THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM (OR CHURCH)

It’s impossible to ignore the presence of slavery in the bible. Many people wonder if slavery is evil, then why is it in the bible, both Old and Testaments. To fully explain this concept would take a series of lessons, which I do intend to publish soon, as I get time to responsibly put them together. I will however give you a brief answer for general understanding.

First and foremost, we in the 21st Century have the tendency to view things only from a 21st Century perspective, but God exists outside of time and relates to us holistically throughout time, beyond time and the cultures we have created. God deals with us from and through the lens of HIS prospective. We must look at the many aspects of servitude throughout history.

IT’S CLEAR AMERICAN SLAVERY WAS EVIL

Slavery and servitude have existed in…

It may be a group of friends, professionals, artists, singers, musicians or preachers.

It’s a circle that you wanted to be a part of…

That you tried or even prayed to get in…

And, they rejected you.

It may not have even necessarily been a ‘bad’ group, that’s why you wanted in.

Even if it’s a good group doesn’t mean that it’s the group God has ordained for you.

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You have influence too!

You are anointed too!

You have purpose too!

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God has purpose for you that’s beyond and sometimes greater than that group or circle you wanted to be a part of.

And, even that group had to start with somebody. Every industry had to start with a single idea.

So, here it is…

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​The reason some people won’t accept you into THEIR circle is because God is trying to build HIS circle AROUND you.

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Look at Yeshua, our…

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We all get overwhelmed sometimes. But sometimes we can feel beyond
overwhelmed. Have you ever felt like giving up? Even if you didn’t feel like
killing yourself, have you ever felt like giving up on…

Your hopes and dreams,

Your relationship,

Your health.

Your future.

There are some days you feel so low that it takes all you can do
to get out of bed.

Sometimes your superpower isn’t superhuman strength or the ability to fly, but just summoning enough strength to get out of bed.

You struggle through every day without abusing drugs, alcohol, or being irresponsible with your body, but you can really understand why people do so to numb themselves to the pain of their struggle.

Sometimes your superpower isn’t battling villains, but battling…

Depression,

Despair,

Regret,

Loneliness,

Grief,

Anger,

Your past.

If this has ever been you, stop and give God some praise. If it’s never

Don’t worry, I’m not going rated ‘R’ on you but, I really think this is going to bless someone.

This is a much too common insult in our culture, and yes, the bad grammar is always intentional…

“You ain’t worth s**t! Of course, implying that someone doesn’t have the value of feces, crap, refuse, doo-doo, dung, ‘ish’.

It can be very hurtful if you allow it, especially if you are insecure or struggle with self-esteem. Or, if it’s told to a child by a parent, authority figure or peer. It’s damage can last well into adulthood.

So, let me give you a little ammunition with biblical support in case someone ever tells you, “You ain’t worth shiggity!”

God created everything with value. Everything! Even doo-doo! We all know that there’s an industry built around the use of animal dung to make mulch and fertilizer.

Why?

Because God put purpose and…

The Lord gives us the awesome privilege asking Him what we need or desire in His name and, He will answer according to His will.

Sometimes He says YES, and sometimes He says NO. WHEN GOD USES THE ‘N-WORD’…

John 14:13-14 (NKJV)

¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask^[a] anything in My name, I will do it.

Even though He said, “Whatever you ask”…there are SOME things that we should NEVER expect God to do. Sometimes we unintentionally ask God to contradict His holy word and His will.

That’s why the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-13).

This is far from exhaustive, but here are 3 things that we should NEVER expect God to do…

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1. FOR GOD TO MAKE YOU STOP DOING WRONG…

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I talk…

There is great power in a transparent testimony. Sometimes people just need to hear that you’ve been through what they are going through…and made it.

But, remember this…

You can give your testimony without telling ALL your business. You can bless their spirit without feeding their nosiness.

You don’t have to give every intricate detail of what you’ve gone through, what you did, what you endured to be a blessing to someone else. In fact, some parts of your testimony could do more harm than good. We still need to give people something to aspire to.

Think about this…

While he was president, we didn’t know every detail of John F. Kennedy’s business. We didn’t know every detail of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s business. We didn’t know every detail of Martin Luther King Jr.’s business.

Yes, we know that David sinned with Bathsheba, but we don’t know every detail. Yes, we…

You’ve seen it happen before. Anger always comes back…usually harder.
Words and actions released in anger always come back, but rarely return in peace. Only love can cool anger’s searing heat.

