STAYING THE COURSE pt 5
The Wrap
II Timothy 4:7 NKJV “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
I Timothy 1:18-19 NKJV “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,”
Our “OVERALL FAITH” can take a knock and even become “SHIPWRECKED” if we aren’t aware of “OUR ROLE” in living the life of a “Disciple”
Disciple: someone who follows Jesus with the intention of becoming.
It’s good sometimes just to stop and remind ourselves that we serve the “Living God” not a GOD!
– He caused a 90 year barren couple to have a child.
– He drowned the whole Egyptian army to protect His people.
– He brought down the walls of Jericho with a blow of trumped and a loud shout.
– He stopped the SUN (time)
It was His only SON JESUS who said with man this impossible but with GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! Having FAITH means you live with a conviction and not from preference.
This world will TEST our resolve in this regard, but remember we gave God control of our lives and that means He is in CONTROL AND THE WORD IS OUR GUIDE.
We will be confronted with the fiery furnace of life and God doesn’t always deliver us from the fire, because it’s sometimes in the FIRE that you have the JOY OF ENCOUNTERING JESUS!
Daniel 3:16-18 NKJV “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.””
Week 01
-What wall is your ladder on.
Week 02
-Finish First
Week 03
-A heart for God
Week 04
– Keep the Faith
Jeremiah 17:5-8 NKJV “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. “For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. “For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
Week 01-What wall is your ladder on.
Defining true success in running your race!
Without Jesus, we cannot & without us, He will not!
John 15:5 NKJV ““I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
In more than 3 decades of ministry, I have learned that: Without Him, we cannot. Without us, He will not.
What this means is that we need to recognize the fact that if we do not depend on Jesus, there can be no real, long-lasting and abiding transformation or success—without Him, we cannot.
The Bible clearly tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain (Ps. 127:1).
Believers who want to experience His success need to recognize this truth and begin to depend on Jesus and Jesus alone.
There are some believers who may not articulate it, but in their hearts, they believe that without Jesus, they can still succeed.
By believing and acting on this, they fall from the high place of God’s grace (His unmerited favor) back into the law, back into trying to merit and deserve success by their own efforts.
God’s Word tells us;
Galatians 5:4 NLT “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace [unmerited favor]”
These are strong words of warning. Once you start depending on your own merits and efforts to deserve God’s favor, you are back under the system of the law.
You are cut off from Christ and have fallen from the place of having His unmerited favor work in your life.
Don’t misunderstand me, Jesus is still with you (He will never leave you nor forsake you [Heb. 13:5]), but by depending on your self-efforts, you effectively cut off His unmerited favor in your life.
So what do I mean when I say: “Without us, He will not”?
– Well, Jesus is a gentleman. He will not force His unmerited favor and success down your throat.
– He needs you to allow Him to work in your life.
– He waits patiently for you to trust Him. He waits patiently for you to depend on His unmerited favor, the way Joseph trusted and depended wholly on the Lord’s presence, until His manifested presence took over, and His glory radiated from everything that Joseph touched.
FAMILY, remember without Jesus, we cannot succeed, and if we choose not to respond to His unmerited favor, He will not force it on us. God’s unmerited favor is ever-flowing toward us and Jesus is waiting for us to come to the end of ourselves.
Week 02-Finish First
Because we are looking to Jesus, doesn’t mean we stop doing everything, it’s an inward decision of FAITH, to look to the Lord and not our own strength!
Don’t Believe God to come 2nd, run your race to WIN!
Your failure can literally be the catalyst for your best success & He is waiting for you to stop struggling in your own attempts and depend on Him.
So in the areas that you are still depending on your own efforts to succeed, start trusting and resting in Jesus’
Week 03-A heart for God
When you cultivate a heart for God, you allow Him to rule that space and He His GRACE and VICTORY can reign there!
