Pastor Tony's Messages at SSCC

How to Overcome Being Easily Offended

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Sun, 22 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Bible has a lot to say about offences. In Matthew 24:10 Jesus says one of the signs of the last days would be in the fact that many would be offended.

Matthew 24:10 (Amplified Bible) 10And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.

You and I as born again, sanctified, spirit filled believers, have the ability and the authority under the signet of the blood covenant to overcome offences, and to be victors in this battle against our souls!

Offence - a violation or breach of a law, custom, rule, etc. / a lack of politeness; a failure to show regard for others; wounding the feelings or others

Too many people in the body of Christ are standing paralyzed on the outskirts of the valley of victory, because the enemy is shouting out offences from the other side.

All too many preachers are putting away their Bibles/coat & ties, never to fill another pulpit again, all because somehow, somewhere, they were offended and wounded in their souls.

Nothing in life starts big: the same with offence. An offence always starts as a thought, and thoughts are seeds, that enter your mind. Seeds of offence are the beginning of developments of offence in our lives. But we have the ability to refuse the thought or uproot the seed before an offence is fully-grown in the garden of our hearts.

OFFENCE IS A SPIRITUAL SEED

There are four ways those seeds get sown into us:

1. What others said to us - All some people ever heard in their lives were cutting and abrasive words. Sarcastic speeches that pierces like a sword. Sarcastic people can cut you to pieces with their tongue.

2. What others did not say to us - You could be offended because you don't feel appreciated. No one ever says thank you to you or compliments your effort.

3. What others did to us (negative actions and reactions) – Selfish Actions and humiliating experiences can cause the seed of offence to germinate in our hearts.

4. What people didn't do for us (favor or assistance we did not receive)

This seed produces a ROOT OF BITTERNESS (James 3:14-16) and after this bad weed grows it will produce the FRUIT OF RESENTMENT (Matt. 12:33-35, Hebrews 12:15)

Whenever the seed of the offence is sworn into you and you allow it to germinate into bitterness, with all the emotions in display, the fruit will always be resentment. This comes out of you in two ways:

1. What you say – People that are under a spirit of offence are usually critical, aggressive, and they are always ready to judge everyone else around them. Offense is a spiritual weed that has to be come out of our lives.

2. What you do – People that are controlled by offense do what the Bible calls "the works of the flesh" In Galatians, chapter five, Paul lists seventeen things as "works of the flesh" and nine things as "fruit of The Spirit. He says that flesh and Spirit are in conflict. And he urges us to live by The Spirit and not by the flesh.

A. What Offences Represent In Our Lives

Luke 17:1 He said to His disciples, 'It is inevitable that stumbling blocks (offences) come, but woe to him through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than he would cause one of these little ones to stumble."

The Greek word translated "stumbling block" in this verse is "skandalon", where we get the word scandal. It means "offense, stumbling block, or occasions to fall." In other words, when we are offended, the door is open for us to stumble. This word "skandalon" originally described a small piece of wood that was used to keep the door of an animal trap propped open. A piece of food was placed in the trap and when the animal went into it to get the food, it would it the wood and the trap door would close shut trapping the animal. In the New Testament times this word was also referred to as a "stone or obstacle that causes one to trip, to stumble, and to lose his footing, to waver, to falter and to fall down."

In these verses Jesus makes it plain that we will have the opportunity to become offended at some point in our lives. When we offend, or are offended, the offense hinders our ability (becomes a stumbling block) to do what God has called us to do. For example, when someone becomes offended with another person, they often times will withdraw from that person and if needed, would not reach out to help the person who offended them. Although the world may say the person is "justified" in not reaching out to the one who offended them, it is not God's way.

Jesus was talking about Christians who offend weaker Christians and causes them to stumble. This could be through our actions towards that person, or a lifestyle of sin that we not have given up. Jesus said that it would be better for them if their lives were cut short than to cause a weaker Christian to stumble.

James 4:17 "Therefore, to the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." James says that if we know the right thing to do and we choose not to do it, then we have crossed over into sin. That is what happens when we become offended, it changes how we would normally respond to situations and makes us susceptible to sinning.

The last point I want to make is this. Jesus said "....but woe to him through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than he would cause one of these little ones to stumble."

B. The results of not handling offense

The devil uses offense to divide and conquer even the best of Christians.

1. I have witnessed it tear a part churches

2. Failing of great business ventures

3. Destroyed marriages, and the best of relationships.

4. Delays God's plan in our lives

No one is exempt from offences. We will each have to deal with offences as long as we are on this earth.

Have you seen elephants tied up at the circus? They are held in place by a little chain around the ankle fastened into the ground by a stake. This multi-ton animal is held in place by something you or I could probably pull out. Why does this happen? When elephants are small, they are trained to stay in one place by a huge heavy chain and a stake securely fastened. Every time the little one tries to pull away, it can't. It's securely held in place. Soon, this baby pachyderm will be convinced that no matter how hard it tries, it can't get away. It gives up.

We must understand that we have been given the ability in our spiritual growth, much like that adult elephant, to break free of the offenses that have bound us for too long. The purpose of Satan is to use offences as a trap to hold you from all that God wants you to be. Devil knows that harboring unforgiveness in our lives can not only stop our progress in the things of God, but it can delay God's perfect plan for our lives. So, He constantly provides opportunity for us to be offended. Therefore, we need to learn what to do when offences come our way.

C. God's counsel on how to respond to offenses

Luke 17:3-4 3Pay attention and always be on your guard [looking out for one another]. If your brother sins (misses the mark), solemnly tell him so and reprove him, and if he repents (feels sorry for having sinned), forgive him. 4And even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and turns to you seven times and says, I repent [I am sorry], you must forgive him (give up resentment and consider the offense as recalled and annulled).

In these verses, we find another key to dealing with offenses. After Jesus said that offenses will come, He said that we should be on guard. He said when a brother sins against us (offends us) we should be ready to forgive them as soon as they repent, even if it happens seven times a day.

Matthew 18:15-16

15If your brother wrongs you, go and show him his fault, between you and him privately. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. 16But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed and upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

In these verses Jesus explains that if a brother sins against us, we should go to them in private and talk with them. He did not say we should go to our brother, sister, best friend, etc. He said we should go to the one who has offended us. Why is this important? Anytime we are offended and share it with others, we run the risk of influencing that person against the one who offended us.

Jesus said we should go to the person in private and have the discussion. If the person repents, we forgive them and move on. However, if the person does not repent and depending on the circumstances, we are to take others with us to confirm the situation in case it needs to be brought before the Church or a court of law.

What should be our response when the offenses come?

John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

D. Plan for the next Offense before it comes

Ask yourself: when was the last time you had a real breakthrough in your spiritual walk? Last time the church experienced a real move of Holy Ghost revival? Last time you had faith/vision that good things were about to happen? We need to overcome offense and go on with Jesus! Sure there may be people judging us, slandering us, there may be folks out there trash talking us, etc. But I assure you as long as there has been a devil, God has been around much longer. And he has always prevailed against the enemy, and he always will! Where sin does abound, grace does even much more abound! Hallelujah, we can overcome offenses in Jesus' name!

Plan for it! Your attitude should not be "will an offense come?', but when will I have an opportunity to be offended.

How do I prepare for an offense? Be determined not to take offense! At anything!

The Bible tells us that we can be trained in this area.

Acts 24:16 16Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men.

Be determined to prepare for the offense when it comes, it will have no power over you.

1. Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit Ephesians 5:9 For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;

2. Keep Your Cool James 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

a. Keep in mind that when a comment seems offensive that it may not be aimed specifically at you. It may be a casual comment and the person is unaware that you are taking it personally.

b. Tell yourself that maybe the person is having a bad day and does not realize how he came across. Don't judge and avoid jumping to conclusions.

c. Talk to the person cordially about how you feel. The person might not realize that she has offended you. Talking over the issues can help to resolve misunderstandings, hidden anger and frustration.

d. Think positive and stop brooding over the offense. Thinking too much often makes you jump to conclusions that are often times not based on fact.

3. Forgive – Jesus told Peter to forgive 70X7

4. Live your life, in the Word of God Psalms 119:165 "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them"

5. Learn from your experience and be careful the next time you speak or do something. It may save a person who is overly sensitive a lot of grief.

