Don’t let things get in the way.

Do you take full advantage of being here? You do only if you are in a full and free and loving relationship with the Heavenly Father. While you are here on Earth you are meant to live in an intimate relationship with God. Without that relationship you have a huge hole in your life. "God has made you for Himself, and your heart will always be restless until you can find peace in Him."1 Your deepest purpose and Your deepest needs all go together, only find their fulfillment in a personal relationship with God.
Finding your peace in God by having a personal relationship with him may sound easy but it is not. Why? Because you let things get in your way. It’s about returning to the relationship with God that he has always intended for you to have. Only in that relationship can you have the real life; only in that relationship can you live fully.

So when you heard the words, "If you thirst, come to the waters," what has gotten in the way? What has stopped you from accepting this gracious invitation? If you were dying of thirst and water was made available, nothing would stop you from taking it, would it? But some have been stopped. The same things that stopped others can stop you.

You have important duties on earth, but you must never allow them to preoccupy you in such a way that you forget who you are or where you are going.

Don’t let things get in the way. Material things are not necessarily bad things; indeed, many of them are absolutely necessary - see how long you'll make it without food, water, shelter, clothing, and medical care. But if you are always looking down and never looking up you'll miss the best things, the things that God really intends for you. It can happen to anybody.

But it doesn't have to happen to anybody because this invitation to life is for everybody.

That's good news but even such good news can be a stumbling block for some. That's because the Flesh sometimes wants to limit the guest list to those who are like you or to those who you think deserve to be invited. Don’t forget that God made and loves all people whether they are like you or not and that if the invitation was limited to the deserving you wouldn't be invited, either. But to live the real life, to live life in God's presence, is to live with God's blessings and with God's people.

"The most precious gift of all, the gift of life in God's presence, is free. All that can exclude you is your insisting that there are place you would rather be. Why would you ever decide that? Because you want to determine the menu, you want to be in control of the company you keep."Your menu is limiting your stuff, your way, your viewpoints, your opinions, your standards. Your company is so limiting: your kind, your race, your religion, your class. But God's menu is limitless: real life, eternal life, abundant life; life lived in the kingdom as a child of God, life filled with his love and his grace and his wisdom. God's company is so limitless.

You have to learn to see life God's way and that requires repentance. You have to be moving toward seeing things in God's way, and that's a challenge. "For your thoughts are not His thoughts, nor are your ways His ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways higher than your ways and His thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). God's ways of thinking and doing are well beyond yours, but he calls you to be ever moving more and more toward them.

The truth is that by living in relationship with Him, by accepting the real life that he gives for free, and by entering into the Spirit, you’ll find your true way of being.

Learn to close your eyes to those things and to those attitudes that blind you? Helen Keller said, "I can see, and that is why I can be so happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a man-made world."

Choose life as you choose to see the God-made world rather than the world that you have made. Jesus died and rose again so that you might see that world and so that you might live in that world.

See and live life in God's way? You can. You really can.

Once you were saved then it’s only about bringing others to Jesus!

Somewhere between the boat and Jesus, Peter started paying attention to the waves and the wind instead of keeping his focus on Jesus. As soon as he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink into the water. You fit into this story at some point. Are you in the boat? Even though things may be a little rocky, you’re trying your best to maintain control of your life in the best way that you know how. Or have you made it across the sea and are walking on the top of the water in the middle of the storm because you have your eyes on Jesus, and you are holding His hand. Or maybe you have stepped out of the boat and are headed to Jesus. You’ve turned over control of your life to Him halfway. You’ll let Him handle eternity, but you’ll take care of life while you’re here. Maybe your caught somewhere in between self-control and Jesus-control that’s a pretty dangerous place to be. (James 1:8) says: a double-minded man is unstable in all he does. If you haven’t yielded control of your life – your struggles, your future, your past, and your fears, then you cannot have complete peace.

When you forget why you are here and turn your focus away from the job that you have been given, it is then that you start to struggle with one another over things that have no eternal significance whatsoever. You are here to bring people to Jesus! All this other stuff is just stuff. Never forget what your priority is. If you’ve got to get angry at someone, get angry at Satan. He’s the one that you are fighting!

