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.

Evolution to Revolution Part III “Stay there”, Sermon 11/28/10

Evolution to Revolution Part III

Stay there

Synopsis of Sermon 11/28/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:58 says ⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

It is important to understand that what God does for us in our lives is for his glory. God never moves without glory being attached. God does not engage in relationship without the resources to back it up. When God bring us into relationship with him, there is no deficit of joy, peace, or goodness. There simply is no deficit, because God has to the resources to back it up. He has the resources to give us that will allow us to fulfill the vision that he has for our lives. The enemy specializes in bringing in frustration and fatigue in our lives. The enemy wants to prevent God will from happening in our lives. The ultimate goal for him is to make God’s promise unattainable. He can’t take it, so he tries to make life so difficult that we will just give it up ourselves.

Some of the attacks you go through make you wonder if it is worth dealing with it. You know God has something great in store for your life, but you find that you have to go through this amazing journey to get it. Because of this, you contemplate walking away from it. Have you been there before? When Paul gives this word, it is a revelation of staying where God plants you. It is about being in position, because the blessings of the Lord don’t come in a place of comfort. Instead they come in places of stress and strain. It is about building character. It is in these places where maturity is established. Somebody reading this today may be contemplating moving from the place God planted you, but the word from God today is “Stay there!” God would not send this word if it were not true that he is about to do something awesome in your life. You have to recognize the power of being grounded. If you haven’t lost your mind by now, you need to stay there. With tears in your eyes and your faith being stretched like never before, just stay there! Even not knowing what’s going to be around the corner, just stay there!

In the text today, Paul talks to the Corinthian Church. He speaks in defense of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact the entire 15th chapter is about what Christ did on Calvary. Paul shares how that reality impacts the reality of a believer. The context of this begins in 1 Corinthians 15:51- 57. When Paul talks about those who are dead in Christ. He goes on talking about how those in Christ left would be caught up to meet them in the air together. He declares that death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. What Paul is trying to share is we have to understand that this is to help us understand the victory and lifestyle that we are supposed to have in Jesus Christ. Knowing this we are able to be steadfast and unmovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Why is this? It is because we recognize that what we do in the Lord is never in vain, so we must stay there.

I. Planted with purpose

1. God always plants us in purpose. This is not about just staying there; it is about staying in the will of God. Ex -This doesn’t mean if you are getting beat over head, you have to stay there. This is not the will of God. What we are saying is when you have been planted by God, know that he has a purpose for your life and it can’t be made manifest if you are not where he planted you.
2. Paul stresses the importance of relationship. The word Brethren mentioned in the text is talking about a unique group of people that had been called out. It is the same verbiage that James used when he says my brethren count it all joy when you fall into diver’s temptation. These were a certain saved group of people that were filled with the power of the Holy Ghost. These are post Pentecostal believers who have the power of the Holy Ghost and sure of their salvation. 1 Corinthians 15:58a says ⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren … They are post Pentecostal people.
3. When you are sure of salvation it is evidenced by:
   1. Great Convictions- You have a moral compass now. Before relationship, you did whatever you wanted. Now you have a set of convictions that guides your actions.
   2. Character- This is behavior on display. It answers the question, how do you live in the world?
   3. Commitment- In other words, we don’t start something that we don’t finish. Ex- Your husband opened the door when he met you and he continues to do it after you are married. There ought to be commitment in your relationship. God wants us to be rooted in our relationship with him.
4. Unmovable- 1 Corinthians 15:58b says … be ye stedfast, unmoveable… The Devil will try to uproot you. Many people have allowed the devil run you from where God planted you. Don’t let your instability be a liability. When your instability is a liability, it is evidence that you allowed vulnerability lead to gullibility.
5. David says And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. When understanding the growth of a tree you understand that a tree is rooted and it grows upward. Lots of people, like a tree, place value on how high your grow. They base your worth on your education and economy (height), but you know the difference. You know it is your roots that have your worth. Though we have achieved worldly heights, underneath the ground is our roots or our fight. It doesn’t matter what happens, whether we get cut down or we go through a storm, we will keep growing. You can put ornament on tree to make the tree look better, but you need faith in earth. The real essence of a tree is in its roots.
   1. My fight- We are planted with purpose. When a tree grows, it grows down. The roots don’t just go down but they also go wide. They grab onto rocks and other material. When storms come, they stay firm, because they are attached to rock. We might have a bend and we might have lost some bark, but we are still here.
   2. Still standing- Where God plants us, we have to stay there. Be steadfast and unmovable. Don’t’ be easily shaken.

