The Joshua Generation Part II, “Didn’t I tell you?” Sermon 08/08/10

Posted on August 10, 2010 by growintheword

The Joshua Generations Part II

Didn’t I tell you?

Synopsis of sermon 8/8/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Text: Joshua 1:8-9 says 8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Bishop Walker begins by explaining that there were 10 siblings in the house he grew up in. All the siblings were given specific instructions not to play with a certain tree. There was one rebellious child in the midst of the 10 siblings and that one child was Bishop Walker. Bishop explains that he kept on climbing this particular tree. One day, Bishop found himself on the ground lying on his back with dirt in his mouth and grass in his hair. He thought he had broken every bone in his body. There was a branch in the tree that gave way causing Bishop to fall out of the tree. Bishop’s Mother ran to his aide, but Bishop remember hearing his father say, “Leave him alone! “ Suddenly Bishop’s Dad leaned over and said to him, “Didn’t I tell you?” This concept is true in the spirit too. We make bone headed decisions and God says to us, “Didn’t I tell?” One of the most important lessons for the success of a believer is obedience. The Bible says 1 Samuel 15:22 says 22And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.-This scripture reminds us that obedience is better than sacrifice. This is important, because the Lord speaks to this Joshua Generation again about the importance of walking in his commandments and fulfilling their destiny. Many of us as we reflect over our lives can tell that there has been a series of errors that can be attributed to the fact that we had forsaken God’s word. Israel’s ancestors came to understand, while they were coming out of Egypt, that when God speaks a command, your very existence and destiny can depend on your ability to adhere to what God says. After a series of trial and error, Israel finally got it.

We have to be patient with people when you see them continually making mistakes, because sometimes it just takes trial and error for some us to finally get it right. We just didn’t arrive where we are today. We made some mistakes. The good news is God was patient enough to let us work out our salvation. The children of Israel were directed that they must walk in the principles of their ancestors in order for them to have success. One of the challenges of this generation was for them to remember what got them where they were. This however, was a generation that had diluted the word of God and moved further and further away from God. If it was good enough for our parents and our grandparents, then it has to be good enough for us. We need to realize that what worked way back then, will work now. What God has spoken in your life already, in a real sense is saying “didn’t I tell you?.” Every blessing, lesson, and warning, was for this moment. God was trying to tell us. What God was trying to tell the children of Israel and what he is trying to tell us is if we are going to walk in obedience, we must first have the right priorities.

  1. Right priorities

Matthew 6:33 says 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – God speaks to Joshua about his need to become one with his word. There has to be connectivity between God’s word and the way we walk it out. Know that you will never be where you need to be until you understand the power in being united with God’s word. Being united with God’s word can change your life and prospective.

How does it do this?

  1. Departs from your mouth– We live by what comes out of our mouth. Everything God created came out of his mouth first. He spoke it. When we hear the word, we regurgitate it, and then we speak it which releases stuff into the atmosphere. The bible reminds us that Life and death is in the power of tongue. Know that your destiny is in your mouth. You have to say, “Lord, let me become one with your word.”
  2. This makes us have.
    1. Spirit of confession– This is where we release good things into the atmosphere. Every time we speak, the word of God should be coming out of our mouths.
    2. Daily meditation– We must develop an appetite for God’s word. How does this come to pass? An appetite of God’s word is a result of appreciating God’s word. Having an appetite is like working out. Ex- In January, Bishop explains he was at one size. Now he is 35 pounds lighter. He explains that what motivates him is what he sees when he looks in the mirror. He sees the results of his diet and exercise and it motivates him to go further. Just like this, when we see the results of God’s word, we will realize that we can’t live without it. We are motivated to keep on growing in the word.
    3. Principles we should consider:
      1. Invest in Christian resources – We must have a bible that we can read and understand. What material do you invest in to build your faith? 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.
      2. Be intentional about attending church regularly – Bishop explains that when he grew up, there was a drug problem in his family. His parents, drug him to church Hebrews 10:25 says 25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching and Jeremiah 3:15 says 15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
      3. Incorporate a consistent regimen– Everything you do consistently, becomes a habit. If you invest in spiritual things, just like in the world, it becomes a habit. Psalm 1:2 says 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. – We have to involve ourselves in spiritual things daily.
      4. Defines our morality– God’s word is our primary source for living. Our morality is not defined by congress or cultural standards. We walk in what God’s righteousness says. We must learn to do what is written in God’s word.
  3. Revelation of his promise

