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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When God moves the hedge Part III, “If you wait it out, he’ll work it out” Sermon 07/18/10

Posted on July 20, 2010 by growintheword

When God moves the hedge Part III

If you wait it out, he’ll work it out

Synopsis of Sermon 7/18/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Text:

Job 14:13-14 says 13O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

If there is anything that we have learned about Job’s situation, it is the fact that God is always working in the lives of his people. God is actively involved in the affairs of our lives. No matter how difficult the circumstances may be, you have to see the hand of God in it.

  1. What Job teaches us is that perseverance will pay off.
  2. Job also teaches that if you position yourself in God’s will and you wait this thing out, you will discover what job discovered. You will discover that God has already worked it out. So many people get ahead of God by being anxious, because they are nervous, or inpatient, but the bible says be anxious for nothing, but in all things by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God.

Job makes a request to God and then he takes a stand in God. Perhaps that is what God is saying to someone today who is big on the request side, but suffering on the stand side. You cannot ask God to do, if you refuse to be. Your convictions must be clear. Your stance must be sure. You resolve must be resounding. We are preaching this message today so you will know that in the midst of your situation, it is important to develop a God posture. You have to look like God wants you to look like and you got to believe God for what he wants you to believe him for. You got to tell folk that no matter what they say about your situation, God is still working this thing out. For somebody now, the question should never be if God is going to do it. You are not reading this because you wonder if God is going to do it. You have a history with God. You have seen God do too much over the years to even let doubt come out of your mouth. You know God is going to do it. The real question is how long are we willing to wait for God to manifest it into our life? I know it is rough, but wait it out. We know you are pushed to the edge, but wait it out. If you just wait this thing out, God will work it out.

In this lesson Job is really asking God for his Providential Security.

I.                  Providential Security

Job 14:13a says 13O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past …

  1. In other words, Job knows God has the ability to do what he can’t do. He literally asks God to hide him in the grave. This is not a physical grave. It is a secret place (the grave as the scripture says) until the wrath be past. It is a powerful revelation of getting into the right position.
    1. Position-The grave represents a place of isolation and insulation where we can get impartation and revelation of our situation knowing that ultimately we are going to get elevation. This is important, because when people walk about you, some people to think that you are not there. This is because their opinions will do you more harm than they will good. Remember Job had friends that were syndical of him. His own wife said curse God and die. All of his friends sat around Job for 7 days and 7 nights. They looked at Job up and down trying to see what his next move was going to be. Because of this we need for God to put us in a secret place where we can be exempt of other people, because there are people that become experts at our situation when their own lives are more jacked up than ours. How can they help us, if they can’t get their own lives together?
    2. Protection. It is about providential security. What we are saying here is “Lord while you are hiding me, please move on my behalf. “ Psalm 91:1 says 1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. – We want the Lord to keep us secret until this wrath has past.
    3. Development – Whatever has to happen, please let it happen in this secret place. You can work your mess out while you’re in secret and the whole world will never know. We need to thank God for the secret place.
    4. Delay– There is a reason things aren’t happening, it is about our destiny. In delay, we learn that God has kept stuff from happening to us.
    5. Destiny-You didn’t just pop up over night. You were in the secret place. God was working on us and covering us while we were in secret. Give God glory because he helped you while you were in secret.

II.               Provide me a set time

Job 14:13b says that thou wouldest appoint me a set time…

  1. None of us want to go through without term limits. We don’t mind going through trials as long as it has term limits. It is hard to go through without time limits on the dilemma that we are going through. We don’t want our trials to have tenure. Trouble don’t last always. You got to get real with God and stop playing with him.
  2. Job says give me a set time and remember me. It is ok to be real with God. Job says when this thing is over; he wanted God to remember him. He wanted to be covered for a season. There is power in prayer. We have not, because we ask not. Matthew 7:7 says 7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
  3. When you pray remember this:
  1. Ask the father in Jesus name and believe you receive when you pray. – The moment you go on your face to pray, believe that it is already done.
  2. Control your thought life in agreement with what you believe you will receive. – Don’t let imaginations run through your mind and make you have doubt.
  3. Avoid confrontation with those who are not in agreement with what you believe you will receive.
  4. Think and see yourself with the promise of God already manifested.

