The Sabotager's Identity

About three years ago, I had this dream....

The Sabotager's Identity

We had several missions ahead and I saw many of us sitting at a table planning the mission and then when we would head out to accomplish it, we were always met up with defeat. It seemed that "the enemy" had already been there and sabotaged our mission, our plan. This went on for several missions...first the scene of many of us sitting around a table, planning missions, going to each one, but facing defeat. Always facing defeat! What was going on?!?

It seemed like the enemy was always one step ahead of us. It was as if he knew our plans. It was then we thought...there must be a spy in our midst. How was the enemy finding out our plans, going ahead of us, and sabotaging our mission?

I must find out who the spy is! I must know who is sabotaging our efforts before we even get there!

As I went to the Lord in prayer, seeking Him for answers, it was finally revealed. The enemy, the sabotager, the destroyer was OUR OWN WORDS.

God led me to Numbers Chapter 13 & 14 as a good example for this:

The Lord told Moses to send men to spy out the land of Canaan. 12 men were sent. After 40 days, they returned and ten of the men reported that there was land flowing with milk and honey and showed them the fruit that they brought back. But they also reported that the people were strong and that the cities were walled and very great. But Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it: for we are well able to overcome it”. But the men who went with him said, “We are not able to to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. The men are of great stature. We saw giants and we are as grasshoppers in their sight.”

Because of the evil report brought by the 10 spies, it caused the people to rebel and begin to murmur and complain against Moses and Aaron. They began to fear saying they would have been better off back in Egypt to die.

Joshua and Caleb rent their clothes and began speaking to the people a good report, about how the land was good and they tried encouraging them saying that if the Lord delights in them then He will bring them to this land and give it to them; a land flowing with milk and honey and to not rebel against the Lord and do not fear the people of the land because the Lord was with them. But the people began talking about stoning them, but then the Glory of the Lord appeared.

The Lord said that because Caleb had another spirit with him and had followed him fully, that he would be one to enter into the land of Canaan and his seed shall possess it. Joshua was another that was able to enter in. Those that gave the evil report was not allowed to enter and ended up dying in the wilderness from plagues.

Numbers 14:28 “Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith The Lord, as you have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you.”

It is very important what we speak over and about our situation. What is coming out of our mouth? God hears...And He'll do it! So...speak words of LIFE (positive) not death (negative). Speak His Word over your circumstances, for His Word will not come back void, but it will accomplish what it was sent forth to do. (Isaish 55:11)

Message for today:  Be careful what you let come out of your mouth because it can very well be the sabotager of your plan, the destroyer of your mission.

Never Speak Defeat Over Your Life or Your Life's Mission!

Scriptures:
Proverbs 6:2 “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.”

Proverbs 13:3 “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.”

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”

Proverbs 21:23 “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.”

It's Gonna Be Okay!

Wow! We had a great time of worship at Church and a great message from God's Word by Pastor Tommy Tejcka.

Message from God's Word: Luke 8:40-48

"It's Gonna Be Okay!"

We as Christians are all going to face some kind of persecution. When we see someone going through something and we say to them, "It's gonna be okay." - Do we just use that phrase lightly or do we really have that faith and assurance that it's REALLY going to be okay? Or are we going to worry about what's going to happen next?

In Luke 8:40-48, the woman with the issue of blood had the faith of knowing, "If I can just touch the hem of Jesus' garment, I will be okay!" She did whatever it took to receive her healing! She had the faith to believe it was going to happen. She knew she would be okay! So when she did touch Jesus' garment, she WAS made whole and went in peace.

We need to have that kind of faith - to know that if we get close enough to Jesus and touch Him, we will be okay! All it takes is the faith the size of a mustard seed! (Luke 17:6)

If we press in and draw close to Jesus, He will draw close to us. (James 4:8) It's by having that faith that "It's gonna be okay", that makes us whole and brings us peace!

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." Psalm 34:19
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17

IT'S GONNA BE OKAY! 

He Speaks Peace in the Storm

While in prayer and reading His Word the other morning, in Mark 4 and from other Scriptures that were brought to mind, I heard the Father saying, “Don't think that I am not doing a small work in your lives for even now I am touching every area of your life, even the very atmosphere of your home is being changed. No more turmoil, for you have stood strong in the face of opposition. When you could of said enough you have kept standing.

I am in the midst of your storm, for my Word says, in Mark 4:39, 'Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm'.

I spoke to the wind that has tried to blow you off course, Peace be still and a great calm is coming over you this day and even the confusion in your mind is leaving, for in 1 Corinthians 14:33, it says, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” Even now, I am making things more clear to you and you shall know without a shadow of doubt what steps to take next. Remember, my Word says “...the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord”. Keep your ear up next to My heart, for when I speak, you will know what direction to go.”

