Prisoners of Hope

Zechariah 8:4-5 (The Message)
4-5A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
"Old men and old women will come back to Jerusalem, sit on benches on the streets and spin tales, move around safely with their canes—a good city to grow old in. And boys and girls will fill the public parks, laughing and playing—a good city to grow up in."

Zechariah 9:12 (Amplified Bible)
12Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.(A)

“Hope is a dangerous thing.” –Morgan Freeman, Shawshank Redemption. The Shawshank redemption is a movie about a man named Andy who is wrongly accused of murdering his wife. He is imprisoned, raped, tortured, and used by the warden. He speaks to his friend played by Morgan Freeman of one day being free. His friend tries to discourage him by not “getting his hopes up.” Morgan’s character had prison thinking. He couldn’t see beyond the bars because he had settled that his fate would end there but Andy wouldn’t let his Hope die, like Jesse Jackson he believed in keeping Hope Alive, he believed like President Obama in the “Audacity of Hope.” When everything around you says to give up something within you will not let you settle for what you see.

We are all Prisoners of Hope. There is something going on around us that does not resonate with what is in us. There is too much God has deposited in our spirits to let us settle for anarchy on the inside when we know what he’s promised on the inside. We are prisoners of Hope particularly as we look at the devastation of our inner-cities. Just yesterday I saw video footage of the beating death of an honor student in the streets of Chicago. These teenagers took planks, fists, and feet and beat a 17 year old honor student to death for no reason. These kinds of senseless acts of violence must be stopped. We cannot afford to sit in our prison cells of hopelessness and give up.

God gave Zechariah a vision that one day old men and women would walk the streets with their canes and young boys and girls would play in the streets. He tells the prophet to inform the prisoners of hope to return to the strongholds because he was about to release a heavenly militia to restore order. God says today I will restore your prosperity double to you. Prosperity is more than just money; it is also peace and health. God is going to restore double for our trouble but I believe he’s going to use ordinary people to do it.

The answer to being released from being Prisoners of Hope is found in Zech 7:9-10

1. Execute true Justice. Whoever videotaped that murder of that young boy did right by turning it in to the Police so they can prosecute every person that beat that young man. We need to start speaking up in our communities about injustice.

2. Show Mercy and compassion. If each of us were to start showing compassion to those that need help, we could turn the tide on senseless violence in our communities. Jesus said our neighbor is whoever needs our help.

3. Do not oppress the widow (single mothers) or the fatherless (products of single mothers), the Alien (Mexican immigrants) or the poor (many Americans as a result of the recession).

4. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother. If we would each search our hearts and do good instead of evil we can turn this thing around. God told Cain that if we would do good his offering would be accepted like Able, but Satan was crouching at his door because he was jealous of his brother.

Dear God, release us from the prison of Hope to actualize your kingdom agenda on earth as it is in Heaven. Help us to restore peace and safety in our neighborhoods through our proactive faith and not sit idly by while our children are dying in the streets. Thank you today that my restoration finally begins. Today, I’m keeping my Hope alive that you will restore our prosperity. Today I’m keeping Hope alive!

In Jesus Name.
Amen

Don't Worry About It!

Luke 12:22
Then he said to his disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.

We are living in a time where everybody is anxious about the economy. I think the fear over our finances has taken over our anxiety over terrorism. People aren’t as concerned about Orange levels as they are their levels of income. We are more terrified of not being able to feed our families than we are with the next terrorists attack. Both are equally important but somehow what is going on in our homes has taken our focus and caused us to be anxious.

Like Jesus told Martha when she was bustling around in the kitchen mad at her sister for not helping, “Mary you are upset about many things but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen it and it will not be taken from her.”

When we choose Jesus and God’s kingdom there are certain things we don’t have to be worried about. It is fundamentally understood that God takes care of his own. It is natural for us to be concerned about what we are going to eat and what we are going to wear these are part of the basics for every human according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is predetermined in order of importance.[5] It is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualization needs, particularly those related to identity and purpose. The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level.

Five Levels of the Hierarchy of Needs
There are five different levels in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

1. Physiological Needs

These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, including the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.

2. Security Needs

These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.

3. Social Needs

These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow considered these needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community or religious groups.

4. Esteem Needs

After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.

5. Self-actualizing Needs

This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.

When you exchange your fear for faith that God will supply all your needs it frees you up to pursue a higher level of consciousness. Don’t worry about it!
Jesus says look at the birds of the air they don’t worry about where they will sleep or what they will eat but God provides. Are you not more valuable than the birds? Don’t worry about it!

