Wonder What God wants for Christmas?

Posted on December 4, 2018 by growintheword
By Darius Rucker

Old man playing Santa Claus
Blue in a town with old Jack Frost
Now he’s handing out candy canes and smiles for free
People scoring with their lists
Rushing around to buy those gifts that will
End up wrapped up underneath the tree
I’m sitting at this red light looking at a manger scene
Watching snowflakes kiss that baby
And it makes me think

I wonder what God wants for Christmas
Something that you can’t find in a store
Maybe peace on earth, no more empty seats in church
Might be what’s on His wishlist
I wonder what God wants for Christmas

What do you give someone
Who give His only Son
What if we believe in Him
Like He believes in us

I wonder what God wants for Christmas
What might put a smile on His face
Every bubble with no dust, the devil given up
Might be what’s on His wishlist

I wonder what God wants for Christmas
What kind of gift from you and me
More sister, more brother, more lovin’ one another
Yeah, I wonder, I wonder what God wants
By now we oughta know what God wants for Christmas
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Series Title: The Fight of My Life Part III, Bible Study 09/26/18

Posted on October 8, 2018 by growintheword

 

Week Three: How to Live Your Best Life

Synopsis of Bible study 09/26/18

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

 

Psalm 23:5-6, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

I.          Introduction

  1. Life is full of struggles, but it shouldn’t have a starring role in your life. At some point, your struggles should be over.
  2. Some people are always going through something. These people constantly complain, because they want to know that people care about them. The problem with this is, if you are always going through something, then people begin to wonder how long the tunnel is? Why is it taking so long for you to get your breakthrough? Are you sitting on the side of the road in park?
  3. You have the ability to move from a place of struggle to a place of overflow and ease. Your worst days can turn into your best days if you walk in wisdom headed to your end.
  4. The force that has come against you has taken too much of your life. God is a God of restoration. He wants you to be restored. Joel 2:25-26 (NKJV) says 25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming [a]locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. -When the fight has depleted you, God will send resources your way to restore what you have lost. He will direct things into your path.
  5. Many of you have been in the fight of your life for so long, it is time that you to encounter some sweat -less victories. Put down your fighting gear. You have got to learn to live your best life.
  6. Many of us have different ideas of what our best life is. If we were to pass the mic around, everyone would have d different description of a best life from their perspective.
  7. Living your best life is about being in the right positon. Blessings come to a position and not necessarily to the individual. This is why it is important for you to be in proper position. Ex-For those of you that know about football, you know that a quarterback may try and move the ball down the field is by throwing to the spot that the receiver is supposed to run to. For this reason, it is important for the receiver to get to that spot in the time he is supposed to. If he doesn’t, then the receiver cannot catch the ball and advance down the field.
    1. It is important for us to know that the blessing is in the air, but God needs you to get to the spot that you are supposed to be in. There is power in positioning! You need to understand the power of positioning. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) says 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.- God is not trying to hurt you. God needs you to make conscious decision to live your best life.
  8. How to live your best life:
    1. Live every day with a fresh Know that the present is the present. You can’t bring yesterday’s stuff into today. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV) says 22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. – God wants you to have a fresh start today. Don’t let stuff pile up on you. You have to learn to release your issues and realize that today is a new day.
      1. If you want to know if tomorrow is a new day, realize that if you wake up and open your eyes, you have reached a new day.
    2. Live more consciously each day. We wake up every day naïve, not realizing what is around us. 1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) 8 Be [a]sober, be [b]vigilant; [c]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.- The enemy is looking for a weak mind every day.
      1. You must realize that life is not to be lived on autopilot. It is to be lived in real time.
      2. When you encounter people, then follow your spirit. Our mentor says I don’t want you paranoid, but treat everything like a setup. People are your friend until they are not. The devil is slick and sly. Don’t go through life naive.
    3. Create your own opportunities. You have to be proactive. You got to be in position when it time for your gifts to be used.
      1. Learn to be an answer to the problems around you. You are pregnant with promise and it doesn’t just involve one thing. There is more inside of you than what you think. Invent a system that bring resources to you verses chasing systems and begging for resources.
      2. Look at the aunt. Proverbs 6:6-8 (NKJV) says 6 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no [a]captain, Overseer or ruler, 8 Provides her [b]supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.- What is the ants’ system? Simply they have decided that they will bring food from one place to another and they won’t allow anything in their path to deter them from completing their mission.
  • Let’s examine the enemy that is watching a person who is determined like the ant. The snake wants to cross the ants’ path, but it knows better than to try, because the snake knows the ants have a system in place that will prove fatal to the snake, if he tries to cross their path. The snake is not scared of the ant, but he is afraid of their system. If you work your system, then the enemy knows not to cross your system. If your system has you bored, then you need to change your system.
  1. Be authentically you. Stop measuring yourself to the standards of others. Galatians 6:4 (NKJV) says 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.-You are unique. Psalm 139:14 (NKJV) says 14 I will praise You, for [a]I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. – There is a time that the mentee has to find its own way. God anoints things that are authentic not When you are authentic, the people who really love you, want you to be authentic.

