1 Major Obstacle To Magnifying Christ

As Christians were are shine the light of Jesus brightly in our part of this dark world but the question I think we need to ask ourselves is how we can magnify Christ even larger in a world filled with darkness. Or, are there any obstacles that keep us from magnifying Christ in and through our lives.

In this video I will identify a hug obstacle that blocks Christ from being magnified.

Watch This Video & See If You Are Magnifying Christ Or Is There Something That Needs To Be Changed!

What Curtis Sergeant Has To Say About LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY!

Curtis Sergeant

I pretty excited to share that my new book LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY has received a powerful recommendation/review from Curtis Sergeant.  

Here's little bit about Curtis which will explain why I am so honored to have his recommendation.  

Curtis has served our Lord in some very powerful positions.  Here are a few:

• He is the founder and lead trainer for MetaCamp. A group to train people to live out powerful missional lives. 

• He has served with E3 Partners as Director of Global Strategies and Vice President.  E3 Partners is a mission agency intended to ignite church planting movements all over the world. 

• Director Of Church Planting at Saddleback Community Church.

• Served with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in the following positions: Associate Vice President For Global Strategy; Strategy Associate For East Asia; Global Strategy Coordinator & Church Planting Trainer; and Strategy Coordinator.  

This guy has served our Lord faithfully for the purpose of saturating our world with the Gospel of Jesus.  

Here's what he has to say about LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY:

"Jay's book follows a similar pattern to many of Paul's epistles, with the first half consisting of theology and principles and the second half being practical application.  The second half is culture-specific.  The first half is universal in application.  The first half is timely and much-needed in our day.  It provides a critically important perspective which has come to be alarmingly rare in recent years.  Its message is simple but not easy.  It directly confronts the idolatry of comfort and convenience in current expressions of Christianity.  It challenges us to live the abundant lives the Lord intends for us to live, the life of a disciple, the life of a servant rather than one who is to be served.  It is worth reading for one's own growth and passing on to the disciples we are making.  I recommend it." ~ Curtis Sergeant

It is my sincerest desire that this book helps God's people to shed the worry that plagues them to join Him on his mission of making disciples of the whole world.  

If you are a Follower of Christ and worry holds you back from joining Christ on His mission or holds you back from doing anything that you know God wants you to do, then it’s time to get rid of that worry and begin to live a worry free life. GET YOUR COPY OF THIS POWERFUL BOOK TODAY & LEARN HOW!

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY OF THIS POWERFUL BOOK

Please feel free to share this message with you friends on Facebook & Twitter.  

How To Have God Guide You!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." 

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NAS)

In this short but powerful verse we are given specific instructions on how to allow God to guide our lives!  The Bible tells us: What To Do; What Not To Do; and To Claim A Promise!  In other words there are three conditions (what to do and what not to do) that when fulfilled, God will keep His promise. 

FIRST CONDITION: What To Do!

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

In other words, we are to have faith in God.  Trust is just another way of saying Faith! Throughout scripture, expressing faith in God is always essential to seeing God work in and through our lives. The Bible even says that faith is essential in pleasing God.

"Without faith it is impossible to please God" Hebrews 11:6

You have to have faith in God!  You have to be trusting in God to work in you, through you and in the circumstances you find yourself in.  ARE YOU TRUSTING GOD?

But we're not only to trust Him!  We are to trust Him with all our hearts.  Not some of our heart, not part of our heart but ALL of our heart.  When it comes to trusting in God there should be absolutely no doubt or concern whatsoever.  Our full trust and confidence in Him is what God expects of us, if we are expecting him to keep His promise!

SECOND CONDITIONS: What Not To Do!

DON'T RELY ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!

This verse is very clear that we are not to lean or stand ourselves up on our own abilities to reason things out.  Often, when God tells us what to do, it won't make a bit of sense.  

I don't think it made much sense to Moses when the Children of Israel needed water and God told him to hit the rock with his staff!  And then on a different occasion God tells him to speak to the rock to get water.  Are you serious?  Hit and speak to a rock! That doesn't make sense. 

