How God Creates a Man or Woman He Can Use (Part 3) Prophetic Utterances Hovers Over Them

03 Friday Aug 2012

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Even before a great leader, prophet, man or woman of God is raised up… God uses the voices of the previous generations to prophetically speak to the future generation. This is why it is always important to speak and pray back to God the words He gives you. It is the job of each generation to speak God’s words of destiny to the next generation. I think this has been one of the failures of my generation. We have been so intent on building kingdoms for ourselves, we have neglected to speak into and bless the next generation. Our spiritual myopathy has not allowed us to view life in a generational way. This is why large ministries and mega churches struggle to pass the baton to the next generation.

Listen to the words of Gabriel as he prophetically speaks into John the Baptist’s life.  Where are the prophets and leaders prior in John’s generation. These words are important because John is going to need these utterances later in life.

 

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zachariah, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:13-17

 
This prophecy about John is mentioned several times in the Old Testament and now in the New. Jesus also had many prophetic utterances about His life. The question is WHY? These words are prophetically spoken so God’s man or God’s woman will know their purpose and destiny.

 

“There is a difference between knowing the good news and being the good news.” Dieter Zander

 

 

There are many good and faithful believers who understand scripture and can teach it effectively. We need these folks. But there is a difference in a believer, when the Lord or someone spiritual speaks prophetically about their future and destiny. Prophetically spoken words become their spark plug. Then they not only present the good news, they become the good news of the Lord. There is a difference between knowing and being. This is why Jesus said of John, “If you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah, who was to come.” Wow! How could John be Elijah? The prophetic word was so formed in him, he became Elijah to his generation.

We need Elijahs, Johns, and of course Jesus, in our generation. Listen, don’t wait around for someone to come along to speak into your life. Ask the Lord Himself to speak prophetically to you. God is not short on words. His words have not all been consumed by other men and women. The Lord’s words will hover over you for the rest of your life. God’s words will spark and propel you forward when nothing else will.

When I was seventeen years old, I was a green believer. I didn’t know much about scripture or the things of God…But I loved the Lord. One day, out-of-the-blue, the Lord called me into the ministry. On this occasion, I heard clearly the words… “preach and preacher.” I have heard it numerous times since. At the time, I really didn’t know what to make of it, except this was my calling. In the beginning I was an awful speaker. Like Moses, I thought the Lord could have chosen someone more eloquent for the task, but He didn’t. I have since learned this truth… I am what the Lord says I am. If He says I am a preacher, then I am a preacher. I am what He says I am. You are what God says you are. You will become what He says you will become. It really makes no difference what the circumstances or conditions in your life are like. If God speaks it, it will come to pass. If God speaks something into your life, it is your job to walk it out. Today, become what God speaks. You will change the world.

 

Blessings,

Pastor, but really a Preacher!

 

How God Creates a Man or Woman He Can Use (Part 2) He Allows a Life and Death Struggle Exhibiting His Providence

02 Thursday Aug 2012

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This issue blows my mind. Why would God allow threats to wipe out His plans? Yet, this is the Lord’s modus operandi. Little Moses was sent down the Nile in a homemade boat constructed by his parents. Can you imagine the Lord putting the next great spiritual leader under such peril? Samuel’s mother, Hannah, almost didn’t conceive him. It was only through ardent prayer she prevailed. Think about it, the next prophet or great leader might not even be born if the mother succumbs to discouragement, depression, and stops praying. John the Baptist faced a similar situation. His faithful parents kept at it and ultimately believed the angel’s word to them. King Herod tried to wipe-out all males born in and around Bethlehem when Jesus was born. A dream told Joseph to flee to Egypt. God allowed his very own Son’s life to be threatened. The question is….WHY?
We are given some insight in the birth narrative of John the Baptist. After he was born and dedicated to the Lord, his extended family, friends, and community were amazed. Listen to the words of Luke.