1 Corinthians 2:9 AMPC “But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. [Isa. 64:4; 65:17.]”
God’s dream for your life is so much bigger than your own. What He has in your future is going to boggle your mind. You can’t imagine the places He’s going to take you, the people you’re going to meet, the levels you’re going to reach. Today’s Scripture says that if you think you’ve reached your limits, you better think again. God is about to take you into overflow, into abundance, into more than enough. Whatever level you’re at, get ready, another level is coming. What you haven’t seen or imagined is on the way.
Circumstances may be against you, but the Most High God is for you. He’s working behind the scenes. Things are happening that you can’t see. Keep being faithful. Keep doing the right thing. Keep going to work with a good attitude. God is your source. I can assure you He’s keeping the records. Your time is coming. It’s God taking pleasure in prospering you. It’s God shining His favor on you.
A Prayer for Today “Father, thank You that You take pleasure in providing for my prosperity and health and well-being. Thank You that You are the Most High God, and that Your dream for my life is much bigger than my own. I will keep doing the right thing and being faithful. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Week 04- Keep the Faith
When your Faith is shipwrecked you LOSE VISION & find yourself in Emotional bondage!
Because your thoughts are negative and you are controlled by FEAR!
SO Let’s travail in prayer toward that end. Amen! Then the end!
- THE Lord has been preparing His Church for this moment.
- He awakened our hearts with a desire to understand the great commission and to put it into practice diligently, strategically and efficiently, because then we are been useful in the work of God.
- Scientists have proven that what a person manages to see in their mind will be perceived even by their nervous system as if it were a reality.
- If your vision is not clear, something is not right in your faith. WHAT IS THIS VISION WE ARE MOVING IN: Every Believer a Trained Leader and Every Leader a Soul Winner & Disciple Maker!
- Maybe fear or doubt or even traumatic memories or some argument that you have not yet cancelled, that the adversary is still using against you.
- Growth comes as a result of what you have conceived in the secret place of prayer, what you have seen with your eyes of faith and confessed with your lips.
- Growth first happens on the inside, as we believe in our heart that it is a reality; then God does the rest.
- VISUALISE THE GROWTH OF YOUR OWN MINISTRY BEFORE THE LORD, THAT WHICH PERTAINS TO YOUR OWN LIFE, FAMILY, WORK AND DISCIPLES!
Genesis 15:5-6 NKJV “Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
Abraham was not slow in taking hold of the promise; every night he would gaze at the stars, imagining how his descendants would be. This exercise fed his faith until God fulfilled His promise.
As these images flooded his mind, it was easier to confess them with his mouth.
- PAINT THE PICTURE IN YOUR MIND OF WINNING IN THESE 4 AREAS:
- Success is serving JESUS and winning others.
- Finish first in your race.
- Having a heart for God
- Keeping the FAITH!
Hebrews 11:1-2 NKJV “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.”
- God will bring life to the pictures that we paint in our minds.
- Whatever you want to conquer in the natural realm should first be visualised in the spiritual realm.
- As you do this, you will receive the assurance that the miracle is already conquered.
II Corinthians 4:17-18 NKJV “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
- Visualise your ministry, that which God will use to make this world better and bring revival.
- Have very clear images in your mind.
- Invest time alone with God, because in the intimacy of Prayer, the images you receive in your mind will increase in importance.
- Include all your sphere of influence (disciples, family, husband, children) in the vision and help them also become visionaries.
THATS CALLED moving out and “Keeping the Faith” and your Words become charged with the Anointing and carry the POWER OF GOD…
Your words carry tremendous power and not only action your Faith but keep your SOUL healthy! AND that’s what God will anoint as you speak to others and it will bring healing, peace and an overcoming faith into there lives! Let’s not be judgemental because people have allowed negative thoughts and the lies of the enemy to take root, let’s pray for them and minister to them so JESUS can bring them out of there BONDAGE
Ask the Holy Spirit to help us see the potential in others as we flow with Him to help others.
