RCCG Victory Temple Chantilly's Podcast

"I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt...And you forgave me!" Ps 32:5 NLT

In Scripture, the word confession is comprised of two forms of the same Greek root: ohmo, meaning "the same," and logéo, meaning "to speak." Therefore, confessing your sin to God means saying the same thing about it as He does. It means calling a spade a spade-not a gardening tool! Nowhere does the Bible refer to our sins as mistakes, bad judgments, and slips. However, it clearly says God forgives our sin: "I...am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins" (Isa 43:25

NKJV). So let's be clear. (1) Confessing isn't about apologizing. Saying you're sorry is appropriate and necessary at times. But you could never be sorry enough to deserve or earn God's forgiveness. Confessing is agreeing with God about the nature, extent, and offensiveness of your transgressions. (2)

Confessing isn't about feelings. Some of us plunge into remorse, guilt, and depression over our sins. And when such feelings lead to confession, that's good. But even when we don't feel these emotions, our confession is just as genuine and effective. (3) Confessing isn't complaining. Making a laundry list of your sins and telling God how terrible you are is more akin to complaining than confessing.

Coming clean with God and agreeing with His evaluation of your sin is what He wants from you. Then, like David, you can say, "I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt...And you forgave me!

All my guilt is gone. So, confess your sins to God--then start acting like someone who has been forgiven!

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"The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise." Pr 15:31 NKJV

One expert points out that leaders touch your heart before they ask for your hand. That's the law of connection. Before a leader can touch a person's heart, he or she has to know what's in it. And you learn that by listening. A reluctance to listen is too typical among poor leaders. Over half of all management problems are the consequence of faulty communications. And the vast majority of communication problems stem from poor listening. Many voices are clamoring for our attention. As you think about how to listen, keep in mind that you have two reasons for listening: (a) To connect with people, and (b)

To learn about them. That includes your competitors. Sam Markewich quipped, "If you don't agree with me, it means you haven't been listening." Though of course he was joking, the sad truth is that when a leader views another organization only as competition, he or she focuses attention on building their own case or championing their own objective and forgets to learn from the other group's efforts. Now, you don't necessarily want to base your actions on what the other person is doing, but you should still listen and learn how to improve yourself. It's a costly mistake to get so busy doing your own thing, or trying to make things happen, that you're not paying attention to what's going on around you. Every day you live and every experience you have, both negative and positive, can teach you valuable lessons. But you must listen!

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#Where there is no vision, the people perish." Pr 29:18

A pastor writes: "The second law of thermodynamics states this physical truth: If left to their own devices, everything in the universe moves toward disorder and decay.

Cars rust. Food rots...It's also called the law of entropy. And the only way to prevent entropy is to introduce an outside energy source to counteract it. The technical term for this is negentropy. And the refrigerator is a good example. You plug it into an electrical outlet, and it produces cold air that keeps food from rotting. If the refrigerator gets disconnected from its energy source, entropy will take over again. And things will get smelly. Isn't that what happens when we get disconnected from God? Life moves toward decay and disorder. So how do we overcome our entropic tendencies?.. [Solomon answers,] 'Where there is no vision, the people perish. If sin is entropy, then investing our energies in a God-sized vision is negentropy. The word perish comes from the Hebrew word para, and 'entropy' is a fair translation." Perhaps many church problems don't come from an abundance of sin but rather from a lack of vision? We're not suggesting that there aren't sin problems or that those problems don't need to be dealt with. But in too many instances, there isn't enough vision to keep churches busy. Our vision isn't big enough to demand all our energies, so we focus on petty problems to keep us busy. The same is true on a personal level. If we had a larger vision of what God wanted to accomplish in us and through us, our problems would diminish because we are consumed by a cause greater than ourselves."

