Living in God's Power

How to release God's anointing in your life?  

When things you do happen with ease, it's God's ability coming on you to enable you.  Too many people struggle.  God wants to oil the body.  He wants it to work with ease.  Too much stress and pressure will keep things from being easy.  There are not enough people enjoying their walk.  It's IT IS TIME TO ENJOY YOUR LIFE.  People are miserable because they aren't doing what God called them to do, but what other people ask them to do.

God wants every Christian to get in the place where God wants them and function there and not be MAD about being put there.  God's anointing can be on you, but if you don't get into His timing of it, it will still make you miserable.  You may have gifts but not produce any fruit..and then you wonder why.  When God calls you to do something and it's not breaking forth, it's probably the timing.  The key is to operate in your gifts in HIS timing, not yours.

When God's timing is right, you don't have to labor to use your gifts.   Learn to be sensitive to the anointing.  There may be things you "can" do doesn't mean God's anointing is on you to do it.  You need to learn the difference between ability and anointing.  When God is anointing you to do something, you will be able to do things you couldn't do on your own.

What are we anointed with?  The Holy Spirit.  Christians were given the Holy Spirit by Jesus, this is the anointing that we either claim or don't claim.

If you are a Christian, you don't belong to the world anymore.  You belong to God.  He sets you apart and will use you for a specific purpose and not let you get messed up with things you may want to be involved in.  We have to die to self to get to this place.  Every single one of us has a part and a purpose and a destiny, a gifting and a calling.

Let God bring us to a point to be an empty vessel so he can fill us and use us to His glory.
It would glorify God if we just make ourselves available.  He may not even use us today, but be happy to be empty and ready.  God anoints us for purpose. 

Say:  "I am anointed by God".  Say this several times a day and go out in the world and make a difference.

God, I pray for you to empty me of myself and let me see clearly what you have anointed me to do.  I only want what you want me to do.  Help me to understand what it means to be anointed by God with his Holy Spirit.  Help me to learn when it's your timing and when it's not.  I surrender to you today. Amen.

Hearing the Voice of God, Recognizing God's Voice

It's incredibly important to know if the idea or message you hear - is from God.  

Test it first to see if it really is from God.  It could be the difference of life or death.

7 ways to test whether it's a message from God or not.

1. Does it agree with the bible?
God doesn't change His mind or ask you to violate a principle that he's already given.  Does this line up with what God has already said?  Gods will not contradict His word.  Truth never changes. (examples:  pay your taxes)

2. Does this make me more like Christ?
God's purpose in our life is to make us like Jesus.  God wants us to develop Jesus' character.  Jesus is the standard.  What would Jesus do is a good question.  If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition, those are of the devil.

3.  Does my Church family confirm it?
Does other mature believers believe it's a good idea.  You need support with others.  If mature believers question it, you should too.  Eph 3:10.  The wisdom of the righteous can save you.

4.  Is it consistent with how God has shaped me?
Before I was born, God knew what He wanted me to do with my life.  He shaped me to perform that specific task.   Ephs 2:10.  We are God's workmanship, created in Christs.  Created in us to do good works which God prepared, in advance, for us to do.  He shaped us.  God's masterpiece, God's poem, God's handicraft.  Shape reveals your purpose.  Use your talent for the glory of God.

5.  Is it convicting rather than condemning?
Romans 8:1.  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  God never attacks my value.  He may attack my sin, but not my value.
God doesn't give you a dark cloud of guilt.  He says "this is what needs to change and let's change it".  We mistake our low self esteem with God's voice.  As soon as you repent, everything is okay - that's conviction.  Condemning comes from the devil.

6.  Do I sense God's peace about it?
Pressure, overwhelmed or confused - money, ministry, kids - this is you being caught up in yourself about it.  God is not the author of confusion.  If I'm feeling confused, it's some other voice speaking into me.  Pressure is legitimate if God keeps asking me to do something, and I don't.  Satan wants to drive us compulsively.  Phil 4:7, Don't worry and pray about everything.  Tell God what you want and thank you - then you can experience peace.  When God speaks it doesn't create anxiety and worry.  

If God gives you a word for someone else - 3 guidelines
1.  Be patient and pray - don't be in a hurry.
2.  God will use me to confirm what He has already said to them.
3.  God usually uses you without you being conscious of it.  You don't even know He spoke through you. 

Not from God if....
1.  It's not an idea from God if it's motivated by bitterness or envy. Satanic idea.

