Give me a double portion, Sermon 01/02/11

Posted on January 10, 2011 by growintheword

Give me a double portion

Synopsis of Sermon 01/02/11

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

All of us are hungry for things of God. Many of us have come to a place where we refuse to tolerate what we did last year. When you get hungry for what God is about to do in your life, you will never tolerate what you did last year. God is a God of transition and when he shifts, we must be in position to receive what he has for our lives. This story today is about being in position. As we see in the story, Elijah was aware he was about to transition. Elisha was Elijah’s trainee and he followed him. Elisha asked Elijah for something interesting. Elisha said he had seen God do some amazing things in the time that he had been following Elijah. He had seen Elijah’s God call down fire from heaven and stop the rain. God had done amazing things for Elijah, but what Elisha wanted before Elijah’s transition was for God to give him a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. This year, where God is taking you is going take an unusual anointing. This year God is requiring a double portion of his anointing on your life. People don’t see you. Instead they see Gods power on you. Where God is taking you is going to require double. God will never bless you with something that will make you where you can’t live without him. We are not playing this year, but we need God to give us everything he has for a life. This year we want a double blessing and in order to have a double blessing, we have to have a double anointing.

I. Spiritual request

1.     Elisha is making a spiritual request. He wants a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. 2 Kings 2:9 says 9And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

2.     Elisha is asking for something that prophetically God had spoken to Elijah about before. In 1 Kings 19:16 it says 16And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. -This was prophecy that explained that Elisha would one day be anointed King. Deuteronomy 21:17 17But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his. -The law of Deuteronomy says the first son should be the one that receives the double portion blessing. Elisha is not Elijah’s son, but Elisha is asking God to give him something that breaks protocol. In other words, when there is prophecy over your life, it exceeds protocol. By right there are people that should be next in line to receive something, but with prophecy over your life, God will bump you up in the line and make people will wonder why they didn’t get the blessing instead of you. It is because it is your time! When it’s your time, can’t no devil in hell stop it!

3.     When you ask for a double portion, know what you have asked for. Elisha noticed some things about Elijah’s life:

a.     There is a spirit of faith -This season God wants folk walking in faith rather than fear. You can’t walk around doubting God’s word. You got to have the faith to keep pressing through.

b.     There is a Spirit of obedience -Obey God even when the command doesn’t make sense. Elijah obeyed God even when it didn’t make sense. Obedience is better than sacrifice. You can’t expect God to bless you if you are going to do your own thing. We have to be willing to go where God wants us to go where God wants us to go, be who he wants us to be, and go where he wants us to go.

c.     There is a Spirit of coverage -Elijah was a strong man of God who stood against those that wanted to kill the prophets. God needs people that are not going to run, but know that they are more than conqueror through him that loved us. God needs people that know that God has their back.

4.     What Elisha asked for is so significant; it had character tied to it.

II. Character by request

1.     Elisha has not asked for the double anointing, because he wants wealth or position. Instead he was asking that he be more controlled by the Spirit of God. Where God is about take us will require greater power. We can’t be codependent on people, expecting them to do what God anointed us to do for ourselves.

2.     Where God has appointed you, he has anointed you. When you ask for this anointing, you can pray over your own house and not wait on your Pastor to do it, you can cast out demons for yourself, and you will walk on your job and say devil, “We aren’t going to have this mess this year.”

3.     Many of us ask for things under the wrong motivation.

III. The condition of the his request

1.     There are conditions tied to this type of request. 2 Kings 2:10 says 10And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

2.     We must understand the process. Elisha would only get his promise if he witnessed Elijah’s transition. The blessing of the Lord will be reserved for people that can endure the process. Elisha will be taken through the process, but it is just a test. God will present you with options to see if you will take the option or continue with the process. The option will really be a cop out or a place of comfort. You can take the option or you can continue with the process.

3. Opposition didn’t shake his resolve- Opposition will not shake us. 2 Kings 2:3 says 3And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. – This year, you are going to have to tell a whole lot of people to shut up, because whenever you are seeking something from God, you will always have people who will discourage you and tell you that your journey is in vain. If you know what you are after, stop allowing them to speak negativity into your life. You must tell them politely to shut up!

4.     Opportunities cannot shake you. 2 Kings 2:1-2 says 1And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. -We are going through the process.- Elijah tells Elisha that Gilgal is a good place to stay, but Elisha says that he will not leave him. Elisha decides that he is going to continue to go through the process.

a.     Gilgal was the place of beginning. This was the place where the Israelites first celebrated the Promised Land, the Passover, and the new births that occurred in the wilderness. It was a place of new beginnings. It is the place where you can get stuck at “what is”. Many peiple comes to the place of Gigal and it becomes the place of “what is”. It is a comfort zone. It is where you can develop the spirit that says, this is the way I have always done it. God says to us just like Elijah, “You can stay here, but I’m going somewhere else.”

b.     They kept going to Bethel- 2 Kings 2:3-4 says 3And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 4And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. –  Elijah told Elisha to stay, because he had to go to Jericho. Elisha is after the anointing of Elijah, so he decides to keep going. Bethel is the represents the place of dreams. Bethel is where Jacob met God and dreamed of angels descending and ascending from heaven. Many of us get stuck here, because Bethel is the place where we catch vision. The problem is many of us will catch vision and we never move to make the dream come true. It is the place where we get stuck at “could be”. In other words we just stay there and we are dreaming about doing a thing, but never produce anything. We are not going to stay at could be. If we had manifested what we could have last year, we would have produced something. We are moving to something else.

