How Deep Are Your Roots?

Ephesians 3:17-21, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus …”

Isaiah 40:31, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

I woke up this morning feeling a bit sorry for myself concerning the ongoing struggle I am having with my health. As I do each morning when I wake up, I started to pray. But my prayer was not the usual prayer of thanksgiving, I was not glorifying or praising the name of Jesus, I was complaining about my circumstances.

As I continued to whine, these two verses from the book of Ephesians and Isaiah began to flood my mind. And then I felt the Lord speak and He asked me, “How deep are your roots?”

“Do you believe that my grace is enough, and that the power of the Holy Ghost that lives in you is enough, even if I do not heal you?”

“Don’t you know that even the most tattered tree, as long as it is living, no mattered how scarred or damaged, still bears fruit?”

I want to be fruitful. I want my life to bring glory to God. I desire His anointing and I know that it comes from being rooted and grounded in His love. I realized He was showing me that my strength comes from true prayer and worship and not whining, whining does not bring glory to Jesus.

All of us want to bear fruit, but if we do not stay connected to the tap root, Jesus, there can be no fruit. An artificial plant looks good to the eye, perhaps even better in some cases than the real thing. But the difference is that the real is not perfect, is always growing and changing. Sometimes it is beautiful and in full blossom, other times the weather has it looking tattered and weary, but it is still connected to the root, and has the potential to bear fruit – artificial plants look good but that’s about all they are, is good looking.

I do not want to be an artificial Christian! I was at one time in my life an artificial Christian. I looked good, talked right, and had all the appearance of being real, but there was no real fruit, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, in my life. A living plant will sooner or later bear fruit or die and the same goes for the believer.

The only way that I am going to experience the high places in God is to be rooted and grounded in the Love of Jesus. How can I praise and worship if there are no roots of love and reverence of the Lord? How can I pray if I have no roots of believing that God answers prayer? God was scolding me, “Where are your roots man of God, what makes you who you are?!”

And my answer was immediate, Jesus! Jesus is my taproot! And the Holy Ghost is the life giving source that flows in me, from Him, and to others!

My roots are found in Acts chapter two and the Day of Pentecost. Speaking in tongues through the baptism in the Holy Ghost. I have repented of my past sin, I have been born again, I have been washed in the water in the Name of Jesus, I am filled with the Holy Ghost, and the fruit that I bare:

I Corinthians 12:7-10

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues…”

Mark 16:17-18

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

If I want to soar into the future and reach the heights in God’s power and anointing, I must be well rooted and grounded. I must be on a firm foundation, and the only firm foundation, the rock on which I must stand, is the Word of God. All of it, not just the parts that I like.

Someday the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is going to fall. Scientists travel yearly to measure the building’s slow descent. They report that the 179-foot tower moves about one-twentieth of an inch a year and is now 17 feet out of plumb. They further estimate that by the year 2020 the 810-year old tower will have leaned too far and will collapse. The word "Pisa" means "marshy land," which gives some clue as to why the tower began to lean even before it was completed, and the fact that it’s foundation is only 10 feet deep.

We must have a firm foundation. Without a foundation, our church and our lives will fall into ruin just as surely as the man who built his house upon the sand lost it all when the floods came and carried him away. Friends we need to be rooted, because the floods are coming. The devil will not cease to attack you in every way possible.

If we are going to stand against the flood, then we must be rooted and grounded in Jesus. As Pentecostals, we have some roots that we must stay connected to or we will lose the anointing and blessing of God. What are the roots of our faith?

The number one root is Jesus! He is the taproot from which every other root grows. He is our anchor in the time of a storm. His word and His spirit are the lifeblood of the church. His blood is our salvation. Without Jesus we nothing more than an artificial, dead, man-made religion with no power, no anointing and no life.

Another one of our roots is worshipping from the heart with lifted hands in praise and surrender to God. When we come to church and lift our voice in praise to God and lift our hands in praise to Him, it’s because we love him, reverence him, and desire to let Jesus know just how much we appreciate all that He has done and is doing for us. We lift our hands as a sign that we are trying to reach up to one who is higher than we are, and it is also a signal that we have surrendered to him.

If we don’t lift our hands, maybe we have quit trying to reach higher and we have begun to sink lower instead. If we don’t lift our hands, it could be a sign that we haven’t really surrendered our will to His will. If we can’t sing praises, even when we don’t feel like singing, then maybe it’s a sign that we don’t really love him.

Another root of Pentecostalism is Holiness and that includes holy living. God’s holy people don’t smoke Camels; they ride them. God’s holy people don’t cuss, and they don’t drink. Holiness people don’t look at trash on the Internet, and they don’t dress to please their flesh and be fashionable, they dress to be modest and please God.

