We owe the world a divine encounter with God. As we walk in the Presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we will see the lives around us transformed. Staying filled with the Spirit is what positions us to bring divine encounters to others. We we born to reign in life and see God’s Kingdom established in the earth.
[Applause]
thank you
my mind nice to see you finally it’s
been a long time
i just got back from taiwan and mainland
china yesterday
and uh
that was a little thank you i love you
too thank you
uh one wonderful time wonderful time in
both both places
i can’t talk much about the mainland
china one
but uh did get to meet
with a pastor that gives oversight to
where i was
and helps to give oversight there and uh
he had just been released from prison
for his faith
on christmas eve
and
interestingly he went into prison with
bad knees and a bad back
and had hair that was turning gray on
the sides he came out
and they don’t know what happened but he
no longer has gray hair his back is good
and his knees are good so
i guess it’s the new get young program
is just go to prison for your faith and
you just turn out better i don’t know
how that works but
i had never heard that before so that
was that was actually very very gracious
humble man very fun to
to be with somebody who’s paid such a
price for his faith
so anyway it was wonderful wonderful to
be there
i uh
i love negativity fast i actually try to
do it year round
[Laughter]
i remember when we did our first one
goodness 20
20 21 years ago we did we decided i was
reading out of isaiah and i thought man
we need to do a negativity fast
so we called it negativity fast we i had
people coming to me saying man this is
harder than fasting food
this is this is tough
and uh one of our elders says uh he’s
just gonna do a daniel fast
where he just complains to his wife he
doesn’t complain to everyone else
so i thought that’s a whole creative
touch on this negativity fest
all right quick story the pope goes to
new york
he’s picked up at the airport by
limousine
he looks at the beautiful limousine he
says to the driver you know i hardly
ever get to drive
would you please let me drive
the driver is understandably hesitant he
says i am sorry but i don’t think i’m
supposed to do that
but the pope persists
the
driver finally lets up oh all right i
can’t say no to the pope so the pope
takes the wheel and he’s really enjoying
himself a little too much as a highway
patrolman
promptly pulls him over
the officer walks up to the window ask
him to roll it down he does he’s
startled when he sees behind the wheel
the young officer
asks the pope to wait for a moment he
goes back to his patrol car
he radios the chief chief
i have a problem
what sort of problem
well you see i pulled over this guy for
driving over the speed limit
but it’s somewhat really important
the chief responds important like the
mayor he said no much more important
the governor
way more important than that
the president
said no more
who’s more important than the president
well he’s got the pope driving for him
so it must be god
[Applause]
romans
yeah you’re welcome you’re welcome i
i know that that was edifying
encouraging which is
what i’m here to do all right romans
chapter 5 if you had opened uh
open to romans 5.
i just uh
spent time as i mentioned already in
mainland china i had a wonderful time
with friends there
and uh went to taiwan where i’ve been
going for the last nine years
and uh interestingly they have
they have this kingdom uh culture
conference and the theme this year was
reigning in life
which happens to be like one of my most
favorite subject in the last few years
um
it it’s a biblical term we’ll read it in
a moment
but many people are turned off by the
concept because of abuse
but whenever we react to error we create
another error
the lord has positioned everybody in
this room to reign in life
but reigning in life doesn’t mean you
rule over people it means you reign in
life it means that money doesn’t master
you you master money
it means relationships don’t manipulate
and cruel control you but you actually
navigate through the ups and downs of
our journey with people and we use it in
such a way that god is glorified
and so god has called us to actually
reign in life and it’s one of the
vital things that illustrates a
relationship with jesus that would cause
others to be drawn to him
uh
i’m not going to misuse the scripture
but it’s it’s a little broader than my
use
in in matthew jesus said let your light
shine before men in such a way that they
see your good works and glorify your
father which is in heaven that’s life
for the believer
is to live in such a way that what we do
actually what’s the appetite of people
for god
it’s not to wet the appetite of people
to applaud us
it’s actually to draw them to the lord
himself and so there’s a way that we
live there’s a way that we lay our lives
down the way there’s a way that we model
life that actually
invites people into the same kind of
relationship with the lord and this is
what the lord’s desiring from us so
let’s just start by reading this passage
out of romans
chapter 5
verse 17.
