Encouragement

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Hold Steady

Hold Steady By Pastor Kris BelfilsWhat do you do in times of trouble? When life’s storms come, do you get moved easily?

There are times in your life when everything you attempt to do will seem to go wrong. Your faith may be strong and your commitment deep, yet adversity will come knocking on your door. These are the times we need to “Hold Steady” and not waver.

The Apostle Paul experienced much hardship and trouble in his life. He even was a prisoner for many years. It amazes me his faith and “Hold Steady” attitude in spite of all that he went through.

2 Cor. 4:8 – 10 NLT
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

This passage of scripture tells us that we will experience trouble, but we won’t be crushed. It tells us that we will be perplexed (full of difficulty or confusion or bewilderment – Dictionary), but won’t fall into despair. We might be hunted down by the enemy but we will never be abandoned by God. We might get knocked down, but never will it destroy us. All this is for God’s glory and for Him to be seen in us!

We will experience trouble in our life. If we were a ship the trouble would be the storm and the wind and waves trying to get us off course and shipwreck us.

Steady As She Goes

Have you ever heard the phrase: “Steady as she goes?“ It is an instruction from the captain to the helmsman of a ship, to keep the ship heading steadily on the same course regardless of gusts of wind or cross-currents. Anything to be navigated, or guided by hand, is a “she” in vernacular. You don’t want to bump into anything, or tip over, and if you are standing in or on it, you want to keep it steady so you do not lose your balance. This is what God is saying to us: “Steady as she goes!” It is a reminder to “Hold Steady” in spite of our fears, concerns, or even the facts we face from day to day.

What brings turbulence in our life? Maybe it is unexpected news of a health issue? Maybe your turbulence is experiencing financial or relational hardship. Have you been rejected lately? Turbulence comes in all forms and it always does the same thing; It rocks our world.

What is your reaction when your world is rocked? Do you cry? Get angry? Lash out to those you love? Speak a bad report from your mouth? Give up? We need to learn how to “Hold Steady” in our response to any storm we may face. You might say, “It is easier said then done Pastor Kris!” I understand that reaction but God wants us to mature and be stable even when our world is rocking.

So what do we do in times of trouble? I have come up with a few tools that have helped me to Hold Steady and I pray they encourage and help you too.

How to Hold Steady in Times of Trouble

1. Cry out to God!

Too often our first reaction when a hardship comes is to doubt any good will come from it. We tend to try and figure it out on our own. if only our first response would be to take it to God. Crying out to God for help is the best thing we can do. He is the One Who has all the answers. We only see what is in front of us. God sees the whole picture.

Psalm 77 NKJV
“I cried out to God with my voice – To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted.”

Open up your heart and receive the comfort of the Lord as you cry out to Him. He sees and hears you. He won’t turn a deaf ear to you. No, He will run to you and bring comfort even in the middle of the storm.

I learned how to cry out to God the hard way. It was through many mistakes I made in my life and I was left with walking through the consequences. I hated where I was at. But I found the secret place of prayer that I would cry out to the Lord all my emotions, all my concerns and fears. I would tell Him how I felt and ask Him to help me get out of the mess I was in. God never got me out of my mess, but He did make beauty from it. It is in the walking through of hardship that we learn how to really trust the Lord.

Are there things in your life that you are trying to avoid? Maybe your trouble doesn’t have to do with anybody but you. Why do we tend to walk around the Elephant in our living Room? We walk around issues in our life that have tripped us up for years. You know you have issues when you deflect things off of yourself and onto others. Have you ever done that? Someone, in love, is trying to confront you and you don’t want to deal with it so you deflect it and turn it back on them or someone else. Of course it is never your fault, right? But this only makes things worse. It prevents you from being free from bondage that has kept you captive for years. It is time to cry out to God and release all of it and allow God to set you free once and for all. Then you can actually see a bigger picture of other people who need what you have: FREEDOM!

2. Trust God.

Trusting in God use to take courage in my past. I never really saw how trustworthy God was until He was all I had left. To be truthful, God allows us to get down to nothing so He becomes our everything. Take the whole world, but give me Jesus! Take all my longings, but give me Jesus. Take all my hopes and desires but give me Jesus!

Trust Jesus, and you are saved. Trust self, and you are lost.

― Charles H. Spurgeon

This is truth! When we trust ourselves for anything, especially the trouble times we may be facing, we will be disappointed. We can lead ourselves down a wrong path thinking we are absolutely right when we are 100% wrong. Why would God put in His Word verse after verse about trusting and leaning not on our own understanding? It is because we will always go to that “default” when trying to figure something out. Our knowledge is limited, but God’s wisdom is never ending.

Trusting God is faith. It is faith in action. It is believing God is a god of His Word and that He will never fail. We have to have faith to believe in God. It is the same thing when it comes to trusting Him. Allow your faith to arise and find a place of trust with God.

Proverbs 3:5 – 6 Amp
“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.”

Trust is like a staff you can lean on as you journey uphill with God. If you are trusting in God consistently, the staff will bear as much of your weight as needed. Lean on, trust, and be confident in God with all your heart and mind. Don’t allow your reasoning to get in the way of God’s loving wisdom.

God asks us to trust Him even in deep darkness when He gives just enough light for the step you are on. Are you holding God’s hand? You should! That way you will never misstep. Learn how to trust God moment by moment. Don’t take your entire life at once. Just this moment, and then the next. Trying to imagine what will happen in a day, week, month, or year is futile. We know God will be there with us, but for today, we trust Him right now!

Be very present of God’s presence in your life. Stay in His presence. It is the best protection over self-pity and depression. God’s presence is Who He is. You can trust that!

Psalm 62:8 Amp
“Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!”

Put your confidence in God and not your abilities, your circumstances, or even your relationships.

Psalm 61:2 NKJV
“From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

When our hearts are overwhelmed we cry out to God and He will lead us to Him and help us in our trouble. There is no better plan then that.

Psalm 32:10 NLT
“Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.”

How many of you want love to surround you? Trust in the Lord and follow His ways. There is blessing in being obedient to God and His Word! Don’t be deceived and think you can do your own thing and still have God’s blessings. It doesn’t work that way. Disobedience brings curses, judgement, distraction, and death. It is not worth it. Trusting God means you obey His word and believe it. You believe Him. His heart is for you and not against you.

I have written extensively on trusting God in my book: “The Garbage Man Always Comes On Fridays” if you would like to do further study on this topic.

3. Pray

What comes to mind when you think of the word, “prayer?” I think for some, it might mean drudgery or a hassle. Others might think why do it, as it never works. Still others might be excited for the opportunity to spend time with God.

When we work, we work; but when we pray, God works!

It’s an honor to be able to speak to God. We don’t have to go through a priest or a saint or any other intermediary. We don’t have to follow any prescribed rituals. We don’t have to wait for an appointment. Anywhere, anytime, under any circumstances, we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.”

― Oswald Chambers

Prayer is our key to unlock God’s resources and blessing. Instead of fretting over our circumstances, prayer allows us to take action. We pray and bring all our concerns, all the good and the bad to the God Who has all the answers for all our needs.

Matt 11:28-30 The Message
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

I love this paraphrase of these verses. It doesn’t matter where you are, or what you have done, you can come to God and get rest and recover from all that is going on in your life.

If I was to plug in a lamp in front of you and turn it on, it would light up the room. But if I had the lamp, and it wasn’t plugged into any power source, the lamp does not do what it was created to do: Shine! To me, prayer is my life-line, my constant connection with my power source. If we are not connected continually to God we will be weak and not work, and just like the lamp with no power, we will not function, nor will we shine for God’s glory.

We could spend much time on the subject of prayer, and in the future I will, but for now, realize it is an easy thing to pray and spend time with God. If you are down, prayer can help bring your focus where it should be: off your circumstances and onto a powerful God who loves you. He created the heavens, the planets, the universe, and He created you too! Connect to your power-source!

4. Praise

Praise is a weapon! It is a sustainer! Praising God in the midst of a storm can open doors and bring deliverance! Did you hear about the ten year old boy who was kidnapped this past week from his own driveway? He bent down to pick up some money and someone grabbed him and put him in the back seat of a car and took off. The boy started singing the song: Every Praise. His kidnapper told him to shut up and swore at him numerous times but Willie wouldn’t keep quiet, he kept on praising His God in the middle of his storm. For three hours his kidnapper drove around until finally he couldn’t take the praise any longer and opened the car door and threw him out and said to not tell anyone what happened. As of now they are still looking for his kidnapper. What a powerful story of how praise brought deliverance!

Song: Every Praise

Praise gets the attention off of our circumstance and onto our God! It seems such an opposite thing to do of praising instead of fretting, yet it is powerful. God always has a plan in the middle of our storm. Our faith, in the middle of the storm, is so important for our survival. We must believe God will rescue us and either change the situation, or change us.

Paul and Silas knew first hand what praise will do in times of trouble. They were on their way to the place of prayer and met a slave girl who was demon possessed and could foretell the future. She brought her owners much wealth by her fortunetelling. She kept following Paul and Silas shouting loudly, “These men are the servants of the Most High God! They announce to you the way of salvation” For many days she followed and shouted this to the point Paul said to the evil spirit within her to come out in the name of Jesus Christ and the spirit left her. Her owners were very angry and dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities in the marketplace and accused them of being Jews and throwing the city into great confusion and that they encourage the practice of customs unlawful for Romans to observe. A large crowd joined the attack and the rulers tore Paul and Silas’ clothes and commanded that they be beaten with rods and thrown into the deepest part of the prison.

Acts 16:25 – 26 Amp
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.”

Their praise and joy broke every chain off of them and set all the prisoners free! Amazing how praise is for God yet it benefits the participator to the point of deliverance! Do you see this? Praise opens doors, brings freedom, and what once held us captive no longer has a hold on us!

5. Embrace the trouble.

As with any woman who is pregnant with their first child, my body experienced many changes. I knew how my body was without being pregnant, frankly I enjoyed it. As I started to experience and see my body change, I grew to resent it. I felt like someone was taking over my body. I remember complaining to my mom about having morning sickness and feeling ill all the time. I would tell her my woes and she gently said to me, “Honey, allow your body to be pregnant and stop fighting it.” It really helped me to embrace all aspects of my pregnancy, where as before I would fight and complain about it. It made for a better pregnancy and I am sure my husband was relieved and benefitted from my new outlook too.

When we are starting to experience hardship don’t look at it as a bad thing. Change your perspective and see it differently.

Though your troubles may seem heavy and endless, they are actually light and momentary compared to the eternal Glory they are achieving for you! Trust God to open a door of hope in the middle of your trouble.

2 Cor. 4:17
“Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

This is a timely word for any troubled heart. We will receive an eternal glory from any trouble we experience and that glory far outweighs any momentary trouble.

Sometimes God allows us to go through wilderness experiences to remove anything from our past that we are not to take with us. God calls us out of the world’s noise to commune with Him. Spiritual deserts become fertile soil for God’s work in the human spirit. Here is where God shapes, molds, and makes us. Often the desert or trouble is a place of solitude, suffering, and self-denial but it brings much growth. It is the pain required before true healing takes place.

Deep agape love can be developed only in the school of suffering. We need to get to the place that we are not afraid to suffer. Most people want to get to know Jesus in His resurrection, but it is in knowing Him in suffering that our flesh is overthrown! Suffering on the cross came before the resurrection. Without suffering there is no glory. As we experience trouble and turbulence we will experience our own forms of suffering body, soul, and spirit.

1 Peter 4:12 – 13 NKJV
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”

When God’s glory is revealed in you, that is the victory! When our flesh doesn’t win, we are victorious! I have said it before, but when our flesh wins, we lose. If your flesh screams, “I want out” and you obey it, the outcome of your actions will not ever be good. You might think you have won, but in reality you have lost so much in Jesus. We decrease so that He can increase in us. The more we do this, the more God can use us. It is hard for God to use rigid things, but very easy for God to use broken things.

Embrace the wilderness as a banqueting table, as a chamber where the Lord wants to speak with you. Embrace it with great faith and vigor. Embracing trouble is not getting what you want and still be okay with it. Can you still love God when He tells you, No? Can you worship Him in the middle of that NO? This is truly dying to self and loving God even if none of His blessings were promised to you. You might say, “Pastor Kris that seems so unfair!” Of course it is unfair. Who said life was fair anyhow? Probably someone who didn’t want to face himself and any issue that was keeping them in bondage. To be free you need to let go. Let go of your control. Let go of your will. Let go of what you want the outcome to be.

Let us be people who Hold Steady in the good times and the bad. Allow God to develop you into a ship that is steady and balanced in all seasons of life. Cry out to Him and trust that He will guide you moment by moment. Learn how to worship Him even when the answer He gives you is; NO! He is worthy!

From one “steady as she goes” vessel to another,

Pastor Kris Belfils
http://www.krisbelfils.com
http://www.hopefellowshipspokane.com
http://www.krisbelfils.wordpress.com

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Door of Deliverance

Door of Deliverance 2We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is the very foundation of our Christian faith. God made a way for all mankind to be delivered from the wages of sin which the Bible tells us is death.

Romans 6:23 NLT

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I have devoted my life to tell people that Jesus is alive and that He loves them so much He died and took their place. God offers us a choice to be saved from hell and damnation. Even though we deserve the worse, God has given us His best so we are delivered and redeemed and set free from any power sin had on us. It is our choice to receive deliverance or not.

In this message I want to look at the “Door of Deliverance” God has placed before us, to step back and see how God delivered the Israelites from bondage as a foreshadowing of what Christ will do for us, and to see how it is the biggest and best door we could ever walk through. This is the last message on the “Doors” series. What a powerful ending of the open doors to look deeply at the Door of Deliverance God has provided each one of us.

What comes to your mind when you think of the word deliverance? I am sure it conjures up many thoughts.

Psalm 32:7 KJV

“Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah”

God is our hiding place. As a believer no matter what we are going through, no matter what we have done, we can hide in Him. Songs of deliverance is a powerful thought because this is exactly what God does for us as we hide in Him; He delivers us from our trouble. Remember last weeks message; Door of Hope? God places a door of hope in the middle of the Valley of Achor (trouble) [Hosea 2:15]. Right in the middle of our struggles God will open up a door of hope for you.

The word deliverance in this passage means “escape” [pallet (pal-late) Strongs Hebrew and Greek Definitions H6405] and when you bring that word back to the Hebrew primitive root it expands to mean; “out, that is, escape; causatively to deliver: carry away safe, deliver, (cause to) escape” (H6403).

We can escape death and an eternity in hell all by receiving what Christ did on the cross for us. That is first and foremost the biggest door of deliverance God has provided for each of us. I can’t think of any worse trouble then spending my eternal future burning in hell. Remember what the Bible says is true; there is a God, a heaven, a devil, and a fiery hell.

Looking at the word deliverance further:

Joel 2:32 KJV

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”

The word delivered (malat) is a primitive root (H4422) and is translated; “to be smooth, to escape; to release or rescue, emit sparks, save speedily and surely.”