Pentecostals don’t just read the Word of God and question all these things, we believe the Word of God and we obey it to the best of our ability, living it day by day as best we can. Believing in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and living a holy life are not Pentecostal doctrines, they are biblical doctrines that Pentecostals believe and live by.

In the old days, boys didn’t swim with girls, men didn’t wear short pants, believers didn’t go to school dances, ladies didn’t cut their hair, wear makeup, or dress like men – they were Cover Girls for the Book of Acts Church.. In Those days, men looked like men and left wearing ‘Buns’ to women.

Most people today, even Pentecostals call that kind of thing legalism. But it was not legalism that drove them to live a holy life, it was a desire to be more like Jesus. It wasn’t earning righteousness; it was the fruit of already being made righteous by the Blood of Christ! And God expects nothing less from His people today. Holiness never changes, it never goes out of style with God, and God’s people don’t conform their standards to fit society’s ‘norms.’

I’m not trying to put you under condemnation to some dress code or man-made rules of holiness. I’m trying to get you to understand that the more of the Love of God we have in us, and the closer we get to Jesus, the more we will want to be like him. That’s why we desire to live holy lives; not to show how righteous we are and how much more holy we are than the next person.

It’s not a question of “giving up” anything of this life. It’s a desire to gain something far greater in its place. We want to gain being as close to Jesus and as much like Jesus as we can because our love grows for him, and we are rooted in it. Those who refuse to change to be more like Jesus simply don’t have a relationship with Jesus, they don’t have enough of the love of Jesus in their heart, and their roots are in their flesh.

When Jesus comes in, darkness goes out, and as the darkness goes out, all the desire to do the deeds of darkness goes with it:

1 John 1:6-7,

"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

“A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they just shine.” –

D.L. Moody.

We can’t scratch around in the dirt and filth of this world. We must mount up on wings of eagles, run and not be weary of well doing, and ever reach for the mark of the high calling in God through our “taproot’, Jesus Christ.

When we choose to stay connected to our Pentecostal heritage and the roots of our faith we will have the identity in Christ that we need, and we will have the power of God and the anointing of God upon our church, but we must realize that we will also become almost socially unacceptable.

When the church emerged from the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost, they were accused of being drunk. The world does not understand the “tongues of fire” given by the Holy Ghost, neither does it understand the “power of the anointing” of the Holy Ghost; and whatever the world doesn’t understand, it is afraid of.

We want to reach our community, and the world, for Jesus Christ. We want to win the youth, the children and their parents to Christ. Sometimes it’s a tug of war between holding on to our roots and doing things to grab their attention. We must never leave our roots.

I thank God for the roots of Pentecostalism. I thank God for the presence and the power of the Holy Ghost in my life that has saved me from drugs and alcohol and has kept me firmly on a foundation that cannot be shaken. I thank God for roots that I will teach my grandchildren so that by power of the Holy Ghost, they will never have to experience that kind of life!

Only one thing can bring people to their knees before the Cross of Christ and that thing is not our programs or our entertainment; it is the power and anointing of the Holy Ghost that speaks directly into their heart to convict them of sin and draw them to Jesus.

Take a Deeper Breath

Many of you reading this are most likely familiar with Acts Chapter 2:1-4. In this passage of scripture as 120 expectant hearts were praying, a sound came from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind , and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Then, there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This is when the Church of The Lord Jesus Christ was empowered with supernatural power from on high. The power of the Holy Spirit came on them, and in them. Well this power and this anointing that came upon them sent them directly into the line of fire. And extreme spiritual warfare began to break out against them. This infant Church was thrust into the heat of the battle, they experienced great persecution. When reading the book of Acts, by the time we get to chapter four, they have been beaten up pretty good.

Let me stop here and take a moment to tell some of my friends that read this, you are the reason the Lord gave me this word this morning. You, like the book of Acts Church, have been beaten up pretty good lately. You’ve taken some hard knocks and you’ve had the breath knocked out of you. But I am prophesying to you “A New Chapter” Don’t quit, don’t give up. Don’t throw in the towel, there’s a fresh wind that’s about to blow into your life.

Now let’s look at this early Church and let’s see how they responded to their spiritual warfare. The Word says, “they lifted up their voice to God with one accord.”

Notice the common thread between Acts 2 and Acts 4, they lifted up their voice with “one accord.” They had a common goal, and they sought the power of the Holy Ghost to solve their dilemma. And looked what happened again, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”

They got a second wind. That same wind that blew into that upper room in Acts 2, was blowing again In Acts 4.