Joshua 1:8 says 8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

  1. It is one thing to hear God’s word, but we must also be willing to do. Learn to do what God’s word says to do. Remember God’s voice saying, “I told you”. Perhaps it was the time you were so stubborn, you wouldn’t pay your tithe and your finances got all jacked up. You could hear the voice of the Lord saying, “I told you!”
  2. Obedience positions us for the blessings of the Lord. There are amazing things God wants to do for us, but we must remember what God told us. When we walk the way wants us to, he will give us opportunity.
  3. People get frustrated with lack of opportunities. To make your way prosperous (as mentioned in the text) is God putting us in a position to be blessed. There are opportunities, regardless to what man does. God can make a yes when there is a no.
  4. The promise of God is always tied to:
    1. Covenant– This is an agreement between two people. God always operated in covenants throughout the bible. Two people have to share in a covenant. God says he has held up his end of the bargain and now he wanted the children of Israel to hold up their end. God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt (God’s end of the bargain) as he promised. Jeremiah 3:14 says 14Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: – Even when we messed up, God kept his covenant with us. Like the father with the prodigal son, who went away, his father still embraced him when he returned back home. Numbers 23:19 says 19God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
    2. Strategic connections– God will providential connect you to the right people at the right time to get you what you need. God moves behind the scenes to connect us to the right people. Luke 6:38 says 38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. – This means as you give, God will make someone bless you. For with the same measure that you give, it shall be measured to you or given back to you. This is why you should speak to folk that you sit beside you at church. You never know who is holding your blessing.
    3. Convenient– There are some things in the last season of your life that you struggled to deal with. God says he will make it easy for you in this season. So easy it will blow your mind. This is a season of overcoming. You have struggled long enough.
    4. This is about success – What is this success (it’s like the worlds success)?
      1. i.      It is a God thing and not just a good thing.
      2. ii.      It guarantees grace-When we do what God calls us to do, he gives the ability to carry it out. When you are in God’s will with good success, he will give you the grace to do it. The world can have success, but they become stressed out and can’t sleep at night and everything else. They don’t have the peace or grace with it. Ex- Bishop explains that God gives him the grace to do what he does. For example, Wednesday night, Bishop explains how he was in Buffalo, New York preaching. He was picked up at 5:15am the next morning. Thursday they went to Chicago and ended up in Los Angeles. He preached in Riverside California Thursday night where he finished about 9pm. He was on a plane by 11pm that same night. He flew all night to get back to Nashville by Friday. He got back at 7:30am Friday morning. He had some interviews to do and he came to the Youth Conference Friday night. Ran out Saturday and done some things and will preach 4 services Sunday. He turns right around and has to go to Lexington, KY Monday and Tuesday. He explains he has to do 3 bible studies Wednesday. The point is God gives Bishop the grace to do what he does. God gives you the grace to do what you do too. It is about a God thing.
        1. When it is of God, it will:
          1. Grow beyond your generation- If it is of God, it keeps going past your lifetime.
          2. Gives God the glory- You shall have good success.
  5. Learn to rejoice in his presence.

Joshua 1:9 says 9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

  1. Israel had to be reminded as God was with Moses, he would be with them. When you are child of God, know he has your back. God says be strong and be of good courage.
  2. To do what God requires of us, we must have strength. It comes from resistance and pressure. Pressure and resistance is the only way that you will build muscles. Old people used to pray strengthen me where I am week. If you think about it, when you look back over your life, aren’t you stronger than you were a few yrs ago. You are stronger due to the resistance and pressure that you endured.
  3. We must not be fearful. Either we are going to have faith or we are going to have fear. God’s presence with you can handle anything you have coming at you. God wants us to dwell in is omnipotence and his omnipresence. He will dwell with us where we are and he has the power to back it up. Ex-Some of you have On-star on your car. If you press a button, you even don’t have to tell On-star where you are. They already know where you are. All you have to do tell them what you need and give you your code. God is the same. He already knows where we are. All we have to do is ask for his help. God is our on-star.
  4. God is:
    1. He is a burden bearer– He helps us to be able to withstand our burdens.
    2. He is our best. We are never lonely. He is the best thing that has ever happen to us! When we look at how people treat us, he is the best friend we can have.
    3. He is a beacon. – He gives us direction and shows us where to go. The steps of good man are ordered by the Lord.
    4. He is a bridge– He is a bridge over troubled water. When the water is rough, God will be bridge over it so you want to get caught up in it.
    5. He is a balm– This means God is a healer. When sickness comes, he heals us.
    6. He is a blocker -He blocks stuff from us that we didn’t know was coming. When the devil conspired against us, God blocked it! When unemployment tried to suck us in, God blocked it!
    7. He is a blessor- Every time we turn around, he keeps on blessing us. He blesses our coming in and going out! He blesses us in the city and the field. Didn’t I tell you that no good thing will he withhold from you… All things work together for the good of them that are called according to his purpose. If God be for you, he is more than the world against. Neigh in all things, he is more than a conqueror. Didn’t I tell you, he knows the thought he thinks toward you! We are praising him, because of what he told us and promised us! Didn’t I tell you?
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The Joshua Generation, “It’s time”, Sermon 08/01/10