forth by one man’s offense
death reigned through the one
much more those who receive abundance of
grace and the gift of righteousness will
reign in life through the one christ
jesus
now let’s read it again
for if by one man’s offense that’s
talking about the sin of adam and eve so
he’s he’s painting a picture here one
person’s sin
brought death to the entire human race
so he says if by one person’s sin
that kind of issue entered the human
race how much more than through the
death of christ and his purchase of
redemption for us
can we be positioned or posture to reign
in life so let’s read it again
it says if by the one man’s offense
death reigned through that one through
the one
much more those who receive abundance of
grace and the gift of righteousness will
reign in life
through the one christ jesus
i like the passion translation in the in
this verse
says uh death once held us in its grip
and by the blunder of one man death
reigned as king over humanity
but now how much more are we held in the
grip of grace
and continue reigning as kings in life
enjoying our regal freedom through the
gift of perfect righteousness in the one
and only jesus the messiah
wow
reigning as kings in life
as mentioned reigning in life isn’t uh
dominance over people it’s not
it’s not some secret way for us to build
our empires and that people admire us
it’s actually
using
the authority the grace that god gives
us for the benefit of people around us
a commonly repeated theme is authority
for for us authority is always to be
used to speak on behalf of those who
have no voice or a very little voice
it’s never used for self-promotion
anything you obtain through
self-promotion you’ll have to sustain
through self-promotion
it’s a it’s a constant trap of trying to
um trying to keep something inflated
that has a leak self-promotion is is is
nauseating
and it’s it’s a full-time job
where the lord has invited us actually
to partner with him in such a way that
the power of his grace the power of his
righteousness positions every believer
to reign
in life
to rule
so i think it’s maybe three years ago i
did a i did a series here um on sunday
mornings for uh goodness nine weeks on
the subject of wisdom
and it’s one of the most favorite things
i’ve ever done i i think i mentioned at
the time when i did it i had i had sat
on it for like ten literally 10 years
waiting for the right time where i was
ready enough and and the timing was
right to be able to teach on the subject
because it’s one of my most favorite
things in the whole world is the subject
of wisdom
the word proverb uh brian simmons in the
passion translation in his introduction
brings up the fact that the word proverb
of course it means uh like a wise saying
riddle those sort of things
all sorts of things
the word proverb actually comes from a
word that means to reign or to rule
and in a conversation with him
he was he was mentioning and i agree
that
the real key to understanding proverbs
is is to realize that wisdom is to
enable us to reign in life
and so proverbs wisdom teaches us about
every aspect and part of life
one of the things i like to draw our
attention to is that you could pick any
problem on the planet whether it’s a
personal problem it’s a political
national
ecological it doesn’t matter what the
problem is god already has the solution
in mind
it’s already in mind it’s already there
and he just simply looks for one of his
children to pursue the answer of the
breakthrough because he actually has
answers and wants his answers and
solutions to be released into the earth
reigning in life is where we take his
answers for earthly problems and we
illustrate display them so here’s the
here’s the deal
we owe
my approach to life is we owe the world
probably a whole bunch of things but
there are three that are very clear to
me right now the first is we owe people
an encounter with god
we owe them a divine encounter
we owe them more than words words are
important but words are supposed to
carry power effectively they’re to bring
people into a divine encounter
uh if it’s not through the declaration
through decree personal ministry will
bring people into a divine encounter
it’s vital because
i i mean i’ve watched through the years
i remember goodness i remember years ago
a
gal that was in the hare krishna
cult was you know she had her shaved
head
and everything and a friend of mine and
i were there he was talking with her and
just they talked for like two hours and
finally he was getting nowhere and he
just said can we pray and she said sure
so he laid his hand on her bald head
and uh and just and just prayed a very
simple a very simple prayer they had
been debating for two hours
and he laid his hands on him prayed very
simple prayer but it brought such an
encounter to her that she had her head
bowed for maybe like a minute when he
was through praying
and she finally just shook her head
and she lifted up her eyes and looked at
him and said
i’ve been deceived
just like that i’ve been deceived
what did he do
he couldn’t debate her
repentance into kingdom perspective
but he could release presence and power
not to manipulate to control but to
actually free her into a place where she
could think freely for herself for the