c.     Now they make it to Jericho. 2 Kings 2:5 says 5And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 6And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.-The people were saying to Elisha, “Are you still going to be with this old man?” and Elisha again is telling them to be quiet. Elijah again asks Elisha to stay behind and by now, we ought to know that this is a test. Everywhere they go, Elisha is asked to stay behind but he refuses. Jericho is the place of past victories. This was the place where Israel had their first military victory (the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6). For many of us this is the place where we begin to reminisce past victories. This is the place where we get stuck at “what once was”. We remember how things used to be. Know that if God did it then, he can do it now. God is doing something new and we have to get out of yesterday and move on with the process.

d.     They came to Jordon. 2 Kings 2:7 says 7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. – Jordon is the place of death. They stood back because the river of Jordon represented the boundary to the Promised Land. If they crossed it would enter, Elijah would face death.  Some of us come to the Jordon and it is the barrier between self life and spiritual life. Jordon represents not getting stuck at “what should be”. We are not supposed to sit back thinking about what we should have done or could have done. We can’t allow opportunities to cause us to miss what God has for our life. We have to push though the barriers.

IV. Obstacles will not shake his resolve

1.     Elisha managed a sovereign response. 2 Kings 2:10 says 10And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. – Elisha says he wants a double portion of the anointing that Elijah had. Some of you have come so far, quitting is not an option. Elijah teaches us that if you are still standing here when this transition goes down, you will get what you asked for. If you get weary, you are not going to get it.

2.     Then it happened. 2 Kings 2:11 says 11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. – What happened? It was what was promised in verse 1. Here we are coming through 2011 after God released his word over the house on New Year’s Eve. That was yesterday and one day later, it happened! I feel God about to do something in our life. There are things about to happen in your life suddenly this year. God can make supernatural things happen in your life. Natural hands can’t do this. It will be by his Spirit!

3.     Elisha got the mantle. 2 Kings 2:12 says 12And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. – He cried “my father”. He is talking about his Spiritual Father (Elijah) in this scripture. After not seeing Elijah anymore (Elijah’s transitioned), Elisha’s tore his clothes off. We got to rip some old stuff off, because we are about to change garments. You got to rip off sadness, rip off sadness, and rip off trifling. God is about to give you another mantle.

4.     The same power that was Elijah fell on Elisha. – It wasn’t the same anointing, it was a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. Elisha had a chance to get out, but he kept on going. Through Bethel, through Jericho, through Jordon, and through Gilgal Elisha refused to stay behind and kept going. When people asked why Elisha kept doing this, he told them to shut up because he was headed towards something great. Like Elisha, we want a double portion. Elijah crossed over and never saw of death. Jordon was the place of death, but Elisha crossed over with Elijah. God made a separation, so the haters had to stay to the other side. Some people can’t cross over with you, but when you get this.

5.     Elisha called on the God of Elijah.  2 Kings 2:13 says 13He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 14And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. –  Guess who Elisha saw when he crossed back over the Jordon? It was those who saw Elisha at Jericho and didn’t want him to follow Elijah. 15And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. – When Elisha crossed back over the Jordon he saw those haters that said Elisha couldn’t do it and those who questioned his motives. They saw the spirit of Elijah resting on Elisha and they came to meet him. They had to bow down before him. Everyone that doubted you and said you were not going to be anything, are going to have to acknowledge the anointing on your life. This is our year for a double portion! Our pain qualified us for this! Everything we went through has qualified us for the double portion! I want DOUBLE!

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Evolution to Revolution Part V, “Just when i needed him the most” Sermon 12/12/10

Posted on December 25, 2010 by growintheword

Evolution to Revolution Part V

Just when I needed him the most

Synopsis of Sermon 12/12/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

The Psalms as you know is a collection of songs. These Psalms were sung at particular times in Israel’s history. Psalm 30 was believed to be sung at the dedication of the house of David. David was the author of many of the Psalms if not all of them. Psalms 30 is a powerful Psalms that deals with the persistent and perpetual praise of one who experienced great calamity, but prayed through it. It tells about how God heard his prayer and brought them to a place of deliverance. You will discover in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 20 that a plaque went forth among the people and thousands were dying each day. David, who was gravely ill, prayed for God to remove this plaque and as a result of David’s prayer, God did remove this plaque. Never under estimate the power of an anointed vessel who talks to God, because no matter what the situation, an anointed vessel of God can get a prayer through. God not only hears prayer, but he answers prayer. David in a near death experience got a word from God and that word was that God was about to do something in his life. God was going to use David’s testimony to encourage people who had allowed their spirits to fall and fall prey to what they were going through. God was going to use David to encourage them to praise God knowing that God is always up to something.

Here is David who was one step from the grave and God saved him. Have you been one step away from something? Have you been just one grade away from flunking, or one step away from being homeless, or one decision away from losing it all, and God just showed up and rescued you?

