This book company offers free Christian books for review – you join, read a book, post the review on a public site like Amazon and your blog, and then earn the right to review another book for free.  Apparently more books are offered, the more grades you get for your review.  

Please consider going to this link:   http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/view/11069  

and grade my review.  They do ask for an email address, but do not use it for anything but to make sure you only vote once.

Thank you so much.  

If you don’t want to go to the site, my review follows:

 

What a treasure trove of information for understanding John 15.  Using a blend of vineyard stories, personal examples, Scripture and wonderful charts and graphs to open up the secrets of the vine for women (although men would also benefit from this book).  

Verse by verse we examine this powerful passage of Scripture to understand how God is the vinedresser, Jesus is the vine, and we need to be grafted into the vine.  All that God does in our lives is to lovingly help us to produce much fruit.  God uses many methods to cause us to produce fruit from discipline and rebuke to removing obstacles to make room for more abundance.  As we cooperate with God’s plan and produce fruit, we abide even deeper with Him. 

One of the most helpful parts of the book for me was a list of tools to abiding.  Although God works with us uniquely, studying His word, regular talking with him and a spiritual journal can help us to grow in Him.  And the moment we make a move to God, things emerge that try to prevent us from abiding, what Darlene calls Abiding Busters.  She provides Scriptures to help us combat these busters.  We have seasons of Discipline, Pruning and Abiding with God, and each season brings us to deeper levels. 

This book is perfect for a Bible study, coming equipped with a study guide.  Both new Christians and seasoned believers can benefit from this study.  I highly recommend it.

 

Hope this book review is helpful.

Heather

Taught May 27, 2011

Before we began, Pastor Don prayed out the Spirit of Offense.  Someone asked about suicide and if a person who committed suicide could be forgiven or was it a mortal sin.

Matthew 16:21-23 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”  But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Pastor Don pointed out that offense has a good and a bad side.  We can be offended at inconsequential things, or we can be offended by the things that are not of God’s Kingdom or plan.  Sometimes in the Church we are trying so hard to be inclusive and loving that we overlook things that are not of God, sins in the Church that need to be addressed.

1 Corinthians 5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!

Paul became aware about a situation in the church of Corinth that was so bad, that not even the pagans would permit it.  A man was having sex with his father’s wife.  We have to assume it was the father’s second wife, not the mother of the son for that would be incest.  

1 Corinthians 5:2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.

You are proud and not dealing with this to remove the sin.  This church fell into the same error that is evident in many churches today, we think of God as forgiving sins, and therefore any sin will be forgiven.  God does not condone sin and there will be judgment.  When a person is saved, their lives should begin to look more and more like what God wants for them.  We do sin even after we are born again, but we need to repent and move beyond the sin.  We are works in process. God will not condone this circumstance. It needs to be addressed for the sin of this man can affect the whole church. In churches we cannot overlook sin and what is against the Word of God, we are to judge and deal with the sin.

1 Corinthians 5:3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 

Even Paul, from a distance has judged this as sin that cannot be condoned.  We are not to be soft on sin – we can love the sinner, but not condone the sin. When someone is dealing with private sin, we want to get into their lives, help them fix themselves back up and get back into the race.  We win them with love, but point out the sin.  Paul’s already judged this sin, and the Church in Corinth should have done something about it.

1 Corinthians 5:4-5  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

We need to remove the covering of protection from over the person.  God is not required to protect a person in disobedience.  With the cover of protection removed, the effects of his sin and satan’s actions will begin to affect the person.  The enemy, satan may kill the body of the person, but they will still maintain their salvation. But the destruction of the body can prevent further sin.  It seems harsh, but is really loving.  And who knows, maybe the person will be shocked back into obedience to God as they face the repercussions of their sin. If the person sticks close to God and doesn’t reject their salvation, they will still have their spirit enter Heaven.  

When you are saved, your spirit is saved, but your flesh (mind, will, and emotions) still needs to come under obedience to God.  That is a process that occurs as we turn more and more of our lives over to God.  If our heart is right, the flesh will at some point come under control of the spirit.

We are told to confess our sins one to another, to repent (which means to turn 180 degrees around) and change.  We may still be in sin, but if we are repenting and making steps toward change that is vastly different from deliberately choosing sin.  God knows our heart.

If a person deliberately sins and doesn’t repent, and the Church says nothing to them, it affects the whole congregation.  If one man sleeps with his father’s wife, and nothing is done, the congregation sees that and some other members may wonder what else they could do and get away with.

1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 

This one man’s sin affects the whole Body and the sin will spread in the church if not addressed.

2 Corinthians 5:7-13 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.  Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

The person must be judged and removed from the congregation so his sin does not spread.  We know that there is sin in the world, but when sin enters the church, it is important for it to be judged.  If the person refuses to change their behavior, to repent of their sin, for their own good and the good of the congregation they must be asked to leave.

Is it forever?  Not always.  In this case, the man changed and Paul asked the church to accept him back into the congregation.

2 Corinthians 2:1-3  But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?  And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all.

Paul writes to the people that he didn’t want to come to them until he knew that they were in obedience to God and he could come to them happy.  He didn’t want to beat them up.

2 Corinthians 2:4  For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. 

Paul sent the letter of correction because he loved them.  He had to address the sin so that it stopped it from becoming a greater problem for the church. Public sin needs to be addressed publicly, but if a person is in private sin one can address it privately with the person, so it doesn’t become public sin. 

2 Corinthians 2:5-6  But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 

The church in Corinth listened to Paul and everyone in the church addressed the sin.  But even with such a banishment, the punishment, according to Paul is not to be too severe, just sufficient to pull the man back in obedience to God.

2 Corinthians 2:7-9  so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 

Now that the man has changed his behavior, Paul instructs the church to forgive and comfort the man so that he is not overwhelmed by sorrow and he be driven away from God.  

Not only was this man judged, but the Church was judged and passed the test, of addressing sin.  Paul says the church is not to be overly hard on this man.

2 Corinthians 2:10  Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 

If the church forgives him, Paul forgives him too, in the presence of Christ.

Why?

2 Corinthians 2:11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

We need to be wise and aware of satan’s devices and not let him take advantage of us.

2 Corinthians 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord,

Paul was able to continue preaching the Gospel, and doors were opened because Paul acted in obedience to God.

 

There is the possibility of the covering of God being removed from people because of unrepented sin. If people do not obey and examine their lives to see what sins need to be dealt with, the covering is removed and their lives become a mess.  Instead of recognizing that it is their sin causing the problem, the person could begin to think that the world was against them. When the man began to repent, he began to come more in alignment with God’s plan.

Pastor Don pointed out that sometimes a person makes a bad decision.  If a person decides to kill themselves it is because of the influence of satan.  We don’t know what happens in a person’s mind between the act of suicide and their death.  It is possible that they repent of their act and either someone comes to save them and their lives are turned around, or they die, but are still saved for they turned to God.  We won’t know, because there may be others who do the same act and don’t repent, don’t turn to God and their outcome is hell.

Workers of iniquity and evil sin in a premeditated way, and they do not desire to repent or change their ways.  There is a difference between workers of iniquity and a person who is a sinner who succumbed in a moment of weakness. 