Posted on August 3, 2010 by growintheword

The Joshua Generation

It’s time

Synopsis of Sermon 08/01/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Text: Joshua 1: 1-3

Our lives are a series of preparation. They are preparatory moments that prepare us for a moment. Each event in your life is didactic. It is training and development. There are lessons in each experience we go through. It is important to keep your spiritual radar on so you don’t miss what God is saying in this season. You have to be sensitive to every event happening.

The children of Israel were God’s chosen people. They came to Egypt as privileged and welcomed guest. However, the bible says there rose up a Pharaoh that didn’t know Joseph. If you remember Joseph, found in the latter part of Genesis, was the one who put together that economic plan to help Egypt make it through the famine. There rose a Pharaoh that did not know Joseph and as a result, his people were subjected to life of bondage and servitude. When people don’t know your history, they will mishandle you. They cried out for a deliverer for 400 yrs. and eventually God heard their cry and rose up Moses. God told Moses his assignment by speaking from a burning bush. He told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let his people go. Moses’ Ministry yet powerful, was seasonal. We must be sure not to waste time. We need to recognize that we must make a contribution in our generation to pass to the next generation while we are here, because we will not be here forever. Moses assignment was to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Next we are introduced to Joshua. He was supposed to take the children of Israel into the Promised Land. No longer could Joshua lean on Moses and set back as a student. The occasion has presented itself where Joshua must stand up and be responsible for this moment. Know that everything that happened to you up to this time     has happened for this moment. We can no longer be followers. We must no come to the forefront. The mantle has been passed to you. It is time! What you got on paper, it’s time. What you got in your belly, it’s time. It is time to stop talking about it and start being about it. The Joshua generation is about doing what God has called us to do. When we hear the voice of God, we have got to walk out into this thing. This is a kairos moment, a God moment. It is about stepping out into your season no matter what’s going on. When we hear the voice of God, we have to step out!

I. Prepare for purpose

Joshua 1:1 says 1Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, -Joshua is a student of Moses. You can’t lead, if you haven’t learned to follow. God won’t entrust leadership to those who have not learned to follow. Wherever Moses was, Joshua was there submitted to leadership.

  1. God was preparing Joshua for leadership. Joshua was faithful and the anointing on Moses would eventually flow down and be upon Joshua.
  2. God had Moses pick some leaders. Numbers 11:14-17 says 14I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. 15And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. 16And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.17And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.- God told Moses to get some people that had been faithful, because he was going to put his spirit on them. In other words he would give him part of Moses anointing. We must understand that the anointing on leadership is not just an anointing blessing, it is also an anointing of burden. Remember that Jesus said if we don’t suffer with him, you can’t reign with him.
  3. We must be willing to:
    1. Share – 2 Corinthians 4:1 says 1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; – We have to share in this burden with the Lord.
    2. Support– We need people that support the vision and give of their vital resources.
    3. Serve-Joshua served another man’s vision (Moses) until his season came. Serving until your season has come prepares you for your future.
    4. The bible says Moses died. His death represents one chapter in his life being over and another chapter moving forward. Your destiny begins now. If you will notice, God never spoke to Joshua, until Moses was dead. God is a God of order. He doesn’t’ rule with two heads, because a two headed being is a monster. You have to recognize that your time has come. God is about to turn the keys over to you. Everything you have gone through was for this moment. In Exodus 24, Moses took Joshua up to Mt. Sinai. In Numbers 27, Joshua was appointed as Moses successor. Everything you have been through, every lay-off and every set back, was for this moment. It’s your time!

