The next reward of the Finisher is to be dressed in white and a permanent place in the book of life. In order to understand the significance of being dressed in white, we must understand that the word describes Jesus as the bridegroom and the church as the bride of Christ. This means that the nature of our relationship is not simply that of the redeemer and the redeemed, but it's in fact much deeper, we are in a courtship with Christ and after the second coming of Christ there will be a glo-rious wedding where we, His bride, will be dressed in white and presented before the Father. In addition to this wonderful honor, our names are forever written in the book of life. This is the book of the victorious, those who believed and endured the troubles of this world. Can you see it now? Why it's so important that you don't give up? The reward is so great! You can finish the work, knowing that the victory is already won and the Finisher will indeed finish you (Philippians 1:6).

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Authority is in your destiny! It’s a reward from the King of kings to the victorious. But this reward requires more than just enduring, it requires total submission to the will of God. Authority is pow-er but it’s also influence. Everywhere we look we see people competing for influence – fighting for power. This has been the case since the fall of man, it’s the reason why Cain killed Abel and why war after war has started and division exists even to this day, it’s all about influence. Because of fear of losing influence, the world fights.

Today, it’s not just physical fighting but it’s a fight with words, a war of ideas; a war taking place on social media, news networks, music, books, speeches, rallies and the like. It’s all propaganda that has filled the earth with darkness and it’s God’s desire to displace the darkness by shining the Light of Heaven. We were planted in the earth to expand the Kingdom of Heaven, to invade the earth with the culture of heaven. The difference between the world and heaven is that God is not insecure about His power – He’s God. However, God does not impose His influence on the world through violence nor through attempts to destroy ideas, instead He displaces the ideas of darkness with an even greater one, the Gospel.

In order to receive the reward of God-given authority, we must be fully committed and submitted to the perfect will of God. Myles Munroe says that power amplifies what already exists in a per-son. What’s inside of you? Is it humility? Or selfish ambition? Authority is in your destiny! The requirements are endurance and submission. The King wants to reward you, He wants to endow you with this responsibility, but can He trust you?

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Yesterday, in Sunday’s message, we looked closely at the Church in Smyrna. Today, we are look-ing at what Jesus said to the Church in Pergamum. He described how He was fully aware of their environment – how they were living in such an evil place as Satan has made it the place of his throne. If you’re anything like me, you could make a case that Pergamum sounds a lot like where you live today as we see such a heavy influence of Satan and his angels in so many ways of the world. Nevertheless, Jesus celebrated that they kept their faith through it all. However, He also indicated a clear issue that He has with those in Pergamum and that’s holding onto false teachings and He calls for them to repent. But as He wraps it up, he describes the reward to the one who is victorious, the one who finishes. This includes hidden manna and a new name written on a white stone.

Manna is the bread from Heaven that God supplied the Israelites with during their 40 years in the wilderness. Bread is considered sustenance, an item used to sustain our health. Jesus called Him-self the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and “whoever comes to me will never go hungry…” Therefore, the reward for a victorious finish is eternal sustenance.

Jesus also indicated that He’d change the name of those who endure through to victory. A name that no one else need knows, one so intimate He encapsulated it with privacy and one so sure, He put it on a stone. We saw something similar to when Jacob received a name change because he struggled with God and with humans and overcame (Genesis 32:28). Jacob wouldn’t give up until God blessed him. The same is available to you if you don’t give up! Will you be like Jacob and stay in the fight until it’s over so that you can receive your reward? The Finisher has a reward just for you, finish the work and walk in victory!

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In the book titled the Culture of Honor, Danny Silk shares what’s called the Principle of Honor. Here’s the definition says:

“accurately acknowledging who people are will position us to give them what they deserve and to receive the gift of who they are in our lives.”

This principle is based on the command to honor our father and mother with the promise of long life. At Bethel, Danny Silk’s affiliated church, they believe that this principle extends beyond this one instance or situation and is applied to all of life. I agree as this rings true throughout the scriptures. The gift of salvation made available through Jesus is only accessible if we accurately acknowledge Him as Lord (Romans 10:9). Paul stressed this truth to the Athenians as they worshipped an “unknown god” – they worshipped that which they did not know, they worshipped in ignorance (Acts 17:22-23).

