My son Ministering through song

Posted on July 4, 2012 by growintheword
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Beatitudes Part 5, Bible Study 06/13/12

Posted on June 29, 2012 by growintheword

Beatitudes Part 5

Synopsis of Bible study 06/13/12

Delivered by Bishop Walker

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God…

 

Matthew 8:5: 5And when Jesus was entered intoCapernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

 

When we talk about matters of the heart, we are talking about our identity or  who we are. Who we are and what we are determines the outcome of our lives. You can always trace the issues of a miserable person back to a matters of the heart.

 

Why do you respond the way you do? It is always, because of matters of the heart. In every snowflake there is a spec of dust. Like this, even at our best, there is a speck of dust in our heart.

 

Let’s understand what pure in heart really means. It comes from the words cleansed or purified. What comes out of ther those words is the word process. This means we are constantly cleansed and purified in our hearts. David prayed for the Lord to renew his heart. He recognized that life can taint even the puriest of hearts and everday this heart must be renewed.

 

This is all about process. Because of this, we have a tendancy to cover up what is wrong with us on the inside and we fluff up what is on  the outside. Matthew 23:25: 25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.-Inside you’re just jacked up! Matthew 23:26:26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.- If you can get your heart right, everything else will follow suit. We have been told, cleanup the outside and the inside will follow. This however, is not true. Many of us can testify that there are a lot of pretty (on the outside) ugly (on the insided) people. John 15:3:3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. – The more word you see, the more it purifies your heart. The word pushes out those things that are contrary to God’s word.

 

Integrity-This is simply doing what I said I was going to do. It is about being faithful to your assignement. It is based on the idea of being sincere in my heart, as oppossed to being divided in my heart.

 

Daivd has an amazing story when we look at his life. He fell short many times and we sometimes don’t know why God promoted David inspite of all his shortcomings. Psalm 78:70-72: 70He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: 71From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 72So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands. – Like he did for David, God says he will trust us with our assginment. It was because God knew the integrity of his heart. Before trusting the skill of his hands, God wanted to test the integrity of his heart. If your heart is in the right place, God will give you the grace until you learn the skill.

The world gives based on skill and then they take the heart into account. When your heart is right, God will open a door for you and he will say, “Don’t worrry, I will prepare you for it.” God does it based on whats in your heart. Psalm 7:8: 8The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me. -The Lord Judges us based on what is in our heart.

 

God is not impressed on what we do or say. What impresses him is what is in our hearts Psalm 25:21: 21Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.-Psalm 41:12 12And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.- God will uphold us according to our integrity which is based on what is in our heart.

 

Thank God we are not defined by what we have done. If God judged you on the worst thing you ever done, what would you be? This is why God upholds you. The only reason God gave you another chance is because he knew what was in in your heart.

 

Focus-  Psalm 86:11-12: 11Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. 12I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.-He says Lord teach me your word. What he is after in otherwords is focus. If I am focused my actions, then my heart will be the same. This is why we must be focused on him.

 

The first word again was the word process. Every day we ask to be cleansed because we know that every day life can taint us. Once we are cleansed, we move to a place of integrity. We are at a place where our motives are right and we will do what he wants us to do. Now we need focus.

 

What is the heart?

Note: After this, you will find what has been wrong with you all this time.

 

  1. The heart-The heart deals with our emotions.
  2. Emotions– The disciples were left in a difficult place when Jesus said he was leaving. John 14:1 1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me., Nehemiah 2:2  2Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, -This is an issue of emotion. All of us have suffered emotional distress and this has tainted our hearts. There is one common denominator in the church. We have all had to deal with issues of the heart. Most of your emotions are a result of your heart. When the devil attacks your emotions, you become so tainted in your heart, you become cyndical or distant. You are so guarded because of what happened, you gaurd your heart and noone can get in. This is in a place of emotion. It is still so tender sometimes, if you talk about it with the person that was injured, they will swell up just at the mention of the issue. This issue of the heart has really hurt them. The issue of the heart is your emotions.

To avoid issues of the heart, is to attack your emotions. If the devil can get somebody to hurt you, then who you really are will show up.

