Come, Holy Spirit
Kris Belfils
Heart On Fire – Revival Fire
My heart and prayer for all of my Christian life is that God would bring a revival fire to Spokane and the world and ignite and transform people! That they wouldn’t live less then what they were created to live. I have been on staff at various churches in Washington State and all of them my heart burned for God to move on the hearts of the people to awaken them and put a fire in their bellies. I have traveled to Africa, Panama, Germany, Finland, Holland, Sweden, Canada, England, Amsterdam (Netherlands), and all over the United States with this message. Why would I do that? Because God has so transformed me and my life I just have to tell others so they can experience His love, grace, and mercy for themselves. It is a life-changer!!! It is also the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel too all!
I remember receiving the baptism of the holy Spirit at an early age. That experience was life changing too. I was empowered with Holy Spirit’s power and anointing to see and move in God’s Spirit everywhere I went. It was like when I got saved I was given a spoon to dig up dirt. Then when I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit I was given a big shovel to dig up dirt. All of the sudden I was given insight and knowledge that I didn’t have before. I was given tools and powerful weapons against the enemy. I was infused with God’s power to fight off the enemy and to take the land for God’s Kingdom.
We all need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist stated that He baptized in water unto repentance but there was someone mightier then he was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 3:11 – 12 NKJV
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Unquenchable fire!
Our God is a consuming fire. He hates sin and any residue of it left behind will pollute a godly harvest. During the seasons of harvest, when fruits of intimacy with God has been produced from the inner workings of revival, one aspect of God’s fiery expression is sent forth to purge the staff still left among the gathered threshed grain. This spiritual purging cleanses the ungodly residues that frequently cling to the grain harvest and could defile the value of the final product.
The work of the Holy Spirit in your lives is often compared to the numerous grain harvest described in the Bible. Revival awakens the heart to intimacy with God, which in turn produces fruit of many types. During the mid to latter stages of this awakening happening in a person, group, or thing, God begins to construct the threshing floor.
The laborers, who worked on these threshing floors, threshed the grain and generally used a six-pronged wooden fork-like shovel to scoop up the crushed grain and toss it to the evening winds, removing the outer translucent husks—this is one type of chaff. There are two types of chaff associated with grain harvests. The second type is the stalks, dried leftover roots and broken stubble, which are either fed to the livestock or, most frequently, burned. God requires those who have been revived to produce a pure harvest, one unspotted by the dead works of the flesh.
Imagine for a moment a forest full of beautiful trees that is suddenly devastated by a large wild fire. The statuesque trees are instantly transformed to mere piles of smoldering ash. You can no longer see any resemblance of a forest. All that remains is a desolate place covered in ash. Now this sounds terrible, but in the Spiritual this is an amazing thing.
The fire of revival is a consuming force. As the flames spread, fear, sin, lust, pride, rebellion, and many other bondages are destroyed. Where there was once a large stronghold, there now is freedom. You can no longer see any form of that bondage because it has been overtaken by God’s holy fire. His fire is transformative and full of delivering power. In a moment, the fire of God takes you from just hearing about a move of God into experiencing that move. This fire also releases a deep passion on the inside of your spirit man. As you are in the presence of revival fire, you are stirred in the deepest part of your being.
You cannot choose between the Spirit and the fire. They are inseparable, one and the same. There are not two baptisms, one “in the Spirit” and the other “in fire.” There is one baptism only in the Spirit and fire.
Acts 2:1 – 4 NKJV
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
When the Holy Spirt came on the Day of Pentecost, He arrived with tongues of fire. One hundred and twenty men and women were divinely empowered and supernaturally endued. Heaven’s power invaded the earth, and those one hundred and twenty then shook their whole world. Today, we have got plenty of fanfare, but very little fire; plenty of formulas, but very little flames. We are high on utterance, but low on unction. Where is the holy heat of His presence? What has happened to the “mighty baptism from on high?” How many have been immersed—soaked, saturated, dunked, and virtually drowned—in His enabling power and might? Where is the overwhelming flood tide of His waves in our nation today?
The promise of the Father as Jesus described it, arrived on Pentecost to waiting, seeking, and united souls. It was an outpouring of fire. God is a consuming fire. The result or fruits of this outpouring empowered the Church, unlocking immeasurable spiritual unction to preach, pray, prophesy, and minister.
In this case the fire fell. Revival is not about getting “fired up” as much as it is getting under the “fire fall.” In the natural, fire goes up. In the supernatural, fire comes down. Elijah called down fire from heaven on the sacrifice. Fire came down on Mt. Sinai. Fire came down on the day of Pentecost. Jesus told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. As they waited, divided tongues as of fire sat on each of them. The fire fell in Jerusalem because that is where He told them to go. Fire falls where God tells you to go. Fire falls on what He tells you to do. Fire falls on obedience.
The fire of revival is the revelation of the Lord Himself. In revival moves, God comes down in the midst of the people in full manifestation. Strange and unusual manifestations take place and what was once difficult suddenly becomes easy in the presence of the Creator. The Lord is clothed in fire. It is impossible to enter into the manifest presence of God without experiencing the fire of God. The fire is in the Holy Place. Outer-court Christians (those who have been converted but live in the flesh) will not be able to experience the fullness of the fire of God. That fire burns in the Holy Place. It is revealed to those who have laid down their lives and moved beyond the flesh realm into the realm of the Spirit.
Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Paul’s admonition to the church at Rome was to lay their very lives on the altar and become a living sacrifice. The altar is the place of fire and the place of death. There is a level of Christianity that much of the modern-day Church does not know. It is that place where you have surrendered your entire existence to God. As the believer approaches the fire of God, it means certain death to the life of the flesh but a deep release of the life of the Spirit.
Mark 8:34
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Revival fire is calling the Church back to the altar, back to the place of holy living, and back to radical obedience.
Romans 8:13-14
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
The Christian who is living their life surrendered to the fire and dying to the flesh is sensitive to the voice of the Spirit. When you have been purged in the fire you are quick to obey God.
Dream: I had a dream over 15 years ago. It was during a time in my life where God was burning out all the dross in me. In the dream, I walked into a big hall or conference room and there were many people attending. I walked up to the front of the room and began speaking out things that God was doing in people. With passion I would shout out “Someone has this in their life and God wants to heal you!” I would point to people and tell them what God was saying to them. From the back of the room a man stood up and said, “She’s been through the fire and that is why she can be used like this!!!” 🔥
I had been through the Holy Fire of God in my life and it was hot. I needed it desperately and I didn’t even know it. After the intense purifying that God took me through with changing the way I thought and acted and spoke, I was ready for God to mold and make me into what He wanted me to be. To this day I am forever changed by that time in my life. (You can read more about this in my book, “The Garbage Man Always Comes On Fridays.”)
What does Revival Fire do?
- Fire illuminates
Fire illuminates, but no fire illuminates like “the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire.” When one is baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, truth that once was dark to them becomes instantly as bright as day; passages in the Bible that they could not understand before become as simple as ABC; and every page of God’s Holy Word glows with heavenly light. This kind of baptism will do more for taking the infidelity and skepticism and false doctrine out of a person than any university education.
2. Fire Makes Warm, It Makes Us Glow
You and I are cold—oh, how cold we are! And the Lord Jesus takes us and He plunges us into the fire of the Holy Spirit. We begin to grow warm, and soon we glow, glow with love for God, glow with love for Christ, glow with love for the truth, glow with love for those who are perishing. The greatest need of the day is men and women on fire.
3. Fire Impacts Energy
Science tells us that every form of energy can be transmuted into fire. When a baptism with fire comes, then comes power. That is what was manifested at Pentecost. The fire of God fell, and with the energy of that fire they went out from the Upper Room and three thousand people were converted.
4. Fire Spreads
Nothing spreads like fire. Once there is a heat source to cause ignition and a sufficient amount of fuel and oxygen present the fire will continue to burn. As the fire burns, large amounts of heat are produced. … This transfer of heat causes the fire to grow and to spread to other areas.
Our heat source is the Fire of God and God breathes on us we are ignited and burn for him. As we burn we produce large amounts of heat or passion. This causes the fire to grow and spread to others. People are affected by your passion and fire for God.
5. Fire Reveals
1 Corinthians 3:13
Each man’s work shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
The time I prayed to God to baptize me in His Holy Spirit, the first thing that came to pass was that I had such a revelation of myself as I had never had before. A revelation of yourself as God sees you!
6. Fire Refines
Malachi 3:1 – 3 NKJV
“Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts.“But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.
We have to be purified in God’s Holy Fire. This will make us righteous and be that pure offering to God.
These verses speaks of the purifying power of fire. Water will not cleanse as fire does. What we need is the fire of the Holy Spirit penetrating into the innermost depths of our being, burning, burning, burning, cleansing.
7. Fire Consumes
Ezekiel 24:11 – 13 illustrates the consuming power of fire, fire of judgment that will consume the filth of Jerusalem. And the baptism of fire consumes, in fact cleanses by consuming; it burns up all dross, all vanity, all self-righteousness, all personal ambition, all ungovernable temper.
Revival fire is calling the Church back to the altar, back to the place of holy living, and back to radical obedience.
Revival is beckoning. The flames are calling out to a generation to rise higher and go deeper. Revival is being sent to unlock hidden purpose and undying passion.
Acts 28:3
And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
The fire of God draws out vipers! When God’s fire is turned up in a church, devils will be exposed. The Church must just remain in a spirit of prayer and not be moved by the enemy. Devils will try to attack you when you press into the fire. The purpose of the attack is to get you out of the fire of God. The devil is ruthless. He will use anybody including your family, friends, or fellow church members. This is why you must be prayed up every day and walking according to the marching orders that the Holy Spirit has given you. There is no time to be distracted, not even for a moment.
When you press into the fire of God, attacks and persecution will come but you must shake it off. God has supernaturally empowered you to rise up and win. That viper should have killed Paul but Paul was not a normal man. He was a child of God Almighty. He shook that devil off and moved on unharmed.
Ephesians 4:27
Neither give place to the devil.
We must close every door to the devil so we can keep going forth into the fire. God will quicken in our spirit those things or people we need to stay away from. Be quick to obey Him and don’t give the devil an inch.
The Early Church was on fire and they turned their world upside down. The Church in this hour is going to turn this world upside down with the power and fire of God. The army of the Lord is going to go forth and claim nations and generations for God.