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"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."Jas 1:22 NIV

When you listen to or read God's Word but don't apply it to your life, you deceive yourself. How so?
(1) You settle for knowledge rather than experience.
The Bible says, "If anyone...knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them" (Jas.4:17 NIV). How does that grab you? When you know the truth but don't act on it, you're not simply making a mistake or exercising poor judgment-you're sinning. The Bible says knowledge without obedience is sin.

(2) You compare yourself with others.
Paul writes, "Don't compare yourself with others" (Gal 6:4
MSG). "When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise" (2Co 10:12 NIV). That enables you to remain carnal but comfortable, and the older you get, the more seasoned you become at doing it. Over time you build a reservoir of responses, and when the truth gets too close for comfort, you have 101 reasons why it applies to everyone except you. 

(3) The Word moves you briefly but doesn't change you permanently. 
There is nothing wrong with responding emotionally to spiritual truth. But if you go merrily on your way without changing your behavior in the slightest, your spirituality boils down to nothing more than a vapid emotional experience. 

(4) You substitute communication for transformation. 
You talk the talk but don't walk the walk. You think if you speak eloquently and convincingly about a point of Scripture, you're covered-off the hook. You're not! James says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says."

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"Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?' For it is not wise." Ecc 7:10 NIV
Two more reasons we resist change are these:
(1) Because it feels awkward and uncomfortable. When was the last time you tried something for the first time? Can you name it specifically? If you can't remember, your comfort zone may have turned into a rut. A sign on a wall contained two statements.
The first had an X through it. It said, "If it ain't broken--don't fix it." The second read, "If it ain't broken-break it!" Sometimes the only way to "get out of the box" is to break out.

(2) Because we cling to tradition. The Pharisees could not receive the truth Jesus shared because they were bound by their traditions. And many of us still cling to tradition. We assume that if something is a tradition (a long-established pattern of behavior), it must be the best way. That's not necessarily so, as change agents like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford demonstrated. Question: How many traditionalists does it take to change a light bulb? Four: one to change it, and three to talk about how wonderful the old light bulb was!
Bottom line: When a tradition connects you to other people or to your personal history, it can be good. If it doesn't, maybe it's time to try something new. The Bible says, "The way of the righteous.shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over" (Pr 4:18-19 NLT).

So, what changes do you need to make in your life?

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"But the Lord was with Joseph." Ge 39:21

To reach his destiny, Joseph went through betrayal, temptation, slander, and wrongful imprisonment. But he came out on top. Here is what Joseph recognized that you need to recognize too: (1) God knows what you're going through, and He cares. There is a key phrase found five different times in the story of Joseph: "But the Lord was with Joseph." Even when everything was going wrong, Joseph never doubted that God was with him.

(2) You have been given freedom of choice.

God gives you freedom to choose how you will react to your circumstances: faith or doubt, joy or despair, patience, or impatience, etc.

When you choose to ignore what's right, God won't force His will on you. Sometimes we bring problems on ourselves and then blame God. We say, "It must be God's will," as if God gets pleasure out of planning our mistakes and miseries! The truth of the matter is that God's will isn't always carried out. Yes, He has a plan for our lives, but He has also given us free will. And because He has also given others free will, their mistakes and decisions can hurt us as well. (3) God is in control of the final outcome. He can take every negative circumstance in your life today and turn it around for your good. In the end, Joseph could say, "You meant it for harm, but God meant it for good" (See Ge 50:20). And while God was working to bring good out of his situation, Joseph had to keep trusting Him, even though at the time he did not understand what was happening -and you must do that too.

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"You will be strong and free of fear." Job

11:15 NLT

When you ignore the warning signs, chronic stress can take a toll on your body. So what are some of the signals? Well for starters, your stomach churns at any form of disagreement. When you can't find an outlet for pent-up frustration, you resort to overeating, smoking, drinking, drugs, and generally abusing your body. You isolate yourself, which affects your loved ones.

