Bursting Flood

I hope this message leaves you with an excitement and an anticipation to what God is going to do for you and through you, in this season. The title of todays blog is “Bursting Flood”. The Coming season is upon us; it’s here. God has brought the early rain both physically in the natural and I believe in the spiritual as well. I am going to speak to you this morning about the potential that God has presented to each and every one of us, and how that potential can take the Early Rain

and transform it into a Bursting Flood.

Let me set the stage for you. In 1 Chronicles 14 David has just been anointed king over Israel and Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, with cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. As the newly anointed king over the entire land, David is now receiving gifts of honor from other kings, to establish his house.

Read 1 Chronicles 14:8-12 - Now notice these words: Valley of Rephaim - Valley of Giants Bursting Flood - Breach of violent waters; a transition. Baal - to possess; owner. Perazim - Mt. Perazim - “Mount of Breaches”; breakthrough.

David has been anointed King over all of Israel and word has spread until it has reached the Philistines. Let me stop right there and say this to you and I, pertaining to the “The Coming Season” that has now come. Just as God had placed an anointing on David, that resulted in him taking possession of land or territory, in this case, all of Israel. You need to see that, God has a desire to place an anointing in your life, so that you take possession of the land or territory,

which can be your marriage, family, faith, finances, health.

Once you break through there is no more resistance - as we are now in the season where God has brought the early rain, I believe that God is preparing us for a break through like a bursting flood, where in this season we will see God move in an awesome power right in our midst. That is

what God wants to do in every area of our lives. There very implication of a breakthrough means that you are experiencing resistance. God is the

God of the Breakthrough!

I want to share with you a few areas where I believe God wants to breakthrough in you life and then I want you to add two areas of breakthrough that you are believing God for.

1. Faith - personal walk with God (quite time)

2. Family - children, relatives

3. Finances - no more resistance and the ability to manage (Steward)

4. Marriage

5. Health - physical and spiritual bondage

6. (You decide) Where do you want a breakthrough

7. (You decide) Where do you want a breakthrough

Ok, so you have your 7 areas of needed breakthrough written down, now what? You need to apply two Keys to the Kingdom: Faith and Works

Read James 2:14-20 & James 2: 26

Let’s first look at Faith. If we are to experience the Bursting Flood of breakthrough we have to believe, have faith in God and whatever He says.

Look back at 1 Chronicles 14:9-10 & 1 Chronicles 14:13-14

Can you see faith and works in operation through David. His key to faith is “ask God” and “listen”, when you do that you have all the faith you need. Once God speaks you have faith. David didn’t need to ask how to begin a war. He was big, strong and bad - he was one of the Lord’s greatest warriors. Get the image of a lowly, weak shepherd boy out of your mind- a lowly weak shepherd boy would not grab a lion by the neck and strike him with one blow to kill him; a lowly weak

shepherd boy would not be able to kill a bear with only his hands. David wasn’t weak, even as a shepherd he was a mighty warrior. However, even as a mighty

warrior, his faith rested not in his own strength, but in God! Facing the giants, in a valley, David takes his bible and walks to a quiet place to speak with God. I am sure that at this time the soldiers under his command understood what David was doing, when he went to inquire of God. They understood that before they made a move they had to hear the voice of the Lord. You and I are no different, we too have faith by hearing God

Read Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Prior to inquiring of God and exercising Faith, David could have responded in 1 of 2 other ways: Overconfidence or Fear. Overconfidence because the enemy had assembled and camped in a Valley. He could have responded in fear, because even though the enemy was in a Valley, they

were giants. However, David responded in faith; he heard God and listened and then moved in faith to what was said. Listen, you and I won’t have a breakthrough unless we have faith; we won’t have faith unless we hear God. Here is the other thing, you do not need a degree in theology to hear God. Simply set aside time to hear God and listen! That can be in a quite place that is set apart for the purpose of listening; it could be reading the word of God and asking God to speak to you about

what you have just read. The key is setting time aside to hear and listen. Faith will come from hearing and hearing through the Word. When faith comes you will not be

making a blind leap, you will have the assurance of God’s Word to do what He has spoken to you.

Read Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

A Word from God illuminates the next step that you take and becomes light the the path that God has set you on. God will make sure that you have enough light to take the next step; not a blind leap.

What is God saying to you right now about the 7 areas of breakthrough? Read 1 Chronicles 14 - now check out a parallel passage in 2 Samuel 5:20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has burst through my enemies before me like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.

David named the place baal-perizim (baal was often a name ascribed to the heathen gods so it interesting that David would use that name and not something like Jehovah perizim. This mountain was named mount baal before, and was set aside as a high place and a temple for baal worship. This was a place where the enemy thought they were the strongest and most secure. So, why would David name it Baal-perazim? I believe that he named it Baal-perizim because this was where Baal- was defeated and broken through. It is as if David is letting everyone know, “Even in the Valley of the Giants and the Mount of Baal, my God has broken through, and whenever you say Baal-perizim, you will remember the Lord of the Breakthrough!

