Psalms 41:12 In My integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.
Sometimes, we prop ourselves up with things that cannot hold us. Titles without character lead to corruption. There must be something on the inside that keeps us so that we will not fall when the weight of success or the trials of temptations come upon us.
King David praised God that his integrity caused God to uphold him. Integrity is who you are when no one is looking. I had dinner with Pastor/Author, Larry Osborne, the other night. he said that all three of his children were grown, graduated from college, and walking with the Lord. I asked him what was the secret to his success of raising such great kids while pastoring a mega church. He said, "They only saw one Dad! I was the same at home as I was in public." That's integrity.
When you have integrity:
1. God upholds you. God will sustain you through the good and the bad when your ways are pleasing to him.
2. God will set you. Promotion doesn't come from men but from God.
3. God will be with you and allow you in his presence forever.
Dear God,
Fill me where I'm empty, build me up where I'm torn down. Uphold me with your sweet Spirit. Whatever you do, don't take your Joy from me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Haters Are Good for You!
Judges 3:1-2
These are the nations that God left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars. He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war. (Judges 3:1, 2 MSG)
There is a generation of young people who did not grow up during the Civl Rights era. They didn't experience blatant racism, Ku Klux Klan burring crosses in their yards at night, hundreds of black men being lynched, or separate school systems, separate eating facilities for blacks and whites. there is a new generation who are surprised and outraged that a teen-aged black male can be gunned down with a bag of skittles and iced tea while his killer goes free.
Trayvon Martin's murder reminds us that racism still lurks beneath the surface of American life. We did not drive all of it out during the Civil Rights movement. It just went dormant and hid itself in public policy. Racism went dormant and hid itself in propaganda and began to be postulated on Fox News by its prophets Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. Racism went dormant and popped up in Pulpits with conservative Christians praying for the President to die.
Why are all these haters still lingering in what some call a post-racial America? Because we have failed to keep the covenant with God as our parents did. We failed to live out the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We erected his Statue in Washington but buried his dreams and values for an America that was about Equality and not bound by racism. We've forgotten the sacrifices of those black and white who struggled, bled, and died trying to get a new generation to the Promised Land of Equality. we failed to drive the enemies of Equality out and some of these racist demons have dug in their heels. Whether it's the lack of justice in Trayvon being executed by a "wanna-be cop" or the self-hatred manifested in Black on Black crime in the inner cities of America. We have got to deal with the haters and the hatred that is ripping through America.
It's good for us to have to deal with these enemies of Equality. Haters are good for you and I will tell you why:
1. Haters put us to the Test! God left five enemy kings in the promised land to test the Israelites to see if they would keep the covenant he had made with their parents. This Trayvon Martin has awakened a younger generation that never had to march against dogs and fire hoses, to take the streets in search of social justice. This hatred has galvanized young blacks and whites to stand together. It's only a test!
2. Haters teach us to learn from our past. If you don't know your past you are doomed to repeat it. Malcolm X said, "out of all our studies History is our best teacher." Judges 3:1
3. Haters teach us the Art of War, especially for those who don't have any battle experience. Judges 3:2 The Art of War that our young people need to learn is the one taught by Dr. King it is Non-Violent resistance. We fight not against flesh and blood but against dark powers, and principalities in high places. We fight against "white priviledge" and dysfunctional pedagogy that causes blacks to hate other blacks. We fight against failing educational systems and enviornmental racism. We fight against unemployment and lop sided drug laws that fill prisons with black faces while putting money in white hands. We fight against unjust wars and increase our fight against poverty. Our fight is not against white people, brown people, yellow people, or black people. Our fight is against evil that can manifest itself in any color. It's time for us to Unite to fight against the real enemy...Hate.
Dear God,
Thank you for using the stubbornness of my haters to teach me how to fight in the Spirit and to kill them with love. Help us to learn from our history so we will not be doomed to repeat it. Strengthen us to follow you closer and to be more faithful
In Jesus name,
Amen
These are the nations that God left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars. He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war. (Judges 3:1, 2 MSG)
There is a generation of young people who did not grow up during the Civl Rights era. They didn't experience blatant racism, Ku Klux Klan burring crosses in their yards at night, hundreds of black men being lynched, or separate school systems, separate eating facilities for blacks and whites. there is a new generation who are surprised and outraged that a teen-aged black male can be gunned down with a bag of skittles and iced tea while his killer goes free.
