Shake It Off

November 17, 2015

Tonight Sister Sharon gave us a powerful word from the Lord, the title of today’s lesson is “Shake It Off.” The lesson takes place from Acts 27:14-28, Acts also known as the acts of the Holy Spirit details the many accounts of the apostles’ missions to spread the gospel to an unknowing world. The background of this lesson is Paul was imprisoned, thrown in prison for preaching the gospel, an angel of the Lord tells Paul that his next mission is to bear witness in Rome. Like Paul God orders our steps according to His purpose and many times are steps ordered, headed directly to trouble.  

There will be storms in your life (Let them not be of your own making)à The Christian life is not easy it is difficult. God never promised His children roads absent of pain and suffering, no the Word of God guarantees troubling and disheartening times. The first principle to shaking off evils that threaten us is to know you will go through storms.

·      In verse 13-14, “When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island.” At the beginning of their journey the sailors start off guided by a gentle wind, but soon they encounter a terrifying, life threatening storm. Sometimes we let our rosy circumstances deceive us that it will be smooth sailing throughout our journey, let us not be ignorant.

·      John 16:33à Jesus, Son of God warns us, bad things will happen to you and a lot of it will not be caused or prompted. Christians, we do not walk around looking for trouble, many we experience pain and suffering, because the cross of Christ is like target printed on our backs. Followers of Jesus will experience persecution, and harassment just as their Savior has.

·      1 Peter 4:12-13à Other times we create our own messes in our lives. Make sure you did not start the storm, don’t cause your own trouble, don’t create your own evil in your life. When God says stop, listen and obey, because God is always out to protect you.

Paul’s Credentials

·      Paul endured a lot for the cross of Christ. Sometimes, as we weather our own storms we start believing we are going through this agony or no one has ever felt the pain, the loss, or the discouragement we ever felt. Wrong. Do not let Satan deceive you into thinking the storm came out of nowhere, the storm can cause you to believe you are alone. Sometimes you believe you are the only one who is going through your trouble when that is not the truth. Paul lists his own trials to remind us we are connected not only through Christ’s victory but also His suffering.

o   II Corinthians 11:22-27à Paul lists the troubles he has went through as a follower of Christ. Paul is fine for the cause of Christ, he admits he has been through every life threatening situations imaginable, however this does not exempt his willing to keep going.

Always know after the storm or in the midst of the storm there is deliverance.

There is Deliverance at the same time deliverance has a few catches:

·      Acts 27:31-44àBe aware sometimes we go where we do not need to be or see what we do not need to see, or do what do not need to do.

·      Psalm 107:20à You got to know the Word, the Word will help deliver you. Check your life season with the Word of God, do not take anyone’s word for it without confirming it to the Word of God. Learn the Word of God for yourself not for others, reading the Word is hearing the Word, deliverance comes from the Word. The Word of God needs to be in, so when the storm comes, the Word comes out of you and monitors and guides you. You put the word in you if you need healing, you put the word in you if you need strength.

·      Isaiah 43:1b-3aà God has named us. Our name aligns to the kingdom we are born into God is with us through this the storm. Notice it says “when” not “if” and it says, “through” not “stay” God’s desire is for us to go through the storm so that we might be victorious in His name.

·      Isaiah 59:19bà Sometimes, God raises a standard, and sometimes you’re the standard. When people see you, you are the standard, they see how you treat people, they witness your interactions with the poor, the elders, the way you carry yourself. People are attracted to you because something is different in you, because they see the spirit of God in them. Enjoy being different, understand you are a standard not because your perfect, but because you are redeemed by Christ. Sometimes your standard the way God uses you is a conviction unto the lifestyle of a person.

o   When you start living for the Lord then you’ll find people begin to start dropping off of your life.

·      Acts 27:44à Sometimes it is a struggle for the deliverance, sometimes we are delivered as “broken pieces” and not as wholesome as we want.

There is a refuge (shelter) in a time of storm

·      Acts 28:1à Paul knew he had to go to Rome because the Lord God told him. Paul held on to what God says, he knew he wasn’t going to die, and stayed focused on what the Lord told Him, not what the soldiers were doing. The soldiers were tempted to remove the prisoners from the boat to lighten the load, but Paul did not allow that. He told them to throw barrels and crates, because Paul understood we carry weights with us that are not exactly sins. Everything is not sin but some things are a weight for you. Let it go because it is slowing your progress down.

