Springhill Church

Topic: Brad Mullins

  • 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!

  • Suitcase – Part 5

    Matthew 11:28-30 | AMPC (28) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer 6:16] (30) For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

    Jesus is telling us that we do not have to go through this life burdened down with a bunch of baggage. He wants us to take His burden which is light and find rest for our souls.

    Pride is the deadliest enemy of the Christian today.

    It is a simple truth that our flesh wants to be recognized, exalted and admired. It wants to be looked up to by other people.

    We can see through the fall of Lucifer, why pride is called the father of all sin.

    If we think about it, we realize the reason that anybody knowingly disobeys God is because he thinks he has a better idea than God does.

    Pride is the only reason that division exists in the Body of Christ.

    Pride says, “I am right and want to have things my way.”

    Religion’s solution to pride is just as dangerous and that is self-abasement.

    The truth is self-abasement is another form of pride.

    Know that pride is self-exaltation but that true humility is not self-abasement.

    Humility is exalting God through the accomplishments He produces in your life. Humility is making sure that God gets all of the glory, and you don’t try and partake in any of it.

    Recognize that without God you cannot be or do anything but that in Christ there is absolutely nothing you can’t do.

    If you want the presence of God in your life, then see to it that He gets the glory for all the good things that He works through you.

    King Saul was a man mightily used by God; however, through pride he lost everything – his anointing, his position and eventually his life.

    Saul was completely defeated, and his defeat came through the open door of deception into his life in the form of pride.

    Saul wasn’t always full of pride.

    1 Samuel 15:17 | NKJV (17) So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?

    Saul started out little in his own estimation and thus God could use him. As soon as he grew in his estimation of himself, his own pride defeated him.

    Humility is the only thing that makes any of us useful in the plan and Kingdom of God.

    If we allow pride to grow in our lives – as it did in Saul’s – God’s anointing will decrease. That is the point at which we risk losing the position that God has called us.

    Let’s look at some identifying marks of pride in the life of King Saul:

    1. Lies and Exaggerations

    1 Samuel 13:3-4 | NKJV (3) And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” (4) Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.

    We see here that Jonathan smote the Philistines, but Saul wanted all Israel to hear that he himself had defeated them.

    We see here that Saul was insecure with his own identity and position with God. As a result, he lied to make himself look better in the eyes of the people.

    We all have to deal with the tendency toward insecurity. It makes us want to exaggerate or even lie about ourselves to elevate ourselves in the eyes of others. You can’t treat this lightly – because it will grow. Recognize it and shut the door on it.

    1. Impatience and Arrogance

    1 Samuel 13:8-14 | NKJV (8) Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. (9) So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. (10) Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. (11) And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, (12) then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” (13) And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. (14) But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

    We see here that in his impatience, Saul arrogantly tried to assume the office and anointing of another man, the prophet.

    Saul became impatient while he was waiting for the plan of God to unfold. He did not want to wait and allow God to bring it to pass.

    Don’t try to usurp someone else’s call, responsibility or anointing to attempt to get things moving more quickly for you, simply because you are unhappy with God’s timetable.

    1. A Low Regard for God’s Word

    1 Samuel 15:1-3 | NKJV (1) Samuel also said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD. (2) Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. (3) Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ “

    We see Saul had a low regard for the Word of God.

    It may seem harsh what he was commanded to do but it is important to realize we don’t know everything He knows about a given situation. That is why we can’t lean to our own understanding.

    We see Saul’s response:

    1 Samuel 15:9 | NKJV (9) But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

    Saul felt free to disregard the command of the Lord for the sake of gaining popularity with the people.

    He rationalized a way out of doing what God had said to do, doing instead what he thought best.

    1. Blame Shifting

    1 Samuel 15:20-21 | NKJV (20) And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. (21) But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”

    We see here that Saul began to blame-shift or refused to accept responsibility for his actions by pointing to something or somebody else as the reason for your situation.

    We also saw this in the Garden with Adam blaming first his wife and then God..

    Genesis 3:12 | NKJV (12) Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

    As we examine our hearts for pride ask yourself the following questions:

    1. Am I so insecure in my own identity in Christ that I tend to lie and exaggerate to make myself look better?
    2. Do I try to operate in other people’s callings or anointing because of impatience or because I think I can stand in someone else’s office?
    3. Am I quick to obey God’s commands or do I make excuses for doing things my way?
    4. When I experience the consequences of my mistakes, do I shift the blame elsewhere?