Trayvon Martin's murder reminds us that racism still lurks beneath the surface of American life. We did not drive all of it out during the Civil Rights movement. It just went dormant and hid itself in public policy. Racism went dormant and hid itself in propaganda and began to be postulated on Fox News by its prophets Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. Racism went dormant and popped up in Pulpits with conservative Christians praying for the President to die.
Why are all these haters still lingering in what some call a post-racial America? Because we have failed to keep the covenant with God as our parents did. We failed to live out the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We erected his Statue in Washington but buried his dreams and values for an America that was about Equality and not bound by racism. We've forgotten the sacrifices of those black and white who struggled, bled, and died trying to get a new generation to the Promised Land of Equality. we failed to drive the enemies of Equality out and some of these racist demons have dug in their heels. Whether it's the lack of justice in Trayvon being executed by a "wanna-be cop" or the self-hatred manifested in Black on Black crime in the inner cities of America. We have got to deal with the haters and the hatred that is ripping through America.
It's good for us to have to deal with these enemies of Equality. Haters are good for you and I will tell you why:
1. Haters put us to the Test! God left five enemy kings in the promised land to test the Israelites to see if they would keep the covenant he had made with their parents. This Trayvon Martin has awakened a younger generation that never had to march against dogs and fire hoses, to take the streets in search of social justice. This hatred has galvanized young blacks and whites to stand together. It's only a test!
2. Haters teach us to learn from our past. If you don't know your past you are doomed to repeat it. Malcolm X said, "out of all our studies History is our best teacher." Judges 3:1
3. Haters teach us the Art of War, especially for those who don't have any battle experience. Judges 3:2 The Art of War that our young people need to learn is the one taught by Dr. King it is Non-Violent resistance. We fight not against flesh and blood but against dark powers, and principalities in high places. We fight against "white priviledge" and dysfunctional pedagogy that causes blacks to hate other blacks. We fight against failing educational systems and enviornmental racism. We fight against unemployment and lop sided drug laws that fill prisons with black faces while putting money in white hands. We fight against unjust wars and increase our fight against poverty. Our fight is not against white people, brown people, yellow people, or black people. Our fight is against evil that can manifest itself in any color. It's time for us to Unite to fight against the real enemy...Hate.
Dear God,
Thank you for using the stubbornness of my haters to teach me how to fight in the Spirit and to kill them with love. Help us to learn from our history so we will not be doomed to repeat it. Strengthen us to follow you closer and to be more faithful
In Jesus name,
Amen
Examine Yourself!
I Corinthians 11:28
A person ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink the cup.
I remember as a little boy taking communion, it was always a special time. Once a month, my church, Cedar Grove Baptist Church would serve, "The Lord's Supper or Sacrament." You had to be baptized and give your life to Christ before you could be eligible to take communion. I was excited to finally be able to take communion. The pastor and deacons gathered stoically behind the mysterious white sheet breaking the flat bread in the silver pan and pouring out the grape juice in the little glass cup. As they distributed the bread and the cup, it was sacredly quiet. It was so quiet you could hear the cracking of the bread in the mouths of the members. Then came the cup, as soon as the Pastor gave his speech, "in like manner Jesus took the cup, blessed it, and said 'this cup represents the blood of the New Covenant shed for the remission of sins, take and drink..." We all drank in unison.
Before the juice could settle in my throat and hit my taste buds an old senile deacon yelled out, "This grape juice is kind of sour!" My cousin laughed so hard that he accidentally spewed out all his juice on his Sunday pants. The Juice had fermented! They didn't examine it before they served it.
Some of us are like that juice, we have expired and we have not examined our spiritual state in a while. Our service has gotten stale. We are bitter because of the lack of blessings. Our love has gone sour. Before we take communion again and fellowship with other believers we might need to examine ourselves to make sure we:
1. Check for Bitterness over our past. When Naomi came back to Bethel she had lost her husband and two sons to famine. She said, "Don't call me Naomi which means pleasant but call me Mara which means bitter." When tragedy strikes our families it's easy to get bitter. We must let God heal us from the inside out.