There is a phrase that we have become familiar with especially as relates to a runner in a race, ‘they’re getting their second wind.’ It is often experienced by a runner who has run until they have reached the point of exhaustion. Typically, just before they catch that second wind most runners feel like their lungs are about to explode, and every muscle in their bodies are on fire, telling them to give up. Then, all of a sudden out of nowhere and without any explanation for it, comes a sudden revitalization and energy and strength to keep running. It appears to some to be almost supernatural. And in many cases, this ‘second wind’ propels the runner into the winner's circle.

Some scientists believe this phenomenon they call “the second wind” to be the result of the body finding the proper balance of oxygen to counteract the buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. Others claim it is due to endorphin production. While others believe it to be purely psychological. Regardless of the cause of it, there is no disputing the fact that it occurs, and this phenomenon has come to be used as a metaphor for new energy, and new strength, at the point of exhaustion.

I felt the Lord say to me this morning to prophesy that he is sending a second wind, a new and fresh anointing to those who have been battling some very difficult opposition from the enemy of your souls. The Lord showed me today that many of his people have reached the point of exhaustion. He said that a spirit like that of a constrictor, a python has attacked many believers, and that Spirit is sent by the devil to squeeze the breath out of God's people.

From Genesis to Revelation the enemy is identified as a serpent. Jesus said that we would tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. The devil is a serpent, this morning the Lord gave me a vision of a large snake squeezing the breath out of many in the Church. Pythons can grow up to 30 feet in length and weigh up to 300 pounds, and the Python does not kill its prey with venom, it kills them by constricting and squeezing the breath out of them. The serpent literally suffocates the victim. It squeezes the life out of them.

I feel that the Lord was showing me this morning that many of his children have been under attack and you feel like your breath is being squeezed out of you. The Word tells us that in the last days the devil will speak great words against the Most High, and he will wear out the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7: 25). Wear out mean to afflict, to harass, to exhaust, to push to fainting or weariness, to put under continuous pressure or strain.

Friends I know that many of you have been under attack. It's been continuous, non-stop, unrelenting, and it’s been one thing after another. You've been under pressure, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Every time you get the victory in one area, the devil hits you from another side. I know because I have been experiencing it as well.

What is happening? The enemy is trying to drive God’s people to the point of exhaustion. He’s trying to wear us out, to squeeze the life and breath out of the Church. Breath is life, it is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. If you have no life in you, if you’re not filled with the Holy Ghost, you're no threat to the devil.

The valley of dry bones was no threat to anyone. But when the wind, when the breath of God, the Holy Ghost began to blow, “they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.”

One hundred and twenty discouraged followers of Jesus in an upper room in Jerusalem were no threat to the devil. But suddenly, a rushing mighty wind of God began to blow and filled them all with the Holy Ghost and commission them with tongues of fire and they turned the known world upside down.

300 foxes were no threat to the Philistines until Samson put them in pairs and tied them tail-to-tail and set a Fire Brand between their tails. Then they were weapons of mass destruction. They burned up the corn, the vineyards, and the olive trees.

That's what the devil is afraid of, the fire of God. The devil is not afraid of our programs, our singing, our preaching, our church attendance, our talent, or our knowledge of the Bible. But what gives the devil nightmares and sends shockwaves through hell is a church on fire. A church that is alive. When the church is on fire, when everything we do is driven by the wind of God, everything changes.

When the wind blew in the book of Exodus it divided the Red Sea for the children of Israel to cross over, and it was a wind that closed that same sea on Pharaoh and all his army. It was a wind from God that brought the rain that ended a three-and-a-half-year drought. It was the wind of God that turned the valley of dry bones into a mighty army. And it was the wind of God that blew through that upper room on the day of Pentecost and turned a bunch of broken-hearted disciples into the greatest force for God the earth had ever seen and gave birth to the New Testament Church.

Then in our reading it tells us; many of the same disciples were gathered together in prayer. Because of their faith, and because of their boldness and testimony of Jesus Christ, they had been persecuted. In fact they had been threatened and commanded not to preach or teach anymore in the name of Jesus. But they left rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for his namesake. Then instead of gathering together and complaining and comparing their wounds, they prayed.

Essentially what they said was: God we need more power, we need another dose. That’s where Acts 4:39 –40, come into the picture:

“And now Lord behold their threatenings, and grant unto thy servants, that would all boldness they may speak thy word. By stretching forth thy hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy Holy Child Jesus. And when they prayed the place was shaken where they were and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness.”

They got a second wind, a refilling, a fresh anointing, a fresh fire, a fresh baptism. Then in chapter 5:12, we read:

“And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.”

I know by the Spirit I'm talking to some people today who are tired, worn out, many of you are at the point of exhaustion. You feel like you've had the breath knocked out of you. Some of you feel like you're running on empty, you love God but that python spirit has been squeezing the breath out of you. You’re having a difficult time understanding what is happening.

