The Abundant Life "Outlook For Offenses"

We are continuing on in our series with "Outlook For Offenses" In these days we must be on guard from offenses. Its one the enemies most deceptive traps and strategies in preventing us from the promised land known as the abundant life. In the book of Luke Jesus tells us that its impossible to live this life without having the opportuniuty to be offended(Luke 17:1) Its not a matter of if the offenses will come, its a matter of how we'll respond and react when they do. The word OFFENSE comes from the greek word SCANDALON. It refers to and signifies the laying of a trap. Its often hidden deep kindof like a landmind. Jesus said that it would be one of the chief signs of the final times. In the twenty fourth chapter of the book of Matthew theres laid out the spinal column of prophecy. Nation will rise against nations, there would be famines earthquakes and pesilences. However we see the mackdaddy and motherload of then all beginning at verse ten. MANY WOULD OFFEND BETRAY AND HATE ONE ANOTHER. Notice that this chain all begins with the link called offense. Many times the offenses that come will be from the most seemingly unlikely of sources. In other words it'll be from places that we thought were sound stable and secure. We must have our foundation built on NONETHING LESS THAN JESUS CHRST AND HIS FAITHFULLNESS!!!! David found this out when he laments Its not an enemy that reproaches me than my soul could bear but its my friend an equal we took sweet fellowship together in the throng(Psalm 55:12) In other words the offense came from a source in whom he had a close relationship. The closer an association the greater potential for offense. If we get our eyes on people than it can quickly lead down this slippery slope toward a harden heart whch brings us into sin and ultimately death. How can we by the power of the word of God protect our lives from this most deadly and dangerours of satans schemes? Number one. LOVE THE WORD. When we are in love with the word we will not be our feelings. Often when someone is offended, you'll notice that much of their speech is dominated and dictated by how they feel. God said in and through the mouth of John LOVE NOT the world neither things that are in the world(1 John 2:15). The word world here is decribing the worlds system. We are in the world but we are NOT OF IT and the way we react and respond is to be absolutely completely and TOTALLY different from the world! However the only way to do that is to love the word more than ANYTHING OR ANYONE! Joeseph didnt get into offense even through he was sold into slavery by his own family. When it was all said and done He had the power to authorize having his brothers killed. We see at the end of the book of Geneseis instead of having them killed he fell upon them kissing them in radical reconcilliation. What caused Joeseph to react and respond in this manner? He LOVED THE WORD, in other words he LOVED GOD! In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and THE WORD WAS GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God says in the book of the Psalms Great peace TO THOSE THAT LOVE THY LAW, AND NONETHING SHALL OFFEND THEM(Psalm 119:165) God tells us here with crystal clarity to the very degree that we love his word is the direct proportion of protection we have from offense. Number Two. LONGSUFFERING The bible declares LOVE SUFFERS LONG and is kind(1 Cor 13:5) The NLT says LOVE IS NOT IRRITABLE. We will not get easily irritable when we are no longer offended. in verse seven it goes onto say that LOVE ENDURES THROUGH EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE! When we are operating in ENDURING LOVE we WILL NOT BECOME OFFENDED! This is the agape love of God thats been shed abroad in our hearts by the HolyGhost(Rom 5:5) This is the enabling and endueing force enabling us to endure when offenses come. The bible says that JESUS ENDURED THE CROSS(Heb 12:2) What caused him to endure the cross? He so LOVED THE WORD(John 3:16) This was the propelling power that pressed through the wipping scourjing and the cross itself. We see in the book of John that Jesus ABIDED in the Fathers Love and it was made manifest in and through him. The thirteenth chapter of John says that its to be radiating in and through us which causes the world to know that we are his disciples. People will take notice of love that suffers long. Jesus said in the book of Luke If we love those that love us what thanks do we have?