Ok, let’s personalize that. The place in your life, right now, where the enemy thinks that he is the strongest; the place that the enemy has exercised his stronghold; that is the place that God wants to breakthrough! That is where God wants to place His anointing and proclaim His Word. Where is the place that the enemy has a stronghold? Understand, the highest place that the enemy has in your life is still the lower than God’s authority and power and victory. We have to understand this, it takes faith, and then it takes works!

Works: James 2:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. The definition of dead faith is faith without works. We must put action to what we have heard God say and we believe. The very proof of our faith is our works. Again, we see it played out in David’s life.

Re-read1 Chronicles 14:13-15 David once again inquires of the Lord on whether or not to go against the Philistines, he hears the Word of the God, has faith and then shows it by his works. Think about it, how many times of you you have been out walking among a bunch of trees and heard marching in the tree tops? This would take faith - David is telling his men, “We are not going to attack like we did the last time, we are going around the the mulberry trees and we are going to wait and listen for marching in the tops of the trees”. Can you just see the younger soldiers? It took faith, and it took another word - then it took obedience which lead them to do the works.

We have probably have all heard the saying: Pray and obey. If you want to increase your faith - obey. Hear God and do what He says to do. Put faith and works together, and you will hear more God more clearly. Right now, obey the next thing that He says to you. Obey the little prompting that tugs at your heart, the more you obey the more you will hear and the more faith you will walk and to do the works that God has set before you.

Jesus said it this way: Read Matthew 7:24-27 Once again from Jesus we see faith and works - “...hears these words of mine and does them”

God is trying to get us to the place where we hear his voice. Sometimes that will be through His written Word or through the soft voice of the Holy Spirit and sometimes the loud voice of His Holy Spirit. Those are the 3 ways that God speaks - word - “whisper” that still small voice; and then He shouts. Have you noticed that? God will speak through your daily reading of His Word, or as you are going through your day you will hear Him speak through your current situation. Depending on your desire to be attentive to His voice He may begin with the word: “Hey...” or If your not really attuned to His voice, He may shout, “HEY” - In my case, sometimes the loud “HEY” is accompanied by “DUMMY”!

Hearing God produces Faith and that should lead us to Works - as I said a minute ago, dead faith is faith without works; and the scriptures also speaks of dead works. Read Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,…”

Read Hebrews 9:14 “...how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God”.

We don’t serve through dead works, we serve through faith, having heard the Word of God for our life. Here is simple definition of a dead works, that I heard from Pastor Robert Morris: A dead work is any work that God does not initiate. We can do a lot of good things, but if God didn’t speak it, it is a dead work, even though it is a good thing. So now you see that we have to seek God, which is where we receive by hearing and that brings faith and then we show our faith by our works. Our seeking, hearing, receiving and working allows the Lord to come in like a bursting flood in every area of our life.

The Coming season is upon us; it is here. God has brought the early rain both physically in the natural and as I said at the beginning of this message, I believe in the spiritual as well. I have presented to you 5 areas of Breakthrough and asked you to add two more, where I believe that God has a desire to not only bring the Early Rain to transform it but also to come in a Bursting Flood to bring you Breakthrough in those areas. Seek God, inquire of Him; you will then have all of the faith that you need to do the works that He has called you to, and you will see the Giants that have come against you, defeated. Are you ready for the Bursting Flood?

The Coming Season - Images of the Church Pt. 2

I want to talk about two other images today and those images of the Church are as a, Building (its not what you think) and as a Bride.

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

I wrote a few weeks ago about laying a foundation and that before the foundation was laid, you had to make sure that the soil was in the right condition. Now we see that the foundation has been laid, Jesus is our Chief Cornerstone and He now calls us God’s Building. Once again, the Apostle Paul is not speaking of a structure of brick and mortar, he is speaking about you and I.

When you speak about a building, by implication, you have to also be speaking about and architect with a plan. In other words, before a building is built, you have an architect design the plan of what is to be built. God is the Architect of the building, that Jesus is building. You are are Jesus fellow workers, He is building with us; we are His field, He is planting in us, and we are His building, the place that He will glorify Himself! This plan, by the Architect was kept hidden for thousands of years, until God chose to reveal it. Even the Apostles believed that when Jesus was on the earth, that He would restore the kingdom to the Jewish people. They didn’t fully understand that what God was going to establish, through what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

Ephesians 3:2-12 - assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Paul was given a specific grace (a mystery, that the sons of men in other generations had not known) to steward and to minister to the Gentiles, you and I. The mystery was and is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and members of the same body, partakers of the promise in Jesus.

Through the Church (you and I) the manifold wisdom of God is supposed to be made known in the spirit. We are the mystery of God revealed to world, to bring to light for everyone, and we are to operate in the spirit, realized in Jesus, in boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him!