The python counts on you struggling and fighting aimlessly, because when you kick and scream, you exert energy and you exhale breath and he just tightens his grip. But I am exposing the devil today and that spirit is being broken right now. And right now, God is sending a second wind. That’s why you’re reading this right now, God is sending a second wind, a fresh wind into your life. You're going to breathe again!

Never has Church needed a fresh outpouring of the Holy Ghost, a Pentecost anointing. A second wind from heaven. A fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. The great need of the church is a fresh anointing, a fresh fire from heaven.

I believe that God is sending a second wind right now. You’re not going under your going over. You're not going to be defeated you're going to be victorious. Today we're putting that serpent under our feet where he belongs.

My Friends, it’s not a sin to run out of breath. We have all been there. But the sin is in believing that you can keep on in your own strength, in your own self-effort, and you neglect the presence and the power of God. You just keep on trudging along in the strength of the flesh. I don’t care who you are, how spiritual you are, or how anointed you are. You will at some point in time run out of gas, you will hit the wall; you will need a second wind. And the good news is that the same Holy Spirit that filled that upper room in Acts 2, was the same Holy Spirit that filled the room in Acts Ch 4, and He is the same Holy Spirit that wants to fill the room where you are right now.

Praise God! Right there wherever you are, just lift your hands and begin to breathe. Something's breaking right now. The anointing is destroying the enemy's grip right now. There is a fresh anointing coming your way, that second wind, the breath of God. Open up to His outpouring right now and take a deeper breath.

Your Blood is Enough

American Christianity is far less bloody than it used to be.

Songs like “There’s Power in the Blood,” “Nothing but the Blood,” and “Are You Washed in the Blood?” are still sung in some places, but it is becoming a rarity in American churches. And even more rare, new songs or praise choruses focused on blood of Jesus. The Cross, yes; redemption, yes; but blood, very rarely. Modern preachers are eager to speak of life, but hesitant to speak of the blood.

And this is not only a Protestant phenomenon. Roman Catholics—centered as they are on the Eucharist—often seem to go out of their way to speak of the “real presence” of Jesus in the elements, without going so far as to mention that this presence is believed to be that of his body and blood, as well as soul and divinity. Even Catholic communion hymns, I’m told, prefer terms like “the Cup” to “the Blood.”

In my opinion, this is the result of the lingering sting of liberal Christianity’s hostility toward what they perceive as a “slaughterhouse religion.” Some of it is the result of an age that fears blood but doesn’t know why. Some of it is the result of our ignorance, as we think that “blood” is just another metaphor, one we can easily replace.

This modern, bloodless Christianity leaves a huge void. The lack of emphasis on blood of Jesus in Evangelical Protestant churches at least partially explains why followers of “mainstream” Christianity, who otherwise would have nothing to do with Roman Catholic imagery, found themselves openly weeping in movie theaters as they viewed The Passion of the Christ? Did they, perhaps, need to remember that “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:5)?

Embarrassment over the bloodiness of Christianity often results in blood atonement being presented in discipleship of believers in an attenuated, abstract sort of way. Less and less often do ordinary believers hum to themselves songs about the blood of Jesus. Less and less often do small children memorize Scripture passages about the blood of Christ. And rarely do you hear this younger generation plead the blood of Jesus over their lives and the lives of their family members like the elders of old, and that in my assessment, is sad.

We assume that we first convince unbelievers to follow Jesus—and then we explicate the meaning of his blood, when we think they’re ready for this specialized theological knowledge. But how do we address consciences indicted by the ancient Accuser of Eden—some of them tortured by the knowledge that they have shed innocent blood themselves—without pointing them to the only means of conquering him, “the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 12:10–11)? A young preacher in our church recently pointed out, “the blood comes before the testimony.”

We assume that we teach young Christians how to live, to abstain from sexual immorality and greed and worldliness, before we move to something as seemingly arcane as blood sacrifice. And yet, Scripture assumes that personal morality is built on the knowledge that we were bought “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:19).

We assume that we build “community” in our churches before we address something as raw and potentially alienating as the shedding of blood. And yet, the community we share—bearing with all of one another’s faults and transcending our petty ethnic and cultural prejudices—comes only through the recognition that we share a common condemnation as sinners, but, as we will still confess to our Christ in the heavenly places, “you were slain, and with your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9). Shared life is based on shared blood!

Even the vampires in the popular fiction novels of today’s culture know that. That’s what makes a bloodless Christianity ignorantly ironic. They believe they’re more in tune with unbelievers around them, but unbelievers all around them are talking constantly about blood, from pharmaceutical advertisements to horror films, from vampire romance novels to AIDS and DNA testing.

