people based on our low self esteem. Ex – Though we don’t admit it, many of us have had low self esteem issues. We lived for the opinions of others. Why do you think people wear clothes they can’t fit in anymore? They are trying to get people to affirm who they are. When you are comfortable with who you are, you don’t need anybody to tell you how good you look and how smart you are. It is not about being arrogant; it is about being confident. We know who we are! We come against that spirit of low esteem, because if you have low self estee you will attach us to negative relationships for affirmation purposes.

b. Lousy environments – The environment gets crazy. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says ¹⁴Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? Amos 3:3 says ³Can two walk together, except they be agreed? – How do we end up in these lousy environments? How do we end up in these crazy places and end up living in error?

c. Living in error – In other words, our life is nothing but one big lie. Its true birds of feather flock together. Gossipers hang out together, crazy folk hang out together, and negative people hang out together. If all these type of people hang out together, then why do we hang out with them? Many of us who have folk in our lives that influence us to do what we wouldn’t ordinarily do. That’s really what being a young person is about. You can change a young person’s crowd and it will change their destiny. It’s about influence. Ex- This is why you got to be careful with new members when they join the church. You can get them around the wrong people and they will poison them. When you hang around a certain environment, it becomes your world view. You have to determine that you will not hang out with those who are negative because you understand what Psalm 1:1-6 says when it says ¹Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. ²But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. ³And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. ⁴The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. ⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. ⁶For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. – When we change our crowd we start changing.

3. When we change our crowd we change:

a. Purpose- We change our places, because everywhere we go has purpose. Know that every place you go is strategic and who we go with is strategic also. So we only go places that has purpose tied to it. This is why we wait to hear this Psalm 37:23 says ²³The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.- You can ask us all day to go with you, but if God hasn’t ordered us to go that way, it ain’t happening. We only go places where purpose is attached. For example Abraham left his homeland to go to a place that God told him, because purpose attached to it.

b. Productive– We only go places where we can be productive. We go places that add value not devalue.

c. Peace– We only go places where there’s peace. We don’t follow after drama. We have to declare we want to be where peace is. We realize that anyone outside the will of God will have nothing but drama or pain and foolishness to deal with. This is why we have to declare “Lord I want to be where peace is”. Isaiah 55:12 says ¹²For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. – God said he will lead us where peace is.

4. We got to change our crowd. When we change our character, it puts a demand on our crowd.

5. Many people say they are mature, but they do admit that they have some spiritual immaturity. We get a word and shout, but yet we worry all night long when bad news comes. Sometimes we worry, we whine, so we realize that we do need a character change. We will also admit that we know there are parasitic relationships that we know we should let go of. The truth is, we feel if we let them go, no one will pick those people up. We feel obligated. Know that if God allowed Jonah to be thrown off the ship, then that’s proof that there are those we can throw off of our ship until they grow up.

III. Change Course

1. How you end up is s a direct response to the course you choose to take. 1 Corinthians 13:11c says… but when I became a man, I put away childish things. – When we got revelation (apprehension of truth at your own level of comprehension) we put away childish things.

2. No matter what we use to be, we know we have a revelation that revealed to us the potential that is resident inside of us. Some people act the way they act, because they never got revelation.

3. It is not Gods desire for us to live beneath our promised potential. We get caught up in what feels good to us and we miss what is good for us? Paul says when he became a man or in other words when he came into revelation, he put immature things away. There is always an “a ha” moment in a message. Ex- In seminary, they tell you to always tell people your thesis or what you are trying to say, why you trying to say it, and this is what it has to do with you. We are going to now tell you what it means to come to a place of spiritual maturity.

4. How do you know when you are spiritually mature? You will know because it is the ability to stick with a job until it is finished, the ability to do a job without being supervised, the ability to carry money without spending it, and the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.- In other words, you stick to a job and finish it (i.e.-start school and finish it), we go to work and stay there the full time, even though we know our boss has gone for the day, we actually have money and don’t want to spend it at the next mall we pass, and to have been done wrong and actually not want to get even (for many of us, this is the hard one). Let’s break this cycle of immaturity.

