Part Three: WHY DIDN’T GOD ANSWER MY PRAYER? , Bible Study 11.18.20

Posted on November 23, 2020 by growintheword

Four-Part Bible Study Series

God, Why?

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Bible Study synopsis November 18, 2020

Isaiah 65:24 NKJV “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. – This brings about the question, “Does God really mean this?”

I.        INTRODUCTION

A.     Do you ever struggle with God’s silence? 

  1. Matthew 7:7  7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
    1. Isaiah 65:24 NKJV “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.

II.        WHERE IS THE ANSWER TO MY PRAYER?

·        God is there and yes God heard your prayer. Just because you didn’t get what you asked for, doesn’t mean God didn’t answer your prayer.

·        Sometimes it means God answered your prayer and His answer was “no” or maybe we simply wasn’t paying attention when He answered.

A.    SOMETIMES THE ANSWER IS NO

  1. Ever ask your parents for something and they said “no”? Just like your parents, God is not obligated to answer your prayer the way that you want Him to answer it.
  2. We always want something, because we think it is better, when it really isn’t better for us. We have to remember that sometimes the grass is greener on the other side, only because of all the manure in it.
  3. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – God did not remove Paul’s thorn. He could have removed it, but He didn’t.
  4. If God doesn’t remove your thorn then He gives you the grace to be able to handle it.
  5. Matthew 26:40-43 NKJV Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. – Jesus asked his own Father to take his hardship away and He didn’t do it. God is not going to disrupt his plan, just because you want Him to.

B.     ARE WE LISTENING?

  1. Listening is about being present, not just being quiet” — Krista Trippett.
  2. Sometimes we need to stop and listen. When we pray, we should not only be dumping our problems onto God, we should also be listening for what he has to say to us. Our pray should be a two-way conversation, not just one-way. Ever been on a call with a person that wouldn’t let you get a word in edgewise?
  3. Can God get a word in when you pray? Listening is not about being quiet only, it is about being present. We have to declare, “Lord I want to hear what you are saying to me”
  4. When you are present, you give your undivided attention to God.
  5. It is about meditation. You would be amazed at what would happen if you get the clutter out of your life and just listen.
    1. 1 Kings 19:11-13 NKJV Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” –

C.     WE MUST EXERCISE PATIENCE

  1. God may not always come the way you want him to come.
    1. Lamentations 3:25-26 NKJV The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. 26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.
    1. Job 14:14 NKJV If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. – God is the same today, yesterday, and forever. When we pray, we want same day delivery. You don’t even get same day delivery when you order online.
  2. During the time we are waiting, God is teaching us to trust Him and He is teaching us about process.
  3. They that wait on the Lord shall have renewed strength… While you are waiting, you are supposed to be serving. When we are waiting on God, we have to learn something. Do we really trust God enough to wait? Think about it, even the best food is the food that is cooked slow. We have to wait on it.

III.        AM I PRAYING THE RIGHT WAY?

A.     RIGHT WAY

  1. Matthew 6:5 NKJV “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. – Some people pray to please people. If you have to please the people and have their applause, then you already have your reward.
  2. We have to know that God is the source of our needs.
    1. Isaiah 44:3 NKJV For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; – You got to spend some closet time with God. When he blesses you openly, it is a direct result of your prayer time.

B.     RIGHT HEART

  1. Your heart has to be open to receive.

C.     GOD’S TIME, GOD’S WILL

  1. One reason we feel our prayers are not answered, is because we want God to come when we want Him to come. Philippians 4:6 NKJV Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
  2. Stop letting Satan discourage you. Luke 18:1 NKJV Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
    1. 2 Peter 3:8 NKJV But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. – God doesn’t see time like we see time. When we pray and we don’t hear anything right away, it doesn’t mean God isn’t answering. When we pray, it has to be in line and we have to be in the right place.