Decide today to get rid of offence and to be prepared to handle it when the situation comes and you will be exposed to the bad seeds that the enemy of your soul wants to sow into your life. Offenses are like Dandelions. What makes dandelion removal from lawns so difficult? Well, dandelions enjoy the best of both worlds. Above-ground, their seeds ride the wind currents, poised to drop into the slightest opening in your lawn to propagate the species. Meanwhile, below-ground, they strike down a taproot up to 10" long. Pulling the taproot as a means of dandelion removal is problematic. Thick but brittle, the taproot easily fractures and any fraction of the taproot that remains in the ground will regenerate. Let us uproot all bitterness out of our lives today and decide to live a life as God wants us to be.

RHYTHM

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:53:48 +0000

God has a rhythm. Everything has a rhythm. The universe has a rhythm. The planets in our solar system have a rhythm. The earth has a rhythm. The seas have a rhythm. The four seasons have a rhythm. Our bodies have a rhythm. Our heart has a rhythm. Our lungs have a rhythm.

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Example: Have the drummer follow this lead. God says, "Remember my rhythm". Work six days; on that seventh day rest. Beat the drum hard for six beats then rest. Repeat a few times.

A repeating pattern of stresses, or of the presence or absence of sound, is called rhythm. Morse code works by assigning different letters of the alphabet to different rhythms. Rhythm is marked by the regulated succession of opposite elements. Rhythm is made up of sounds and silences. These sound and silences are put together to form patterns of sounds, which are repeated to create a rhythm.

A. God created our heartbeat (a heart with built in rhythm)

What is the heart? Most simply, it is the organ that pumps blood through the body. I read recently that physiologically each person's heartbeat has its own unique pattern. Just as there are no two people exactly alike, no two hearts keep the exact same rhythm. The Bible refers to the heart as the driving will or innermost being.

Just as there are no two identical physiological heartbeats, so it is with how God made our spiritual hearts. Your spiritual heart possesses a unique emotional heartbeat that races when you encounter different cause, activities, subjects or circumstances. Instinctively, it seems there are some things we care deeply about and other things that don't even turn our heads. Understanding this spiritual heartbeat is a part of the journey God has for us; it helps us understand God's intention for our lives.

The Bible is full of stories that show how passion stirred calling. Solomon had a heart to be a wise ruler. Moses had a heart for his people. Nehemiah had a heart for Jerusalem. These are simply a few examples among many. What is your passion?

God created our heart and we need to find the right rhythm of our lives. We should discipline ourselves and learn to be in tune with the heartbeat of God.

Heart Rhythm Disorders

The primary function of the heart is to supply blood and nutrients to the body. The regular beating, or contraction, of the heart moves the blood throughout the body. Each heartbeat is controlled by electrical impulses traveling through the heart. In the normal heart these electrical impulses occur in regular intervals. When something goes wrong with the heart's electrical system, the heart does not beat regularly. The irregular beating results in a rhythm disorder, or arrhythmia. Some Christians have spiritual arrhythmia in their lives because of a lack of discipline in prayer.

B. PRAYER is the heartbeat of our FAITH

The Apostle Paul's command to "pray continually or without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Prayer in Jewish understanding is devotion that is in the heart. In its most basic form, prayer can be understood as pouring your heart out to God.

The Hebrew word for heart is lev (pronounced lay-v, Strong's #3820). Lev means: inner man, mind, will, heart, and understanding. It speaks of the heart and soul of a man, the seat of our emotions and passions. In Genesis 8:21 we see God speaking "in His heart" and promising never again to curse the ground or destroy everything living again as He did in the flood.

God created our heart to function 24/7 without any conscious thought from us. We don't will the heart to beat, we don't beg it to, it simply beats...without ceasing. Similarly, we have burdens that are on our heart they don't leave our heart just because we are not engaged in some form of prayer. Our loved ones stay on our heart, the concerns remain, the hopes and dreams remain. They are there with each and every beat of our heart.

Prayer is not only about asking...it's about connecting to God. As we take a mental pause our mind and engage in prayer we can connect with God. This step is vital to our heart because it purposefully focuses our attention on the One who is able and willing to grant our request.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

We need to develop a discipline of prayer in order to understand the rhythm of our God.

C. The rhythm of our hope

1 Thessalonians 1:3 (DBY) remembering unceasingly your work of faith, and labour of love, and enduring constancy of hope, of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;

We can see in this Scripture that these early Christians had an "enduring constancy of hope". There are famous brands of watches that claim to be durable and reliable.

What is the most precise rhythm device ever made by man? I guess watches are the most reliable rhythm devices. Citizen, Seiko, Casio, etc., fall somewhat below the threshold of desirable dress watches like Omega, Breitling, Baume & Mercier, etc. In April 17, 2005 TAG Heuer released another first at the Baselworld 2005 global watch mecca - the most accurate mechanical timepiece ever crafted, the "Calibre 360" Concept Chronograph. All these rhythm machines are very impressive and can also be very expensive. Man as a fascination for time and about creating perfect and accurate little rhythm machines called watches. My question is about the rhythm of your spiritual heart.

Does your heartbeat lean towards God?

Do you have constancy in your prayer life?

Do you read the Bible and try to listen to God at least 1 day in your busy week?

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

D. The Rhythm of our Brain

Studies of mechanisms in the brain that allow complicated things to happen in a coordinated fashion have produced some of the most spectacular discoveries in neuroscience. Our brain uses different rhythms in order to do complex operations like memorizing or remembering things. Scientists say that rhythms in our brain are key to the learning process. These are called brain waves. We can develop habits that are associated with the rhythm of our brain.

A habit is defined as a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition. A habit is a learned rhythm of life.

Romans 12:2 (ESV) Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We can exchange bad habits by good ones and learn a new rhythm in life. The three most important habits of someone who puts God first are,

Prayer - "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice" (Psalm 55:17).

Reading of the Bible - "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11, NIV).

Assembling Together – "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near"(Hebrews 10:25, NLT)

CONCLUSION

How can we listen to God in such a busy world? We need to tune our life with God. Our heartbeat has to synchronize with heartbeat of God.

Discipline is very important if we are going to learn how to have the right rhythm in our spiritual life.

Decide to put God first!

Psalms 119:164 Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous ordinances.

David praised Him with a rhythm of seven times a day. We all have rhythms and patterns in everything we do. Maybe it's time to change your heartbeat and start praising seven times a day. Some people drink eight glasses of water every day in order to loose a few pounds. Do you thinks you can pray more, praise more, read more, and come to Church more often? God is waiting for your heartbeat to be syncopated by his Holy Spirit. Just open up your mind and decide to put God first!

ENERGY DRINKS

(Show the energy drink.) This drink has energy in it, and when you drink, it is released into your body. (Take a drink of the energy drink!)

Energy drinks are soft drinks advertised as providing energy to improve physical activity of the drinker, as compared to a typical drink. Rather than providing food energy (as measured in calories), these drinks are designed to increase a user's mental alertness and physical performance by the addition of caffeine, vitamins, and herbal supplements, which may interact to provide a stimulant effect over and above that obtained from caffeine alone. A variety of physiological and psychological effects attributed to energy drinks and/or their ingredients have been investigated.

Energy drinks are typically attractive to young people. Approximately 65% percent of its drinkers are between the ages of 13 and 35 years old.

People buy these drinks to get energized – to think clearer and be perked up – what if you could get that same feeling the natural way and by a spiritual energy boost.

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to energize us God's way! And we need to ask God to launch us into motion for eternity. We need a higher Rhythm in our spiritual life.

ALTAR CALL

Today I would like to call you to the front and pray for you. I will not give you an energy drink but I do believe that the Holy Spirit wants to energize your spiritual life by elevating your heartbeat. Just tell God that you want to place him first in your life and you will learn a different rhythm in your Spiritual life.

YOU CAN DREAM AGAIN!

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:37:52 +0000

Psalm 126:1 When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.

There is something wonderfully simple about the way young children see life. It is a way of seeing in which anything is possible, and this means that they see no reason why they can't grow up to be an astronaut or a cowboy or a princess.