In this chapter Jesus helps us to deal with our anxieties or tensions between the temporary and the eternal by saying:

1. Don’t fear the man that can kill your body (terrorism) but rather fear God who after ending your life can put you in Hell for eternity.

2. Don’t fear that you are forgotten about and that no one is concerned about your welfare, because God knows every hair on your head.

3. Do not fear about provision, food, clothing, or money. One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.

Don’t worry about it but seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be added. When we are busy fulfilling God’s righteousness through humility, social justice, and showing mercy to those in need, God will in turn provide what we need.

What God is saying today is: Don’t worry about it; I got the bill because you’re in my will!

Dear God, thank you for watching over me. Today, I want to be intentional about trusting you. Today, I’m freed up from worry so I can fulfill my righteous requirements of serving others. In helping others, I help myself, by storing up riches in heaven. I don’t want you to catch me with my work undone. Thank you for providing food, clothing and money to pay my bills. I ain't going to worry about it no more!

In Jesus Name.
Amen.

What Do You Smell Like?

Luke 7:37-38 (New King James Version)
37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

What’s that you have on? Has anybody ever asked you that? They catch a scent of what you have on, perfume or cologne, and they ask you what do you have on? We’ve all caught a scent of someone whether pleasant or unpleasant, whether faintly satisfying or overwhelmingly suffocating, we’ve all caught a scent and we all have a scent. Have you ever shook hands with somebody and then you can’t get their scent off of you? You can smell when certain people have been in a room because they leave a scent. What do you smell like?

If your character was your fragrance what would people smell when they come in the room? If your lifestyle had a smell what would you smell like to God?
Kat Von D, tattoo artist and star of “L.A. Ink,” a reality show that focuses on her High Voltage Tattoo business, has her own line of makeup that is carried at Sephora. Kat’s two fragrances – Saint and Sinner- were recently launched. "Every woman has two sides," says tattoo artist and beauty addict Kat Von D—and she’s created a fragrance for both that come out next month.

Saint is a sweet, addictive blend of caramel, vanilla and jasmine, while Sinner plays up a dark and mysterious side with hints of vetiver, plum and cinnamon. What happens though when you mix both scents? What do you smell like?

Jesus walked into a room where there were both scents. Saints and Sinners. A sinful woman came into the dinner where Jesus was the special guest and she kneeled down behind him at his feet with some fragrant oil. Her reputation stank but she had some fragrant oil. It’s obvious the men in the room had smelled her before because the men all paused when they smelled the scent of a woman and said that girl is Poison.

What do people whisper about you when you walk in a room? What do you smell like?
This woman had bathed in the forgiveness of God before she came in and as a result of her gratefulness she did something for Jesus.

1. She stood behind Jesus weeping. She didn’t come to be seen, she came to serve.
2. She stood behind him weeping. She was broken and grateful for what God had done in her life.
3. She washed his feet with her tears. Her cleansing led her to now be clean.
4. She dried his feet with her hair. She used her Glory to give him glory. She used her most beautiful feature to wipe dirt from His ugliest feature.
5. She opened her bottle of fragrant oil to anoint his feet. She gave a sacrificial gift that immediately filled the room with a fragrant aroma.

Then everybody recognized the scent. That’s that “sinful” woman. “How can he be a prophet and let this “sinful” woman touch him? Doesn’t he smell her?” Jesus said that the host reeked of arrogance and ungratefulness. He didn’t even give Jesus any kind of hospitality but this “sinful” woman was grateful because she had been forgiven much. She who was “a “Sinner” smelled better than all the “Saints.” Sometimes “Sinner” smells better than “Saint” when “Saint” is smelling himself and “sinner” is grateful for being saved. We smell good to God when we know that we are all “Sinners” saved by grace. Jesus told her your sins are forgiven and your faith has saved you. Go! YOU SMELL GOOD!

Dear God, wash me and make me clean. Anoint me with fragrant oil so I can make this room smell better when I walk in it. Let people smell you and not me. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Thank you for forgiving me and saving me, today I smell better and I’m ready to pour myself out for you. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable before you and please your senses.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

How To Survive A Flood

Luke 6:48
He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock, and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

People in Atlanta are dealing with severe flash flooding. After months of drought they now have to deal with the other extreme of flash flooding. Roads, golf courses, and subdivisions are submerged under water. One lady was interviewed on CNN and she was still living in her home with her whole street flooded. She was living upstairs with downstairs underwater. She still had her home with some water damage but it was still standing because her home had been built on a firm foundation.

One of the first things a contractor will do when building any house is to lay a foundation.

