Surviving Season of Uncertainty, Part 4 – Bible Study 4.15.20

Posted on April 17, 2020 by growintheword

Standing on The Promise

Synopsis of Bible Study April 15, 2020

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

2 Corinthians 1:20 KJV “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen,
to the glory of God through us.”

When you think about that, you wonder how many promises are found in God’s word. There are 3,573 promises found in the bile. The word promise itself is found over 50 times in god’s word.

  1. WHAT DO THE PROMISES OF GOD REVEAL TO US ABOUT GOD?

A.      God’s Authority

Hebrews 6:13 NIV – “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself.”

  1. When you go into court and you lay your hand on the bible, you are laying your hand on a greater authority.
  2. We should never question God’s authority. God has the ultimate authority in the earth.
  3. God’s Awareness
  4. God knows everything we go through.

Hebrews 4:15 NIV – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”- Everything that you are going through, God has already experienced it.

Job 23:10-12 NIV – “10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. 11 My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. 12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”

C.      God’s Ability

  1. God is able. God never makes a promise that he can’t back up.
    1. People will tell you things and never get around to it.

1 Samuel 9:16-18 NIV – “16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.” 17 When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.” 18 Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”- When God makes a promise, he has the authority to make things happen. He can navigate things to make what he wants happen.

  1. BIBLICAL EXAMPLES – PEOPLE WHO RECEIVED A PROMISE

A.       Abraham

Genesis 15:1-7 NIV – “1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”- God made a promise to Abraham. Abraham did not realize that God had set things up on his behalf, because he was looking at his current circumstance.

B.     Noah

Genesis 9:8-15 NIV – “8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.”- God says to Noah, he didn’t save him for nothing.

  1. God saved Noah for a purpose and he will save you for a purpose. The Covenant of Purpose is on your life is not just for you, it is for your children and your children’s children.
  2. The covenant of survival is on your life and you will survive this season of uncertainty.

C.     David

2 Samuel 7:12-13 NIV – “12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever

  1. A covenant is an agreement between two people. God says when he gives covenant, he doesn’t break covenants, therefore, He doesn’t make promises that he can’t back up, so when God makes a covenant, its binding.
  2. Often the covenant isn’t broken by God, it is broken by us. If a promise doesn’t come to pass, you got to ask yourself, what have I done to hinder the promise, based on my lack of being faithful to the covenant.
  • HOW THE ENEMY TRIES TO TURN A PROMISE INTO A LIE

A.    He Is The Father Of Lies

  1. A snake is a snake. The enemy wants to distract us, but the devil is a liar.
  2. You have to kill the lie. You have to refuse to believe that partying and hooking up is going to heal you from your pain. The devil likes to confuse you.

B.     Tries To Blind Your Mind

2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV – “The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”- The devil wants to blind your mind. There is nothing worse than having a mind that is blind, because this means that you are not receptive to the truth.

  1. Once you expose your mind to Jesus Christ and his revelation, then you have a different perspective about your situation.

C.     Manipulates Scripture

Matthew 4:1-6 NIV – “1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”-  ­Satan is twisting scripture. This is one of the tactics of the enemy.

  1. You have to be careful that you don’t allow people to twist Gods word. This will have you messed up.
  2. You can’t use scripture to set up your own motive. This is demonic. There is nothing sound about walking out into the world and not taking precaution. People can twist the word in a manner that makes you think you can, but this is not sound.

D.     Attempts to Convince You That God Didn’t Mean What God Said

Genesis 3:1-7 NIV – “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”- Satan took God’s word and twisted it to make Eve believe that God didn’t mean it like He said it.

  1. Satan wants to get you to a place where you start doubting the word of God.

 

 

