Don"t underestimate on what I can do in and through you. Guard your heart and mind and meditate on my word.For this is your season that I have prepared for you.

· For I am about to take you to a higher place than youve ever been. I will show you things that have never been seen before. Only you will set the limits

Grace

Grace Intro: Grace,grace,grace. Everyone wants us but not everyone is willing to offer it. Grace is God giving us something we don’t deserve. There was once a boy who got angry and threw a very old, very valuable vase out of his bedroom window. His mom looked outside, saw the broken vase on the floor, and said to him “You deserve to have to pay for that, and buy it back!” But the boy had no money, he couldn’t repay the cost, and so his mum chose to demonstrate her love. She said, “If I forgive you now, and let you off, that will show that I have mercy.” “But instead, I’m going to not only forgive you, but take you to McDonald’s as a treat, so that you know I have grace.” As humans, we all have a price to pay; God is perfect, we are not, and so we don’t deserve to come into God’s presence. However, God loves us so much, that he was willing to sacrifice himself, to pay the cost, so that we would be able to know him. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, so according to that we deserve death. But God’s grace gives us forgiveness, it protects us and it restores us. Aren’t you so grateful for God’s grace today in your life? Common truth: Grace,Grace Grace Points: 1. Why do we need His Grace? How many of you think you have your life all together? Thinks are going so well that you can’t even see any room for improvement. You consider yourself very gifted and talented and you are what they call an over achiever in life? I would guess most of us here don’t feel that why, I know I don’t. Many times the enemy even reminds me of my limitations and short coming, he also seems to point out my weaknesses. But thanks be to God for His grace. I know longer need to be ashamed of my weaknesses but can use them to strengthen my walk with God. 2 Corinthians 12:9 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. You see it’s difficult for God to be lifted up in a prideful person; if I am naturally gifted in an area of my life I tend to take the credit for it. But areas I fall short in which are many God gets the glory. Those areas that I struggle with causes me to reach out to God more and to rely on Him instead of my own strength. His strength is far stronger than mine and because of His grace I don’t have to feel bad because I might not be the best at something. Our limitations not only help develop Christian character but also deepen our worship, because in admitting them, we affirm God’s strength. 2. So how to I achieve this grace? First grace is freely given to us but the problem is we don’t always accept it because of pride. Pride hinders us from experiencing God’s grace in our lives. James 4:6 6 But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble. Think about it there are people out in this world who because of their pride to accept help are going without. No one wants to admit they are struggling and might need help. As a husband and father who wants to provide for his family doesn’t want to accept a hand out from another man even though he desperately needs it, his pride won’t allow it. Then you have those who at just the opposite and goes around with their hand out to everyone and what do we say about those people? We say I could never imagine doing what they are doing; don’t they have any pride in themselves? But little do we know that these people are very prideful. You see pride makes us self- centered and leads us to conclude that we deserve all we can see, touch, or imagine It creates greedy appetites for far more than we need. Just because someone is offering free food someone people won’t just take what they need they will load their plates to over flowing and end up wasting most of it, they will even take food they don’t even like just because its free. You see just because we have God’s grace doesn’t mean we need to take advantage of it. 3. What are we to do with His grace? Rom 6:1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? If God loves to forgive, why not give Him more to forgive? Of course not. What it needs to do is cause us to worship Him more, cause us to serve Him for effectively. Imagine someone came up to you and paid all your debt, wouldn’t you feel very appreciative to them, feel indebted to serve them and go out of your way to show them honor? Or would you just go get in more debt because you know they will bail you out again. Hopefully none of us would do the latter but that’s what we do to God, we seek His forgiveness and grace just to turn around with our hands out expecting more. We need to show others the same grace that has been showed to us. The Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant Matt. 18:21- Common truth: Grace,Grace Grace

Where is God at?

