Pray and Never Give Up – 7

Pray and Never Give Up – 7

Subject – Pray Hard

By Rick Welborne

Luke 18:1-8 (NLT)
¹  One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
²  “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.
³  A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’
⁴  The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people,
⁵  but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
⁶  Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.
⁷  Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
⁸  I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” 

--As we continue to look at the walls around us that need to fall and as we continue to pray for those seemingly impossible situations…God is getting ready to give us great testimonies.

--Last time we looked at this: --Here is the question God asks: Is the LORD’s power limited? The obvious answer is ‘no’! God is omnipotent which by definition means there is nothing God cannot do.

--If you are lost, if you are bound, if you are struggling with addiction, if your marriage is falling apart…allow the resurrection power of Jesus give life and freedom to your situation.

--Today we are going to look at something we know as Christians but have chosen for whatever reason not to do and that is that we must “Pray Hard!” Let’s look at the persistent widow.

Mark Batterson: It shows us what praying hard looks like: knocking until your knuckles are raw, crying out until your voice is lost, pleading until your tears run dry. Praying hard is praying through. And if you pray through, God will come through. But it will be God’s will, God’s way.

--The phrase that is used by the judge “she is wearing me out” is boxing terminology. It is going twelve rounds with God…it is a wrestling with the Angel of the Lord until He blesses you!

--Boxing or wrestling with God can sound really foolish and can be very tiring to the human body but it is exactly how we can win our biggest battles…how we see the in-penetrable walls come crashing down.

--Praying hard is more than just words…it is blood, sweat, and tears. Praying hard is two dimensional: praying like it depends on God, and working like it depends on you. It is praying until God answers.

--Crucial question: How important is it that the walls come down that you are praying for…is it a soul? Is it a lost son or daughter? Is it a bad report from a doctor? Is it life or death?

--Desperate times call for desperate measures and there is nothing more desperate than praying hard. Lord, I am not going to let you go until You bless me! I must have an answer to my prayer!

--There comes a moment when you have to throw caution to the wind and you just go for it…you pray for the impossible and you hang on like you have a tiger by the tail. Pray for the impossible!

--Sometimes we have to stir up every measure of faith that God has given us and step out there and call rain down from heaven even when it hasn’t rained for over 3 ½ years! For this persistent widow…this was it!

1. The persistent widow was not going to take no for an answer.

--We do not know what injustice took place but it was something that she was so passionate about that she was not going to just let it go. 

--Maybe her son was falsely imprisoned or the person who had done her family wrong was still on the streets but she was not going to take no for an answer. She would circle the judge’s house until she died.

--One of our problems as followers of Christ is that we allow the enemy to accuse us night and day and make us feel that we are not worthy to come to God and expect anything. We know this verse:

Romans 8:1 (NKJV)
¹  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 

--How many of you know that if we would have to wait until we were perfect before we asked God for anything, we could never ask. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.

--As we look at Jacob in the Old Testament, we see that he was anything but perfect. Jacob meant sup planter, deceiver. He and his mom conspired to steal Esau’s birthright as the firstborn son.

Easton’s Dictionary - The birthright secured to him who possessed it (1) superior rank in his family (2) a double portion of the paternal inheritance; (3) the priestly office in the family; and (4) the promise of the Seed in which all nations of the earth were to be blessed.

--After Jacob deceived his father Isaac and stole his brother’s birthright he soon became aware of his guilt for what he had done and also feared what his brother Esau would do to him…what’s your point, Pastor?

--Jacob was a jerk but he was a jerk who was trying to make things right…he goes to Esau with his herds and family to acquire forgiveness and to repent of his wrong…God saw his heart.

--Just maybe you have been a jerk but you are a jerk who is trying to get things right with God and with people. Don’t forfeit what God is wanting to do in you because of your fear or pride. Jacob wrestling with the angel.

Genesis 32:26-28 (NKJV)
²⁶  And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"
²⁷  So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."
²⁸  And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

--Jacob wrestled with a Man (Pre-incarnate Christ). Sounds like the widow and the judge. In both of the stories who had the power and authority? The judge and Christ!