Posted in breaking cycles, breaking immaturity | Tagged Bishop Walker, braking the cycle, Direction, Encouragement, Faith, God, immaturity, Mt Zion, Relationship, sermon | Leave a comment

Angels and Demons VI, “Relationships between angels and the Holy Spirit” Bible Study

Posted on October 22, 2010 by growintheword

Angels and Demons VI

Relationships between angels and the Holy Spirit

Synopsis of Bible study 10/20/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

There is a relationship between angels and the Holy Spirit that is of note. Angels are unseen messengers and they cooperate with the Holy Spirit for those who are saved. Angels attend to the death of the Saints. When saved people pass on, angels ferry us into the presence of the Lord. Luke 16:22 says ²²And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; – Bishop explained that he has been at a many of peoples besides while they transitioned (passed away). He explains that it appears that their eyes are fixed on something as if to be looking at something. Old people used to say they were looking at angels coming to get them. We don’t know if they really are, because Bishop said he never saw the angels himself and can’t verify it. However, we know angels ferry us from this world to the next.

Angels

Angels delivered the apostles from prison. Here are some terms we should remember.
1. Assignment
2. Anointing
3. Affliction
4. Angelic
5. Jesus chose 12 Disciples during his life time and he released them to be Apostles right before he ascended back into heaven. The Apostles established the early churches. There are the same 12 Disciples that walked with Jesus. Acts 5:17-24 says ¹⁷Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, ¹⁸And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. ¹⁹But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, ²⁰Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. ²¹And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. ²²But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told, ²³Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. ²⁴Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
6. (Verse 24) in other words is saying they didn’t want the fact that the disciples somehow got out of prison to be mentioned to loud, because they did not want it to spread. Acts The captain knew if they handled the disciples incorrectly, the people would stone them. 5:25-26 says ²⁵Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. ²⁶Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
7. In this scripture, we see the manifestation of all the previous words that we mentioned at the beginning of this passage. Acts 5:27-28 says ²⁷And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, ²⁸Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. – The Apostles had the assignment to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ. They were anointed to do what they did. This caused them to experience affliction. As result they got an angelic visitation. If we back into this concept we see that angels show up, in the affliction of anointed people, who are in their assignment.
8. Jesus was in the garden in his assignment anointed in his affliction, but guess who came to minister to and strengthen him? It was angels. Stay in your assignment. Affliction will come, but in the moment of affliction, you get angelic visitation.

Angels direct

An angel directs Phillip in the direction he was supposed to go. Acts 8:26 says ²⁶And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.- The angels tell Phillip to go that way (towards the South). They are specific. The direction that the angels tell Phillip to go (down from Jerusalem) is dessert like so it will not be comfortable.
Angels will direct you specifically at the right place and right time through the aid of the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:27 says ²⁷And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,-Phillip ended up explaining salvation to the Eunuch. Angels often work with the Holy Spirit to speak to our inner-core. Angels will direct you specifically at the right place and right time through the aid of the Holy Spirit. Ex-Bishop explained how he was dropped off in Tennessee for Divinity School with just a backpack, one pair of jeans, tennis shoes, a couple of sweaters to go to Vanderbilt Divinity School. Because he grew up in church, he thought he would find him a church, so he went to Jefferson Street (This was his outer core). He decided after he got to Mt. Zion, that he would go in (This was his inner-core). When he went inside there were about 25 people in the church attending Sunday School. At that time the meeting age of the congregation was about 50 -60 yrs of age. . A Mother of the church (named Margaret Wilson) sensed that Bishop was a preacher. After confirming it with Bishop, she took him to the back to meet the Pastor. He met Dr Robison and he became his only Associate Minister. He served this Pastor for 3 yrs and this how Bishop went on to be the Pastor of Mt Zion Baptist Church. God had an angel that directed Bishop to go to Mt. Zion. Don’t doubt these moments when you think something told you to do something. It is not something. Could be an angel working with the Holy Spirit. Ex – Some people asked months back, how Bishop had managed to be successful at what he does. Bishop said he has gotten so used to God telling him to do things, so now he just steps into it without questioning how. Don’t miss your destiny by doubting an angelic voice telling you to go here or there.
The enemy isn’t after everyone. Acts 12:1-2 says ¹Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. ²And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. –The affliction that comes only comes to those on God’s side.
They had four troops of soldiers to guard one man. Acts 12:3-4 says ³And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) ⁴And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter was placed on death row.
When Peter was in prison, the church was praying for him. When Acts 12:5 says ⁵Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. – When one of us is under attack, it is never a time to Goggle and to gossip. It is a time to pray.
Peter was guarded on death row. Acts 12:6 says ⁶And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. – Peter is on death row guarded by 4 quads of soldiers. He was sleeping. Who sleeps on the night before they die? The answer is one of great faith. What difference does it make for people to intercede for you if you don’t have the faith to match the intercession? We know Peter had that kind of faith, because he went to sleep while he was scheduled to be executed. He wasn’t worried.
The angel directs Peter to get up from his dilemma. Acts 12:7-8 says ⁷And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. ⁸And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.- In other words the angel was saying, “Peter if you obey at this dimension, what is controlling you in this realm, will fall off.” If you are obedient to the voice in this realm, what has you controlled and depressed in this realm, will have to give you up. Look at Jonah. He disobeyed God in this realm and was swallowed in this realm. When he said yes to the one in that realm, the whale in this realm had to give him up. All Peter had to do is get up for his chains to fall off. Don’t stay down and wallow in it.
The angel tells Peter to gather his stuff. Acts 12:8-9 says ⁸And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. ⁹And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. – We are not going to leave evidence that we were here. Peter had to gather his things and follow the angels.
Peter walked out of the prison. Acts 12:10 says ¹⁰When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. Peter is walking out the prison past the guards. The doors open up on its own accord. The laws in the spirit realm override the laws in the natural realm. What was the assignment of the angel? It wasn’t just to get Peter out of prison; it was to get him off the property. You aren’t free until you cross the street. Ex-You still have numbers in your phone, because you are still on the property. You aren’t done until you are across the street. Get that number out of your phone!