2. Unforgiveness. Unforgiveness can set up like stagnant water. It can cause us to have a bad taste in our mouths for human interaction. Forgiveness is an ongoing thing that we must do to make sure our cups are clean.
3. Unconfessed Sin. Sin that is allowed to linger in our lives is like corrosion in a pipe. The water is good but the pipes are bad. if we confess our sins God is faithful to forgive us our sins.
4. Pride. Pride is like little worms that infest our spirit until there is no more God just our ego leading toward destruction. Pride comes before the fall. Humble yourself before the Lord.
5. Lust. A man's eyes are the window to his soul. if the eyes are full of darkness then the soul will be also. Make a covenant with your eyes that you will not lust for that which does not belong to you.
6. Hypocrisy. Jesus told the Pharisees that they were good at cleaning the outside of the cup but inside they were like tombs, full of dead men's bones. It was their religious hypocrisy that made them unclean. Their motives were bad.
7. Shame. Guilt and shame left unchecked will cause us to condemn ourselves when Jesus died to set us free through forgiveness of sins. Once God forgives you, you have to forgive yourself.
Dear God,
Thank you for communing with me. Search me, oh God, and if you find any wicked way in me, take it out. Create in me the right spirit. I want you to pour me out as a drink offering that will be a blessing and not bitterness to those that receive your gift of ministry through me. Thank you for using me as a vessel to pour through. Fill my cup with your oil until my cup runs over.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
A person ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink the cup.
I remember as a little boy taking communion, it was always a special time. Once a month, my church, Cedar Grove Baptist Church would serve, "The Lord's Supper or Sacrament." You had to be baptized and give your life to Christ before you could be eligible to take communion. I was excited to finally be able to take communion. The pastor and deacons gathered stoically behind the mysterious white sheet breaking the flat bread in the silver pan and pouring out the grape juice in the little glass cup. As they distributed the bread and the cup, it was sacredly quiet. It was so quiet you could hear the cracking of the bread in the mouths of the members. Then came the cup, as soon as the Pastor gave his speech, "in like manner Jesus took the cup, blessed it, and said 'this cup represents the blood of the New Covenant shed for the remission of sins, take and drink..." We all drank in unison.
Before the juice could settle in my throat and hit my taste buds an old senile deacon yelled out, "This grape juice is kind of sour!" My cousin laughed so hard that he accidentally spewed out all his juice on his Sunday pants. The Juice had fermented! They didn't examine it before they served it.
Some of us are like that juice, we have expired and we have not examined our spiritual state in a while. Our service has gotten stale. We are bitter because of the lack of blessings. Our love has gone sour. Before we take communion again and fellowship with other believers we might need to examine ourselves to make sure we:
1. Check for Bitterness over our past. When Naomi came back to Bethel she had lost her husband and two sons to famine. She said, "Don't call me Naomi which means pleasant but call me Mara which means bitter." When tragedy strikes our families it's easy to get bitter. We must let God heal us from the inside out.
2. Unforgiveness. Unforgiveness can set up like stagnant water. It can cause us to have a bad taste in our mouths for human interaction. Forgiveness is an ongoing thing that we must do to make sure our cups are clean.
3. Unconfessed Sin. Sin that is allowed to linger in our lives is like corrosion in a pipe. The water is good but the pipes are bad. if we confess our sins God is faithful to forgive us our sins.
4. Pride. Pride is like little worms that infest our spirit until there is no more God just our ego leading toward destruction. Pride comes before the fall. Humble yourself before the Lord.
5. Lust. A man's eyes are the window to his soul. if the eyes are full of darkness then the soul will be also. Make a covenant with your eyes that you will not lust for that which does not belong to you.
6. Hypocrisy. Jesus told the Pharisees that they were good at cleaning the outside of the cup but inside they were like tombs, full of dead men's bones. It was their religious hypocrisy that made them unclean. Their motives were bad.
