Listen to the Holy Spirit to Live a "Balanced" Life

People say all kinds of interesting things these days on social media. One thing that you see often when a person is in some kind of distress is people responding with, “Sending good vibes your way.” You also see other statements about the universe taking care of people etc. These kind of statements have a very strong scent of atheism or agnosticism in them. Not everyone who says these things is an atheist but why not just say, “I had a conversation with my heavenly father about you and I’m asking him to help you.” or “I’m praying for you” I’m not trying to split hairs here but we have a very good opportunity to bring Jesus into the middle of someone’s world and some people choose to send good vibes instead of asking God to send the Holy Spirit to their aid. 

Another thing we’re seemingly trying to do all the time is to live a life of balance. On this father’s day I’m specifically speaking to the men and I, as a father, understand how sometimes it’s a challenge to be a nurturing father, husband and simultaneously providing and protecting. There does seem to be a bit of a balancing act that I don’t really know how to manage to be frank. However I think there is a better way to live our lives. Let's just follow the wind of the Spirit instead of trying to follow all the advice of so called experts. 

Here are some wrong ways to govern our lives.

• Led by the Flesh 

To be 100% governed by what we like sounds a lot like hedonism. The Bible several times refers to this kind of internal government by saying, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” (Is 22:13; Lk 12:19; 1 Co 15:32) I understand people want to have fun but it’s clear from the research on human happiness and the teachings of the Bible, true joy and thus happiness comes from living a life of meaning centered around sacrificially loving one another. 

• Led by Trauma

Sometimes we’re driven by trauma. We have seen trauma or experienced trauma and this drives us to perform. I know my own father saw his parents fight over money as a child and vowed to never be poor so it drove him to work very hard and with a lot of strategy. I know many men like this and I celebrate their drive and accomplishments but would love to see them healed of that trauma so they can live a life that is healthier. 

• Led by Others 

There are men who are very submissive to others and live their lives being told what to do. For an apprenticeship season this is very appropriate because we need the training but after a while we should be able to move into greater leadership potentials. Most men don’t want to stay in the same place year after year. 

• Led by our own Intellect 

This is for all the slick guys out there who are sharp. They figure things out and learn how to move through the hierarchies around them and get closer and closer to the top. They see what happens when they do certain things and do what seems to get rewarded. 

• Led by Principles 

Often this life leads to the best outcomes because many of the principles people teach are also taught in the Bible and they originate from God. The principle of doing good to get good results is a very solid one. I believe in living a life of principle however I believe there is a better way to live our lives. 

•  The Best Way is to be Led by the Holy Spirit, Like Jesus
  

Jesus Christ is perfect theology 

John 12:49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 

John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 

John 10:30 I and the Father are one. 

Jesus Prays for Unity John 17:21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 

Can we move with God the way Jesus moved with God? 

The Holy Spirit on the Inside of Us 

Romans 8:11 the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you 

1 John 4:4 the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 

Is it possible to live in the moment with the Holy spirit moving when he says to move and staying when he says to stay? John 3 would seem to state that it is not only possible but it is a huge part of being born again. People who are born again are called to move with the Wind of the Spirit!

John 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 

Can we recognize the leading of God’s Holy Spirit today? 

John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

1 Cor. 2:16 we have the mind of Christ. 

Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 

So in conclusion I want to encourage you to make it a priority to be governed by God’s Holy Spirit which is always in agreement with the principles and sometimes even the specific details of the Bible. The Word of God, Jesus said in John 17:17 is true and the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit and the Word of God will always be in agreement!  So if you want to know how the Holy Spirit communicates you can read the Bible to get yourself attuned to the concepts and frequency that God speaks on. 

Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:30 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video.

Jubilee Family Church 

45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501

(870) 793-9124

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The Kingdom of God is Within You

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
	Podcast: Play in New Window | Download To watch the video, click here.

These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video.

The Rule and Reign of Jesus Christ

Luke 17:20,21
20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.

What is the Kingdom of God?
The Kingdom of God is expressed where Jesus Christ rules and reigns in the hearts, minds, and actions of His people. It can be further boiled down to: The Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in the Earth.

Lordship is the goal of our Christian activity 

Christ’s Lordship
Professions, positive confession, participating in spiritual disciplines and a relational pursuit of Jesus are all appropriate, however, if these pursuits don’t lead to the lordship of Jesus, there will be no kingdom expressions.

Jesus wants to be our Lord in every area of our lives. 

To Love is to Obey to Obey is Lordship 

John 14:23 
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Luke 10:27 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Emotional Surrender 

Christ wants to Rule our hearts and souls, our emotional make up.

Jesus wants to be the perfect ruler of your feelings. He never wants you to feel something he wouldn’t feel. He never wants you to let your emotions and thoughts run wild with worry, anger, lust, anxiety, stress, hatred, or bitterness. Where sin rules our emotions, Christ does not.