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered! This is a promise. We have a deliverer Who is ready and willing to come and rescue us and smoothly provide a way of escape from our troubles and bring us speedily and surely to a safe place. How many of you want to be safe? Me too! Turn to somebody and tell them “You are safe in Jesus!”

Luke 4:18 – 19 KJV

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Jesus read these words from the book of Isaiah in the Synagogue. All present marveled and looked intently at Him. It is what was prophesied in the Old Testament in Isaiah 61:1- 2. But when Jesus read this to the Chief Priests and Elders they didn’t like it. They kept the people in bondage by their rules and laws and rituals. How can this man be professing that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him? This was the beginning of much hatred and rejection from the Religious rulers and eventually plotting to kill Jesus.

The word deliverance (aphesis pronounced af-es-is) in this passage of scripture gives an even better definition: “freedom, pardon, deliverance, forgiveness, liberty, remission (G649, from G863).

Jesus came to set the captives free from any enslavement. He wants us to walk in freedom because we have been forgiven of all the wrong we have done. Walking in freedom means to walk away from what held you captive. It means to walk in obedience to God and enjoy your life. You never go back to it again. Even our own fleshly, selfish desires can put us in prison and hold us captive, but once you have truly tasted freedom, you no longer want to go back to anything that put you into slavery in the first place.

You and I can be in bondage and not even realize it. Once we come out of slavery we realize how captive we really were. We can be entrapped by sin, un-forgiveness, bitterness,

haughty spirit, our past, or even our future if we allow it. God wants to deliver us all from that and much more today.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb of Deliverance

Did you know that the Passover is being celebrated right now with all Jewish communities. How is this important to this message? Looking at the Old Testament we can see an event that was extremely prophetic for our deliverance.

The Passover lamb was the animal God directed the Israelites to use as a sacrifice in Egypt on the night God struck down the firstborn sons of every household (Exodus 12:29). This was the final plague God issued against Pharaoh, and it led to Pharaoh releasing the Israelites from slavery (Exodus 11:1). After that fateful night, God instructed the Israelites to observe the Passover Feast as a lasting memorial (Exodus 12:14). How amazing they celebrated their deliverance even before they were delivered! 

God instructed every household of the Israelite people to select a year-old male lamb without defect (Exodus 12:5; cf. Leviticus 22:20-21). The head of the household was to slaughter the lamb at twilight, taking care that none of its bones were broken, and apply some of its blood to the tops and sides of the doorframe of the house. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten (Exodus 12:7-8). God also gave specific instructions as to how the Israelites were to eat the lamb, “with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand (Exodus 12:11; cf. Ephesians 6:14). In other words, they had to be ready to travel.

God said that when He saw the lamb’s blood on the doorframe of a house, He would “pass over” that home and not permit “the destroyer” (Exodus 12:23) to enter. Any home without the blood of the lamb would have their firstborn son struck down that night (Exodus 12: 12-13).

Exodus 12:13 NKJV

“…And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

When I see the blood… When God saw the blood on the doors He didn’t kill the first born. Those who obeyed God were saved. Not only were they saved but this very act made for their freedom from slavery. They were set free from Pharaoh and Egypt to pursue the promise land.

This is what Christ did for us. The Bible tells us that Jesus is our passover lamb.

1 Cor. 5:7 NKJV

“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

The Israelites were to find a lamb with no blemishes. No one else could have ever fulfilled being the Passover Lamb except Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist proclaimed who Jesus was stating He was the Lamb of God.

John 1:29 NKJV

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus was crucified when the passover was observed. The ultimate Lamb was sacrificed for you and me to take away every sin, every wrong we have done, and took our place. He was like a lamb being led to the slaughter and didn’t speak a word (Matt. 27:14).

If it was me I would be telling everyone my innocence so I wouldn’t be killed. But Jesus remained silent. He remained silent for you and I. He knew why He came to earth. He fulfilled His assignment His Father gave Him. Touch someone and say, “He took, my place!”

Power in the blood

There is power in the Blood of Christ. Christ shed blood is the act of dying that leads to our redemption. Most of the time seeing blood makes you think of death, but in this powerful case it means LIFE!

Jesus is our Passover Lamb. Christ’s blood was spilt and applied for our salvation.

20 Things the Blood of Jesus Does*

1.      It remits sins (Matt. 26:28).

2.      It gives life to those who consume it (John 6:53).

3.      It causes us to dwell in Christ and He in us (John 6:56).

4.      It is the means by which Jesus purchased the church (Acts 20:28).

5.      It is the means by which Jesus becomes our atonement through faith (Rom. 3:25).

6.      It justifies us and saves us from wrath (Rom. 5:9).

7.      It redeems us (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9).

8.      It brings those who were far away from God near to Him (Eph. 2:13).

9.      It grants us the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14).

10.    It brings peace and reconciliation to God (Col. 1:20).

11.    It has obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12).

12.    It cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:14).

13.    It is the means by which we enter the most holy place with boldness (Heb. 10:19).

14.    It speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:24, NIV).

15.    It sanctifies us (Heb. 13:12).

16.    It makes us complete for every good work (Heb. 13:20-21, NKJV).

17.    It cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

18.    It bears witness in the earth along with the Spirit and the water (1 John 5:8, KJV).

19.    It is the means by which Jesus washes us (Rev. 1:5; 7:14).

20.    It is the means by which we overcome the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:11).

The amazing news is that Jesus didn’t stay dead! No, He rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for you and I. We all need a Passover Lamb! He is our Door of Deliverance. Jesus took the keys of hell and death so that we might not die but live and spend eternity with Him.

Who needs a passover? We all do! We have “do-overs” but this is far greater then any do-over. We have a God who passes over our mess, mistakes, sins, wrong-doings, and washes us all clean and white as snow through His Son, Jesus Christ. This was Jehovah’s plan from the beginning of time. One can not argue over all the facts of how Jesus was our Passover Lamb. What about you? Have you asked Jesus to be your Passover Lamb yet? Don’t hesitate. Today is the day for your salvation, your deliverance as you walk through that open door God has provided for you.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I realize You did come to save me from all the wrong I have done. You truly are the Son of God to take away my sins. I ask you to be Lord of my life and forgive me of it all. Thank you for being my Passover Lamb. Thank you for choosing to go to the cross in my place. You paid it all and I owe you everything. From this day forward I will follow You all the days of my life. I want all of You so I give You all of me. I am free as I walk through Your Door of Deliverance today, Amen!

I rejoice in the Lord for the transformation in your heart today!

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.KrisBelfils.WordPress.com

 

 

*(http://frankviola.org/2012/03/01/thebloodofjesus/)

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Door of Hope

Door of HopeThis year, 2014, is a year of open doors. People need hope. I believe we will walk into those low places with people who need Jesus, offering them the entrance to the door of hope whose name is Jesus Christ. As a Christian, we have the answer to all the world’s problems and we should be sharing it to all we meet.

Joel 3:14 

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”

There will be multitudes who need hope. They will make a decision to come to Christ and live passionately for Him.

I had a dream this past week. In the dream I was at a Presbyterian church in Spokane. First off, I am not Presbyterian and haven’t attended their churches or know their pastors. At this church one of the Leaders came up to me and offered for our church to use their facility and that they would like to give all their property to Hope Fellowship. I was amazed and blessed. They showed me their entire campus of buildings. In the main building there were sleeping quarters and my family and I spent the night from Saturday to Sunday. When we woke up on Sunday morning, I heard people and saw people coming in for Sunday School. I shouted for everyone to lock their sleeping quarters as I went to a side door where everyone was coming in. I looked outside and multitudes were coming into the building for Sunday School. It was snowing very hard outside. I quickly went to the Adult Sunday School class and realized there wasn’t enough room or chairs to accommodate such a  large crowd. Then, after Sunday School, more people, by the multitude came into the Cathedral ceiling sanctuary. There was people everywhere. I asked where the pulpit was and it was in the middle of this huge rectangle size cathedral room. People sat all around the four walls. The Presbyterian leaders asked me to come to the pulpit and the crowd cheered. They stated; “We are handing over the keys and the microphone to you. This is all yours!” The crowd cheered. As I spoke my voice would cut out, but the crowd didn’t care, they were all just happy to be there and excited at this new beginning! I woke up shortly after that.

This dream has stayed in my spirit ever since I dreamt it. It brought me hope and joy. All I could see in this dream were open doors and people running in with high expectations of HOPE. I believe this is a prophetic dream of the world today. As much as there will be a great turning away, there will be a great harvest. Be alert and don’t be one who is lead astray by your own desires. Be one who helps bring in the harvest for God’s glory to build His Kingdom. Help people come to the open door of hope.

Today, people have put their hope in so many things and all of them have failed them. They are looking for the real deal. They want to see genuine people expressing living hope. They are attracted to that.

What Jesus did on the cross is everything. He died so that we might live. But He didn’t stay in the grave, No, He is risen. He is alive! It gives us hope for tomorrow.

Hope is the sustainer of life. It’s the motivator to action. It’s the promise of tomorrow. What each one of us needs more of is hope. What our country and world needs is hope.

What is hope? Often we use the word hope as a form of wish. “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” “I hope the Seahawks or Bulldogs win their next game.” However, hope in the Bible, has quite a different meaning.

Hope in the Bible is a “confident expectation of a divinely provided future.”

Biblical hope is a confidence and expectation that God has provided for a good future for you. This morning God wants to fill every person here with hope that God has a great future planned for you.

The opposite of hope is despair or hopelessness. We see examples of despair and hopelessness all around us.

”Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

I would like to add to this quote;

“Despair cannot drive out despair: only HOPE can do that.” 

Pastor Kris Belfils 

How many times do we try to drive out our own despair with more despair? This will never bring encouragement.

The word despair means: “A state in which all hope is lost or absent, The feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well, abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart. Other terms:  Discouragement, disheartenment, dismay, hopelessness, pessimism, resignation, surrender.”

This happens to many people everyday. When a tragedy occurs or our expectations have not been met, we can fall into despair easily. We can fall into despair just by thinking wrong thoughts about our self and others.

There are really only two things you can have in life: 

1. Despair

2. Hope

Hope in the dictionary means: “A general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled, grounds for feeling hopeful about the future, Someone, or something on which expectations are centered.”

Having hope is so essential to surviving in life. If we lose hope, we have lost the race.

Despair and hopelessness drives people to harm themselves or others in many ways. Hopelessness leads people to try to escape life’s despair through different kinds of addictions. Despair about your future saps the joy from life.

This is what the world is experiencing today. They have no hope. Some tried to put their hope in the Government or financial institutes, some in their education, some in what they buy or wear. All these things will leave you hopeless.

Psalms 42:11

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”

This verse is telling us to put our hope in God and to praise Him for saving us from our trouble.

What are you thinking? Are you thinking despairing thoughts? Then you will be filled with despair! Despair and discouragement are dead end roads. They lead to no where!They don’t get anything done.

Discouragement leads to despair, despair leads to feelings of anxiety and hopelessness, hopelessness leads to depression and suicidal thoughts, and suicidal thoughts leads down a path of total darkness.

If you are feeling despair, don’t jump to Satan’s illusions. Remind yourself that you are valuable and God has a plan for your life. Tell yourself that your current condition is not permanent. It will pass. Tell yourself you can stand in the midst of all the bad. Also distinguish the difference of something that is truth about you or your situation, or just a lie or illusion the enemy is trying to sabotage you with.

In the natural, darkness always makes us scared, but sunshine and light make us feel safe and happy. The doom and gloom go away instantly when light is put on the subject.

Light is the only thing that can drive out darkness. We sometimes wallow in self-pity or focus on the negative, thinking you will feel better, and the dark cloud will lift. This will never happen. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, and despair cannot drive out despair.

We have to guard against darkness in our hearts and minds. The best way is to focus on, and bring in the light.

Psalm 36:9 (NKJV)

“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.”

John 12:46 (NKJV)

“I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.”

1 Thess 5:5 (NKJV)

“You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.”

John 1:5 (NKJV)

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

Isaiah 60:1

“Arise, shine; For your light has come! and the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

We have to set our minds on new things, and what God is capable of doing. We have to turn our thoughts from the bad and purposely set our thoughts on the good.

Jesus said this about our light:

Matthew 5:14 – 16 (NKJV)

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Now let us take a look at Psalm 146 and see what the LORD is doing in our lives, which brings us much hope:

Psalm 146 (NKJV)

“PRAISE the LORD! (Hallelujah) Praise the LORD, O my soul! While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Do not put your trust (hope) in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirt departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down. The LORD shall reign forever – Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

To overcome Hopelessness we need to remind ourself who the LORD is in our life:

(Based on Psalm 146)

Praise the LORD! (Ps. 146:1 – 2)

Do not put your hope in princes or in man as they will perish (146:3 – 4)

Put your hope in the LORD – it will make you happy (Ps. 146:5)

The LORD made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them (Ps. 146:6)

The LORD is the keeper of truth forever (Ps. 146:6)

The LORD executes justice for the oppressed (146:7)

The LORD gives food to the hungry (146:7)

The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners (146:7)

The LORD watches over the strangers (146:8)

The LORD opens the eyes of the blind (146:8)

The LORD raises those who are bowed down (146:8)

The LORD loves the righteous (146:8)

The LORD watches over the strangers (146:9)

The LORD relieves the fatherless and widow (146:9)

The LORD turns the way of the wicked upside down (146:9)

The LORD shall reign forever, to all generations (146:10)

Psalm 27:14  (God’s Word)

“Wait with hope for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.

Yes, wait with hope for the LORD.”

We have to wait with hope for God. We have to be courageous and strong in our waiting. The word; “wait” was a bad four letter word to me. I hated waiting. Waiting made me feel I did something wrong. It made me feel I wasn’t ready. But, this is not why we have to wait at times. Waiting helps us to mature in Christ. Waiting burns out the impatience in us. Waiting is better then rushing into something without God’s wisdom and direction.

Human nature gives up easily when we pray and don’t see our prayers answered. We pray once, and no answer, so we give up, or think it is not God’s will. We have to be persistent in our prayers and in faith. God is looking for people who have their hope in Him and don’t give up when they don’t see an answer to their prayer.

A great example of praying and not giving up is Elijah. I am sure Elijah waited with hope as he prayed to God for rain to come.

Read 1 Kings 18:41 – 46

Elijah could have given up after the first time praying for rain and then sending his servant to go up mount Carmel to see if any clouds were forming. Elijah’s hope was in God and he believed God would come through. Again and again Elijah prayed without any answer to his prayer. He pressed in and continued to pray.

Elijah persevered and kept praying and believing God would come through. He was relentless! He didn’t stop praying until God gave him a sign. It was in a form of a cloud the size of a man’s hand. It was all he needed to move on in his life. God gives little clouds to spark hope in our hearts that He is working and bringing the answer.

We can learn from this great man of God. We too need to keep praying without giving up. We too need to believe God will answer in spite of our circumstances or what we see or don’t see happening.

The hope is knowing God is faithful! What He did before He will do again. He used men and women in the Bible to bring about His agenda and His Kingdom. He wants to use us too.

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Faith in action requires a time of waiting. The word “Hope” is interchanged with the word wait in the Bible. HOPE: Is the place between praying and answered prayer!