The nineteenth- and twentieth-century revivalist tradition gave the Church a valued psalter of “blood medleys.” We should never be embarrassed by our emphasis—in song, in public prayer, in evangelism, in discipleship, and in preaching—on the blood of Jesus. As a song I sing in choir states, “Your blood is a rescue for the sin stained life, your blood is healing for the hopeless and broken – Your blood is enough, Jesus it’s enough” And it is enough. Without the blood, we are all dead in our sins, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” – Hebrews 9:22

There is power—wonder-working power—in the blood. Our culture already sees that. They’re simply looking in the wrong veins.

This Treasure

I have a message today for some people who have been in a battle, a boxing match if you will, with the circumstances of life that you currently find yourself in. It may be that the fight came upon you suddenly or without warning and your struggling to defend yourself, or it could be that you made the choice to enter the ring thinking that you could handle it. Regardless of how you wound up in this fight, you're weary, you’ve taken some unexpected blows, you're staggered, and you feel as though you’re about to be defeated. You’ve been knocked down and you can hear the countdown and you’re beginning to feel like it’s over. I am telling you this morning, it ain’t over! Look up! Look to the hills from where your help cometh, and the next round belongs to Jesus!  

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. – 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

This is one of the most powerful statements concerning the power of God in us in the entire Word of God – “that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Anything that we face, the power of God in us, in earthen vessels, can handle. In other words, if we let God deal with it, we’ll be okay. If we turn our circumstances over to the Holy Spirit in us, through prayer, we’ll be okay. We will survive our storms, if Jesus is the captain of our ship.

“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 John 4:4

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13

All these scriptures tell us an extraordinary truth, if the presence of God is living in me, no enemy, no circumstance, or no storm of life can bring me down. But if we try and go it alone, if our prayer life is non-existent, if we haven’t allowed a place for His Word in our life, if we haven’t been filled with the Holy Ghost, then we’re going to take a beating every time.

“God won’t give you more than you can handle.” (Nice thought, but not in the Word)

When some difficulty arises in someone’s life, this supposed verse gets tossed out there like a scripture bomb. It sounds compelling, and it does remind us of God’s care and concern for each of us. After all, He knows the exact number of hairs on your head:

“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:7

But it’s because God loves us, and knows us, that He gives us more than we can handle. After all, as humans we tend to think that we don’t need help, that we can handle life on our own, and we are wrong. It’s pride that lies to us and makes us believe this, and pride always drags us down:

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18

To keep us grounded in the reality of our need for Him, God graciously allows us to see just how much we can’t handle. He put the prophet Elijah’s back against the wall and made him depend upon birds, He gave Moses 600,000 impossible-to-please travelers, He tasked the 11 apostles with spreading the gospel all over the world, and He’ll give you way more than you can handle, too, until you learn to turn it over to Him.

If you have lived very long you know that life is not always fair, bad things happen to everyone, even to good people. Sometimes Christians have financial problems, Christians get sick, Christians fight battles in their marriage, in their minds, even in their flesh, or their appetites.

In our text the Apostle Paul says that he had been troubled on every side, perplexed, persecuted and knocked down. But he also says that he was not distressed, not in despair, not forsaken, and he was not destroyed. How did he manage to face all these terrible circumstances, yet not succumb to them? The Holy Ghost!

“We have this treasure in earthen vessels…”

I want to tell somebody today: It doesn’t matter what the enemy is working against you, or what your struggling with the Word says:

“No weapon that is formed against you shall be able to prosper.” – Isaiah 54:17

God did not say that your enemy would not form weapons against you, or that he would not launch them at you, or even that they would not touch you. But He did say they shall not prosper, they will not accomplish their intended purpose.

I got some good news and some bad news for you today. The bad news is that it doesn’t matter who you are or how spiritual you are, at some point life is going to deal you a blow. Unexpected, undesired situations and problems that catch you off guard, and send your life into a spin. The good news is that even though we all will at some point encounter these unexpected, unanticipated attacks, problems, and circumstances – God is fighting for us!

I want to tell somebody today who has been knocked down, life has thrown you an unexpected curveball: divorce, financial disaster, your child is on drugs, the doctor’s have given you a bad report. It can be a multitude of different things, but the bottom line is you weren’t expecting it, and it hurt and has thrown your life into a tail spin.

The Apostle Paul had a similar experience:

“And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, (he rose up), and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.” – Acts 14:19-20

They thought Paul was dead, but he wasn’t. It just knocked the breath out of him.

This message today is for somebody who has taken a hard hit, and there’s no denying it. You’re hurt, it knocked you down, it knocked the breath out of you, it’s knocked you off your feet, but you’re still here. It didn’t kill you.

It may have knocked you off your feet, but that’s the biggest mistake the devil could have made, because now, you’re closer to your knees. And friend when we are on our knees, we can touch heaven, and when we touch heaven, hell trembles!