57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zachariah, after his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him. Luke 1:57-66

 

When God’s plan faces total annihilation but prevails, it is sign to everyone that the “hand of the Lord” is certainly upon these men and women of God. Martin Luther, John Wesley, and numerous others almost passed away before they were used of the Lord.  Are you one of these people who has faced death only to be preserved by the hand of the Lord? This is providence. There is destiny in your future. Don’t waste your sorrows. Don’t waste the opportunity which has been afforded you. It is time to seek the Lord and discover exactly your purpose, destiny, and future. The Lord is not trying to keep this information from you. He is desperately trying to get you to understand why you have been left here on earth, when so many others are still asleep.

 
Blessings,

Pastor

 

How God Creates a Man or Woman He Can Use (Part 1) Called Before Birth

01 Wednesday Aug 2012

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The greatest tragedy of life is not that it ends. The greater tragedy is a life which fails to live up to its God-given gifts, talents, call, and purpose. Life is a one-way street. Once we pass certain points, we cannot return. The question becomes what have we done with the life and opportunities the Lord has provided? Jesus warned us about this very issue in the parable of the talents. We are called to “do business” with the resources God provides until He returns.

C.S. Lewis reminds us: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” By nature, most of us waste our lives. It is only when we are shaken and troubled that we take the time to reevaluate. There is nothing like cold hospital sheets, the smell of alcohol, and a bad report to wake you up! It is better to be awakened with God’s megaphone than forfeit the reason God placed you here.

 
Knowing all this… When God creates a prophet, leader, man or woman of destiny, He shakes things up in their life before they are born so that they know their purpose, even at birth. In the previous blogs (How to Receive an Answer from God), we saw how the Lord took numerous steps to ready John the Baptist’s home so he would be nurtured properly and know his calling and purpose.

 
In order for the Lord to change/capture a new generation, He has to get His hands on someone before they are touched, influenced, and corrupted by the filth of their own generation. We are corrupted automatically unless we purposefully choose differently. God knows our tendencies and how easily our hearts and minds become secularized. The Bible calls it eating from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” There are a lot of things the Lord doesn’t want us to involve ourselves in or even know. Unless we purposely choose to eat of the “tree of life”, we will automatically eat from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

Some were called by God before birth like Samson, Samuel, David, John the Baptist, and of course Jesus. Now the Lord doesn’t always call His servants before birth. Most of the time the call to serve comes later in life. When this happens, the Lord has to spend some time “uncorking” us from our generation and the effects of “tree of knowledge of good and evil” upon our life. We all should be uncorked from the world as Romans 12:1-2 suggests. But, when God calls out a man or woman… this uncorking MUST happen.

Whether you feel a strong call from the Lord or simply want to be the best child of God you can be … the road we all should travel is toward the tree of life and away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

 
Blessings,

 
Pastor

 

 

How to Receive an Answer from God (Part IV) – Letting God Answer for His Own Purpose

27 Friday Jul 2012

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It is not unusual for Christians to hear a challenging word from God, only to take a step of faith to trust God, and then afterward experience even more difficult situations. During these times we can get very discouraged because it appears our very obedience is the reason for our difficulties. Why would obedience create more problems? Because, God has a higher purpose! The Lord has a higher purpose for your life as well.

 
Luke 1 reminds us God was looking for parents He could trust to bring John the Baptist into the world. Zechariah and Elizabeth demonstrated their trustworthiness, for they did not turn against God or stop serving Him when things weren’t going their way. Their whole married life they had been praying for a child, but were not able to conceive. Yet, they both remained faithful.

Job is another servant of the Lord who remained faithful in good times and bad. When events turned against Job…

 

Job fell to the ground in worship and said: The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.  Job 1:21-22

 

Even Job’s wife told him “Curse God and die!”  Mrs. Job must have been a lovely woman to live with! Job simply replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:9-10)

There is always a choice for us when things are not going our way. We can lose faith and turn from God, or we can totally trust Him. Someone said, “Sometimes a roadblock is not a dead-end, but a detour to a new road in life.” When we let God answer our prayers for His purposes we will probably experience a roadblock like those just mentioned. If we remain faithful to God’s larger purpose, we will discover it is not the end of the road. It is only a change in direction leading us to God’s new destination for our life.