II. Pursuit of the prophetic

Joshua 1:2 says 2Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. – First notice we underlined the phrase, “All this people”. We will be coming back to this. If you are going to manifest your time, you can’t spend time second guessing God. You got to be about moving the thing. When you are a successor, you just move when God tells you to. You can’t wait for affirmation from people. This subjects you to persecution just like Noah went through, but you are willing to do what God wants.

  1. Moses season is over in the text. You got to be willing to walk in your season. You can’t walk in somebody else’s season. Stop speculating. Just move when God says move. You got to get to a point that you just trust God when you can’t trace him.
  2. This is about faith. Your blessing is on the other side of the Jordon. It is on the other side of fear or complacency. You can’t get what God wants you to have until you get to the other side. This takes crazy faith.
  3. This is why you have to do it. It is not just about you. Verse 2 says to take all this people with you. Your decision impacts God’s people. Your decision not to go will affect God’s people. You can hinder others from getting their breakthrough. This is bigger than you. If God tells you to go, he is counting on you to take folk with you.
  4. A bona-fide child of God only needs a word from God in order to go. You might not have the money, the land, the tuition, or anything else, but when you hear the word that tells you to go, you just go! Wherever your faith will stretch you, your feet will take you, and when your feet take you God will give it to you. When God tells you a thing, you are going after it. Ex-When you order from a sales catalog, you operate in faith. You see what you want, you take the order number, and then you pick up the phone. You call the 1 800 number pull out a seed offering, then you give them a transaction # over the phone. They in turn give you a confirmation by phone. You hang up and say you just bought a bike, even though you don’t physically have it yet. You don’t have it, but you still say you bought it, because you have a confirmation number. You have to wait for Fed Ex to bring it to you. You put an investment on what you say you bought. In like manner, when we see a word, God says we can have it, we put a seed on it, we believe God for it, God gives confirmation, and we wait till God works it out. All we need God to do is give us one word! If you only knew what we were waiting on, you would understand why we act like we act. When God speaks it, we have to move!

III. Praise him on promise

The Joshua generation praises him on a promise. Joshua 1:3 says 3Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. – When God speaks a thing in your life, it becomes a promise. He doesn’t speak suggestions. When God speaks it to you, it is promise, he blesses it, and then it will become a done deal.

  1. God tells Joshua, every where his feet treads, God would give it to him. Psalm 37:23 says 23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. – As servants of God, we don’t walk where we don’t have orders. Every place we walk, God is going to give it unto us. Wherever you faith can stretch you, your feet will take you, and God will give it to you. Ex-Jesus walked on water and Peter asked if he could come out there with him. Jesus told him to come. Translation: If Peter’s faith could stretch far enough to allow him to step out on the water, then Jesus would give him the ability to walk on the water.
  2. Something happens when a child of God walks in what God tells them to walk in.  Ex2-When we first decided to purchase the land that Mt Zion (Old Hickory Location) sits on, it was hunting land. The Lord told Bishop to go and walk on the land. God reminded him that everywhere the sole of his feet walked, he would give him. God will just give you stuff. This was 130 acres, so we wondered how would be afford to buy it. You can imagine the cost. Bishop had friends that had paid 10milion dollars for just for 60 acres before even starting the building portion of the project. Land cost money. How could we ever afford this? The owners told us that they would give us the property for $980,000. This is like somebody giving you a brand new car for a $1000. When God has it in the plan for you, this is called favor. When we step on stuff, instead of giving us more money, God will change scenarios so our money will stretch further. There is favor on you! Every step you take, God will give it to you! Whatever God has shown you, just take a walk on it, and he will give it to you. Whatever we walk on, it is already done. We are going to praise him on his promise! Give God glory for favor! It’s time! Every dream and every vision within in you, know that it is time!
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Fullness of the Holy Spirit Part V, “How the Holy Spirt manifests himself” Bible Study 07/28/10

