People to care

Passion to

Presence

Power

Convict

Consume

Change

12 tribes

12 disciples

Difference between what is supernatural and what is superhuman.

If nothing ever happens in a church or in our lives as individuals except what can be explained by good planning, giving, talent . . . . then we are operating in an excellent way perhaps or a superhuman way perhaps but not in the arena of the supernatural.

God knows no limits.  He makes his home in the realm of the supernatural.

Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.  Form without function is nauseating.  A form was meant to be filled with something substantial.  We will never receive from God what we are not prepared to use.  I might go a step further – we will never receive from God that which we are not in the process of using.  We will never receive the miraculous power and evidence of God’s work in our midst until we begin to function in ways which require that power.  We currently have power enough for what we are doing.  It would be the biggest waste in the world form me to drive a fast car.  I used to think that way until I got behind the wheel of a Mercedes.  You know when you’ve got hold of something that has power plus.  When you press the pedal there is response.  You have to hang on. Do we want to see God heal, then we need to begin to pray seriously for healing – repeatedly, continuously regardless of how foolish it may cause us to look at times.

Where there are empty spots in our lives they will be filled with something.  I believe that the Devil looks for emptiness, places where God should be but isn’t and fills those spots in one form or another.  There is bickering and fighting and complaining in churches where there is no common vision.  There is no such thing as unity without task.  It cannot be measured apart from activity.  And for folks who are not actively engaged in the conflict then their lives begin to create it.

The most unhappy people in any given sports competition are those who sit comfortably in the seats as spectators their pudgy hands filled with that which appeases their appetites.  They neither win nor lose they only watch.

In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 there is no quality that could not exist happily within the fellowship of a local church.  At times these characteristics are responsible for heinous actions blasphemously done in the name of the Christ who is their antithesis.

Perhaps people are not always changed because of the form which assimilates them.  Could it be true that our converts will become what we are?  They may never rise beyond the acceptable level of spirituality that characterizes our fellowship?  They become like the group that they become a part of.

What is the evidence of power in the church today?

Love and grace rule the church.

Changed lives.  But as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God even to them that believed in his name.

Answered prayer.

Miracles

The Miracle of Creation

The average human heart pumps over 1,000 gallons a day, over 55 million gallons in a lifetime. This is enough to fill 13 super tankers. It never sleeps, beating 2.5 billion times in a lifetime.

The lungs contain 1,000 miles of capillaries. The process of exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide is so complicated that "it is more difficult to exchange O2 for CO2 than for a man shot out of a cannon to carve the Lord’s Prayer on the head of a pin as he passes by."

DNA contains about 2,000 genes per chromosome—1.8 meters of DNA are folded into each cell nucleus. A nucleus is 6 microns long. This is like putting 30 miles of fishing line into a cherry pit. And it isn’t simply stuffed in. It is folded in. If folded one way, the cell becomes a skin cell. If another way, a liver cell, and so forth. To write out the information in one cell would take 300 volumes, each volume 500 pages thick. The human body contains enough DNA that if it were stretched out, it would circle the sun 260 times.

The body uses energy efficiently. If an average adult rides a bike for 1 hour at 10 mph, it uses the amount of energy contained in 3 ounces of carbohydrate. If a car were this efficient with gasoline, it would get 900 miles to the gallon.

Citation: Jeff Arthurs; references Dr. John Medina, genetic engineer, University of Washington,

in 1995 lecture at Multnomah Bible College, Portland, Oregon

Every follower of Jesus Christ needs to understand that Christ has power over both life and death -- otherwise we have no news that is ultimately Good News.  John Huffman in his book, Who's In Charge Here?, tells about Robert Dick Wilson, a great professor at Princeton Theological Seminary.  One of Dr. Wilson's students had been invited back to preach in Miller Chapel twelve years after his graduation.

   Old Dr. Wilson came in and sat down near the front.  At the close of the meeting the old professor came up to his former student, cocked his head to one side in his characteristic way, extended his hand, and said, "If you come back again, I will not come to hear you preach.  I only come once.  I am glad that you are a big-godder.  When my boys come back, I come to see if they are big-godders or little-godders, and then I know what their ministry will be."  His former student asked him to explain, and he replied:  "Well, some men have a little god, and they are always in trouble with him.  He can't do any miracles.  He can't take care of the inspiration and transmission of the Scripture to us.  He doesn't intervene on behalf of his people. They have a little god and I call them little-godders. Then there are those who have a great God.  He speaks and it is done. He commands and it stands fast.  He knows how to show Himself strong on behalf of them that fear him.  You have a great God; and He will bless your ministry."  He paused a moment and smiled, and said, "God bless you," and turned, and walked out.