Do you want to be used by God for His purposes? Do you want your prayers answered your way, or do you want something bigger and better which God has purposed for you? Zechariah and Elizabeth waited a long time and suffered disgrace and discouragement. But when their prayer was finally answered… it was their son who was chosen to point the world to Jesus.

I believe, more than ever before, we need people to point the way to the Lord. I am not talking about people who act religious. As I have stated before, the world is on to us.

 
A man was flying from Seattle to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, the plane stopped in Sacramento along the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft, the plane would re-board in 50 minutes.

Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind.

The man noticed him as he walked by and could tell the gentleman was blind because his Seeing Eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of him throughout the entire flight. He could also tell he had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached him, and calling him by name, said, “Keith, we’re in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?”

The blind man replied, “No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs.”

All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a Seeing Eye dog!

The pilot was even wearing sunglasses. People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines!

 
Who wants to board a plane with a blind pilot! Likewise, we need real prophets, leaders, teachers, and preachers. We need the Lord to raise up real prophets like John the Baptist. In order for this to happen…we must be willing to let God answer these types of prayer in His Own Time, in His Own Way, in His Own Power, and for His Own Purposes. It will not be the easiest road because we will have to grow up in our faith and we will have to accept His plan over our own. Are you ready?

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

How to Receive an Answer from God (Part III) – Letting God Answer in His Own Power

26 Thursday Jul 2012

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Have you ever tried to help God out while waiting for the answers to your prayers? I’ve been there … got a few t-shirts and learned some hard lessons.

The classic Biblical example of a couple trying to help God is Abraham and Sarah. God promised a great nation would come from their loins. Years passed without a son being born. When it appeared God needed their assistance, they took matters into their own hands and had a son (Ishmael) through their servant Hagar. This was not God’s plan, or His promise.

I also think of young couples who get married too soon and live to regret it. Our quick/help solutions are almost always the wrong solutions. We need to wait for God’s solutions, even if they require a miracle, as it did for Abraham and Sarah!
Why does God wait until the last possible moment, when the answer requires a miracle? Why do our circumstances often get worse before He answers?

It is because we tend not to give the Lord credit for answering our prayers until all of our capabilities have been exhausted. When God answers our prayers after all avenues have been exhausted, things can only be explained by God acting on our behalf. Everyone, believers and non-believers alike, realize it was God who moved and answered by His power. The glory is all His and His alone. Sometimes the glory comes from the answer and sometimes it comes from how it was answered. Ultimately, people will say, “The Lord did it.”
We see this clearly when Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. Jesus wanted an occasion to reveal His power to everyone. Jesus knew He could count on Mary and Martha because they would not deny Him, even though their “personal prayers” appeared to be going unanswered. Jesus delayed and let Lazarus die to show everyone He had the power over the grave! But those four to five days before Jesus arrived were rough on the sisters. All this reveals that the closer we are to the Lord, the more our faith gets tested. If you consider yourself to be a friend of God, then rest assured… you will be tried.

If your prayer has not been answered, don’t give up or act too soon to solve it yourself. Instead, trust God and wait on Him! God wants to reveal His power through your situation…. to you and to someone close to you who needs to know that your God is for real!
A little old lady came out every morning on the steps of her front porch, raised her arms to the sky and shouted, “Praise the Lord!” One day an atheist moved into the house next door. Over time, he became irritated with the little old lady. So every morning he would step out onto his front porch and yell after her, “There is no Lord!”
Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day.

Then one morning in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted, “Praise the Lord! Lord, I have no food and I am starving. Please provide for me, oh Lord!” The next morning, she stepped onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there.

“Praise the Lord!” she cried out. “He has provided groceries for me!” The atheist jumped out of the hedges and shouted, “There is no Lord. I bought those groceries!”
The old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted, “Praise the Lord! He has provided me with groceries and He made the devil pay for them!”