We know that in the presence of the Lord the heart changes.  We can’t know what happens in a person’s spirit, we can see the flesh, but we can’t see their last encounter with God.  

God is the one who knows the ultimate end of a person’s life.

I hope this helps you.  Pastor preached a sermon on this recently.  I will try to find it and put the transcript up for you for further edification.

Praying your day is awesome.

Heather

 

April 29, 2011

Joy began the Bible study by asking us what was in our refrigerators? Was there stuff beyond the expiration date?  What things in our lives are beyond the expiration date?

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Notice that this passage says REASONABLE SERVICE  not unreasonable sacrifice.

Romans 12:1-2 AMPLIFIED   I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

The only way to be transformed is by cleaning out everything that is beyond its expiration date by the renewing of the mind.  

 The Greek word for renew is anakainosis.  (Heather’s note – this word is only used twice in the New Testament – in Romans and in Titus)

It means to make new, to renovate.  When you renovate a building you need to gut it first, then you can renovate.  You can’t build without taking out the old.

When we come to Christ we are new creations. We can’t just put a sheet over our old selves.  

In construction terms, we need to tear out, down to the studs, then we can put up new sheet-rock.  To tear down is work and it makes a mess.  If we let God tear our lives down to the studs, and then rebuild it is a complete transformation, a metamorphosis (like a caterpillar to a butterfly)  When the butterfly emerges, the caterpillar no longer exists.  In the cocoon, the old caterpillar’s body turns into gore that is transformed into the new body of a butterfly.  The cells reorganize.

We have a person who reads the Greek Bible at our studies and translates directly from the text.  She said that the text implies that we do not take the shape of and grow on it, but that we have the different shape because of the renewal of the Word which you put on, and it is according to the perfect will of God.

What appears is of God, not our might.  For example, we can’t help a butterfly transform.  If we cut into a cocoon and try to help a butterfly out, the butterfly will die, for the struggle to emerge from the cocoon pushes fluid into the wings of the butterfly.  

You can be born again in the Spirit, but parts of you are still of the flesh – parts of you have not been torn down to the studs.

2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

You can only have the New if you clean out the fridge.  A lot of thoughts are not renewed, it is our choice to remove them or not – to get there quicker or slower.  Becoming new is a process.  If we hold on to unforgiveness, we cannot be renewed.  

One of the last things to go is OUR STORY.  We have excuses about why we can’t do better – it is because this happened to me, or that person didn’t do something for me, or whatever.  We carry our story around.  I would do better if I could, but I can’t.  Our story clogs up our fridge, and keeps us stuck.

Ephesians 4:23-24 AMP  And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.

We have to take off anything of the old in order to put on the new.  God has already perfected his own.  But to have restoration does not mean to throw patches on the old, we need to go back to God’s original blueprint for our lives, to what God saw in us before we were created in our mother’s womb, before the foundation of the World.  

So, if you missed it, go back to the blueprint and do a whole new plan.  God’s going to create the new, not do a makeshift patch job.

We want to be strong, to stand and say I want what You (God) wants, not get by on my version of what I think is right.

Colossians 3:10 AMP And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it.

We get renewed in the vision that God has for us.  See ourselves as He sees us before the foundation of the World – that’s the new man.  We are not off the clearance rack, God custom tailors us, so we are instantly comfortable.  Joy spoke about how she received a custom tailored suit and how it fit her perfectly.  When she purchased clothes off the rack she had to learn how to be in them, where they pulled and bound.  But a custom tailored suit flowed with her.

Athena  translated her Greek Bible for this passage and said, that that it translates that we have been dressed with the new man, continually renewed, and molded into what the Creator envisioned for us, and it reveals the perfect knowledge of God when all is done.

We believe we are “special”  and pride and a sense of unworthiness can keep us from being submitted to God.

We sometimes take on a spirit of infirmity, a spirit of specialness, which is how we get attention.  People treat us special because we are weak or sick and we want that specialness.  The spirit of infirmity seems sweet but leaves a bitter aftertaste.  Some magnify their disability, sickness, and helplessness, and their story.

The devil wants us to remain crippled. God’s blueprint is for us to walk tall and straight.  

Every trial and opposition gives us the opportunity to choose to identify with the spirit of infirmity or the God’s blueprint.

There is a spiritual root of disease.  We can look at our family history, beliefs, and sayings to see where the root stems from.  It is a Job factor, that which I greatly feared has come upon me.

What is in your fridge?  If it is the old, it hasn’t passed away.  We need to clear out the fridge.

What I say about it or what he says doesn’t matter – what matters is God’s view.

How do we renew our mind?  We use the Word of God.  If what we are believing or saying doesn’t line up with the Word, discard it.  Only what God and the Holy Ghost says.  

We are made of a Soul (mind will and emotions) our body and our spirit.

If we are operating under the Soul our mind will say I’m taking that on, our will will insist or refuse and our emotions will take us on a roller coaster ride.

Our words matter -we want to bypass the soul and give strength to the Spirit by saying what God says about our situation.  We need a new operating system

HG7.0  (Holy Ghost 7.0)

We want to let our Spirit be our operating system and not let our mind, will and emotions rule our lives. We want to take our minds captive, say not MY will but THY will be done, and for the emotions, we want the fruit of the Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].

We want our emotions rooted in the Holy Ghost instead of the flesh.  Galatians 5:19-21 Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The choice is ours.  Flesh or Holy Ghost?

Have a blessed day.

Heather

These are notes from our Friday afternoon Bible Study taught April 22, 2011 by Pastor Don Moore

Jesus rolled our stone away and we are still sitting in our tombs.

Romans 1:1-5  Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,

There is so much information in this passage.   We have received Grace through the Work of Christ, it is more than unmerited favor, for grace implies empowerment.  The apostleship is not new, for Jesus built His church through the sent ones, the ones sent to carry out the will of God in obedience and faith.  

Pastor Don pointed out what a miracle that was, that who the people of His day perceived to be an obnoxious Carpenter believed that His Gospel was going to be preached globally.  We need to give our will over to His will.  When we are willing and obedient we will eat from the good of the land.

ALL NATIONS for HIS NAME – purposeful authority of His Name.

Romans 1:6-7  among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a letter by Paul to those who are called to be saints.

Romans 1:8-9 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,

To all the whole world.  Remember, Paul prays without ceasing.

Romans 1:10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 

Notice this important point – Paul wants to visit them, but only if it is in the WILL OF GOD. 

We have a habit of saying if it is in the will of God, but for things that we should know are the will of God.  For example, when people pray for the sick to recover they often say if it is the will of God.  Of course healing is the will of God, but our unbelief can block the healing.  We need to know what God has promised those who obey Him.  We can find the blessings in Deuteronomy 28 and 30 to see the curses and the blessings. 

For Paul, he is speaking about a specific will of God toward his circumstance – whether or not he will be able to visit the Romans.  He doesn’t know when, how, or the circumstances, but he hopes to visit.

When we know the Father’s will it is correct to pray the will of God.  

It is incorrect to ask God for something good and then ask if it is His will.  It is ALWAYS His will to give you good, if HE gets the glory for it.

