Some people have misconceptions when it comes to the church. This is not about a denomination or a particular movement. The church is not about family. It is about serving God. Many times in the bible, obedience was the determining factor between blessing and destruction. In our text Saul was instructed to kill the Amalekites and everything that was associated with them. He only partially obeyed and allowed the Agag and the animals to live. Bro. Stevisen tells us that partial obedience is disobedience. Saul tried to please the man of God, but not do everything that the man of God told him. If you are not going to do what the man of God tells you, don’t ask for his advice. God said everything had to die, but Saul didn’t do it. Samuel had to take up the sword and kill the Agag. Samuel was not the bad guy, he was doing the will of God.

Each of us has a Agag in our life that God has told us to kill. If we refuse to kill the Agag in our life, he will rule us. If God declares it must die, it must. Being a Christian means being obedient to the word of God.

The church; the body of Christ is the greatest thing going today. There is not greater entity on this earth than God’s church. Regardless of who the pastor is, who is leading singing, or who is greeting visitors, it is God’s church. Some people in church get stuck on a way of doing things. “That’s my pew, I sit there” “That’s my job, I do that.” Bro. Stevison declares that none of that matters, because this is God’s church.

In our text, Jesus asks the disciples “Who do men say that I am?” They give various answers, and then He asks: “Who do YOU say that I am?” Simon answers, and Jesus then declares, “Upon this rock I will build My church.” The rock is not Peter, but the revelation of who Jesus is. Jesus says that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. Bro. Stevinson tells us that this means that the gates of hell will TRY to prevail against the church. The bible tells us that the devil will come as a roaring lion or a subtle serpent. It is easy to see the roaring lion, but the subtle serpent is harder to see. The church is full of people who are possessed by this subtle serpent sprit. The look the part, but they cause division, and discord in God’s church. The enemy will use people of influence to accomplish his work. These subtle serpents will inhabit a church and inhibit its growth. The church cannot grow as long as people will not grow up and mature in their relationship with God. At some point, God will cast off those things that inhibit the growth of His church.

The church; the body of Christ is the greatest thing going today. There is not greater entity on this earth than God’s church. Regardless of who the pastor is, who is leading singing, or who is greeting visitors, it is God’s church. Some people in church get stuck on a way of doing things. “That’s my pew, I sit there” “That’s my job, I do that.” Bro. Stevison declares that none of that matters, because this is God’s church.

In our text, Jesus asks the disciples “Who do men say that I am?” They give various answers, and then He asks: “Who do YOU say that I am?” Simon answers, and Jesus then declares, “Upon this rock I will build My church.” The rock is not Peter, but the revelation of who Jesus is. Jesus says that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. Bro. Stevinson tells us that this means that the gates of hell will TRY to prevail against the church. The bible tells us that the devil will come as a roaring lion or a subtle serpent. It is easy to see the roaring lion, but the subtle serpent is harder to see. The church is full of people who are possessed by this subtle serpent sprit. The look the part, but they cause division, and discord in God’s church. The enemy will use people of influence to accomplish his work. These subtle serpents will inhabit a church and inhibit its growth. The church cannot grow as long as people will not grow up and mature in their relationship with God. At some point, God will cast off those things that inhibit the growth of His church.

It would be great if things in life would work out like we envisioned them. Often we prepare to do something and as soon as we begin speaking, the exchange does not go as we expected. Most of us do not envision the pitfalls in our plans. We miss the things that can distract us or get in the way of what we are trying to do. Bro. Hughes asks the question: “What do we do when we find difficulties in the path of what we believe God is doing in our life?” “What do you do when change does not come easy?”

In our text, we have an answer to that question: We must let God work until He is finished, and not give up before He has completed His work. The bible tells us that Jesus spit into the blind man’s eyes. That cannot have been a comfortable situation for him, but surly he was willing to submit to whatever means Jesus had in mind in order to restore his sight. We do not always like the methods that God uses, but we must do it God’s way. This story is the only biblical account of a progressive miracle. All the others were instantaneous. This miracle shows us that sometime we have to wait on God to complete the work He is doing. If the blind man had walked away after the first touch, he would not have been made whole. He went from blind to being able to see a little. God never does a half work in our life. Whatever God begins, He begins for the purpose of total restoration and we must stick around for the complete work.

