MESSAGE OF THE WEEK

Where the Battle Is Won!    POSTED ON 04.08.10
The garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives was one of the Lord’s favorite places to pray throughout His earthly ministry (Luke 22:39). But believers remember it best as the site of a great spiritual battle. The story of Jesus pleading with His Father is extremely meaningful to Christians, and one of the reasons is that the Lord looked so human. From the gospel’s description, we can see that Jesus, the God-man, experienced fear, anxiety, and dread as He prayed. In other words, He reacted to His imminent ordeal with feelings we can relate to and understand.

Satan taunts believers by telling them they can’t be like Jesus because He is God. But He was God cloaked in human flesh, which means that He experienced the world as we do. Yet He won every spiritual and life battle he faced. The secret to His success is what He did at Gethsemane. He secluded Himself and prayed until His will was fully surrendered to the Father. The battle was won on His knees.

Jesus left the garden a prisoner, but at the same time He walked out a winner. He accepted God’s will for His life, even though pain was a guarantee. Our Savior had been called to die, and He knew that the potential blessings and consequences were all in His Father’s hands.

Believers confront fearsome trials too. God uses these hardships to conform us to His Son’s image (Rom. 8:29). If we are to be like Jesus, we must learn from His actions. In the face of difficulty, we should seek God’s will, commit to following it, and leave the consequences in His almighty hands.

--Charles Stanley

Patience for winter to pass!    POSTED ON 03.08.10
We will always have seasons of struggles and testing. There are times when everything we attempt to do will seem to go wrong. Regardless of our prayers and consecration, adversity will come. We can’t pray away God’s seasons. The Lord has a purpose in not allowing us to be fruitful all the time…. When God sends the chilly winds of winter to blow on our circumstances, we must still trust Him. In spite of our dislike for the blinding white winds and the icy grip of winter seasons, there is a purpose for these temporary inconveniences.

The apostle Paul calls such times “…light affliction, which is but for a moment…” (2 Cor. 4:17). I say, “This too shall pass!” Some things you are not meant to change, but to survive. So if you can’t alter it, then outlive it! Be like a tree. In the frosty arms of winter the forest silently refurbishes its strength, preparing for its next season of fruitfulness. Its branches rocking in the winds, the sap and substance of the tree go underground. It is not good-bye, though; in the spring it will push its way up into the budding of a new experience. Temporary setbacks create opportunities for fresh commitment and renewal. If you were to record your accomplishments, you would notice that they were seasonal. There are seasons of sunshine as well as rain. Pleasure comes, then pain, then vice versa. Each stage has its own purpose.

One of the greatest struggles I have encountered is the temptation to make permanent decisions based on temporary circumstances. Someone once said, “Patience is a tree whose root is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” The reward of patience is reflected in gradually not having to amend your amendments. Temporary circumstances do not always require action. I have found that prayer brings us into patience. Patience results from trust. We cannot trust a God we don’t talk with. Do not misunderstand me; God needs men and women who are decisive. However, every situation shouldn’t get an immediate reaction. Prayer is the seasoning of good judgment. Without it, our decisions will not be palatable.

--T.D. Jakes

In your element!    POSTED ON 02.29.10
Element is used to describe the place where things we love to do and things we are good at come together. Each one of us must find our element. Have you ever heard the saying, "he is in his element"? It's that place where everything you do well and beautifully is enhanced and expressed without hindrance because of the perfect environment you're in. Water is the element of fish for instance. You've also possibly heard the saying, "he's like a fish out of water," well that simply means you are “out of your element.” Many people suffer unnecessarily because they are forced to operate out of their element and when this happens there is a pressure on them to be something that they're not. This is one huge positive in terms of a prophetic gift. My belief is that a prophetic voice places a person in their element by releasing a word to them that in turn forces them to seek an environment conducive or favorable for their gift.

King David was in his element in the wild, on the hills and mountains with his harp in one hand and his sling in the other. He was chosen as King but the environment that was afforded him was not favorable for his existence. Once he got into the polished, marble and gold palace, he felt like a fish out of water. He ended up with another man's wife and killing his best friend. Eventually, King David built a mountain, a rough mountain, and called it Zion. On that mountain, he placed a tent, and in the tent, the Ark of the Covenant. He called this place, “The City of David.” He created an environment where he was inspired and “at home.” He was in his element. People need to have the chance to do what they should be doing and to discover their element in their own way.