Surrender of Strength

Christ wants us to submit our strength or abilities to his Lordship because of our love. What are you good at? Where are your strengths? Christ wants us to Love him with our strength. Exercise our strengths for his glory. Stop and think for a minute, how can you love God with your strengths? Sometimes God will take our strengths and transform them for his purposes.

Surrender of anything to Jesus allows him to use it. When we surrender to his Lordship he can turn a walking stick into a serpent; Take a fearful man and make him a mighty general; take 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and feed 5000 men. If we will surrender and trust the Lord with our lives he will anoint the things he want’s us to do and cause amazing things to happen.

Surrender of our Ways of Thinking

Christ wants us to love him with our minds, surrendering our thoughts to his kingship. Loving Christ with our minds causes us to focus our thoughts on Christ. When this focus is “dialed in” through prayer, Jesus gives us directives and information. When acted upon this will extend the Kingdom of God.

We need to Experience Christ 

Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

A man with an argument is always at the mercy of a man with an experience. Our experiences if they are in agreement with scripture are to be trusted. If they are not in agreement with scripture they are to be considered human / sociological / psychological or demonic.

The Jesus Revolution

The Revolution that Jesus is still the leader of is a peaceful revolution to rule the hearts and minds of people. He’s empowered us with the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to conquer the wills of people everywhere causing people to come into the Kingdom of King Jesus.

People will Bow Now or Bow Later 

Philippians 2:10 
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Some Kingdom Manifestations 

Romans 14:17 
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, Causing us to live rightly and affecting our internal character with peace and joy.

Where the Kingdom of God is manifested the kingdoms of this world come down.

Luke 11:20 
But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

In the New Testament strange behavior, mental illness and physical illness are linked in with demonic activity in the lives of people.

The Devil is the one who causes sickness. Sickness is subject to the kingship of Jesus Christ and must submit to his Lordship.

Mental Illness can be subjugated to the Kingdom of God or put under the control of Jesus Christ.

Any organized group of people who try to accomplish anything, if they are individually surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus the organization, will move in the direction of King Jesus. Where there is sin, greed, etc. in the camp it will move toward selfish agendas and goals. Jesus said, “If you’re not for me you’re against me.” The default setting for humanity is evil.

Jesus wants your whole heart. Any part of you not surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus leaves that part of you vulnerable to the enemy.

1 John 4:4 
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Today, is there something that the Holy Spirit is telling you to surrender? Is he calling you to a greater level of love?

Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.
Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501
(870) 793-9124
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Major on the Majors and Minor on the Minors

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
	Podcast: Play in New Window | Download To watch the video, click here.

These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video.
Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

 Romans 14 is talking about Christian people who make a big deal out of days of the week and dietary issues. The thesis of the Chapter is to do everything unto the Lord and be true to these personal convictions without pressing these convictions on others in regard to special days and diet. This chapter could further be boiled down to “Major on the majors and minor on the minors.”

The Majors are:

• Righteousness 
• Peace 
• Joy 
• The Holy Spirit 

1. Righteousness

Positional and Practical Positional Righteousness is the gracious gift of God to men whereby all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are brought into right relationship with God. This righteousness is unattainable by obedience to any law, or by any merit of man's own, or any other condition than that of faith in Christ.

As we trust in Christ, 2 Cor. 5:21. says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 

Because Abraham believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness. Rom. 4:3. 

Practical Righteousness – This faith thus exercised brings the soul into vital union with God in Christ, and inevitably produces righteousness of life, that is, conformity to the will of God. 

The righteousness God reckons to us causes us to become in Christ all that God requires a man to be, all that he could never be in himself. 

2. Peace 

That tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is. 

Peace with God 

Romans 5:1 

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Peace with God opens the way of love and true spiritual growth. 

1 John 4:18 

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 

God’s kindness leads to repentance 

Romans 2:4 

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 

Peace with this life 

1 Timothy 6:6-10 

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 

Peace Comes through Prayer 

Philippians 4:6,7 (Amplified) 

6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. 7 And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace 

Colossians 3:15 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 

3. Joy 

to experience great pleasure or delight, a state of happiness, the emotion evoked by well-being. 

I am very small, but I can change your life. I can make you immune to worry and strife. When you have me you leap like a little boy. But I never come from getting the latest toy. I can cure your heart when you’re
feeling blue. No one can destroy me, except for you. What am I? 

Joy 

Joy is different from happiness in that the word "happy" comes from the same root word as "happen": "hap." "Hap" includes the ideas of chance or fate. The feeling of happiness comes from what happens to a person by chance, but joy is a source of delight, it is what lies underneath all emotions, no matter what happens to a person. If Joy is there it’s separate from circumstances. 

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. When our root’s are connected to the Holy Spirit we will bear His fruit. 

Apple trees don’t have to try to bear apples, they just do. In the same way when we’re rooted in him we’ll bear his fruit. 

4. The Holy Spirit 

The third person of the God head, co-equal and co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will with God the Father and Jesus the son. 