Or maybe you’re holding onto anger and bitterness and hurt against someone in your life? You may have to dig a little bit to really get a good picture of your heart. Roots of bitterness, though not seen from above, reach way down into the heart and are very difficult to pull up. You will never have peace in your heart until the poison of anger and bitterness is removed, and is replaced with forgiveness and love.

When you have peace within your own heart, then you will have peace with the people around you. When you are rebelling against God over something that He is telling you to do, or when you have not spent the time with God that you needed to in order to bring peace in your own heart, it is then that you lash out at the people you love and create conflict over seemingly insignificant situations. (James 4:1-2) What causes fights and quarrels among you? They come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. Fights on the outside come from fights on the inside. If there is no peace within, then there will be no peace without.

Scripture talks about where to get that inner peace. Peace comes through a mind that doesn’t fear.

Most think that you get peace – by taking and maintaining control of every area of your life. You think that if you don’t take control of your life, someone is going to step all over you. They’ll interpret your kindness as a sign of weakness. Scripture says that it is by gentleness – not bulling your way through, not fighting for your own rights but turning over control to the One that’s in Control – that’s when you’ll have real peace.

To do the “impossible”

In life you will face challenges – sometimes they come to you, such as the loss of a job or an unexpected diagnosis, or a relationship crisis that catches you by surprise. But sometimes, the impossible situations are things you, as a believer in the almighty God, step into deliberately out of faith in His power to bring about change. God wants to use you to bring change into this world. His plan is to see the status quo changed for the better all over the world through you as a believer if you will dare to trust that God can do the impossible through you.

If you learn a few lessons from the life of a man named Nehemiah, God will begin to give you that same faith to believe that YOU can be an instrument of change in some sort of “impossible situation”. It’s a story about how God can do impossible things through you. Nehemiah 1:1-2:18

When God wants you to do something great for him – even to attempt something impossible, the first thing you need to do is…

(1). Start where God has given you a concern.
Nehemiah has a cushy job in Susa, serving the King. But his heart is concerned with matters greater than just his own life and happiness. He has a burden for the welfare of his homeland. He’s concerned about what’s going on there – even though he’s never been there himself. And when he receives the bad news from his brother he doesn’t just say “Oh well, I sure hope they get it together soon.” No – God has given him a passion – a great concern that burns in his heart. His heart is broken when he hears about the broken down walls of what was once a great and powerful city.

What is it that moves your heart to compassion and concern? What stirs you to action? Recognize that God has given you that passion for a reason. Perhaps he wants you to do something about it! START WHERE GOD HAS GIVEN YOU A CONCERN.

The next step after God gives you a concern for something that needs changing. It may be the hardest one of all. (2). Spend time praying and fasting and waiting.

There’s an important principle here. BEFORE you go out to accomplish anything for God, you need to spend time on your knees clarifying exactly what it is God is calling you to do. BEFORE you go out to change the world, to do impossible things in His name, you’ve got to take the time to pray – to fast – and to wait. What is fasting? In the Bible it is going without food for some period of time. By doing so you focus your mind on prayer, and you serve God notice that you are serious about what you are praying for. You show God that the spiritual work you are involved in is more important for the time being than your physical needs. And it is one of the keys to spiritual breakthroughs.

(3). When God opens the door, be bold! (Neh. 2:1-9) Nehemiah has spent 4 months praying and fasting and waiting for God to make it clearer what he is supposed to do. And then finally, the king notices a difference in his cupbearer’s demeanor and asks about it. Did you notice Nehemiah’s response: he was afraid! But the important thing is he doesn’t allow his fear to paralyze him. He realizes that here is an opportunity to end his period of waiting and begin acting upon the concern God has given him for Jerusalem. And so he asks – BOLDLY.

If you are ever going to do the “impossible” for God, there is going to come a time when you’re praying and waiting will need to turn to action. God will provide on opportunity somehow, and then even though you may feel afraid you need to have the courage to swallow hard and move through that fear into asking for what you need.

(4). Keep your vision guarded until the time is right.
There are some people, who will hear about the big, impossible task you feel God has called you to do, and all they will do is try and trample your dream. They will remind you of all the reasons you can’t do it, or why it’s a bad idea to begin with, or of all the people who’ve tried before and failed, and that you’re unqualified.

If God gives you a burden for something – hold that concern closely and give God time to strengthen and clarify your vision through prayer, fasting, and waiting. Then when God opens a door – be bold and act upon your concerns. But even then – carefully guard who and when you share your vision.