Where is God at? Intro: You ever wonder where God is at. Why don’t I feel His presence? Or maybe you know where God is at in your life but I am sure at some time or another you have been confronted with this question from others. When things don’t seem to be going our way, we begin to question His existence or if things don’t move as quickly as we would like them to we question God’s presence. Central truth: I’m Here! Points: 1. Why don’t we always see God. We build barriers, we put up walls. First we put these walls up for our protection, protection from hurt of a loved one, insecurities, fear at failing. So we listen to the lies that tell us if you let someone get close they will hurt you, if you try something you will fail and so up the walls go. Funny thing is now we have created a barrier that we can’t see around ourselves. And we wonder why we don’t see Jesus. Just because you don’t see Him doesn’t mean He isn’t there. Nothing can separate us ! Romans 8:35-39 New Living Translation (NLT) 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2. God is always there. You ever feel as if you’re all alone? Many times we are going through some crisis and we shut others out. We stop communicating with our friends, families, we stop coming to church. We fall right into the enemies trap. There is power in numbers and Satan knows that, that’s why he temps us to isolate ourselves. He is like a roaring lion looking for who he can devour. 1 Peter 5:8 New Living Translation (NLT) 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Lions attack sick, young or straggling animals: they choose victims who are alone or not alert. So there we set wounded, bleeding all alone and the enemy sweeps in for the attack. No matter how alone you may feel, no matter how hard to try to isolate yourself, God will never leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 New International Version 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He was in the lion den, he was in the fiery furnace, and he was there in the garden of Gethsemane when all His disciples couldn’t even stay awake for Jesus and He is with you now and always will be. Ex. Footprints in the Sand Another danger we have when we isolate ourselves from the things of God is when we tell ourselves “ I am still doing fine” I have plenty of time to live my life the way I want to before I start to live the life He wants me to live.” 3. Drawing Near. Story of man in car. We serve a God that doesn’t move, He changes not. Mal. 3:6 "I am the LORD, and I do not change. A lot of time we want to use the excuse well God is leading me in a different direction now. That I disagree with God doesn’t change His mind and He always finishes what He starts. I do believe God does move us in different direction but not until He alone is finish with us where He currently has us. We are the ones that have slid over and no longer are close to Him. James 4:8 New Living Translation (NLT) 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. So how can we draw close to God today? 1. Humble ourselves and repent for leaving. 2. Read His word. 3. Pray and commune with Him. Establish a relationship once again with Him. 4. Come to church, fellowship with Gods family. 5. Seek His will and surrender your life to Him. Central truth: I’m Here!

Why does life have to be so hard?