  1. Intellect and your mind– When something attacks your heart, your heart will be your head. Mark 2:8 8And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? -He is associating the heart with intelect and reason. Hebrews 4:12: 12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. -Once our emotional environment is out of control, it then moves to our head. Now we have to intellectally process why we got hurt. The more we think about why and how we got hurt, the more messed up our head becomes. Ex-Bishop explains about a friend of a friend of a cousin he knew. This guy was with this chick in college. He became wrapped up in her and her in him. One day she went and met somebody else and as a result, he was really hurt. After his hurt, he start showing up at her job and her house. People couldn’t understand why he all of a sudden started acting the way he was acting. He finally confessed that he was so hurt it messed up his head. When you have had your emotions hurt, it can mess with your head. It is all in your heart.

 

People have to process intellectially the place where they have to live. We wonder how somebody can have a thought like they have. Later we learn that those crazy thoughts come from a place of pain. Their mind is responding to irreconcilable issues of the heart. In addition, often their reality is so different from everyone else’s; they think everyone is talking about them.

 

You got to watch yourself too. This is why the bible says be transformed by the renewing of the mind. If you’re not careful, your head can get be messed up too.

 

  1. Will of man– Daniel 1:8 8But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. -He was getting ready to go on a 40day fast from stuff he had been eating (the king’s meat). You can be emotionally motivated by something, but not have the will power to do it. Ex- You see a Church fit commercial become motivated to become fit. When the day comes to start, can’t get out of the bed. Willing yourself to do something is something much deeper.

 

Story:

There is this husband and wife having marital problems. They both say they are hurt and relationship is then defined by emotions. Now every time they talk, there is comotion. In this situation, one may say they need space from the other, yet they keep struggling because their intellect keeps saying to them, “I can’t believe you did me like that.” This word challenges our will trying to see if our will is ready to work with what our emotions and intellect has been challenged with. This is why you got to say, not by my will, but Thou will be done.

 

Sometimes we say our season is up. We try to use God to validate our lack of will to get up and go. Our lack of will power clinically is called depression. At this point, we can’t will ourselves to get up out of bed or go to work.

 

  1. Emotions– This consists of two questions. What happened, which deals with our intellect? The second is why it happened, which deals with our will or in other words, what you going to do about it?

 

The enemey tries to stop that thing God is trying to do. He will break your heart, mess with your head, so you dont have the will to do what you supposed to do. You have to declare your will to be stronger than your emotion and intellect. Adam and Eve didn’t have the will to overcome their desire of their intelect. If your will power is greater, you will always be sucessful.

 

  1. The heart is the inner man. Proverbs 4:23 23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. -Keep your heart right, because when you open your mouth, your issues will come out. The way you feel and think comes out of their mouth. Matthew 15:8 8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. -God is not impressed by your coming to church if your heart is not in it. Where a man’s treasure is, his heart will be also.

 

Ephesians 6:6 6Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; -Whatever we do for God, we want it to be from a good place (this heart). Your heart is real.

Your heart is the source of all your trouble. Jeremiah 17:9: 9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?-Your heart is so tender; it is a gateway for the devil. In your heart is some deep stuff.

 

 

Philippians 4:7  7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.-The peace of God represents proper alignment with God. What hurts us, we took to God, now our mind is right, therfore, our will is in a good place. Now no matter what happens, the devil can’t rattle us, because we have been to hell and back. Ex- Just like a child that has been hurt, because she was rejected by her father. She will spend her whole life trying to fulfill what her Dad didn’t do. She will be trying to find it in another man.

A man’s way of thinking is a result of his pain. Get him by himself and talk about who hurt him, and he will become childlike. This is a hurt child of God. Be careful who you let play with your heart. Your heart is too precious. Be careful!

 

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Psalm 24:1-4  1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. 3Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. -If our heart ain’t right, you really can’t worship. Whatever is in your heart that is not right, ask the Lord to take it out.

