Pastor Jason Anderson - Audio

Today I want to talk to you about how to discern before

you decide. Discerning is a strength you already have in you, and it is

there to help you with every decision. In I Kings 3:5 (NIV) God says to

Solomon, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." In Verse 9 Solomon

says, "So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and

to distinguish between right and wrong." The two key words he used in

Hebrew are Shama and Byin. Listen and discern. We all have decisions to

make… decisions, decisions. Should I take this job? Is this the right

house to buy? Should we move across the country to Arkansas? I was

preaching at a church in California and a man came up after the service

and said, "I'm dating and I want to know if she is the right one for

me." Big decisions, destiny-determining decisions. These decisions we

make and all the degrees in the world will not help you know if this

person you're dating is right for you. The most educated people in the

world will still make bad decisions. The arrogant in Hollywood who would

tell you they know so much more than all of you have no idea how to stay

in love or raise children. Fame and fortune, nor education nor

information will help you in your decisions. The world does not make

good decisions. We don't know what to do with terrorism, we don't know

who to elect president, I mean we can't even figure out which bathroom

to use. People buy into evolution, they buy into hate, they buy Barbara

Streisand albums. Proverbs 16:25 says "there is a way that seems right

to a man but leads to death"… Whoa! Don't do what seems right, use

supernatural God-given discernment! You need insight. You need

discernment. Discernment is the ability to distinguish right and wrong.

You may not know what the future holds, but you can ask someone who

does. And so today He asks of you, "What do you want" – you say, "I want

discernment" - He says, "I've already given it to you." You have the

Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and discernment. Today I'm going to

talk to you about three ways we must discern BEFORE we

decide.

Today I want to talk to you about our "amen." We "amen"

God's promises, but do we "amen" God's process? Do we "amen" God's

principles? In Genesis 15:6 NKJV "Abraham believed in the Lord, and the

Lord accounted it to him as righteousness." The word used here in the

Hebrew is "amen." I found that interesting. For me it spoke differently.

Abraham "amened" in the Lord, he "amened" the promise. Abraham had no

children, but it was his deepest desire to have a son. God took him

outside and said "Look at the stars, if you could count the stars,

that's how many descendents you will have." Think bigger. See the vision

clearer. Abraham "amened" the promise. Then, in Genesis 17:10-11, God

visits and tells him to circumcise all the men in the house. Wait, what?

Sometimes God is going to ask you to do things that might be tough. Love

your enemy. Lay down your life. Pick up your cross if you want to follow

Christ. Circumcision - Abraham could have said, "How is that going to

get me to the promise?" I have found that far too many are picking which

principals of God they like, and then we wonder why we aren't arriving

at God's promises. Sometimes the Lord gives you a process, your orders

came in, Jesus says, "Here's eternal life" we say, "woohoo," then he

says, anyone who comes after me must deny himself, take up his cross,

offer yourselves as a sacrifice to the Lord. Wait, what? We "amen" the

promise, do we "amen" the process? Remember the Israelites who died in

the wilderness. The Bible says they did not go in to the land that I

swore to them because they did not "amen" me. Are we "amening"

God?

Today I want to talk to you about the secret place.

Psalm 91, the protection chapter, says "He that dwells in the secret

place..." And then it follows with a slew of protections. The idea of a

secret place for protection - in the 50's we had missile fallout

shelters, today the FBI has safe houses for witnesses, or the president

goes to an undisclosed location. Psychologists today talk about the

noise of society, that we are over-stimulated, over-busy, and that

people need a quiet place. We are too stressed out, too worried, far too

in a rush. People have different places they go in worry, fear, where do

you go? God has a secret place for you, and it is the perfect place to

go when you feel unsettled. The secret place... you can dwell there. And

here's the problem, it says "he that dwells." Being a Christian does not

mean you have to dwell here. There are many who do not dwell. Make your

abode so that you can abide in the shadow. Do we know where the secret

place is? Or how do we go in there? Is everyone going

in?