The Holy Spirit:

Guides us
Comforts us
Abides in us
Teaches us
Reproves us
Convicts us
Empowers us
Reveals us

God will assign his angels to guard you to keep you out of harm’s way. Psalm 91:11 says ¹¹For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.- Always remember this scripture.
1. Jesus spoke of Satan and his kingdom. Matthew 12:22 says ²²Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. -Jesus comes with the authority of the spiritual realm, because the power in that realm is greater than the power in this realm and as a result, the man gets healed.
They making reference to Jesus’ blood line Matthew 12:23 says ²³And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?-.
Notice the Pharisees are not saying that Jesus casting out demons isn’t real. Matthew 12:24 says ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.-They are not saying it ain’t real. They are saying that Jesus is a devil casting out devils.
This realm that Jesus has come from has come to us. Matthew 12:25-28 says ²⁵And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: ²⁶And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. ²⁸But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Jesus gives a revelation of two Kingdoms. Matthew 12:29-30 says ²⁹Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. ³⁰He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. – Jesus gives us a revelation of two kingdoms which is the Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Light
The devil will never fight against him, but he has mastered making people in God’s kingdom fight against themselves. Before you got saved, many of you had trouble, but not like the kind of trouble you have experienced since you got saved. You used to could sleep, drink or smoke your problems away. Now that you are running for God, you have a bull’s-eye on your back. Use your affliction as affirmation that you are no longer in the kingdom of darkness. If Satan is not bothering you, then it is an indication that you are still running with him. If you are with God, you are a threat and have upset Satan’s kingdom.
The devil will never have his demons fight each other. He trains his troops to align themselves to fight us. This is why on one occasion demons inside a demon possessed man said, “We are legion and we are many.” These demons got on one accord to take over this man’s spirit. If we get together like this, as Christians we can destroy Satan’s kingdom. If two or three of us touch and agree there is nothing we can’t do. This is why the devil wants to divide us.
When you tell people what church you go to, why do other folk start speaking negative against you? After all, you would think we all of the same side. It is demonic.
Why haven’t all our churches come together? Just think, if we could get 11 preachers together on one panel (from every different church); we could turn this city upside down. The devil is trying to divide us. He knows if he divides God’s kingdom (turning each church against each other), we cannot stand.
What is the strong man? Matthew 12:29 says ²⁹Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. (First of all, Bishop Walker acknowledges how encouraging it was to see so many men at a Wednesday night Bible Study. He takes notice that there are more men in this service than most churches on Sunday Morning) Then he says, “Everything that God has done in history, even before time began, he started with a man. When God put his angelic court in place, he put Lucifer and angel in place to give him praise. Lucifer defected, but God started with a male angel Lucifer. When God made mankind, he started with one man named Adam. When God got ready to put the promise into the earth, he raised up one man named Abraham and gave him the promise (… out of you the whole nations of the world shall be bless…). When God decided to destroy the world, he chose one man named Noah to build an ark to save a remnant. When God got ready to speak to Israel at a time of disarray, God used Isaiah the prophet to prophesy and tell them what he was going to do. When God got ready to send his son into the world, he raised up one man named John the Baptist to proclaim the gospel and to say there is one coming after me whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. When God sent his son, he sent him in a form of a man