You'd Better Say Something - It's On You pt. 3

Adam disobeyed God, ‘the earth came under the dominion of darkness’ – Col 1:13

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."- Luke 4:5-7

1^st Adam gave Satan that authority, & 2^nd Adam had to take it back

Jesus gives us his Spirit to empower us to operate in that Dominion 

Josh 10:12-14 NIV

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

"O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."

13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

Mark 11:22-23

Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

You’d Better Say Something

We have yet to realize the power of our mouths

Get Married

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God gives our Words Creative Power and Life

•  Life and Death are in the power of the tongue – Prov 18:21
•  We shall have what we say – Mark 11:23

This is how God is Going to judge us – by our mouths

Matt 12:36. I say to you that for every idle word men may speak,

they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  

³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

God expects our Words to Work

To be employed for a purpose, profitable

Lifelock Commercial:  Situation Monitors    

We say what we have - monitor our situations

And we complain about our situations…

Murmuring doesn’t change the situation, it brings the destroyer

1 Cor 10:10.  Neither murmur, as some of them also murmured,

and were destroyed of the destroyer.

So, stop complaining to people

Stop talking to God about how big the mountain is

Open your mouth and make something happen

Talk to the mountain!

Mark 11:22-23

Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

1. Have Faith in God:  not just that God can do it

•  Believe what He says to you &
•  Believe what He says about you

1. Deal with your Doubt:

Some things only your voice can activate

Doubt is more powerful than your words

               Doubt overrides your voice – makes my words powerless

Double-minded person won’t receive anything – Jms 1:6-8

               Babel: stop what’s in the imagination from becoming reality

•  You cannot doubt yourself

1 Thess 5:19.  Don’t quenched the Spirit – Don’t stop your spiritual nature

1. Be Confident of the Desired End

You cannot doubt your voice

If you have mountains – You’d Better Say Something!!

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. – Ps 81:10

We are most like God when we are using our mouths – speaking creatively

          “And God said…”

Every Word God speaks has the power for its own fulfillment

Isa 55:11. So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Our Words have the power for their own fulfillment

Stop praying for Him to do something and Say Something

Ex.  JOSHUA

God is who He says He is
And He will do what He said He would do
Therefore, I am who God says I am
And can do what God says I can do

It's On You, Pt 1

Judg 6:6, 11-16

6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

7 When the Israelites cried to the Lord because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."

11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said,

"The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."  (strength, wealth, influence)

13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said,

'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?'

But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

14 The Lord turned to him and said,

"Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand.

Am I not sending you?"

15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel?

My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

16 The Lord answered, "I will be with you,

and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

Gideon’s life was in a mess

Impoverished:  brought low, not equal

          “Cried for help from the Lord” – but got none    

Gideon gets a word from the Lord…

If the Lord is with me, why does He let these things happen?

Why doesn’t God do something about it?          ABANDONED

At first, it looks like the Lord doesn’t answer

“I haven’t abandoned you.  YOU have abandoned you!”

If you don’t like the way it is, YOU do something about it – It’s On You

The Lord says, Go, and I’ll be with you

God operates in the earth only through our authority

Gen 1:26. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So, whenever something needs to be accomplish in the earth,

God looks for someone to Co-Operate with

Because we haven’t understood, we question God & we blame Him

We’re sitting back waiting on God to do something about our situation

When He doesn’t do anything, we conclude that He doesn’t care

God says, It’s On You for not doing what you’ve been told to do

God’s activity is connected to the power in me 

Eph 3:20. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

We diminish our authority & power by the way we view ourselves 

Then we say the opposite of what God says… Mighty Man of Valor vs Weak

So we end up being “Impoverished” – brought low, not equal 

Jude 5-6

I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

⁶ And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He

has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day

• We are bound because we do not believe

Heb 4:2. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 

3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

"So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,'"

although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

•  ginomai (ghin'-om-ahee):  finished, done - same word in Lord's Prayer

God has done everything already – it’s already finished

God is at Rest – Sabbath

The Lord speaks to us from a “finished” position

          You mighty man of valor

          See, I have already given you…

          You are healed

          You are more than a conqueror

How to Co-Operate with God & Access what’s Finished

1. Believe that I am who God says I am & that I have authority & power

2 Peter 1:3-4

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

2. Seek a battle plan, strategy

We here this strategy repeated:  “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” – Moses Ex 14:13-14

There is action required!