(Luke 6:32) When we are able to rise up in this enduring love that stays free from offense it causes our lives to be like a shining spotlight in the face of individuals. Lets be the witness that we have been created for and called to be! Number three, LEANING NOT TO OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. When we are in the midst of a situation where offense has come we must not allow ourselves to be in the arena of reason. Back to the account of Joeseph not only was he dominated by the Love for God and the word but also by the power of FORGETFULNESS. In Gen 41 we find where one of his sons was named Mannasah. The name meant GOD CAUSED ME TO FORGET! He was able to be protected from offense by not letting thoughts to develop pertaining to what he had been through. God has done this very thing toward us. Hes like their sins and iniquities I'll remember NO MORE(Jer 31:34) He puts our sins in the SEA OF FORGETFULNESS(Micah 7:19) The bible says Love BELIEVES THE BEST IN EVERY PERSON(1 Cor 13:7) Love is able to look through the fog of offense and see the good things and thats what we are to be completely focused on. Finally, LIVE TO GIVE. When we live to give, our minds will not be on me. When we talk to people that are offended notice what they are talking about ME ME ME. If our minds were like screen and we were able to change the channels. You know what we would find on every station? It would be something about me! The bible says LOVE SEEKS NOT THEIR OWN(1 Cor 13:4,5) Theres a poen that goes If theres a song to sing sing it, a bell ring, ring it, love was not placed in our heart to stay, love is not love until its GIVEN AWAY. The point is someone thats trapped in offense will no longer give away. They become trapped in a prison of SELF preservation and protection. God describes this in the book of Proverbs. A brother OFFENDED, is HARDER to be won over than a strong city: and thir contensions are like BARS...,(Prov. 18:19) These people will not venture out or let anyone in. Jesus said its when we LOSE OUR LIFE IS WHEN WE FIND IT! There are two bodies of waters in the middle east. The sea of Galilee and the dead sea. The first one takes waters in and gives them out. As a result theres plant life and fish. Its alive with LIFE! However the dead sea takes waters in but never gives it out. There is no plants fish or anything living at ALL. When we are seed conscience and NOT SELF CONSCIENCE its than that we are positioned to recieve the abundant life and live in the full until IT OVERFLOWS in JESUS NAME! Jesus said Give and it SHALL BE GIVEN(Luke 6:38), Paul said SOW BOUNTIFULLY and WE"LL REAP BOUNTIFULLY(2 Cor 9:6) Giving is what will produce our living. We are talking about this very thing THE ABUNDANT LIFE! Lets all be on the OUT LOOK FOR OFFENSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Abundant Life "Counting The Cost"

There is going to be a price to pay when it comes to having this abundanlt life promised to us be the Lord Jesus. In the book of Luke Jesus gives us a powerful warning. Which of you intending to build a towre sittith not down FIRST and COUNTETH THE COSTwhether he hath sufficient to finish(Luke 14:28) We want the abundant life the salvation healing prosperity. However with there will come the cost. In this blog were going to talk about some of the things that its going to cost. Number one, PERSECUTION. God said through trhe mouth of Paul All that live Godly in CHRIST JESUS SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION(2 Tim 3:12) Now this was a dude that knew something about it. He was shipwrecked slandered and stoned. However he had an annointing that so thick that when hankerchiefs that were on his body were placed on others they were healed! He had such abundanlt revelation being poured out to him that the devil sent a messager to buffet him like a thorn in the flesh. The bible declares that the disciples were used to turn the world upside down(Acts 17:6) They were continually and constantly attacked and assualted by the clergy of the day. These people were religious and lost! This religious spirit is still in full effect Today. It will attempt to accuse and assisinate our character. However we got to be just like our Lord Jesus and BE OF NO REPUTATION! Jesus said if the world hated him they will hate us ALSO(John 15:18) in the book of Acts we'll notice a theme threaded throughout. POWER AND PERSECUTION! Oh but lets be REMINDED of the words of the APOSTLE PAUL The sufferings of this present times are not WORTHY TO BE COMPARED TO THE GLORY THAT'll BE REVEALED(Rom 8:18) Number Two. PATIENCE. We are going to have to pay the price of patience in order to recieve Gods best. We live in a society that screams HURRY UP to their microwaves! The children of Israel became impatient and it kept them in the wilderness for forty years when it should've took eleven days. Esau gave up his birthright for a bowl of pottage. God said in and through the mouth of Paul GROWING NOT WEARY IN WELL DOING, WE SHALL REAP IF WE FAINT NOT(Gal 6:9) Hes the LORD OF THE HARVEST, but WE ARE THE SOWER OF THE SEEDS!!! The only thing that hinder or even halt our harvest is US! Lets let GOD BE GOD and LET JESUS BE THE LORD OF THE HARVEST! It will not be late! Hes like through it tarry WAIT FOR IT, FOR IT SHALL SURELY COME TO PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Number three, PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS. The bible declares that we dont wrestle against flesh and blood BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS(Eph 6:12) Satans host will attempt to prevent our possessing of the promised lands. We have to be like Danial and perserveare until theres BREAKTHROUGH! Stick to your guns and be steadfast in standing fast! Number four. PEOPLE. The bible declares that the FEAR OF PEOPLE BRINGS A SNARE(Prov 29:25) There are people if you let them will talk you up out of your blessing. The bible declares that the companion of FOOLS SHALL BE DESTROYED(Prov 13:20) God