looking just like you and me. You and I are the seed (men) and every demonic attack always begins with us (men). When you look at Adam and Eve and how the devil came in, you notice that he came into Adam and Eve’s house, but Eve was never supposed to answer the door. Adam was tied up, distracted and as a result, a snake got in his house. When the snake got in his house and stole his destiny, Adam tried to go soft on God and say the woman made me do it. God tells him,”No, I put you in charge of this. If you were in position, the snake would have never done this.” Every attack upon our children and our communities and our women always starts with us (men). The Devil wants to bind up the strong man, but if we as men could ever take our rightful place and be men of prayer, men that are not drawn to church by our women, but instead men who lead our women to church, men who are in the word, then the devil will think twice before he comes into our homes. He will know that our homes are homes where strong men dwell. He knows that our homes are homes that are covered. As a result, are sons start looking like us, our daughters start looking up to us and start marrying men like us, and our whole communities start getting better, because men took their rightful place. Women have had to assume role that God never intended for them to assume. So many men have been out of position; women had to be Mother and Father. They have done a great job, but the strong man has been tied up. No matter how strong, beautiful, and educated a woman is, every women loves a strong man. A strong man will bring the strongest woman to a place in her femininity that she will love that man submissively, because it is a spiritual thing. Men take your place.” – Every attack is to tie up the strong man
They begin to defend themselves. John 8:41 says ⁴¹Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. – The are defending themselves by saying that they are of God. .
Here is our problem. John 8:42-43 says ⁴²Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. ⁴³Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. ⁴⁴Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. -Here is our problem. We are so outer-core (carnal), we honor our father the devil. Satan’s demons lie against the truth.
When you die and you are saved, your flesh is going to the grave, your soul wraps around your spirit, and an angel will take you to essence of the Lord and you will rest there. Imagine this rest to be like the deep sleep we get from anesthesia multiplied by a trillion
When we are not saved, our flesh goes to the earth. Because we chose the world over our soul, our soul goes to hell. The moment of torment has begun the moment that you die. Imagine this for moment:
Think about the last thing you did, that you know you shouldn’t have done. What if the Lord, were to come back while you were doing that thing? No man knows the day or the hour that Jesus will come back. If we were pushed into making a guess to when we think Jesus would come back, a good guess would be that we are sure he won’t come back while we are at church. It will probably between 12am and 3am in the morning. The point is you don’t want him to catch you with your pants down or your work undone. We have to wrap our mind around this. This is scary. We would hope, as it relates to gaining a sense of sanity about living in this life, that we have enough brownie points stored up to outweigh what are we doing when Jesus comes back, but we really don’t know this for sure. This is why we should live every moment and every day thinking about our decisions knowing that at any moment he could come back. Ex-So if Jesus shows up at this party, will it be ok with him what we are doing?
The day is going to come that we will leave here. You can have requests for your Pastor to do your Eulogy and you can have all the people on the program for words of comfort that you want. You can have as many resolves read as you want, but on that day (of your funeral) it won‘t make a difference, because your soul is already in smoking or non smoking.

Demons

Demonic kingdom

Questions to Ponder:

Posted in Angels and Demons, angels and demons VI | Tagged angels and demons, Bible Study, Bishop Walker, Direction, Encouragement, Faith, fullness of the Holy Spirit, Holy Sprit, Mt Zion | Leave a comment

