Pastor Jason Anderson - Audio episodes:

• September 18, 2016Decisions, Decisions

  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.

  ...more

  

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• September 11, 2016Amen

  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?

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• September 04, 2016A Secret Place

  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?

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• August 28, 2016The Name of the Lord is a Strong Tower

  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.

  ...more

  

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• August 21, 2016Lift Up Your Eyes

  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.

  ...more

  

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• August 14, 2016God is a Rewarder

  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.

  ...more

  

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• August 07, 2016Do We Believe in Ourselves

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

  us to believe in ourselves. Greatness is always partnered with

  self-confidence.

  ...more

  

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• July 24, 2016Receiving Like a Little Child

  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!

  ...more

  

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• July 17, 2016Just a Little Faith

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

  more powerful than my fears.

  ...more

  

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• July 10, 2016God Will Lift You

  God has carried us from the time we were born again

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

  ...more

  

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