Springhill Church

Speaker: Blessing

  • The Blessing on the Upright – Part 5

    This is what will happen when you seek after walking uprightly – fulfilling what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33.

    Matthew 6:33 | AMP (33) But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

    We need to learn God’s ways, more than we need to learn God’s rules.

    Psalms 81:13 | NKJV (13) “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

    Ways – a road, a course of life, mode of action, method of operation.

    An ignorance of God’s ways will keep us out of God’s highest and best for our lives.

    What does a foundation or uprightness look like?

    Psalms 15:1-5 | NKJV (1) A Psalm of David. LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; (5) He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

    This is not a salvation Psalm. This Psalm is God’s plan for how to succeed, and have His blessing, prosperity and advancement in life as a believer.

    There is a phrase in verse 4 that I want to look at in this lesson:

    Psalms 15:4 | NKJV (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

    Psalms 15:4 | GNB (4) They despise those whom God rejects, but honor those who obey the LORD. They always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost.

    What we are really talking about here in this phrase is walking in integrity.

    Integrity – (Hebrew) perfection, uprightness, simplicity and moral innocence.

    Webster’s – implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a responsibility or pledge. It is an absolute refusal to lie or steal in any way.

    Integrity is who you are when no one else is around or watching you.

    Integrity is the line where your public life and your personal life are congruent or the same.

    There is a connection between the integrity of your heart and the mercy of God.

    Faith does obtain the answer every time but there are days when our faith is not quite there and we must rely on the mercy of God, so we must have a right heart before God in order for that mercy to show up in our lives.

    Statistics – the average person “shades” the truth at least 200 times a day. Perhaps the stats in the Church are better.

    The world desensitizes us to falsehoods. We prepare for people to not keep their word i.e. contracts, alarm systems, TV cameras locks, etc.

    Ephesians 6:14 | AMPC (14) Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,

    The piece of spiritual armor that protects the heart is the breastplate of integrity. This breastplate protects the ground or repository of the Word of God.

    Mark 4:15 | NKJV (15) And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

    Satan comes immediately to steal the word but we can protect the heart by integrity so the Word will produce and accomplish what God has purposed for it to do.

    Mark 4:18-19 | NKJV (18) Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, (19) and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

    God’s supernatural weed control – Integrity

    You better do what you say you are going to do – in spite of whether the situation has changed or not. Keep your word.

    Psalms 119:100-104 | NKJV (100) I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts. (101) I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. (102) I have not departed from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me. (103) How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! (104) Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

    For you to place a premium on integrity, you must have a holy hatred for deceit.

    Integrity is birthed in a person’s heart by gaining understanding from the Word of God of the realities of life and what God says are important.

    Truth has to be in place in order to have a truth to hold to.

    To have a life of integrity, you must be a person of the Word. Gain truth and understanding from the Word of God and that will begin to produce a holy hatred for falsehoods.

    Realize that deceit is done based upon a habit of long practice, a habitual pattern of behavior.

    Some tell the truth only when it is convenient and use deceit in whatever form as necessary to meet our own best interests.

    Consistency or patience (James 2:4)

    We must change our patterns of behavior by practicing the law of consistency.

    Without integrity, the mercy of God will forever escape you.

    Measure everything we do by the law of integrity, the standard of integrity. Learn to operate in the truth habit.

    What you compromise to keep, you ultimately lose.

    Proverbs 11:3 | TPT (3) Integrity will lead you to success and happiness, but treachery will destroy your dreams.

    Psalms 112:1-10 | TPT (1) Shout in celebration of praise to the Lord! Everyone who loves the Lord and delights in him will cherish his words and be blessed beyond expectation. (2) Their descendants will be prosperous and influential. Every generation of his godly lovers will experience his favor. (3) Great blessing and wealth fills the house of the wise, for their integrity endures forever. (4) Even if darkness overtakes them, sunrise-brilliance will come bursting through because they are gracious to others, so tender and true. (5) Life is good for the one who is generous and charitable, conducting affairs with honesty and truth. (6) Their circumstances will never shake them and others will never forget their example. (7) They will not live in fear or dread of what may come, for their hearts are firm, ever secure in their faith. (8) Steady and strong, they will not be afraid, but will calmly face their every foe until they all go down in defeat. (9) Never stingy and always generous to those in need, their lives of influence and honor will never be forgotten, for they were full of good deeds. (10) But the wicked take one look at a life lived like this and they grit their teeth in anger, not understanding their bliss. The wicked slink away speechless in the darkness that falls, where hope dies and all their dreams fade away to nothing, nothing at all!

    Psalms 15:4 | NKJV (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

    Psalms 15:4 | TLB (4) speaks out against sin, criticizes those committing it, commends the faithful followers of the Lord, keeps a promise even if it ruins him,

    Psalms 15:4 | BBE (4) Who gives honour to those who have the fear of the Lord, turning away from him who has not the Lord’s approval. He who takes an oath against himself, and makes no change.

    We need to learn to hate what God hates and love what God loves.

    God hates sin because of what it has done to humanity and what it does to people. Sin destroys people’s lives and causes great harm.

    Psalms 15:5 | NKJV (5) He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

    Psalms 15:5 | AMPC (5) [He who] does not put out his money for interest [to one of his own people] and who will not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. [Exo 22:25-26]

    Psalms 15:5 | ERV (5) If they loan money to someone, they do not charge them interest. And they refuse to testify against an innocent person, even if someone offers them money to do it. Whoever lives like this will always stand strong.

    Remember, when you get over into the flow of doing things God’s way and you pursue that as a priority, you will experience the bless ing God on your life.

    Scriptures about the Upright:

    Psalms 7:10 | NKJV (10) My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart.

    Psalms 32:10-11 | NKJV (10) Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. (11) Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

    Psalms 33:1 | NKJV (1) Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.

    Psalms 37:18 | NKJV (18) The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.

    Psalms 64:10 | NKJV (10) The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

    Psalms 125:4 | NKJV (4) Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, And to those who are upright in their hearts.

    Psalms 140:13 | NKJV (13) Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

    Proverbs 2:7 | NKJV (7) He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

    Proverbs 3:32 | NKJV (32) For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, But His secret counsel is with the upright.

    Proverbs 10:29 | NKJV (29) The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

    Proverbs 12:6 | NKJV (6) The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,” But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

    Proverbs 14:9 | NKJV (9) Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is favor.

    Proverbs 15:19 | NKJV (19) The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.

    Proverbs 21:29 | NKJV (29) A wicked man hardens his face, But as for the upright, he establishes his way.

    Scriptures about God’s Ways:

    Deuteronomy 10:12-13 | NKJV (12) “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, (13) and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

    Deuteronomy 28:8-9 | NKJV (8) “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. (9) “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.

    Psalms 103:7 | NKJV (7) He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

    Psalms 128:1 | NKJV (1) A Song of Ascents. Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.

  • The Blessing on the Upright – Part 4

    This is what will happen when you seek after walking uprightly – fulfilling what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33.

    Matthew 6:33 | AMP (33) But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

    We need to learn God’s ways, more than we need to learn God’s rules.

    Psalms 81:13 | NKJV (13) “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

    Ways – a road, a course of life, mode of action, method of operation.

    An ignorance of God’s ways will keep us out of God’s highest and best for our lives.

    What does a foundation or uprightness look like?

    Psalms 15:1-5 | NKJV (1) A Psalm of David. LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; (5) He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. This is not a salvation Psalm. This Psalm is God’s plan for how to succeed, and have His blessing, prosperity and advancement in life as a believer.

    Three Things To Do:

    Psalms 15:2 NKJV (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

    1. Walking upright means simply do not sin.

    Again, Jesus did not die just to save us from sins but to also to save us from sinning.