Breaking the Cycle Part III, “Breaking the cycle of ignorance” Sermon 10/17/10

Posted on October 20, 2010 by growintheword

Breaking the Cycle Part III

Breaking the cycle of ignorance

Synopsis Sermon 10/17/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

It is important to understand what it means to be in the know. The word “know or knowledge “occurs over 1600 times in the Bible. There are different meanings for this word. This word Knowledge gives us insight. In the Old Testament and the New Testament, to know really involves our whole being. It is not simply an action of the mind. To know is deeper than mental cognition and deeper than factual information. To know really implies a relationship with God in action. When we have a relationship with God, it means that our knowledge of God involves our will and our emotions. The truth is for a lot of people, if they knew better, they would do better. We look at some actions and you begin to wonder how people manifest certain behaviors. For example when Jesus was on the cross, he said, “Father forgive them for they know not what to do.” You would be surprised and amazed at the people that say they love God, yet really don’t know him. They spend time in church, but they have no comprehension of the basic truths in God’s word. They don’t have a real understanding of God’s word and his will for their life. Many people profess to be Christians, but over 80% of them can’t name the books of the bible. Over 60% of them can’t name half of the 10 commandments or even the 4 gospels. If you know God like you claim you do, then there ought to be some evidence that you know him. You would be surprised to know of the people who think the phrase; “God helps those that help themselves” is a direct quote from the bible. What the profit Hosea receives from God is a strong statement about ignorance. We compare ignorance to knowledge, because when you don’t know, you become ignorant in that area. Hosea 4:6 says ⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.– Hosea says my people are destroyed due to the lack of knowledge. In other words, there is a result in not knowing. Think of all the people that ended up putting a razor to their wrist, because they did not know. Think about all the foolish stuff you got involved in simply because you didn’t know. Think of all the games you played and the games you allowed people to play on, just because you didn’t know. There are a lot of people that end up coming to church year after year and they get so consumed with catching things rather than being taught things. As a result we end up taking tradition over truths. We believe stuff just because people tell us it’s true. It becomes a way of existing in church and no one every question it. We just assume that this what the bible says. A lot of things we do in some churches can’t even be found in the bible. Example:

Devotion: Some churches will fight you over the Deacon Devotion. The Deacons would line up in the front of the church and have devotion. The truth is, there is no biblical framework around it this. The Deacons responsibility was to serve tables, serve the widows, and go and visit the sick. This whole idea of Devotion really came out of the African American tradition. Many years ago in the early churches, a Pastor might Pastor 4 or 5 churches at one time. Many of them would go one Sunday a month at each church. They would move by horse and buggy and it would take them a long time to get between churches. They put Devotion in place to buy time for the preacher to show up.

Sheets on communion table: People would almost fight you over putting the sheet over the communion table. Back in the day, this was only used to keep away flies.

Tip up the Finger when going out of church: You will be surprised today to see how people here in the day of 2010 still get up and stick their finger up when going out of church. They don’t understand the historical framework around it. This comes from the days of the slaves where they had to give an account for their entrance and exit. It was to notify the Master that they were going out and coming in. We are far removed from the Emancipation Proclamation and even further removed from Calvary’s blood and yet we still stick up a finger and tip out. There ought to come a time in life where we just want to know for ourselves. We don’t want to come to church out of ritual and routine. We simply want to work this thing out. We want continuity in our lifestyle and what we know. Paul says in Philippians 3:10 ¹⁰That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;- Some people press their way to a church service all the time and people want to know why we do this. This is because we want to know God. It don’t matter if the Pastor knows our name, we are trying to get to know God. We come to break the cycle of ignorance over our lives. .

Hosea speaks to the house of Judah. He speaks to them about their idolatry and immorality. He comes and chastens the leaders and priests of that day. These priest and the leaders had been appointed by king Jeroboam. King Jeroboam chose from the lowest of low and put these men over the priestly matters of Judah. What happens when you don’t know is it creates a destructive reality.

I. Destructive reality

Hosea 4:1-3 says ¹Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. ²By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. ³Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. – Everything is going to be out of order and disarray until there is knowledge of God in the house.

1. The enemy wants us to be ignorant, because ignorance will produce a certain lifestyle in our lives.

2. Where there is no truth:

A. There is no Communication – They were swearing at one another in the scripture. This led to fighting or contentions.

B. There is Contentions – This means they couldn’t get along. This led to robbing, stealing, or cheating.

C. There is Cheating. – This means there was no integrity. This led to commotion.

D. There is Commotion – This was total chassis in the community. Remember some of the places that God delivered you from where people were just swearing at one another and no one could get along with each other. Everyone was lying and cheating on one another and there was nothing but commotion. God is not in that. He is not the author of confusion; he is the author of peace. Your relationship with other people is a mirror of how our relationship with God really looks. Ultimately, you got to declare that you move to place where you can position yourself to learn.