Think about it, if we don’t accurately acknowledge a person, number one we don’t really know them and number 2, we cannot get their attention because we’re calling them by the wrong name or waiting with false expectation of them to do something that’s not within the scope of their purpose or responsibility. The truth is, we cannot receive the gift of who a person is unless we can accurately acknowledge who they are and posture ourselves through surrender to that truth of their identity and give them what they deserve, we cannot receive the gift of who they are in our lives. But when I tell you exactly who you are and give you exactly what you deserve, I am guaranteed to receive the gift of who they are.

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Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” John 4:17-18 (NIV)

“He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” - Romans 8:27-28 (MSG)

God desires that we would not be ignorant of our condition, He knows what’s broken in us and He knows growing within us awaiting it’s time to be birthed. Jesus shows the Samaritan woman that He was clearly not unaware of her past. As one of our powerful youth, named I’Aissa, would say, “Jesus ran the receipts on this lady.” He didn’t just speak to the fact that she didn’t have a husband, He made it undeniable by going over her history of broken, failed marriages. Now I want you to see that Jesus didn’t shame her by attacking her, instead he told her “Go, call your husband and come back.” He knew that she didn’t currently have a husband, but he wanted her to acknowledge this… He wanted her to confess.

The truth is Jesus doesn’t want us to just stay with where we are today, He wants us to dig deep to the source of our instability and find the root cause of the issue. For her, it was her desire. When He said go get your husband, He was speaking of her desire. It’s clear that she wanted a husband as she had 5 already plus the person she was currently seeing. But after five attempts, it’s clear that she’s not finding what she’s looking for. The truth is, she wasn’t looking for a husband, she was looking for intimacy. The problem is that the level of intimacy that she seeks cannot be found in any man, but only through intimacy with the Father, Himself. What have you been chasing but has proven to be a dead end every time? You’ve tried over and over but no success has been achieved – the goal has not been attained. The reason why is because this desire does not reside in your flesh, that’s why sex doesn’t satisfy you. The fire of your desire calls from your spirit man and can only be quenched by the water of worship ¬– intimacy with the Father. I want you to know that there’s hope for you, it’s not far off. We will talk about this tomorrow on Day 4 as we delve into the Power of Knowing God.


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Acknowledgement is the first step to recovery. This is a statement firmly believed by recovery programs and psychologists around the world. It’s the first of 12 steps to recovery. What they’ve discovered is that as long as the person stays in a state of denial, they will live in a place of deception and cannot leave. This is true with us. God is calling us to abundant, Kingdom living that’s found in His Son, Jesus. However, we cannot see it unless our minds are renewed and that renewal process begins with confession and it’s sealed with prayer.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. – James 5:16 NIV

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You are not only eternally prosperous through His will, but through his Spirit because it is His will that you receive the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. What Jesus says here is not a suggestion, a hope but a promise. He promises that if you drink of my water, you would never thirst again. The gift of Salvation that makes way for the Gift of the Holy Spirit, the two are not meant to be apart. When received it brings a satisfaction that one cannot fully comprehend and nothing cannot compare with it. That’s why its so significant that Jesus says that you will never thirst again if you drink this water that I give you.

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God is eternal. Before time existed, He was there. In fact, He is the creator of time so that means where He resides is outside of time and that place is called eternity. Because of this time has no ability to confine Him or anything associated with Him. He is without limits. He’s limitless. With this truth as our place of reference, when we consider the magnitude of the plans of God, as we’ve called it this week God’s prosperity plan, there is nothing in the realm of time that has the ability to place a constraint on His will. Literally, if God says it that settles it. Time cannot touch His words. Limits cannot touch His words. Jesus said it this way, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Luke 21:33 NIV). This is the truth because His words are spoken from eternity and they will last eternally. So what does this mean for you? How does this apply to your life and your situation? I’m glad you asked. This means you can rest assured that everything God said is true and there’s nothing the devil or anyone else for that matter can do about it. The promises of God in Christ are yes, and amen. There’s no if’s, and’s or but’s about it! God’s word is true and it will complete what He set it out to do! Let me prove it to you:

“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV

When God says something it’s a sure thing. You don’t have to question it, you don’t have to lose sleep over it, it’s a guarantee. You can sleep in peace, knowing that God will do exactly what He said He would do. Do not disrespect His awesomeness and auspiciousness by comparing Him to a mere mortal.

