Will You Get Up After You Mess Up

Most of us have been in a strange town and made a wrong turn, then we had to turn around so that we could go get on the right path. When this happens we generally do not think much of it unless we are in a time crunch because all it cost us was a little time, a little gas, and maybe some humility if someone was with us.

We have all made MISTAKES in life! Maybe I am being to nice - we have all sinned and probably will again. The question is CAN YOU GET UP AFTER YOU MESS UP?

In Josuha 7 which is after Joshua 6 (obviously) but I point this out because the walls of  Jericho falling was such a huge victory. Then in ch 7 we see that Joshua sent the JV army to fight the little battle of Ai and they got their face bashed in due to HIDDEN SIN. Which really there is not such a thing as HIDDEN SIN because it will always catch up with you.

Joshus 7:8-10

God told Joshua to get up and quit groveling!

Ok, you may have made a MISTAKE. . . . REPENT (face it) then get up and go on to great victories.

Joshua (as a leader) and the nation of Israel had to face their mess up, then deal with it. When you get up you qualify for more miracles in your life. Check out the SUN STANDING STILL in Joshua 10:8-14. WOW!! Now that is a MIRACLE.

We are only disqualified if we quit. NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER STOP! GIVE UP THAT WHICH IS STOPPING YOU THEN GET ON WITH & GO FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT MIRACLE.

You can listen this message at www.generationslubbock.com

Blessings
Ed

Three Things I see for Generations Church

Since the first of the year it seems to me that the fresh touch of the Holy Spirit has been moving among us like a river flowing and moving to it's destination. We all know that a river is usually flowing and moving to a larger body of water. In the light of those thoughts I want to put you in remembrance some of the directives the Lord has given us.

#1 MIRACLES ARE IN MOTION - No matter where you have been, No matter what you have been doing, & No matter who you have been doing it with God is not mad at you. He is more concerned about where you are going. Your setback has just set you up for your come back. EXPECTANCY IS THE ATMOSPHERE FOR MIRACLES. Do more than get your hopes up - ACTIVATE YOUR FAITH AND EXPECT MIRACLES AS YOU PUT YOUR TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD AND THE PRINCIPLES OF HIS WORD.

#2 SUN STAND STILL - As we studied the concept of praying the kind of AUDACIOUS prayers that cause the SUN TO STAND STILL I hope it has set you in a place of praying BOLD AUDACIOUS prayers that will advance the purposes of God in the earth today. Yes, some of us have been struck down by PTFD (Post Traumatic Faith Disorder) which just means we must get up again and trust God. Be encouraged and go back and listen to the series via www.generationslubbock.com

#3. Last Sunday (March 27) we had a guest speaker Matt Poole who just absolutely heard the Lord as he preached God's Word to us. I would like to say it was more like a prophetic message to Generations Church. The Word of the Lord boiled down to MOVING TOWARD YOUR DREAM even when you cannot see it. The amazing part of Sunday was that there was a prophetic word from the the congregation about the Lord bringing quantum leaps in marriages, finances, and especially in Generations Church then Matt preached from 1 Kings 18 about Elijah's confrontation with Baal at Mt. Carmel. That was just so he could get to 1 Kings 18:41-46 where Elijah tells Ahab that he hears "the sound of abundance of rain." RAIN USUALLY = BLESSING in life and in scripture. Put the message together with the prophetic word and it all adds up to a MAJOR PROPHETIC DAY.

Putting the last few months together means that our MIRACLES ARE IN MOTION AS WE PRAY SUN STAND STILL PRAYERS AND GOD IS GOING TO RESPOND with THE ABUNDANCE OF RAIN.

Let's all start moving toward his purpose in our lives. He is getting us ready and I AM READY TO RECEIVE IT. My spirit and my heart are open for you Lord.

SUN STAND STILL DECLARATION

Your Sun Stand Still prayer,

based on your I do not play / I do not care vision,

activated by audacious faith,

will mark your life by the miraculous,

empower you to achieve the impossible,

 and put you in the middle of a move of God.

Five Things Generations Should Know From Their Pastor

Sunday at Generations was EPIC! We have started on a journey that will take each of us on a journey that we never dreamed of before. I know that you are ready for this EPIC journey. Faith and audacity will take our lives to new heights that only God dreamed we could attain.

FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:


1. YOUR CITY NEEDS YOU - There are people in your neighborhood, on your job, in your family, and virtually everywhere you look that are DESPERATELY looking for love. YOU are the delivery mechanism for the love of God to be delivered to them. He (GOD) is pulling the trigger on HIS mechanism (YOU).


2. MIRACLES ARE IN MOTION - This is more than a slogan or the title to a cute sermon series. This is a BEDROCK conviction that Jesus is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY, & FOREVER (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus is positioning you in a MIRACLE PLACE of favor so that you can influence as many people as possible for the CAUSE of His Kingdom. This includes how your marriage and family functions to how that He is changing your position in the work force.


3. ARE YOU AS PREGNANT AS I AM? - By this I mean are you as full of VISION as I am? If you are you will begin to pray SUN STAND STILL prayers that will enable you and Generations to TOUCH THE CITY - TEACH THE NATIONS - TRAIN THE WORLD. Our VISION will give birth to thousands of people from all walks of life becoming Christ followers.

4. WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER - I am going to ask you to put aside anything in your life that is self exalting. YEAH! I know, where do I get off asking you to do this? WE can accomplish so much more together if we will focus on doing everything as a TEAM. If you are not a part of ministry team NOW is the time to get involved and serve. If you have a MINISTRY IDEA that you have been sitting on and wait for the go ahead DO NOT LET MONEY OR ANYTHING SMALL LIKE THAT HOLD YOU BACK. As long as it flows with our VISION to TOUCH - TEACH - TRAIN go for it. The only thing that I ask is that you refuse the mentality of a LONE RANGER Get a group of people to do it with you because WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER.

5. OUR GREATEST NEED - Is not money, a building, or even more people. OUR GREATEST NEED is more of Jesus in our hearts, lives, homes, & work place. Will you seek to involve Jesus in every area of your life? More money, more buildings, & more people will come if we have our priorities straight. Get so close to Jesus that you can hear Him give you a directive that can only be accomplished with HIM working through you by praying SUN STAND STILL prayers in FAITH.

Finally I pray that you are realizing that we are capturing some AMAZING MOMENTS each Sunday morning and turning them into MAJOR MOMENTUM which will eventually turn into a MONSTER MOVEMENT that will change lives for all eternity.

MFAS and BIMD

What? My Father Always Said and Back In My Day. I was the guy that would say to myself when I would hear someone else telling their old stories about their dad or the old days, "I WILL NEVER DO THAT."

First and foremost I do not feel like and old guy, but I guess I am because I quote my Dad all the time.
Just the other day I was speaking at a  High School to about 300 seniors and I told them that there are three ways to learn things.

THE EASY WAY - listen to those around you who have a better and more experience.

THE HARD WAY - ignoring those around you and going it on your own & then you find the hard lessons of reality. In some ways I think some people only learn things this way. SAD :-(


THE TRAGIC WAY - this is where someone gets hurt severely or dies & nobody wants this but it happens all the time.

The above is a direct quote from a conversation I had with my father when I was in Junior High. This is classic MFAS stuff and more than likely most of us have some great stuff our Fathers have taught us.

Prov 4:1-4
4 Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
2 For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
3 When I was my father's son,
Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 He also taught me, and said to me:
"Let your heart retain my words;
Keep my commands, and live.
NKJV

Wise words from Solomon.

BIMD Back In My Day. These are usually stories of greatness about ourselves or others that are stuck in our memory banks and usually get a little larger than life the older we get. I can remember telling someone many years ago that I would never tell BIMD STORIES. Well I lied!!!! I do it all the time, but I try to cloak them in some other cool way and not say BACK IN MY DAY.

