Evolution to Revolution Part V, “Just when i needed him the most” Sermon 12/12/10

Evolution to Revolution Part V

Just when I needed him the most

Synopsis of Sermon 12/12/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

The Psalms as you know is a collection of songs. These Psalms were sung at particular times in Israel’s history. Psalm 30 was believed to be sung at the dedication of the house of David. David was the author of many of the Psalms if not all of them. Psalms 30 is a powerful Psalms that deals with the persistent and perpetual praise of one who experienced great calamity, but prayed through it. It tells about how God heard his prayer and brought them to a place of deliverance. You will discover in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 20 that a plaque went forth among the people and thousands were dying each day. David, who was gravely ill, prayed for God to remove this plaque and as a result of David’s prayer, God did remove this plaque. Never under estimate the power of an anointed vessel who talks to God, because no matter what the situation, an anointed vessel of God can get a prayer through. God not only hears prayer, but he answers prayer. David in a near death experience got a word from God and that word was that God was about to do something in his life. God was going to use David’s testimony to encourage people who had allowed their spirits to fall and fall prey to what they were going through. God was going to use David to encourage them to praise God knowing that God is always up to something.

Here is David who was one step from the grave and God saved him. Have you been one step away from something? Have you been just one grade away from flunking, or one step away from being homeless, or one decision away from losing it all, and God just showed up and rescued you?

I.                   God rescued you

1.     Isn’t God an amazing God? Some situations will get so bad and you will wonder if God is going to show up this time. God shows up just when you need him the most. While God is showing up, he is moving; he is doing something in our lives. The thing we love most about this is God shares with David that he is providing for him in the midst of his persecution. While your situation is acute and while you are going through it, God is providing for you. He is taking care of you during your trouble.

2.      David says if no one else will do this (speak well of God), I will do it by myself. Psalm 30:1 ¹I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. – God had made it so the ones that wanted to rejoice over David, could not.

3.     David was in a bad place, but he still declares that he would extol thee. Psalm 30:2 says ²O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. – God has to have somebody that will praise him where everyone else is pouting. When everything around you says you ought to give up, God just needs one person that will say, “Lord I will extol thee; I will be the one that speaks well of your name”.

4.     All of us have some sicknesses. Some people are sick physically, some are sick spiritually, some emotionally, some domestically, and some financially, but we know a doctor who specializes in sick situations.

5.     David said he had people around him that were waiting on him to die. Everyone one around you are not around you to celebrate you. Some of them are waiting for you to fall, so they can step in your spot. They don’t know we are anointed for this. God will hold your spot, until you get back. David says he is going to reposition himself. You can’t allow what others are doing to you to dictate how you are going to live. You got to go through your life declaring that no matter what happens, you will not engage yourself with misery, because misery loves company. David said he didn’t focus on what was happening around him, he focused on who was working on his behalf. Rather than keeping it low, he kept it high. David didn’t talk to people around him, he talked to the Lord. You can’t tell everyone what you are going through, because people you think are cool with you will turn around and use it against you. Don’t deal with them, go right to God.

II.                God heard him and healed him

1. Healed does not mean that he takes the malady away. God can heal us in the midst of the situation, before he lifts us out of the situation. What God is saying is he has to heal the scars first. Some of you got out of the relationship, but you are not healed from it. Ex- We know you are not healed, because you still allow the person to run your blood pressure up every time you see them. You need to be able to thank them, because they increased your prayer life. Thank them because if it wasn’t for them, you wouldn’t know God like you do.

2.     David says he rejoices. – Psalm 30:1b … and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. –In other words, God didn’t allow David’s enemies to rejoice over him falling. Folk will arise against you, but no weapons formed against you, will prosper. The Lord said fret not thou self of evildoers, neither be envious of the workers of iniquity, because they will soon be cut down like grass. You got people smiling in your face and all the time trying to take place. The bible says when the enemies try to eat of your flesh, they will stumble and fall.

3.     God might not heal you in the situation. God sometimes will let your situation get so bad, your friends can’t get you out, your money can’t get you out, and your degree can’t get you out. He will do this just to let you know where your deliverance came from. Now you don’t need anyone to tell you that God is a deliver. Grandmother would say he might not come when you want him, but always on time!