said through the mouth of Paul Bad COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD MANNERS(1 Cor 15:33) Josua and Calen were Two out of TWO MILLION that entered into the land flowing with milk and honey! Why?Because they had a FAITH FRIENDSHIP that was FERVENT AND FAITHFUL! You need someone there in your corner that says YOU can not that you CANT, some that says ITS POSSIBLE instead of ITS IMPOSSIBLE! its been said thsat Mahumad Ali paid some to be in his corner to be his encourager! Thats what haging with the right folk will do! Maybe your like Brian "I dont have anyone" Well you have JESUS and you + HIM = MAJORITY! The good news he'll connect people with you as your faithful to him. He did this with Joeseph with the baker and butler. Number five, Problems. the lord said through Bro Hagin that "None of us are going to float to Heaven on flowery beds of ease" Things can arise by us just being a card carrying member of the human race. However the solution to every problem is the WORD! Its the reason Jesus decreees and declares himself to be THE WAY(John 14:6) Hes not just the way to the Father and Heaven but hes they way out of any problem and into the promise!

The Abundant Life "Girting Up the Loins Of Our Minds"

We are going to continue our series on the abundant life. We have seen that there is life that overflows that Jesus has purchased and paid fordr us to walk in. Its going to take getting rid of our excuses and knowing our righteousness with him. In the last blog we talked about the robbers of righteousness. In this blog we are going about another biggie in recieving this abundant life. Girting up the loins of our mind(1 Peter 1:13) Notice here that The Lord says out of the mouth of Peter the words mind and loins in the same sentence. Why? Its because the loins are the reproductive areas of the body. Thoughts will produce other thoughts. The bible declares that two million of the first generation of belivers died in the wilderness as result of their thinking. The bible declares As a man THINKITH so shall he be(Prov 23:7) There is a saying that goes "The greatest battles have not been fought on the ground air or sea but between our ears"! This is indeed the bullseye of the enemies target! I have heard this illustration given from the Lord nin and through bro Dickow The enemy is like a hobo riding on top the train of our thoughts. All he needs is one to gain access. We get forfeit our inheriance to the abundant life by small minded thinking. The bible says casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of god and bringing every thought into captivity under the obedience of Christ(2 Cor 10:5) Now notice the pattern THOUGHTS IMAGINATIONS STRONGHOLDS. When we fail to quickly take thoughts into captivity they will turn into an imagination. What is an imagination? Its like a word picture that begins to play out into descriptive detail. Noahs generation was impacted and influenced by them! Jesus said as the days of Noah so shall the return of the son of man be(Matt 24:37) We have a society dealing with strongholds attempting to label them as disorders. We have to win the battle of the mind and that will not happen by popping a pill! The bible says in the book of Genesis that whole earth in that day became full of violence. Why? Every imagination was evil continually(Gen 6:5) God provides us a tremendous list in order to examine our thoughts. This list is much like a pilot recieving the checklist for the plane. Its found in the book of Phillipians. Whatsoever things are honest lovely pure and of a good report think on these things(Phil 4:8) Back to the earky generation of believers. God gave them the land but it was already inhabited by giants. When they saw them they made the statement WE WERE LIKE GRASSHOPPERS IN THEIR SIGHT(Num 13:33) It was their thinking that defeated them. We read in the book of Josua that the ginants in reality were more afraid of them! The good news is we CAN BE TRANWSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF OUR MINDS(Rom 12:2) The word cast in 2 Corinthians comes from the greek word EKBALO which means to hurl down. How do we take a thought captive? We do it using something greater than a thought. WORDS! Words have more authority than thoughts. Its us speaking them oit that gives them life. The Lord said in and through Bro Hagin 'Thoughts not put in word or action will be still born" We must absolutely refuse to speak out thoughts that attempt to exalt themselves against the knowledge of God!!! However to do that we must have the knowledge of god. Its found in the word of God. Its one reason that he says gis life is LIFE TO THOSE THAT FIND THEM(Prov 4:22) Jesus said SEARCH the scriptures(John 5:39) THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE! In order to posses this abundant life we have to think like God thinks! Have this SAME MIND IN YOU THAT WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS(Phil 2:5) We have the MIND OF CHRIST(1 Cor 2:16) Finally the THREE R'S Recognize. We have to be instantly alert to when one comes that is not the word. this is the enemy attemoting to infiltrate our thoughts so he can into our lives. Next REJECT. Third and finally REPLACE. We find God giving Josua a command after he took over after the death of Moses. Let not this book of the law depart from your mouth MEDITATE on it day and night and you'll make your way prosperous and will have good success(Josua 1:8) Than in the book of Psalms We delight in thy law we meditate day and night and we'll be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters our leaf will not wither and whatever we out our hands to shall prosper(