II. Productive under pressure

1. To abound means to move towards the fulfillment of destiny. 1 Corinthians 15:58c says … always abounding … It means if conditions are not conducive or it is over whelming, we still move towards the fulfillment of destiny. Nothing will stop us from moving towards our destination. Paul says” I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” and “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” One of the greatest testimonies is to be productive during trying times. Pressure brings out the best in us. Pressing lemons is how we get lemonade. Pressing grapes is how we get wine. Ex- You can take a child of God and give them some bologna and bread and they will make it. They know how to be resourceful and creative. How you think we got chitterlings and pig feet.
2. Always abound means I will show up and still give God glory because we are producing. God is producing always, so we can’t be attached to God and not produce. God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. He didn’t say be fruitful and multiply unless… Regardless to how situations look, we still ought to be able to produce.

III. Represent the word

1. Produce - When you produce, then if it says we can do all things to Christ, we ought to be advertisement for this word. We ought to be words walking. If the world asks how we accomplished this, we ought to be able to say because the word told us we could.
2. Reliable witness-Throw in anything you want at a child of God and they will still praise God. It is not if we can count on God, the question is can he count on us? Can God count on you no matter what happens?
3. Real worship- When you do what God wants you do, this has to be seen as worship. Worship is not only audible adoration for who God is. Worship in its truest sense is not what we do, but who we are. This is why God says how can you say you love him whom you have not seen and hate men who you see every day. Ex- When you go to your job, it is an act of worship. We see everything we do as an opportunity to give God the glory. Everything we do is an act of worship and it is part of who we are while giving God the glory. Does God get the glory when you are complaining or when you are sitting and refusing to do anything? Some people were crucified for being in God’s will and we get mad we didn’t get a parking space or an usher seats us somewhere we didn’t want to sit.

IV. Praise him for his promise

1. Work- A lot of us are laboring, but it might not be in the Lord. Your labor has to be in his will. 1 Corinthians 15:58d … in the work of the Lord… God honors faithfulness. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; …There is a dualistic award here.
   1. Here Paul is talking about heaven. We have a reward in heaven. When you are faithful to God and you are doing what he wants you to do, know that you will make it to heaven. You are going to complete your assignment and when it is all over, you will to the place where the wicked shall cease from troubling and the weary shall be at rest. You are going to the place where the streets are paved with gold. It is this same Paul who would one day write, “My time of departure has come. I fought a good fight, I kept the faith, and I am ready to go.” In other words, I completed my assignment and there is laid up a crown of righteousness which the Lord will give to me in that day (not only to me, but those who were loyal to the Lord also).
   2. God also wants to reward us down here. Sometimes we wonder though. We measure our effectiveness by other people. Recognize that you don’t do what you do for people. If you get your reward that way, you already have gotten your reward. Realize that God has a greater reward for you in heaven. Some people labor and wonder if they are appreciated. Know that God appreciates you. This is why the race is not given to the swift; it is given to those that endure to the end. Tell somebody, “God’s going to make it up to!”
2. There is a reward for the righteousness. 1 Corinthians 15:58e … forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. -Learn to rejoice, because everything you went through is not in vain. When you were suffering, our spirit said stay there. We can’t reign with him, if we don’t suffer with him. God said for those that wait on the Lord, will have renewed strength. God promises if we are faithful over few things, he will make us ruler over much. Stay there when they don’t like you! Stay there when they don’t want you to be there. God will never ask you to do something that he has never done himself. Jesus stayed there on the cross, though he could have gotten off, because he was moving towards the fulfillment of destiny. He came here to die on the cross. He could have come down, but they stayed there! He stayed there until from the 6^th to the 9^th hr. He stayed there until the sun dripped away! He stayed there until the moon dripped away in blood! He stayed there until history rolled back like a scroll! He stayed there until the veil of the temple was rent into! He stayed there until the centurion solider said we killed the wrong man; surely this was the son of God! He stayed there until the thief on the cross got a second chance! He stayed there so the pimp could become a preacher, so the crack head could become a choir member, so the unkind person could become an usher, and the drug-dealer could become a deacon! I am glad that he stayed there! He didn’t stay there, but he went down into the grave and stayed there long enough to allow those who didn’t know him, came and got saved! He said he would leave us a comforter that would give us staying power. The next time you think about giving up, tell them to remember how Jesus stayed there for us. If Jesus stayed there for us, we should be able to stay there for him. When we were weak his strength was there! When we were rebellious, his mercy was there. When we were in lack his provision was there! When we didn’t deserve it, his provisions were there! You better stay there! Be not weary in well doing. You will reap if you faint not!