When I listened to Pastor Robert Morris, about how to hear God, and how to know it's God speaking and not just my own thoughts, I learned that it is good to ask God to confirm. 2 Corinthians 13:1 ...”In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” He confirms through His Word (Does it line up with His Word), People (Does Godly counsel agree) and Circumstances.(Do I have peace)

So...we pray and wait for confirmation. And HOW WELL you wait will determine HOW LONG you wait! So wait well on Him with a thankful heart. God is continually bringing confirmation to us now.
I share this with you today because maybe you are in a “storm” right now and confusion has set in. Be encouraged today that God IS in the storm with you and he is speaking peace over your situation right now. Keep your heart open to God, and wait patiently for His voice to speak. He WILL give you the answers that you need. Be encouraged today!!

Without Him, I Am Nothing

Do you know that we can take absolutely no credit for what our Father has done for us? Throughout our 6000 year history God has proven time and again that mankind is a total failure in and of himself.

Adam and Eve proved to us that man could not live righteously in his perfect state. After the fall it was proven that man could not live by conscience apart from God. After the flood man is given the opportunity to govern his own affairs. History tells us that man is utterly incapable of governing himself. 

Since man had absolutely no clue about how to live righteously and holy before God He gave Moses the law. "OK folks, this is how you do it." The law was our school master. Of course man is completely incapable of keeping the law. 

When Jesus, God manifested in the flesh came, he came virtually unnoticed. Man did not even recognize God when He came unto his own. Even His disciples barely had a clue. When Jesus was taken and crucified, his disciples fled. John was the only one at the cross and Peter denied him. But praise God after His resurrection He gave us new life through our opportunity to be born from above and filled with His Holy Spirit.
 
But guess what? Revelation 2 and 3 tells us that with all that God has given us we are still completely incapable of living perfectly. Not one of us have a leg to stand on when we boast about how much we read the Bible or how much we pray or fast or witness or anything. We can't even take credit for having faith because it was the faith of Jesus that saved us. It was His faith that took him to the cross. It was his faith that brought him out of the grave, it was his faith that brought us the Holy Ghost. 

How much does God love us? When we are completely incapable of even having Him on our minds apart from Him drawing us, we can take no credit, not even for the very breath we take. He has made the faith of Jesus available to us. Why do we not receive it? He has given us the power of His resurrection. Why do we not take it? We have been given the grace to share in his sufferings. Why do we not accept it? We all have to come to the conclusion that we need God in every part of our lives. I cannot survive a day without my God and his Holy Ghost dwelling inside of me. Without him I am nothing. I take no glory or credit for anything in my life. It is by His power, his life, his faith that I live. Praise God for His love! Oh how He loves us!

Donald J. Schmoll

The Same Power

I love it when God talks to me no matter where I'm at!!! I was driving to the store today and the song, "Overcomer" by Mandisa came on the radio. Then on the way home, Jeremy Camp's song, "Same Power" came on. I wasn't that familiar with his song. All I could remember of the words to it when I got home was..."we will not be overtaken, we will not be overcome."

This evening I began talking to my husband Don about hearing these songs today and how the Lord was reminding me that WE HAVE THE MOST POWERFUL BEING...GOD...LIVING INSIDE OF US!!! HE LIVES IN US!!! If we are to take the Bible literally, then we must take THIS literally!! (Romans 8:11)

Why is it that we cannot seem to overcome situations in our life? Why is it that we become defeated over such little things? Why is it so easy to let people or situations steal our peace, when we have such an amazing power living in us that guarantees us that overcoming is possible with GOD!?!? We are able to overcome ANYTHING!!

The same power that rose Jesus from the grave! The same power that commands the dead to wake! The same power that moves mountains when He speaks! The same power that can calm a raging sea! LIVES IN US!!!

It's time to get serious in these last days and stop letting our flesh reign but instead rise up and let God's power be in full control!!  If you have God's Spirit living inside of you, then you have within you, right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world throws at you!!

1 John 4:4 "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world".


I found Jeremy Camp's song tonight and it says it all!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InsifiZxVXU

Let God's Peace Rule

It's so easy to let someone, or a situation steal our peace. When we do, it consumes us and there is nothing but chaos to follow. But the Word of God says in:

Colossians 3:15 "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."

The Scripture says "LET the peace of God rule in your hearts...." It is a choice. It is up to us whether we choose PEACE or chaos. It is up to us whether we allow someone or some situation to take our peace. 

Do not give anyone or anything the power to take your peace!!! Just LET God's peace rule in your heart!