I.                   God rescued you

1.     Isn’t God an amazing God? Some situations will get so bad and you will wonder if God is going to show up this time. God shows up just when you need him the most. While God is showing up, he is moving; he is doing something in our lives. The thing we love most about this is God shares with David that he is providing for him in the midst of his persecution. While your situation is acute and while you are going through it, God is providing for you. He is taking care of you during your trouble.

2.      David says if no one else will do this (speak well of God), I will do it by myself. Psalm 30:1 1I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. – God had made it so the ones that wanted to rejoice over David, could not.

3.     David was in a bad place, but he still declares that he would extol thee. Psalm 30:2 says 2O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. – God has to have somebody that will praise him where everyone else is pouting. When everything around you says you ought to give up, God just needs one person that will say, “Lord I will extol thee; I will be the one that speaks well of your name”.

4.     All of us have some sicknesses. Some people are sick physically, some are sick spiritually, some emotionally, some domestically, and some financially, but we know a doctor who specializes in sick situations.

5.     David said he had people around him that were waiting on him to die. Everyone one around you are not around you to celebrate you. Some of them are waiting for you to fall, so they can step in your spot. They don’t know we are anointed for this. God will hold your spot, until you get back. David says he is going to reposition himself. You can’t allow what others are doing to you to dictate how you are going to live. You got to go through your life declaring that no matter what happens, you will not engage yourself with misery, because misery loves company. David said he didn’t focus on what was happening around him, he focused on who was working on his behalf. Rather than keeping it low, he kept it high. David didn’t talk to people around him, he talked to the Lord. You can’t tell everyone what you are going through, because people you think are cool with you will turn around and use it against you. Don’t deal with them, go right to God.

II.                God heard him and healed him

1. Healed does not mean that he takes the malady away. God can heal us in the midst of the situation, before he lifts us out of the situation. What God is saying is he has to heal the scars first. Some of you got out of the relationship, but you are not healed from it. Ex- We know you are not healed, because you still allow the person to run your blood pressure up every time you see them. You need to be able to thank them, because they increased your prayer life. Thank them because if it wasn’t for them, you wouldn’t know God like you do.

2.     David says he rejoices. – Psalm 30:1b … and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. –In other words, God didn’t allow David’s enemies to rejoice over him falling. Folk will arise against you, but no weapons formed against you, will prosper. The Lord said fret not thou self of evildoers, neither be envious of the workers of iniquity, because they will soon be cut down like grass. You got people smiling in your face and all the time trying to take place. The bible says when the enemies try to eat of your flesh, they will stumble and fall.

3.     God might not heal you in the situation. God sometimes will let your situation get so bad, your friends can’t get you out, your money can’t get you out, and your degree can’t get you out. He will do this just to let you know where your deliverance came from. Now you don’t need anyone to tell you that God is a deliver. Grandmother would say he might not come when you want him, but always on time!

III.             God provides for us in our persecution

1.      He has preserved us according to his plan for our life. God is up to something. This blows the enemies mind. Psalm 30:3-4 says 3O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 4Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. – Our soul is our mental state.

2.     It is about the nature of God. Based on what we’ve been through, we found ourselves slipping back into the grave. You can be out of a situation, but your spirit can still be in it. God says he has to rescue us (our soul) from the grave.

3.     God rescued us. The infinite God comes down and prevents what the enemy was trying to do for our life from prevailing. God rescues us! You have to have gone through stuff to appreciate this next point.

4.     He kept me alive. Why did he keep us alive? It was so we wouldn’t go back down into the pit. We were at a mental place, about to slip, one step from losing it all, and God kept us alive. God says his mind is not going (to the grave). If your mind is not going then your body ain’t going there. You don’t have to let yourself slip down, because you are alive for a reason. We think being alive is something God owes us. We know you thank God for house and the car and the college tuition and the clothes, but sometimes you ought to thank God that you are alive. When you remember what God has done, it is easier to thank him for being alive.

5.     We remember his Holiness- Psalm 30: 4b says … and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. To say God is holy is to speak of who God is in your life. It is based on intimate encounters with God and a conclusive understanding of who God is to the recipient. If you pay attention to Revelation 4, those around the throne just cry “Holy Holy Holy” all day long. In Isaiah 6, he says he saw the Lord high and lifted up and his train filled the temple and when he got down to the seraphim’s around the throne, they were crying “Holy, Holy, Holy”, because they were in a place of intimate relational encounter. When you get to this place, you know that God’s holiness is not tied to our happiness, but it is tied to his sovereignty. As a result we can declare that God is holy, no matter how this situation turns out. We give God the glory no matter what happens in our life, because he is sovereign. Often our response is based on God doing something we are happy about, but what if God does something we aren’t happy about? God is still holy. He wouldn’t t take us through what he did, if we didn’t have a plan for our life.

6.     Some people have to be in ICU, critical condition, the family around the bed, and the Bishop coming in to pray, before thye will come in a say “Thank you Lord I am alive.” Some will have to have a real bad accident before they say, “Thank you I am alive.” There are others that wake up and say, “Thank you I am alive!”