--Why did Jacob win and why did the widow win…was it because they had more power? Of course not! It was because they were not going to take no for an answer. It was because Christ wanted them to win!

--I will not let you go until you bless me…get ready…get ready…maybe your name is about to change…go from being Jacob to being Israel the Apple of God’s Eye. From widow to being named Justice!

--Verse 30 I believe holds such a strong key for us. "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

Maybe it is time for you to have a face to face with God and get your blessing.

2. The widow was desperate.

--How desperate are you for your miracle? Desperate enough to pray all night? How many times are you willing to pray for the promise or your dream? Will you do it until the day you die?

--How long and how hard will you knock on the door of opportunity? Will you keep knocking until you knock the door down? If you are not desperate you will not pray desperate prayers.

Matthew 7:7-11 (NKJV)
⁷  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
⁸  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
⁹  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
¹⁰  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
¹¹  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

--You have to pray with such passion and desperation that it is obvious that the miracle depends on what God does. You have to pray hard like the persistent widow…like Jacob. 

--When you pray with such extreme intensity God will honor your bold prayers because your bold prayers honor God. Our boldness does not offend God but our lack of passion does. Pray hard!

--People who pray circles around their dreams can be a little unorthodox…the widow could have waited for a court date…Jacob didn’t have to grab the Man and wrestle with Him.

--The widow almost sounded like she needed a restraining order put on her because she was going to the personal residence of the judge…sometimes we need to storm heaven. Jesus cares less about protocol.

--If Jesus wanted to work the system, He would have chosen Pharisees instead of fisherman, He would not have a prostitute interrupt a party to pour perfume on Him, He wouldn’t have a tax collector climb a tree. 

--Jesus honored the four friends who cut a hole in the roof to let down their friend in the presence of Jesus…He honored all these people because they were desperate to get into His presence. He honors the widow!

--The common denominator in each of these stories is holy desperation. People took desperate measures to get to Jesus. Nothing has changed! God still honors those who will storm God’s throne room. 

3. Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit are surrounding you with prayer.

Psalm 32:7 (NKJV)
⁷  You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah 

Romans 8:34 (NIV)
³⁴ …Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Romans 8:26 (NCV)
²⁶  Also, the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain.

--Way before you got up this morning and long after you go to sleep tonight God will be circling you with songs of deliverance. He has been cycling you since you were born and will do so until you die.

--Think about this…God is praying hard for you to complete the work He started in you! Phil. 1:6

Immanuel – God with Us

 Immanuel – God with Us

Subject – 2020 Christmas Musical

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 1:18-24 (NKJV)
¹⁸  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
¹⁹  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
²⁰  But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
²¹  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
²²  So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
²³  "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
²⁴  Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife…

--Immanuel, God with us. Think about the miracle of that. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

--Because of our American culture when we hear “God with us” that is exactly what we think, God with us and more specifically, we think God with me. We can be quite selfish. Let’s take a step back in this story.

--At the time of Jesus birth the environment was much like today…political chaos, corrupt leaders (Herod), religious hypocrisy for self-gain. They needed a Savior and we need a Savior. Look at this story.

1. God with us, of course, but God with Joseph.

--I can’t imagine being engaged to someone and being so excited to get married. To be able to take this beautiful young lady as my wife. What joy!

--Imagine your fiancé sitting you down. Hey Babe, I have something to tell you. Of course, Sweetheart, you can tell me anything, I love you! Well, I am going to have a baby! Say what?

--Not only am I going to have a baby but this child is from God. Holy Spirit came upon me and now we are going to have a baby. Nope, not going to happen. Poor God gets blamed for so much.

--How many of you are glad God was with Joseph? "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." 

--God with Joseph but here is the key…He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife…He obeyed, he trusted, and he submitted to God’s will.

2. God with us, of course, but God with Mary.

--I am sure Mary had dreamed most of her life about the day she would find her prince charming, have a wedding fit for a princess, and become one with her husband. Then, an angel shows up. Say what?