Posted on July 30, 2010 by growintheword

Fullness of the Holy Spirit Part V
“How the Holy Spirit manifests himself”
Synopsis of Bible Study 7/28/10
Delivered by Bishop Walker III
The Holy Spirit strengthens us as believers. Like toys need batteries to function, we need a power source in order to function. Batteries often are included in the packaging. In this same way, when we got saved, a power source was included in the package. The ultimate aim of the Holy Spirit is so we have victorious lives. God wants us to have victory in every area of our lives.
A. God wants us to accomplish great things.
• Paul’s prayer is for us to be strengthened in the inner man. Ephesians 3:14-16 says 14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; – Often we go through life depending on worldly things. Though those things may be important to us, there are things we go through that are more important.
• The Holy Spirit inside of us is refreshed and empowered every day. 2 Corinthians 4:16 says 16For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. – We get agitated and frustrated daily. The question is how do we get through this? Sometimes your mind and body is too tired for this. There is a power inside you to give you strength to accomplish great things. Whatever you put your hands to, the Holy Spirit will allow you to accomplish.
• How does this power work in your life? Things happen that trigger a response. The Holy Spirit intercepts the response and gives us a response that is consistent to God’s word. Ex-The Holy Ghost gives a reaction that is consistent to what God wants us to do. This confuses the enemy.
• Trouble will come. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says 8We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; – The natural response is for us to be distressed about what is happening to us. The supernatural response is for us not to be distressed. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, your response has intercepted your response and as a result, you don’t look like you supposed to look according to world standards. You have just learned how to listen to the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can do this.
B. The Holy Spirit helps us to win at spiritual warfare. • This thing called warfare is real. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to fight against demonic forces. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 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;) – Strongholds are also referred to as fortresses. The devil puts up fortresses or camps with the intent on staying. The devil just came into your life and brought luggage. Satan will protect this fortress at any cost. You need to understand that you can’t defeat this fortress in your own flesh. You will never out curse or out do the devil in your attempt to get even. Knowing this, we need to know that we need to take the warfare to another level. We must raise the level. Ex – On one occasion, a poisonous viper got loose on an airplane. The people in the first cabin noticed it and you can only imagine the chaos inside the plane. There was a poisonous snake on the plane and the passengers were afraid someone would get bit. Some people thought the pilots were going to turn the plane around, but the pilots kept on going up. Pretty soon, the passengers saw the snake uncoil and then a few moments later, they saw the snake stretch out. When they got to a certain altitude, the snake rolled over and died. The pilots realized that snakes couldn’t survive at a certain altitude. This is why they kept going up, instead of stopping the plane. Just like this, if you just raise your level, Satan and his helpers can’t survive. The reason you have snakes in your life is, because you are low down with them. Our weapons are mighty through God and not carnal. We have 66 rounds (book of the bible) that we can use, but we don’t know how to use it.
• We have to bring our thoughts into captivity. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; – In other words the scripture is saying we are captive to the obedience of Christ. 90% of what we go through is in our head. The devil is making you think something is happening that really isn’t. Ex-The doctor calls you in to discuss something he or she found and you are already seeing your funeral. You see these images that Satan plants, but you have to learn to arrest them. You have to be like a police officer. Pull it over and take it in, because it has broken the law. By that we mean if it doesn’t line up with what the word says. We don’t put our thoughts on parole; we give them a life sentence. This is why our thoughts keep coming back up. We keep putting it on parole. Every thought, cast it down. There are things you just think, that don’t make sense. Ex- Often we say people don’t like us, because we think they are looking at us. This is in our mind. Most of the time, they are not even aware of us.
C. The Holy Spirit helps us to cope with burdens.• People came here with some heavy stuff. They are reading this, because they want answers. The problem is, we think we can handle our problems on our own. Listen to what Jesus says, “Come unto to me all who are heaven laden and I will give you rest” The Holy Spirit bears these heavy burdens for us.
• We have got the Holy Spirit to abide and dwell with us forever. John 14:16 says 16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
• We must commune with the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 13:14 says 14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. – Paul said let this be a communion, a constant engagement with the Holy Spirit. Ex – There was a man that went into the hospital to lose weight. He had gotten down to 300 pounds, but he still wasn’t where he wanted to be. This small nurse came in to take him for a walk and she didn’t even weigh 100 pounds. This man wasn’t sure that she could hold him up. The small nurse told him to just lean on her, but the man still wasn’t sure. Finally the nurse told him that she has been doing this for a long time and had never dropped anyone. In like manner, God has been at this for a long time and has never dropped one person. He has never let anyone down.
D. He gives us the power to overcome sin.
• The reality is, the Holy Spirit inside of us is the only way we can overcome sin. Galatians 5:16 says 16But I say,(A) walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify(B) the desires of the flesh. – The keyword here is desires. The church doesn’t want to deal with this. Ex- This guy on one occasion asked his Pastor to take away his desire to lust after women. The Pastor responded to him by saying, “I will pray, but when you get married, do you want me to pray that you get the desire back?” There is nothing wrong with the desire, but there is something wrong with what you do with that desire. The Holy Spirit says it will overcome that desire, but we have to let him take over.
The only way we can overcome sin is through the Holy Spirit. Lots of people become dogmatic as they look at sin. Ex – People older look at people struggling with a sin and they forget that they once had problems with that same sin. They were not always saved. They forget they had a process to go though to get where they are today. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to overcome our mess. Your flesh is in cahoots with the sin and will not try to avoid it. We need the Holy Spirit to help us overcome this.
E. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to evangelize the lost.