Acts 4:29-31 NKJV “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
You are a world changer or You are a history maker
I Timothy 1:18-19 NKJV “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,”
Our “OVERALL FAITH” can take a knock and even become “SHIPWRECKED” if we aren’t aware of “OUR ROLE” in living the life of a “Disciple”
Disciple: someone who follows Jesus with the intention of becoming.
It’s good sometimes just to stop and remind ourselves that we serve the “Living God” not a GOD!
– He caused a 90 year barren couple to have a child.
– He drowned the whole Egyptian army to protect His people.
– He brought down the walls of Jericho with a blow of trumped and a loud shout.
– He stopped the SUN (time)
It was His only SON JESUS who said with man this impossible but with GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! Having FAITH means you live with a conviction and not from preference.
This world will TEST our resolve in this regard, but remember we gave God control of our lives and that means He is in CONTROL AND THE WORD IS OUR GUIDE.
We will be confronted with the fiery furnace of life and God doesn’t always deliver us from the fire, because it’s sometimes in the FIRE that you have the JOY OF ENCOUNTERING JESUS!
Daniel 3:16-18 NKJV “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.””
Week 01
-What wall is your ladder on.
Week 02
-Finish First
Week 03
-A heart for God
Week 04
– Keep the Faith
Jeremiah 17:5-8 NKJV “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. “For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. “For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
Week 01-What wall is your ladder on.
Defining true success in running your race!
Without Jesus, we cannot & without us, He will not!
John 15:5 NKJV ““I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
In more than 3 decades of ministry, I have learned that: Without Him, we cannot. Without us, He will not.
What this means is that we need to recognize the fact that if we do not depend on Jesus, there can be no real, long-lasting and abiding transformation or success—without Him, we cannot.
The Bible clearly tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain (Ps. 127:1).
Believers who want to experience His success need to recognize this truth and begin to depend on Jesus and Jesus alone.
There are some believers who may not articulate it, but in their hearts, they believe that without Jesus, they can still succeed.
By believing and acting on this, they fall from the high place of God’s grace (His unmerited favor) back into the law, back into trying to merit and deserve success by their own efforts.
God’s Word tells us;
Galatians 5:4 NLT “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace [unmerited favor]”
These are strong words of warning. Once you start depending on your own merits and efforts to deserve God’s favor, you are back under the system of the law.
You are cut off from Christ and have fallen from the place of having His unmerited favor work in your life.
Don’t misunderstand me, Jesus is still with you (He will never leave you nor forsake you [Heb. 13:5]), but by depending on your self-efforts, you effectively cut off His unmerited favor in your life.
So what do I mean when I say: “Without us, He will not”?
– Well, Jesus is a gentleman. He will not force His unmerited favor and success down your throat.
– He needs you to allow Him to work in your life.
– He waits patiently for you to trust Him. He waits patiently for you to depend on His unmerited favor, the way Joseph trusted and depended wholly on the Lord’s presence, until His manifested presence took over, and His glory radiated from everything that Joseph touched.
FAMILY, remember without Jesus, we cannot succeed, and if we choose not to respond to His unmerited favor, He will not force it on us. God’s unmerited favor is ever-flowing toward us and Jesus is waiting for us to come to the end of ourselves.
Week 02-Finish First
Because we are looking to Jesus, doesn’t mean we stop doing everything, it’s an inward decision of FAITH, to look to the Lord and not our own strength!
Don’t Believe God to come 2nd, run your race to WIN!
Your failure can literally be the catalyst for your best success & He is waiting for you to stop struggling in your own attempts and depend on Him.
So in the areas that you are still depending on your own efforts to succeed, start trusting and resting in Jesus’
Week 03-A heart for God
When you cultivate a heart for God, you allow Him to rule that space and He His GRACE and VICTORY can reign there!