See:  1 Chr 29:11-12; Eph 4:6

How would you know if God spoke to you today?  Better yet, will God speak to you today if he knows that you are unwilling to yield to him.  Have you ever wondered at the end of a service in which you have heard nothing and felt nothing whether it is a God problem or a _____________ problem?

We say, not lightly but very literally, that the truth has made us free.  They say that it makes us so free that it cannot be the truth.  To them it is like believing in fairyland to believe in such freedom as we enjoy.  It is like believing in men with wings to entertain the fancy of men with wills.  It is like accepting a fable about a squirrel in conversation with a mountain to believe in a man who is free to ask or a God who is free to answer.  This is a manly and a rational negation, for which I for one shall always show respect.  But I decline to show any respect for those who first of all clip the bird and cage the squirrel, rivet the chains and refuse the freedom,  close all the doors of the cosmic prison on us with a clang of eternal iron, tell us that our emancipation is a dream and our dungeon a necessity; and then calmly turn round and tell us they have a freer thought and a more liberal theology.

                     ... G. K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

THE MAN WHO DARED GOD TO SPEAK

Once there was a man who dared God to speak.

Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow.

Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God.  And I will fight.

Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God.  And I will listen.

And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to a sea and waited for God to speak.

And God heard the man, so God answered.  He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church.

He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin.  He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul.  And God waited for the man to respond.

And He waited. . .

And He waited. . .

And waited.

But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives, seas and not souls, he decided that God had done nothing. Finally he looked to God and asked, Have you lost your power?

And God looked at him and said,

Have you lost your hearing?

-          Max Lucado

Message from God:

I am God.

Today I will be handling all of your problems.

Please remember that I do not need your help.

If the devil happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it.

Kindly put it in the SFJTD (something for Jesus to do) box.

It will be addressed in MY TIME, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold on to it or remove it.

Holding on or removal will delay the resolution of your problem.

If it is a situation that you think you are capable of handling, please consult me in prayer to be sure that it is the proper resolution.

Because I do not sleep nor do I slumber, there is no need for you to lose any sleep.

Rest my child.

If you need to contact me, I am only a prayer away.

Author Unknown

WHAT DO YOU HEAR?

A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square in Manhattan.  It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people.  Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening.  Suddenly, the Native American said, "I hear a cricket."

His friend said, "What?  You must be crazy.  You couldn't possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!"

"No, I'm sure of it," the Native American said, "I heard a cricket."

"That's crazy," said the friend.

The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing.  He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket.  His friend was utterly amazed.

"That's incredible," said his friend.  "You must have superhuman ears!"

"No," said the Native American.  "My ears are no different from yours.  It all depends on what you're listening for."

"But that can't be!" said the friend.  "I could never hear a cricket in this noise."

"Yes, it's true," came the reply.  "It depends on what is really important to you.  Here, let me show you."  He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk.  And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs.  "See what I mean?" asked the Native American.  "It all depends on what's important to you."

What's important to you?  What do you listen for?  Some people say that there is no God, and that He never speaks to us anymore.  But perhaps they can't see or hear Him because they aren't listening  for Him.  They are living for themselves, not for God.

If you are in tune with God, you will be able to notice Him at work in your life and in the world.  And you'll be able to hear Him when He speaks.

How do I realize God’s power in my life?

I present myself in surrender to him for His purposes.  It is a dangerous thing to do.  It’s difficult at 16.  It’s more difficult at 30.  It’s almost impossible for people as they get older because there are a hundred reasons that you can give as to why you can’t be totally available.

I begin to ruthlessly monitor my heart and my attitudes.  I recognize the issues in my life that stir me to negative emotion and cut them away.  I surrender them to God as things which are little idols that keep me from him and retard the growth of His kingdom here in this world.  Your pet peeves do not please God.

I become active in this world.  I had a jug of windshield washer that lasted an entire winter.  It remained in my trunk.  I had a hard time seeing through that season but my windshield washer bill was low.