Ex 14:15-16

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

2 Chron 20:17. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you."

Gideon’s battle plan

Peter’s tax plan

Isa 30:21. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.

3.  Stop asking God to do it… Take Action, because God is with you… & in you!

You won’t fully experience Victory until you use the Power that’s in You

               God will act when you act

#QTNA How Can I Know the Will of God for My Life

Ps 143:8-10

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust;

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.

9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; in You I take shelter.  

10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God;

Your Spirit is good.  Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Notice 3 things in David’s prayer:  To know (8), to do (10)

And to not get off track because of the work of the enemy (9)

Jeremiah – Jer 1:4-5

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Jeremiah is one of the very few individuals who received a clear, direct word at the beginning of his ministry, clarifying God’s will, plan and purpose for his life. 

We think that we would walk in God’s Will if He just gave us a clear, direct word

Even with clarity, Jeremiah still had reservations, insecurities & excuses

In Truth…

We, too, would be full of reservations, resistance, excuses and insecurities 

How many times has the Spirit of God nudged us to do small things and we resisted?  Until we learn to respond to the small directives…

Why do you think you would respond to a direct word telling the full weight of His will?

Abraham – Gen 12:1.  The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.”

Most of us come to know God’s Will like Abraham – through “progressive revelation”

God only told him to ‘follow’ 

Abraham didn’t have clarity on where he was going

2^nd, Abraham did not begin to receive clarity on God’s will for his life until he was mature 

His understanding of God’s Will was through activity

Most of us won’t move until God tells us exactly where we are going

Gideon – Judg 6:11-16

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."

13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

14 The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

16 The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

Gideon was living in disappointment and bitterness,

not even seeking to know God’s will,

Circumstances thrust Gideon into doing the will of God. 

‘Life’ had caused Gideon to disconnect from the purposes of God,

So God used ‘life’ to compel him into purpose.

David – 1 Sam 17:34-37

David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

No one close to David recognized his destiny – he was completely overlooked

David, the shepherd, was left in the field to attend the sheep

His assignment of shepherding was actually key to David moving into God’s will

Shepherding introduced him to, & prepared him for God’s will

To lead God’s people – called “sheep” throughout the whole of scripture 

How did David come to the place of shepherding?

Sometimes we will discover God’s will simply by being obedient to authorities, i.e., parents, pastors, bosses, coaches, mentors, etc.

Notice something about these next 4 people:

Discover who God made you and how God made you

Instead of looking up, look inward to know His Will

• What can I do?
• What’s easy for me to retain & explain?
• Where do I feel “inspired” or “passionate” in my doing?
• Where are my circles of appreciation?

Moses – Ex 2:11-12

One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince,

But he had a passion inside of him for his Hebrew brothers

His passion was unguided

So it lead to him committing murder & having to run for his life

God tempered his passion over a 40 year period

Then returned him to fulfill his passion of delivering the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery

Some of us need to look inward instead of upward

Identify your passion – what excites you, angers you, moves you, keeps you up at night

Bezalel – Ex 31:1-5

Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts —  4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.

His talents, gifts and creativity revealed God’s will for his life. 

Too often we think that God’s will only be fulfilled in ‘church work,’ or ‘spiritual work’

It was in going to work that Bezaleel was doing God’s will. 

God filled him with the spirit to perform his ‘secular’ job at a the highest level

“God’s Will was in his skill.”

Joseph – Joseph was a dreamer, which gave him a preview of “what could be”

His dreams revealed his DNA

Peter – God used Peter’s personality to fulfill His will 

Paul gives us the key to the Process

Rom 12:2.  Be not 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.

Prove:  Try, prove, to recognize as genuine after examination

The key to “proving” His will is to be in motion 

Acts 16:6-10

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding (proving) that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Knowing God’s Will is a process:

• Direct Word
• Activity – Progressive Revelation
• Circumstances
• Connecting to your Skill, Gifts, Creativity
• Fulfilling Your Assignments
• Passion
• Following Your Dreams
• Personality

 Identify yourself – which process do you connect with

Then begin to Prove His Will

Questions Jesus Asked

First recorded words of Jesus were questions

Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?