This is an hour of radical revival fire. As your heart becomes consumed, you will step out in faith and refuse to be silent anymore. Those touched by the fire of God do not care what the world says! The world did not understand the ministry of Jesus. While many received Him, many others became violently offended by Him. The world mocked the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts chapter two. They could not understand the things of the Spirit because they were locked in a prison of the flesh. The world will not understand the revival fire that burns in the hearts of God’s people but we must be delivered from their opinions.
There are those who are broken, hurting, and living in darkness, waiting for a messenger burning with the fire of God to come. You are a part of the army that will go. The fire of revival ultimately prepares the believer to fulfill their assignment. Once you have passed through the fire of God, you are cleansed, filled with fresh passion, and ready to impact the world.
Revival spreads much like a natural fire. It is passed from person to person, church to church, and ministry to ministry. All it takes is a spark to ignite a raging revival inferno that will shake a city.
Revival shifts people into their assignments and destiny. When revival hits a church, that church receives instruction in the midst of fire to impact their city. Not only do instructions come in the midst of fire but also the power of God comes to carry out the instruction.
Fire sends you into the mission field. Souls are the prize of revival. God ignites the believers, calls them back to their first love, and then sends them into the lost and broken world with His holy fire.
Holy Fire
By Kris Belfils
Holy Fire ignite my spirit
Come and burn your love in me
Precious Savior, glorious Lord
Come and move your hand on me
I have been cold and wet far too long
I miss the time I spend with You
Guard my heart and keep me strong
Holy Fire, Precious Savior
Come and burn your love anew
You can listen to this song by Kris Belfils by clicking onto the title above or clicking on the picture below.
Seasons of Change by Kris Belfils
Song: Holy Fire
Some of the material in this article are taken from the following:
-The Revival Study Bible, Copyright 2010 by Armour Publishing Pte Ltd
-Fire of Revival: The Believers Guide to Personal Transformation and Global Revival, by Ryan Lestrange
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus in 2016
This is a pivotal time. It is a transition time. A lot has happened in 2015. I am sure as you place a mental calendar in front of your mind’s eye you could tell me all kinds of things that happened in your life each month. Some good and some bad. Now we are in 2016. A new year.
This past year has been a journey for us all. For some the road has brought joy, for others pain. We look and see a broken world. As we gaze at all the craziness around us our hearts can feel uncertain. Fear of the unknown can set in. We can look at 2016 and feel anything but secure. We wonder if HOPE is losing. We have been talking about HOPE since the end of September. My heart was to get it in our spirit to the point no matter what we go through or what the future holds, we can face it with the Hope we have in God and His promises. As this new year begins, what do we do? We are to:
TURN OUR EYES UPON JESUS!
LOOK FULL IN HIS WONDERFUL FACE
AND THE THINGS OF EARTH WILL GROW STRANGELY DIM
IN THE LIGHT OF HIS GLORY AND GRACE
The author of “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” Lilias Trotter, wrote: It is easy to find out whether our lives are focused, and if so, where the focus lies. Where do our thoughts settle when consciousness comes back in the morning? Where do they swing back when the pressure is off during the day? Dare to have it out with God, and ask Him to show you whether or not all is focused on Christ and His Glory. Turn your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him. – Lilias Trotter
We are embarking on a new year. Now is the time for New Beginnings. Now is the time to release all the bad that has happened in 2015 and let it go. Forgive who you need to forgive. Let go of events or circumstances that brought despair or destruction. Leave it in 2015. Leave it at Christ’s feet. Walk into 2016 strengthened by these things instead of allowing them to overtake you. This new year is a year of breakthrough and change. We are moving forward, holding God’s hand, and our heads up knowing we are not alone.
We serve a God of endings and beginnings. We cannot have a new beginning without something coming to an end. In this case, it’s 2015. Turning our eyes upon Jesus and looking into His wonderful face will protect our hearts from any despair or downheartedness. We need this! You and I need to protect our hearts from falling into any trap the enemy, satan, wants to use to bring disillusion and confusion.
Turning our eyes upon Jesus is a command in Scripture.
Hebrews 12:2a NKJV
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith
Hebrews 12:2a Amplified Bible
[looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity],
The Bible tells us to look and to fix our eyes on Jesus. Make this be your New Year’s resolution for 2016. No matter what, you keep your eyes on Jesus. No matter how many bills you have to pay; Keep your eyes on Jesus! No matter all the things that can go wrong; Keep your eyes on Jesus! No matter what tries to distract you; Keep your eyes on Jesus. No matter how many disappointments you may encounter; Keep your eyes on Jesus. Know that []a disappointment can sometimes be a divine appointment in disguise!
Our prayer should be:
Lord, I keep my eyes on You! I know you are good to me. I know You are watching over me. You are working all things for my good this past year and the year to come. I let go of my desires, or what I think should happen, and focus on You and Your desires. I want what You want. I will do what You want me to do. I just know I need you desperately, always in my life. I soak in Your love. I soak in Your goodness. 2016 is going to be an amazing year because You have brought it to me! Thank you for Your peace and assurance that I am standing on solid ground when I keep my eyes on You!
Delayed Gratification
As we turn our eyes upon Jesus and stay focused, it keeps us on the right path. Being on the right path and walking forward in all that God brings us to do, we will receive a gratifying reward.
There is the principle of delayed gratification. We can see this principle at work in our own lives. There are times when we must give up the good to obtain the best.
•If one of our resolutions is to lose weight, we give up certain foods so that we might lose weight.
•Students give up a night out with friends to study for final exams.
•A young man gives up dinner and a movie because he is saving to buy a new car.
There is sacrifice involved. One pleasure is sacrificed so that a higher one might be achieved. It is amazing what we can sacrifice or give up if we really want something or really want to do something. There is a higher level of delayed gratification that involves enduring pain to receive a reward.
This is why athletes lift weights at 6:00 a.m., while their friends are still in bed. They give up sleep, in order to win a championship.
This is why aspiring pianists practice for hours when they might be watching TV or playing video games. They put in the hours in the hope that some day they may play for thousands.
In all these things there is a pain involved, but it is pain endured for the sake of the joy that comes when the goal is reached.
What has your year been like? God spoke to me that this past year we have endured. We have given up much. We have sacrificed much. We have been faithful at Hope Fellowship. The Lord impressed on my heart that 2016 will be the year of reward…. the gratification of the sacrifices we have made.
I want to share personally in my life some sacrifices to allow you to see possibly in your life something similar and to know that this delayed gratification of not seeing the results we want right away will be worth it all when God brings His rewards with Him!
Personally: My family and I are here every Sunday and Friday nights serving you. All the surgeries, and all the health issues I endured in 2015. All the tears shed in 2015 for the lost, broken, and for Hope Fellowship. All the hours spent counseling, encouraging others, and training my staff. All the time spent in prayer for Hope Fellowship and those who attend. All the sermons prepared, and worship sets planned and played. All the studying and preparing. All the graphic design and computer work… God is bringing a reward, gratification, and transition into the new He has waiting in my life!
Now turn that onto you. What have you sacrificed this past year? What have you gone through and still kept your faith. What did you obey day in and day out that God required? Obedience brings blessing! God is telling you today that YOU WILL have much reward for your efforts. He sees all and is a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6 Amplified Bible
But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.
Please don’t give up in doing good. We will receive a reward. People go to work to receive a reward in the form of a paycheck. There are so many examples of preparing and doing things, that in time, will produce something of value.
Galatians 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.
That is why keeping our eyes on Jesus throughout the year keeps our focus where it should be. This helps us to keep on keeping on in spite of our circumstances. It reminds us that God is fighting for us and our situation is not going unnoticed. God sees our situation and He is MIGHTY to save! He is in the “saving business!” It is His speciality.
It is amazing the benefits we receive when we turn our eyes upon Jesus and keep our gaze there. Distractions grow strangely dim, they can’t help it. Nothing compares to the light, the powerful love God pours into us when our focus turns to Him.
So, keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t be distracted by the things of the world.
Keep running. Don’t look back. Fix your eyes on Jesus and run with all your might for the finish line. Rejoice in Who you are looking at.
T. E. Marsh wrote on the fullness that is in Christ Jesus.
This a paraphrase of what he wrote:
•In Christ there is full acceptance, therefore do not doubt Him.
•In Christ there is peace, therefore trust Him.
•In Christ there is life, therefore abide in Him.
•In Christ there is blessing, therefore delight in Him.
•In Christ there is light, therefore follow Him.
•In Christ there is power, therefore wait on Him.
•In Christ there is all truth, therefore learn from Him.
•In Christ there is grace, therefore receive from Him.
•In Christ there is joy, therefore rejoice in Him.
•In Christ there is unlimited wealth, therefore depend on Him.
•In Christ there is strength, therefore lean on Him.
This is Who you are looking at! All these attributes and so much more. This is real hope for the new year. Everything we need, we have in Christ.
He has all the hope, all the love, all the acceptance, all the grace, all the power, all the strength, all the wisdom, all the patience, all the guidance, all the encouragement, all the joy, all the endurance, all the gentleness, all the forgiveness, all the determination, all the strength, and all the blessing that we need.
The Lord Jesus has already run the race for you. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, and we will run well. Keep your eye on the prize, Jesus, in 2016 and beyond.
Today, if you haven’t placed your gaze upon Jesus, now is the time. Set yourself up to look in the right direction. There is no better place to stare at then in the light of His glory and grace!
Pastor Kris Belfils
How To Put On New MIndsets – 2013 – A New Year For A New You – Part 4
In Part 1, we learned how to “Demolish Old Mindsets.” We crushed those old mindsets which prevent us from walking in and obtaining the new. We learned to close our mind off from what we thought should happen and opened our heart and minds to the new God is doing, trusting God when things don’t go according to what we planned.
God’s intention is always superior to our expectation. What He intended for each one of us is far greater then any expectation we have had or could ever have on our own. God’s intentions are always good towards you. He sees our full potential, our vision is limited. This is why we need to demolish the old Mindsets so we can be open to what God intended us to be.
We also listen to God’s voice in everything we do and everywhere we go so we won’t miss His leading and direction. We let go of complacency and learned to not fight the new or any change we may be experiencing. Most importantly, we will never stop believing that God can and will do the impossible in our life. These were all choices that demolished the old mindsets we use to have.
Now, we are ready to put on the new God has for us. But, how do we do that? It is one thing to get rid of, and eradicate the old way of thinking, it is an entirely different thing to receive and put on a new way of thinking.
Always remember God has good things in store for you. Even though we may walk through trials, even though we may experience hardship, God is for us and wants us to live an abundant life. The biggest area we may struggle in is our way of thinking. It is time we break the mental bondage and walk in God’s freedom to be who we were created to be!
