Matthew 12:1-2 (KJV)
¹  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
²  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

The book of the Law gave guidance as to what was permitted on the Sabbath and what was considered wrong on the Sabbath.

As I read the text the understanding was made clear. God had created the Sabbath for man to enjoy but man added his understanding to what God had created. Man in an attempt to explain what God meant had missed that God is God and He can do whatever he wants to do.

The Sabbath day that the disciples were walking through the field Jesus was with them. Jesus always brings to mind change. When we read that Jesus is present we need to get ready for a change.

We so often word hard at staying the same that we miss that God wants us to grow in our faith and walk with Him. Growth often requires change. Stop looking at the situation and start looking at Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

When Isaiah receives a vision from God, the Lord lays out a need for someone to speak for Him. God has a message and is looking for a messenger. God issued a general call, for anyone, and Isaiah took it personally. He did so because of three factors that make up a divine call to lead:
1. Opportunity: We see a specific place where we can make a difference. This has to
do with timing.
2. Ability: We recognize that we have the God-given gifts to do something about the
need. This has to do with competence.
3. Desire: We want to step out and address the need; our hunger pushes us.

This has to do with our passion.

“Moving Beyond the Familiar to a New Place Move away from the Familiar”
Genesis 12
1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee:
2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
8And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

1. The real Blessing is beyond the familiar and comfortable.
2. Real growth is beyond the Familiar and comfortable.
3. The familiar is where you are the unfamiliar is where God wants to take you.
4. Where God wants to take you require trusting Him.
As the Egyptian army approached, the people of Israel saw them far in the distance, speeding after them, and they were terribly frightened and cried out to the Lord to help them. And they turned against Moses, whining, “Have you brought us out here to die in the desert because there were not enough graves for us in Egypt? Why did you make us leave Egypt?”
(Exodus 14:10-11, tlb)
Trust often requires courage. Trapped against the sea, the Israelites faced the Egyptian army sweeping in for the kill. The Israelites thought they were doomed. After watching God’s powerful hand deliver them from Egypt, their only response was fear, whining, and despair. Where was their trust in God? Israel had to learn from repeated experience that God was able to provide for them. God has preserved these examples in the Bible so that we can learn to trust him the first time. By focusing on God’s faithfulness in the past, we can face crises with confidence rather than with fear and complaining.

1. The blessing is your destiny but the journey is what will make you.
2. When Israel saw the Egyptians approaching it was not their destiny coming but the journey which was coming to make them.
3. God needed to see how well their faith would hold up.
4. What you are going through now is not your destiny but a part of your journey which is here to make your faith in God stronger.
Verse 3 speaks of blessing and cursing that you will experience but neither will defined you but the journey will.

