Our text from Psalms says that the steps of a good man are ordered. It does not say that every step will be good. On this journey of life, we will travel some rough ground. To get where God wants us to be, we have to walk down some hard avenues. With God, it takes the ups and the downs to produce the results He needs. Process always precedes promotion.

Our text from Psalms says that the steps of a good man are ordered. It does not say that every step will be good. On this journey of life, we will travel some rough ground. To get where God wants us to be, we have to walk down some hard avenues. With God, it takes the ups and the downs to produce the results He needs. Process always precedes promotion.

The question as come up many times through history: Who is God? We can take that question many ways, but we must first ask is God a who or is God a what? When Jesus came to Earth, God became man; that was a who. But we are more interested in the SPIRIT of God. The bible gives us insight into the character of God, but we have no way of describing God with first hand knowledge. The spirit of God encompasus a host of attributes. In Genesis, we see God as a creator: In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and it was without form. That is a blank canvas. At auction, people do not purchase a blank canvas or a lump of clay. The beauty and the value of the blank canvas is found in what the artist does to it. When God looks at a life, he sees the potential. The value is not evident to the onlooker, until the artist finishes His work. Each of us fit the description of Genesis 1:1-2. We are all without form and void. God saw something in each of us that no one else could see. As humans we look at people through their past, God looks at us through their future. God has the eye of an artist. He can see things in us that we cannot see. Even if there are blemishes or mistakes, the Artist can make it into something beautiful. That is the beauty of a blank canvas.

The question as come up many times through history: Who is God? We can take that question many ways, but we must first ask is God a who or is God a what? When Jesus came to Earth, God became man; that was a who. But we are more interested in the SPIRIT of God. The bible gives us insight into the character of God, but we have no way of describing God with first hand knowledge. The spirit of God encompasus a host of attributes. In Genesis, we see God as a creator: In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and it was without form. That is a blank canvas. At auction, people do not purchase a blank canvas or a lump of clay. The beauty and the value of the blank canvas is found in what the artist does to it. When God looks at a life, he sees the potential. The value is not evident to the onlooker, until the artist finishes His work. Each of us fit the description of Genesis 1:1-2. We are all without form and void. God saw something in each of us that no one else could see. As humans we look at people through their past, God looks at us through their future. God has the eye of an artist. He can see things in us that we cannot see. Even if there are blemishes or mistakes, the Artist can make it into something beautiful. That is the beauty of a blank canvas.

We live in a time when we have more spiritual opportunities than we have ever had. We have more churches, more preachers, more conferences and more fellowship than we have ever had. At the same time, we have more people on the verge of a breakdown than ever before. We often find ourselves living on the defense rather than on offense. Many people live the “if I can just survive this attack” way of life. These people come to church desperate, but they are robbed of their joy. The devil operates out of intimidation and fear. The bible says that no weapon formed against us will prosper. It does not say that the weapon will not be formed, just that it will not be effective. It may look bad, but God has made a way. We join David and his men as they returned home after a battle to find that their wives and children had been taken away by the enemy. The bible says that they wept until they couldn’t weep any more. They had a break down. Too many people stop when they have a break down. They go to their pastor, they go to their friends, they go in prayer and all they can focus on is their break down. David’s men spoke of stoning him. In the midst of all of that, David encouraged himself in the Lord. Only we can change our minds. Only we can realize that it is not as bad as it looks. Only we can remember all the times God delivered us before. A breakdown focuses on what is wrong; a breakthrough focuses on what is right. When we focus on what is right, we transition from fear to faith. We have to press through the barriers of fear to reach a breakthrough. David had two options: He could weep over what was lost, or he could worship for what was to come. We have those same two options. David told them to bring the garment of praise. Praise transitions the lens through which we see our situation. Are we going to have a breakdown or a breakthrough?

We live in a time when we have more spiritual opportunities than we have ever had. We have more churches, more preachers, more conferences and more fellowship than we have ever had. At the same time, we have more people on the verge of a breakdown than ever before. We often find ourselves living on the defense rather than on offense. Many people live the “if I can just survive this attack” way of life. These people come to church desperate, but they are robbed of their joy. The devil operates out of intimidation and fear. The bible says that no weapon formed against us will prosper. It does not say that the weapon will not be formed, just that it will not be effective. It may look bad, but God has made a way. We join David and his men as they returned home after a battle to find that their wives and children had been taken away by the enemy. The bible says that they wept until they couldn’t weep any more. They had a break down. Too many people stop when they have a break down. They go to their pastor, they go to their friends, they go in prayer and all they can focus on is their break down. David’s men spoke of stoning him. In the midst of all of that, David encouraged himself in the Lord. Only we can change our minds. Only we can realize that it is not as bad as it looks. Only we can remember all the times God delivered us before. A breakdown focuses on what is wrong; a breakthrough focuses on what is right. When we focus on what is right, we transition from fear to faith. We have to press through the barriers of fear to reach a breakthrough. David had two options: He could weep over what was lost, or he could worship for what was to come. We have those same two options. David told them to bring the garment of praise. Praise transitions the lens through which we see our situation. Are we going to have a breakdown or a breakthrough?

