Dr.  Ronald Powell    

This Week's Message:

Growing In God's Purpose 

Intro:

When someone Speaks from an area where they have experience and authority it is actually imparted to the hearer.

Today I really feel in my heart that God Desires to release such courage, Such strength, such hope and such faith in our service.

Context: some things are imparted by the laying on of hands, but some things are only released in the corporate body of believers.

I know God wants not only to bless you individually, but he wants to bless us all corporately.

(See: 1 John 1:7) 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

• As one grows in a relationship with God, the fellowship becomes one of sweetness and Love.

• This is how the unbelieving know we are true disciples.

• I believe that the Lord wants our fellowship to be so wonderful, so loving,

that people will be drawn in like a moth to a flame.

• We owe it to one another to pursue love of the brethren.

I also believe God will begin to bless not just individually but corporately as we demonstrate a maturity in love, faith, and hope without any sort of schism, or jealousy.

That is not our message, but I feel the Spirit of the Lord here strongly and want you to know I love you all and that we should love one another.

Today's Text: Psalm 67 The Message (MSG)

67 1-7 God, mark us with grace
    and blessing! Smile!
The whole country will see how you work,
    all the godless nations see how you save.
God! Let people thank and enjoy you.
    Let all people thank and enjoy you.
Let all far-flung people become happy
    and shout their happiness because
You judge them fair and square,
    you tend the far-flung peoples.
God! Let people thank and enjoy you.
    Let all people thank and enjoy you.
Earth, display your exuberance!
    You mark us with blessing, O God, our God.
You mark us with blessing, O God.
    Earth's four corners-honor him!

67 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.

2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

6 Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Also

3 What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it-we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.

2-3 But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him-and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.

• I like to stay around people of love and purity... this not only spurs us on to the maturity in Christ but witnesses to the world around us the world itself mocks & laughs at those who are one thing in church and another in the world, but purity and integrity gives us power to speak into peoples' lives.

*When you make purity your aim then power & blessing is the reward.

• You cannot maintain purity without power.

• Purity and power come from loyalty and devotion.

• I believe the most under rated tool of witness is having a blessed life.

Many believers devalue blessing,

They do this thinking it appears more humble to be poor or more like humility to walk around looking sorrowful when they fast or pray. Some people feel it wrong to dress up these days because it lacks humility.

Some people even feel if you are receiving blessings from the Lord that something is wrong with your walk with God even that things are amiss and they refuse to receive certain blessings.

Some people walk around talking about how broke they are, believing this shows they are really relying on the Lord day to day for their provisions.

Which would you rather have, a job where the works of your hands are blessed or having to be concerned day today where the miraculous provision of God will show up.

This is the difference between the wilderness and the promise land with God.

• The wilderness is the schooling for the promise,

• The promise Land is the Blessing that comes upon your hands.

The Blessing in the promise land was School: But you don't live in school.

The process of School is make sure you are fully equipped to meet the demands of life.

The Blessed life is a lot larger than just money, although it includes that.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

To shine is not a reflection of light but the light in us being seen.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

When Jesus abides in us or when we host the presence of the Lord, we become light even as He is light.

When Jesus reveals something to you as a believer about His will and purpose, you become that which He reveals for HIS purposes. He didn't reveal it to make you smart or intellectual. He wants you to rise and shine.

John 14:12  The works that I do..... See also John 14: 16-17

Psalm 67 is about Worldwide evangelism.

A problem exist that He called the Church to meet. Go into all the World. The world will not here the unblessed. The unblessed offer no promise, no hope, no difference. There is a vacuum of the ways of God which only the blessed can show the world.

The bar crowd doesn't come to church and are not impacted by sermons...They (the Bar Crowd) are impacted by seeing the difference ...that which is different than themselves. They do that when they observe the love, Hope, Blessings in your life and mine.

It ( the Blessed Life) is not a home, a boat and three cars. The Blessed life is a wife or husband who really love you, Children or grand Children that still think you rock or friends who will still come to your aid in an emergency.

The more the hand of God touches one's life, the more things work together for your good.

This doesn't mean you won't encounter trials, afflictions & tribulation, but it does mean God will deliver you from all of them. Psalm 34:19

GOD WANTS TO BLESS YOU WHERE YOU ARE

Joseph was promoted from a prison cell.

He watched others relieved from prison, but God was watching His responses.

(i.e. Seeing others blessed in the area of your need.) How do you respond to others blessings?

Psalm 75:5

When God says He will be a Father to the Fatherless.... He leaves blessings for those to claim who have no inheritance from earthly Fathers.

Favor

Favor from God may look like:

• a lower power bill in a short month financially

• a presidential suite instead of the standard room you paid for

• unexpected gifts...Money.. Food.. Clothing

The way you steward a problem determines how you receive your next blessing.

When we do not steward a conflict well we have delays in our favor and next blessings.

When you are among your peers do you feel that you have to apologize for the blessings on your life.

Blessings and Favor

What would it be like if we gave each other room to be blessed so that they never had to feel the need to apologize for the blessings of the Lord again.

The reason Believers apologize for blessings is because they understand the fallen nature that is jealous of promotion.

New International Version (NIV)

20 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3 "About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.'5 So they went.

"He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

7 "'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.

"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

8 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

9 "The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.12 'These who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

13 "But he answered one of them, 'I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.15 Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Luke 16: 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

Your ability to handle another man's blessing determines when you qualify for your own.

How you handle the borrowed car, tool, or axe will determine whether you will ever have a good car, tool or axe.

Growing in the supernatural means what the word has already expressed:

Sew good... Get Good

Sew evil....get evil

Sew mercy....get mercy

Sew blessing...... get?

Learn this simple lesson : all good things come from God

God withholds no good thing from them who are the called according to his purpose.

Learn to be happy with others blessings and find yourself rejoicing very soon in your own.

Amen, Amen, Amen.

Be Blessed.