How to put on New Mindsets:
1. Open your mind and heart to new things.
God is doing new things!
Isaiah 43:19 (GNT)
“Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already – you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.”
God is a God of the new. Yes, we need to remember history, and what has made us who we are today, but to progress, we have to be open to the new God is doing.
Change is the new. In other words, if you change something, it is different then what was there before. It is new. A new concept, or a new way of thinking has to come by changing what we thought before.
Don’t hate change
If you hate change, you will become stagnate or complacent. We should always be growing in Christ. We shouldn’t be in the place with God now as we were last year. We should be climbing new heights! We should be ascending to deeper places with God. We should be more like Him daily.
If your spiritual life hasn’t changed in years, it is a sign you have lost your first love and become complacent. Then you have to ask yourself, “Am I hungry for God, and the things of God?” If your answer is no, then you desperately need change in your life. Chances are you have closed off your heart and mind to new things.
Matthew 9:16 – 17 (GNT)
“No one patches up an old coat with a piece of new cloth, for the new patch will shrink and make an even bigger hole in the coat. Nor does anyone pour new wine into used wineskins, for the skins will burst, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins, and both will keep in good condition.”
Allow the Holy Spirit to change you. Crave the things of God. Ask God for the “new” He has for you. Open your heart to more of His presence and more of His love. His love changes you. You can never be the same after you have experienced God’s love. Get rid of the old or fleshly wineskins and replace them with a pliable soft heart. Ask God to open your spiritual eyes and see all the new He is doing. Seriously, if you don’t, you will spiritually die. You will have no new life in you. You will be rotting and spiritually stagnate and become a stench to everyone. Do you want this?
2. Yield to the promptings of correction from the Holy Spirit.
Correction is not fun. Correction says that your actions or way of thinking is wrong and you need to change. Correction shows God’s love as He prompts you to see the sin or the old mindsets in you and gently brings change if you are willing. We can fight God’s correction. I don’t advise you to do that though. Remember God has infinite wisdom, and we don’t. What seems to not make sense to us, like asking someone for forgiveness even when you thought you didn’t do anything wrong, is truly God’s kingdom on earth being manifested. Trust the Holy Spirit and His promptings. Don’t fight correction. We have to be broken so we will think differently and live differently.
Proverbs 13:18 (NKJV)
“Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.”
When we listen to and heed correction, it is honorable. A true sign of pride in someone’s life is when they get mad when you try to correct them. This reaction shows they are unteachable. Being unteachable is pride, arrogance, and just plane foolishness. We should always have a heart and mind to receive correction. A true friend will tell you if you are doing something that is not okay. They care, and are concerned for you. Don’t shun the correction of a friend.
Proverbs 13:24 (GNT)
“He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”
God always corrects those He loves. Don’t think you have arrived and will never be corrected again. From the oldest to the youngest, we all need to be corrected from time to time. In God’s correction comes a new way of looking at things, and a new way of thinking. Our job is to yield under His correction.
You will soon see how circumstances or trails you go through turn out to be God’s discipline or correction. Not all are, but God will use them to help you look at the new. There are tons of scriptures which talk about God’s correction. Look some up and see what God tells you through them.
Here are just a few:
Proverbs 3:12
“For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Job 5:17, 1 8
“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.”
Hebrews 12:6, 7
“For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”
Hebrews 12:10, 11
“For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
I would rather be corrected and be on the right path, then to do my own thing and be on the road to destruction. We need correction in our lives. Be open to it in what ever form God brings it to you.
3. Look for the New!
The new can be right in front of you and you don’t even know it. It can be so obvious and yet eluding all at the same time. Be alert! Be fierce! Look around you and see what God is doing. Pray and ask God what new things He wants you to see and do. Be open to the unexpected. Don’t put God in a box. He is constantly talking to His people and doing new things. Be eager to dig and find new things.
Here is the main verse for this message again:
Isaiah 43:18 – 19 (CEV)
“Forget what happened long ago! Don’t think about the past. I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in the deserts, streams in thirsty lands.”
Do you see it? Anticipate that God is bringing new ways, new days, new life into every circumstance. Sometimes circumstances scream “There has to be a new way!”
A new circumstance, that you have never walked through before, calls for finding out how to deal with and overcome it. You are forced to look for the new.
2 Samuel 6 describes bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to the City of David from Obed-Edom’s home. This was a new circumstance. Previously David tried to move the Ark of the Covenant from Abinadab’s house but Uzzah died for trying to stabilize the Ark when the oxen stumbled. David was afraid and placed the Ark of the Covenant in Obed-Edom’s home. News spread that Obed-Edom’s home was being blessed and David longed to bring the Ark back to Israel. So he set out to try again, only this time he changed things up.
As they were bringing the Ark into the City of David, David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. He was bringing in the Ark in a new way, and with much joy. Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. As David worshipped and rejoiced that the presence of God was coming back to the City of David, Michal, who was not participating in the worship, but observed it all from a distance, despised it all in her heart. She rejected the new way of worship. She was critical of how David was dressed, and how he acted. This is so true for today and looking for the new. People can be critical of a new way of worshipping God or how people are responding as the presence of God is being manifested. Worshipping from a far and not participating and experiencing the new along with others, will make you critical. You can’t see it from their point of view as you are totally in a different place and see it from a different perspective. We have to change our perspective in order to experience the presence of God in a new way. This leads us to my next point.
4. Don’t worry about getting your hair messed up!
2 Samuel 6:20 – 23
“Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself! So David said to Michal, ‘It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maid servants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.’ Therefore Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no children to the day of her death.”
“…And I will be even more undignified than this…” We need to learn to lose our dignity for His deity! If we get caught up in what people think we will be in bondage to man. If we care about what God thinks, we will be free to experience new things.
Sometimes putting on a new mindset will mess our hair. What I mean is; it might make you lose your dignity. It might force you to re-evaluate why have you done what you have done and for what reason. Tradition can set our mind in such a mode that makes it hard or difficult to even see the new. Once you have seen the new, your traditional mindset will fight you and express, “It hasn’t been done this way before!” I am sure you have heard the definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” We will never overcome or have a breakthrough if we keep doing the same thing over and over. We have to change direction. If we don’t, we will become stagnate and complacent.
5. Wear the New Mindset well; be Strong and Courageous!
Walk in the authority of God as you wear your new mindset. Don’t be afraid or timid when God reveals new things to you. Share them. Take action. Be bold in your faith! He will reveal more of who He is and what He is doing. Don’t be intimidated by the enemy and what they may say or do.
2 Chronicles 32 talks about how king Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah and camped against the fortified cities thinking to win them over to himself. Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem. He consulted with his leaders and commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city; and they helped him. He strengthened himself and built up the walls that were broken, and built up another wall. He repaired the landfill in the City of David and made weapons and shields in abundance. He set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and gave them encouragement:
2 Chronicles 32:7 – 8 (NKJV)
“‘Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”
This was a new situation for Hezekiah and the people of Judah. The enemy put up every hindrance. They even sent messages to try and scare the people and their faith.
2 Chronicles 32:21 (NKJV)
“Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.”
God will send his breakthrough in your life this year! This is a year of walking in our authority in God and believing for great things. This is a year of promised blessings to be fulfilled.
I am believing that every hindrance the enemy is trying to make will be lifted from you and I break the power of delays in your life. This is a year of victory over the enemy! Walk in the new mindset God has available for you. Break the mental bondage and walk in God’s freedom to be who you were created to be in Jesus mighty name!
Pastor Kris Belfils
http://www.hopefellowshipspokane.com
http://www.krisbelfils.com
http://www.krisbelfils.wordpress.com
Praise and Thanksgiving
We are celebrating 30 Days of Thanksgiving this month of November. It is a time to enjoy the blessings of God in our life and to express our praise and worship to God. It is a time of reflecting and appreciating all that God has given and done.
We should always be thankful and cultivate a thankful heart (as per last week’s message “Cultivating a Thankful Heart.”)
There is a powerful chapter in the book of Psalms that will help shed some light on our praise and thanksgiving we should offer.
Psa 100:1-5
(1) A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
(2) Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
(3) Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
(4) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
(5) For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
These verses show how we are to enter into God’s presence. It helps us to see that we are to be joyful, glad, with singing. It helps us see that God is god and we are not. He is the one who made us. We are God’s people and the sheep of His pastures. He is our Shepherd. He is our high priest and we enter in to his presence with thanksgiving and praise. We are to bless the Lord with our words and actions. The Lord is good and we need to remind ourselves of His goodness.
We could sit on these verses and look at them individually, but I want to zero in on verse four.
Psalm 100:4
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”
Enter into His gates…
We are to enter into life and our relationship with God with thanksgiving. Coming with a thankful heart and offering the sacrifice of praise to Him. It is a privilege to come and worship God. It is an honor to have God in our lives. It’s an honor to know God.
In the Old Testament people were required to come to the temple and offer sacrifices for they sins. They brought their offering to the Priests and the priests would in turn offer their sacrifice to God for the people. Thank God we do not have to do that today because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice who willing went to the cross. That is why the veil was torn. We no longer needed a high priest to offer our sacrifice or petition to God like the priests did. Then, the priests would enter the Holy of holies on behalf of the people. Today, we can enter into God’s presence on our own because of what Christ did for us.
The word enter in the Hebrew means: “To go or come, abide, apply, or attain, be, bring, call, carry, come, depart, or employ” (Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries).
We are to come or employ ourselves into God’s presence with thanksgiving. We are to come and bow before God in worship.
Psalm 95:6
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”
It is coming with a humble and thankful heart. Being thankful is the key to entering God’s presence that’s why Philippians states giving our requests to God “with thanksgiving.”
Php 4:6-7 (KJV)
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Emphasis added)
We are to magnify God with our Thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30
“I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.”
Believe it or not the word “thanksgiving” is a form of worship. Thanksgiving in the original Hebrew means: “With extended hands, to revere in worship.”
Imagine every time you are thankful and expressing that to God you are actually worshipping Him! So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks.
Psalm 100:4
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”
The word “gates” refers to an outer perimeter of something that is on the inside. Gates in the Hebrew is translated “an opening, door, gate: city, door, gate, or port.”
When Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem he also rebuilt the gates too (Nehemiah 3:1 – 32) Some of the gates they repaired were: The Sheep Gate, The Fish Gate, The Old Gate, The Valley Gate, The Refuse Gate, The Fountain Gate, The Water Gate, the Horse Gate, The East Gate, and the Miphkad Gate. Each one of these gates had a meaning and were important to the overall walls of Jerusalem.