3. Some people wouldn’t act the way they act if they only knew. Some people would be better wives knew how to be and they would be better husbands if they knew how to be. It is not that they don’t love God; the issue is they don’t how to apply what they have been taught or they have been taught the wrong stuff. If you have been taught and you learn how to apply it, then you can break this cycle of ignorance.

4. If you are going to break this cycle, you are going to have to move past denominational allegiance, move past cultural comfort zones, and be willing to put yourself in a position to learn as much as you can. We thank God for the shout, the dance, and the high five, but we are at a point where we need somebody to break this down in our life.

5. This is why you have to :

A. Be under the right Pastor – Jeremiah 3:15 says ¹⁵And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. – What do you learn and what do you gain. After service, you ought to be able to say you know something you didn’t know when you first walked in (if you are under the right Pastor). We need the word made relevant in our life. We don’t have to be under a Pastor that specializes in hooping and we don’t need a lot of theatrics. We just need somebody to break this word down.

B. It has to be Personal. – It has to be personal for you. You can’t depend totally on the Pastor for your spiritual growth. You got to get to a point that you desire this. 2 Timothy 2:15 says ¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. – We got to have this desire to get at God’s word.

C. It has to be about Passion – When we have passion, then it is like it is describe in Psalm 122:1 where is says ¹I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. – There is no option for getting the word of God. We have to get a relevant word from God. Some people have left people at home on Sunday, because they were slowing around. We have to make sure we get a practical relevant word from God.

6. How do we get knowledge? We get knowledge, because we desire it. 2 Chronicles 1:10-12 says ¹⁰Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? ¹¹And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: ¹²Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. – Most people would have asked for wealth, but why would God give wealth to somebody that doesn’t have knowledge. The worst thing you can have is a fool with money. Proverbs 1:7 says ⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Isaiah 28:9 says ⁹Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. Proverbs 2:3-6 says ³Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; ⁴If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; ⁵Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. ⁶For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 1 Timothy 2:4 says ⁴Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. – We need to say, “Lord I want to know.”

II. Divine rejection

Hosea 4:6 says ⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. – This verse says if we reject God, he will reject us.

1. Ignorance will jeopardize your relationship with God. There is danger in the life of a person that left God’s word and his precepts. There are many that go through life on their own opinions and attempt discredit the relevancy of God’s word in their life. They do this to justify what they do, like the bible is an outdated book. The truth is, some people would have lost their mind without the word. Try all day long, but eventually you are going to lose. You can’t win without God’s word.

2. There are 2 categories of people

A. Those who have not been taught and genuinely don’t know.

B. Then there are those who have been taught, but act like they don’t know. This is called spiritual amnesia.

3. We’re at a point where we don’t want the Lord to reject us. We’re at a point in life where we have to receive his word whether we like it or not. We got to get to a point where we totally turn away from his word. If we totally turn away from God’s word, then we turn away from his will for our life. When we do this it messes up our witness. Ex- Jesus gave a parable one day. He talks about this Sower who was sowing seeds. He said some seeds would fall by the way side and some would fall on stony ground. He said some would fall among the thorns and some would fall on good ground. In other words some people will get word and it will fall by the way side. This is “whatever spirit”. Some people are hard headed and set in their ways. Some people will be like the seed among the thorns. They will get excited by the word they received at first, but then the cares of the world is going to choke that word out. They going to get a word like we did about poverty and start giving, but then a trial will come and choke that word out. Then you will get some people who will receive that word, it is going to be on good ground, and they will receive a harvest in their life. We want to be like the seed on the good ground. We don’t want to reject God’s word, because his word has made a difference in our life. For some of us, we would be on skid row if it wasn’t for God’s word. If you reject God’s word, he will reject you!

4. Why do we reject God’s word?

A. Because of our past. Some people reject God’s word because of the guilt of their past. The enemy interrogates them and brings up their past and they have deep people who will try to bring your past up and they set up sin hierarchies. They try to make you think one sin is worse than another. Ex – I smoke weed, but I don’t do crake. I fornicate, but I’m not a homosexual. They say this as if one sin is worse than another. Sin is sin. All of us have issues. Don’t let the past keep you from what God has for you. 1 John 1:9 says ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – Next time they bring up your past remind of what Romans 8:1 says. ¹There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. – It doesn’t matter what you have done, you are forgiven.

