We owe the world a divine encounter with God. As we walk in the Presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we will see the lives around us transformed. Staying filled with the Spirit is what positions us to bring divine encounters to others. We we born to reign in life and see God’s Kingdom established in the earth.

[Applause]

thank you

my mind nice to see you finally it’s

been a long time

i just got back from taiwan and mainland

china yesterday

and uh

that was a little thank you i love you

too thank you

uh one wonderful time wonderful time in

both both places

i can’t talk much about the mainland

china one

but uh did get to meet

with a pastor that gives oversight to

where i was

and helps to give oversight there and uh

he had just been released from prison

for his faith

on christmas eve

and

interestingly he went into prison with

bad knees and a bad back

and had hair that was turning gray on

the sides he came out

and they don’t know what happened but he

no longer has gray hair his back is good

and his knees are good so

i guess it’s the new get young program

is just go to prison for your faith and

you just turn out better i don’t know

how that works but

i had never heard that before so that

was that was actually very very gracious

humble man very fun to

to be with somebody who’s paid such a

price for his faith

so anyway it was wonderful wonderful to

be there

i uh

i love negativity fast i actually try to

do it year round

[Laughter]

i remember when we did our first one

goodness 20

20 21 years ago we did we decided i was

reading out of isaiah and i thought man

we need to do a negativity fast

so we called it negativity fast we i had

people coming to me saying man this is

harder than fasting food

this is this is tough

and uh one of our elders says uh he’s

just gonna do a daniel fast

where he just complains to his wife he

doesn’t complain to everyone else

so i thought that’s a whole creative

touch on this negativity fest

all right quick story the pope goes to

new york

he’s picked up at the airport by

limousine

he looks at the beautiful limousine he

says to the driver you know i hardly

ever get to drive

would you please let me drive

the driver is understandably hesitant he

says i am sorry but i don’t think i’m

supposed to do that

but the pope persists

the

driver finally lets up oh all right i

can’t say no to the pope so the pope

takes the wheel and he’s really enjoying

himself a little too much as a highway

patrolman

promptly pulls him over

the officer walks up to the window ask

him to roll it down he does he’s

startled when he sees behind the wheel

the young officer

asks the pope to wait for a moment he

goes back to his patrol car

he radios the chief chief

i have a problem

what sort of problem

well you see i pulled over this guy for

driving over the speed limit

but it’s somewhat really important

the chief responds important like the

mayor he said no much more important

the governor

way more important than that

the president

said no more

who’s more important than the president

well he’s got the pope driving for him

so it must be god

[Applause]

romans

yeah you’re welcome you’re welcome i

i know that that was edifying

encouraging which is

what i’m here to do all right romans

chapter 5 if you had opened uh

open to romans 5.

i just uh

spent time as i mentioned already in

mainland china i had a wonderful time

with friends there

and uh went to taiwan where i’ve been

going for the last nine years

and uh interestingly they have

they have this kingdom uh culture

conference and the theme this year was

reigning in life

which happens to be like one of my most

favorite subject in the last few years

um

it it’s a biblical term we’ll read it in

a moment

but many people are turned off by the

concept because of abuse

but whenever we react to error we create

another error

the lord has positioned everybody in

this room to reign in life

but reigning in life doesn’t mean you

rule over people it means you reign in

life it means that money doesn’t master

you you master money

it means relationships don’t manipulate

and cruel control you but you actually

navigate through the ups and downs of

our journey with people and we use it in

such a way that god is glorified

and so god has called us to actually

reign in life and it’s one of the

vital things that illustrates a

relationship with jesus that would cause

others to be drawn to him

uh

i’m not going to misuse the scripture

but it’s it’s a little broader than my

use

in in matthew jesus said let your light

shine before men in such a way that they

see your good works and glorify your

father which is in heaven that’s life

for the believer

is to live in such a way that what we do

actually what’s the appetite of people

for god

it’s not to wet the appetite of people

to applaud us

it’s actually to draw them to the lord

himself and so there’s a way that we

live there’s a way that we lay our lives

down the way there’s a way that we model

life that actually

invites people into the same kind of

relationship with the lord and this is

what the lord’s desiring from us so

let’s just start by reading this passage

out of romans

chapter 5

verse 17.

