There are moments in life when we find our backs against a wall and don’t know which way to turn. The challenges we face seem overwhelming, and hope begins to fade.

In these moments, we must surrender to God and allow Him to step into rescue and deliver us.

This message is for you if you find yourself in a season of trials or setbacks.

Let’s pray before we dive in. Dear Heavenly Father, help me understand and apply the words you speak to my spirit today. In Christ’s name, Amen.

I like to use the phrase “but God” which is simply another way of portraying hope. The term “but God” is laid out several times in Scripture.

But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen. Acts 26:22 (NIV)

In other words, God showed up when it seemed as if He was nowhere to be found.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)

Have you ever had a time when you were surrounded by bad news, but then God showed up?

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us shouting, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are telling you to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept and practice.” The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God — he and his whole household. Acts 16:16-34 (NIV)

There are two “but God” moments in these verses. The first happened to the demonized slave girl. The girl was possessed by a spirit that allowed her to tell fortunes. There was a conglomerate of people who owned this girl and would make money off of her telling fortunes.

When Paul cast the spirit out of her, she was set free and gloriously saved. That was a “but God” moment. The second “but God” moment was when the jailed and his whole family were saved. These were two miraculous and joyous moments, but I want to now focus on Paul and Silas as they sat in the cold prison cell.

How do I discover “but God” moments?

Paul and Silas were dragged through the marketplace and into the courtroom after they had cast the spirit out of the demon-possessed girl. What were the charges against them? Scripture doesn’t tell us but we have to look at the cultural norm during that time era. The charge was that Paul and Silas were blamed for touching the property of these conglomerates.

The slave girl was their property just like your house is your property. When Paul cast the spirit out of the girl, he changed these men’s property. These men were angry because now their property, the girl, wasn’t going to make them any money. Therefore they took Paul and Silas to court. They didn’t get a formal trial and were then thrown into prison.

Who would want to be thrown into prison? Even guilty people don’t want to be in there. I want you to see that if you want to discover a “but God” moment, you have to check your attitude.

Check your attitude.

Paul and Silas went to prison, obviously under duress, and they were beaten. While they were in prison, what were they doing? The Bible says that they were praying and singing hymns to God. Would you be able to sing and praise in prison? Paul and Silas could have been upset that they were in prison for setting the girl free, something that should have been celebrated but was instead met with anger. However, they checked their attitude. They knew that despite being behind bars, God was still at work.

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

Don’t limit God when you’re behind bars. Don’t put a limit on God when things are difficult. God says, I’m going to rejoice over you. He says that you are what He is focusing on. What kind of attitude did Paul and Silas have in prison? They had a faith attitude. God can do exceedingly and abundantly above all that you could ask or imagine. Prison cells and bars do not hinder God.

The spirit of God CAN’T be hindered. He doesn’t need a whole army to move, he just needs one person that’s willing to have a faith attitude.

If you want “but God” moments in your life, check your attitude. Your attitude is the foundation to which God moves.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

Paul and Silas were in prison, and they were trusting God. God responds to faith. Faith moves God. We must recognize the necessity of faith. When we check our faith, there are certain things we must stop doing and things we need to start doing.

Stop complaining and start praising.

These guys were in prison, and they weren’t complaining. You might be having a difficult time or going through a trial. No one likes going through hard trials. I want you to check your attitude when we go through difficult seasons. Why? Because it’s in the checking and curbing of our attitude, we may experience “but God” moments. Paul and Silas checked their attitude when they were in prison. They stopped complaining and started praising. What else did they do?

They stopped resigning and started volunteering.

When Christians go through hard seasons and trials, they often resign instead of press forward. Paul didn’t say, “I’m not going any further because I’m stuck here in this prison, so what’s the point in going onward?” Instead, he pressed on. Paul didn’t resign, he volunteered to keep going. We also need to stop disconnecting from God and start connecting to Him.

You may wonder, “How am I disconnecting from God?” It’s when you stop reading your Bible and stop praying. You think that God’s not showing up, but you are the one who is putting Him off. You need to stop acting like the victim and start acting like the victor. Paul didn’t mope around and act like a victim; instead, he acted like a victor! He went around the prison, singing and praising God.

I want you to see that “but God” moments come from checking your attitude.

Adjust your perspective.

We must also adjust our perspective. Perspective speaks of how you see things. Paul and Silas had a Gospel-centric perspective. Gospel-centric perspective means a God-centered perspective.

But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

Paul and Silas were seeking first the Kingdom of God. They knew that God could use them wherever they were. They chose to sing and praise, and when the prison foundation began to shake, their chains fell off. Instead of running free, they stayed put. Roman law said that if the jailer allowed something to happen to the prisoners to where they escaped under his watch, the sentence that was theirs would become his.

When the jailer went to kill himself, Paul said, “Do not harm yourself!” Paul kept the Gospel-centric perspective and stayed to help the jailer instead of running. This leads the jailer to salvation.

Accept God’s Challenge.

Not only should we check our attitude, not only should we adjust our perspective, but we must accept God’s challenges. You’re probably wondering, “What is God’s challenge?” God wants to use every one of us. Everyone has a gift, and the Holy Spirit wants to use you even in the midst of chaos and difficult problems. He wants us to accept His challenge despite whatever trials we may be going through.

Paul and Silas spotted the jailer about to kill himself, and they told him not to harm himself. This conversation immediately creates a shift, and the jailer recognizes that God must be with Paul and Silas. He dropped down on his knees and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

In order to experience “but God” moments, you must be able to recognize that we have to adjust our perspective as well as accept God’s challenge. The challenge was made clear when the jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” They answered him that he must believe in the Lord Jesus.

God says that when you accept Christ as your Savior, He has a covenant with you. He wants to commit to you and see your whole family get saved. God wants to work through you to help facilitate the spiritual transformation of people in your own family. When the jailer got saved, he took Paul and Silas out of prison and cleaned their wounds. He took them to his house and fed them, and later that night, the jailer’s whole household got saved. Paul and Silas then took them outside and baptized them.

Why was baptism so essential? Baptism associates you with the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Our God is in the business of transforming people.

These “but God” moments are not just for those in Scripture but also for you and me. Check your attitude, adjust your perspective, and accept God’s challenge. I don’t want you to be lukewarm. I don’t want you to be mediocre. I want you to be transformed.

God wants to baptize His people in fire. I pray that you become a sold-out believer.

I pray that God’s power liberates you and that you become a witness of His power.

Prayer – Dear Heavenly Father, in times of trial, remind me to check my attitude, adjust my perspective, and accept your challenge. Let me not be lukewarm, but sold out for you. Use me to advance your Kingdom. In Christ’s name, Amen.

What kinds of things come to mind when you hear the word evangelism? Knocking on the doors of strangers to share the good news? Handing out tracts or pamphlets to try convincing people to follow Jesus? A preacher under a big tent compelling people to give their life to Christ?

We know the Scripture tells us to proclaim the good news, but evangelism can be a source of anxiety for many people. If that’s you, I have good news. When you understand the Holy Spirit’s role in evangelism, you can move from fear and anxiety into exciting adventures of sharing Jesus with others.

Let’s pray together: Dear Father, thank You so much for how awesome You are. Give us big hearts to keep pursuing You. In Christ’s name, Amen.

I would like to focus on the topic of power evangelism. Power evangelism means that God uses Spiritual Gifts that deal with signs, wonders, healing, and miracles. These help people come into right relationship with Him. If you have already been walking with Jesus, this will help you get unstuck and keep walking.

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive all demons and to cure diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:1-2 (NIV)

I made two of these statements in this verse bold for a reason. First, proclaim the Kingdom of God. Second, heal the sick. The Gospel must have both effects. It is two parts, and if it has just one and not the other, then we’re short of changing the world.

The first proclamation of the truth of the Gospel is the words we speak. This refers to teaching, conversations, and proclaiming the power of God we have seen.

The demonstration of God’s power is where we see signs, wonders, miracles, and deliverance. In our Westernized world of thinking, we often think that knowledge only comes from the five senses. This is not true. Knowledge may come from the five senses but think about the greatest miracle of salvation. When God changes a person’s life, they simply have to profess to Him, in faith, that they want to give their life to Jesus. When this happens, something changes. They are forgiven and transformed. Their lifestyle of righteousness starts instantly. That is a great miracle! If that is the greatest miracle that exists, then lesser signs, wonders and deliverances are a no-brainer.