II.          The Prepared Table

A. You have reservations at the table God prepared for you

  1. So often, we try to gain access to tables that God didn’t prepare for us. Sometimes you are on the uninvited list, because you want to eat off of the wrong menu.
  2. Your diet determines your destiny. Ex – Daniel was invited to eat at the kings table. They had access to all that they could have dreamed of in the place. What was being served was considered forbidden food, according to their religious beliefs. As a result, Daniel and his men requested other food. Daniel 1:8-17 (NKJV) says 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and [a]goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. 10 And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.” 11 So Daniel said to [b]the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” 14 So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.15 And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. 16 Thus [c]the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.- God had brought Daniel into favor with the Chief Eunuch. After being urged by the Eunuch to eat the food that the King assigned them to eat, Daniel prayed for stuff that they could eat without going against their beliefs.
    1. The Chief Eunuch was concerned if Daniel and his men didn’t eat of the king’s food, they would look poorly compared to the other men and it would anger the King. Daniel asked the Chief Eunuch to allow them to eat just vegetables for 10 days and then compare their look with the others. After the 10 days was up, Daniel and his men looked better than the men that had eaten the king’s food. Daniel would not eat the forbidden food, because he had made a decision to eat of the Lord’s Table.
    2. 5 yrs ago, you were comfortable saying “Let’s turn up!”, but now, like Daniels and his men, your diet has changed. You are trying to eat from the Lord’s Table now. God will do the same for you as he did Daniel, if you wait for him to prepare the table. The word given to you by your Bishop or your Pastor is a diet for the people that want to eat from the Lord’s Table.

B. God invites your enemies to provide them with evidence of your elevation

  1. When God prepares the table for you, He will invite your enemies to prove that you have been elevated.
  2. Proverbs 25:21-22 (NKJV) says 21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.- God’s ways outweighs your ways.
  3. Romans 12:19 (NKJV) 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

“Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

 

III.          The Provision at the Top

A. The oil of the anointing flows down, not up

  1. The anointing doesn’t flow without order. Psalm 133:1-2 (NKJV) says 133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.
  2. When Samuel was looking for the next king, no one passed the test. He then inquired for somebody else and it turned out to be David who had been serving out in the fields. This is proof that you can’t be salty about serving in the background. Don’t leave your post too early!
    1. How to Remain in Position While in Pursuit of Your Best Life:
  3. Stay where God sent you.
  4. Submit to those where God sent you to serve.
  • Serve with faithfulness and skill.
  1. When you are in the right position, you will live in overflow. You’ve got to learn to embrace overflow.
    1. 3:20 Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV) says 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,- God can only bless you with overflow equal to the sustainability in your life.
  2. God don’t want you to have a seasonal blessing. I pray that you never become a once was.
  3. God will protect you. He we rebuke the devourer for your sake.