first time and she sought for what it
was and repented on the spot but the
point is is we have an indebtedness to
bring people into a divine encounter and
the way that we do that most
consistently is truly just to stay full
of the holy spirit filled with the
spirit that’s really what positions us
to be successful there most consistently
the second thing that we owe people is
we owe them um we owe them divine
solutions heavenly answers for earthly
problems
heavily answers for earthly problems
that’s for the wisdom thing really kicks
in
is that uh if if you work at a
particular corporation and there are
issues problems in the corporation maybe
in design maybe in marketing doesn’t
matter what it is but god has an answer
a solution for whatever dilemma is being
faced
and as the people of god as we take on
more responsibility for what god is
wanting to accomplish in the business
life the medical the educational all
these different parts of communities as
we enter these realms and serve
effectively we actually bring heaven’s
solutions to earthly problems when we do
that we enable people to taste and see
that god is good
taste is experience c is perception
when we bring people into an experience
with god we change their perception of
what’s available through god
amen
amen i’m just i’m just encouraging
myself right now that’s good just keep
it up amen all right
so there’s the second thing is the is
the issue
of uh
heavenly answers for earthly problems
but the third one is one i want to take
a few minutes to talk to you about
and that is the whole issue of
the responsibility we have to have to
live a blessed life
and i know it sounds self-serving
but it’s not by god’s design
it’s uh it’s
be blessed to be a blessing you’ve heard
that phrase it’s been around for a long
time be blessed to be a blessing
but the biblical basis for it is uh
psalm 67. it’s interesting when i was in
taiwan last year
a prophet friend sent me a text or email
i forget which
and told me that i was to find somebody
by a certain name
and that psalm 67 was to be a theme of
his life
and it ended up the the
kind of the father of this particular
movement he had that name
so i shared with him the prophetic word
and about psalm 67 and he he ran with
he’s just he’s been majoring on psalm 67
for the last 12 months literally so much
so the entire the worship team has
t-shirts that they wear just says psalm
67 i mean they are in if anybody has
bought into a into a mandate into a
vision it’s these it’s these folks and
they do so well stewarding what god says
psalm 67 says this
god bless me
but you’ve got to love any prayer that
starts with that right
god bless me
and cause your face to shine upon me now
the shining face of a perfect father
is a face of delight and favor so he’s
praying god
increase not only your favor on my life
but increase the manifestation of your
favor so everybody around me can see it
so here’s the prayer bless me
cause your face a favor to shine upon me
listen to the next phrase
so that your way would be known in the
earth
that your way
and your salvation to the nations so
follow the sequence god bless me
cause me to carry your favor well i want
people to see your delight in me
because if if you do that
then they’ll see what you’re like
and if they see what you’re like
salvation will truly come to the nations
your grace is the irresistible grace and
i want them to see it for what it is
and it’s it’s a it’s a beautiful prayer
of of saying god
in order for them to catch the real
message the full message of who you are
it’s got to be tangible it’s got to be
visible it has to be measurable
enough for this theory stuff it’s got to
be measurable it doesn’t mean that all
of our life is is is always perfect but
it does mean that there is the mark of
favor on our lives
i like to look at
this concept
there was a squabble in israel back in
days of moses there was a fight between
the leaders of the 12 tribes as to who
should be in charge and who should have
authority et cetera
and uh and so
so moses told all the all the tribes to
um all the tribes to uh
get an almond branch
and so they they each have a dead almond
branch and they put the name of their
tribe on it and then aaron representing
the priesthood puts his name on it and
they put these 12 branches before the
ark of the covenant before the presence
of the lord
and the next morning they get up the 11
branches are still dead
but aaron’s rod sprouted
butted
blossomed
and bore ripe almonds
sprouted buttered blossom bore ripe
almonds what does that tell us
it tells us first of all that was god’s
mark
of who he had anointed for leadership
so what that tells me is that god’s mark
for leadership is not ripe almonds in
every area of life
but life
in every area of life
sprouts buds blossoms ripe almonds some
are perfect maturity others are just
beginning but there’s life there does
that make sense to you and so the lord
illustrates his choice in people in that
there’s life in all these areas of life
even though maturity maybe in this area
not that area that makes sense
so here we have this
responsibility to be blessed
i you know i think it involves money but
it’s not about money if that makes sense
to you it’s it’s about
it’s about
it’s about life it’s unhandling