It may seem complicated, and we may still ask questions, but it doesn’t limit us from asking God to use us.

God Wants a Growing Family.

Let’s frame the discussion around this idea. God has this BIG heart for everybody and wants a growing family. How do you get into God’s family? You invite Christ into your life, and then you are adopted into the family of God. Remember what I quoted in Luke 9, “go out and preach the Kingdom of God and pray for those who are sick”? Let’s see what happens from there.

When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then He took them with Him and they withdrew themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
Luke 9:10-11 (NIV)

Here we see that the apostles came back and told Jesus what happened. Jesus then did two things: He proclaimed the Kingdom of God and prayed for the sick. I want you to see the dual components that are in the Gospel. This is power evangelism. The power of God confronts people, and they get set free.

It can happen anywhere through anybody who walks with God. You don’t have to be ordained or have attended seminary. You don’t have to be someone who has walked with God for a long time. All of those statements are contrary to the Bible. ANYBODY who is a servant of Jesus, whether it be for one hour or 100 years, can use the power of God to turn people from the darkness to the light.

God Has Given You Gifts.

Every follower of Jesus has been given spiritual gifts. These are not church gifts or gifts that are only used during a service, but these gifts can be used anywhere, anytime.

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines. 1 Corinthians 12:3-11 (NIV)

This catalog of gifts is referred to as the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are nine of them. I don’t want you to mistake them for other kinds of gifts. In Romans 12, we see a list of motivational gifts. In Ephesians, Paul gives a list of ministering gifts. These gifts are referred to as charismatic gifts.

If we look back to Corinthians, from verses 4-11, it says that each of us has at least one of these Gifts. All nine of the Gifts listed are supernatural. You cannot get them from reading a book, going to college or buying them. The Scriptures say that the Holy Spirit gives us Gifts as HE determines. You cannot tell God what Gift you want or be picky about the one He gives you. Remember that the Gifts are used for power through evangelism so people can connect with Christ.

I will put the nine Gifts into three categories to wrap our minds around the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Revelational Gifts: Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Discerning of Spirits. These three gifts reveal and unmask information. The Word of Wisdom gives information about the future. The Word of Knowledge is historical facts and data. The Discerning of Spirits is when we can see the essence of who people are.

Power Gifts: Faith, Gifts of Healing, Works of Miracles. The Gift of Faith speaks of a miracle. Through the Gifts of Healing, healing will take place (physical, mental, etc.). The Works of Miracles are when something miraculous happens. Think of Jesus turning water into wine.

Inspirational Gifts: Prophecy, Different Kinds of Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues. The Gift of Prophecy is when the Holy Spirit comes upon a person, and they can speak about the future. The Gift of Different Tongues means speaking in another language, supernaturally. This is NOT their prayer language but instead a divine-inspired speech that must be interpreted. The Interpretation of Tongues is when a person can hear supernatural language and tell people what it means so that others may understand.

You need to understand that these Gifts are for you. God wants a growing family, and He wants to use the Gifts He has given you to grow His family further. You need to remove every excuse from your mind that says God can’t use you. These Gifts are NOT based on Spiritual maturity. These Gifts have been given to you the moment you come to Christ, and you need to use these Gifts everywhere you go.

Gifts Reveal God’s Love.

I want to dive deeper into the Revelational Gifts. If we look into the Book of John, Chapter 4, we can see that Jesus was hungry, tired and thirsty. His disciples went ahead into a nearby village to buy food. While Jesus stayed on the outskirts of the village, He sat down by a well called, Jacob’s Well. While sitting there, a woman came out of the village to get water. It was an odd time of the day for her to come, and it wasn’t normal for her to be alone. In that era, women typically would go to the well together. This tells us that she was an outcast in her village. She was a Samaritan woman, and as she was going to get water, Jesus asked her to draw some for Him. She was taken aback because He was a Jew, and she wasn’t. At that time, Jews and Samaritans didn’t want anything to do with one another. Jesus told her that if she knew who was asking for water, then she would ask Him for living water, and He would give it, and she would never thirst again.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You’re right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.” John 4:13-19 (NIV)

Don’t allow the woman’s statement to distract you. It is true that Jesus was a prophet. He was an evangelist, a pastor and a teacher. But if we look at the woman’s statement, we would think that the Gifts of the Spirit are only for people with ministry gifts, which is not true. Jesus used the Gift of the Word of Knowledge. Remember that the Word of Knowledge is a fraction of the mind of God. He reveals to us something past or present about someone. This Gift was divinely given to Jesus. He wanted this Samaritan woman to be forgiven of her sins and to experience salvation through the power of evangelism. Notice that Jesus didn’t use His Word of Knowledge to shame her. He used His Gift to say, I love you, and I want you to know I see you. He was allowing her to know that He sees beyond her past. When the woman recognized that she needed the living water Jesus was talking about, she became transformed. She left her bucket by the well and went to the village to tell everyone about the Messiah.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
John 4:39 (NIV)

The village got saved! This woman barely knew the Lord, and yet she went out and shared her faith. You don’t need to have a bunch of theological knowledge. All you have to do is share your story. If you learn to tell your story, you can lead others to Jesus. Look at the power of evangelism at work. One Word of Knowledge caused the Samaritan woman to get saved. I pray that God may use you in the supernatural, even when you don’t understand everything about it. It is amazing what God will do and what God can do!
God wants a growing family. He has given you Gifts, and those Gifts reveal God’s love.

Let’s pray: Dear Father, I need you to come into my heart. Lord, wash away my sins. Change me and help me to serve you. I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

What is intercession? And what are the trophies of intercession?

Those are the questions I am answering in this article. For decades the topic of prayer and intercession has been discussed but not fully understood. And surprisingly, the answer isn’t a mystery and is not reserved for those who have attended Bible college or seminary.

Before we dive into this week’s teaching, would you pray with me?

Prayer: Dear Father, let a changed mind take place within us so that we would be like Jesus. Let us be men and women of prayer that battle on our knees. Let us win a generation for Christ. I ask you this in Christ’s name, Amen.

Trophies of intercession are significant.

Trophies are essential possessions that families often use to adorn their mantles or fireplaces. They show off what someone in their family has done. Some stories will become your trophies because of what God has done for you through your time of intercession.

The word intercession means prayer on behalf of yourself or another. It means to urge, come between and ask God for help.

Can you envision yourself being powerful on your bended knees?
It’s doable, but you must adopt a mindset that intercessors are God’s special forces. God drops off intercessors into areas, and those areas become a demonstration of the power of the Spirit.

“One of the terrible marks of the diseased state of Christian life in these days is that there are so many who rest content without specific answers to prayer.” —Andrew Murray (Pastor & Author)

Andrew Murray says that diseased Christianity is when we pray and don’t expect answers. It’s when we pray and walk away, forgetting our prayers, not knowing that our prayers are eternal. If we look at Jesus’ prayer as an example, He said, “I pray that my Father’s house will be a house of prayer for all nations.”

This prayer is still living, and we’re still chasing it. I pray that you will not only learn about intercessory prayer but will also not become content unless your prayers are answered.

What will you intercede for?

We come from a lineage of men and women that showcase their trophies of intercession. Look at Hannah in the Old Testament. She was barren, and Peninnah teased her for it, especially when they went to the temple of God to pray at the annual feast. One day, Hannah got so fed up that she stood in the temple of God and would not leave until she had a breakthrough in prayer. She was so frustrated that she removed the word “quit” from her vocabulary. She went to intercede one day in the temple, which was not a pretty intercession. It was so ugly that Eli rebuked her. He thought that she was drunk.

She responded to him by saying that she was not drunk but just bitter of heart. She told him that she was weeping before the Lord. She went home, and a short time later, she got pregnant. She told the Lord that if He gave her a child, she would give him back to God. When she gave birth, she gave her trophy of intercession back to Him.

Hannah said to him, “Excuse me, sir. Do you remember me? I am the woman you saw standing here, praying to the Lord. I asked Him for this child, and He gave me what I asked for. So I am dedicating him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he will belong to the Lord.” Then they worshipped the Lord there. 1 Samuel 1:26-28 (Good News Translation)

She dropped off her son, Samuel, and he became a mighty prophet. He was a kingmaker who laid hands on Saul and David. He also established the school of prophets. How did this man come to the face of the earth? He was a trophy of Hannah’s intercession.