The Holy Spirit in the Beginning 

Genesis 1:2 

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 

Luke 24:49 

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 

Acts 1:8 

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Pentecost 

Acts 2:1-4 

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 

Acts 10:44-46 

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. 

Acts 19:6 

6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all. 

Let’s check our priorities this morning. Let’s be sure to major on the majors and minor on the minors. 

Let’s also seek God for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Maybe today you’d like to be filled for the first time. Maybe you want a fresh touch from Heaven or a refilling.

Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.
Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501
(870) 793-9124
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The Spirit of A Conqueror

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
	Podcast: Play in New Window | Download To watch the video, click here.

These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video.


Spirit in Caleb

Numbers 14:24
But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

God rewards wholehearted devotion.

Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Hebrews 11:6
God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

Caleb, being the only spy who concluded, “We can take the land”, he comes into agreement with God and God’s plan.

Having courage based on God’s word.

Circumstances didn’t intimidate Caleb. God’s word had supremacy over the issues around him. Caleb saw the same giants everyone else saw but had a different understanding of what God can do.

So we are more than Conquerors today as well.  However, we don’t fight with literal swords, we fight for hearts and minds (starting with our own) wielding the gospel of the Kingdom facilitating the influence of the Holy Spirit by passionate, loving obedience to God and thus his commands.

Romans 8:35-37

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Romans 8:37 (Amplified)
37 Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.

There are giants that will try and separate us from connecting with God’s love. This separation will cause us to stop being Godly culture changers and succumb to the world system.

God’s called us to be thermostats, setting the spiritual temperature; but many of us have become thermometers, responding to the environment instead of shaping or changing it.

More than conquerors in…

• Trouble
• Hardship
• Persecution
• Famine
• Nakedness
• Danger
• Sword

More than conquerors in…
Trouble - To be agitated mentally or spiritually.

More than Conquerors In… Hardship - something that causes or entails suffering.

More than Conquerors In… Persecution – the act or practice of persecuting especially those who differ in origin, religion, or social outlook; being harassed or annoyed.

More than Conquerors In… Famine - an extreme scarcity of food

More than Conquerors In… Nakedness (destitution) - devoid of customary or natural covering : bare: lacking.

More than Conquerors In… Danger - exposure or liability to injury, pain, harm, or loss

More than Conquerors in… Sword – The malicious attack of others intended to kill.

The New Testament Promised Land

2 Peter 1:4
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Apprehending the New Testament promises equates to participating in the divine nature.

So in essence, much like with Caleb, we today have promises of a divine nature. We have a promise from God to think differently, have a different attitude, and thus live differently in this New Testament promised land. We must have vision to live in the divine nature.

One of the biggest strategies of the enemy to facilitate spiritual blindness, causing the Church to not see, and thus settle for less than what God has prepared for us.

Lovers of Truth

2 Thessalonians 2:9,10
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Many in the body of Christ today accept a reality far below living in “the Divine nature”. They live in a state of sin consciousness stating that they are sinners saved by grace. I would agree that they WERE sinners saved by grace but the New Testament clearly calls Christians, Saints of God, righteous, and holy. I’m not advocating perfectionism in every area however I’m calling for victorious living in every way!

The Divine nature? What is that?  In a very concise statement, it’s living the way Jesus lived, doing the things Jesus did.


Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.

Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9124
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The Key To Victory

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
	Podcast: Play in New Window | Download

These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video.  
Holy Spirit Empowered Discipline

Self Discipline – doing something you don’t like in order to get or achieve something that you place a higher value upon; correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement.

Thesis: Allow the Holy Spirit to empower you today with the self discipline you need to govern your life in a way that causes maximum impact for God, maximum destruction to the kingdoms of darkness, and maximum blessings for you and your family.

2 Timothy 1:7
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

• Timidity
• Power
• Love
• Self-Discipline

Timidity

Fearfulness: "cowardice and timidity“ lacking in boldness or determination

Power - dunamis, refers to intrinsic power or inherent ability, the power or ability to carry out some function, the potential for functioning in some way power, might, strength, ability, capability, the power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Why Have the Holy Spirit?

Luke 24:49  
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

John 16:7
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

The only way John 16:7 is true is if you and I carry on the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus was doing a great job so for him to go, and it be good, it must mean that you and I will be endued with power to perpetuate the ministry of Jesus in the Earth as his chosen vessels.

Jesus died so we could receive the Holy Spirit. Don’t treat the Holy Sprit like he’s not important or a 3rd class citizen of the trinity. He’s God and He empowers you and I to be the kind of people that are pleasing to God.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

If we don’t know what to do it creates timidity or indecision but when we have a clear word of instruction, it becomes actionable intelligence. This is when we, as God’s people, must seize the kairos moment God is presenting before us.

Agape Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

The Greek word for soundness of mind or self-discipline is sophronismos. Sophronismos is derived from the Greek word sophron which literally means, “to save the mind”.

If you and I are to do what God’s called us to do we must have a certain level of mastery over our own minds.

