Bishop Woods has been sharing with us during Sunday sermons that there is wealth ready and available for us. We have the potential of benefiting from that wealth; however, we have to prepare ourselves for the transfer. A few weeks back he instructed us that we needed to let out a shout in order to let the enemy know that it is time for a transfer. This week he let us know that we need to declare, "I am NOT where I am. I am where I am going!" When we understand that then we can also say in the face of any struggle, "I got this!" If God be for us . . . who dat?"
Bishop Woods told us that we are divinely designed to be supernaturally blessed and that God is positioning the Church to receive a wealth transfer.
With this knowledge we have got to know that it is time to focus on things above. Focus on moving ahead. Focus on becoming a new creature. Whatsoever things are pure, righteous . . . I reflected on Sunday about many of the things that I have said that were out of ignorance. I learned in the moment that Bishop was teaching us that it is in our best interest to stay on the side of speaking life. There is no misunderstanding when we speak life. There is no taking our words out of context when we speak life and speaking life into a situation gets us ready for a spiritual transfer.
Last, my daughter asked me for a coin to throw into a fountain because she wanted to make a wish. I gave her the coin and watched her throw it in and then cup her hands in prayer. I asked her, "I thought you said you wanted to make a wish? Weren't you praying?" She said, "Yes, I was praying and wishing!" As we prepare for the transfer we should be found in a similar posture. We should be found praying and wishing which simply translates to seeking God and hoping. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen therefore as our Bishop has shared with us before, our faith holds us in position until . . . our prayers or answered or our destiny arrives. Getting ready for the transfer means getting into a position of seeking God, hoping, standing still and seeing the salvation of the Lord. Remember that message that Bishop told us about David? Bishop said, "David had a problem. David prayed. David had progress!"
Seek God first through prayer. He will hear you and respond because of relationship. Your faith will keep you during the transfer season between your promise and your destiny. Get ready!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Why no one knew Him--A story about forgiveness
Jesus' arrival had been prophesied, proclaimed and predicted, yet when He arrived the important people didn't recognize Him. He came with all power, authority and glory wrapped in rags and laying in a trough meant for animals to feed from. I am in awe when I think about Jesus. I am in awe when it is revealed to us how God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
We mistakenly measure people by their possessions. When they do not appear to have the right status they cannot hang with us, and if they do have a little something we embarrass ourselves hanging on to their every word and action, begging to be around them. Jesus has everything but when He arrived on the scene He appeared to have nothing so the in people shunned Him and avoided Him like the plague. They felt that He was the least when He knew He was the greatest. The anointing doesn't always draw. Only those who truly want to be saved find the anointing attractive. People who are caught up in their own agenda find the anointing distasteful and unappealing. They are attracted to things, power, and possessions. In other words they are gold diggers and opportunists looking for a chance to shine.
Jesus was unpopular, left out left alone, talked about, beat on, spit at. People hated Him for no reason--He hadn't done anything to anyone. He gave an example of a better way of living. But every time He was around His life shed light on sin, vanity, and a lack of humility. He was hated because the people didn't want to change. They had religion. They held positions of authority in the synagogue. They were the elite among the Jews. No one could question their deeds and they had their tight click--so who was this Jesus trying to offer them salvation? He had nothing that they needed and was nothing to them. He came from Nazareth and after all what good could come from there?
They were smug. They were haughty. They were looking for a king. He didn't fit the description. His very presence was unwanted. They didn't want to talk to Him and wouldn't unless they had to. They couldn't get along with Him. They didn't want to even look at Him. These individuals had a personality conflict with Jesus. The personality conflict was so strong that they felt the need to remove His presence from their lives for ever. They crucified Him to make Him an open mockery and to prove that their click was the best click and they were in control and they were running the show and no Jesus was going to get in and make a difference in how they did things.
The power of forgiveness on the cross is the greatest power on earth. There is no amount of money that can buy that power. It is the power that comes with having been justified and being in the position to become the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. This is the power to reconcile, to remove the stain of sin; to erase my shame and my deeds. It is the power that reaches way down for someone like me--even me. It is the power that is Alpha and Omega that steps outside of time and revives to resurrect from the dead. There is no greater power because it comes from the agape love of God.