Friends, I want to tell somebody today: You may have lost a round but you’re still in the fight, and it may have slipped your mind for the moment, so I want to remind you – This fight is fixed! Before you ever stepped into the ring it was already determined you were going to win.

I cannot tell you today that you will never be knocked down, I cannot claim that you will never be caught off guard, I cannot say that you will never be troubled or perplexed, but I can promise you that if you pray, if you find a place for God’s word in your life, if you repent and are filled with the Holy Ghost, then Jesus has taken residence in you, and you’re going to make it.

This Treasure

I have a message today for some people who have been in a battle, a boxing match if you will, with the circumstances of life that you currently find yourself in. It may be that the fight came upon you suddenly or without warning and your struggling to defend yourself, or it could be that you made the choice to enter the ring thinking that you could handle it. Regardless of how you wound up in this fight, you're weary, you’ve taken some unexpected blows, you're staggered, and you feel as though you’re about to be defeated. You’ve been knocked down and you can hear the countdown and you’re beginning to feel like it’s over. I am telling you this morning, it ain’t over! Look up! Look to the hills from where your help cometh, and the next round belongs to Jesus!  

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. – 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

This is one of the most powerful statements concerning the power of God in us in the entire Word of God – “that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Anything that we face, the power of God in us, in earthen vessels, can handle. In other words, if we let God deal with it, we’ll be okay. If we turn our circumstances over to the Holy Spirit in us, through prayer, we’ll be okay. We will survive our storms, if Jesus is the captain of our ship.

“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 John 4:4

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13

All these scriptures tell us an extraordinary truth, if the presence of God is living in me, no enemy, no circumstance, or no storm of life can bring me down. But if we try and go it alone, if our prayer life is non-existent, if we haven’t allowed a place for His Word in our life, if we haven’t been filled with the Holy Ghost, then we’re going to take a beating every time.

“God won’t give you more than you can handle.” (Nice thought, but not in the Word)

When some difficulty arises in someone’s life, this supposed verse gets tossed out there like a scripture bomb. It sounds compelling, and it does remind us of God’s care and concern for each of us. After all, He knows the exact number of hairs on your head:

“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:7

But it’s because God loves us, and knows us, that He gives us more than we can handle. After all, as humans we tend to think that we don’t need help, that we can handle life on our own, and we are wrong. It’s pride that lies to us and makes us believe this, and pride always drags us down:

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18

To keep us grounded in the reality of our need for Him, God graciously allows us to see just how much we can’t handle. He put the prophet Elijah’s back against the wall and made him depend upon birds, He gave Moses 600,000 impossible-to-please travelers, He tasked the 11 apostles with spreading the gospel all over the world, and He’ll give you way more than you can handle, too, until you learn to turn it over to Him.

If you have lived very long you know that life is not always fair, bad things happen to everyone, even to good people. Sometimes Christians have financial problems, Christians get sick, Christians fight battles in their marriage, in their minds, even in their flesh, or their appetites.

In our text the Apostle Paul says that he had been troubled on every side, perplexed, persecuted and knocked down. But he also says that he was not distressed, not in despair, not forsaken, and he was not destroyed. How did he manage to face all these terrible circumstances, yet not succumb to them? The Holy Ghost!

“We have this treasure in earthen vessels…”

I want to tell somebody today: It doesn’t matter what the enemy is working against you, or what your struggling with the Word says:

“No weapon that is formed against you shall be able to prosper.” – Isaiah 54:17

God did not say that your enemy would not form weapons against you, or that he would not launch them at you, or even that they would not touch you. But He did say they shall not prosper, they will not accomplish their intended purpose.

I got some good news and some bad news for you today. The bad news is that it doesn’t matter who you are or how spiritual you are, at some point life is going to deal you a blow. Unexpected, undesired situations and problems that catch you off guard, and send your life into a spin. The good news is that even though we all will at some point encounter these unexpected, unanticipated attacks, problems, and circumstances – God is fighting for us!

I want to tell somebody today who has been knocked down, life has thrown you an unexpected curveball: divorce, financial disaster, your child is on drugs, the doctor’s have given you a bad report. It can be a multitude of different things, but the bottom line is you weren’t expecting it, and it hurt and has thrown your life into a tail spin.

The Apostle Paul had a similar experience:

“And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, (he rose up), and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.” – Acts 14:19-20

They thought Paul was dead, but he wasn’t. It just knocked the breath out of him.

This message today is for somebody who has taken a hard hit, and there’s no denying it. You’re hurt, it knocked you down, it knocked the breath out of you, it’s knocked you off your feet, but you’re still here. It didn’t kill you.