Sometimes our own worst enemy is ourselves and how we see ourselves. We have meditations about ourselves that others don’t know about and we end up fulfilling these secret meditations.

 

We must allow the Cross of Jesus Christ to penetrate and permeate every part of our personalities and allow Christ’s Word by His authority to re-program our minds allowing us to see ourselves the way God sees us.

It’s one thing to pick yourself up by your boot straps and do the right thing for a season hating every minute of it, only to find yourself after a month, six months or a year going right back to whatever destructive behavior we were partaking of. It’s another thing to allow the living God to reprogram your wants and desires changing us on the inside.

I heard a man say one time, “If we could do what we knew to do, we’d all be rich, happy and skinny.” I thought that word was perhaps a bit harsh but there was truth in it.

The key is to have mastery over our thinking and our thought lives. The Holy Spirit gives us sophronismos (self-discipline) as a promise. None of us has to be a victim of our own thought lives anymore. There is power available from heaven to prompt and direct us to choose what is best and then the power to act on the choice.

Train and Run to Win!

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Law arouses sinful passions

Romans 7:4-6
4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

What is the law of the Spirit of life found in Romans 8:2? The law of the Spirit of Life is the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He gives us the desire to live a holy life, wisdom concerning how to overcome the world, bodily passions and self-will, and the power to choose holiness in place of spiritual uncleanness.

Allow the Holy Spirit to empower you today with the self discipline you need to govern your life in a way that causes maximum impact for God, maximum destruction to the kingdoms of darkness, and maximum blessings for you and your family.

 

 

Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.

Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9124
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Idolatry

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
	Podcast: Play in New Window | Download To watch the video, click here.

These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video.
I. You shall have no other gods before me.

Many people read the story about the plagues that struck Egypt in amazement, and rightly so. What God did to Egypt due to his redemptive plan and the hardness of Pharos heart was amazing. Let’s take a look at the nature of God as we take a closer look at the Exodus from Egypt.

Malachi 3:6a
I the Lord do not change.

The idea of progressive revelation: We understand that God doesn’t change however I personally believe in looking at the Word of God over time we see God revealing different parts of his personality to man over time. For example, the “You have heard that it was said” scriptures relating to the Old Testament Law. (Matthew 5:21-43)

God is Love (1 John 4:8) and true love is intolerant of adultery or other lovers.

Deuteronomy 4:24
For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Idol Worship is Demon Worship

1 Corinthians 10:18-22
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

1 Samuel 4:7-9
According to 1 Samuel, the Philistines also knew of the plagues and feared the God of the Hebrews.

The first three plagues seemed to affect "all the land of Egypt," while the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th did not affect the children of Israel.

We’re getting ready to see a repetitive series of events with subtle changes. Moses and Aaron declare, “Let my people Go!” and Pharaoh says, “no” but tries to negotiate terms giving up more power in each negotiation. The terms are unconditional surrender so the plagues continue to fall on the land.

We will also see subtle changes in the heart of Pharaoh. Between the plague of Boils and the plague of Hail we see a change which we will talk about later.

Because of a lot of mixing, absorbing, and overlapping roles of many Egyptian gods, there is often more than one god who could easily be mocked by one or more of God's plagues in Exodus.

1. Nile water into blood
    a. Hapi: god of the Nile
2. Frogs
    a. Heket, Hekhet, or Heqt: Egyptian goddess of Fertility, Water, Renewal; frog-headed
3. Gnats or Lice from dust
    a. Geb: Egyptian god of the Earth; also
    b. Khepri: Egyptian god of creation, movement of the Sun, rebirth; beetle-headed
    c. Thoth: one time considered god of magic, failed along with magicians (or priests) to duplicate
        conjuring of gnats or lice.
4. Flies (gadflies)
    a. Khepri: Egyptian god of resurrection, creation, movement of the Sun, rebirth; beetle-headed
5. Cattle/livestock disease
    a. Hathor: goddess of love and protection; possibly absorbed Bat, the cow-headed goddess.
    b. bull cult gods Apis, Buchis, and Mneuis
    c. bulls sometimes considered embodiment of Ptah and Ra
6. Boils
    a. Isis: goddess of medicine and peace
    b. Im-Hotep: real person turned deity, patron of wisdom and medicine
    c. Sekhmet: lion-headed deity of plagues, believed to bring about or prevent epidemics or 
        pestilence

Give me one more night with the frogs - To prove that the plague was actually a divine punishment, Moses let Pharaoh choose the time that it would end. Pharaoh chose the following day, and all the frogs died the next day. Nevertheless, Pharaoh rescinded his permission, and the Israelites stayed in Egypt.

The Hebrew noun could be translated as lice, gnats, or fleas. God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to take the staff and strike at the dust, which turned into a mass of lice that the Egyptians could not get rid of.

The Egyptian sorcerers declared that this act was "the finger of God" since they were unable to reproduce its effects with their magic. The Egyptian sorcerers were afflicted along with everyone else, and were unable to heal themselves, much less the rest of Egypt.