7. Shame. Guilt and shame left unchecked will cause us to condemn ourselves when Jesus died to set us free through forgiveness of sins. Once God forgives you, you have to forgive yourself.
Dear God,
Thank you for communing with me. Search me, oh God, and if you find any wicked way in me, take it out. Create in me the right spirit. I want you to pour me out as a drink offering that will be a blessing and not bitterness to those that receive your gift of ministry through me. Thank you for using me as a vessel to pour through. Fill my cup with your oil until my cup runs over.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Give Me This Hill!
Give Me this Hill!
Joshua 14:12
Now give me this Hill country that the Lord promised me that day you yourself heard them that the Anakites were thee and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
There is something yet to be fulfilled in your life that the Lord has spoken over you. You are older now and it seemed that this promise has eluded you but yet you still see the promise in front of you. Some where you must muster up the faith to claim what God has already spoken to your spirit. This is your time to go seize what God already showed you. Don’t give up on your dream. Get up out of your bed and go get what God promised to you! Give me this Hill!
Caleb was 85 years old when he came to remind Joshua that he had not received his land yet. It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you know God has promised something to you, then you need to go get it. There was a 81 year old black woman who won $365 million dollars in the Powerball lottery in Rhode Island. http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/odd/13102340/81-year-old-woman-wins-record-lottery-cash-jackpot/. Now this doesn’t mean you need to go throwing money away on a lottery ticket but it does mean that you’re not too old to win at life. Caleb reminded Joshua that the both of them went together 45 years earlier to spy out the land together and God showed Caleb that every place he set his foot that God would give it to him. The other ten spies were afraid because of the giants they saw in the land but Joshua and Caleb saw the fruit, the abundance, and the possibilities. They told Moses we can take this land!
Forty Five years later, Caleb an old man, tells Joshua, “Now Give me this Hill Country, I’m still as strong today as the day Moses set me out, and I’m ready to go out to battle.” Are you ready to go get your Hill country? This is how you get your hill and recover your promise:
1.Stay in Shape. Caleb was 85 but he was vigorous. You have to make sure you stay fit physically, mentally, and spiritually.
2.Remind yourself and other of the vision for your life. Put a picture up on your wall of what it is that you want. Write your vision and make it plain, then remind people of where you going.
3.Be ready to fight for it. Nothing is going to come easy. God will bring you into the Promised Land but you are going to have to fight for it.
4.Be realistic about the challenges. Caleb said, “I know the Giants are still there and their cities are fortified.’ Survey the challenges so that you know what you are up against but don’t let it stop you.
5.Have faith that God will be with you. Caleb said, “The Lord Helping me.” If God be for you who can be against you?
6.Drive out everything and everybody blocking your promise. Caleb said, “I will drive them out!”
7.Take possession of the Land. You can’t control what you don’t own. Take ownership of your land.
Dear God,
I’m ready to take possession of the Land. I’m ready to go in and fight for what you have for us. I’m strong and I believe that if you help me that I can be successful and fulfill the promise of what you’ve already shown me. This Hill country is mine for the taking. Grant me the strength, the resources, and the power to take possession of the land. I’m excited about the Kingdom possibilities that await me as I go forward to drive out everything that is not like you and establish your Kingdom purposes in this place. Thank you for the favor you have granted me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Joshua 14:12
Now give me this Hill country that the Lord promised me that day you yourself heard them that the Anakites were thee and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
There is something yet to be fulfilled in your life that the Lord has spoken over you. You are older now and it seemed that this promise has eluded you but yet you still see the promise in front of you. Some where you must muster up the faith to claim what God has already spoken to your spirit. This is your time to go seize what God already showed you. Don’t give up on your dream. Get up out of your bed and go get what God promised to you! Give me this Hill!
Caleb was 85 years old when he came to remind Joshua that he had not received his land yet. It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you know God has promised something to you, then you need to go get it. There was a 81 year old black woman who won $365 million dollars in the Powerball lottery in Rhode Island. http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/odd/13102340/81-year-old-woman-wins-record-lottery-cash-jackpot/. Now this doesn’t mean you need to go throwing money away on a lottery ticket but it does mean that you’re not too old to win at life. Caleb reminded Joshua that the both of them went together 45 years earlier to spy out the land together and God showed Caleb that every place he set his foot that God would give it to him. The other ten spies were afraid because of the giants they saw in the land but Joshua and Caleb saw the fruit, the abundance, and the possibilities. They told Moses we can take this land!
