From Broken to Blessed

We are all from a broken family because we have all been broken by sin.

1. Give me.

Every child starts in the give me stage.  It's all about me.  We start here spiritually too.  God doesn't resent it because He doesn't expect more out of babies.  

We get saved out of selfishness.  We get saved because we want God to get us out of the mess that we're in.  

Marriages start in the give me stage too.  We want our spouse to meet our needs.  Some of our needs only God can meet.  

  

Luke 15:12 NKJV

12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.

Matthew 26:14-15 NKJV

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.

2. Use me.

Some of us want to be used so that we can be seen. We get saved because of selfishness; however, we ask God to use me out of selfish ambition. According to the Bible, ambition is self promotion.    

Philippians 2:3 NKJV

3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Strong’s: Ambition is electioneering for office. A desire to put one’s self forward, a partisan and fractious spirit. A self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means. Selfishness or self-promoting in your heart.

Acts 8:19 NKJV

19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

If another person cannot make us happy, then we do something to make us happy.  A lot of people divorce in this "use me" stage. A lot of times this happens about 10 years into marriage.  

God did not create marriage to make us happy.  God knows that the only way to be happy is to die to self.  God helps us to die to self through marriage.  We must surrender our rights to the other person.  Dying to self makes us happy.   

Luke 15:13 NKJV

13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

3. Search me.

Luke 15:17 NKJV

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

When the prodigal son searched his own heart for sin, he began to change.  If you want a blessed marriage, fix yourself.  I'm responsible for my own actions and  reactions.  God is focusing on what I'm doing not what people are doing to me that's causing me to react.     

Psalms 139:23-24 KJV

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

4. Make me (a servant).

Luke 15:19 NKJV

19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

Luke 15:29 NKJV

29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.

The older son had the same attitude that the younger son had, but never left home. The older son was in the "give me" stage.  

Luke 15:31 NKJV

31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.

It's not what God can give me, but God wants to be with me.  Blessed means happy.  Some people feel guilty when God begins to bless them.  God wants to bless you because God loves to give.  However, He loves to be with you more. Quit thinking why would God want to bless me?  Start thinking why wouldn't God want to bless me because He is a good God? 

Ask the Lord what are you saying to me through these words?  We could be at the Stage 4 "make me" stage, and can drift back to a Stage 1 "give me" stage.  Holy Spirit, please draw me close to yourself.  Lord Jesus, be my Lord and Savior.  

Excerpts taken from Robert Morris, Gateway Church 

http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/life/events/blessed-families-a-gateway-series/session/2018/10/27/from-broken-to-blessed

God's Voice

You can recognize God's voice through developing your relationship with Him.  

In the beginning in Genesis, God spoke to Adam and in the end God spoke to John in Revelation.  

If we have a personal relationship with God, how can we do that without the ability to hear Him?  

Jesus said that He is not going to leave us as orphans (John 14:18).  

1. Our relationship with God is our highest priority.   

Genesis 3:8-10  (NKJV)

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

Look at the progression in verse 10 below.  They became afraid of the voice of God when they sinned.

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

God was walking and talking with Adam in the beginning, so He sent His Son, Jesus, so that we can walk and talk with Him again.  

Only you can develop your relationship with God.  We can know His voice if we spend a lot of time with Him.  This is our highest priority. 

2. Our relationship with Him is our highest pursuit.  

There were two trees in the Garden of Eden.  The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  

God never meant for us to live by choosing between good and evil, but by listening to His voice.  

God never wanted us to know Good or Evil.  Our question should be is it Good or is it God?  

God gave us a conscience when we sinned.  It's suppose to bring us to God, but it can't.  God never intended for us to live through our conscience.  

1 Timothy 1:5 (NKJV)

5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,  

Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

If you live by hearing the voice of God, you'll have a good conscience.  

  

Is God limited to your conscience?  What if you're getting it wrong?  God told Abraham to sacrifice his son.  Wouldn't that violate your conscience?  Adam and Eve lived by the voice of God before the fall.  

3. It's our highest passion.   

Luke 10:38-42 New King James Version (NKJV)

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 

39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 

40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 

42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

The one thing that is needed is to sit at Jesus's feet and to hear His words.  Mary figured it out.  No one else can hear God's voice for you. 

On Mount Sinai, the people withdrew from the voice of God with fear, but Moses drew near (Exodus 20:18-21). 

He was the only one that God spoke to like a friend (Exodus 33:11).  Only you can draw near to God like a friend. 