7.     His anger is just for moment. Psalm 30:5a says 5For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life :..  There is a reason this plague happened in Israel. It was because of disobedience. God does get angry, but we thank God he doesn’t get angry like you and I. God doesn’t hold a grudge. Grace doesn’t hold a grudge. Though he gets angry, he is always pulling from us. He whips you with one hand and keeping you from falling with the other hand. You ought to thank God that his favor is life. God could have killed you or let you go, but God gave us life. God came to give us life and give it more abundantly. We are alive. We don’t come to church DOA, we are alive. In a the next point, God will check your pulse.

IV.              God has promised that my pain is not permanent

Psalm 30:5b says … weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

1.     Your pain is not permanent. If God’s anger is temporary, his pain is temporary. It is about the nature of God. Look at God’s nature. When God made the world, he asked the moon to work the night shift and sun to work the day shift. The moon doesn’t have its own light. It reflects the light of the sun, so the light in the night, is the reflection of the sun. We know it is dark in your life, but we are setting next to you to reflect the son (Jesus). There is light when we get around you. There is revelation when we get around you.

2.     Your tears have term limits. Joy comes in the morning. Morning is not when the sun comes out. It doesn’t’ matter what it looks like, at 12:01am, it is morning time. It can still be dark outside, but 12:01am is morning. Why do you think Jesus got up early on the 3rd day, he didn’t wait until 6am. Morning comes when you receive revelation of God in your situation. It is not based on happiness. Joy is based on revelation. When you get a bad report from the doctor, know that by his stripes, you are healed. We got a revelation. When I get revelation, joy comes in your situation. Cry your last tear, because joy has come. God says when he shows us up, he shows up just when we need him most. Ask the Hebrew boys, or Daniel, or Jeremiah, or Job, won’t he show up in the nick of time. Ask Lazarus, or ask Peter, Paul, and Silas at midnight, won’t he show up in the nick of time. We know it might be rough or dark in your life, but God says hold on, help is on the way! Weeping may endure in the night, but Joy has come this morning. It is morning time! After all we been through, we still have joy. Psalm 30:11- 12 says 11Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. Everything silent must be dead, but let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. – Since he is going to show up, you better not give up.

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Worship and Warfare Part II, “Hindrances to Worship” Bible Study 12/15/10

Posted on December 20, 2010 by growintheword

Worship and Warfare Part II

Hindrances to Worship

Synopsis of Bible study 12/15/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

 

God is looking for worshipers. The bible teaches us that the Lord seeks those that will worship him in spirit and in truth. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says 9For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. -God is looking for people who are genuinely focused towards his glory. This is important, because when you think about worship, it is the idea of knowing who God is and it is the idea of being in relationship with who God is. How we comprehend or understand God is significant to how we worship. Ex – Look at the difference between Moses and the children of Israel. Psalm 103:7-8 says 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. – This scripture is talking about God’s ways and acts. Psalm 95:10 says 10Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: – When you talk about the ways of God, you talk about the nature of God verses the act of God. If you only focus on the act of God without knowing the nature of God, then you will misinterpret who God is. Moses knew the ways of God. God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. Sometimes God may act in a way or do something in our lives that we don’t agree, but if we know his nature, we know that what he allows is for our good. When we think about God’s acts, we refer to God’s actions. God is actively involved in our lives.

 

God is Jehovah Jireh, our provider. This is a character statement explaining who God is.  Ex – You need a job, you pray for it, but you didn’t get. Just because you didn’t get that job, doesn’t mean God is not active on our behalf. It doesn’t mean he is not actively setting us up for another job. Because you know his ways, you still say he his Jehovah Jireh, because you know he is actively working on things for our behalf. We realize that he is Jehovah Rophe our healer. Just because we get a bad report doesn’t mean we are not getting healed. It means God may be taking the long route to bring things out of us and as a result, healing ultimately comes.

I.                   The new and living way

a.     Some people come to church, ready for worship, but there are a of lot distractions. As a result we find ourselves 20 mins into the service trying to get focused. Hebrews 10:19-20 says 19Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; – In the Old Testament, the way to the holies was behind the veil in the temple. Only the high priest could go there and he did so on our behalf. After Christ died, the veil was ripped in two. That meant we no longer do we needed a high priest to go to God on our behalf, because now we have access to him ourselves through our relationship with Christ our mediator. Hebrews 8:6 says 6But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises., Hebrews 10:20-22 says 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And having an high priest over the house of God; 22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. – You cannot try in the flesh to focus on spiritual things. You have to ask God to purify your heart so we can have a pure and holy experience with God without distractions. We are asking the Lord to give us a clean conscious. Flesh can’t do this. It is an act of the spirit. It is ok to tell the Lord that you can’t come into his presence with a lot of mess and distractions in our lives and we need him to remove it.

