The Musician Played

June 23, 2018 Pastor Stephen Dedman Faith, Trust

The Musician Played

And Elisha said, “ As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician.” Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.”
‭‭II Kings‬ ‭3:14-15‬‬‬

God Showed Up

God cares for His children. There is no doubt that He can and will defeat our enemies. He can and will perform any miracle that He wills to do. He speaks and nature must obey. Above all these great things, God is more concerned about our relationship with Him. He knows you and He wants to be known by you.

The story of 2 Kings 3 is very fascinating. Three kings were about to perish because of a strong enemy and a lack of water. The drought was the result of not taking God seriously and consulting Him concerning their plans. So ultimately, the greater enemy was not just the Moabites, but their own failure to seek God’s guidance. They called for the prophet, Elisha, to bring a word from God. So to prepare to receive a word from God, Elisha called for a musician to help prepare his heart. And it was at that time that God showed up.

It was about a relationship with God. Elisha valued his relationship with God more than power or wealth. He trusted God more than anything else and his actions proved it. God longs for our hearts more than performing any miracle or defeating our enemies. Sure He can do it all easily but when God has your heart, He is pleased. Do you take your relationship with God seriously?

Prayer

Lord, I pray that I may know you more today than ever before. Help my worship be acceptable and glorifying to You.

No Doubt

February 12, 2018 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement, Faith, Trust

No Doubt

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

Casting out all fear and doubt

Satan uses tools of fear and doubt to keep us from doing extraordinary things. God gives us power, love and a sound mind to do things that glorify Him. But sometimes we limit God because of the fear and doubt we possess in our minds.

In Matthew 17:14-21 a man came to Jesus and begged for his son to be healed from demonic convulsions associated with epilepsy. Previously the man brought his son before the disciples but they couldn’t heal him. Immediately Jesus cast the demon out and the boy was healed. The disciples asked why they couldn’t cast it out and Jesus replied, “Because of your unbelief.” He said if they had mustard seed-sized faith they could move mountains and nothing would be impossible for them. The problem wasn’t with their faith. They had faith. The problem was with their unbelief or doubt. He gave them a solution: “this kind (of unbelief) does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

The devil plants seeds of doubt into our minds subconsciously and sometimes we are not aware of it. We must protect our minds and be sure of what we are hearing and seeing is full of truth and not lies of Satan. Jesus said to fast and pray. Fasting and praying starves the flesh of self desires and feeds our souls with the Spirit of God.

Is there anything ungodly that you should eliminate by fasting and praying?

Prayer

Pray in the Name of Jesus to have all fear, unbelief and doubt removed from your mind and replaced with God’s power, love and truth.

No Comparison

February 10, 2018 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement, Trust

No Comparison

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:18‬

Suffering Vs. Glory

Every Christian lives in the hope of glory to come. The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with hope and the reality that one day we will be in the presence of Almighty God. Because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Jesus Christ restores us unto God with blessed assurance. One day we will be made perfect and live eternally in Heaven with all the saints of God. We shall see Jesus face-to-face. That alone is enough to motivate us to anticipate the coming day of the Lord. Hallelujah!

But what about here and now, as we live on this earth? We are not promised a life of luxury just because we are followers of Christ. To say that a person is free from suffering and anguish because they trust Jesus is a false theology. Perhaps when we do come to Christ in faith the sufferings and trials we face are more because the devil is trying hard to get us to stumble. And the battle rages between good and evil. That is why we are persecuted, mocked, and scorned for our faith in Christ.

Do you know that sufferings we face today will all fade away. When we get to Heaven the glory we will receive outweighs the pain and suffering we endure here and now. But here is the thing, we must keep the big picture in mind. We are only here on this earth for a very short amount of time compared to eternity in Heaven. James 4:14 says, “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Prayer

Pray and ask God to give you a heaven bound mind.