It can seem like God didn’t hear us or holds his answer from us.

Where can we get the hope that we need in life? …….Our hope comes from Jesus.

Matthew 12:21 (NIV)

“In his name the nations will put their hope.”

Some people put their hope in wrong things and they are disappointed. But everyone who puts their hope in Jesus will never be disappointed.

Hope for the multitudes to give them a door of hope in trying times is our heart here at Hope Fellowship!

Hope is the only thing that stands against fear. Having hope propels you to keep trying in the middle of your fears. This is the action or active part of hope. Hope helps us to stay focused. If we don’t have hope, we will fall into our fears and doubts and give up.

Let Hope arise in you today! The Hope of Jesus Christ is powerful. No one can take that away from you. Hope sustains you. Hope keeps you.

You might be living in a hard situation right now. It might seem hopeless, but remind yourself Who is living inside of you! Jesus, the conqueror of death! Jesus, the giver of new life and new beginnings!

Door of Hope

Hosea 2:15

“I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.” 

This verse is for all who are facing trouble right now, be it financial trouble, family trouble, physical trouble. I don’t care what trouble you have, maybe emotional trouble? God will give you hope in the middle of your troubles.

“Her” is basically Israel, but can refer to all of us as God’s people today. “I will give her…” we are the bride of Christ! We are so blessed. We can be called “him” and “her;” the bride of Christ.

“I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.”

What a wonderful prophecy. Now, see the words, “door of hope?” In Hebrew; Pethach tiqvah. There is a Jewish Anthem entitled; “The Hope.” HATIKVAH it is sung to remember that as long as deep in the heart a Jewish soul yearns and looks to Zion our hope will not be lost.

Hope doesn’t mean; “I hope things will happen.” No, hope means it will happen. What you dream and believe in God will happen. God will meet the desires of your heart. God says, “Have hope!” Man says, “Don’t raise your hope.” God says, “Raise your hopes as high as the throne of God, hallelujah! Amen!” You have a God. Those other people who say, “Don’t raise your hope.” They don’t have a god. You have a God of grace, of goodness, of mercy!

Do you know where He puts this door of hope? Do you know where to find the door of hope? God says there’s no temptation, no testings, no trials that has come on you that God will not give you the strength, and will find the way of escape. There is a door in every test! There is a door. Where do you find this door of hope? In the Valley of Achor! What is the Valley of Achor? Listen this is a word for all of you!

The word Achor means: trouble in Hebrew (Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionary).

It means trouble! Wow, in your valley of trouble. When you are in trouble you don’t feel like you are on the mountain, no you are in the valley. You may say, “Pastor Kris I have all these bills looming. I feel crushed.” God says, “In your valley of trouble I will open to you a door of hope!” “Pastor Kris, you don’t understand. The Doctors have given me some bad news.” You are going through a valley now and God is going to put the door of hope before you. And every time you open this door you step into life more abundantly (John 10:10). You will find pasture. God puts a door there.

Listen, don’t open other doors that man tries to put there. The Door is Jesus. When you open the Door you will find life, and life more abundantly!

So what trouble are you going through right now? God is putting right now, in your valley, a Door of hope. His name is Jesus, and what do you do with a door? Open it. Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and opens the door, I will come in.” Once He comes in your sickness goes out! Once He comes in your lack goes out! Once He comes in, peace in the house. And by the way people forget that Jesus says, “I knock at the door” in Revelation 3:20. It is not written for sinners. It is written for the church. Okay, but He invites you to open the door. He will not break down the door. The door of grace has only one knob and it is not out side, the knob is inside. Jesus can only knock, you have to open the door and say, “Lord Jesus, come into my trouble, come into my mess. Lord, I don’t know what to do, my hands are off.” Then Jesus will say, “Come you will find pasture and life more abundant has come.”

Zacheous opened his door and said, “Come in,” and Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house!” Hallelujah! Amen! Let’s do that right now!

Your Pastor,

Kris Belfils

www.krisbelfils.com

www.hopefellowshipspokane.com

www.krisbelfils.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Breakthrough the Threshold of the Open Door

breakthoughGod spoke to my heart back in August of 2013 that He wanted me to preach on Doors this new year. Since January I have written and preached message after message on Open Doors for 2014. In doing so, I believe I made myself a target of the devil as I have experienced attack after attack not only in my own life with my health, but in my family, and church as well. At one point I felt I was doing something wrong and even felt like giving up. But, that was not the answer. Far too many times when we are right at the threshold of our breakthrough, right at the doorway of an open door, we will experience the attack of the enemy.

Satan does not want us to take any ground from him. When we rise up and make a stance for God and taking the land for Him, it angers the enemy. Then we experience difficult circumstances and our faith weakens.

Crossing Over the Threshold of Open Doors

As I was going through the attacks of the enemy I didn’t see it as attacks. All I saw was the struggle and the hardship I had to walk through. Maybe this is you too. I pray this message ministers to you as the content ministered to me and allowed me to see more clearly what was really happening. The following is taken from Sandie Freed as well as my own writings.

Are you having to go through what you might refer to as a difficult time right now? And, even though it has been prophesied that this is a year of open doors and experiencing double blessings and breakthrough, do you feel as if your faith is weakened and that it is difficult for you to hold on to finish the race?

If you are contending for your new levels of increase and breakthrough, please allow me to give some insight as to how to properly respond to the new level of spiritual warfare needed for this season. And, let me assure you that you are not alone in this. Many Believers are experiencing difficulty crossing over into their promises in this season.

Opposition At The Threshold Of Open Doors

Sandi Freed writes: Recently I was in Katy, Texas, to minister at Wanda Roberson Ministries’ conference entitled “Stepping Through Open Doors.” When I travel, it is not unusual for me to have a dream from the Lord which exposes territorial strongholds and plans of the enemy. I love the faithfulness of God to expose any area of opposition that attempts to enslave His children! The night before I spoke at the conference, I had a dream of a threshold with an open door. At the threshold, there was a python snake that attempted to wrap itself around God’s children as they were going through the door. (More on the python spirit in a bit.) This evil spirit would attempt to weaken its victim by squeezing the life and breath out of its body. Also, there was a strong spirit of fear attached to this python spirit, and just the fear alone kept people from being empowered to cross over into enlargement and increase.

There was much contending at this threshold as the enemy would lash out with false accusations, fear, anxiety, and cause weakness (both physically and spiritually) in its attempts to hold on to each of us. Satan’s desire is to keep us from getting past our past. Saints of God, listen up – the enemy does not want you to believe God for your breakthrough. He desires to weaken your faith by creating circumstances in your life that are completely opposite of what God has promised you. Bottom line – your land of promise, your open door, awaits your arrival and crossing over, but the enemy does not like the fact that you are at a threshold of great, great breakthrough.

I read this prophecy from Marsha Burn on March 12, 2014:
“I have opened a door to the season ahead of you.  It will be a time when you will be able to see and understand spiritual truth with greater clarity–a season of freedom from bondage and past difficulties that will bring refreshment to your soul.  You stand at the very threshold of a new beginning, []but you must first put the past firmly behind before you can move ahead.  Let go of everything that is holding you back, says the Lord.”

Perilous Times

So, why are we being promised open doors, double blessings, and many of God’s “suddenlies” if we are also experiencing such difficulties? Well, I believe that we are living in what 2 Timothy 3:1 refers to as perilous times.

2 Timothy 3:1 NKJV
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:”

The word “perilous” is a Greek word chalepos (pronounced kahl-ep-os’) and it is translated as meaning “difficult, i.e. dangerous or (by implication) furious.”

I can relate to this translation as I have also been experiencing some difficult times. And, I certainly believe that satan is furious that each of us is determined to cross over into increase!

Interestingly, another interpretation of perilous is “reduction in strength.”

I can relate to feeling weak – both physically and spiritually. How so? Well, the enemy would like to squeeze the life out of me and weaken my faith; plus, I am struggling with physical strength at the same time.

And, a further study concerning perilous times reveal that it is linked to another Greek word which means “to let down, strike, and to lower (as into a void.)” Translations take this even one step further by explaining that during perilous times we even experience “chasms.” (See Strong’s Concordance #5467, #5465, and #5490.)

Did you see that? Let me make it clear. Satan desires to cause us to believe that we are not seated in heavenly places in authority over him! He desires to deceive us into believing we have a lower position! He is attacking our belief systems at the threshold of open doors.

And now, get this: He wants to “void” our promises by deception. He desires to create a chasm between us and our promises. How can he deceive us? Again, by creating situations in our life that seem to oppose our promises. Satan desires to weaken our strength, weaken our faith, and strike out with opposition at the threshold. However, we need to remember this important fact as we contend against satan and the python spirit – Jesus Christ has already won the victory. His Blood was shed so that you are empowered with grace to cross over into your Promised Land! Our minds must be renewed to that truth as we defeat every enemy that attempts to oppose us. Let me encourage you with this thought – IT IS NOT AS IT APPEARS! This truly IS your season to access the unseen!

The Python Spirit

In Greek, the term used for divination and witchcraft is “python.” It is connected to a word meaning “to twist.” A python is a large and muscular snake that will “twist” itself around its prey and kill it by squeezing or constricting until it suffocates.

“The python spirit is loosed whenever Jezebel is in the midst. It squeezes life out of hope, breakthroughs, finances, and lives. It ‘constricts’ us to the point that we are unable to move forward into our future. As the python constricts with every squeeze, we feel the restraints and therefore are contained in old patterns of behavior and hopelessness.” ~ Sandi Freed

It is very clear that a Jezebel spirit and python work together to weaken the hands of God’s children as we build His Kingdom.

Back To Perilous Times

Let’s get back to more on “perilous times.” A careful study on 2 Timothy 3:1-9 describes what is experienced during this season. Mankind will witness a season where they “love themselves,” boast in themselves, are “disobedient to parents,” ungrateful,” “loving money,” and “unholy.” It goes on to describe mankind as “unforgiving,” “without love,” “loving pleasure more than God,” and “having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

Traditions of man have robbed us of demonstrating God’s power, being unthankful and ungrateful – and how these areas rob us from experiencing freedom in Christ. For the sake of time, I will only discuss just one of these manifestations that we might be experiencing during such troubled times, because I believe it is very significant. We simply must return to our first love. Love is a powerful weapon against our enemy.

Love Is a Weapon

There is no doubt that we are in a new season of contention. We are instructed in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. However, did we really ever consider the fact that love is a weapon?

Think about this: God is love, right? And because He loved the world, He sent His Son. Yes – because He loved – the Father sent Jesus. Jesus came to earth with a purpose.
1 John 3:8 tells us that Jesus came with the purpose of destroying the works of the devil! And because Jesus also loved, He laid down His life as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Because of love – satan was defeated.

As New Covenant Believers, we are no longer under the Law. In fact, Jesus said that the greatest commandments were to “…love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31, paraphrased). Those two commandments are centered on love. Love is the greatest gift, and also the greatest tool in warfare.

Restore Your Love and Passion

It’s possible to lose our passion when we experience hard times. Yet, there is another reason we lose passion – I call it spiritual burn out. How does this occur? Well, when we are believing that what we “do” for God is more important to us than who we already “are” in God, we get completely caught up in “works.” “Works” will weaken us, wear us out, and cause us to lose passion for God. I know this from first-hand experience.

When we are burned out, our fiery passion leaves. What we need are two things in order for us to experience restored love and passion for God: The fire of God to touch us and, secondly, repentance.

To experience His fire, we simply need to lay our lives on the altar. It’s not a difficult thing, really. We have a tendency to make this action difficult. Think about this: In the Old Testament, when a sacrifice was laid upon the altar, the fire of God came to consume it! If you want God to consume you, and I believe you do – simply lay down your will and surrender to His perfect will for your life. Think about it as “total abandonment” in Him. Remember, one of the manifestations during perilous times is being “lovers of ourselves,” and the lack of love for God.

Now, let’s talk about repentance. Many believe that God is just waiting for us to mess up so that He can smack us with a big stick! I believed that for years; and a belief system like that sends us running away from God rather than to Him. Repentance is all about changing the way you think. In other words, we need to change the way we think about God and also about ourselves. If we press into the love of God, running to Him in times of trouble and difficulty, we will be empowered with grace to cross over our thresholds!
His love for us will become our weapon against any python, Jezebel, or witchcraft stronghold! And, when we are empowered with the love of God, we are also empowered to love our neighbor and ourselves! This is important because we need each other. Unity releases life (see Psalm 133)! Unity will destroy the destructive power of python that attempts to steal life from us!

Christ died to give us salvation. The Greek word for salvation is the word sozo, which basically means that His love and sacrifice provided salvation, healing, deliverance, protection, and all that Heaven has to give us! Aren’t you thankful for the love of God today? I know you are. Your threshold awaits your crossing over – today!

Breakthrough

Who doesn’t want or need a breakthrough in their life? Everyone is wanting it. Maybe you have struggled and gone through some hard times and you still are persevering? This would be a good time for a breakthrough in your life.

Lately in my life I have been praying for and believing for BREAKTHROUGHS! Breakthrough in relationships, breakthrough in my spiritual life, breakthrough in our church, and so much more. It has been something that I have brought to the Lord often.

God is working on your behalf even if we don’t see the results we are looking for. Don’t give up!

How do you press through in prayer when when it’s 11:59 p.m.—almost midnight—in your life?

Imagine this: You’re heading for destiny, moving with confidence in the right direction. Suddenly, you’re distracted by something demanding your attention. But when you stop to attend to the matter, your path is altered forever.

Such was the case with Paul and Silas in Acts chapter 16. En route to a prayer meeting, they met a fortuneteller who was rebuked by Paul because of her mockery of him and Silas as men of God. Paul commanded the evil spirit to come out of her, and the girl was set free.

She was a slave, however and because her masters were no longer able to profit from her psychic powers, they had Paul and Silas thrown in jail. The ministry duo was suddenly thrust from prayer to prison.

Think about that. On your way to what God has for you, there’s a detour in your well-constructed plan. Although painful, such times are common in the life of every believer. But what do you do when you’re passing from one season in life to another, when it’s 11:59 p.m.—almost midnight—in your life?

Transition occurs because God is altering His plans for us. There is a three-step process during such times: burden, birthing and breakthrough.

First comes the burden. On their way to jail, Paul and Silas were dragged into the marketplace to face the authorities. Even the crowds participated in their humiliation. They were beaten and stripped, and then thrown into prison. But they were not alone.
Life’s transitions may leave you feeling attacked. You may feel beaten and stripped of your spiritual and personal dreams. It may seem as though layers of divine protection have disappeared. This stripping simply means God is taking off the old and exposing  you to new life and new assignments.

Then comes the birthing. To be beaten means God is molding us into His image. Jeremiah 18:6 says: “‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so you are in My hand, O house of Israel'” (NKJV).

Think of a muscle. Have you ever had a really good workout, but the next morning felt sore? Your muscles were in a breakdown stage, which is critical. Without it, the muscles can’t rebuild themselves.