Gates signify the outer edge to enter into something more personal or intimate. It allows access. You have to enter through a gate so you can be in more of an intimate setting as you walk through the courts to go into the Holy Of Holies. The same is true when you “enter into His gates with thanksgiving.” Again, Thanksgiving is the key in entering into God’s presence.
Whether with our families, in public, or in secret we come and give God praise and thanksgiving (worship). It is an honor and privilege to do this.
This verse in Psalms 100:4 refers to public worship. We are to join joyfully in public worship to God. Gates take you from one realm to another. They are there to help and guide you into something new, or something precious.
If you read a verse about a gate being left open this is often referring to being yielded or surrendered to God. It can also mean that the gates are open to receive new converts or people into the house of God, and it shows free access in and out with no hindrances.
Isaiah 60:11
“Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession.”
Isaiah 60:18
“Violence shall no longer be heard in your land. Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.”
God is constantly bringing peace into our borders and because we are His children He watches over our land.
Psalm 100:4
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”
“…and His courts with praise…” We are to enter God’s courts with praise. In His court is where He is. It is the beginning stages of truly going into the Holy of Holies in worship. The courts of the Lord can also be His house, or His church.
Psalm 84:2
“My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.”
I don’t know about you but I long to be with God constantly everyday. When we give God praise and thanksgiving we are giving ourselves access through His gate to come and be with him in His courts.
Praise is a powerful weapon. Praising God can release any fear, anxiety, or insecurity we may have. There is power in Praise. Especially when we praise God in hard circumstances.
I can think of Kim, who just lost her Dad this week. I was talking to her on the phone the day her Dad went to heaven and shared; “We can praise God in this storm!” She said she thought of that song earlier that day and was doing just that.
Video: “Praise You In This Storm”
I am thankful when it is sunny and when there is a storm. Praising God in the middle of a hardship is truly a sacrifice of praise. God is worthy when things are going good and when we struggle. Praising God gets our mind off of ourselves and onto the One who can calm us down. ~ Pastor Kris Belfils
We will become what we worship. The more we worship God, the more we become like Him.
The more we worship God the more we get to know Him. If you ever wanted to know God more, give Him praise! If ever you wanted to go deeper in God, worship and adore Him and He will take you farther than you have ever dreamed.
This is where I am right now. This is what I’m experiencing. I want more of Him so I worship Him. I am captivated by His presence. I just want to stay there. As I do, God imparts new revelations of Himself to me.
Every time we praise God for who He is and all that He has done, it unleashes His life-changing power in our lives.
Lets meditate on Psalm 100 during this Thanksgiving season and all year through.
Psa 100:1-5
(1) A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
(2) Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
(3) Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
(4) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
(5) For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
God is the strength of our life and He is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving!
Your sister in Christ,
Pastor Kris Belfils
Cultivating A Thankful Heart
Eph. 5:20
“Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Read Luke 17:11 – 19
Leprosy is a physically debilitating disease. You lose limbs and it deforms your body. Faces are unrecognizable. Often you lose fingers, hands, arms, and legs. It can affect your nerves and respiratory system too. Without proper treatment you will die from it. It is highly contagious and is easily transferred. That is why in the Bible, all lepers were ordered to stay outside the city to keep the rest of the population safe.
People were outcasts if they had leprosy. No interaction with their families or friends. The colony of lepers were their only social interaction.
How many of those ex-lepers do you think felt glad to be free from leprosy as they walked away from Jesus, completely healed of their incurable, disgusting, socially isolating disease? There’s no question about it—all ten did. But how many came back, threw themselves at Jesus’ feet, and thanked him, and was made whole by their gratitude?
Just one.
They all received the outward cure; only one received a spiritual blessing: wholeness (verse 19).
Luke 17:19
“And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”
Just like the lepers we can receive a healing too, yet the one leper knew what it was like to be made whole.
The nine thought they were whole. At least they were not suffering like they use to. Their skin healed up, and I believe their deformities from the leprosy were also healed. Yet, the nine had no idea what it really was like to be totally and completely whole.
How can one be completely whole without the Master’s touch? We cannot. We cannot be whole on our own; we need a Savior to make us whole.
The one who came back to thank Jesus was thankful, humble, and broken all at the same time. He shouted praises to Jesus and fell on his face at Jesus’ feet. This was brokenness in action.
Leprosy is progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes.
Ten lepers were healed of leprosy, but only one was healed of spiritual leprosy. Why didn’t the others go back and show their thankfulness?
Was it because of…
►Pride?
►Self-centeredness?
Were they too self-centered wanting to go back to their families, their jobs, and their lives? How quickly they forgot the hardship they endured before their healing.
How simple it would have been to go and thank Jesus, the One who healed them of their disease and deformities.
Why did the one go back and thank Jesus?
►He was truly thankful and wanted to show his gratefulness.
►He recognized who Jesus was and he couldn’t help but show it outwardly
Do you think he knew he would be healed from his spiritual leprosy just by saying and showing his thankfulness? No, but what an awesome benefit for a thankful heart.
Cultivating a thankful heart is imperative to our spiritual life.
Another example is the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.
Mark 5:25 – 34
“And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”
She was an outcast by this time, as women, who were on their monthly, were sent out of the city for the week because they were considered “unclean.” She constantly bled. She constantly was unclean. She was an outcast, and I am sure was scorned by society. How do you think she felt? I believe she felt insecure. She felt she had no value or future. All her hope was gone. Yet she pressed in, through the crowd, and touched someone. This act alone was forbidden by anyone who was bleeding. She didn’t care. She went against society and the law to receive her healing. The woman was broken and fell at Jesus’ feet.
She also received an extra blessing of being made whole. I believe this was not only a physical healing, but an emotional and spiritual healing as well.
In these two examples, neither of them knew they needed to be spiritually whole; they just had a need to go to Jesus. Jesus is the only One who can make us whole. When He touches us we are healed. This alone should bring thankfulness out of your heart.
Cultivate a thankful heart
There are several steps in cultivating a thankful heart. Before we look at those steps, lets look at the word: “Cultivate” for a minute.
The word “cultivate” from the Dictionary means:
1. Prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening.
• break up (soil) in preparation for sowing or planting.
• raise or grow (plants), esp. on a large scale for commercial purposes.
• Biology grow or maintain (living cells or tissue) in culture.
2. Try to acquire or develop (a quality, sentiment, or skill): he cultivated an air of indifference.
• try to win the friendship or favor of (someone): it helps if you go out of your way to cultivate the local people.
•apply oneself to improving or developing (one’s mind or manners).
World English Dictionary
- To till and prepare (land or soil) for the growth of crops
- To plant, tend, harvest, or improve (plants) by labour and skill
- To break up (land or soil) with a cultivator or hoe
- To improve or foster (the mind, body, etc) as by study, education, or labour
- To give special attention to: to cultivate a friendship ; to cultivate a hobby
- To give or bring culture to (a person, society, etc); civilize
This shows us that we need to be constantly tilling and working our hearts to grow thankfulness. It doesn’t come naturally. We really are born selfish. We have to teach ourselves to share and be nice to others. To cultivate a thankful heart takes work, yet it should spring from deep within when it comes to being thankful for all God has done in our lives.
Steps to cultivate a thankful heart:
1. We have to focus on the good and not the bad.
Far too often we humans only see the bad in our life. We have to open our eyes to the bigger picture. God has blessed us with many blessings. Even for the fact of you breathing is enough to be thankful for. Still there’s more! Take a look in your life. Refuse to look at all the bad. Take inventory of all the blessings and good. I know you can do this. Remind yourself of all the good: Family, home, food, vehicle, health, relationships, freedom, and so much more are reasons to be thankful.
Romans 1:21 (GW)
“They knew God but did not praise and thank him for being God. Instead, their thoughts were pointless, and their misguided minds were plunged into darkness.”
We have to praise and thank God for being who He is. It keeps our focus on the good and not the bad. This verse expresses that they didn’t praise and thank God but that their thoughts were pointless, misguided and plunged into darkness.
There is much good in your life if you would just choose to see it!
2. We have to learn to praise God in the middle of the storm!
It is easy to be thankful when all is well in your world. Praise comes easily when you are on a spiritual high. It is when we walk in the middle of a storm, or a valley that our true character comes out.
Being thankful to God even when things are not so good shows a sign of maturity. We as adults know life has its ups and downs. We also know seasons change. Learn to be thankful in the winter as well as the summer season of your life.
Ecc. 3:1 (NKJV)
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
Being thankful is not denying the circumstance, it is trusting God in the middle of the battle knowing He is with you and is always victorious!
~ Pastor Kris Belfils
3. We have to look for ways to help or bless others.
Getting our focus off of ourselves and onto others is one of the best ways I have found to help me to be thankful. We can get so self-absorbed we can’t even see our neighbor is hurting. Helping others forces us to look away from ourselves. It immediately shows us we don’t have it so bad, as others may have a harder struggle then we do.
Being self-absorbed shows immaturity. We are not being like Jesus, who gave His very life for us. What if Jesus was self-absorbed, where would we be right now? Lost!
1 Peter 3:8 (GW)
“Finally, everyone must live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble.”
John 13:34 (GNB)
“And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
4. We have to open our hearts to receive from God.
When was the last time you allowed yourself to receive something from God? Why do we toil and struggle to figure things out on our own? Maybe it is because we feel we are not worthy? Maybe its human reasoning? Maybe it is pride?
John 3:16 (Amplified)
“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”
It takes faith to receive this verse as truth! If you receive this verse, you have to receive the entire Bible and all that it says about you. God loves you with an everlasting love. You are deeply cherished.
Jer 31:3
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Knowing we are deeply loved brings thankfulness. 24/7, 365 days a year is how much you are cherished and loved. God chose to create you! He chose to breath life into you! You are His favorite. Makes me giggle inside to think about that! It brings a sense of belonging and purpose. It brings a heart of thankfulness.
5. We have to cultivate a thankful heart!
There is always something in your life to be thankful for. Choose to focus on the good. Choose to praise and thank God even when the storms come.
Helping people and being compassionate is being like Jesus, and opening our hearts to receive from God daily will help us to grow in Christ and spread His love to others.
Being thankful is the only way to live. God has done so much for each of us. Let’s quickly give Him the thanks and praise He deserves.
Pastor Kris Belfils
Overcome Or Be Overcome – Part 1 (Are You A Hoarder?)
One day I came home with my daughters and opened the door to our house and smelled a terrible smell. We immediately began sniffing around trying to find where this bad smell was coming from. We sniffed until we found the culprit. It was coming from under our kitchen sink where we put our garbage. Quickly I took it outside and disposed of it into our bigger garbage can. I just could live with that terrible stench in my home.