    If you experience any of these tendencies, then pride may be at work in your life. Do something about it and don’t let it destroy your life as it did Saul’s.

    1 Peter 5:6 | NKJV (6) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

    1 Peter 5:5 | NKJV (5) Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

    Learn to think of yourself as small, dependent on Him for everything, realizing that without Him we are nothing.

    Always be mindful to shift all the credit to the Lord.

  • 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.

  • Suitcase – Part 4

    Matthew 11:28-30 | AMPC (28) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer 6:16] (30) For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

    Jesus is telling us that we do not have to go through this life burdened down with a bunch of baggage. He wants us to take His burden which is light and find rest for our souls.

    Many Christians labor under some sense that we must pay Him back for the wonderful things that He has done for us.

    This unconscious desire to pay God back will become baggage to you if you do not deal with it. It will begin to affect every area of your life.

    Ephesians 2:8-9 | TPT (8) For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! (9) So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.

    The way that we repay the Lord for what He has done for us is to:

    Psalms 116:12-13 | TPT (12) So now, what can I ever give back to God to repay him for the blessings he’s poured out on me? (13) I will lift up his cup of salvation and praise him extravagantly for all that he’s done for me.

    1. Search the Word and find out who we are and what belongs to us in Christ
    2. Walk in the fullness of all that He purchased for us.

    Psalms 103:1-6 | NKJV (1) Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! (2) Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: (3) Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, (4) Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, (5) Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (6) The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.

    David is doing some self-talk here just like we do today.

    If David tells us to “forget not” all our benefits, then we must be prone to forget them.

    Let’s look at what some of those benefits are:

    1. He forgives all your iniquities. (v.3)

    These are not just the occasional sin but the things that we have a problem with that we have not yet overcome in our lives. God’s promise is to help us fix what is going on in us.

    Jesus and His blood have the power to change us and make us holy and pleasing to God.

    Philippians 1:6 | TPT (6) I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!

    If Jesus cannot turn people around, then Adam and his sin are stronger than Jesus. We know that this simply is not true!

    1. He heals all your diseases. (v.3)

    God heals of the “ills” of mankind and has done this through the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice.

    Healing is yours: spirit, soul, and body!

    1. He redeems your life from destruction. (v.4)

    To redeem is a reference to the next of kin that buys back a relative’s property, to be an avenger and deliver someone.

    The word “destruction” should be translated “the pit” of destruction.

    Sometimes we can find ourselves in a pit, even of our own doing, but God will deliver us and bring us out of that pit.

    1. He crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies. (v.4)

    This word “crown” does not necessarily mean a crown that you wear. The Hebrew word truly means in this context “to encircle around you”.

    I truly believe that David is saying that God will encircle you with peace, love, mercy and compassion.

    1. He satisfies our mouths with good things. (v.5)

    Satisfy – to have enough or to full of

    He will meet your everyday basic needs and satisfy you with good things.

    1. He renews your youth and strength like an eagle’s. (v.5)

    The eagle will throughout its life “molt” or lose it’s feathers starting from top to bottom in a process that can take six months but once complete the eagle has a brand new set of feathers. The old ones are gone and new ones are present.

    This gives the eagle a new lease on life to carry on and similarly the Lord will do the same thing in us.

    1. He makes things right for those who have been wronged.

    Psalms 103:6 | NKJV (6) The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.

    Psalms 103:6 | ERV (6) The LORD does what is fair. He brings justice to all who have been hurt by others.

    Psalms 103:6 | NLT (6) The LORD gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

    Psalms 103:6 | CEV (6) For all who are mistreated, the LORD brings justice.

    God will cause the wrongs in our lives to be made right sooner or later.

    The reality is that these things do not just happen in our lives. We must find out about them and then believe and receive them into our lives.

    The next time that you feel like you need to pay the Lord back for His wonderful grace and forgiveness, remind yourself of all the things He has done for you, put them in mind, talk about them and live them out in your life.

  • 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.

  • Suitcase – Part 3

    Matthew 11:28-30 | AMPC (28) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer 6:16] (30) For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

    Jesus is telling us that we do not have to go through this life burdened down with a bunch of baggage. He wants us to take His burden which is light and find rest for our souls.

    Matthew 6:25 | 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?

    When you worry, worry becomes your life.

    Little worries become big worries.

    Matthew 6:26 | NKJV (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?

    God has a system for you that birds don’t even have available to them yet God has a plan for them. If He has a plan for them, then He has a much greater plan for you.