It was humiliating enough for Paul and Silas to suffer, but why did the crowd have to participate? Our transitions are often similar. It’s not enough to suffer in silence or privacy; it seems as though God chooses those broken moments to put us on display.
Paul and Silas were confined to prison, but at about midnight—perhaps it was 11:59 p.m.—their confinement birthed their true assignment: prayer and praise. In the midst of confinement, they blessed the Lord.

Lasting change is birthed out of pain and often filled with isolation. But there’s no better time to feel God’s presence than during your “spiritual 11:59 p.m.” During these times, praise God for who He is. Recall past victories, and in spite of how you feel or what you see, praise Him for His promises. Your worship will promote stability and assurance.
Then you’re ready for the breakthrough. Paul and Silas’ prayer and praise caused tremors in the realms of darkness. Suddenly, a violent earthquake shook the building, and the doors were opened.

Explosive breakthroughs will come in your life as you continue to lift up the name of Jesus. Breakthroughs bring the favor of God on your life, which releases His plans for you.

Soon, your doors will swing open, chains will fall off, and those standing by will marvel at your life. When we become a testimony of God’s faithfulness during painful transitions, not only are we blessed, but others will observe our breakthroughs and will be touched by our release. Desperation will prompt them to ask, as the jailer did, “What must I do to be saved?”

The passage in Acts concludes with the jailer restoring Paul and Silas as the magistrate sent word to release them. Likewise, God can cause the same people or situation that imprisoned you to bless you.

When your clock strikes 11:59 p.m., know that it’s time to rejoice. Whether you are in a period of burden or birthing, remember that explosive breakthroughs are born around midnight. So, let the celebration begin.

Your land of promise, your open door, awaits your arrival and crossing over, but the enemy does not like the fact that you are at a threshold of great, great breakthrough. We are in perilous times right now ,… Like it says in the book of Timothy!! We are crossing over to our promise land this year. The faint hearted wont make it,… God does not want you to shrink back!! Its time to do warfare and take it to the enemy. The devil does not want you to go into your promise land this year. He will fight you with every thing he has. I am putting you on notice,.. this is for real!!! Its time to pray,…. “church”,….. and take authority over the devil. Remember,… as long as you show up for battle you will win!! But you have to show up everyday. Bind that devil in Jesus name !

Let us pray:
Father God, today we are believing for Your empowerment of grace as we come to Your throne. We repent for settling for religious works rather than pressing into Your desire for relationship. Forgive us for losing our passion for You. We turn from dead works today. We surrender our will to Your perfect will today. Consume us with Your holy fire and restore passion. Thank You that Your love is a weapon against our enemy during these troubled times. Thank You that love has already defeated satan’s plans and that I am now empowered to enter into my future. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I will be believing with you that you will breakthrough the threshold to your open door today!

Your sister,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.KrisBelfils.Wordpress.com 

 

Content of this article is from Sandi Freed, Pastor Kris Belfils, and Charismamag.org.

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Overcoming Door Phobia (Dealing With Fear)

Door Phobia (Overcoming Our Fears)Fear, we all have to deal with it, sometimes everyday, in our life. Fear can paralyze us if we allow it too. Fear does serve a useful purpose in that it is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn’t feel it, we couldn’t protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But if we allow it to rule above our faith, and what God wants us to do for His Kingdom, the devil wins. Remember that the devil is full of fear.

I’ve heard the saying, “Fear is nothing more then faith in the devil.” Ouch! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to ever have faith in the devil! We are serving the enemy when we fear and pull away when God wants us to push forward and persevere and expect a breakthrough.

Everyone struggles with fear! Fear is a spirit!

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

The word “fear” in this text is translated in the Greek as “timidity.” God doesn’t want us to be timid. We get timid and pull away instead of pressing forward and taking the land.

Fears is something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension, a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain whether the threat is real or imagined!

What fear can cause

Fear can cause us to reduce the size of God and elevate the size and opinion of man.
Fear can cause us to reduce the size of God and elevate the size of your problem.
Fear can cause us to lead people in the wrong direction.
Fear causes us to stay quiet when we should clearly speak up.
Fear causes us to be passive about an issue that The Lord has clearly brought to our attention.
Fear causes us to seek consensus rather than really seeking the voice of The Lord.
Fear causes us to not engage the broken, the hurting, the misfits and the neglected.
Fear causes us to refuse to embrace change. (Fear of the unknown)
Fear causes us to try and control things and take matters into our own hands rather than trusting The Lord and trusting others.
Fear causes us to conceal sin and shame in our lives when God’s Word is so clear that we should ask others for help.
Fear causes us to seek the easy decision, what’s comfortable rather than seeking the right one.
Fear makes us choose wrong choices.

This fear phobia is America’s number two-health problem. It makes us tense and can cause depression. Many diseases have their roots in fear and depression. According to medical experts, stress, induce by fear, can easily lead to peptic ulcers, kidney disorders, high blood pressure, indigestion, liver disorders, etc. Fear is the most destructive force in the world today. “Fear, worry and depression have killed more people than all the wars combined; have brought about more health problems than all the germs put together and have been responsible for more failures than those caused by economic imbalances.” (christian-faith.com)

So what do we do with our fear? I don’t know how you have dealt with fear in your past, but it is my heart to help you overcome any fear, especially if it is a phobia to walk through an open door of opportunity.

How to overcome fear

1. Overcome fear with faith.

Fear is the opposite of faith.

A.W. Tozer said, “Fear is of the flesh and panic is of the Devil.”

It seems when we entertain thoughts of fear, and allow it to settle in our spirit, panic will set in. Many people have had panic attacks in their life all due to fear. Most of the time the fear is something we think will happen and not a factual outcome.

Example:
These past few weeks have been pretty trying on me because of having a gallbladder attack and then having surgery to remove my gallbladder. I was taken to the ER twice during this process. On the second time I was experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath. It was after the surgery and my fear was that I might be having a heart attack or a blood clot. The more the pain increased, the more my fear grew, and the less able I was to breath. It zapped me of any strength and my teen daughters had to get me into my car and then drive me to the ER. Thank God someone was walking into the ER as my daughter drove up to the ER doors and they helped me get into a wheel chair and then into the ER. Now, you have to know something about my mother’s health history to really understand my fears. My mother had a stent put into her heart in November of 1995 and then a week later I had to drive her to the ER with shortness of breath and chest pains. She did have a blood clot and they had to do open heart surgery on her and she never came off the Heart and Lung machine and died. So my fear on this day I was taken to the ER was that I was going to die just like my Mother did almost twenty years previous. All the signs were there, and the more I was in ER over this the more my fears grew. I couldn’t make my breathing calm down and even after they gave me some pain medicine through the IV, I still felt the pain and my breathing was still poor. Friends came into my room and I really thought I was seeing them for the last time. My husband came in and I wept and could hardly breathe because my emotions were getting the better of me all because my symptoms were manifesting outwardly and it became fact to me. Ultimately they did some tests and I found out I had a hernia from the Gallbladder surgery and the hernia will bring on chest pains and shortness of breath.

All this said, I was thinking I was going to die because it had all the signs of what happened to my mother, but the factual outcome was that I had a hernia. Knowledge is power and it eased my mind after I was home and experienced these same symptoms again. I knew it was the hernia but to be truthful it really felt like a slight heart attack. My faith was low and fear was supreme in my thoughts. We act on our fears. There is no question about that. When I experience that pain again, I have to start talking to myself and telling myself that “I will live a long life!” That “God is not finished with me yet!” That “there is more work for me to do with my family and ministry.” I say even out loud that “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.” and that “God is healing this hernia, and the Gallbladder surgery. This helps my faith to grow and fear leaves.

The Bible says, that Satan is like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). He roars that he might make us afraid. The roar of a lion can actually paralyze its prey causing it to be its easy target. If Satan can create fear in us, we become an easier prey for him to destroy.

God offers us faith as Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him.”

Everyone is given the measure of faith as a born again Christian. You have faith, you don’t need to pray for it. I don’t need to pray for faith, I just need to use the faith that I have. The more I use the faith that I have, the stronger it will get. Faith can grow and the only way it grows is if you use it. Faith is a powerful force that resides on the inside of our spirit. When it is released tremendous things can happen.

We have to have faith to get up in the morning. We have to have faith to raise our children, or drive in traffic, or get married and stay married. So also we need faith to overcome our fears. Faith is a decision we make about where we are going to put our trust. Our trust has to be in God and His Word. He is for you and not against you. He has great plans for you. He brings opportunities for you to walk in and wants you to walk in them fearlessly.

There are times I feel anointed to preach the Word of God, then there are times. I may be fearful or don’t sense God’s anointing that I have to step into it by faith and God always meets me and helps me to get to where I need to be.

We can release our faith in three different ways: by praying, by saying, and by doing. Stop saying how you feel or think and start saying what God says about your situation. Allow your faith to arise in times of being afraid. The shield of faith is your best weapon to overcome the lies and roars of the enemy.

2. Confront your fear.

What we cannot perceive, predict, understand or explain, creates in us an unknown fear. That is why children are afraid of the dark and cautious of strangers over which they have no control. We need to learn how to confront our fears. Again, “Knowledge is power.” Once we understand what the core issue is, it decreases its hold on our life and the fear subsides.

Sometimes when we go through fearful experiences, we fail to analyze it. Understanding what was previously unknown can go a long way to dispelling fear. Understanding a problem is 90% of the solution.

Be determined to overcome and confront what is making you fearful. You can never overcome anything you don’t confront! We can fear our past, or fear of natural disasters, fear of relationships, or fear of a new job or opportunity. When we choose not to confront, the fear controls you and your decisions.

Confrontation is not usually pleasant or comfortable. Most people don’t want to confront issues in their life. They would rather live with it, allowing it to rule them, instead of overcoming and pressing forward with out the bondage of it all. But when someone has confronted issues in their life, and overcome them once and for all, they look back and ask themselves, “Why didn’t I do this a long time ago.” You see now they are walking in freedom instead of the bondage the fear or their flesh had on them.

It is a night and day difference of being paralyzed by your issues and trying to live your life from day to day in struggle and misery, then to confront the issues and decide you want to change, (and be determined to change) and walking out the other side as an overcomer in liberty and power. It’s your choice: Fear and bondage vs. Freedom and power!

3. Be courageous.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but courage is actually forward motion in the presence of fear.

God wants us to be strong and courageous. He spoke this to Joshua many times before he crossed over the water to possess the promised land.

Joshua 1:6 – 7 Amplified Bible
“Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

Joshua was just getting ready to face the giants in the land and to possess the promises God gave Moses forty years earlier. He needed courage to be encouraged to go even in the face of any fears he may have experienced.

Hebrews 13:6 Amplified Bible
“So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?”

What can man do to me? Our flesh screams daily for being comfortable. Our spirit should be tenuous to overcome our flesh and to press forward with the new God has waiting for us.

The Webster dictionary speaks of being encouraged as: “to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope.” This is what we need to do for ourselves. We need to encourage ourself in the Lord. I have written on this in my article, “How To Encourage Yourself In The Lord.” It is the number one article on my Blog. Daily I have people reading that article and they found it by searching the internet on “How To Encourage Yourself.” Everyone of us need to be encouraged daily. If we lose our courage, we have lost the war.

Courageous is “possessing or characterized by courage; brave” (dictionary.com). We need to have brave hearts in this journey of life. Anyone can give up and retreat. It takes a courageous person to press on in the midst of fear or discouragement.

4. Ask for God’s peace to reign supreme.

John 14:27 Amplified Bible
“Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]”

God has given us His peace. It is one of the fruit of the the Spirit. We already have it. Allow it to grow in your life. “Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.”

There are times it comes right down to our choices. Do we choose to be fearful and intimidated, or do we choose to walk in God’s peace and assurance that He never leaves us and will take care of us. If he takes care of the sparrow, surely He watches over you and I!

Luke 12:6 – 7 Amplified Bible
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And [yet] not one of them is forgotten or uncared for in the presence of God. But [even] the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be struck with fear or seized with alarm; you are of greater worth than many [flocks] of sparrows.”

God doesn’t want us to walk in intimidation. He wants us to walk in boldness and to have our spirits be at peace.

Philippians 4:6 – 7 Amplified Bible
“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

5. Confront the devil and cast him out!

Never let fear fool you into thinking there is nothing you could do about it. Sometimes by the grace of God, with a little effort you can put an end to that danger. You must have an active engagement with the problem, or in other words take precautionary measure. If you fear that your children may catch polio, then get them vaccinated.

Don’t allow anything, or anybody to rob you of your God-given peace! There is a gospel song that sings; “Shake shake shake, shake the devil off. Shake shake shake, shake the devil off. Shake shake shake, shake the devil off. In the name of Jesus, shake the devil off.” This is what we need to do when troubled by the enemy. He can’t do anything to us, only if we let him. His biggest weapon he uses against us is our own mind and what we think. So he will fill your mind with doom and gloom. He will tell you that there is no hope. These are the times we confront the devil and cast him out, and shake him off! Amen!

In order to overcome fear brought about by Satan you must have a bold confrontation with him. Jesus did this many times when dealing with and casting out evil spirits.

Col. 2:15 Amplified Bible
“[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].”

You must realize the fact that Satan is real, but a defeated foe. We will overcome when we take our authority in the name of Jesus. For greater is He that is in us then he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).

You must read and know what the Bible teaches about Satan and his evil devices and also about the authority of the believer over Satan. Believers, united with the Lord Jesus Christ, have the same authority to claim and use which our Lord used against wicked spirits.

Some Devices the enemy uses:

a. He blinds us.

2 Corinthians 4:3 – 4 NKJV
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

The enemy wants to blind the unsaved and the saved from the Truth of God’s word and who He is.

b. Gets people hooked on the “Things in/of the world.”

1 John 2:15 – 17 NKJV
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

When it comes to the world we are tempted in three areas: The lust of the flesh, The lust of the eyes, and The Pride of Life. There are many examples in the Bible that show exactly this. Eve was tempted in Genesis 3:6 and it shows all three of these devices the enemy used on her:

Genesis 3:6 NKJV

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

Eve saw that the fruit was good, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise,” this is the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Our flesh is constantly saying, “Feed me, give me what I want!” In this case, Eve looked and saw that the fruit was good and pleasant and desirable to the point of disobeying God and pursuing action to satisfy those thoughts. This is how the devil tempts us with the things of the world. Everyday those temptations are clamoring for our attention. Be determined to seek God over the matter and walk in the Spirit instead of satisfying the flesh.

Jesus is another example. In Matthew 4:1 – 11 we read how Jesus was “…led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” He had fasted for forty days and nights and was very hungry. His flesh longed for food and then the tempter came onto the scene. I believe this is in the Bible to show us how even Jesus, the Son of God, was tempted in all three areas the enemy uses but in this case, Jesus didn’t fall for his devices.

Today the devil uses these tactics through Immorality (lust of the flesh), materialism (lust of the eyes), and arrogance (pride of life) that’s why we need to be in the Word of God and in prayer to stay close to God. Even the strongest Christian can fall. Don’t be deceived into thinking you are strong and would never fall away. This is pride in itself. Always have a humble heart that wants to please God instead of your flesh!