Good Morning,

As you know, God never puts plants you in a place unless there is purpose tied to it. It is therefore important for us to stay where God plants us. God’s purpose and will for us cannot be made manifest if we are out of position. This ought to suggest to you that it is important for us to stay there! No matter how hot it gets and no matter how frequent the attacks, stay there!

How do we do this? Why should we do this? Join us as we continue with our series Evolution to Revolution focusing on the topic “Stay There”

God Bless!

Evolution to Revolution Part II

Evolution to Revolution Part II

Potential in Process

Synopsis of Sermon 11/14/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Text – 2 Timothy 1:5-9

Each of us are a process and the reality is many people have judged us based on where we are now, but they don’t have any idea of where God is pushing us to. Where we are is only a small portion of where we are going. The potential inside of us is often tainted by perspectives placed upon us. Many of us are unaware that God is actively moving in our lives to bring us to our destiny for his glory. Eyes have not seen nor ears heard nor has it entered into the hearts of men the things that God has in store for our lives. Once you begin to catch the essence of your not yet, you will realign yourself with God’s will and his purpose for your life. As a result, you have a small tolerance of foolishness. You don’t want to be around people who are stagnant and not moving. Prior to this, you accommodated people like this, because you had no idea of where God was taking you. You had no sense of what God was about to move you into. The truth is, all of us must recognize that in us is a great deposit of greatness and God will bring it into fruition for his glory.

Paul shares this word with his spiritual son Timothy. This literally suggests that he has this mentee named Timothy. Timothy is made aware that within him there is something for the glory of God. For Timothy to manifest this, he must pay attention to Paul. If you knew what God was up to in your life, you would not be discouraged another day. If we knew what God was about to open up to us, we would not wallow in these low places we wallow in. If you knew, you wouldn’t put up with the stuff you put up with. The closer you get to what God wants to do in your life, the more you will understand why folk are falling off. Some people can’t handle where you are going. This is why they fell off and this is why they treated you the way that they did. God said don’t whine about not being accepted. It might not be for you right now, but know that it is in your not yet. We are potential in process.

I. Potential in process

1. We might not have what you have, live where you live, or wear what you wear, but we are in process. God is about to do something awesome in your life. There is potential in your life

2.     When we talk about potential, we are talking about that within you and I that has a great capacity for becoming or being. We are on our way to something amazing. Every step take towards God takes you another step closer to what God is about to do in your life.

A.    Paul wants us to see that remembrance brings responsibility. Paul wants us to know that remembrance brings responsibility. 2 Timothy 1:5 says ⁵When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. – Paul shares with Timothy, the significance of his history. If you don’t know where you come from, then you won’t value where you are.

B.    Paul says there was great faith in Timothy’s mother and his grandmothers. Acts 16:1 says ¹Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: – We are told that Timotheus was the son of a Jewish woman, but yet she believed. As a result it was her faith that gave here revelation. Paul makes note of this, because there is powerful lessons in Timothy’s ancestry.

3.     It is important that every generation gets better than the previous generation. Timothy comes from a faithful bloodline, but he doesn’t know it. Timothy doesn’t’ realize that there is greatness in his genes. Not his JEANS, but his GENES. Ex - If we could get this generation to understand who you are and that your greatness is not in your JEANS, then maybe you will quit trying to apple bottom your Jeans and realize that it is in your GENES.