Debora M. Coty writes about what she terms the "Three Fs: outward fussing, inward fuming, and chronic fatigue." She jokes, " knew it was time to address my stress issues when my growl grew louder than the dogs, and my family tactfully suggested I get a rabies shot." However, it's the signs you don't see that can do the most damage. Cortisol, a hormone our bodies release in the grasp of stress, adds to out-of-control feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness. And studies verify that over time, stress raises your blood pressure, contributes to migraines and tension headaches, and results in the plaque that leads to heart disease. Chronic stress has been observed to increase cardiovascular risk by almost 50 percent! Not to mention documented connections to alcoholism, anxiety attacks, asthma, cancer, colds, depression, flu, insomnia, obesity, strokes, and ulcers. And those uncontrolled crying spells you encounter when you're exhausted are no coincidence. Stress lowers estrogen levels, which can activate emotional outbursts. If this describes you, take action!

Rearrange your priorities, slow down, start taking control of your life, and turn to God.

When you "prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer...You will be strong and free of fear" (vv. 13, 15 NLT).

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"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me." Jn 16:33 NLT

Stress is like kryptonite (Superman's nemesis), and it's out to knock off your cape and diminish you to a heap of trembling, useless mush. What should you do? (1)

Immerse your exhaustion. Try a bubble bath.

Even simply standing in the shower can assist in washing away fatigue and reviving your breathless body tissues and brain cells. Feel the moment and focus on the water's invigorating sensory contribution to your skin; allow it to spread resilience to your spirit. You say, "That doesn't sound very spiritual." Job's friend Zophar would disagree with you. Listen to what he told Job: "You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away" (Job

11:16 NLT). (2) Request help! Allocate responsibilities and chores. When everyone does their portion, no one is left depleted.

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble" (Ecc 4:9-10 NLT). (3) Release perfectionism. Nobody is perfect but Jesus, and you're not Him. Let some things go. Tomorrow, give up a few more. Over time, those chores will stop nagging at you, and you will truly feel the stress in the pit of your stomach disintegrate.

You will never be totally free from stress, but you can learn to cope with it and conquer it.

Jesus said, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" Jn

16:33 NLT).

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"Get ready to cross...into the land." Jos 1:2 NIV

The words for you today are (1) Get ready. For forty years, Joshua had served Moses and been mentored by him; now he was ready to lead Israel into the promised land. This raises the all-important question: Are you ready for the success you seek? The frustrating thing about preparation is sometimes it takes more time than the event you're preparing for. Are you self-disciplined? Are you up to date on your career or calling? Do you have the right relationships in place? Is your homelife in order? Do you have strong character? As the old saying goes, "You can claim to be surprised once; after that, you're unprepared!" One author writes: "Talented people are sometimes tempted to take shortcuts. Character prevents that. Talented people may feel superior and expect special privileges. Character helps them to know better. Talented people are praised for what others see them build. Character builds what's inside them. Talented people have the potential to be difference makers. Character makes a difference in them. Talented people are often a gift to the world. Character protects that gift." (2) Go! God told Joshua, "I will give you every place where you set your foot" (v. 3 NIV). Don't be like Alice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland who asked the Cheshire-Cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where-" said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat. To succeed, you must do the right things, moment by moment, day by day, following through with them in a consistent way.

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"The eyes of man are never satisfied." Pr 27:20 NKJV

When you're controlled by materialism. The flawed philosophy behind materialism is "more, more, more!" And it's the result of "eye trouble." The Bible says, "The eyes of man are never satisfied." It's okay to want a nice home, a reliable car, and financial security-and God will provide those things when you're a good steward of what He has already entrusted you with. But when you want more than you need or more than what's required to fulfill His will, the Bible calls it vanity. The word could be defined as being empty, hollow, or without purpose. Solomon writes, "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity" (Ecc 5:10 NKJV). So before you ask God for prosperity, ask Him to reveal your life's purpose because they're directly linked.

Jesus said, "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Lk 12:15). God uses a different "able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work... Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and. your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (2Co 9:8, 10-11 NIV). Is God willing to bless you financially? Yes, but only when you are willing to be a conduit and a distributor of His blessings.

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