What will you present as a trophy of your intercession?

King David also had trophies of intercession. Samuel prophesied over him as a teenager that he would be king one day. The only problem was that Saul, king at the time, didn’t want to vacate his office. Saul recognized God’s calling and anointing on David’s life, and so he tried to kill David.

He put a hit out on him for 10 years. Scholars say that Saul pursued David on mountains, down mountains, in caves, and out of caves. The pursuit was so bad that David went and gathered 600 men as his soldiers. He went and lived in Philistine territory for 16 months.
During this time, the Amalekites came in, unbeknownst to David, and they kidnapped all of the wives and children of the soldiers and stole their stuff. Now confronted with the reality that the enemy had stolen from him, David had one option. He had to pray before God, “What should I do?”

Then David said to Abiathar, the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” He answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” 1 Samuel 30:7-8 (NIV)

David and his men got up out of the prayer time and chased after the Amalekites. They fought them from day to night and defeated them. They got back their women, children, and stuff. They also took the Amalekite’s possessions. These were their trophies of intercession.

What will be your trophies of intercession?

David prayed a military prayer, “Should I pursue them?” Most of us never see God as a military God, but He is. He loves to fight! God is not a wimp. We don’t serve a God that just sits there. We serve a God that is a General of an army. He told David to go, pursue
them, defeat them for MY glory.

We need to stop praying simple little “kumbaya” prayers. Our Father wants to step into the ring. He wants you to drag your enemy into your prayer closet. He wants you to drag your crisis into the prayer closet. When you drag these things into the prayer closet, that’s when you’re going to win battles. As you fight and intercede, God will show up. You WILL get your breakthrough. I want to see your trophies of intercession.

One of the apostle Paul’s trophies of intercession wasn’t stuff or people. It was a solution to a problem that he couldn’t shake.

Scripture says that there was a thorn of Satan that bothered him. We don’t know what this was, but we know it was an annoying thing that pestered Paul. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NIV)

Paul tells us that his trophy of intercession was learning to be content when everything wasn’t perfect, and that is how he won. Many of us go through a lot of crises, and that brings on panic attacks as well as anxiety attacks. We must learn that if you live in the lion’s den, you can tame the lion and still live there. If you have to be in a fiery furnace, learn how to stay in the furnace until the fourth man meets you there.

That is why Paul was able to testify about it.

A trophy of intercession is contentment.

If you can just learn to be satisfied, God can use you. What if your wife never changes? What if your husband never gets healed? Can you be at peace? Can you get the victory? That’s the trophy of intercession. You won’t get that trophy if you don’t know how to handle yourself in the valley.

Some Christians can only live on the mountain.

God can’t take them to the valley because they will die there. You meet giants in the valley. That is where David met Goliath and got the victory. I am looking for believers who can gain victory in the valley. I want to see Christians who can win when they’re weak. I am looking for people who don’t call it a failure, even when everything goes wrong. I am looking for believers of intercession.

There are many types of trophies, but they all come from intercession.

I know that God cares for you, and He is interested in helping us establish trophies of intercessions.

Pray this with me: Dear Lord, I pray that people will discover their purpose. Let them see what you have created them to be. May they run in a zealous way and be filled with enthusiasm after you, Lord. I pray for the power of the Spirit to come on them. Thank you for breakthrough and healing. Lord, surprise us with your opportunities. God, I thank you for all the other stuff you’ll give us that we’ve not even asked from you so that you can use those things to advance your kingdom in Christ’s name, Amen.

How do you maintain strong faith and remain hopeful in a world that can quickly drain you? When trials and challenges hit from every side, what anchors you and gives you the power to press on? 

God’s Word has the answer.

Before you jump into today’s teaching, pray this:

Dear Father, help us have clarity and understanding to be hearers of the word and be compelled to be doers. Help us to shape this generation for Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Do you want to be renewed in your faith? 

Do you want a fresh sense of enthusiasm for Christ? 

Do you want to fall in love with Jesus all over again? 

If you are looking to be renewed, then prayer must be a key habit and practice in your life. What does it mean to be renewed? It means to be refreshed, to go forward, to sprout. 

When you’ve renewed your walk and relationship with God, you feel refreshed. 

In Acts 1, you find the “upper room,” located on the second floor of a home, and there are 120 people gathered there. I call these people the Upper Room Community. 

These individuals knew how to cry out to God in prayer. 

Acts 1:4-5 says, On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

The disciples had no idea what the baptism of the Holy Spirit was. Some of them thought it was the restoration of Israel. 

Acts 1:8-9 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After Jesus said that, a short period passed, and He ascended to be with God the Father. Let’s pick up at Acts 1:12-14, Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James, son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas, son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” 

Historically, the upper room was when a homeowner would have a large second floor of their home, most often used for feasts and festivals. Other times it was a place where people would gather for bereavement. 

We now find a community gathered in the upper room for prayer. Mary, the 11 apostles and Jesus’ brothers were there. If you continue to read Acts Chapter 1, you will see around 120 people gathered there. Why were they there? 

Jesus asked them to wait in Jerusalem. 

They had no idea what was going to happen next. Jesus had been crucified and the climate of the city was uncertain. 

How did they prepare themselves for the gift that God had promised them? They came into alignment with God’s perspective. 

COME INTO ALIGNMENT! 

For you to function in the upper room, you must come into alignment with God’s perspective. His perspective is that you are going to receive power. The word power in Greek is dunamis which means dynamite when translated to English. 

When you get filled with the Holy Spirit, it’s like an explosion in your life. The baptism of the Holy Spirit gives you the power to serve and function in what God has called you to do. It also gives you the power to be a witness in Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the world. 

There must be love in your heart for all people. 

We must also come into alignment with the perspective and prerequisite toward prayer. 

You must confess your sins before God and be cleansed from all unrighteousness. 

“If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” —Psalm 66:18

When climbing the steps to the upper room to do business with God, you need to ask God to forgive you of your sins. Remove the barrier and gap that is between you and the Lord. 

An aligned perspective is when you share your sins with God and acknowledge that a problem is affecting you. Ask Him for forgiveness and get rid of the gap caused by sin. I want you to prevail and continue in prayer until you see a breakthrough. 

PREVAIL IN PRAYER! 

Acts 1:14 says, “All these with one mind and one purpose were continually devoting themselves to prayer, (waiting together) along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”

Prevailing in prayer means that you pray until you secure an answer from God. 

These 120 men and women in the upper room spent 10 days praying. To prevail in prayer means that there is some resistance. It means that there may be something to be won and the powers of darkness must be subdued and defeated in prayer. 

When you prevail in prayer, you prevail against yourself. 

You’re pushing through the distractions of this world and envisioning your future in prayer. If you don’t envision a future where you can see that prayer is secured, you won’t get an answer to prayer. 

Why didn’t Jesus just lay hands on the disciples and have them receive the Holy Spirit right then? Why did He have them wait in Jerusalem? 

Having them wait and gather allowed them to get focused and ask God to empower them. It gave them the time to learn to pray in a very attentive way and learn how to move God. It showed them how to have the ability to prevail in prayer. 

If we want to grow in the Lord and see Him deliver on His promises, then we need to learn to prevail in prayer. To prevail in prayer means you have to pursue God. 

God gives us desires. He puts longing in our hearts, and we shouldn’t dismiss them as inconsequential. 

When you have cried out to God saying you want to be in His will, be mindful that He gives you the desires you are praying for. Those desires become prizes that God wants to give you. When you prevail in prayer, you pray about those desires until they give birth and are fulfilled. 

Satan will do everything in his power to keep you from staying in prayer and stop you from joining the upper room community. He wants to stop you from being an intercessor and praying for others. 

“Satan usually knows his priorities, and since prevailing in prayer can restrain, bind, and defeat him more than all else, Satan makes his priority to hinder, divert, or stop prevailing prayer.” —Wesley L. Duewel (Author & Missionary) 

One of the biggest struggles you’ll ever have is to develop a prayer life, and one of the biggest hurdles will be learning to prevail in prayer. When you start praying about something, you may find yourself distracted, but I want you to recognize that the enemy is sending distractions to hinder us. 