IV.          The Protection in the Temple

A. Goodness and mercy are a benefit of being covered

 

  1. Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV) 91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”- When you are covered by God, He will make sure you’re insured. God is just like the State Farm commercial. He shows up on the scene, just when a crisis occurs.
    1. Sometimes God will show up before the crisis occurs.
  2. Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV) 6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
    1. You are guaranteed an all access pass to the best life.
    2. Every day you wake up, a fresh start begins.

B. You are guaranteed an all access pass to the best life

  1. John 10:10 (NKJV) says 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – God is waiting on you. The devil tries to still your joy every day. In doing this, he wants to destroy your name.
  2. It does no good to come to church and shout and not live the life you shout about. You have to have a prayer life that moves you to the next dimension. God wants you to live your best life. Everything you touch, God will bless.

 

V.          Conclusion

This will be a season for abundance! Start making room! I declare over your life that God is going to open the windows of heaven and pour you out blessings, more than you have room enough to receive.

That next thing you do that’s Big, make sure you share your testimony with us!

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The Fight of My Life Part II, Bible Study 09/19/18

Posted on September 27, 2018 by growintheword

Part II: How to Face Tough Decisions

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

Synopsis of September 19, 2018

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)  says 5 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 [a]direct your paths.

Life is full of decisions. It is important however, to understand how to use them. The decisions we make have a bearing on how our life plays out.

When things are complicated, we find ourselves in a place of indecision, leading to something unhealthy.

The wrong decision can be fatal. As you reflect over the decisions you have made over your life, many would agree that there are some decisions you made, that you wish you could get back.

Often when we come to this place, where we lean to people for advice. The sad thing is, the people we often go to are people that can’t handle their own situation.

I.        Introduction

  1. Scripture Reference: James 1:5 (NKJV) says 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
  2. When you are at a crossroad, what should you do? James 1:5 says when facing tough decisions, you don’t have to do it on your own. Just ask God about it.
  3. Here are 10 things that you will have to work through in your life eventually. Grade yourself letters A – F based on how well you think you did on each one.
  4. Tough Life Decisions:
    Choosing a Life Partner
    2. Choosing to Buy a Home
    3. Choosing to Have Children
    4. Choosing a Career Path
    5. Choosing Where to Live
    6. Choosing to Leave a Relationship
    7. Choosing to Reconnect with a Loved One
    8. Choosing When to Retire
    9. Choosing Long-term Care for a Family Member
    10.Choosing to Discontinue End of Life Support for a Relative
  5. In these circumstances, you will have to be guided by wisdom. This is why it is important to stay focused.

II.        Maintain Your Focus

A. If it’s not addressed to you, don’t give attention to it

 

  1. Conserve your energy to make decisions for yourself. At some point, you have to learn to mind your own business. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NKJV) says 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.- This is the process of making tough decisions. The toughest decision you will ever have to make is cutting others off, so that you can deal with your own stuff.
  2. The bible says anyone born of a woman is but a few days of trouble. Why then would we add more trouble on ourselves, by adding other people’s problems into our lives?

B. The right mindset will lead to the right moves

  1. You got to take over you mind and not let your mind take over your life.
  2. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV) 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,- Casting down images is referring to the images that the enemy puts into your mind.
  3. The enemy will plant images into your mind that will contradict what God has told you to do. Those images will make you doubt what God told you.
    1. Images will cause you to have bad thoughts. Images in your head will have you seeing your own funeral. God says cast those thoughts down!
  4. To have right frame of mind.
  5. Methods to help keep the right frame of mind:
    1. Only allow the best information to rest in your thoughts. Colossians 3:2 (NKJV) says 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.- Only allow the stuff to do with your destiny inside your space.
    2. Shape your mind with vision and goals. Think about what your life goals are. Make decisions based off of your goals. Some people get in on everything, serve on every board, and get involved with every project, simply because they don’t know how to say no. These type of people take on too much stuff.
    3. Your decisions has to line up with your destiny. Your decisions must line up with your assignment. The day Lazarus was raised from the dead, there were others dead inside the grave. Jesus went to the cemetery and only called Lazarus’ name. It would have been a good thing to raise all the people up from the dead, but Lazarus was part of Jesus’ assignment.
      1. Romans 12:2 NKJV) says 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.
    4. Protect your mind from erroneous thoughts and opinions. Some people think everything they read on Facebook is true. There is a big difference between the truth and a lie. The truth has legs, but a lie has wings. Therefore, lies have nothing to stand on. Often we make decisions based off of lies and then afterwards we realize that we should have waited.– Romans 8:5-8 (NKJV) 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be [a]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the [b]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
    5. Strengthen your mind with positive thoughts. 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.– We are so bad about bringing other peoples issues into our situation.
      1. You don’t need negative people’s stuff within your situation.

