Sunday, September 8, 2013

Come Up Higher!

Happy Sunday!
 
Bishop Alexis A. Thomas preached, "Come Up Higher!"  Yes, he has preached using that topic for several weeks now.  But, you know repetition is a powerful technique used in learning.  Deuteronomy 6:7-10 says of the commandments of God, "Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re sitting together in your home and when you’re walking together down the road. Make them the last thing you talk about before you go to bed and the first thing you talk about the next morning. Do whatever it takes to remember them: tie a reminder on your hand and bind a reminder on your forehead where you’ll see it all the time, such as on the doorpost where you cross the threshold or on the city gate." (Voice Translation)

Revelation can change your life and your level! Think about it! Walt Disney had been betrayed by some of his team members. With a few dedicated team members remaining, they came up with the idea of Mickey Mouse and created a kingdom around him. Walt Disney later said, "I only hope we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse".  Bill Gates didn't have a definite plan for his life, but spending time around computers at Harvard he got an idea to start a computer company. You and I both know, he has been tremendously successful. The Wright Brothers dreamed of flying and worked to bring that dream to reality. If you have ever driven cross-country I know you will agree, "Thank God for the Wright Brothers!" Flying is so much easier!

As Bishop was preaching, I thought..."Revelation is the Insider Trading for the Kingdom of God".  God reveals secret things to us during prayer, meditation, and study. That information allows us to excel and to overcome our enemy.  Now, don't get me wrong there is nothing illegal or ungodly about us getting revelation. We won't be going to prison like Martha Stewart because of the insight God gives us. But we will be able to prosper and succeed in every area of our lives.

Jesus ministered what is called the Parable of the Sower.  Luke 8:8-14 says, "His disciples heard the words, but the deeper meaning eluded them. Disciples: What were you trying to say? Jesus: The kingdom of God contains many secrets. They keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep observing, but do not understand. I want you to understand, so here’s the interpretation: The voice of God falls on human hearts like seeds scattered across a field. Some people hear that message, but the devil opposes the liberation that would come to them by believing. So he swoops in and steals the message from their hard hearts like birds stealing the seeds from the footpath. Others receive the message enthusiastically, but their vitality is short-lived because the message cannot be deeply rooted in their shallow hearts. In the heat of temptation, their faith withers, like the seeds that sprouted in gravelly soil. A third group hears the message, but as time passes, the daily anxieties, the pursuit of wealth, and life’s addicting delights outpace the growth of the message in their hearts. Even if the message blossoms and fruit begins to form, the fruit never fully matures because the thorns choke out the plants’ vitality. But some people hear the message and let it take root deeply in receptive hearts made fertile by honesty and goodness. With patient dependability, they bear good fruit." (Voice Translation)
 
Bishop encouraged us with these four points;

Separation - Before we can receive revelation we need a time of separation. God told Abram, "Abram, get up and go! Leave your country. Leave your relatives and your father’s home, and travel to the land I will show you. Don’t worry—I will guide you there." Genesis 12:1 (Voice Translation)

Revelation - Matthew 11:25 says, "Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.” (Message Translation)  God provides the revelation, the insight, the ideas, and the inventions. We have to be willing to move forward with what he has given us. We have to trust and obey.

Continuation - We live in a Microwave Society. We're accustomed to getting things immediately.  But in the Kingdom we have to be patient. After God gives us the revelation it may take time for our vision to become a reality. James 1:2-8 says, "Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing." (Voice Translation)  Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (King James Version)

Elevation - God told Abram, "I have plans to make a great people from your descendants. And I am going to put a special blessing on you and cause your reputation to grow so that you will become a blessing and example to others. I will also bless those who bless you and further you in your journey, and I’ll trip up those who try to trip you along the way. Through your descendants, all of the families of the earth will find their blessing in you." Genesis 12:2-3 (Voice Translation) God wants to bless you as well. He blesses us in order for us to be a blessing to others. He wants us to prosper so that we can cause others to prosper.


COME UP HIGHER!


Love and prayers, Cynthia

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