Romans 1:11-12 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Paul wants to minister the prophetical office of apostle to them.  He wants to impart a prophetic Word by the laying on of hands.  

If God gives you the urge to govern, a job, a venture, a church, a relationship, He examines the fruit of it, and if it glorifies Him, He opens the door for us.

We want to obey Him.

Rome, at that time, was filled with fleshy meat eaters, and Paul was setting the stage for his arrival.  He would be put under house arrest and during this time write a lot of his letters to the churches.  

Hope this blesses you.

Heather

These are notes from a Bible study taught by Pastor Don Moore at Living Word Chapel on April 15, 2011.

Pastor Don has been speaking about the ministry gifts Christ gave to the Church.  On this day we studied what is required and expected from the prophetic ministry.

Jeremiah 1:1  The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

A prophet must speak and share what God has told him to share.

Jeremiah 1:2-3 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

These words were given prior to the captivity of the Israelites.

Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 

The Word of the Lord – God was speaking TO JEREMIAH.  Jeremiah had at least seven scribes who traveled with him and wrote down what Jeremiah told them the Lord said. Some scribes were mental scribes who memorized the passages of Scripture.  Others wrote the scriptures down.  What Jeremiah said, the scribes took down accurately.  This is God calling Jeremiah to the role of prophet and telling him what to do.

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” 

Jeremiah was to be a prophet to the nations, not just Israel. He would visit Egypt and Canaan, and the Word records his messages to the nations.  Not only did he minister back then, he is ministering to us today, even in West Hurley or wherever else we are reading these Scriptures.

Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I:  “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” 

An Israelite youth was someone under 29 1/2 years old.  Only after 29 1/2 years could a youth minister in the Temple.

David was anointed and appointed before he was 29 1/2 years, and he faced Goliath as a youth, a youth who was already anointed to be king.  He was anointed years before he stepped into this role.

Jeremiah 1:7 But the LORD said to me: Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 

God gave Jeremiah instructions.  1. He was sent with a message – the message will be specific to whomever God sends him to minister. It could be a prophesy over a nation, a person, or whomever God wants to speak to.  Jeremiah is to deliver God’s message.  2. God commanded Jeremiah (and Jeremiah obeys), and 3.  He must speak.  When God tells us to say something we need to obey and speak what God tells us to speak – nothing more, nothing less.

A prophet may not be sent to perform healing, deliverance, or dealing with the sick.  He is sent to talk, to speak God’s truth.  Sometimes he may do other things, but his primary purpose is to say what God tells him to say.  His message is not voluntary, God is sovereign. Our obedience is not optional.  God will tell us what to do, when to do it, if we do not choose to obey Him, there are consequences.

Jeremiah 1:8 Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD. 

4. Do not be fearful. When a prophet delivers a message it is not always well received by the ones hearing it.  The prophet is not to be afraid. He can deliver messages to Kings and dignitaries, and even if the King doesn’t like the message, don’t be afraid.

Pastor Don said that one of the biggest fears of people is public speaking.  People don’t like speaking to crowds.  Don’t be afraid to deliver God’s Word.

God promises the prophet that He will deliver him.  God will be with you.  Say what God tells you to say, if it doesn’t go over well, God will get you out alive.

Jeremiah 1:9 Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 

God will put the words in our mouths.

Jeremiah 1:10  See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.

God has sealed the word in the prophet.  The prophet is set OVER, is superior to the nations and kingdoms of the earth.  He is an Ambassador for the Kingdom of God. God protects those who represent the Kingdom of God.  There are some apostles with prophetic anointing.  We are to raise up people to fulfill all the roles in the five-fold ministry.  The prophet is to speak a word for a specific time, a specific group of people, and to speak as an ambassador of God.   God gives the prophet the message he must deliver.  In the day of Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit would come and rest on the prophet at the time that he was to speak.  Today the role of the prophet is different, for we have the Holy Spirit residing in us.  Jeremiah was speaking when the people were under the time of the Law.  

We, because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, can come quickly into the Spirit, and we can stir up the gift that is in us through speaking in tongues, meditation, prayer, the Word.  We have discernment of the Holy Spirit, and we speak what the Holy Spirit says, not what the flesh says.

Our Kingdom of God is far superior to man’s kingdoms.  When the prophet speaks, the wise king takes notice.  

God’s voice registers with our spirit so that we recognize the voice of God, but because it is filtered through our flesh, at times we may miss the mark.  God speaks Spirit to spirit, but our mind interprets what the Spirit tells it.  But the Holy Spirit is greater than the words we speak.  Pastor Don pointed out that sometimes he preaches something from the pulpit and people come up to him later and thank him for the message.  When asked, the tell him what they heard, and it is not what he spoke, the Holy Spirit spoke an entirely different message to them.  

We can hear the same word and two people will get two different interpretations from the same word, and both can be hearing from God.  If the heart of the person is spirit filled, he will hear what God has to say.

The second half of verse ten speaks of six stages of the prophesy, and the seventh is the Work of God, 

1. Root out, 2. Pull down, 3. destroy, 4. throw down, 5. build, and 6. plant.

ROOT OUT – It is uncomfortable, but to make a field ready for planting, what is not needed must be rooted out.  Root out the hidden behavior, the roots, those things that we hide behind the surface.  Jesus, the ultimate prophet, spoke to the churches in the book of Revelation.  He pointed out the areas the churches were weak in.  For example, you have left your first love or you are lukewarm.  When we have something in us that is not of God, we want to let Him root it out of us so that we are fully able to serve Him.

PULL DOWN – what is not of God will be pulled down. When Jesus comes, He is going to pull down all the pagan practices that are prevalent in the church. He is going to pull down the traditions that do not have a Biblical basis. One example is that churches with steeples, especially ones on hills with steeples.  That is a pagan practice, and phallic symbols.  

The prophet is not a gardener.  He comes in and says what needs to be done, and it is the pastor, the shepherd that does the work.  The shepherd will root out what the prophet points out must be changed.  The shepherd will pull down something that is being put in the place of truth, what needs to be pulled down.  We need to know what God said and didn’t say.  If God didn’t do it, pull it down.  If you are holding on to wrong thinking, pull it down.  

TO DESTROY – Some things need to be killed.  Sometimes it may be people, God had the Israelites go into Canaan and destroy people – but in God’s timing, for they had shown that they were not going to change and line up with the truth.  

Simon the sorcerer had to be rebuked for trying to purchase the gifts of the Spirit.  Ananias and Sapphira were killed for lying to the Church about selling their goods and giving them all to the Church.  They lied to the Holy Spirit.

THROW DOWN – When things are put in the place of God or when they thing that people are more important than what God wants, there needs to be a throwing down, so that there is nothing to interfere with God’s plans, not to stand in the way of the Word of God. Sing or say what the Holy Spirit says to do, not what we want.  Sometimes we can get bored with a song or hymn, but if it is what God wants, we must sing it from the heart.

BUILD AND  PLANT – We build and plant, not in the physical, but in the Spirit.  The prophet builds a vision/plants a vision.  This occurs in the Spirit.  Then the people connect with the vision and the pastor supervises the working toward the vision.  