III.           There is a certain period, a set time…

  1. This is a revelation of chronos-our time. From this we get the word chronography which deals with watch time or the calendar time. We operate in the restrictions of this time. We live by our blackberry and by our calendar. This time is based on all kinds of limitations
  2. Kairos– This is God’s time. God does not dwell in time, but eternity. He can interrupt our time (chronos) anytime he gets ready. On chronos time, we can sleep on it. Kairos desires a radical response. Something has to quicken in your spirit for this to work. God can at any moment, take a kairos moment and interrupt our chronos moment.
  3. Job asks God for a set time. Remember Job says man born of a woman is a few days of trouble. Job recognizes that our life is in chronos time (referring to few days of trouble). God allows these calamities to come in an interrupt our schedule.
  4. Job was in prayer and a prosperous man. Job would be a planner in today’s times. He would have had a retirement plan in place and would have already decided who he was going to allocate his property to after he died. Like this, we have 2, 5, and 7yr plans, and then God sends a calamity to interrupt our plans and it delays us. Ex –We have a set time to retire, the time has come, yet we are still working. You got to understand about God’s kairos time. God will interrupt our chronos time not to set us back, but to set us up with a kairos moment. The good thing is, God will step back in when we get back on track from the interruption and fast track our time.
  5. Even though circumstances look bad, God has it. You won’t always be as broke as you are or as sick as you are. No matter how it looks on your clock, God will step in and do something radical. Grandma says he might not come when you want him, but he is always on time.

IV.            Patient in his sovereignty

Job 14:14 says 14If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

  1. If a person has been sick as you, can they be well again? If a person’s credit is bad as yours, can they get back on track? If a person has been wounded, can they ever trust again? Some of you are in your after life now. We are living our best life right now. You have died so to speak and have been brought back. Some of us can be witnesses that you can come back.
  2. There is a collision between chronos and kairos time. When Job says all of my appointed time, he is referring to it as the collision between the two times (kairos and chronos). Ex- You can leave at 7 o’clock to arrive on time for an 8’oclock appointment. This is chronos. You get there and 8 o’clock and they say sit down. See your appointment is 8, but they tell you to sit down. Your time is not guaranteed. You are just in position. You begin to notice that there are several people there that have an 8 o’clock appointment as well. You got to find comfort in something. You have to know that:
  1. The doctor is there. The doctor is in the building.
  2. You have to find comfort in the fact that there are people coming from there who have already seen the doctor.
  3. There are people still going to see him. You have to wait until your change come. Stay in position, because eventually he will call your name and eventually your situation will change. If you get up and leave, you might miss what the doctor has for you. Therefore; we have to submit to the doctor’s time. Wait until your change comes. It is hard to wait for some of us.
  1. When you wait, there has to be no doubt that your situation is coming to pass as long as you are in position. Keep in your mind, a change is going to come. Ex-Bishop tells a story that he was travelling few yrs back. He was trying to take a getaway. He states he packed nothing but his shirt, shorts and flip flops. He didn’t even take any books. He says that he ended up getting a connecting flight. He tells us that he leaves Nashville and is good for the time being. When he gets to the ATL airport he finds out that his connecting flight has been delayed. Bishop is waiting, but he was cool, because he knows where he is going. He could already see himself sitting under the palm trees. Then they get on the intercom and say the flight is being delayed. 30 mins later they get on the intercom again and say Bishop’s flight is further delayed and they didn’t know how long. The staff told them they wanted them to stay in the gate area so they would be able to hear further announcements and updates on the delay as they came in. Bishop says he is watching this go down. The people in airport are on chronos time and they have stuff to do like vacations and family reunions. Eventually everyone started getting in line to go a wear the gate agent out. Everyone had something to say. They had to vent, but who could he vent to? All the people at this gate were waiting for the same thing. People began to get angry and Bishop was wearing the gate agent out, then Bishop started feeling sorry for her. After all, it wasn’t her fault. She just made the announcement. When it became Bishops turn he told her what a good job she was doing. Out of conviction, he just went and sat back down. Finally when the plane came in and they were getting ready to board, Bishop heard his name called. The gate agent called Bishop back up to the desk. The agent says that it had been a rough day and she just wanted to give Bishop a ticket. Bishop told her that he already had a ticket. The gate agent said she just wanted to upgrade him to 1st class, because he was so nice while he waited. Bishop said the Spirit of the Lord started speaking to him. He was frustrated before. Like some of us, we are frustrated because we have already left one place, but we not where we need to be. Bishop states while he was sitting there frustrated, he was convicted. The Holy Spirit said to Bishop, “What did she say?” Bishop explains, “Flight delay!” The Holy Spirit says, “Did you hear what you just said?” Bishop says, “Yes, flight delay”. The Holy Spirit then said, “But she didn’t say the flight was cancelled!” A delay is not a denial. The Holy Spirit said this ain’t anything but a layover. If you put your lip in and give the Lord a praise, you might get an upgrade when it is time to get where you going. You not where you used to be and you are close to where you about to go, but if you praise him on the layover ! Just give God praise on the layover. He might not come when you want him to, but he is always on time. Don’t know how long you been waiting, but don’t get tired of waiting. If God made you a promise, it is going to come to pass.
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Fullness of the Holy Spirit III