We celebrate Jesus' forgiveness through His sacrifice. We apply His forgiveness to our lives. Then we refuse to get along with each other. We talk about each other, look down on each other, step on one another, form clicks and leave people out, refuse to show the same forgiveness that we have come to expect from our Lord and Savior. How can we?
Jesus came with all power, authority, glory wrapped in rags. The power of forgiveness is the greatest power. It isn't pretty. It isn't glammed up. Is it in you?
We mistakenly measure people by their possessions. When they do not appear to have the right status they cannot hang with us, and if they do have a little something we embarrass ourselves hanging on to their every word and action, begging to be around them. Jesus has everything but when He arrived on the scene He appeared to have nothing so the in people shunned Him and avoided Him like the plague. They felt that He was the least when He knew He was the greatest. The anointing doesn't always draw. Only those who truly want to be saved find the anointing attractive. People who are caught up in their own agenda find the anointing distasteful and unappealing. They are attracted to things, power, and possessions. In other words they are gold diggers and opportunists looking for a chance to shine.
Jesus was unpopular, left out left alone, talked about, beat on, spit at. People hated Him for no reason--He hadn't done anything to anyone. He gave an example of a better way of living. But every time He was around His life shed light on sin, vanity, and a lack of humility. He was hated because the people didn't want to change. They had religion. They held positions of authority in the synagogue. They were the elite among the Jews. No one could question their deeds and they had their tight click--so who was this Jesus trying to offer them salvation? He had nothing that they needed and was nothing to them. He came from Nazareth and after all what good could come from there?
They were smug. They were haughty. They were looking for a king. He didn't fit the description. His very presence was unwanted. They didn't want to talk to Him and wouldn't unless they had to. They couldn't get along with Him. They didn't want to even look at Him. These individuals had a personality conflict with Jesus. The personality conflict was so strong that they felt the need to remove His presence from their lives for ever. They crucified Him to make Him an open mockery and to prove that their click was the best click and they were in control and they were running the show and no Jesus was going to get in and make a difference in how they did things.
The power of forgiveness on the cross is the greatest power on earth. There is no amount of money that can buy that power. It is the power that comes with having been justified and being in the position to become the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. This is the power to reconcile, to remove the stain of sin; to erase my shame and my deeds. It is the power that reaches way down for someone like me--even me. It is the power that is Alpha and Omega that steps outside of time and revives to resurrect from the dead. There is no greater power because it comes from the agape love of God.
We celebrate Jesus' forgiveness through His sacrifice. We apply His forgiveness to our lives. Then we refuse to get along with each other. We talk about each other, look down on each other, step on one another, form clicks and leave people out, refuse to show the same forgiveness that we have come to expect from our Lord and Savior. How can we?
Jesus came with all power, authority, glory wrapped in rags. The power of forgiveness is the greatest power. It isn't pretty. It isn't glammed up. Is it in you?
Monday, April 5, 2010
Productivity Part II: Stop the Violence
In last week’s Gear-Up, we discussed productivity and what productivity looks like from a biblical worldview. It was clearly stated that busy work is not necessarily productivity. According to John 15:1 & 2, the scriptures suggest that productivity is directly linked to your purpose. In another scripture we find Jesus hungry and approached a fig tree in its season. The leaves were full and gave the appearance that it was fruitful (productive), but from a closer advantage point He found that the fig tree was busy giving the appearance of being productive, but bared no fruit (Matthew 21:18-20). In verse 20 we find that the tree withered and died.
The most profound part of these scriptures is the death of a withering tree. The tree found himself doing a lot of busy work, so when it was needed in its purpose he couldn’t produce fruit. Often times busy work has distracted us from our God given purpose, so when we are needed; we have no fruit to give. A great deal of energy and resources is used to produce unfruitful works and we continue to take on more, without the ability to say no. It is sad to say that the body of Christ is overdosing on over-commitment. The culture that we established, suggest that we are invincible and can do all things in our own strength (not in Christ). The result is an individual that is frustrated, burned out, stressed, depressed, and multiple other health concerns manifest; the symptoms of a dying tree.
The neglect of self-care and operating outside your purpose is considered self-violence. Self-neglect is a contemporary form of violence to one’s self. Self-violence defined by Jones (2001) is “to allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence” (p. 12). This act of self-violence destroys an individual’s inner peace, wisdom and their ability to be productive according to God’s will. STOP THE VIOLENCE and Think About It!
