FEARLESS

GALATIANS 5:1-26 | MATTHEW 7:3-5

Although Christianity is classified as a religion, the Jesus we know did not come to start a religion. Jesus was not talking to His disciples about a religion, He used every parable to teach us about family and to represent relationship.

As children of God we need to be careful because we start with relationship and somewhere down the line we all fall into religion.

Here are a few ways to catch our religious mindsets:

1. Remember that we have so much to work on in ourselves that we don't need to judge anyone else.
2. Removing the plank in your own will give you clarity and the vision of love.
3. Removing the plank is hard work but you have to be prepared to do it.
4. God set us free from the law, for us to pursue freedom and the fruit of the spirit.
5. Done focus on not sinning but focus on the freedom that God have us go step into the throne room of grace.

The world and the church love to condemn those that pursue Christ. So if you ever feel like stepping out in judgment ask yourself how criticising someone is loving them.

APPLICATION:

Have you been judgemental lately? Thinking things like "this sermon is perfect for__"

How can you begin to repent and ask God to speak to the areas of

your heart that need strengthening today!

PRAYER:

Father forgive me for my flesh and my judgemental heart. I ask you to reveal the planks in my eyes so I can continue see your love more clearly. In Jesus name, amen.

This week, Pastor Jeremy Johnson is breaking down the deeper meaning of Christmas. Presenting a message of hope, he shares what we have to look forward to. In Emmanuel, God with us; Pastor Johnson encourages us to get out of our way. Get ready to unwrap the incredible gifts Jesus has for you this season.

What does it look like to be a child of God? Why does God long for us to truly understand His identity as a Father? How do these identities impact our destinies or even our day-to-day lives? God wants us to come forth into the fullness of our true identity and live a joyous, fulfilled life. This Christmas, God wants us to open the gifts He has laid up for us as His children. To gain access, we have to step into a true understanding of what it means to be sons and heirs.

Join Pastor Jeremy as he unlocks secrets from the word of God to bring us into our inheritance as God's children. Enjoy this message, right in time for the Holiday Season. Unwrap the gifts to launch you forward this Christmas!

1 TIMOTHY 6:6-11 | EXODUS 16:16 | 1 SAMUEL 16: 11-13 | NUMBERS 17:32-36

A sense of contentment bleeds into every aspect of how we operate in this life. It's possible for us to be set free but desire to go back to our old lives simply because it's comfortable! God is okay with the moments of doubt if we can overcome with Faith in knowing who He is.

There are many reasons why we can get discontented in this life so here are three traps of discontentment.

1. Discontentment clouds our judgement

2. Discontentment convinces us that what we have is never enough

3. Discontentment doesn't give us time to rest

The enemy is constantly trying to get us to control our circumstances when the Lord is only wanting us to be in control of our contentment.Here are the three things to know about contentment:

1. Contentment brings favor

2. Contentment brings confidence

3. Contentment brings clarity

When we get used to just "enough" we will be excellent with all we have in front of us. We won't need armor to slay giants because we know that God can use us with what we have in our hands. Remember we can be expectant but remain content in every season as we trust in the Lords timing!

Application - We can be accepted by God but rejected by man. It's one or the other but which one are we pursuing? What we pursue will determine where our contentment lies.

Prayer - Father I long for you not just to be my savior but for you to be Lord over my life. I want to fix my eyes on you so that I can be content in every season. Remove all the worldly distractions and help me take all thoughts of discontentment captive!

PHILLIPIANS 4:4-13 | ROMANS 8:38 | 1 TIMOTHY 6:6 | 2 CORINTHIANS: 11:23-30

Discouragement is like a downhill walk, it doesn't take much effort and you barely notice how far you've walked until you realize that there is a moment that you might have to turn around and trek up back hill. But the beautiful thing is God want's to give you the priceless possession of Joy, something that no matter what life may throw at you, it won't be able to steal from you.

Here are some things to remember about a state of discontentment:

1. The devil is after your worship, and discontentment is a lack of worship
2. Satisfaction lies in the fact that in Jesus, you have it all.
3. God provides a way out of discontentment by giving us His strength to lean on.
4. The secret to contentment is having awareness of Him in every situation.