1 Corinthians 2:9 AMPC “But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. [Isa. 64:4; 65:17.]”
God’s dream for your life is so much bigger than your own. What He has in your future is going to boggle your mind. You can’t imagine the places He’s going to take you, the people you’re going to meet, the levels you’re going to reach. Today’s Scripture says that if you think you’ve reached your limits, you better think again. God is about to take you into overflow, into abundance, into more than enough. Whatever level you’re at, get ready, another level is coming. What you haven’t seen or imagined is on the way.
Circumstances may be against you, but the Most High God is for you. He’s working behind the scenes. Things are happening that you can’t see. Keep being faithful. Keep doing the right thing. Keep going to work with a good attitude. God is your source. I can assure you He’s keeping the records. Your time is coming. It’s God taking pleasure in prospering you. It’s God shining His favor on you.
A Prayer for Today “Father, thank You that You take pleasure in providing for my prosperity and health and well-being. Thank You that You are the Most High God, and that Your dream for my life is much bigger than my own. I will keep doing the right thing and being faithful. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Week 04- Keep the Faith
When your Faith is shipwrecked you LOSE VISION & find yourself in Emotional bondage!
Because your thoughts are negative and you are controlled by FEAR!
SO Let’s travail in prayer toward that end. Amen! Then the end!
- THE Lord has been preparing His Church for this moment.
- He awakened our hearts with a desire to understand the great commission and to put it into practice diligently, strategically and efficiently, because then we are been useful in the work of God.
- Scientists have proven that what a person manages to see in their mind will be perceived even by their nervous system as if it were a reality.
- If your vision is not clear, something is not right in your faith. WHAT IS THIS VISION WE ARE MOVING IN: Every Believer a Trained Leader and Every Leader a Soul Winner & Disciple Maker!
- Maybe fear or doubt or even traumatic memories or some argument that you have not yet cancelled, that the adversary is still using against you.
- Growth comes as a result of what you have conceived in the secret place of prayer, what you have seen with your eyes of faith and confessed with your lips.
- Growth first happens on the inside, as we believe in our heart that it is a reality; then God does the rest.
- VISUALISE THE GROWTH OF YOUR OWN MINISTRY BEFORE THE LORD, THAT WHICH PERTAINS TO YOUR OWN LIFE, FAMILY, WORK AND DISCIPLES!
Genesis 15:5-6 NKJV “Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
Abraham was not slow in taking hold of the promise; every night he would gaze at the stars, imagining how his descendants would be. This exercise fed his faith until God fulfilled His promise.
As these images flooded his mind, it was easier to confess them with his mouth.
- PAINT THE PICTURE IN YOUR MIND OF WINNING IN THESE 4 AREAS:
- Success is serving JESUS and winning others.
- Finish first in your race.
- Having a heart for God
- Keeping the FAITH!
Hebrews 11:1-2 NKJV “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.”
- God will bring life to the pictures that we paint in our minds.
- Whatever you want to conquer in the natural realm should first be visualised in the spiritual realm.
- As you do this, you will receive the assurance that the miracle is already conquered.
II Corinthians 4:17-18 NKJV “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
- Visualise your ministry, that which God will use to make this world better and bring revival.
- Have very clear images in your mind.
- Invest time alone with God, because in the intimacy of Prayer, the images you receive in your mind will increase in importance.
- Include all your sphere of influence (disciples, family, husband, children) in the vision and help them also become visionaries.
THATS CALLED moving out and “Keeping the Faith” and your Words become charged with the Anointing and carry the POWER OF GOD…
Your words carry tremendous power and not only action your Faith but keep your SOUL healthy! AND that’s what God will anoint as you speak to others and it will bring healing, peace and an overcoming faith into there lives! Let’s not be judgemental because people have allowed negative thoughts and the lies of the enemy to take root, let’s pray for them and minister to them so JESUS can bring them out of there BONDAGE
Ask the Holy Spirit to help us see the potential in others as we flow with Him to help others.
Acts 4:29-31 NKJV “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
You are a world changer or You are a history maker