forth by one man’s offense

death reigned through the one

much more those who receive abundance of

grace and the gift of righteousness will

reign in life through the one christ

jesus

now let’s read it again

for if by one man’s offense that’s

talking about the sin of adam and eve so

he’s he’s painting a picture here one

person’s sin

brought death to the entire human race

so he says if by one person’s sin

that kind of issue entered the human

race how much more than through the

death of christ and his purchase of

redemption for us

can we be positioned or posture to reign

in life so let’s read it again

it says if by the one man’s offense

death reigned through that one through

the one

much more those who receive abundance of

grace and the gift of righteousness will

reign in life

through the one christ jesus

i like the passion translation in the in

this verse

says uh death once held us in its grip

and by the blunder of one man death

reigned as king over humanity

but now how much more are we held in the

grip of grace

and continue reigning as kings in life

enjoying our regal freedom through the

gift of perfect righteousness in the one

and only jesus the messiah

wow

reigning as kings in life

as mentioned reigning in life isn’t uh

dominance over people it’s not

it’s not some secret way for us to build

our empires and that people admire us

it’s actually

using

the authority the grace that god gives

us for the benefit of people around us

a commonly repeated theme is authority

for for us authority is always to be

used to speak on behalf of those who

have no voice or a very little voice

it’s never used for self-promotion

anything you obtain through

self-promotion you’ll have to sustain

through self-promotion

it’s a it’s a constant trap of trying to

um trying to keep something inflated

that has a leak self-promotion is is is

nauseating

and it’s it’s a full-time job

where the lord has invited us actually

to partner with him in such a way that

the power of his grace the power of his

righteousness positions every believer

to reign

in life

to rule

so i think it’s maybe three years ago i

did a i did a series here um on sunday

mornings for uh goodness nine weeks on

the subject of wisdom

and it’s one of the most favorite things

i’ve ever done i i think i mentioned at

the time when i did it i had i had sat

on it for like ten literally 10 years

waiting for the right time where i was

ready enough and and the timing was

right to be able to teach on the subject

because it’s one of my most favorite

things in the whole world is the subject

of wisdom

the word proverb uh brian simmons in the

passion translation in his introduction

brings up the fact that the word proverb

of course it means uh like a wise saying

riddle those sort of things

all sorts of things

the word proverb actually comes from a

word that means to reign or to rule

and in a conversation with him

he was he was mentioning and i agree

that

the real key to understanding proverbs

is is to realize that wisdom is to

enable us to reign in life

and so proverbs wisdom teaches us about

every aspect and part of life

one of the things i like to draw our

attention to is that you could pick any

problem on the planet whether it’s a

personal problem it’s a political

national

ecological it doesn’t matter what the

problem is god already has the solution

in mind

it’s already in mind it’s already there

and he just simply looks for one of his

children to pursue the answer of the

breakthrough because he actually has

answers and wants his answers and

solutions to be released into the earth

reigning in life is where we take his

answers for earthly problems and we

illustrate display them so here’s the

here’s the deal

we owe

my approach to life is we owe the world

probably a whole bunch of things but

there are three that are very clear to

me right now the first is we owe people

an encounter with god

we owe them a divine encounter

we owe them more than words words are

important but words are supposed to

carry power effectively they’re to bring

people into a divine encounter

uh if it’s not through the declaration

through decree personal ministry will

bring people into a divine encounter

it’s vital because

i i mean i’ve watched through the years

i remember goodness i remember years ago

a

gal that was in the hare krishna

cult was you know she had her shaved

head

and everything and a friend of mine and

i were there he was talking with her and

just they talked for like two hours and

finally he was getting nowhere and he

just said can we pray and she said sure

so he laid his hand on her bald head

and uh and just and just prayed a very

simple a very simple prayer they had

been debating for two hours

and he laid his hands on him prayed very

simple prayer but it brought such an

encounter to her that she had her head

bowed for maybe like a minute when he

was through praying

and she finally just shook her head

and she lifted up her eyes and looked at

him and said

i’ve been deceived

just like that i’ve been deceived

what did he do

he couldn’t debate her

repentance into kingdom perspective

but he could release presence and power

not to manipulate to control but to

actually free her into a place where she

could think freely for herself for the

first time and she sought for what it

was and repented on the spot but the

point is is we have an indebtedness to

bring people into a divine encounter and

the way that we do that most

consistently is truly just to stay full

of the holy spirit filled with the

spirit that’s really what positions us

to be successful there most consistently

the second thing that we owe people is

we owe them um we owe them divine

solutions heavenly answers for earthly

problems

heavily answers for earthly problems

that’s for the wisdom thing really kicks

in

is that uh if if you work at a

particular corporation and there are

issues problems in the corporation maybe

in design maybe in marketing doesn’t

matter what it is but god has an answer

a solution for whatever dilemma is being

faced

and as the people of god as we take on

more responsibility for what god is

wanting to accomplish in the business

life the medical the educational all

these different parts of communities as