--She was not only going to find her prince charming but she was going to find the Prince of Peace!

Luke 1:35 (NKJV)
³⁵  And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

--Most of us during Covid have found ourselves filled with confusion and even fear at times about what is going on. Imagine how this teenage girl must have felt. Her head was spinning and her heart racing. 

--Let me throw in here, virgins do not get pregnant unless a man gets involved. This was so hard for me to believe as a sinner, that a virgin got pregnant and blamed God for it. 

--God came to be with us but God with Mary made all the difference and how she responded to Him…

Luke 1:38 (NKJV)
³⁸  Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." 

3. God with us.

--Of course, the day came when I understood the whole concept of God with us. Well actually, I finally understood what it meant…God with Rick…God with me.

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
²⁰  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

--There it is…Christ lives in me…Christ in me. Immanuel, God with us wanted to be God in Rick. Today He wants to be God in you. 

--What was the key to God in Rick, I had to surrender my life to Him and make Him Lord and Savior. My response had to be like Mary’s… Behold the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.

--What was His Word? Christ in me. God in me. God in us! Today is your day. 

 

Pray and Never Give Up – 6

 Pray and Never Give Up – 6

Subject: Is the Lord’s Power Limited

By Rick Welborne

Numbers 11:21-23 (NASB)
²¹  But Moses said, "The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, 'I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.'
²²  "Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?"
²³  The LORD said to Moses, "Is the LORD'S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."

Numbers 11:31-32 (NLT)
³¹  Now the LORD sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground.
³²  So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. 

--Again today I want us to pick up where we left off with Moses when he saw God send more quail than you can shake a stick at. 

--Before the quail blew in from the sea by a supernatural wind (I believe by Holy Spirit) God asks Moses a question, but more than a question…it is really the question for all of us here today.

--Your answer to this question…the question…will determine the size of your prayer. Is the LORD’s power limited? The answer is ‘no’! God is omnipotent which by definition means there is nothing He cannot do.

--Many of us act like and pray like our problems are bigger than God. Please let me remind you of this absolute truth that will add substance to your faith.

--God is infinitely bigger than your biggest problem or biggest dream. By the way, just in case you have forgotten or maybe didn’t know, He is infinitely bigger than your biggest sin. 

Psalm 103:10-13 (NIV)
¹⁰  He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him;
¹²  as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³  As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; 

1. A low view of God or a high view of God.

A.W. Tozer – A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils, but a high view of God is the solution to ten thousand temporal problems.

--As I hear a quote like this I always wonder is there a place in the Word that makes such an outstanding statement about  the big difference in serving God compared to this world. This came to me:

Exodus 20:5-6 (NLT)
⁵  You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
⁶  But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

--If what Tozer said is true and I believe it is, your impending divorce, your failing business, or the doctor’s diagnosis is not your biggest problem. Are your problems bigger than God, or is God bigger than…problems? 

--The truth is; our biggest problem is our small view of God. That is the cause (according to Tozer) of all lesser evils. It is a high view of God that is the solution to all other problems.

--Is the LORD’s power limited? There are only two options: yes, or no. Until you come to the conviction that God’s grace and power know no limits, you will pray small prayers.

--Once you embrace the omnipotent God, you’ll pray larger God-given, God sized dreams. Before you criticize someone’s dreams you may want to see how big their God is.

--How big is your God? Is He big enough to heal your marriage or heal your sick child? Is He bigger than the latest MRI that had bad news or the negative prognosis? Is He bigger than your secret sin or your secret dream?

2. The size of your prayers will be proportional to the size of your God.

--Moses was perplexed by the promise that God had given him. How could God possibly provide meat for a month for 21/2 million people? It didn’t add up!

--This is that moment for Moses and for us, when a decision has to be made whether or not we will believe the promises of God…God poses the question:

Numbers 11:23 (NASB)
²³  The LORD said to Moses, "Is the LORD'S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."

--The size of your prayer depends on the size of your God. And if God has no limits because of His omnipotence then neither should our prayers. He is not bound by the laws of man or nature.

