Church of the Heartland – Logansport

True Prophecy

The end purpose of all true prophecy is to build up, to admonish, and to encourage the people of God. Anything that doesn’t isn’t true prophecy.

What is true prophecy for?

1 Cor 14:3 But one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them.

A. PROPHECY IS TO BUILD UP, ENCOURAGE AND COMFORT

1. These words define the purpose of true prophecy: edification

(building up); exhortation (encouragement) and comfort (consoling the believer).

2. Sometimes you may hear utterances, purposing to be prophetic, of which may have brought confusion, condemnation, or discouragement to the people of God. These utterances cannot be accepted as true manifestations of the gift of prophecy.

3. The Holy Spirit in his relationship to the people of God is “Comforter” “Advocate” or “Encourager”. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is not to condemn us. He will never discourage the people of God.

B. PROPHECY IS FOR REMOVING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS AND REPLACING THEM WITH POSITIVE ONES.

1. God sometimes first removes that which is negative in order to replace it with that which is positive. Let’s look at Jeremiah.

Jer 1:5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.”

Jer 1:6 “O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

Jer 1:7 “Don’t say that,” the LORD replied, “for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

Jer 1:9 Then the LORD touched my mouth and said, “See, I have put my words in your mouth!

Jer 1:10 Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. You are to uproot some and tear them down, to destroy and overthrow them. You are to build others up and plant them.”

2. For a time God may find it necessary to “root out” and to “pull down”; but his final purpose is always to build and plant.

C. IT’S ALL ABOUT EDIFYING AND BUILDING UP.

These principles are brought to the forefront through the New Testament concerning the exercising of spiritual gifts.

Two times in Second Corinthians the apostle Paul speaks of the authority which is given to him as a minister of the gospel.

2 Cor 10:8 this authority is to build you up, not to tear you down. And I will not be put to shame by having my work among you destroyed.

2 Cor 13:10 I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won’t need to deal harshly with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to build you up, not to tear you down.

On each occasion authority is given him “for the edification (building up) and not for the tearing down of God’s people.

In 1 Corinthians, chapter 14 this chapter deals mainly with the correct use of the vocal gifts: tongues, interpretation, and prophecy. As you read this chapter you will see that all these gifts are used for building up the body of Christ.

1 Cor 14:26 Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize what I am saying. When you meet, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in an unknown language, while another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must be useful to all and build them up in the Lord.

When giving a prophecy you don’t have to put a Thus Saith the Lord to get your point across. The person that is receiving the prophecy will know if it is from God or not.

When things are done in order during a services and the Holy Spirit moves with prophecy it is an exciting time for the church.

We must always remember the final purpose of all spiritual gifts, including prophecy, is the edification of God’s people

One pastor said it best this way (If you don’t build up then shut up!)

Who Are You

The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. He has a personality and will of His own even though He is intimately united with the Father and the Son. John 14:16-17

The Holy Spirit’s divine attributes.

- Omnipresent (Present everywhere) Psalm 139:7
- Omniscient (All knowing) 1 Corinthians 2:10
- Omnipotent (All powerful) Luke1:35;Romans 15:19
- Eternal (Hebrews 9:14)

What are the Holy Spirit’s distinctions?

- He has a will and emotions. (1Corinthians 12:11)
- He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30)
- He shows love (2 Timothy 1:7)
- He groans (Romans 8:26)
- He has a mind of His own. (Romans 8:27) NKJ

The Holy Spirit has many titles.

1. He is our teacher (John 14:26)
2. He is our comforter (John 14:16)
3. He empowers us to tell people about Jesus (Acts 1:8)
4. He distributes His  gifts to us (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)
5. He produces fruit within us (Galatians 5:22-23)
6. He helps keep you from sinning (Galatians 5:16)
7. He reprimands the world (John 16:8)
8. He helps Christians pray when they do not know what to pray (Romans 8:26)
9. He helps Christians enter into a deeper realm of praise  (1 Corinthians 14:15)

How can the Holy Spirit help you?

-He will TEACH you all things. (John 14:26)
-He will REMIND you of all things that Jesus said to you. (John 14:26)
-He will TESTIFY of Jesus. (John 15:26)
-He will GUIDE you into all TRUTHS. (John 16:13)
-He brings GLORY and HONOR to the name of Jesus (John 16:14)

When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they immediately received a better knowledge and understanding of Jesus Himself…
…more than when Jesus was physically present with them on earth!