we enter these realms and serve

effectively we actually bring heaven’s

solutions to earthly problems when we do

that we enable people to taste and see

that god is good

taste is experience c is perception

when we bring people into an experience

with god we change their perception of

what’s available through god

amen

amen i’m just i’m just encouraging

myself right now that’s good just keep

it up amen all right

so there’s the second thing is the is

the issue

of uh

heavenly answers for earthly problems

but the third one is one i want to take

a few minutes to talk to you about

and that is the whole issue of

the responsibility we have to have to

live a blessed life

and i know it sounds self-serving

but it’s not by god’s design

it’s uh it’s

be blessed to be a blessing you’ve heard

that phrase it’s been around for a long

time be blessed to be a blessing

but the biblical basis for it is uh

psalm 67. it’s interesting when i was in

taiwan last year

a prophet friend sent me a text or email

i forget which

and told me that i was to find somebody

by a certain name

and that psalm 67 was to be a theme of

his life

and it ended up the the

kind of the father of this particular

movement he had that name

so i shared with him the prophetic word

and about psalm 67 and he he ran with

he’s just he’s been majoring on psalm 67

for the last 12 months literally so much

so the entire the worship team has

t-shirts that they wear just says psalm

67 i mean they are in if anybody has

bought into a into a mandate into a

vision it’s these it’s these folks and

they do so well stewarding what god says

psalm 67 says this

god bless me

but you’ve got to love any prayer that

starts with that right

god bless me

and cause your face to shine upon me now

the shining face of a perfect father

is a face of delight and favor so he’s

praying god

increase not only your favor on my life

but increase the manifestation of your

favor so everybody around me can see it

so here’s the prayer bless me

cause your face a favor to shine upon me

listen to the next phrase

so that your way would be known in the

earth

that your way

and your salvation to the nations so

follow the sequence god bless me

cause me to carry your favor well i want

people to see your delight in me

because if if you do that

then they’ll see what you’re like

and if they see what you’re like

salvation will truly come to the nations

your grace is the irresistible grace and

i want them to see it for what it is

and it’s it’s a it’s a beautiful prayer

of of saying god

in order for them to catch the real

message the full message of who you are

it’s got to be tangible it’s got to be

visible it has to be measurable

enough for this theory stuff it’s got to

be measurable it doesn’t mean that all

of our life is is is always perfect but

it does mean that there is the mark of

favor on our lives

i like to look at

this concept

there was a squabble in israel back in

days of moses there was a fight between

the leaders of the 12 tribes as to who

should be in charge and who should have

authority et cetera

and uh and so

so moses told all the all the tribes to

um all the tribes to uh

get an almond branch

and so they they each have a dead almond

branch and they put the name of their

tribe on it and then aaron representing

the priesthood puts his name on it and

they put these 12 branches before the

ark of the covenant before the presence

of the lord

and the next morning they get up the 11

branches are still dead

but aaron’s rod sprouted

butted

blossomed

and bore ripe almonds

sprouted buttered blossom bore ripe

almonds what does that tell us

it tells us first of all that was god’s

mark

of who he had anointed for leadership

so what that tells me is that god’s mark

for leadership is not ripe almonds in

every area of life

but life

in every area of life

sprouts buds blossoms ripe almonds some

are perfect maturity others are just

beginning but there’s life there does

that make sense to you and so the lord

illustrates his choice in people in that

there’s life in all these areas of life

even though maturity maybe in this area

not that area that makes sense

so here we have this

responsibility to be blessed

i you know i think it involves money but

it’s not about money if that makes sense

to you it’s it’s about

it’s about

it’s about life it’s unhandling

all the different parts and aspects of

life so let me talk to you about four

things that stand out to me we probably

could list a dozen or dozens but there

are four things that stand out to me

um this morning the first one

to reign in life you have to effectively

you have to view your past the way he

views it

some people continue to confess sins

they’ve already been forgiven for

and if you could picture it this way god

alone has the ability to forget by

choice

and once he has forgiven you he has

forgotten

and you keep bringing up subjects that

he can’t relate to doesn’t know what

you’re talking about

because

i don’t have that on my records

you’ve never done that

i mean that’s what forgiveness is

and when you come to him and you say god

i did it again he goes again

i don’t have any past record

now

that’s not to abuse grace that’s not

anyone who views grace

and it liberates them to sin

they don’t see grace because grace

enables righteous lifestyle that’s the

enabling presence of god but here’s the

deal about this this grace of god

he enables us to see our past the way he

does

i read a quote this uh oh maybe two

weeks ago and i love it so much but i

forgot who it came from i think it may

have been william booth uh with uh who

founder of salvation army but anyway the

quote the quote is um every saint has a

past and every sinner has a future

man i love that every saint has a past

and every sinner has a future

it’s a level playing field

when you’re forgiven you’re empowered to

live righteously and give it a new

nature so here’s the deal

if

if i am

a slave to my past in my thinking

i will actually give away

the energy and the life that god has

given me i will give away to feudal

things

um

we know that our old nature is dead

but some people have been practicing

raising the dead so much they keep

[Applause]

amen

[Applause]