Discontentment is a manifestation of pride in our lives and it was that pride that made the great heroes of faith turn their back on God only to realize that He was all they needed at the bottom. Remember one day we will be worshiping Him and not showing off our trophies in Heaven, but we don't have to wait to get to Heaven to find the treasure of life right here, right now.

APPLICATION -

Your contentment is a matter of pursuit, so take a moment to look at what you are chasing that you already possess!

PRAYER -

Father, I know that you have already given me the greatest treasure in life.

Thank you for the gift of your relationship. Help me pursue you today in spirit and in truth, show me glory so that I can see that I'm not missing anything in life.

Read- Proverbs 14: 30 Philippines 4:4-13 1 Timothy 6:6-12The enemy wants to rob you of now. He wants to empty today by causing you to worry about tomorrow, but a heart at peace is what we need to long for, because what we go through emotionally will affect you physically!Your pain gives you power to preach more effectively if you can learn to be content at "empty". Because if you can't be content at the end you will never be content at full. Because it's not about being filled it's about being fulfilled.Here are four things to know about contentment:Contentment must be learned. Contentment is a choice. You can have contentment on empty Contentment is the good fight of faithThe only thing that can bring you contentment is not found here. When we leave this world we will not be taking anything with us, but a change in our focus will allow us to make it through this life.Don't beat yourself up for being discontent, but ask God to help you see the things you can be grateful for in this moment, and you can rejoice like the wordApplication - What are some areas in your life that you have envy and discontentment? What can you be thankful for instead in your life?Prayer - Father, I'm so grateful for the life you have given me. Allow me to see all that you've already set your hand to in my life because I know that everything has purpose! I discard discontentment from my life and I choose to fix my eyes on you! In Jesus name.

Have you ever had a small wound that hurt a lot more than you think it would? Have you heard the statement "time heals all wounds?" The reality is time heals surface level scratches but time does not heal anything that cut deep. If we are not intentional about our healing, we will only sit there with an open festering wound. In order for us to have a Sound of Freedom, we must go through the Process of Healing.

"Stop the bleeding" - pressure from the right covering and leadership will help you stop the initial bleeding of a wound. Come as you are but don't live that way when God has called you to freedom!

1. "Remove the Junk" - this looks like forgiving those that hurt us. We carry unforgiveness to a point that allows our wounds to fester! Instead of blaming others let's ask God for what He's doing in that situation!
2. "Full the void" - God wants to fill you with new life. He wants us to become whole so that we can be full of His purposes.
3. "The Maturing Begins" - this is when the covering comes off, because to complete your healing you need honesty and vulnerability with the right people.

APPLICATION- have there been areas in your life that you have refused healing? Can you embrace the pain today and allow yourself to finally move forward in life!

PRAYER- Father, search my heart and create are a right Spirit within me.

Surround me with the right people that will help my healing process, but ultimately lead me to you and your truth. I no longer want to live this way, I need your help and I need your guidance. In Jesus Name!

Read Matthew 24:10-13 Proverbs 18:19 Luke 17:6 John 15:15In the last days there will be many people who will start getting offended and end up hating those around them. Everyone thinks betrayal is like Judas betraying Jesus but in reality, we begin to betray those we're in relationship with, as the beginnings of self-protection. Offense is the bait of Satan that is meant to pull you, the believer, into his captivity.Here are some things that happen with offense:

1. Your roots do not stop growing. Offense never shrinks when left alone.
2. Offense feeds from a source. If you're watering your hurt, it'll keep rising up.
3. It kills your potential. If you don't kill offense, it will kill you.
4. It produces bitter fruit. What's inside will eventually come out.
5. It doesn't matter if it's a small thing, deal with it now because it will bring division!

Christianity involves us being in relationship with the one who let go of ALL offenses that we cast on Him. And by breathing we will have every opportunity to be offended but instead of getting bitter, let's make up our mind to get better. Don't waste your life, forgive, let go, and let His light shine through your pain.Application: Ask God to search your heart in this moment. Are there an hidden offenses that you need to deal with?Prayer: Lord, I pray that you pull out the root of this offense. I don't want my love to grow cold so help me forgive those that have hurt me so that I can walk in freedom. Protect my heart from the bait of Satan, that is offense, and cover me with your love today! In Jesus name, Amen.