III.             God provides for us in our persecution

1.      He has preserved us according to his plan for our life. God is up to something. This blows the enemies mind. Psalm 30:3-4 says ³O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁴Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. – Our soul is our mental state.

2.     It is about the nature of God. Based on what we’ve been through, we found ourselves slipping back into the grave. You can be out of a situation, but your spirit can still be in it. God says he has to rescue us (our soul) from the grave.

3.     God rescued us. The infinite God comes down and prevents what the enemy was trying to do for our life from prevailing. God rescues us! You have to have gone through stuff to appreciate this next point.

4.     He kept me alive. Why did he keep us alive? It was so we wouldn’t go back down into the pit. We were at a mental place, about to slip, one step from losing it all, and God kept us alive. God says his mind is not going (to the grave). If your mind is not going then your body ain’t going there. You don’t have to let yourself slip down, because you are alive for a reason. We think being alive is something God owes us. We know you thank God for house and the car and the college tuition and the clothes, but sometimes you ought to thank God that you are alive. When you remember what God has done, it is easier to thank him for being alive.

5.     We remember his Holiness- Psalm 30: 4b says … and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. To say God is holy is to speak of who God is in your life. It is based on intimate encounters with God and a conclusive understanding of who God is to the recipient. If you pay attention to Revelation 4, those around the throne just cry “Holy Holy Holy” all day long. In Isaiah 6, he says he saw the Lord high and lifted up and his train filled the temple and when he got down to the seraphim’s around the throne, they were crying “Holy, Holy, Holy”, because they were in a place of intimate relational encounter. When you get to this place, you know that God’s holiness is not tied to our happiness, but it is tied to his sovereignty. As a result we can declare that God is holy, no matter how this situation turns out. We give God the glory no matter what happens in our life, because he is sovereign. Often our response is based on God doing something we are happy about, but what if God does something we aren’t happy about? God is still holy. He wouldn’t t take us through what he did, if we didn’t have a plan for our life.

6.     Some people have to be in ICU, critical condition, the family around the bed, and the Bishop coming in to pray, before thye will come in a say “Thank you Lord I am alive.” Some will have to have a real bad accident before they say, “Thank you I am alive.” There are others that wake up and say, “Thank you I am alive!”

7.     His anger is just for moment. Psalm 30:5a says ⁵For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life :..  There is a reason this plague happened in Israel. It was because of disobedience. God does get angry, but we thank God he doesn’t get angry like you and I. God doesn’t hold a grudge. Grace doesn’t hold a grudge. Though he gets angry, he is always pulling from us. He whips you with one hand and keeping you from falling with the other hand. You ought to thank God that his favor is life. God could have killed you or let you go, but God gave us life. God came to give us life and give it more abundantly. We are alive. We don’t come to church DOA, we are alive. In a the next point, God will check your pulse.

IV.              God has promised that my pain is not permanent

Psalm 30:5b says … weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

1.     Your pain is not permanent. If God’s anger is temporary, his pain is temporary. It is about the nature of God. Look at God’s nature. When God made the world, he asked the moon to work the night shift and sun to work the day shift. The moon doesn’t have its own light. It reflects the light of the sun, so the light in the night, is the reflection of the sun. We know it is dark in your life, but we are setting next to you to reflect the son (Jesus). There is light when we get around you. There is revelation when we get around you.

2.     Your tears have term limits. Joy comes in the morning. Morning is not when the sun comes out. It doesn’t’ matter what it looks like, at 12:01am, it is morning time. It can still be dark outside, but 12:01am is morning. Why do you think Jesus got up early on the 3^rd day, he didn’t wait until 6am. Morning comes when you receive revelation of God in your situation. It is not based on happiness. Joy is based on revelation. When you get a bad report from the doctor, know that by his stripes, you are healed. We got a revelation. When I get revelation, joy comes in your situation. Cry your last tear, because joy has come. God says when he shows us up, he shows up just when we need him most. Ask the Hebrew boys, or Daniel, or Jeremiah, or Job, won’t he show up in the nick of time. Ask Lazarus, or ask Peter, Paul, and Silas at midnight, won’t he show up in the nick of time. We know it might be rough or dark in your life, but God says hold on, help is on the way! Weeping may endure in the night, but Joy has come this morning. It is morning time! After all we been through, we still have joy. Psalm 30:11- 12 says ¹¹Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; ¹²To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. Everything silent must be dead, but let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. – Since he is going to show up, you better not give up.