    Matthew 6:27 | NKJV (27) Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

    Did you grow because you sat around and thought about growing?

    We don’t sit around and think about growing. It is part of the normal process of life and will happen as we live out the process.

    Worry is imagination abuse. Worry is destructive. Worry affects our spirit, soul and body.

    God never intended for us to use our imaginations for worry.

    Your imagination was given to you by God to empower you to be able to see good things that have not happened yet.

    Genesis 15:5 | NIV (5) He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

    God was trying to stimulate his imagination to get him to see what has not yet happened but will happen if Abraham continues to trust God.

    Your imagination is a tool given to you by God to enable you to see the next good thing that is coming to you because of His goodness.

    The only way to overcome these negative imaginations is with a fight.

    2 Corinthians 10:4-5 | KJV (4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; When we cast something down, we are saying that we are done with it and it is good for nothing.

    In a war, you have to use a weapon. God’s Word is the effective weapon that God has given to us to tear down those imaginations.

    Ephesians 6:17 | NKJV (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

    The word for “Word” here is not “logos.” It is “rhema” which is the spoken Word of God and implies speaking one part of the Word of God.

    The word for “sword” in the Greek is actually the word for a smaller, more specific, more potentially dangerous sword that could accomplish something more specific.

    Never underestimate the power of an individual scripture.

    Notice that when Jesus resisted temptation, He could have rattled off many chapters of the Scriptures but each time He only mentioned one verse.

    You need to arm yourself with battle verses to defend yourself.

    Positive thinking alone with not defeat the negative thoughts that are going on in your mind.

    You cannot overpower worry with another thought.

    Many people are defeated because they give expression to every negative thing that comes across their minds.

    The spoken Word of God is what brings those thoughts captive and casts them down because you are done with them.

    If you deal with confusion:

    John 10:27 | NKJV (27) My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

    If you battle the thoughts of dying young: 

    Psalms 91:16 | NKJV (16) With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

    If you struggle financially and always have:

    Deuteronomy 28:8 | 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.

    If you are concerned about your children

    Isaiah 54:13 | NKJV (13) All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.

    Jeremiah 31:16-17 | NLT (16) But now this is what the LORD says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the LORD. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. (17) There is hope for your future,” says the LORD. “Your children will come again to their own land.

    If you struggle with fear:

    2 Timothy 1:7 | NKJV (7) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

    These are individual verses that become swords in your mouth.

    Remember, worry is relentless and is very persistent. You and I must be more persistent than those thoughts.

    In the beginning it will take great effort.

    God’s Word will not only cleanse your mind, but it will train your mind.

    The more you practice, the easier it is to do and the more quickly your mind responds.

    Your mind will ultimately follow after what is coming out of your mouth. That is how God wired you.

    Don’t let worry be a heavy burden on your back.

  • Suitcase – Part 2

    Matthew 11:28-30 | AMPC (28) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer 6:16] (30) For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

    Jesus is telling us that we do not have to go through this life burdened down with a bunch of baggage. He wants us to take His burden which is light and find rest for our souls.

    Let’s look at the Baggage of Unforgiveness:

    The Bible has a lot to say about this baggage.

    Matthew 18:15-17 | NKJV (15) “Moreover if your brother sins (trespass) against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. (16) But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY WORD MAY BE ESTABLISHED.’ (17) And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

    A trespass is not something light but is a serious, grievous offense.

    It is serious enough that if it was not repaired, it could mean that the relationship is ended.

    There are things that are minor that we should just let go of such as someone did not invite you to go with them to lunch the other day, etc.

    Jesus is teaching us that there may be opportunities that you would be justified in ending the relationship.

    Jesus gives us this process of dealing with these trespasses and we can then see that Peter began to process and stew over these things.

    Matthew 18:21-22 | NKJV (21) Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (22) Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

    Forgiveness is an amazing force for overcoming evil. We need to know how forgiveness works.

    Unforgiveness is baggage that will hold you back and open doors for trouble.

    Jesus then moves into a parable to help these guys wrap their heads around what He was teaching, and it deserved more than just a passing answer.

    Matthew 18:23-24 | NKJV (23) Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. (24) And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

    This guy owed the Master what would be equal to about $10,000,000 in today’s money. In other words, Jesus is telling us that there will be people that will do things to us that are so big, they could never pay back or make right the debt that is incurred because of it.

    People do not have faith in forgiveness because in our hearts, we somehow believe that people get off the hook for the things that they have done.