B. There is pride. Pride gets in our way. Some people get so prideful that they think God’s work can’t go on without them. We get so big that we think God is going to share his glory with us. Some people think they don’t need God anymore, until the bottom falls out. Then they run to the altar singing they need him every hour. We never want to get so prideful that for forget that what we are, God made us, what we know God taught us, and where we are, God brought us. Proverbs 16:18 says ¹⁸Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Isaiah 55:8 says ⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. Proverbs 3:5 says ⁵Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

C. Pain – Pain will cause you to run away from God. Pain will cause you to reject God. Many of you have gone through pain not just from other, but from church people. You begin to wonder why stuff happens and struggling with the sovereignty of God. This is when the Devil comes in and tries to turn us against God. He tries to make you think that if God loved you, then you wouldn’t be going through this. Some of you know what it is like to carry this type of pain. You see folk like this in the mall that is always saying they are going through something. You would think at some point they would get closer to God. The devil tries to use pain to separate us from God. Romans 8:35 says ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? – Let nothing separate you from the love of God. Will be like the trees planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in our season. Be steadfast and unmovable always abounding in their word of God. Though he slay you, yet will you trust him. Be tied up and tangled up in him.

III. Destiny can be redeemed

1. It is never too late to start over. There is something in us that should be tired of trying to find the scripture the whole time the preacher is preaching. There is something in us that ought to be tired of coming to church not knowing why we do what we do.

2. We don’t want to just know the precepts, but we want to live this word out. The lack of knowledge is really about this, you can know a lot of information, but lack the desire to apply it. In otherwords, you have head knowledge, but you are far from God. Ex- This is how some people are discouraged. They look up at people in church that is supposed to be close to God, yet they are in the midst of all the hell going on in the church. How can a person know so much word, and still curse people out in the parking lot.

3. Head knowledge is not enough. You got to not just be hearer of the word, but a doer of the word. Live this stuff out.

4. The cycle can be broken. If you acknowledge him as Lord, give him full control, and say whatever he wants you to do, you will do it, then he will help you break this cycle. Ex- One day Isaiah the prophet said he saw the Lord high and lifted up and a voice came and said who will go for us. Isaiah said Lord here I am, send me and I’ll go. In other words, you are putting the Lord in control and you are no longer in control.

5. We are coming out of the cycle of ignorance. We want to live the life that God wants us to live. We are coming into “the know”. We are going to live the way God wants us to live. We repent for not praising him the way we ought to praise him. We have to do it the way God says do it.

6. We are at a point that we want to know. When you come into the know, you know how to deal with an attack. You know that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. We know when we bring the tithe into the storehouse; he will open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that we won’t have room enough to receive. We know that when the devil is attacking us, Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities and by his stripes, we are healed. If haters are around us, God is greater than the whole world around us.

7. Remember this scripture. Daniel 11:32 says ³²And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.- People that are in the know, know their God is going to be strong. And they will do great exploits or do greater things. God can trust greater things to people who know. You want God to take you to another level, but he can only take you to a level of what you know.

8. 12 steps to turn around:

A. Revelation-Lord give me revelation, not information. Take the cover off and show me what I didn’t know. Revelation says if we knew then what we know now we would be in better shape. This sparks motivation.

B. Motivation –We are motivated to get up from where we are. Now we have communication.

C. Communication – In my voice, there is victory. We speak like we heard. We speak things that are not like they were. Now we have application.

D. Application – Now we apply what we heard. What is the point of hearing it, if we don’t apply it? Now are crowd changes. We have affiliation.

E. Affiliation – People that used to be around us can’t anymore. We are not the same person and don’t walk and talk like we used to. Now we are in a new situation.

F. Situation -My outlook on life has changed and they way I approach my reality is different. Now I have a new foundation.

G. Foundation– We don’t shout and don’t why any longer. Therefore we have the right to expect something.

H. Expectation– We expecting God to do something in our life. We expect because we have hope.

I. Navigation– We don’t move until God says move. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. He has a destination for us.

J. Destination– There is a God given destination for us. Because God has given us destination, it allows me to move in obligation

K. Obligation-I have to be a good steward over my time talent and treasure. We owe God something now.

L. Celebration – We are one of the redeemed. According to the scripture, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. There is nobody that can come through all of this and sit down and be cute and quit. If you know what you know, you would act like we act. God is been too good and he is worthy to be praised.