Step Into the Water

As we celebrate the Passover Season, I perceive that God is ready to manifest miracle blessings for His chosen people. There is an elect people of God that the Lord has sovereignly chosen to represent Him in this next Move that He is getting ready to release in the earth. However, in order for us to take advantage of the Supernatural move that God is getting ready to initiate, we must Step into the Water.

When you read the narrative of the children of Israel preparing to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the scripture states that before God miraculously separated the waters of the Jordan, the priests had to step into the water (Joshua 3:13). Saints, remember, that in Christ Jesus we are "kings and priests" and that we are a "royal priesthood" (Revelation 1:5-6, 1Peter 2:9). So this text doesn't apply to simply preachers and pastors, it applies to every born-again believer that is ready to take possession of the Divine Inheritance that God has ordained for you. And if you read the entire narrative (in the King James Translation), you'll find that the reference "pass(ed) over" is continuously mentioned.

God is ready to bless His people beyond what we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). But we have to step into the water. We have to take the first step of faith. We have to trust God and launch into an area and arena for which we are not familiar. We have to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Too many of us as believers in Christ are still trying to play it "close to the vest". We're still trying to play it safe. We want the Blessings of God, but we want it on our terms. We want to receive what God has for us in a state of convenience and comfort. Saints, let me assure you, you will not receive what God has prepared for you not being willing to go where His Spirit leads you to go and doing what His Spirit instructs you to do.

It's an interesting time my brothers and sisters. A lot is going on in the world, but be not deceived, our God is moving. The question is, are you moving where He would have you to go? If during this Passover Season, you want all that has ordained for you, then it is imperative, by faith, that you Step Into the Water, and behold God's Miracle Working Power.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before Your Throne of Grace, thanking You for the celebration of this Passover Season. We thank You Father, that under the New Covenant that Your Son Jesus is our Passover. We ask Father that You strengthen our faith. We ask like the father whose son you healed, help our unbelief. Give us the boldness and courage to step out into the water, and receive the miracles that You have ordained for us as Your people. We count it done Father, and we say thank You, in Jesus' Name, Amen.

Intellectual Infatuation

One of the things that I have learned about Americans is that Americans are smart. For the most part, Americans, by and large, are an intelligent people. America would not be described as a "dumb nation." We pride ourselves on being somewhat superior in regards to innovation and technology. We embrace and emphasize intelligence.

I would be the first to say that education and intelligence are important. In regards to upward mobility and career and vocational preparation, education and intelligence are indispensable. However, even though many Americans are smart, many Americans are also lost. 

There's a difference between intelligence and wisdom. And what America is lacking as a nation, and the world is witnessing it before our very eyes, is wisdom. Wisdom comes from God. And even though you can be smart, intelligent and cognitively competent, if you don't have wisdom and if you don't have God, you're lost, no matter how smart or intelligent you are.

This is why America needs to turn back to God. Intelligence and education can only take you so far. And it's taken America as far as she can go. If we're going to return to being a fiscally prosperous and politically influential nation, it's not going to come through research and technology, it's going to come through faith in God.

What has happened is that America has become Intellectually Infatuated. We are infatuated with our intelligence and being smart. However, this needs to shift. We don't need to be infatuated with our intellectual acumen, we need to be infatuated with the Lord! We need to fall in love with God. He's definitely in love with us. 

America belongs to God. This nation was founded by God, and founded "for" God. God wants America back. God wants this nation to return to Him. But in order to do so, we're going to have to repent, even in the church. We must repent, not simply of our sins, but of our Intellectual Infatuation.

What is the Father Looking For?

Photo Courtesy of K. Terwilliger via Flickr

It's hard to imagine that an All-Sufficient God would actually be looking for or in search of something. God is Sovereign and supplies all of our needs. However, according to the Scriptures, God is scoping the earth looking for something in particular. Do you know what that something is? Worshipers.

In the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John, Jesus says that they that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. He then goes on to say that the Father seeketh such to worship Him. Saints, the Father is looking for worshipers. He's looking for some people that are totally sold out to Him.