The Abundant Life "Robbers Of Righteousness"

We are going to contune our series on the abundant lidfe with this blog the robbers of roghteousness. We saw in the book of John that Jesus promised us ABUNDANT LIFE. However we must notice something else that he says at the beginning of the verse. The thief comes to STEAK KILL and DESTROY(John 10:10) Already so far we have discussed the fact that we must elimate all excuses to why we cant walk in this abundant life. In the last one we saw the importance of understanding our righteousness. Another thing we must always beware of is the fact that the enemy will seek for opportunities to rob us this very nthing. the reason is because its where are authority and confidence resides. The epistles approximately 134x decrees and declares the phrases In CHRIST In HIM and IN WHOM. Jesus tells us HOLFAST let no man STEAL ypur crown(Rev 3:11) This is telling us very clearly with crystal clarity from the madster himself that bwe must be sober and vigilant. The first robber is SIN. Sin is a cancer that we get or it will eventually get us. All temptation is to sin. If it werent than it was cease in being a temptation. Sin will harden our hearts and cause us to be less sensitive to the promptings of the spirot. The Lord said through the mouth of Paul Having our conscience seared with a hot iron(1 Tim 4:2) Sin will take us furthur than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay and make us pay a price higher than we want to pay! The wages of SIN IS DEATH! The lie of the enemy in whom is the Father of them will say that we can do it without the death. Many get decieved by by it. The bible warns Beware lest you be hardened by the DECIETFULLNESS of SIN(Heb 3:13) One of the big decievers is the pleasure thats attatched to sin. The bible declares that there is pleasure in season for A SEASON(Heb 11:25) This has been an area where the church has often come up short. In times past people and preachers sometimes have left the impression that there was no pleasure in sin. However if that was the case, than why do millions do it? NO the truth is there IS! Its just that its a very short season and it leads to death ten times out of ten. The bible talks about the LAW OF SIN AND DEATH(Rom 8:2) When we break this law there will be the price of death. This doesent mean one just drops over dead physically. In the book of Genesis we find death all over Adam & Eve after they ate of tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They began to fear and hid. What is sin? Sin is VIOLATION OF LIGHT. Many times people dont want to admit what they see and know. However God KNOWS what we see and know and Hes not MOCKED(Gal 6:7) We live in a society that doesent want to use the word. Its often replaced with words like problem or issue. We must CALL SIN SIN! Because its the first step tp being FREE FROM IT! There are people that think that by sinning they have their independence. Jesus said DIFFERENT He says when we sin we become a SLAVE TO SIN(John 8:34) The worst consequence of continued unconfessed sin in our lives is that it robs us of our righteousness which brings birth to condemnation and a host of other complications. "There are two pains in life discipline and regret. The pain of discipline weighs ounces, the pain of regret weighs TONS"! Lets not have to have the same thing happen to us that did to King David. The sword never departed from his house(2 Sam 12:10) and we find that God would've given him anything that he was thinking he was missing out on. Of he would have just went about things Gods way! Remember Jesus declared and decreed himself to be THE WAY(John 14:6) We can trust red letters they trump EVERYTHINGE ELSE! The secomd robber. SESESATIONLISIM. We live in a sociey that are dictated and dominated is the sense realm. This gives the ememy great access because Hes the God of this world(2 cor 4:4) Its here that we are incontact with our five physical senses. Jesus said that we are in the world, BUT NOT OF IT! In other words just because we have senses we dont need to be lead by them matterofact were commanded not too! When Lucifer had his orgin he was an annointed cherub created in ALL BEAUTY AND WISDOM(Ez 28) However there was inquity found in him as he begun to lift up his heart saying thqat he would be like the most high God. It was than and there that the great expulson happened in Heaven and satan fell like lightening from the sky. Now the enemy did'nt have any authority in the earth until adam and eve aint of the tree. adams was especially the straw that broke the camals back because the bible says that eve was decieved but adam was not(1Tim 2:14) When satan fell from Heaven he lost ability to operate in the annointing and now can only in the sense realm. This how he attacked Jesus tempting with what he could see If you be the