Forty Five years later, Caleb an old man, tells Joshua, “Now Give me this Hill Country, I’m still as strong today as the day Moses set me out, and I’m ready to go out to battle.” Are you ready to go get your Hill country? This is how you get your hill and recover your promise:
1.Stay in Shape. Caleb was 85 but he was vigorous. You have to make sure you stay fit physically, mentally, and spiritually.
2.Remind yourself and other of the vision for your life. Put a picture up on your wall of what it is that you want. Write your vision and make it plain, then remind people of where you going.
3.Be ready to fight for it. Nothing is going to come easy. God will bring you into the Promised Land but you are going to have to fight for it.
4.Be realistic about the challenges. Caleb said, “I know the Giants are still there and their cities are fortified.’ Survey the challenges so that you know what you are up against but don’t let it stop you.
5.Have faith that God will be with you. Caleb said, “The Lord Helping me.” If God be for you who can be against you?
6.Drive out everything and everybody blocking your promise. Caleb said, “I will drive them out!”
7.Take possession of the Land. You can’t control what you don’t own. Take ownership of your land.
Dear God,
I’m ready to take possession of the Land. I’m ready to go in and fight for what you have for us. I’m strong and I believe that if you help me that I can be successful and fulfill the promise of what you’ve already shown me. This Hill country is mine for the taking. Grant me the strength, the resources, and the power to take possession of the land. I’m excited about the Kingdom possibilities that await me as I go forward to drive out everything that is not like you and establish your Kingdom purposes in this place. Thank you for the favor you have granted me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
You Have A Nice Body!
You Have a Nice Body!
I Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? Therefore honor God with your body
People spend a lot of time these days trying to work on their bodies. There are Fitness Centers popping up all over the place to meet the demands of people trying to lose weight to take care of their bodies. Plastic surgeons are making more money than ever because people want the perfect body, cutting away at fat, enhancing what was lacking, lifting what was sagging, replacing what was missing, everybody is trying to take care of their body so they can hear people say, “you have a nice body!”
What’s amazing is before all of these efforts; many people already had nice bodies. I’m not talking about muscles and curves that appeal to the physical senses but I’m talking about how nice their temples are. When we belong to God and have accepted salvation from Jesus Christ, our bodies are transformed into Temples. The Holy Spirit moves in and we truly have nice bodies but when we are sexually reckless we turn something nice into something nasty.
Paul says, “Run from Sexual immorality! All other sins a man/woman commits are outside their body, but those who sin sexually sin against their own body. The very thing so many people are trying to do by getting in shape through exercise and cosmetic surgery is actually working against them when they are sexually disobedient.
How do we honor God with our bodies?
1. Reserve Sex for someone that you are married to.
2. Remain faithful in your marriage.
3. Don’t give into something that you will regret later
4. Don’t let anybody in your body who has not been sanctioned by God to get in
5. Watch what you let in your eye, your eye is the window to your soul.
6. Clean your temple by purging with prayer, praise and worship
7. Eat right, Exercise, and stay away from anything that would be detrimental to
your body’s well being. Flee from Sexual immorality.
Dear God,
Help me to live by your standards of Holiness and not the world’s standards of what is acceptable. All things are permissible in this world but not all things are beneficial to my body or my spirit. Help me to do what’s best for my body and my soul. Give me the mind of Christ so that when my body is saying yes my mind can override it with what’s right and beneficial. God, today, I will honor you with my body.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
I Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? Therefore honor God with your body
People spend a lot of time these days trying to work on their bodies. There are Fitness Centers popping up all over the place to meet the demands of people trying to lose weight to take care of their bodies. Plastic surgeons are making more money than ever because people want the perfect body, cutting away at fat, enhancing what was lacking, lifting what was sagging, replacing what was missing, everybody is trying to take care of their body so they can hear people say, “you have a nice body!”