• We must reproduce. Acts 1:8 says 8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.- What is a witness? It is one that testifies to what they have seen and heard. When Jesus worked his ministry, he was reproducing himself. He took ordinary men and made them extraordinary. He reproduced himself.
John 14:12 says 12Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. – The disciples ultimately became Apostles. When they got to Antioch, they were first called Christian’s, because they looked like Jesus. As Christians, we are supposed to be like Christ. If we are not a full duplication of him, what does that make us? It is important to understand it is about duplication. In the book of Acts when 3000 souls were added to the church, this was about duplication. Ex – How many people reading this remember that before they were saved, they invited people to do things before that they wouldn’t invite them to do today? What changed? With the same energy and passion that you had to tell people to do things that didn’t add value to their lives, the Holy Spirit gives you the same energy and passion to tell people to do the things that will add value to their lives.
• If our churches were more spirit filled, we would not have these ego problems in our church. Ex- We talk about church now days like they are gangs. For example one may say, “I go to Mt Zion” or “I am down with Lake Providence” or “I roll with Temple”. We forget that we are on the same team. We act like there is something wrong with going to a big church or a small church. Do the math. There is over a million people living in Nashville so to speak. At least 25,000 of them don’t go to anybody’s church. The point is there is enough unsaved people in Nashville alone for all churches big and small to be busting out at the seams.
F. Holy Spirit establishes proper relationships.
• As you look around, there is dysfunction around this area in the church when it comes to relationships. Ex- Bishop Walker explained how he and the First Lady Stephanie had been watching TV and they were amazed at the amount of shows that were reality TV shows. What is more amazing is at the chore of most of these we were dysfunction of relationships. Bishop says he saw one show where two people were dating and each of them gave the other person permission to date someone else outside the relationship and bring them home with them. Now two guys lived to there and each brought one in their house to stay. In this generation, this is what our young people see every day. The world presents them this dysfunction and this becomes a reality to them and then they come to church and see our dysfunction and the dysfunction of the church. This makes them not know what to do. Like the reality shows, we are trying to make relationships work without the Holy Spirit.
• Ephesians 5:22 says 22Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 6:9 says 9And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him. – These relationships are only possible by the help of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit will make a woman submit to her husband. If he is following the leadership of God, the man is the head of the household. Husband, you have to love your wife in such a way that if you roll over in your sleep, you it should seep out of you how much you love her. This makes the wife not mind submitting. Children, you don’t pay for nothing. You eat and sleep for free. Behave with your bad self! If you rise up against your parents, they will rise up against you! Employees, do your job with integrity and respect. Don’t ask people to clock in for you. Employers treat your employee to with dignity and respect not slaves. They add value to your company. This can only be achieved with the Holy Spirit. Scarcely if the righteous is saved, where will the ungodly be. God can barley love us with the Holy Spirit, so how can we imagine doing anything without the Holy Spirit.
G. To maintain hope-the devil is after your hope.
• The Holy Spirit is what keeps our hope alive. Romans 15:13 says 13Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.- Faith is by product of the word. Faith says it is possible and hope says we will hope until it comes to pass. The devil is at our hope hoping that he can stop it from coming to pass so that we will turn on ourselves. The Holy Spirit brings us hope back to remembrance when we find ourselves in a hopeless state.
H. Holy Spirit wants us to serve God.
• Serving God is the ability to do God’s will. Ephesians 3:20 says 20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, – There are a lot that we can do with our own mind and training. In other words, we have a skill set. We can lawyer, dentist, teach and etc … By ourselves, based on our skill set, we start putting out projections. When you say or start saying to God, “Thank you for giving me this skill set”, then you open yourselves up to the process of the Lord doing things through you. Ex- Bishop explains that when he first became Pastor, Mt Zion had a project called “Project 2000”. Bishop explained that we were going to build a church across the street from our original Jefferson St location. It was going to be 3 million dollar project. Everyone had been hired from the person who drew the blueprints, to the builders. Bishop asked the Holy Spirit to breathe on this project and the next thing you know, the church growth exploded. This is how Mt Zion came to be where it is today. People often ask Bishop, “Did you know Mt Zion was going to be this big?” The answer is no! That would have blown his mind.
I. The Holy Spirit wants us to praise God.
• The Holy Spirit empowers us to praise God. Ephesians 5:18-19 says 18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; -Praise serves a 3 fold purpose. It is to build us up, to encourage those around us, and to trigger something in the supernatural. Sometimes you find yourself in contexts that rob you of your strength and determination. These are pretty negative contexts to be in. Now to praise God means you have to will yourself to that place. The truth is sometimes you just don’t feel like praising God. Sometimes you have a week where things have gotten so bad, you just want to be mad. The Holy Spirit wills you out of that to a place of praise. Your praise has to encourage others like it is found in Acts. Ex – Acts 16:25 says 25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. – When Paul and Silas praised God, the people in the same situation heard them praising God. Their praise was at such a level, people in the same context were able to see the goodness of God. When you praise like this, you are saying that you speak of the goodness of God no matter what your situation looks like. You are saying you are willing to will yourself to a place where you are praising God not just for you, but for someone else.
Acts 16:26 says 26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.-Some people get upset when people are standing up praising God all through church. They wonder if that person will ever sit down. They don’t understand that their praise can set blessings up for everything around them. Our praise can set everything around us free. Our praise is not some emotional reaction. This praise is rooted in what we know about God. This praise is rooted into the revelation into what we are believing God for. The Holy Spirit is bringing word back to us and telling us that we got to keep holding on and trusting God. No matter what our situation looks like, we will try and will ourselves and praise his name any how. When we praise we do so to build ourselves up, encourage others, and trigger something in heaven. We will ourselves to a better place!

