Victory Life KY

Light/Hope III

Episode Summary

Matthew 5:13-16,MSG- Let me tell you why you are here...  You’re here to be light... God is not a secret to be kept... If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—SHINE!!

Episode Notes

• Matthew 5:13-16,MSG- Let me tell you why you are here...  You’re here to be light... God is not a secret to be kept...
• If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—SHINE!!

• Here’s the thing, being light comes from an assurance that God will be exactly who and what He told us He would.  So if he says, shine, shine.

• What every believer has to come to terms with is the fact that God is absolutely sending each of us into this broken, corrupt, confused, deceived world for one reason!!

• Don’t think I’m going to hide you under something, I’m putting your out there to shine.

• Daniel is one of my favorite example of this. Especially right now, with the climate of our world.

• Daniel 1:6-7,NKJV- “Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.”

• Babylon wanted to erase all trace of God from the earth.

• This is where God inspired hope comes in. Remember, hope is this fixed, confident expectation. And according to Romans, we are to be bubbling over with this kind hope.

• This is why the book of Hebrews reinforces the reality that our faith is substance, assurance, the confirmation of the things we HOPE for.

• Here’s one thing for certain, the more we allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us, the brighter our hope, our confidence in Him shines.

• Understand, God is sending each of us into the world, but we will never change the world being conformed to it. Paul quoting the prophet Isaiah says, “Come out from among them a be separate” (Remember Moses)

• Daniel 6, King Darius places Daniel over all the nations affairs because God gave Daniel an excellent spirit.

• But all the corrupt politicians tried setting a trap for Daniel. They changed the laws of the land. Please understand, satan hasn’t changed, he still wants desperately to erase all trace of God.

• And in the natural it all looked like their plan worked. They threw Daniel in with the lions. Everybody say, “But God!”

• There’s not one time in scripture where there’s great victory without great challenge. So, hold fast your confession of hope! Because we are light!

• The enemy knows all he’s got to do is shake our feelings just a little, so lets prove him wrong.

• 2 Corinthians 3:4-5,CEV- “We are sure about all this. Christ makes us sure in the very presence of God. We don't have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all we do.”

• Zechariah 4:6,NKJV- So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.”

• Stop worrying about what’s going on around you. Stop looking at the things that are seen, and get focused on the things that are unseen.

• Hebrews 2, paraphrase,  It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here. 
• He made us like Him with the brightness of Eden; Then He put us in charge of His entire handcrafted world. 

• Ephesians 2, Because of His great love for us He made us alive together with Christ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

• 2 Peter 1:3-4,NKJV- His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 
• by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.

• Until we embrace this revelation concerning who we are, this world we’ve been born into and the realities of it will remain some mysterious, out of reach idea that’s really not for us to understand.

• From the beginning, God’s original assignment to Adam is still His plan; “I’ve given you dominion over all the earth.”

• Understand, we’re not just citizens of Heaven, we’re heirs to the Kingdom, appointed ambassadors of our King, assigned here to establish the very same dominion our Father gave to Adam. 

• Empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is why Peter tells us in the book of Acts, when the Holy Spirit shows up and infills the believers, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.”

• Joel, The day of the Lord is upon you. Ahead of you lies a land as beautiful as Eden.
• The Lord says, Turn to Me, give Me your hearts, for I am merciful and compassionate, filled with unfailing love. Look, I’m sending you new wine and oil, enough to satisfy. Don’t be afraid. Instead be glad and rejoice in your God! 
• I will restore all that was lost, stolen, or destroyed. And you will know that I am the Lord you God.

• Isaiah 43, paraphrase,  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon, and bring your enemies down as fugitives. 
• I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.
• And just like I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses and drowned them beneath the waves, I snuffed them out like a smoldering candlewick.
• That’s nothing compared to what I am going to do. I am about to do something new. Look it’s already! Can’t you see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

• Remember what Peter says, what you see here today is the start of what was prophecied by the prophet Joel. God empowered His church to establish His Kingdom on this earth.

• Make no mistake, God is returning for a glorious church, without spot or blemish.

• Ephesians 5,25-27,32,NKJV-  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 
• that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
• This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

• God is without a doubt preparing His bride, the church for His return. So until He does, lets be about His work. Let’s shine with a fixed, confident, expectation, with some God inspired hope.

• It’s interesting Peter quotes Joel at the birth of the church. Joel actually means, “Yahweh is God”

• We have to see spiritually, what Joel was, to a deceived, rebellious, confused people of Israel, the church of Jesus Christ is to the world today.

• Both Joel and the church called for repentance of the people, both were vessels of revelation, inspired expressions of hope, and both prophetic voices to the people.

• Listen to Jesus’ words again in Matthew 5, You’re here to be light, if I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there—SHINE!!