·      Acts 28:1-5àOnce safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. God provided an island where they could rest and be safe from the storm. God did not magically transport them to Rome but He gave them a safe haven in the midst of the storm. There, Paul was bitten by a “viper” a poisonous snake, instead of panicking Paul simply shook the snake off into the fire, believing God’s Word over the words and talk that he was going to die by the natives.

o   Like Paul our response should be the same. Shake off the snake in your life, don’t let the venom effect, don’t let the talk of naysayers and doubters keep you from doing what God has told you to do. Place your faith God, Paul is the perfect example. He was imprisoned, almost drowned from a storm, and bitten by a poisonous snake and throughout all of this. His eyes did not leave the goal God had for him. Shake the snakes off, send the snake Satan sent to destroy you, right back to Hell. Toss it into the fire.

These are the different types of snakes you will encounter in your life:

·      Pythons, boa: Slow squeeze, slow painful death (depression, rejection, different spirits designed slowly to choke the life, the joy out of you)

·      Vipers, Venomous Snakes: these snakes send poison to kill you internally

o   Neurotoxicàparalyzes, stops you dead in your tracks (fear, anger, loss, events in your life that causes you to freeze)

o   Hemotoxicàinternal bleeding, destroys tissue and they eat you alive (destroys inner life, relationship, habit or person is poisonous)

§  Some snakes make you weak, attacks you, vulnerable

The snakes are coming! You must shake it off into the fire and send it to Hell where it belongs.

Last but not least

Don’t believe your own press!

Proverbs 27:2à Compliments are not a bad thing. We all need encouragement one day or another. It is okay for someone to compliment you and it is okay for you to receive a compliment.

What is NOT okay is accepting or receiving the glory of God

Acts 14:20-24à Be quick and cutthroat to stop any praise you receive that cause people to look at you more than what you are: as a servant of God. Herod was foolish, he claimed he was God and God struck him down, killing him instantly. A guaranteed way to piss off God is to try to take His glory from Him.

Matthew 5:16: We let our light shine so people can see God. Our storms, trials, tribulations, troubles prune us, they mold and shape us into the men and women of God we are meant to be. Though deliverance is imminent or sometimes faraway, the end result is for us to be shinning examples of God’s workmanship, so that all people can see what God has done in our lives. Remember your trial is not for you, it is so others can be drawn to Christ.  

Sister Sharon’s Book Recommendation: Jentzen Franklin’s “The Spirit of Python”

            She encourages believers to buy this book to learn the schemes and attacks of the devil.

Have you ever been through a storm that seems to never end? What snakes have you encountered in your life?

Comment Below!

Godly Relationships

Godly Relationships

November 10, 2015

Tonight Deacon Lance gives the members of Just for Christ, a powerful word of from the Lord. Deacon Lance’s specialty in relationships and young people has given the members wisdom about how to handle saved and unsaved relationships with people. Deacon Lance takes us to the key principle, any relationship with people, must be second to your relationship with God.

1.     Relationship with God.

a.     Relationship with God is the prime focus of our lives. It is our relationship to God thriving or dying that influences our interactions with everyone else. God is the reason we live we live because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross without Christ we are nothing. Your relationship to God should have three characteristics:

·      (Personal)à1 Peter 5:6-7: Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. This verse emphasizes God’s personal concern for our wellbeing. God is the only God at the same time He overflows with love for us. Our relationship to God needs to be established on His love for us. He cares about the aspects of our lives, we cannot have a relationship with God for others, we must build and construct our own relationship with God.

·      (Intimate)àRomans 5:8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God was intentional about His love toward us. He commanded, he directed, he put forth His loved toward us. When we were sinners, we did not understand we needed God’s love and yet God overlooked our sinful condition to sacrifice His for us. Real love is action, and God acted upon His love. He did not leave us but He saved us. This is intimacy, a deep life changing love of holy proportions.

·      (Consistent)àHebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is consistent in His love toward us. His love is unwavering, never changing, and like our God we should be building our commitment to Him. God is going to meet us where we are.

2.     Relationships with friends and family.

a.     Family and friends’ relations should be influenced by our relationship with God. They should see God working in us and changing us.

           

·      (Exemplify)à Ephesians 5:1: Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. To be an example of Christ, be an example of our relationship with God. The act of forgiveness is ongoing we work to forgive, God has the power to forgive and it is over. As imitators of God we need to imitate His character. Exemplify, meet the standard of God’s requirements in His written Word people cannot see Jesus if our sin and old habits are blocking His work.