Arnulfo A. Peat, Jr. is currently the Executive Pastor of Urban Empowerment and Founder of Think About It Ministries. Peat serves in ministry with his wife Nicole Peat and their three children; Elisha, Nathaniel, and Valerie. For more information go to www.ThinkAboutIt.name
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Spiritual Warfare--Continued--Bishop Woods Overview
II Cor. 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Getting to God's promises for you is not arriving at a place. It is experiencing everything that has proceeded out of the mouth of God on your behalf.
Remember that anything that we do outside of the Spirit of God is bondage. There are some symptoms of the spirit of bondage. These are how you know you are operating outside of the Spirit of God.
The first is the spirit of fear.
I Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
When you fear and worry it is a symptom that you have not turned everything over to the Lord. You are relying on your limited thoughts and your limited resources. When you give all to the Lord you don't worry about how bills are going to be paid or how you are going to make it from day to day. God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory.
Matthew 6:25-29
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
As Minister Tina Johnson shared with us, it is God's good pleasure to take care of the needs of His children. It is now time to mature in Christ to the place where you know that His plans for you are for good and not for evil to give you a hope and a future. Know that He desires to be the head of your life that when you submit even the very smallest care to Him that He will give you power to stand and to overcome. Do not be overcome by fear, but rather overcome fear by trusting in the one who supplies all of our needs.
We have to be delivered from fear so that we can operate in faith.
The second symptom of the Spirit of Bondage is addiction. People mistakenly believe that they can only be addicted to sex, drugs, alcohol. However, you can be addicted to yourself. Addiction is preferring anything that is common or carnal over God.
Know that there is a difference between deliverance and spiritual warfare. Deliverance is dealing with demonic bondage and getting a person set free from that. This is the process of becoming spiritually whole. Deliverance is needed when a person is already bound. We have all needed to be delivered from something.
Spiritual warfare is resisting the Devil and overcoming attacks. When you overcome an attack it is less likely that you can be caught up in that situation again because you have conquered it through Christ. Spiritual warfare is fighting against a thing so that you don't revert. You gain spiritual tools and weapons that assist you with resisting and overcoming temptation. When you overcome you can identify the issue and you now have the credibility to testify and help someone else to overcome.
The Word of God comes to complete us. It comes to develop us. It comes to mature us. When we apply the Word to our lives we grow, change and become like Christ.
You cannot be whole in what God has called you to do when you are in bondage to something. There are spiritual connections that keep us from operating in God's will. We become bound by the results of our sin and sometimes that bondage can have long lasting affects that keep us from completing God's purpose for our lives because that bondage brings condemnation, torment and self loathing. In order to reach God's purpose after being bogged down in bondage, we have to overcome the root and the subsequent consequences of our sin.
Be very careful not to get caught up in pornography, too many relationships, the wrong relationships etc. These are the ties that bind us down and keep us from reaching our purpose. There are things that have happened to us in the past that keep us broken.
We need to get to the place where we are a spiritual force to be reckoned with.
The enemy has three weapons:
Deception: makes another person think or believe a lie. No one in the world should have more power over you than God. No one should have you thinking something that is in contrast to God's promises for you. If they do, you have been deceived--even when it is yourself. There is no issue or place that should have more power over you than God. Eph. 6:11 tells us to put on the whole armor so that we can stand against the whiles or methods of the devil.
Get from around where the enemy is trying to deceive you! That's how you resist. Don't go to the same places and hang with the same people. Beware when your sinful routine has become your norm. It is okay to be uncomfortable if that means changing who you hang around with when those people do not speak life and want the will of God to be completed in you.
Temptation: The enemy will dangle a worm in front of you. That worm is always something you want. He has been dealing with humans long enough to know what works. Don't fall for the worm. Let the devil know that you are not ignorant of his devices and that you see the hook. Because it is the hook that gets us caught up. The enemy wants to keep you in bondage by tempting you to do things that he knows will have you in regret, condemnation and fear. We have to learn to resist the enemy. The Bible says that if we resist him he will flee. What we fail to realize is that even though he flees he always comes back so we have to wage a constant and consistent battle.
The enemy is an accuser: he wants you to feel like you are not qualified to do the will of God. See that mess for what it is. It is simply condemnation. The Bible says there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. So while you may have used to do something or used to have a certain reputation, just like Saul turning to Paul when you are in Christ you are a new creature. You are called according to His purpose and no devil in hell can change that for your life. Do not allow the enemy to move you out of position by bringing up your past. Let the devil know that Jesus erased the evidence!
