Synopsis for FAMILY

Synopsis #1 is about THIS SERMON
It will be well written is a very informative and elegant way. Then I will hopefully be able to make the title of the sermon a link to that sermon...We'll see...pray it works.

Synopsis #1 is about THIS SERMON
It will be well written is a very informative and elegant way. Then I will hopefully be able to make the title of the sermon a link to that sermon...We'll see...pray it works.

Synopsis #1 is about THIS SERMON
It will be well written is a very informative and elegant way. Then I will hopefully be able to make the title of the sermon a link to that sermon...We'll see...pray it works.

The Vision Cycle

Gtcotr/ss061607

Key Scripture: Jeremiah 29: 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God is a God of visions and dreams, God of the future … good visions, good dreams and a good future for you.

When God speaks to men He often speaks of things which are not yet visible perhaps things which are not yet even possible … at least not yet possible from man’s perspective.

God speaks to men about the future and plants seeds of the future in hearts and minds. These seeds are destined to bring a harvest however, not every individual or generation sees that harvest.

God gave Moses and the children of Israel a dream for their future of going into the Promised Land however, both Moses and that whole generation died without seeing their dream fulfilled because they refused to trust God.

God also spoke to Abraham about his future and gave him a dream.

We read about Abraham’s promised potential in:

Genesis 17 NKJV

1 ¶ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.

2 "And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."

3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:

4 ¶ "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.

5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.

6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

As the key to his potential future, God promised Abraham a certain son.

Genesis 17 NKJV

15 ¶ Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

16 "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."

17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"

19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

So, in the year which came Sarah conceived and delivered a son in her old age. The child was named Isaac.

Some years later, (theologians differ on Isaac’s age which ranges from 5 years old to 13, to 20, 25 and even 35 years old – we cannot know), it was that God spoke to Abraham once again concerning Abraham’s dream.

God had given Abraham a vision of his future which allowed him to dream. Now, years later, it seems that God will end that dream with a nightmare.

Genesis 22 NKJV

1 ¶ Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

But God brought birth to the vision and dream of Isaac being the future and fulfillment of Abraham’s covenant., even after Abraham had ask God to just bless his son Ishmael.

Abraham had not asked for this vision and now, once he had fallen in love with it, it was going to be sacrificed.

Abraham did not argue with God but obediently followed God’s voice.

The story continues in Genesis 22 telling how that Abraham climbs Mt Moriah, builds an altar, puts everything in order, binds his son Isaac and lays him upon the altar before God.

Genesis 22:12 … "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

As Abraham lifts the knife to his dream, ready to sacrifice his future, a voice from heaven speaks and stops the sacrifice.

The New Testament speaks of this incident as the Apostle Paul further explains the account.

Hebrews 11 NKJV

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called,"

19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

What does this mean? Simply it means that because of Abraham’s faith in God and in the vision God had given him, Abraham was able to offer Isaac on the altar knowing that God was able to raise him up from the dead if need be to fulfill His promise.

In fact the passage concludes that Abraham had already received Isaac as being raised from the dead before he raised the knife to slay him.

This story gives us a unique but definitive picture of the cycle of a vision.

First we see:

1. The Birth of a Vision

A dream or promise of your future

Then there is also:

2. The Death of a Vision

We must all lay our Isaacs on the altar before God

They belong to God and not to us

We cannot withhold our trust in God’s care

Nor can we determine or demand our own destiny

You cannot protect your future, especially from God

Finally we see:

3. The Resurrection of a Vision

God gives and keeps and raises His will from the ashes

God is able

We must see our vision raised from the dead before it even dies

Count God faithful … trust Him with your Isaacs.

Jeremiah 1:12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled." (NIV)

Just a side note today for you fathers.

Can you imagine why God treated Abraham so favorably or why He interacted with him so much? Why did God choose Abraham?

Let me give you a great father’s day scripture:

Genesis 18: 19 Because I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Happy Father’s Day!

Directions

Gtcotr/ss061007

Have you ever heard the phrase: “You can’t get there from here … you have to go somewhere else to start.”?

Jonah 1 NKJV

1 ¶ Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me."

