I Thessalonians 5:16-18; Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I remember listening to a preacher once who said that sometimes you just need to praise God on credit! I thought that was a bit on the crazy side because, who does that? Who thanks God for things they don’t have yet? He even said that when he gets bad news, he goes into his office and does a praise dance. He has trained himself to praise in good times and bad, whether he ‘feels’ it or not.

Sunday morning while getting ready for church, I heard the Lord tell me that people spend way too much time in the ‘flesh’ realm. I was about to comment, ‘Hello! You made us flesh, where else are we suppose to live?’ But as quickly as I thought it, He responded, ‘They are spirit, they dwell in a body. They were meant to live in the spirit realm bringing heaven to earth.’ Wait a minute! WE are to bring heaven to earth? I thought that was YOUR job. ‘The more time you spend with me, learning my ways, seeing how I operate, you’ll understand that I designed man to be a carrier of my glory to the earth. I don’t work like you do. Everything I do comes from a place of rest. I merely speak it and it comes to pass. You are to spend more time in my realm with me, learning to rest, learning to trust and to speak as I do.’

Wow! That really blew me away. You’re right, God. I spend too much time in my flesh realm, thinking like man. I’ve allowed the ways of this world and the things of this world to limit me to what I naturally see instead of what I see in my spirit. Nothing is impossible with you, God, and because nothing is impossible with you, nothing is impossible for me in You. When I speak your Word, the natural realm must respond to it. It doesn’t mean the Word won’t be tested because we know that satan comes immediately to steal the Word that was planted in our heart. But when we resist the enemy, he will flee.

I’m challenged to spend more time with you, Lord. I’m tired of living the same but expecting different results. If my results are to change, my thinking must change and if my thinking is to change, I must exchange it for the mind of Christ. I will meditate on your Word and spend more time with you so that when my spirit leaves this body, it’s merely returning to where I’ve already been. In your presence is fullness of joy, so I will inform my flesh to be thankful for what Your Word holds for me. 

You’ll please excuse me. I must go to my secret place for some Father/daughter time.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 NLT; This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.  But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”

There is something about who I trust in that the Lord is trying to get through to me. As I read this passage in Jeremiah this morning, I saw how hopeless and futile it is to trust in what I see. I can’t put my hope in these things. I just can’t afford to. Trusting in myself and my abilities or my job, the bank, the doctor, it’s not where God intended my trust to be. I’ve grown so conditioned to turning to these things for the answers that God sometimes takes 2nd place. But look at the 2nd part of this passage; “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.”

This takes me back to the number of years that each time someone gave me a prophetic word or anytime the Lord spoke to me directly, it was always, “Keep your eyes on Me!” Ok, I know I’ve always had problems focusing, but come on! Well, how many times  have I had to repeat something over and over to my children before they learned to do it right? Important lessons bear repeating, and some of us are just slow learners, but hey, I’d rather learn slow and get it well than never learn at all.

End result; “They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” I’m learning to tap into what’s inside of me, the Spirit of God. He’s my teacher, my source of help in trouble, my wisdom in tough situations always leading me into the way of truth. He represents the place that my roots grow deep in, the river that waters me. My fruitfulness is because of Him, not because of me. Fruit wasn’t meant for the tree, but that those around could be fed. 

Father, make me fruitful today, a disciple maker. May others drink from your water and eat from your tree of life. May your Word give turn them to have faith in You and not in man. You didn’t make us to be our own providers, but to be representatives of your great Kingdom, where YOU are King. Kings provide for their Kingdom. Thank you Lord that we only need to look to you for you are the author and finisher of our faith. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Why is it when things look the worst and seem the most hopeless, God asks the strangest of questions. How about the $2000 bill you get in the mail and you only have $100 and you hear God say, “Do you trust me?” Or you’ve come from the doctors office and he tells you that your lab work came back and you have cancer. It was the last thing you’d expect to hear and then out of your spirit you hear the words, “Whose report will you believe; mans or mine?”