We all have garbage.
We all have GARBAGE that needs to be taken to the garbage can everyday! We are consumers. We buy something at the store and after we use it, we throw away the package it came in. After our garbage container is full in our house, we take it out to the larger container outside and empty its contents into it. Then we take the smaller garbage container back into our houses and put more garbage back in it. This cycle goes on and on, week after week, month after month and year after year.
If we don’t take our garbage out to the trash, we will smell the results in just a matter of time.
►Well, guess what? We are all full of it too!
I want to look at the trash we have in our lives and see it for what it really is, and also show you how to get rid of it! We all have garbage that the Master Garbage Man needs to take away. We need to do some “Spring Cleaning” and get our trash out. If we do we will look better, feel better, and yes, even smell better to those around us.
Remember the smell in my home? I just couldn’t live in an environment that smelled so horrible. Yet, we all do this in our spiritual lives. We walk around with excess rubbish from our past and try to ignore it thinking it will go away. Too much trash in our lives will stink up our homes, and too much fleshly garbage in our hearts will stink up our lives.
People will smell your trash because the stench leaks out. The reality is it will never go away until you “smell around” to find were the stink is coming from. This is not a fun thing to do. There will be pain involved. You will have to work at getting the “stench” out, but in the long run it will pay off and be well worth the house cleaning. The good news is that God is the Master Garbage Man and He is always there to help you get rid of your trash.
Video: “Garbage Hoarder” (Viewer Discretion Advised)
Garbage stinks!
What garbage do you find in your life?
Un-forgiveness?
Bitterness?
Judgmental attitudes?
Critical spirit?
Rejection?
Fear?
Let’s look at a few pieces of trash you may have…
1. Rejection:
You know the scene. It is in the middle of the day. The children are out to play on the playground. They choose team members to play the game. One by one everyone is picked until it comes down to the last person. By now they really don’t want to play because they were the last to be chosen. The reject! The one no one wants.
Rejection! We’ve all experienced it. Not getting that promotion we were anticipating. Or not getting the job you interviewed for and someone you know did.
We all want to be valued and accepted. Being valued is a natural human desire. When we don’t feel valued we tend to draw back and isolate ourselves, or get mad and lash out. Maybe you have been rejected from a friend, or relative. How about wanting to go out with someone on a date and they said, “No!” Rejection can lead to un-forgiveness and then bitterness.
Why does rejection wound us so deeply?
Rejection is painful because…
●It attacks the very person who we are.
●It destroys our self-esteem
●It makes you think something is wrong with you
●It makes you feel like you are not valued or wanted
●It makes you feel “less-then” the one who rejected you
This is why it is one of the most common tools the devil will use to destroy a person’s life. God never wanted us to feel rejected or abandon. He desires for you to know who you really are, and realize how deeply God loves, accepts, and appreciates you, so that you can live out the fullness of what all God has ordained you to be.
Rejection has a way of destroying a person in which few other things can. The sad fact is that the number of people who are affected by rejection is staggering. If we want to be all that God has created us to be, then overcoming rejection and its affects is vital and absolutely essential.
Remember; God will NEVER reject you! He will always receive you.
We have to OVERCOME OR we will BE OVERCOME
2. Un-forgiveness:
Un-forgiveness and rejection are truly a war that is going on inside of you. It is safe to say that everyone has experienced rejection or has un-forgiveness in their life. If you don’t overcome this WAR, it will overcome you! These are pieces of trash which can pile up and begin to make us stink! It becomes the “clutter” in our lives that prevents us from being who we were created to be, and to live our life free from the clutter, shame, and isolation garbage can bring.
Why do we allow this war to continue?
War: H1993: “to be in great commotion or tumult, to rage, war, cry aloud, be disquieted, rage, be troubled, be in an uproar.”
UN-FORGIVENESS IS…
1. Un-forgiveness is Disobedience
We are forgiven because of what Christ did on the cross for us. We deserve damnation and hell, instead of mercy and grace and eternal life. But there is something further we have to understand about our forgiveness. If we forgive others what they did to us, then we are forgiven. But, if we don’t forgive what others have done to us, we are not forgiven either.
Look at your life and what has been done to you. Does it even compare to what YOU have done yet Christ forgave you?
Matthew 6:14-15 KJV
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Why does God connect our forgiveness with forgiving others? It is easier to receive forgiveness compared to giving it. Dead people don’t have rights. We are crucified with Christ (Galations 2:20). Forgiving others has to do with laying down our rights.
It doesn’t make sense that we are forgiven and yet we don’t forgive. It doesn’t make sense that we are loved and yet we hate. We would be a hypocrite and so would God if we are forgiven and yet have un-forgivenss in our hearts. They have to be connected so we will see the depth of what Christ did for us on the cross. We are not forgiven if we don’t forgive others. Forgiveness is why Christ went to the cross. So you and I would be forgiven.
It is plan disobedience to God if we don’t forgive others. Disobedience is Sin!
Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
►Un-forgiveness is something that can really hold us back from escaping the corruption of sin and living for God.
►Un-forgiveness comes in many forms, such as bitterness, hatred, malice, holding grudges and resentment.
►Un-forgiveness can actually block God’s forgiveness towards our sins and provides a foothold for the devil to influence our lives.
►Un-forgiveness is probably one of the biggest yet-unnoticeable sins in the world today.
►Un-forgiveness is not only a sin, but it’s a disease. It carries with it paralyzing and life-threatening symptoms that can end in spiritual death.
►Un-forgiveness can spread division and strife throughout our church as well as our home. Not to mention the chain of bondage it places on our lives.
►Un-forgiveness will start to spread throughout the mind, taking over the thought process interfering with what should be our focus, paralyzing and causing us to miss the important move of God.
►Un-forgiveness causes our responses, actions and body language to become inappropriate.
When we release the other person and forgive them, we release ourselves too.
We also release them to be forgiven by God.
2 Co 2:10 KJV
“Whom you forgive I also forgive, for if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ.
2. Un-forgiveness gives Satan an advantage over us.
2 Cor. 2:11
“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
One of the things we learn is that un-forgiveness is one of Satan’s devices, an instrument, a weapon, a plot, a scheme, a tool, which he uses.
People, who Satan couldn’t get to rob a bank or shoot someone, he gets to them through strife, bitterness, resentment and un-forgiveness… things that many people wouldn’t describe as awful sins. Some people look at some folks and say oh, they are a wonderful Christian, they love God, they read their Bible, they pray, and yet that person could be soaking with strife and un-forgiveness. Why? Because we don’t always identify it as one of the things that is a sin. Yet, the scripture says that it is a device of Satan. We have to remember that sin is sin. Sin is all the same. It separates us from God.
Un-forgiveness in our heart can give Satan an advantage over us, a way of controlling us, robbing us of our joy, our deliverance, our peace, our love, harmony in the home, the victory of overcoming, from possessing all of the promises of God, our prosperity, our salvation.
Wake up and understand that we are in a culture right now in the world that is fostering, festering, stirring up, strife, bitterness and un-forgiveness.
Talk shows are really into it, talking about how upset they are, angry, and how they are going to take revenge and get people back that hurt us.
News commentaries feed into this too. Are you watching the news during the Presidential Campaign? Mud is slung everywhere on both sides. It seems every campaign has to slander the other to make themselves look good. I would just like to see a campaign run without slander and pointing fingers, but not sure if that person would be elected. The world expects you to stand up and fight for yourself, even if it means to slander someone else.
Ultimately, bitterness and un-forgiveness will take people in that direction, and it begins with strife.
3. Un-forgiveness is Bondage.
We can get all bound up thinking about what happened to us to the point that it binds us up from growing in Christ. It prevents us from having healthy relationships.
If you don’t let go of un-forgiveness and bitterness you won’t just lose relationships, you will lose yourself! Forgiving others benefits you the most!
You will repel others away from you because of what un-forgiveness is doing to your emotions internally. Release them and forgive, then you will enjoy your life and others will enjoy you!
If we are bitter and resentful, it’s because we are allowing ourselves to remain that way.
Anyone can make excuses and blame the past for his or her bad attitudes, poor choices, or hot temper.
If you want to live in victory and overcome, you cannot use past emotional wounds as an excuse for making poor choices today. (The video: “I am going through emotional problems right now” to justify the garbage in her living room.)
You dare not use your past as an excuse for your current bad attitude or as a rationalization for your unwillingness to forgive somebody. It is time to allow emotional wounds to heal. It is time to put your garbage out for the Master Garbage man to take away for good.
Be looking for OVERCOME OR BE OVERCOME – Part 2
Pastor Kris Belfils
Peace Robbers (Part 2 of Pursue Peace)
It is hard to find peace in this chaotic world. So many things are pressing for our attention, time, and sanity. Once we have peace, we have to guard our peace at all cost. There are “Peace Robbers” out there that will steal our peace away from us if we let them.
This is a two part message. In part One; “Pursue Peace,” we found out how to get peace and now in part Two, we will see what robs our peace and how to protect it.
Peace Robbers
1. Being Busy
Being busy is the biggest tool the enemy uses to rob us of our peace. Business makes you think you are doing good. Often being busy is where you wrap your identity in. Have you ever answered someone’s question; “How are you doing?” with “Keeping busy!” It is easy to fall into the trap of business. After all, we are usually productive and have good motives. Yet, being busy keeps us distracted from the true purpose for our life. God cannot bring you to your destiny if you are too busy with insignificant things, which you have chosen, to take up your time.
Not all the business is wrong or bad. We have to decipher between the pressing and the important. There is a difference. Most of the time the “pressing” wins out. We add so many extra things on our plate that we can’t even finish eating what was there before. Have you heard the expression: “Your eyes are bigger then your stomach?” This is a statement to show you want more then you can handle. Our stomach is only so big, but our eyes see more “good things” and grab it and place it on our plates thinking we can eat it all.
“Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity.”
Oswald Chambers
Utmost For His Highest
Being busy makes one look like they are accomplishing a lot, but in reality their spiritual life suffers. Even if what you are doing is for God, it is still “simple active work” compared to where your relationship is with God and cultivating that relationship. Spending time with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, allows us to be more like Him and His peace fills our hearts. It is imperative to grow in Christ. If we are too busy doing vague, thoughtless and foolish things, our relationship with God suffers.
Ephesians 5:14 – 17 (Amplified Bible)
“Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise [sensible, intelligent people]. Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.”