What is worship? Worship can be described as unlimited devotion and praise to a person or object that has been prescribed deity status. When you worship something or someone, your devotion is unlimited. There is no cap to how far you'll go and what you'll do to show your dedication and commitment to that object of worship. 

When you worship, you praise the object of your worship. Your affection and adoration is boundless. You just can't help yourself. When you worship, the object of your worship has been given by you deity status. In other words, it is your god. The reason I'm framing the definition of worship this way is because, whether they're conscious of it or not, everybody worships. But not everybody worships God. And if a person is not worshiping God the Father through faith in Jesus Christ, then something or someone else has become their object of worship, meaning something else is their god.

As we approach this new season in the Body of Christ, don't simply be a "professing Christian." Don't be content to just be a "Sunday morning church attendee.".Aspire to be a true worshiper of God. For that is what the Father is looking for.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, we come before Thy Throne of Grace, beseeching You Father that you make us True Worshipers. Teach us Father how to worship You in spirit and in truth. Let us abide by Your Word, that we will put no other gods before You! You alone are God and You are our God. We love You Father, and we give You all of the praise. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Good Works vs.The Works of God

One of the distinctions that needs to be made as we move into this next season is the difference between "good works" and the "works of God." There are a lot of people and a lot of organizations that do a lot of good things for people, for the community, for the poor, for the needy. These various works are commendable and noteworthy. However, they don't necessarily represent the works of God.

A lot of the charitable works that organizations do cannot necessarily be recognized as the works of God because they're not done in His Name and they're not done for His Glory. If you know anything about God, He is a Jealous God and is very stingy when it comes to His Glory. He will not share His Glory with another. Therefore, when examining whether something represents "good" or "God," these are criteria that have to be taken into account.

With this in mind, we must then ask the question: "Are all the works that are done in the church the works of God?" You would think so, given that the deeds of the church are done "in His Name." However, this is not always the case. Jesus made it very clear that there are works, even miraculous works, that are being done in His Name that don't necessarily represent the works of God (Matthew 7). Why is this the case? Because God looks at the heart. You can do something, supposedly, "in His Name," but be doing it for your glory and your credit. There are too many people, particularly ministers, using the platform of the Gospel for their own fame, fortune and notoriety. This is not the will of God.

As we press into the next move of God, let us not be deceived by those who do good deeds and do good works, but don't lift up the Name of Jesus nor commit to the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Let us also not be deceived by those who claim to work in the Kingdom but are more about building their own kingdoms. Let us pray for a spirit of discernment to distinguish between "good works" and the "works of God."

Keeping Up With God

One of the things that needs to be established about the God we serve is that God is a God of movement. He's not a stationary God, He's a missionary God. He's always moving and He's always working. With this being the case, the Father expects His children to always be on the move as well. We're not talking about "just staying busy." We're talking about what Jesus said at 12 years old, "being about His Father's business" (Luke 2).

The reason why this is significant is because it's easy to go into a state of spiritual complacency. Once you've done something for so long, and experienced a reasonable amount of success, you can fall into the trap of resting on your spiritual laurels and find contentment in that particular place with God. This is deception. There's never a place of "arrival" in God. Yes, He wants us to rest in Him and labor to enter that rest (Matthew 11, Hebrews 4). But at the same time, He wants us to always to keep pressing into His will and pressing into His Presence.

Saints, there are too many churches and too many congregations that have grown content with where they are in Christ. Worship services have become predictable, praise and worship have become regulated, preaching and sermons have become monitored. Many churches are no longer reaching to come out of their "comfort zone." They're no longer anticipating a move of the Spirit beyond what they're used to. This attitude, my friends, is not of God.

God is doing a new thing. And the only way you're going to be in position to receive is to develop a sense of expectation for it. Don't fall into a spiritual rut. Don't let your time with God and devotion in the Spirit be reduced to just "going through the motions." Be receptive to the new thing that God is doing in your life and with His people. Don't become spiritually slothful, make sure that you're keeping up with God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask that You wake us up in the Spirit. If we have grown complacent and slothful in our relationship with You, we ask that You have mercy on our souls and forgive us for this sin. We acknowledge Father the new thing that You're doing in the earth and amongst Your people. We ask Father, by Your Grace, that You allow us to participate in the Kingdom Agenda that You have ordained for Your elect and Your chosen. Give us discernment, give us focus, give us an ear to hear and a heart to receive. And we'll be careful Father to give You all of the Praise. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.