Ezekiel had a similar encounter in chapter 37:1-3; The Lord’s power came on me. The Spirit of the Lord carried me out of the city and put me down in the middle of the valley. The valley was full of dead men’s bones. There were many bones lying on the ground in the valley. The Lord made me walk all around among the bones. I saw the bones were very dry. Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” I answered, “Lord God, only you know the answer to that question.”

What happens when the obvious answer is not the true answer God is looking for? God always gives a choice as to what we could or should believe, but he gently nudges us toward the supernatural, that’s where HE lives.  He knows that we live in a natural realm and spend more time there than in His realm, that’s why He is constantly inviting us to spend time in His presence, to get His perspective on what to believe and speak. God’s specialty is taking impossible situations and breathing life into them. The more impossible it looks, the greater the glory He gets. 

Ezekiel could have stated the obvious. He could have said what he saw and no one reading this story would have faulted him for it. But he was wise enough to not agree with what he saw but to leave the outcome up to God. “Lord God, only you know the answer to that question.” This should be what we speak over every ‘obviously bad’ report that comes our way. Lord, only you know the truth. Lord only you know what to do with this. Lord, I trust in you. Show me how you see this, tell me what you would have me speak to these impossibly dry, dead bones. Only you know the truth in any matter. What is the truth that I cannot see!

Because Ezekiel listened, watch what happens in verses 4-6; Then he said to me, “Speak to these bones for me. Tell them, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!  This is what the Lord God says to you: I will cause breath to come into you, and you will come to life!  I will put sinew and muscles on you, and I will cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you, and you will come back to life! Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Do you see that? Why did this happen? So you will know that He is the Lord. God still longs to do the impossible today simply that you will know He is the Lord! We’ve become so dependent on doctors for answers to all of our ills that we never attend our appointment with the Great Physician. We’ve become so dependent on creditors that we don’t go to the Great Provider. We keep digging ourselves a bigger hole and expect God to rescue us instead of running to Him first, getting direction and waiting for the answer. Yikes! We sure have things turned around, don’t we. No wonder they say that things are ‘backward’ in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps if we were to spend time getting to know Gods ways, we’d walk in them easier.

So Father, what are you saying? That I’m to have faith in You and You alone? Really? What if it’s my children? Trust You? What if it’s my husband? Trust You? But, are you able to beat cancer? I’m to trust You? Wait, do you know what I’m facing? Do you understand that I’m about to lose everything I have? I’ve lost my job and I have no money to pay my rent or buy food for my children and you say, I’m to trust You? This is just hard to do, Lord. I’m just being honest here. It’s one thing to hear about it but it’s another one to own it, to look this terrible thing in the face as a reality. I’m so used to providing for myself, doing everything for myself. Oh, I see. That’s it, isn’t it! I’m trusting in myself, not in You. Oh. Wow. Well, when you put it THAT way, you’re right of course. I’m sorry for trusting in me. I’m sorry that I’ve taken the path the world travels instead of the path you’ve made for me. How can the world see you as the answer if I don’t even see You as the answer. I repent and my face turn back to You. I trust You for my answers. I will listen and obey Your voice.

2 Chronicles 32:7-8; “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him.  With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Hebrews 10:32-38 Phillips; You must never forget those past days when you had received the light and went through such a great and painful struggle. It was partly because everyone’s eye was on you as you endured harsh words and hard experiences, partly because you threw in your lot with those who suffered much the same. You sympathised with those who were put in prison and you were cheerful when your own goods were confiscated, for you knew that you had a much more solid and lasting treasure in Heaven. Don’t throw away your trust now—it carries with it a rich reward in the world to come. Patient endurance is what you need if, after doing God’s will, you are to receive what he has promised. ‘For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him’.