If you are God's daughter or son, you can hear from God. 

Tell God, I'm going to do my best to develop my relationship with you and to hear your voice.  

Holy Spirit draw the readers of these words to you.  

Notes from Robert Morris, Gateway Church
http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/life/events/frequency-2016/session/2016/06/11/recognize-through-relationship    

Who does God speak too?

When God speaks to you, what do you do with it?

We need to obey God's written word, and God's spoken word to us within our hearts. 

If you're God, when you want something done, who are you going to speak to?  

Someone who does what you ask them to do or does not do it?  Obey what you hear if you want to continue to hear God.

Mark 4:24-25  (NKJV)

24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. 

With the same measure (amount) you use (obey), it will be measured to you; and to you who hear (obeys) , more (of God's words within your hearts) will be given. 

25 For whoever has (obeys God's spoken word within their heart), to him more (words) will be given; but whoever does not have (obey), even what he has will be taken away from him (God will no longer speak to you, and you won't remember when He did) .”    

The 10 ways that God speaks to us is through... 

1. Circumstances (Jonah).

2. Counsel (Proverbs). 

3. Peace (Col. 3:15, Phil. 4:7).

4. People (Acts 21:10-11).

5. Dreams and visions 

(Solomon, Peter, Joseph, Daniel).

6. Thoughts (Matthew 1:20) 

7. Natural manifestations

(Romans 1, John 12:29, Revelation)

8. Supernatural manifestations 

(Moses's burning bush, Gideon's fleece, Balaam's  donkey).

9. The Bible (Romans 10:17).

10. A still small voice

(1 Kings 19:12)

1. Obey what you hear. 

The point is that God still speaks.  God speaks on a certain frequency if we will just tune into it.  Like a radio tunes in on radio frequencies.  

There are other voices in addition to God's voice.  In the garden, both God and Satan were speaking to Adam and Eve.  

Jesus said "Take heed what you hear".  Be careful what (and which voice that) you listen too. 

Satan is called the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).  When you speak, your words travel through the air before they reach the hearer's ears.  

Do you think that Satan might be attempting to twist your words before they are heard by others?

Sometimes you can hear your thoughts and think that it's God.  God speaks to you through others for confirmation.  To confirm what God has already spoken to you within your own heart.  

2. How do you hear? 

Luke 8:18 (NKJV)

18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

 

How do you hear when God speaks?  Are you focused upon you or God when He speaks?  Are you making it about you?

If you are not faithful with a little, you won't be faithful with a lot.

Joseph told his brothers about his dreams, and it cost him dearly.  

James 4:6-7 New King James Version (NKJV)

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.”

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

There are two resists in the passage above.  You can't resist the devil when God is resisting you.  

To get more grace, you have to be more humble.  Resist means to play on the opposing team in sports.  God lets us run with the ball if we stay behind Him as our blocker.

If we get proud, God plays on the opposing team.  Why would God do that because He tackles us lovingly?  

Beware of familiar spirits.  We need to be careful who we listen too.  If we listen to demonic voices for so long, we think its God.  They sound familiar to us.  (Leviticus 19:31)

3. Take Heed what you hear 

(Mark 4:23, Luke 8:18).

Jonah 1:2-3  (NKJV)

2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 

3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it,to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

When you don't obey the Word of the Lord, you leave the presence of God.  God spoke to Jonah with His voice.  Then, God spoke to Him through His circumstances.  

If you don't hear God voice, go back to the last time that you heard God and obey Him.

God caused Jonah's circumstances to close down around him, so Jonah would repent.

Then, God will open up your circumstances.  Why would God speak something new to you if you haven't done the last thing that He spoke to you about? 

You'll get more words from God if you'll just act upon the words that He's already given to you.

What are you going to do when God speaks to you?  If you obey what He says, then He'll give you more. 

Set an appointment with God to hear Him.    

Ask, Holy Spirit what are you saying to me in these words?  

Holy Spirit, please draw me close to Jesus.

Notes from Robert Morris, Gateway Church.

http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/life/events/frequency-2016/session/2016/06/04/steward-his-spoken-word 

Is It God?

How can we hear God, and how can we know that it's Him?  It's not wrong to ask God to confirm His will for you.  In fact, it's Biblical. 

Jesus confirmed God's word to His hearers with miracles.

Mark 16:20 (NKJV)

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Jesus taught an offense (or a crime) must be proven by two of three witnesses to confirm that the offense actually happened.