All of these aspects of the prophet are essential for the Kingdom to grow.

 

I hope this teaching blesses you as it does me,

Heather

 

Genary Maxwell has oversight of the Women’s Ministry Department in Apostle Lafayette Scale’s church – Rhema Christian Center

We are grateful and thankful about where God has brought us from, he has brought us from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of the Son – the Kingdom of light and truth.

Life throws stuff up and discombobulates us. We begin to ask who, where, what, why and how is this happening to us?

If I forget to mention it, Genary used the Amplified Bible for her passages.

1 Peter 2:9-12 AMP  Now if [all these things are true, then be sure] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptations and trials, and how to keep the ungodly under chastisement until the day of judgment and doom, and particularly those who walk after the flesh and indulge in the lust of polluting passion and scorn and despise authority. Presumptuous [and] daring [self-willed and self-loving creatures]! They scoff at and revile dignitaries (glorious ones) without trembling, whereas [even] angels, though superior in might and power, do not bring a defaming charge against them before the Lord. But these [people]! Like unreasoning beasts, mere creatures of instinct, born [only] to be captured and destroyed, railing at things of which they are ignorant, they shall utterly perish in their [own] corruption [in their destroying they shall surely be destroyed],

We were once away from God because of our sin nature; but now we are drawn to Him, to be in the Presence of God by the Blood.  

When we receive Christ we are new creations, but often when we look in the mirror we don’t see ourselves In Christ the way God sees us.  We see ourselves still after the old order, under our sin nature.  We need to learn to see ourselves as Christ sees us, under the Blood.

Before we knew Christ, we were spiritually dead, separated, we had no impartation of Spirit to spirit.  We were under the order of our fleshly, sin nature.

Adam and Eve had a relationship with God, Spirit to spirit. God’s Spirit imparted to the soul and physical body so that His glory could fill the earthly realm.  They dwelt in two realms, some time on the earth, other times through Spirit to Spirit they received from Daddy, God.  God created them and loved them.

There are no other beings like us.  We are created in His image and likeness.  We embody all that God is and who we are.

The first order failed – sin caused man to become broken and traumatized . God did not want us to walk around as abused, broken, fragmentized vessels. 

God says that He will call the seed of the woman to raise up One to bruise the head of the enemy.  

God was not surprised by Adam and Eve’s sin – he knew that sin happened. God knew that we would blow it. He set provisions in place before the foundation of he earth to deal with our sin.

As parents we know the kinds of mistakes our kids will make and we try to help them through it so they can get on with their lives.  God does the same for us.

God made a plan and set it in place, another order.

Under the first order there was a problem, people got jacked up and beat up by the enemy.

The second order is the restoration of things for us.  As daughters we are royal priestesses, and God has restoration for us in the new order.  

The old has passed away and we have a new, whole life ahead of us.

God has an abundance of life to give us through Christ.  We do not have to be subject to the fleshly body or be held in bondage.

1 Corinthians 15:39-47 AMP For all flesh is not the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for beasts, another for birds, and another for fish.  There are heavenly bodies (sun, moon, and stars) and there are earthly bodies (men, animals, and plants), but the beauty and glory of the heavenly bodies is of one kind, while the beauty and glory of earthly bodies is a different kind.  The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own [distinctive] way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance.  So it is with the resurrection of the dead. [The body] that is sown is perishable and decays, but [the body] that is resurrected is imperishable (immune to decay, immortal).  It is sown in dishonor and humiliation; it is raised in honor and glory. It is sown in infirmity and weakness; it is resurrected in strength and endued with power.  It is sown a natural (physical) body; it is raised a supernatural (a spiritual) body. [As surely as] there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life].  But it is not the spiritual life which came first, but the physical and then the spiritual.  The first man [was] from out of earth, made of dust (earthly-minded); the second Man [is] the Lord from out of heaven.

This passage compares the earthly verses the spiritual.  The physical comes first.  Then God breathes the breath of life and there is the Spirit.  

In just the physical we tend to go toward physical things. Our soul (mind, will, emotions) if we are focused on the physical will gravitate toward the physical.

But God gives us access to spiritual places, giving us something to help us move away from earthly-mindedness to Spiritual things.

The Holy Spirit is our connection to the spiritual being that God has called us to be, to those Spiritual realms or places.  We always have access through Christ to the spiritual realm. Christ has torn down the veil that separated us.  God’s connected to us spiritually so we have access to Him.

This is the picture of power and authority that we have available to us as Daughters after the Second Order.

When God designed us, He knew us before we were in the womb.

Jeremiah 1:5 AMP Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. 

Using the movie The Transformers, Genary made some wonderful illustrations.

We are in earth, and we mingle with those on earth, but we have something placed within us, that when challenged, that something lets us transform from Earthly to Spiritual.

She spoke of the transformer machines that were normal on earth until an enemy attack, then someone would say, “Transformers, transform” and these ordinary machines would turn into giant machines that could battle the enemy.  A little VW becomes an huge creature with many weapons to fight the enemy.

The weapons we have are not earthly when we transform from physical to spiritual.

2 Corinthians 10:4 AMP For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,

We need to be careful how we use our authority.  We are not to use our authority to murder, mutilate, or hurt others.

God made us to dwell in the earthly realm but gave us access to boldly go before the Throne of Grace. We do not have to go through a priest for we are of a different order – Royal Priestesses who go boldly before God and get what we need. We are not bound to the earthly realm.

Hebrews 11:1 AMP  Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

We are on assignment to fill the earth with God’s glory. When we bring His glory into any environment we enter, we cause the environment to shift and change.  God made us to be His glory.

Many of us have come out of dysfunctional families, but God sees our new self.

Genary said that she came from a dysfunctional family,  When God sees her (or when He sees us), He sees a Holy Ghost filled, tongue talking, faith filled believer. When we look in the mirror we might still see the hurt, but God sees what is under that hurt – His image of us.  We are like onions and we peel back the layers until who we are in Him shines through.  Who we are in Him is the reality, what we see in the flesh is the wrong image.  As we pull back the layers, we can begin to see that our future is filled with His glory.  We want to function and be and do the work of God.  We want to do it after the new order.

We can get stuck in our old image, but God will reveal things to us.  Sometimes we tell God that we can’t do what He has told us that He wants us to do, but that is not true. God will not tell us to do anything that He is unable to equip us to do.  God says, “I called you to do it.”  Sometimes when God calls us we want to tell him let so and so do it, they are better at this than me, or let Sister so and so do it, I can’t. But God tells us, “I called YOU to do it.”

God perfects things in our life and He will help us to do what He wants us to do. And as we step beyond what we think we can do, God gets the glory.  It’s all about Him.

Sometimes when God tells us to do something we duck and hide, but when we run, we run smack dab into God.  God saw our running from before we were born.  We serve an all-knowing God. God will set the atmosphere and arrange things so that we have a way of escape from our rebellion, and then we can come to our senses and get back on track.

For example, with Adam and Eve, God knew they would disobey, and he had a plan in place before the world was created – that the woman’s seed would destroy the enemy.

With Saul/Paul – God set up the divine encounter so that He would stop killing people of the way and become a powerful force for the Kingdom.  