Do you find yourself tired all the time and never seem to get enough sleep. If you have ruled out anything physically wrong with you, chances are it is because of being busy. Seriously, if you can’t “Be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10),” something is very wrong in your life.
You might be afraid to be still. Maybe there are issues in your heart you are afraid to look at or address. Maybe God is pricking your heart about something and if you slow down, you will have to look at them. Ask yourself; “Am I peaceful?” In other words, if these things are robbing you of your peace, then by all means address them and deal with them and stop ignoring the Elephant in your living room! You are waisting time by running into business to escape dealing with these tuff issues. You will be free and find your peace the moment you decide to stop running and start dealing. The enemy uses this weapon agains people every second of the day. The sad thing is people think they are “okay” or “have a handle on it” when in reality they are drowning in their business that will eventually kill them. Let go of being busy and grab ahold of God’s joyful peace.
If you are afraid of all your business being taken away, and it brings pain in your heart, this is a sign your identity is wrapped up in what you do, instead of who you are in Christ. I know first hand how this feels. I always wanted to be busy in ministry. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving a church without another position lined up for me to walk in. The busier I was, the more important I was feeling. I didn’t realize I was placing what I did before my relationship with God. It became my idol. Yes, ministry became my idol. You see even the good can become bad if it is placed wrong on our priority list.
Remember that everything is the Lord’s. The earth, and all that is in it is the Lord’s (1 Corinthians 10:26). The heavens, and the earth were made by the Lord (Psalm 115:15). Who are we to get wrapped up in the things of this earth to the point it takes our peace away? It all belongs to the Lord. We are just passing through. We are renters and eventually we will be moving out and moving into our mansion in heaven when God calls us home. Hold on loosely to the things of this world.
Proverbs 11:28 (Message)
“A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.”
Being busy is a peace robber. Recognize it and make some changes in your life to let go of the things that really don’t matter, and to hold on to the truly important. Your family, friends, and even yourself, will be happy you did. Don’t settle for the “good” when you can have the best! It’s okay to say; “no” to protect your peace.
Proverbs 16:3 (Message)
“Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; GOD probes for what is good.”
2. Walking in the flesh
a. Emotions – Our emotions can rob us of our peace. We can get ourselves all worked up over something or someone to the point we have no peace. Constantly thinking about, or even obsessing about something is not healthy. Having healthy emotions should be our goal. Allowing God to help us manage our emotions and applying His wisdom to them, will help bring peace back in our life.
Proverbs 15:15 (Message)
“A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fills the day with song.”
Proverbs 14:30 (NLT)
“A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.”
Jealousy is like a cancer. Thinking, dwelling, and wanting what someone else has is a sin. It will corrupt your life and rob you of any peace. Jealousy is the opposite and an antonym of contentment. Contentment brings peace. Jealousy brings stress and strife. When someone is jealous, soon their actions will show it and others will see it. How you talk, and interact with others will be affected too. This is letting our emotions runaway with how we feel. It is walking in the flesh. I like how the Message Bible states that verse.
Proverbs 14:30 (Message)
“A sound mind makes for a robust body, but runaway emotions corrode the bones.”
Emotions are fickle. They come and go and often we can’t rely on them. Emotions are not good or bad, they just are. That is why we need a proper perspective on them. God gave us our emotions to enjoy and experience life. Jesus showed and experienced human emotions by weeping when Lazarus died, or by getting angry when in the temple and people were using it for exchanging money and buying and selling things. So to say emotions are wrong or bad, is not truth. But to rely on and express negative emotions to the point of hurting or affecting others is a battle of self-control. It is what we do with our emotions that affect our peace.
Proverbs 14:29 (Message)
“Slowness to anger makes for deep understanding; a quick-tempered person stockpiles stupidity.”
There are many emotions that rob us of our peace. The crime of uncontrolled anger vented towards someone or something is an instant peace robber. Believe it or not Self-pity is an emotion too and can rob us of our peace. Feeling sorry for yourself is trying to move forward by digging a whole underneath you. You will never go anywhere and end up in a big pit.
b. Constantly being negative, critical or judgmental – Being critical often is an outward manifestation of an inward lack. We are feeling bad about ourselves or have low self-esteem and hate seeing others succeeding. Being judgmental is a sin. Pride is involved with judging others. Thinking you are better or could do better then they are doing.
It might just be that you don’t like a person and are critical of them and what they do or say. This peace robber happens all the time. The more you talk about another person, the more you condemn yourself. In reality we don’t see it that way, but we live in unrest and constant turmoil and don’t know why. When we judge others it will come back on us.
Matthew 7:1 – 5 (NLT)
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
Being a critical, negative, judgmental person will isolate you from others because they won’t want to be with you. They are afraid they will be the next topic of your gossip. Keep a guard on your tongue, this will keep a guard on your peace. Stop seeing the negative in life and in others. Negative people never reach their full potential. Critical people never enjoy life. Judgmental people will be judged with the same measure of judgment they give out. All of these people are robbed of their peace.
3. Expectations
a. Expectations we put on people – Putting high expectations on others is a bondage builder. It puts people in bondage. They will never measure up to your standards and will fail in your eyes often. Yes, it is good to want the best for others, but not at the expense of someone always trying to please you. The only expectation we should have is in God and what He will do.
Psalm 62:5 (NKJV)
“My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.
Notice this verse states; “For my expectation is from Him.” We long for God to move. We have expectancy and it actually comes from God to us. He wants us to put our expectations in Him alone.
Psalm 145:15 (Message)
“All eyes are on you, expectant; you give them their meals on time.”
Are your expectations on God or man? When high expectations are placed on people and they are not met, stress comes to all parties, including ourselves. We can expect our friends, or our spouse, or our family to meet our needs. When they don’t, we get frustrated with them. It is not their job to meet our needs. Let people be themselves. God is the one who is more then enough for what we need.
Let go of high expectations you place on others so they can have peace and you can too.
b. Expectations we put on ourselves – This is not easy to stop doing. We all expect more out of ourselves then we do others, especially if we are perfectionists. A perfectionist always feels they are never good enough, or that they never measure up. Their self-esteem is very low and they always feel there is something wrong with them. How do I know this? Because I have walked in those shoes a good portion of my life.
A perfectionist seldom has peace. Why would they after placing too high of expectations on themselves. They make goals and once they obtain them, they either feel it wasn’t done right, or they could have done a better job. Often times they reach a goal and never enjoy the reward because they placed higher expectations on themselves. Higher and higher the measuring rod goes for them to reach and they never really reach it because they push it higher. Give yourself a break. No one can live like that. Not only is there no peace in their lives, but no peace in their family, work, and anything they are connected with.
Let go of to high expectations on yourself. Allow God’s peace to flood your heart that you are acceptable just the way you are. It is okay to be yourself and being yourself brings peace and freedom.
4. Unhealthy Relationships
If you fight low self-esteem, being a perfectionist, or feelings of inadequacy, chances are you pick unhealthy relationships with people that are not good for you. If it is not wrong people, then your relationships are extremely tense because of putting too high of expectations or expecting others to fulfill your needs. Co-dependency or emotional dependency comes when you are looking to others to meet your needs in stead of God. We can even be co-dependent on our friends or spouse. If you are placing people higher then God and your relationship with Him, chances are you are emotionally or co-dependent on them. This subject could stand alone in a book, but we don’t have time here. Mainly, I wanted to get your attention that unhealthy relationships can rob us of our peace, our time, our relationship with Christ, and so much more.
Hanging around the wrong crowd automatically puts you in unhealthy relationships. Their morals and standards might not be Biblical. They might not have any morals at all. We become who we hang around, so choose your friends wisely. Don’t allow your peace to be stolen by making a bad choice in a relationship. Ask God if you are questioning if you have unhealthy relationships, He will show you.
5. Fear
a. Fear of the unknown – Always worrying about tomorrow, or what is going to happen will put you in bondage and take away your peace. Remember the Prince of Peace holds your tomorrows. He knows what tomorrow will bring so it makes sense to rely on God every day. The good thing is that if you are a believer, we can rejoice that God is by our side. He is the One who fights our battles when we lean on Him. Remember that God loves you unconditionally. His love is perfect.
Perfect love cast out all fear, and this is the love God has for you.
1 John 4:18 (GW)
“No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.”
If you live your life in fear of the unknown you will never have peace in your life.
b. Fear of man – Always fearing what people think or what they are going to do is bondage. It prevents you from being free to live your life. You will never please everybody. I have come to this harsh reality. For years I tried to make people happy. I was a Worship Pastor for many years and tried to do the songs or hymns everybody wanted, but I still heard complaints. I finally got to the point I would pick songs that the Holy Spirit told me to bring into the congregation. Then, when someone had an issue with a song, I just told them to take it up with the Holy Spirit. Soon, people stopped gripping about what kind of worship I would lead.
I also was afraid of what people thought of me. I could never be “myself” thinking people wouldn’t like me. But trying to be someone I wasn’t put me in turmoil. Christ died for our freedom, this includes being free to be ourselves. There will always be people who will disagree with you and think bad thoughts about you. Like me, you need to get over yourself and over this issue. It will rob you of your peace and put you in a trap your entire life. Then you will look back on your life and wished you lived differently. Now is the time to recognize you have the fear of man and what they think, and to release it to God and allow Him to heal you of any insecurities and events in your past, so you can truly live your life to the fullest being free to be yourself.
c. Fear of failure – Always being afraid of making a mistake is torment. No one is perfect, even a perfectionist. Failure is only failure if you stop and give up. How many Inventors, Scientists, Entertainers, Public Figures, and more, who kept going even after failing time after time, till one day they found the answer? There are many. Don’t give up, you could be one step from your breakthrough. Don’t be afraid to fail. Just get back up and dust yourself off, and try again.
There is a story about a man who was walking across the street and tripped and fell down. The next day one of his friends walked by and saw him. They asked, “Are you okay?” He said, “I tripped and fell down yesterday.” His friend asked, “Are you hurt?” “Do you have any broken bones or internal injuries that prevents you from getting up?” The man said, “No.” “You don’t understand, I fell down and I can’t get up.”
This would never happen in real life. If you tripped and fell on the ground, you would quickly get back up and look back to see what made you trip and fall. Far too often people fail and think they can’t go on. Even before they attempt to do something new, they give up because they don’t want to fail. They are afraid they will look bad in front of people. This will rob you of your daily peace. “If only’s,” and “should of’s” will haunt you for the rest of your life. Let’s be a people who are not afraid to try something new. The worse thing that can happen is it didn’t work for that attempt. Tomorrow is a new day, and with God on your side, all things are possible.