    1. The next thing in verse two we see is the works of righteousness.
    2. He speaks the truth from his heart.

    When we are speaking about our walk, our works and our words, that is pretty much the sum total of our lives. God wants us to walk uprightly in all of these areas.

    Three Things NOT To DO:

    Psalms 15:3 NKJV (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

    1. Does not backbite with his tongue
    2. Does not do evil to his neighbor.
    3. Does not take up a reproach against his neighbor.

    There is a phrase in verse 4 that I want to look at in this lesson:

    Psalms 15:4 | NKJV (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

    Psalms 15:4 | GNB (4) They despise those whom God rejects, but honor those who obey the LORD. They always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost.

    What we are really talking about here in this phrase is walking in integrity.

    God’s expectation for us as believers is that we will make the decision to do what we promise or fulfill our word no matter how much it may cost us.

    One of the main reasons for this is that your character is only as strong as your word is strong.

    This is what makes God character so strong is that He will not compromise anything where His Word is concerned.

    You see it is God’s character that makes His Name powerful. It is not simply the amount of power that He possesses.

    It is our character that makes our name powerful or to carry weight to it where it can work on your behalf.

    Integrity is more than just telling the truth.

    Integrity – (Hebrew) perfection, uprightness, simplicity and moral innocence.

    Webster’s – implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a responsibility or pledge. It is an absolute refusal to lie or steal in any way.

    Integrity is who you are when no one else is around or watching you.

    Who are you behind the scenes?

    Integrity is the line where your public life and your personal life are congruent or the same.

    When you tell someone, you are going to do something, then you must swear to your own heart and do what you said.

    A life of integrity is a life that is completely open, no hidden motives, refuses to compromise the standards of truth that God says are necessary, a life that refuses to deceive or manipulate no matter whether it is in your benefit or not, a life that cannot be corrupted by money or fame.

    Integrity is the way that we appropriate the mercy of God in our lives.

    Some people come out smelling like a rose in spite of the mistakes they may make in their lives because of the integrity of their own heart.

    Psalms 26:1 | NKJV (1) A Psalm of David. Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip.

    Psalms 26:11 | NKJV (11) But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me.

    Psalms 41:10-13 | NKJV (10) But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them. (11) By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me. (12) As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever. (13) Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

    Example of Abimelech:

    Genesis 20:1-8 | NKJV (1) And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. (2) Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. (3) But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” (4) But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? (5) Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” (6) And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. (7) Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (8) So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid.

    Even when we totally blow it and you are in a situation that could cost you your life, God will preserve you and keep you out of sin against Him.

    There is a connection between the integrity of your heart and the mercy of God.

    Faith does obtain the answer every time but there are days when our faith is not quite there and we must rely on the mercy of God, so we must have a right heart before God in order for that mercy to show up in our lives.

    Statistics – the average person “shades” the truth at least 200 times a day. Perhaps the stats in the Church are better.

    The world desensitizes us to falsehoods. We prepare for people to not keep their word i.e. contracts, alarm systems, TV cameras locks, etc.

    Ephesians 6:14 | AMPC (14) Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,

    The piece of spiritual armor that protects the heart is the breastplate of integrity. This breastplate protects the ground or repository of the Word of God.

    Mark 4:15 | NKJV (15) And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

    Satan comes immediately to steal the word but we can protect the heart by integrity so the Word will produce and accomplish what God has purposed for it to do.

    Mark 4:18-19 | NKJV (18) Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, (19) and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

    God’s supernatural weed control – Integrity

    You better do what you say you are going to do – in spite of whether the situation has changed or not. Keep your word.

    Psalms 119:100-104 | NKJV (100) I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts. (101) I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. (102) I have not departed from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me. (103) How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! (104) Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

    For you to place a premium on integrity, you must have a holy hatred for deceit.

    Integrity is birthed in a person’s heart by gaining understanding from the Word of God of the realities of life and what God says are important.

    Truth has to be in place in order to have a truth to hold to.

    To have a life of integrity, you must be a person of the Word. Gain truth and understanding from the Word of God and that will begin to produce a holy hatred for falsehoods.

    Realize that deceit is done based upon a habit of long practice, a habitual pattern of behavior.

    Some tell the truth only when it is convenient and use deceit in whatever form as necessary to meet our own best interests.

    Consistency or patience (James 2:4)

    We must change our patterns of behavior by practicing the law of consistency.

    Without integrity, the mercy of God will forever escape you.

    Measure everything we do by the law of integrity, the standard of integrity. Learn to operate in the truth habit.

    What you compromise to keep, you ultimately lose.

    Proverbs 11:3 | TPT (3) Integrity will lead you to success and happiness, but treachery will destroy your dreams.

    Psalms 112:1-10 | TPT (1) Shout in celebration of praise to the Lord! Everyone who loves the Lord and delights in him will cherish his words and be blessed beyond expectation. (2) Their descendants will be prosperous and influential. Every generation of his godly lovers will experience his favor. (3) Great blessing and wealth fills the house of the wise, for their integrity endures forever. (4) Even if darkness overtakes them, sunrise-brilliance will come bursting through because they are gracious to others, so tender and true. (5) Life is good for the one who is generous and charitable, conducting affairs with honesty and truth. (6) Their circumstances will never shake them and others will never forget their example. (7) They will not live in fear or dread of what may come, for their hearts are firm, ever secure in their faith. (8) Steady and strong, they will not be afraid, but will calmly face their every foe until they all go down in defeat. (9) Never stingy and always generous to those in need, their lives of influence and honor will never be forgotten, for they were full of good deeds. (10) But the wicked take one look at a life lived like this and they grit their teeth in anger, not understanding their bliss. The wicked slink away speechless in the darkness that falls, where hope dies and all their dreams fade away to nothing, nothing at all!

  • The Blessing on the Upright – Part 3

    This is what will happen when you seek after walking uprightly – fulfilling what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33.

    Matthew 6:33 | NKJV (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

    Matthew 6:33 | AMP (33) But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

    We need to learn God’s ways, more than we need to learn God’s rules.

    Psalms 81:13 | NKJV (13) “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

    Ways – a road, a course of life, mode of action, method of operation.

    An ignorance of God’s ways will keep us out of God’s highest and best for our lives.

    What does a foundation or uprightness look like?

    Psalms 15:1-5 | NKJV (1) A Psalm of David. LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; (5) He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

    This is not a salvation Psalm. This Psalm is God’s plan for how to succeed, and have His blessing, prosperity and advancement in life as a believer.

    Three Things To Do:

    Psalms 15:2 NKJV (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

    • Walk uprightly
    • Do works of righteousness
    • Speak the truth from our heart

    The three things that we are TO DO can be said very simply: your walk, your work, and your words.

    1. Walking upright means simply do not sin.

    The Bible teaches us to flee sin.

    Walking in holiness is not nearly as difficult as walking in un-holiness (sin).

    Again, Jesus did not die just to save us from sins but to also to save us from sinning.

    1. The next thing in verse two we see is the works of righteousness.

    Psalms 15:2 NKJV (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

    Matthew 5:16 | NKJV (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

    Works of righteousness come from a giving heart.

    1. He speaks the truth from his heart.

    Psalms 15:2 NKJV (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

    You are speaking from a heart that is filled with the Word of God.

    There are two kinds of truth that we speak from:

        • Truth from the Word of God
        • Truth that is not a lie.

    Psalms 34:12-13 | NLT (12) Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? (13) Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!

    Ephesians 4:25 | TPT (25) So discard every form of dishonesty and lying so that you will be known as one who always speaks the truth, for we all belong to one another.

    The moment that your words leave the truth, they become a lie. Don’t stretch or shade the truth.

    When we are speaking about our walk, our works and our words, that is pretty much the sum total of our lives. God wants us to walk uprightly in all of these areas.