Posted on July 17, 2010 by growintheword

 

Fullness of the Holy Spirit  III

Synopsis of Bible study 7/14/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

As we have been saying, the fullness of the Holy Spirit Deals with less of us and more of Him. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and because of this, we need to understand how to give him full reign over our life.

In John 14:7 it says 7If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. – The world doesn’t see him, nor does it know him. In the scripture, Jesus is really talking about the Spirit of God’s presence. When Jesus leaves, he leaves the Holy Spirit (God’s presence) with us.

I.                   Sealed

The moment you got saved, the Holy Spirit came in and sealed the deal. –Ephesians 1:13-14 says 13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory

What does it mean to be sealed? We are talking about ownership. It is a seal of ownership. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says 21Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

  1. A seal-We are talking about a seal of protection. The Holy Spirit backs up our salvation. Lots of the attacks that we experience are spiritual. Ex- It’s like we got saved with a white shirt on, and then a bull’s-eye was put on it. Many can testify that their attacks intensified on them after getting saved. This was because of the seal. We belong to God now and Satan don’t like it.
  2. An anointing- 1 John 2:20; 27 says 20But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.; 27But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. – The anointing according to this scripture is the power and presence on your life. People don’t see you. Instead they see the God in you. Ex – Jesus said in Luke 4:18: 18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, – In other words, Jesus said he had been anointed to come do all that he did. Jesus took the attention off of him and put it on God. When you are anointed, you want the glory to go to God rather than you. You minimize so that God will maximize. People look at you and what you do and say that only the anointing could enable you to do what you do.

In Ezekiel 47, water is used as a symbol of the anointing. Ex-“From your bellies will flow rivers of living water…” is one phrase mentioned in the bible that is an example of this.

There is a lesson in Ezekiel 47:1-5 relating to the anointing:

