Thursday, October 22, 2009

Fearless 10/21/09 Kay

1Sa 17:4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
1Sa 17:5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
1Sa 17:6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
1Sa 17:7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.
1Sa 17:8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
1Sa 17:9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us."
1Sa 17:10 And the Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together."
1Sa 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

In our lives we will face a Goliath
What is your Goliath?
You don’t want to talk about it because you cant defeat it
Addiction to ...whatever...
You don’t see any hope
Some people have a hard time identifying it because it has become such a part of you
You might have the right words but you have no intention of fighting because you are afraid

1Sa 17:12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.
1Sa 17:13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
1Sa 17:14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul,
1Sa 17:15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
1Sa 17:16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
1Sa 17:17 And Jesse said to David his son, "Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.
1Sa 17:18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them."
1Sa 17:19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
1Sa 17:20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.
1Sa 17:21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
1Sa 17:22 And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.
1Sa 17:23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.

The first thing you need to do is hear the lies of your goliath so you can recognize them as lies
Knowing the truth is how you identify the truth
What lies are you believing or ignoring? (ie: you cant have a healthy marriage. you can't break this addiction. belief in God is a joke you are on your own. you are a loser, failure, etc.)
Hear the lies but know the truth

1Sa 17:24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.
1Sa 17:25 And the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel."
1Sa 17:26 And David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
1Sa 17:27 And the people answered him in the same way, "So shall it be done to the man who kills him."
1Sa 17:28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."
1Sa 17:29 And David said, "What have I done now? Was it not but a word?"
1Sa 17:30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
1Sa 17:31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him.
1Sa 17:32 And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
1Sa 17:33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth."

Second, do not listen to the naysayers
Remember when God did something in your life
David remembered the lion and bear

1Sa 17:34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,
1Sa 17:35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
1Sa 17:36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."
1Sa 17:37 And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"

Remember when God DID IT

When people say that He won't or can't, you can remember your God stories.

1Sa 17:38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,
1Sa 17:39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." So David put them off.
1Sa 17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
1Sa 17:41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
1Sa 17:42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
1Sa 17:43 And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1Sa 17:44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field."

The giant wasn't impressed.
Third: Don't focus on the giant, focus on God!
Don’t compare yourself to the giant
When you bet on the giant your focus is misplaced
There is no way without God that we can defeat the giant
We need to compare our giant to our God

This day the lord will hand you over to me

1Sa 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
1Sa 17:46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
1Sa 17:47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand."

First hear the lies because you know the truth
Second don’t focus on the naysayers, remember when God did it
Third don’t focus on the giant, focus on God

1Sa 17:48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
1Sa 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
1Sa 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.
1Sa 17:51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

Remember the story of the baby bear up against the mtn lion, he tried to look scary, but the lion wasn’t afraid until momma bear came up behind the baby bear.

If you think you can do something to defeat the giant it is like David trying to wear Saul’s armor

We have to get still and listen to God to find out what our part is. God is not going to shout over the noise of your life

David ran at Goliath, he didn't wait

David stayed close enough to God to know His voice

When we fear we need to go to God first. When we experience God's presence all the time then we won't have to stop and say ok God what do you want me to do? We will know His presence and voice.

God used the skill that David had developed in the wilderness.


http://www.lifechurch.tv/message-archive/watch/Fearless/5

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Fear of Lack

Fear of Lack 10/14/09 Kay Cardell McCullough

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Fear of running out.

“Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.” 1 Samuel 15:3-9

Saul was a coward Jonathan was courageous.

Jonathan lived his life with a mindset of abundance.

Saul lived his life with a mindset of lack.

Not enough hours in the day.

Money does not grow on trees.

A mindset of scarcity is a fear that there is not enough.


What is it for you that you cannot let go of, do without, run out of?

Monkey with hand in little hole of coconut won’t let go of rice so he gets caught.

You are in prison to that which you cannot risk losing.

If you let go God will give you something better.

1. People's approval

2. Money/things/home/food

3. Affection/love

4. Control/manipulation/no one else can do it better than me

What you have is irrelevant to what you need when you live out of a fear of lack.

The moment that we invite Christ to invade our lives everything becomes ours.


Living out of abundance starts with:

1. Knowing God as our unlimited supply not with mind but with our lifestyle

2. Knowing what He can do through me


“And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” 1 Samuel 14:6

What happens when you live out of abundance:


1. You will pick risky fights because you have nothing to lose


· “And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.” 1 Samuel 14:14-15


· You give when you are drowning in debt, and God opens up the blessings.


· Marriage falling apart? Pick a fight for your spouse instead of with them, pray that God blesses them and humbles you. God will restore.


· Praying for a child: pick a fight against your spiritual enemy and one day their ground will shake. Keep praying for them.


2. Will live recklessly selfless lives


· when you know who you are in Christ you do not have to live for yourself. God gets the glory.


· “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:34-36


When your daddy makes the donuts there is always more than enough. money may not grow on trees, but when your daddy makes the trees it doesn't matter.

When your daddy makes forgiveness and love there is plenty forgiveness and love.

It’s not about me but I thought it was.

www.lifechurchtv.com

What would you do for God if you knew you could not fail?

Needing to be in control is not trusting God.


Friday, October 2, 2009

Inspirational 10/02/09 Strength vs. Weakness

Strength vs. Weakness

Author: Unknown

The following is the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn't I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

“No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake; He dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and the sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

Now our biggest weakness is that we are human but that can be turned into the biggest strength once we let go and let God. God working through us is the greatest thing in our lives.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9

“En Hy het vir my gesĂȘ: My genade is vir jou genoeg, want my krag word in swakheid volbring. Baie liewer sal ek dus in my swakhede roem, sodat die krag van Christus in my kan woon.” -2 Corinthians 12:9
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In His Service,
< Sherry and Jim Heard
Sherry’s Inspirational list

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