Why does life have to be so hard? Intro: You ever wonder why some people have all the luck and get all the breaks and nothing good ever happens for you? You ever wonder why some people seem to cost through life but your left to struggle? You ever wish you could just stubble across the winning lotto numbers and all your problems will be fixed? As a pastor I have wondered how come some ministries and churches just seem to take off and grow like crazy and it seems at times mine is barely staying afloat. You may even wondered yourself why can’t my love one be healed like someone else’s, way cant I get a great paying job like so and so did. The list could go on and on…. If God isn’t a respecter of person and says what He does for one why hasn’t He done it for me yet? I wish I had the answer to all these questions but I don’t but what I do know is that God knows the beginning from the end and He commands us to Trust Him and in all our ways to acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths. Central truth: God is still in control So in attempt to make since of all this I would like to make a few points. Points: 1. Who are you blaming for your circumstances? Should we blame the devil for such a crisis? Or is it our own fault? Where is God in all this? Passing the blame began with Adam, who blamed Eve for offering him forbidden fruit. She in turn blamed the serpent for deceiver he. Gen 3:11-13 Ever since, we’ve been blaming one another or the government or the devil for the trials we suffer. Jesus identified the one most responsible when He said John 10:10 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. He is the source of all evil. In the midst of distress, Satan wants us to blame God, rather than turn and acknowledge Him as our source of help. But we do have a choice. We can buy into the temptation to blame God and others. Or we can take responsibility for our own actions and attitudes and seek forgiveness for those that are wrong. We can choose to agree with Jesus when He said I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly Jesus purpose for coming to earth was to provide a way for us to live a meaningful life at every level and dimension- spiritual, physical, and emotional. 2. Why do we suffer? God created Adam and Eve, placed them in the Garden of Eden, and made every provision for them. They had no need to worry about anything! But when they chose to disobey God’s command, they brought a curse upon themselves and upon all mankind. Genesis 3:19 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food When they were dismissed from the garden to fend for themselves, anxiety about the future became our legacy as well. 3. God made a way out. Genesis 22:15-18 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” You see there were requirements to receive God’s provision A. To obey His Word. B. To keep our eyes and hearts focused on Him, not just on His blessings. C. To resist the enemy’s emphasis on how negative the circumstances may appear. D. To be concerned about the needs of others. Believers who meet the requirements of obedience can still claim God’s promises of blessing and provision today. •I know many of you feel that you are in captivity you’re your current circumstances. •God puts you into captivity to grow you. • Are you in a time of restriction, limitation, or constraint? • Get large. Use the season of restriction to go deep in God. • • Your prison is actually an invitation to get large in intimacy, get large in understanding, get large in the knowledge of Christ, get large in righteousness, get large in holiness, get large in the word and prayer, get large in good works, get large in meekness and humility, get large in faith and hope, get large in servanthood, get large in love. • Never waste a good prison sentence. Turn your prison into an incubator. • Is it possible to get so large that the prison can no longer hold you? •Jesus is still with you, and He is skillfully crafting your story. • •If you will continue to abide in Him, He will so increase you in this season that you will emerge from the captivity large enough to enter your promises, take your promises, inhabit your promises, and hold onto your promises. Leviticus 26:3-5 3 “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land. Leviticus 26:10 10 You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest! Its a new season, its a new day, freash annointing its coming your way, a season of power and of prosperity, its a new season coming your way. Central truth: God is still in control

Prayer and Fasting as a weapon

Prayer and Fasting as a weapon Intro: Are you tired of being attacked? Are you tired of feeling like the harder you try the worse things get? You ever feel like for every step forward you end up taking two steps back? The Spirit would tell you today, rise up mighty warrior! I am with you! Today is the day we stop being on the defensive side of the attacks of the enemy and we take are rightful spot on the offensive side. How many of you are tired of hiding and running from the enemy? It’s time the enemy runs and hides from us! God has given a secret weapon to use to do battle with and they are called Prayer and fasting. Central truth: Our greatest victories are won on our knees and with empty stomachs. Points: 1. Prayer The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. One powerful resource is communion with God through prayer. The results are often greater than we thought possible. Some people see prayer as a last resort to be tried when all else fails. Q: What Is Prayer? Simply put, prayer is communicating with God. Real prayer is expressing our devotion to our heavenly Father, inviting Him to talk to us as we talk to Him. Prayer releases God's great power to change the course of nature, people, and nations. We are commanded to pray. Luke 18:1 says Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. God may delay answering, but His delays always have a good reason. So never give up. Ask, seek and Knock. P.U.S.H God's Word commands us to "Pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We can be in prayer throughout the day, expressing and demonstrating our devotion to God as we go about our daily tasks. It is not always necessary to be on our knees, or even in a quiet room to pray. God wants us to be in touch with Him constantly wherever we are. We can pray in the car, while washing the dishes, or while walking down the street. 2. Fasting What is it? It is going without food all together or eliminating certain foods in order to spend time in prayer.. There are many types of fast I recommend you fallow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to determine which one you do. Why are you fasting? Is it for spiritual renewal, for guidance, for healing, for the resolution of problems, for special grace to handle a difficult situation? Ask the Holy Spirit to clarify His leading and objectives for your prayer fast. This will enable you to pray more specifically and strategically. Pray about the kind of fast you should undertake. Jesus implied that all of His followers should fast (Matthew 6:16-18; 16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. For Him it was a matter of when believers would fast, not if they would do it. Before you fast, decide the following up front: •How long you will fast - one meal, one day, a week, several weeks, forty days (Beginners should start slowly, building up to longer fasts.) • •The type of fast God wants you to undertake (such as water only, or water and juices; what kinds of juices you will drink and how often) • •What physical or social activities you will restrict •How much time each day you will devote to prayer and God's Word If you sincerely humble yourself before the Lord, repent, pray, and seek God's face; if you consistently meditate on His Word, you will experience a heightened awareness of His presence (John 14:21). 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” The Lord will give you fresh, new spiritual insights. Your confidence and faith in God will be strengthened. You will feel mentally, spiritually, and physically refreshed. You will see answers to your prayers. 3. Double trouble (for the enemy) Prayer combined with fasting I believe the power of fasting as it relates to prayer is the spiritual atomic bomb that our Lord has given us to destroy the strongholds of evil and usher in a great revival and spiritual harvest around the world. Story of demon possessed boy Matthew 17:18-21: "And JESUS rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to JESUS and asked privately, Why could we not drive it out? He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if you have faith [that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by PRAYER AND FASTING." The two combined show that you are serious, you are seeking God so intensely that you don’t even take out time to eat or drink, a total devotion to God. Denying the flesh for the Spirit is powerful. Fasting along with prayer seems to indicate the sincerity of the people praying and the critical nature of the situations in which they find themselves. Central truth: Our greatest victories are won on our knees and with empty stomachs.