son Of God turnj the stone into bread. Thomas was operating by his senses when he said less I see the nail print in his hands and side I wont believe(20:25) This was something seeing that he was an eye witness to all that Jesus did the cleansing of the lepers, the feeding of the five thousand and the raising of the dead. How can we prevent being directed by the senses? FAITH! The bible says we walk by FAITH and not by sight(2 Cor 5:7) We must let the word be first and final and it will cause us to make decisions that will determine the right destinies. The bible says that the word will be like a light to our path and lamp to our feet(Psalm 119:105) The reason that senses are such a robber of righteousness is that it often leads to doubt and unbelief. John the Baptist was the one that sid Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world and his shoes Im not worthy to lace. However we see in the book of Matthew him thrown into a prison and he sends two of his workers to ask Jesus if he was the Christ of if they should be looking for another(Matt 11) Our senses will and can be the same way they were to John the Baptist. The bible says that faith is the EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN(Heb 11:1) God says in and through Paul While WE LOOK NOT AT THE THINGS THAT ARE SEEN BUT THINGS THAT ARE NOT SEEN(2 Cor 4:18) This is that sixth sense called FAITH at work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Things were made by things that DONT APPEAR! Lets be on the lookout for these two robbers of RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Abundant Life "Understanding Our Righteousness"

In the last blog we began a new series entitled the abundanlt life. We saw where we absoultely must get rid of alol our excuses in oder to walk in it. In this blog we are going to talk about another most important element our RIGHTEOUSNESS. If you are reading this and our in Christ Jesus you are not trying to be the righteousness of God you are already MADE the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! Its not what we do its what HE DID that makes us righteous. To be righteous simply means to have right standing with God. Its so important that we know WHO WE ARE in HIM and WHO HE IS IN US!!! Christ IN US the hope of glory(Col 1:27) In the epistles especially the phrases In Christ In Him and In Whom are used approximately 134x. I believe we see from that the importance of knowing who we ARE! When we dont know who we are it can have devestating effects. In the book of Acts there was a group of people that attempted to use authority that they did'nt even know. They said do a demon possesed man we adjure you in the name of who Paul preaches. The demon answered back saying Jesus I know, Paul I know but who are you? It says that that they were overcome and were beaten and rqan away naked and defeated. When we dont know who we are in Him and who He is in us the very same thing can happen. We'll be overtaken with sickness scarcity depression and all other stuff. It says in the book of Revelation over and over To HIM THAT OVERCOMES! Were the ones that are called and chosen to do the overcoming not to be overcome! This happens from us knowing our righteousness in him. The bible gives a powerful & profound account of a man that did'nt know what belonged to him. I want to pause to interject a powerful quote that the lord desires to get down into the depths of your spirit. "The devils success IS DEPENDANT UPON OUR IGNORANCE" He will certainly take advantage of what we dont know. He said in and through the mouth of the prophet Hosea My people are destroyed FOR A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE(Hosea 4:6) There was a man in a place calleed lodabar named mephibhasepth. I know this is grossly mis spelled but the story is in second Samual chapter nine. He was a crippled and it seemed to be his lot to live in this lonesome damp dark and depressing land. However all the while david was looking for someone that wass in the household of Jonathan to show kindness for his sake. David and Jonathan had a covenant relationship. This meant that if one of them happen to go off the earth, the other person had the sole responsibility of taking care of any family. Well he had no idea that the dude in lodabar existed. Now notice the wording KINDNESS FOR JONATHAN SAKE. This represents the covenant that we have WITH THE LIVING GOD! God wants to show us KINDNESS for CHRISTS SAKE!!! Heres the thing about this man in lodabar listen to his statement when Davids servant came to him telling him what belonged to him. How could this be for such a DEAD DOG AS I(2 Sam 9:8) He thought he was unworthy and all the while he had a right to sit at the table of the KING! When we undeerstand our righteousness , its than and there we will be BOLD AS A LION and come into the throne room with confidence realizing and recognizing that we are heirs with God and JOINT HEIRS WITH JESUS CHRIST! Finally lets look at the book of Galations. A child DIFFERS NONETHING FROM A SERVANT THROUGH HE BE LORD OF ALL(Gal 4:1) We are the Lords that hes the LORD OF! The enemy so attempts to come against this in our lives. In the next blog we are going to talk about the Robbers of Righteousness.