Evolution to Revolution Part IV, “Do your part” Sermon 12/05/10

Evolution to Revolution Part IV

Do your part

Synopsis of Sermon 12/5/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Text: 2 Tim 2:1-6

 

Each one of us must recognize that regardless of what happens in our lives, our witness is at stake. People want to know how people of God respond to crisis. People want to see how we get through things that we tell them they can make it through. How we handle challenges literally impacts the lives of others, because we represent Jesus Christ in the world. This is why everyone needs people in their lives that can coach you spiritually. Everyone one needs a spiritual mentor. We need people in our lives that can speak life to us. You need people that will help you to move forward in tough times. Paul is the mentor here in this text and he prepares Timothy for the challenges that lie ahead. Paul is seasoned and has experience many things in his Ministry and his life and he gives Timothy this impartation or this word about personal accountability and spiritual responsibility. You can’t ask God to do what you want him to do, if you are not willing to do your part. We must do all we can do and then God will do what we can’t do. There must be a corresponding action where faith is applied. Many people have faith, but they don’t have a corresponding action that is lived out in the human experience. We have to say God, “We trust you and believe you, but I am doing my part.” We have to be to the point where we have exhausted our resources, so when God does move, we know that we have been responsible and accountable. There is a promise on your life. God wants to do great things in and through us. There is word, worship, praise, and prayer in us. We have to get to a point where we declare, “Lord let me do my part.” God wants to see that you do your part, so he can see your spiritual accountability.

 

Usually through this type of sermon, you don’t get many “amen’s”, because we just want the blessing to fall out of the sky. We need to know that before getting our blessing, there is something me and you must do.

I. It is about being a strong soldier

1.     You are engaged in warfare. 2 Timothy 2:1-3 says ¹Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. ³Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. -What we must recognize is there is a reality of warfare. There is a war going on. The devil is after your destiny. None of us will be surprised that the devil is after you, because of who you are and what you are trying to do. Now that when you recognize that you are in warfare, you don’t have time to play games, because you realize you are in a war.

2.     In war we must have:

A.    The Right weapons -We don’t try to out curse the devil or out do the devil, because we realize that our weapons are not carnal. A person that knows how to pray in the Holy Ghost or recall the word knows how to fight.

B.    We are a repeat winner. In verse 2 Paul says do the things you have seen. Paul is teaching Timothy, because he is standing there as a winner. We might have a setback, but we are repeat winners. We give God glory, because in the end we will win.

C.    Every soldier must know the importance of perseverance. Real soldiers are prepared for the battle. Lots of people end up in battle fatigued and wanting to throw their hands up, but we must hang in there. Get have to get like Paul and say we will let nothing separate us from the love of God… Ex- We won’t let joblessness or separation, make us give up. Some people are still here, because they recognize who they are. They are soldiers.

3.     Endure hardness as a good soldier. Stop whining about it, stop tripping over it, recognize that every day you wake up, this is warfare. Remember that you are a soldier in this warfare and you must do your duty. Stop going AWAL and do what God told you to do!

II. You got to strive spiritually

2 Timothy 2:4-5 says ⁴No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.⁵And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

1.       This is powerful. Paul is saying we got to learn to fight faithful. As a soldier, don’t let the devil make you deviate from where you are. We have to be who we are regardless to what we go through. Just because we go through a low season doesn’t mean we have to be low down. We have to maintain our integrity no matter what goes on around us. You might ask why God has put you where you are (where you end up being the only saved people on the job? God is trying to show you how to strive and survive spiritually.