Foundation
Noun
1. The basic experience, idea, or attitude on which a way of life or belief is based: respect for the law is the foundation of commercial society.

2. A construction below the ground that distributes the load of a building, wall, etc.

3. The base on which something stands

4. The act of founding
The foundation will make sure the house withstands storms, is not easily shifted, and it doesn’t move by outside forces. This principle goes all the way back to Jesus’ day. Jesus said, “When someone hears his teachings and actually does them he sets a firm foundation.”

It is not enough to hear the Word of God but you must do what the Word of God says. Many of us are tossed and driven by every wind of new teaching because we don’t have a strong foundation. You can listen to great preaching every week and still not have a strong foundation. You can read the bible every day and still not have a firm foundation. It is only when you hear the Word and do what it says that God begins to pour the concrete in the foundation of your life.

When the floods of Life come they will test what you have built. The house represents what we construct in our lives, our careers, families, ministries, businesses, unless the Lord builds the house the builders build in vain. What we build will be tested by storms and streams.

The streams represent the currents of culture, the rapids of religion, and the waves of the world. These outside influences can beat against a house visciously in the time of storm but if our foundation is set then they can huff, and they can puff, but they will not be able to blow the house down because our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and his righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. On Jesus Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand!

Dear God, strengthen my foundation through obedience to your word. Though the storms of life will come, I’m sure I will survive the flood because my soul has been anchored in the Lord. Just like a tree planted by the waters I shall not be moved. I’ve been through the fire, I’ve come through the flood but I’m still here. I’ve been kept by your love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

I Came Because of Your Words

Daniel 10:12
Do not fear Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.

When I hear my children call me I pay attention no matter what I’m doing. I could be engrossed in writing a sermon but if I hear “Daddy.” I stop and say, “Yes Son.” But if I hear “Daddy, Daddy come hear quick!” I jump out of my seat to make sure everything is okay. Their words make me come and see what is going on.

Daniel was beloved by God because of his righteousness. He saw the city he was in was under judgment, and it would be for Seventy years. Daniel was so grieved that he fasted and prayed. (Daniel 9:3) Daniel didn’t play the victim he told God, “we've been wicked and haven’t obeyed your commands but we need you, so we can turn from our iniquities and understand your truth.” (Daniel 9:13).

Then God told Daniel the punishment would be complete in Seventy weeks. God sent one like the Son of man to Daniel, some would say this was Jesus Pre-incarnate, to tell him something after Daniel had fasted, confessed their sins, and interceded for his people.

1. Do not fear. When we earnestly cry out to God, he hears us and will come to us. David knew of the confidence of God’s presence when he said, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” God’s presence takes away our fear.

2. From the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God. The other day Kirk Frankly tweeted, '"kirkfranklin” there will b no celebs in heaven. Only grateful, broken, & desperate. I'm learning God loves me, but He don't need me.' Humility. “God is trying to speak to us in these difficult times but we must discern the times and set ourselves in a humble position to understand what God is saying.

3. Your words were heard, I came because of your words. It’s not the quantity of your words but the fervency of your words that gets God’s attention. The fervent and effective prayer of the Righteous avails much. We have got to carve out some time every month to fast and pray or else there are no words to compel God to come see about us. Sometimes, God will come when we don’t say something but by then we are already in a mess. Sometimes, I have to go check on my kids because they are too quiet. By the time I get to where they are they are already into something that gets them in trouble with daddy. God wants you to talk to him, call him so that your words and your prayers can end this destruction due to our iniquity. He’s waiting for your words.

Dear God, forgive me of my silent complicity towards wickedness. My voice has been compromised in the chorus of the silent. I open my mouth today to say forgive us of our sins and come see about your children. We need you. Don’t turn us over to ourselves but deliver us from all evil. We still love you and need you more than we ever needed you before. Thank you for hearing me Daddy, “Can you please come quickly.”

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

I Didn't Know My Own Strength

Luke 4:14

Then Jesus returned in the Power of the Sprit to Galilee, and news of him went out through all the surrounding region.

There was a lot of excitement on the return of Whitney Houston after 7 years of being in the wilderness of cocaine addiction. Her interview and testimony on The Oprah Winfrey Show was poignant and powerful as she talked about how God brought her through recovery to deliver her first album in seven years. Whitney closed the show with a powerful song that says, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.” Oftentimes, we don’t know how strong we are until we go through a wilderness experience to face our demons or the devil himself.

It is only when we detox or fast that we are able to combat our demons with our spiritual strength. Jesus fasted forty days preparing himself for his return to Galilee. Before he faced the public for the greatest three years of his life he had to get himself ready for his return.

