Pastor Jason Anderson - Audio

The angel visited Mary to tell her she would have Jesus

- the Word was spoken - Luke 1:44, "As soon as the sound of your

greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy." The Jesus

in you excites people, just the sound of your voice and the dreams, the

dead or dormant embers that God has called someone to, ignites, leaps

within them. God has put in you power for others. Like Paul, who

received exceeding great revelations not for himself, but for the world,

for grace, for us. What was in Mary ignited something in Elizabeth. Like

Mary, you carry Jesus, the incorruptible seed. God places His word in

you and people will hear your voice. Sometimes you may feel like you

want to help others, but are you really having an impact? You tried to

encourage a friend, but you're not sure it did anything. Or Christians

who aren't sure they have anything to offer, you wonder, well, what

could I say to make a difference, what could I do? It's a big messed up

world. Can I really help? Why would someone listen to me? What can my

voice do? Your voice is capable of articulating God's voice - the word

of God within in you.

Zechariah 9:12 says, "Return to the stronghold, you

prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to

you." A prisoner is someone who has resigned themselves fully to the

sentencing of the judge. And what has our God said about us? What

sentence was declared over us, the children of God, the believers, a

royal priesthood, a holy nation? Christ in us, the hope of Glory, that

we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, it goes behind the curtain

and into the sanctuary... joint heirs with Christ - I have been

sentenced to a life of health, favor, victory, dreams… Prisoner of Hope,

"Return to the stronghold, I will restore you double." A prisoner of

hope understands there is a location for restoration. Today I want to

talk to you about shackling ourselves to hope. Too many people treat

hope as something that is here today and gone tomorrow. Well I was

hoping to find Mr. Right. I was hoping to get that job. I was hoping to

get that business loan. I was hoping I would feel better, but I don't. I

was hoping, but it all fell through. But God's plan for hope is that we

would be immovable from hope, incarcerated in the prison of hope. Around

our neck is hope, around our wrists and feet, hope, behind bars

immovable from hope. God promise for those who remain in hope is

restoration. Restoration means God knows that sometimes things are

stolen from us, there is a thief. God's response to Satan stealing is

restoration, even double. A prisoner of hope is not shaken by the letter

of denial from the bank, but keeps hoping. They are not worried that

it's a full count in the bottom of the 9th and they are down by 2. A

prisoner of hope still sees light, rejects bad news for the truth of

God's word, a prisoner of hope is unaffected by bad

news.

2 Corinthians 4:1 (NIV) says, "Therefore, since through

God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart." Wait, I have a

ministry? I didn't know. The Bible is full of things we didn't know were

ours. Wealth, blessing, favor, restoration, a healed heart, healing,

authority - God's word lists a litany of things you maybe didn't know

were yours. I just got a truck with great big tires. It was riding funny

so I took it in and my tire guy said one of the tires was defective. I

found a receipt and called to see if the tire was under warranty. Turns

out it was. We just need to call on the Lord to find out what exactly is

available to us. Here we find we have something many didn't know we had.

A ministry. And you say, "Hey I didn't go to Bible school, I'm not

qualified. My resume would be rejected." But it said that it was because

of God's mercy, not your qualifications. Jesus qualified

you.

In 1 Samuel 17, David had defeated a great giant,

Goliath. The Bible says he struck him with a stone from a sling and the

giant fell face down, dead. Then David who had a shepherd's staff

instead of a sword, took the sword of his enemy and used it to cut off

the head of Goliath. The Bible then says in 1 Samuel 17:54, "And David

took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem". Whatcha

doin David? 18 miles. 7 hour walk? He arrives, the city of Jerusalem was

occupied by the enemy. The Jebusites owned Jerusalem. I imagine David

stopped just outside the walls of his enemy, holding the head of

Goliath. I imagine he was sending a loud and clear message. It was as

though he had a divine moment from God, he arrives at a city that should

belong to God. "You're next." He was putting them on notice. I'm coming

for you! Do we have territory in our Christianity that should belong to

God but doesn't? A defeated enemy holding a city that is ours? A city we

did not build, a well you did not dig, a gift from God that is still

occupied by the enemy? A place in your life that belongs to God but the

enemy has entrenched there? Today, we put them on notice, an eviction

notice.