Today I want to talk to you about the Strong Tower of

the Lord. The Lord wants you to know that He is your safe place. When

God visited Abraham in Genesis 15, He said, "Fear not Abraham, for I am

your shield." God needed Abraham to trust Him for protection. Proverbs

29:25 says, "The fear of a man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the

Lord shall be safe." Intangible fear can bring real problems. So God

wants us to stay in faith, faith that He is our protector. So He says,

"Abraham, I'm your shield." To the Israelites He was a canopy, a cloud

by day and fire by night. He is a refuge, a sanctuary, God is your

covering, He is your secret place, you take refuge under His wing, in

His shadow. Faith in God is like Captain Kirk calling shields up, not

just a shield in the front, but all around you. Proverbs 18:10 says,

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are

safe." Here His name is described as a place, a location, a destination.

Here is the problem, people don't feel safe. There's terrorism, a

nuclear North Korea, and my son Matthew will be driving soon. You need

to feel safe in your marriage, or feel safe at your job, or even feel

safe at your home. There is an enemy, he's a roaring lion seeking out

whom he might devour. He's a serpent trying to mess you up. He comes in

like a flood. But when you know you are in the Strong Tower, there is

nothing to fear. I talk to Christians, Pastor, we are under attack right

now, it seems like the enemy is coming at us from every side. But the

name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are

safe. It's not a position of weakness, but it is a position of strength.

It says you are "safe" here means you are inaccessibly high. Today we

learn about the strong tower, canopy, the force field, the sanctuary,

the refuge, the bubble of God's protection, the shield... I want you to

live a life free of fear, resting in the safety of our God, He is a

mighty shield around you. I want you inaccessibly high, completely out

of range.

Today I want to tell you to lift up your eyes. In Psalms

123:1 David writes, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my

help come from?" God wants us to lift our eyes. He says "Hey, look up

here." Abraham, lift up your eyes and see the stars... Get your mind on

bigger, better, higher. God cares where we look, He knows the impact it

has. Lifting your eyes means you are looking to the heavenly things, the

spiritual things, the unseen answers that are in the mind's eye, the

promises of God that will come to you by faith. Lifting up your eyes

tells us to look at the good stuff. Keep your eyes off the dirt, mud,

junk. In this life we are either looking at the good or bad, looking up,

or looking down. We see the good in our spouse or the bad, the solutions

in our job, or the problems, the joy in our life, or the pain, the

things we have, or the things someone else has. When we look at our pain

it just attracts more pain. When we look at the negative we crawl deeper

into the negative world. But when we lift up our eyes we see the things

of God, we get into hope, we climb back out of the pit of despair, and

it's all hidden in a simple glance. The problem is, looking at the

negative stuff is fun at first. It is addictive. Watching how bad the

world is getting, and then almost taking pride in talking about it.

What's wrong with the boss, or the company, our bills, our health, our

spouse, the president or the pastor, or attacking a 20-year-old-girl for

not handling the American Anthem correctly. We have a problem, maybe

more now than I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. People are scouring

the earth for what is bad, and then making it sound worse, then showing

the world for all to see, and then spewing hate. If ever there was a

need for Christians to lift their eyes out of the hate and muck, it is

now. I'm always looking for stuff because I leave stuff where it doesn't

go. I stop and look at the pantry. My wife says, "What are you looking

for"... What I'm looking at is determined by what I'm looking

for.

God is your rewarder. Many of us know God as a giver,

but do we know Him as a rewarder? God gives so much for free, the things

of God are a gift, His blessing, His covenant, His gift of

righteousness, eternal life, gifts that you did not earn. You know God

as a giver, or you should, but do you know that He is also a rewarder?

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God,

because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He

is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Here is the problem,

not everyone sees God as a rewarder.

Self-doubt is a plague in the body of Christ. God wants

us to believe in ourselves. Greatness is always partnered with

self-confidence.

What do I have to do to receive what I've been asking

for? Get on the path of it's already been done... Jesus already did

it!

The faith I already have is a lot! What I believe is

more powerful than my fears.

God has carried us from the time we were born again

until the end. When God lifts us it lasts forever.