Deliverance from Competition

America is known for its spirit of competition. Whether it's in the area of commerce, or business, sports and even politics, our country thrives on the thrill of competition. There may be such a thing as "healthy competition," but this spirit has no place in the Body of Christ. Unfortunately, this spirit of competition has found its way in the church, and it is serving as a distraction from focusing on and building the Kingdom of God.

A spirit of competition grows out of a spirit of comparison. One of the problems with the church is that we spend too much time "comparing" ourselves with one another and thereby fostering the spirit of competition amongst the believers. We compare our congregations, who has the most members. We compare our sanctuaries, who has the biggest church. We compare our preachers, whose pastor can "preach the best." We even compare our relationship with God, who is the most "spiritual." None of this is of God. But it all grows out of the spirit of competition, which leads to a spirit of comparison.

There's nothing wrong with being "the best." But being the best doesn't have to be about being "better" than somebody else. Being the best means being the best that you can be and being the best that God has called you to be. If you're focused on being the best that God has called you to be, then you won't have the capacity to compare yourself with the next believer, or the next preacher, or the next congregation. You'll simply be focused on fulfilling the question, "Lord, what would you have me to do?"

Saints, let us not be deceived by the spirit of this culture. Let's grow up in the Spirit and get beyond self-comparisons with others and trying to be "better" or as good as someone else. Let's focus on what God has called us to do, who He's called us to be, and receive deliverance from the spirit of competition.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask Father that You deliver us from a spirit of competition. Father, let our self-esteem and self-worth grow out of our identification of who You've called us to be in Christ Jesus. Take our eyes off this brother and that sister, what You're doing with them and how You're blessing them. Give us a spirit of contentment and dedication to those things for which You've called us to do, and let our primary focus be to please You. We love you Father, and we count it done, in Jesus' Name, Amen.

A Wake Up Call!

Several years ago, the great film producer, Spike Lee, made a movie entitled, "School Daze." One of the scenes at the end of the movie, was of a young man who was shouting on the campus, "WAKE UP!!!!!"

Saints, that's what time it is in our world, and that is particularly what time it is in our nation. It is time for America to "Wake Up!"

Our country has become dormant when it comes to issues of faith, ethical issues of character and integrity, the difference between what is right and what is wrong, issues of justice and more than anything else, issues pertaining to the Divine Will of God. This nation has forgotten that America was founded to be a Christian nation. Whether the masses realize it or not, this nation belongs to God! America is supposed to be a God-fearing nation that serves as a Witness for the rest of the world.

Needless to say, America is failing to be the witness that God has ordained us to be. As a result of our spiritual negligence and delinquency, a Wake Up Call is in order. God is ready to reclaim America and receive on the Investment that He has made in our country for over four centuries. God is not going to continue to let America operate in a state of spiritual slumber. A Divine Wake Up Call is in order.

What can the church do, as God prepares to shake America from her spiritual stupor? We can get our "house" in order. As believers in Christ and children of God, we need to be as vigilant and diligent in regards to our relationship with God than ever before. It's time to make the "crooked places straight and the rough places plain" (Isaiah 40). It's time for us to "lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us" (Hebrews 12). It's time to sell out to God! No more spiritual mediocrity, no more lukewarm worship and praise (Revelation 3). It's time to get on fire for God!

Remember Saints, the judgment of God begins at the House of God (1Peter 4). There are plenty of Christians that need a Wake Up Call as well. Let's not be those whom God has to shake up to wake up. Let's be sober-minded and submit to God's Divine Will and Order for our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that You would release a Spirit of Repentance upon America. Give us a spirit to turn from our wicked ways. Give us a spirit to return to You in love and obedience. Give us the Grace to receive, nationally, Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. We bless Your name Father, and we give You all of the praise. In Jesus' Name, Amen.