Jesus on my Mind

Hebrews 12:1-3  (NKJV)

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, 

and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, 

and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, 

lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

We must have a focus upon Jesus and a passion for the lost.

  

We must look past the pain for the joy that comes from knowing the purpose of the pain. 

Just like Jesus had us on His mind on the Cross, so we must have Jesus on our minds upon the earth.  

Because heaven and hell are real, we must remember that a saving of just one soul brings a smile upon our Father's face.  Let's set that joy before us. 

As we are enter Holy Week, we must be forever mindful of the lost. 

During Easter week, the probability of people responding to our invitation to come worship positively goes way up. 

Let's ask the Lord to make us sensitive to our opportunities to invite others. It could be at a restaurant, a gas station or a grocery store.  Anywhere. 

Let focus on the word "C.R.O.S.S." to pray for them.  

Connection-  Lord Jesus, help us to make a connection with others, so that they can make a connection with you. 

Revelation- may others respond to our invitation, so that they can see you for who you really are. 

Openness- please prepare their hearts, so that they will be open to your message once it is presented. 

Surrender- may they surrender their past to you, and their futures to you as the Lord of their lives.

  

Salvation- Lord, may they be saved from anything that is hurting them, and comes between them and you.  

Heavenly Father,

Just as Jesus is our intercessor between us and you, may we be intercessors taking you by the hand and those that need you by the other hand so that we may bring them into your presence. 

In Jesus name, 

Amen!



If you pray for people and invite people to come worship, expect God's reward as much the one who did preaching. 

Blake Lindsey, Church of the Highlands

         

Dream Again

(John 11:25) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” 


(Revelation 1:18 NKJV) “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” 


DREAM KILLERS 


(Genesis 15:1-5) After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 


(Genesis 17:1-4) “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.’” 


 Unfulfilled expectations.


(Genesis 16:1) Now Sarai, Abrams wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 


 Unrelenting doubt. 


(Genesis 17:17) Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 


 Unchangeable circumstances.


(Genesis 18:11) “Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.” 


DREAM AGAIN 

1. Even if it takes a long time.



(Genesis 21:5) “Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.” 


(Proverbs 16:9) “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” 


2. Even if it sounds ridiculous.


 (Genesis 22:2) Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 


(Isaiah 55:8-9) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 


3. Even if you don’t think you can. 


(Genesis 22:15-18) The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.  Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

Video
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/dream-again

Discussion Guide
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/05-01-11.pdf

Blake Lindsey, Church of the Highlands

Unstoppable Pursuit

(1Samuel 13:14) “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.”

(Acts 13:22) “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ʻI have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heartʼ…”

(Isaiah 40:11) “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart…”

Godʼs greatest desire is to be close to his kids. 

The Fatherʼs heart is loving.

(John 3:16) “For God so loved the world…”

(1 John 3:1) “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”

The Fatherʼs heart is giving.

(John 3:16) “…that he gave his one and only son…”

(Matthew 7:11 NLT) “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him!”

The Fatherʼs heart is searching.

(John 3:16) “…that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

(Matthew 18:12-14) “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?...In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones be lost.”

The Pursuit of God

(Luke 10:38-42) “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, they came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lordʼs feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked ʻLord, donʼt you care that my sister has left me to do the work myself? Tell her to help me!ʼ ʻMartha, Martha,ʼ the Lord answered, ʻyou are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

1.    Listen to Godʼs voice. 

(John 10:4-5) “When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a strangerʼs voice.” The Word ü Worship ü Prayer ü Relationships 

2. Serve God by serving others. 

(John 13:4-5) “…so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his discipleʼs feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” 

(1 Peter 4:10) “Each one should use whatever gift heʼs received to serve others.” 

3. Choose daily to surrender your life to God. 

(Luke 9:23) “If anyone would come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Video https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/unstoppable-pursuit

Discussion Guide

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/6-20-10.pdf

Blake Lindsey, Church of the Highlands

This is not normal

Don't miss the moment that you're living in.  If you treat it as normal, you are treating it as common.  