We are living in a world that puts value on labels. What clothes do you wear? What purse do you carry? We let a label dictate a status symbol. We let labels define who we are. Some people use Lord as a label. They believe that if they invoke that label, they will attain a certain status. Our text questions why why they were using the term label, when the lifestyle does not match that label. If He is going to be Lord, we must allow Him to be Lord by doing what He asks us to do. The young ruler came to Jesus and ask what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus told him to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and to follow. The young man went away sad because he had much. He was wanting to call jesus Lord, but not do what He was ask to do. The young man had kept the commandments and wanted to claim the label, but he was not willing to live the lifestyle. What is the difference between label and lifestyle? Our text uses a parable to demonstrate that a label is built on a strong foundation so that we can withstand the storms of life. When the storm of life blows, it reveals who has a life built on a label and who has a life built on a lifestyle. Is Lord just a label?

We are living in a world that puts value on labels. What clothes do you wear? What purse do you carry? We let a label dictate a status symbol. We let labels define who we are. Some people use Lord as a label. They believe that if they invoke that label, they will attain a certain status. Our text questions why why they were using the term label, when the lifestyle does not match that label. If He is going to be Lord, we must allow Him to be Lord by doing what He asks us to do. The young ruler came to Jesus and ask what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus told him to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and to follow. The young man went away sad because he had much. He was wanting to call jesus Lord, but not do what He was ask to do. The young man had kept the commandments and wanted to claim the label, but he was not willing to live the lifestyle. What is the difference between label and lifestyle? Our text uses a parable to demonstrate that a label is built on a strong foundation so that we can withstand the storms of life. When the storm of life blows, it reveals who has a life built on a label and who has a life built on a lifestyle. Is Lord just a label?

It does not take a spiritual person to recognize that the spiritual landscape of the world is changing. Society is shifting. We fool ourselves if we think that the world is going to get any better. The bible has told us that these things would happen, but we are still surprised when we see the news, or hear of social change that are contrary to our values and beliefs. The church is not here to change the world, it is here to SAVE the world. The church is made up people and people are subject to change. In our text Paul is going to stay in Ephesus because he felt that there was a great opportunity. He also knew that there would be opposition to that work. When we recognize the open door that Paul talked about, we change our view of God’s kingdom. The spiritual world operates differently than the carnal world. When we get in tune with God, we realize that it is about Him and not about us. That is how we know that we are in revival; when we are more concerned about the kingdom than about ourselves. The second sign that we are in revival is when we see our weaknesses are bigger than our strengths. God wants to focus on the things that are hindering our walk with God. God deals with things out of love. This is not always an easy process for us. The third sign of revival is that opposition is met with a church that will not back down. As God deals with things and brings about change, the church in revival does not abandon what God is trying to do. We have to realize that it is not about us, but about God’s kingdom. God will show us the things that we need to work on in our life. God wants to help us with these things so that we can draw closer to Him.

It does not take a spiritual person to recognize that the spiritual landscape of the world is changing. Society is shifting. We fool ourselves if we think that the world is going to get any better. The bible has told us that these things would happen, but we are still surprised when we see the news, or hear of social change that are contrary to our values and beliefs. The church is not here to change the world, it is here to SAVE the world. The church is made up people and people are subject to change. In our text Paul is going to stay in Ephesus because he felt that there was a great opportunity. He also knew that there would be opposition to that work. When we recognize the open door that Paul talked about, we change our view of God’s kingdom. The spiritual world operates differently than the carnal world. When we get in tune with God, we realize that it is about Him and not about us. That is how we know that we are in revival; when we are more concerned about the kingdom than about ourselves. The second sign that we are in revival is when we see our weaknesses are bigger than our strengths. God wants to focus on the things that are hindering our walk with God. God deals with things out of love. This is not always an easy process for us. The third sign of revival is that opposition is met with a church that will not back down. As God deals with things and brings about change, the church in revival does not abandon what God is trying to do. We have to realize that it is not about us, but about God’s kingdom. God will show us the things that we need to work on in our life. God wants to help us with these things so that we can draw closer to Him.