viewing our past the way he does

is

not just beneficial it’s absolutely

essential

to live the way he’s assigned us to live

we have to think in terms of who we are

because of grace

so the first thing is just the way we

relate to our past the ideal life would

be for anybody anyone i realize some

have uh

you know

raised in church

and uh your lifestyles are different

than some who

uh

just had such horrible horrible

backgrounds and but

level playing field jesus just simply

forgave us all

the idea would be anybody from your past

could walk into the room and there would

be no shame

no shame there would be no attachment

whatsoever you because of the awareness

of the absolute forgiveness and grace of

god zero shame zero cloud of of uh shame

and guilt and all the junk that comes

comes on people so regarding the past

the second thing

would be um our thought life

uh the way we think i it’s it’s one of

the things that i i’m working on

constantly because i’ve found in in my

life because i found the the the real

battleground for our life is is between

our ears that’s where the real conflict

is

and what happens is the enemy let me put

it this way the devil is so nervous of

your authentic creative expression that

he tries to keep you in anxiety fear and

shame to cut back your ability to

creatively express who you are in christ

it is the target it is a primary target

because the authentic

the authentic nature of christ

demonstrated through the life of a

disciple through a life of a believer

changes the consciousness of humanity of

what might be possible in a person’s

lifetime

simply because of how they do life

in zechariah chapter one there’s a real

bizarre story there

where the prophet zechariah describes

this thing where the devil

releases four horns into the earth horns

first of all represent powers

authorities

and

four is the number of four corners of

the earth uh north south east and west

um

the the uh uh

it’s just representative of a planet

what happens on the planet so here this

the devil releases these four powers or

authorities

into the earth and it says to shame

or to hold in guilt

a discouragement is is the term

the the people of god to hold in a place

where they are just cast down they are

they live in that anxious place of

frustration so here four authorities

four horns are released into the earth

to bring that shadow of discouragement

depression shame all that junk on the

people of god

and then it says but god’s answer to

this dilemma was he raised up

four artisans

artisans are the creatives which is

everybody in the room

it doesn’t mean you have to paint or

sing it just means the lord has a

creative expression for every role that

we have in life he wants the uniqueness

of who god designed us to be just to be

seen in and through that creative

expression of his nature in you for the

your unique unique assignment and place

in life

so god’s answer for these four horns

these powers that raised up in the earth

to depress the people of god god’s

solution was

release the anointing on four creatives

it’s just like when god sent a choir

into battle first you know he just

fights wars differently you know he says

ah put the singers in there first

which is great if you’re a guy with a

sword but if you’re one of the singers

you know that’s

that’s it’s a little different so the

lord just he sends the choirs in well in

this case he actually raised up a

creative movement from the four corners

of the earth and they so overwhelmed the

powers of darkness that that he was

unsuccessful in his ability to cast that

shadow of shame and guilt on the people

of god the answer was what the creative

expression

what does anxiety fear shame guilt all

that stuff do it robs us of the creative

expression

all of that is connected to our thought

life

the scripture says

that he’s he’s he’s not looking for our

calamity he’s looking for our welfare

i think it would probably shock us if we

actually saw what god meditated on

he actually dwells thinks plans for long

before we were ever created which is

fascinating that before he created man

who would sin

jesus the lamb of god was prepared to

die he had an answer before there was a

problem

let’s drink to that

he had a he had an answer before there

was a problem before there was a crisis

there was a solution provided

to think consistently with what god says

is like

is like really the mark of maturity

for a believer

it’s called the mind of christ

it’s the reason

that i uh that i carry the promises of

god

the prophetic words all these things

about my life about my family about

bethel i carry these things with me all

the time and i i review them regularly

because i just can’t afford to think

things he’s not thinking

i get into trouble every time i do every

time i start entertaining thoughts

values perceptions that are not his they

lead to problems then they lead to death

they lead the conflicting all the junk

so the mind of christ is that mind that

is set on the welfare of the people of

god

i don’t mean

living in a palace somewhere i’m talking

about the well-being it’s the fact that

that we truly live in the prosperity of

soul

until we reign in life where the issues

of life that used to beat us down they

don’t anymore we master them

and the lord uses your personal victory

to testify of his grace to draw people

to this perfect father it’s the whole

prayer of blessing so that people would

know what he’s like

the issue of prosperity of soul is uh i

i i’m not going to talk about this

morning except just in reference

i just think it’s one of the biggest

subjects

of scripture

the phrase is only used one time that i

know of

but the lifestyle is illustrated genesis

to revelation

it’s the prosperity of souls the

abundance here that affects everything

out here

jesus slept in a storm spoke peace to

that same storm and the storm stuck his

internal reality became an external

reality when you have the victory here

you’re positioned to release victory out

there and that’s prosperity of soul is

that the world around us starts to be

shaped by what’s going on inside of us

that’s why that internal victory is so

critical

the battle for the mind why because it

positions us to think with him and to

release what he’s saying into the earth

it’s huge

the third area where we illustrate

this uh life of reigning

is in relationships

i i saw some somebody had a tea it was

actually it was a cartoon it was a

t-shirt that said something like i’m a

pastor let’s talk you know that’s

because he didn’t want anyone to talk to

him when he got on the plane you know

just

[Laughter]