Why are we seeing God move?  We had over 400 professions of faith just last weekend.


We are joining together to pray, and the supernatural is happening. 


There has never been one weekend that we gathered together that someone didn't get saved.  


In Acts 5:25-16, they prayed for whatever was already happening.  


What if people's lives were changed as they pulled into the parking lot.  This must not be treated as common. 


We are here to believe for the supernatural.  In James 5:16, we are to have urgency in prayer.  Jesus in us is righteousness.


We can pray with expectation.  When we pray, we are to believe that God is going to move.


Blake Lindsey, Church of the Highlands  

Death is Never Final

God still does miracles.

Psalm 77:14  (NIV)

14 You are the God who performs miracles;
    you display your power among the peoples.

Problems are the soil where the power of God flourishes.

Psalm 77:14  (NIV)

14 You are the God who performs miracles;
    you display your power among the peoples.

Every miracle begins with a problem.

John 11:1-4  (NIV)

11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

"They appealed to Jesus based upon His love for Lazarus." 

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

"God has a different perspective from us and a divine plan."  

The Death Trap - We have an enemy that wants to trap us.

John 11:6 (NIV)

6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,

1. We don't understand how God works.

John 11:11-13  (NIV)

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

2. We get consumed with doubt.

John 11:16 n (NIV)

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

3. We give up on God. 

John 11:17, 20  (NIV)

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

"What in my life is dead or dying?   They had a word from God that this sickness will not end in death."

  

With Jesus Death is Never Final

John 11:25-26 (NIV)

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

1. Settle in your heart who Jesus is.  

John 11:21-22  (NIV)

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

John 11:27 n (NIV)

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

"Put your hope in the One who can bring the outcome."

2. Stop analyzing everything.

John 11:38-39  (NIV)

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

"Trust God. He knows what He is doing.  Stop listening to your mind and feelings."

3. Start living again.  

John 11:43-44  (NIV)

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

You have a choice.  Lazarus chose not to be defined by death.

Instead of believing what I see.  I choose to believe what Jesus said. 

Just below the surface are seeds of possibilities that are just waiting for the right conditions.

Blake Lindsey, Church of the Highlands

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/death-is-never-final

Easter 2015.  58,000 plus in attendance, 7571 salvations.

Where God Manifests

Peter and John were imprisoned

for healing a blind man, and were instructed not to talk about Jesus again.  

Acts 4(ESV)

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 

24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 

29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 

31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They were praying for things that were already happening, but they didn't assume what happened in the past would happen in the future.  

When they gathered together, there prayers were more powerful. It changed the atmosphere and shook the building.

When we pray together, the atmosphere of where we pray is saturated with God's manifest presence.  

We know that God is everywhere, but God's manifest presence is where God makes Himself known.  It becomes a place where the supernatural happens.  

Excepts taken from Blake Lindsey, Church of the Highlands  

There is Power in Persistence in Prayer

We're at Day 11 of 21 Days of Prayer.  

We're at half time.  

In football, typically one team is winning and another one that's losing. 

Some of you haven't seen God work, yet.  

Let's keep pressing on.  

Jesus taught on the power of persistence in prayer....  

In Luke 18:1 (NLT)  One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

In the Living Bible, it reads this way...

Luke 18:1 (TLB)   One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes.

Has your answer come yet? Are you winning or the enemy?  

Are you thinking about giving up?  Don't give up!

Jesus taught in Matthew 7:7 (TLB)

“Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened."

Our part is to Ask, Seek, and Knock. 

God's part is to Give, Reveal, and Open. 

God never obligates Himself to a time line. 

Always pray and never give up.  There is power in persistence!

God calls us to pray and never give up! Keep pressing on...

He sees more than we see.  

He wants to answer more than we want an answer.  

Persistence keeps us close to God and focused upon Him, (which is what touches the heart of God in prayer).  

Blake Lindsey, Church of the Highlands