    Matthew 18:25-27 | NKJV (25) But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. (26) The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ (27) Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

    Four Steps in this Process:

    1. Offense
    2. Confrontation
    3. Repentance
    4. Forgiveness

    Matthew 18:28-35 | NKJV (28) “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ (29) So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ (30) And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. (31) So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. (32) Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. (33) Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ (34) And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. (35) “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

    How do we deal with the person who wrongs us and refuses to acknowledge their debts?

    (None of us can afford to carry the weight of un-forgiveness because it will affect our lives negatively.)

    Leviticus 19:17-18 | NLT (17) “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. (18) “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

    What does un-forgiveness look like? It is not merely the absence of forgiveness.

    Unforgiveness is a desire, sometimes open and other times secret, for revenge. It is the will to retaliate. When you do that, you become a prisoner to that person.

    When you become a prisoner to that person, you begin to carry that person around with you everywhere that you go, when you can be moving through life free and light.

    When you are doing this, you are getting in God’s way in dealing with them.

    Proverbs 24:29 | NKJV (29) Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”

    Romans 2:6 | NKJV (6) (God) who “WILL RENDER TO EACH ONE ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS”:

    You may not be seeing this, but don’t think that it won’t happen.

    Romans 12:19 | TPT (19) Beloved, don’t be obsessed with taking revenge, but leave that to God’s righteous justice. For the Scriptures say: “If you don’t take justice in your own hands, I will release justice for you,” says the Lord.

    When you take it upon yourself, you are trying to do God’s job, when He is the only One who is capable in dealing with those people and the situation.

    Vengeance is God’s turf. It is His domain.

    When someone breaks the law, the people need to be punished and that is something that is different than what we are talking about here.

    We must have faith in forgiveness and believe that sooner or later, their wrong gets dealt with.

    Learn to follow God’s example:

    Luke 2:14 | NKJV (14) “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

    Forgiveness is for the person who repents and says they are sorry for what they have done but you can extend good will toward someone until they come to that point.

    Goodwill is what you hold in your heart until repentance is received.

    Learn from God’s example:

    • God does not forgive everybody, but He wants to.
    • God doesn’t forgive the sins of everyone that is a sinner, but He wants to.
    • God cannot pour mercy, grace, forgiveness, and blessing on everyone until they repent but He wants to.

    The best way for you to get even is to let God heal your hurt and bring you to a place of blessing in life.

  • Suitcase – Part 1

    Matthew 11:28-30 | AMPC (28) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer 6:16] (30) For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

    If you could really see into the souls of people, you would see that type of baggage being carried around even by people that don’t realize they are carrying any baggage.

    What we do in life is learn how to function with the baggage that we carry.

    We cover up for them. We make devices and try to compensate for them.

    Sometimes we can have a physical injury early in life and even though we may have recovered from it, we may now have limited flexibility or something like it and we learn in life to compensate or hide it.

    We carry these things in life, and we try and skirt around situations and circumstances in life that may expose the baggage.

    We know if we get into a certain set of circumstances, it may trigger some kind of reaction or response because of the baggage that will embarrass us, so we avoid those circumstances all together.

    Why does the baggage show up?

    Proverbs 25:19 | NKJV (19) Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble Is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.

    The time of trouble is pressure time. When you try and lean on this person in a time of trouble, they are not dependable. The bad tooth and foot out of joint were existing conditions that were only exposed during the pressure time.

    Pressure does not create the flaw, it just exposes it.

    If you don’t deal with the baggage, it will eventually come between you and the people who mean the most to you.

    The baggage will begin to wear on you and affect your relationships.

    It can be something that happened to you early in life and because we do not deal with those things, they will show up later in life at the most inopportune times when you least need them to surface.

    It is important that we deal with these things because there are people that you have in your life right now that you may not have in your life later because these things come up and damage the relationship beyond repair.

    How does Baggage Start?

    Satan uses people to bruise other people, and this creates the baggage.

    Ephesians 6:12a | NKJV (12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…

    The devil uses people to hurt and bruise other people. When this happens, we carry this bruise.

    Often, it is bruised people that turn around and inflict the same kind of damage on other people.

    “Since I am a Born-Again believer, I thought that when I received Christ all of my baggage would go away.”

    2 Corinthians 5:17 | NKJV (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

    James 1:21 | AMPC (21) So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save (sozo – heal, preserve, make whole) your souls.