Prevailing in prayer is not twisting God’s arm or manipulating Him. It’s not the abundance of words and prayer that moves God, it’s His desire for you to experience the fulfillment of His promises for you. 

1 John 5:14  says, “We are confident that God listens to us if we ask for anything that has His approval.” 

The Scripture teaches that Jacob prevailed in prayer when he wrestled with the angel of the Lord. He told the angel that he wouldn’t let go until he blessed him. That is the language of prevailing prayer. 

Moses prevailed with God when he stood before God and asked Him not to wipe out the Israelites. The 120 people prevailed in prayer and were blessed with the promise of the Holy Spirit—and from them, the church was birthed. 

When you prevail in prayer and ask for the same thing over and over, it’s not an indication of doubt but instead of desire. Elijah prayed for rain seven times. He sent his servant to look for rain and on the seventh time he prayed, the servant said he saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand. Elijah prevailed in prayer, and it rained. 

Jesus prayed three times in the Garden. He prayed for God to take the cup from Him, and finally, Jesus submitted to the Lord’s will. But He learned to prevail in prayer. 

As you’re prevailing in prayer, God adjusts your expectation. He adjusts your mind and heart in prayer. When you surrender your heart and will to God in prayer, you become what He wants you to be. If you’re not prevailing in prayer, it’s because you’re not hungry enough for the will of God. 

When we think about the upper room intercessors, not only do they come into alignment in prayer, they… 

ENJOY GOD’S PROMISES! 

There is something that happens when you talk to people and tell them about your prayer experience. Faith grows in your heart when you share how a prayer was answered. 

Acts 2:1-4 says, When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The Holy Spirit came on all of them, not just the apostles. One hundred and twenty people received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and what was the evidence? They began to speak in another language supernaturally. 

If you read on in the text, you find that people from all over heard them speak in their language. The word of God went global. Fifteen different nations gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, and God was able to speak to them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter got up and preached that day, and 3,000 people were saved. 

A fantastic revival took place, and I believe that God will do that for us. A revival and outpouring of the Holy Spirit will occur, but we need people to enter the upper room. We need intercessors who won’t stop praying until there is a breakthrough. 

If you want to see a mass transformation of people and for society to change, we need a visitation from God. What God wants us to do is learn to prevail in prayer. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and allowing depression to clothe you. That is a trick of the enemy. 

Instead, let the Holy Spirit come upon you, break yolks and use you to make history. God is interested in us being in the upper room community and being history makers. This is a wake-up call from the Holy Spirit to us. 

Once you’re awakened, the climate in your home will change and the spiritual climate of your heart will change.

Closing Prayer: Dear Father, I need a miracle to take place in my life, my home and my heart. I pray that you help me establish a pattern of prayer and that I see answers from heaven. Change lives, break bad habits and make history. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Many are familiar with prayer in general but did you know there are different types? There are types of prayer outlined in the Bible that are used in specific situations to achieve a particular purpose.

Before we dive into this week’s teaching, pray this with me.

Prayer Starter: Dear Father, thank you so much for the simplicity of Your love for us. Please help us grow in the knowledge of your love and let us not just be hearers of your Word but doers. In Christ’s name, Amen.

What would life look like if you were renewed?
What would life look like if you were refreshed?
What would life look like if you became reawakened to the love of God?

One of the building blocks for renewal is prayer and, more specifically, a type of prayer called intercession. The word intercession means prayer on behalf of oneself or another. It means to urge, to come between, to act between parties. It also means to entreat, to intercede for help. This word, which describes a kind of prayer, is when you’re standing before God, sometimes for yourself, most often for others, and you’re bringing them before God. You’re petitioning God for His help because that individual (or individuals), organization or nation cannot. They may not be in the place, or they’re unaware of their need for God’s help, but you stand there as an intermediary and advocate for that individual in the power of prayer.

I love what the American businessman Charles Bent said to define intercession.

“Intercessory prayer might be defined as loving our neighbor on our knees.” —Charles Bent.

One of the most incredible things that you can ever do is to develop a ministry of prayer.

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none (1 Samuel 1:1-2, NIV).

Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of his meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave double portions because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” As she kept praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Isreal grant you what you have asked of him.” She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast (1 Samuel 1:4-18, NIV).

This is one of the greatest stories in the Bible to depict the making of an intercessor. Barrenness, in Bible days, was looked at as almost the ultimate tragedy for a married woman. The hope for married women was that they would be able to give their husbands a son, and the son would inherit their name and state. When Hannah discovered that she was barren, she was very troubled and made it a point of prayer. God answered her prayer.

How did Hannah become an intercessor?

Intercessors are made, not born.

You cannot become an intercessor from birth. You don’t become an intercessor because of will. Seeking God is a developed skill, and Paul weighs in on this conversation. He describes there being many kinds of prayer. The prayer that reflects intercessory prayer, that’s prayed by an intercessor, is a developed skill.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:1-2, NIV).

God, our Savior, wants all people to be saved and come to know the truth.

Paul is telling you that it requires you to be intentional. All the picketing, rioting, and crying out for political change isn’t going to save our nation. God is going to bring transformation.

When He steps into our story, He reshapes it. Prayer is our invitation to God. We’re asking Him to get involved because this challenging problem that we’re facing can’t be broken on our own. We don’t have the strength, skill or wit to fix the issues ourselves.

Sometimes we get mistaken and think that knowledge will help us solve a problem.

I want you to know that you can be very academically strong, but if you don’t have the power to bend your knees and pray, you won’t bring the change God wants.

I’m trying to make the point that intercessors are made, not born.

Intercessors are people who are deeply bothered by the state of affairs. Year after year, when Hannah and her family went to the temple to worship God, Peninnah would provoke her. She would mock her for being barren, and it can be with words and actions when you mock someone. Imagine Peninnah brushing her kid’s hair and commenting loudly how wonderful it is to take care of children, knowing that Hannah doesn’t have any.

We can see in the Scripture that God had closed up Hannah’s womb. In other words, in the Providence of God, He had a hold on Hannah’s ability to get pregnant and have a child. The only thing that was going to remove the hold was a time of long prayer on Hannah’s behalf.

Could there be a hold on some area of your life where you are barren?

Is there an area of your life where you are unfruitful?

Could it be that God is letting you experience that pain so you can turn to Him, become an intercessor and see a breakthrough come?

“There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs up himself to take hold of You; for you have hidden Your face from us and have consumed us because of our inequities” (Isaiah 64:7, MEV).

You’ll have to get to a place where you are disturbed or angry about something and it bothers you to your core, and God is trying to get your attention. If we look at Hannah, she gets to a place of being fed up and turns to Almighty God in prayer.

I want you to see that intercessors are made, not born.

You can keep on living in your lack, your mess and your bareness, and your lack is not upsetting you enough to where you turn to God. Instead, you think you need more vacations or to purchase more stuff.

I’m trying to tell you that you don’t medicate your soul with earthly things.

God wants you to cry out to Him in prayer and desperation so that He can break something inside you. It’s something that’s been closed and locked up. Once this is broken, THEN you can come to a new dimension of fruitfulness, and that is how intercessors are made. They’re not made because they want to be. They’re made because something drove them to prayer.

I want you to see that something is happening in your life. Something’s knocking on the door of your heart, creating a lot of pain. It gets you irritated, agitated and perturbed.

Could it be that God wants to use our emotions?

Intercession always starts with emotion. Let your emotions turn you to God.

Intercessors are made on their knees.

Intercessors have come to realize that certain battles can only be won in prayer. Why can’t God just do it for us? God allows our frustration to build because He is withholding something.

When we pursue Him, and He gives us the very thing that we’ve been asking for, it endears us and increases our value of communing with Him.

It’s like having children. When you have kids and give them everything they ask for, they walk around entitled and spoiled. But if you tell them no and have them work for things, the best in them comes out.

When you recognize that you’ve birthed something in prayer, and you know that it wasn’t magic or happenstance, all of a sudden, something forms inside of you where you realize God has called you to move Him in prayer.

“Prayer is the language of the poor. The self-sufficient don’t need to pray. The self-satisfied don’t want to pray. The self-righteous can’t pray.