John 16:7-10 But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Counselor won’t come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you.  8 And when he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.  9 The world’s sin is unbelief in me.  10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.

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How many of you here today can relate to the young lady in the video.

I know I can. When I first became a Christian I had many of the same feelings as she had.

I thought that the church or the people in it would judge me for my past.

Just like the young lady I  have felt  UNLOVED, UNWORTHY, UNCLEAN, UNWANTED and UNFORGIVABLE.

If you have experienced rejection in your life in some way or another you have probably had these same feelings or some very similar ones.

The story the young lady was telling us is the story of the young Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well one day and how it relates to her life today.

The young lady in the video stated that she would notice or perceive that people she knew would cast judgmental glances at her and that she also was a woman of no importance.

She felt that she was used and abused with no hope for the future and her life was full of fear.

She felt that because of the pain of her UNWORTYNESS that she had to stay to herself because of the sin that made her an UNCLEAN woman and a total failure in all areas of her life.

Many times when you come to this place in your life you get the feeling that nobody will ever love you again and that is when the UNWANTED and UNLOVED emotions enter into your way of thinking.

To tell you the truth at this point in your life it boils down to mind games. It is all about how you see yourself.

Well I have good news for you. You don’t have to carry the weight of that way of thinking the rest of your life. You can get free of them just like I have and many other people have you see around you here today.

Just like the young lady in the video and the Samaritan woman in the bible they both tasted something that was very good for them and others.

Ps 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in him!

Ps 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste; they are sweeter than honey.

You see they both tasted the UNCONDITIONAL love of Jesus Christ.

For you see Jesus knew both these young ladies reputations but He refused to hold it against them because He came to give them life.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV

If you have a desire to start a relationship with Jesus today you can count on an UNBELIEVEABLE life filled with God’s grace and mercy.

You won’t have to worry about condemnation being sent your way because Jesus doesn’t care about your past. His desire is to see your purpose in life fulfilled by becoming a child of God.

Rom 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus

You see we don’t have to take what this world is handing out.

We by the power of Christ with in us can walk in VICTORY.

1 John 5:4 For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory.

If you have a desire to get free from your past, today is your day of victory. All you have to do is to believe in the same way as both women did that Jesus died to set them free from their sins.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard

Rom 10:9 For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For the UNCONDITONAL love of Christ comes by way of the Cross.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

John 15:13 And here is how to measure it–the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.

What have we learned in the past few weeks? I believe God has shown us what it will take for us to have true revival in our churches and in our lives.

In order to have revival in our lives we must understand what it means to walk in God’s Holiness. In other words when we lay a sin down you don’t want to pick it back up again.

Isa 58:1 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Tell my people Israel of their sins!

Isaiah learned what was keeping revival from God’s people and it was talking one way and walking another.

Isa 58:2 Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to hear my laws. You would almost think this was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf.

God was hiding His face from them. Have you ever been in a situation where no matter what you do to try to make God listen to you God remains silent?

Many times it is because we come before a Holy God with a religious attitude or action.

Isa 58:3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why! It’s because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. 4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.

God will not act upon sin on your behalf, He is moved by faith and obedience.

Isa 59:1-2 Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. 2 But there is a problem–your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

I am not hear to bring condemnation to you I am hear to sound the trumpet just like Isaiah to bring freedom to your lives.

When you allow seeds of sin to get planted into your mind you can expect a harvest of wickedness to be released into your hearts.

Prov 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.NKJV

You see there is nothing innocent about evil thoughts. They will always corrupt your mind if you don’t take hold of them immediately.

Isa 55:6-7 Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

You must elevate your thinking and take on the mind of Christ, by throwing down every worthless imagination that will keep you from Gods presence.

·    Have you ever been hurt by someone and then replay those thought over and over again? And then come to the conclusion that they have hurt you so bad that you will never be able to forgive them.

·    Have you ever been crippled by the fear of failure. Not being able to please your husband or wife or even God because you don’t ever think you will ever be able to meet their standard.

·    Have you ever been addicted to something and your mind can never let loose of the thoughts that plague you and causes you to do what you don’t want to.

These are the seeds of sin that have taken root in your mind.

If you don’t take into custody those thoughts and you replay them over and over it is like watering them and establishing productive ground for them to increase. Which then causes you to fall into sin.

This is why many people who have been delivered fall back into the same old sin.

People who are ruled by the seeds of sin that have taken root lose all their peace.

Isa 59:9 It is because of all this evil that deliverance is far from us. That is why God doesn’t punish those who injure us. No wonder we are in darkness when we expected light. No wonder we are walking in the gloom.

