The Making of a Man Part 1

In a society we live in, we are accustomed to instantaneous. From eating to building a house. A person will only stay at a job for a little while, then jump to the next best thing. It happens also in marriage, relationships, and other areas of our life.

We are accustomed to making something that does not last. But God desires to make us so that we will not jump ship or void the vision and goals in our life. It's like working at a job that requires a degree, but never going through the process. There is a process to being a made minister.

So, today I want to start this out with first talking about son ship and what it encompasses.

In II Corinthians 4:13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak. This scripture verse sets the stage for son ship.

Paul tells us to have the same spirit of faith. Having the same spirit of faith is the same as the same DNA. Now, do not confuse same spirit of faith or DNA as cloning. You do not have to look the same to have the same spirit of faith. You do not have to dress the same to have the same spirit of faith. But you must speak and believe the same. I will take it a little farther and say you do not have to have the same language, but what you say must mean and interpret the same.

In Numbers 11:16-17 God speaks to Moses and tells him, "Gather together seventy men from among the leaders of Israel, men whom you know to be respected and responsible. Take them to the Tent of Meeting. I'll meet you there. I'll come down and speak with you. I'll take Some of the Spirit that is on you and place it on them; they'll then be able to take some of the load of this people—you won't have

to carry the whole thing alone. God was placing Moses spirit upon the seventy. He was giving them Moses DNA.

We are spirit, soul, and body in I Thessalonians 5:23 it speaks to us by saying. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma. Pneumatikos is spiritual. By spiritual beings we look like God by virtue of the spirit. Thus we are Spirit beings having a human encounter. That is why we can sense something happening even though there might not be tangible evidence seen. But is sensed spiritual.

God will speak to us who to appoint and He will place our spirit on them. )I will describe how to appoint the right people to leadership latter in another blog) That is why it's important to lay hands on the people and release your spirit upon them. That is why Paul wrote about the same spirit of faith. If you want your organization to grow, ask God to place your spirit upon the congregation. They will begin to talk like you do and follow the God in you.

I can always recognize how the Pastor acts by the members act. If the people are arrogant, then the pastor is arrogant. If the people are joyous and it's exciting to be around them, then the Pastor is the same way. Your congregation should be a reflection of you. We are not talking about cloning, but just like a shirt, there should be the signature that identifies that as your spirit.

More to come.

Blessings,

Pastor Mark

Facing Fact

One of the greatest mistakes people can make is not be aware of what God is doing or sayings.

We can mistake what has happened and what is happening as the same.

Circumstances should never deviate us from accomplishing all that God has entrusted us with. One time as a child I was with my dad and we were going to an event on a military base. The entrance to the base started in one city and the other entrance was at another city. At the end of the event my dad tried to go back to the entrance where we lived. The problem was it was blocked off. We had to go through the other entrance that would take us 20 minutes to get home instead of 5 minutes. At the same time we where hungry younger brother and sister where in the car too. It took us longer, but we made it home.

This is sometimes the way life is. We are placed on a detour, but God never intended for us to detour away from what God is saying. What He has said will come to pass, but what He is saying brings what He has said to past. Listen to what He is sayings. Because this is your key to the next step.

1. Remove all past feelings. Your feelings can side track you and bring you to a place where you nor God intended to be.

2. Listen. Listen to what He is saying. His voice speaks volumes. What He is saying will bring forth what He has spoken. Example: God spoke to you that you would travel the world. You did the practical, now, listen to what He is saying right now. What He is saying right now will get you to travel the world. It's what He is saying.

3. Reposition yourself is needed to follow through on what He is saying. When the children of Israel came to the promise land the bible tells us the manna stopped. It was not a week latter after they settled in, no immeditely it stopped. It goes on to say they never saw manna again. (Joshua 5:12) As you move on what He is saying, the transition will happen. Israel never again saw the manna because the season had ended.

Don't look back, your in a season of change and It will come to pass

Blessings,

Pastor Mark

Fly your kite

This past weekend to kick off Spring Break, I took the boys to fly kites. We've tried this several times before but the wind was never strong enough on days we went out. This day was different. With new Star Wars kites in hand, we headed out to the park. My youngest son Matthew was able to get his kite up before his older brother. It was flying high and strong. Immediately, everyone took note. When Mark saw that his younger brother was flying his kite first, he shouted "good job Matt, that is awesome!" I was so proud at that moment, because he demonstrated the spirit of our house. He encouraged and celebrated his younger brother getting his kite off the ground. Soon after, we had Mark's kite up flying high and strong.

I was reminded of Pastors, leaders, siblings, churches, neighboring businesses and thought what if we encouraged and celebrated each other even though we are not off the ground first? Instead of trying to destroy, slander or bash someone who is hitting the mark; encourage them. My son demonstrated the Kingdom example of encouraging and celebrating one another.

The bible says in Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) .... but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

So today, I want to encourage you to encourage and celebrate someone this week. Maybe you're not a pastor, maybe your other sibling acquired their house before you, just got engaged while you are still waiting for the right one. Maybe it's the new employee at the office who was promoted while you were over-looked. Is it a neighbor who got that car you've had your eye on? Maybe you are a Pastor and Pastor So & So is touring their third book and you are just trying to get your first one published. Encourage and celebrate someone this week. Before you know it, your kite will be off the ground and we'll all be celebrating you and what God has done in your life.

Blessings,

Pastor Mark

Faith - Foolishness and Presumption

There is a difference between faith, foolishness, and presumption. We can think something is faith, when it's not. The question comes into play is, when is it faith?

Well, Hebrews chapter 11 verse one tells us: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." Faith is constantly on the move. Where faith goes that is where you and I are to go.

Faith is trusting in Christ and what He has said and is saying.

The word Now is present tense. Faith is always present tense. Faith is moving. The

question is how do you determine if it's foolish or presumptions?

1. Foolishness is acting out on complete stupidity or ignorance.

2. Presumption is assuming it will just happen. Nothing in life just happens.

There is a cause and effect. The bible tells us to count the cost; don't assume.

3. Faith is Forward in Action in Trusting Him. It's saying yes to what God has already

spoken. It's not assuming, but acting upon what God has already spoken for you to do.

If you have moved out in foolishness or presumption; simply ask God to forgive you.

He knows your heart and your intention. God has a way of working all things for our good.

Blessings,

Pastor Mark

Force

There can be times in life where the right decisions are crucial. It's at that point the decisions must not be based off of merely stats, but upon what the Holy Spirit is saying.

I want to give you some points on listening to His voice verses listening to the voice of the enemy. Remember before Jesus stepped out on seen, nobody knew who He was. But when He read the Sept and said today the scripture is fulfilled; God began to promote Him. After 40 days in the wilderness, He step out and fed 5 thousand plus.

It's all about God's timing. I want to encourage you not to give up or give into what you may not be seeing right now.

So, here are some points on Timing.

1. Timing is everything. When Jesus came forth, it was the right time. Don't move before your timing.

2. Move when it is your time. Don't wait and see, when the time comes, move.

3. Live with an expectation all the time. Have an expectation that it's your time.

4. Submit to the authority in your life and when it is your time, you will sense it and move out. Jesus submitted to His parents even though He was about His fathers business.

5. When your timing comes, be willing to shift with the change. When Jesus stepped out, He stopped being a carpenter and moved right into ministry. Elisha let go of everything that would hold him back from reaching his full potential.

The need will get you there, but the call will keep you there. Listen to the one giving the call.

Blessings,

Pastor Mark