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Characteristics of a Father seeking God

Posted on June 18, 2012 by growintheword

8 characteristics of a Father that seeks out Jesus
Pastor Derrick Jackson

1. Dedicates his children to God- He realizes that his children are gifts from God.
2. He teaches his children to fear the Lord and turn away from evil and all unrighteousness.
3. He protects his children from ungodly influences- Know that Satan is out to destroy your children.
4. He establishes his children in the church. – Their ought not be a choice whether your children get up and go church.
5. He will encourage his children to remain separate from this world – Telling them sex before marriage is wrong is one example.
6. He will teach his children the importance of being saved so they will be victorious in this life.
7. He teaches them that God has a purpose for their life.
8. He will instruct them of the importance of prayer and family devotion.

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Beatitudes 4, Bible Study06/06/12

Posted on June 14, 2012 by growintheword

Beatitudes Part 4

Synopsis of Bible Study 06/06/12

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

First of all, mercy is holding back inevitalbe consequences. All of us have been recepiants of God’s mercy.

God set Adam and Eve up, but sin got them cast out of the garden. Even after the flood, God gave us another chance to get things right. He raised up prophets to speak to us on his behalf and yet we still would not listen to them.

Because of Jesus’ crucifixtion, we have eternal life. God saw the worst in us, yet gave us the best in him. In otherwords, the worst that we were, met the best in him. God extended mercy to us and allowed us to be here today. We deserved what was coming our way and mercy said no! We are not here because we were so good. We are here because of God’s mercy.

We then are recepients of God’s mercy.-Exodus 34:6:  6And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,-The keyword in this scripture is, longsuffering. We have to have a spirit of longsuffering. We all have a threshhold when it comes to dealing with people and their issues. For example, one might say, “You got one more time to ___.” If God were like us, we would be in trouble.  Think about it; we have pushed God to the point we call our threshhold many times. Imagine then how longsuffering God is. God is so longsuffering, that he goes beyond normal threshholds. He sees the best in us, when noone else does.

 

I. What does it mean to be merciful?

If we can remember where God found us, we will have compassion for others.

What does mercy look like? If a boy comes up struggling with an issue and then an old person comes down and shares how they were delivered from the same thing, this would be an example of what mercy should look like. Perhaps a promiscious girl comes down to the altar and a Mother comes up and shares where they were delivered from. Don’t let folks fool you. You would be suprised to know where some of these folks around you were delivered from. You simply have to show compassion, because you want to alleviate what has gotten a hold on a person.

II. How do we do this?

  • It involves love- Ephesians 2:4: 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,-You can’t have mercy, unless you have love. There is no deficiency in God’s mercy. His mercy indicates how much he loves us.

God loves us so much, while we were running from him, he still loved us. He knew the capacity that we had to love him. We are the lovee and God is the lover. Never will the lovee determine the love of the lover. God knew that one day we would be able to love him back. When you have had this kind of love, it is easy for you to extend this kind of love.

You can’t have mercy without love– We dont have to like you, but we have to love you. Ex- Bishop Walker says he explains to upcoming Pastors all the time that all preachers are not meant to be Pastors. You have to be able to love people (despite what they may do) to be a Pastor. Being a good preacher then doesn’t necessarily mean you would make a good Pastor.

What do we have to have in order to show mercy?

  • It involves satisfying needs – Even by a spring of water He will guide you. Jesus says he will give us springs of water or in other words, He will provide for us. This is why when you see people in destitute situations; try to be a blessing to them. If you don’t have what they need, be able to send them to somone or somewhere that does have what they need.
  • Involves forgiveness. Daniel 9:9: 9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; — Forgiveness is being able to get past offense. There is a book called a Bait of Satan. In it are demonstrations of how the devil dangles the bait around you when somebody does something to offend you. As a Christian, you are not supposed to take this bait. Ex-Remember what happed to Jesus on the cross. Some of us forgive in stages, but the Lord forgives absolutely. Jesus has been betrayed, spat on, denied, he is being crucified, and given a crown of thornes, and he says, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. “ Translation for this: forgive them, because they didn’t know who he was. When you get to this place, where you are able to say, “Father forgive them, because they didn’t know who I am”, then you will be better able to forgive. If you get to a point where what they’ve done no longer influences your life, then forgiveness will not be a problem for you.
  • Involves love of enemies- Luke 6:35:35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.-Be merciful to people you know are your known enemies. How can you know that somebody doesn’t like you and yet you still be merciful to them? It is because we are recipients of mercy. Learn how to disarm your haters with kindness. Go out of the way to be kind to them.
  •  No one’s emotional environment will not control who I am. Your disfunciton will not disqualify my character.