God speaks with us Spirit to spirit, and we eventually bow down and give in to the will of God. Worship gives Him access and then He shines through.

When we give God access, then God transforms the environment and God shows up in power, strength, and we become His light bearers.  No matter how dark our circumstances, a little light can change the atmosphere.  We are daughters after the new order and God has given us a mandate.

Mary is not a deity to worship, but she was a woman that God used to bring forth Jesus, the second Adam.  Mary is a picture of the Daughters After the Second Order. She was a young virgin, preparing for marriage.  The Lord knocks at her door.  Genary said to us, “Haven’t you noticed that when the Lord shows up, it is often at he most inopportune time.”  The Angel tells her, “Hail, highly favored, the Lord is with you.”  When God knocks at our doors and greets us, the next thing we can expect is for our life to change.

The angel informs Mary that she will conceive the Holy Ghost will cause her to be pregnant and she will give birth to the Messiah.  Her reputation changes, people will think she got pregnant before her marriage, or was not a virgin.  She still is willing to obey and do God’s will.

God proves His point and she gives birth to the Messiah.

To be a daughter of the new order, we need to walk in obedience.  Mary said, “Be it to me according to Thy will.”

When we say yes to God, this gives God access to our lives.

God gives us free will, so we have the ability to say yes or no to God. God wants us to function out of obedience, but it is our choice.

God deals with Mary and her seed grows and expands.  This seed of Mary’s will grow and expand to destroy the enemy and help the people.

What God has said about you is already out in the atmosphere.

God’s protective hand was over Mary. What God ordains will transform the earth.  When God speaks to you, God is after His will and His plan, and God wants our obedience.  God has a time and a season for His will to manifest.  

Mary obeyed God, and was excited about what God was doing in her life.  She made a trip to visit Elizabeth, who was also pregnant by a miracle of God.  You can celebrate with another sister what God is doing =. 

Mary’s obedience brought forth the Christ, which changed life and the atmosphere. 

Psalm 45:9-13 AMP  Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women; at Your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. Hear, O daughter, consider, submit, and consent to my instruction: forget also your own people and your father’s house; so will the King desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, be submissive and reverence and honor Him.  And, O daughter of Tyre, the richest of the people shall entreat your favor with a gift.The King’s daughter in the inner part [of the palace] is all glorious; her clothing is inwrought with gold.

The position we have is from God, we are royal daughters. The deity on our lives is an expression of God.- God is a symbol of royalty. We are in the royal palace. God desires us as His daughters. When we are in God’s palace, people see our deity, not the fleshy part, but the part that let’s God’s glory shine forth.

Hebrews 10:16-22 AMP  This is the agreement (testament, covenant) that I will set up and conclude with them after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their hearts, and I will inscribe them on their minds (on their inmost thoughts and understanding), He then goes on to say, And their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more. Now where there is absolute remission (forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty) of these [sins and lawbreaking], there is no longer any offering made to atone for sin. Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus, By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh, and since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God,  let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.

God transforms our lives from our old, common lives to our new life. We are no longer of the flesh and the devil.  No longer need we sacrifice the blood of lambs or goats, for Jesus paid the price with His blood and now we can freely enter into the Holy of Holies as daughters after the new order.

The perfect picture of transformation is the butterfly.  The caterpillar enters the cocoon and when it emerges it is an entirely new creation, a new body. The butterfly can’t go back to being a caterpillar, as we cannot go back to our old lives, for God has transformed us. 

When God brought us out of our Egypt, He cancelled the sins of the past. 

The caterpillar forms a cocoon, a secret place, where it goes to transform, and call forth the butterfly that was inside the caterpillar.  God strategically fashions and molds the caterpillar until everything about him is changed. 

As His daughters, God is calling us to the secret place where He will change us and transform us so we are daughters of the second order – no longer caught in our sin lives.  We will be completely transformed from our issues, much the same way the woman of with the issue of blood was transformed.  The woman with the issue of blood was sick, probably had headaches and depression.  Had spent her fortune on doctors who could not heal her.  One touch, and she was transformed.

When God transforms us, He changes our lives and there is no remnant left of the old.  People will try to remind us of our past, but we are no longer that person. When God transforms us we overcome the enemy by the word of our testimony.

Revelation 12:11 And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing].

As daughters of the Kingdom, we want to be who God has called us to be.  What God does in our lives is truly amazing and nothing is impossible if you believe. You can obtain all that God tells you He has for your life. We have victory in Christ. We need to press beyond what we think we can do. What it boils down to is if we trust God or not.  Trust God.

I hope this teaching blesses you as much as it blessed me.

Heather

Pastor Danquah taught two nights at Living Word Chapel in West Hurley, New York.  These are notes from the second night.  If you want to read his first teaching, follow this link.

Luke 23:39-43  Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”  And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

God never forgets us.  We are in the calendar of God.  If we don’t faint, we will reap bountifully.  It is never too late with God.  He is behind the scenes working on your behalf.  

The problem comes in because we want God to work the way we want God to do it, but we are a man and we cannot comprehend the way of God.  God will never forget about us.  Miracles, hopes and promises will come to pass.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 

God’s word will come to pass no matter how the devil tries to convince us that God has forgotten us.  The devil perches on our shoulder and speaks discouraging words to us, but we are not to listen to him. Rather listen to the truth and believe God’s Word.  

The devil usually speaks loud, but God speaks to us with a gentle voice and His words produce a bountiful harvest.

God has heard our cry.

Psalm 34:19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

God is greater than any problem satan can put in our path. God destroys the afflictions and things that hold us in bondage. He has not forgotten our purpose.

God told Jeremiah that he knew of him before he was in his mother’s womb.

Jeremiah 1:5  Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.

God makes His Word come to pass in our lives.  He will do what He has said He will do. He will be faithful.  He remembers us.

People may say different things to us, but we are to believe what God has said about us. 

God inspires dreams. When we follow a God-inspired dream there will be obstacles put in our path. If we are following the devil or our own ways, things flow smoothly for we are doing what the devil wants. But once we make a decision to follow God’s path for our lives, the devil will try to throw obstacles and challenges our way to stop us from doing God’s will.  Sometimes, we can see the obstacles as validation of God’s words.  If our faith is strong and we persist in doing what God wants us to do, we are strengthened.

Stand and believe God.  God is a rewarder.

In the Bible passage of the thieves on the cross with Jesus, there were two thieves.  One chose to go with the crowd and ridicule Jesus, putting doubt on His death.  The other one replied that Jesus was a just man and did not deserve the Cross.  He asks Jesus to remember him when he reaches paradise.

With no hesitation, Jesus said:  TODAY

The thief who acknowledged that Jesus was Lord would enter eternity with Jesus – TODAY.  

One Word from Jesus changed his destiny from death to life.

Your destiny is also changing.

God will give you a revelation and change your course. The devil can’t stop what God has for you.  God can change our life in spite of the side journeys the devil may have led us on. God’s anointing and Word can perform a creative miracle in our lives.

The devil can’t do anything, it is too late and he has lost the battle already. God’s angels are in charge.  God will turn the works of the devil to his purpose.  God will give us paradise, prosperity, peace, life, abundance. In paradise there is no sickness, pain, anger, family issues.  God remembers you.