III.        Manage Your Feelings

A. Don’t allow the process of decision making cause you to become unstable

  • “Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.” ― C.S. Lewis –You can’t cry forever. Emotional drama and hard decisions together can trip you up.
  1. Too many options can sometimes be overwhelming. When you make a decision, you got to stick to it and be confident that it is right. James 1:6 (NKJV) says 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.– Ex- This is a metaphor. You want a 2019 7 series BMW, fully loaded. You go to the dealership and you are ready to purchase this dream vehicle. The salesman says that they are all on backorder and informs you that it will take a couple of months to receive this car in, but he lets you know that he has a 2018 5 series BMW that you could take right now.
  2. You decide to take the 2018 5 series instead of waiting on the 2019 7 series BMW, because you did not want to wait. Somewhere around Dec, you see someone pass by you with the new 7 series BMW and you begin to think that you wished you would have waited. It bothers you so bad, you try to diminish the quality of the 7 series just to make you feel better about the 5 series that you shouldn’t have got.

 

B. You must learn to face complicated problems with confidence in the Problem Solver

  1. God has already fixed it. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.-, Ephesians 5:8 (NKJV) 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

IV.        Move Your Life Forward

A. There is too much at stake for you to be stuck

“Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.” ― Malcolm Gladwell

 

 

  1. You are one step away from your next level in life. Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV) 12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,- One thing that causes us not to move forward is our being weighed down by other people.
  2. In order to move on, you got to move ahead with intentionality. To be fearful of making a wrong decision causes you not to make a decision at all. For example, for everyone that did not vote, know that you did vote. Your failure to make a decision caused a decision to be made anyway.

B. Once you are headed in the right direction, there is no reason to look back

  1. When you go forward, you got to be willing to following God and not worry about looking back. Why are you looking back checking on how the hell you left behind is doing? Proverbs 4:25 (NKJV) says 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
  2. Lot’s wife looked back when they were leaving Sodom and Gomorrah and turned in to salt. Genesis 19:26 NKJV) says 26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.- You are an individual that has to make a decision apart from your group.
  3. There is no need to look in the rear view mirror, when the light is green. You focus ought to be on what’s ahead of you. Every decision has to be a decision of intentionality. Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV) says 18 “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

V.        Conclusion

  1. All Bishop Walker knew about Nashville when he first come here was Hee Haw, but God made a way in the wilderness. When you make the right decision, you are where you go, and you are position where you are supposed be, then God will take care of you.
  2. He didn’t have any money and he didn’t have any furniture, but people from the church took care of him. He was given many things, even a couch. God provided for him. Who would have known that he would end up being the Pastor of church here?
  3. Everything has to be done with intentionality. Every day you wake up, there are choices. You can’t control them. There are decisions of what you can and there are consequences from the decisions that you make.
  4. The enemy wants to get into your choices and decisions to change the view while minimizing the circumstances. Adam and Eve allowed one decision to cost them the whole garden and his caused sin to enter the world.
  5. Think about our choices. Ask God for wisdom when making choices. Know that one decision can affect your whole life.

 

 

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Series Title: The Fight of My Life, Bible Study 09.12.18

Posted on September 20, 2018 by growintheword

Week One: Believing in You

Synopsis of Bible Study 9/12/18

Delivered by Bishop Walker III DMin

 

Foundation scripture: Hebrews 10:35-36 (NKJV) 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

I.                Introduction

  • All of us have to face challenges and some of our challenges are intense. Know that challenges are not sent to knock the wind out of you and cause you not to pursue your purpose.
  • As you encounter life, you have to realize there is another side to your suffering. When challenges you begin to realize that there is fight in you.
  • Know that life doesn’t make an appointment. Life just happens.