The Word is a weapon

Intro: You ever hear the saying knowledge is power? The more you know about a particular subject the more confident you are in that area the more knowledge you have the more doors that will open for you. Ex. If you are knowledgeable about let’s say computers, when a problem occurs and you are asked to fix it or talk about a certain subject you have confident and assurance, if a job opens up in the IT department of a major company the more knowledge you have about computers the more likely you are to get the job. So how do we obtain such knowledge about life, about relationships, about our health, about being a parent, a husband or wife, Knowledge to fight off Satan’s attacks? By studying His Word! Satan is a liar but how do we know he is lying unless we know the truth? You should know the truth and the truth shall set you free. What is the truth? The Word of God! Using the bible as a weapon Hebrews 4:12 12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. The word of God is not just a collection of words; it is a living and life changing. God’s word reveals who we are and what we are not. It reveals both good and evil within us. We must not just listen to the word; we must allow it to shape our lives. Central truth: When the enemy cuts us we need to bleed scripture. Points: 1. We must have an understanding of what the Word is. It is not a human book. Even though it was written by humans it is the inspired Word of God. The Bible is our standard for testing everything else that claims to be true. It’s our safeguard against false teaching and our source of guidance for how we should live. It is our only source of knowledge about how we can be saved. God desires to show you through His word what is true and equip you to live for Him. Question? How much time to you spend in God’s Word? Read it regularly to discover Gods truth and to become confident in your life and faith. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2. Use his Word to reveal the enemies traps. Doesn’t your house look a lot cleaner when the lights are off? But As soon as you turn them on all the dust and dirt is revealed. The enemy loves to keep us in the dark. Ever get up in the night and try to walk through the house with the lights off, you trip and bump into everything. Why because the darkness hides the sin and Satan traps, if we aren’t wise and turn on a light we will trip and fall and acquire some bruises, scrapes and cuts. Psalm 119:105 105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. When walking through the woods at night we need a light so we don’t trip over tree roots or fall into holes. In this life we walk through a dark forest of evil. But the Bible can be our light to show us the way ahead so we won’t stumble as we walk. Study His Word so you will be able to see your way clear enough to stay on the right path. 3. Let the Word do fight your battles. Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Matthew 4:1-11 The Temptation of Jesus 4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” 7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.]” 11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus. Knowing Bible verses is an important step in helping us resist the enemies attack. Not only are we to know the word we are to obey the word. James 1:22 says But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. You see Satan knows the scriptures also but the difference is he doesn’t obey them. Illustration: What is the Bible? "THIS BOOK contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword and the Christian's character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object, our good is its design and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is given you in life and will be opened in the judgment and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents." Application: apply the Word to your life, take it all in and allow it to flow through your veins. Central truth: When the enemy cuts us we need to bleed scripture. Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes Joshua 1:8 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.