God remembers.

Isaiah 54:7 For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. 

What seems like a long time to us is but a mere moment to God, and God will gather us with great mercy from our trials.

Isaiah 54:8  With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer. 

Notice that it is a little wrath, in contrast to what he wants to do for us. There are bigger things ahead. We need to look forward, not back. We don’t drive forward always looking in the rear view mirror. Your past is your past.  Your blessing is in your future.  Your past is over.  Your future is bright for you, don’t let the enemy put guilt on you.  God has given you a new beginning.

The thief that mocked Jesus is in hell.  

Jesus bought our destiny with a price. God takes care of you, and makes your enemies ashamed. He is stronger than the devil. We try to elevate the devil above the power of God.  But God restores us again.

Isaiah 49:15-17 Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. Your sons shall make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away from you.  

Only irresponsible women might forget their children, but good moms take care of their children. God is a good parent, He will not forget. God has inscribed our names in the palms of his hands. 

God does not see me at my present state, but he sees what I will become in the future. God sees us established, but we don’t see, in our circumstances, what God sees. God sees Himself in you and there is no defeat in God, so no defeat in your life. If we mess up, God steps in and fights for us, don’t give up.

In the Bible, Joseph was the eleventh son of Abraham, his special son.  God gave Joseph dreams and visions, and because of that his other brothers began to hate him.  

People don’t like dreamers and visionaries.  Be careful how you share your dreams with people.  

Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? 

Joseph’s brothers hated him for his dreams.  When Joseph came out to bring his brothers food in the field they did not even call him by his name.  They called him the dreamer.

Genesis 37:19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming!

The enemy is after the dreams, they forget his name. The devil wants to keep us in bondage.

His brothers wanted to kill Joseph, much the same as the enemy wants to kill our dreams and God’s plans for our lives. When we take steps to achieve our God-given dreams the enemy sets out to destroy us, to stop the advancement of the Kingdom. That is why we need to pray for our pastors and shepherds.  Pray for the man of God.  

But also know, that when the enemy attacks, this is also something that God can use to elevate us. Whatever the enemy tries to use against us, God can turn for our good.  Our obstacles can be the very thing that helps us to step up into the next level, if we keep or faith and our focus on God.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

If we are doing the purpose God has called us for and the devil attacks, God can turn that attack for our good. God can even use our messes for our good.  We will not die, and God can turn it all to His Glory. 

If you are to triumph, there needs to be a challenge. God will cause us to triumph by His Word.  Before your challenge came, God already knew  and had set in place by His Word, the victory. God does not forget us in our challenges.

Joseph’s brothers put him into a dry well, and had talked about killing him.  Joseph probably was wondering, where is God?  Then when he was sold in slavery and ended up as a slave in Potiphar’s house, he probably wondered about his dream.  But God was going to turn all things to the good and Joseph was elevated in Potiphar’s house, so that he had charge of everything except Mrs. Potiphar. God caused Potiphar’s house to prosper because Joseph was there.

When God exalts you, stay humble and exhibit self-control. Hold on to God’s Word, even if no one listens to you. 

Mrs. Potiphar tempted Joseph every day, but Joseph feared the Lord. He had purpose in his life and he focused on that instead of the temptations of this woman. He decided what was most important was his purpose for God, not sex with the woman. Joseph kept his priorities straight.  Had Joseph been tempted even a little bit, God would not have been able to elevate him.

Joseph said:  Genesis 39:9b How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

Joseph knew that if he sinned against this woman, he was also sinning against God and he placed God first.  He did not push God aside.  

Mrs. Potiphar tore Joseph’s clothes off of him as he ran out of the house. 

1 Corinthians 6:18  Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Do not push God aside, for then you lose blessings.

Pastor Danquah told us that so many in the Church are not resisting temptation, that sixty five percent of pastors are viewing pornography, and if you begin to look at pornography your create a greater appetite for this.  We are to flee fornication. God is merciful but He is also holy.  Don’t use his mercy to cover up your sins.

Because Joseph fled this woman, and resisted the temptation he ended up in jail.  It is possible that he might wonder where was God in this, but even in the bleak circumstance of the prison, God gave Joseph favor. We need to hold on to righteousness in the face of the devil’s attack.

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

Joseph was given favor with the chief jailer.  He ends up interpreting dreams of two of Pharaoh’s servants – the butler and the baker.  The dream interpretation was accurate, and Joseph told the butler to remember him.  Instead, the butler did not.  Joseph spent fourteen years in jail.  He must have wondered if the dreams God gave him at the start of this were still accurate.

But we need to remember that wherever we go with God’s blessings we will have favor. 

Favor is the willingness of someone to use his ability and power to help you.

God remembers His promises. God caused Pharaoh to have dreams neither he nor his advisors could interpret, and that caused the butler to remember Joseph and his dream interpretations.

In one day, Joseph was brought from the prison to the palace. 

Joseph asked the butler to remember him – but in that Joseph was looking at man, but it is God who remembers and elevates us.

We need to put our confidence in God for it is God who supplies all our needs in the midst of our challenges.  Even in this economy God can prosper us.

God takes away the wealth of the enemy and gives it to you.  Don’t throw away your dream for what you see now in your circumstances.  Trust in God and know that He remembers you.

The chief butler remembers Joseph.

Genesis 41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

Joseph was in the dungeon with no hope for fourteen years, then Pharaoh called him and brought him quickly, an urgent command from the king.

We can be brought out of our situation quickly for God is a God of miracles.

Whenever the enemy gives us prison clothes, no favor, or we are in a spiritual prison, God can bring us out of the most desperate of situations.

Joseph appears before Pharaoh, interprets his dream, and then Pharaoh requests that somebody trustworthy do what Joseph suggested. It is decided that Joseph would be in charge, second only to Pharaoh. He was given clothes and a ring of authority. People bowed to him.

Pastor Danquah asked us if what we have been suffering is as bad as what happened to Joseph.  One day in God’s house restores us.  Joseph became prime minister.

He went through four “P’s” PIT – POTIPHAR – PRISON – PRIME MINISTER

What we go through is part of God’s plan, and He will use that to elevate us, if we keep our faith and focus on Him.

Pastor Danquah gave us another example from the Bible.  Hannah.  She was barren and her neighbors and friends ridiculed her for being childless. She went to the Temple to pray and prayed moving her lips, the priest felt she was drunk.  Hannah told him that she was praying from the heart, and the priest spoke a word of prophesy over her that she would have a child before the year was out.

1 Samuel 1:15-18 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”  Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

She left Eli’s presence and was happy for she believed the Word of God. She hadn’t been eating before she received God’s Word for she was sad at her barrenness, but once she believed God, she began to eat and be happy.

Was there any outward sign that she was going to have a child?  No.  She just took God at His Word. 

God will restore you and you will get what you need.

When God puts a desire for bigger causes in your heart, He will give you what you need to achieve them. God will bring joy in our spirit.

Pastor Danquah prophesied that within three months there will be testimonies of how God remembers us.  We will see the Glory of God.

I hope this teaching blesses you.