A.    You have to fight from a place of faith.

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)  says 14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us [a]diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.- There is a 100% guarantee that you will be triumphant if you allow God to lead you.

  1. If you go through the hell on earth and believe that you are a victor and not a victim, then you are
  2. Relationship with Christ, puts His DNA into my life. This makes me respond like Him during life’s struggles.
  3. It makes me respond like him. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) says 13 I can do all things through [a]Christ who strengthens me.- Through relationship, I am empowered. In his strength, I am able to do what I could not do.
  4. There are things we barely made through with Christ in our lives. Imagine then someone trying to go through this same stuff without Him. When you understand this, you realize that through this relationship, you refuse to go through, living your life in the past.

 

II.              Struggles of your past

A.    Never allow your past pain to cause you to lose confidence in your assignment.

  1. Just because you have lost a few battles, doesn’t mean you will lose the war. The enemy will try to make you look like you are failing, but you got to realize that the battle isn’t over until God says so.
  2. You got to stop romancing your mistakes. Fight forward! Fear is the only thing that can cause you not to win.

 

  1. Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV) says 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [a]apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Brethren in this scripture is universal term. It has nothing to do with Gender. It is talking to both male and female.
  2. Read the characteristics below and circle the things that you feel apply to you.
  3. Characteristics displayed when we fear failing:
    1. Failing makes you worry about what other people think about you.
    2. Failing makes you worry about your ability to pursue the future you desire.
    3. Failing makes you worry that people will lose interest in you.
    4. Failing makes you worry about how smart or capable you are.
    5. Failing makes you worry about disappointing people whose opinion you value.
    6. You tend to tell people beforehand that you don’t expect to succeed in order to lower their expectations.
    7. Once you fail at something, you have trouble imagining what you could have done differently to succeed.
    8. You often get last-minute headaches, stomach aches, or other physical symptoms that prevent you from completing your preparation.
    9. You often get distracted by tasks that prevent you from completing your preparation which, in hindsight, were not as urgent as they seemed at the time.
    10. You tend to procrastinate and “run out of time” to complete your preparation adequately.
  4. All of these things will make you forfeit your future. This is about you allowing your past pain to dictate your future. This is self-sabotage.
  5. In order not to be hindered, you must be
  6. Paul says he recognizes that he doesn’t know everything, but he chooses not to focus on what’s behind him.
  7. What is Paul doing? He is reaching. There is no way to reach without stretching. Paul is saying he is reaching beyond what is natural. You can’t spring forth, if you are clinging to something. Your future is tied to what you are willing to let go of.
  8. What is press the root word of? It is the root word of “pressure”. Pressing means something will always be pressing against you. We have to press against whatever is pressing against us in order to get to our goal. My pressing is tied to my fight!
  9. When you press something, you are pressing against some type of force. For example, you don’t press your clothes unless they are wrinkled. You press against the wrinkles to smooth out the pants. If a tire is flat, then the air you put in must press against the tire to inflate it.
  10. Ex – Bishop was on a trip for his birthday. He got the opportunity to see Floyd Mayweather train. Bishop notice that when he trains, he did a lot of getting hit. This was strange to Bishop, because Floyd is known for avoiding getting hit.
  11. During the training session, Bishop noticed that Floyd had trained himself to respond with a counter blow, every time someone hit him. Normally when someone gets hit, they buckle, especially if it is in the stomach. This is was not the case with Floyd Mayweather though. Every time he got hit, the responded with some kind on counter blow.

 

B.     It happened to make you stronger not to stifle you

  1. Just like all the hitting done to Floyd in his training, you got to know that it came not to stifle you, but instead make you stronger.
  2. When there is a struggle, there is resistance. You can’t struggle without gaining more power. Everything you have gone through has made you stronger. If you look back on it, you can see where you have gotten stronger. Things that would have broken you down years ago, does not break you down today. You have gotten stronger mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually all because of the things you have gone through.