The only people who pray are those who realize we need a power outside of ourselves.” —Leonard Ravenhill (British Pastor & Author)

We often are so self-sufficient that we don’t go before God. There is nothing wrong with going before your Heavenly Father because He loves to hear from you. Intercessors are made on their knees.

Remember what intercession is? It’s to plead, urge and go before God on behalf of yourself or someone else. Intercession is like pleading a case before the judge of Heaven.

Remember in 1 Samuel when Hannah prayed to the Lord weeping bitterly? She made a vow and a commitment to God. The language of that Scripture is Hannah being passionate and persuasive. She brought her case before God and was pleading in the courtroom of Heaven. Hannah vowed that if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him back to God. This is what intercession is all about.

When you are in times of intercession, you are pleading a case before God. Hannah was pouring out vulnerable words and was using public pleas that were articulate, and she also had private groans that no one was able to understand except God Himself. As she was praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth, and he thought she was drunk because her voice was not heard. She tells Eli that she was not drunk but was pouring her heart to the Lord. There comes a time in intercession when you’re emptying your soul and not holding anything back.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27, NIV).

Sometimes you cry out to God, and suddenly, you get to a place where it’s no longer just mental. It’s emotional. You will get to this spot of intercession where you are pouring out your heart, and then you don’t even know what to say. You can’t even articulate it and are so caught up in your emotions. Don’t think that your emotions are foolish. Don’t think that you’re babbling to the Lord. Our loud whimpers and our soft whispers are prayers to God.

When Hannah muttered and murmured, those words meant something before Heaven’s creator. God was taking her words that may have seemed so disjointed, and shaping her into the intercessor that He called her to be.

I want you to know the power of God when we cry out to Him in intercession. When you step into the place of intercession, you don’t go in with 15 goals. You have one goal, and it may be your marriage, a financial situation or something else, but it’s something that is bothering you, and it’s on the forefront of your mind. Don’t turn on the television. Spend some time in prayer and let God mold you and shape you. When you’re crying out to Him, you might weep or whimper. You might stumble over your words. This doesn’t mean you’re inarticulate or uneducated. It means that you want to have power before God and that you want to move Heaven.

Intercessors have scars AND trophies!

I would not be an honest Bible teacher if I told you everything always works out perfectly when you pray. If I said that, I’d be lying. Sometimes you walk around with scars. You walk around with the pain of unanswered prayers or prayers that God didn’t answer the way you wanted Him to.

I want you to understand there are scars, and it’s not just me who has them.

Bible heroes had scars of intercession. David had an affair with Bathsheba, and she got pregnant. David then started crying out to God because the child was born with an illness. He spent seven days fasting and praying for God to heal the child, and the child died on the seventh day. David washed his face on the eighth day and worshipped God. That is a scar of intercession.

If we look at Paul in 2 Corinthians, Chapter 12, he says that there was a thorn in his side. It was a messenger of Satan. Paul prayed three times for God to take it away, and on the third time, God said: “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness.” That scar didn’t stop Paul.

The greatest intercessory scar was on Jesus. When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He cried out to God three times. He asked God to take the cup away from Him. He also had James, Peter and John praying with Him as well. Then they fell asleep, and the third time Jesus prayed, He said, “Not my will be done, Your will be done.” That is a scar of intercession.

I want you to understand that you may have scars, but scars make you stronger. Scars shouldn’t get you to a place where you stop praying.

Some of you have stopped praying and stopped coming to the secret place. When you get to Heaven, and Paul shows you his scars, you need to show your scars too. You must say there were times when God didn’t give me what I asked for, but I have trophies of intercession.

“Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him.” She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast” (1 Samuel 1:16-17, NIV).

That day in the temple, Hannah received a trophy of intercession.

How do you know that? You know when you get a breakthrough in prayer. When you’re crying out to God and reasoning your case, it comes to a point where you feel like the Heavens have broken. You will feel like you don’t have any resistance or hindrance.

If you keep reading in 1 Samuel, Hannah returns home, has relations with her husband, and gets pregnant. She gives birth to a boy named Samuel, and when he weens, she brings him to the temple to present him to Eli. If you follow the growth of Samuel, he becomes the most powerful prophet in Israel. Hannah gave birth to a kingmaker. When she gave birth in intercession, she gave birth to a national prophet.

When you are burdened and barren, don’t stay there.

Take your bareness before Holy God and bring your need before Him. That’s what God wants you to do and what He’s calling you to do. He wants you to become an intercessor who prevails in prayer.

Prayer helps us to join forces with God. Prayer helps us to change history. God is calling us as history makers to become intercessors. It doesn’t matter what you did in your past or if you are young in Christ. You can be a baby in Christ but be a powerful intercessor. God is calling you to a new place where you can pray and prevail before Him.

Prayer: Dear God, please change us. Help us to be individuals that shape history. In Christ’s name, Amen.

There are times and seasons in our lives that require us to set aside specific times of seeking the Lord. Times that need us to press into God’s presence to receive His revelation and wisdom.

In today’s article, you’ll learn the three things that happen in your life as you close off the distractions of life and seek God diligently.

Prayer Starter: Dear Father, I ask you to do something transformational in my heart. I ask that you would teach me and reveal what it means to press in and experience You in a new way. In Christ’s name, Amen.

It Happened on the Mountain.

I would like to tell you about a recurring theme in the Bible. The mountain of the Lord is a subject mentioned around 19 times in Scripture, and as I dive into this topic, I want you to know that the mountain of the Lord is a symbolic place of change. It is a place of breakthrough and where we encounter God.

Having encounters with God not only defines who we are but also clarifies who God is.

In Scripture, we see that Moses went to the mountain of the Lord, and there he had an encounter with God. When he came down from the mountain, he had the Ten Commandments, etched by the finger of God, on two stone tablets.

Jesus also went to the mountain of the Lord, and when He came down, He had the names of the twelve apostles. It was also on the mountain of the Lord that Elijah heard the voice of God, and He chose his successor, Elisha.

I wonder what awaits you when you go to the mountain of the Lord.

In Genesis, it says, “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love— Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you” (Genesis 22:1-2, NIV).

I don’t know about you, but I hate taking tests. You just don’t know what the professor or examiner will throw at you, and God was giving Abraham a test. Abraham and Sarah had been waiting for a son, and when they finally got one, they were madly in love with him. Then God decides to give them a pop quiz. God wants to know that He, God, is the first in Abraham’s life. When God tests us, He always focuses on our allegiance and loyalty.

So, I have a question for you, why go to the mountain of the Lord?

I Meet With God.

We go to the mountain of the Lord to meet with God. When Abraham went there, that’s what happened.
I want you to see that God always calls us to do something exceptional if we want to see transformation take place. When you go to the mountain, go with the purpose of meeting with God. He desires to talk with you and discuss your life, allegiance, and destiny. Isaiah puts it this way when he says:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2-3, NIV).

This is just one of the 19 times in the Bible where that phrase, mountain of the Lord, invites us to go and meet with God.

Sometimes you feel like your life is on pause. You may feel disconnected from others, and you’re frustrated. Even though you may seem like you don’t have control over things, you DO control your attitude and desire for the Lord.

Ask yourself, do I hunger and thirst for God?

If you are hungry for the Lord, go to God’s mountain. Go and meet with Him. When you connect with God, He will bring you a fresh perspective and a new intimacy with Him.

Before I go to the mountain, I prepare my heart and start fasting. When you fast, you are turning your plate over to God. You’re letting God know that you are ready for Him to awaken a deep appetite for Him within you.

If you’re serious about going to the mountain of the Lord, I want you to pray and fast.

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, said, “Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason, and others have utterly disregarded it.”

I Find Relief.

What happens on the mountain of the Lord? You find relief.

Genesis 22:9-14 (NIV) says, “When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” He said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

As Abraham walks up the mountain, can you imagine what he’s thinking? Maybe he thinks, “If I slay my son, how will I face Sarah?” “How can I even deal with this in my own heart?” And as he walks up the mountain, we see that he finds relief from his internal conflict when he decides to trust God.

Nothing beats having a personal encounter with God. Abraham walked up that mountain filled with grief, chaos, and confusion. And as all the stress was coming to a head, Abraham heard the voice of God, and the test was over.

Don’t let anything take the place of God. The Lord wants to be first in your life, in every dimension, and with all your affections. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength.