IV. SEVEN THINGS TO REMEMBER WHILE PRAYING

  1. GOD IS SOVERIEGN – God can do whatever, whenever, and however He wants to do it.
  2. FAITH GETS GOD’S ATTENTION – Hebrews 11:6 NKJV But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. –
  3. NO ACTION DOESN’T MEAN THAT GOD IS NOT ACTIVE – Just because it doesn’t move at the pace we think it should, doesn’t mean God isn’t moving.
  4. PERSEVERE IN PRAYER – Acts 12:12-16 NKJV So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” 16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
    1. Matthew 7:7 NKJV “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
  1. ALWAYS KNOW THAT GOD HEARD YOU – Isaiah 59:1 NKJV Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
  2. WHEN PRAYING, IT’S NOT HOW LONG, BUT HOW STRONG – God is not impressed with repetitive praise. He wants your prayer strong.
  3. PRAY WITH PRAISE – Philippians 4:6-8 NKJV Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—Meditate on these things.
    1. Acts 16:25 NKJV But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. – We speak well of God when we pray.
    1. The way we know God is hearing us, is we have to trust God. Are you waiting on something and wonder if God heard you? The answer may not come the way you think it is going to come. A delay is not a denial.
    1. There’s some stuff that you prayed for and have not gotten it yet. Know that 2020 is not going to end before you get what you asked for in your life.
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Part Two: WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

Posted on November 13, 2020 by growintheword

Four-Part Bible Study Series

God, Why?

Part Two: WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Synopsis of Bible Study November 11, 2020

1 Peter 4:12-13 NKJV
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

I. INTRODUCTION

A.     Many of us have asked why God lets bad things happen to good people. We could also reverse this question and ask why does God allow good things to happen to bad people? To tell the truth about it, the atheist is the only one that doesn’t have a problem with this question.

B.     Non-believers don’t have to ask this question. They don’t believe that God is omnipresent or all-knowing anyway. For us that believe, this question is very real. Why does God let bad things happen to good people?

C.     This brings us to another question. Is there really any good people in the world or do we just think we are good people?

II. HOW DO YOU EVALUATE “GOOD” OR “BAD”?

A.     What Makes Someone Good?

Isaiah 64:6 NKJV But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. – We think we do things that make us good, but Jesus judges us by what we are and not what we do. You can do all the right things, but still be as filthy rags.

B.     By Nature No One Is Good

James 2:10 NKJV For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. – There was only one time in history where a bad thing happened to a good person. That good person was Jesus. We don’t even stand in a place where we can say we are good. Only by the grace of God, do we exist.

  1. The question still remains: Why do wicked people prosper?
  2. Matthew 5:45 NKJV that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
  3. Romans 3:10-12 NKJV As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” –
  4. James 4:17 NKJV Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. -No one is good except God alone. We are naughty by nature. We all make mistakes and have flaws.
  5. Romans 7:18 NKJV For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. – We all have stuff in us that is not right. In fact, instead of saying, “Why do bad things happen to good people”, we should instead say, “Why does bad things happen to us?”

C.     Because Of Christ, We Are Declared Good

  1. We are only deemed good through Christ, because God has taken on all of our sins and he is transforming us.
  2. 2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. – By nature, we really don’t even seek God the way we are supposed to.
  3. Colossians 3:9-10 NKJV Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

III. WHY DO GOOD PEOPLE SUFFER?

A.     Pain Awakens Us To God

  1. “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ― C.S. Lewis
  2. James 1:2-4 NKJV My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
  3. Psalm 119:71 NKJV It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. – We wouldn’t have learned about God, if we hadn’t gone through what we did. No one asks for suffering, but when it happens, know that there is a benefit tied to it.
  4. Romans 5:3-4 NKJV And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. – Faith in Christ is not a guarantee of a good life free of trouble.
  5. Bad things do happen to good people. Because we have free will, pain can display God’s justice.

B.     Pain Can Display God’s Justice

  1. Hebrews 12:7-11 NKJV If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Things happen that we hate, but we learn to appreciate it later. Its like dreading a whipping from our parents when we were younger and later finding out that it was for our own good.