3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

Many of you know the story of Jonah. How that he purposefully strayed from the will and path of God for his life. How that God caused a storm to rise on the Mediterranean Sea which ended when Jonah was thrown overboard and swallowed up by a great fish which God had prepared.

After three days in the belly of the fish Jonah repented and prayed to God for forgiveness. When God caused the fish to spit Jonah up on dry ground, Jonah once again heard the voice of God to go to Nineveh. Jonah’s destiny had not changed but his mind sure did.

Jonah 3

1 ¶ Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,

2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you."

3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh …

Finding himself on dry ground once again, Jonah obeyed God, started his journey, reached his destination and ultimately fulfilled God’s will.

It is fairly certain that he was not where he was when God first spoke to him and he didn’t waste time trying to get back there. Without hesitation he no doubt went straight to Nineveh right from where he landed on dry ground.

Recently Brenda mentioned to a friend that I was considering selling my pickup. That afternoon the friend came over to our house and looked at it, took it for a test drive to show their family and later that evening bought the pickup.

Well, with the sell of my pickup truck, my personal vehicle that I used on a daily basis to go to work and back, run my errands and keep mobile as I must for various reasons, came an opportunity. This opportunity was not the opportunity one might expect as a result of Brenda selling my vehicle.

You see, with the sell of my vehicle came the opportunity for Brenda to get herself a new vehicle and pass her vehicle down to me. It turns out that she already had her new vehicle picked out, right down to the color and options. So, without further meaningful discussion, we bought Brenda a new car.

This particular car came standard with a GPS guided street map. It is amazing and I highly recommend it for directionally challenged people. Just put in the address and away you go … it speaks to you and tells where to turn, when to turn and if you miss a turn … it’s great.

I have the nature of liking to know the limitations of things I depend on, especially the things I need to depend on for the safety of my family. So I put this little map to the ‘what happens if I mess up really bad test’.

There are three things a person must know in order to get where they want to go. First, of course, one must actually have a desired and definable destination, you have got to know where you are going and next one must also know the point from where they are starting.

Invariably on journeys of any distance or difficulty, one runs into detours along the way. Sometimes they are anticipated detours and sometimes we find that we have inadvertently detoured without knowing how or where we made our departure from the shortest or quickest route.

One of the test I put Brenda’s little map through involved putting a known address into the system and then purposefully making wrong turn after wrong turn, continuing in an opposite direction beyond every warning and instruction to turn here and there.

After I thought I would have completely frustrated even the most patient technology, this little map just kept on trying it’s best to correct my course by offering me the most efficient route to my desired destination. It just kept on refreshing the course and offering me a new best route from where ever I was.

I was impressed and satisfied that even if Brenda messed up going somewhere she was unfamiliar with or had not been before, that it would not frustrate her trying to get her back onto her original route but would chart a new course for her to get her to her desired destination with every detour she encountered no matter how far off the original route she went.

A bit earlier I told you that there were three things one needed to know in order to insure a successful journey. So far I have only given you two of those points. We must:

1. Know where we are.

2. Know where we are going.

3. Know how to refresh our course along the way.

Knowing how to get where we are going from where we originally started may not be as useful today as knowing how to get where we are going from where we have currently gotten ourselves.

We don’t have to go back to the beginning to start.

We must also be ready for a new word from God.

In Genesis 22:2 Abraham was told by God to sacrifice Isaac. Just 3 days and 10 verses later in Genesis 22:12 Abraham is told not to sacrifice Isaac. Which one was right? Which one was the word of God? Both of them were.

We must always be ready to hear a new word from God.

Everyday the circumstances and situations of life are subject to change and with each decision we make and every step we take the route to destiny, not destiny itself, but the route to destiny can be altered somewhat.

Yesterday’s best route may not be today’s best route and at times even our ultimate destination may change.

Maybe we need to focus more on getting where we are going rather than trying to get back to where we were.

How do we find the best route to our greatest day and refresh our course? Simple …

Just draw a line from where you are right now straight to God’s will.

You can find His will written on the pages of His Holy Word, the Bible.