which i think is very funny

you know i

let me be really honest i value alone

time i really value a long time where i

can just settle my thoughts it’s really

important i stay sane by protecting my

alone time but i thrive on together time

you know i i travel

all over the world and i i oftentimes

will have teams with me uh 10 12

sometimes 15 people or more

and my favorite time of every trip is

when i get to sit down with that team

and to spend an hour two hours in

starbucks or in a church office

somewhere or whatever

and just have that time to dialogue i

love together

time and unity is only possible when

there is diversity

unity without diversity is uniformity

and that’s not the same

it’s it’s not good that we all look

alike act alike we want to have the same

kingdom values but there’s unique

expression through every gift through

every position

through our history our our our

backgrounds our upbringing our

nationalities all those things are to be

celebrated and protected that uniqueness

is uh is not a problem unless it

conflicts with kingdom values

then we adjust

to what god is saying what god has done

but the point is is that we were

designed to be together you know it

would be horrible if my entire body was

one big toe

it’s not supposed to be it’s supposed to

be unique every member but here’s the

crazy thing is every member

contributes to the next member

in other words in fact the bible says

there’s life in which every joint

supplies

so there’s actually the release of life

at every point where there’s a

connection

and the body of christ is designed that

way

many years ago in weaverville we had

some dear friends who ran a small little

little farm and i don’t remember what

happened or why but somehow they needed

help with a little lamb and

benny volunteered to babysit this baby

sheep and so this baby sheep lived with

us in our house

like a dog except it was a sheep

and uh this little sheep this little

lamb would follow benny all over the

house because that thing thought she was

mom and it was just the cutest thing i

don’t know if that lamb was destined for

dinner or what its purpose was but

we didn’t we didn’t we didn’t it was

just a little lamb to us

i did not you probably knew this but i

didn’t know sheep had long tails

i didn’t know that

so we get this we get this lamb

and it’s got this rubber band real tight

little rubber band you know about

halfway down the tail

and and they said oh yeah that’s uh

that will just it just cuts off life to

the rest of the tail so eventually it

just rots and falls off

well that’s kind of gross but that’s

what you do with sheep i guess i don’t

know if you get that in the sheep

owner’s manual or what but you got you

got to get rid of the long tail not sure

why

so they put this little rubber band on

sure enough it just just finally turns

gross colors and then falls off

any time we separate

people from the flow of life

we actually sentence them

to experience things in life they were

never designed to experience

we’re supposed to keep the flow of life

one member to another it’s a

responsibility and a privilege

crazy that little rubber band if if you

know halfway through the process of

getting the tail to fall off if you take

the rubber band off

there’s enough poison in that tail

to now be released back into the sheep

actually kill it’ll actually kill the

land

and so there’s there’s this whole

concept if you will

of making sure that we keep connections

on us keep the connections open and and

in a way the way we reign in life is to

navigate relationships well i you know

you don’t get to just decide all right

i’ve decided i’m not going to be

criticized anymore

if if only that were possible

or we could say you know what i was

betrayed but it’s never going to happen

again i’ll never now you don’t get to

choose that you can choose to have it

not affect you but the only way you can

do that is to protect yourself from love

so if i if i insulate myself so much

where nobody can hurt me well then

nobody can love me either

and so to be vulnerable in life to

experience life together means i will

experience pain so the way i demonstrate

reigning in life is how i navigate

disappointment laws it’s how you