Last night as I lay in bed, I heard the verse, “Cast not away your confidence,” over and over in my head. Such a simple but hard thing to do when you’re in the middle of a hard thing, a tough situation or trial. When things are just not panning out the way you thought they would or when your promises allude your grasp. Confidence in someone or something other than yourself. Faith or trust in the unseen verses the seen. What are we to do? “Don’t throw away your trust now!”

Yesterday, after listening to a message I had taped by Creflo Dollar and meditating on it all day, I posted on Facebook; ‘When you give thanks for your little, you invoke a powerful blessing from God. Remember the loaves and fishes. They were a snack, but when Jesus thanked the Father, it became a buffet for upwards of 20,000. Only God can multiply like that.’ Jesus always took whatever God provided and gave thanks, knowing that the Father was well able to multiply it. Confidence. He didn’t look at the disciples and say, “Really? 3 loaves and 2 fish? What the heck am I suppose to do with this?” He didn’t say, “Thanks, guys! I was hungry!” to eat it while the rest went hungry. Perhaps that’s been our problem all along, we forget to give thanks.

How many times have you sat to do your bills, trying to stretch the money to cover everything? How many times have you withheld Gods tithes because there just wasn’t enough? How many times have you struggled with giving in obedience because you only had enough for you and your own? Perhaps if you were to stop and say, ‘Thank you Father for what you’ve given me, here is your portion, the rest I thank you that you’ll cause to be more than enough to give into every good work according to your Word. Thank you that you rebuke the devourer off my finances. And because I bring the tithes to you, you pour out a blessing that I don’t even have room to contain.’ Now, ask the Lord what you’re to do and he will show you. When he does, do it! Trust in HIS ability instead of your own. It’s how you’ll see multiplication happen.

I’m not talking about giving to get. It’s not about that at all and if your heart is after money and not after God, this won’t work for you. But if you simply trust God (what you don’t see) more than the pile of bills on your table (what you see) and don’t cast away your confidence, as you make that transition, you’ll find a shift in the atmosphere and things will turn around for you. As it says in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Father, you are my treasure and my heart seeks after you. There is nothing in this life that is more important than you, nothing of value but you. As I fall more deeply in love with you, I begin to love myself so that I can love others. It’s no longer me that lives, but you that lives in me. Regardless of the pressures I face in this life, my hope, trust and confidence remains steadfastly rooted and grounded in Love. You are the very foundation of my life. When my earth quakes, you’re my Rock that doesn’t move. When I’m in need, you’re my Provider. When the rains beat on my life and the waters rise and try to wash me away, you are my Shelter. I will not trust in man, myself or my abilities, my heart trusts in You. I thank you that you’ve provided everything I need for life. When I needed a Savior, you sent your Son. I am more confident then ever that you are able to keep what I’ve committed to you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ephesians 4:11-16 ERV; And that same Christ gave these gifts to people: He made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to care for and teach God’s people.  Christ gave these gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger.  This work must continue until we are all joined together in what we believe and in what we know about the Son of God. Our goal is to become like a full-grown man—to look just like Christ and have all his perfection.

Then we will no longer be like babies. We will not be people who are always changing like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from people who are trying to deceive us—those who make clever plans and use every kind of trick to fool others into following the wrong way.  No, we will speak the truth with love. We will grow to be like Christ in every way. He is the head, and the whole body depends on him. All the parts of the body are joined and held together, with each part doing its own work. This causes the whole body to grow and to be stronger in love.

This morning, I was thinking of how often we as Christians get dissatisfied. We gage our attendance and participation in church by our feelings. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard fellow believers say, “I feel God is moving us on to another church because we just don’t feel connected here.” We want what we want without considering that it’s not about us and our feelings, it’s about God and what He needs done in His body. Being dissatisfied where we are can be a good thing, but it should cause us to draw closer to God, not separated from His body. We have to remember that the body depends on the head, not the other way around.