The Psalmist David, a person who missed God and messed up several times wrote:

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105 (KJV)

Find the path for yourself by looking into God’s word.

And remember, always be ready for a new word from heaven.

Dominion

Gtcotr/ws060607

Dominion is defined as the right and the power to govern and control.

Man was created to rule and reign in life through Jesus.

Romans 5:17 … much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Man has a future with God as rulers of all the earth.

Revelation 1 NKJV

4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus has made us Kings and Priests to His God and Father.

In each of life’s situations we are either:

In control

Out of control

Just along for the ride

We, both individually and collectively, were created by God’s design, filled with His Spirit and made to rule in life.

The book of Revelation gives us a picture of our future however, lets also look back at the beginning and see God’s original design for mankind.

Genesis 1 NKJV

26 ¶ Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

God’s original commandments to righteous mankind differ a bit from those 10 He later gave through Moses on Mount Sinai to sinful mankind.

When we accept Messiah as God’s gift and are restored in relationship with Him, we are once again made righteous and are placed ‘back on track’ with God’s original vision.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

God commanded Adam and Eve – all those who are right with Him to keep five commandments:

The First Five Commandments

* Be Fruitful

* Multiply

* Fill The Earth

* Subdue The Earth

* Have Dominion

We have seen the original vision of God for mankind in Genesis and in Revelation we have also seen God’s fulfilled vision for mankind. They are both the same – Men and Women, as children of God, representing Him and exercising their God given place as Kings and Priests in the earth. God wants us to advance and rule His kingdom.

We have seen the beginning and the end but here we are stuck in the middle. Is there any hope for us here in the middle? Yes … and for that lets turn to the middle of the bible. The middle of your bible is the book of Psalms. Lets go to Psalms 8 to be specific and see if we can hear the same message for mankind.

Psalms 8 NKJV

1 ¶ O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 ¶ When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen—Even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

When David asked the question of God, “What is man that You are mindful of him … or visit him?” The revealed answer was quick, certain and direct:

Psalms 8:6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

God has given His children dominion over all the works of His hands.

Fish were created to swim

Birds were created to fly

Man was created to have dominion

Remember:

Dominion is the right and the power to govern and control.

It has been this way from the beginning. Even when God first created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

The word ‘keep’ is translated from a word meaning ‘to watch over, guard and protect’.

The past few weeks we have talked about the power of a personal Pentecost and what a person receives when they are filled with the Holy Spirit.

We discussed the difference between the power of salvation and the power of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

This past Sunday we learned about Kingdom Advancement and how that we are in a new era on God’s time table. This new era is a special day of forcefully advancing the Kingdom of God through the efforts of men, women, boys and girls who will dare to be violent in their Christian walk.

Not physically violent, not rude or mean or ugly to people, but rather those tapping into the inner spiritual strength it takes to stand up for Jesus and refuse to be denied the promises of God.

We talked Sunday about the power of our voice. In fact we discussed three powerful and force filled voices God has given us:

* The Voice of Prayer

* The Voice of Confession

* The Voice of Command

To add to these truths I desire to give you a sense of the destiny God has created you for. God made you to have dominion.

Even under the old covenant in Deuteronomy 28 God promised that if His children would follow His commands …

Deuteronomy 28 KJV

7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

…they would be the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath, enemies which came out before them one way would flee seven ways and on and on and on.

You see, in the end we will rule and reign but God wants us to develop a dominion attitude today. God wants us to realize why He created us and what He gave us when He made us.

God gave His children who are right with Him dominion, the right and the power to govern and control.

So:

* Get right with God

* Exercise your dominion

> Make things happen

> Don’t just let things happen

* Be Fruitful

* Multiply

* Fill the Earth

* Subdue the Earth

* Have Dominion

Key Scripture: Revelation 5 NKJV

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Advancing The Kingdom

Gtcotr/ss060307

On Wednesday evenings we have been exploring Pentecost, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and what we receive with that Baptism. This coming Wednesday evening we will be studying the subject of Dominion using Genesis 1:26 and Psalms 8 as a launching pad. Believe me; you won’t want to miss this one.