God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23:19 NIV

The answer is no! Check his record! Run his receipts! You will see that His record says nothing short of Victory! He was a winner before time started, we just saw the manifestation of that victory on the cross through precious son His son Jesus Christ. Jesus was the investment that God made for your prosperity. His work is finished and yours has just started. You my brother and sister are eternally prosperous because the eternal One has a plan for your prosperity.

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Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2 NIV)

Kevin Harrington shared with CBS News in an interview that one of the most famous jingles or taglines of all time comes from Ron Popeil. He sold a rotisserie oven and here’s what he said about it: “Set it and forget it!” Chances are you’ve heard this and have probably used this statement whether or not you owned one of those rotisserie ovens. The reason why is because it’s such a powerful and catchy tag line! Who doesn’t want to just set something and forget it? Set it and forget it is an experience that everyone wants to have. The reason why people love to say it is because it’s a statement that creates peace in the heart of man.

Just take a second and think about it, if you’ve ever cooked in the kitchen you’re more careful today than you were in the beginning because you’ve probably had a traumatic experience that has left you with apprehensions that have made you a more careful cook. A traumatic experience in the kitchen would be when you severely burned those rolls or an egg exploded on your first attempt to boil it. I think we can agree that no one wants to experience those moments again. Therefore, in response to our traumatic experiences, we increase our vigilance to ensure the food cooks well and this can sometimes be stressful as life continues in the background of our meal prepping. The mom who has to keep her newly crawling toddler out over literally everything in his or her reach or the business owner who receives an emergency call and has to resolve an issue as dinner is simmering on the stove.

In view of our past traumas, in view of our present stress, we are inspired by the idea of “Set it and forget it.” The reason why it inspires us, is because this is statement of freedom and peace. In other words when they say “All you have to do is set it and forget it!” You’re telling me that there’s an opportunity for me to experience freedom and peace in my life and I want that. If I can set something and forget it that means it liberates me of my anxiety and gives me the peace I’ve been yearning for all my life. Ron Popeil likely sold millions of rotisserie ovens, but he didn’t actually sell ovens, he sold the idea of peace. Because countless people desire peace. They’re looking for it, googling for it, YouTubing for it, reading for it, even eating for it and what he sold them was exactly what they were looking for and he was wildly successful in his efforts of selling the idea of peace. The statement “Set it and forget it!” denotes perfection! Think about it, the only way that I can have enough faith to set something and forget it in spite of my past trauma is that I believe it will operate at a level of perfection that I’ve never experienced before.

The truth is Ron Popeil’s oven was not perfect, there was something about it that was flawed because it was made by man but the idea of perfection is what sold it anyway. The idea of perfection, or rather the perfect experience, is one that we cannot find in this earthly realm but it’s one that only resides in the perfection that’s found in the true and living God. Yes, in our Father, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Yes, perfection is only found in Christ. That peace that we’ve been looking for, that perfect experience that we’ve been looking for, I want you to know that you can find it in God’s Prosperity Plan. You see, “Set it and forget it!” even though it worked well for Ron Popeil but he was using it illegally. Because the only thing that we can truly set and forget is when we set our affections on things above (Col 3:2). When in view of God’s mercy, instead of functioning in view of our past trauma and present stress we submit ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable worship (Romans 12:1), that’s when we realize we’re able to identify, discern, test and approve what God will is ¬– His good, pleasing and perfect will.

If you want to set something and forget it, I encourage you to submit to the perfect will of God. All you have to do is set your affections on it. All you have to do is set your mind on it and when you receive it and submit to it fully in your life you can forget it! You’ll be free from worry, you’ll be free from the anxiety, you’ll be free from the trap of your trauma if you would submit to the perfect will of God. Because God’s will is perfect there’s no flaw, nothing in it of error. You don’t have to worry about it, you don’t have to think about it. When you set it, you can walk away and you can forget it, knowing and trusting in the perfection of our God that He’s going to work it out for your good.


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