There are seasons in our life when circumstances can take away our capacity to dream. There are real dreams and there is dreaming awake. When we have a goal or an objective we call it a dream. Just as you once dreamed, you can dream again. Just as you once believed, you can believe again. No matter where we are right now, we still have the ability to change it all.

Acts 2:17- "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."

I. "WHEN THE LORD RESTORED . . . IT WAS LIKE A DREAM"

A. Your dream: God's best for your life

1. A dream is a picture in your mind of God's best for your life. The Holy Spirit gives you dreams and visions.

2. You will never see God's dream clearly in your mind until your heart is healed and restored. The psalmist made a connection between the two things: "When the Lord restored his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!"

3. In your finances, family, health, and ministry, God wants to give you His dream. He wants to make what you see in your spirit to come true. The biggest obstacle, however, to seeing your dream fulfilled is rejection.

B. Differences between Dreams and Visions

1. You can have good or bad dreams regarding your life. Faith will help youo to "paint the picture of your life". Ungodly dreams cannot be endorsed or fulfilled by a Holy God.

2. A vision is a form of a dream but different in a few ways. The main difference between a dream and a vision is a dream is of a world that does not exist and may seem fanciful and may or may not be possible to manifest for one reason or another. a vision is totally possible and all that stands in the way is the desire to create it. A vision acts as a guiding light in one's life.

3. Another way a vision is different from a dream is because a vision does not have the same kind of passion behind it as a dream. A vision is not personal.

4. God wants to give us both Visions and dreams. They are sometimes so close that we have a hard time to distiguish them but we might say that dreams are more personnal and visions are rather for the bennefit of others and not ourselves.

5. A Vision is Future Focused – One way we turn our dreams into visions is to focus on what we want, instead of what we do not want. Usually a vision includes a Game Plan- Whether I am the only person involved in the change, or thousands are impacted and therefor have influence on how things go, one way to distinguish dreams from visions is that visions include a road map for how the new future will be brought into being.

C. Dreams are a metaphor for your system of thoughts

1. The dreams you see while asleep at night are a metaphor for the kind of thinking that happens when you fantasize while awake. We often call this "day dreaming" or creative imagination.

2. The vision you see when you are awake and looking at reality with your eyes is a metaphor for the kind of thinking that happens when you look to your future with your mind's eye.

3. The inner world (past, present and future) you see is built from your own assumptions or metaphorical constructs. With this kind of vision, you can "look" down different paths, and "see" what would happen.

II. YOU CAN DREAM AGAIN!

These are some personal things that God want's to restore in our life through dreams.

A. The dream of being free (Acts 12:9)

1. God wants to restore your dream of being free from all bondages and captivity. Addictions to habits, fears, drugs, wrong relationships, and guilt were all carried by Christ on the cross.

2. You must begin to see yourself as healed of all rejection and delivered from all bondage. Like a prisoner dreams of the day he will be free, you have to dream of being free of the bondage of the enemy.

3. Peter was imprisoned, but the Lord escorted him out! It was like a dream, but the dream was real. Christ had no one to rescue Him from the cross, but Peter received a supernatural deliverance.

B. The dream of being abundant (Gen. 31:9–13)

1. Jacob left home with only a staff in his hand. He had a dream at Bethel and promised God that he would tithe if God would provide food and clothing for him.

2. His second dream occurred one night when God showed him the streaked, speckled, and spotted sheep (v. 10). He peeled rods and set them before the sheep and they then produced these types of sheep. God can give you one idea that will reverse your fortunes.

3. God wants to give you a dream of abundance. Jacob's dream produced so many sheep that he became wealthy. You must begin to let the Lord dream through you of a day when your financial situation has turned around and you are experiencing the blessing of God in your life.

C. The dream of being healed (Mark 5:28)

1. Sickness and disease steal your dream. You focus on "why" instead of on Christ's atoning death on the cross for your healing. The woman with the issue of blood said, "If I can just touch His garment, I will be healed."

2. Keep doing what the doctors are telling you to do, but tell yourself every day, "This is not the dream." God has a time when your dream will come to pass, so never let that dream of being healed leave your mind.

D. The dream of being fruitful (Gen. 41:52)

1. Joseph had dreamed of his father, mother, and brothers bowing down to him. When he ended up in prison in Egypt, the dream seemed gone. However, God delivered him and placed him at the right hand of Pharaoh for the entire world to bow before.

2. God has a ministry, a position of authority and responsibility, for you. Joseph named his second son Ephraim because as he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."

3. You must allow God to heal your heart from the rejection of others so that you can become doubly fruitful. God has a dream for you!

Conclusion

Organization have usually a vision or a mission statement. As individuals we can develop also a vision for our lives by transforming our dreams into vision. Why is it important that an organization develops vision and mission statements? First of all, because these statements can help that organization focus on what is really important. We also need to develop statements for our life.

1. I am free!

2. I have abundance in every area of my life!

3. I am healed both phisicaly and mentaly!

4. I am fruitfull!

These are some personal vision statements that God want's to develop in our lives. Godly dreams will always lead us to Godly Visions

Developing effective vision and believing in our dreams are two of the most important things you will ever do, because almost everything else you do will be affected by these faith statements. Fail to proclaim our dreams will cause us to miss the best that God has for us.

God's Expiry Date - Part 3 - Get rid of Anger

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Has God passed His own expiry date? Is religion just for weak people? Is civilization passed the time for us to believe in God? Today we will learn about secularism. What it means to be a Godly person in a secular world.

Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Example: Start by extending a construction measuring tape and compare the length to years. Have go to 90 years and then press the safety pin to roll it back. One day your life will roll backwards before your eyes and you will understand how small you are. We try to ignore death and our prejudice about God and religion may hinder us to pass to the next level of existence. You cannot cheat death. One day just like the measuring tape rolled quickly to the inside you will see a flashback of events that marked your existence and things will finally make sense.

This passage of Scripture clearly indicates that God reveals things to the "mature". I believe is not speaking of age but of spiritual maturity. You can only be mature in something that you experienced. As we come to Church this morning we have people here with different levels of Spiritual growth. Some are mature and some are not.

Modern philosophy tries to deny the very existence of God. Millions of people rely on experimentation and since they have never experienced God it is impossible for them to understand that we are really small and that God is immense. I was able to experience God because of near-death experience. God used this moment of my existence to reveal Himself to me in a personal and intimate way. When I resurrected from my brief passage to the other side I realized that I am just small, tiny like a grain of sand in the ocean but that inspire of that God cared for me enough to give me attention. His love is beyond comprehension.

How can we find God? The answer is easy! You just need to receive Him

John 1:10-12 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

This said I want to tell you two easy things we have to do in order to receive God. Just give some attention to this message because it can radically change your life. God is real and he will reveal himself to all who receive him.

Let me just give you the translation of the word "receive". The original greek word "paralambanō"; means ; to receive near, i.e. associate with oneself (in any familiar or intimate act or relation); by analogy, to assume an office; figuratively, to learn: — receive, take (unto, with).

To receive Jesus doesn't mean that you are joining a church, a religion or a doctrine. To receive him means that you decide to voluntarily associate, become familiar and learn from Jesus Christ Himself. In order to do so let me give you two very simple steps in that direction.

1. Do not live in anger

Anger is the attitude we allow to surface in our lives from not getting something that we want or, more important, something that we think we deserve.

We live in Canada so we want it all and we want it now! People think that they deserve a lot of things in life. People will come to you and say "you deserve a break today!" In other words a break is owed to you. Anger is initiated when we don't get what we want or something that we think we deserve. The process is initiated when someone says something like "you deserve a break today". You think about it and you get mad because you don't get what you think you deserve.

Anger is the emotion that we experience when we feel that somebody owes us something.

You get a job and you have a position and suddenly you think you deserve a promotion and you become angry because you don't get your promotion. Suddenly you start to think bad things about your boss or your manager because you think they owe you this. You are working so hard and the promotion doesn't come and now anger rises up. Anger is a part of life and we will all get to feel it.

Some of you went through hard situations and you got a divorce because your husband was cheating on you. You feel violated because your husband took the best days of your life and because you feel betrayed and thinking that something was stollen from you. You were betrayed and now you start to feel really angry because he owes you. Most people walk through life with anger because they grew in a home where the father was taken away from the house or the mother left to live with another man and they feel their parents owe them something.