Today I want to talk to you, really, about advancing the

work of the Lord. The Kingdom of God is supposed to be advancing. In 1

Timothy 1: 2-4, Paul is clueing us in to how God advances the

Kingdom—His agenda. He advances people. People advance the kingdom. This

is discipleship. Discipleship is advancing people. Can I advance

someone, help them get up to speed, skip some pot holes? If you advance

you, you advance the Kingdom; if you expand you, you expand the

Kingdom.

Today I want to talk to you about a key that David gives

us to succeed in our race—our God given assignment. When Hanna hit the

bar, she won, she fulfilled her purpose, and she described it as her

horn being exalted. A horn held the anointing oil. We are each anointed

for a purpose, David was anointed to be King! It comes with a title, a

mission, and strength. But lots of kings didn't serve God with their

purpose. They got the title. They got the strength. But they missed the

mission. And herein lies the problem. There are so many gifted,

skillful, amazing people on this planet, doing so many things that seem

great, so many trying to make a difference, but they're unhappy and

unfulfilled. Hanna said, "My heart rejoices." David said, "My heart

rejoices." These two found out a secret that we need.

Today I want to teach you that you were designed by God

to hope—to hope with God's kind of hope. His word is always telling us

things are getting better, we are getting freer, good news! And now let

the poor say I'm rich, let the weak say I'm strong. I had an old car

when I was a 16, and the gas tank had rust in it. Every week or so the

fuel filter would get completely plugged with rust, and the car would

stop moving. The car was designed to operate at its full potential,

given the right environment and ingredients. When we lose hope, when we

get disappointed, we lose access to all the potential that is in Christ.

Consider that we are given everything we need to remain hopeful. God has

given us power, position, and purpose, all with His partnership. He has

called us to remain full of hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped

for, when we leave hope we find ourselves disappointed, discouraged, and

deceived, unable to inherit what God has promised.

Today, I want to announce to you that you were designed

by God. That design came with a purpose. There is a vessel that was

placed in you, attached to your life, that is filled with desire and a

destination. Your life came with a plan. You are unique. Your gifting,

talents, and desires are entirely distinct. God designed you.

Predestined: God foreknew you, and He knows why you are here, what your

purpose is.

July 2, 2017

Today we are going to start in Joel 2:25 (NKJV), "So I

will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The

crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust. My army I

sent among you." There are four types of ways the curse has stolen from

us. This passage is a prophesy of what happened when Christ came. Christ

broke the curse, but then He didn't just stop there. He promises to

restore what the curse steals, what Satan steals, the years stolen from

you. And so He identifies each of the four. They represent your

effort/time, your relationships, your money, and your fruit. You worked

for years and years and it was all wasted. You were married to the wrong

man, he was abusive, he didn't love you, 10 years, and you look at the

time, ugh, what a waste. You made that investment; the money vanished

like thin air. You raised your children to love the Lord, but they are

running to the world. Too many Christians have seen theft in their

lives. The curse gave Satan access to steal, kill and destroy. But we

must realize he has that access no more. God says, "I will restore the

years." The years of investing in the wrong job only to have the doors

close, you went to a church that didn't tell you about the Holy Spirit

and the power, your parents abandoned you and stole your childhood. You

thought those years were just gone, but today you are going to find out

that God is restoring those years. That mistake you made and the years

spent in prison, those years as a young girl abused and molested

repeatedly, building a business with a partner only to have them steal

all that you worked for, that dead beat man that won't pay child

support. God says to you today, "I will restore those years, the years

where the curse bled into your life, get ready for

restoration!"