all the different parts and aspects of
life so let me talk to you about four
things that stand out to me we probably
could list a dozen or dozens but there
are four things that stand out to me
um this morning the first one
to reign in life you have to effectively
you have to view your past the way he
views it
some people continue to confess sins
they’ve already been forgiven for
and if you could picture it this way god
alone has the ability to forget by
choice
and once he has forgiven you he has
forgotten
and you keep bringing up subjects that
he can’t relate to doesn’t know what
you’re talking about
because
i don’t have that on my records
you’ve never done that
i mean that’s what forgiveness is
and when you come to him and you say god
i did it again he goes again
i don’t have any past record
now
that’s not to abuse grace that’s not
anyone who views grace
and it liberates them to sin
they don’t see grace because grace
enables righteous lifestyle that’s the
enabling presence of god but here’s the
deal about this this grace of god
he enables us to see our past the way he
does
i read a quote this uh oh maybe two
weeks ago and i love it so much but i
forgot who it came from i think it may
have been william booth uh with uh who
founder of salvation army but anyway the
quote the quote is um every saint has a
past and every sinner has a future
man i love that every saint has a past
and every sinner has a future
it’s a level playing field
when you’re forgiven you’re empowered to
live righteously and give it a new
nature so here’s the deal
if
if i am
a slave to my past in my thinking
i will actually give away
the energy and the life that god has
given me i will give away to feudal
things
um
we know that our old nature is dead
but some people have been practicing
raising the dead so much they keep
[Applause]
amen
[Applause]
viewing our past the way he does
is
not just beneficial it’s absolutely
essential
to live the way he’s assigned us to live
we have to think in terms of who we are
because of grace
so the first thing is just the way we
relate to our past the ideal life would
be for anybody anyone i realize some
have uh
you know
raised in church
and uh your lifestyles are different
than some who
uh
just had such horrible horrible
backgrounds and but
level playing field jesus just simply
forgave us all
the idea would be anybody from your past
could walk into the room and there would
be no shame
no shame there would be no attachment
whatsoever you because of the awareness
of the absolute forgiveness and grace of
god zero shame zero cloud of of uh shame
and guilt and all the junk that comes
comes on people so regarding the past
the second thing
would be um our thought life
uh the way we think i it’s it’s one of
the things that i i’m working on
constantly because i’ve found in in my
life because i found the the the real
battleground for our life is is between
our ears that’s where the real conflict
is
and what happens is the enemy let me put
it this way the devil is so nervous of
your authentic creative expression that
he tries to keep you in anxiety fear and
shame to cut back your ability to
creatively express who you are in christ
it is the target it is a primary target
because the authentic
the authentic nature of christ
demonstrated through the life of a
disciple through a life of a believer
changes the consciousness of humanity of
what might be possible in a person’s
lifetime
simply because of how they do life
in zechariah chapter one there’s a real
bizarre story there
where the prophet zechariah describes
this thing where the devil
releases four horns into the earth horns
first of all represent powers
authorities
and
four is the number of four corners of
the earth uh north south east and west
um
the the uh uh
it’s just representative of a planet
what happens on the planet so here this
the devil releases these four powers or
authorities
into the earth and it says to shame
or to hold in guilt
a discouragement is is the term
the the people of god to hold in a place
where they are just cast down they are
they live in that anxious place of
frustration so here four authorities
four horns are released into the earth
to bring that shadow of discouragement
depression shame all that junk on the
people of god
and then it says but god’s answer to
this dilemma was he raised up
four artisans
artisans are the creatives which is
everybody in the room
it doesn’t mean you have to paint or
sing it just means the lord has a
creative expression for every role that
we have in life he wants the uniqueness
of who god designed us to be just to be
seen in and through that creative
expression of his nature in you for the
your unique unique assignment and place
in life
so god’s answer for these four horns
these powers that raised up in the earth
to depress the people of god god’s
solution was
release the anointing on four creatives
it’s just like when god sent a choir
into battle first you know he just
fights wars differently you know he says
ah put the singers in there first
which is great if you’re a guy with a
sword but if you’re one of the singers
you know that’s
that’s it’s a little different so the
lord just he sends the choirs in well in
this case he actually raised up a