Matthew 18:16 New King James Version (NKJV)

16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’

Paul taught the same thing as Jesus.

2 Corinthians 13:1 New King James Version (NKJV)

13 This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.”

How do we ask God for His confirmation?

Judges 6:12,16-18 (NKJV)

12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

When the Old Testament refers to "the Angel of the Lord", many theologians believe that it is actually referring to Jesus.  

Notice that in verse 16 it actually refers to the the Angel of the Lord as the "Lord" speaking.  

16 And the Lord said to him (Gideon), “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 

18 Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.”

And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”

God will wait for you with all of your questions for you to know His will for you.  Gideon had to kill and clean the offering, which took a lot of time. God was patient with us.   

Judges 6:19-22 (NKJV)

19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 

20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so.

21 Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. 

And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.”

Then Gideon asks for another sign, and it doesn't make God mad.  God doesn't get mad at you when you want to fully understand His will for you. 

Judges 6:36-38 (NKJV)

36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— 

37 look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 

38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.

Then, Gideon asks for a third sign.

Judges 6:39-40 (NKJV)

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” 

40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

(Judges 7)Gideon arranged for 32,000 men to fight the Midianites.  God said that it's too many because you'll take the glory for yourself.  

God said to Gideon to tell the people.  If anyone is afraid, you can go home.  22,000 went home.  There were 10,000 left.  Then, God said that it's still to many.  

God said to take the remaining 10,000 to the water, and pull out the ones who lap the water like a dog.  There were 300 of them.  God said to use the dog lappers to defeat the Midianities. 

Then, Gideon needed still another sign.  God said to sneak down into the Midian camp at night.  

There Gideon heard a solder telling a dream to a buddy that he saw a loaf of bread rolling down into the camp and knocking over all the tents.  

The buddy answered that's the sword of Gideon. It means that God's on Gideon's side.  God will confirm over and over and over again to you His word.  

Here are three different ways that God confirms His word to us.  Here are three different ways to explain the same thing.  

1. His word 2. His wisdom 3. His ways 

1. His principles 2. His people 3. His peace

1.His character 2. His counsel 3. His calm  

  

Here are the three confirmations which are in the form of questions.

1. Does it line up with the Bible?  

God's voice will never disagree with God's word. Below is a passage with Jesus using God's word to determine God's will. It's about divorce.  

God hates divorce, but He loves divorced people in the same way as we hate car wrecks because we love the people who are in them.

Matthew 19:4-5 (NKJV)

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” 

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,

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’? 

6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

People were using their first wives as sex slaves; therefore, God allowed divorce.  

8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

Never allow a passage to be taken out of context.  Check your understanding of the passage by supporting it with two or three other passages.

The Bible does not contradict itself;however, your understanding of the passage may contradict it.  

2. Does Godly counsel agree?  

Do the people that you are asking really know God, know His word, and know you.  

Proverbs 12:15 (NKJV)

15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

But he who heeds counsel is wise.

Proverbs 19:20-1  (NKJV)

20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction,

That you may be wise in your latter days.

There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

Proverbs 24:6 (NKJV)

6 For by wise counsel you will wage your own war,
And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.

Ask is it stupid counsel from foolish people?  Rehoboam listened to stupid counsel, and lost most of his kingdom (1 Kings 12).   

Satan took a Scripture out of context to tempt Jesus (Matthew 4:6). Don't look for a Scripture out of context to confirm a sinful act. Don't get a Scripture from the devil.  

3. Do I have peace?  

God has created you with a peace gauge inside of you.  

Colossians 3:15 (NKJV)

15 And let the peace of God rule (umpire) in your hearts,

Peace tells you whether it's safe for you, or if you should get out of the situation.  God never leads us by fear but by faith. 

Philippians 4:7 (NKJV)

7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding (reasoning), will guard (garrison of solders) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

How many times have you laid awake at night because you are making decisions outside of God's peace?  That's God telling you to stop. I'm not doing anything without God's peace.  

1. God will give you a word.  2. It will line up with Godly counsel.  3. You'll have peace. Then, it's up to you to obey.  

I hope this is creating within you a hunger to hear God.  Not only will God speak, but He will confirm it to you.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you in these words?  Holy Spirit I pray that you'll draw anyone who is reading these words to yourself.

Notes taken from Robert Morris, Gateway Church.       

http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/life/events/frequency-2016/session/2016/05/21/call-for-confirmation