There have been transitional times in my past where I was between ministries or unsure of where I was, but I stayed and used the gifting God placed in me to encourage those around me. I stayed faithful to the Head instead of my feelings. I’ve learned that feelings come and go, but the Word never changes. You see, I’m responsible to draw near to God. Not my pastor, my teachers, I am responsible to go after God. If I’m dissatisfied, I must dig deeper into His Word until I find out what it is in ME that’s separating me from God. Is it disobedience? Is it self-centeredness? Have I come down with the attitude that church is all about me, because it’s not. The church is about growing others, together we come to worship but I should be adding to, not taking away.

Walt and I have favorite t.v. ministers we listen to at least 2 hours a week. Is it because we don’t get fed by our pastor? No! But we don’t depend on him or her to feed us, we depend on God to bring us what we need. Then we share! We share what we’ve heard with others, we go about confirming the Word in other believers, encouraging, building the saints because that is what it’s all about. I think of each person that surrounds me as being a cell in the body. Each cell is designed to bring life. When a cell is sickly and malnourished, it pulls from the cells around it and can either spread its sickness or be nourished back by other cells. How you respond to the Word can either strengthen you or cause you to disconnect. You must draw near to God so that you don’t fall prey to a spirit of discontent.

So my dear friends and fellow remnant, I leave you with this word and encourage you to stay strong in your stance as believers. Don’t lose heart or faint. Don’t listen to your feelings of discontent. God is simply saying, “Come up higher with me. There are places I need to show you. I will strengthen you for the task ahead. Be faithful.” Philippians 1:27-28; Just be sure you live as God’s people in a way that honors the Good News of Christ. Then if I come and visit you or if I am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will know that you stand together with the same purpose and that you work together like a team to help others believe the Good News.  And you will not be afraid of those who are against you. All of this is proof from God that you are being saved and that your enemies will be lost.

Heard a tremendous message last night that I’m going to attempt to pull from for this mornings post. I’m only going to share a portion simply because of time, but the message will be available on the podcast at newdestinychurch.org, if you’re interested in listening to the entire teaching. The date should be June 25, 2014 by Pastor Carmen Lett, one of the best teachers I’ve ever heard.

The Power of Vision and Words

I’ll begin with Genesis 1:1-2 NLT; In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

God was not moved by the empty and formless earth, He had a vision of what it would be and used His Words to put action to what He saw. Read the entire chapter and see for yourself. He took what looked useless and created a beautiful earth with living creatures able to live upon it. But God didn’t leave it at that, He went on to teach man how to do the same.

Genesis 15:5; Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” Every night, Abram would look up to the sky and remember the promise of the Lord. An ever present vision, even when it took years to manifest, he trusted and believed God would give him not one heir, but countless heirs. And he did all of this before God changed his name to Abraham, which means father of many nations. Look at the heirs of Abraham today.

Genesis 30:25-42 is the story of Jacob and his father-in-law, Laban. Jacob wanted to leave but Laban wanted Jacob to stay, he knew that the blessing of the Lord was on him simply because of Jacob. His wages would be all the speckled and spotted sheep and goats out of the flock. He took them, went 3 miles down the road and lay in the trenches, speckled and spotted sticks so that when the sheep and goats came to water and breed, they would see them. Well, it worked and God blessed that vision, even when Laban tried to sabotage his efforts.

God always rewards vision. How you see yourself and your future is where you’ll end up eventually. If you see yourself worthless and stupid, you’ll end up there. If you see yourself strong and prosperous, you’ll end up there. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 is a good place to start if you’ve lost your vision. I’ve quoted these verses so many times that they are permanently a part of my vision. God wants us blessed, but He designed us to operate as He does, vision and words. We have to see ourselves as God does and speak what He says even when it ‘looks’ like it’s not going to happen. Not one time do you see Abraham doubting or questioning Gods promise. Have faith in God!