    Three Things NOT To DO:

    Psalms 15:3 NKJV (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

    • Backbite with our tongue
    • Do evil against our neighbor
    • Take up a reproach against our neighbor.

    The person that God blesses is the one that does not do these three things:

    1. Does not backbite with his tongue

    Someone who backbites with their tongue is someone who says one thing to your face and something else behind your back.

    Proverbs 6:19 | NKJV (19) A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

    Backbiting is an abomination to God. God hates this.

    Although this happens to all of us, we have to come to the place where we understand that God will protect us and if necessary, vindicate us.

    Jesus did not say for us to go into the world and try to defend ourselves. We have to let God handle that. We have much more important things that we need to be doing.

    The more that you walk and live in a sanctified life, you can rest assured people will not like it.

    Leave the revenge up to God.

    We are always better off if we extend mercy and grace to someone and walk in forgiveness than try and expose the wrongs of everyone especially other Christians.

    Remember, always overcome evil with good. You will always come out on top that way because that way God is able to cover and protect you and then deal with the other people.

    Getting even should be left in the hands of God.

    You will never make your candle burn brighter by blowing someone else’s out.

    1. Does not do evil to his neighbor.

    Our “neighbors” are those we encounter throughout our day to day lives. Not our family; but those perhaps we work with or are literally our neighbors.

    We should always go over and above to be good to people, even when they do not reciprocate.

    Proverbs 3:29-30 | NKJV (29) Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake. (30) Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm.

    Proverbs 3:29 | TPT (29) Why would you hold a grudge in your heart toward your neighbor who lives right next door?

    1. Does not take up a reproach against his neighbor.

    Reproach – to find fault with, to disgrace, to shame, blame, or censure.

    In short, it is your attitude towards an offence.

    Offence is usually a surprise and contradicts your perception of a person and challenges your confidence in them.

    What is the answer to an offence? Sit down and talk about and work it out between you and them. This is scriptural.

    What we need to do is just cut each other some slack.

    Offence not dealt with will fester and grow and then shape your total perception of that person or the environment where they are. It is like a pair of glasses that you are looking through.

    When you take up an offence, you become self-righteous and critical and then began to create a world of your own suffering.

    Romans 12:16-18 | AMPC (16) Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits. [Prov. 3:7.] (17) Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone. [Prov. 20:22.] (18) If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

    There is a phrase in verse 4 that I want to look at in this lesson:

    Psalms 15:4 | NKJV (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

    Psalms 15:4 | GNB (4) They despise those whom God rejects, but honor those who obey the LORD. They always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost.

    What we are really talking about here in this phrase is walking in integrity.

    God’s expectation for us as believers is that we will make the decision to do what we promise or fulfill our word no matter how much it may cost us.

    One of the main reasons for this is that your character is only as strong as your word is strong.

    This is what makes God character so strong is that He will not compromise anything where His Word is concerned.

    Psalms 138:2 | NKJV (2) I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

    Psalms 119:89 | NKJV (89) Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.

    Psalms 119:160 | NKJV (160) The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

    You see it is God’s character that makes His Name powerful. It is not simply the amount of power that He possesses.

    It is our character that makes our name powerful or to carry weight to it where it can work on your behalf.

    Integrity is more than just telling the truth.

    Integrity – (Hebrew) perfection, uprightness, simplicity and moral innocence.

    Webster’s – implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a responsibility or pledge. It is an absolute refusal to lie or steal in any way.

    When you tell someone you are going to do something, then you must swear to your own heart and do what you said.

    A life of integrity is a life that is completely open, no hidden motives, refuses to compromise the standards of truth that God says are necessary, a life that refuses to deceive or manipulate no matter whether it is in your benefit or not, a life that cannot be corrupted by money or fame.

    Integrity is the way that we appropriate the mercy of God in our lives.

    Some people that come out smelling like a rose in spite of what they may do in their lives because of the condition of their own heart.

    Psalms 26:1 | NKJV (1) A Psalm of David. Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip.

    Psalms 26:11 | NKJV (11) But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me.

    Psalms 41:10-13 | NKJV (10) But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them. (11) By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me. (12) As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever. (13) Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

    Genesis 20:1-8 | NKJV (1) And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. (2) Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. (3) But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” (4) But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? (5) Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” (6) And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. (7) Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (8) So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid.

    Even when we totally blow it and you are in a situation that could cost you your life, God will preserve you and keep you out of sin against Him.

    There is a connection between the integrity of your heart and the mercy of God.

    Faith does obtain the answer every time but there are days when our faith is not quite there and we must rely on the mercy of God, so we must have a right heart before God in order for that mercy to show up in our lives.

    Statistics – the average person “shades” the truth at least 200 times a day. Perhaps the stats in the Church are better.

    The world desensitizes us to falsehoods. We prepare for people to not keep their word i.e. contracts, alarm systems, TV cameras locks, etc.

    Ephesians 6:14 | AMPC (14) Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,

    The piece of spiritual armor that protects the heart is the breastplate of integrity. This breastplate protects the ground or repository of the Word of God.

    Satan comes immediately to steal the word (Mark 4) but we can protect the heart by integrity so the Word will produce and accomplish what God has purposed for it to do.

    God’s supernatural weed control – Integrity

    You better do what you say you are going to do – in spite of whether the situation has changed or not. Keep your word.

    Psalms 119:100-104 | NKJV (100) I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts. (101) I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. (102) I have not departed from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me. (103) How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! (104) Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

    In order for you to place a premium on integrity, you must have a holy hatred for deceit.

    Integrity is birthed in a person’s heart by gaining understanding from the Word of God of the realities of life and what God says are important.

    Truth has to be in place in order to have a truth to hold to.

    In order to have a life of integrity, you must be a person of the Word. Gain understanding from the Word of God and that will begin to produce a holy hatred for falsehoods.

    Realize that deceit is done based upon a habit of long practice, a habitual pattern of behavior.

    Most of us tell the truth only when it is convenient and use deceit in whatever form as necessary to meet our own best interests.

    Consistency or patience (James 2:4)

    We must change our patterns of behavior by practicing the law of consistency.

    Without integrity, the mercy of God will forever escape you.

    Measure everything we do by the law of integrity, standard of integrity.

    Learn to operate in the truth habit.

    Proverbs 11:3 | TPT (3) Integrity will lead you to success and happiness, but treachery will destroy your dreams.

  • The Blessing on the Upright – Part 2

    This is what will happen when you seek after walking uprightly – fulfilling what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33.

    Matthew 6:33 | NKJV (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

    Matthew 6:33 | AMP (33) But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

    We need to learn God’s ways, more than we need to learn God’s rules.

    Psalms 81:13 | NKJV (13) “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

    Ways – a road, a course of life, mode of action, method of operation.

    An ignorance of God’s ways will keep us out of God’s highest and best for our lives.

    What does a foundation or uprightness look like?

    Psalms 15:1-5 | NKJV (1) A Psalm of David. LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; (5) He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

    This is not a salvation Psalm. This Psalm is God’s plan for how to succeed, and have His blessing, prosperity and advancement in life as a believer.

    The world can bring happiness, success and advancement but there will always be some type of sorrow with it. When God brings these things to your life there will be no sorrow with it.

    Proverbs 10:22 | NKJV (22) The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

    When the world brings prosperity, it will not last. When God brings prosperity, it lasts.

    Proverbs 8:18 | NKJV (18) Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness.

    Durable – Hebrew: antique, valued.

    The devil will try and tell you, “I can make you rich and it will not be as slow as God.”

    Psalms 15:5 | NKJV (5) He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

    Notice the end of the Psalm talks about you can arrive at place of not being moved.

    What we see in verse 5 is that God is endeavoring to get us to a place where we will not be shaken. This simply means a place of stability in our life.