C.     Drives Sinners To Repentance

  1. Punishment makes wrong people, do right.
  2. Psalm 119:71 NKJV It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. – Sometimes you have to have things happen to put you back in the proper place.

D.     Used To Advance The Kingdom Of God

  1. Suffering has meaning. How many things in nature, besides us, complain about what they go through? How many trees are upset when a tsunami come? You think you are that until you suffer, but afterwards you realize who you really are.
  2. Everything you go through has some purpose tied to it.
    1. 1 Peter 4:12-13 NKJV 12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
    1. Romans 5:3-5 NKJV And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. – Tribulation produce’s perseverance. Everything that we have to go through produces something in our lives.

IV. BIBLICAL EXAMPLES

A.     Abraham Intercedes For Sodom

  1. Genesis 18:22-25 NKJV Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” – Abraham just kept pleading with God. Sometimes, the good have to suffer with the bad.

B.     Moses

  1. Exodus 5:22-23 NKJV So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? – In Moses eyes, nothing could justify what they were going through. 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.” – Everything that happens bad, we must realize that there must be some purpose behind it.

C.     Job

  1. Job 2:9-10 NKJV  9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? [a]Curse God and die!”But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. –– Job did nothing wrong. His wife says curse God and die, but Job didn’t. Through all of this, Job realized that though God sleighed him, he had to trust Him.

Ponder this: It’s all in how you see it. You can interpret a situation the wrong way. That’s why it is important to get revelation. Revelation will help you with your situation. It will help you get the proper perspective.

  1. You interpret things a certain way sometimes, because you don’t have revelation.
  2. Example: There are some people standing outside a hospital room. You can hear a woman screaming at the top of her lungs, while standing out in the hall. While the woman is screaming, the people outside her room was laughing. This guy walks up and hears the woman screaming and see the people laughing. He is furious with them for laughing and he asks, “Why are you laughing?” and “Why do you think her screaming is funny” ?

What he did not know was the woman was screaming, because she was having a baby. The people were smiling and laughing, because they knew that after all of this pain, there would be a blessing. That blessing would be her new born baby.

See the guy only saw the situation from his perspective. It is important to have the proper perspective when dealing with pain. This is why we must thank God for everything we go through. Stop asking why you have to go through this. Just learn to go through it with dignity and perspective.

When you trust the sovereignty of God, you know that He knows what’s best.

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How to Know God’s Will for Your Life, Bible Study 10.28.20

Posted on November 4, 2020 by growintheword

Synopsis of Bible Study October 28, 2020

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III, D.Min.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I. INTRODUCTION

  1. How willing are you to write a blank check with your life? Wanting to be in God’s destiny for our lives is one of our biggest challenges we have in life.
  2. Take a moment to examine why you want to do what God desires for your life. Is the reason because you want to know God or is it that you want to know the formula or plan that God has for your life?
  3. While on your journey, don’t allow trying to figuring out God’s will for you to become an idol. You should never pursue the Lord’s Will over be pursuing God Himself. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous and all these things will be added.
  4. We look for the spiritual GPS to tell us where to go. What we really want to know is the future, instead of knowing God’s will. We have to be open to the preparatory process.
    1. Psalms 37:3-6 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit[a] your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.-Read full chapter- The scripture is telling us not to be all over the place. As a consequence, he will give you the desires of your heart. Be committed to what God wants to do in your life and he will bring it to pass.