Following this plague there is a subtle change in the situation with Pharaoh that I believe is noteworthy. Instead of the Bible declaring that Pharaoh hardened his heart it now begins to say that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. We can see this for ourselves in Exodus 9:12

The fulfillment of
Exodus 4:21
The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

These dynamics between pharaoh and God seem to be consistent with a person on their way to having a reprobate mind.

Reprobate / Depraved - marked by corruption; evil; perverted.

God giving them over to sinful desires, shameful lust and a depraved mind. (Romans 1:24-28) God gives way and allows a man to do his human will even if it’s to his own detriment. In the case of Pharaoh, he actually hardens Pharaoh’s heart but only after he’s given him 5 opportunities to let the Israelite people go.

It’s very important for us today to have a tender heart of flesh before God. We want to allow him to change our hearts bringing us to a place of repentance before he has to take more drastic measures to get our attention.

Hebrews 4:7b
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Pharaoh's officials begged him to let the Israelites go rather than suffer the devastating effects of a locust-swarm, but he was still unwilling to give in. He proposed a compromise: the Israelite men would be allowed to go, while women, children and livestock would remain in Egypt. Moses repeated God's demand that every last person and animal should go, but Pharaoh refused.

God then had Moses stretch his staff over Egypt, and a wind picked up from the east. The wind continued until the following day, when it brought a locust swarm. The swarm covered the sky, casting a shadow over Egypt. It consumed all the remaining Egyptian crops, leaving no tree or plant standing. Pharaoh again asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to allow all the Israelites to worship God in the desert. As promised, God sent a wind that blew the locusts into the Red Sea. However, He also hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not allow the Israelites to leave.

The Israelites were exempt from 7 of the 10 plagues that came upon Egypt due to their covenant with God.

Allow the Holy Spirit to break your stubborn pride today before it’s too late. Allow him to soften your stony heart, giving you a heart of flesh.

Allow the Holy Spirit of God to apply the blood of Jesus to your heart. Protecting you from eternal torment.

Will God judge the United States of America? Well, I think He could, but I believe what’s more likely is the decisions of people in power, in some ways similar to Pharaoh, who’ve been led by lust (God of Mammon) and have thus sinned will cause many of us problems because of their position of influence. (Proverbs 22:7)

It would seem that Iran is determined to develop their nuclear program to the chagrin of the rest of the Western world. It would seem that President Ahmadinejad's brand of Islamic ideology causes him to think that he should start a great war to usher in the return of the last Imam, the Mahdi. It would also seem that Israel is very determined to not allow Iran to do this.

In some senses of the word we have an immovable force running into an unstoppable object. We’re going to have a collision and it’s going to be big. The U.S. petrodollar status is also at stake which would have a huge ripple effect in our country’s economic standing. Where is the land of Goshen for the U.S. citizen should these events transpire?

My belief is that a small community that pulls together now will do much better than a large urban area. My belief is also that we are headed for a currency crisis of sorts. My belief is that the fiscal cliff was simply a distraction from the real currency cliff that’s approaching. These warnings are for you to chew on. Make your own decision about this information but I am making some sensible preparations for my family based on these things I believe to be true.

If you remember about 8 months ago I mentioned for some who are having a hard time wrapping their mind around the idea of getting gold or silver to buy ammunition. Had people followed my “advice” they would have been able to double their investment in todays market. Try finding .22 LR rounds. They are very scarce. People are buying them from the Hebr Springs Walmart when they come in and in 1 hour they are gone. Some are stockpiling the ammo and others are selling it on Ebay/Gunbroker.com for 2 – 3x’s the purchase price.

Fear is the wrong feeling when dealing with these issues. A sound strategy from the Lord with preparation in mind is my approach. For every dollar that is lost it is simply transferred to someone else. (Isaiah 60:5, 60:11, 61:6, 66:12) The only time money is “destroyed” is when a loan is paid off. The Church’s greatest hour could be upon us if we prepare for the harvest that’s coming. I’m excited!
   

Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.

Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9124
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Filled To Overflowing

By Donna Santini 


I was in a service one morning listening to a pastor deliver a great Sunday message when all of a sudden he stopped and said that he had to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. He began to prophecy and flow in the gifts of the spirit in an awesome way.  Many people were touched that day because of his willingness to be used and his obedience. He said one thing that has really stuck with me over the years. He said, under the unction of the Holy Spirit I believe, that many of us want to be used in the way God was using him but were we willing to invest what he’d invested to get there?

That statement caused me to stop and think but, to be honest, the impact of it didn’t really sink in until this morning, many, many years later. I remember hearing him make that statement and for a brief moment I had to scratch my head and think “Hmmm, would I be willing to invest as much of myself as he has? How hard could it be?”