Questions we’re most familiar with

• ·       Who do people say that I am?  Who do you say that I am?
• ·       Who touched me?
• ·       Will you be made whole? 

Not for answers, but thinking – to help reason, discovery & own truth

• ·       If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
• ·       Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
• ·       What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Sometimes Jesus used Questions to expose the people’s motives

• ·       Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?
• ·       Whose image is this [on the coin], and whose inscription?

Sometimes Jesus used Questions to give New Answers

• ·       Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers and sisters?
• ·       Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?

Sometimes Jesus asked Questions to make us look into the Heart – His & ours:

• ·       Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?  (to the disciples in the storm)

Matt 11:16-17

To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,

¹⁷ 'We played wedding songs, and you didn't dance,

so we played funeral songs, and you didn't mourn.'

First:  Like children who are spoiled & selfish – won’t cooperate 

Spoiled – only care about our own convenience & only do what we want to do

Selfish – we have so much, yet we complain & only want more

      In this generation, Everybody gets a trophy

When things don’t go our way, we quit

Secondly:  This generation lacks Passion & Desire

Jesus says that our lack of Passion turns His stomach – Rev 3:15-16

I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other!  ¹⁶ But since you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Solution vs. 19:  “Be zealous and repent.” 

Zeal = Passion:  strong, intense feeling or conviction; driving desire

Desire motivates to action:  to stretch out

David said, “One thing have I desired, and that I will seek after” – Ps 27:4

Put another way…

Passion is the fire of determination that keeps you moving forward

Here’s the thing about Fire:  “Fire never says ‘Enough.’” – Prov. 30:16

Jer 20:9 LB.  I can't quit!  If I say I'll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire.  It's like a fire in my bones! I cannot hold it in! 

Passion gives you Determination to Keep Going & not Quit

Jesus said, “Passion burns within me.”  John 2:17 NLT

Luke 9:51-53

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵² and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.

If you don’t know your destination, you will stop at the wrong place

On the way to His destination, Jesus came to Samaria – Half-way point

Samaria the place of the half-Jew, half-Gentile… the half-Christian

          Too many of us settle for “half” – “Not where I used to be”

half-hearted                                   half interested

half committed                               do things half the time

when you do… do them half way

half coming                                    half worshiping                   

half working                                   half giving

and living like you’re half-saved

Time for you to leave Samaria, and stop living half-way

Calling it “good enough”

It takes Passion & Determination

Even though Jesus knew highs & lows lay ahead – He was determined not to quit

He set His face for Jerusalem

Isa 50:6-7

I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

⁷ "For the Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced;

Therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.

Look at what happened when He got to Jerusalem – Triumphal Entry

Reception could have felt like He had arrived – Tempted by Success

People will make you want to change your plans – good enough

Warning:  Other people will try to define your destination

When you are truly passionate & determined, relationships will change

Friends without passion will begin to drop off

Some friends can’t handle your Passion, your fire, your progress

Some will resent you

Sometimes the people that start with you, won’t finish with you

They don’t see what you see

        Because their destination is not your destination

Jesus’ best friend sold Him

Only somebody going somewhere is worth something

Sometimes the people that love you actually discourage you

Instead of encouraging you, they only tell you the dangers

• John 11:8.  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"        

You can’t let people stop you

And you can’t quit

The next stop was the Cross

Disappointment hits Hard

It really makes you want to quit

The Cross makes you feel like a failure

Like everything you worked for came to nothing

How can I keep moving forward? 