Verse 4 says, Abram departed. He began a journey to a New Place.
The American Indians once said, May you stay in the same Place. The were not just talking about geography. They used these words to curse their enemies.
They meant stagnant personal journey, family would not grow, your future would be less than prosperous. They wish you to stay in the same place, same condition, without moving, without growing and without changing.
The enemy to the church is stagnation. Doing the same thing and getting the same results.
The old farmers knew that planting the same crop in the same place year after year affected the soil by robbing something from it that would affect the crop so they would rotate the crop or allow the soil to rest in order to restore that which was taken from the soil.
This is called change. Look at your neighbor and say change is good! Change is necessary!
A leader needs a clear vision to bring true change. The word said the Lord said to Abram. A true anointing will move the Leader who will then move the people.
It is so easy to get in a better place and get stuck. Abram had moved from Ur with his father, Lot and wife Sara. They were in Haran Genesis 11:31 say that Abram’s father Terah, Lot and Sara moved from Ur going to Canaan. They stopped in Haran and at 205 years of age Terah died.
His death was a sign that it was time to get moving again. When we see things dying it is a sign to move.
Dead relations, Dead end jobs, you know death don’t you. There is a time to resurrect and their time to just have a Christian burial and move on. Death has an odor. Joshua 1 the Lord said Moses is death!
Moses being dead was a reality.
Verse 4 says Abram was 75 when they left Haran. I see in this text it is never too late for God. Your life just begins when you obey God.
Verse 5 Tells that Abram takes his wife, his nephew and the souls he had gather with his substance and moved.
You can’t take everybody with you. When Terah left Ur he only took those he knew he could count on. Now as Abram leaves Haran he is only taking those he can count on. He neither his father tried to take the crowd.
To be honest God told him to move away from the familiar.
You must always keep your jour journey separated from your destiny. If Abram didn’t have a clear voice from God Abram would have settle in Haran. Too many of us have settled in a place that God never intended. Your Best is Still ahead of you. There is no excuse for not moving ahead. Age does not matter. Length of stay doesn’t matter just what did God say.
Verse 6 Abram passed through Sichem. There will be some places along life’s journey you will be tempted to settle but keep it moving for it is not your destiny.
Verse 7 This is the right verse because 7 means complete. When Abram got to Canaan the Lord appeared again. This is what I call confirmation. God will confirm Himself.
When God confirmed that this was the place for Abram it was Abram who built an Altar. God didn’t instruct him to build but Abram understood the will.
David understood the will: David said I will bless the Lord at all time for His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
If the Lord is going to bless you with a home, a car, a house, food, clothes, money, job, health, a spouse, shouldn’t it just be your second nature to bless the Lord with the fruit of your lips.
Verse 8 tells that Abram didn’t just settle for entering the Land but he keep moving through out the land because Abram wanted ALL that God had for him. How many you want all that God has for you in this life. You cannot have all as long as you keep settling for good when God wants you to have Great! Moving from Good to Great is where my life is heading.
When Abram got to the other side he again built an Altar and worship God. Our problem is not that we don’t have but we don’t worship. The power of release is in our worship. When your worship gets real and sincere then God will get real and sincere with you.
But if you act complaced with God you will get little for the size of your faith will determine the size of your miracle.
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. (Psalm 146:1-2, niv)
Praise is focusing our heart on God. The last five psalms (146-150) are filled with praise. Each begins and ends with “Praise the Lord!” They show us where, why, and how to praise God. What does praise do?
(1) Praise takes our minds off our problems and shortcomings and focuses them on God.
(2) Praise leads us from individual meditation to corporate worship.
(3) Praise causes us to consider and appreciate God’s character.
(4) Praise lifts our perspective from the earthly to the heavenly.
Verse 9 teaches that Abram journey goes farther.
No amount of wishing, dreaming and or visioning is ever going to get where we want to go. Reaching our destination requires us to disengage from places and people who are familiar to engage with new people and new places.
Abram disengaged from Ur
David had to disengage from the sheep to engage to the kingship.
Daniel had to disengage from the high level of government to engage to stand for righteousness.
Peter had to disengage from fishing for fish to engage for fishing for men.
Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior had to disengage from heaven with the Father and the angels to engage with his earthly mother Mary and the 12 disciples. He had to engage the cross. He had to engage death and the grave. Because His destiny was to died for the sins of the world and redeem mankind back to the Father.
I am glad he didn’t allow the journey of rejection to define him but he finished his assignment.
Are you glad if so let us worship him in spirit and truth.
Jesus left the familiar and the comfortable and went to his destiny and so can you

Proper Alignment

ay 31, 2018

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William Thompson

We all need to be sensitive to the person who can tell us what we don’t want to hear but need to hear.

2 Kings 5:10-13 (KJV)
10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascs, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

When a team moves together, it is a sight to behold, and it lifts the entire group. When a team fails to move together, the ripple effects hurt the entire group. Building successful teams is an organizational survival skill. Serving on a team successfully, and helping make the entire team a success, is the job skill that may be the most important one of all.

1 Kings 19:9-16

9And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and behold the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 
10And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
12And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 
14And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
15And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
16And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
Elijah was in the wrong place. He got caught off guard, He expected Jezebel to welcome him but she chased him. He was not ready for her reception. Are you ready for what is coming next?
If time will permit this morning I would like to give you five principles for your life, career, and your family. Without these principles you may as well find yourself in a cave. Elijah was doing what he thought was best but found himself in a cave and it was not the place God intend for him in his life at this time yet he was discourage with life.

There are so many people who are just unhappy with life. Without holding your hands up have you ever been in that place of unhappiness?

Vision
Division
Supervision
Provision
Revision

Vision
I can recall summoning the leadership team of St. Peter together to come up with a vision statement for the church. This might sound weird for a church that has operated successful since 1867 and had built many sanctuaries and released numbers of pastor, evangelist and musician to now be talking vision. The earlier fore parents understood their purpose just like in Acts 4:20 the earlier church had it together. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

What they were doing was speaking the gospel of what they had seen and heard. They were not protesting the Sanhedrin or the Roman government nor struggling to find grants to feed the poor or educate the youth. They understood their mandate and calling.

Peter and John went everywhere telling people what they had seen and heard. That is still the Christians job today. When we get side tracked from the Vision we misinterpret what it is that God wants and find ourselves in the wrong place in our lives.

No vision means we lack a defining purpose in life – a compelling motive for getting out of bed and getting busy doing something meaningful. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me, Jesus told His disciples. “Night is coming, when no one can work”. Michelangelo purchased a large stone and had it taken to his home. Someone asked him what he was going to do with the stone he replied “there is an angel inside trying to get out and I must help.” He had Vision!

Vision is what makes up press on when the work becomes difficult…. 1 Corinthians 16:8-9 I will stay, because a good opportunity for a great and growing work has been given to me now. And there are many people working against me.