It may have knocked you off your feet, but that’s the biggest mistake the devil could have made, because now, you’re closer to your knees. And friend when we are on our knees, we can touch heaven, and when we touch heaven, hell trembles!

Friends, I want to tell somebody today: You may have lost a round but you’re still in the fight, and it may have slipped your mind for the moment, so I want to remind you – This fight is fixed! Before you ever stepped into the ring it was already determined you were going to win.

I cannot tell you today that you will never be knocked down, I cannot claim that you will never be caught off guard, I cannot say that you will never be troubled or perplexed, but I can promise you that if you pray, if you find a place for God’s word in your life, if you repent and are filled with the Holy Ghost, then Jesus has taken residence in you, and you’re going to make it.

Make Room for His Word

2 Kings 4:8-17 - Suggested Reading

In this passage of scripture, the Prophet represents the Word and the power of God to the Shunamite woman. The Word of God came to her and promised a blessing in her life, she heard the Word, but Like so many other people she responded with doubt. She said, “Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.”

Friends let me speak an important truth to you, the day that you hear the Word of God is the most important day of your life. The Word of God is the power of God. Your healing is in the Word, your deliverance is in the Word, your joy is in the Word, all your blessings are in the Word, your anointing is in the Word, and your destiny is in the Word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” – John 1:1-3

Everything begins with the Word. You can shout, dance, run, jump pews, and speak in tongues, but you haven’t even got started until you get in the Word. I don’t know what you’re dealing with today, I don’t know your struggles, but God gave me a word for you regardless of what your facing, your solution is the Word of God.

“Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” – Psalm 107:19-20

Faith is the hand that reaches out and takes hold of the blessings of God, but it is the Word of God that quickens the hand of faith. ‘Stretch forth thy hand,’ was Jesus command to the man with the withered hand, and at His Word faith came alive.

Oral Roberts was known to say, “Miracles are coming toward you and passing by you every day.”

I want to tell someone today, there’s a miracle coming your way right now.

“And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” – Luke 5:17

Jesus delivered the Word, He taught them, and because of the Word the power of God was present to heal them. The Word always ushers in the power of God, in fact scripture is clear – the Word never returns void. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” – Isaiah 55:11

The bible says In Shunem there was a great woman. If Elisha were here now, he would say, in Hattiesburg, MS there is a great woman, in Richton, MS there is a great man, all over this country and round the world there are great men and women of God.

One of the things that made this woman great was, she made a place for the Prophet, in other words she made a place for the Word in her life. It’s not enough for the Word to pass by you every Sunday, you have got to take hold of it, you must pull it into your world, you must make a place for the Word in your life.

“My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” – Proverbs 4:20-22

The only word the Bible promises will bring life to you and health to your flesh is the word that you listen intently to, that you look at continuously and that you keep in the midst of your heart.

In Shunem there was a great woman. This woman had a reputation of being kind, and hospitable, but what made her great was her ability to discern where God was at work. There’s no telling how many houses Elisha had passed by that had failed to identify the anointing and recognize the presence of God in his life. I am certain that Elisha passed by many Houses where there were great needs present, but they received no miracle because they did not discern, or perceive, God’s power in the Prophet.

One of the greatest gifts you have as a child of God is perception, or discernment. I’m sure many people saw Elisha pass by their houses and maybe even said hello to him. But Perception is more than sight, it is the ability to see deeper, to see beyond the surface, to grasp with spiritual understanding. To See with the heart and not with the head. There’s a revelation waiting on you, but you’ll never get it with your head you have got to get it with your heart.

Have you ever felt like you’re on the verge of a revelation? On the verge of something from God that could totally change your life? Something that has the power to shift you to another dimension, another level in your faith, another level in your anointing, or another level in your ministry? And you know it’s right there, you’re on the edge of it?

I have been doing a lot of praying this week, and I know in my spirit that I’m on the verge of a spiritual breakthrough. I can feel through the Holy Ghost that I’m on the edge of a miracle. I am standing on the brink of an experience with the Holy Ghost’s power that is going to revolutionize my life, and I don’t want to miss it.

Friends, I’ve missed it before, the miracle passed by my house and I never even recognized it. The glory came by me, but I was too carnal to see it, the power of God passed right in front of me, but I was too focused on my problems to recognize it.

What do you mean preacher? There was a time in my life when the man of God passed by me, and I missed the revelation! A time when the glory came by and I missed it! There was a moment that the power of God was present, but I missed it! I missed my miracle because when the water moved, I was too focused on my circumstances!

But I’ve made up my mind – the last time, was the last time! I’m never going to miss it again! I’m watching now, I’m listening now, and I’m preparing now. I’m going to do whatever I got to do to get my Word. I’ll fast, I’ll pray, I’ll dance, I’ll run the aisles, I’ll shout till I’m hoarse, and I’ll cry. But by the help and grace of God, the last time was the last time – I’m not going to miss it again.