Because if God is in it, it’s not supposed to be like this

The Cross does not mean you’ve failed 

The Cross is about preparation

          The cross is to make me deal with my stuff – hindrances, attitudes, ways

Not just to be Where you should be… but to be Who you should be

Just when you thought you couldn’t get any lower – The Grave

Nothing says “The End” like the grave – it’s over.  No place else to go

This is not the end – it’s just a stop

It may look like I came “TO” the grave,

But I’m really going “THROUGH”

          The thing that killed others is not going to kill me

          The thing that made others quit, won’t make me quit

It’s time for you to fire up your determination

Get back on the path to your destination

The Wise

Last week:  Inner-Voice of Shame, Low Self-Esteem & Condemnation

Changing it from Interpreting situations out of our baggage

To saying what God says about me

Problem:  our images (likeness, concept, imagination) are damaged by sin

1 Cor 15:49.  As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

God wants to restore you to His image – Regenerated, Transformed

Not just Regeneration – Renewal

Col 3:10.  Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.

•  Continued renewal – daily (2 Cor 4:16)

          Transformation happens by the knowledge of Him renewal of the mind

2 Cor 10:5.  Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Our imaginations come out of our image of ourselves

We spend time & energy & money on our Outer Image

New clothes, nails, new hair

Spend equal time improving our Inner Image

God is concerned about your Inner Man – our Attitude 

1 Sam 16:7.  For the Lord does not see as man sees;

For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

As saved people, we must deal with our Heart Issues – our Attitude

We should NOT have consistent Bad Attitudes of Being Mean & Negative

First, these attitudes reveal more about how you really feel about yourself

Being Negative is rooted in low self-esteem

Because you don’t feel good about yourself or the things you do

Your responses are always negative

The only way you feel superior is to put others down – by being negative

A Mean Person does things just to hurt you

It seems like they don’t care, but they care too deeply – just not about you

Meanness is a form of self-protection

Mean People feel like you’re going to hurt them, so they hurt you first

As far as they’re concerned, the score is even

Different types & levels of Mean People:

•  Hurters – naturally edgy, lash out, insult, humiliate – never generous
•  Haters – jealous: spend more time trying to put you down, than put themselves up
•  Bullies – aggressive, use power to persecute, to intimidate and to dominate
•  Bombs – If things are peaceful or progressive, they stir up drama or drop bombs
•  Petty – have something to say about every little thing, bite because they have teeth

Worst, Church-mean – often about status & power & jealousy

New people come in & put their shoulders to the wheel

          They take an active position, or you’re jealous of the attention they get

So control them by being mean or negative

Mean people try to make you feel bad about doing good

Being Mean & Negative can actually be a form of witchcraft

Manipulating & Controlling a person’s behavior

1 Peter 3:8. Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another.

Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, be courteous;

Nobody wants to be around a mean person

Scripture – Mama 6:8. “God don’t like ugly.”

You ever notice, they can say things to you, but you can’t say anything to them?

They want to tell the truth, but they can’t take truth…

The Bible calls that person a “A Fool”

• A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back. Prov 29:11

Fools are people who you can’t tell anything:

“People who know everything never improve because you can't teach them anything else”

You talk to them trying to address issues, solve problems to make things better

Attempts to talk only create conflict because they respond like they’re being attacked

•  It’s foolish to correct a fool – Prov 16:22
•  Because they’re right in their own eyes – Prov 12:15
•  And they despise wisdom & instruction – Prov 1:7

The foolish person never takes responsibility – never apologize

So, nothing ever happens – they never change

Taylor Swift: “Someday I'll be living in a big old city, and all you're ever gonna be is mean”

Prov 13:18. Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction.

Mean people & people of low self-esteem need healing & deliverance

Too often, they don’t even know they are mean & negative

They’re just repeating patterns

Mean people & people w/low self-esteem don’t know who they are in Christ

Being mean & negative does not reflect the image of God

2 Cor 3:18.  We all, with unveiled face,

beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,

just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

•  We are supposed to reflect the glory of God

Transformation is a Journey that must be Understood

God’s process is to connect you with someone of wisdom & understanding

ex. Saul – “What do you want me to do?”

          “Get up, go into the city, and you will be told what to do!”

ex. David – when he was wrong, God sent Nathan to correct him

Prov 9:8-9 NIV

Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;

rebuke a wise man and he will love you.

9 Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;

teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.

Prov 1:5.  A wise man will hear and increase learning,

And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. 

Brings us full circle to Transformation by the Renewal of our Minds

Truth makes you free

Prayer

Ps 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.