    In verse 1 of this Psalm, abide and dwell mean to stay on a permanent basis.

    Psalms 91:1 | NKJV (1) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

    Three Things To Do:

    Psalms 15:2 NKJV (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

    • Walk uprightly
    • Do works of righteousness
    • Speak the truth from our heart

    The three things that we are TO DO can be said very simply: your walk, your work, and your words.

    1. Walking upright means simply do not sin.

    The Bible teaches us to flee sin.

    Walking in holiness is not nearly as difficult as walking in un-holiness (sin).

    The Bible says the way of the sinner is hard.

    Proverbs 13:15 | NKJV (15) Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.

    This is our witness to non-believers around us. They want to see that you can live free from sin. They want to see that it is possible to walk free from sin.

    Psalms 4:4 | KJV (4) Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

    Psalms 119:11 | NKJV (11) Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

    1 John 2:1 | NKJV (1) My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

    1 Corinthians 15:34 | NKJV (34) Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

    We must depend on the greater One on the inside of us to live free from sin. The power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are available to help us live free from sin.

    Again, Jesus did not die just to save us from sins but to also to save us from sinning.

    It is not trying to live separately from the world (people) that keeps you from sinning because you can live in a commune by yourself somewhere and still sin.

    Witnessing is not telling the world to be holy; it is telling them that Jesus came to set us free from sin and its results.

    1. The next thing in verse two we see is the works of righteousness.

    Psalms 15:2 NKJV (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

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

    Remember, our goal as Christians is not just to go to heaven. It should be to do those good (God) works which further God’s plans here, now.

    Matthew 5:16 | NKJV (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

    Works of righteousness come from a giving heart.

    2 Corinthians 9:8 | NKJV (8) And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

    Colossians 1:10 | NKJV (10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

    Our fruit is not for ourselves. A tree does not consume its own fruit. It is for the passersby.

    1 Timothy 6:18 | NKJV (18) Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,

    1 Timothy 6:18 | MSG (18) to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous.

    1. He speaks the truth from his heart.

    Psalms 15:2 NKJV (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

    You are speaking from a heart that is filled with the Word of God.

    There are two kinds of truth that we speak from:

        • Truth from the Word of God
        • Truth that is not a lie.

    Psalms 34:12-13 | NLT (12) Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? (13) Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!

    Ephesians 4:25 | TPT (25) So discard every form of dishonesty and lying so that you will be known as one who always speaks the truth, for we all belong to one another.

    The moment that your words leave the truth, they become a lie. Don’t stretch or shade the truth.

    When we are speaking about our walk, our works and our words, that is pretty much the sum total of our lives. God wants us to walk uprightly in all of these areas.

    Three Things NOT To DO:

    Psalms 15:3 NKJV (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

    • Backbite with our tongue
    • Do evil against our neighbor
    • Take up a reproach against our neighbor.

    The person that God blesses is the one that does not do these three things:

    1. Does not backbite with his tongue

    Someone who backbites with their tongue is someone who says one thing to your face and something else behind your back.

    Proverbs 6:19 | NKJV (19) A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

    Backbiting is an abomination to God. God hates this.

    Although this happens to all of us, we have to come to the place where we understand that God will protect us and if necessary, vindicate us.

    Psalms 101:5 | NKJV (5) Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.

    What we need to do is forgive and let it go and let God handle the payback part.

    Jesus did not say for us to go into the world and try to defend ourselves. We have to let God handle that. We have much more important things that we need to be doing.

    Isaiah 54:17 | NKJV (17) No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.

    God has promised that He would watch over us and one day at His doing you will be able to condemn the tongue that rises against you.

    Notice that this verse says that the weapon may be formed but it will not prosper. (to succeed or be victorious)

    We do not have to worry about the weapon formed and let God handle it. NO weapon formed against you will prosper.

    Job 5:21 | NKJV (21) You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

    Understand that this is all part of human nature and that you have to let God handle this.

    The more that you walk and live in a sanctified life, you can rest assured people will not like it.

    Leave the revenge up to God.

    1. Does not do evil to his neighbor.

    This goes a step further than just gossip or backbiting. It is trying to expose your neighbor for what you believe him to be.

    Again, you are going about trying to handle God’s business.

    Romans 12:19-21 | NKJV (19) Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. (20) Therefore “IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD.” (21) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

    The thing that you and I must always remember is that we do not have all the facts. We are better off to let God, Who does know everything to handle it and expose them, if He so chooses.

    We are always better off if we extend mercy and grace to someone and walk in forgiveness than try and expose the wrongs of everyone especially other Christians.

    Remember, always overcome evil with good. You will always come out on top that way because that way God is able to cover and protect you and then deal with the other people.

    Getting even should be left in the hands of God.

    You will never make your candle burn brighter by blowing someone else’s out.

    1. Does not take up a reproach against his neighbor.

    Reproach – to find fault with, to shame, blame, or censure.

    In short, it is your attitude towards an offence.

    Offence is usually a surprise and contradicts your perception of a person and challenges your confidence in them.

    What is the answer to an offence? Sit down and talk about and work it out between you and them. This is scriptural.

    What we need to do with each other is just give each other a break.

    Offence not dealt with will fester and grow and then shape your total perception of that person or the environment where they are. It is like a pair of glasses that you are looking through.

    When you take up an offence, you become self-righteous and critical and then began to create a world of your own suffering.

    Proverbs 20:3 | NKJV (3) It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel.

    Romans 12:16-18 | AMPC (16) Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits. [Prov. 3:7.] (17) Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone. [Prov. 20:22.] (18) If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

  • The Blessing on the Upright – Part 1

    This is what will happen when you seek after walking uprightly – fulfilling what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33.

    Matthew 6:33 | NKJV (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

    We are in the Kingdom of God now. We are citizens of that Kingdom, so we don’t have to seek after what we are already a part of. So, Jesus must have meant something more than just position.

    Colossians 1:13 | NKJV (13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

    Matthew 6:33 | TPT (33) “So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God’s kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from him. Then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly.

    Matthew 6:33 | ERV (33) What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.

    We should notice that Jesus did not say we could not seek after other things. But we should keep seeking the Kingdom of God, our top priority.

    Don’t make God and His Kingdom A priority. Make it your TOP priority.

    Matthew 6:33 | AMP (33) But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

    We need to learn God’s ways, more than we need to learn God’s rules.

    Psalms 81:13 | NKJV (13) “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

    Ways – a road, a course of life, mode of action, method of operation.

    An ignorance of God’s ways will keep us out of God’s highest and best for our lives.

    Psalms 95:9-11 | NKJV (9) When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. (10) For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ (11) So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ “

    Hebrews 3:7-11 | NKJV (7) Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, (8) DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS IN THE REBELLION, IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, (9) WHERE YOUR FATHERS TESTED ME, TRIED ME, AND SAW MY WORKS FORTY YEARS. (10) THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THAT GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS.’ (11) SO I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’ “

    Psalms 119:26 | NKJV (26) I have declared my ways, and You answered me; Teach me Your statutes.

    There is a blessing on giving the ways of God your attention.

    Proverbs 8:32 | NKJV (32) “Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep (attend to) my ways.

    Isaiah 55:8-9 | NKJV (8) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. (9) “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

    Matthew 6:33 | AMPC (33) But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

    Righteousness – God’s character, consistent in character

    What did Solomon Pray For? 

    1 Kings 3:5-14 | NKJV (5) At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (6) And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. (7) Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. (8) And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. (9) Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (10) The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. (11) Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, (12) behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. (13) And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. (14) So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

    It is alright to ask for riches and honor but not at the expense of integrity and uprightness.

    If God cannot trust us to walk uprightly, how can he trust us with prosperity?

    A proper foundation of uprightness is necessary for these things to come to pass in our lives.