  1. WHAT DO THE PROMISES OF GOD PRODUCE IN OUR LIVES?
  2. It produces Character. Doing the right thing even when wrong is done to you, speaks to your character. The struggle of character against sin and the reach for virtue.
  3. Character emerges when we confront the enemy and our internal demons.
  4. Character is those things that we do when no one is watching.
  5. This is the true season that your true character shows up. Do you really believe what God told you or what you’ve telling people about? We don’t need spiritual supplements or drugs or alcohol. All we need is faith in God.
  6. It produces Confidence. Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
  7. The confidence I have is what God started in me and He will complete it. What God promised will happen in your lifetime. You will not die before it comes to pass.
  8. It produces Consistency – God doesn’t waver. You can’t waver or be double minded. God is looking for consistency during these times. James 1:8 (NKJV) 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. – God can’t trust someone that is not consistent. You got to know stability and consistency is a biproduct of God.
  9. It produces Clarity – Now you see clearer.
  10. It helps us to Cope – When I stand on the promises of God, it helps me Cope with what I am dealing with. Psalm 37:6-10 (NKJV) 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes 9 For evildoers shall be [a]cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. – The Psalmist is declaring that he can handle what others can’t.
  11. Some people that don’t have the ability to cope, go to other sources in order to cope. We deal with whatever we are going through, because they can cope based on relationship with God.
  12. In this season, our coping will be with our head lifted up.

 

  1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO STAND ON THE PROMISES OF GOD?
  2. When you don’t rely on self, you have spirit over mind.
    Proverbs 3:5 NIV – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;”- This means I can trust God when I can’t trace him.
  3. Even your Pastor had to trust God. He or she has never pastored through a Pandemic. They don’t teach this in seminary. They have to just trust God.

Judges 7:7 NIV – “The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”– Gideon saw an enemy greater than him. Gideon had 1000 troops and God said he had too many. God made him downgrade to 300. Why is this? It is because, 1 + God is the majority.

  1. Do you really trust God? God’s word doesn’t change even when your circumstances do.
  2. God is the same yesterday today and forever.
  3. When you look over all that has happened in history, how can you think God can’t get us through this?

Psalm 89:34 NIV – “I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.”- God says, I am not going to break my covenant. Every message that you have received, know that God will not break his covenant.

1 Peter 1:24-25 NIV – “24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.”- The grass withers and its flowers fade away, but not the word of God.

  1. You trying to survive this season of uncertainty. God’s word will last forever. You’ve got to trust God’s word and promise like never before. His word will last forever ever. In this season learn to stand on his promise.

 

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Living My Best Life Part II, Sermon 04.12.20

Posted on April 14, 2020 by growintheword

Part of Weekend series

April 12, 2020

April 2020 Sunday Series
Don’t Stop Living

Part 2: Living My Best Life

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

John 10:10 NIV – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

I.         INTRODUCTION

  1. What God has for your life, is further than you can comprehend. God didn’t’ want us to live average lives.
  2. Many of us wake up to redundancy every day. In other words, we have no idea of our purpose. This makes you except things beneath you, because you don’t understand your value.
  3. The devil throws things in your life to entice you, because he is a robber and a thief.
  4. How we view life now, has taken on a different meaning. In this season, we have been forced into thinking about what life really looks like. Nobody is bragging about what money can buy, instead we are thankful for what money can’t buy. You have stopped being so wasteful now, because life takes on a different meaning.
  5. Now we are readjusting. Now we have to live our best life with new perspective. You’ve got to come to place of being tired of being discouraged. You’ve got to get ready to live your best life.
  6. Jesus came so that we could live our best life and as a result, Satan is trying to derail this.

 

II.         THE GREATNESS ON YOUR LIFE ATTRACTS DEMONIC ATTACK

  1. The Enemy Heard About You Before You Got Here
  2. If you are not being attacked, you ought to be worried. This means you don’t have any value.
  3. Realize that attacks signify that your life has value.

Jeremiah 1:5  (NKJV) 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified[a] you; I [b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.” – Before you were formed, God had placed greatness on you.

  1. There were forces at work trying to destroy you, before you were even formed.

 

  1. In fact, the enemy is still struggling over the fact that you got here.

 

  1. The Greater the Assignment The Greater The Attack

People with greatness is susceptible to greater attacks. The devil sets back and studies you. Why do you think Jesus says to Peter, “The devil desires to sift you like wheat?”

 

 

  1. Why do I have to go through attacks?
  2. Your Presence Is Threatening – Just by showing up, your presence is a threat to people.
  3. You Possess Territory – The Pharisees were threatened, because they thought Jesus was trying to establish a kingdom on the earth. He wasn’t trying to establish a kingdom, because he already had one. He was trying to bring his kingdom down to earth.
    1. The enemy is after you, because you are a possessor of territory.
  4. You Are On A Powerful Trajectory – The enemy is attacking you. Know however, he ain’t after your right now, he’s after your not yet.
    1. The intensity of your attack is an indication of the trajectory God has placed over your life.