The fact is that there is a difference between your purpose and your destiny. Your destiny is your ultimate election. Your purpose is your present call. What did God choose you to do ultimately on this earth? What is your ultimate election? What were you elected to do before you were born? That's what your destiny is. What is your purpose? Your purpose is whatever you are called to do right now at this very moment. Again, let me mention King David. David was one of those guys that was in his element when he was in the field, with his harp and with his slingshot, when he was killing bears and lions, and singing songs to God. One day the prophet Samuel came to him and said, "You are anointed to be the King of Israel." And from that point onwards destiny was released in David. David already had an election before he was born, but destiny was released. It was stagnant until the prophetic word came to David.

The same applies to you - there is something inside of you that has not yet been unlocked. There is a destiny inside of you that you don't even know about, that you were elected for long before you were born, and suddenly the Spirit breathes on you and immediately that destiny inside of you is released, it's unlocked, and you suddenly become more aware of it. Once Samuel had prophesied and laid his hands upon David and said, "You are the King of Israel," did David become the king immediately? No, not according to the Scriptures - it tells us that it took years until David was finally crowned as the King of Judah, and then later the King of Israel. This is important for you to realize; David lived according to his destiny while he was serving his purpose. Destiny is what you are ultimately called to perform in this life. Your purpose is what you are called to perform while progressing to your destiny.

First of all, David is elected and anointed to be the King of Israel, the King of Zion. But he is a young man. He goes out into the fields and one day he hears the sound of a giant that is challenging the people of Israel. Suddenly, something rises in David and he becomes enraged and boldness rises inside of him. His destined authority takes over and he begins to say things that he never dreamed he would say as a shepherd and psalmist. David begins to speak to the people and says, "Give me this uncircumcised Philistine, I'll take him down!" This boldness provokes anger and jealousy amongst his brothers. His brothers say, "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in the field looking after our Dad's sheep." They get provoked to jealousy, because sometimes that's what happens when the authority of God comes upon you when you have a destiny. So David says, "I want to have a chance to fight this giant." You know this story. He prophesies to Goliath and tells him exactly what he's going to do with him in the name of the Lord of Hosts, and it happens! From that point onwards, David's call or purpose is to be an armor bearer for King Saul. You may think, "He was anointed to be the King of Israel!” Well that's right, but you've got to understand that he has to serve a purpose before he takes the throne in his ultimate election.

What is your call? What is your purpose? What are you called to do right now? David was called to be an armor bearer and psalmist-musician for King Saul; that was his temporary purpose. Your purpose is always temporary, always changing but always promoting your destiny. Your present purpose is never permanent. It's important for you to understand that. What you are doing right now may only be for a specific time because God is leading you to your destiny. But if you don't fulfill your call, you may never get to your destiny. What was David's “call” after that? David's call after that was to run into the wild and live there in exile. King Saul became jealous of David and chased after him attempting to kill the anointing that he felt belonged to him. David's call, or his purpose, was to be in the field, in the mountains and the hills. Yet even though he was in a place of confinement, he was fulfilling a call and a purpose.

Joseph was anointed and had a dream of Kingship. His brothers became jealous of him and were provoked to anger. Why? Because Joseph opened his mouth and spoke with boldness and said, "This is what I dreamed." You see, that boldness comes upon you only when you have been released into your destiny. Once you've been released into your destiny, you may not even realize it, but you are speaking out something that is already in existence. Many other people will be angry with you and upset. After they sold Joseph as a slave, he was “called” to be in Potiphar's home. Joseph was then placed into prison, and even though he was in solitary confinement, he had a purpose. His purpose was to minister to the butler, to the baker and to the prisoners, and he did it! The Bible says that Joseph prospered in prison. You can prosper in any kind of confinement IF you realize that this is your purpose, and this purpose is leading you to your ultimate election. You don't have to be confined by bars. You don't have to be confined by the words of people. You don't have to be confined by hatred, jealousy or competition. No matter where they place you, you will still prosper because your destiny dictates your present circumstances. Many of you don't realize that if you keep your eye on your destiny and you fulfill your present purpose - which is whatever you are called to do - whether mopping floors somewhere or working a menial job, YOU WILL BE HAPPY WHILE ON YOUR JOURNEY TO YOUR POSITION IN LIFE.

2 Peter 1:10: "Therefore brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and your election sure. For if you do these things you will not stumble."