Matthew 19:26 (ESV)
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
6. Self acceptance
a. How do you see yourself? – I have notice often that most people really don’t like themselves. If we don’t get along with ourselves, we won’t get along with other people. When we reject ourselves, it may seem to us that others reject us as well. Relationships are a large part of our lives. How we feel about ourselves is a determining factor in our success in life and in relationships.
Our self-image is the inner picture we carry of ourselves. If what we see is not healthy and does not line up with Scripture, we will suffer from fear, insecurity and various types of misconceptions about ourselves.
People who are insecure about themselves suffer in their mind and emotions, as well as in their social and spiritual lives. I know as I have talked to many and have seen what their insecurities have done in their life. Also, I know as I myself have suffered in this area. Studying the Word of God and receiving His unconditional love and acceptance will bring healing to our life.
b. God approves of you – God never intended for us to feel bad about ourselves. He wants us to know ourselves well and have self-acceptance. God approves of you, shouldn’t you approve of yourself?
Jeremiah 1:5 (Amplified)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew and approved of you [as My chosen instrument]…”
Proverbs 23:7
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”
What do you think about yourself? Where ever you go, there you are. You can leave the presence of friends, family, co-workers, but you can never leave yourself. When you go to bed, there you are with yourself. When you wake up in the morning, guess who is right there? You are! Do you like yourself? Start today accepting yourself. You cannot get away from who you are. If you struggle in liking yourself, ask God for help, after all He created you.
Genesis 1:31
“And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, and a sixth day.”
Rejecting ourselves does not change us, it actually multiplies our problems. Acceptance causes us to face reality and then begin to deal with it. We cannot deal with anything as long as we are refusing to accept it or denying its reality.
Webster’s II New College Dictionary defines accept in part as: 1. To receive (something offered), esp. willingly. 2. To admit to a group or place. 3. a. To consider as usual, proper, or right. b. To consider as true.
Notice from this definition that acceptance involves the will. If we apply this definition to self-acceptance, we see that we can choose or not choose to accept our self. God is offering us the opportunity to accept our self as we are, but we have a free will and can refuse to do so if we so choose. We also see from this definition that when something is accepted, it is viewed as usual, proper or right.
People who reject themselves do so because they cannot see themselves as proper or right. They only see their flaws and weaknesses, not their beauty and strength. This is an unbalanced attitude, one that was probably instilled by authority figures in the past who majored on what was weak and wrong rather than on what was strong and right.
The word acceptance from the same dictionary is defined in part as “approval” and “agreement.” If we are having problems accepting ourselves as we are, we need to get into agreement with God that what He created is good – and that includes us.
Amos 3:3
“Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed?
To walk with God, we must agree with God. He says He loves us and accepts us; therefore, if we agree with Him, we can no longer hate and reject ourselves. Self-Acceptance will bring peace, self-rejection will rob your peace from you.
7. Not giving God Control
Many people struggle with this issue. They fight over having control of their life. Trying to make things happen or not happen in their own strength, and then get frustrated when things don’t go the way they want them too.
Not giving God control is a peace robber. If you have asked Jesus in your heart as Lord and Savior, that means you have made Him Lord of your life. Being Lord, means He has full reign in all areas.
Written from my journal July 12th, 2012: “There is a place in my love walk with God, a deep desire to please Him in every area of my life. I have to be pro-active and guard it. This love I have for God compels me to give you control. You see everything and know all. There is nothing I can hide from you, nor do I even want to. Having an open relationship for you to show me areas I need to lay down or change is what this Christian walk is all about. Why would I ever want to hide or prevent you to have total freedom in my life? This relationship is not like any other earthly one. My relationship with You is so precious and tender and stable. The fact that you would never leave me no matter what I do is truth that this relationship transcends all other relationships. I never want to allow my flesh or self-will to hurt my relationship with you, my loving God. I want to get to the point it grieves my spirit if ever I demand my way by not giving control.”
Giving God control doesn’t mean He will change you into something you don’t want to be, or do something you don’t want to do. Giving God control is saying, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Self-will is a peace robber when it comes to giving God control. It is not worth the struggle. To be truthful, the moment you give God control, you will find peace. You will say to yourself, “Why didn’t I do that a long time ago?”
Guarding your peace at all cost is vital to your Christian walk, and a healthy lifestyle. Don’t allow these []“Peace Robbers” to take away your peace. Be vigilant. Be alert! Be pro-active in who you are. Yielding to God’s correction and love is the only way for a peaceful life.
From one Peace Keeper to another,
Pastor Kris Belfils
Words Have Power – The Parable of the Prodigal Son (A Father’s Day Message and personal testimony from Pastor Kris Belfils)
Words are powerful. With our words we can speak life or death. With our speech we can put people in bondage or set them free. With the words we think or say we can bring healing or torment. James talks about the tongue being a rudder that steers the whole ship, or a bit in the horse’s mouth.
James 3:2 – 12 (Amplified Bible)
“For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if anyone does not offend in speech [never says the wrong things], he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature. If we set bits in the horses’ mouths to make them obey us, we can turn their whole bodies about. Likewise, look at the ships: though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines. Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze! And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of man’s nature), being itself ignited by hell (Gehenna). For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and has been tamed by human genius (nature). But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God’s likeness! Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so. Does a fountain send forth [simultaneously] from the same opening fresh water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can a salt spring furnish fresh water.”
We can take a look at one of the parable’s of Jesus to see how much power words really have. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, there are three characters. Each one speaks words and acts upon them.
Luke 15:11 – 32 (Amplified Bible)
“And He said, There was a certain man who had two sons; And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the part of the property that falls [to me]. And he divided the estate between them. And not many days after that, the younger son gathered up all that he had and journeyed into a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and loose [from restraint] living. And when he had spent all he had, a mighty famine came upon that country, and he began to fall behind and be in want. So he went and forced (glued) himself upon one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed hogs. And he would gladly have fed on and filled his belly with the carob pods that the hogs were eating, but [they could not satisfy his hunger and] nobody gave him anything [better]. Then when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have enough food, and [even food] to spare, but I am perishing (dying) here of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] make me like one of your hired servants. So he got up and came to his [own] father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity and tenderness [for him]; and he ran and embraced him and kissed him [fervently]. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son [I no longer deserve to be recognized as a son of yours]! But the father said to his bond servants, Bring quickly the best robe (the festive robe of honor) and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. And bring out that [wheat-]fattened calf and kill it; and let us revel and feast and be happy and make merry, Because this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to revel and feast and make merry. But his older son was in the field; and as he returned and came near the house, he heard music and dancing. And having called one of the servant [boys] to him, he began to ask what this meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed that [wheat-]fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and well. But [the elder brother] was angry [with deep-seated wrath] and resolved not to go in. Then his father came out and began to plead with him, But he answered his father, Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me [so much as] a [little] kid, that I might revel and feast and be happy and make merry with my friends; But when this son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you have killed for him that [wheat-] fattened calf! And the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to make merry, to revel and feast and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!”
This is the story of The Prodigal Son. Prodigal in the dictionary means, “Wastefully, or recklessly extravagant, giving or yielding profusely; lavish, lavishly abundant, profuse, a person who spends, or has spent his or her money or substance with wasteful extravagance.”
We act upon what we say:
1. Younger son spoke – Younger son dwelt on what was going to be his “someday.” He asked his father:
“… give me the part of the property that falls [to me].”( Luke 15:12)
The younger son had been thinking about this for some time and planned on asking his father for what was rightfully his… but this only comes when the father has passed away.
Action of his words:
“And not many days after that, the younger son gathered up all that he had and journeyed into a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and loose [from restraint] living.” (Luke 15:13)
He wanted to go out and live his own life the way he wanted to live it. His actions reflected what he was thinking and again he acted upon it. He spent his money recklessly extravagantly. This is being a prodigal.
2. He came to himself
He spoke words to himself again:
“How many hired servants of my father have enough food, and [even food] to spare, but I am perishing (dying) here of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] make me like one of your hired servants.” (Luke 15:17-19 Amp)
Action of his words:
“So he got up and came to his own father.” (Luke 15:20 Amp)
He acted on his words and left for home. But this time he had “come to himself.”
We Come To Ourself
We come to our self when we realize we can’t make it on our own. We come to our self when we see that all our choices have made big mistakes in our life. We come to our self when we give up control and give it back to our Heavenly Father. We come to our self when we go to the Father and ask Him to forgive us of our wrong we have done.
We all need to “come to ourselves” from time to time. If we don’t we will lead ourselves astray. We will “self-destruct” without God! We, as sinners, are slow to come to our self and go back to God, but God is quick to run to us as He sees our brokenness and repentive heart.
3. The Father saw his son from a far off and ran to him.
The Father always was waiting and looking for the son to come home. He longed for him to be home. For the father to see him from a far off you know he was constantly thinking about the way-word son and looking for his return.
God always has His eye on us, waiting for us to move towards Him! You might feel far away from God tonight. You have distance yourself from Him for some reason and God has his eye on you, waiting for you to draw near.
I want to talk about my own father right now. As a little girl growing up without a father figure in my life I suffered from many issues. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of the future. Fear of what people thought of me. At the time I didn’t know or even understand how I was feeling. But I always felt there was something wrong with me and I somehow didn’t measure up to others. Perfectionist was my middle name. It was my goal to do everything perfect so people would like me. If I came across someone who disapproved of what I was doing I would be crushed and I tried every way possible to get their approval.
As I was growing up, all the men that were in my life were either absent, abusive, or disapproving. I never had a healthy male figure to look up too.
“There must be something wrong with me or my Dad would have come to find me!” I would say to myself. So I would live my life expecting people to not approve of me. In many cases it proved itself true when I started leading worship at the age of 15 in my own youth group and people would tell me, “I should be a man.” or “You don’t sing the songs I like.” “You shouldn’t be leading with a guitar, and women shouldn’t be ministers.” I desperately wanted the approval of people, especially men.
As I mentioned earlier my mom and dad were divorced when I was two years old. Throughout the years, I had maybe four or five phone conversations with with my dad, and had seen him twice; once at his mother’s funeral and once at my sister’s wedding. The last time I talked with him was when my mom died in 1995. We really had no relationship with each other. In fact, I was angry with my dad for not making or keeping contact. We were told by our mom that dad had an affair. My mom planned, and succeeded, in leaving him without letting him know. She left so abruptly that all of our clothes and toys were left in California. Mom never really talked about what happened or why she felt he was having an affair. It was kind of a “taboo” subject. As far as I knew, dad never even tried to come after us.