creative movement from the four corners
of the earth and they so overwhelmed the
powers of darkness that that he was
unsuccessful in his ability to cast that
shadow of shame and guilt on the people
of god the answer was what the creative
expression
what does anxiety fear shame guilt all
that stuff do it robs us of the creative
expression
all of that is connected to our thought
life
the scripture says
that he’s he’s he’s not looking for our
calamity he’s looking for our welfare
i think it would probably shock us if we
actually saw what god meditated on
he actually dwells thinks plans for long
before we were ever created which is
fascinating that before he created man
who would sin
jesus the lamb of god was prepared to
die he had an answer before there was a
problem
let’s drink to that
he had a he had an answer before there
was a problem before there was a crisis
there was a solution provided
to think consistently with what god says
is like
is like really the mark of maturity
for a believer
it’s called the mind of christ
it’s the reason
that i uh that i carry the promises of
god
the prophetic words all these things
about my life about my family about
bethel i carry these things with me all
the time and i i review them regularly
because i just can’t afford to think
things he’s not thinking
i get into trouble every time i do every
time i start entertaining thoughts
values perceptions that are not his they
lead to problems then they lead to death
they lead the conflicting all the junk
so the mind of christ is that mind that
is set on the welfare of the people of
god
i don’t mean
living in a palace somewhere i’m talking
about the well-being it’s the fact that
that we truly live in the prosperity of
soul
until we reign in life where the issues
of life that used to beat us down they
don’t anymore we master them
and the lord uses your personal victory
to testify of his grace to draw people
to this perfect father it’s the whole
prayer of blessing so that people would
know what he’s like
the issue of prosperity of soul is uh i
i i’m not going to talk about this
morning except just in reference
i just think it’s one of the biggest
subjects
of scripture
the phrase is only used one time that i
know of
but the lifestyle is illustrated genesis
to revelation
it’s the prosperity of souls the
abundance here that affects everything
out here
jesus slept in a storm spoke peace to
that same storm and the storm stuck his
internal reality became an external
reality when you have the victory here
you’re positioned to release victory out
there and that’s prosperity of soul is
that the world around us starts to be
shaped by what’s going on inside of us
that’s why that internal victory is so
critical
the battle for the mind why because it
positions us to think with him and to
release what he’s saying into the earth
it’s huge
the third area where we illustrate
this uh life of reigning
is in relationships
i i saw some somebody had a tea it was
actually it was a cartoon it was a
t-shirt that said something like i’m a
pastor let’s talk you know that’s
because he didn’t want anyone to talk to
him when he got on the plane you know
just
[Laughter]
which i think is very funny
you know i
let me be really honest i value alone
time i really value a long time where i
can just settle my thoughts it’s really
important i stay sane by protecting my
alone time but i thrive on together time
you know i i travel
all over the world and i i oftentimes
will have teams with me uh 10 12
sometimes 15 people or more
and my favorite time of every trip is
when i get to sit down with that team
and to spend an hour two hours in
starbucks or in a church office
somewhere or whatever
and just have that time to dialogue i
love together
time and unity is only possible when
there is diversity
unity without diversity is uniformity
and that’s not the same
it’s it’s not good that we all look
alike act alike we want to have the same
kingdom values but there’s unique
expression through every gift through
every position
through our history our our our
backgrounds our upbringing our
nationalities all those things are to be
celebrated and protected that uniqueness
is uh is not a problem unless it
conflicts with kingdom values
then we adjust
to what god is saying what god has done
but the point is is that we were
designed to be together you know it
would be horrible if my entire body was
one big toe
it’s not supposed to be it’s supposed to
be unique every member but here’s the
crazy thing is every member
contributes to the next member
in other words in fact the bible says
there’s life in which every joint
supplies
so there’s actually the release of life
at every point where there’s a
connection
and the body of christ is designed that
way
many years ago in weaverville we had
some dear friends who ran a small little
little farm and i don’t remember what
happened or why but somehow they needed
help with a little lamb and
benny volunteered to babysit this baby
sheep and so this baby sheep lived with
us in our house
like a dog except it was a sheep
and uh this little sheep this little
lamb would follow benny all over the
house because that thing thought she was
mom and it was just the cutest thing i
don’t know if that lamb was destined for