III.         THE ENEMY’S PLOT IS STRATEGIC

  1. Your Enemy Is Not A Giver, He Is A Taker
  1. When the enemy comes in your life, it is never for edification. No matter how good it looks or how fine he or she is, if the devil sent it, then it’s designed to be a taker. The enemy took David’s first son. The enemy took Adam and Eve’s destiny, he took the destiny of Lot’s wife, he took the husband of the Widow, he took jobs from families, he took wages from the working class, he took funding from schools, and he will try and take your marriage.
  2. God says everything the enemy took, He is going to give it back! Even though the enemy took it, you’re getting it back.
  3. The Plot Is To Kill You On The Installment Plan
  4. 3 Areas Satan Uses to Try and Kill You
    1. Steal – To take another person’s property without permission or legal right and without intending to return it.
    2. Kill – To cause death or put an end to or cause the failure or defeat of something. Satan tries to kill you by sin. The wages of sin is death.
    3. Destroy= to put to an end to the existence of something by damaging or attacking it. Satan wants to erase you from history.
  5. Know that the greater the assignment, the greater the attack.
  6. God’s purpose is greater than the enemy’s plot.

IV.         JESUS CAME TO CONQUER DEATH SO YOU COULD LIVE

God has more for you than what you have been dealing with.

  1. Jesus Disrupted The Plan Of The Enemy
  2. Jesus took all of the schemes and the plans of the enemy and nailed it to the cross. The enemy can’t kill you, because Jesus has already taken authority over it.

Romans 5:12-15 NIV – “12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned — 13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”- Sin came into the world by one man, but grace came in to abound by Jesus Christ.

  1. We have victory over death and victory over the grave, because of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 NIV – “50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”.

  1. He Died So I Could Live
  2. It doesn’t matter what you did, whosoever will, let them come. By the grace of God, we are what we are today. Jesus died so we could live.
  3. Jesus came to settle the debt that we could not pay.

John 3:16 NIV – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – Whosoever in the scripture is those who have done whatsoever.

V.         LIVE UNAPOLOGETICALLY THE GOD KIND OF LIFE

  1. Walk In Resurrection And Ascension
  2. The God kind of life is not just getting up. You live every Easter, but a few days later, you are back down again.
  3. Resurrection is just the beginning. God not only wants us to get up, he wants us to go up. We are ascending.
  4. I Will Not Be Ashamed Of What He’s Done For Me
  5. Where I’ve Been – Don’t be ashamed of what you used to be. Don’t let people hold you hostage to what you used to be.
  6. Who Brought Me Out – I know it wasn’t my money or family that brought me out. It was God that brought me out.
  7. What I Have – What we have, He gave me, what I am He made me, where I am, He brought me.
  8. Where I’m Going – You won’t just get up, because there is ascension in your future. Begin to give God glory that we serve a risen savior. He lives and now you can live too!

God Speaks to the Nation Prophetically:

God says, “I finally have your attention. Finally, in the hustle and bustle of life, you know now what it means to be still. All your distractions are fading and your focus in 2020 is the year of clarity. Clarity! You are seeing clearer now than ever before.

Be still and know that I am the Lord. What has happened to the world, I have the power to stop, but I allowed it, so the world could reset. It will be no respecter of persons or culture or economic status. It will be indiscriminate to help you reset. I have shut it all down.

I am the Lord that still stops the rain. All of it has shut down, so that you might reset. He that has an ear, let him hear. This is a time that everything must reset. I have put you on pause, so that the earth can heal. You have damaged earth. The earth is the Lord’s and fullness thereof and all that dwells therein. You have brought trauma to the earth through global warming, through emissions, but now your cars are in garages. You can no longer can start random fires in rain forests, the earth is healing and resetting.

I am the Lord thou God who resets your family. You have taken so much for granted. You have been running and you have been moving and you have been going like ships in the night. I have created an opportunity for you to be home longer than you have before, to be still that you don’t lose your children and that you don’t lose your marriage. That you might have the tough conversations that you wouldn’t have had if you were constantly running, trying escape.