As Christians, we often get this hyper inflated view of ourselves and our relationship with God. Kind of like the old saying “my eyes were bigger than my belly”. We listen to a message and that momentary feeling of elation causes us to excitedly make the declaration that we’re going to spend all our free time seeking God’s face, in His presence. And like most of us, we start out with good intentions of getting up an hour early to read the bible, to pray several times a day, to put on that soaking tape and just bask in God’s presence. Some people, like an inexperienced runner, start off running full force but then quickly become exhausted. Some, like me, have had grand visions of what I was going to do but never got off of the starting block.

I think you have to approach these or any goals in a realistic way. My biggest downfall was in trying to convince myself that I was going to get up at 4 in the morning to read the bible and pray and maybe fit in a workout session. First of all, I am not a morning person and second, I can’t seem to make myself exercise any time of the day much less at 4 in the morning! I’m like an old automobile that you have to crank start several times to get the motor going and then when it finally starts, you have to let it run a little while before putting it in gear.  So, to set a goal like that for myself was not realistic at all and ultimately set me up for failure. It started off with me hitting the snooze button several times and then finally hitting the off button then as each day progressed, I just stopped setting the alarm for that all together. I never got off the starting block!

I was listening the other day to one of my teaching cd’s and the lady was talking about discipline. I dreaded starting that cd only because as Christians we really have gotten so spiritually and physically lazy in doing the work of God and disciplining ourselves in every area of our lives. I’ve heard, as I’m sure most all of us have, that wise crack about how we’re to “buffet” our bodies not “buffet- as in all you can eat” yet many of us engorge ourselves on the things of this world until we are so full of junk that there’s no room for anything spiritual to survive. One of the things she said made perfect sense. It was one of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments. She was talking about how she listened to teaching cd’s, the word of God on cd’s, on a daily basis and had to decide when she could devote the time to doing that. She looked at her schedule and said, “Well, I can put a cd on while I’m getting ready for work and while I’m driving.” That worked out great for her. Her spirit was getting fed every day because she was hearing the word of God.

Why is it that as Christians we’re made to feel like we’re missing the mark if we’re not rising before the chickens? Does God love me any less or think worse of me if I spend time in His word in the evening as opposed to the crack of dawn? I don’t think that is as big of an issue to Him as it is to people who can have a tendency to be a little overly zealous in their religious beliefs and how they think things should be done. I believe God is overjoyed with us when we spend time in His presence, day or night. Do I take time to pray every “morning”, even if it is brief? You bet! Why? Because that is something I can do even when I’m going about my day and I need that personal time with God. I can’t always open the bible and spend an hour in His word any time of the day but I can pray anytime, anywhere, and it brings me to the throne room of my Father. Then, for me, in the evening before I go to bed when I’m not a walking zombie, I can sit down and spend time getting to know my Heavenly Father in an intimate way by reading His word.

A few years back the Lord spoke to me and told me that I needed to remove myself from the things that were keeping me from operating fully in the gifts He’d given me. What all did that encompass? Well, the first thing that came to mind was the physical things; tv, computer, and my new smart phone with all it’s neat gadgets and games. Immediately my flesh went into panic mode.  I don’t watch a whole lot of tv so that didn’t seem too bad but my flesh screamed out “you can’t give up the computer! After all, you do all your work on it and remember that book you started writing, you’ll need it to do any research.”

The iphone was new, uncharted territory. I’d just gotten it for my birthday and at first it was just a phone because, unlike any child born today, I wasn’t born with the “I know how to operate any cellular device ever created even though I’ve never seen it before” gene.  Then my daughter who was born with that gene and who already had one of these high tech devices decided to download a bunch of new apps for me to play with. Well, it didn’t take long for me to find phase 10, spades, family feud, words with friends, draw something, and a host of other games that started consuming the biggest majority of my free time. The sad part is that we really don’t realize just how much time we waste with all of these things that have no eternal value.   Does that mean that we should never watch another tv show, ever get on the computer, or have any cool smart phones? Not at all.  Those things are not bad if done in moderation. They just don’t need to consume us or our time and when God has to tell you that you need to remove yourself from them, you’re probably spending way too much time on them!

As I sat here this morning looking over the prophetic word the Lord had given me a few years back, it suddenly hit me that the physical things aren’t the only things that keep us from operating in the gifts God gives us. He tells me, in this prophetic word, that I try to compare my accomplishments and talents to that of others around me. Even going so far as to tell me to STOP IT! He reminded me then that I am uniquely and wonderfully made just the way the way I am; a diamond in the rough. How many times has that kept me bound and ineffective for God? Let’s get real, there is always going to be someone who is prettier, sings better, and is way more talented then we could ever imagine. Chances are we are never going to be THE absolute best at anything. The moment we start letting that be a deciding factor in our decisions is the moment we cut the power cord of our lives. We will never accomplish anything if we are always comparing ourselves to others. It will leave us feeling totally defeated and unworthy all the time.