--If He can bring water out of a rock, if He can make a sea and a river part and dry up, if He can make an axe head float, if He can heal leprosy…He can take care of you by His power!

--Is the Lord’s power limited? Let’s look at this just for a moment in the story of an axe head floating. How many of you know axe heads do not float?

2 Kings 6:4-7 (NLT)
⁴  So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees.
⁵  But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. “Oh, sir!” he cried. “It was a borrowed ax!” 

⁶  “Where did it fall?” the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. 

⁷  “Grab it,” Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it. 

--God is wanting us to know that He has the power of divine reversal, annulment, cancellation, negation, revocation, undoing when it is needed in our lives. He can change the natural order of things.

–Everyone knows that steel does not float...unless God reverses the law of gravity. Everyone knows that hungry lions would devour whoever is thrown into their den...Unless God reverses their natural instincts. 

–Everyone knows that anyone thrown into a fiery furnace which has been heated 7 times hotter would die instantly...like the men of valor unless God was with them in the fire and cancels the power of the flame.

–Everyone knows that a dead boy does not come back to life unless God wills it so. He Cancels (reverses) Death!  Everyone knows that flour and oil do not multiply itself unless God does something supernatural.

–Everyone knows that someone born blind (John 9) will never see unless God. He can reverse any damage in the eyes and make them perfect.

–Everyone knows a crippled man who has never walked cannot walk unless God reverses the condition of his legs. He restores whatever was missing.

–Everyone knows that after being dead for 4 days...no way to live...He revokes the power of death.  Takes away the stink of life! Ask Lazarus.

--Is the LORD’s power limited?

3. There is no degree of difficulty with God.

--This is so difficult for us to comprehend but with God there is no big or small, easy or difficult, possible or impossible. It is hard for our earthly minds to understand this.

--We are all subject to the natural laws God has instituted but He is not limited to anything or by anything. He is the beginning and the end.

--To the infinite (God) all finites are equal. Even our hardest prayers are easy for the Omnipotent One to answer because there is no degree of difficulty for Him.

--It is humorous for us humans when we receive prayer request that we deem to be the most urgent or on the edge of impossible…we totally change our voice…the volume and intensity.

--We use big words and quote certain verses hoping that because of our loudness and being demonstrative, God will hear us. Does God perform because of our loud words?

Isaiah 29:13 (NIV)
¹³  The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

--No matter how long you pray or how loud you pray…it all comes down to the question: Is the LORD’s power limited? The obvious and only answer is “no”.

--With God, it is never an issue of whether He can…we all know or should know that this great omnipotent God can do anything He chooses to do. Because we know that He can we can pray with a holy boldness:

Hebrews 10:19-23 (NLT)
¹⁹  And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.
²⁰  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
²¹  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,
²²  let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
²³  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 

Revival Praying – 7

Revival Praying – 7

Subject – Our Gift to Jesus – The Heart of a Servant

By Rick Welborne

Psalm 27:1-14 (NKJV)
¹  The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
²  When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.
³  Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident.
⁴  One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.
⁵  For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.
⁶  And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
⁷  Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
⁸  When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."
⁹  Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.
¹⁰  When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me.
¹¹  Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
¹²  Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.
¹³  I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.
¹⁴  Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! 

--So many of us think about and ponder what we might get for Christmas. Some are just hoping to have enough for Christmas. We are trying to help. Think about this…what gift could we give Jesus to honor Him.

--I personally believe the greatest gift we could give Jesus is the heart of a servant. Let’s look at these verses.

1.  A true servant gives Jesus their complete trust.

--A true servant of God will give Jesus his complete trust because he knows Jesus is the One Who shows him the way. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

--A true servant of God gives Jesus his trust because he knows Jesus is his salvation. Not a political party or earthly personality. We do not have to be afraid because we serve an Omnipotent God! All powerful!

--Those of you who trust in man. Let me give you a little history lesson. We all have heard of Herod in the NT and he is mentioned over 50 times. It is not always the same Herod. 