I was waiting for a table in a restaurant recently and while I waited I stood at the bar to watch ESPN. Well ESPN had a replay of the the 1985 or 1986 (not sure which year) NBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST going. As I stood there watching it brought back such cool memories that I was enjoying. Dominque Wilkins & Dr. J lost to a really young Michael Jordan on the famous take off from the free throw line dunk. Right after one of Dominque Wilkins powerful dunks some young guy standing next to me said to know one in particular, "Who the heck was that guy?" Of course I knew the answer so I offered up my expertise with the following comment: "Back in my day Dominque Wilkins was probably as good as Michael Jordan but he never had the supporting cast or coaching that Michael had."  Of course I said it like I had lived it which of course I had only vicariously through TV and the comment was just one mans opinion.Which some would vehemently disagree with. After my meal I got in my car and I was driving away when it struck me that I had just said a BIMD comment and oh did it make me feel old.

Prov 22:28
28 Do not remove the ancient landmark
Which your fathers have set.
NKJV

I hope there are more important lessons that I learned from BIMD and I hope that I will share them freely when I have the opportunity. I pray that they are as quick to my mind and heart as the memory of a SLAM DUNK CONTEST and even quicker off of my tongue and into those whom I lead.

BIMD & MFAS THOUGHTS ARE VALUABLE FOR THE LESSONS LEARNED BUT WE CANNOT LIVE THERE OR GET BOXED IN BY THEM. LEARN THE PRINCIPLE AND MOVE ON.

“The past is behind, learn from it.
The future is ahead, prepare for it.
The present is here, live it.”

by Thomas S. Monson

Praying that you are encouraged today.

Ed

Ok I am piggy backing . . .

I read Pastor Steven Furtick's blog yesterday and I cannot get these thoughts out of my head. So after you read this or before you may want to read it at: http://www.stevenfurtick.com/personal-development/stop-the-hop/  Awesome Pastor with some very helpful thoughts.

Ok I understand there are not any perfect churches out there. We all have short comings and downfalls. Why? Churches are full of human beings which includes the Pastor.

A little background. I pastor in a city of just under 250,000 people that has one major university (Texas Tech) and three smaller colleges (South Plains College, Lubbock Christian University, & Wayland Baptist). As you can see two of them have Christianity as their foundation. Which adds to my point. We also have more than 350 churches in our city. Lubbock is a lot like Charlotte, NC which has 720 churches for a population of just over a million which is where Pastor Steven Furtick pastors.

Could we all just stop dating the church:

1. The prettiest or most handsome.

2. The most popular.

3. The one that will get us noticed.

4. The one that is the most fun.

If we could all just find a place to put down some roots and go M. A. D. (make a difference) not get mad. Lord knows there is enough of that going around.

Why plug into one local church?

1. Jesus said that is what He was going to build. 

2. We are better together. 

3. Unity (not sameness) is where the blessings are.

4. Isolation is dangerous.

5. That church needs you and you need them. (community)

Church hopping is just going to stunt your growth. Get in one place and get F. A. T. (FAITHFUL AVAILABLE TEACHABLE). That is why I believe that church hopping is a form of rebellion. I know that may be radical for some of you, but why else would people continually go from one place to the next?

1. Consumers
2. Celebrity search
3. Needs not met
4. Hurt
5. It is too big

GET IN ONE PLACE AND USE THE THOSE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM THAT HE HAS GIVEN YOU!! Fall in love with Jesus and His family.

The simple thoughts of :

Ed

SHUT UP ACCUSER!!!!!

You may be familiar with this Bible verse. If so let it be a reminder of something you know. If not I think you will be encouraged today.

Rev 12:10

10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,

"It has come at last—

salvation and power

and the Kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Christ.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters
has been thrown down to earth—
the one who accuses them
before our God day and night. NLT

FOUR KINDS OF ACCUSATION:

1. INHERITED - We have all sinned because we are descendants of Adam. Rom.3:23

2. IMPOSED - This put on us by others choices and actions that we are connected with.

3. ACTUAL - Yes, we did we are guilty. REPENT 1 John 1:9

4. INTERNAL - We refuse to forgive ourselves.

Look at this picture of how Jesus would take care of the ACCUSER.

Zech 3:1-2

3 Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel's right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, "I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire." NLT

Then Jesus actually did it in the New Testament:

John 8:10-11

10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" 11 "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." NLT

TELL THE ACCUSER IN YOUR LIFE TO SHUT UP AND THE LORD REBUKE YOU!!!

Be Blessed,

Ed