Something happens on the mountain.

When you go to the mountain of the Lord, carrying your Isaac, carrying the things that you love, you’re saying, “God, all that I have I am willing to lay down at your feet.” When you go to the mountain, you will find financial, relational, or physical relief when you go to the mountain.

When Abraham felt confused, and there was chaos around him, he went to the mountain and found relief.

What relief are you asking God to give you on the mountain? Let’s believe in God for breakthroughs in every dimension of our lives.

I Gain Rewards.

What happens on the mountain of the Lord? I gain rewards.

Genesis 22:13 (NIV) says, “So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Did you know that phrase “the Lord will provide” is where we get that Hebrew term to describe one of the dimensions of God? Jehovah Jireh—the Lord who provides.

The God that we serve is a God that rewards and provides.

The Bible says, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided,” and that’s what God did for Abraham. God provided the ram in the thicket so Abraham wouldn’t have to sacrifice Isaac.

When we go to the mountain, the Lord will provide.

Hebrews 11:6 (GNT) says, “No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek Him.”

I don’t want you to become spiritually anemic. I don’t want you to be someone who praises God but doesn’t pray to Him. I want to encourage you to go to the mountain of the Lord, seek out what He has for you, and get the rewards.

Prayer: Dear Father, I pray we will have a tremendous encounter with you. I pray that you will bring relief and rewards as we seek you. I ask you these things in Christ’s name, Amen.

We all need the right perspective in order to thrive, not just survive. You see, we all face challenges daily. From family struggles to issues with a co-worker to sorting through feelings surrounding a health issue.

It can all become overwhelming. It can be discouraging.

So, how do you maintain a proper perspective during trials? And how do you find the power to press on in what may seem like impossible circumstances?

If you’re asking these questions, God’s Word has the answer.

Pray this before you keep reading: Dear Father, I pray that you would cause a transformation to take place in my heart today. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear what you have for me, in Christ’s name, Amen.

Let’s talk about standing on top of the hill.

You may think this is a strange subject, but you gain perspective and power when you stand on top of a hill. The phrase “Mountain of the Lord” or “Mountain of God” is found over 19 times throughout the Bible. Each time we see this, someone got on top of the mountain and started to cry out to God. Then powerful things happened. A key example is when Jesus went on top of the mountain. There He gained perspective and power and was then able to choose His 12 disciples.

I want to challenge you to begin drawing closer to God and to go to His mountain.

Do you want to go to the next level with God?

The Book of Exodus shows us that Moses was in charge of the children of Israel. He led a group of over one million people, most notably leading them out of Egypt. Afterward, as they headed to the promised land, they were attacked, causing Moses to take off the spiritual-leader hat and put on the military-leader hat. Why? Because he wanted and needed to have perspective and power.

In Exodus 17:8-15 (NIV) it says, “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.’ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady until sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.’ Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner.”

I’m always fascinated when I read the exploits of spiritual champions. As I pick apart and analyze what they do, it encourages me and assures me that if they can do it, so can I.

It also raises questions within me like, “Why did Moses stand on top of the hill? Why didn’t he go and fight alongside Joshua?” The answers are found in Scripture, which reveals that Moses knew the tension between the natural and spiritual.

Keep a healthy tension between the natural and spiritual.

If Moses would have looked at life simply through the lens of the natural, he would have never been victorious. Often we fall into the trap of viewing things through one lens because we don’t realize that life has two clear dimensions—natural and spiritual.

The natural is human, while the spiritual is divine.

The Apostle Paul weighs into this conversation in the Book of Galatians.

Galatians 5:17 (GNT) it says, “For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants.”

Paul clearly states that our bodies may want one thing, but the Holy Spirit may want something totally different. We need to be conscious that both of those realities exist. There is a difference between the natural and the spiritual.

We must work but not omit worship.
We must think as well as trust.
We must use our intellect (natural) and faith (spiritual).

Are you someone who gravitates toward thinking or do you put your faith in God?

Admittedly, I often gravitate toward thinking, but then I catch myself and say, “God, I trust you.” Moses climbed to the top of the hill because he realized that the battle would be more than temporal things, but also eternal things. He needed to win the battle, not for the temporal dwelling but for the eternal.

Sowing the seed for the next generation was on the line.

I challenge you today that if you want to make a difference in your future, then you need to go to the mountain of the Lord in this season. When you are on top of the hill, you must remember the natural and the spiritual. You cannot just live in the spiritual, and you cannot just live in the natural. There needs to be a healthy tension between them.

Honor the power of fighting battles alone and together.

When you are on top of the hill, two things will call you: being alone and being together.

We see this in Exodus 17:9 (CEV), “So Moses told Joshua, ‘Have some men ready to attack the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on a hilltop, holding this walking stick that has the power of God.’ ”

There is nothing wrong with wanting to have your own spiritual life, but there is also a danger. Why? Because sometimes you’re going to face battles, and you’re not going to be able to do it alone. You need to understand the tension between being alone and being together.

The need for community is highlighted in Exodus 17:12-13 (NLT), “Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. That’s how Joshua defeated the Amalekites.”

We see Moses, the mighty guy who stood before Pharaoh and performed many miracles, and he now needs help. He can no longer deliver and protect on his own. The Scripture shows the correlation between him holding up the staff and the Israelites winning the battle and how they would begin to lose when he dropped the staff.

Aaron and Hur could see this connection between the natural and spiritual. They got a stone for Moses to sit on, holding up his hands. Moses needed the reliance and support that he received from his brothers.

Who holds up your hands?

I know you’re gifted, educated, and talented. I know that you may feel strong, but what happens when something comes along that you never expected? Who is your Aaron and your Hur? You need to have community. This is not just an Old Testament truth but also a New Testament one.

The beauty, power, and fruit of living in Godly community are captured in Acts 2:46 (CEV): “Day after day they met together in the temple. They broke bread together in different homes and shared their food happily and freely, while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.”

The Christian faith is not an individualistic faith but a communal one.

We must understand the tension between having a personal relationship with Christ and the power of standing in agreement with one another. You may be praying on the mountaintop, and a big battle comes, so you think about inviting someone to battle with you. But how can you when you’ve never built a relationship with them? You need to build relationships with people so that they will go in the trenches with you when it’s battle time.

Here’s another way to look at it: “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you haven’t learned anything.” —Muhammad Ali.

I want you to understand the value of bringing your strength into a friendship and your friend bringing theirs. One of my favorite proverbs is a Zambian one that states: “When you run alone, you run FAST, but when you run together, you run FAR.”

We all must learn to run far, not just fast.

Know that what you do today will impact tomorrow.

We see the necessity for the natural and spiritual and being alone and together, but we also need to see the tension between today and tomorrow. What you do today has implications for what will occur tomorrow.

In Exodus 17:14-15 (GNB) it says: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write an account of this victory, so that it will be remembered. Tell Joshua that I will completely destroy the Amalekites.’ Moses built an altar and named it ‘The LORD is my Banner.’ ”

When something happens in your history, write it down. If we don’t write it down, you will forget it. Something about capturing what’s happening today will impact your tomorrow. Moses wrote down what happened to him so that future generations could see it, and it would electrify their faith. When your grandkids want to know how you were powerful in different seasons of your life, you will have a written account, and you will be able to show them how you were able to battle on the hilltop.

You are making history when you go to the top of the hill. Remember, keep a healthy tension between the natural and spiritual, honor the power of fighting battles alone and together, and know that what you do today will impact tomorrow.

Closing prayer: Dear God, You’re so amazing. Thank You for putting this challenge in front of me. As I rise to the occasion, I ask that You would take all the excuses away and give me the kind of fortitude that I need to pursue You. I thank You in Christ’s name, Amen.

Remember this, precious child of God:

Today you’re an acorn, but tomorrow you’re an oak tree. Let’s go to the hill of God.

From Genesis to Revelation, God emphasizes the power of prayer because He wants us to understand it. He values it. He wants us to internalize the fact that He answers prayer.

For this reason, thousands of books have been written, and tens of thousands of messages have been preached on the topic of prayer. If it matters to God, it should naturally matter to anyone trying to know God better. In fact, I have even written a few books on the vital subject of prayer.

This message simply centers on this powerful truth: God answers prayer. 