The next thing I read was that fear was keeping me from being used in those gifting’s. As God put it, “Fear and feelings of inadequacy had kept me from operating in those gifts to my full potential”. “Why are you fearful?” He asked. “Have I given you a spirit of fear?” 2 Timothy 1:7 says specifically that He has not given us a spirit of fear.  The next statement caused me to really stop and evaluate my heart and motives. “Who is it that you seek to please? Man or Me?” Wow! That hurt a little only because I’d been trying to convince myself that it was all for God but the fear of what other people thought controlled my emotions and actions more than God’s approval. God is not going to force himself on us or make us use the gifts He’s so generously given us. We can toss them by the wayside and never be effective or we can use them to further the kingdom of God. The choice is ours.

His gentleness touched me so much in His next sentence to me. “If you will allow Me, I will use your words and they will be like manna from heaven”. If you will allow Me. Not, “Do what I say or else I’ll smite you.” as we tend to view Him. Like a true shepherd, gently, ever so gently, leading His sheep. The choice was mine to make. Would I allow Him to use me? That would be like a jeweler saying, “If you will allow me, I’ll give you this gorgeous diamond ring”. Hello??!! Who wouldn’t want something like that that is of such great value? What woman wouldn’t love to get a diamond ring? But more on the spiritual aspect of it, why would I not want to allow God to use me in such a powerful way? The “treasure of great value” is in the honor of God even wanting to use me in the first place. What a privilege and honor to have the King of Kings, the great I AM, want to use me! All He asked from me and from all of us is that we are obedient.

What He said to me next has always stuck with me and has changed how I view myself and the gifts He’s given to me. “It doesn’t matter whether every note is perfect or how nervous you were, whether you felt it went badly or was a success. All that matters is that you are obedient to do what I’ve called you to do.” Then there was a promise of what He’d do if I would be obedient to do what He’d called me to do. He finished the word off with this. “Let me use you, flaw and all. I don’t need or ask for perfection. I ask for a willing heart.  I love you my child and desire only the best for you and always have.”

You don’t realize how much pressure that took off of me. All of a sudden I didn’t feel like I had to be perfect. God had made it perfectly clear that regardless of how good or bad I felt it was, He would anoint it. It would be like delicious nectar He said. Good or bad, no need for perfection on my part. All He was asking of me was a willing heart.  How much simpler could He have made it? Be willing, He’ll anoint, and blessings will flow. That was a major turning point in my life when I realized that as long as I was willing, so was He. It set me free from the bondage of fear, inadequacy, and comparing myself to others.

What the enemy wants to do is keep us bound by so many fears that we do nothing to encourage our spiritual growth or that of others. What he wants to hear us say is something I once said out of embarrassment and frustration while operating in God’s gifting’s and that is “I’m never going to do this again!”. God didn’t even miss a beat. He told me “That’s what the enemy wants you to say”.  If the devil can keep us defeated, we will never be a threat to him. The picture God gave me was of a toaster. You can buy a top of the line toaster, put toast in it and push the lever down but if it is not plugged in; it will never do what it was intended to do which is toast the bread. That toast will sit in that toaster until it becomes hard, crusty, and stale.   As Christians, if we’re not plugged into our power source, God, we are no different than that. We can walk around pretty on the outside but powerless on the inside.

God’s proven good on His word to me too. Whether I’ve felt it was good or bad, He’s anointed it and when I took my focus off of what man thinks and to what God thinks, it even changed how I felt about worshipping Him. It was no longer about how well I sang that morning. It was about how much God was rejoicing because I was obedient. No longer do I cringe if I miss a cue or forget the next word, I just inwardly smile and just remind myself that to God it is all good. It is a wonderful fragrance to Him, a soothing aroma, a sweet smelling incense to Him; no matter what WE think of it.

As I sit here rejoicing in the prophetic word my Heavenly Father gave me so many years ago that still pertains to me today and the new revelations that tie in with it, He’s reminding me of the desires of my heart that I truly desire today as much as I did those many years ago when I first heard that pastor say what I was thinking: “Many of us want to be used in the way God was using him but were we willing to invest what he’d invested to get there?”

I’m reminded of the story in Acts 19:11-12 where God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that touched him were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. And like a kid in a candy store, my eyes glaze over and I begin to drool and I think of just how awesome that would be. To be so filled with the presence of God that people could be healed just by touching me. That would be totally amazing I tell God and then He asks me: “Are you willing to invest what Paul did to get there?” At first I got excited and loudly exclaimed, “Yes! You can count on me God because I want that so badly. I want my life here to count for something more than what it has. I don’t want my life to end and realize that I made no difference in this world. I want to have an eternal impact on people’s lives. I want to be the vessel that you can use to pour out Your glory. I want to walk on water. Well, I say to God, maybe not the last part, I got carried away a little there.”

Immediately, in one thought, the enemy throws every fear, every failure, every broken promise I’ve made to God in my face. I am suddenly hit with that horrible feeling you get when you’re stuck in the pit of despair. He reminds me of the prophetic words God has given me in the past and how I’ve not done them. He reminds me of the exact words that I’ve told God. “I feel like I’m not worthy of Your love at all God, You can’t even trust me to do anything you say.” I remember the tears that fell when I said that. The feeling of total worthlessness and shame I felt when saying that. In one instant that excitement fades because I do remember all the times I’d started out totally excited and ready to run the race and like the story about the tortoise and the hare, I fell asleep at the starting line.

