Tired, need something more?

Tired, need something more?

Like the heavy pouring rain drowning out the sound of everything else,
do you ever feel so overwhelmed?  Have you ever had a situation where you looked for answers but they were never enough.  All the solutions you've encountered thus far are just never enough.  Harder still, if it's a situation that maybe you are the only one fully aware of how desperate you are for the right solution.  

What is your prognosis....

 

Do you feel stuck? Do you have a really bad habit or situation that's destroying you and/ your loved ones.  For instance: drugs, alcoholism, pornography, promiscuity, cheating, stealing, lies, gambling, debt, etc... It doesn't have to continue to be that way. Christ came to fill that void.  HE died to quench that thirst once and for all with something that is sufficient to eradicate all of your wrongful desires.  Christ came to set you free from that stronghold, whatever it is. And HE comes in search of you like the woman at the well.   HE knows where to find you and HE intentionally comes to sit and wait on you to acknowledge HIM.

St. Jon 4: 4-26

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Jesus was practical....

 

Jesus was God on earth, so HE knew in advance that the Samaritan woman was going to be coming by the well at that hour of the day.  HE also knew that she was going to be alone, and HE knew all of her story.  She was unfulfilled.  She had had five husbands plus another man she was seeing, and they were still not enough for her.  Having had such a colorful lifestyle back in those days was an embarrassing thing.  Surely the other women denied her friendship.   Can you imagine the gossip and disdain which she must have endured?  She came to the well alone at midday, a time when no one else would have been there.  The scorn, abuse, rejection and condemnation she must have endured.  Yet God chose her to sit with.  God chooses us.  HE understands what it feels like to be tired.  HE too was tired when HE met her.  HE'D been busy ministering with HIS disciples and HE was resting when she came.  God understands your pain.  Let HIM help you to deal with it.  HE'S the only one who can quench that thirst inside of you. Let HIM!

Philippians 4:19 

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

 

The solution to the problem....

 

God's riches are not on earth, they are in heaven 'the headquarters' of the Kingdom of God.  In order for us to rightfully access those resources we have to 'tap into God's warehouse'.  Whatsoever we bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatsoever we loose on earth is loose in heaven.  Matthew 16 Our only way to heaven is through Jesus.  But the way to access Jesus is through the leading of The Holy Spirit. Jesus told the woman that God's worshipers must worship HIM in spirit and in truth.  The kind of human worship that pleases God needs assistance from The Holy Spirit. Jesus offered the woman 'a spring of water welling up to eternal life'. John 7  HE was referring to The Holy Spirit.  Jesus commands us believers/ and children of God to be filled with The Holy Spirit. John 14  Just as we need to take a shower with each new day or eat breakfast every morning; so too God expects us to relate to The Holy Spirit on a daily basis.  

 

Each new day often has new challenges that we need guidance with.  Some of them need us to just use our authority as children of God to overcome them, while other need prayer and fasting.  Fasting is very powerful especially for 'besetting sins/ obstacles in our lives.  This could be bad habits, overpowering circumstances, direct attack from the devil and his demons, etc....  TRUE Fasting brings the physical under submission to the spiritual.  It is very important to note that victory in The Kingdom of God is not achieved the same way as in the kingdom of the world.  Humans don't fight, angels do on our behalf.  Some strongholds are destroyed by worship and praise, not vengeance.   It's God's pleasure to win on our behalf because HE gets the glory out of it, plus HE does love us.  HE instructs us to cast all of our cares upon HIM because HE cares for us. Matthew 11  When you're tired find rest in God.  When you long for more answers and fulfillment drink from HIS well, find The Holy Spirit.  The water flows unendingly connect with 'The Source'.

TESTIMONY: A Doomed Marriage Saved by Prayer

WORSHIP: Oh come to the altar 

                            

If ever you feel thirsty, come to the well!

Yeshua - JESUS...The Messiah

Have you ever just been waiting with such anxiety for something/ someone special to arrive like a grandma, a friend, a graduation, a date, a wedding day or a special birthday, etc...  This particular person or thing fills your heart with joy just by thinking about them.  That's the history of THE MESSIAH. 