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When God moves the hedge Part IV, Sermon 07/25/10

Posted on July 27, 2010 by growintheword

When God moves the hedge Part IV

Synopsis of Sermon 07/25/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

 

Anchor Text: Job 42:10; 12 says 10And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.  12So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

All month we have been studying about Job in this series when God moves he hedge. We have learned from his discernment and motivated by his accomplishments. In Job 42, we see the true testimony of Job’s life. Job had his life all planned out and out of nowhere God moved the hedge and all hell broke out in his life. Many of us have the same story. Things started out pretty rough for us, but the truth is, when life starts out like this, you wonder if life is even salvageable. You need know that no matter how it looks on the front end, it’s going to look better on the back end. Chapter 42 of Job is a sermon in and of itself. There is a chapter 42 in all of our lives. You might be in chapter 1 right now, but if you can just make it to chapter 42, God’s going to make everything you went through make sense to you. Know that for every tear you cry, God will make it make sense when you get to your chapter 42. God will not let the devil have the last word. Many times we thought it was over and God stepped in and let everyone know he was still in control. We need to understand that after every story is a manifestation of glory. This is why we can’t hate on people who are blessed. You don’t know what they went through before they got there. God is about to do something in your life that is going to blow everyone’s mind. For God to trust you to go through what you did, he must have something on the other side of your trail. Give God the glory for the storm, because you can see the end approaching!

There is a process which we must follow in order to experience the full manifestation of the blessings of the Lord. Note: You need to spend time reading the whole book of Job to really appreciate this revelation. A lot of this lesson deals with Job’s inter and intra-personal issues that you might not be privy to.

I.                  Repentance of Job

Job 42:1-6 says 1Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 2I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. 3Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 4Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 5I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

  1. In verse 1-6, Job has dialogue with God. There were some things that Job knew he should have done, that he did not do. Job said he was talking about stuff he did not understand. Job also said there was some thing he knew about God before, but he see could see them clearer now. Job also realized in these verses that he allowed himself to drift away. No matter how deep or how holy we think we are, we have allowed circumstances make us drift away from where we should be in God. Our body is here, but mind is on other side of town. Somebody knows what it is like to drift from God.
  2. When we find ourselves drifting from God:
    1. We allow ourselves to be anxious – We wonder if our situation is ever going to turn around. The bible says be anxious for nothing, but we can’t help but to worry if our situation is ever going to turn around.
    2. We have to be honest – We have had angry moments. We are holy, but we still get angry. It is hard not being angry
    3. We have to come to a point of acknowledgement – This means we own where we are. We are at a point where we need to reconnect with God. Job’s faithfulness got God’s attention, but Job is now ready to go to another level in his relationship with God. Just like Job, we should be striving for greater devotion. You need to know that there is another level where we can be committed greater to God. On this level, we got off course in our purpose, but we decided to re-commit and repent. We repent for not coming to church, praying, and studying God’s word like we once did. We want to get back on course. Anybody want to reconnect with God? It is never too late to reconnect with God.
  3. When we come to our Chapter 42 season and we decide to get relationships right, the first one has to be with God.
  4. Next we need to get the relationships around us straight.

