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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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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Encourage the Next Generation

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.

 

We must lead the next generation by example if they are to catch the Spirit of Christ that is on us and transmit it to a time we will never experience.

Deuteronomy 3:28
But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”

Noah went religious on the people striking the rock (Numbers 20:8-11) when he was supposed to speak to it. Therefore God raised up another man to take them into what God was going to do in their time.

You can’t pour new wine into old wineskins. (Luke 5:37) We must pray for new wineskins if we’re to receive what God is going to do in our time and in our generation. The message is timeless however some of our methods are subject to change with culture.

Martin Luther brought the pipe organ into the Church which had previously been associated with some of the less desirable elements of society. His intent wasn’t to be scandalous or controversial he simply wanted the common man to be able to not only read the Word of God but to also be able to worship.

There is some debate out there but some in the modern Lutheran Church state that, “Luther needed to find music that a congregation could sing, when they had no musical training and no resources for printing music. Some of the first music he chose was the music from taverns. Although the lyrics were sometimes scandalous and thus changed, the melodies were recognizable and reproducible. ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’ is one of these such tunes, stolen from a tavern song. And today it is probably one of the most beloved and reverent songs in the Lutheran Church. ~Jenna Pederson

I heard a story about a tribe in Africa that lived in round huts. A group came in that built the tribe a Church and they made it rectangular. For 2 years no one would enter the church. The leadership had the building torn down and then built a round Church which is now flourishing today.

In order to raise up the next generation we will have to make some changes ourselves.

• Have Vision to do it
• Sacrifice Time, your most important asset
• Believe that you have something good to impart
• Relate with someone outside your normal circle
• Have Vision to do it

Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Jesus spent the most important part of his ministry raising up others to carry on the work he was doing.

In John Maxwell’s book, the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership the law of the legacy states, “A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.”

How many amazing ministries, have ended with the death of the “head” minister. It’s unfortunate that more in leadership today aren’t more focused on raising up disciples, especially since it’s so central to the ministry of Jesus.

Timothy, Paul’s ‘Son’

1 Corinthians 4:16-17
16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

2 Timothy 2:2
2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Sacrifice Time, your most important asset

In order to encourage the next generation it’s going to take time. It would seem that many today in the modern Church want to do anything but fulfill the great commission.

Believe that you have something good to impart!

Many of us may feel like we are not equipped or we don’t have anything to offer but this is all a matter of perspective.

The person you are reaching out to on a one to ten scale when it comes to family modeling may be a 3 and you are an 8. You would therefore have a lot to offer this person. They may be able to solve complex algebraic equations but without your influence they will have a hard time holding their future marriage together.

In the previous example it will be next to impossible to measure the impact your influence had on this person but we don’t serve to be recognized. We serve to be faithful and obedient to God’s word.

Matthew 6:1-4
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Relate with someone outside your normal circle

Sometimes we’re creatures of habit and we have a routine that we get very uncomfortable changing. It would seem rather obvious however but to reach out to someone else, we’re going to have to make some subtle changes in our lives until we make the connection(s) with the people we want to encourage.

1 Corinthians 14:3
3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.

Romans 14:19
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

The neat thing about building these relationship is your intent is to give but very often there is some give and take that goes on and the person from the next generation that you are encouraging can have a way of enriching your life.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. ~ Greek Proverb

Lord give us opportunities to encourage someone in the upcoming generation so we can leave a lasting legacy for your glory.

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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God's Will for My Life

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.     Thesis: Everyone has a place and everyone has an evolving purpose in the Church.

*This is determined by the revealed will of God first.
*Second, it’s determined by our desires.
*Third, it’s determined by what we are good at.
*Fourth, it should be confirmed by people in authority.



The Revealed will of God

Romans 12:1,2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 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.  View God’s mercy
2.  Offer your body as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God
3.  This is true and proper worship
4.  Don’t be conformed to the pattern of this world
5.  Be transformed by mind renewal
6.  Then the good and pleasing will of God will be recognized.

1.  In View of God’s Mercy

The great price God paid for us in Christ’s death on the cross.

Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

True value is not determined by appraisers but by what someone will literally pay.



2. Offer Your Body

We need to offer our Body as a living sacrifice, following the example Christ has given us.

The most popular saying of Jesus Christ judged by the number of times it appears in scripture is “If anyone would come after me he must deny himself take up his cross and follow me.”

Obviously the number of times this is recorded puts a priority to the concept.

3. True and Proper Worship

The Bible calls the viewing of God’s mercy and the subsequent response of the believer to also sacrificially lay their life down as true and proper worship.

John 4:23,24
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

4.  Don’t be Conformed to the Pattern of this World

We are called to break the mold the world is trying to put us in.

The Century of the Self, a 4 part documentary released by the BBC is an amazingly eye opening display on how we are manipulated by various forms of media. This manipulation is usually financially driven.

There is a battle for control of your mind. Many forces want to influence your thinking but as Christians God should be the one we’re listening to.

We are instructed to allow God to put us into His mold. This way we are transformed into God’s image, getting our minds renewed.

5.  Be Transformed by Mind Renewal

2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

A great way to understand mind renewal is to understand the expression, “garbage in; garbage out.”

6.  The Good and Pleasing Will of God

Then we will KNOW the will of God. We can know it but unfortunately many in the Body of Christ are perplexed about the will of God. Perhaps they haven’t followed the pattern in Romans 12:1,2? I believe if anyone will do this the specific will of God will be opened to that person.

Our desires become God’s desires when we follow the process in Romans 12:1,2

Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Doing what we're good at.

Doing what we’re good at just makes sense. If we’re very grouchy and can’t seem to change, we wouldn’t make the best door greeter.

Confirmed by Authority

Hebrews 13:17
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

1 Peter 5:2-4
2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

A culture of service and humility from everyone in the Church.

Matthew 23:11,12
The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

One of the responsibilities of those in spiritual authority is to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. (Eph 4:12)

There is a direct relationship between authority and responsibility. Those that have the responsibility also have the authority. Some who have no responsibility feel like they should have authority but this just isn’t fair or realistic.

The Church has people who are responsible and they should also be the most humble. This helps establish the right culture of love, and service for the entire body.

Sometimes there are people in the congregation who are very gifted but don’t want to take much responsibility. This will weaken their authority.

 

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 Church
45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501
(870) 793-9124
View Larger Map

Ever Wonder How God Feels About His Children?

Watch this 3 minute video when you can have no distractions. It's my prayer that God's grace would overflow you and The Holy Spirit would fill you to overflowing as you watch.



Jubilee Family Church