There are plenty of “impossible” situations out there in your life that you could say are beyond the powers of a person like you to change. But God’s word reminds you today that He uses people like you to partner with His unlimited power and resources to bring change. In the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Hears what you need to ask yourself.
• What has God given you a concern about? Are you willing to move beyond?
• Are you willing to fast and pray for direction? Are you willing to wait for direction, while constantly praying and seeking His direction?
• Will you move beyond your fear to boldly act when God opens the door?

If God has given you a burden about something, follow Nehemiah’s example – and see what God will accomplish through you.

Make the most of every opportunity

Most people are very busy – whether in school or at the workplace always in a hurry. They walk fast, they talk fast, and they eat fast. And after they eat, all too often, they stand up and say, "Excuse me. I’ve got to go."

You want to remind yourself: TREASURE YOUR TIME BECAUSE YOUR TIME ON THIS EARTH IS LIMITED. Make the most of every opportunity, because you won’t always have them.

Ps 39:4-5
4 "Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how brief my life is. 5 You have made my days a mere mist; the span of my years are nothing before you. Each human’s life is but a breath.

Ps 90:10
The length of your days is seventy years - or eighty, if you have the strength; But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and you fly away. 70 or 80 years sounds like a long, long time. But it’s just a matter of perception; you just feel that you’ve got a long way to go when you’re young.

Your time on earth is limited.
• So if you live to be 75 yrs old, if your 40 you have 35 years left to live. You’ve already crossed your halfway line. But wait a minute. You don’t really have 35 years. You don’t really have 75 years. • That’s just based on the average lifespan. It’s just a statistic. • You don’t have a guarantee of even one day more to live.

In fact the Bible tells you not to count on tomorrow because tomorrow may not come. All you have is right now. So your time on this earth is valuable because it is very limited.

MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY
Scripture tells you that you must make "the most of every opportunity" and the reason, "because the days are evil."

Jesus went to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus - He sat down to teach, and Mary was sitting at His feet listening and learning from Him. Martha was in the kitchen preparing dinner. • You know the story - Martha was upset that Mary wasn’t there to help her. She complained, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10:40). • "Martha, Martha," Jesus answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:41-42).

Its easy for You to get so caught up in the here and now, in the affairs of everyday living, that you fail to consider that which is eternal, that which is valuable, the things that will last forever.

UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LORD’S WILL IS. Scripture tells you, "...do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is."

So, establish your priorities. You can’t do everything in life. So ask yourself, "Who or what is most important?" To make the most of every opportunity means you treasure the moments you have NOW.
• The two greatest enemies of time are (1) regrets for things you did or did not do in the past, and (2) anxiety about what will happen to you in the future.
• Many are living either in the past or in the future.

In fact, many are engaged in the little game of, "I wish it were..." • "How I wish it were last week,” “I wish I had called earlier," or "I wish it did not happen.”

"Life is what happens to you while you’re making plans to do something else."
Another year has come and gone. A new year stretches before you.

Ask the Lord to help you to redeem the most for your time.
(1) Treasure your time, (2) Make the most of every opportunity, and (3) know what the Lord’s will is!

Pray: Lord, please help me to use the 8,760 hours of this year the wisest way I can for you Lord and for your glory. Establish your priorities and learn how to live TODAY.

Is comfort far more than your character.

How are you doing with your knowledge? Have you been working harder and harder to understand God, understanding the truth about God, understanding the Word of God? How are you doing with your studying the Word of God? Life is so busy and scattered and the fast pace of living makes it so hard to do. You’ve made a lot of effort towards the fast pace of living, but how much effort have you made towards knowing God better? How much effort have you made toward knowing the Word of God better? Maybe you are living that godly life. Are you adding to it knowledge? Start making effort towards that. And it’s more than just facts. This knowledge has to do with thinking about those facts, many know a lot about the Scriptures, and then you look at their lives, and it’s obvious that they haven’t internalized those things. It has to do with the wisdom of internalizing. It’s about growing in Gods knowledge and wisdom that actually directs you in life.