Heather

If you can get to Living Word Chapel tonight, Pastor Danquah is going to be continuing his teaching and ministry.  There was a powerful healing anointing last night.  Who knows how the Holy Spirit will move tonight.

John 8:31-32  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

Luke 13:10-13  Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”  And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 

Jesus told his disciples, and we, too, are His disciples, that if we abide in His Word, we will know the truth and the truth will make us free.  When we follow His Word we become a disciple in deed (actions). 

People come to church who are not disciples and they mix with the disciples.  But we can tell true disciples for they abide in His Word.

 Know the truth.  The truth is Jesus.

You are supposed to be free, to destroy the works of the devil. Is your life hindered by limitations the devil has put in your path? Are you caught up in wrong thinking or memories that prevent you from being free?

In the passage from Luke (see above), notice that Jesus was in the synagogue. The woman was a believer, a child of Abraham, who was under a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years.  This spirit has bound her.  When Jesus healed her, she was instantly healed. Had she stayed home from the synagogue, she would not have been where Jesus was to receive her healing. 

Limitation:  An intangible barrier that intimidates your inspiration. The devil attacks minds. The devil whispers give it up, it’s too hard, you’re to old, etc. Limitation is an intangible barrier that shuts down your creative process, paralyzes thinking, and causes you to accept your present state as the apex (summit) for you.

It is a spiritual barrier, you may not see it in the physical or realize that it is acting against you.

Sometimes when you wake up you feel heaviness on you, trying to limit you. The Word of the Lord can set you free.

The devil will use any way he can to limit you. It can be sickness, spiritual sickness, marital problems, children, financial, or a combination of these things.

The Lord frees us.  Zechariah 4:6B – “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,”  says the LORD of hosts.  

When limitations are removed, we can soar like eagles.  God delivers His people.

The adversary/opponent sets up intangible barriers.  He opposes every good thing. We can get close to our goal, and sickness arises, troubles come to pull us away from the good things.  He uses all kinds of confusion to stop our progress, marital troubles, mortgage troubles.  Remember the devil is a thief, a liar, a destroyer.  The Son of God sets us free from all the destructive works of the devil – John 8, we shall know the Truth (Jesus) and the Truth shall make us free.

We can destroy our goals by words of our mouth, or we can move toward our goals by the words we speak. 

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

So, how do we resist the devil?  Revelation tells us.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 

The woman in the synagogue was bound no more.  She was in a predicament.  A spirit of infirmity bound her for eighteen years. 

Notice.  Jesus was not teaching in the market place, but in the house of the Lord. The spirit of infirmity cripples what you want to do.

There are many Born Again Christians that are bound by the spirit of infirmity. They do not fully believe that by His stripes we are healed, that Jesus can heal our body, or finances, our soul, our spirit. 

The spirit of infirmity can cause us to miss opportunities.  The Daughter of Abraham (no name given for her) had many limitations because of her bent over shape.  She wouldn’t be allowed to work.  If someone is crippled in our day and age it can restrict the kinds of jobs they receive.  This woman may have been pretty, but no one would have noticed because of her infirmity. She spent eighteen years, the best years of her life in an infirm condition.

God is able to restore marriages. The spirit of divorce is ruining our nation. 

People come to Christ with old problems and issues. But, no matter how big the issue, the Lord is capable of removing it and setting people free.  No matter how long the problem has lasted, God can free us.  The woman was under the spirit of infirmity for eighteen years.

If you are limited, how can your reach your goals?   In the Name of Jesus limitations can be removed. 

God has a plan for our life. The devil hates the church prospering, if you prosper in your finances, the money helps the Kingdom. The devil does not want he Christian to prosper.  But, if we follow the principles of God’s Word we will prosper.  We will be set up by the Lord for promotion.

While the anointing can come on you at any time, when you are in Church and the anointing falls it seeks out your spirit and sets you up for promotion. If you choose to do something other than be at church, you may miss a special anointing on your life. 

The anointing of God changes lives. God will elevate you as you serve His Kingdom. He can cause a paradigm shift in your situation.  Everything can change.  Your outlook can change. Don’t give up. Don’t give in when the enemy sets up limitations, God is stronger than any limitation. The Spirit of the Lord restores you.

Notice the passion of Jesus. Jesus was in the synagogue teaching, and he saw a woman. If she was at home he would not have seen her need spiritually, the reason he saw her need was that she was in the Temple. 

The devil will give us excuses to limit us. 

The Lord desires to give us a miracle. The devil seeks to imprison us, but because of Jesus we are free. We are freed through Jesus – the same yesterday, today and forever.  We are given bread to eat, the bread of Truth. We receive the supernatural power of God. 

The Lord touched her.  We receive touches from the Holy Spirit.  When the Lord touches you, you cannot be the same.

Jesus did not pray for the woman, He just spoke. When Jesus touched her, she was instantly made whole.  She did not have to fast and pray, the healing was instant. God’s grace gives us healing.

While at times we fast and pray for a solution, there are also times that our solution is instant.

When the woman was healed she praised God. 

Jericho’s walls fell at the shout of praise to God. As we shout praise to God the walls of limitation in our lives topple.

I hope this teaching blesses you. I hope you are able to attend tonight.

Heather

Friday Bible Study – April 8, 2011 

Someone asked Pastor Don about John 20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

They wanted to know if we really could determine if someone is forgiven or not.

Pastor Don said that we needed to read the passage in context. This passage occurs after Jesus rose from the dead, and then he came back and commissioned the disciples.

John 20:19-20 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 

The disciples knew that it was the Lord.

John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

He sends us, and at this point, he establishes the principle of delegation by the power and position of His office. The apostles are the sent ones. Jesus had hundreds of disciples, but when these disciples, in the book of Acts, assemble in the upper room there will only be 120 that show up.

John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 

The disciples received the Holy Spirit, much the same way as we receive the Holy Spirit when we are saved.  This is different from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which occurs in Acts.  At this point, the disciples are sealed with the Holy Spirit, but they haven’t received the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to go out and do the work of the Kingdom.

Notice that Jesus breathed on the disciples.  Traditionally, today, when power is conferred we anoint people with oil – not breathe on them.  We are so flesh minded that most do not want to be breathed upon.  

In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit will breathe on them.  

The disciples are being commissioned but haven’t yet had the power given to them that goes with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

John 20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

Pastor Don said that, as you talk with people, and they repent there are times when you are aware that they are lying.  That they don’t have heartfelt repentance, but may just be repenting because they got caught in an act.  You can detect in your spirit the sincerity of their repentance.  We don’t condemn people to hell, but we can assure someone that they are forgiven if their confession is from the heart.  If not, you may rather choose to show a person what the Bible says on the situation and advise that they need to change their behavior, turn their life around.

Pastor Don gave a scriptural example of this.

Acts 8:4-13  Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.  For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city.  But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great,  to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

This Simon the sorcerer was baptized and continued with Philip, watching the works of the Spirit through Philip.

Acts 8:14-16 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 

These people had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but hadn’t received the infilling of the Holy Spirit with signs following.  They were sealed with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit led them to the Lord, but they hadn’t been empowered by the Holy Spirit, the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit. 