2.       Characteristics of a soldier:

A.    Don’t get tangled in a carnal mess. There is a season among us. For many this is just confirmation because we feel a strong urge to change. You are tired of dipping and sipping and playing games. When you look at what you go through and the magnitude of the attacks on your life, you realize that you don’t have time to sit around people who are not spiritual. The warfare is so powerful; you don’t need non spiritual people around you. You don’t need those who just coming to church to see who is here. You need people who are trying to absorb God’s word like you are. There are some of you that know you have to cut people off and those people haven’t got the memo yet. You are done playing foolish games. We are going through too much not to be spiritual.

B.    We live by principles. Verse 5 teaches that each of us is aiming towards a goal. You are after something and we are in spiritual warfare to get it. The enemy says us that we going through so much, so deviate from your plan. If you do it the right way, right will always come back to you. You will not be crowned unless you do it lawfully (not scheming, not cut throat, or unrighteous). There must be continuity between confession and practice. People know how to perform in church, but won’t speak to you in the parking lot. Paul says whatever you going to do, do it right. If you going to preaching, preach right. If you are going to shout, shout right! It is not how high you jump when you shout. It is about how straight you walk when you come back down. If you do it the right way, your will be crowned. There is no short cut to doing it God’s way. Anything that comes to you too soon, you better be careful of it. Ex-There was a man at an intersection. The police had been following and observing him. When the light changed to green he was passing through and somebody sped up in front of him and cut over in front of him. The problem was after all that, they were driving slower than this man. This man who was at the light, let his window down and gave the car in front of him “the finger” and he used vulgarity. It was a classic example of road rage. The police pulled this man over. The man was concerned when the officer approached the car. The officer took his registration. The man who was at the light asked the officer what he had done wrong? The officer says you bumper stickers say Jesus is my copilot, one says Jesus saves, and another says WWJD (what would Jesus do?). The officer said he pulled over for suspicion of stolen car. The officer said after observing his actions, “This can’t be your car.”

III. This is a sower’s season

2 Timothy 2:6 says ⁶The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.

1.     The one who labors and gives of themselves is who God wants to be planters. God doesn’t put it in us without wanting to see us plant and multiply. Many of us receive gifts from God, but we never plant anything. Some gifts were put in you to bless others. Sometimes God will take you through a situation just to see how good a steward you will be.

2.     Many of us have developed such a stingy spirit; it upsets us to read this sermon. The person labors and gives of their time are the first partakers of the fruit. When you are anointed you don’t mind planting. We sow and give at another level, because we realize that we have to do our part. We are the first partakers of the fruit. You have the right to receive, because you have sown.

3.     This is the season of the sower. People who have sown, is about to receive a blessing that they can’t phantom. God says your best days are ahead of you. When you do what you can do, God said he will do what you can’t do. Before there is a giving of a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, you got to give. You got to repent and pray. Before mounting up with wings like and eagle, you have to trust God. Whatever God does he does for reason in the right season.

4.     This revelation that God gave was of powerful, God said he gave this word to say this is the right season. It is significant to receive this word on Mt Zion’s 144th anniversary. This number (144) is literally 12 squared. The number 12 represents God’s divine government and divine order. This is why God had 12 tribes of Israel, this is why Jesus had 12 disciples, this is why there are 12 foundations to the city of Jerusalem, and this is why there are 12 gates to the city. This is about divine order. Some of you have been waiting for this year to be over, but you don’t realize that you are about to talk yourself out of your break through. When you look at Revelation 14:1 you notice something. It says ¹And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. – In other words there was a remnant of them that was with the Lamb at mount Sion. There were 144,000 having their names in their foreheads. That prophetic word was about the 144 who were those who endured and faithful and who were being set up to receive an eternal reward. God says the number 144 represents a number of people. A lot of people fell off and a lot of people gave up, but we are still here. Things were not what they were supposed to be, but we kept trusting God. We kept on being faithful to God, so if 144 is 12 squared, then God says he is giving us this word in the 12^th month to let our people know that he is about to bring things in order. There was a prophetic word spoke over us in the 9^th month that said “The last 90 days will be greater than the first 9 months of this year” We have made it to the 12^th month so it is got to happen this month. We are not going to wait until it happens to give God the glory. We are going to do it right now! This month! This year will not end until God makes good on every promise he made in your life! Remember however that you got to do your part.