Do we want things to be better, or do we want them to be restored? If we get a little blessing and then go away, likely we will be back in the same situation again. Bro. Hughes declare that he would rather let the work be finished and not walk away before He gets though doing what He is wanting to do.

It would be great if things in life would work out like we envisioned them. Often we prepare to do something and as soon as we begin speaking, the exchange does not go as we expected. Most of us do not envision the pitfalls in our plans. We miss the things that can distract us or get in the way of what we are trying to do. Bro. Hughes asks the question: “What do we do when we find difficulties in the path of what we believe God is doing in our life?” “What do you do when change does not come easy?”

In our text, we have an answer to that question: We must let God work until He is finished, and not give up before He has completed His work. The bible tells us that Jesus spit into the blind man’s eyes. That cannot have been a comfortable situation for him, but surly he was willing to submit to whatever means Jesus had in mind in order to restore his sight. We do not always like the methods that God uses, but we must do it God’s way. This story is the only biblical account of a progressive miracle. All the others were instantaneous. This miracle shows us that sometime we have to wait on God to complete the work He is doing. If the blind man had walked away after the first touch, he would not have been made whole. He went from blind to being able to see a little. God never does a half work in our life. Whatever God begins, He begins for the purpose of total restoration and we must stick around for the complete work.

Do we want things to be better, or do we want them to be restored? If we get a little blessing and then go away, likely we will be back in the same situation again. Bro. Hughes declare that he would rather let the work be finished and not walk away before He gets though doing what He is wanting to do.

There are two spirits that have been warring since the beginning of time: The spirit of truth and the spirit of error. With the introduction of sin came the sprit of bondage. Due to the original sin, all men are born into the bondage of sin. God wants everyone to be free. It is not God’s will that we live a life of bondage. When we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we are made new and are not longer bound. We may remember the things of the past, but when the blood is applied to our life, we are no longer bound by the sins of the past. We are liberated by the power of the Holy Ghost. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Once God sets us free, He has done His part. It then becomes our responsibility to stay free.

There are two spirits that have been warring since the beginning of time: The spirit of truth and the spirit of error. With the introduction of sin came the sprit of bondage. Due to the original sin, all men are born into the bondage of sin. God wants everyone to be free. It is not God’s will that we live a life of bondage. When we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we are made new and are not longer bound. We may remember the things of the past, but when the blood is applied to our life, we are no longer bound by the sins of the past. We are liberated by the power of the Holy Ghost. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Once God sets us free, He has done His part. It then becomes our responsibility to stay free.

Many people have gone to the story of Job when they go through a struggle in order to find strength and direction. The story of Job is one of a good man who went through a bad time. He was a Godly man who endured great heartache and pain. The bible says that the Godly man will be persecuted. God knows what He is going to do, and the reason for doing it. One of the great mysteries of life is understanding God’s methods in working on our lives. It is hard to understand that in order to go up, we must go down. For God to tell us that our life will get worse before it gets better is a difficult realization to have. Each of us can look back on our lives and see the hand of God in situations that we have gone through. The problem is that we can clearly see that hand, but we miss that hand in our current situation. God does not waste his time working on hopeless situations. Therefore if God is working on us by putting us through a trial, we should rejoice that God is working on a worthwhile thing. Our text talks about God being hidden. This does not mean that He was hiding from Job, but that Job needed to seek Him in order to receive his blessing. Searching releases answers in our lives. We are at our best when we are seeking for God. There are times when we need more than good advice and a pat on the back; we need the word of God in our life.