It is possible to be baptized, born again, and still not receive the power of the Holy Spirit.  Being born again is a process. We are brought under the conviction that we know that we need Jesus, and we invite Jesus in.

John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Jesus prays for the Holy Spirit for his disciples, to dwell in them.  Up until that time, the Spirit dwelt upon one or two, but now the Holy Spirit will be within the believer.

Acts 8:17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.  

They laid hands on the people so they could receive the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Don told us that in a way we are under a Germanic sort of Gospel, that implies that there has to be a formula.  

Acts 8:18   And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 

Simon saw.  What did he see?  We can’t see the Holy Spirit, so there had to be an outward manifestation of the Spirit, and the evidence the Bible says is the speaking of tongues.  

Simon shows that he did not fully receive the Gospel in his heart, for when he saw this evidence, he offered to pay.

Acts 8:19-21  saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”  But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!  You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 

Peter judged that Simon’s heart was not right.

Acts 8:22-23  Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” 

Peter told Simon to repent.

When we receive Jesus, while our Spirit is cleansed, we may still have baggage in our hearts to deal with. 

We may have iniquity – which is purposeful sin.  And with iniquity, when we purposefully decide to sin, knowing that it is sin, we need to repent and it shows that we haven’t fully repented.

Acts 8:24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” 

Repenting means to turn and go in the right direction.  We may not be perfect, and we may fall back into old ways, but our heart has to be towards doing the right thing, and when we fail, get back up, and try again.

Let go and let God. God tells us what to do and so often we don’t.

Job 22:23  If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; you will remove iniquity far from your tents.

Pastor Don then went on to teach on the role of the prophet.  I will put that in the next study.

Hoping your day is blessed.

Heather

 

Bible study taught by Pastor Don Moore on April 1, 2011

Pastor is reviewing foundational truths.  I missed the first part of this study for I was running an errand for Pastor, someone took down the scripture references for me though.

1 Corinthians 1:1-7 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

So spiritually minded no earthly good – pertaining in all spiritual gifts. 

1 Corinthians 1:8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wants us to be confirmed blameless.

1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

speak the same thing, no divisions.

***

I came back into the room, so now I can share from my notes:

1 Corinthians 1:12-17  Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

The  Church can easily forget that Christ is the Head of the Church. When you get in trouble, then you blame the Church.  Few people are bold enough to say that they were the cause of their trouble.  They want to blame others for their troubles instead of looking at their life and figuring out where they missed the direction of God.

The proof of the error of this passing of the blame is that, once the blame is assessed, is it followed by more error?  Many people blame the church for their problem, then they church hop – leave one church and move to another, and then once they get there, the same problem crops up because they haven’t dealt with the issue within themselves, so they leave that church and go to another. 

Paul is saying that there is contention in the House and it is not a good thing, people in the Church are aligning themselves with personalities, or on the basis of baptism.  Paul is saying that we are all under Christ.  Are we servants to Christ, not to a personality.

1 Corinthians 1:15-17  lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Paul knows his role and function in the Kingdom.

Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

God gave gifts to men.   People were captive for they had no access to Heaven before the Cross.  Those who died before Jesus was born were held in Abraham’s bosom, either to be punished or blessed based on their life. When Jesus died he went down to hell and preached to them and led those captive to Heaven where the Father is.  Now, since Christ to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 

Christ gave gifts to men.  He released into the earth the supernatural evidences of who He is , man received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues, healing, and man was set free.  All of this is done by Jesus’ faith.  He imparted it to the twelve and then the 70 who received gifts, but the Holy Spirit did not come to reside until the Upper Room

Paul is saying in essence that a person of another faith or an atheist can baffle you with words, but once a person gets hit with the Holy Spirit their blind eyes and deaf ears are opened.  The Cross is greater than any other sacred symbol of any religious ideal.

Ephesians 4:9-15  (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?  He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)  And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

Our faith and religion is based on power, not of fancy words.  We have everlasting life.  Life is through Christ, and we are a true disciple of Christ.  Put the things of God first, and your choices second.  It is a personal decision to put God first.  The power of our faith is that we receive the touch and subsequent touching after that.

Luke 16:19-31 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

Notice that Jesus says, “There was…”  This was not a parable, this really happened.  Jesus names names and it is done in perfect Jewish context.

Abraham’s bosom – when a Jew died and was buried on earth his spirit went somewhere else.  The rich man saw Lazarus from afar off.  There are two places in Abraham’s bosom, a lower place of torment and a higher place of pleasure.  

The holding place was necessary because there were no perfect people.  When Isaiah saw God he said that he was undone because he was a man of unclean lips.  A burning coal was used to purify his lips so that he would be holy enough to stand in the presence of a Holy God.  No one in their natural state can see God.  Moses stood in the cleft of the rock and was only able to see the hinder-most part of God’s glory.

No one can die and be in the presence of the Lord unless the Lord cleanses him and he is made perfect.  There were a few who came close, where God took them – Enoch, Elijah, and Moses.  And two of those will be coming back as the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation.

So there had to be a holding place for those who lived righteous lives and almost kept the laws.

In the end times there will be 144,000 Jews to be pure and undefiled.  God will seal them.

If we are honest we realize that there are times when we had the opportunity to do the holy thing, but chose the unholy.  We need to stay humble. 

Where we have missed it, someone else has succeeded.  

A good example of obedience is Abigail and Nabal, she did the right thing, standing behind her husband who acted foolishly.  She went and served David, to save her husband’s life.  She did the righteous act, and in time her righteousness was rewarded.

1 Corinthians 1:18-20  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:  “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 

Worldly wise people can act very stupid.  For example, Liz Taylor’s lifestyle.

1 Corinthians 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 

People who are worldly smart do not know God, for they look at the message of God and feel it is foolishness.

1 Corinthians 1:22-25  For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Called – these are picked, made known.  They come to their senses and realize that they need God.  Some take longer to realize that He has called them than others.  How long are you going to let the devil fool you?  When do you stop hitting your thumb with a hammer, realizing that each time you do it it hurts?

God means it when He says He will never leave you or forsake you.  Many are called but few are chosen.  Everyone is given a measure of faith, and they have the choice to make use of it or not, those who choose to believe make use of it and are the chosen, but everyone is given the measure of faith.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

God knows what is in our hearts and minds.  He prepares paths for us, but we choose to stay in those paths or to stray.  Our straying doesn’t take God by surprise, but His path is the best one for us.  If we follow His plan, God arranges good works for us to do.  We have free will and we don’t always listen to God.

Pastor Don says that he follows what he calls, “The Ten Second Rule.”  Before he takes an action he stops and takes ten seconds to listen to what the Spirit has to say.  That prevents a lot of rash mistakes.

God prepares good works for us to do.  The devil runs us ragged doing good works – but they may not be the ones God has specified for us.

When you get up, ask God, “What do you want me to do today?”

Life is much nicer and smoother if we are Spirit led and make smart decisions.  Trust in the wisdom of God.  It may look like God is doing one thing, but He may be doing another thing that we just don’t perceive at this time.  Trust God.

With the seed of faith that God has provided – have you eaten it or sown it?

 

I hope this teaching blesses you.

Heather