  • Verse 1Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. -Water was coming from under the house.
  • Verse 2Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. – Verse 2 talks about Ezekiel being led towards the east gate. We have to note that the Hebrew people believed East was where Jerusalem was which was the way they faced when praying. The right side represents power. So this verse is saying Ezekiel was let towards Jerusalem and water representing anointing came out on the right side.
  • Verse 3And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.-Verse 3 talks about a man measured how far Ezekiel could go out into the water.
  • Verse 4Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. – In verse 4, the water was ankle deep.
  • Verse 5Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over – Ezekiel was knee deep, then he was waste deep in verse 5. Then it became a river that he could not pass over. All he could do at this point is swim or tread in it.
    • Ankle Deep – There are people that desire to move in the presence of God (or the anointing represented by the water mentioned above) every day. They get at ankle deep and are cool. This is just enough for them. They just want enough to say they are anointed. This leaves too much of you exposed.
    • Knee Deep – There are others that are knee deep into the anointing. Here they are pretty good, but there is still too much of you showing.
    • Waste Deep – Then there is waste deep. This is tricky, because you think you are there. You think you are all the way in it. At waste deep we still want to kick it. If you want to really get the fullness of the Holy Spirit, you have to let go of yourself. It is about less of us and more of him. We have to go out into the deep and we have to go swimming. It can’t be just about what we want to do. We want to get to a place where it over whelms us. It is all about him!
  1. Gives me a pledge. Ephesians 1:14 says 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. – At the act of salvation, the Holy Spirit guaranteed that we would inherit something and possess it to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says 21Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
    1. When you accepted the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, confessed it with your mouth, something was released in the heaven and it was sealed with by the Holy Ghost. Why did we accept Jesus Christ? Because the wages of sin is death and gift of God is eternal life, what then are we trying to possess? The answer is eternal life. We got saved to try and go to heaven. When this thing is over, we got two choices. They are smoking or non-smoking. We want non-smoking.
    2. Question: Do you know for sure that you are saved? Do you believe that you are going to heaven for sure? Do you believe that you have done some stuff that could put going to heaven in jeopardy?
    3. Here is the issue: We got to wrestle with the fact that if we do things that put our salvation in jeopardy, what happens to our inheritance. For instance can we still smoke crack and go to heaven? Can we shack up and still go to heaven?
    4. Sin – Sin is to miss the mark. This means you don’t necessarily intend on missing the mark. Because you have the Holy Spirit, when you sin, conviction makes you feel horrible.
    5. Iniquity – Iniquity is sin that has graduated to a lifestyle. Iniquity is I like it, no one can tell me it is wrong, but this is me. We try to dilute the word to soften the blow, but the truth is it has become a lifestyle. Sin is in what you do, but iniquity is in what you become. Ex- We might have had a whorish moment, but we are not a whore. I might have had a drink, but we are not an alcoholic.
    6. What do you do? Ex- Bishop explains that his father is Joseph Walker Jr. He said that his father would never un-son him no matter what he did. DNA makes Bishop the son of Joseph Walker no matter what. What his father could do however, is disinherit him. Joseph Walker could say to Bishop, “You are my son, but you are going to forfeit what I wanted you to have.” Just like this, when we got saved, the DNA or the process of being saved says we are God’s child. The things that we do will not cause us not to be his son, but we can however forfeit what God intended for us to have (eternal life). The bible even says some people will say they cast out demons in Jesus name, but Jesus will say, “Depart from me ye workers of iniquity.” Notice: Jesus says worker of iniquity, not sinners.
    7. The question remains, if you slip up (sin), will you go to hell? The answer is, probably not, but if you are shacking up or doing something that has went past sinning and has become part of who you are, then statistically we wouldn’t play those odds. Nobody is perfect, but there is something we must understand. When Jesus left, he left the Holy Spirit to help us overcome iniquity. When we continue to live in iniquity, then we discredit the power of God. Great is he that lives within us than he who is in the world. We have to go deeper into the water or into the anointing. If you are struggling with something, it is time to go swimming! We all got some work to do. If would be honest.
    8. God is an enabler.  John 16:26 says 26At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:. 1 John 2:1 says 1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: – Sin has to create for us a momentary amnesia. Sin has to make us forget for a moment what we know. This is why you have to put your tapes up and your crosses up before you do anything sinful. We don’t want to be reminded of what we know. When you sin Satan wants you to be in the moment where you don’t remember what you know. The Holy Spirit reminds you of that word. How many times have you had that happen in your life? The Holy Spirit brings back to remembrance what we know.
    9. What the sprit does is convicts and reveals Jesus Christ to men. John 16:8-11 says 8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
    10. He restrains sin in the world. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 says 6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
    11. He regenerates to new life. Regenerates means to start again. Ex- We got saved at early age, got wild, and then had a new birth experienced. Titus 3:5 says 5Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
    12. He baptizes into Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
    13. He empowers and reproduces the character of Jesus Christ in those who submit to him by faith. Galatians 4:19 says 19My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
    14. He promotes spiritual maturity. Galatians 3:1-3 says 1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
    15. He teaches: gives understanding in the word. John 14:26 says26But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
    16. He applies truth to our experience. Romans 8:16 says 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
    17. He gives capacity for burdens and direction for witnessing. 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.

II.               Let’s distinguish between sin and iniquity.

III.            12 things to meditate on

10.  He gives capacity for ministry. 1 Corinthians 1:12-14 says 12Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;

11.  .He gives power to our prayer life. – Powering your prayer life is what this is about. Many have been in services where you have heard people talked in tongues. We will differentiate between the gift of tongues and heavenly languages.