I don't think it made a bit of sense to Jesus' disciples when Jesus told them to feed 5,000 men plus women and children with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes!  And if I was Peter it would have made no sense to me at all for Jesus to tell me to go out to a lake, grab a fish, open its mouth and there inside find money and then go pay the temple tax.  Really! Feeding a large group of people with just a little bit of fun and finding money in the mouth of a fish to pay my taxes, just doesn't make sense!

But for God it isn't a requirement for it to make sense to us on how these crazy things that He tell us to do work out!  We Don't Need To Understand!

The only requirement that God expects is obedience.  Obedience is Jesus' LOVE LANGUAGE.  

Jesus speaking, "If you love me keep my commandments." John 15:10

THIRD CONDITION: What To Do!

IN ALL YOUR LIFE MAKE GOD KNOWN!

Throughout you entire life there is always one common denominator!  What is it?

GOD!

It was God who fashioned you, formed you, saved you and maintains you.  Without God and Christ we would be helplessly and hopelessly drowning in our sea of sin!  God has loved us with an everlasting love. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God! NOTHING! 

So, why shouldn't we in all our ways acknowledge God?  Why shouldn't we make Him known to the whole world?  How can we help but speak of the great and mighty things that God has done in the past and in our own lives.  

When we are acknowledging God in all our ways, we are shining the Light of Christ brightly in our part of this dark world!  We are making this world a brighter place to live. 

THE ONE PROMISE: What God Will Do For Us!

HE WILL GUIDE US AND DIRECT US!

After all, why wouldn't God direct us and lead us if we are putting our faith in him, making Him known to all the world and not leaning on our own understanding?  Of course He will!  

You fulfill those conditions and you can take this promise that God has made to you, to the bank and cash it in. 

THAT'S PROMISE THAT GOD WILL HONOR AND KEEP!

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7 Important Principles For Developing The Fruit Of The Spirit

Have you ever wished you were more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kinder, faithful, gentle, self-controlled, or even filled with more goodness?  Of course you have ! We all have!  Those are the characteristics and depositions that we have marked as virtuous!  These are also the descriptions for what we as Christians have called The Fruit Of The Spirit!  

We all seems to want these virtues but we all seem to misunderstand how we attain them. They seems to be a hit and miss proposition. We seem to have some of them but rarely master all of them.  So, what are we missing? What has eluded us that keeps us from experiencing these calm and peaceful dispositions of life?

In this important post I am going to talk about 7 important principles for developing the Fruit of the Spirit which should greatly help us turn them into a reality for our own lives.  But before I get started listing the 7 principles let me point out these dispositions are a description of the "Fruit" not "Fruits".  We are not talking about a lot of different fruits that needs to nurture - just ONE fruit.  And it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  As the Holy Spirit becomes more and more implanted in our daily lives the fruit of the Spirit will become more and more evident.  First the blossoms and then the fruit.  So, in essence it is the Holy Spirit that needs to be nurtured in our lives if we are to attain those wonderful and lofty virtues. The stronger the Holy Spirit is implanted in our lives the more of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit will be evident in our lives!  

According John 15 it is God the Father's responsibility, as the gardner, to prune us back for the the purpose bearing even more fruit.  It is God who does the tending of the garden of our spiritual life so we can bear even more and more of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit or the Fruit of the Spirit.  The process that God the Father uses is the "pruning process".  This is a process where the gardener cuts back the branches so that they are able to bear even more fruit. The only way to become more fruitful and to have more of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit is for God the Father to prune us or cut us back.  

I don't know about you but that pruning process sure doesn't really seem to be a very pleasant experience.  It sounds more painful than pleasurable!  I know it will be a productive process (bearing more fruit) but not necessarily a fun process!  

Nothing to it! Right? Well let's  see!

7 Important Principles To Prepare Us For The Father's  Pruning Process

#1:  You Don't Have A Say In Whether You Get Pruned Or Not That's God's Decision.