"Don't be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be known unto God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6,7

Play On God's Team

I've been listening to Pastor Robert Morris from Texas and found this very interesting:

James 4:6-7 “But he gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

First of all, if you are prideful, you can't resist the devil. You cannot resist the devil when God is resisting you. The only way you can resist the devil is get more grace from God. The only way to get more grace from God is to be humble.

Resist means “to play on the opposing team”

Whatever our gift or ministry is, God let's us run with the ball, but He just asks us to stay behind Him. Let Him lead. At first we hesitate, thinking we can't do it, but after much encouragement from Him, we do it. Then, we begin to start thinking, we are doing so well, we don't need God anymore, thinking we can do it on our own. This can happen so subtly that we don't even realize it. We become prideful. At this point, God begins playing on the opposing team.

Why would God do that??? He may change over to the opposing team, but it's not because He wants to destroy us. It is because He wants to tackle us lovingly. He wants to tackle us before the enemy tackles us and takes us out of the game.

I know I am a person determined to stand on God's Word, but I have to be careful of my attitude of not thinking I'm better than anyone. I want to be playing on God's team! God, I repent of any haughty spirit that may be in me. Help me to stay true to Your Word! Keep me humble before You, so that I may resist the devil and receive more grace from You.

God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble.

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.”

Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes shame; but with humility comes wisdom.”

Www.theblessedlife.com

Set Apart Unto Himself

I remember when God first gave me this message. It was the year 2000, a few months after we had left a Church we were affiliated with for 15 years. It was a difficult time for us. God was starting to reveal some error in some of the teachings. It was pretty devastating for us. That Church group was like family! A great sense of abandonment – a feeling of rejection came upon me. A fear of wondering, what's next? Where do we go from here? This group was all we knew! We went through a lonely period - A time of isolation. Where do we turn now? I just wanted to crawl in a hole and hide.

Good News! We were finally in a place where God could be everything we thought He was; everything He has been trying to be to us for a long time; a God of unconditional love; a God of comfort; a Friend who sticks by us no matter what and a God who will never reject us!

I remember that day so clearly when God let me know that we had been “Set Apart Unto Himself!” That's what He told me. This is the Scripture that God showed me that brought comfort to me, and reassurance that we were in the right place with Him. This Scripture has become one of my favorites!

Psalm 4:3 “But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.”

You had to understand the place we were at. We could no longer receive from a man to teach us. We trusted no one. We needed to hear from GOD. It was two years before we ever walked into another Church. But during those two years, we were taught by HIM. I refused to stay in that pit of isolation, so I searched and prayed and studied. If what we were taught wasn't right? Then what was Truth?

For Paul (Saul), it was for three years that God had “set him apart”. Galatians 1:15-17. “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.”

Paul had just been struck down on the road to Damascus. Jesus revealed to him who He truly was and also began to tell Paul of his error in what he was doing. Paul was “kicking” against God's purpose. Not only his religion views were wrong, but his whole religious character had been an entire mistake. His whole future now was completely blank and he was able to have absolute confidence in Jesus and was ready to take in all His teachings and to carry out His directions for his life. Jesus had not only been revealed to his eyes but also to his soul.

You see, I realized the time in our former Church, our faith and trust was put more in the leaders (man) and man-made teachings. This began to cloud our minds of what God truly wanted for our life. Once we began to understand, we knew why we had to be removed from this “path” we were traveling which was leading us away from our relationship with God. God was calling us out of this Church and calling us unto Himself so that He could teach us. We are now able to see God for who He really is and able to accept this time of being “set apart unto Himself” as being students of the Word. There was so much sorting out that needed to be done. And only God could do it for us.

Even today, God still pulls us away at times, to set us apart unto Himself. People around us may not understand, but we do! The times when things start to become cloudy and confusion tries to fight its way in, and untruths bombard us from all sides, it can be hard to overcome. The only way to overcome and to begin seeing clearly is to be removed completely from that environment and allow God to cleanse our minds of all the untruths and confusion.

God is continually showing us more and more of His great truths and always protects us from deception. Now we wait patiently for Him to reveal to us the way in which we are to go next. It is an amazing journey knowing we are being completely guided by God Himself and not man. Man's influence can be such a stronghold. Just to know we are being “set apart unto Himself”, gives me confidence that God most definitely knows exactly where we are in our walk with Him and He walks beside us all the way. It's all about what He thinks, not what people think. It's all about relationship – a relationship with God.

If you find yourself in a situation that is confusing you to the point that your life has become full of frustration, let me tell you that there is nothing wrong with taking some time away from everything, if need be, to seek God for clarity. He loves the time we take to spend only with Him! If it seems you have been struck down by life's circumstances and confusion is constantly setting in, you are not alone. Do not lose hope. It may be that this exact time for you, as well, is to be “Set Apart Unto Himself”, just to take time to sit at His feet and learn.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”