Just as quickly, the Lord reminds me that there is no statute of limitations on Gods word or His promises to us. I’m sitting here feeling shame over my past and God is reminding me that today is a new day and that His promises are new every day. He shows me the things that the enemy has tried to keep me from seeing such as the little things that I’ve done that made a difference to someone and the areas of my life where I have been obedient to Him.

“You are a new creation” He says “fearfully and wonderfully made in My image. You are my child and I love you so much and I want you to know that you are the apple of My eye and I love you more than you could ever fathom. You see your failures. I see your potential. You see a life that’s been wasted. I see a field that’s being prepared for a bumper crop. A field that was so overgrown with the weeds of life that the process of getting it cleared and ready for planting has been a long and tedious process; that is a work still in progress. Underneath the weeds and thorns is a soil so rich and full of nutrients that when the time is right will produce a field of glorious proportions. You see no further than today. I already know your future. I know the great things you will do in my name. If I felt I couldn’t trust you then I wouldn’t require so much from you. I am not a God that I would set you up for failure. I am not one that would lie. My desire is your desire. I so want to fill you to overflowing. How my heart rejoices because I see what you cannot see as of yet. My heart rejoices because I’ve already seen you overflowing! I know what you will become and who you will touch. My child, pay no attention to the enemy who would try to keep you bound by the past mistakes. Remember that the moment you asked for forgiveness it was no more. Why are you crying over things that are not? Rejoice that your name is written in the Lambs book of life my child! Rejoice that you have been given a great destiny and purpose in this life and that not one moment of your life is unredeemable. I rejoice at the mere thought of you. Can you believe that? You said the other day that you couldn’t understand why I loved you so much. You were crying and as your Father, it broke my heart. My love for you isn’t based on how you feel about yourself which is exactly why you said that to me. I see your heart. I see your potential. I see what will be, not what is.

My children perish in part because of a lack of knowledge but they also perish because they choose to believe the lies that the enemy keeps feeding them. They get to feeling so ugly and worthless that they shrink away from my love like Adam did in the garden when he had sinned. They want to hide themselves not realizing that there is no place they can hide from me. I reach out my hand daily to pull my people out of the pits they’ve felt trapped in but so many of them refuse to take it and believe that they are loved with an everlasting love. They refuse to believe that I loved them so much that I was willing to sacrifice my only begotten son to pay for their freedom with His blood. Why can’t they believe that they are treasured so greatly? They’ve been invited to the banquet but they’ve chosen to feast in the gutters. My people need to rise up and proclaim the good news to the captives. My call to my people is will you be my hands and feet? Will you be salt to a tasteless world? Will you be light in the midst of total darkness? Will you go outside your four walls, outside of your little box to make a difference to even one person? All I need is a willing heart. A kind word spoken to someone who is hurting is manna to their soul. Does that mean that I’m requiring every person to go to the ends of the earth to proclaim the gospel? No. But it does mean that we can start right where we are. If you will just open your eyes, you will see that there are many hurting, broken people right where you are. My child, I am calling you to make a difference right where you are, flaws and all. So my question for you is “Are you willing to make the investment to get to where I need you to be?””

As I sit here and ponder the awesomeness of God and that He would even take the time to speak to me, I am almost at a loss for words. You notice I said “almost”. I am a woman, so therefore, hardly ever at a total loss for words! God also gives us a sense of humor.

I have to seriously ask myself that if it truly is my desire to be used by God in a mighty way, am I willing to do what it takes to get there?  Am I willing to invest myself, my time, in God’s word, God’s presence on a daily basis? Am I willing to pour myself into my relationship with my Lord and Savior? Am I willing to lay down my desires, my will, my life, my heart for my King? I have to be willing to empty myself so that God can fill me with Himself.

What comes to mind is what the word of God says about new and old wine skins. No one pours new wine in old wineskins because it will burst the wineskin. It’s the same way with us. His word says that we must decrease so He can increase. That just means that our will and our desires need to be placed at the feet of Jesus so that we can be filled with His will and desires for our lives. A person who is full of the things and desires of this world has no room for kingdom treasures. As the bible says, you cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. The bible refers to this in the context of God and money but I believe that whatever controls us whether money or some other means has become a master in our lives. What it really boils down to is am I “willing”? Are we as Christians willing? God wants a “willing” heart. Am I willing to allow Him to use me? Am I willing to lay down my life for my Father? Am I willing to be used for God’s purpose, good or bad? Am I willing to step out of my little world to make a difference to a dying and hurting world? Am I willing to invest my time, my life in getting to know my heavenly Father so intimately that I walk around filled to overflowing?  It's a question we all have to ask ourselves.   It starts with obedience and a willing heart.