Then add to your knowledge self-control. Self-control has to do with mastering your sensual desires. And sometimes when you think about self-control, it’s easy to just talk about the extremes, but you have to understand the word. It’s about things in natural life and being moderate about those desires. All have natural desires, and those aren’t all bad. It’s about being able to control them and being moderate in them. All desires like eating. Ok, that’s normal. That’s the way God made you. It’s ok, but do you show self-control even in that? With sexual desires, it’s normal. It’s God given, but are you moderate in that? Are you in control of those urges, those desires? You need clothes to stay warm, but how many clothes do you need? It’s self-control, there’s a weakness you can get. Many would say they’ve got way too much, but what are you going to do this week? Go buy more. Why? You desire all these things and you see the Flesh wants you to go to the extreme. Can you say I’m not doing this- and then make every effort towards self-control. This is one of the parts many mess up in their life is you get to this point that you start comparing yourself to other people with your type of character. And you start thinking, ‘Well, I’m a lot better than them.’ But it’s the idea of where you almost feel like you’re good enough in this area. Many do have self-control in many of these areas. Are you making efforts? Are you making strides? Are you diligent towards this? Because you can be diligent toward a lot of things and then neglect your character.

And then you’re to add to your self-control this idea of steadfastness. Steadfastness is a word for patience. Steadfastness is the word for when you have a weight on you, and you just keep holding up under that weight. He says you need to have this to endure. When you’re going to hold on longer But this idea of steadfastness, you don’t become steadfast. You don’t persevere unless there’s some weight on you, and there’s some pressure on you. And you’re going to feel like quitting. It’s going to get more and more difficult, and you’ll feel like quitting, and you’ll want to collapse. And so most, pray and say, ‘God, get rid of that weight,’ When’s the last time? Have you ever? Think about this. Have you ever in your life asked God to make your life a little more difficult so that you could develop steadfastness? Have you ever in your life thought to yourself, ‘You know what, I’m kind of weak? Every little trial comes my way, and I fall apart,’ and you say, ‘God, I want to work on that because I want to become this person who is steadfast. So keep it coming.’ You see, you care more about your comfort far more than you care about your character.

It’s the truth that changes you

You exaggerate out problems when you’re heading for a burnout. You overemphasize what’s wrong in your life and you ignore God’s blessing in your life. Focusing on the negative rather than the positive you see the cup as half empty not as half full. If you are always focusing on the negative in your life, if that’s all you ever look at, if you’re always putting yourself down and you’re always seeing everything negative, you’re setting yourself up for burnout. When you start Thinking "God, I’m the only person in the whole world who lives for you and loves you. Positive things or negative things can wear you out emotionally.

You can get yourself drained emotionally, spiritually, and physically where you can’t even focus on reality. In that state of mind you won’t get the picture right. You get so worn out that you can’t think straight? You can’t see what really is happening and you think the whole world is caving in on you -- the Chicken Little complex. "The sky is falling!" When you are drained and fatigued, you won’t seem to see reality as it really is.

Another cause of burnout is emotional reasoning. Emotional reasoning is when you listen to your feelings rather than the facts. You focus on how you feel rather than on what’s reality, what’s the truth. Emotion reasoning goes like this: "I feel it, therefore it must be true." Have you learned yet that emotions lie? Feelings lie. Just because you feel something doesn’t mean it’s the truth. Ask any professional athlete or performer or musician, he can tell you they feel very discouraged after a great performance. They are so drained emotionally, the adrenalin, the fatigue they’re thinking, "I didn’t do too good" but that’s not reality. In fact, they probably did a pretty good job. They may have done a great job. But in that state you start listening to your feelings. You have to learn as a mature person to ignore your feelings sometimes. Feelings can be wrong. Feelings are highly unreliable.

The truth is some who come to church say, "I don’t feel God’s very close to me. I don’t feel close to God, I don’t feel God’s close to me." You’re wrong. God is just as close to you as on those spiritual highs you felt in the past. God doesn’t move. The Bible says, if you’re a Christian, Christ is in your heart, He’s inside of you, He lives within you, and He puts His Spirit inside of you. He never leaves you. The only thing that changes is your feelings. You can sing a song and feel close to God. Then on Monday morning, you wonder, "Where’s God?" He’s the same place He was when you sang that song. He’s with you. He hasn’t backed off. He hasn’t moved. You can’t listen to your feelings.