II.               Rebuke of Jobs friends

Job 42:7-8 says 7And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 8Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

  1. It was Job’s friends that decided to give Job advice. Be careful who you listen to in this season.
  2. Job’s friends have been operating in disobedience, speaking where God didn’t command them speak. There are a lot of people that mean well, but not in line with what God told them to say. Lots of folk are prophelying to us and into our life as well. Ex- Sometimes when you show up and a person is in an acute crisis (happening right now), the best thing is to show up and be quiet. Don’t try to reconcile it on the spot. Sometimes you can cause more damage when you open your mouth without God’s permission.
  3. God disciplined them. God disciplined Job’s friends for speaking bad things to him about his situation and speaking bad things about what God was doing in Job’s life, but how did he discipline them?
  4. Job’s friends were part of his problem.
  1.  
    1. God says let God speak to your problem. – God spoke to Job’s friends. Job didn’t have to. You got enough to deal with, without having all these crazy folk speaking stuff to you that isn’t right. Let God speak to your problem. God can handle it much better than we can.
  1.  
    1. The problem must sacrifice in your presence- God will make people that thought something was wrong with you, make a sacrifice in your presence. God told Job’s friends to offer a sacrifice up in Job’s presence. Your blessing is connected to and tied to where Job is.
    2. Their survival is in your prayers  – They offered on offering it up, but God is not hearing them. God is only hearing Job. Remember the prayers of the righteous avails much in heaven. Be careful how you treat folk. Sometimes your survival is hinged on their prayers. Many of us can’t be blessed because we try to handle things on our own.
  2. Letting God handle your problems is the whole point of this second point. Our problem is above our friend’s ability to understand.

III.           Restoration of Job

Job 42:9-10 says 9So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job. 10And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

  1. God is a restorer. The only one that appreciates this to the fullest is the ones that lost stuff. God is a restorer. There is nothing the enemy can do that God can’t restore.
  2. You have to be delivered from the stuff in you, before God can get stuff to you. Before restoration, there has to be a release. Job is already reconciled spiritually. Socially he is reconciled with God. Nobody wants to deal with the psychology of Job. If you mess with the physiological, sociology, or the psychology of someone, then your theology can be messed up. Imagine the impact of what Job went through and look at what we go through. Though you prayed about it, there is still some stuff in you left from what happened to you. Ex-When we got through stuff and we say, “I have moved on” yet we say “, but they going to get theirs!”, then we have not Got over it. God is trying to get something to us, but first he’s got to get some stuff out of us. You have to lay aside every sin and every weight that so easily besets you. Forget those things that are behind us and press towards the mark of the high calling. We got to get to a place where we release some stuff. It is tainting your spirituality. You got to come to place where Job did.
  3. In verse 10, God changed his circumstance. Job 42: 10 says 10And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. – It is the point when you can forgive them that the Lord will step in. Release it! What is in store for you greater than what they did to you! It was when Job prayed, that God gave him, twice as much as he had before. If you can hold on and see what the end is going to be, God has double for your trouble. It might have started out one way, but God says he is about to release an anointing of double over your life. When you release what has hurt you, everything you touch, will be double. He will restore what the locust has eaten up in your life. What is ahead is better than what been. God says since the double is coming, you got walk in double; give in double, because if you thought our first praise was something, you ought to see our double praise.
  4. God said tell you Job’s life was nothing but simple arithmetic.
    1. Job started out as a bless man which makes, because if you seek his kingdom first and his righteousness, God will add all things unto you. This is addition.
    2. God allowed the devil to come in and he took. This is subtraction. Job said even though the Lord gave (addition) and the Lord taketh away (that subtraction) I will still bless the name of the Lord. We have been through addition and subtraction. That was just a set up for multiplication.
    3. God is about to multiply everything we have been through! This is why we ought to open up our mouth and give God glory for everything we went through. God is about to multiply! It is going to end better than it started.
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