Brothers and Sisters don’t let your miracle pass you by. Embrace God’s Word and His presence in your life right now and receive your miracle, in Jesus' name.

'After This'

1 Samuel 8

v.1 And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines… v.2 And he smote Moab… v.3 David smote also Hadadezer… v.5 David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. V.6 And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.

“After this.” The word tells us that after this King David defeated his enemies and the Lord preserved him. After what? What was the this that David did theses things after? After he had been pursued and persecuted by Saul, after he had ran from his enemy for his life, after he had won the victory over and his life had been preserved, then after David brought the presence of God back to Israel – After he had suffered, been delivered, and experienced the joy of being in the presence of The Almighty God, David’s enemies didn’t stand a chance.

The Lord woke me up this morning for someone, or maybe more than one person, that needs an “After This.” Friends I want to exclaim to you today, Hold on! Don’t lose hope! Don’t throw in the towel! Don’t let go of your faith and give up! Don’t do it! There's something beyond ‘this.’

‘This’ is not the end, it’s a temporary inconvenience, it’s just a hallway between where you were, and where God is taking you. ‘This’ is the in between place. ‘This’ is just the valley between two mountains. Sometimes we refer to this place as the “meantime,” or the “meanwhile.”

The Meanwhile: the time before something happens or before a specified period ends (Webster’s Dictionary). No one enjoys the ‘meantime.’ While you’re in it, it’s mean, it’s hard, it’s painful, it’s trying, it’s dark, and it feels uncertain.

Remember after Elijah called down fire from heaven, and after his servant seen the little cloud, the Word of God says: “And it came to pass in the meanwhile that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.” – 1 Kings 18:45

The great rain came after the mean while. The great blessing came after the meanwhile. In the meanwhile, there was dark clouds and winds.

I told you, God woke me up today for someone. I don’t know who you are or what you are going through, but you know exactly what I’m talking about, because you are there right now, you’re in the ‘meanwhile.’ The mean winds of adversity are blowing in your life right now, and the dark clouds are obscuring the sunlight. You are in the ‘meanwhile.’ You’re in the place of testing, of waiting, of uncertainty, and of not knowing. You are traveling through that valley of testing and trusting.

But God gave me this word for you – “After This.” I just keep hearing this going over and over in my spirit. “After This,” David smote the Philistines and subdued them. That word “smote” means, Attack, smite, hit, conquer, punish, or destroy. And then he subdued them. That word “subdued” means to bring low, to bring into subjection, or to humiliate.

I need to say something right here that we need to remember: God never told us that if we would serve him that we would never have a problem, never fight a devil, never get sick, never be attacked, or never have problems in our families. He promised us that he would be with us, through it all.

In fact, the Bible says: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.) – Psalm 34:19

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when the walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” – Isaiah 43:2

This is what the Lord gave me to say: If you do not give up, if you will not give in to fear and doubt, if you keep on walking through the fire, if you will keep on praising God in the ‘meanwhile,’ if you will hold onto His Word in the face of every contrary and evil report, you will make it to ‘After This.’

I don’ know what ‘This’ is to you today, I don’t have to know. All I need to know is that there is an ‘After This.’ God never promised us a rose garden, he never promised us a trouble-free life, and He never promised us a mountain with no valleys. But He did promise me an ‘After This.’

David fought with the philistines and they caused him much grief. They won a few rounds, David took some hits, and David felt the pain. But ‘After This’ …

Friends, I love you too much to lie to you and tell you that being a Christian is a trouble-free life, that you’ll never walk through the valley of the shadow of death, that you’ll never hear a Dr’s bad report, that you’ll never cry over wayward children, that you’ll never be lied on, or there won’t be times when you feel like quitting. I can’t do it, I won’t do it, because it’s not true! But I can tell you on the authority of Gods’ Word; If you will Hold on, you will come to ‘After This.’

Up to now, in the meanwhile, the enemy has hurt you, he’s hit you hard, and your embarrassed, but your getting ready to humiliate your enemy. A humiliating anointing is being released upon you, receive it in Jesus’ name!

You’re getting ready to step into your ‘After This.’ You’re getting ready to humiliate the devil, to embarrass the devil. Listen to what I am telling you! Every time the devil throws something at you that fails, every time a trap he sets for you misses you, every time an offense he throws at you fails to stick, every time he knocks you down and you bounce back stronger, he is humiliated!

This is what I heard the Holy Ghost speaking to me this morning. Your ‘meanwhile’ is getting ready to end, and God wants to release an ‘After This’ anointing on your life today!