What’s amazing is before all of these efforts; many people already had nice bodies. I’m not talking about muscles and curves that appeal to the physical senses but I’m talking about how nice their temples are. When we belong to God and have accepted salvation from Jesus Christ, our bodies are transformed into Temples. The Holy Spirit moves in and we truly have nice bodies but when we are sexually reckless we turn something nice into something nasty.
Paul says, “Run from Sexual immorality! All other sins a man/woman commits are outside their body, but those who sin sexually sin against their own body. The very thing so many people are trying to do by getting in shape through exercise and cosmetic surgery is actually working against them when they are sexually disobedient.
How do we honor God with our bodies?
1. Reserve Sex for someone that you are married to.
2. Remain faithful in your marriage.
3. Don’t give into something that you will regret later
4. Don’t let anybody in your body who has not been sanctioned by God to get in
5. Watch what you let in your eye, your eye is the window to your soul.
6. Clean your temple by purging with prayer, praise and worship
7. Eat right, Exercise, and stay away from anything that would be detrimental to
your body’s well being. Flee from Sexual immorality.
Dear God,
Help me to live by your standards of Holiness and not the world’s standards of what is acceptable. All things are permissible in this world but not all things are beneficial to my body or my spirit. Help me to do what’s best for my body and my soul. Give me the mind of Christ so that when my body is saying yes my mind can override it with what’s right and beneficial. God, today, I will honor you with my body.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Get Rid of It!
Get Rid of It!
I Corinthians 5:7
Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.
Yeast are a fungi that have fermented and cause the fermentable sugars present in dough into the gas carbon dioxide. This causes the dough to expand or rise as gas forms pockets or bubbles. When the dough is baked, the yeast dies and the air pockets “set,” giving the baked product a soft texture.
Yeast is good for bread but bad for the body. Jesus took the Bread on Passover and said, “This Bread is my Body.” The Passover Bread was made without Yeast! When we allow yeast into the Body of Christ it causes a yeast infection. Yeast was never meant to be in the Body of Christ. All it takes is a little yeast to mess up the body of Christ.
Paul used yeast as an analogy of malice and wickedness, particularly, Sexual Wickedness. A man in the church was sleeping with his Father’s wife. This caused a spiritual yeast infection in the church. Sin began to rise in the church because nobody put his man in check. It wasn’t so much this one man’s disobedience as it was people in the church knowing about it but not doing anything about it. In fact, Paul said, “They were proud and boasting about it!” It always amazes me how many people already know about something bad going on in an organization before it finally blows up. A lot of scandals could have been avoided if people would have spoken up about yeast infections. Sometimes, we experience unnecessary warfare and defeat because people allow yeast in the body to go untouched. Israel was defeated by the smallest city, AI, because one man kept some devoted things in his house. God made Moses get rid of that man and his family because he caused everybody else to be defeated. When we allow wickedness in the camp to go unchecked it is because:
1. There is no accountability. 1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?
2. There is no Correction. 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,[a][b] so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
3. There is too much bragging about that which we should be ashamed of. 6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?
4. There is too much corroboration. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[c] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
Paul says, “Get Rid of Old yeast so that you can be a New Batch.” What are some things you need to get rid of that are threatening your success? What are some things that can destroy your movement from the inside out? Get Rid of It.
Dear God,
Search me, if you find any yeast in me, in my ministry, in my business, in my relationships, take it out, so that I can rise to the top.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
I Corinthians 5:7
Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.
Yeast are a fungi that have fermented and cause the fermentable sugars present in dough into the gas carbon dioxide. This causes the dough to expand or rise as gas forms pockets or bubbles. When the dough is baked, the yeast dies and the air pockets “set,” giving the baked product a soft texture.
Yeast is good for bread but bad for the body. Jesus took the Bread on Passover and said, “This Bread is my Body.” The Passover Bread was made without Yeast! When we allow yeast into the Body of Christ it causes a yeast infection. Yeast was never meant to be in the Body of Christ. All it takes is a little yeast to mess up the body of Christ.