My dad remarried and so did my mom. Life went on. I would find out little information about my dad through my uncle Bert Pence, my dad’s brother. Some of the things my dad went through were; a broken back (falling off a two story building), automobile accidents that left him with a metal pipe in his right upper leg, and several strokes that have effected his right side of his body.
The lady that my dad married passed away. I felt bad for the passing of his wife, but really didn’t care about what happened to him. One day in prayer, God brought my dad’s name to my mind. I hadn’t thought of him in a long time. I felt God was impressing on my heart to take care of my dad. I fought it. I thought, “Why should I take care of someone that didn’t take care of me?” But, I’ve learned not to fight with the Holy Spirit, and eventually I said I would take care of him. I called my dad on the phone, and he was shocked to hear from me. During the conversation I asked him if he wanted to come up to Spokane Washington and live with me. He said he was fine, and I left it at that. About a week and a half later, I received a phone call that he would like to move and be with me. Now, I was shocked! God asked me to do it, and I had to obey. An overwhelming love and compassion for my dad came over me. I hurried to find an apartment for him so it would be ready for him when he arrived in Washington State. I drove down to California by myself, in order to have room to pack all I could for him in my car. When I arrived at his apartment in California, I walked through the door and saw him lying on his couch. He was worse then I was told. He looked like an eighty-year-old man even though he was sixty-five. He couldn’t walk to me, so I ran to him and we embraced and cried. The last time I saw my dad, it was at my sister’s wedding, which was over 20 years before. He was strong and healthy then.
The car ride up from California was an eye opener for me. Dad didn’t know why mom left so quickly. I expressed what she told me, and immediately he denied it. At this point, I told him, “Dad, if you did or didn’t have an affair, I would’ve still come to get you.” He was a broken man. He cried. I think we both cried all the way back to Washington. He said he drove up to Spokane, right after mom left him, to find out what happened. He tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t talk to him. So, he went back to California because that was where his job was. I think he felt rejected and thought he didn’t have a chance.
Dad would tell me stories of when my sister and I were little girls. I was all ears. He would take us to the store, let us take anything we wanted off the shelves, and he would buy it. When he came home from work, he eagerly waited to see us and would play with us. He couldn’t wait to spend time with us. He bought us pretty dresses and toys just because he loved us. He would tell me how cute I was when I was a baby and how I grew to be a beautiful woman. Constantly on our drive home he would tell me how pretty I was. Throughout my life I never thought I was pretty. Ron, my husband, would tell me this, but I didn’t believe him. Hearing it from my dad though, really effected me.
At one point, dad looked at me, as I was driving, and said, “You know, I saved your tricycle. It’s been in storage all these years.” I couldn’t believe it. Dad kept my tricycle for almost 40 years? That touched me deeply. After all these years, he still had my tricycle. “I was waiting for you to come home, and wanted you to have it when you did.” He said, “I never touched your room or the clothes in it. I left it just the way it was.”
Eventually, he moved away from the apartment we all stayed in, that is when he put it all in storage. He said all this with tears streaming down his face. I could see he meant it. I could see the tricycle was important to him.
After arriving in Washington State, Dad lived in his own apartment for a few months, but was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer shortly after settling into his new place. At the time his doctor gave him less then six months to live. We cherished the time we had together. We would see each other several times a week. Every time I saw him, he would say his heart jumps, and he could not believe we were together. We both felt like we were kept apart all these years, and couldn’t believe we were finally together.
Having my dad back in my life brought so much healing in me. I didn’t realize the void I had without my dad. I always felt like something was wrong with me and therefore people didn’t like me. I’m sure it stemmed from my thinking that dad didn’t come after us or want anything to do with my sister and I. The truth about my childhood has brought closure to unanswered questions. The question of my dad having an affair haunted me all my life. Did he really have an affair? If he did, did he want to be with that person more then being with his two daughters? How can a father not have contact with his children for so many years? I have to say that my failure, and the steps I went through after it (See “The Garbage Man Always Comes On Fridays“), brought a softening in my heart for my dad. If he did or didn’t have an affair, it didn’t matter. Everyone needs mercy and grace. That is why I went and brought him to Washington from California. He was a broken man, full of many regrets.
I wanted to know if Dad believed in God and if he asked Christ in his heart as Lord and Savior. During one of our drives to the Doctor, I asked him, “Dad, have you ever asked Christ in your heart as Lord and Savior? He promptly said, “Twice! One time I was even baptized in the river.” This brought peace in my heart to know he did have a relationship with the Lord at one point in his life, but I felt God brought him to be with me to help him turn his gaze back onto Him.
My Dad lived in his own apartment for three months. He was very disabled and could hardly take care of himself. I had to make a decision to move him into an adult family home. He was only there for a month and a half before he passed away. I was expecting him to live several more months. Our time together lasted only four months. I’m thankful we had it and a chance for closure. Much healing took place in both of us. Only God could have brought such a timely reunion.
Thinking about my earthly father, and how he felt about me, I can’t help but think about our heavenly Father and how he feels about us. Just like my dad, God always remembers us. When we turn away from Him, He constantly loves and waits for us to come back. My dad told me about the many times he tried to come up from California to visit me, but was stopped because of some unexpected challenge. A car accident, or needing to bail out a stepchild from jail. Dad said that he bought an old muscle car and was going to drive it up for me to have. He soon found out one of his step sons were in jail, so he sold the car to get him out. Hearing how my dad lived and the choices he made makes me thankful for my mom and how I was raised.
God constantly wants to be with us; so much so, He gave the life of His only Son so that we could spend eternity with Him.
If you have turned away from God, He still loves you. He is constantly longing for you to come back. If you feel like you can’t come back because of what you might have done, His arms are wide open, and will take you just the way you are. He loves you. He’s waiting for you. He kept your tricycle!
Back to the Prodigal Son…
“I do not know that the prodigal saw his father, but his father saw him. The eyes of mercy are quicker than the eyes of repentance. Even the eyes of our faith are dim compared with the eye of God’s love. He sees a sinner long before a sinner sees Him…. He was resolve to come, yet he was half afraid. But we read that his father ran. []Slow are the steps of repentance, but swift are the feet of forgiveness. God can run where we scarcely limp, and if we are limping towards Him, He will run towards us. The father “saw” his son. There is a great deal in that word, “saw.” He saw who it was; saw where he had come from; saw the swineherd’s dress; saw the filth upon his hands and feet; saw his rags; saw his penitent look; saw what he had been; saw what he was; and saw what he would soon be. His father saw him.” God has a way of seeing men and women in a way you and I cannot understand. He sees right through us at a glance, as if we were made of glass; He sees all our past, present and future.”
C.H. Spurgeon (wrote in a sermon on the Prodigal Son)
The Father had prodigal love towards his son as he was moved with pity and tenderness [for him]; and he ran and embraced him and kissed him [fervently]. (Luke 15:20)
Other translations read:
“… fell upon his neck and affectionately kissed him.” (New Testament In Modern English)
His father extravagantly kissed him and loved on him. He was waiting and anticipating his son to come home. I am sure the father always had his son on his mind. Any loving father would.
His father showed more extravagant love for his son as he said to bring the best robe (festive robe of honor) and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. This signifies kingship, authority, rule and reign. I am sure the son didn’t feel like he deserved it. He knew what he did and where he came from. His father gave him all that, and a fatten cow to eat, and celebrate the homecoming with his friends. We act upon what we say!
The father spoke:
“Bring quickly the best robe (the festive robe of honor and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. And bring out that [wheat-] fattened calf and kill it; and let us revel and feast and be happy and make merry, Because this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” (Luke 15:22 – 24 Amplified Bible)
When we stray it hurts the Father. The Father will mourn like someone is dead. He will ache in His heart until we come back like someone who has lost a precious jewel and longs to find it.
Action He took:
He lavished His love on the prodigal son and gave him even more than before!
The Father sees you! He knows where you have been. He knows what you have done. He knows what you have spoken, and He knows your name!
We don’t have to worry about the past. God has wiped it all away the moment we repent. We don’t have to worry about our future because God has prepared ahead of time what we will need. All we have to do is trust God with our lives and allow Him to be the Father.
Anger and jealously will make us act first…
4. The older son’s actions:
“But [the elder brother] was angry [with deep-seated wrath] and resolved not to go in.” (Luke 15:28 Amp)
In this case, he took action before he spoke to his father. But his “actions spoke louder than words,” as the father pleaded with him to join in the celebration.
The older son spoke:
“Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me [so much as] a [little] kid, that I might revel and feast and be happy and make merry with my friends; But when this son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you have killed for him that [wheat-] fattened calf!” (Luke 15:29-30 Amp)
The older son spoke with jealously and anger. He didn’t understand why his father would lavish so much love on his younger brother after all the WRONG that he did. It didn’t make sense to him. Mercy and grace never makes sense to someone who is not the receiver, only the one who receives.
When jealously and anger grips our hearts it paralyzes us. It makes us do things that are selfish. The older son was offended because all he could see is the “good” he had done and the “bad” his brother did.
Being critical or judgmental towards others is a sin. The older brother was just as guilty of wrong as the younger brother.
5. The father spoke:
“And the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to make merry, to revel and feast and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!” (Luke 15:31-32 Amp)
This parable was spoken to the tax collectors and Scribes and Pharisees.
Luke 15:1-2
“Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1-2 Amp.)
The church is likened to that of the older son. Maybe you have been a child of God most of your life. Do you get critical towards sinners? Do you cast a judgmental eye towards those that have fallen or that keep falling? We can get judgmental towards the lost ones that come in as they may not talk like us or walk like us. We can think of them as “less then” because of their past. This is sin! God wants us to let go of the judgment and celebrate the change in people’s lives. We need to rejoice over one lost sinner that comes to Jesus and treat them with respect and love. Love will always receive; jealously and judgment always pushes away.
What have you been speaking to yourself lately? Are they words of hope or discouragement? What have you been speaking about people lately? Are they words of hope or judgment?
Maybe you can relate more with the Prodigal son. Do you feel like you can’t come back to God because of your past? Do you feel lost and all alone? Do you identify with the prodigal son? Do you identify with the older brother?
God sees everything. He knows your name! We can come to God and ask for forgiveness no matter what we have thought, spoke, or have done. No matter what actions you have taken with your words, God is there waiting for you to embrace Him.
There is power in our words. Let’s do the right thing with our actions and run to God and experience His exstravagant love He has waiting for you!
He has saved your tricycle!
From one tricycle rider to another,
Pastor Kris Belfils
Pastor Kris Belfils 