I am healing the family. I am allowing you time to reach out to family, cousins, and relatives you have not spoken to.  Now relationships are going to matter and now you are going to have to heal broken relationships. The things that were so petty, no longer matters. I am the Lord thou God that heals the family.

I am healing my church. The church was hemorrhaging, intoxicating herself with brands and personality driven platforms and now hurting with platforms, I put you all are on equal playing fields. Now you will have to preach for Me and not the applause of people.

I the Lord thou God, comes to humble every leader and to tell you that you must now reset how you have done church. And the church itself has to learn how to get beyond petty fights and theology and denominationalism.

I have reset community and what it looks like. Now you cannot strut in God’s house to be seen. Now you must sit and receive the pure word of God, without drawing attention to yourself.

I am healing the church. I am making division go away that when you return you shall be a healed body and you will worship Me the way that I intended. There is a generation of those, that seek My face and they will come running, not for positions and not for titles. There won’t be cat fights and position fights and there won’t be territorialism.

When this is over, my people will come with a pure heart. There are people that gave up on the church that will come running back, because now we realize that if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, I will heal thee.

I am healing community. I am showing you the economic injustice. I’m showing you how in certain neighborhoods, how things have disproportionately affected certain people. I am showing you now. I am shining a spotlight on it, that now it is time for us as a community, to move out of our pomp and circumstance and to roll up our sleeves and be who God called us to be.  I easy to sit back and type and critique. It’s easy to talk, but now it is time for everybody to come together, because we are better together. Unless the Lord builds an house, they that build, build in vain. Our community, our schools, what we put into our bodies, what we put into our mind, the things we tolerate in our communities, and our neighborhoods now will shift, because God is going to heal our community.

The revival is still coming. What I promised you in 2020, is still in play. Do not cancel 2020. It may look like its over, but this word shall be confirmed in the 7th month of 2020, your turn around will begin. Your second half will be the awakening and if you go in the second half and Corona couldn’t get you right, if Corona couldn’t get you back to church, if Corona couldn’t make you love your children, if Corona couldn’t make you pray, if Corona couldn’t make you take life serious, if Corona couldn’t make you put things in to perspective, then nothing else will.

I declare and decree that the second half, your turn around will begin. Everything I promised you, will still come to pass”.

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Prophetic Word – 04.12.20

Posted on April 13, 2020 by growintheword

God speaks to the nation prophetically:

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

God says, “I finally have your attention. Finally. In the hustle and bustle of life, you know now what it means to be still.

All your distractions are fading and your focus in 2020 is the year of clarity. Clarity! You are seeing clearer now than ever before.

Be still and know that I am the Lord. What has happened to the world, I have the power to stop, but I allowed it, so the world could reset. It will be no respecter of persons or culture or economic status. It will be indiscriminate to help you reset. The Lord has shut it all down.

I am the Lord that still stops the rain. All of it has shut down, so that you might reset. He that has an ear, let him hear.

This is a time that everything must reset. I have put you on pause, so that the earth can heal. You have damaged earth. The earth is the Lord’s and fullness thereof and all that dwells therein. You have brought trauma to the earth though global warming, through emissions, but now your cars are in garages. You can no longer start random fires in rain forests, the earth is healing and resetting.

I am the Lord thou God who resets your family. You have taken so much for granted. You have been running and you have been moving and you have been going like ships in the night. I have created an opportunity for you to be home longer than you have before, to be still that you don’t lose your children and that you don’t lose your marriage. That you might have the tough conversations that you wouldn’t have had if you were constantly running, trying escape.

I am healing the family. I am allowing you time to reach out to family, cousins, and relatives you have not spoken to.  Now relationships is going to matter and now you are going to have to heal broken relationships. The things that were so petty, no longer matters. I am the Lord thou God that heals the family.

I am healing my church. The church was hemorrhaging, intoxicating herself with brands and personality driven platforms and now hurting with platforms I put you all are on equal playing fields. Now we have to preach for Him and not the applause of people.

I the Lord thou God, comes to humble every leader and tell you that you must now reset how you have done church. And the church itself has to learn how to get beyond petty fights and theology and denominationalism.

I have reset community and what it looks like. Now you cannot strut in god’s house to be seen. Now you must sit and receive the pure word of God, without drawing attention to yourself.