II.                The categories of man

a.     There are 3 categories of man. They are the Natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man.

i.        Natural Man – Unsaved person without access to the holy of holies.

ii.        Carnal Man– People that act both carnal and spiritual depending on what day it is.

iii.        Spiritual Man -Try to be spiritual all the time. We want to live by the spiritual and not the natural man. We want our spirit to transcend the carnal nature in our lives.

b.     Some revelations God doesn’t’ give us cause we are not at a spiritual place that we could receive them. 1 Corinthians 3:1 says 1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. – He speaks to us in a carnal way, because we can’t get it spiritually yet. Ex- When you witnessing to someone that is a babe in Christ, you can’t use a lot of spiritual jargons, because they don’t understand what you are saying.

c.     When you pray, remember the model prayer opens with worship and ends in worship. For example, “Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thou name … “The end says, “… for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever …” This is worship to. So it is safe to say it opens and closes by acknowledging. We can ask what we are asking fro in between, but we open and close with worship. This means I can’t effectively pray unless I am a true worshipper.

d.     We often quote the next scripture to support that we can ask God for anything and it will happen. Mark 11:23-24 says 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

e.     Know that if we hold on to this stuff in our heart, the promises will not happen because God will not hear our prayer. Psalm 66:18 says 18If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: – We try to worship holding on to carnality. God won’t hear you this way. It can be disillusioning. Ex- Say the husband or wife in a relationship is trifling, they devalue the other, and then one day they come and say to the other spouse, “I love you.”  To the nontrifling spouse, the fact that the trifling spouse has said “I love you” means nothing, because their heart shows different. Imagine how God feels.

III.             Hindrances to worship

  1. Lack of knowledge-Says we don’t spend time in God’s word. Studying God’s word is worship. Worship means face to face kissing with God. We study God’s word to learn more about God. There are those who don’t know you, but want to be close to you like they do. Hebrews 11:6 says 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Every time we spend time in God’s word, we start becoming more like God. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says 18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. – Worship should change you. We start to be more like him. Ex-Bishop explains he remembers when he was little, seeing a Deacon smoking a cigarette and cursing somebody out in the church parking lot. Bishop explains how as a young lad, this messed him up. We expect for people to look and be different when they come out of worship.

b.     Pride – 1 Corinthians 1:29 says 29That no flesh should glory in his presence. – God is not impressed with our possessions. He is not impressed with what you drive, what you wear, or what kind of clothes you have on. He is looking for somebody that is desperate to have the glory of God on our life. Our flesh cannot glory. There are too much of us in the way. We should want people to see God and not ourselves.

c.     An independent attitude– It is that “I got it spirit.” You turn all your stuff inside, because you think you got it. The more you have it, the more messed up it gets. John 15:5 says 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. – We are just a branch. Some of us just feel like we are just hanging on.

d.     A critical attitude– Often manifests out of pride or judging. Ex-One of the thesis is dealing with hierarchy of sin. It’s funny how people in church create hierarchy of sins as if some form of defiant behavior is greater than another. It is like saying that we can justify our behavior, because it is not bad as somebody else’s. Ex-I might do weed, but I don’t do crack or I am not a homosexual, but I will fornicate. Matthew 7:1-2 says 1Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again., Romans 2:1 says 1Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. – There is no hierarchy on sin. Sin is sin. Stealing is stealing. Whether you rob a store or shop lift, it is stealing.

e.     Apathy– This is laziness. How many people can have a lot of stuff to do and never seem to get it done? God is active. Apathy is like standing still. You are trying to get with the move of God, while standing still. God is always moving. Ex- If a truck is going 30 miles per hour, the likelihood of you jumping on the truck from a standstill if far less likely than if you trotted alongside the truck and then jumping on. This is the same way with the God. You can have a powerful move of God going on and some are wonder what is going on. They have apathy. They are just sitting there waiting to jump onto the move of God. On the other hand, you have others that are already running just waiting for the move of God to come by so they can jump on.

f.      Slothfulness – Ecclesiastes 10:18 says 18By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. – Doing nothing, the house is decaying until it finally falls through. In other words, everything you do just falls through due to your idleness.

g.     Impatient – We want things right now in this day and age. Hebrews 6:12 says 12That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. – Sometimes you have to learn how to turn stuff over. What about those bills? They turned over and decided not to worry about it anymore. These are people who have turned it over to God and decided to let God handle it. We want to wait for God’s best to manifest in our lifein our lives. -James 1:4says 4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. – The devil will try to capitalize on your lack of patience. He will try to get us to believe that God is taking too long.

h.     Legalism– This is the subtle hindrance. It is becoming proud of all you do for Christ. You want brownie points for what you have done. They think their works earned them certain benefits. They have entitlement issues. Isaiah 64:6 says 6But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. – The purpose of worship is not to draw attention to your work, but his work.

i.      Worldliness– We can’t escape the world system, but we have to learn to live above it. 1 John 2:15 says 15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. – We have to learn to live in another kingdom. Even though I obey the laws of this world, we live by different laws. We are not impacted by what the world is impacted with. We don’t have to lose our integrity to climb the corporate ladder. The world calls it recession and we call it regrouping. Just because we are in recession don’t mean that God can’t open up the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing you don’t have the room to receive. We are living in another world system.

j.        Unforgiveness– This will always separate us from worship. There are 2 ways to look at this. #1 we don’t forgive and #2 we don’t ask forgiveness from God. Ex- Remember the illustration we gave one step towards God and then we take 3 steps back. Sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:1-2 says 1Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.- When we pray we have to ask God to forgive us for our trespasses. Mark 11:25 says 25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. – We must forgive. Every day we wake up, we are in a place of confessions. If you have problems praying, start with what you have to repent from. That will be enough to keep us praying without ceasing. 1 John 1:9 says 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – When we take the 3 steps back, our confession helps to make up some of that ground. It bring us back closer to that intimate relationship with God.