  HE was promised by God to a nation, Israel, who was often always being held captive by another nation and they were just tired of being in bondage.  After they were delivered from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were led by Moses towards the Land God had promised them since Adam their forefather.  They were so used to being in bondage that when God offered them a new way of life they refused and reverted to their traditions of worshiping idols.  Nevertheless, God continually delivered them from their enemies.  HE wanted to be their King, but they wanted to be like the other nations around them with a physical king.  

 

God's intent....

 

All along, God made man to rule the earth while they were being submitted to HIS rulership.  They didn't understand that.  They didn't know how.  Constantly they failed. That's why The Almighty God had to send Jesus - 'The Messiah' who would give them 'The Governor' - The Holy Spirit to teach them how to. After Moses died, Joshua led them into the "Promise Land'.   God gave them Saul their first human king, and then David.  David was a King who loved and honored God so much that God destroyed all of their enemies and gave them extended peace and wealth.  Finally they enjoyed freedom, peace and wealth all at the same time.  David was a man after God's own heart.  1 Samuel 13; Acts 13 But then sometime after David's death they went back to idol worshiping.  Once again they were taken into captivity because of their disobedience. Over and over again they got caught in a cycle of bondage. They dreamt of a freedom which was growing vague in their memories.  Once upon a time they used to be rich and prosperous and peaceful and happy.  They wanted to experience that again - to be at peace with a leader, someone who had their best interest at heart, in their own town. Zechariah 9 

 

God loves all people, everyone of HIS creation....

 

But there's a flipside to this same MESSIAH.  HE didn't just come to save a 'Chosen Nation' - the Jews.  God decided to deliver them once and for all and from every enemy that could ever attack them in the future.  HE decided to destroy the source of their opposition - the devil.  There are two 'realms' in the earth: the physical and the spiritual.  The spiritual realm is more powerful and real than the physical.   Also there are two kingdoms in the earth: the kingdom of this world which is governed by the devil, and the Kingdom of God (heaven on earth) which is governed by God's children.  

 

When Jesus came to the earth HE brought with HIM from heaven the power and authority of the Kingdom of God for the people of God.  Once HE established this Kingdom ' the rest was history'.  Jesus brought the dominion of the spiritual realm into the physical realm. HE destroyed the devil's kingdom and left man in charge of his freedom under the supervision of The Holy Spirit. Isaiah 9 God in HIS Great Love extended that invitation to the Gentiles - whosoever will.  HE didn't just resolve to save HIS people from their existing enemies but to remove all enemies from their experience once and for all even though they did not deserve it.  They rejected HIM.  But true love is inspite of, not because of.   It is a choice in advance.  It's like a mother's love for her newborn baby.

 

John 3: 16

 

For God so loved the world that HE sent HIS only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in HIM shall be saved.

 

Also, God's intent was to reconnect man to HIS presence.  Adam and Eve used to walk with God.

John 14:3 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also  

God - Elohim has given each of us a chance to live a life so fulfilling, yet so undeserving based on HIS sacrifices, not ours.  Who does that?  Who intercepts your judgement for his? Who dies for his enemies? Who bequeaths to the ungrateful?  Who gives up his best to a stranger who does not have enough to pay for it?  Philippians 2 Which King invites a peasant to live in HIS castle at HIS expense?   This is the true essence of THE MESSIAH.  HE has chosen to love us and to give us the privilege to be in an individually intimate relationship with a generous and all powerful King.   

Isaiah 53

Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

Romans 8:1 

 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

 

HE doesn't condemn us based on our past; but HE forgives us and embraces us inspite of our flaws.   Who does that?  Are you flawed today, broken even?  Do you need acceptance, peace, and protection? Are you being held captive physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually? Turn to God.  Accept HIS love.  HE is a deliverer, your deliverer! THE MESSIAH came to give you life and life more abundantly.  Only HE can free you from any and every bondage you face today in your life.  HE restores control, your control of your life and destiny according to God's original plan for your life.

Galatians 5:1 

It is for freedom that HE has set us free.  Stand firm then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 

Wherever you fall short - let HIM fill you up. Let HIM empower you with HIS Holy Spirit who teaches you how to live in HIS freedom!  