    What Satan is really after in trying to bruise us is to make us hate God and then hate ourselves.

    Satan wants to injure us in our souls so that we will carry that and then in turn hurt other people.

    If you hate yourself, you are going to hurt other people.

    Matthew 22:37-39 | NKJV (37) Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

    When you begin to love yourself, you can truly begin to love others.

    God put His Spirit on the inside of you so that you will not hate yourself. (Romans 5:5)

    We can learn to let these things go.

    God wants to set you free from these things.

    The baggage is not in your innermost spirit, it is in your soul and your soul can be renewed and repaired.

    Car Restoration Illustration: The engine and transmission is brand new but the body needs painting, the upholstery is ripped, the windows are cracked, etc. Little by little the shop begins to replace one thing a week until the car is totally renewed and restored.

    Psalms 23:3 | NKJV (3) He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

    Psalms 23:3a | BBE (3) He gives new life to my soul…

    You are going to find out that there are a whole lot of people that are just like you and carrying baggage.

    In this series, we are going to talk about the process of getting rid of this baggage so that you can be free, and you will not harm your relationships.

    Luke 4:18 | AMPC (18) The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],

    Jesus did not come to help you through your old life, but to give you a brand-new life.

    Revelation 21:5 | NKJV (5) Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

  • Be Transformed – Part 5

    Romans 12:2 | NLT Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

    • The Bible teaches us that the way that we change is by an inward transformation and that happens as we change the way that we think.

    How does this transformation from the inside out begin?

    The process is called renewing your mind. How do you renew your mind?

    It is a process of taking out and putting in. (Housecleaning and refurnishing)

    2 Corinthians 10:3-5 | KJV (3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉 (5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

    Three Levels of Mental Activity:

    1. Thoughts
    2. Imaginations
    3. Strongholds

    We are created by God with the ability to create habit patterns to make us more efficient so that eventually you can do things without having to consciously think about them.

    Example – when we were young, we had to remind ourselves or someone else remind us to go and brush our teeth in the morning. Hopefully as we have gotten older, that is not still the case.

    It literally can become an enemy fortification if Satan becomes involved.

    What is a stronghold? In the Greek, it is defined as a fortification such as a high-walled city or castle but this word can also be translated a prison with high walls and fortifications.

    We are talking about patterns of behavior that have been built in our lives, mostly over long periods of time that started with thoughts and have been established as strongholds or habits.

    • Habit – a pattern of behavior that we do enough until it has become almost involuntary.

    There are habits that we can build in our lives and some we can even overcome just through discipline. But there are others that are going to take more than just discipline; they are going to require supernatural weapons.

    Breaking Bad Habits

    2 Corinthians 10:4 | NKJV (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (bad habits),

    Isaiah 10:27 | KJV And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

    You can gain victory over the bad strongholds (habits) in your life!

    1. Be willing to identify the stronghold.
    2. Deal with one stronghold at a time.
    3. Fast and deny the desires of the flesh to amplify the anointing.
    4. Pray and ask the Lord for help and He will answer.
    5. There must be some Word push-back by you.
    6. Don’t try to be a hero. Get help if you need it!

    Building Good Habits:

    To put the right things in your mind you must simply reverse the process:

    1. Focus on the Word of God and let it be the standard.

    The Word is the standard of measurement.

    (James 1:21 TPT) So this is why we abandon everything morally impure and all forms of wicked conduct. Instead, with a sensitive spirit we absorb God’s Word, which has been implanted within our nature, for the Word of Life has power to continually deliver us.

    1. Keep the Word of God before you and in your mouth.

    (Joshua 1:8 NKJV) 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.

    1. Build an imagination of your life being lived out in line with God’s Word and with different behavior.

    (Psalms 1:1-3 NKJV) Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. (3) He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

    Forming the right habits starts with seeing it in your heart and mind.

    Your imagination is your ability to see with your heart what you can’t see with your eyes.

    1. Be a doer of the Word.

    (James 1:22 NKJV) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

    1. Start with some small things which make a big difference.

    (Zechariah 4:10 NLT) Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

    It makes God rejoice when He sees us begin to make steps towards His goldy habits in our lives.

    It may be reading the Bible or spending 15 minutes in prayer but it all makes a difference in our lives.

    1. Stay consistent with the process – day and night.

    Remember, that spiritual things seem to not happen as quickly as we would like, but things are changing.

    (Hebrews 6:11-12 NKJV) And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, (12) that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

    (Luke 21:19 AMPC) By your steadfastness and patient endurance you shall win the true life of your souls.