Anger will come when you feel that people owe you something. We are not mistreated in life just one time but this will happen multiple times and we are constantly mistreated. If we are not careful we will get to live this kind of angry life and we start to treat others around us in anger. If you allow yourself to live in anger this will begin to spill out and you will mistreat other people around you including the people you love. Why? Because we are angry because we constantly feel that people owes us something.

In Church we will have also angry people because they feel that they deserve attention or position. They feel that they are so important that they have to be publicly honored and praised and suddenly if they loose positions of authority they will become angry with the Church or angry with the pastor because they feel like the leaders owe them something.

Matthew 6:9-16

9 Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread,

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Forgiveness is the way out of anger. Forgiveness is the attitude of cancelling the debt to someone. If you feel that someone owes you something you need to cancel that debt. And by the way if you don't do it say goodbye to your salvation because your Father in heaven will not forgive you if you constantly live in anger. Without forgiveness salvation is lost.

We will be angry with people, with life, with ourselves and even with God. You know what sometimes God gets also angry. The Bible doesn't say "You shall not be angry" however it clearly states that you need to get over it and the only way to do it is to practice forgiveness in your every day life. If we walk around telling people how much you are hurt with someone please grow up and learn how to apply the principles of the Bible to your personal life.

We need to be doers of the Word!

2 Corinthians 3:6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

If you know the Bible but you do not apply these principles to your life then you have a covenant that kills. The spirit of religion keeps millions of people in bondage because many people feel that they know the word of God but in fact they don't know God. They speak of the spirit but they don't live in the Spirit. They talk about prayer but they don't pray. They talk about miracles but they don't have an ever present God that is constantly revealing Himself through signs and wonders.

2. Learn how to be grateful

Many times we fail to see the things that are right in from of our eyes. Studies ay that we talk to ourselves about 30,000 times a day. This is called meditating. When we worry we meditate in reverse. If you go through the day worrying about your future, worrying about your finances or about your family you will cause your thoughts to be angry and fearful, negative and discouraged. You can have control over your own thoughts and control what you think about life. Fear will cause you to be stressed out and if you will not be able to find God in your circumstances.

Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

If you train your mind to meditate in the things that are honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable and excellent you have a promise that the God of peace will be with you. If things are not of good report don't waste your time thinking about it.

Get your mind going in the right direction. We may not know where the future goes but we know the one who holds the future. We need to put our trust in God and as we meditate in that we will not have fear but we will rejoice in faith. Think about the things that are worthy of praise.

I'm not saying that we will not worry about things because we will but we cannot dwell in a state of mind that separates us from God but we need to have an attitude of praise and gratitude and choose to think and meditate in those things that cause the God of peace to be with us.

Conclusion

The Maker of the World is unknown to his own creation to the point that some think that the simple idea of God is old fashioned and that a relationship with him is either irrational, impossible or out of date.

Today I want to challenge you to do a simple step in His direction by changing two things in your daily behaviour.

1. Don't be angry - forgive

2. Be grateful - Meditate in things that are worthy of praise

Remember that the day will come when the movie of your life will come before your eyes just like that measuring tape rolls back to itself. Your life should have a meaning when you pass away from this world and there is no second chance to make things right.

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

God's Expiry date – Part 2 - The time between two laughs

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

We will talk today about those promises received from God that seem to be forgotten. We think that God changed His mind and that our dreams and expectations where too high. Maybe you don't believe that God can still do it but I have good news for you.

The time between two laughs – The story of Sara

Last week we talked about expiration dates and we've seen how God has expiration dates on certain things. He is also able to work when things have passed the expiration date. He can extend things beyond what is humanly possible.

Hebrews 11:11 (AMP) Because of faith also Sarah herself received physical power to conceive a child, even when she was long past the age for it, because she considered [God] Who had given her the promise to be reliable and trustworthy and true to His word.

1. God will do His work in us even if we passed the expiration date

If God said it, God will do it! If God promised it He will give it! The condition however is that you need to get to a point in your life in whish we consider God to be reliable, trustworthy and true to his word.

Luke 18:27 (AMP)

But He said, What is impossible with men is possible with God.

What is financial impossible to man is possible to God.

What is physically impossible to man is possible to God.

What is naturally impossible to man is possible to God.

I am not talking today about wishful thinking or about selfish ambition but about promises that you received from God. There are things that you received in your spirit as a divine promise but after waiting for a long period of time you decided to burry them and you came to a point in life where you've given up to even pray for them.

Many Christians start their walk with God with a simple view of faith and we believe for healing miracles. We believe that God is working in all the little details of our life but with time we start to disbelieve that all that he promises is reliable trustworthy and true.

2. All of God's promises are yes and amen

2 Corinthians 1:20 - New Living Translation (NLT) For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory.

All of God's promises are YES and AMEN. If it's in the Bible we should believe it's true. If you need a miracle and have been waiting in God for the fulfillment of his promises you need to trust him and his Word.

3. The Story of Sara – The laugh of disbelief

Genesis 18:9-13 (ESV)

9They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." 10The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.

11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?'

Sometimes the pastor speaks a promise of God into your life or a confession of faith about your church and deep inside you have a laugh of disbelief. Yeah sure...like this is going to happen. It's the laugh of cynicism. Some people come to church and listen to the message of faith but they don't really think that the promise is about to happen and they laugh.

Notice that God asked Abraham "why did Sarah laugh?". I wonder how God feels every Sunday after service when Christians laugh of the promises and leave the Church in disbelief.

Genesis 18:13,14 (ESV)

13The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.

God asks Abraham "Is anything hard for the Lord?". He also said "at the appointed time I will return to you..." God has appointed times that to us seem to be passed the expiration date but his promises are yes and amen!

Sometimes God will wait for us to be passed the age so we will know that it was him and not us who has given the promise. The whom of our faith has to be strong enough to carry God's promise to life.

4. Trying to "help" God

Genesis 16

1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Sara said to Abram that God had retrained her from having children and told him to sleep with her maid and to have a child from her. You see, in the moment we loose our faith in God's promises we start saying, "God doesn't want this to happen".

I don't know what Sara was smoking since I don't know of any woman in her perfect health that would say to her husband to go and sleep with another woman. This shows how ridiculous we become when we loose our faith.

Some people will receive a promise from God and because it's not coming the way they wanted they move to another church or they stop serving the Lord since they've lost their trust in his promises.

We need to trust that God will do anything in His appointed time.

Ishmael was born out of this mistake and we are still paying for the consequences of this mistake.

5. The laugh of Victory

Genesis 21

1The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him

5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

6And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me."

Now we can see a different kind of laughter. Sarah said that "God has made laughter for me". By other words she is saying "God has made me into a laughing-stock and all that hear about will laugh at me". I don't think she is concerned with this but she is really having a moment of triumph and rejoices in the fact that she received the promise but this second laughter is a reminder of God's faithfulness.

The first laugh is the laugh of scarf and unbelief but the second is the laugh of faith. This is impossible but God has made it. She called her son Isaac whish means "son of laughter" and all our joys in the Lord are received in the same way.

We need to have this kind of joy that laughs because there is not a promise to hard for God to fulfill, there is no problem too big for God to solve, there is no disease to hard for God to heal, there is no heart too broken for God to mend, there is no need to big for God to fulfill, there is no enemy too hard for God to defeat, there is no mountain to big for him to move. There is nothing that God cannot do! What is impossible to man is possible to God.

Conclusion

If you want to pace yourself in a position where you can expect a miracle to happen you need to start by being at peace with God and you can only reach this through Jesus.

God wants to give you a brand new start and a hope for the future.

Like Sarah we can have our moments of doubt and right now you can be in between two laughs but the Bible says that she received supernatural power because she considered [God] Who had given her the promise to be reliable and trustworthy and true to His word.

It is time for us to trust in the Lord and even if we think his promises passed the expiration date it is always time to be at peace with God and wait for the second laugh.

1Peter 1:3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."

Our culture doesn't like to wait. I want to tell you that God is never late but he is always on time. Mockers will always say that God's promises are not coming but he who laughs last laughs best! We need to endure the test of faith and even if it seams that the promise is too late.