Jesus came against these devices of the enemy but first he spent time in prayer and fasting. Shouldn’t we at least spend time in prayer and reading God’s word, and fasting if need be, to overcome these things in our own life. It is a fight for you soul. Who is going to win?

c. Persecute those who are trying to do right.

Wow, seems we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t, right? Wrong! We should count it all joy when we experience trials and persecution. We are a threat against the enemy! I would rather be a threat to the enemy then to be fearful and passive and live a mediocre life.

1 Peter 5:8 – 9 NKJV
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

We can defend against this by encouraging one another and building each other up. Don’t isolate yourself and think you will overcome, no that is a trap of the enemy too. Be determined to fellowship with other believers and go to church. Keep on keeping on and growing in Christ. Yield to God’s Holy Spirit and be willing to change. Don’t grow weary in doing good. Don’t give up!

d. Get believers to enjoy evil company.

1 Cor. 15:33 NKJV
“Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

There is one thing to try and win an unbeliever to Christ, and another to just hang around them and eventually enjoy doing what they do and becoming what they are. They will corrupt you. You will feel pressure to do what they are doing. It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Take a look around you. Are most of your friends non-believers? Chances are you will follow and enjoy their company more then following Christ. Be aware of this device.

e. Discourage believers through unChristlike Christians.

Is there such a thing? Yes there is. Today we call them “worldly Christians.” These are those who believe in Christ but fail to follow after Him. They would rather take on the behavior of the world then to die to their flesh and live for Jesus.

You know you are a worldly Christian if you consistently miss several Sunday services on a given month. You are a worldly Christian if you swear a lot and take the Lord’s name in vain. You are a worldly Christian if you don’t want to come to church drunk. You are a worldly Christian when the world does contrary to the Word of God and it doesn’t bother you.

There is even another name for worldly Christians. They are called, “Backsliders.” If you have missed a few Sunday services and then attend one, then miss three and then attend one, and miss a month, and then attend one service, you are a backslider. I am sure I have offended many already by stating such. I really don’t care. Your comfort is not my priority. Your salvation is!

You see we deceive ourselves when we think we are okay and don’t have to read our Bible, pray, or attend church on a regular basis. God has placed these things in His Word to warn us for a reason. I know I will self-destruct if I rely on my own understanding and following the ways of the world. I will lead my self astray, but I will think I am totally okay and can handle it. Is that you? Have you said those words? If so, you can change and correct this immediately by making a decision in your heart to stay close to Jesus and hunger after Him. When we do, we will hunger to read His Word, we will hunger to pray and fellowship with God, we will hunger and desire to attend church on a more regular basis. We will hunger to live a life pleasing to God, Amen!

I have seen too many “worldly Christians” come and go from churches and lose out on the best God has for them, all because they have chosen poorly and chose the ways of the world and not the ways of God’s Kingdom.

Matthew 24:12 NKJV
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”

Has your love grown cold for God and His ways? Chances are you started to be influenced by the world. Don’t allow your love for God to grow cold. Nurture it daily. When worldly Christians or unChristlike Christians come up to an on fire Christian, they usually try and speak down about attending church, or give lame excuses why they weren’t at church. You might say, “Pastor Kris, aren’t you being a little to harsh? No! I have a passion to see you come back to the Lord. Don’t ever think you are immune from backsliding. We all can fall from being close to Jesus just by turning and walking down a wrong road. God is a gentleman and will give you free choice. He wants you to live for and serve Him out of love, not out of obligation. We stay close to God because we love Him and we realize staying close to Him eliminates most of our problems. We have trials, but at least they won’t be because of some stupid choice we did relying on our own understanding instead of leaning on and relying on God!

Why would I talk about backsliding and being a worldly Christian when I am talking about our fears and overcoming them? Far too often people will be fearful and think they cannot overcome and then turn slowly away from God and the things of God. Don’t let this be you! Be determined to be strong and courageous and face your fears. Often we have to do things afraid. It doesn’t mean we don’t have courage, quite the opposite, it means we do have courage in spite of our fears.

Do you think the children of Israel, when possessing the promise land with Joshua, had many fears even though there was a huge door of opportunity in front of them? Of course they did, but this time, compared to the first time with Moses, they had a leader who was obedient and listened to the Lord for every step they were to take.

I want to share with you that that is my heart: to be a leader who walks in obedience and listens to what the Lord tells me for every step. I may not be perfect, and you may not be either, but we are in this journey together overcoming our fears and possessing the land God directs us to!

From one courageous determined believer to another,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com
www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com
www.KrisBelfils.WordPress.com

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Door Phobia

Door PhobiaThis is the year of the Open Door. How exciting to know that we will come to open doors of opportunity in our life this year. God is moving and has a plan to use you in building His Kingdom on earth. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to advance. He wants a fire to burn in our bellies and a passion in our hearts to be closer to Him and to reach others for Christ.

Big opportunities will be placed before you. What will you do? We can look at these open doors and think, “This is too big for me to even think about doing.” or “I have never done this before, what do I think I am doing?” I understand because I have thought those thoughts many times even in these past few years.

Most of the time we don’t believe in ourselves in a Godly way. We are a threat to the kingdom of darkness. Start believing God can use you in a mighty way and all hell better beware once a Saint knows who they are in Christ and how mighty their God is!

The enemy wants you to think less about yourself. He wants you to be filled with fear so that you will not accomplish what is set before you by God. The devil knows we are threats to his kingdom and by filling our minds and hearts with fear, which is one of his biggest weapons of attack, we won’t fulfill the assignment given by God.

1 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

This is what we need to remind ourselves when fear wells up in our hearts. God is not the author of fear, no, quit opposite. He is the author of power and love and a sound mind. You know it is the enemy when you get all worked up over it. This verse in 1 Timothy shows that God has given us power to overcome any fear! We don’t have to put up with it, but we can resist it.

When facing a door of opportunity fear can grip our hearts and doubts can set in our minds. In this world there are many fears or phobias. I searched on the internet and found this list from Wikipedia Phobia list that is really a small list compared to others, but it sure sums up crazy fears.

Here are just the phobias that start with the letter “A”

A

• Ablutophobia – fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning

• Achluophobia – fear of darkness

• Acrophobia – fear of heights

• Agoraphobia, agoraphobia without history of panic disorder – fear of places or events where escape is impossible or when help is unavailable. Fear of open spaces or of being in public places. Fear of leaving a safe place

• Agraphobia – fear of sexual abuse

• Agrizoophobia – fear of wild animals

• Agyrophobia – fear of crossing the road

• Aichmophobia – fear of sharp or pointed objects (such as a needle or knife)

• Ailurophobia – fear of cats

• Algophobia – fear of pain

• Amychophobia – fear of being scratched

• Androphobia – fear of men

• Anthophobia – fear of flowers

• Anthropophobia – fear of people or the company of people, a form of social phobia

• Aquaphobia – fear of water. Distinct from hydrophobia, a scientific property that makes chemicals averse to interaction with water, as well as an archaic name for rabies

• Arachnophobia – fear of spiders

• Astraphobia – fear of thunder and lightning

• Atychiphobia – fear of failure

• Autophobia – fear of being alone or isolated or of one’s self

• Automatonophobia – fear of anything that falsely represents a sentient being

• Aviophobia, aviatophobia – fear of flying

These fears prevent people from riding in cars or planes, from having relationships, or even experiencing life to the fullest. All because of being afraid. Fears can be based on something real or they might be just blown up in our minds. Either way, it is vital to overcome them to walk through the open doors God will place before you.

Phobia:“a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it.” (dictionary.com)

Do you have a Door phobia? Fear of the unknown? Fear of failure? Fear of people criticizing you? Fearful of the giants in the land? You are not alone. In Numbers chapter thirteen God told Moses to send out twelve spies to spy out the promise land. They went and in verse 23 they cut down a branch of just one cluster of grapes and had to carry it between two men on a pole. The land flowed with milk and honey. It was bountiful with blessing. They came back and reported to Moses what they found.

Numbers 13:25 – 27 NKJV

“And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.”

Then the the bad report came, and the “buts” came into their conversation… “But… there are giants in the land and the cities are fortified and very large; they started to tell of all the reasons why they couldn’t take the land. Then the “ites” were listed:  the descendants of Anak and the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites.

This is often how we deal with an open door opportunity. We say things like, “I can’t” or “But…” or “I know the Bible says, but….” Excuses never make you advance. Excuses are crutches that prevent your promotion. Excuses prevented the Israelites from obtaining the promise land right away. They leaned heavily on their “crutches” and played the “We are not able” card. They allowed their phobias to win and the door shut for them to walk in their promise land.

Joshua and Caleb had a different spirit. They quieted the people and shared why they should take the land.

“Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30)

What a great report. It was a report full of faith!

They should have immediately went up to the battle and taken the land. What a pep talk! You and I are well able to take possession of the new open opportunity in front of us.

We are over-comers. We have God on our side, so who can be against us? No one!

Remember one of the keys to open doors is to be tenacious (Keys to Open Doors). Caleb was extremely tenacious. Caleb’s name means: “Forcible or to attack!” This was Caleb’s spirit. He knew who he was and who he represented. He knew the battle belonged to the Lord. He eagerly wanted to do his part and take the land that God was setting before them.

But… the rest of the spies, the naysayers, the excuse makers, the Door phobics said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we… the land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature… we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:31 – 33)

Too often we think things to death and reason why we shouldn’t step out. We hide behind reason and facts instead of believing God is God and trusting Him at every step of walking into the open door. If it looks too hard or too tough we cringe or cower back in fear and throw excuses out to those who ask us why we are not doing what we said we felt God wanted us to do. Don’t let this be you! Have a different spirit like Joshua and Caleb.

Forty years later, after the phobic generation had passed away, Joshua and Caleb took what was rightfully theirs. It was out of their hand to go on their own. Maybe that is you. Maybe it was out of your hands to be able to walk through the open doors in your past, but now, things are different, things have changed, you are not the same person you use to be. You have allowed God to change you and rearrange your thinking. You see things through the eyes of faith and now believe God will give you the wings to go and fly through the open door of freedom, Amen!

Believe you can do what God has called you to do! He wouldn’t have called you, better yet, He wouldn’t have created you for the task if He knew you couldn’t succeed. That is not how God operates. He uses people to fulfill His purposes on earth. He used Esther to save the Jewish nation from being killed. He used Joseph to become second in command to bring food in a time of drought and starvation. God uses the Deborahs and the Joshuas, and the Elijahs, and the Marys (Jesus’ Mother) to bring salvation and hope into the world. Can God count on you too? Come on, step up to your open door, shed off any fears, and obtain the land!

Gideon is another example of someone who was very fearful but overcame his fears to do great and mighty things for God.

Judges 6:12 NKJV

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

The Angel of the LORD had an assignment to come and tell Gideon that he was a mighty man of valor and that God was with him. How awesome is that. What a powerful word! You would think Gideon’s response would be positive, but instead he said, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

Gideon was looking at himself and what had happened in stead of God. I love the reply of the Angel, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (Judges 6:14 NKJV)

God can do amazing things through you if you just say, “Here I am!” Some of you are so bored with your life. Start thinking amazing things. Dream dreams again. Resurrect the dreams God gave you. Don’t let them die. If God can do anything He can do it for you.

Gideon’s reply after the Angel said, “Go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel of the hand of the Midianites” was, “But…”

Judges 6:15 NKJV

“So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

He only saw himself through his own eyes and not what God saw him as. The messenger from God never harped on what Gideon thought he was, the messenger only proclaimed who he really was, A mighty man of valor!

We have to get our mind off of ourselves and what we think, and onto God and what He knows and tells us. We are mighty men and women of God created and positioned to do amazing things.

David, he found out what the uncircumcised philistines were saying and taunting the people of Israel. He was eager and able to take the giant. He quickly ran to the battle line and killed the Giant. He took back the land from the enemy and Israel prevailed!

Some of you have been promised big things, then you thought it to death. Fear and doubt set in your heart and you gave up or didn’t believe. We need to start agreeing with God and what He says we are. God would never put an open door in front of you knowing you couldn’t seize the opportunity. No, God places opportunity and open doors in front of us for us to walk through and take the land. He places us in places we never thought we would look at. Don’t allow your fears to prevent you from being what God created you to be.

1 Peter 5:9 Amplified Bible

“Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset — rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined]…”

When you start to feel fear, resist it immediately. Don’t dwell on it or reason with it. If you make the mistake of dwelling on your fears and start thinking about all the reasons why you can’t do what God is telling you to do, then it won’t be long before you develop a negative mindset that will keep you stuck where you are.

David knew he was to fight Goliath, a giant, and quickly moved to the battle. He didn’t take the time to think about it. He didn’t allow fear to grip his heart and talk himself out of it. He just did what he knew God wanted him to do. David said,

“What time I am afraid, I will…trust…in You” (Psalm 56:3)

We need to do as David said. When we start to feel concerned or phobic about something, roll it over to God and declare, “I will trust You Lord!”

So many people today are just sitting on the sidelines of life. They have tremendous potential on the inside, but they keep letting the enemy talk them out of doing what God wants them to do. Every time they get a vision and stand at the threshold of the open door, the enemy brings fear and they reason themselves out of pressing forward. Don’t let this be you. Instead, obey quickly. Resist fear and boldly embrace every blessing the Lord has in store for you!

We certainly don’t want to move in the flesh or out of God’s timing, but when God is moving, you can’t be afraid to move with Him. When God is moving, our job is to move with Him. Ever forward! Amen!

I am determined to take the land God brings me to. I have allowed my fears to hinder me long enough. Enough is enough! No place for mediocrity. No room for complacency. Only tenacious, bold, and committed in Jesus name!

Your tenacious sister in Christ,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.krisbelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.krisbelfils.wordpress.com

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Keys to Open Doors

Keys to Open DoorsDoors are all around us. You have a door to get into your house, to go from one room to another, to get into your car, to get into the store, and even the bathroom. I am sure if we took a pole of how many doors we walk in and out of each day we would be surprised at the number.

2014 is the Year of the Open Door. This is the fifth sermon in my Doors Series God placed on my heart back in August of 2013. There will be many doors that will be placed before you this year and beyond. What will you do with that open door? Many will get discouraged because they either don’t see the door or they will walk away from it because it seems too hard to open. Don’t let this be you!

God is growing us numerically, spiritually, prophetically, and in all directions by His Holy Spirit.

God has been speaking to my heart about His anointing of His Holy Spirit that will draw people to Him. Often churches don’t talk much about the Holy Spirit. They are either afraid, uneducated, or have decided it was for the Book of Acts but not for today. I am here today to tell you that the Holy Spirit longs for a living breathing relationship with everyone of us. He has gifts to give that will fall right in line with our natural gifts and talents to unlock doors for you this year.

Listen, if you had the key to open a vast treasury wouldn’t you use it? That is the same with learning the keys to open the right doors in our life. To me, using the key, is the same as God opening the door. He has given us keys to unlock and open doors, our job is to learn what those keys are and to us them for God’s glory.