--Herod the Great – killed all the babies when he was tricked by the Magi. Herod Archelaus – caused the fear that made Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt. Herod Antipas – Had John the Baptist’s head removed.

--Herod Agrippa I – Had James killed and Peter arrested. Herod Agrippa II – He is last of the Herods and is the one Paul almost convinced to believe.  

--My point is this…If you are hoping to get rid of a leader you think is corrupt or obnoxious, there is always others waiting in the wings probably more corrupt than the last. Your trust has to be in King Jesus.  

--A true servant of God gives Jesus their complete trust because even when they are weak, He is there.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NKJV)
⁸  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
⁹  And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
¹⁰  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

--We quote it so much but it is time that we start living it. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. In Psalm 27 David is saying…The Lord is my Light, my Salvation, and my Strength. True servants trust completely.

Psalm 27:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
²  When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.
³  Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident. 

2. A true servant is not independent but dependent on Holy Spirit. 

--Something that has always been burned in my heart for years, probably because of my love of Holy Spirit, has been in the prayer of repentance David did after his adultery and murder, what was his concern?

Psalm 51:10-12 (NKJV)
¹⁰  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹  Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 

--Please pay attention to your pastor, your sin may not have your name erased from the Book of Life (though that is a possibility – Rev.3:5 – Not blot out your name) but you can lose fellowship with Holy Spirit.

--Hear David’s cry as he confesses his sin, do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore my joy, Lord, and hold me up with your Holy Spirit.

--As a servant of the Lord, there is no worse feeling than realizing that you have grieved Holy Spirit and now He is no longer close to you. Who moved? You! Oh God, do not take your Holy Spirit from me!

--If your attitude is such that you say, as long as I make it into heaven I am good, then, you are not a true servant of God. No greater gift can you give Jesus than to walk in the Spirit.

--Without Holy Spirit, how will you know it is God’s time to pray for a lost or hurting person. How will you know God wants you to pray for healing for a brother or sister? God’s gives gifts of the Spirit as He wills.

--Even if you are sick and in the hospital how will you know that doctor or nurse is going through the toughest time of their lives and needs a Spirit-filled believer to reach out to them. 

--Though David failed God terribly, he knew the secret. Your face, Lord, I will seek. Biking at Santos, I had finished riding my 31 miles, ready to go home. I had prayed in the Spirit most of my ride.

--As I am loading my bike and putting things in my truck, I lock my keys inside. Frustrated and tired until I realized I had been set up to share Christ. While I waited on Tricia, shared Christ with several people.

--My mind gets totally blown when I hear of churches who want nothing to do with Holy Spirit. Even more, my heart is broken here when we preach, teach, and flow in the Spirit, and people still ignore Him.

--A true servant of God realizes his total dependence on Holy Spirit guiding him and flowing through him. If Jesus acknowledged Holy Spirit, how much more should we acknowledge Him?

Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)
¹⁸  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
¹⁹  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." 

--When we turn to marketing strategies, technology, promotion, or any other human resource without the power of God, we are headed for death instead of life. 

Ravenhill – The Church has lost the note of authority, the secret of wisdom, and the gift of power, through persistent and willful neglect of the Holy Spirit of God. Confusion and impotence are inevitable when the wisdom and resources of the world are substituted for the presence and power of the Spirit of God.  

--Seek God’s face, seek Holy Spirit power, and pray in the Holy Spirit as much as you can every day. A servant of God will be strong because of his dependence on the Spirit.

Jude 1:20-21 (NKJV)
²⁰  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
²¹  keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

3. A servant of the Lord is highly flammable. 

Matthew 3:11 (NKJV)
¹¹  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

--Are we available fuel to be set ablaze for God? Missionary Amy Carmichael prayed, “Make me Your fuel, Flame of God!”

Jim Elliot, martyred by the Auca Indians – God makes His ministers a flame of fire. Am I ignitable? God, deliver me from the dread asbestos of “other things.” Saturate me with the oil of Your Spirit that I may be a flame. Make me Your fuel, Flame of God!