Before you dive into today’s teaching, pray this:

Dear Father, help me to hold onto Scripture and apply my faith so I can see the fulfillment of Your word in my life. I ask you this in the name of Jesus, Amen. 

God answers prayer. 

The Bible is firm on the promise that the God we serve answers prayers. Hebrews 5:7 says this (GNT): “In His life on earth Jesus made His prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save Him from death. Because He was humble and devoted, God heard Him.” The reason why God heard Jesus was because Jesus had a relationship with God. He was committed. He also had the right attitude when making requests to God. 

You see, many individuals don’t recognize the value of prayer. Many also don’t recognize that prayer has specific rules. When you realize the rules surrounding prayer, and you use those rules, you can have confidence that God hears you and answers you. 

In Chronicles, we read how Solomon had just finished dedicating his palace and temple to God. That night God visited him in a dream. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NIV), “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

Here you have a roadmap for the rules of prayer. 

This passage of Scripture also reveals how God answers prayer and the prerequisites He needs for it. 

Notice how God is essentially saying, “prayer is for my people.”  

Are you one of God’s people? 

The phrase “my people” talks about God’s covenant relationship with His people. It means that you have accepted Christ as your savior. It’s when you’ve invited God into your heart to be your heavenly Father. That’s when you become one of His people. 

Know the rules of prayer. 

You can be confident that God answers prayer. Think about how sweet that is. 

When you think about prayer, I invite you to also consider the guidelines God calls us to abide by when we pray. God’s answer to prayer depends on our actions. Our actions are CRITICAL to prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (CEV) puts it this way: “If my own people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again.” 

There are two sides to this particular Biblical passage. Let’s zoom in.  

One part identifies with your actions, while the other part identifies with God’s reactions. 

What role do my actions play in prayer? 

There are three actions the Bible instructs us to do after becoming one of God’s people in order to have our prayers answered. 

First, God says that you must humble yourself. Prayer requires humility. To be humble, you must make yourself low in prayer. You need to trust God and His judgment. 

Second, turn back to Him. This means you need to renew your devotion to God. It is also saying that God needs to be first in your life. When you turn back to Him, you are positioning yourself for answered prayers. 

Third, stop sinning because sin hinders prayer. It sounds simple, but this requires repentance. Repentance is when you turn away from your sin and toward God. 

These are the three steps you must take. Watch God show up when you go through these actions.  

Your actions trigger God’s reactions. 

Check out the following portion of Scripture one more time, this time through the lens of focusing on God’s reactions to our actions.  

2 Chronicles 7:14 (CEV), “If my people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again.” Here we see that God will give three reactions. 

First, He will answer you. God says, “I answer when you pray.” When you pray, recognize with faith and expectation that God answers you. 

God’s second reaction is to forgive your sins. One of the most beautiful things is to know that you don’t owe God anything and your sins have been forgiven. No news is better!  

The third reaction is that He will make your land fertile again. In today’s context, when God heals your land, He’s healing your family, church, and nation. 

It’s so helpful to know that when you look at 2 Chronicles 7:14, we have the roadmap to having God answer prayers. In summary, God’s reactions will follow if you do your part. Don’t fall into the trap of never offering your prayer. God is ready right now. You have access to your Heavenly Father right now. 

Do your part. He is faithful to do His. 

Let’s close with this prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I want to be a member of your family. Come into my heart today, Lord. Please wash away my sins, change me and help me live for you so that you may be glorified in me and through me. I ask you this in the name of Jesus, Amen. 

Water baptism is not a hot preaching topic these days. Even though this powerful public act of commitment is highlighted throughout the New Testament in the Bible, it seems to have taken a back seat to other topics.  

When the Holy Spirit changes and transforms your heart when you practice repentance, the next step in following Christ is water baptism. 

Let’s pray this before you keep reading: Dear Father, thank you so much for your incredible kindness. Today, let the power of the Holy Spirit allow change to come in. Come and rearrange our lives so we may please you in a greater way. I ask you, Father, these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Why get water baptized? 

When I got baptized, back in 1982, it was a month after I had prayed to give my heart to Jesus. I remember how I overflowed with excitement because a month earlier Jesus had done something so deep and real in my life. I knew I had changed and water baptism was a public way to tell everybody that God had changed me. He brought me out of a life of atheism and transformed me from the foul-mouth person that I was. Water baptism is a public sign of inward change and that is why I was so open to it. Jesus has changed my life and I publicly communicated how proud I was to be a believer. 

Do you know how critical water baptism is? 

The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18 tells us that we ought to go and preach the gospel to every nation, make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  

Do you know how to water baptize someone when you lead them to Christ? 

If not, keep reading. 

Are YOU water baptized? 

If not, keep reading. 

What we’ll learn from the Scriptures is that God is in the business of changing lives, no matter where you are in life, how old you are or what your race is. Whether you’re rich, poor, educated, uneducated, religious, irreligious, morally good, or morally bankrupt—God has the power to transform people. 

In fact, water baptism is an indication of that.

Let’s jump into the Book of Matthew, chapter three. There we see God loves to transform people by specifically using water baptism. In Matthew 3:1-6 (NIV) it says: In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”  

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 

John was saying that God is in the business of changing lives and He wants to change your life. People came from every direction to get baptized by John. Why? Because they needed to experience God’s great forgiveness. His forgiveness says, “I’ll remove your sin when you ask me to. I’ll wash you clean and take that heavy load of shame from you.” When John was baptizing people in the Jordan River, people kept coming. 

The people were overwhelmed with their sin so they asked God to forgive them and John baptized them. 

God wants repentance.  

The crowd continued to build and John took a break. In Matthew 3:7 (MSG) we see it captured this way: When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin!” John was angry at these two Jewish groups. These people were strict, self-righteous and religious. However, they were not right with God. They had never experienced the power of a transformed life. This is why John yelled at them when they wanted to be baptized too. We see clearly here how God needs REPENTANCE. 

John the Baptist was saying to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “What God wants is repentance.” He was telling them that religion doesn’t mean right-standing with God. In other words, he’s saying, “Look, we’re all sinners in need of salvation. No matter how good you may be, don’t deceive yourself. Your goodness is not good enough. You need salvation.” 

John was helping these religious leaders try to understand what it means to repent. When John chewed out the religious people, the rest of  the crowd started to ask him questions. Luke 3:10-14 (NIV) says this: “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you’re required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” 

John said the same thing to the regular rank that he did to the religious leaders. He made it clear that God wants repentance, which applies to everyone, everywhere. 

John was saying we’re all sinners in need of salvation. You need salvation. Repentance means that you don’t play with your eternal destiny. Heaven is real and so is hell. There’s one or the other, no in-between.

I need a SAVIOR! 

John the Baptist was clear on one thing: He was not the savior, Jesus was. The Scripture says in Luke 3:15-16 (CEV): Everyone became excited and wondered, “Could John be the Messiah?” John said, “I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” John was the forerunner of the Messiah. 

Jesus is the only one that can save you. 

Baptism doesn’t save you; it is simply a sign that declares you’ve been saved and have asked for forgiveness.

But baptism is more than just a ceremonial experience. 

The Apostle Paul gives us the richness of what it truly means to be baptized in Romans 6:3 (CEV): Don’t you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death? When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father. If we shared in Jesus’ death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with Him. We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies will no longer be the slaves of sin.”

Let that sink in.  

Paul is saying that when you get water baptized, you’re associating yourself with the death and burial of Jesus. When you come out of the water, you’re then aligning yourself with the resurrection of Jesus. 

You see? Baptism is not an empty ceremony. As we publicly demonstrate that we have experienced forgiveness because we recognize we need a savior, Jesus meets us in the water. 

Let’s close with this prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for changing lives. I ask you now to change my life. Wash away my sins and transform me so that I may walk with you every day of my life. I ask you this in the name of Jesus, my Savior. Amen.

Repentance can be a heavy topic.

It can stir up many emotions and reactions, largely leaning on the negative side. Despite its reputation, I invite you to reconsider what repentance is. It’s actually a beautiful word that helps us change our hearts and minds.

It means making a U-turn, which steers us in the direction of renewal to our lives.

Today’s article is centered around helping you understand the power of repentance.