Keys To Open Doors

1. Manifestation (Gifts) of the Holy Spirit.

God has blessed us already with some natural gifts and talents. Maybe you like to serve, or work with people or children. Maybe you like to teach or be a leader. Maybe you like to help others or like to have people over to your house and love on them. There are so many natural strengths we have. Most of the time we are told to focus on our weaknesses and work on them. But to me that is wasted energy. The Holy Spirit is helping us with our weaknesses and brings change as we yield to Him. Truly God cannot be strong in our life if we don’t have weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9 – 11). Let’s develop and focus on our strengths and allow God to launch us through any door He has set up for us.

Take a look at your strengths and see what you are good at in the natural, then you can look at the Spiritual gifts and even the Fruit and combine them to be a useful and effective person for God.

Let’s look at the Manifestation of the Spirit, or Spiritual Gifts, and the fruit of the Spirit.

1 Cor. 12:7 – 10 NKJV

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”

Gal. 5:22 – 23 NLT

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

I wrote down some of the natural abilities I and others see in me and then combined them with the manifestation of the Spirit I see God using me in. (I share these things not to boast, but to give an example to look at. All of this is for the glory of God and to edify the body of Christ.) Then, I added all the fruit of the Spirit, and you can see how they work together to edify the body of Christ, grow the Kingdom of God, and to open doors. We may not have all the gifts of the Spirit, but we do have all the fruit in us, they just need to grow.

Natural Gifts Gifts of the Spirit Fruit of the Spirit
Teacher Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Discerning of Spirits, Interpretation of tongues Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Caring, Compassionate, Encourager Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Healings Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Creative/Dreamer of Dreams(Music, Writing, Graphic Design) Faith, working of miracles, Interpretation of tongues, wisdom, knowledge Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Leadership Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Visionary Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits, Interpretation of tongues Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Tenacious, endurance, perseverance, Determined, Committed Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Faithfulness, loyal, trustworthy, honest, integrity Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Patient, Merciful Healings (Spiritually, Emotionally), Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Self-Starter and Finisher Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Out Spoken, Bold, Not afraid of Confrontation Prophecy, Faith, Discerning of Spirits Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

You see it is when we walk in obedience, and practice His gifts, we will edify the body of Christ and do mighty things for God. What natural gifts and talents has God given you? What gifts of His Spirit has God given you? It is time we use them in the body and to help each other grow in Christ.

It is amazing how God uses our natural God-given abilities, with His gifts of His Spirit, to create the very key to open doors.

The apostle Paul assures us that each of us within the Body of Christ have different gifts that are a response to God’s grace.

Romans 12:6

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly…”

And Peter reminded his readers that they were on earth to glorify God through the use of their gifts.

1 Peter 4:10 – 11

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Proverbs 18:16 promises us, “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.”

The manifestations of the Holy Spirit + our natural gifts + Fruit of the Spirit = Keys to open doors.

2. Commitment

“Too many Christians have a commitment of convenience. They’ll stay faithful as long as it’s safe and doesn’t involve risk, rejection, or criticism. Instead of standing alone in the face of challenge or temptation, they check to see which way their friends are going.”

Charles Stanley

There is a lack of commitment in the world, and in the church. Are you a great starter but not so good at finishing things? It is probably because you are not committed. Commitment will keep you when you want to give up.

The word Commit means: “to give trust or charge, to pledge or engage oneself, to bind or obligate, to entrust.” So commitment means: “the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself, a pledge or promise” (dictionary.com).

Psalm 37:5 – 6 NLT

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.”

We see in this verse when we commit everything, all our ways, to the Lord and trust Him, He will help us. He will make us shine radiantly. Constantly committed to God. This brings success.

As the Israelites committed to obey the commands the Lord gave them, they were prosperous and succeeded. But when they broke their commitment and disobeyed, they were in bondage.

Where is your commitment level? It takes commitment after you walk through the open door God gives you to fulfill what that open door contains. It is easy to give up. Most people take the easy road when things get tough. When things don’t turn out how you expected do you decide to quit or find something else to do?

Laziness is an enemy of commitment. Letting your flesh win is not walking in the Spirit. Our flesh always takes the easy, lazy, most comfortable road. But that road never produces good results. When our flesh wins, we lose!

I saw an advertisement on the television the other day that shocked me. I actually thought it was a joke and was waiting for the punch line but it never came. This commercial was advertising a website about buying divorce insurance. This website states and I quote: “Over 50% of marriages will end in divorce. Insure that you are protected and lawyer bills are paid.” It also has a picture of a red paper heart with a woman ripping it in two. I couldn’t believe it. You are buying insurance saying, “I will get a divorce some day.” Where is the commitment in your marriage with that mindset? What is that?

Commitment! There is lack of commitment in marriages, church, jobs, friendships, family, beliefs and so much more. What happen to the days when people, even Christians, were faithful to their word? Where they showed up when they said they would? When they are committed even when it costs them something? This is integrity and it gives God a good name instead of a bad one.

When it comes to the work of God, your commitment will determine your promotion! God can not give you more when your commitment level where you are at is low. Don’t be deceived. When you are faithful with the little God has given you, He will then give you more. We don’t get a promotion when we are slackers. We get promoted because we show we are committed, faithful, good work ethics, responsible, and trustworthy. Is that you? If not, be determined to change and learn how to commit.

There was a time when my commitment level was low in many areas of my life. I would bolt when I didn’t like my circumstances. I would leave places when I felt I was treated unfairly. If I got tired of working at one place, I would look for another. When my friends didn’t agree with me I would stop being their friend. God showed me this and it grieved my heart. I saw my lack of commitment and also saw the consequences of it. Instead of believing everyone else was wrong, I had to look at truth and that I was wrong. Now, my commitment level has skyrocketed. Very seldom will you see me out sick or leave some place due to being upset. God showed me how to have a “bull-dog” grip on the things He wanted me to stick with. I am determined to stay committed and receive the promotion God has for me. I am determined to stay in agreement and reap the fruit of my long-suffering and endurance.

What about you? Where is your commitment level? If you leave or don’t finish what you started it is time you restart. Don’t decide to stop your participation all because it isn’t convenient or not fun any more. Decide you will finish what you started. Decide you are not a quitter. See where God takes you.

3.  Be Trustworthy.

Trustworthy means: “able to be relied on as honest or truthful.” Some synonyms are: reliable, dependable, honest, honorable, upright, truthful, ethical, virtuous, and unimpeachable.” An antonym is: “unreliable.”

Being trustworthy is so important. This effects your family, job, church, finances, reputation, and so much more. If you have in the past been a person who is not trustworthy it takes a while to build that trust in others again, especially if it was your behavior for many years.

Being trustworthy will keep and maintain you after you have walked through the open door. Don’t be a person that decides they are good after walking through the open door and then think you have arrived. No, that is just the beginning.

Remember my message of “What’s behind door #1, #2, or #103?” Many are called and few are chosen. Many are called to do great things but few will do great things, Why? Because few will take responsibility for the call. It doesn’t end with a call, that’s where the work starts. First comes the call, then comes the work, then comes the sacrifice, then comes the never giving up, and then comes the “going all the way through.” This requires commitment and being trustworthy.

Proverbs 11:13 ESV

“Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.”

Colossians 3:9-10 ESV

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Slandering someone is not being trustworthy. Lying about anything is not being trustworthy.

Did you know that saying you will be somewhere and then not show up is a lie? You may not even give it a second thought but it is sin. This is a hard one because we can justify our actions away thinking it is no big deal if we don’t do what we said we would do. But in really it is a lie and we are expecting others to be okay with it. It shows your lack of integrity and character.

Colossians tells us to not lie to one another. This is the old self before you knew Christ. We have put on the new because we are new creations after the image of our Creator. Is God trustworthy? Yes! Does He lie? No! Then that is what we should be doing as well. Be people of integrity and do what you say you will do and be where you say you will be.

Get ready for an exciting new year in 2014. There is no limit to what God will do in and through you. Be open! Be ready! Be trustworthy and committed!

4. Be Faithful.

Being faithful is being loyal, constant, and steadfast. Commitment, Trustworthy, and being faithful all go hand in hand. Do you see a theme here? This is what it takes to staying constant in your life and to keep on keeping on with what God has opened before you.

Faithfulness is doing the right thing when you are the only one doing the right thing! It doesn’t matter if someone else is unfaithful. Our job is to remain faithful in what God has given to us. Be faithful in your relationship with God. Don’t be an off and on again Christian. What a slap in the face of God to have a relationship with you when things are going well, but when things are tough, you close your heart and do your own thing.

If you see that you are an unfaithful person thank God for the people who have put up with you. It will take some time to build trust back in them once you decide you will stay faithful. It is okay. Be determined to remain faithful when you are trying to show others you are faithful.

During testing and trying times be determined to be faithful. Don’t give up on things. Don’t quit!

You may say, “Pastor Kris it is just too hard.” “I don’t understand why I have to go through this?” You need these hard years so you will grow. They are specifically designed for you because God is developing character. You only develop character when you refuse to run! We develop good character in the trials and uncomfortable places. Be determined to get your blessing out of what God is trying to teach you. You are in the Holy Ghost cooker! Get ready for the beautiful aroma of God’s character to shine in you as you yield to God’s Holy Spirit’s promptings to change.

You may say, “I just don’t have any joy so I think I will go somewhere else.” You cant run away from something and still not have any joy. You won’t have joy where you decide you want to bolt too. In other words, you are the common denominator in both places. Allow God to change you from the inside out. Give God your worries. Obey His word! A lot of our turmoil in our life is all because we don’t want to obey God’s word. Obedience brings blessing. There is joy in obedience. You will find peace when you obey God.

We all go through silent years of growth before God brings us to the open door of promotion. After Jesus’ birth, we don’t hear anything about Him until He was twelve years old. Then we don’t hear anything until he was thirty. Scriptures just tells us, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52) during those years.

Be faithful now and don’t give up!

Gal 6:9 NKJV

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Keep on keeping on! Tell yourself, “I will never give up!” Press through those testing and trying times! Everyone on the face of the earth has to learn this lesson.

Heb 6:11 NKJV

“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.”

5. Be humble.

Being humble means to not be proud, not thinking of yourself as better than other people. Once we walk through our open door, and we start advancing, pride can come to our heart. We start thinking we have gotten to where we are by ourself. We start having a twisted view of ourself.

Pride goes before a fall, and usually some character building times too. There are reasons why God doesn’t share everything that will happen in our life. He wants us to rely on Him when we make mistakes, and see our humanity compared to His deity. We are nothing without Him.

Why do you do what you do? What are your motives? We need to get our motives right. Do you do what you do to be seen by people? We have to have the mindset that if God isn’t in it, then we shouldn’t do it.You will flow with ease and with a smile, and you will have success if you will change your mindset.

You have no idea what God will do when your heart is purified of pride. Did you know that believing your success is all your doing is really “works of the flesh?” Thinking it was your bright idea instead of God’s. We can reason things out and think, “If I do this, this will happen.” Then we do exactly what we thought, succeed, and start to think we are better then someone who is struggling just to pay their bills each month.

I wonder how much we give up and miss all because we try to get some attention to ourselves? We miss out on what God would love to do for us if we would only trust Him and stay humble.

We have to remind ourselves daily that we are nothing without God! This helps us to not get full of ourselves. If we do, it is over. We will fall from that prideful throne.

Here are some scriptures on being humble:

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

“If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn form their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Did you notice the “If – Then” statement? If we humble ourselves, then God will move. God will not move on our behalf if we are full of pride, full our ourselves. But if we humble our selves, God will always move. A broken and contrite heart God will never despise. He will never turn away from brokenness. Thank God for that!

So what does humility have to do with opening and walking through an open door? Humility will help you maintain your place in that new open door. Humility will sustain you and help you to handle success in the right way. Amen!

6. Be Bold.

What? You just told us to be humble, now you are telling us to be bold? Yes I am. We can maintain humility and still be bold at the same time. The key is to be bold in Jesus and who you are in Christ! Realizing you are nothing without Him, but you are everything with Him.

We can have a zeal for God and meekness or humility for self. Jesus was humble but when it came to God and the things of God, He was bold like a lion.

Being bold in the face of fears is what we need. We need to be bold and strong knowing God is always with us. Don’t allow your fear of the open door prevent you from walking through it and keeping it. We are children of the King! We are King’s kids. We take the land that is before us for God’s glory and for His Kingdom!

Walk in the boldness of the Spirit. Walk in the gifts God has given you. As they unlock the door, you boldly do what God has called you to do. If we are timid instead of being bold at this point, we will give the land back to the enemy. We will not be victorious. We will give up.

Ask God to help see yourself through His eyes and not your own. He sees a mighty warrior! He sees the battle won. He sees a successful son or daughter following His Word and His example.

2 Corinthians 3:12 ESV

“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold,”

Having hope gives you boldness. We have the best hope ever as a Christian. Stand strong in your belief. Now is the time to tell others of Jesus’ saving power. Today is the day of salvation, Amen!

God’s Holy Spirit gives us boldness!

Acts 4:31 ESV

“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.”

We are a Spirit-Filled church! Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you to overflowing to empower you to walk in boldness. The Holy Spirit takes our timidity away and infuses us with His presence and power. Let’s walk in this boldness everyday! Don’t be intimidated by the enemy. Sometimes we have to get out of our own way and allow God’s presence to abide in us. Once we do, we will see things from a different perspective. We will see things from God’s view. We will want to advance His Kingdom and speak forth His Word with boldness.

Allow His presence to infill you and walk in God’s boldness to open the doors and walk in the new God has for you. You were designed to communicate the Word of God to your world! Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Speak life with the boldness God wants you to walk in.

7. Be Tenacious

Tenacious: “tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely.” (Webster Dictionary) Another word to describe tenacious is relentless. 

We have to be tenacious with our faith and believing for good things. If God has told you of a promise and it hasn’t come to pass yet, be tenacious and keep believing. Don’t get robbed of a blessing by letting go of your dreams God gave you.

There are several examples in the Bible of tenacious people and the reward of their tenacity.

Elisha was determined to receive a double portion from Elijah. He was promised if he sees him being taken up he will be given a double portion of Elijah’s spirit to be upon him. Many times Elijah told Elisha to stay while he would go further, but Elisha would not. He was tenacious to receive the double portion anointing and he did (2 Kings 2:1 – 15).

In Matthew 15:21-28, we read of a mother who begged Jesus for help. Initially, He refuses her, yet she continues pleading for her daughter.

Matthew 15:21 – 28 NIV

“Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”

Her tenacious faith turned Christ’s heart toward her and her child, granting what the woman requested.

The parable of the persistent widow’s story as accounted in Luke 18:1-5 illustrates how we are to be tenacious.

Luke 18:1 – 5 NLT

“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

Even as the authority (the judge) stood against her, she never let go of her hope. Be tenacious.

Samuel’s mother Hannah probably couldn’t have guessed that she’d bear a child, let alone one of the more influential prophets of the day. The despair she felt because of her physical barrenness could have crippled her faith. But, she continued to weep and pray for her miracle.