--If you want to give Jesus the best gift ever this Christmas, let Him baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire! Be combustible for Him!

Pray and Never Give Up – 5

 Pray and Never Give Up – 5

Subject: Vision Beyond Your Resources

By Rick Welborne

Joshua 6:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
²  And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
³  You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
⁴  And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
⁵  It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him." 

Numbers 11:31-32 (NLT)
³¹  Now the LORD sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground.
³²  So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. 

--We have been speaking about praying walls will come down and about dreaming big dreams. We want you to dream God-sized dreams that only God can do. Many times when we dream like this we will look foolish.

--Faith is the willingness to look foolish for God no matter what anyone else thinks. Noah looked foolish building a boat in the desert, Israel looked foolish marching around Jericho, David against Goliath…foolish!

--Peter looked foolish getting out of a boat and walking on water, the Magi looked foolish following a star, and I am sure Jesus looked foolish wearing a crown of thrones. 

--The results speak for themselves…Noah and family was saved from the flood, the walls of Jericho fell down flat, David killed Goliath, Peter walked on water, the Magi found the Messiah, Jesus was crowned King.

--Moses had a habit of looking foolish…standing before Pharaoh and demanding Israel’s release, raising his staff over the Red Sea, and reporting meat to eat for all of Israel. The bigger the dream…you feel foolish.

--You see, it is crazy enough to want to be a great missions church and to throw abundant resources toward that, but it can seem just a little crazy and foolish to talk about another campus…multiple campuses.

--Many times we sit back and look at our dreams and we have to simply say…this is crazy…this is too much! I am backing God into a corner that He cannot fulfill! Really? Was it a God dream or not!

1. To have vision beyond your resources you must be willing to take a risk.

--Imagine Peter getting out of the boat to walk on water…to have vision we must take risk. The greatest adventures you will have in your life will take risk but they will be the most unforgettable…sky diving.

--My wife decided to go for the best…typical sky divers jump from about 12,000 feet but that was not good enough for me…the highest a non-military person can do is 19,000 feet…that was what she got me.

--A couple years before she had my “death insurance” increased…I told my sons at that time that if anything happened to have their mom investigated. You hit the ground from 19,000 feet you are dead.

--The moments of training and the time waiting is only to build up your anticipation (my son Joshua went also). You board the plane with parachute on attached to another sky diver. The old plane climbs higher and higher.

--The look on Joshua’s face was priceless as I asked him was he ok and he said “No!” He jumped! My turn now. This is crazy, this is crazy, this crazy…Jump…This is wonderful! This is awesome! I might throw up!

--We fell for a minute and a half before we opened our chute…We could see the Atlantic Ocean, the Space Coast, and it was so exhilarating…if there is no “This is crazy” there may never be a “This is wonderful.” 

--If you are unwilling to take the risk of circling the city, stepping out of the boat, praying for the prodigal, starting the campus, increasing the Missions, you may just forfeit the miracle. 

Mark Batterson: The greatest chapters in history always begin with risk, and the same is true with the chapters in your life. If you’re unwilling to risk your reputation, you’ll never build a boat like Noah or get out of the boat like Peter. You cannot build God’s reputation if you are not willing to risk yours. There comes a moment when you need to make the call or make the move. Be a risk takers.

--How do we get to that point of taking Godly risk?

Vision, passion, discipline, and risk.

A. Vision - Godly vision is the power to see beyond our limitations.  

B.   Vision produces or results in passion. Passion is being empowered by what we see. If you see people with no passion - you know they have no vision. 

--Webster says passion is the intense, compelling emotion evidenced in decisive, courageous action. Carl Barth “Passion is fear that said its prayers” Paul’s passion - For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

C. Vision and passion produce or results in discipline. 

D. Vision, passion, and discipline give you the courage to take risks. Risk is spending your life making a difference that your dreams dared you to believe.

Vision – passion – discipline – risk. Risk without discipline is recklessness. Discipline without passion is legalism. Passion without vision is hype. Vision without Christ is meaningless.