Without Vision most people see opposition as a reason to quit but Paul stated something I had missed in my studies. Opportunities are often found in obstacles. Just so often we move away from what God’s will to avoid opposition without vision. Two men went to Africa to sell shoes and both men saw the same thing people without shoes but the respond was different. One man said, “Send me a ticket for I see no opportunity for no one here wear shoes.” The other man said, “Send me all the shoes you have for no one here has any shoes.” The difference is one man had Vision and the other didn’t.

Division

Please don’t let this word trouble you as it did me when I first heard it. Division means dividing up the responsibilities and bringing together the task and talents, the assignments and abilities, so that each stage of the work is in the hands of the most capable person. I have seen in marriages that a man who couldn’t handle the money would have to much pride to say to his wife “I will work and you will manage the money so here is my check.” “Just give me an allowance.” Matthew 25:21 says, The master answered, “You did well. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with small things. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.”

Joseph became second in command in Egypt but first he had to manage Potiphar’s house and next the prison. He had an excellent record so he got noticed. Too often we want to do the big things first and get angry and quit.
David destiny was to become King but first he had to take care of the sheep and play music for Saul. You must learn to serve!

Nehemiah was chosen to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem but first he had to be cupbearer for the Kings.

Often churches struggle because the wrong people are in the wrong place. People who lack heart, mind and desire for the work. Proper division.
Vision brings the organization alive and helps to keep it together, while division makes sure the right people are working in the right jobs.

Supervision

Rockwell Manufacturing once displayed this slogan “The value of our employees is measured by the amount of supervision they require.”

Samuel Chand said you must grow or go! If a leader is spending all his or her time supervising then who is dreaming for the next big change.
I know we don’t like change but change happens all the time. Harris Teeter, Winn Dixie, A&P Grocery, out houses, outside plumbing, Black and White TVs, milk straight from the cow, raising your own chickens and producing your own eggs for breakfast, Glady’s Knight & The Pimps – Every Beat of My Heart , Ice Cube is now making movies, music artists are singing pop and góspel, Things are Changing.

Provision

Whenever God gives a Vision he will make Provision for it.
Start looking for people who can make you better. Make room for those who can stretch you! When the telephone was invented some experts said it was a toy with little to no practical usage. The radio was considered to be the radio craze and it wouldn’t last. New things will challenge our minds.
Hebrews 11:32-34 says, Do I need to give more examples? I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.
33Through their faith they defeated kingdoms. They did what was right and received what God promised. They shut the mouths of lions,
34stopped great fires and were saved from being killed with swords. They were weak, and yet were made strong. They were powerful in battle and defeated other armies.

When we talk about God’s provisions we must never wait it. I believe we must respect time, talent, and resources that God provide through the people. Yes turn the lights off, turn the A/C down, and close the doors after you.

More than 5,000 People Fed
John 6 
1After this, Jesus went across Lake Galilee (or, Lake Tiberias).
2Many people followed him because they saw the miracles he did to heal the sick.
3Jesus went up on a hill and there sat down with his followers.
4It was almost the time for the Jewish Passover Feast.
5Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for all these people to eat?”
6(Jesus asked Philip this question to test him. Jesus already knew what he planned to do.)
7Philip answered, “We would all have to work a month to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece.”
8Another follower there was Andrew. He was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew said,
9“Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”
10Jesus said, “Tell the people to sit down.” This was a very grassy place. There were about 5,000 men who sat down there.
11Then Jesus took the loaves of bread. He thanked God for the bread and gave it to the people who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish. He gave them as much as they wanted.
12They all had enough to eat. When they had finished, Jesus said to his followers, “Gather the pieces of fish and bread that were not eaten. Don’t waste anything.”
13So they gathered up the pieces that were left. They filled 12 large baskets with the pieces that were left of the five barley loaves.
Look at verse 12, He had them gather up the leftovers for another day. We waste too much and then cannot figure out what happen to our resources. Start respecting what God had provided.

Revision

Large and successful companies have finally learned how to revisit their success yearly. Just because it worked in 2012 does not mean it will be successful in 2013. We have moved from a local economy to a global economy.

Things are not just measured by the local vendors but global Walmart set the new standards. Your local doctor does not own his practice but the hospital does. Change is all around us and we must learn how to embrace and use it to the Glory of God.

Churches are dying because they will not change. Marriages are dying because one person wants change. Business is dying because management will not change.
Wake up to Proverbs 27:5-6 
Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
We have been saved to tear down Satan’s Kingdom but he is attacking the church because he uses a different favor but the same deception. Fear, envy, jealousy, lies, backbiting, hypocrisy all to destroy the work of the Lord.

Let us together catch the Vision, Seek to understand Division, Operate under Supervision, Respect Provision, and not fear Revision.