The Abundant Life "No Excuse"

Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly(John 10:10) We are beginning na new blog series entitled "The abundant life" He completely with crystal clarity made his purpose known to us. Its for each of us to live a life to the full until it overflows. However its not going to just come upon us like ripe cherries falling from the trees. We must understand that there is a Godpart and manpart to everything we recieve from God! Hes already done his part. When Jesus was on the cross he said "IT IS FINISHED!" Its NOW totally up to us whether we are with boldness and bravery going to enter into the fullness of whats been purchased and paid for by his precious blood. There is a big difference between the abundant life and eternal life. We recieve eternal life by beliving in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with our mouths. When we by faith do that we are made new creatures in Christ Jesus and pass from death to life. However we can be on our way to Heaven and live in Hell until we get there! This is not the will of God in anyway shape form or fashion! In this blog we are going to focus on a very important element of causing us to walk in this abundanlt life NO EXCUSE! In order for us to obtain it, were going have to give up any excuse in our lives. There will always be one that can stand in the way and attempt to hinder and halt. Some say they are to old other say their to young. Others say that they were born on the wrong side of the tracks. In other words there will be an attempted reason why we cant have what God said we can have and BE what he said that we can be. There was such a man in the fift chapter of the book of John. This man was in a condition for thirty eight years. Jesus asked him a question. Do you want to be WHOLE? Another way of saying that could be do you want to live in the abundant life which includes wellness completely and absolutely. The man responded by saying I have no man to put me in the pool(John 5:7) He was using an excuse for staying in the situation. We must understand that its all up to us whether or not were going to have whats been paid for. Proverbs puts it this way Theres a lion in the street and I'll be slain(Prov 22:13) In other words there'll always be a million and one reasons why we could say I could never have healing or I could never have prosperity or restoration. However thats not the word of the LIVING GOD!!! His word is greater than any circumstance or condition. We must get our eyes on Jesus and off of them. We get our eyes on Jesus by getting them on the WORD! Years ago they had a bracelet that said wwjd? I would've liked it if one said WDWS(What Does Word Say?) Jesus would do exactly what he DID! He never changes and is the SAME yesterday today and forever! Lets get rid of excuses because they can be the very baracade and barrier alienating us from the awesome abundant life that belongs to us by inheritence. In the next blog were going to talk about UNDERSTANDING OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

The Greater Glory "The Power Of Personal Preperation"

In the last blog we began a series entitled "The Greater Glory" This was a statement birthed and breeded in and through Bro Hagin Jr. In it we talked about a number of things. We discussed how the glory is the very manifested presence of the Lord himself and that its going to be upon us in a an unprecendented fashion in these final moments of time. The Lord spoke in and through the mouth of Isiah that the glory would be SEEN on US(Isiah 60:3) We seen also that he said through Paul that we are to be ministers and administers of this GREAT GLORY. In this blog were going to talk about the ways that we can prepare ourselves for this glory within us COMING UPON US. Number one, EXPECTATION. If we expect nothing, we shall recieve nonething. In the book of Acts there was a lame man that was at the gate called beautiful. He had been a crippled from the day he was born. One day Peter and John were in the temple and his EYES were FASTENED UPON THEM, EXPECTING TO RECIEVE SOMETHING(Acts 3:5) I want to pause to pound this point. We cannot just do anything at whim. We must have seen and heard from the Father. Think about it. Peter and John had been there day after day and so had that lame man. However it WASENT UNTIL THIS DAY THAT there was a great occurance in the spirit and THE WORKING OF MIRACLES was manifested and materialized. Remember when the Lord Jesus came to the five porches that was interpreted in the hebrew tounge BETHESDA? There was a dude at one of them for thirty eight years. Now notice there were five porches. Why did Jesus come to this one and not just clean them all out everyone getting healed? We find the answer earlier in the fifth chapter of the book of John. I of my ownself CAN DO NONETHING!!! There is tradition and theres the bible! When Jesus ministered on the earth he did as a man that had stripped himself of his godly from and this is the reason that he could'nt just bust up into a place and bring healing or a miracle. Its the same reason that we cant just go into a hospital and clean it out even through the glory