Put your anger in check before it turns into wrath, because even though love conquers wrath, sometimes the damage remains.

Wrath kills…both figuratively and literally.

Anger is a seed, if it is used wisely, it can ignite passion that allows love to diffuse the anger and plant seeds that lead to good fruit…

Such as being angry enough at wrong to do something about it…

Such as not returning an insult, can end an argument and lead to a lifelong friendship.

If anger is NOT put in check, it ignites emotions that allow wrath to plant weeds instead of good seeds…

Such as returning an insult can lead to a fight, and animosity that lasts for years and spreads…

The enemy told God that if he could provoke Job to curse Him to His face?

Job 1:9-11  (NKJV)

Psalm 127:2 (NKJV)

² It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

Are you tired? You went to bed. You had time away from work, but you’re still tired? Is your mind always racing? Are you either trying to get ahead? Stay ahead? Or, catch up? Maybe you’re just trying to hold it together.

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So many of us our so busy. So many of us are either worried, stressed or obsessed.

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Then what do we say when someone transitions from this life…”Rest in Peace!”

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I want to encourage you today to learn to rest in peace BEFORE you die!

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One of the enemy’s greatest manipulations is to keep us spiritually weak because we don’t rest. He wants us too tired to read and study God’s word. He wants us too tired to take…

It’s okay to arm yourself, but please remember this…

If your gun is polished, but you’re bible is dusty…You’re underarmed!

Psalm 44:6 (NKJV)

Psalm 33:16-18 (NKJV) ^(NKJV)

You may not be able to see viruses or bacteria with the naked eye, but when you catch a cold or get sick you acknowledge their existence.

You may not be tech savvy, you may not have a computer or smart phone, and you may renounce the internet, but YOUR information is not only on the internet, but it affects your life daily.

There are many who claim that there is no God. They don’t believe in Him, and they make every effort to provide empirical ‘proof’ He’s not there, but…

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Even the atheist acknowledges God’s is real when…

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He or she takes shelter from storms, heat or cold.
Jonah 1:4-5(NKJV)
⁴ But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
⁵ Then the mariners were afraid; and…

If we aren’t careful we can find ourselves expecting a ‘pat on the back’ for doing the things that we are supposed to do…for doing our God-given duty from Yahweh Himself.

Parents can sometimes try to pressure their adult children into controlling their adult children by bringing up everything they sacrificed for them when they were young.

I’ve heard some parents justify their ‘me time’ or time with their friends by bragging about how they ‘pay the bills’ so they should be able to do what they want to do every now and then. Well, they should from time to time, but the truth is that…

Fathers and mothers are supposed to be there and provide for their children.

Proverbs 22:6  (NKJV)

We are…

Most people know the biblical account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being placed into the fiery furnace because they refused King Nebuchadnezzar’s national decree to worship the image of gold. Let me first say that I don’t like calling them by their Babylonian names. Their real names were Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

The king commanded that when the designated ‘national’ music played that everyone stopped what they were doing and worship the image. This was a ‘national’ decree, and everyone under his authority stopped and worshiped the image.

As you will read below, the three young men refused to do so.
Daniel 3:1-18 (NKJV)

3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was^[a]sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. ² And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the…

From civil rights to confederate statues. From protecting the environment to climate change. From the most extreme liberal to the most staunch conservative. From sexual misconduct in the workplace to being falsely accused… I’ve noticed, especially on social media how quick people are to accuse others of whining and being too sensitive when others that what displeases them. The same people who criticize others for being too sensitive has their own sensitivities…what makes one think his or hers is more valid than another’s?

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It’s funny when it’s whining until it’s something that’s important to you…

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It’s a shame when people can’t disagree without insults and sometimes aggression. How much more productive would our debates, dialogues and monologues be if we could respect, not only how one another feels, but the reasons why those who oppose us disagree.

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We could get so much more accomplished if we found common ground.

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I…

I know some of you are thinking, “What are you talking about preacher?”

Whether they admit it or not, everyone wants good sex. Well here’s the thing…God knows that.

He made us that way.

That’s why he created the desire. He created our bodies to attract one another, and most importantly, He created Godly marriage between a man and woman, so that we can enjoy good sex.