When you are sure of your call and you are sure of your election, you will never stumble. The word "stumble" there doesn't mean that you're not going to sin and you're not going to make a mistake. It just means that you may fall down, you may make a mistake, but you will ultimately rise up and you will get back on track because YOUR CALL AND YOUR DESTINY WILL RESTORE YOU. Now I'm going to rephrase this because I want you to be in your element. I want you to be at the place where you are doing what you enjoy doing and you are doing what you do well, so that you are not like a fish out of water. Remember, there's a difference between your call and your election. Your call is your purpose in 2009. What is your purpose in 2009? "Well, I'm called to be a radio announcer; well I'm called at this time to be a janitor, but I know that one day I'm going to be a multi-millionaire, I'm going to be a great salesman, an entrepreneur." Make sure of what your call is, and make sure of your election. What's amazing is that in verse 11, "if you do this, (if you know what your election is and if you know what your call is) an entrance will be supplied for you in the everlasting Kingdom." What does this mean? Everybody wants to enter the Kingdom. I'm not talking about going to Heaven. Entering the Kingdom of God means being effective, powerful, influential and affluent in every way on this Earth for the purpose of God. Peter says, "You have an entrance into the everlasting Kingdom.” The Kingdom of God is the rulership of God and we have to enter that. And he says, “If you know what your calling is, if you know what your election is, there will be a door open to you into the everlasting Kingdom.”

Why was David able to sing, "My heart is fixed oh God, my heart is fixed, I WILL sing praises, yes I will sing praises!” while he was in a cave? What gave him this boldness? He was hated by an entire army. King Saul was looking to kill him. He had a few men around him that weren't even trustworthy. He had no reason, while in a cave under miserable circumstances and conditions, to say, "My heart is fixed.” He knew what his purpose was, he knew what his election was and so he sang to God, "My heart is fixed and I will sing praises." If someone can say "My heart is stable, I'm not insecure, and I'm going to sing praises," then even if that person was in prison or in debt or whatever, that person has security, NOT in his circumstances, NOT in the things that are happening around him, but he is confident in this one thing; "He that has called me is faithful and He will do it." David knew he was the King of Israel. He was dumped in a miserable cave, chased by an army, but he lifted up his voice and he said "My heart is steady, my heart is secure, and I WILL sing praise!" And he did it. He sang praise and the result was that he ended up being the King of Israel.

When God breathes on somebody and speaks, He places that person in their element, which in turn forces them to seek an environment conducive or favorable for their gift. When God speaks to you and shows you what you are going to do one day, what ultimately happens then is the enemy of your soul tries to create an environment to stifle your creativity. He tries to create a religious environment to stifle your gift so it won't be effective and what that does is it forces you to find and create an environment where you can be most effective. You have to seek and create an environment where you are in your element, where you are operating at your best, your finest, being your sharpest. You have the ability to create that environment. I have found that if you can operate your gift like David did in a cave and like Joseph did in prison, then you've learned to create an environment that brings the best out of you, under the most difficult circumstances and one day when things are more favorable, you will perform perfectly. That's what God wants from you. Don't ever think that you are going to be stuck in this rut forever. Start searching and saying, "What do I need to do to be most effective?" and then create the environment that will bring the best out of you. GO!

--Kim Clement

Don't let fear hold you back!    POSTED ON 02.22.10
The fear of failure is something we all face, especially when we decide to do new things . . . like following God's divine plan for our life. Maybe you're worried about failing on your job, in your marriage, as a parent, in your divine calling or financially. Don't allow the fear of failure to overwhelm you and cause you to be afraid of opportunity.

The only way to ensure you never fail is if you never try. And if you never try, you'll live with regret. God's Word says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). To help you overcome the fear of failure, I want to remind you of a few facts.

Everybody fails. Each one of us will experience failure at some point in our lives. In fact, we are all part of the failure club when it comes to our sins. "For all hae sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Failure is not final. It's not fatal to fail. "For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again" (Proverbs 24:6). Don't camp around the fire of your failure whining. Get up, in Jesus' name, and go after the opportunities He has given you!

There are benefits to failure. Failure can drive some to their knees and help them get their act together. Failure educates and failure can help you discern your true talent. You can overcome fear and guarantee success by making "love" the motivation for all you do. "Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8). God's Word says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). Remember that God loves you. The answer to overcoming your fear and failure is not a program; it is a person—Jesus Christ. If you understand God's perfect love and want to share it with others, there is no room for fear in your life.

--Jentzen Franklin