II. HOW TO SEEK GOD’S WILL

  1. Walk With God And Not Against God
  2. Train yourself to walk with God. Discipline yourself and God will do more in this area in your life
    1. Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. – Trust in God and he will tell you where to go. Ex- Bishop Walker explains that when he first come to Tennessee, he came to Mt Zion Church, because that is where God had sent him. This church didn’t look like what he expected and even the music didn’t sound like what he was used to. Instead of staying, Bishop left and went to another church down the street. This really didn’t do any good, because God sent him right back to Mt Zion. When he got there this time, an elderly lady says, “You must be a preacher. Let me take you to the Pastor”. The rest is history.
  3. The point here is, you have to trust when God is telling you something.
  4. God puts you in a place not for your right now, but instead your “not yet”.
  5. Trade Your Will For God’s Will
  6. Bishop explains that he wanted to be a lawyer, but God said, he would be a preacher. God knows His plans are better than ours could ever be.
    1. Romans 12:1-2 NKJV I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
  7. Obey What You Know To Be God’s Will
  8. Once God reveals to you, what he wants you to do, then you have to obey God’s will, no questions asked.
  9. Psalm 23:3 NKJV He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. – Scripture is not proposition. It is to reveal God’s plan to you.
  10. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. –
  1. How Has God Wired You? Only you can do what God has called you to do. Bishop explains how wired and high strung he was when he was a child. He stayed in trouble, because he just couldn’t sit still. Now look at him. All of this energy was needed for the assignment he is doing right now. Pay attention to your desires and sensitivities.
  2. Gain Sensitivity To The Spirit Of God – Ask God what He is doing in your season.
  3. When you pray, don’t pray and just pray and get up. Sit there, be quiet for a minute and then let God speak back to you.
    1. John 10:27 NKJV My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. – Just because you have been saved for a long time, don’t mean you automatically are in the will of God.
  4. If you are not sensitive in this season, you won’t pick up on what God is saying to you.
  5. Humble yourself. Are you doing things for the right reason?
  6. Come out of your comfort zone. If you consistently seek God’s will for your life, you will come out of your comfort zone.
  7. Listen to your heart.
  8. Give God Authority Over Your Heart
  9. Psalm 37:4-5 NKJV Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit[a] your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. – God will give you the desires of your heart, not of your flesh. We want to be in tune of God’s will for our life, so that we might to have the right desires of our heart.

III. THREE STEPS TO ENSURE YOU ARE ALIGNED WITH GOD’S WILL

  1. Allow God To Open And Close Doors
  2. Paul – The Macedonian Call
  3. Sometimes God will block a thing, because he doesn’t want you to go there.

Acts 16:6-9 NKJV Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in [a]Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the [b]Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” – Closed doors show us explicitly what God doesn’t want us to do. Don’t miss the open door trying to force your way into doors that are closed.

  • God will sometimes disrupt stuff. What He is doing is closing that door.
  • David Saves The City Of Keilah
  • 1 Samuel 23:9-13 NKJV When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”
    And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will deliver you.” 13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.     – Saul is on his way to Keilah, because he knows David is there. Saul was going to kill him and everyone else there. Once the Lord told David that the people of Keilah would give him up, David escapes and as a result, the people of Keilah was saved. Once Saul realized David had escaped, he decided not to go to Keilah.
  • Paul – The Will Of God Comes With God’s Fragrance
  • 1 Corinthians 2:12-17 NKJV Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. – There is a scent you have when you walk in the spirit. People can sense when you connected to God.
  • Be Willing To Wait
  • Lamentations 3:25-26 NKJV The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. 26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD. – It is good to wait on God.
  • Pursue Only What Will Bring God Glory – Be sure to desire the things that are in God’s will and not things that God forbids.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
  • Matthew 21:28-32 NKJV “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him. –

IV. MY WILL VS. GOD’S WILL?

  • John 5:30 NKJV I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
  • Philippians 2:13 NKJV for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. –

When you arrive at the crossroads of God’s will:

  1. Recognize
  2. Jesus warned us we would be treated like the world treated him.
  3. 1 Peter 4:12 NKJV Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
  4. Remember
  5. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it
  6. Reflect – The same way athlete trains, we must train our spirit. We have to feed it spiritual things and we have to condition it.
  7. Refuse – The way you conduct yourself in hard times is evident of God working in your life.
  8. Philippians 1:28 NKJV and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.
  9. Resist – The next time God’s will and yours don’t see eye to eye, realize that you don’t know all the circumstances. We don’t see what God sees. Gods will for your life is good, acceptable, and perfect.
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LIFE PLAN Part 2

Posted on July 9, 2020 by growintheword

DON’T LET YOUR VISION DIE

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III, D.Min.
Synopsis of Bible Study July 8, 2020

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
But happy is he who keeps the law.-Where there is no vision, people perish.