    What does a foundation or uprightness look like?

    Psalms 15:1-5 | NKJV (1) A Psalm of David. LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; (4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; (5) He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

    This is not a salvation Psalm. This Psalm is God’s plan for how to succeed, His blessing, prosperity and advancement in life as a believer.

    In verse 1 of this Psalm, abide and dwell mean to stay on a permanent basis.

    Psalms 91:1 | NKJV (1) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

    The world can bring happiness, success and advancement but there will always be some type of sorrow with it. When God brings these things to your life there will be no sorrow with it.

    Proverbs 10:22 | NKJV (22) The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

    When the world brings prosperity, it will not last. When God brings prosperity, it lasts.

    Proverbs 8:18 KJV (18) Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

    Durable – Hebrew: antique, valued.

    Proverbs 8:18 | NKJV (18) Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness.

    The devil will try and tell you, “I can make you rich and it will not be as slow as God.”

    What we see in verse 5 is that God is endeavoring to get us to a place where we will not be shaken. This simply means a place of stability in our life.

    Notice the end of the Psalm talks about you can arrive at place of not being moved.

    Walking in holiness is not difficult. Walking in un-holiness is difficult.

    The Bible says the way of the sinner is hard.

    Psalms 15:2 NKJV (2) He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

    • Walk uprightly
    • Do works of righteousness
    • Speak the truth from our heart

    The three things that we are TO DO can be said very simply: your walk, your work, and your words.

    Psalms 15:3 NKJV (3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

    Then in verse three, he gives us three things that we ARE NOT supposed to do:

    • Backbite with our tongue
    • Do evil against our neighbor
    • Take up a reproach against our neighbor.

    When God saves us, He wants our lives to be dramatically changed.

    When we are speaking about our walk, our works and our words, that is pretty much the sum total of our lives. God wants us to walk uprightly in all of these areas.

    God not only saved us from our sins (past) but He saved us from our sins (present).

    1. Walking upright means to simply do not sin.

    The Bible teaches us to flee sin.

    This is our witness to non-believers around us. They want to see that you can live free from sin. They want to see that it is possible to walk free from sin.

    Psalms 4:4 | KJV (4) Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

    Psalms 119:11 | NKJV (11) Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

    1 John 2:1 | NKJV (1) My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

    1 Corinthians 15:34 | NKJV (34) Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

    We must depend on the greater One on the inside of us to live free from sin. The power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are available to help us live free from sin.

    Again, Jesus did not die just to save us from sins but to also to save us from sinning.

    It is not trying to live separately from the world (people) that keeps you from sinning because you can live in a commune by yourself somewhere and still sin.

    Witnessing is not telling the world to be holy, it is telling them that Jesus came to set us free from sin and its results.

    1. The next thing in verse two we see is the works of righteousness.

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

    Remember, our goal as Christians is not just to go to heaven. It should be to do those good (God) works which further God’s plans here, now.

    Matthew 5:16 | NKJV (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

    Works of righteousness come from a giving heart.

    2 Corinthians 9:8 | NKJV (8) And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

    Colossians 1:10 | NKJV (10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

    Our fruit is not for ourselves. A tree does not consume its own fruit. It is for the passerby’s.

    1 Timothy 6:18 | NKJV (18) Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,

    1 Timothy 6:18 | MSG (18) to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous.

    1. He speaks the truth from his heart.

    You are speaking from a heart that is filled with the Word of God.

    There are two kinds of truth that we speak from:

        • Truth from the Word of God
        • Truth that is not a lie.

    Psalms 34:12-13 | NLT (12) Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? (13) Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!

    The course of your life is determined by the rudder of your tongue (James 3:4-5). Where are you headed today?

    Ephesians 4:25 | TPT (25) So discard every form of dishonesty and lying so that you will be known as one who always speaks the truth, for we all belong to one another.

    The moment that your words leave the truth, they become a lie. Don’t stretch or shade the truth.

  • Living Life Beyond Miracles – Part 3

    Living Life Beyond Miracles – Part 3

    Ephesians 1:3 NKJV (3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

    God has already blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm.

    We have said that everything starts in the spiritual realm before it manifests in the natural realm. These blessings are spiritual but they are designed to affect our lives in every realm in which we walk.

    There is something better than needing a miracle and that is being in the position to be a miracle for someone else.

    Which is better: to need money in your bank account or to have money in your bank account?

    Definition of a Miracle:

    Miracle – a Divine intervention in the ordinary course of nature.

    Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV (13) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”), (14) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

    Notice God’s plan is not that we live in the miracles of Abraham but the blessing of Abraham which is what was working in Isaac’s life to cause the harvest to come in the time of famine.

    What is a blessing?

    • In the Hebrew it means favor being bestowed from one to another, prosperity
    • In the Greek (eulogia) favor conferred, gift, benefit, bounty
    • Blessings can be from man to God (praise)

    Revelation 5:12 NKJV …saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

    • Blessings can be from man to man.

    Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau (Genesis 27:27)

    • Blessings can be from God to man.

    Genesis 1:22,28 – God blessed Adam and Eve in the Garden

    • Blessings are not tangible.
    • Things are not blessings.
    • Things are the result of blessings or being blessed.

    It is favor poured out on your life which releases God’s power to work on your behalf.

    If we are already blessed then what activates the blessing in our lives?

    Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV (1) “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. (2) And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:

    The blessing of God is designed to work with you and not for you. But it is only activated when we give our attention to OBEY what the Lord has told us to do.

    Obedience it what causes the blessing to become active in our lives.

    What is the blessing of God for? Is it about me and you?

    No, it is to be a testimony to the goodness of God.

    Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. (2) I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

    The difference between being created and being blessed:

    After he created them He blessed them.

    Genesis 1:26-27 NKJV (26) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

    When God formed man of the dust of the ground and then breathed into him and he became a living being, was that a miracle or a blessing? It was a miracle.

    Remember, a miracle is enough to meet the need.

    After God made man He blessed them.

    Genesis 1:28 NKJV (28) Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

    Once the blessing comes upon something, it gains the ability to keep on producing.

    What is better than having a little money to meet your needs because of the miraculous? Having money in your account and then that money comes into contact with God’s blessing and keeps on producing.

    Mark 6:41 NKJV And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.

    Miracles are wonderful, but they don’t have any seeds in themselves to keep on producing.

    The Blessing contains the seeds to keep it going on perpetually.

    Once God’s blessing comes on something, then it gains the ability to have seeds and keep producing after its own kind.

    A miracle is like a great big seedless watermelon with no seeds in it.

    A blessing is a watermelon loaded with seeds that are able to keep on producing more watermelons.

    Blessings are pronounced with words.

    Notice God spoke to Adam, and blessed him.

    Blessings are so big, you can pass them on to your children after you. This was a common practice in the Old Testament.

    Notice that in the Old Testament, the fathers would not just pass on their possessions, they something else because they knew they needed the blessing on them for it to be able to continue.

    Once a blessing goes out it cannot be rescinded.

    (Genesis 27:27-29)

    The blessing is not reversible!

    When we pass on the blessing by blessing our children, God will honor that blessing that is in line with His Word and see to it that it comes to pass.

    We see where Balaam, a backslidden prophet was paid to curse the Children of Israel.

    Numbers 23:8 NKJV (8) “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

    Numbers 23:19-20 NKJV (19) “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (20) Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

    The Children of Israel did not even know that this was going on. They just kept going on in the blessing.

    The only one that can stop the blessing of God in your life IS YOU!

    Galatians 3:8-9 NKJV And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” (9) So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

    Curses can be removed by the blessing. (Galatians 3:13-14)

    How do we get blessings to come into our lives?

    We are going to make this so simple tonight, that you will be able to apply and have the blessings flowing in your life.