  1. Tongues came as spiritual gift given at Pentecost. It was a language spoken and in a setting such as church where a person could stand up and address the church in another language on behalf of the Lord. Afterwards someone would stand up and interpret what was said. It is supposed to edify God. In another example of this same tongue, a Pastor my say something in the gift of tongue and immediately after he interprets it. This is someone who has both the gift to speak it and interpret it.
  2.  Heavenly language-Paul Morton wrote a book called, “When Kings Fall.” He had a mental breakdown. He allowed his mind to get over the sprit. God allowed him to have a breakdown to get his life back in order. He talks about the devil took him in his mind to a place and the Holy Spirit had him in a classroom. When they would ask him questions, he would try and answer. The Holy Spirit was trying to get him to shut up, because the Holy Spirit was complaining that he was always talking and not listening. The devil was trying to taunt him the whole time the Holy Spirit was teaching him. The devil was hearing him praying in the moment and was trying to take him out. Bishop Morton finally realized that he needed to take his prayer to another level. It was a heavenly language. The devil was not able to understand and could not intercept it. In that place the devil left him alone because he could no longer intercept it. Every time he got tired, he prayed in the Spirit to be pulled back up. Some of you have done this in your prayer life. You got to a place that was desperate and this heavenly language flowed out of your life and it scared you to death. Because you are under this teaching, there will come a moment where you will be in a place with so much warfare, you will have to submit to place in prayer that you have never been. It will be the Holy Ghost praying for you. Don’t go home and think tonight will be the night that it happens. Just know that now that you have been subject to this teaching, it will happen. We miss a lot of things. When Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane, all we hear the writers say is when Jesus said let this bitter cup pass from him. Jesus had to be saying more in his prayer for blood to come as sweat from his head. While Jesus was praying, he went to another place. There was a correlation between this time of prayer and his worship.

12.  He promotes meaningful worship. John 4:24 says 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. – Worship is a place of so much vulnerability. Men don’t want to worship, because of the vulnerability of it. Even the lifting of our hands in a service, most men are hesitant to do. What if someone comes and put a gun in your back? It will break you down to that point you don’t even care about raising your hand. Until you realize a power greater than your own that you will go into worship. This is when you are willing to leave the ankle deep. Lifting up your hands is surrendering. When you come to place that you can lay prostrate on the ground, you get out of yourself and position and say whatever ain’t right, take it out of me. You don’t worry about who sees you. At that moment, you are at a point where you will let out of you belly what you can’t do in the flesh. What if everyone around you could get to that place? We only have a portion of the church worshiping like this. The devil picks and chooses. When the devil sees you are sealed, he knows he doesn’t have a chance.

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When God Moves the Hedge Pt 1, “Questions the enemy wants to know” Sermon 07/04/10

Posted on July 12, 2010 by growintheword

When God Moves the Hedge Pt 1

Questions the enemy wants to know

Sermon 07/04/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

As a believer, your will be tested. Because of your relationship with God, he is pleased. At same time, you don’t just receive heavenly attention. You receive demoniac attention too. Your presence is a threat to the devil. Everywhere you go, you bring goodness and love. This was the problem with Job. People saw God was resident in his life. Job had a reputation for doing what God asked him to do. Why was Job faithful? The enemy began to question Job’s faithfulness too.

Job 1:6 says 6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.-What is most interesting is that people often speculate over who the sons of God were. One group says they were products of fallen angels and many other scholars say they were son’s of Seth (Genesis 6:4 says 4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.). Regardless, God was fed up with mankind and they say God was fed up with this intermingling of the angels.

In the next scripture, we see that Job was minding his own business and a cosmic discussion was taking place over Job’s head about himself. In Job 1:7-8: 7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? – “Have you considered Job?” said God. Later scripture says that Satan replied that he had been watching Job and says every plot he used had been blocked by the hedge God had around him. Notice that even the devil knows there is hedge around your life. The devil says if God would remove the hedge from around Job, he would curse God to his face. The main thing we need to notice from this scripture is that God literally offers Job as a sacrifice. What will happen if God moves the hedge from around you? Some of you right now are involved in this same situation. You serve God and you say you trust him, but can you still serve him and trust him with your hedge removed?

I. Is your relationship legitimate?

  1. If God pulled the rug out from under you, would you still trust him? This thing is real.
  2. Question: Is your relationship legitimate? What you do publically, do you do privately? Job 1:1-5 says 1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. – This scripture tells how loyal Job was. Everyone knew about Job, but the enemy wanted to test his legitimacy. Your legitimacy has nothing to do with your public actions. It has to do with your private actions. In private, can you withstand a major life change? Can you stand in the midst of it? Can you take more than an average person? You have been working with God too long not to be able to stand. No matter the circumstances, you will trust God.
  3. What we recognize.
    1. You are not exempt from suffering. Many will try to convince you that the storm that you encounter has something to do with something you done. We must know that you don’t have to be doing anything wrong for trouble to find us. Just like when Paul was on that ship, a storm just came. This incident reminds us that in this life, we will have trouble.
    2. You must remain spiritual. We have to do what we are called to do. Realize that our weapons are not carnal.
    3. Know that you are a survivor. To be a survivor means we can outlive what is trying to outlive us. We have to know who we are. We have to recognize we are here no matter what we have been through, because we are survivors.
    4. We must remain steadfast. This means that we will be faithful even when the bottom falls out. Is your faith legitimate?