Now for the breakthrough you all desire. It comes from elevating our thoughts and fixing them on the living word of God.

Isa 27:5 Or let him take hold of My strength, That he may make peace with Me; And he shall make peace with Me.” NKJV

Rom 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

1 Peter 1:13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ.

Downloading God’s Program

Show (I am video here).  You can watch this on sermon spice (watch first then go to sermon)

Many of you here today don’t believe what you just watched.

It is because you are living in a black and white world.

What I mean by that is that you see things the way they are today and you can’t get past it. Your mind can’t think of tomorrow because it locks up.

You see it is like the computer that JR and I are working on. It only thinks so far and then it locks up.

What we have to do is reprogram it so that it will be able to think clearly again.

Christ has made it possible for you to think differently but your challenge is that you won’t accept the program that God wants to download into you.

You see Christ has paid the price so that we can be what the Word of God says we are.

Eph 4:8-10 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. NLT

But you see what has happen is that a virus has infected God’s program for many of your lives and it only allows you to see yourselves as you were or as you are right now.

You must allow the color of God’s glory to manifest in your life. This comes by renewing your mind with God’s Word.

Rom 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. NLT

You see God will reprogram your thoughts with His thoughts, but you must allow His program to be saved in your heart. This can come only by God’s Grace

2 Cor 10:5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ NKJV

The greatest anti virus program you have is believing what the Word of God says about you.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. NKJV

You don’t have to live in a black and white world full of depression, anxiety, doubt, unbelief, fear, sickness, rejection, and lack.

2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. NLT

God has created a world that is High Definition it is full of vivid color and life.

Allow God to reprogram you natural mind to the way He says you should think then you will experience the change needed for you to enter into a renewed life in Him.

1 Cor 2:16-3:1 For,” Who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who can give him counsel?” But we can understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. NLT

When God’s program is working correctly without any glitches in your life, and you have His anti virus (the Word of God) washing your mind daily of the lies the devil says about you, you can and will be who God says you are.

Play the I AM video again for the closing.

Brainwashed Or True Revival

I come before you today with a heavy heart. I am going to talk about what a true revival is and what a true revival isn’t.

I believe that a spirit of deception has been released upon the body of Christ and it has kept us from a move of God that will bring true revival to our lives and our churches.

But first I want to show you a video on an apparent revival. (Show Video Here)

VIDEO LINK

A move a God can start in the strangest of ways or it can come as a counterfeit.

I am looking for a move of God in my life that will last till Jesus comes back not just a year or a year in a half.

When you seek Jesus you will find Jesus and when you seek man you will find man.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about transformation. True transformation in a person’s life comes from the power of the cross not just in the manifestation of signs and wonders.

Where there is true revival there will be:

• True Repentance

(Turning 180 degrees and running as fast as we can from sin)

• Understanding the Fear of the Lord

(Not thinking we can close the door while in sin and God wont see us) or

Committing sin in the face of God no matter what) In other words not caring

what God’s Word says about what we are evolved in.

• True Salvation

(Spiritual eyes that can now see what sin truly is and spiritual ears that can hear

His voice and walk in His ways) so that you can live a life not shackled to sin.

• A heart after God’s people

(Taking the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world)

• A spirit of supplication will fall on us

(A burning desire to seek God’s face through prayer)

Isa 6:1-9 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the remaining two they flew. 3 In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 The glorious singing shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD Almighty!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew over to the altar, and he picked up a burning coal with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” 8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us?” And I said, “Lord, I’ll go! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Yes, go. But tell my people this:

Isaiah became a carrier of revival.

God wants to deal with our personal sin just like with Isaiah. Revival brings freedom to our lives, His people and the church.

We have got to get serious about how much time we have left.

If someone stopped breathing how would you revive him or her, by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

God wants to breath revival into us through His Grace.

Zech 12:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. NKJV

When the Lord Jesus becomes Lord of All. Revival will come. That means we must become totally committed and walking in humility then signs and wonders will follow.

But remember the emphasis will not be on the signs and wonders but rather on walking in holiness and obedience unto the Lord.

We will only be able to receive this by the second move of grace sent from heaven for His church. (We will have no desire to force God’s hand into a revival it will be a true move of the Holy Spirit in our lives).

True revival affects the heart in such a way that lasting transformation comes.

Tell the story of Heath’s and Mist’s wedding shower.

When true revival comes look for it’s lasting fruits.

In revival time does not exist.