is upon us. We'll talk about this sometime in futhur detail. This man in the temple EXPECTED and we see that he RECIEVED! "Expectation is the breeding ground of miracles" We must expect that glory in us shall come upon us and it shall be seen and with it will come mighty miraculous manifestations done by and for the glory of God! Remember in the book of John, Jesus is with Mary and Martha at the gravesite of Lazarus. Hes like IF YOU BELIEVE YOU SHOULDEST SEE THE GLORY OF GOD(John 11:40) Where theres excitement and enthusiasim! This is a good gage to check. In other words in the event you havent been enthused and excited, maybe a good question to ask is whats happened to my expectency and begin to fill that blue print of hope with faith filled words that come from God pertaining to his word. So expect to be used to lay hands on and to pray the prayer of faith raising individuals up. Expect to be used in the operations and demonstrations of the gifts of the spirit. Expect to recieve the restoration of the sevenfold, Expect to say the right things at the right times that will be like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Expect that your going over and not under being the head and not the tail! Number two, ERATICATION. To premise this point there was a great epidemic of disease that was rampant in a remote area of Africa. For days and months they searched for clues to what was going on. They had an inkling that it had to do with the water supply. However on the surface things were like crystal clear. They finally had divers go down deep into the waters. They found that the water had become contaminated by three pigs that fell into it. As soon as these pigs were eraticated and extracted, the waters became pure once again. We are the temple in which the glory abides and will be poured through. However if there are any areas where there is contamination it will stunt and even possibly stop the glory from manifesting. We got to be quick to eraticate anything that can be in the way. This leads us to number three, EXAMINATION. We cannot eraticate until we examine because we wont know what doesent belong there until its shown to us by him. Its as simple as taking inventory. However pride can and often will hide the true condition of our hearts from us. God said something awesome in and through the mouth of Obediah. The PRIDE of thy heart has DECIEVED THEE(Obediah 3) We will never confess what were unwilling to confront. So be willing because the GLORY DEPENDS UPON IT! The Lord said in and through Isiah IF were WILLING and obedient we'll eat from the good of the land! number four, ENDURANCE. We have to be in this for the long hall. We shall see the manifestation of the glory IF WE BELIEVE! Mary and Martha thought it was TOO LATE. They thought that Jesus had tarried to long and had not arrived on time. Listen HES ALWAYS ON TIME! but it matters what were DOING IN THE MEANTIME! The book of Habbakuk and Hebrews repeat the same thing in a little bit of a different way. THROUGH IT TARRY WAIT FOR IT, IT SHALL SURELY COME TO PASS, WE ARE NOT AS ONE OIF THEM THAT SHRINK BACK! we will not shink back as we continue to endure in expectency! number five, Excellence. The bible says that Danial had an EXCELLANT spirit(Dan 6:3) and Abel offered up a more EXCELLANT sacrifice(Heb 11:4) How we live day to day will be a determining factor in the manifestation of glory in our lives. How do we react and respond? How do we treat others? Are we self conscience or OTHER conscience? IT ALL MATTERS! The final one one, EXCERCISING ESSENTIALS. There things that are essentials in the glory. Be carful and caustious not get into debate. Isiah said Come let us reason together(Isiah 1:18) Im not saying that its bad to talk about things but it can quickly turn into debate. These debates can turn into small fires that while being out out the real focus is lost. Instead of standing against something, lets stand for something! Lets lock onto what is agreed upon thats completely essential and get the word theology up out of our vocab!! The Corinthian church was a people that should have been seeing great great manifestationms of his glory. they of coarse did, but it could've been even greater with everything that had been invested in them. However they got into contention and division through label and titles. The Lord said in and through Paul Now I BESEECH you brethern by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye all SPEAK THE SAME THING, and THAT THERE BE NO DIVISIONS AMONG YOU but that ye be PERFECTLY JOINED TOGETHERIN THE SAME MIND AND IN THE SAME JUDGEMENT. For it hath been declared unto me of you my brethernby them which are of the house of Chloe THAT THERE ARE CONTENTIONS among you. NOW this I say that every one of yousaith I am of Paul, and I of Apollos and I of Cephas and I of Christ. IS CHRIST DIVIDED? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptised in the name of Paul?(1 Cor 1:10-13) God is about us declaring his glory and goodness fitly joined together!!! in the next blog we'll talk about good and bad joinings. Because they are another important and intrical element in the manifestation of GLORY!