Getting to God's promises for you is not arriving at a place. It is experiencing everything that has proceeded out of the mouth of God on your behalf.
Remember that anything that we do outside of the Spirit of God is bondage. There are some symptoms of the spirit of bondage. These are how you know you are operating outside of the Spirit of God.
The first is the spirit of fear.
I Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
When you fear and worry it is a symptom that you have not turned everything over to the Lord. You are relying on your limited thoughts and your limited resources. When you give all to the Lord you don't worry about how bills are going to be paid or how you are going to make it from day to day. God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory.
Matthew 6:25-29
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
As Minister Tina Johnson shared with us, it is God's good pleasure to take care of the needs of His children. It is now time to mature in Christ to the place where you know that His plans for you are for good and not for evil to give you a hope and a future. Know that He desires to be the head of your life that when you submit even the very smallest care to Him that He will give you power to stand and to overcome. Do not be overcome by fear, but rather overcome fear by trusting in the one who supplies all of our needs.
We have to be delivered from fear so that we can operate in faith.
The second symptom of the Spirit of Bondage is addiction. People mistakenly believe that they can only be addicted to sex, drugs, alcohol. However, you can be addicted to yourself. Addiction is preferring anything that is common or carnal over God.
Know that there is a difference between deliverance and spiritual warfare. Deliverance is dealing with demonic bondage and getting a person set free from that. This is the process of becoming spiritually whole. Deliverance is needed when a person is already bound. We have all needed to be delivered from something.
Spiritual warfare is resisting the Devil and overcoming attacks. When you overcome an attack it is less likely that you can be caught up in that situation again because you have conquered it through Christ. Spiritual warfare is fighting against a thing so that you don't revert. You gain spiritual tools and weapons that assist you with resisting and overcoming temptation. When you overcome you can identify the issue and you now have the credibility to testify and help someone else to overcome.
The Word of God comes to complete us. It comes to develop us. It comes to mature us. When we apply the Word to our lives we grow, change and become like Christ.
You cannot be whole in what God has called you to do when you are in bondage to something. There are spiritual connections that keep us from operating in God's will. We become bound by the results of our sin and sometimes that bondage can have long lasting affects that keep us from completing God's purpose for our lives because that bondage brings condemnation, torment and self loathing. In order to reach God's purpose after being bogged down in bondage, we have to overcome the root and the subsequent consequences of our sin.
Be very careful not to get caught up in pornography, too many relationships, the wrong relationships etc. These are the ties that bind us down and keep us from reaching our purpose. There are things that have happened to us in the past that keep us broken.
We need to get to the place where we are a spiritual force to be reckoned with.
The enemy has three weapons:
Deception: makes another person think or believe a lie. No one in the world should have more power over you than God. No one should have you thinking something that is in contrast to God's promises for you. If they do, you have been deceived--even when it is yourself. There is no issue or place that should have more power over you than God. Eph. 6:11 tells us to put on the whole armor so that we can stand against the whiles or methods of the devil.
Get from around where the enemy is trying to deceive you! That's how you resist. Don't go to the same places and hang with the same people. Beware when your sinful routine has become your norm. It is okay to be uncomfortable if that means changing who you hang around with when those people do not speak life and want the will of God to be completed in you.
Temptation: The enemy will dangle a worm in front of you. That worm is always something you want. He has been dealing with humans long enough to know what works. Don't fall for the worm. Let the devil know that you are not ignorant of his devices and that you see the hook. Because it is the hook that gets us caught up. The enemy wants to keep you in bondage by tempting you to do things that he knows will have you in regret, condemnation and fear. We have to learn to resist the enemy. The Bible says that if we resist him he will flee. What we fail to realize is that even though he flees he always comes back so we have to wage a constant and consistent battle.
The enemy is an accuser: he wants you to feel like you are not qualified to do the will of God. See that mess for what it is. It is simply condemnation. The Bible says there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. So while you may have used to do something or used to have a certain reputation, just like Saul turning to Paul when you are in Christ you are a new creature. You are called according to His purpose and no devil in hell can change that for your life. Do not allow the enemy to move you out of position by bringing up your past. Let the devil know that Jesus erased the evidence!
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