    God has given miracles for a purpose and He has given blessings for a purpose.

    The purpose of miracles is to get people to believe in God.

    Many times, miracles do not require faith because we can see here that the Children of Israel were not using any and yet God still helped them.

    Elijah and prophets of Baal

    1 Kings 18:36-39 NKJV And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. (37) Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” (38) Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. (39) Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”

    Baal was the fire God and producing fire would have been a miracle that he could have done and that is why Elijah called down fire to consume the sacrifices.

    John 2:11 KJV (11) This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

    John 2:23 KJV (23) Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

    John 4:47-48 NLT When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die. (48) Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in Me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”

    Exodus 7:5 NKJV And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

    Luke 5:4-11 – Jesus tells Peter to cast out his nets and he caught a huge catch of fish. This was a miracle in order to get Peter to believe.

    John 7:31 NKJV And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”

    John 20:30-31 NKJV And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; (31) but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

    Romans 15:18-19 NLT Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. (19) They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.

    Mark 16:20 NLT And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

    God does some miracles in the lives of believers to get us out of crisis situations but ultimately the purpose of miracles is to get sinners into the Kingdom of God so that God can move from a life of miracles to a life of blessing.

    Oftentimes, when a believer’s heart becomes hard to the things of God, God will perform miracles to try and get them back on track. It is a kick-start to get them back where they need to be.

    What is the purpose of blessings?

    Remember we said one of the differences between miracles and the blessings is that blessings require responsibility and obedience.

    Deuteronomy 8:6-10 NKJV (6) “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. (7) For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; (8) a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; (9) a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. (10) When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

    The Blessing will provide for your physical healing:

    Exodus 23:25 NKJV “So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.

    These things are not just for the Children of Israel. We can receive these things too.

    The Blessing to you and your children:

    Exodus 20:6 NLT But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love Me and obey My commands.

    Deuteronomy 12:28 NKJV Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

    1 Chronicles 28:8 NLT “So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel–the LORD’s assembly–I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance.

    Isaiah 44:3-4 NLT For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your children. (4) They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.

    The Blessing is purposed to prosper you:

    Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

    Joshua 1:7-8 NKJV Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. (8) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

    Job 36:11 NKJV If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures.

    Isaiah 33:15-16 NLT (15) Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong– (16) these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance.

    Again the purpose of the blessing is so that we can be a miracle for other people. God wants us to have such an abundance that we are always in a position to be used to meet the needs of others.

    2 Chronicles 31:10 NKJV (10) And Azariah the chief priest, from the house of Zadok, answered him and said, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance.”

    2 Corinthians 9:8-11 AMP (8) And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation]. (9) As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever! [Ps. 112:9.] (10) And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity]. [Isa. 55:10; Hos. 10:12.] (11) Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God.

    God’s Economy

    Matthew 6:25-26 NKJV (25) “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? (26) Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

    Why did Jesus talk about the birds? It is because birds are oblivious to the economic conditions around them. They simply know that there will be food for them. They do not live by man’s economy.

    Jesus wants us to get to a place in life that we are simply living, loving, trusting, obeying, and believing God and He said all of these things will be added to us. Our lives will be provided for and then we are in a position to meet others needs.

    Matthew 6:28-32 NKJV (28) “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; (29) and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (31) “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ (32) For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

    When you are focused on your needs and how are they going to be taken care of, you are no different than the heathen.

    Did God save us so that we can just live exactly like the heathen live? NO!!!

    Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV (1) “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. (2) And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:

    When you need a miracle all you are focused on is the need. When you are living in the blessing of the Lord, all you are focused on is Him and doing what He wants you to do.

    This brings us to the last purpose of the blessings: So that the world will look at our lives and want what we have in our lives because it sets us apart.

    Bottom line: God wants to hear the word and do it. That is what activates the blessing in our lives.

  • Living Life Beyond Miracles – Part 2

    Living Life Beyond Miracles – Part 2

    Ephesians 1:3 NKJV (3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

    God has already blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm.

    We said last week that everything starts in the spiritual realm before it manifests in the natural realm. These blessings are spiritual but they are designed to affect our lives in every realm in which we walk.

    There is something better than needing a miracle and that is being in the position to be a miracle for someone else.

    Which is better: to need money in your bank account or to have money in your bank account?

    Definition of a Miracle:

    Miracle – a Divine intervention in the ordinary course of nature.

    Let’s look at some comparisons between miracles and blessing:

    • Miracles come in crisis situations.
    • Blessings keep us out of crisis.
    • Miracles only come in small amounts – just enough to get you through.
    • Blessings always come in abundance.
    • A Miracle is just enough for you.
    • Blessings are enough so you can start giving to other people.
    • Miracles can come even when you are in unbelief.
    • Blessings must be received by faith.
    • Miracles are mainly designed for sinners and young Christians.
    • Blessings demand responsibility and obedience to the Word of God.
    • Miracles are temporary. They last as long as the crisis situation is present but once the need is met or the crisis is over, the miracle ends.

    Peter walked on the water ONE time. He would have sunk if he had tried it again. The feeding of the 5000 by Jesus did not continue on and on nor did it spread to everyone all around. It was for those that were present and just at that moment. Elijah outran the chariot ONE time. He split the Jordan River ONE time. God split the Red Sea ONE time.

    • Blessings are eternal.
    • Miracles counteract, contradict, and override natural laws.
    • Blessings work with natural laws.
    • In miracles, God works FOR you.
    • In the blessings, God works WITH you.
    • Miracles are a jump start, designed to get you to the life of blessings.
    • The blessings are so that you can be a jump start for someone else to get them into a life of God’s blessings.

    We are not supposed to live off of jump starts.

    • Miracles are just enough.
    • Blessings will always keep growing. They can grow and increase as you grow and increase. Seeds sown will always reap more than what was sown.
    • Blessings will always work in spite of circumstances.

    Even during Jesus’ ministry, the people did not have to rely on miracles, but they did.

    Luke 13:10-17 NKJV Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. (11) And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. (12) But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” (13) And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. (14) But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” (15) The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? (16) So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound–think of it–for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” (17) And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

    Apparently, this woman had a right to have been healed because she was a Jew, but because of ignorance did not know to receive it and this is what upset Jesus so much.

    There were some Gentiles that Jesus healed who did not have that right, but Jesus performed a miracle for them.

    Matthew 15:21-28 NKJV Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. (22) And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” (23) But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” (24) But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (25) Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” (26) But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” (27) And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” (28) Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

    God has a better plan for His people!

    Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV (13) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”), (14) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

    Notice God’s plan is not that we live in the miracles of Abraham but the blessing of Abraham which is what was working in Isaac’s life to cause the harvest to come in the time of famine.

    What is a blessing?

    • In the Hebrew it means favor being bestowed from one to another, prosperity
    • In the Greek (eulogia) favor conferred, gift, benefit, bounty

    Blessings can be from man to God (praise)

    Revelation 5:12 NKJV …saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

    Blessings can be from man to man.

    Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau (Genesis 27:27-29)

    Blessings can be from God to man.

    Genesis 1:22,28 – God blessed Adam and Eve in the Garden

    • Blessings are not tangible.
    • Things are not blessings.
    • Things are the result of blessings or being blessed.

    It is favor poured out on your life which releases God’s power to work on your behalf.

    If we are already blessed then what activates the blessing in our lives?

    Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV (1) “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. (2) And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:

    The blessing of God is designed to work with you and not for you. But it is only activated when we give our attention to OBEY what the Lord has told us to do.

    Obedience it what causes the blessing to become active in our lives.

    What is the blessing of God for? Is it about me and you?

    No, it is to be a testimony to the goodness of God.

    Genesis 1:11-12 NKJV (11) Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. (12) And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

    Why doesn’t the scripture just say that God made the grass, and God made the trees, etc.