When I can see where God wants me to be, this is vision. Vision is for up the road. It extends you beyond your reality.

Romans 12:3-5 3For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. – We are a many membered body functioning together for The Corporate Functional body.

Your body responds to what it sees. If you are walking and your eyes see something the road, the eyes send a message to brain to avoid it and the brain sends a message to your feet to avoid it.

Vision controls mobility and direction. This is why it is important to keep your vision alive and fresh.

I.            THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING OUR VISION ALIVE & FRESH

A.     Have A Clear Vision

  1. With no vision, you have no clarity in your life.
  2. Vision lets us see the opportunities God has for us in our lives.
    1. Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.

B.     What Are You Willing To Do?

  1. Sometime vision is about delayed gratification. When we get a vision from God, we often want it to happen right now. Sometimes you got to just chill for a moment.
  2. Vision increases your appetite for life. My decisions are tied to what I envision.

C.     Know the Value of a Clear Destination

  1. Visualizing success ought to be the first thing you see. You ought to visualize success.
  2. Some people can have no vision and others have great vision.
    1. Do you ever wonder why people do things that don’t make sense? Sometimes it is simply because they didn’t have vision.
  3. Story – A few years ago, Netflix tried to get Blockbuster to invest in them. They came to them with a vision and thought it would be good to partner with Blockbuster. As a result of introducing this vision, Netflix were literally laughed out of the room. Now Blockbuster is almost nonexistent. Netflix is killing the game now and Blockbuster missed it because they couldn’t see the vision.

CASESTUDY: THE APOSTLE PAUL

  1. Sometimes it is about stepping out on faith.

Acts 15:36 Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” – Paul is responding to a burden. He feels he has a responsibility to go and check on the people that are part of his vision.

  1. What you don’t inspect, you can’t expect.
    1. Vision sometimes has to be tweaked. God will often block some things you try, because he has a better vison for your life.
      1. Acts 16:6-10 6Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. – Paul was working his vision trying to do the right thing and God shows him clearly, this is he assignment I have for you now.
      1. Some things that we do that are good are not necessarily a God thing. God will block that because he has something greater that he wants you to do.

II.            BIBLICAL EXAMPLES FOR THE OVERALL VISION & PURPOSE FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST

A.     Ezekiel

  1. Ezekiel had vision beyond vision.
    1. Ezekiel 37:1-6 1The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”- God gives vision for the possibility of the people that seemed dried up.
    1. Vision is looking at something and seeing things other people can’t see.
      1. God will send you to a ministry sometimes and ask, can these dry bones live again? It’s about the potentiality not the actuality.
    1. Some people are frustrated, but vison is about what you don’t see yet. It is about potential.

B.     Ephesians

Ephesians 4:11-16 11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. – What collapses a vision is when there are parts of the body that are rebellious.

  1. Rebellion is part of witchcraft. Through rebellion, you can be the hindrance that keeps the vision from coming to fruition.
  2. God is not going to allow one or two people to disrupt an entire vision for an entire ministry. God likewise is not going to allow your adversaries to disrupt what He is showing you.
  3. No weapon formed against you shall prosper.
    1. Matthew 24:14 (NKJV) 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. – Jesus said this gospel is going to be preached in every part of this world.
    1. Can the gospel really be preached all around the world? A meeting that Bishop had the privilege of sitting in revealed that Facebook as a goal is trying to have a 1/3 of the earth to have Facebook in their lives. People are watching us now from many different countries at the same time. If you think about it, we are not far from the gospel being preached in every corner of the earth. Jesus says when this is done, then the end will come. This ought to tremble your spirit.