navigate it i don’t get to choose

whether or not i’m going to be

criticized or rejected or embraced or

loved i don’t get to choose that i get

to choose how i navigate what’s been

thrown at me

i used the illustration a couple weeks

ago the whole adverse winds a sailboat

by attacking by using the sail and the

rudder can actually advance against the

wind

and oftentimes our destiny is in the

direction of adverse winds and the lord

is simply inviting us to navigate

relationships in a way where no matter

what comes at you you actually are

making progress

and sometimes a strength is developed by

making progress in adversity

that gives us the maturity to live in

the promised land once we enter it

to to live in it with maturity in other

words we don’t handle it carelessly and

lose what god actually released to us

so there’s a relation the last things

that i mentioned about reigning in life

it is money money itself

uh

money’s not evil in itself the jesus

said the love of money is the root of

evil

learning how to navigate finances is

such a big deal because it’s a it’s a

it’s a problem for people it’s a problem

for ministries it’s a taboo subject for

so many there’s been so many abuses and

and so much junk that’s going on in

jesus name in the area of money that

there’s just like hands off don’t want

to touch don’t want to talk about it all

through the church but we’ve got to talk

about because it’s part of life and to

reign in life basically means this i

mean

i what i want is is i love to be able to

donate a hundred dollars towards a

single mom being able to buy a car

that’s awesome but i’d rather buy her

the car

and if i don’t know how to reign in life

to manage that part of my world the way

god intended

then being able to contribute is

wonderful but to be more blessed is to

be more effective

because we are blessed to be

a blessing

so there’s four things i’ll mention to

you about

money the first one is generosity

generosity is the first step in kingdom

finances

it just is you just

you know everything that god made gives

and gives naturally

man is the only one that has an option

sun gives light leaves give oxygen

everything was created to contribute but

we alone have options

and to step into his design

give living in a place where we are

constantly contributing to the lives of

people around us including money but

giving ourselves money just

represents who we are our gifts our time

our ability what we’re uh uh paid for so

giving of ourselves to improve people’s

lives so the issue of generosity is huge

the second one is contentment

you know i want to see everybody just

prosper increase promotions all this

stuff but our problem is we live in a

culture where where if an athlete

signs a 20 million dollar a year

contract then the news does this thing

on the house they bought and all the

stuff and we live in a comparison

culture

and whenever you fall into the trap of

comparison you could be living in the

blessing you prayed for last year but no

longer appreciate it because you don’t

have what someone else has when you

compare yourself you’re always going to

be better than someone and lessen

someone else

comparison is an absolute trap it

doesn’t matter if it’s money or if it’s

character if it’s if it’s gifting i just

don’t have the gifts that they have stop

comparing yourself it’s it’s just it’s

an endless trap of

of of absolute continuous disappointment

and discomfort

contentment is a huge thing it doesn’t

mean we don’t have an appetite for

increase here’s the deal for me seek

first the kingdom and his righteousness

all these things will be added i want

the increase in my life to only be

him honoring my priority of the kingdom

i don’t want the blessing to come

because i prioritize the blessing

and there’s a huge difference one comes

with divine favor he says that he adds

blessing to a person’s life and he adds

no sorrow to it

when you get blessing apart from god’s

favor there’s always sorrow attached to

it

it’s true

the third area

is um

wise purchases

just show a value for excellence in what

you buy

amen

amen

amen let’s leave that one right there

amen

and then the last one is deuteronomy 8

18 talks about him giving us the power