God's Expiry date – Part 1

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I found a bag of garlic hiding in the refrigerator the other day, but I couldn't recall how long they'd been there. And I couldn't find an expiration date. Now, I know garlic can last a long time but not forever!

We get used to thinking everything has an expiration or "best by" date, and we have been told that God's mercy never expires. Let me tell you that even though His love never ends His mercies expire every night and have to be acquired every new season (every day).

What Does God Say?

Lamentations 3:22-23 explains, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (ESV).

The secret to access never-ending mercies is to understand that there is a renewal process that has to happen. His mercies never come to an end but you have to seek them every morning.

When Israel was in the desert on the way to the promised Land they had to pick up fresh Mana every morning with the exception of the seventh day. If they tried to store the heavenly food it would be rotten on the next day. God did this to show them how to be dependent on Him but also to reveal the principle of the expiration date and the constant need for renewal.

Have you ever looked into an album of old pictures? The clothes, hair style, objects and even the quality of the picture show that something is out of season. There is an expiry date for almost everything.

Show youtube movie: Expiration Date

Comment the sentence "if you go to my parents house watch out what you eat because they don't believe in expiry dates..."

Today I would like to talk about a few expiry dates. As we understand this principle we will be able to understand how to take advantage of God's promises and drastically change our destiny. If we keep attached to the old we will miss the blessings that God has in store for each one of us.

1. Churches and Worship Style seasons have an expiry date

Consider the way people worshiped God in the Old Testament. Do we worship God today? Do we worship God using the same methods?

The answer is YES we still worship today but the method or liturgy how we approach God is very different. In fact we don't need to go as far as the Old Testament to see a difference. When I was a child my family was Roman Catholic and I still remember attending to mass in Latin. We all know that Latin is a dead language but the Church kept the tradition to an extreme point and the consequence was that only priests and scholars could understand what was being said.

When I started going to the Pentecostal Church liturgy changed and I was able now to understand what was going on and finally the Bible started to make sense. Since then in the last 25 years I've seen the changes happening in the World and how liturgy changed dramatically in growing Churches and how everything stayed the same in dying churches.

Statistics show an unprecedented growth in Bible based Churches all over the World. However there are thousands of Churches closing every year that have something in common, they passed the expiry date. The new generation of Christians will understand that some Churches have past expiry date and will look for something new.

Matthew 9:17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.

Talking to the Pharisees Jesus explained them that religious systems have an expiry date and that they should be open to be renewed in order to receive fresh revelation from the Lord.

2. Families have an expiry date

Many people like to explore Genealogy and understand who their ancestors where. History shows that some lineages are long lasting but eventually they will come to an end. Think about your family and your house. Those of you that have children and grandchildren know that one day a kid will go West or South. Some kids will get married and forget about their parents. Others will die or disappear some will divorce and build two families at the same time. I don't want to depress you but just make you understand that even families have an expiry date.

3. Your Life has an expiry date

Life as you know it will come to an end as one day you will get to the limit of your days here on Earth.

Job 13:27-28

27 You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a limit for the soles of my feet. 28 Man wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.

This is not a very nice image but we are being changed like a moth-eaten garment.

Job 14:1-5

1 Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. 2 He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not... 5 Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.

God has given us life limits that we cannot pass. There are also different seasons in our life. Like a flower that comes and withers...this talks about different stages of our existence.

4. Even Ministry has an expiry date

Some Churches that where in revival in the 70's filled the pews with Hymnbooks with classical Anthems from the beginning of the century. Guess what? We are in another season.

In the 80's Churches where blessed and Tele-Evangelists where really popular. Guess what? We are in another season. People don't watch Christian TV anymore.

Some Churches that where truly blessed in the 90's used dance, worship with flags and coloured ribbons as a way of expression. Guess what? We are in another season.

Last decade had new expressions of Prophetic insight and people where seeking for the Lord to light the fire again. Guess what? We are in another season.

You may have done a small group in your house for 10 years and now no one wants to go there. Don't blame anyone. Guess what? Mission accomplished that season is over, move on and seek the Lord about what to do next.

5 Understanding Seasons

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

When a season is over a new season is about to start. If we continue doing things out of season we will not see any good thing coming out of it. Winter season is coming and if I decide to use my summer wardrobe I will probably get the flu or worse. If I decide to plant roses in my backyard in November I will not see any results. If I like my wife's stew and decide to keep a portion in the fridge so I can eat it at Christmas I will have a surprise when I open the tupperware container.

Do you understand seasons?

Luke 21:29-33

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

29 And he told them a parable: Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

A Generation represents a season. Is your generation going to pass away?

How would you define your generation? What is the main thing that happened in the World during the season of your generation (war? scientific discovery? computers? etc...)?

As a Church we are called to reach our generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. People that are in positions of authority and that are still to reach the age of retirement define our present Generation. We cannot do Church in 2011 the same way we where doing in 1981.

Have you ever met a couple where they are both divorced and remarried and keep talking about their previous mate? This is a horrible experience for both of them. If your marriage didn't work and you have a second opportunity of building a family focus in this new season and stop talking about your previous wife. It's a new season and you need to forget about the past. A new season requires a new mentality and a new way of doing things.

Conclusion

Enjoy the "new wine" that God prepared for you. An understanding of history is great if you want to remember things and good memories should be well kept. However you cannot live in the past and hold to the things of the "good old times". Let me tell you that the best is yet to come and God has many other things in store for you if you just submit to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to transfer me you by the renewal of your mind.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Only God can renew our vision. If we don't allow renewal to happen in our lives we will pass the expiry date.

My question to you this morning is simple. Have you passed the expiry date in your spiritual life? If Christianity became boring and coming to Church is now a burden you have to question yourself and ask God to renew your life so that you can receive the "new wine" he wants to give you.

Also think about your Church and ask yourself about what can you do to ensure that we will be able to reach our generation with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Gifts

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The passage we are about to read can revolutionize your Spiritual life! We will talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word used in this passage is "charisma" wish can be translated as "gift" or "manifestation". The word just means "a gift from God's grace". These are supernatural manifestations of God that he manifests in the Church.

1 Corinthians 12:1–11

1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Introduction

The opening words of this chapter, 'Now about spiritual gifts, brothers', indicate that the abuse of spiritual gifts and misunderstanding about them was yet a further reason for Paul writing this letter to the Corinthians (see 7:1).

The whole of chapters 12, 13 and 14 are devoted to the question, indicating the extent of the problem and the importance of Paul's answer. Similar problems and abuses tend to reoccur in the life of God's people. Spiritual gifts are essential to the life of the church and the abuses must not be allowed to make us shy away from the benefits.

Today we are starting a series of messages about Spiritual Gifts. The letter to the Corinthians gives us knowledge about these gifts. As we start the series we will see that are three main aspects that are important to understand.

The different gifts Christians are given is the work of one and the same (Holy) Spirit (vv. 4–6)

1. ARE THESE GIFTS FOR US TODAY ?

It is important not to be ignorant about spiritual gifts (v. 1)

Paul writes about specific spiritual gifts in chapter 12. He speaks of the differences and diversities among the followers in Corinth, but with each phrase he hammers home the point: all the special, powerful gifts you Corinthians have been given came from the same Spirit, for the same purpose.

Is there any place in the Bible that tells us that God stopped being the same? Is there any Scripture that tell us that miracles stopped or that the experiences of the New Testament believers where just for Bible times? I don't thing so.

Let me give you some foundational Scriptures.

Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change;"

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

1 Corinthians 12:11 All these (Gifts) are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Of course the Gifts are for us today! Some people that are ignorant and uninformed can tell you that this was just for the early Church because they want to explain Spiritual things based on personal experiences but the things of God are not about our personal views. God is the same and He didn't change. If we talk about personal experience I can tell you that the gifts are real because I flow and operate in them on a daily basis.

2. WHAT ARE THESE GIFTS FOR?

1 Corinthians 12: 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

So we can see by the Scripture that God decided to give us these gifts for our own good. These are not given for the purpose of entertaining the folks or for show but God in his great love and mercy decided to empower the Church with the charismatic manifestations of the Spirit.