    God does not just make something and then go off and leave it. If He did, He would have to keep making more trees.

    Genesis 1:20-22 NKJV (20) Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” (21) So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (22) And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

    After he created them He blessed them.

    Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV (26) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (28) Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

    When God formed man of the dust of the ground and then breathed into him and he became a living being, was that a miracle or a blessing? It was a miracle.

    After God made man He blessed them.

    Once the blessing comes upon something, it gains the ability to keep on producing.

    What is better than having a little money to meet your needs because of the miraculous? Having money in your account and then that money comes into contact with God’s blessing and keeps on producing.

    Miracles are wonderful, but they don’t have any seeds in themselves to keep on producing.

    The Blessing contain the seeds to keep it going on perpetually.

    Once God’s favor comes on something, then it gains the ability to have seeds and keep producing after its own kind.

    A miracle is a great big watermelon with no seeds in it. A blessing is a watermelon loaded with seeds that are able to keep on producing more watermelons.

    Blessings are so big, you can pass them on to your children after you. This was a common practice in the Old Testament.

    Notice that in the Old Testament, the fathers would not just pass on their possessions, they something else because they knew they needed the blessing on them for it to be able to continue.

    Blessings are passed on with words.

    Notice God spoke to Adam, and blessed him.

    Once a blessing goes out it cannot be rescinded.

    (Genesis 27:27-29)

    Curses can be removed by a blessing. (Galatians 3:13-14)

    When we pass on the blessing by blessing our children, God will honor that blessing that is in line with His Word and see to it that it comes to pass.

    We see where Balaam, a backslidden prophet was paid to curse the Children of Israel.

    Numbers 22:18 NKJV (18) Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.

    Balaam said he could not go beyond what God has said.

    Numbers 23:8 NKJV (8) “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

    Numbers 23:16-20 NKJV (16) Then the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” (17) So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?” (18) Then he took up his oracle and said: “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! (19) “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (20) Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

    The Children of Israel did not even know that this was going on. They just kept going on in the blessing.

    The blessing is not reversible!

    The only one that can stop the blessing of God in your life IS YOU!

    Galatians 3:8-9 NKJV And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” (9) So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

  • Living Life Beyond Miracles – Part 1

    Living Life Beyond Miracles – Part 1

    Ephesians 1:3 NKJV (3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

    In the Greek, verses 3 – 14 are all one sentence.

    Every blessing that we have started out as a spiritual blessing.

    We can look around us and think that everything that we see is eternal but it is not. Only those things that are spiritual are eternal. Spiritual things will be here forever.

    Everything that we see in the natural world around us are products of the spiritual world.

    Example: Healing starts out as a spiritual thing before it becomes a physical thing to us.

    Example: Our natural, material prosperity starts out as a spiritual thing before it becomes a physical thing, manifested in the natural realm.

    Jesus illustrated this when He cursed the fig tree because it dried up from the root.

    Mark 11:12-14 NKJV (12) Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. (13) And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. (14) In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.

    Mark 11:20-24 NKJV (20) Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. (21) And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” (22) So 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. (24) Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. The things that we desire to see happen in our lives are not going to start out in the natural realm, they are going to start in the spiritual realm.

    This is why it is so important to pay attention to the Lord when we are praying about certain things as there might be something in us that needs to be changed spiritually before the change can take place naturally.

    The Holy Spirit is aware of what needs to happen both spiritually and naturally in order for the answer to come into our lives. This could be the reason that some things are taking so long in our lives is because we need to change before the situation can change.

    We need to remember that for us as believers, that even though we live in a natural world, our way of life is a supernatural, spiritual way of life.

    We are spirit first before we are natural.

    Sometimes we get so used to moving in the natural that we forget that are spiritual beings.

    New Point:

    Some Christians find themselves saying, “I just don’t see miracles in my life any more. They used to happen when I first got saved but I just am not seeing them in my life anymore. I don’t understand why this has happened.”

    There is something greater that God has for us than living by miracles.

    I think that most Christians if faced with the choice between miracles and blessings would choose the miracles, but we are going to see that blessings are the better choice.

    A lot of times we would rather hear the testimony of a miracle rather than the testimony of someone receiving a blessing because in our minds the miracle is more special, dramatic or impressive. But according to the Word of God it is not.

    It is God’s desire that we walk in His continuous blessing all the time.

    Blessings are just as supernatural as miracles. Will we ever get to a place that we don’t need miracles? No.

    There is something better than having to live day to day and depending on God to sustain us by miracles.

    Exodus 16:11-18 NKJV (11) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (12) “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ ” (13) So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. (14) And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. (15) So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. (16) This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ” (17) Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. (18) So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need.

    Psalms 78:24-25 NKJV (24) Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven. (25) Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full. Apparently for 40 years, God let man eat what angels eat when they choose to eat.

    Remember, the angels that came to rescue Lot and his family ate with Lot after much insisting by Lot.

    This was a miracle, but it was not God’s best for the Children of Israel. If you will recall, it was not God’s original plan for them to stay in the wilderness for 40 years. At the most it should have taken them a year.

    Remember when they came up to the border of the Promised Land and sent the spies in to spy out the land and they came back with the clusters of grapes so large it took two men to carry them.

    But the 10 also came back talking about how they were grasshoppers in the eyes of the giants and then the two came back talking about how little the giants were in light of God and His promises. The 10 convinced the people and so they stayed in the wilderness for another 39 years.

    They continued to live in the wilderness eating manna (“what is it?”) and quail for another 39 years.

    In the morning they would have manna and in the evening they would have quail.

    The quail were miraculous because quail do not fly over the wilderness. They fly where there are bushes and trees.

    Scholars have stated that there were approximately 3,000,000 Hebrew people. In order to feed them manna every day it required 4,500 tons of manna every morning. To feed them manna over 40 years required 65,700,000 tons of manna. If every person ate one quail per day it would take 3,000,000 quail per day or 90,000,000 quail per month. To provide water for all of the people would have required 15,000,000 gallons of water every day.

    As awesome as all of this was, it was not God’s best for them.

    Joshua 5:10-12 NKJV (10) Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. (11) And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. (12) Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

    God’s best was not to live on the manna every day but was to get to the promised land and live off of the provision and blessings that were there in the promised land.

    We have the understanding that if someone sees a miracle it will cause them to want to believe in God.

    This can happen, but it is not always the case.

    Remember, the Egyptians saw at least two miracles every single day and did not believe.

    The Children of Israel saw the same miracles, yet they still wandered around in doubt and unbelief.

    We need to always remember that it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. The goodness of God can be seen in many different ways.

    Definition of a Miracle:

    Miracle – a divine intervention in the ordinary course of nature.

    The Blessing – a supernatural empowerment.

    Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”), (14) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

    Deuteronomy 28:8 NKJV “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

    Let’s look at some comparisons between miracles and blessing:

    • Miracles come in crisis situations.
    • The Blessing can keep us out of crisis.

    Does that mean we will never face a crisis situation? The answer is no. The children of Israel encountered a crisis even after they entered into the Promised Land at Jericho. The Lord still showed up and performed and miracle and caused the walls to fall flat.

    • Miracles only come in small amounts – just enough to get you through.

    If you try and hoard up a miracle it will rot and not be any good for anyone.

    • The Blessing always comes in abundance.
    • A Miracle is just enough for you.

    Remember the manna was just enough for those in your tent.

    • The Blessing is always enough so you can start giving to other people.

    God is ready for your abundance to become some else’s miracles.

    • Miracles can come even when you are in unbelief.

    Remember the reason that God began to the manna and the quail was not because He had heard all of their faith confessions.

    Exodus 16:12 NKJV (12) “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ “

    • The Blessing is manifest as we believe God and His Word.
    • Miracles are mainly designed for sinners and immature Christians.