dinner or what its purpose was but
we didn’t we didn’t we didn’t it was
just a little lamb to us
i did not you probably knew this but i
didn’t know sheep had long tails
i didn’t know that
so we get this we get this lamb
and it’s got this rubber band real tight
little rubber band you know about
halfway down the tail
and and they said oh yeah that’s uh
that will just it just cuts off life to
the rest of the tail so eventually it
just rots and falls off
well that’s kind of gross but that’s
what you do with sheep i guess i don’t
know if you get that in the sheep
owner’s manual or what but you got you
got to get rid of the long tail not sure
why
so they put this little rubber band on
sure enough it just just finally turns
gross colors and then falls off
any time we separate
people from the flow of life
we actually sentence them
to experience things in life they were
never designed to experience
we’re supposed to keep the flow of life
one member to another it’s a
responsibility and a privilege
crazy that little rubber band if if you
know halfway through the process of
getting the tail to fall off if you take
the rubber band off
there’s enough poison in that tail
to now be released back into the sheep
actually kill it’ll actually kill the
land
and so there’s there’s this whole
concept if you will
of making sure that we keep connections
on us keep the connections open and and
in a way the way we reign in life is to
navigate relationships well i you know
you don’t get to just decide all right
i’ve decided i’m not going to be
criticized anymore
if if only that were possible
or we could say you know what i was
betrayed but it’s never going to happen
again i’ll never now you don’t get to
choose that you can choose to have it
not affect you but the only way you can
do that is to protect yourself from love
so if i if i insulate myself so much
where nobody can hurt me well then
nobody can love me either
and so to be vulnerable in life to
experience life together means i will
experience pain so the way i demonstrate
reigning in life is how i navigate
disappointment laws it’s how you
navigate it i don’t get to choose
whether or not i’m going to be
criticized or rejected or embraced or
loved i don’t get to choose that i get
to choose how i navigate what’s been
thrown at me
i used the illustration a couple weeks
ago the whole adverse winds a sailboat
by attacking by using the sail and the
rudder can actually advance against the
wind
and oftentimes our destiny is in the
direction of adverse winds and the lord
is simply inviting us to navigate
relationships in a way where no matter
what comes at you you actually are
making progress
and sometimes a strength is developed by
making progress in adversity
that gives us the maturity to live in
the promised land once we enter it
to to live in it with maturity in other
words we don’t handle it carelessly and
lose what god actually released to us
so there’s a relation the last things
that i mentioned about reigning in life
it is money money itself
uh
money’s not evil in itself the jesus
said the love of money is the root of
evil
learning how to navigate finances is
such a big deal because it’s a it’s a
it’s a problem for people it’s a problem
for ministries it’s a taboo subject for
so many there’s been so many abuses and
and so much junk that’s going on in
jesus name in the area of money that
there’s just like hands off don’t want
to touch don’t want to talk about it all
through the church but we’ve got to talk
about because it’s part of life and to
reign in life basically means this i
mean
i what i want is is i love to be able to
donate a hundred dollars towards a
single mom being able to buy a car
that’s awesome but i’d rather buy her
the car
and if i don’t know how to reign in life
to manage that part of my world the way
god intended
then being able to contribute is
wonderful but to be more blessed is to
be more effective
because we are blessed to be
a blessing
so there’s four things i’ll mention to
you about
money the first one is generosity
generosity is the first step in kingdom
finances
it just is you just
you know everything that god made gives
and gives naturally
man is the only one that has an option
sun gives light leaves give oxygen
everything was created to contribute but
we alone have options
and to step into his design
give living in a place where we are
constantly contributing to the lives of
people around us including money but
giving ourselves money just
represents who we are our gifts our time
our ability what we’re uh uh paid for so
giving of ourselves to improve people’s
lives so the issue of generosity is huge
the second one is contentment
you know i want to see everybody just
prosper increase promotions all this
stuff but our problem is we live in a
culture where where if an athlete
signs a 20 million dollar a year
contract then the news does this thing
on the house they bought and all the
stuff and we live in a comparison
culture
and whenever you fall into the trap of
comparison you could be living in the
blessing you prayed for last year but no
longer appreciate it because you don’t
have what someone else has when you
compare yourself you’re always going to
be better than someone and lessen