3. A DESCRIPTION OF THE GIFTS

THE MESSAGE (utterance) OF WISDOM (V. 8). 'The message of wisdom' and 'the message of knowledge' are similar. They both relate to special understanding of the revelation God gives his people in our Lord Jesus Christ, an understanding that can be conveyed to others as a contribution to 'the common good' (v. 7; cf. 1 Cor. 13:2). Some have a special gift of wisdom or insight and the ability to apply God's unchanging truth to changing situations.

THE MESSAGE OF KNOWLEDGE (V. 8). Some have a particular gift for appreciating truths other Christians may easily miss and they are able to instruct them and share this understanding.

FAITH (V. 9). All Christians possess faith and are to exercise it. But to some, and perhaps at especially significant times, the gift is given of exceptional faith to understand God's intentions and plans and to achieve them. This gift is manifested when a supernatural level of faith becomes necessary.

GIFTS OF HEALINGS (V. 9). 'Healing' is plural in the Greek, and may imply that healings for various kinds of illness and disease are in view.

MIRACULOUS POWERS (V. 10). Jesus promised miraculous powers and the early Church witnessed them (Mark 16:17f; Acts 5:1–11; 13:11).

PROPHECY (V. 10). The ability to deliver inspired words which conveyed God's special message to the hearers—the ability of the prophet—seems in the New Testament period to have been either an occasional or an established office (Acts 19:6; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:28 f). It was an especially important gift in the period before the New Testament letters and the four Gospels were readily available to the Church.

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN SPIRITS (V. 10). Some have the ability to discern whether or not, for example, a particular teaching is from God or not.

SPEAKING IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF TONGUES (v. 10). To speak in 'different kinds of tongues' is ecstatic speech, when people are transported out of themselves to speak in an unknown language.

INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES (V. 10). By the gift of 'interpretation of tongues' the gift of tongues is made intelligible.

4. Categories of Gifts

For the sake of studying these gifts we can divide them in 3 different categories.

GIFTS OF REVELATION

These gifts embrace the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, and the ability to distinguish between different spirits - all three involve special revelation knowledge straight from the Holy Spirit.

GIFTS OF POWER

The gifts of power include faith, gifts of healing, and miraculous powers - they are an expression through the Holy Spirit of the power and earthly ministry of Jesus.

GIFTS OF DIVINE COMMUNICATION

These three gifts include prophecy, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of those tongues - these are all divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit and are an expression of Christ's will and direction.

Conclusion

We cannot understand the things of God without the Holy Spirit in our lives. Many people spend time studying the gifts but never operate in them. As Christians we need to be open to receive all that God has for us.

1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

1 Corinthians 12:31 " . . . eagerly desire the greater gifts . . . ''

How many of you would like to see these gifts in operation in our Church?

The question is...do you desire these gifts? What are you doing to receive them?

Appendix:

Word of wisdom (Gk logos sofias);

Word of knowledge (Gk logos gnoseos);

Faith (Gk pistis);

Healing (Gk iamaton);

Miracle-working (Gk energmata dunameon);

Prophecy (Gk profeteia);

Distinguishing of spirits (Gk diakriseis pneumaton);

Tongues;

Interpretation (Gk hermeneia) of tongues.

DAILY PRAYER COVERING

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:29:25 +0000

NOTE: The example prayer listed below is exactly that! It is not intended to replace your own feelings. Confess how you feel to God and don't expect anyone to speak for you except the Holy Spirit who intercedes for you before the Father.Use this method of prayer on a daily basis to help you pray for your own deliverance and protection. (This Prayer is an example; please modify it spontaneously as you pray it)

1. Address the Father and cover yourself with the Blood of Jesus

• Dear Heavenly Father, I pray this prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit.

• I thank you now for Jesus' precious powerful blood, which has cleansing power, healing power and restoration power that cleanses, heals and restores my mind and my body. Your Word says (Hebrews 10:19) that I need "...boldness to enter into the holiest place by the Blood of Jesus". I take that precious and powerful blood, and by the Holy Spirit I pour it over my head and let it saturate my body from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.

• In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of His Cross and blood, I bind the spirits, powers and forces of the earth, the underground, the air, the water, the fire, the netherworld and the satanic forces of nature. I rebuke any curses, hexes, or spells sent against me and send back from where they came from in Jesus Name. Thank you for your protection over my spirit, my soul and my body.

2. Put on the Armor of God

• I am God's child. I resist the devil. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. I put on the whole armor of God. (Picture yourself putting on the armor of God described in Ephesians 6:11-18)

1. Lord I put on The Helmet of Salvation. I celebrate your salvation. I ask You to give me Your mind and thoughts.

2. I put on The Breastplate of Righteousness. God I confess my sin and I ask for your forgiveness. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am God's property.

3. I put on The Belt of Truth. Lord I ask you to show me the truth about myself. I ask for discernment to know where I am going and what to do.

4. I put on The Sandals of Peace. I invite the Holy Spirit to show me today anyone with whom I need to be reconciled. God, I pray for the ministry you have for me. Anoint me God for all you have called me to do for you. I call forth divine appointments, open doors of opportunity, God ordained encounters and ministry positions.

5. I put on The Shield of Faith. I envision myself with a mighty shield, capturing and extinguishing all doubts and temptations sent by the enemy. Satan you are bound from my family, my mind, my body, my home, and my finances. I extinguish every fiery dart of the enemy in Jesus Name.

6. I put on The Sword of the Spirit. I cut myself free from anything that restricts me from living in faith and health. I take authority over this day, in Jesus name. Let it be prosperous for me, let me walk in your love, Lord. The Holy Spirit leads and guides me today. I discern between the righteous and the wicked. I take authority over Satan and all his demons, and those people who are influenced by them. I declare Satan is under my feet and shall remain there all day. I declare that the Word of God is in my heart and in my mouth and I will confess it through out this day.

3. Silence the enemy and bind evil spirits and curses spoken against you

• I now bind all interplay, interaction, and communication of evil spirits. I claim the protection of the shed Blood of Jesus Christ over me.

• In the Name of Jesus Christ I bind, rebuke and bring to no effect: all division, discord, disunity, strife, anger, wrath, murder, criticism, condemnation, pride, envy, jealousy, gossip, slander, evil speaking, complaining, lying, false teaching, false gifts, false manifestations, lying signs and wonders, poverty, fear of lack, fear spirits, murmuring spirits, complaining spirits, hindering spirits, retaliatory spirits, deceiving spirits, religious spirits, occult spirits, witchcraft spirits (including Jezebel, Delilah, and Apollyon), and spirits of Antichrist.

• I bind all curses that have been spoken against me. I bless those who curse me, and pray blessings on those who despitefully use me. I bind all spoken judgments made against me and judgments I have made against others. I bind the power of negative words from others, and I bind and render useless all prayers not inspired by the Holy Spirit; whether psychic, soul force, witchcraft or counterfeit tongues that have been prayed against me.

• I confess that I am healed and whole. I flourish, am long lived, stable, durable, incorruptible, fruitful, virtuous, full of peace, patience and love. Whatsoever I set my hands to do shall prosper, for God supplies all my needs. I have all authority over Satan, all demons, and beasts of the field.

• I now proclaim in Jesus' name that His Blood, which has cleansing power, healing power and restoration power now cleanses, heals and restores my brain, my conscious mind, my subconscious mind, my head, my central nervous system, my heart and all my body. (Name areas of your body that you have symptoms of weakness or infirmity)

4. Claim a Hedge of Protection around your Spiritual and Natural Family

• I claim a hedge of protection around my spouse and children (name). I thank you for Salvation, healing and deliverance over their lives. I thank you for the Blood of Jesus that is around my Church, Pastors and leaders throughout this day and night. I ask you God, in the name of Jesus, to dispatch angels to surround spouse, my children and me today and to put them throughout my house and around our cars, souls and bodies.

• I ask you to send your angels to protect my house from any intrusion and to protect me and my family from any harmful demonic or other physical or mental attacks.

• I thank you now for my disciples (mention individually the names of your [12] disciples and people that you are mentoring in Christ).

• I pray for the protection of your blood over their lives, families, and properties.

I now give to you and dedicate myself to you, to be obedient to you and my heart totally worships you, loves you and adores you my dearest God.