III. How does this really work?

  • By showing gentleness with sinners – When somebody does something to us, we say dont worry about it, but we end up giving them the left foot of fellowship. Galatians 6:1:1Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.-The reason we don’t restore people is because we dont think we have the capcity to get caught up in what they are caught up in. Ex- Imagine if we had a card attached to a cable and if the card touched your head, your thoughts would show up on a jumbo screen while for everyone to see? Many of you would just get up and leave right away.

If we are strong in one area and you are weak in another, we are supposed to restore you rather than kicking you out.

Why should we do this? It is because everybody gets a turn to be the offender. Be careful how you treat people when they go through, because you will get a turn too and you will reap what you sow. Ex- You talked about other people’s kids when they got into trouble and when you got into trouble, you wanted the church to come pray over you, while all the while you sat in judgment of others.

  • A Christians convictions are different when:
    • When others are not sold on your principles, it’s ok. We show patience with people, when they don’t believe what we believe. Romans 15:7: 7Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. -After all, at least they are in church.
  • When people are dead wrong, you still have to show them mercy. 2 Timothy 2:25-26: 25In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. -You don’t have to bible bash people. Show love and mercy. The bible says you are the salt of the earth … Ex- Salt is a seasoning, but too much salt will destroy a meal. We can’t try to give a sermon everywhere we go and in every social setting we find ourselves in. We then have to talk about the Lord in moderation. Don’t be too salty. Ex-People would rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
  • Psalm 41:1-2: 1Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.  2The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. -What’s important to God should be important to us. If we make what is important to God, important to us, He will always take care of us. Psalm 37:25-26:25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. -God is merciful and lenient and so should we be
  • Don’t let people who use your giving spirit, cause you to stop giving. Your seed is blessed, because of your ability to show mercy. Ex-We have legitimate and illegitimate processes for help. Ex- Whatever you want more of, give it way. Ex-Bishop explains that he is writing book as he is living it. There is a person in Genesis 50 called Joseph. He was thrown in a pit, and then put in a palace, put into prison, and finally elevated. He was elevated after his crisisand able to give out bread. He thought of the concept to save in the season of plenty, so you will have in the season of famine. This is much like our 401k and IRA concepts. The only people that can pull you down is the people that are beneath you.
    • Genesis 50:17-18: 17So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.18And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
    • Genesis 50:19-20: 19And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?  20But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. -If Joseph hadn’t done what he did, Egypt wouldn’t be here today. We have to thank God for what we went through while he was showing us mercy all the while.
  • God holds back, what I deserve. Psalm 103:1-4: 1Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;    4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; -God forgave our iniquity. It is like a cancer. Cancer is the sin. The cancer wants to metastasize so it can’t be spread. The body is at ease. It can’t manage itself. Sin does just like cancer. It spreads to other parts of our lives. Sin is untimely and like cancer, it can destroy. God blocked the cancer and didn’t let it metastasize. You have been saved from the hand of the enemy.
  • People don’t know what you were caught up in, beause of His love and kindness; you look like you have never gone through anything before. Psalm 103:5-8: 5Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. 7He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. 8The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. – The devil will tell you that God is angry with you. If you repented from whatever you were caught up in, God is over it.You got to understand that God doesn’t hold a grudge. God is over it, you keep holding on to it.
    • Psalm 103:9-10:  9He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. -We deserve certain things, but thank God he didn’t deal with us according to what we deseve.
    • Psalms 103:11-14:11For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. -Everyday we wake up, dust gets out of bed. We leave a trail of dust everywhere we go. God says he knows what we are capable of. How then can we refuse to extend mercy to somebody? If you are recipients of God’s mercy, we realize every day we wake up, that great is his faithfulness. Yesterday’s mercy has consumed yesterday’s mess meaning we need His new mercy every day.
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