I Samuel 1:11-17 NIV

“And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.” “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” 

This is the year of the Open Door. Be determined to unlock and walk through any door God brings before you by using your natural gifts with the manifestations and the fruit of the Spirit. Be committed, trustworthy, and faithful all the days of your life. Stay humble as you experience success in this open door and be bold in your faith and tenacious to never give up. You will fulfill your destiny as you lean and trust in the Lord every step of the way.

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.KrisBelfils.wordpress.com

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2014 – Year Of The Open Door

2014 - Year Of The Open DoorWe have just entered the threshold of 2014. A new year. A new beginning. But this new year is different from other years that have just begun. This new year will be full of open doors of opportunity for the church and for your individual life.

I have spoken on Doors of Distraction first because that is usually what happens. Too many distractions can prevent us from walking through the right doors and fulfilling our purpose. It is interesting how many people miss what God wants to do in and through them all because they get distracted with unnecessary things in their life.

I sense a fire in my spirit about this. We have to be committed and focused this year, more then any other year or we will miss opportunities that will bring out our full potential. Often people don’t think they have very much potential and never look beyond their abilities. In order for us to obtain the new, we have to look beyond where we are and have the courage and commitment to step out into the new door of opportunity available to us.

1 Corinthians 16:9 ESV

“For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

I have used this verse for every message in this “Doors” series. I want you to get it in your spirit. The open door is wide with possibilities. The sky is the limit!

Do you have a door of opportunity available to you? Yes you do! But you say, how? I don’t see it? That is the first and biggest issue you need to overcome. Many times the open door comes with adversaries.

I think we think opportunities will be so good and so amazing there won’t be any strife or hardship. Wrong! We will have to conquer the giants in the land. We will have to face our fears. We will have to let go of our past all in order to walk through the threshold of the new open door that awaits us.

There may be even people who oppose what you believe you are suppose to do for God.

God’s Word translation for 1 Cor. 16:9 states: “I have a great opportunity to do effective work here, although there are many people who oppose me.”

You will experience opposition when God opens a door of opportunity to you. It is a given. Many adversaries.

Adversaries means: “antikeimai (an-tik’-i-mahee) From G473 and G2749; to lie opposite, that is, be adverse to: – adversary, be contrary, oppose.”

There will be people who will be in contrary with you. They will say the exact opposite of what you are believing. They won’t be encouragers. People will question if you heard God or not. They will question your motives. They might speak lies about you and you have to deal with other people believing those lies. They may even think you are arrogant, but keep your focus on the open door and that God has called you to this threshold.

Do you have some people in your life who always oppose you? Maybe you have even walked through the threshold of your open door of opportunity and they are right there being a naysayer.  Remember that naysayers come when you least expect it and from the least likely source.

I have experienced many naysayers in my life. People who were once for me and for what God was doing in and through me and then something changed in them. Be it a small mindset of how they viewed me or what God wanted to do, or even jealously, still they changed and started to oppose the move of God in my life.

Rejection! It hurts, especially when it comes from someone who was a close friend or relative. What will you do with rejection? There has to come a time in your life where you separate how you feel from what you are called to do. What I mean is if we allow our emotions to rule us during times of opposition we will forfeit victory.

Our emotions will lead us down a rabbit trail. Emotions are fickle. They are real and can overpower your ability to act or take action. Many times I have to push down my hurt or anger so I can accomplish what God required of me. If we don’t conquer our emotions, especially when it comes to opposition, we won’t walk through the door of opportunity, let alone fulfill and accomplish what the open door contained.

Let’s look at that verse in the Modern King James Version.

1 Cor. 16:9 MKJV

“For a great and effective door opened to me, and many are opposing.”

“For a great and effective door opened…” It wasn’t just a simple door or a small door, or a door that won’t have an effect. It was a great and effective door presented to Paul. When presented with such a huge opportunity to preach the gospel, Paul was eager to stay, but he also saw there were many people opposing it, especially coming from the religious leaders of his day.

Interesting the opposition opposed something godly. They opposed anything that had to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We shouldn’t find it strange when people oppose our reaching out to others for Christ, especially when that opposition can come from people within the church.

The enemy will bring division. He will use Christian against Christian. Be aware of this. Don’t fall into this trap. Realize your fellow Christian is on your team and don’t oppose them, but work with them to build the Kingdom of God. Too many times Christians get off track and decide their fellow Christian is the enemy. This is a lie! I don’t know how many times people have come against me, their Pastor, because they think I am ignorant of their matters or that they know better. This is rebellion. If you oppose someone who is your authority, you are in rebellion.

Repent and stay under the authority God has placed in your life. They are your covering that God has placed you under for your protection. Don’t fight it!!! Don’t give your authority figure a hard time with your rebellion. They have a heavy enough load to carry and don’t need you to dump more heaviness onto them by your rebellious attitude.

Galatians 6:10 KJV

“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

Do good to your fellow Christian. Do good to your pastor and leaders. It will go well for you if you do. People are not your enemy. Fellow Christians are not your enemy. Learn to discern why you oppose another Christian. If the answer is fleshly, be real with yourself and stop the opposition. If someone opposes you who is in the faith, don’t start a fight with them, just trust God that He will complete what He started in both of you.

When you experience opposition don’t be intimidated. Be determined to walk through the “great effective door” in all the authority God has given you.

The word Door in this verse is an abundant opportunity for usefulness. The word “door” is used to show an occasion or an opportunity for doing something, anything of great effect. Again a door is the means by which we have entrance or access; and because the door is open, it means access is available right now! The opportunity is now!

Never ask God to open a door and then remain where you are. When God opens up an opportunity before you, and you know it is God as it lines up with His Word, take steps to walk through it and don’t hesitate. To hesitate is to take steps backward. To hesitate is to say, “I don’t know if I should do this.” Don’t allow the open door opportunity to pass you by all because you were scared or intimidated. Turn all that around and use it for your leverage to press in and to walk through the great open door before you.

Eph. 5:15 – 16 NIV

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

So be careful how you live. Be wise in how you live. Make the most of your life by making the most of every opportunity placed before you. God didn’t just create you to live and then to die. The in-between part is where we will be held accountable. I don’t know about you but I want God to say to me when my time is done on this earth; “Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into my rest!”

God has throughout history opened doors of opportunity to His people. I did not become the Pastor of Hope Fellowship because I was smart, or because of the degrees behind my name, or because someone voted me in. I became the Pastor of Hope Fellowship because God graciously opened the door and appointed me. He ordained me to become the Pastor. That is what Jeremiah 3:15 states: “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” If that’s not good enough for you, it was God opening the door to salvation by sending His only begotten Son to take away the sins of the world. We were not good enough, smart enough, rich enough, nor righteous enough. Yes my brothers and sisters, great things happen when God opens a door for you!

A door of opportunity is a chance to do something greater then yourself. How awesome is that? God has mandated this opportunity for you.

God is into opening doors for His people. He did it for the Apostle Paul, and He will do it for you. Remember that the number four means Door? Four is the value of the Hebrew letter Dalet:  ד.Dalet means door. The letter Dalet is the fourth letter in the Hebrew alphabet. 2014 is a year of  the open door. What will you do with the opportunities God brings your way?

Paul asked that God would open the door.

Colossians 4:3

“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.”

Again, never ask God to open a door and then remain where you are. Walk through the opportunity and watch what God does!

Did you know that God promises to open doors!

Matthew 7:7 – 8

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Are you knockin’? He will open the doors of provision. Doors of reconciliation. Doors of the second chance. Doors of salvation of souls. Doors of prosperity. Open doors for deliverance and breakthroughs! Open doors for revival.

In Acts 16 Paul and Silas being locked away deep in prison with chains after healing the demon possessed woman. We may say, “Why do I have to suffer? What did I do wrong?” Listen the enemy just wants to hate on the Children of God. You will come out in victory! Amen!

Acts 16:26 KJV

“And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”

Earthquake opened the doors. Sometimes the open door comes from a shaking in our life! Are you ready? Praise God for the shaking!

We will have challenges. We will have adversaries. We will have people oppose us. Just get your praise on like Paul and Silas did!

Rev. 3:8 KJV

“I know they works: behold, I set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:”

We are going to go through these doors.  

Pray this prayer with me:

“Come Holy Spirit! I receive your anointing for this new year. I thank you for every open door you have placed before me! I will walk through the door. I will obtain what you have for me. You are bringing deliverance, healing, provision, reconciliation, and anything that I am lacking; you will provide. Adversaries will be defeated. You are making me be the head, and not the tail! Above only, and not beneath! Thank you for Your blessings Lord! Thank you for good health! Thank you for healing my body, my mind, and my spirit in Jesus name!”

Get ready! Get ready! Get Ready! Great open doors God will bring to you this year and be determined to walk through and fulfill what God has brought to you in Jesus Name!

Your sister,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.KrisBelfils.wordpress.com

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How To Deal With Doors Of Distractions

How to deal with Doors of DistractionAs I mentioned my first message on Doors of Distractions; “What’s Behind Door #1, Door #2, or Door #103” that “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 20:16b). God has a purpose for each of us that He wants us to fulfill. In fact the biggest and most precious thing is our relationship with God. We should be growing in Christ daily and the devil wants to distract you from it.

There are so many things that demand our time and energy. Some things can’t be avoided like going to work or caring for a loved one, but most of the distractions we face CAN be avoided if we would just deal with them properly.

In this message we will look at some distractions and how to deal with them.

1 Corinthians 16:9 ESV

“For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

Many adversaries! Many things that will try and distract or even prevent you from walking through that door of opportunity to distract you from effective work and growth!

Let’s look at some possible distractions and how to deal with them.

1. Self-Control

Just say, “no” and have self-control to get back on focus with your life. Be determined to accomplish what you know God wants you to accomplish. There might be times when you have to say no to a friend or loved one. It’s okay.

Sometimes we need some alone time and just close and lock the door, turn off the TV, phones, electronic devices, and just hide away with God and spend time with Him. We may need to do that with other things in our life to get things done too.

Twenty years ago cell phones were only for the rich, and even then they were only to call out and receive calls. There was no such thing as a “smartphone.” Just smart people who knew how to use the phone, LOL. If you wanted to get a hold of somebody you either had to call them on a land line or wait until you saw them the next day at school or work and discuss what was needed. It’s okay to have self-control with our phones. The only time you shouldn’t turn off your phone is when you know your parents or your boss need to get ahold of you. (Smile)

Proverbs 25:28
“Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.”

Galatians 5:22-24
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

We need self-control in all areas of our life. Self-control is our friend that keeps on track.  Self-control will help us not get distracted in our call and to obtain the prize God has waiting for us.

2. Guard your heart.

2014 will be a season for you to set a watch and guard your heart. (Bill Burns “A Year of Prophetic Alignment and Divine Fulfillment” Jan. 17th, 2014)

The Bible refers often to the “Door of your heart.” We ask Jesus in our hearts as Lord and Savior and then what? The door of your heart gives access to virtually everything. That is why we read that Jesus is knocking at your door.

Rev. 3:20 NKJV

“ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

I like that; “If any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” This is what happens when we ask Jesus in our hearts to be Lord of our life. We are not only saved from eternal damnation, we have the King of kings living inside of us and we taste and see that He is so good. We commune with Him because we have allowed Him access to our lives. You see asking Christ in your heart is just the beginning. Then the relationship starts and the communing and growing in Him begins.

Psalm 141:3 – 4 NIV

“Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.”

I did a message about guarding your heart on my blog. It was under the title; “Revival of our Hearts.” You can read it in its entirety at www.KrisBelfils.wordpress.com

Proverbs 4:23 (Amplified Bible)

“Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.”

Some guards to place in front of your heart from “Revival of the Heart” https://krisbelfils.wordpress.com/?s=revival+of+the+heart:

Don’t give your heart away so easily.

Fix your eyes on Jesus!

Listen to what you are saying.

What are you feeding your heart?

Exercise to strengthen your heart.

Don’t lose heart.

Don’t Harden Your heart.

(From Revival of our Hearts by Pastor Kris Belfils)

Sometimes we need to guard our hearts of getting too involved with other people and their problems. There is only one Savior, and that is Jesus Christ. We can get distracted by trying to save everybody we meet.

We waste a lot of energy by trying to solve the world’s problems and neglect our own. Sometimes we think, “I need to do this ministry, or be with that person!” Yes, there are many times we need to reach out to others but not to the exhaustion of yourself. Even Jesus hid away and spent time with God. One thing is so true; there is only one Jesus and we are not Him.

Sometimes we tend to sacrifice instead of obey what God wants us to do in our life. God is looking for obedience. As we get our priorities straight, we will be less distracted in life and be more affective for God’s kingdom and to others as well.

3. Trust God.

Trust God to answer your prayers and concerns.

Trust God that He has a plan to work out circumstances and relationships.

Trust God that His word is true and that He will fight for you.

Trusting God helps prevent the distraction of trying to figure things out on our own. This brings peace.

Proverbs 3:5 – 6 NKJV

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

We can trust God in all things. Trying to figure things out on your own is a huge distraction thief. Right in the middle of building your tower you can have something come up that can prevent the construction from happening. Don’t worry, don’t fret, just take it to God and trust that He will show you what to do. Don’t waste valuable time trying to reason or work it out. When you ask God for direction, trust He will give it to you. When He does, be obedient to His direction and keep on keeping on.

4. Self-Sabotage.

I have talked about “Self-inflicted Imprisonment” and how we can put ourselves in a prison by how we think of ourselves and others. This can prevent us from growing in Christ, fulfilling our call, and isolate us from true friendships and fellowship. Be aware of sabotaging yourself. We can be one of the biggest distractions to our success. The way we think and reason can create chaos. Too many rabbit trails can derail your efforts.

We can sabotage ourselves by thinking wrong thoughts or lies. What are you thinking about yourself? Most of the time we think negative thoughts about ourself. We might think we will never measure up so why even try. Remind yourself that you are a new creation and the old self has passed away and the fresh and new has come. Jesus set you free. You don’t have to walk in bondage any longer.

Refuse to allow self-sabotage to distract you in your life with Christ.

5. Self-Pity.

Self-pity will absolutely stop your progress from moving forward. Avoid it all all cost. Feeling sorry for ourself doesn’t get things done. It only puts you in a pit of no hope. Self-pity is a form of pride. Being in self-pity places the focus totally on you instead of what you are called to do.

Your self-pity can prevent you from reaching out to others and then, what you were suppose to do for them, never happens. Self-pity is a vision robber. You will never accomplish your dreams because self-pity skews your view. if you sit around always feeling sorry for yourself. What a lonely place to live on the corner of poor me and what about me!

Matthew 16:24-25 ESV

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

We are to deny ourself. In other words, deny what your flesh wants. Deny wishing you had more or was prettier, or that no body cares about you. These thoughts are all lies and they prevent us from truly following Christ.

Dead people don’t have rights (Gal. 2:20). We don’t even have a right to feel sorry for ourself. Remember what Jesus did for you and paid the ultimate price for your salvation. Let’s not ignore it by feeling sorry for ourself. We are a new creation and we have hope, and joy, and peace, and so much more! There is no time to wallow in self-pity when God has called us to greater things. Self-pity brings you down and depression will always be present. Be determined to keep your focus on good things and what your purpose is, Amen!