    1. You can build a new habit pattern in 21 days!

    Based on behavioral studies that have established that. If you stay with this process, you can change in less than a month!

    Stay with it!

    • Why is this so important? It affects every area of your life.

    (3 John 1:2 TPT) Beloved friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and that you continually enjoy good health, just as your soul is prospering.

  • Be Transformed – Part 4

    Romans 12:2 | NLT Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

    • The Bible teaches us that the way that we change is by an inward transformation and that happens as we change the way that we think.

    How does this transformation from the inside out begin?

    The process is called renewing your mind. How do you renew your mind?

    It is a process of taking out and putting in. (Housecleaning and refurnishing)

    2 Corinthians 10:3-5 | KJV (3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉 (5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

    Three Levels of Mental Activity:

    1. Thoughts

    Our thoughts are a process of moving through the circumstances of our everyday life. Thoughts are introduced to you by the circumstances of life.

    There is no such thing as a blank mind. Your mind is in operation all the time.

    Matthew 6:31 | KJV Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

        • You determine the thoughts that you take or reject.
        • You take a thought by saying it.

    You take a thought by attaching words to it and saying it out of your mouth.

    2 Corinthians 10:5b | TPT We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.

    If you do not put words to the thoughts that come to you that do not correspond with the standards of God’s Word; you don’t take them.

        • The way you capture thoughts and make them surrender to the Word of God is to contradict that thought with the Word of God on your lips.
    1. Imaginations

    Imagination – the process of mental imagery.

    Mentally imaging your circumstance and the thoughts you have taken, building an image of what your life can be as it relates to that thought pattern. This is the level where behavior comes into play as you begin to visualize your life in one way or another.

    Genesis 11:6 | AMPC And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do, and now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible for them.

    The process of visual imagery is what leads to behavior. The process of repetitive or consistent behavior will only take place if there has been repetitive or consistent visual imagery.

        • Your imagination is your ability to see with your heart what you can’t see with your eyes.
        • Whether you know it or not, your imagination is dictating how your life goes.
        • You get to choose whether your imagination is positive—which is hope—or negative, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
        • The way that you change your imagination is to meditate on or imagine God’s Word.

    Patterns of behavior that can be defined as habitual, start this way.

    1. Strongholds

    We are created by God with the ability to create habit patterns to make us more efficient so that eventually you can do things without having to consciously think about them.

    Example – when we were young, we had to remind ourselves or someone else remind us to go and brush our teeth in the morning. Hopefully as we have gotten older, that is not still the case.

    It literally can become an enemy fortification if Satan becomes involved.

    What is a stronghold? In the Greek, it is defined as a fortification such as a high-walled city or castle but this word can also be translated a prison with high walls and fortifications.

    We are talking about patterns of behavior that have been built in our lives, mostly over long periods of time that started with thoughts and have been established as strongholds or habits.

    • Habit – a pattern of behavior that we do enough until it has become almost involuntary.

    I believe there are habits that we can build in our lives and some we can even overcome just through discipline. But there are others that are going to take more than just discipline; they are going to require supernatural weapons.

    Breaking Bad Habits

    2 Corinthians 10:4 | NKJV (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

    Isaiah 10:27 | KJV And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

    You can gain victory over the bad strongholds (habits) in your life!

    1. Be willing to identify the stronghold.

    Proverbs 28:13 | GNB You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you.

    1. Deal with one stronghold at a time.

    Deal with the strongholds in the descending order of their impact on your life. Don’t let the enemy get you busy fighting more than one fire at a time.

    1. Fast and deny the desires of the flesh to amplify the anointing.

    Part of this is to deny your mind the triggers. Only YOU can identify these.

    Isaiah 58:8 | AMPC Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and your healing (your restoration and the power of a new life) shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness (your rightness, your justice, and your right relationship with God) shall go before you [conducting you to peace and prosperity], and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. [Exo 14:19-20; Isa 52:12]

    1. Pray and ask the Lord for help and He will answer.

    Isaiah 58:9 | AMPC Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, Here I am….

    1. There must be some Word push-back by you.

    Luke 4:4 NKJV But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD.’ “

    Ephesians 6:17 | NKJV And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

    1. Don’t try to be a hero. Get help if you need it!

    Matthew 18:18-20 | NKJV “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (19) “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (20) For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

    Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 | NLT (9) Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. (10) If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. (11) Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? (12) A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.