The devil put him to the test by trying to twist the Word of God for self-gratification but Jesus knew the Word for himself and brought the voice of the enemy in check with the Word in proper context. As a result, Jesus returned in the Power of the Sprit and news of Him spread. You don’t have to pull a Kanye and try to keep your name alive with media stunts while intoxicated but when you sober up and are filled with the Spirit, God will make the news come to you.

Usually when we try to make a debut or return we get this backwards. We market our image then show up without power or substance. Whitney, like Jesus, stayed gone until she was cleansed and filled with the spirit. Oprah asked her was she off drugs for good. Whitney said, “I’m taking one day at a time, I’m an addict.” That’s real substantive answer. We must do the work of sobering up before we return. When you are restored spiritually and face your demons, God does your marketing for you. Your gifts will make room for you and bring you into the presence of Great men.

Before you return make sure you take 40 days to:

1. Fast. What is it you need to pull away from or get out of your system? For some of us we may need to go into a drug rehab or go to counseling to get some addictions out of our system. Some of us may need a few days to fast from food or drink so we can hear from God again.

2. Pray. We need to go into our prayer closets and not come out until we get an answer.

3. Face your demons. The devil tried to tempt Jesus with what Jesus already had the power and promise to experience. He tempted him with shortcuts. He tempted him with Self-Medication but Jesus fought back with the Word of God. You have to know the Word to use the Word.

Dear God, help me to return with Power. Clean me up so I can have some substance. Help me to defeat my demons so I can come back to ministry with power. I don’t want to have a form of godliness with no power to go with it. Send me through spiritual boot camp so that when I come back, I’m better, I’m stronger. I realize that I don’t know my own strength because I’ve never used it, because I have not resisted to the point of shedding blood. I’m ready to go into extreme training so that I can return with power. I’m ready Lord.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

Can You Get Me In?

Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

At some point and time in our lives we have all been to some venue be it a sporting event, concert, or a bumping night club where we wanted to get in but didn’t have access to enter. Your only hope was that you knew somebody on the inside or the person who worked the door. What you would do was call the person up or try to get their attention to ask them, “Hey can you get me in?” Depending on the relationship and how generous they were, they might get you in. There is nothing more satisfying then to get in somewhere that you know you wouldn’t have made it in without your inside connection.

What is it that you can’t get into without an inside connection? It might be a job. It could be access to a loan. It could be admission to college. It could be putting your business plan in the right hands. That’s why it’s good to have a good name and not burn your relational bridges because you never know who you are going to need.
There is one place we all want to get into later. People are dying to get in here. You’ve never seen anything like it either. The view is breathtaking. There is a river of pure crystal water that runs through the middle of the city. The streets are translucent gold. There is a tree which bears twelve different fruits every month. Then there is a tree of Life which can heal any disease. The place is so beautiful, there is no sickness, no more pain and no more dying and God himself illuminates the whole city with his Glory but everybody can’t get in, you’ve got to have an inside connection.

One day we will all have to stand in line to get in. There is no VIP section. Celebrities, the average Joe, rich people and poor people, will all be standing single file in the same line and only one person can get you in and your name has to be written in His book of life through a previous reservation. You can make reservations now by…

1. Calling on the name of Jesus to be saved from your sins. Romans 10:9 if you confess that Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved.

2. You must keep his commandments. You must honor the relationship. You can’t dog Jesus out in life and then expect him to let you in at the after-life. Some of us will get to heaven talking about, hey Jesus, “Can you get me in?” Jesus might say, “‘depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

3. If you have kept his commandments and your name is in the book you can walk in and get your healing. It says they will have the right to the Tree of life. When Adam and Eve were put out of the garden, God put angels with flaming swords in front of the Tree of Life so that humanity might not live forever, now in heaven He reverses it and gives access to the tree of life but everybody ain't going to get in.

4. Access is granted only through Jesus. God wants us all to get in but everybody who says, “Lord, Lord” ain’t getting in. Only those who really know Jesus and have given their lives to him, to serve him, to be his disciple, are going to get in. You need to make reservations right now there’s still room and you still got time.

Dear God, can you get me in? I know that this life is not the main event. When this curtain closes there is an after party where everybody wants to go. Many are called but few are chosen. Lord sign me up for the Christian Jubilee, write my name on the roll, I’ve been changed, and the Lord has lifted me, I want to be ready when Jesus comes! Help me to live a life consistent with His commandments so I will not be turned away at the gate. Jesus can you get me in? I want to hear you say, “Well done my good and faithful servant, you’ve been faithful over a few things now come on in here and I’ll make you ruler over many.”

Thank you Jesus!
Amen