I saw this prophetic word and felt it very appropriate for this Door series message and specifically this point of self-pity.

“Refuse to allow discouragement to undermine your sense of well-being and effective life experience.  Stay balanced by not giving your emotional reactions too much weight or attention.  In your evaluation, there are steps you can take to improve your current situation, but there are also things that are beyond your control.  Do what you can and trust Me with the rest, says the Lord.”

by MARSHA BURNS

6. Perfectionism and a People Pleaser.

Thinking we are less-then will put us on a hamster wheel of trying to be perfect. If you are a perfectionist chances are you have to have all your ducks in a row, you have to always be perfect in your endeavors or you won’t try anything because you might fail. There is peace knowing in our weakness God is strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 

This verse should liberate any perfectionist! God’s grace is always sufficient for you in any circumstance, any challenge, any endeavor you may face. It is okay to not be perfect because then it gives God the chance to shine and be strong in your life. If you try to shine all the time you are actually taking God’s glory from him.

Paul boasted all the more in his infirmities (physical or mental weakness). God wants to be strong in you and in all that you face. We tie His hands when we try to do things our way with the mentality of always needing to be perfect. We will make mistakes. It is a fact of life. When a perfectionist makes a mistake, it is very difficult for them to live with, thus they have a hard time coping with their life. Self-hatred is usually present because they hate themselves for making the mistake.

Listen, God doesn’t want us to live like this. That is why He sent His Son to take away the pressure of always being perfect. Lean on Christ’s salvation He has died to give you and allow yourself to relax and just be you; an imperfect vessel saved by God’s grace!

Being a people pleaser is a close relative to being a perfectionist. Approval addiction is running ramped in the world today. I know as I was an Approval addict most of my younger life. If someone didn’t approve of what I did or say, I would change it so they would approve of me. I didn’t want to do anything wrong. I didn’t want people to think bad of me. This lead to a life of turmoil and stress. Every time I would try and get man’s approval and didn’t achieve it, it would feed my self-hatred. I always thought there was something wrong with me and that I never measured up. God showed me through some mistakes in my life that no matter how hard I tried to win people’s approval there will still be people who disapprove of me. Why? Because people always look at the outward appearance and judge what they think you are. God never does this. He always looks at  your heart. It was freeing to know that God knew me better then I knew myself. Because of my frustration of always having someone disapprove of me I got to the place where I really didn’t care what people thought of me or my actions. If God approved, that is what was real, not my addiction of wanting people to like me and approve of what I did. This whole process God brought me through birthed the song I wrote: “Cross of Grace.” The bridge of the song states: “My self-worth is in Your cross. It’s where I belong. I’ve found my home. I’m not alone you are near. I have found my place behind your cross of grace.”

If you are an approval addict there is hope. You have to let go of what you think you want people to think of you. We have to let go of what you think people are thinking of you. When God approves of you, and He does, that is all that matters. Now, I am not saying to go out and do what ever you please. For one thing God wouldn’t approve of you then.  What it does mean is that you are free to be yourself. God made you and He is pleased with His creation. It doesn’t matter what others think of you because God doesn’t make mistakes in His creation.

Rest in knowing you are God’s and He is yours.

Do yourself a favor and be aware of Distraction Thieves and guard against them from now on. Be wise to the distractions from the devil, from others, and from yourself. Relax and enjoy your life God has given you. No one can enjoy your day or your life, only you can. Stay focused, love the Lord, and be thankful for all that God has blessed you with.

Don’t get distracted running to Door #1, Door #2, or Door #103. Really know if the door you are in front of is what God wants you to walk through. Ask yourself, “Is this a distraction or is this something God wants me to do?” This will save time, energy, and possibly our sanity! We always have many choices behind different doors. God is not a game show host of “Let’s make a deal” behind different doors. No, He always directs His children in the path they are to take.

From one focused child of God to another,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.KrisBelfils.wordpress.com

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What’s Behind Door Number 1, 2, or 103?

Whats Behind Door #1, Door #2, or Door #103

Matthew 20:16b Amp

“For many are called, few are chosen.”

It is said with regard to those who do not profit by their opportunities that “many are called, but few are chosen.”

Many people are called to great and amazing things. The world should be amazed at Christians.  We should be the world’s heroes. People need heroes. They need somebody to look up too. They need somebody to admire, somebody to point them in the right direction.

Every little kid loves to play superheroes! I remember my daughters, when they were younger, loved to pretend they had superpowers. Playing with their cousins in the swimming pool and all of them deciding what superpower they would have.  One would be able to be invisible, while another would have superhuman strength. One of their cousins couldn’t come up with something so she just said, “Superpowers” as they were all swimming in the pool. Cute!

If we provided the world with an example of Jesus they would be encouraged and given hope!

Many are called, few are chosen.

Many are called to do great things but few will do great things, Why? Because few will take responsibility for the call. It doesn’t end with a call, that’s where the work starts. First comes the call, then comes the work, then comes the sacrifice, then comes the never giving up, and then comes the “going all the way through.”

A lot of people are called to do great things but we have a wrong mindset, a wrong mentality about what God is asking us to do.

Everybody has equal opportunity. Everybody has all the power of God available to them but not everybody is willing to do their part. One of the things we can not delegate, and I am a great delegator, you can not delegate personal responsibility.

Personal responsibility comes with a price. Time, energy, and maybe even our money. There are many distractions that can prevent us from fulfilling what God wants us to do with our life.

We have to fight distractions. Don’t allow the distraction to win. If you vier off course, get back on. No excuses. Be tenacious in achieving or fulfilling what God has called you to do. Discouragement, fear, regret, and much more can prevent us from fulfilling the call.

Doors of distraction come when you are least expecting it. Get your mind made up and stay focused. Someone calls you to go have lunch and they are paying, be ready to say, “No, I better take a raincheck because I have my mind made up to finish what I have started.”

DISTRACTION THIEVES

1 Corinthians 16:9 ESV

“For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

God will open up doors of opportunity to us. Remember Many are called and few are chosen. We all have potential for success and doing great things in life. The enemy doesn’t want you to succeed with your call because it will inevitably take territory away that he has stolen. His game is to steal, kill, and destroy, so anything that is contrary to that, he will attack. His attack comes in many schemes. One of his biggest is to distract a faith-filled person from their call and their passion and purpose.

I was reading about a new crime wave in the United States. It is called Distraction Thieves, and it happens more often than you might imagine. Frequently, seniors citizens and people who are not aware of their surroundings, are the targets of Distraction Thieves.

A Distraction Theft usually is performed by at least two people, although some distraction thieves work alone. When two people work the scam as a team, it usually involves one person distracting the victim, while the other helps themselves to the victim’s unattended belongings. These crafty thieves accomplish their distraction in a variety of ways and will use every trick in the book to get inside your home. They may come to the door as a team, pretending to be inspectors, utility workers or sales people for pest control businesses, roofing companies or other home improvements.

Once inside your home, the crime will begin. Working as a team, one of the thieves will engage the victim in a conversation or phone sales pitch to divert the victim’s attention while the other thief sneaks away to swipe the victim’s belongings.

Other distraction thieves prefer to work alone. They go house-to-house knocking on doors. If no one answers, the thief may go around to the rear of the house and look for any easy way to get in. If someone answers the door, the thief will try a variety of excuses to try to trick you into letting them in your home. Here are some of the distraction thief’s most common lines: I’m here to check your pipes, check your telephone line, check the water, you’ve won a prize or I’ve lost my pet. Others will ask for a glass of water, a pen or piece of paper to jot down a note or ask permission to use your toilet.

Once inside, it’s a green light for the thief to distract you long enough to case your home for valuables and find an excuse to be alone to take what is yours.

This happens in our Christian life too. We can have good intentions to start something, and even get part way through it, and then something distracts us and we never finish what we started. We need to learn how to recognize Distraction Thieves in our own life and how to deal with them.

Distraction thieves come in many forms and causes us to chase after many doors that were never opened to us. I believe satan puts these doors of distraction before us to prevent us from accomplishing a task that God has given. Thus the title to this message: Door #1, Door #2, or Door #103! We end up with so many doors, or so much on our plate, which God never intend for us to have.

1.  Distraction Thieves rob you of your focus.

This is the primary goal of a distraction. Some distractions are unpreventable like needing to help a child, but most of the distractions in our life are preventable and conquerable.

Even while I was studying and writing down some notes on this message I found myself being distracted all the time. I would be studying and then a thought would come to my mind; “I need to get something to drink.” So I would get up to get a cup of coffee and then remember I didn’t make my bed that morning, so I went into my bedroom and made the bed. While I was there I noticed some things that needed to be picked and put away. I stopped and realized I was a victim of DISTRACTION THIEVES and quickly went back to my table and started to study again. Then my phone would send me a notification and distract me to look at what or who it was. I had to turn off my phone. Then go back to work on my message. Then my dogs were outside and started to bark from someone passing by and I had to go and let them inside to prevent them from disturbing the neighborhood. You see there will always be distractions. Some we can stop, while others need our attention.

A distraction thief in church is someone getting up to go get a drink, or snack, or go to the bathroom, etc. This is what happens: Mrs. Jones decides she is thirsty. She gets up from the middle of row three and has to walk in front of all sitting in row three. All those behind row three now have noticed Mrs. Jones getting up. They are not paying attention to the speaker and their message, but all their focus is now on Mrs. Jones. They start to assess her clothes and what she is wearing. They start to wonder where she is going, all the while the pastor is up front speaking to just a few who didn’t see Mrs. Jones get up. DISTRACTION THIEVES!

2. Distraction thieves steal valuables.

TIME. One of the most valuable things God has given us is a new day. With a new day comes 24 hours. Within those 24 hours we usually have between 16 to 18 hours of awake time. What are you accomplishing during that time. Do you use your time wisely? The Bible tells us to number our days (Psalm 90:12). This means to not waste them but be wise with them.

Don’t allow your time to be stolen. Ask God to help you order your day and to stay focused. We can never make up the time we have wasted, but we sure can do something great in the gift of a new day God gives. Today is a new day! Allow God to be your all in all everyday and see what You and Him can accomplish together!

PEACE. We can get anxious and worry about circumstances in our life and this makes us lose our peace. Losing our peace distracts us onto a hamster wheel of spinning around and  around and getting no where.

Another distraction peace robber is being too competitive. We are too focused on being the  best, being first, or always showing you know things better then others. Let go of this distraction because there will ALWAYS be another person around who has a higher score. Just relax and enjoy the life God has given you. Some say a little competition is good for you. But I believe with some personalities it feeds the competitive monster and it only gets bigger. We are not hear on earth to compete with each other but to complete each other, Amen!

Having peace is valuable. It brings rest to our spirit.

PURPOSE. We are here on this earth to give God glory, telling others about Him, and communing with our glorious Lord. To live a life of obedience and integrity in honor of our King. Being distracted will take away from all this and steer us possibly onto a road never intended for you to go down.

Protect your relationship with Christ. Treat it as the most precious thing you have (which it is). Be determined to fulfill your purpose on this earth that God intended for you to have. As a Christian we need to remember that we have value and God planned for you to be born for His glory and pleasure. It is a privilege and honor to worship Him because He is worthy. We were also formed for fellowship in God’s family. That is why we are to go and fellowship with the body of Christ.

Hebrews 10:25 Amplified Bible

“Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.”

As a Christian we were created to be more like Jesus everyday. Think about any distraction that has changed your focus from this and walk away from it. We have Christ living within us as a born again Christian and we are shaped to serve God in any way and in any area that is needed. Serving God and others brings much joy because it takes the focus off of you and your problems. Your purpose is NOT to receive all the time. Your purpose also is to give. Are you a giver? Have you shared your heart and testimony with others?

3. Distraction Thieves prevent us from moving forward.

We all like momentum and increase. Things build on other things. Speed can build more speed. We can see it at a construction sight how the foundation has to be built first before the first floor, and the first floor has to be built before the top floor.

Luke 14:28 NKJV

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it.”

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FynWETakS9U

Getting things accomplished, learning new things, progressing and growing in our relationship with Christ and others. Everyone has a purpose on this earth. We can get distracted from the call on our life by many things and this distraction prevents, or at least puts it on hold; progress.

LAZINESS. Do you know laziness is a distraction thief? It is! It prevents us from being who we are in Christ. I don’t think anyone is called to laziness. We are all created for a purpose. Laziness can stop your forward progress, and possibly prevent you from ever doing or going anywhere in Christ. “Well I am too tired to go to church!” “It is too hard to keep on keeping on!” “Why do I always have to do it an no body else?” Excuses, whining and complaining, got the children of Israel nowhere. If you are tired, find time to rest and rejuvenate yourself. Sometimes we need to take a vacation. That is what vacations are for: rest and rejuvenation! This is not what I am talking about. What I am referring to is plane old being lazy. Lazy with your walk with Christ. Lazy in doing anything in life.

IMPATIENCE. Impatience can prevent us from moving forward. Our impatience is a sign of pride and selfishness. It is all about you and what you want. Have you ever been driving your car in front of an impatient driver? They honk their horn, wave their fist, swerve all over, speed recklessly, just to get a head of you. This causes accidents. It causes anxiety in the person who is impatient, and also to those around them, and most of the time it never gets them quicker to where they are going. Obey the laws of the land and follow them. There are reasons why they are in place. They are there for our safety.

Are you an impatient person? Learn some self-control and not get upset when things don’t go your way. It is not all about you all the time! There might be reasons why your boss or authority in your life wants things done the way they do them. Just relax, honor their position, and do what is required with a submissive attitude. Don’t be impatient with God. Surely He knows what is best for your life.

SIN. Doing things that are not okay, is not okay! Sin immediately stops our forward motion. It separates us from God. We can’t candy-coat sin and think we will be okay either. Sin is sin. Doing something that God warns us not to do is sin. It is wrong. Now before you get all mercy and grace over this realize God loves you and has a blueprint for your life called the Bible to live by. The Bible is not a ticket to establish legalism or to be free to do as you please. God has set up important guidelines for Christians to follow.

Sin takes us down a long hard, distractive road that is destructive. It steals our joy. It hurts our relationship with God. It can cause harm to those we love. It distorts our view of what is right and wrong. It makes you see through dark glasses which creates its own world of bondage and no hope. That is why God has placed in His Word warnings and also help when it comes to sin. That is why He sent His son. To help us be set free from sin and all the wrong we have done in life.

Sin is deceptive. We might not even know we are sinning. What is truth gets distorted and we decide we are okay and give into our fleshly desires all the more.

If you are caught up in sin, there is hope. Look at your life. Are you really truly at peace and have joy? When we are doing something we know we shouldn’t do, we will not have true peace and joy. We will have turmoil, guilt, darkness, shame, regrets, and so much more. The easiest and quickest way to get out of sin is to repent: confess and ask for forgiveness and then never go back to it again. This will turn your bondage into freedom instantly!

For the sake of time these are just a few Distraction Thieves. I am sure the Holy Spirit is showing you more in your life even now. Recognize them and learn how to deal with them. How about the self-pity door or the people pleaser door just to name a few more?

From one Distraction fighter to another,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.KrisBelfils.wordpress.com