to make wealth

israel embraced that the church has it

i think because the church thinks money

is evil or that was for israel or not

for us

and again the purpose is not to show

spirituality about how much is in the

bank or what i own that has nothing to

do with it i don’t like that concept i

don’t like i don’t like translating

dollars into spirituality because it

doesn’t work

but i really do like being able to be

effective in how i love and care for

people and sometimes

it means

dollars

but it always means heart

and the lord has given the ability

to create wealth to the people of god

either is used for his glory or it could

be misused or not used at all

and no use is no better than misuse

that was a good point bill amen that’s a

good point

many will point the finger at somebody

who’s you know has created this picture

of spirituality by what they own and

pointed fingers saying that’s wrong and

i would agree with them but not using

the gift is not better than misuse

no use is not better than misuse

amen all right we’ll just end right

there

and call it a day

amen

now

let’s

we’re going to pray we’re going to pray

that a blessing thing because i i don’t

know if you have an appetite for this i

want to learn what it’s like to reign in

life more

you know every every place in my life

where i’ve seen it where it’s the impact

is measurable it really does bring him

glory and that that’s the that’s the

cool thing because it releases us in who

god made us to be

but there’s always when there’s this

amount of people in the room there’s

always a high chance there are people

here that don’t know the lord jesus

you you don’t know what it is to be born

again perhaps you’ve seen it you’ve

heard it

but you’ve never surrendered your life

to jesus for him to be the lord

and the master of your life if i could

have everyone not move around anymore

nobody else leaving

please because i don’t want anyone

leaving to disturb someone who needs to

hear what i’m going to say

that’s the most important moment of the

day is this right here

so there’s a good chance there are

people in the room who have never

surrendered your life to jesus you don’t

know what it is to be forgiven of sin

you don’t know what it is to be brought

into a family of god you don’t know what

it is to be what the bible calls born

again change from the inside out

god soul of the world he gave his son

for you for me he actually died in my

place so i wouldn’t be cursed i wouldn’t

bear the punishment of sin there aren’t

many ways to god if there are many ways

to god then the father was cruel

requiring jesus to die the way he died

he died the way he died because there

was only one possible solution and he

loved you and he loved me that much

and if there’s anyone in that position

it would say bill i don’t want to leave

till i know i’m at peace with the god

until i know i’ve been forgiven until i

know that jesus is really the master

over my life if that would be you just

put a hand up right where you are and

we’re just gonna celebrate uh your

response to jesus this morning anybody

at all just real quick put your hand up

real high if that’s you

is that you got your hand up back here

yep wonderful thank you bless you today

anyone else

all right

beautiful why don’t you go ahead and

stand up

and the one who raised your hand if

there’s somebody i missed if you would

come right up here to my left we’ve got

some people who are ready here to pray

with you to talk with you and to

celebrate uh your coming into the

kingdom of god right over here to my

left you guys get that banner up or i

guess it’s not going up today right over

here to my left by the communion table

um and they will pray with you

wow wow tonight water baptism bapti our

meeting this tuesday is huge

i really encourage you make sure that

you’re a part of that it’s going to be a

great day but yeah come on up here uh

those who have just made a commitment to

jesus and our team

loving trusted friends that would love

to pray with you and to serve you so if

somebody could sure help sure make sure

that the ones who raise their hand make

it up here all the way all right

beautiful bless you leslie come on up

hold your places if you were thanks