I ask this prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. (Finish with Praise and Worship, and speaking in tongues

Eight Highway Signs that lead to Hell

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

You are in a journey with Jesus Christ but there's always some choices we can make. There is a gate at the end of this journey. Jesus said that the road is not easy to follow and we will be tempted to take other roads.

Matthew 7:13 (NLT) You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Today's message is intended to give you directions to the gate of life and a warning about the wrong roads you may be tempted to follow.

Revelation 21

6 And he said to me , "It is done ! I am the Alpha and the Omega , the beginning and the end . To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment .

7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son .

8 But as for the cowardly , the faithless , the detestable , as for murderers , the sexually immoral , sorcerers , idolaters , and all liars , their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur , which is the second death ."

This passage of scripture from the book of Revelation gives us the goods news first and then the bad news. The good news is that God is a spring to the thirsty and that there is a tremendous heritage. The second part of the verse is not very pleasant however it is written for our own good. There is a growing number of Christians that say that hell doesn't exist and that God will not punish anyone because he is a loving God. I like to listen to everyones opinions but long time ago when I was born again I decided to put aside my ideas and the things I've learned from the world around me and asked God to teach me to walk in His ways. Let me tell you that the Bible is the Supreme authority concerning everything that pertains to life, eternity and is the Spiritual truth that can set us free.

The reason people don't want the preacher to preach about hell is because it makes them think of death. We don't like to think about cancer, but it is real. We don't like to think about heart disease, but it is a reality. We don't like to think of death but it happens. So Jesus has provided a way that we can live an eternity in heaven after this life. But unfortunately, there are eight people in Sandy Ridge who ignore and reject the way Jesus has provided. Let's take a look at those eight people.

First let me tell you that this passage is addressed to people that have an aspiration to go to heaven but because of personal issues will not make it. This is not an advice to unbelievers but rather a strong warning to us Christians and Church going people.

1. THE COWARDLY

Cowards head the list of the eight people who will not make it to heaven. These are the people who don't have the courage to stand for Jesus in their workplace, their school, their family, etc. They are fearful that others may call them a fanatic, a Bible thumper and a Christian. But you listen; Jesus suffered the name calling for you and me and never had a second thought. He loved you and gave His life for you. What are you willing to give for the Lord? Will you cowardly hide your faith because you are afraid of loosing some friends?

2. THE FAITHLESS

Now I am not only talking about those who do not believe the Bible but also those who have never committed their life to Jesus. A faithless person is one that doesn't make use of their faith and eventually they loose it. Faith is the substance of things we hope for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

A faithless person is always negative and constantly questioning and doubting things and other people. Do you have faith? Show me your faith by your works!

3. THE DETESTABLE

Now what does that word mean? Those who live only for the lust of the flesh and their own selfish desires. The greek word here means "those that stink". Do you know any "stinky people"? It's a category of people that like to make life miserable for themselves and for others around them.

4. THE MURDERERS

You might say that leaves me out because I have never killed anyone. But you know Jesus said if you hate a man in your heart, then you have committed murder in your heart. Jesus was talking about inward murder, that you hate someone enough that you would like to see them dead. God is love and he wants us to be forgiving. When Jesus was being killed at the Cross he said "Father forgive them for they don't know what they are doing!" Do you know if the soldiers that killed Christ are in hell? I personally believe that some if not all where saved just because of that simple prayer... There is hope for the murderer but if you say you love your brother and you show attitudes of hate you fall into this category.

5. THE SEXUALLY IMMORAL

Who are these people? This refers to those who are unfaithful to their marriage vows. The Bible says if a person looks upon another with lust in their heart, then inwardly he or she has already committed adultery in their heart. Adultery, sex before marriage, affairs, homosexuality, pornography, child molestation, incest, rape. All of the above are pointed as sexual immorality. The World might say that it's OK to do it, Hollywood does it and promotes it, TV shows it hundreds of times every day. Laws say that gay marriage is acceptable. This is the pattern of the World we live in but God has a different pattern wish is high and above what man and society dictated. The choice is yours. Heaven is a place where you go by God's invitation and he dictates the "dress code". If you don't comply you will not make it.

6. THE SORCERERS

The word of God says all sorcerers have their part in the Lake of fire. The sorcerers are not only those who deal in demon worship. Sorcery or witchcraft is a spiritual action that has the intention to CONTROL the life of others around you. There is something done even in some Churches that I call charismatic witchcraft. When a Church leader tries to control others by fear, by distortions of the Bible and religious rules it falls into the category of a sorcerer. Also people that follow New Age and Oriental philosophies that deny Jesus Christ.

7. THE IDOLATERS

The idolater is one that bows down to the things of the world. The greatest idol is themselves. Idolaters want to do their own thing. They love the things of the world. They are earth dwellers. They have planted their feet here on the Earth and they will go down with it. You can make an idol out of anything. An idol is anything that keeps you from Jesus and what he wants you to do. The most well known form of idolatry is the religious idolatry that is manifested when a person bows down to an image of a god but Biblical idolatry refers to those things that you worship, instead of God. If your children are more important than God this is a form of idolatry.

8. THE LIARS

There are many forms of lying. Let us divide it in two categories, first lies you tell to others, second lies that you tell to yourself. What is the truth? The truth is not a human concept but it's a Divine Revelation. Jesus said, "and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." How can you know the truth? Only by Divine revelation. A liar is a person that deceives others and himself. You can choose between truth or lie. Jesus said that the Devil is the father of all lies and that a sign of devilish fatherhood consists in rejecting the truth of the gospel.

I WOULD LIKE TO FINISH WITH SOME GOOD NEWS

First I want you to "realize that everything you say is being recorded."

Matthew 12:36-37

36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Matthew 10:26

26 So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

I don't mean that Big Brother is watching. I mean that God in heaven misses nothing. And Jesus tells us here that we are accountable for every word that we say.

If you've been in a room and had someone pull out a cassette recorder or a video recorder, you know that you act differently when you know that you're being recorded. Any lawyer can tell you that people answer questions differently when they know the stenographer is recording every word they say for the court record. We need to realize that we are also being "recorded" as God watches over us and notices our words.

We will not be judged by men but we will be surely judged by God. Many people hide their real self from others but there is a record of what you say and do and one day you will be accountable to God.

Luke 18:10-13

10 " Two men went up into the temple to pray , one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector . 11 The Pharisee , standing by himself , prayed thus : ' God , I thank you that I am not like other men , extortioners , unjust , adulterers , or even like this tax collector . 12 I fast twice a week ; I give tithes of all that I get .' 13 But the tax collector , standing far off , would not even lift up his eyes to heaven , but beat his breast , saying , ' God , be merciful to me , a sinner !' 14 I tell you , this man went down to his house justified , rather than the other . For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled , but the one who humbles himself will be exalted

Notice that the Pharisee was able to see the eight sins in the lives of those around him but his spiritual arrogance wouldn't allow him to do a simple prayer of repentance.

So what shall we do? We need to humble ourselves before the Lord and do the simple prayer of that tax collector, ' God , be merciful to me , a sinner !'

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Let us finish by doing this prayer!

Drawing in the Sand

tony@gppc.ca (Pastor Tony) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If you draw a line in the sand, you establish a limit beyond which things will be unacceptable. The idea is that you establish a line that shouldn't be crossed or there will be severe consequences. It is easy to cross that line since there is not a physical barrier that would keep you from crossing the line.

When we say that someone crosses the line is because they have start behaving in a way that is not acceptable. If someone tells a vulgar joke in a place or occasion that is not appropriate you may say that that person crossed the line. Crossing the line is to change from being acceptable to being unacceptable.

1. Crossing the Line in our social Relationships

2. Crossing the Line with God

3. Writing in Sand

4. Learning how to draw the line

1. Crossing the Line in our relationships

We all have boundaries in our relationships. I usually avoid hugging women. I don't have a problem hugging my wife but I don't like to engage with physical contact that may place me or another person in a situation that "crosses the line". This is my personal boundary and I'm not telling you to do the same, thats up to you. However my advice is that you be careful in your relationships and if you feel that someone "crossed the line" you may have to tell them.