Our beginning text this morning as we discuss Advancing the Kingdom comes from the Gospel of:

Matthew 11 NIV

11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

Here Jesus reveals to His disciples how that with the coming of John the Baptist there was ushered in a new era of spiritual dynamics.

Along with John the Baptist, who was that promised spirit of Elijah, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, came the era of forceful advancement for the Kingdom of Heaven and the opportunity for men to take positive steps to lay hold of it.

Jesus is saying that John’s voice and ministry marked the beginning of violent efforts to expand, advance and enhance the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, people were pressing themselves in like those who are attempting to take a city by force.

It is amazing how the voice of one person crying in the wilderness can arouse such passion that men would make their mad rush to press into the Kingdom of Heaven without delay.

All of this happened as a result of one man with a mission from heaven and the power of his voice.

This is the result of a one who:

* Knows His Ministry

* Knows His Message

* Knows His Mark

We too, each one of us, have been given a voice in the earth. Our voice is designed to advance the Kingdom of Heaven. It is vital that we, like John, understand our ministry, our message and our mark.

So, lets look at three forceful voices God has given to each one of us:

1. The Voice of Prayer

2. The Voice of Confession

3. The Voice of Command

and the ministry, the message and the mark of each voice..

I. The Voice of Prayer

A. The Ministry (The goal or purpose)

1. Communication With God

2. A Relationship Builder

B. The Message (The content or process)

1. Thanksgiving

2. Intercession

3. Petition

C. The Mark (Who is this designed to reach)

1. Prayer goes to God

2. No one else is worthy to receive our prayers

3. No one else even need hear our prayer for it to be effective

4. Prayer is not a time to preach or get a point across to others

Prayer which reaches the heart of God comes from the heart of man.

Matthew 6 NKJV

5 ¶ "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Vain repetitions spoken to be heard of man or to keep a tradition is not what God is listening for. Prayer is talking to God.

Not only have God’s children been given the voice of prayer which we direct back to God but we have also been given:

II. The Voice of Confession

A. The Ministry (The goal or purpose)

1. Make Declaration

Job 22:28 You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.

2. Establish Boundaries

Joshua 24:15 “… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

B. The Message (The content or process)

1. Change what you think

2. Change what you feel

3. Change what you want

4. By changing what you believe to line up with what God says

C. The Mark (Who is this directed towards)

1. Ourselves

2. Others

3. God

This is the place to preach, to expound if desired, God’s got the time and so do we and others. Use this voice of confession to:

– Make a Vow; Commit to God’s will; Establish Covenant; Repent or Confess sin, Apologize, Say I’m Sorry, Set Your Course.

The third God given, force-filled voice we have been given is:

III. The Voice of Command

A. The Ministry (The goal and purpose)

1. To Exercise Dominion

2. To Effect Change

3. To Forcefully Advance The Kingdom of Heaven

B. The Message (The content or process)

1. The Kingdom of God is here and things are changing

2. Move over or get run over – resistance is futile …

3. Yield; Submit; Obey

C. The Mark

1. Spiritual Darkness, Demons and their Devices

Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

2. The Mountains of Life

Key Scriptures: Mark 11 NKJV

22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.

23 "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Each one of us has a:

Voice of Prayer which we use to speak with God

Voice of Confession we use on ourselves and others

Voice of Command we use on the devil and the mountains of this life

We are in a New Testament, Messianic era, and have been given these voices to forcefully advance the Kingdom of God in our lives and the lives of others in our generation.

The devil won’t lie down and quit just because you are saved. You may have to get forceful. You can help God by strengthening yourself in prayer and confession and by exercising command and control by the voice God has given you.

This Wednesday evening when we look at the subject of why God created man, we will get a better grasp of our role in this world and how to exercise the dominion God intends for each of us to have.

If you only get one thing from this morning let me encourage you to use your voice of prayer to build a closer and stronger relationship with God. He is your Father and He loves you so. Talk to Him today, He will listen and He will answer your prayer.

Then, learn to whom you should be talking, how you should be addressing them and what the results can be.