4.     All of us have crazy stuff in our family, but there are also some amazing people in our bloodline too. There are survivors, thinkers, and inventors in our genealogy. Some of our ancestors lived through the unthinkable and lived to tell about it. Our ancestry is important. We didn’t get here on our own. We got here on the prayers of our ancestors.

5.     Ancestry gives us greater appreciation of:

a. Exposure- How you see your life is tied to vision. You have to expose your children to much. They will need to know that there is something greater beyond their own backyard. What we see in life depends on where we stand to look. Ex- One day you got out of your zip code and realized there was a world bigger than you thought. Exposure gives rise to experiences and experiences gives rise to expectations.

b.     Expectations – If you haven’t seen anything, you act like you haven’t seen anything and if you don’t expect anything; you act like you don’t expect anything. Ex – If the bar is set high, your expectations will be high. If the bar set low, your expectations are low. Ex2 – If your mom dated high, you expect high out of the people you date. If your mom dated low life people, most likely you will date low life people. If we got to be the first one in our family to actually get a job and take care of our family, then we will have to be the one. If we are the first one in our family to finish college, then we must be that one.

6.     When you remember where you came from, you have no excuse not to achieve. When you look at your ancestry, you have no excuse to be trifling.

2 Timothy 1:6 says ⁶Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. – Stir up this gift. You can’t allow this gift to lie dormant. God put inside you a great investment. You have to realize there is too much greatness to allow life to pass you by. There are gifts inside you.

7.     Paul says these gifts were given to Timothy by the laying of his hands on timothy. Paul is referencing 1 Timothy 4:14 where it says ¹⁴Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.  – Paul says when we laid our hands on Timothy; he knows that Timothy didn’t realize what was in him. What was in him came to the surface. Stirring up the gift means to rekindle the fire. It is time to build that fire for what God has for your life.

8.     To stir up the gift, you have to realize:

A.    God has given you an Assignment- We must realize this before we stir up our gift. This is how purpose is. Before this world began, God had purpose for you. Purpose is the path towards destiny. Don’t worry about mistakes you have made, none of us are perfect. God doesn’t use perfect people, because he has no perfect people to choose from. Ex – You don’t want to know where we were delivered from. If you knew, you might not feel comfortable sitting near us. God looked beyond our faults and supplied all of our needs.

B.    Our assignment is tied to an Appointment – God doesn’t make an assignment without a place for that assignment to manifest. God told Abraham to go to a land he would show him and he told Jonah to go to Nineveh. You will know when God has you where he wants you, because the devil will try to move you.

9.     God will give us Anointing- When hands were laid on us, there was a transfer of the anointing. When Paul laid his hands on Timothy, Paul’s anointing transferred to Timothy. When God’s anointing is on your life, people don’t have to like you or speak to you, but they can’t deny that you are one of God’s anointed. You might live like they do or talk like they do but know that you are one of we are God’s anointed. Ex- Some stuff went right past some people that were around you, because of your anointing. When you remember your history, you are responsible for you present.

II. Revelation of what you have received

2 Timothy 1:7 says ⁷For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

1.     You can tell people how great they are, but until they own it, it doesn’t make a difference. You must move from talking about it to being about.

2.     We have to go through life without:

a.     Fear – Fear is false evidence appearing real. Fear is of the devil. It is making you think something exists that really doesn’t. The Devil wants you to think that what is after you is bigger than God. Ex- You fill out the application, you get the grant, and then you get to school and get scared. You fill out the application, you go on the interview, and yet when you get the job, you are scared. The only thing we should fear is remorse. Remorse is what we didn’t do that God wanted us to do.