--If Faith Promises seem to be taking a risk for you, maybe that should be where you start. Trust God with your Faith Promise and see what God will do…not really risky based on God’s Word.

2. To have vision beyond our resources we must understand that the math will not add up.

--I love the transparency of the Scriptures because not only do we have trouble doing the math but a man (Moses) who talked to God face to face had problems with it. Let’s back up a little.

--The Israelites were complaining…what a shock! Numbers 11 starts out with people in the camp complaining and fire coming down from Heaven and killing a few of them…that should be a deterrent but no!

--If I could never understand Israel’s complaining before…I really get it with this one. They wanted meat! They missed meat! They had ba-manna bread, ba-manna sandwiches, ba-manna stew…they wanted meat.

Numbers 11:4-6 (NIV)
⁴  The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat!
⁵  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.
⁶  But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" 

--What they forgot was that, even though their food was free, they were not. Many died. What a powerful message…you can go back to fulfill your out of control appetite but you will go back to bondage.  

--They cried at the doors of their houses but missed the miracle God sent every day for them thru the manna. We are guilty of the same thing…we forget the miracles of our bodies, our hearts, our lungs, our vision.

--We forget we are on a planet traveling 67,000 miles per hour and spinning on its axis at 1000 miles per hour. We are on a round rock but we can stand on the side, the top, the bottom, and not fall off…a miracle of gravity.

--We are surrounded by miracles yet we complain. We never have enough! Moses was a true pastor and he voiced what so many of us pastors feel at different times. Listen to him with these complainers:

Numbers 11:13-15 (NIV)
¹³  Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!'
¹⁴  I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.
¹⁵  If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now--if I have found favor in your eyes--and do not let me face my own ruin."

--God hears the whining of the people and the burden of His servant Moses and promises one of the most unbelievable miracles ever heard of and the math does not add up.

--He promises them, not just meat for a day or two, not just meat for a week or two but so much meat for an entire month that the meat will be coming out their nostrils. Snot good! He wasn’t picking!

--Sounds like the kid with five pieces of bread and two pieces of fish…the math just not add up…not possible.

Numbers 11:21-24 (NIV)
²¹  But Moses said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!'
²²  Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?"
²³  The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."
²⁴  So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said.

--Can you relate to Moses? Take that job that pays less, but it doesn’t add up. Go on that Mission’s trip you can’t afford; it doesn’t add up. Adopt a child, it doesn’t add up. Do a Faith Promise, it doesn’t add up!

--Build a new sanctuary but make sure you give more to Missions while you are doing it…the math, our math just does not add up but God has different math.

--Moses had no earthly idea how God was going to keep His promise, but that isn’t our business anyway. That is God’s business. 

--Too often we let the how get in the way of what God wants us to do. We can’t figure out how to do what God calls us to do, so we don’t do it at all. 

3. To have vision beyond our means we must being willing to trust God and to trust the wind.

Numbers 11:31-32 (NIV)
³¹  Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction.
³²  All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp.

--Israel had set up camp in the desert of Paran. OK, why is that significant? Paran was fifty miles from the Mediterranean Sea and fifty miles southwest of the dead sea. So? Quail tend to live close to water.

--Quail don’t fly long distances…so how did they get to the camp? God sent a wind, a supernatural wind to blow them in…Correct me if I am wrong, isn’t wind used as an illustration or type of Holy Spirit. Stay with me.

--There were quail hovering three feet deep a day’s walk in any direction (a day’s walk was approximately 15 miles). Square the radius and multiply by pi…you are talking of 700 sg. miles…Quail-mageddon!

--If we just count the 600,000 soldiers times 10 homers…6 million homers of quail. Let’s say the quail were of normal size…you are looking at around 105 million quail…and you are worried about a Faith Promise. 

--You see, when God wants to send a miracle and the math doesn’t add up…all He has to do is send a supernatural wind (Holy Spirit) and the miracle is done.

Acts 2:1-2 (NKJV)
¹  When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
²  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.