In the Old Testament, Jonathan and Tamar are both given opportunities to forgive. Jonathan has a verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive father; yet he is able to walk in forgiveness. Tamar is sexually abused by her step-brother Amnon, but carries her shame as a “desolate woman.” Christ’s shed blood on the cross not only forgives us of our sin (propitiation), but also cleanses us of the shame of sin (expiation). When given the opportunity to forgive and be forgiven, how will you respond?

This message is for those who are in an intense unseen battle. You know that God has called you and loves you but you find yourself for a season in an extremely lonely and vulnerable place. Like King David you are sent to "lion and bear country". When you put your life in God's hands it draws the attack of the lion and the bear. Except the Lord show up we will be devoured. In this solitary unseen place there is evidence that God is with us because when the lion and the bear show up so does He! The Word of the Lord says, God had provided me a king, and He keeps the sheep. When we feel the weakest there is a king within us that will rise up and keep us. We will not be devoured, we will be delivered and become a deliverer.

America has made a tragic mistake by allowing the worship of Baalism into the House of The Lord. The god of prosperity has become the god of this age. How this must break the heart of God! The Lord doesn’t judge with any delight in His heart but He looks down on what was supposed to be His heritage and says I can't let this go on any longer! He absolutely will not let His people pursue a path that will lead to hell. God is calling His church to return to Him and allow Him to take away all the iniquity in us that would keep His life from flowing through His Body. When we get right with God the storms will come but His church will stand with His Glory upon us. The testimony of the true church of Christ will not be shaken!

[Exodus 14: 1–4; 1 Samuel 9:3–7] We have all kinds of fears — public speaking, spiders, death, etc. One of our greatest fears is a fear of faith. It seems too dangerous, too demanding, and too draining. Trusting God often means we find ourselves in a difficult situation — in a place we don’t want to be, without resources, and at a time not of our choosing. Faith requires being placed in circumstances where all we can do is depend on God. If we are not willing to step out, we can miss what God has for us.

Philippians 2:12-18 – Our culture is permeated with a self-help, pop-psychology mentality — using past hurts and experiences as excuses for present behaviors. As Christians we are called to “work out [our] own salvation.” This doesn’t mean we save ourselves; rather salvation is a gift from God that must be engaged. There is more to our faith than professing with our mouth that we are Christian. We must live a life that is pleasing to God and demonstrates the transformation that has taken place in us. Let your life be a testimony, not only to the world, but to other professing Christians.

Paul says that “to live is Christ and to die is gain,” but often times we seek life outside of Christ — some look for life in success, wealth, and fame; others turn to drugs, drinking, and sexual immorality; while many just seek escape through television and entertainment. Religion proposes to offer a solution, but only asks us to give up “things” rather than completely dying to self. Have you been crucified with Christ? How do you handle difficult circumstances? How do you react to difficult people? What do you do when you don’t get what you want when you want it? A life fully surrendered to Christ is one of rejoicing, abundance and victory.

Discouragement can be debilitating. We can get so despondent that we will begin to doubt the existence of God. God will allow seasons of discouragement when:

• There is something hidden in our heart and He wants to get at it.
• When we take that which belongs to the Lord and keep it for ourselves.
• When we fail to realize there is a divine purpose even in the darkest of times.

We must cry out to God and ask Him to take away the perception that coming to Christ is all about us. We are not called to live for ourselves. It is Christ is in us for the betterment of others. When we understand this truth God will transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope!

Before anyone ever knew us or saw our face, God knew us in the most intimate of ways. God sees everything in our life as it truly is, and yet He does not withdraw His hand from us. Even if we make our bed in hell He is there with us and does not despise our failures but desires to deliver us from every stronghold that has us gripped with darkness. We can close our eyes in our worst nightmare and we will still see His face. It does not matter how disappointed we feel about ourselves we cannot squander the revelation that God loves us. We must run to Jesus and revel in the fact that He will never leave us of forsake us.

We can be thankful no matter what circumstance we go through, and find joy no matter what we face. Most of us are trained to say to ourselves, “I can make it. I’m determined. All I need is Jesus.” In Philippians 4:13-14 Paul says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.” There is a truth to Jesus being all we need, but sometimes God sends people to help us and meet our needs. It can be hard to say that we are in need of help. We must learn not only to be a servant, but also to receive the gift of service.