 “To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when no one else will.”
–Sugar Ray Robinson

2 Timothy 2:12 (NKJV) 12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.- Your ability to stay in the fight will get you to the next level.

III.            This is the season for preparation.

A.    The season following your painful predicament is practice for your promotion.

  1. You got to stay in combat mode. Don’t become comfortable or complacent. Some people can pass the strength test, but not the endurance test.
  2. David says in Psalm 40:1-2 (NKJV) 40 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. 2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.-David gives us insight of something he encountered. This was not a physical place, it was a spiritual place.
  3. David said he was in a dark pit, in slippery clay. When he tried to get out, he kept slipping back in it.
  4. To keep slipping back, trying to come out, implies that David was here for a while. He was there long enough to realize that he couldn’t get himself out, so he cried out to God! He prayed to Him who could get him out and so God reached down and pulled him out of this place and did for David what he could not do himself.

“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” –J.K. Rowling

  1. God set his feet on a rock. He established his going. David implies that he was in a pit filled with darkness and despair. He was functioning in a slippery space. He learned how to survive in the mud. He was institutionalized by his situation.
  2. When God brought him up, He sit him up on new terrain. It was stable foundation and God had to teach David how to walk on it, reminding him that he belonged there. David had been in his situation so long, he did not know how to function in his new environment.
  3. If I don’t’ understand how to establish how to operate on my new foundation, I live in fear that I might slip and fall. You got to learn how to walk on your new terrain when God brings you up.
  4. You got to believe in you. God didn’t bring you up for nothing. If you hadn’t hit rock bottom, you wouldn’t know that life had a bottom.

B.     You are called to walk in confidence to the place He is about to take you

  1. God is about to take you somewhere. Some of you have already been sensing it in your spirit. 2 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.- You got to be willing to fight through some things in order to get to the place you dreamed about.

“Great it is to dream the dream when you stand in youth by the starry stream, but a greater thing is to fight life through and say in the end the dream is true!” –John Osteen

  1. God set great things in your path, but they won’t come to past, if you don’t fight for it. You can’t just hope for the best. You got to fight through and make great decisions.
  2. We think through faith and we study the word in context. Divine intervention doesn’t happen without human interaction. You have a role in the process. There are many places in the bible where God responds after you move. One example is when God says if you bring the tithe, he will open the windows of heaven.
  3. Human responsibility + divine intervention makes (=) miracles happen.
  4. David had to fight from the pasture all the way to the Palace. Joseph didn’t make it from the pit to palace without fighting through some things. That person around you looking nice, who seems to have it all together, will tell you that they had to do a lot of fighting to get where they are.

IV. The Significance of the Promise

A.    The promise is guaranteed for those who learn to endure. You won’t have to wait long.

  1. Hebrews 10:37 (NKJV) 37 “For yet a little while, And He[a] who is coming will come and will not [b]tarry.- It won’t take long. You been hit so much, you’ve developed an immunity to it. You promise is on the way.
  2. Daniel didn’t run from the lions in the lion’s den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t run from the fiery furnace. Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV) says 10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’- Know that you can endure. 2 Timothy 2:3 (NKJV) says 3 You therefore must endure[a] hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.– Endure like a good soldier.
  3. You’ve rid yourself of fear. Now:

B.     Faith is required on the journey towards your future.

  1. Forgive those who hurt you
  2. Forsake trying to impress others
  3. Forge new and healthy relationships
  4. Focus on what’s important
  5. Faith it, don’t fake

 

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV) says 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.– What you are doing is not out of order.

V. Conclusion

  1. Every attack is going after your hope. The enemy wants your hope.
  2. Your hope is tied to your faith.
  3. You got to come to place where you believe in yourself. Stop doubting where you are.
  4. You’ve made mistakes, but now that behind you. Romans 8:18 (NKJV) 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.- There is glory coming in your life. Glory does not come in your life absent from a story. No story, no glory.
  5. You wouldn’t go through it, unless God was about to blow your mind. The glory of the Lord will come over everything in your life, because you didn’t give up.
  6. Stay in the ring and keep fighting!
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