    The Children of Israel had come out of Egypt but Egypt had not yet come out of them.

    Even though they complained and murmured, God still provided the manna and the quail.

    • The Blessing demands responsibility and obedience to the Word of God.

    Isaiah 1:19 NKJV (19) If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;

    • Miracles are temporary. They last as long as the crisis situation is present but once the need is met or the crisis is over, the miracle ends.

    Peter walked on the water ONE time. He would have sunk if he had tried it again. The feeding of the 5000 by Jesus did not continue on and on nor did it spread to everyone all around. It was for those that were present and just at that moment.

    • The Blessing is eternal.
    • Miracles counteract, contradict, and override natural laws.
    • The Blessing can work with natural laws.

    Notice God wanted to feed them with the fruit of the earth when they were in their place of blessing. But they had to grow it, mine it.

    • In miracles, God works FOR you.
    • In the Blessing, God works WITH you.

    God’s ultimate desire is to bless you according to seedtime and harvest. Meaning that whatever you sow (put your hands to) God will bless and multiply that back to you. God has said in His Word that He will bless the WORK OF YOUR HANDS.

    Deuteronomy 16:15 NKJV Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

    Deuteronomy 28:8 NKJV “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

    • Miracles are a jump start, designed to get you to the life of blessings.
    • The Blessing is so that you can be a jump start for someone else to get them into a life of God’s blessings.

    We are not supposed to live off of jump starts.

    • Miracles are just enough.
    • The Blessing will always keep growing. It can grow and increase as you grow and increase. Seeds sown will always reap more than what was sown.
    • The Blessing will always work in spite of circumstances.

    Isaac sowed in the time of famine and God blessed it and He multiplied in spite of the circumstances (famine) that was in the land. This was not a miracle because Isaac did his part in obedience to the Lord and God worked with him.

    Notice God’s plan is not that we live in the miracles of Abraham but the blessing of Abraham which is what was working in Isaac’s life to cause the harvest to come in the time of famine.

  • Galatians – Part 4

    Now Are We Sons

    All of our Christian life is based on one thing: relationship.

    (Galatians 3:26 NKJV) For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

    (Galatians 4:4-7 NIV)  But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,  (5)  to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.  (6)  Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  (7)  So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

    • The slave has a master.

    The son has a father.

    (Romans 8:15-16 NIV)  The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  (16)  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

    • The slave is driven by duty.

    The son is driven by devotion.

    (Philippians 2:12-13 NLT)  (12) …Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.  (13)  For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.

    (Romans 12:11 GNB)  Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion.

    • The slave is an employee.

    The son is an heir.

    (Romans 8:17 NIV)  Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

    How Do I Live as a Co-heir with Jesus?

    1. Know how much God loves you!

    (John 17:20 NLT) “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message.

    (John 17:23 NLT) I am in them and You are in Me. May they …know that You sent Me and that You love them as much as You love Me.

    1. Know what you have in Him.

     (John 16:14-15 NLT)  He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me.  (15)  All that belongs to the Father is Mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever He receives from Me.’

    (Ephesians 1:3 NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

    (2 Peter 1:3-5 NLT)  By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.  (4)  And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.  (5)  In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises.

    1. Know why He gave it to you.

    (1 Timothy 6:17-18 AMP)  As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be proud and arrogant and contemptuous of others, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment.  (18)  [Charge them] to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous of heart, ready to share [with others],

    (2 Corinthians 5:20 AMP)  So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.

     

  • The Cave of Adullam – Part 2

    (Review of last week’s material)

    •  When you are out of the will of God, you make very bad (dumb) decisions.
    •  Understand that your sin never affects just you. It affects those around you too.
    • When you aren’t listening to the Spirit of God, or following God’s Word, you are listening to your flesh or emotions.

     In the cave of Adullam, it was God and David period.

     These are the Psalms David wrote while he was in the Cave of Adullam:

     (Psalms 142:1-7 NLT)  A psalm of David, regarding his experience in the cave. A prayer. I cry out to the LORD; I plead for the LORD’s mercy.  (2)  I pour out my complaints before Him and tell Him all my troubles.  (3)  When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me.  (4)  I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.  (5)  Then I pray to You, O LORD. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.  (6)  Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.  (7)  Bring me out of prison so I can thank You. The godly will crowd around me, for You are good to me.”

    (Psalms 57:1-11 NLT)  For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time he fled from Saul and went into the cave. To be sung to the tune “Do Not Destroy!” Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to You for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of Your wings until the danger passes by.  (2)  I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose for me.  (3)  He will send help from heaven to rescue me, disgracing those who hound me. Interlude My God will send forth His unfailing love and faithfulness.  (4)  I am surrounded by fierce lions who greedily devour human prey–whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows, and whose tongues cut like swords.  (5)  Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May Your glory shine over all the earth.  (6)  My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it. Interlude  (7)  My heart is confident in You, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing Your praises!  (8)  Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.  (9)  I will thank You, Lord, among all the people. I will sing Your praises among the nations.  (10)  For Your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.  (11)  Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May Your glory shine over all the earth.

    In the Cave of Adullam, David did the following:

    • He turned loose of his own strength
    • He turned loose of his own ideas
    • He turned loose of his own wisdom
    • He abandoned himself completely to the will of God

    The Cave of Adullam is where David quit and God took over.

    The Cave of Adullam is the line where David’s life being David’s responsibility and became God’s responsibility. It is where he came to the end of himself.

    This is the place in our lives where we quit trying to make God’s plans and promises come to pass and we surrender and let God bring to pass His own plans.

    David repents and God is able to begin a work of restoration in David’s life:

    (1 Samuel 22:1 NIV)  David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.

    • Notice that the first thing that God restored back to David was his family relationships.
    • David tells the Lord that he does not have an army and God brings to him 400 messed up miss-fits.

    (1 Samuel 22:2 NIV)  All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.

    • God then began to bless David materially as David and that small army began to conquer other armies and spoiled them.
    • David had a great capacity to not only confess his guilt in the things that he caused, confess his sins before the Lord, but he also had a great capacity to forgive himself and go on.

    (1 Samuel 22:20-23 NIV)  But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David.  (21)  He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.  (22)  Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family.  (23)  Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.”

    Look at another incident that David caused:

     (2 Samuel 12:19-24 NIV)  David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”  (20)  Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.  (21)  His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”  (22)  He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’  (23)  But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”  (24)  Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him;

    If this was you could you receive your forgiveness and then forgive yourself and move forward if you were guilty of these things?

     It doesn’t matter how big your mistakes are, the forgiving and restoring power of God is always greater!

    When you get to the cave of Adullam and you quit and give up to God, that will begin the turn-around in your life.

    • Moses had his Cave of Adullam experience after he killed the Egyptian and spent 40 years in the wilderness and when he surrendered is when God could use him to become the leader He wanted Him to be.
    • The woman with the issue of blood had been to many physicians and spent all that she had and rather grew worse BUT when she had heard of Jesus she came to Him and was healed.
    • Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus came to himself when the Lord confronted him.

    (Acts 9:5-6 NIV)  “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.  (6)  “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

    Turn loose of yourself and let God bring it to pass.

    (Philippians 1:6 NIV)  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

    The thing that David did right this time was to wait on God and let God make the ruler over all the nation of Israel.

    (Luke 1:31-33 NIV)  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  (32)  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  (33)  and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

    God even brought Jesus into the earth through the lineage of this great king and as the scripture says, Jesus will one day rule from the throne of His father David. Notice it does not just say that God will give the throne of Israel but He will give Him David’s throne. 

    • God will restore relationships, restore your strength, and God will begin to bless and increase you like never before. 
    • He will take those failures and mistakes and turn them around and cause your ending to be so much better than your beginning!