Acts 3:1-12 NKJV | Acts 3:16 NKJV | Acts 4:1-14 NKJV

The Holy Spirit does not inhabit someone that is dead. He longs for his body (the church) to come alive because it was for life that He gave His own. When religious spirits tell you to turn it down, the Holy Spirit reminds us that the rocks will cry out! Here are some reasons to rebuke a religious spirit:

1. Religious spirits will burden you down with a a form of godliness without power! If we're to be a church of Jesus Christ we have to shake off the religion!
2. Our best miracles will be in the crowd. We're meant to walk slow through a crowd. The greatest miracle could happen at the gas station when you're filling up your tank!
3. Religion can argue with an ideology or options but they cannot argue with a testimony.
4. Religion will have you focused on the destination that you miss the journey.

The exclamation point to your story will be found along the way.A real encounter with God will make the dysfunctional function, so let's not be a part of church that only works in a room where one man talks and let's be the church outside in the crowd!

APPLICATION:

Have there been some areas in your life that you've struggled without becoming religious? How can you begin to let the truth of His word change you today.

PRAYER:

Father, I rebuke a religious spirit. I long to walk in love, power, and authority. I want to be discipled by you. I want to walk slow through the crowd so that I can allow your Spirit to change this world through me!

Jesus name, Amen.

Out of our misery comes our ministry. The greater the pain, the greater the power. It doesn't matter who we are because our suffering is so that we can be called to help others. So let's not get bitter with what we go through but allow others to benefit from the perseverance of our faith. But the enemy wants us to be stuck in a victim mentality so that we can get stuck focused in ourselves. We need to stop being hooked in our pain and give it to God.Things thats happen when we get stuck:1. Being stuck in Egypt is not necessarily a location but a mindset. Don't get stuck in your past!

1. When we don't have confidence in the Lord we become a complainer. To complain about God is to declare that we don't trust Him.

2. We don't get delivered because the truth is we don't want to be. But we have to put away childish things and move on from that past.

3. There's a level of vulnerability that is required to being delivered.Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly. What the means is that we don't have to live In that wilderness season, we don't have to be victims, we can gain all comfort through Christ so let's boldly step into that healing today!

Matthew 18:21-35

Forgiveness is not about keeping score, it's about loosing count. The enemy's plan is to keep us bound up in our offense, anger, and rage so we cannot walk into the fullness of what God has for us. We gotta serve an eviction notice to the enemy's lie and release our pain and know that through Jesus we can receive healing from the inside out. Forgiveness is not acting like nothing happened, it's saying this pain will no longer control me.Things to know about unforgiveness:

1. Unaddressed hurt can turn into hate.
2. If we do not heal what hurt us, we will bleed on those that never cut us.
3. Everything we do, doesn't only affect us but also everyone around us.

Things yo know about forgiveness

1. Forgiveness is not excusing the behavior but it's saying, that behavior won't destroy our heart anymore.
2. Taking pain caused by people to God in prayer will always change our perspective.
3. Our blessings come with how we handle forgiveness.

Repentance leads to God's forgiveness in the kingdom. When we ask for forgiveness, Jesus gives it to us. We should able to forgive those that hurt us, as many times as Jesus would forgive us for our sins. If we have been forgiven, we should be able to forgive those who hurt us. Forgiveness allows us to heal from our pain. We have to be healed so those wounds can turn into scars and we can tell the word, "I know how it's like to be hurt, but I also know what its like to be healed." This is how we break out of the prison of unforgiveness.

Application: Have you found yourself stuck in the prison of unforgiveness because of the pain you've experienced? What wounds of you need to allow to heal, so you can walk in the fullness of what god has for you? Who do you need to forgive today to begin healing from the inside out?Prayer: Lord, I repent for harboring unforgiveness in my heart towards those that have hurt me. I realize that my unforgiveness has stopped you from doing all that you want to do in my life and through me. I forgive those who have hurt me and ask that you begin to heal me from that pain. Today, I chose to break out of the prison I have been stuck in. In Jesus name I pray, Amen