k.     Wrong priorities– Exodus 20:3 says 3Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Matthew 6:33 says 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Seek means to pursue. God is active and because we are like him, we are not apathetic. This means we are actively in pursuit of something. If we pray “thou kingdom come”, this is God’s way of doing things. We are saying let your super come down into our natural making it super natural. We seek or are in pursuit of God’s way of doing things and we are in pursuit of his righteousness. We want continuity. Instead of worship being a verb, we want it to be noun. It is not what we do, but who we are. Thing shall be Added– We didn’t seek after the things. We sought him and the things just came. Matthew 7:7 says 7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: -If you asked God for it, he already knows what you want. We need super to come down into our natural. What is knocking? It is an intimate relationship or worship. Knocking is worshiping God so the door will be opened. What is the door? You need God to open the doors in heaven for you. It’s a supernatural door. You need things done that can’t be done down here. God says you already asked me. You don’t have to remind him. God is looking for people who could worship him before it happens and having faith that he is working to make it happen. If you don’t worship him, then you don’t have faith and belief that he is actively making it happen. Ex-In Acts 12, Peter was in prison. The church was a Mary’s house praying. While they were praying for Peter and the doors of prison opened up where Peter was. It was supernatural. If you worship him here and God will open doors there! Take a moment to worship him for who he is and his glory will come!

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Worship and Warfare, “What do these two things have in common?” Bible Study 12/08/10

Posted on December 18, 2010 by growintheword

Worship and Warfare

What do these two things have in common?

Synopsis of Bible Study 12/8/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

After completing the series Angels and Demons, all of us can testify that there demons that exist to prevent the manifestation of God’s will into our lives. Just as we accept the fact that there are angels that God has encamped around us, we must acknowledge that there are demonic forces (demons) who attempt to prevent God’s will from coming to pass in our lives.

Worship is the tool that allows us to transcend the attacks that occur in our lives.

A good framework for worship is:

Who God is (on one side) ———————————————————— Relationship (on the other side)

Worship is built out of a response to our revelation of who God is. How do we know who God is? We know who God is by experiences God allows each of us to go through. We think about the names of God and we know that the names of God come to us as adjectives (names that are descriptive of God’s nature). These names of God were given to us by people who had gone through certain events and consequently they called God by what those experiences meant to them. Ex- God never called himself Jehovah Jireh. Instead it was Abraham who called God this in Genesis 22 after he saw God make a way out of no way. Abraham said he would name this place Jehovah Jireh, because it was here that the Lord did provide for him. This is what we call experiential knowledge. We experience something, we come into knowledge, and God’s nature or character is revealed to us. Without those experiences, we would never have this revelation of God.

So God gives us a series of things to go through. If we were to interview everyone that is reading this and ask them who God is to them, each one would give a different answer. Ex- For somebody, he is a rent payer, for another he is tuition payer, for another he is money between jobs, and somebody else he is peace in the midnight hour. When you look at who God is, you will notice that your definition of God came out of some of the experiences you had. Now that we understand this, know that who God is to us might be different compared to who God is to another. God might not be the same from person to person, but we all agree that God is. This is not a denial or defense of God’s existence. We believe by faith according to Heb 11.6 that no man goes to God without first believing God is. Hebrews 11:6 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

So the question is not in knowing who God is. The idea is because we know through experiences that God reveals himself to us by bringing us into the knowledge of who he is. Now that we realize who he is, it solidifies, strengthens us, and pulls us into relationship with him. We have a sense of religion, a religious model, or a religious institution that is supposed to pull us closer to God.

How does this happen?

Religion – God comes and delivers us from religion through Jesus Christ and bring us into relationship. So the revelation of who God is one thing but the relationship is a result of the revelation. This means you can be in church all your life and never have a true relationship with God, because you have never known who he really is for yourself. In other words you can end up knowing who he is based on second and third hand information, but that is not your revelation. Your revelation must be personal.

Hold on to these words. On one hand we have who God is and on the next hand we have relationship.

Concepts:

  1. The enemy wants to make your reality so messed up, you stop focusing on who God is and start focusing on what’s happening around you. Who God is remains the same no matter how or what you go through changes.
  2. The enemy tries to get you out of relationship with God by asking, “If God is who you say he is, then why are you experiencing this?”Ex- If God is a healer, why are you still sick? If God is a deliverer, why are you still in the same situation you are in? The warfare is in your mind. The devil gets you to question why you are still in the same situation you are in. When we really have a relationship with God based on our experiences that we’ve had, we recognize that who God is doesn’t change even if our situation changes. So if God doesn’t deliver us, he’s still is deliver. If he doesn’t give us the job we wanted, he is still a provider.
  3. You can’t get bogged down. The warfare is always in what, how, when. What is happening to me? How am I going to get out of this? When is it going to happen for me? This is all warfare.
  4. Worship doesn’t deal with that. Worship deals with who? We may not know how or what or when, but what keeps us in our right mind is who? We may not know the how, what, or the when, but we know the who and as long as we know who, we know that God has it all in control. Worship then is who he is and Relationship is a direct result of knowing who he is.