II. Can God put his reputation on the line (with you)?

  1. If God’s reputation was based on how you respond in your crisis, what would be the end result? We have got to be willing to expect and respect the will of God. God might not do what we want him to do.
  2. We must:
    1. Acknowledge his sovereignty – God offered up Job up to Satan without asking his permission. God will never ask you for your permissions to be tested, because he knows that we would say no. He knows we would say things like, “Why me? I got a neighbor down the street that doesn’t even go to church!”
    2. Know that God is a good shepherd. God knew Job’s potential, before he knew it himself. If you are in valley of shadow of death, God will be there with you.
    3. Understand his security. Job 1:12: 12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon him put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. – God says that Satan could not touch Job’s body. God rations out the trial. On the surface, it will appear that the devil is in charge. When this goes down, the devil will think he is in charge. The devil couldn’t go after Job without permission from God. If Satan had to have permission, then his territory must be limited. Ex- Bishop tells of a story of there being a vicious dog next to his home when he first started preaching. He states that they didn’t have a fence and when he came in from preaching, the dog would run him. He said one time he could not even run. All he could do is just stand there and pray and when he looked up, the dog was just standing there barking at him. He began to flex a little; because he thought the dog stopping had something to do with what he had done. Bishop found out later that the neighbor had an invisible electric fence. The dog stopping didn’t have anything to do with Bishop. It was because of the fence the dog stopped. In like manner, it is not because of you that you were not destroyed. It is because God has a fence around you. God allowed this to happen so you can be a witness. Job was the poster child for hanging tough.
    4. Know how to handle loss? People that don’t come to church don’t know how to be like Job is. If you lost everything, would you lose your mind? Realize like Job, this thing is bigger than us. We have to recognize God put his reputation on the line so others will know this is how to handle a storm. You got to make up in your mind that no matter what we go through, our one assignment is to make God look good. If God allows us to look good after all we went through, then we should be glad to make God look good.
    5. Is this real? Do you serve God only because he hooked you up? Can God say about you, “This is the person who is going to represent me?”

III. How do you handle loss?

  1. It is one thing to never have it. You can’t miss what you never had. Some people did not know a recession ever happened. They have been in a recession all their life. When you had, and then you lose, that is a whole other mindset. (When you get a chance read Job 1:13-19). In the Old Testament days, agriculture was commerce. This was revenue. It was equivalent to our stocks, bonds, and savings accounts. Job had several sheep, land, and livestock. He was the Bill Gates of the day. When the news comes of Job losing everything, it is like somebody coming today and saying a person’s investments has fallen. Job lost his houses and every one of his children. Watch how Job teaches us to handle this. Job 1:20: 20Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, – Job got up and said something has got to happen! Job arose, and rent his mantle!

Job 1:21: 21And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. -Job says it is alright to be angry. God gives us permission to cry and be angry. No matter how anointed you are, you will be angry, but you have to put a term limit on your tears. You got to cry and move from it. You have to come to a place where weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Job says he is angry, but he is not going to stay there. He moves to worship. Worship is not what God does for us, but who God is to us. Though we might get bad report, he is still JEHOVAH-ROHI: We will raise our hands and say we will still give him glory for who he is. Revelations comes through worship. When you worship, you get a revelation. While Job is worshiping, he gets a revelation. Look at verse 21 again. God had a right to give it to him and has the right to take it away. You want to give God to glory when he gives you the house, but can you give him the glory when he takes it away. Job says naked he came into the world and naked he will come out. Job recognizes the word of God and knows that every question the enemy raises the word can answer.

  1. Our revelation is found when we worship God in our pain. When we get the word, it will answer every question the enemy can ask. Ex – When you get a bad report from the doctors? By his stripes we are healed. When we get laid off, we will tithe ourselves back on top. No good thing will he withhold form them that walk upright. When people leave us, he will take us up. When we have enemies, the word says fret not ourselves of evil doers. Worship though your pain and get the revelation that will answer all of your enemy’s questions.
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