someone else
comparison is an absolute trap it
doesn’t matter if it’s money or if it’s
character if it’s if it’s gifting i just
don’t have the gifts that they have stop
comparing yourself it’s it’s just it’s
an endless trap of
of of absolute continuous disappointment
and discomfort
contentment is a huge thing it doesn’t
mean we don’t have an appetite for
increase here’s the deal for me seek
first the kingdom and his righteousness
all these things will be added i want
the increase in my life to only be
him honoring my priority of the kingdom
i don’t want the blessing to come
because i prioritize the blessing
and there’s a huge difference one comes
with divine favor he says that he adds
blessing to a person’s life and he adds
no sorrow to it
when you get blessing apart from god’s
favor there’s always sorrow attached to
it
it’s true
the third area
is um
wise purchases
just show a value for excellence in what
you buy
amen
amen
amen let’s leave that one right there
amen
and then the last one is deuteronomy 8
18 talks about him giving us the power
to make wealth
israel embraced that the church has it
i think because the church thinks money
is evil or that was for israel or not
for us
and again the purpose is not to show
spirituality about how much is in the
bank or what i own that has nothing to
do with it i don’t like that concept i
don’t like i don’t like translating
dollars into spirituality because it
doesn’t work
but i really do like being able to be
effective in how i love and care for
people and sometimes
it means
dollars
but it always means heart
and the lord has given the ability
to create wealth to the people of god
either is used for his glory or it could
be misused or not used at all
and no use is no better than misuse
that was a good point bill amen that’s a
good point
many will point the finger at somebody
who’s you know has created this picture
of spirituality by what they own and
pointed fingers saying that’s wrong and
i would agree with them but not using
the gift is not better than misuse
no use is not better than misuse
amen all right we’ll just end right
there
and call it a day
amen
now
let’s
we’re going to pray we’re going to pray
that a blessing thing because i i don’t
know if you have an appetite for this i
want to learn what it’s like to reign in
life more
you know every every place in my life
where i’ve seen it where it’s the impact
is measurable it really does bring him
glory and that that’s the that’s the
cool thing because it releases us in who
god made us to be
but there’s always when there’s this
amount of people in the room there’s
always a high chance there are people
here that don’t know the lord jesus
you you don’t know what it is to be born
again perhaps you’ve seen it you’ve
heard it
but you’ve never surrendered your life
to jesus for him to be the lord
and the master of your life if i could
have everyone not move around anymore
nobody else leaving
please because i don’t want anyone
leaving to disturb someone who needs to
hear what i’m going to say
that’s the most important moment of the
day is this right here
so there’s a good chance there are
people in the room who have never
surrendered your life to jesus you don’t
know what it is to be forgiven of sin
you don’t know what it is to be brought
into a family of god you don’t know what
it is to be what the bible calls born
again change from the inside out
god soul of the world he gave his son
for you for me he actually died in my
place so i wouldn’t be cursed i wouldn’t
bear the punishment of sin there aren’t
many ways to god if there are many ways
to god then the father was cruel
requiring jesus to die the way he died
he died the way he died because there
was only one possible solution and he
loved you and he loved me that much
and if there’s anyone in that position
it would say bill i don’t want to leave
till i know i’m at peace with the god
until i know i’ve been forgiven until i
know that jesus is really the master
over my life if that would be you just
put a hand up right where you are and
we’re just gonna celebrate uh your
response to jesus this morning anybody
at all just real quick put your hand up
real high if that’s you
is that you got your hand up back here
yep wonderful thank you bless you today
anyone else
all right
beautiful why don’t you go ahead and
stand up
and the one who raised your hand if
there’s somebody i missed if you would
come right up here to my left we’ve got
some people who are ready here to pray
with you to talk with you and to
celebrate uh your coming into the
kingdom of god right over here to my
left you guys get that banner up or i
guess it’s not going up today right over
here to my left by the communion table
um and they will pray with you
wow wow tonight water baptism bapti our
meeting this tuesday is huge
i really encourage you make sure that
you’re a part of that it’s going to be a
great day but yeah come on up here uh
those who have just made a commitment to
jesus and our team
loving trusted friends that would love
to pray with you and to serve you so if
somebody could sure help sure make sure
that the ones who raise their hand make
it up here all the way all right
beautiful bless you leslie come on up
hold your places if you were thanks