3.     God gave us power, love, and a sound mind.

a.     Power – In Acts 2, they were all in one place on one accord, and the Holy Spirit came in. This is the power promised by Jesus in John 14. In this chapter, Jesus said that he would not leave us comfortless. Jesus told the disciples that that the Comforter would come and he came in the personality of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was raised, he said all power in heaven and earth had been given to him. Now Jesus gives it to us. We have that same power. Now that we have this power, we have this authority and we shouldn’t walk around like pushovers. We are walking around trying to get people to do what God gave us the power to do. Ex – You have power to put the devil out of your own house. Jesus said these signs shall follow them. We have the power to walk right, talk right, and live right. We give the Devil too much power.

b.     Love-Love creates a sense of disillusionment because many people have not seen the manifestation of love in the human experience. Love is not a noun. Love is a verb. Love is demonstrative, but the reality is, if your human experiences have been the result of a person saying “I love you”, but you never see the manifestation of it, then you have a difficult time understanding that love means commitment.

i.    Love is verse 7 means commitment. If love is commitment, then you wouldn’t think that the person that says they love you would curse you like they do and hurt you like they do. The truth is, this kind of love is really isn’t commitment. Ex- God’s love was demonstrative. He demonstrated his love on Calvary.

c.     A sound mind – A sound mind says, “Devil I recognize what you are trying to do”. The Devil tries to cause a traffic jam on the avenue of our mind. The Devil tries to make our rational thoughts detour causing us to take a while getting to my destination. We are not going to be disillusioned by the failures of others and we will not be destroyed from the lack of knowledge. We are getting a checkup from the neck up. We will remember things like “Let this mind be in you who is also in Christ Jesus” or “He will keep thee in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” Get a check up from the neck up.

i.    There are a couple of people who will tell you that a sound mind for them simply means sanity. When we look at what we been through, we should be scratching our head, but God gave us sanity.

IIII. Rejoice in the word

2 Timothy 1:8-9 says ⁸Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; ⁹Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

1.     No matter what challenges we face, we must know that God is in our life, despite all of the opposition in our lives.

2.     Paul said when I try to do good, evil is on every hand. Paul reminded Timothy that he need not be ashamed. Affliction is part of this calling. You can’t get what God is about to give you without going through affliction. Affliction builds character. If you get something too easy, you will not appreciate it. Ex- Many of you got up around 6:30, to get to your church’s early service. Affliction did that. Many people in their former church were dignified in their service, but now if you just say the word “Jesus”, you get off the hook. Affliction did that!

3.     Paul’s said don’t be ashamed of your testimony. Paul said he was a prisoner for the Lord. Paul said he was tied to affiliations, but he reminded Timothy not to be ashamed of his testimony.

4.     God’s record does this:

a.     Reinforces our faith – Remember his word, while you are going through and remember what he has done and this will reinforce your faith. If he did it then, you can do. Nothing you are going through is new. You just need an encore. You have to go to your faith file. Ex- Every time God does something, just file it away. If he gives you bread, file it under “B”, if he gives you a car, put it behind “C”, if he delivers you, put it behind “D”. This way when you go through again, go through that faith file and remember that you have been there before.

b.     Restores my sight- When the wind is knocked out of us, we remember God’s word, and get back up ready to fight again. You got get your fight back! Stop walking around with your lip stuck out.

c. Rejoice in our future-Paul says in verse 8, don’t be ashamed, but in verse 9, he calls us to a holy calling. There is a deposit of greatness inside of us and the faith of our blood line should sustain us. You should overcome your fear, based on what God has done for us. Paul says Timothy has all this potential. He laid his hands on him and says it is time to stir all this up (his gifts). Paul is the teacher and Timothy is the student.

5.     In every experience, the student excels past the teacher. Jesus says the works you saw me do, greater works will you do. Joshua excelled Moses. Look at what God did through Paul. Paul wrote a 3rd of the New Testament. He says the day will come where I will say, I fought a good fight. Timothy is supposed to take it to the next level. Paul says if you could see what I see, thou would rejoice in your future. If you could see what God sees, you would give him glory before you got there. Ex- There is a new penalty in the NFL. It is called premature celebration. They have rule called excessive celebration. If a person has a clear line to the goal line and starts celebrating before they get there, then a flag is thrown. It is called premature celebration.  The one who is celebrating is penalized. They are celebrating because they avoided stuff that was trying to take them out and made it to the end zone. When they got in the area of end zone, they started celebrating a head of time. I wonder based on what you see in your future, who will be penalized today? If you saw what we saw, you wouldn’t wait until you get to the end zone. You would celebrate right now! Don’t wait until the battle is over, shout right now!