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GODLY SEX IS SEX BETWEEN A MARRIED MAN AND WOMAN

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Matthew 19:4-6 (NKJV)

⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made^[a]them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’^[b]5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?^[c]6 So then, they are no longer two but…

How many times have you done it? You jumped out of bed, and hit the ground running. You got dressed, maybe grabbed a bite to eat and started your day. Then here come the challenges…

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Family asking questions they could have asked last night…

Can’t find your keys…

Horrible traffic…

More horrible co-workers…

Everyone seems to be pushing all your buttons all morning long!

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Then, just before lunch you realize it. How could you have forgotten? Yes, the bed felt good and you lay there a few more moments, so when you jumped up you had to get going. But, how could you get going without telling God…

“Good Morning!” (Psalm 63:1)

“I bless your Holy Name this morning!” (Matthew 6:9)

“Thank you for keeping while I slept!” (Psalm 4:8)

“Thank you for brand new grace and mercy this morning!” (Lamentations 3:22-24)

“Please forgive me of all my sins!”

One of the most precious gifts from God is freedom. Just as America celebrates its freedom each July 4^th, most nations, cultures or races that had one time been oppressed in some form stop to celebrate their independence.

In the book of Joshua , after God established Israel as a nation. we read what will be a common phrase in the bible established Israel in the promised land…

Joshua 21:44New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴⁴The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

King Solomon also recognizes that God has given him and the nation rest from all enemies or adversaries…

1 Kings 5:4New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴But now the Lord my God has given me rest…

DID THE LIVING WORD DREAM?

When Jesus’ eyelids grew heavy

From carrying the weight of the world…

Did He dream…

…of returning to His heavenly home?

…that everyone would accept His precious gift?

Did He fantasize about the joys of a wife and family?

Did He dream of salvation without the cross?

Or, were His nightmares that He would be left down here in this mess?

If we felt it…He felt it.

As we were tempted…He was tempted.

If we endured it…The Lord endured it.

When He submitted Himself to the weakness of our flesh…

He had to hunger.

He had to thirst.

He had to hurt.

He had to hope.

He had to dream…

What do you think the Son of God dreamed about?

You? Me? Eternity?

 Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV)

15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all…

God told us we will have trials and tribulations in life. He also gave us a promise. 

“Many are the affictions of the righteous, but God delivers him out of them all” Psalm 34:19.

The devil knows of this promise and does everything he can to convince you to give up not only during the trial, but when things are TURNING AROUND. He may even attack harder. I’m in a turn around season myself, and the devil is trying to discourage me even as I type this word to inspire US.

I declare in the name of Jesus Christ that the devil is a liar! My wife and I can tell God is turning things around. If you are sensitive to God, and in constant prayer, you can tell that a change for the better is coming. You can tell that things are TURNING AROUND. That’s why you need…

People love clichés.

A well-placed cliché makes conversations, speeches and even sermons more interesting. One very popular cliché used when people have misfortune is or difficulty is, “When life gives you lemons make lemonade”.

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BUT WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANY SUGAR?

What if you have a health condition that doesn’t allow you to have sugar?

Sometimes in life we have to faith our way through some difficult days…

Sometimes we have to take some medicine that just doesn’t taste good…

Sometimes you have to swallow a really big pill that’s hard to get down…

Some people can’t have sugar in their diet…

Sometimes your healing comes from something bitter.

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AREN’T YOU GLAD THAT JESUS DIDN’T MAKE LEMONADE ON THE CROSS?

2 Timothy 2:3 tells us to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:2 teaches us to look to Jesus, who endured the cross for…

God always answers prayer…and usually it comes suddenly.

There have been times I was greatly troubled to the point that found it difficult to enjoy anything else.

Even in a happy moment, I might laugh… and then rushing to the front of my mind comes the thought, “REMEMBER ME!!!” I’m your trouble and I haven’t gone ANYWHERE!!!

In the midst of this trouble I pray to God for peace, which doesn’t always come immediately. As I continue in prayer, I consider my troubling situations. I think of how good God is to me, EVEN with the trouble I’m experiencing. I think of all of the things that COULD go wrong…that haven’t. I think of ALL of the things God has ALREADY brought me through.

That’s when I stop and thank Him for just for being God…for His unfailing love, even when mine fails…for His faithfulness even when I’m unfaithful to…

1 Peter 1:7 (NKJV)
⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

Once we are baptized into the Body of Christ, then comes of lifetime of growth in our faith. That public affirmation, testimony and ‘marriage ceremony’ of what has taken place on the inside is symbolized by being totally immersed in water.