2.   If it's based on envy, buy something so people would envy me, so people will jealous of me.  Satanic idea.

3.  If it's motivated by selfish ambition - does not come from God.  He does not give you self serving ideas. I didn't put you on earth to bless your selfish ambition.  If it hurts everyone else but helps me.  That idea did not come from God.

God's voice is peace loving and Pure - God's ideas are pure and peace loving, impartial and sincere.  Promotes reconciliation not war or separation.  Not going to give us an idea to create conflict in our family.  He won't give us an idea that will divide people.  Bridge builder or Wall builder.    All gossip is satanic.  Real ideas from God are submissive, humble willing to have your idea checked by someone else.

God's voice is full of mercy.   True wisdom that comes from God is full of mercy.  God has been gracious to me, I must be give everyone else graciousness.  Critical nature.It takes maturity and wisdom to find the beauty in everyone. What takes intelligence is finding the beauty.

Guys if you have an idea and you don't want to tell you wife about the idea...it didn't come from God.  Girls, if you don't want to check it out with your husband, not an idea from God.  You are willing to have it tested.  Ask around.  Ask people what they think about the idea.

If you have heard God in the past and can't now?  You have allowed sin to block the passage.  It may be a relationship you need to let go of, it may be a habit you need to let go of.

What if you have never heard from Him.  You need to begin a relationship with Jesus.  You can have religion and not a relationship.  

If you belong to God, you will hear from Him.  

If you want to belong to God, pray this:
Dear God I want to know you and I want to hear your voice and I want to know what you want me to do with my life.  Jesus I don't understand at all, but I thank you that you love me and made me and that you shaped me for a purpose that you forgive me and take away my condemnation.  Show me the things in my life that are keeping me from hearing you.   I want to confess them and get rid of them and I want to follow you and trust you from this day forward.  I ask you to accept me into your family so I can hear you voice and feel your presence.  Amen.

*notes from Pastor Rick Warren "Hearing the Voice of God, Recognizing God's Voice" - Daily Hope with Rick Warren Podcast.

Enjoy every day of your life...

Growing in the Seasons of Life - 
ENJOY EVERY SEASON YOU ARE IN.

Seasons of life - beyond our control - can't control duration, location or anything about them.  Your schedule just gets thrown out the door.

Grief/Loss is a season of life, and you will go threw that many times in life.  Through death of someone you love or people you love, like your kids, growing up and moving away.

Waiting is a season of life.  Some seasons speed by and others drag on.  Seasons can be confusing.  We understand the season AFTER they are over.

God determines the seasons. See Daniel 2:21.  God is in ultimate control moving towards a destiny He ultimately designed.

God wants to teach you to life by faith not by explanation.  The Christian life lives by faith.  Ecc 3:11.  God does everything just right and on time but people cannot completely understand what he is doing.  If we could understand everything, we would be God.  Our brain isn't big enough to understand why God does what he does.  He has a purpose for every season of our life.

Do I hold on or do I let go.  Difficult times.  A time to keep and a time to throw away.

How can I make the most of each season.  Regardless there are four questions to ask yourself:  Every single season there is an important lesson to learn.

1.  What can I learn in this season of life?  Only learn through experience.  How can I grow from this?
2.  Life is a test.  You will spend far more time in eternity than in here on earth.  God wants us to learn a whole bunch of things before we get over there.  Learn character qualities and will take into eternity. Life is preparation for eternity.
3. What is most important in this season of my life?
4.  ENJOY THE SEASONS

Those who forget the past make the same mistakes.  Don't forget the lessons you learn or you have to relearn them.  Write down the lessons you learn.  So here it goes.

Yesterday I learned that maybe I don't have to be all or nothing on every aspect of my life.  Balance for some areas is healthy - like eating healthy and exercise.  I'm either focused on eating healthy or not at all.  How do I balance the two?  I also learned that I have a "straw ministry".  I am one end of the straw and God is at the other end and He is flowing straight through me to the outside world around me in everyone I meet and encounter - AS LONG AS I AM BALANCED.

I also learned that I'm learning to be content with what I have and that things don't need to be perfect for me to be happy.  People ought to enjoy every day of their life.  Each day is a gift from God.  "Give thanks in all circumstances".  Time is life and life is short.  You can't have it all - all the time.  Make some decisions about what really matters at this time of life.

If you are wise, you will begin to enjoy every single moment of the season you are in.

Father, help me to see the joys of the season I am in, help me to have the discipline to write down my lessons and not have to relearn them.  Help me to make the most of every season and see you in it every single day.

*notes and thoughts from "Understanding the seasons of life" by Pastor Rick Warren.