Paul used yeast as an analogy of malice and wickedness, particularly, Sexual Wickedness. A man in the church was sleeping with his Father’s wife. This caused a spiritual yeast infection in the church. Sin began to rise in the church because nobody put his man in check. It wasn’t so much this one man’s disobedience as it was people in the church knowing about it but not doing anything about it. In fact, Paul said, “They were proud and boasting about it!” It always amazes me how many people already know about something bad going on in an organization before it finally blows up. A lot of scandals could have been avoided if people would have spoken up about yeast infections. Sometimes, we experience unnecessary warfare and defeat because people allow yeast in the body to go untouched. Israel was defeated by the smallest city, AI, because one man kept some devoted things in his house. God made Moses get rid of that man and his family because he caused everybody else to be defeated. When we allow wickedness in the camp to go unchecked it is because:
1. There is no accountability. 1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?
2. There is no Correction. 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,[a][b] so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
3. There is too much bragging about that which we should be ashamed of. 6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?
4. There is too much corroboration. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[c] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
Paul says, “Get Rid of Old yeast so that you can be a New Batch.” What are some things you need to get rid of that are threatening your success? What are some things that can destroy your movement from the inside out? Get Rid of It.
Dear God,
Search me, if you find any yeast in me, in my ministry, in my business, in my relationships, take it out, so that I can rise to the top.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Time Will Tell
I Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
It can be difficult at times to know who is with you and who is not; who is friend and who is foe. A prophet told me, “Even on their best days some people are still working for the devil.” Even still you have to be careful judging people’s motives too soon. If you keep watching them Time will tell.
My 16-year-old son, Omari went to dinner with me last night. He said, “My friend ‘John’ is a social bug, he never meets a stranger but I sit back to see what people are all about first.” That just hit me this morning. God is telling me that I need to become more like my son the older I get. I have to wait before I rush in or out of a relationship because time will tell.
Paul was trying to help the Christians in Corinth with their interpersonal relationships. He cautioned them on being in a hurry in condemning or celebrating people too soon:
1. Judge nothing before the appointed time. You need time to gather all of the evidence and the facts before judgment. In an earlier verse Paul says, “The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. You can’t navigate relationships well if you don’t have reliable and accurate knowledge of what or whom you are dealing with.
2. Wait 'til the Lord comes. There are some things that flesh and blood can’t reveal. Sometimes you need two or three voices of counsel praying with you. As a matter of fact the Old Testament said that you need at least two witnesses before you condemn somebody. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be in the midst.” You need Jesus present to give insight.
3. God will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. Time will tell what the real motives behind every person that is in your life.
4. At that time each will receive his praise from God. If God is in it, it will be blessed, if not it will die.
Dear God,
Show me who’s who in my life. Surround me with the right people and expose the wrong people. Give me the wisdom to gather all the evidence before I pass judgment give me discernment.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
It can be difficult at times to know who is with you and who is not; who is friend and who is foe. A prophet told me, “Even on their best days some people are still working for the devil.” Even still you have to be careful judging people’s motives too soon. If you keep watching them Time will tell.
My 16-year-old son, Omari went to dinner with me last night. He said, “My friend ‘John’ is a social bug, he never meets a stranger but I sit back to see what people are all about first.” That just hit me this morning. God is telling me that I need to become more like my son the older I get. I have to wait before I rush in or out of a relationship because time will tell.
Paul was trying to help the Christians in Corinth with their interpersonal relationships. He cautioned them on being in a hurry in condemning or celebrating people too soon:
1. Judge nothing before the appointed time. You need time to gather all of the evidence and the facts before judgment. In an earlier verse Paul says, “The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. You can’t navigate relationships well if you don’t have reliable and accurate knowledge of what or whom you are dealing with.
2. Wait 'til the Lord comes. There are some things that flesh and blood can’t reveal. Sometimes you need two or three voices of counsel praying with you. As a matter of fact the Old Testament said that you need at least two witnesses before you condemn somebody. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be in the midst.” You need Jesus present to give insight.
3. God will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. Time will tell what the real motives behind every person that is in your life.
4. At that time each will receive his praise from God. If God is in it, it will be blessed, if not it will die.
Dear God,
Show me who’s who in my life. Surround me with the right people and expose the wrong people. Give me the wisdom to gather all the evidence before I pass judgment give me discernment.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
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