The Image of the Church as a Building is a Church of revelation, spirit, boldness and confidence in the Architect and in the Builder. It is the Holy Spirit who is the agent of the building. It is He who leads us into all truth; teaches us what we ought to say; He will teach us all things and bring to our remembrance all that Jesus has said in His Word as well as empower to be a witness to the mystery of our position as heir and receivers of God’s promises through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Now realize that while God is the Architect, Jesus the Builder and the Holy Spirit the Agent of Change, you are I are the actual building materials. 1 Peter 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

As a living stone, each one of you is uniquely fitted to what Jesus is building. Ephesians 2:19-21 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Notice that last sentence, “a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” 1 Corinthian 3:17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

God’s Presence dwells in you, His Presence is inside of you, longing to be released through you! You are God’s building and you are co-laborers in helping to be built into living stones, uniquely fitted into this Body. We must each endeavor to find that place within the Body; it will take initiative, a time of discovery and commitment; no one should be allowed to place themselves in the scrap heap; everyone is needed in The Coming Season!

Ok, that’s you and as as the Building, now let’s transition to another image of the Church and that is the image of the Bride. One of the first references John 3:28-29 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

Here you have John the Baptist, when approached by some of his disciples and some of the Jewish people who were in a discussion over purification, coming to John and saying, “the one whom you baptized in the Jordan, and bore witness to, He is baptizing people.” John’s reply is, this is the bridegroom coming for His bride. I told you I wasn’t the one, I was sent before Him.”

This is an allusion to Malachi 3:1, that speaks of the messenger coming to prepare the way, before the Lord comes to His temple. Here is the Church referred to as a Bride. 2 Corinthians 11:2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

As their “father” in the faith Paul feels the same divine jealousy that a father experiences toward his daughter, when preparing to give her away in marriage. In Jewish culture it was the father's responsibility to commit at his daughter's betrothal that he would present her as a pure virgin at her wedding. Here the “betrothal” was the Corinthians' conversion through Paul's ministry, the husband is Christ, and the “wedding day” is the day of Christ's return. Paul's picture of the church as engaged to Christ carries on the OT view of Israel as betrothed to God.

The marriage consists of two parts. First, the betrothal, then about one or two years later, the second part took place, this is the actual wedding ceremony called. The Bridegroom's Father chooses the Bride, the Groom in most cases does not. He sends a friend or a trusted servant to come to terms with the parents of the prospective Bride, and makes all the arrangements. The Bride may not have any idea of what this person looks like or even know his age. All she knows is she will spend her whole life with him if she says yes to this marriage!

This representative can be seen as a portrait of John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way and also the Holy Spirit, who nudges our hearts, and calls us to enter into this union with our Bridegroom, Jesus.

The price was then secured for the Bride, and was usually something of great value. Lands, livestock, silver or gold. In the Believers instance the supreme price was paid, the precious Blood of Jesus on the cross. Messiah.

1 Peter 1:18-19 ...knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

The Betrothal ritual is like an engagement party. The promise was made and it was binding. The written marriage contract is drawn up and in it the Bride is promised that she will be provided and cared for in every way. It states that all of her needs will be fulfill by the Bridegroom. The Hebrew term for Bridegroom is "Hatan" meaning: "one who enters Covenant."

This contract is always signed before two witnesses, then given to the Bride and her Father. The Word of God are our Wedding document,. It tells us all that our Bridegroom has done for us and will do for us - and so much more! A cup of wine is lifted up (in the right hand - a place of power in the Jewish understanding) and drunk by the Bride to seal the Betrothal.

Matthew 26:27-28 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus, when lifting the cup at the Passover understood that in just a short time from that moment, He would also be lifted up on a cross. It would be for His Bride that He would suffer and do this! When we take communion, we are remembering His death and resurrection and we are also remembering that we are betrothed/engaged to Jesus our Groom!

After the engagement, there is a washing by immersion. The Bride went through a ritual immersion, i.e. washing, to symbolize her turning aside from all the former things and starting a new life with her Beloved. The Bride went through a ritual immersion, i.e. washing, to symbolize her turning aside from all the former things and starting a new life with her Beloved.

Romans 6:3-6 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. V. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

At this time, the Bride receives gifts and then begins to await the Bridegrooms return. The Bridegroom would depart and go back to his Fathers house to prepare a place for the wedding and his new Bride.

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Each of these two Images of the Church gives us truth concerning our relationship with Jesus, as His Building and as His Bride. Last week I spoke on how the Body operated in service and in unity; today I want you to see how the building suggests security and strength, which is needed in The Coming Season. I also want you to see yourself as the Bride, which suggests, covenant and purity. A commitment to our Bridegroom and to one another, and the desire to walk out both in relationship and in purity of heart.

Each of these images of the Church, point us back to the centrality of Jesus Christ, within the Church and the vital connection between Him and us, and us to one another. That connectivity will be vital as we move forward here at Lifegate. We are the Body, Building and Bride, and listen, these are just a few of the metaphors that God uses to describe His Church. A church with variety, diversity and unity; all of us working together to accomplish His will in this Church, city and beyond.