I know we would all like to think we have a say in whether we participate in the pruning process or not but the truth is we don't.  In John 15 Jesus said that "every" branch that bears fruit the Father prunes so that it will bear even more fruit.  No branch is excluded! God the Father will prune back all the branches that are already bearing fruit for the purpose of making them bear even more fruit.  All of them - not just some of them!

Now don't think that if you decide to stop bearing fruit that God will leave you alone.  He won't! John 15 also says that the Father cuts off all the branches that doesn't bear fruit and throws them into the fire.  Here's the important thing to take away from this lesson!  All branches are either going to be cut back or cut off but be sure of this all the branches are going to get cut!  

#2: God May Even Use Satan To Prune You.

In looking at the example of Job we see that God can even use Satan as his pruning sheer!  Now isn't that an interesting concept!  Now understand Satan has as his objective to destroy your faith and your relationship with God but God's objective is to build your faith and make you even more fruitful.

Before Satan can do anything to you he first must get Gods permission.  Satan cannot do anything behind God's back or without God's knowing and permission and Satan can only work within the conditions and limits that God, himself, has established.  This should bring us tremendous amount of encouragement when we think of spiritual warfare.  Even in spiritual warfare Satan can't do anything he wants, he can only do what God allows and when God allows it!

#3: The Pruning Process Will Be Painful & Difficult

But be sure of this that pruning process isn't a walk in the part or a picnic in a beautiful meadow! This pruning process will be and is a painful process.  In looking at Job as our example the pruning process can include a loss of wealth; Property; health; and even life.  Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual pain are all involved in this process. 

#4: The Pruning Process Will Come & Go.

Just like Ecclesiastes says, "There is a season for everything under heaven." and be sure of this there are season(s) of pruning!  Yes, I did use the plural form which means there are more than one season of pruning that we will go through during our Christian growth.  Times of pruning come and times of pruning go.  But just remember the pruning process will come back around again.  

#5:  God Already Knows In Advance How You'll Respond To The Pruning Process.

In looking at Peter time of pruning found in Matthew 26:31-35 we learn that Jesus and God the Father already knows in advance what our response and outcome will be to the pruning process. Jesus told Peter straight up that before the rooster crows you will have denied me three times.  Jesus knew the end result before it ever happened!  

Here's what we can learn from this - there's never going to be a time when we do something during the pruning process that will catch God by surprise!  You will never do something and then God smacks himself on the forehead and says, "Now I didn't see that one coming!".  That will never happen.  God already knows what you are going to do during the pruning process and he has provided for it. 

#6:  Jesus Is Interceding For Us During The Pruning Process.

In Luke's account of Jesus telling Peter he will deny him three times Jesus also says that He has prayed for Peter that his faith would be strengthened and that he could encourage others. Jesus said that he had prayed that Peter's faith would not fail him!

Most assuredly you faith is going to tested, stretched and feel like it is going to fail but understand this:

Jesus Is Praying For God The Father To Strengthen & Empower You.

Jesus, who is now our High Priest, is always before the thrown of God our Father interceding on your behalf and asking for the Father's added measure of Grace and Mercy to be bestowed upon you.  NOW HOW COOL IS THAT!

#7:  The End Result Of The Pruning Is More Fruit Of The Spirit & A Greater Blessing From God.

FOR JOB:

• He was a blessing to his friends because he prayed for them and God forgave them because of Job and his prayer.

• God blessed Job by doubling what had been taken from him.

FOR PETER:

The blessing that Peter was to receive was a greater influence among the apostles as he would be an encouragement and strength to them. 

And this is not to mention all the virtuous characteristics, Fruit of the Spirit, that both Job and Peter developed as a result of their pruning process.  So, let us consider it all joy when we encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance. And let us allow endurance to have its full effect so we will be complete and lacking in nothing.  Amen!

While the pruning process may not be an enjoyable season of life to go through the fruit and benefits that come as a result of it are amazing.  It's like anything, no pain - no gain! No pruning - no fruit.