I am healing the church. I am making division go away that when you return you will shal be a healed body and you will worship Me the way that I intended. There is a generation of those, that seek My face and they will come running, not for positions and not for titles. There won’t be cat fights and position fights and ther won’t be territorialism.

When this is over, my people will come with a pure heart. There are people that gave up on the church that will come running back, because now we realize that if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, I will heal thee.

I am healing community. I am showing you the economic injustice. I’m showing you how in certain neighborhoods, how things have disproportionately affected certain people. I am showing you now. I am shining a spotlight on it, that now it is time for us as a community, to move out of our pomp and circumstance and to roll up our sleeves and be who God called us to be.  I easy to sit back and type and critique. It’s easy to talk, but now it is time for everybody to come together, because we are better together. Unless the Lord builds an house, they that build, build in vain. Our community, our schools, what we put into our bodies, what we put into our mind, the things we tolerate in our communities, and our neighborhoods now will shift, because God is going to heal our community.

The revival is still coming. What I promised you in 2020, is still in play. Do not cancel 2020. It may look like its over, but this word shall be confirmed in the 7th month of 2020, your turn around will begin. Your second half will be the awakening and if you go in the second half and Corona couldn’t get you right, if Corona couldn’t get you back to church, if Corona couldn’t make you love your children, if Corona couldn’t make you pray, if Corona couldn’t make you take life serious, if Corona couldn’t make you put things in to perspective, then nothing else will.

I declare and decree that the second half, your turn around will begin. Everything I promised you, will still come to pass”.

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Surviving Seasons of Uncertainty Part 3, Bible Study 4/8/20

Posted on April 10, 2020 by growintheword

April 2020 Bible Study Series Surviving Seasons of Uncertainty

Part 3: Staying Positive

Synopsis of Bible Study April 8, 2020

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

Proverbs 17:22 NKJV – “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.”

How you view this season has lot to do with how you go through it. Some people, all they see is the negative. You can’t be a person that is always being feed negativism.

I.            OTIMISSIM VS. PESSIMISM

  1. Optimist- This is a person who tends to be hopeful and confident about the future or the success of something. A person who believes that good must ultimately prevail over evil.
    1. They see things from a hope perspective
  2. Pessimist- A person who tends to see the worst aspect of things or believes that the worst will happen. Believes that evil will always prevail over the good.
    1. They see the glass half empty while the optimist sees the glass half full.
  3. An optimist understands that life can be a bumpy road, but at least it is leading somewhere. They learn from mistakes and are not afraid to fail again – Harvey Mackay
  4. Happiness comes when we stop complaining about the troubles we have and offer thanks for all the troubles we don’t have – Anonymous
  5. Darrin Donnelly states in his book Relentless Optimism, “The people who succeed aren’t the ones who avoid failure; they’re the ones who learn how to respond to failure with optimism”
  6. There has to be an effort to be intentional. You have to stay positive in this season. It is about perspective.

II.            STAYING POSITIVE IS ABOUT PERSPECTIVE

  1. We all have blind spots that come from our own thinking. Blind spots make us think this is not what God would have us to think.
  2. You can’t have a perspective that is too hot or too cold. You have to be a thermostat. A thermostat perspective can change environments.
  3. 3 parts of perspective
    1. Thoughts – Often how I think can be controlled by a particular thing or particular space.
    2. Feelings – How I feel can be measured by what I am going through. What I do can have an affect on how I feel.
    3. Actions – Actions can be about how I see life. You can make yourself sick or act a certain way based off of your perspective.

III.            WHAT IS IT THAT INFORMS YOUR PERSPECTIVE?

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV) 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. – Whatever you find positive, let you mind meditate on that. Don’t focus on things that are negative, because it can be toxic to your destiny.

What are the effects of our perspective?

 

  1. ENVIRONMENT
    Psalm 1 :1-6 (NKJV) 1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he [b]meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the [c]rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. – Have you ever thought that the people you hang around, can affect your environment? Hang around someone long enough, you will end up believing what they believe. This is why it is important to be around positive people.
  2. Your environment can be conducive to your mindset and change your perspective.
  3. EXPOSURE
  4. It is about getting out of your environment. – Some people in your life can’t handle what God is going to do in and through you.
  5. Vision is all about your exposure. If you don’t go beyond your zip code, then your vision is affected. You can’t be it, if you don’t see it.