Some Hebrew Words:

  1. Shachah (7812 shaw-khaw) – The word meaning bow down before an object of honor. It is a show of humility. Nehemiah 8:6 says 6And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. – In this scripture, Israelites bowed low and worshipped the Lord. Psalm 95:6 says 6O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. – People will come to a place of humility in worship
  2. abad (5647 aw-bad) – This means service or work for God. Deals with as long as I am in the purpose of God, everything I do in his will is considered worship. Ex-When we go on our job, our job is worship to God, because we want God to get the glory. As a result, every day we wake up and go to our job, we say “God is awesome because he allowed us the opportunity to have what others wished they had.” We understand that we must go to work on time, because God doesn’t get the glory if we represent him in a trifling manner. We must finish our projects. We shouldn’t strive not to be as good as, instead we should strive to be better than. We must operate in the spirit of excellence. We must change the environment on our job. We must be the one that is speaking positive about things instead of negative so that God is glorified. We don’t get caught up in calling our boss names in the break room. Even though we don’t get along with folk on the job, we want to worship God, so everything that we do, we try to do our best, because we want to worship him. Everything you do in purpose is abad.
  3. yir’ah – This means reverence. Fear and reference. It is recognition of a higher authority. Until you truly reference God, you will never really worship him. Ex- When you go to court and the bailiff says “all rise”, you stand up. Why do you stand up? It is because you give honor and reference to the authority of the judge. Whether you met the judge or not, you respect the authority. How can you give the judge that much authority on the bench, but sit during worship? It is a labor for you to stand up when the presence of the Lord is in this place but you never question standing up for a judge. It is only when you reverence and come under the authority of God, that you will reference him. You will honor him, because you know him. Experiences have pushed you to this place.

General Concepts of Worship

  1. Honor, respect, devotion, reverence, veneration, adoration, and admiration towards an object, are all parts of worship.
  2. The first two concepts that we looked at the beginning of this lesson was “who God is” and “relationship.” Ex – Let’s assume that the pulpit in a church is God. Now let’s examine how we get into relationship with God. We look at the church as a tool to point us towards God. We come to church to get closer to God. Every day we desire to get closer to God, and then we backslide and take 3 steps back. We come back to church (one step forward) and we backslide again (3 steps back). We get caught in this cycle of back and forth. It is hard to get in the infinite space with God. That’s why a lot us don’t reverence or worship God. We can’t worship God at a distance. We need to get closer to him. At a distance it just becomes a religious act to us. Ex- We lift our hands in worship just because the praise leaders tell us to and we stand up in worship because somebody told us to. This is because we are at a distance from God. Because God knows the struggle we have trying to get intimate with him, watch what he does. Ex- We pray (One step towards God) and then we hook up with our Ex (3 steps back). God says he will take us through some things and when we come out we will say, “I am closer now than I was before I went through this”. Then God will take us through something else again. You hate it while you are going through, but God knows why you have to go through it. When you come out of that storm, you will be so close to him, your worship is no longer manufactured by religion. It becomes real. Nobody has to ask you or force you to do anything any longer. Now because of our experiences, we know who God is and our relationship is real.
  3. When you worship, know that all worship is not worship to God. All of us have an innate desire to recognize something or someone beyond ourselves.

6 areas a lot of us mess up.

  1. Some people worship natural objects. In history there were sun worshippers.
  2. Some people worship constructed images (idols). In Acts 17:22 it says 22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.  Paul also told the church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 10:20 20But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. – They had been sacrificing to devils. Paul warned that they should not be doing this.
  3. Some people worship human intellect. It is ok to have a great mind, be brilliant, and honor those with great minds, but you don’t worship them. Some of these people that have great minds don’t think they need God. Romans 1:25 says 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. – How can you worship the created over the creator?
  4. Some people worship material objects– These are things such as autos, stocks and bonds, and houses. These people are those who have changed stewardship to ownership. They missed the fact that God gave them a car or the house to be a good steward over it. The question should be raised, why did the Lord bless us with the home or car? Was the car just to drive us to work with four empty seats? Why did he bless us with the home? Though you have the deed to your house or the title to your car, it is still belongs to the Lord. We can’t worship this stuff, because if you do, you will wind up putting your tithe in your rims instead of giving it to God.
  5. Some people worship people– Some people worship preachers, heroes, politicians, musicians, and etc… Don’t worship your Pastor, just trust them. Here is an example of worshipping your Pastor; if you don’t want to come to your church when the Pastor is not preaching, you are border-line worshipping him. We say this, because through the God in him, you don’t believe that he wouldn’t leave you in good hands he isn’t going to be there. Ex- There is some people think Elvis is still alive. They have shrines built for him and everything. Because they worshipped him, they refuse to accept his death.
  6. Some people worship associations – Some people sororities, fraternities, and societies. They don’t touch their fraternity apparel. You are worshiping an object when you let it change who you are.