A prayer before we begin: Lord, today, as we open our hearts wide to you, we ask that you perform heart surgery on each of us as you see fit, so that we can be able to be the kinds of people you’ve called us to become. I ask you these things in Christ’s name, Amen.

What does it mean to be renewed?

The definition of renew is: to grow up, to sprout, to begin again.

Imagine it is springtime. A beautiful moment during this season is when birds start to chirp and sing. It’s also awe-inducing when flowers poke their heads above the ground and display their beauty.

This is a picture of renewal.

When you experience renewal, something is transformed inside of you. You bloom anew. The song of your life sounds different. Renewal makes your relationship with God exciting and passionate again.

But to get to renewal, you must first go through repentance.

Repentance

Acts 3:19 (The Passion Translation): “And now you must repent and turn back to God so that your sins will be removed, and so that times of refreshing will stream from the Lord’s presence.” See here God’s big-heartedness towards us.
God says, “If you want to experience renewal, where times are refreshing, it happens when you practice repentance.” Repentance is a game-changer.

The Greek word for repentance is metanoia. It means to turn around. It’s as if you are going north, then suddenly realize it’s the wrong moral direction, and you repent to go south. You totally shift where you’re headed.

Author and pastor Bruce Wilkinson puts it this way: “Repentance means you change your mind so deeply that it changes you.

Are you hungry for renewal?

It starts with repentance.

Let’s look at what it means to repent and why normative Christianity is passionate Christianity. You cannot be a Biblical believer and be bored with God. You can’t be someone who walks with Jesus and be apathetic. God calls us to be fiery servants and have fiery faith. That’s why repentance is a game-changer.

The Book of Psalms was written by David, who is also known as Israel’s Psalmist. He was also the King of Israel and a warrior.

Despite his status and accomplishments, however, David fell into hard times.

Why? He made the wrong moral choices. He had an affair with a married woman by the name of Bathsheba. She became pregnant with his child, while her husband, Uriah, was at war fighting against the Ammonites.

Then David tried to cover up his sin, so he had Uriah brought back home from war. He got Uriah drunk twice, hoping that in his drunken state, he’d go home and have relations with his wife. However, Uriah wouldn’t do it. He stayed right outside of the palace all night. David then sent Uriah back to war and he made sure that the Ammonites killed him. After that, Bathsheba grieved for the loss of her husband, and

David soon married her.

This scandal was a big deal and deeply damaging against the character of God because David was supposed to be a man of God. Then here was David in a dry, disillusioned and backslidden state, and Nathan, the prophet, visited him. He skillfully confronted him, causing David to repent and pour out his heart to God, asking for forgiveness.

We see this moment here: Psalm 51:1-4 (NIV): “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.”

I admire David, not because he sinned, but because he repented authentically and truthfully before God. I admire him because he did what was necessary to get right with God. As a result, he was on his way to renewal.

This is where God wants you to be too. So, how do you get renewed?

Scripture teaches us that repentance precedes renewal. There may have been something that made you dry. Maybe your spiritual temperature has dropped because you missed time with God or became distracted. Or maybe, like David, it was sin. Whatever the reason, whatever caused your heart to change, I want you to know it’s not God’s will that you stay dry.

It’s God’s will that you get renewed.

Do you need to repent?

This question is a call to search your heart. It challenges you to reflect: “Is there a problem between you and God?”

Has God whispered to you?

Has He nudged you or prompted you in some way?

Has he made you realize that there’s some sin in your life that you’ve not dealt with?

The question “Do I need to repent?” invites us to investigate and interrogate our hearts. When we do this, we can look over our past actions and our past attitudes to ask ourselves this question:

Am I right with God?

Is there something in your life creating a problem between you and God? If there is, then you’re going to need to repent. Sin hardens our hearts, makes our conscience callous and creates a divide between us and God. Repentance bridges that gap.

Have you ever asked God the question, “God, have I done something to I violate your moral code or your standard?” If not, try it. I suggest you go there with God because sin will make the Christian walk tiring, taxing and tough. But that’s not what God had in mind for us. There should be passion, zeal and enthusiasm as you walk with God. Conversely, if you’re serving God and feel dry, apathetic and devoid of zeal, it means something’s wrong.

When you sin against God the relationship on the human side has been harmed. There’s a break in the fellowship between you and God. Please know God’s love and care for you hasn’t changed. His kindness towards you is also still the same, but your sin hardened and harmed your relationship with the Lord.

So, again I ask you: Do you need to repent?

Next, allow me to ask you this:

Have you FULLY repented?

Full repentance happens through a comprehensive inspection of the heart. It happens by cleaning out the junk that’s in your heart.
Going back to the Bible story mentioned earlier, David was excellent when it came to repenting and repentance.

Remember the meaning of repentance—to turn around. It’s when you repent so deeply that it changes you. You then get back to the place of cleanliness, purity and right-standing before God.

This takes a process. You don’t just say “I repent.” David couldn’t just say, “I repent.” He had a man killed and had gotten a woman pregnant who wasn’t his wife. He not only deceived the nation, but also himself. We see in Scripture (2 Samuel 11) that in the nine months Bathsheba was pregnant, David never repented. Then, the baby was born and the child died. We can then conclude that it was almost a year before David made his relationship with God right.

So again, it’s important to know repentance is a process.

Here are the four stages of repentance:

Stage 1: You realize that you’ve done wrong.
Stage 2: There are feelings of remorse about your sin.
Stage 3: You renounce your sin or turn away from it.
Stage 4: You’re restored. That’s when repentance takes place.

Let’s apply this to David. In Stage 1: David realized he was going in the wrong direction. In Stage 2: David had remorse for his sin. In Stage 3: David renounces his sin. In Psalm 51:1-2 (NIV), it says, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me of my sin.” Finally, in Stage 4: David is restored.

Early Church Father, John Chrysostom, captures the heart of repentance like this: “Repentance is a medicine which destroys sin, a gift bestowed from heaven, an admirable virtue, a grace exceeding the power of laws.”

When you repent it’s as if God has dispensed His medicine into your soul. The dryness you were feeling in your heart vanishes and the fire of passion is rekindled. Repentance is a game-changer, and it brings healing to you.

I’ve repented, NOW WHAT?

What should you expect after you repent?

David has the answer. Psalm 51:12-13 (NIV) says, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.” I want you to see that when you repent, God restores you. The joy of your salvation and walking with Jesus will be passionate again. You will be renewed and refreshed in your relationship with God.

Don’t miss how David also said, “One of the signs that I’ve repented is that I want to teach transgressors your ways, God.” Your burden for lost souls is one of the greatest indicators of you being renewed. So you see here that being renewed is not just about you. David essentially says, “I now feel the burden for those who don’t know you.” Let that value soak in.

Another verse that sums up repentance can be found in Acts 3:19 (NIV), where it says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

You now have a Biblical basis for expecting refreshing and renewal. You have a guide to grow in passion. You have an effective tool to experience the fire of the Holy Spirit. And you have a pathway for a zeal for the Lord. Your basis, your guide, your effective tool and pathway is repentance.

One of the schools I graduated from was Alliance Theological Seminary. Long before I attended, in 1906, when it was called Nyack Missionary Training Institute, a revival broke out. Interestingly, it all started because someone publicly confessed their sins.

Here is an account of the revival: “For three weeks, preachers, teachers, and students were lying on their faces. Awful confessions were made. It began at 12 o’clock noon and went on until the next morning. God had struck with mighty conviction. Some tried to escape because they didn’t want to confess, but they had to return and go through with it. I declare unto you that when the confessions were over, the mighty presence of God filled the place. We walked on tiptoe. The atmosphere was so holy. We were afraid to hear the sound of our heels in that school. If you ever heard thunder rolls of intercession, they went forth from that school. You could have heard the body of students a mile away. They prayed as one man and everybody as loudly as possible, but they knew God was behind those prayers.”
When the students confessed their sins before God and cried out to God in prayer, not only did they experience renewal, it led to revival.

Again, I ask you:

Do you need to repent?
Have you repented fully?
What can you expect?

Let’s close with this prayer: Heavenly Father, I want to experience renewal and times of refreshing. I want the Holy Spirit to visit me in a brand-new way and transform me. So I confess my sins before you now. And I ask you to forgive me for each one. God, may this begin a series of times of confession and repentance until I experience personal renewal. This I pray in the name of Jesus, Amen