Respect can only be maintained if you define boundaries in your relationships. Let me give you a simple example. When my kids learned how to speak they realized that my name is Tony and my wife's name is Sara. Eventually they all did the same thing and tried to call me and Mom by our names. Is this wrong? Not really but in order to keep respect and and the right order of things we had to teach our children that we are not Tony and Sara but we are Mom and Dad. Respect is maintained by understanding social boundaries.

In all realms of life we learn how to interact with others. Our teachers should be respected, a police officer, a judge, a president, etc. We learn how to address others without crossing the line. In Church we have to learn how to do the same. If I call my doctor I don't say "Hey, Nathalie what's up?" but I would say something like. "Good morning Doctor Nathalie, how are you doing today?". Otherwise I might be crossing the line. If our Prime Minister comes to our Church I will not address him by his first name because I want to show him respect. I respect his office, position and authority. If I gain trust and get to know him, eventually he could say, "Skip the title and just call me Stephen". I then know that in moments that I am alone with him I can skip the formalities.

If social lines are crossed society can come apart. One of the reasons of the failure of public education is because the liberal way of thinking gives no importance to draw the line between students and teachers. One of the reasons why some Churches fail is because there is no line between members of the congregation and those that are called for full time ministry. If you start to compare yourself with your pastor you just crossed a line not because you cannot compare yourself with somebody else as an individual but there is a social line that if broken can place you on the wrong side of things.

In Mark 6:4-5 Jesus affirmed that a prophet is without honor in his home town, and in view of that reality, He could not perform any miracles in Nazareth except for healing a few sick people. The people of Nazareth were apparently plagued by unbelief and paid little attention to the claims of Jesus. Because of Nazareth's rejection of the person and message of Jesus Christ, He went on to other cities that did respond to and receive Him. We have no evidence that Jesus ever again returned to Nazareth. Yet he was nicknamed as "Jesus of Nazareth". Most people of Nazareth had no respect for Jesus because they where on the wrong side of the line. A few people in Nazareth received miracles through the ministry of Jesus because they where able to separate things and honored him as a prophet and not as baby Jesus.

Christmas is a meaningless celebration for most people because Jesus means nothing to them. You can celebrate Christmas without Christ as you can come to Church and receive nothing from God because a line is being crossed. My role as a pastor is to tell you how to keep yourself on the right side of this social (and spiritual) line.

2. Crossing the Line with God

Adam was given a mind like no one can imagine. He named every beast, bird, fish, tree, and plant. He even named all the insects. God had total faith and trust in Adam's decisions. We discover after sin entered into the Garden, Adam even named his wife Eve. God only gave Adam one restriction that he was not to do:

Genesis 2:16-17

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Adam crossed the line with God and lost it all.

Another man that crossed the line was King Saul. He was not a priest, and therefore was not to offer sacrifices before the Lord. But he began to get high and lifted up in self. He began to believe anything he did was acceptable before God. How like many big Christians today. Because the people lift them up, they believe they are acceptable in God's sight.

1 Samuel 13:10-14

10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord. ' So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." 13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."

When Samuel came, he asked Saul what he had done. Saul began to make excuses. First, it was Samuel's fault because he had not come within the appointed time. Then it was the people's fault because some had left Saul. Then it was the Philistines fault because they had amassed themselves to regain what Jonathan had taken from them. The sure sign of weakness is when a leader will not take responsibility for his actions, and the actions of his people.

Saul crossed the line and lost his Kingdom

God doesn't accept that we cross the lines that he establishes. I could be here all day showing you Biblical examples of people that lost Kingdoms, Wealth, and even their own life because of ignoring the simple principle that are lines that cannot be crossed. Yes we have a forgiving God but let us be very careful of what we do and say so we don't waste our God given opportunities. Many times we don't understand that we crossed the line and if we start giving excuses and do not repent we have everything to loose.

3. Writing in the Sand

When I was dating my wife we used to go for a walk on the beach and one of the things I enjoyed doing was writing a short love letter in the sand. Only her could read it since the ocean waves would quickly wash away the sentences. Why would you write in sand? Because you are doing a temporary visual statement. There is no hopes of keeping the writing in sand but on the memory of those who read it.

There is a Bible story of the 'woman caught in the act of adultery' (John 8). The story takes place in one of the sandy floored courts adjoining the main Temple. I presume that the flooring was sand, as the Lord Jesus stooped down to write in it, and what He wrote could clearly be read by those who stood around. According to Jewish law, it was unlawful to write even two letters on the sabbath day, but it was acceptable to write in dust! (shabbat 7:2, 12:5)

There's been lots of speculation as to what the Lord Jesus wrote in the sand that day. Some suggest that it was a list of sins, others suggest that it was a list of the names of those stood around. I often wonder if it was a Scripture from the Old Testament.

I really love 1 Samuel 2:8 where it says that "He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor."

For whatever reason, the Bible does not record what was actually written. In Genesis 2:7 says "then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." Jesus kept writing on the sand of the Temple court. We often forget that we are dust and to dust we will return. Jesus formed us and he is able to write a new chapter in our lives.

Some people like to doodle abstract things when they try to absorb an idea or a conversation. I used to do this all the time when I was in School and some teachers thought I was distracted doing something else. Doodling can be very important. I don't think that Jesus was drawing an abstract motive or a happy face. maybe there is no record of what he wrote because he might have just drawn a line in the sand. Who knows? One thing I can assure you is that he didn't judge that woman. God doesn't condemn you or me and he is merciful and loving. He might have condemn those religious people that brought the woman, I really don't know but he was willing to release that woman from shame and judgement. (The important thing on this passage is probably not what Jesus wrote but the fact that he used his finger. God's finger was the instrument that engraved the law in the tablets given to Moses.)

4. Draw your line in the sand

If you have crossed a line with God or others you can always repent and decide to start a new chapter of your life!

Illustration

Pastor Mark Batterson wrote a book called "The Circle Maker". He tells the following.

The Book of Legends, is a collection of stories from the Jewish Talmud, when I discovered the true legend of Honi the Circle Maker. It forever changed the way I pray. I pray more. I pray with more faith. I've learned how to pray circles around my dreams, my problems, my family, and most importantly, the promises of God.

A devastating drought threatened to destroy a generation--the generation before Jesus. The last of the Jewish prophets had died off nearly four centuries before. Miracles were a distant memory. And God was nowhere to be heard. But there was one man, an old sage who lived outside the walls of Jerusalem, who dared to pray anyway. His name was Honi. And even if the people could no longer hear God, he believed that God could still hear them.

With a six-foot staff in his hand, Honi drew a circle in the sand. Then he dropped to his knees and raised his hands to heaven. With the authority of the prophet Elijah who called down fire from heaven, Honi called down rain.

Lord of the Universe, I swear before your great name that I will not move from this circle until you have shown mercy upon your children. Then it happened. As his prayer ascended to the heavens, raindrops descended to the earth. The people rejoiced over the rain, but Honi wasn't satisfied with a sprinkle. Still kneeling within the circle, Honi lifted his voice over the sounds of celebration.

Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain that will fill cisterns, pits, and caverns.

The sprinkle turned into such a torrential downpour that the people fled to the Temple Mount to escape the flash floods. Honi stayed and prayed inside his protracted circle.

Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain of benevolence, benediction, and grace.

Then, like a well-proportioned sun shower on a summer afternoon, it began to rain in perfect moderation. Some within the Sanhedrin threatened excommunication because his prayer was too bold for their taste, but the miracle couldn't be repudiated. Eventually, Honi the Circle Maker was honored for "the prayer that saved a generation." The circle he drew in the sand symbolizes the power of a single prayer to change the course of history. It's also a reminder of this timeless truth: God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God.

We need to learn how to pray like Honi and draw our own lines in the sand. The lines that we should not cross and the lines that help us to pray boldly. We need to tell God, "I will not leave this place until you bless me!"

Scriptures for cross Reference:

John 8:3-11

3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, " Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, " Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, " Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."]]

Jeremiah 17:13 (TEV)

LORD, you are Israel's hope; all who abandon you will be put to shame. They will disappear like names written in the dust, because they have abandoned you, the LORD, the spring of fresh water.

Exodus 32:15-16

15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.