Religious Concepts

  1. Activity oriented– We come, we sing, we pray, we listen, and we serve.
  2. Emotion oriented– We like what makes us feel good.
  3. Intellect oriented worship – This is about how we think or believe. It is about our ideology.
  4. Benefit oriented –   This is about what do we get out of it. Some people get strength, some get patience, some energy, and others blessings.
  5. Religious oriented worship can mess you up. What happens is you become event centered worshippers. There is a certain time you have to worship or you can’t seem to get into worship mode. Ex- Like the Jewish Sabbath (day of rest) or Christian Sunday. You feel if you can’t worship on this day, then you can’t worship. Jesus dealt with this when he said Sabbath wasn’t made for man, but man for the Sabbath.
  6. Place of worship– These are people that can’t worship unless they are in a building that looks like a church. Ex- Before the Old HB location was built, Mt Zion met at the world Baptist Center and then the TSU Gentry Center. Some folk complained that it didn’t feel like church in the gym. Remember, the church is in you.
  7. Procedures of worship – These are those who must have programs, art forms, and must light candles as part of their worship experience. For them, the preacher has to have on ecclesiastical garments. If the preacher is not dressed accordingly, then it is not worship to them. If it doesn’t fit the way they used to do it, then they can’t worship.

Christian Concepts of Worship

  1. It is not about event centered worship or activity centered worship. It is Christ centered worship. Christian worship must be Christ in action. Once we know who God is, and we have experiences that have brought us to this revelation, then our relationship with him is solidified and strengthened based on what we have gone through and as a result, now we know who he is.
  2. Based on who he is our expression of worship is no longer just a verb. It is noun. Worship is not just something that we do, it is something we are. We don’t’ just come to the church building to worship. Ex- This is like a husband who doesn’t come home, doesn’t say anything to you all day, doesn’t compliment you all week, and then he wants to be intimate. Just because he says come on, he figures you are supposed to be ready. The wife can’t be turned on and off like this. Work has to be put in beforehand.  We do God the same way. We don’t pray, we half come to church, we half talk to him, and then we ask the Lord to step in on our behalf. If out of his mercy he does step in, soon after we go back to our normal routine.
  3. Wherever we go, worship is there. Wherever we go is where worship is, because we are worship.
  4. In John 12 there are two stories which are result of what happened in chapter 11. In chapter 11, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Mary and Martha were mad, because they thought Jesus was too late arriving there. They needed a revelation, because they clearly didn’t know who Jesus was. Jesus says I am the resurrection. He brought them into who he was. As a result, they entered into a greater relationship with Christ. In chapter 12 we see the manifestation of this relationship. Lazarus was in the house with Mary and Martha, about to eat. 6 days before the Passover came in Bethany; Lazarus who had been dead was sitting there. They made Jesus supper and Martha served it. Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Jesus. Lazarus the one who was dead had the mindset of “Now I am alive, so wherever the man who raised me up is, I will be.” When you been through some stuff, wherever God is, that’s where you want to be! Lazarus is hitched to Jesus. Mary took a pound of expensive oil and she bowed down and poured it on Jesus feet. She washed his feet with her hair. The aroma filled the whole house. Judas who would later betray him said they could have feed the poor with this expensive oil. He thought it was wasteful. Jesus said to religion; leave her alone, because she saved this worship for this moment. People who have relationship will offer their best to God. Religion will always say that’s too much. Jesus is on the side of relationship. People who have relationship know who God is. People who are critical are too far away to appreciate this expression of worship. 
  5. Jesus is on the side of relationship, not religion. Jesus says the poor you will have always, but he reminds the disciples that they weren’t going to have him always. Much of the Jews knew Jesus was there and they didn’t come to see Jesus only. They wanted to see the evidence (Lazarus who was raised from the dead). This is why people don’t like us. We are evidence of what God can do. If the enemy can take you out, they destroy the evidence.
  6. Lazarus represents revelation. What warfare is trying to do is kill your revelation. Without revelation, people will never know who God is. You been through too much to have your revelation killed. You can’t kill someone that has been killed and brought back to life.
  7. Through revelation others are saved. The Scribes and Pharisees wanted to kill Lazarus the revelation. People will come to know Christ if we start talking.
  8. A lot of people came to the feast because they heard Jesus was coming. They wanted to be where Jesus was. They took branches and palm trees with them and they cried Hosanna blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
  9. Jesus when he found a young donkey sat on it. John 12:15 says 15Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
  10. These things his disciples didn’t’ understand at first. John 12:16 says 16These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.- We went through things before we finally got it. They remembered that these things were written about Jesus.
  11. People that saw Jesus raise Lazarus up were witnesses. John 12:17 says 17The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.- When you worship the king, you are a witness of what he has done.
  12. The Pharisees say they can’t stop it, because the whole world has shifted their focus on Jesus. John 12:18 says 18For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.- When you can come to a place where you stop focusing on all the things the enemy is trying to throw at you, then start focusing on who God is in your life. This is where worship really easy. When you complain, you are glorifying the devil. When you can say, I know who he and I protest all the things that are coming at me, then you have chosen not to give them mental space or time out of our mouth. We give God glory for who he is.
  13. In verse 10 they wanted to know who Jesus was. Matthew 21:10says 10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
  14. In verse 11 the multitude said this is Jesus. Matthew 21: 11 says 11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. -You want to know why we lift our hands and give him glory; it is because we know who he is. We have a relationship him that is so amazing; no one can rob who he is from us. We aren’t too focused on what we are going through; we are focusing on giving him glory. If we give God glory, the enemy can’t prevail. The Pharisees wanted to kill Lazarus, but the worship was too great. If you worship God, he will fight your battles. If you learn to lift your hands in a real manner, he will fight that battle for you. There is power in worship. Your warfare can be won in worship.
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