Genesis 12:1-2 NIV – “1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

  1. EXPERIENCE
  2. This is about reflecting on what you have seen God do.

Psalm 37:25 NIV – “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”- David said he’s been around and his experience tells him that God is going to pull you through.

  1. You see people that don’t worry, and you wonder why. It is because they have seen God work things out before.

IV.            HOW TO PREVENT NEGATIVE ENERGY

Ever woke up feeling good and one phone call takes it all out of you? You have to prevent negative energy from being around you.

You have to:

  1. Control Your Boundaries – You got to learn to block some things and to delete some things. Keep your mind away from toxicity. This means control allowing negative energy in your space.
  2. In this season, you don’t have the luxury of carrying all that you are carrying and then take on others luggage too.

 

  1. Watch What You Take In
  2. Watch your eye gate and ear gate. Be careful what you allow to come into your spirit.

Psalm 101:3 NIV – “I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it.”- You can’t see all this negative stuff all day and it not affect you. You can’t let this stuff attach to you.

  1. Watch what you hear.

Mark 4:24-25 NIV – 24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”- We often miss that. Take head of what you hear.

  1. Some people are messy and we just sit and listen to all that they have to say. You can’t always be reading, watching, or hearing negative info.
  2. Ask yourself, are you allowing more negative to pour into you than you allow God’ word?
  1. Watch What You Put Out
  2. What you put out is often what you put your mouth to do. When you do this, you are creating an atmosphere around you.
  3. Proverbs 18:20 NIV – “From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.”- Why do you attach to negative energy? It is because deep down, you may be
  4. We take our garbage to garbage can. Ask yourself then, why do people feel comfortable bringing garbage to you?

V.            SIGNS OF A NEGATIVE PERSON

  1. They always find the bad in the good. These people will find bad in everything.
  2. Their negativity will drain your energy. Relationships pour into you. You don’t need something pouring into that is draining you.
  3. They find ways and reasons to under achieve. They’re always looking for the easy way out.
  4. They refuse to grow personally. Negative people are stuck in the same place. They get mad at you for progressing.
  5. They always play the victim.
  6. They worry about everything.
  7. They love the word “but”. I love your house, but…

VI.            HOW TO MOVE FROM NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE

  1. Have an attitude to gratitude

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV) 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

  1. You have to practice gratitude. If you focus on the bad things, you never see the good things.
  2. Focus on what God is doing for you and not what is happening to you
  3. Write down everything that you appreciate God for, so that you don’t let your situation drive you crazy.
  4. God has done more for you than what’s happening to you.
  5. Spend more time being aware of your countenance. Look like what you believe. Smile more.
  6. Your posture matters.

Proverbs 15:13 (NKJV) 13 A merry heart makes a cheerful [a]countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. – When you have a merciful heart, it changes your countenance.

  1. We see the present as present

Psalm 118:24 (NKJV) 24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. – We don’t know what tomorrow will hold, but we know who holds tomorrow.

 

 

VII.            HAVE THE MATURITY TO ENCOURAGE YOURSELF

  1. Jeremiah
    Jeremiah 20:9 NIV – “But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
  2. Jeremiah didn’t want to do it another day. He was done. Jeremiah matured to the point that the word called him back to himself.
  3. Job
  4. Job had to encourage himself. Job went through one thing after the next. He kept getting bad news one after another.

Job 1:20-22 NIV – “20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”-Job matured to the place that he reverted back to what he always knew.

  1. Job worshipped God

Job 13:15 NIV – “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.” – They may call him crazy, but Job made up in his mind to trust God.

  1. David
  2. David had to trust God. Saul tried to kill David, and David had to learn something about being optimistic.

Psalm 23:4 NIV – “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”- You not in the valley by yourself

  1. We have divine partnership this makes up our optimism. When we trust things like this, great things happen.
  2. To come back from Zig Lag and see that all had been destroyed, family had been kidnapped, and people have turned against you, this is hard. Know that no matter what, you will recover

1 Samuel 30:6 (NKJV) 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was [a]grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.  – David had a spirit of optimism. David asked God what to do. God told him to get up and go back. You shall recover all.

Conclusion:

Say to yourself, “I shall recover all”. The way you will survive this season is you have to stay positive. Let nothing separate you from the love of Jesus Christ.

In all of the bad news, know that He is the good news!

 

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