Job lost everything. He couldn’t turn to his children; they were dead. He couldn’t turn to his wife, or his friends. He couldn’t look to himself. He could only turn to God. He said that there is nothing behind me, nothing to my right or left and nothing in front of me, but if I will seek God, he will know that he knows where I am. Bro. Hughes tells us that most drowning victims drown because they panic. The truth is that if the drowning victim would relax that they would float because the body is naturally buoyant. Many people drown spiritually because the buck and fight against what God is telling them to do. If we will simply trust Him, he will not allow anything to come into our lives that we cannot handle. If we will look around we will find God. Job said “God knows the way that I take.” Right after that he said “when He hath tried me.” The use of when implies that there is a time limit on the trial. And when that trial is over: he said “I shall come forth as gold.” When all the fire and boiling is over, we will shine brighter than we ever have. In every trial, we must rejoice at the opportunity. We may be in turmoil not, but God will bring us out a better person.

Many people have gone to the story of Job when they go through a struggle in order to find strength and direction. The story of Job is one of a good man who went through a bad time. He was a Godly man who endured great heartache and pain. The bible says that the Godly man will be persecuted. God knows what He is going to do, and the reason for doing it. One of the great mysteries of life is understanding God’s methods in working on our lives. It is hard to understand that in order to go up, we must go down. For God to tell us that our life will get worse before it gets better is a difficult realization to have. Each of us can look back on our lives and see the hand of God in situations that we have gone through. The problem is that we can clearly see that hand, but we miss that hand in our current situation. God does not waste his time working on hopeless situations. Therefore if God is working on us by putting us through a trial, we should rejoice that God is working on a worthwhile thing. Our text talks about God being hidden. This does not mean that He was hiding from Job, but that Job needed to seek Him in order to receive his blessing. Searching releases answers in our lives. We are at our best when we are seeking for God. There are times when we need more than good advice and a pat on the back; we need the word of God in our life.

Job lost everything. He couldn’t turn to his children; they were dead. He couldn’t turn to his wife, or his friends. He couldn’t look to himself. He could only turn to God. He said that there is nothing behind me, nothing to my right or left and nothing in front of me, but if I will seek God, he will know that he knows where I am. Bro. Hughes tells us that most drowning victims drown because they panic. The truth is that if the drowning victim would relax that they would float because the body is naturally buoyant. Many people drown spiritually because the buck and fight against what God is telling them to do. If we will simply trust Him, he will not allow anything to come into our lives that we cannot handle. If we will look around we will find God. Job said “God knows the way that I take.” Right after that he said “when He hath tried me.” The use of when implies that there is a time limit on the trial. And when that trial is over: he said “I shall come forth as gold.” When all the fire and boiling is over, we will shine brighter than we ever have. In every trial, we must rejoice at the opportunity. We may be in turmoil not, but God will bring us out a better person.

There are times in life where the burden of life gets so heavy that we feel as if it will crush the very life out of us. Life is that way. Thing swill be going along just fine, and then at a moments notice, we find ourselves in a storm. Bro. Hughes refers to such situations as a trying place. Our text tells of a man named Joseph who found himself sold into slavery by his brothers. He was falsely accused, sent to prison, and forgotten. Through all of this, the bible tells us that the Lord was with Joseph even in his trying place. It would be easy to understand that God would be with him in his home, but even in the terrible situations that Joseph found himself in life, God was still with him. Joseph is a study of how we should conduct ourselves in times when we find ourselves in out trying places. Joseph was a good man in a bad situation, but God was with him. The Lord may be with us but we can still suffer pain, humiliation, shame and everything else that Joseph endured. Even with all he endured, Joseph never became what his situation made it to appear. Egypt tried everything they could to defeat him, but Joseph always maintained who he was: A Child of God! No matter what happened in his life, Joseph acknowledged God in all things. Even in our trying place, we can still enjoy the presence of God!

Joseph demonstrated the wisdom of silence while he lived in his trying place. The bible doesn’t record a time when Joseph spoke out or complained about his circumstance. We might have to repent from what we said, but we will never have to repent for our silence.

Through all that Joseph had to endure, he remained compassionate and tender. He realized that he was not the only one going through a trying time. He looked around in prison; he looked around in slavery; and saw others that were in the same situation.

Joseph realized that his situation was not permanent. It was not his home. It was not what God called him to be. He was simply living through a trying place. Each of us will find ourselves in trying places as we live our life. Even in these trying places, we are still a child of God.