You live in a society that emphasizes feelings, almost above everything else. Psychologists tell you, "You need to get in touch with your feelings." That’s true. You do. Any area that you’re not in touch with your feelings in is an area you can’t grow in. Any area where you don’t understand your feelings or you’re hiding your feelings is an area of denial and a non growth area; it’s out of control in your life. You do need to get in touch with your feelings.

But that’s not enough. There’s something more important than getting in touch with your feelings. It’s getting in touch with the truth. It’s the truth that changes you, not your feelings. It’s the truth that gives you a solid, successful, significant life, not feelings. Jesus did not say, "When you know your feelings, your feelings will set you free." He said, "When you know the truth, the truth will set you free." The truth will set you free. It’s the key to liberation in your life from any hang up, hurt, or habits. The truth will set you free. But first, it will probably make you miserable.

You never know the things that He has in store for you.

Acts 16:16-16:26  Paul and Silas, departed into the region of Macedonia. Paul had wanted to go into other regions but God had led him in a different track.

 When you walk in the Spirit and let God do the leading, you never know the things that He has in store for you.

God requires a walk by faith. None know what the next step will be. Even Pastors who everyone looks to for inspiration, guidance and direction, are led by the Spirit one step at a time. It’s great to want to build, grow and minister in just about any fashion but you must give place for God to give you the direction. All of your plans will come to nothing if you do not allow God to direct you.

No sooner did their ministry begin to bear fruit when the Devil began to harass them and divert them from their true ministry.

Beware when the world begins to praise your efforts. Beware when the Devil starts to preach the same message that you are preaching. Beware when things are going too smoothly. First, realize that your enemy is not the messenger of flesh and blood – but the Spirit of deception.

The message of those sent by Satan to praise you or to draw attention to you is not designed to bring converts to your God given assignment. Those praises are meant to build pride in your heart and to deter you from your true ministry that gives God the glory for all that is done.

Paul and Silas tolerated the spirit of divination for a little while at least. It feels good when people praise you. It feels good when people say how good you’re doing, how good you teach or how good you sing. It feels good when people speak kindly of your walk with the Lord. It feels good, so you are in no hurry to rebuke the enemy.

You’ll even hear the Voice of the Spirit say: Come on, you know something isn’t right about this, but you may sure like the sound of being praised. You’ll even like to relax in your sense of worth. Yeah, I’m special, Yeah, I’m good, yeah – it just doesn’t get any better than this. Until you begin to feel really uncomfortable with all the praises.

When you start believing in your own knowledge you will prove your own ignorance.
If you try to decipher your own direction or lean on your own experience you’ll realized that you just don’t have the answers.

Life’s answers are only in Christ. Without His guidance, direction and anointing you will fall flat. You don’t have the power to deliver yourself, or power to change your life and your words are empty with His anointing.

Watch out! When you try to get rid of that pride and self-recognition, the evil spirit won’t give up easily. He will do his best to get even and destroy you.

If you dare to stick your neck out and begin to rebuke the evil spirit your in for a ride.

Paul and Silas were brought into the market place so that the whole city could see the accusations against them. They were then brought before the civil judges and eventually before the Roman army commanders in an all-out effort to destroy their ministry.

Satan knew that Paul and Silas were there on business for the King of Glory. He knew that their ministry could cause many to accept Christ. He knew that this could be the beginning of a great church in Philippi and he was out to stop it at all costs.

If you are going to do a great work for the Lord, Satan is going to try to stop you too! He doesn’t want to see you build a great work, but he can’t stop you no more than he could stop Paul and Silas.

So maintain your unity in Christ and allow God to direct your path. God is a great big God and there is nothing impossible for Him. There are multitudes of souls in your life who need Jesus and you through The Holy Spirits guidance are to reach them if you’re willing to be used.

Paul and Silas didn’t get away from some of the effects of Satan’s onslaught and you won’t get away without some hard lessons and some battle scars.

But God never leaves you nor forsakes you and He will never allow you to be defeated. He makes a way of escape where there seems to be none. He watches over you.

In the deepest, darkest hour of the night, midnight, Paul and Silas began to sing praises unto God. The joy of the Lord is your strength! Paul and Silas didn’t know what was going to happen next – but they did know how to praise God in every situation.

They began to sing unto the Lord - they just sang praises with a grateful heart unto God. Paul and Silas had learned the secret of victory over self-pride. They had learned the secret of defeating the devil on his own territory. They had learned to praise God in every situation and to put their trust in God!