·      (Forgiving)à1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Forgiveness is difficult especially when the trauma runs deep. However, if God has a forgiving heart, and His Spirit dwells in us then we have the same power to forgive those who have done evil against us. This world thrives on bitterness and cold hearts turning to stone, how much more can we show Christ when people see how we forgive those who don’t deserve mercy. Because we did not deserve mercy from God and yet He still loved us and forgave us. Let us be quick to forgive others and remember it is an ongoing process, a conscious effort to forgive someone.

·      (Reconciled)à2 Cor 5:18-21: Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Broken families, broken friendships are all around us. Godly relationships are born when reconciliation occurs, reconciliation is bridging or reestablishing a connection that was lost or severed. A working relationship with God will soon evolve to a working and recovering relationship with others. It is unlikely God wants to live and dwell with friends and family who are broken and damaged. Let God use you as an ambassador of His unconditional, love, mercy and grace.

3.     Relationship with others

There is a difference between being a friend and being friendly. We must be careful not to call everyone a friend.  2 Corinthians 6:14àDo not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? We cannot be unequally yoked. We cannot be friends with people who have different desires than us. Stay clear of unequally yoked friendships because we can start being influenced by the wrong forces. Sometimes we are put in people’s lives as only being an example unto a person and not a friend.

James 4:4àAdulterers and[a] adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

·      How are we being influenced? Our relationship with God, would we rather put into our relationship with the world versus the Creator of our souls?

·      As a Christian you have a responsibility to your transformation and for others to seeing or witnessing your transformation. It is not Christian behavior to hide yourself and align yourself with the Word of God. People will see how your walk was different to theirs, people will witness how your walk is different from their lifestyle.

·      “We don’t always choose God, sometimes we choose the worst.” John 15:5à “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” We should look at our friendships with the same kind of intimacy and connection. Time and experience builds friendship, it is putting in hard work, and it is being around people who are like minded and of the same spirit. We need to examine our friends through our unconditional love lens that come from God.

o   Sometimes we have to be taught to be a friend to someone. We must have perquisites to our friends when we need to recognize not everyone is perfect.

o   You can only be who you are as a friend. Let us look at how God looks at us and at how God sees us covered and perfected in the love of God. So if Jesus called us friend, then we know we are a friend. In order to be a friend we must go to God to be a friend. We can’t afraid to be checked by our friend.

Hints and Tips for Possible Spouses Always remain God Centered

2 Timothy 2:22: Make a conscious decision to flee our lusts, you made a conscious decision to follow your fleshly impulses and lust. You need to be intentional about putting your lust to death. Make a conscious decision to flee. Leave your youthful lust. God has given us a desire for passion and intimacy, youthful lust is immature and not birthed yet. It is premature. Flee from those premature infatuations. But follow righteousness, flee means take the escape, flee when it is early, do not give Satan or sin a foothold.

If you are dating or seeking a courtship, remember having God centered relationships with prospects and others, conscious decisions, can be stable if these relationships are a commitment to make it God centered.

o   2 Cor 6:14-15à Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

o   If your prospect is unsaved or not living the life they profess then don’t be afraid to call it what it is: a red flag.

o   Set your expectations before hand. Keep in mind you have to find and learn about your spouse. What are their dreams, their ambitions? What are their likes, their pet peeves, what troubles did they have to overcome?

o   Keep in mind, you should be growing and striving to take the steps to become husband or wife ready. Know where you are, make conscious decisions. Know where this person stands.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5àFor this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

o   Singlehood is not a wilderness it is a delight. Learn to be by yourself, learn to discipline yourself accordingly before you accept the union of marriage. Many marriages unravel because the spouses before have not mastered themselves, their own lustful desires and passions before they married.

Proverbs 4:23à Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Guard your heart. We have to protect our hearts. We have to watch what we let in, because what is inside of us will soon control us. Guard our hearts is around the clock task, it is the vigilance to stay away from people or things who are poisonous and it is our responsibility to invest in positive relationships. Guarding your heart also means to not trust anyone to soon wait until the Holy Spirit tells you it is okay to invest or build a relationship with someone.

Tonight was an ah-mazing message from Deacon Lance! So many questions were answered and the biggest need we all have will always be filled. None of us will be alone, God’s love fills our insatiable appetite and He is always ready to provide a solid foundation, for you, single or not.

How do you feel about having relationships or friendships with unsaved friends? What is your perspective about the single life?

Comment below!