We’ll can never have faith in ourselves, that’s humanism.  Until we realize that God lives inside of us and it’s not we who prosper, it’s HIM in us that prospers. It’s not we who have success, it’s God IN us that succeeds. HAVE FAITH IN GOD. Jesus said it multiple times while on earth. He was trying to show us something, you can’t depend on you, you must depend on God. Mark 11:22-24; Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.  I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.  I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”

Do you see it? You must see it first or you’ll never have it. Once you see it, do you only speak what you see in your spirit or do you speak what you see in the ‘flesh’ realm where things constantly change. The Word never changes. It’s the same yesterday, today and forever.  What does the Word say about your body? Find out what God says and speak it over your body until your body changes to agree with the Word. You can’t quit! You must agree with what the Word says over what your body or circumstance says. What speaks louder to you? What are you listening to? What are you watching? Stop talking ABOUT the problem and begin talking TO the problem. Jesus told us to resist the devil and he will flee so stop entertaining him! Stop wining and dining him! Your enemy is constantly trying to take two things from you; your vision and your words because he knows the power these two things have to change the world. 

Romans 8:5-17 NIRV 

“Don’t live under the control of your sinful nature (flesh). If you do, you will think about what your sinful nature (flesh) wants. Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. If you do, you will think about what the Spirit wants. The way a sinful person thinks leads to death. But the mind controlled by the Spirit brings life and peace.  The sinful mind is at war with God. It does not obey God’s law. It can’t. Those who are controlled by their sinful nature (flesh) can’t please God. But your sinful nature (flesh) does not control you. The Holy Spirit controls you. The Spirit of God lives in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ.  Christ lives in you. So your body is dead because of sin. But your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.  The Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. So the God who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your bodies, which are going to die. He will do this by the power of his Spirit, who lives in you.

“Brothers and sisters, we have a duty. Our duty is not to live under the control of our sinful nature.  If you live under the control of your sinful nature, you will die. But by the power of the Holy Spirit you can put to death the sins your body commits. Then you will live. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. You didn’t receive a spirit that makes you a slave to fear once again. Instead you received the Holy Spirit, who makes you God’s child. By the Spirit’s power we call God “Abba.” Abba means Father. The Spirit himself joins with our spirits. Together they give witness that we are God’s children.  As his children, we will receive all that he has for us. We will share what Christ receives. But we must share in his sufferings if we want to share in his glory.”

It’s my desire to not just live for Jesus, but to live like Jesus. To be led by the Spirit and not the flesh, to ignore the dictates and desires of my body and enter into the kind of relationship I was created for, one in fellowship with God. It’s something that can only be done by the Spirit of God that lives in me. So each time I pray in the Spirit, I’m fueling the fire in me, my spirit speaking to His Spirit and His Spirit speaking to my spirit. It’s as a husband and wife shares their deepest most intimate secrets with each other, parts of themselves hidden from public view, woven into the two making them one.  The mystery of love and life flowing from one to the other, God giving us life by His Spirit, intimacy, deep communion, joy, peace and the deepest of satisfaction.

It doesn’t mean you won’t experience the pain and suffering of life, it means you don’t allow it to dominate you any longer. You control the flesh, the flesh no longer controls you. How can this be, you ask? Remember, Jesus said he would send us a helper, the Holy Spirit, it is he that would lead us into all truth. We can’t live life in our bodies without food and water to sustain it, neither can our spirits live without the sustaining life giving Word of God. Deuteronomy 8:3 NLT says, “Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Is your spirit hungry? Feed it. It may have been ‘previously unknown to you’, but as you begin to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into the deep hidden truth, it will become the very thing that feeds and gives your spirit the life it needs to overcome in every area. It will give you the power to heal the sick and raise the dead, not just physical death, but spiritual death. There’s nothing like being free and that’s how God wants us to live. Free. So lets lay down the things that we’ve been reaching for and trying to hold onto. Things we thought would bring us happiness but have fallen short in so many ways. When you obtain one thing, it will lose it’s luster and you’ll have to go for more and more and more because nothing in this ‘flesh’ life will ever satisfy us like the Spirit of God in us.  So lets invest in our spirits not our flesh. Let us allow God to be big in us so that we can be who we need to be to a lost and dying world.