The Church has a purpose - we are to rise and cause others to arise out of the dead places. We are to cooperate with God and in our surrender to Him. We are built to be an extension of God’s thoughts and abilities, so that others can BELIEVE. In the account of Lazarus being raised from the dead, Pastor Dawn highlights the strategy of Jesus. He wanted active participants in this miracle. Because He knew the ones who move beyond being observers, into participants, won’t just see a miracle, they will be a part of one. God always has a bigger picture, and that bigger picture is YOU.
God always has a plan for His people and He has a plan for you and your children. When you tap into the presence of God, He gives you wisdom to secure the future! All of us hold in our hearts, our mouths and our hands, seeds of greatness. In a study of the mother of Moses – Jochebed, Pastor Dawn reveals some amazing things about her. She sowed many seeds of faith. They were eternal seeds of the goodness and the greatness of God being instilled in the next generation. These were seeds of trust in the faithfulness of God. By letting go and trusting God, an even greater dream was fulfilled. A wonderful example for mothers, fathers, and every one of us, of sowing into the next generation!
He has invested eternal mindsets and eternal abilities into a people who operate at a different place because of their willingness to acknowledge Him and say, “Yes, Lord” … even to the unknown. The more you step into God’s presence … The more you step into obedience … The more you step into God’s will and God’s miracle power. What you do when God asks you to, matters. God wants you to know what it feels like when He blows through you to cause others that are dry and dead and have no life in them, come alive. He wants you to experience heaven on earth. He wants eternity to come alive in and through you.
We can operate in a dimension where we can see things the way God sees them and operate in His power, in His Kingdom and His promises. Everything stems from relationship, and relationship comes from hearing God’s voice. We must think higher and realize there are higher consequences to our decisions. What we have been called to do is what we will be judged upon at the judgment day, not just what we actually do. We all have the same things to offer to the King and to build the Kingdom: Time, Talent, Energy, and Finances. What are you sowing of your time, talent, energy and finances to go after God’s presence? Do you want to operate without limits? Do you want the power of God to be with you and move through you? To enjoy the fruitfulness it will bring, it is up to ONE PERSON. That person is you. A fully surrendered person who wants to GIVE IT ALL.
We all must learn how to operate in God’s Kingdom, and learn how God’s Kingdom operates. It is normal to bear fruit. Living a lifestyle of giving and sowing releases God’s Kingdom – in you and through you. Your time, talents, energy and finances can all be sown into the Kingdom. When you are operating and sowing in full capacity, you will reap one hundred-fold – that’s full capacity. Spend time getting to know the King. Seek Him and His Kingdom first, and He will give seed to the sower, and “all these things” will be added to you!
Jesus provided forgiveness and freedom from sin. But it is up to every individual to decide who He will be to you. He will be someone you heard about and rejected, or the Jesus that you answer, as Peter did, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus came to awaken the reality inside of you that God loves you, He has given you a purpose, and Jesus’ death has qualified you to live the life God has intended for you. YOU are the “So what?” – YOU are the reason He came. Only YOU determine who He is in your life!
There is no greater expression of love than the cross. True disciples gather around Jesus and allow Him to impart to their hearts. They go into the Secret Place with the intent to carry Him out with them. We are His friends, we are His disciples, and we must let others know of this love.
In our culture, we applaud self-accomplishment, self-fulfillment. We are encouraged to fight for our rights, to get the things we deserve. The truth is that this type of selfishness living is destructive and is contrary to the ways of Biblical love. Even good and noble actions can be done in a selfish way. It is a battle against the flesh. One you can't ignore. If you choose to ignore, you have already picked a side and it is not the winning one!
Matthew 18:21-35 NIV GOD CALLS US TO FORGIVE OTHERS FREELY, JUST AS HE FORGAVE US. “Forgiveness does not excuse what they did, it only loosens your grip…” Forgiveness allows God to heal your hurts. When you forgive and release someone of their wrongdoing, it means that you are trusting God enough to deal with that other person better than you can. When we ask God to help us forgive, we find freedom from anger and bitterness. We are able to give and receive love the way that God created us to.
When we walk through hardship in life, it’s all too easy to focus on the storm instead of the Savior. God wants us to keep our eyes fixed on Him. Even when life seems scary or painful, God is still there. He is good and completely deserving of our trust. He is the only One who will not let us down. When we trust Jesus fully, we find freedom from life’s circumstances, knowing that God is seeing us, He is hearing our cries, and He has a plan to come to us. He loves us more than we can imagine.