But, as God matures us sometimes through trials and challenges. Difficulty in your life doesn’t always mean you’re being punished…sometimes you’re being perfected.
1 Peter 1:7 (NKJV)
⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
Malachi 3:2-3 (NKJV)

It may be a group of friends, professionals, artists, singers, musicians or preachers.

It’s a circle that you wanted to be a part of…

That you tried or even prayed to get in…

And, they rejected you.

It may not have even necessarily been a ‘bad’ group, that’s why you wanted in.

Even if it’s a good group doesn’t mean that it’s the group God has ordained for you.

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You have influence too!

You are anointed too!

You have purpose too!

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God has purpose for you that’s beyond and sometimes greater than that group or circle you wanted to be a part of.

And, even that group had to start with somebody. Every industry had to start with a single idea.

So, here it is…

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​The reason some people won’t accept you into THEIR circle is because God is trying to build HIS circle AROUND you.

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Look at Yeshua, our…

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Never take for granted Yahweh’s precious gift of being justified by and through our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, Christ Jesus!

Remember, justification simply means being counted as or pronounced as righteous in spite of our sin and filth.

Acts 13:38-39 (NKJV)

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, thatthrough this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;³⁹andbyHim everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Isaiah 64:6(NKJV)

⁶ But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like ^[a]filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.

This means that looking at us through the sacrifice of Christ and repentant hearts, God doesn’t see how nasty we are. He only sees His righteousness.

Think of it like…

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Be very careful to notice where God uses the word ‘AS’ in His word. It can be easily overlooked, but the comparisons are always very powerful and contain profound revelation into how God relates to us.

It is literally used to say ‘LIKE”.

For example, God isn’t saying it only takes a little faith in Matthew 17 verse 20. On the contrary, there are numerous occasions when Jesus rebuked His disciples for having ‘little’ faith and complimented others for having great faith. Link

He is saying that it takes great faith for something AS small as a grain of mustard seed to create something great…

Matthew 17:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^[a]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith AS a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and…

We have a tendency to categorize sins based on our culture, experiences, perceptions and personal theology. We tend to have BIG sins and little sins.

And, there are even some people who actually even feel that they don’t sin because they feel they aren’t committing the BIG sins.

We have this idea of what’s ‘evil’. When think of ‘evil’ things like violence, illicit sex, porn, drug abuse, physical abuse, oppression, racism, profanity, etc., etc., etc., come to mind.

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However evil is simply that what is contrary to God’s will and falls short of His expectations.

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Think about when Jesus was telling His disciples about His coming death and resurrection what Peter blurted out…in so many words he said, “No way! I got your back!”

Matthew 16:21-23  (NKJV)

 ²¹ From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the…

Have you ever noticed how Paul interacted with the people of Athens? He encountered people who did not believe in the God of our salvation. He took advantage of the opportunity to teach them about Yeshua, Christ Jesus.

He didn’t do as many Christians do today, allow his passion to confront them in anger and spiritual arrogance. He didn’t tell them how stupid, silly and foolish they were to believe as they did. He didn’t try to bully them into believing.

Paul reached out to them in respect and love, acknowledging that they sincerely believed in something, and he wanted to present to them the only Living God…

Acts 17:22-30 (NKJV)

Addressing the Areopagus

²² Then Paul stood in the midst of the]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;²³ for as I was passing through and considering the…

If you believe in God, then you have to believe in the devil. We have seen many movies such as The Exorcist that dramatizes demonic possession. I believe that demonic possession is real, and is the explanation for many heinous acts throughout history.

Matthew 12:43-45 (NKJV)

⁴³ “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴ Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So, shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

In the movies, the help of a Catholic priest is usually enlisted to confront and…

It’s easy to read the gospels and think, shame on the scribes, Pharisees, Saducees and religious establishment that so often confronted, questioned and even corrected Jesus. But, if we’re honest with ourselves, many of us would have done the same thing if we were living then.

How do I know? Because that’s what many of us do, sometimes unintentionally, today.

Allow me to use the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12), you know where Jesus performed His first recorded public miracle, to give a hypothetical example.

What if there was a man or woman who planned to go to that wedding, but one of the ‘church people’ told him or her, “Well, I’m not going, and I would advise that you don’t go. I’ve heard they will be drinking there. Based on that ‘churchy’ advice, the man or woman did not go. We all know that when they ran out of…