           TESTIMONY:  Two Israeli Jews explain the gospel in Jerusalem like you've never heard before!!!

WORSHIP:  Jesus The Lion and the Lamb

Let HIM free you because that's why HE came!

IN THE VALLEY….trust GOD!

In the valley - TRUST GOD!

Did Noah feel that way in the ark?

...like God, when is this rain going to stop, we’re seasick and the ark smells horrible with all this animal dung. Or Joseph in prison for crimes he didn’t commit. He went joyfully to serve his brothers and look at where he ended up, in prison? How long was it from the pit to the throne room? How did Jesus feel in Gethesemane, his friends deserting him; his long road to the cross? Did it make HIM want to die more though HE knew the outcome. How unbearable it must have been, the agony, the nakedness in the streets, the accusations, the shame of being hung on a cross. For sure God had deserted HIM because HE acknowledged it on the cross.
HE said, “my God why have YOU forsaken me?”
But what did it do to HIM? Does knowing the outcome make it any painless?

Jeremiah 29: 11-13

“For I know the plans I have for you saith the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.
Plans to give you a hope and a future….”

"MY HOPE in JESUS is like an hard boiled egg. I may crack on the outside, but I'm still solid on the inside"... Stephen Furtick

In HIS presence....

Valleys are often long and meandering with no favorable end in sight. Often times when I come to a crossroads, when I hit a speed bump I try to pull the brake handle all the way up and begin to sniff. Like a rescue dog I sniff for solace. Most times it’s the place that I feel most comfortable - at HIS feet, most times. I sniff for worship. I close my eyes and let worship music pour over my soul like alcohol in a flesh wound it soothes. It doesn’t always bring an answer, just a peace and a transition from the focus on the thing that’s trying to drive me crazy at that time, to focus on The Almighty God. 

I don’t always feel for it. But because I’ve proven that it works on multiple occasions. Even when I’m not in the mood for it I find The Word on my phone and fall asleep listening to it. Or I find worship music on youtube and do the same. That’s my drug. It’s true. For me, all roads lead to worship. It always makes all things better, even if it’s just in that moment. When it doesn’t make sense I leave it in God’s hand, I mean at HIS feet. It doesn’t matter what I’ve done or failed to do. It doesn’t matter what I’m guilty of. I’ve trained myself to sniff. Something about God’s presence is very calm, safe, uncondemning and empowering.

Isaiah 26:3

God will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on THEE!

 

HE gives us power....

 

The thing about the valley is that there's no place too low that the presence of God doesn't reside.  It doesn't matter how we feel, HE gives us keys to unlock any and every door that keeps us 'boxed in'.  HIS word says, whatsoever we bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatsoever we loose on earth is loose in heaven.  Matthew 16 Absolutely nothing can/ should keep us in entrapment.  Like David we need to seek God.  Even when he sinned he acknowledged that: "against thee only have I sinned".   The rules of engagement in the Kingdom of God are different from the rules of engagement in the earthly kingdom of darkness i.e. the devil.  We are not familiar with God's ways.  We are not familiar with God's government. 

 

The Almighty God lives in heaven. HIS ways are higher than our ways and HIS thoughts the same. We cannot comprehend how to escape and or manipulate our environs without God's intervention.   Since Jesus overcame every tactic of the devil, we too can do the same, but not in our own strength.  We need help. When we seek God's help HE sends HIS Holy Spirit to guide us so that we can be successful in achieving and sustaining productive results.  1 Corinthians 10 We were created to win.  Because when we win we reflect God's glory. When we win it looks good on HIM.  God never looses. HE'S always in control.  We have to trust God's methods.  HE only has our best interest at heart.  It is HIS great pleasure to give us the Kingdom. Luke 12.

 

 James 4:8

Draw nigh unto God and HE will draw nigh unto thee!

 

TESTIMONY:  Nahum’s Story - Pain Turned to Purpose (Full Testimony) | 2018 Youth Summit

WORSHIP: Hills and Valleys

                                    

HE knows what HE'S doing....TRUST GOD!