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

How to Receive an Answer from God (Part II) – Letting God Answer in His Own Time

25 Wednesday Jul 2012

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God tells us up front that His ways are not our ways. His ways are bigger and better…. beyond what we can even think or imagine! If the Lord’s ways are bigger and better, then why do we always appear to be disappointed with His bigger and better stuff?  Could it be that we don’t really believe all that “good stuff” the Bible tells us about and are always bracing ourselves for disappointment.

There was one clerk in a large candy store who always had people waiting in line, even when the other clerks were standing around with nothing to do. The manager finally asked her why she was so popular with customers.

“It’s easy,” she responded. “The other clerks always scoop more than a pound of candy and then start taking away. I always scoop less than a pound and then add to it.”

The Lord works the same way with us many times.  With one hand, the Lord scoops and delivers a smaller than expected portion, lays it on the counter and watches our response.  If we become dejected and despondent, then He knows whether we are totally grateful.  If we are truly grateful for His blessings, He then, with His other hand, lays an even greater scoop of blessing on the counter.

In Luke 1 we discover that Zechariah and Elizabeth wanted children. So, when things were not going their way, they prayed for God to intervene. They wanted what everyone else wanted and most were getting. But God wanted to give them someone special – a unique son for a unique purpose. God needed a special set of parents to raise a prophet.  He delayed their answer because He had a much better answer in mind.

Still, day after day, month after month, and year after year, babies were being born to families and friends.  This couple saw life move on for other people. For Zachariah and Elizabeth, it didn’t appear too difficult for God to answer the desires and wishes of other parents.

One of the keys to receiving from heaven is to not become jealous of what other people are receiving from the Lord. If we continue to think along these lines, bitterness can creep into our thought life.  Our problem is that we simply want what everyone else is getting. God never promised He would answer in “fair fashion”. Fair is a man-made standard. If God gave us what is fair, we all would have been destroyed long ago.

The Bible does say the Lord is “merciful, kind, and just” and He will answer accordingly.  When our prayers are delayed, most become content to settle for less than what God originally promised. The key is to not become disenfranchised over a delay.

Golfer Arnold Palmer once played a series of exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia. The king was so impressed that he proposed to give Palmer a gift. Palmer said, “It really isn’t necessary, Your Highness. I’m honored to have been invited.”

“I would be deeply upset,” replied the king, “if you would not allow me to give you a gift.” Palmer thought for a moment and said, “All right. How about a golf club? That would be a beautiful memento of my visit to your country.”

The next day the title to a golf club with thousands of acres, trees, lakes and a clubhouse was delivered to Palmer’s hotel. The moral of this story is: In the presence of a King, don’t ask for small gifts!     (Brennan Manning, Lion and Lamb: The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus (Baker, 1986)

 

God’s word encourages us to ask God for His best and wait for Him to move in His time.  Ephesians 2:20 which says, “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

Do you believe this verse?  Trust the Lord and release the power which is at work with you!

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

Which Window Do You Look Through?

22 Sunday Jul 2012

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Catherine Marshall wrote:

“My friend Marge had an experience aboard a plane bound for Cleveland, waiting for takeoff. As she settled into her seat, Marge noticed a strange phenomenon. On one side of the airplane a sunset suffused the entire sky with glorious color. But out of the window next to her seat, all Marge could see was a sky dark and threatening, with no sign of the sunset.

“As the plane’s engines began to roar, a gentle Voice spoke within her. ‘You have noticed the windows,’ He murmured beneath the roar and thrust of the takeoff. ‘Your life, too, will contain some happy, beautiful times, but also some dark shadows. Here’s a lesson I want to teach you to save you much heartache and allow you to abide in Me with continual peace and joy.

“‘You see, it doesn’t matter which window you look through; this plane is still going to Cleveland. So it is in your life. You have a choice. You can dwell on the gloomy picture. Or you can focus on the bright things and leave the dark, ominous situations to Me. I alone can handle them anyway.

“‘And the final destination is not influenced by what you see or feel along the way. Learn this, act on it and you will be released, able to experience the peace that passes understanding.'”

 

Be Blessed,

Pastor