III.            WAYS IN WHICH SATAN TRIES TO DIM YOUR VISION

  1. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 3But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. – Vison is hindered by the enemy when he blinds the mind of those, so that light can’t come in. This means you are hindered from seeing revelation. This block hinders vision.
  2. We are told not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. 2 Corinthians 2:11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
  3. If I’m passionate about vision, Satan’s attack will be there.

A.    Unrepented Sin

  1. Unrepented sin can also block vision.
    1. Isaiah 59:9-12 9Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places. 11 We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: – Sin’s are multiplied, because people refuse to repent. At some point you have to stop so you can start seeing.
    1. Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, – God wants to bring refreshing to your life

B.     Broken Relationships

  1. When you allow offenses to become bitterness, this can blind you to vision.
    1. I John 2:9-11 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. – You can’t have so much hate in you and expect God to show you vision.
  2. If somebody has to tear something down to elevate itself, this isn’t God.

C.     Too Much Time Focusing on Carnality

  1. The lust of the eye is dangerous.
  2. Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.- Focusing on what you want can blind you.
  3. Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.- You get consumed in what you want and miss what God wants for your life.
  4. Psalm 119:37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. – Lord take my eyes off of worthless social media profiles and watching foolishness on TV and revive me in your own way.
    1. We put so much into our eye gate that means nothing.

D.     Too Much Time Focusing on The Past

  1. Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. –

E.      Too Much Time Looking at Difficulties

  1. Some people always focus on what’s wrong.

CASE STUDY: THE SPIES

Numbers 13:27-33 27Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” – The spies were complaining about the enemy. Some people see the fruit, and some see the problem. You have to be one of those that say, “I see what’s possible!” You can’t just focus on the problem.

IV.            HOW TO FIND YOUR VISION

A.     Discover it-

I Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. –

Main Elements of a Discovery Plan:

  1. Purpose answers the question WHAT?
  2. People answers the question WHO?
  3. Principles answers the question HOW?

B.     Align

  1. John 16:13-15 13However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.- Relationship and communion with the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary in order to keep your vision fresh and alive. You have to constantly be in communion with God.
  2. 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. – Your vision is going to stay fresh

C.     Renew

  1. It’s an oncoming process. It’s a renewing spirit, every day.

V.            HOW TO KEEP YOUR VISION FRESH AND ALIVE

A.     Create a Vision Statement

  1. Create a vision statement based upon what gives meaning to your life.
  2. Habakkuk 2:1-3 1I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. – Those who read it will run with it. You have to define the real reason you are doing it.

B.     Connect with Other Visionaries

  1. Stop hanging around dull blades.
  2. Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. – Get around some sharp people that can help you.

C.     Conduct Periodic Self Inventory

  1. Ask are you walking this out where God gets the glory?

D.     Continually Act On It

  1. Run with it. Act on it! Don’t leave it for others to build.
    1. “We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.” – Woodrow Wilson
  2. Story- Bishop is from Louisiana. Nobody was seeing what he was seeing. Bishop started seeing condominiums where cow pastures were. He used to talk about how God was going to multiplying the congregation when at the time there was only 60 members. You got to believe vision when others never see it.
    1. When in Princeton, God showed him something. He showed Bishop a chair and reminded him that this is a chair, but it’s really a manifestation of an idea. The chair didn’t start here, it started there in the mind.
    1. Vision starts up there in your mind. What we see here, started up there in the mind. When you operate up here in the mind, people often think you to be strange.
    1. There are those that praise God for revelation and those who have to wait on manifestation. When you believe in vision, you praise God in revelation, not manifestation.

Keep your vision strong. Don’t let anyone dim your vision. In this Life Plan, you will need a strong vision. If you are in alignment with God, you can’t be stopped.

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