Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Initiate
































Initiate-cause an action or process to begin

To cause an action or a process to begin.

I.       Initiate a challenge.
A.     Initiate a challenge in yourself.
B.     Initiate a change and start it with you.
1.      Initiate a move a God through a hunger for God in your own life.
2.      Cause others around you to be jealous of your relationship with Him.
a)     Jealous of the closeness, the blessing, the time you spend together, and the strength of relationship you have with one another.
3.      Cause others to initiate a worship encounter with Him because they see yours.
a)     If our lives are a testimony, what is your saying?
b)     Stop being so passive and initiate a difference.
II.   Initiate a change.
A.     Initiate a change in your attitude.
1.      People who have amazingly horrible and destructive attitudes generally have no friends or at most a few.
2.      Don't you get tired of having no friends?
3.      Don't you get tired of trying to make things always go your way?
4.      Initiate a change.
a)     Start with you, go ahead press the button!

Numbers 14:19-24 NLT "[19] In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt." [20] Then the Lord said, "I will pardon them as you have requested. [21] But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord's glory, [22] not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. [23] They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it. [24] But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land."

B.     Caleb the bible says, "initiated, and lived with a different attitude."
1.      God chose to bring Caleb into the land because he has been faithful but it's his descendants that will posses their full share of the land.
2.      They got to reap the benefits of what their father, grandfather, planted. 
3.      What will you plant that your children will inherit, your children's children?
a)     My son Alec serves about 17 hours a weekend, God is gonna bless his service, his attitude, his loyalty to the Kingdom, and his initiation into the lives of so many.
b)     My son Chase, initiated a mission to at the age of 16 raise $3600 for an 11 day missions trip that will alter him forever, alter a nation forever, alter a people forever.
c)      Brooke, Hannah, Sydney, Madison, Amber, Chase, Kassie, Mark, Mike, Kristen, Chad, Stacy, Lindsey. 
C.     Initiate a change in your work ethic.
D.    Initiate a change in your words.
E.      Initiate a change in your actions.
III.   Initiate a challenge in the lives of others.
A.     Cause a chain reaction of events to take place that will forever change you, those around you, and those you come in contact with forever.
1.      Hunger for God is a process, passion for God is a process, discipleship is a process initiate a change.
2.      Initiate growth, initiate spiritual growth, initiate discipleship, initiate change! Press the start button.
a)     You press it!

Hebrews 12:1-4 NLT "[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. [2] We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. [3] Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up. [4] After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin."

IV. Become nothing to become everything.
A.     Strip off every weight, initiate growth in God by letting go of the past, letting go of your current sin, and let go of the stress of the future.
B.     Jesus our champion who initiates our faith and He perfects our faith.
1.      Faith is a complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
2.      He initiated our faith and He will finish our faith.
a)     What will you do with Him?
C.     A lot of people start well with Jesus but finish off weak, disinterested, dysfunctional, and disappointed.
D.    Then you have the group that goes back and forth between their faith and their sin.
1.      Back and forth from shame to joy shame to joy shame to joy and never really finding true freedom because the bible teaches that whom the Son hath set free is free indeed.
E.      Then you have that group that might not have initiated strong, they might not have pressed the trigger but realized that through a daily walk in God, a consistency of prayer, a habit of bible reading, a life of serving that they have encountered a faith that has overtaken them.
1.      Listen I have a confidence in God so strong that no matter what I've faced, what I'm facing, or what I will ever face I choose to trust God!
a)     I will initiate a mission.
b)     Initiate a cause.
c)      Initiate a change.
d)     Initiate love.
e)     Initiate joy.
f)        Initiate long suffering.
g)     Initiate life change.
h)     Initiate training.
i)        Initiate an iserve project.
j)        Initiate a revolution.
k)     Initiate a rebellion against culture, against hell, and the Devil!
(1) C'mon initiate a revival.
(2) Initiate an awakening.
(3) Initiate a Spirit filling.
(a) Go ahead I dare you, pull the trigger, do it now what are you waiting on?
(b) God is always waiting on you, you are never waiting on Him.
i)        He is waiting on your step of faith.
ii)      He is waiting on your simple prayer.
iii)   He is waiting on your worship encounter with Him.
iv)   He is waiting for you to connect with Him through His word! He wants to speak to you.

v)     He wants you to initiate an encounter!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

ascend



Ascend-rise-climb-soar-go up-come up-lead. To take an upward direction-to proceed from an inferior to a superior-rise from a lower to a higher level-to attain.

­ Colossians 4:2-3 "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ ..."


1. "Devote yourselves to prayer . . ."

­ 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Keep on praying. 
(appeal-plea-request-desire-hope-wish)

­ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks. 2Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity.”


  • Devote yourselves to pray for the leaders of your campus, community, and country, that they would be filled with the knowledge of God and do His will.
  • As you pray for the strength of your leaders Christian and Non-Christian God says He will have mercy on them.
  • God also says that because of your prayers that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. (pride self-esteem-self-respect)

“Bad habits are like comfortable beds--easy to get into but hard to get out of.” Source Unknown


2. ". . . being watchful and thankful."
2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are practicing the things we commanded you, and that you always will. 5 May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.”

  • Pray that God will protect you from the evil one, who will try to discourage you.
    • To Ascend we also must let God take us into a deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.
1 Chronicles 16:8 “Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.“

  • Thank the Lord for who He is and what He can do through you.
    • To Ascend we must thank the Lord for who He is and what He can do through me!

3. "And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ . . ."

1 Peter 3:13-16 “Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't be afraid and don't worry. 15Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”

­ Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--Jews first and also Gentiles.”

­ Luke 9:26 "If a person is ashamed of me and my message, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in my glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.
"

­
  • Thank You for ascending your relationship with Christ! 
  • Thank You for not being ashamed of Christ!
  • Thank You for sharing Christ with others!
  • Thank You for living in the power of Christ!
  • Thank You for walking in the Spirit and not after the flesh!
  • Thank You for standing out!

­ Christians stand out!
  • If you are really living Christ like then you are standing OUT!
Mark 16:15 “And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. 16Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned."

Revelation 16:15 “Take note: I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their robes ready so they will not need to walk naked and ashamed."


  • -Make prayer a habit in your life-

The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. Samuel Johnson.

  • -Make prayer a habit in your life so strong it cannot be broken!-
    • Listen Being a leader requires that you ASCEND!

Ascend- rise-climb-soar-go up-come up-lead. To take an upward direction-to proceed from an inferior to a superior-rise from a lower to a higher level-to attain.

Psalms 24:1-6 "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him. 
2 For He laid the earth's foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths. 3 Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? 4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. (Idols are anything that comes before God) 5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have right standing with God their savior. 6 They alone may enter God's presence and worship the God of Israel." 

Explain-pure hands and pure hearts

  • Pure hands-we can only rescue others when we have pure hands because it takes the Spirits power.
  • Pure hearts- Job 17:9 "The righteous will move onward and forward, and those with pure hearts will become stronger and stronger." 
Matthew 5:8 “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.”

  • God wants to be an awesome, intricate, part of your life.
  • We can’t communicate with God if we don’t have pure hands and a pure heart.
    • To begin a relationship with God you have to believe on Him.
    • While using your faith, your heart, and your mouth.

­ Matthew 5:8 “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.”