Thanking God in Advance

Pastor Joel!

¤ There is always a waiting period, there is a trial of our faith. When it is hard, the seed lies dormant.

¤ When you give God praise, you are strengthened. Praise makes you strong and moves you forward.

¤ Romans 4:20 NLT

Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.

¤ Temptations to worry should be a reminder to praise God.

¤ You only need to pray for something once, after that you should switch over to praise.

¤ Matthew 15:21-28 NLT

After beggIng in verse 23 Jesus ignored her but in verse 25 she came and worshiped him, pleading again, "Lord, help me!" She then spoke the truth to him in verse 27 and he rewarded her for her faith.

¤ Daniel 10:12-13 NLT

Then he said, "Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.

¤ Anyone can quit, but I'm better that that. The battle may be rough but as long

¤ Jeremiah 33:10-11 NLT

"This is what the LORD says: You have said, 'This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.' Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah's other towns, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the LORD. They will sing, 'Give thanks to the LORD of Heaven's Armies, for the LORD is good. His faithful love endures forever!' For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the LORD.

1 Samuel 17

Me and God are a majority.

1 Kings 18:41 KJV

And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

**********Victoria Osteen************

Hold Fast Your Profession of Faith

Hebrews 10:23 NLT

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

If you have to hold tightly to something, then that means that something is going to try to take it away.

Things will come against you but it is not greater than what is for you.

Ephesians 5:16 NLT

Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

We should redeem the time and glean from the experience.

Your words can help you hold tightly.

Jeniro is on the go!

It's Only a Test

Tests show us weaknesses in our character and when we pass the tests we get promoted.

1 Peter 4:12 AMP

Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you.

Instead of being discouraged or going through self-pity we can choose to keep our joy. God uses people to rub off our rough edges sometimes.

When you start to rule over your emotions then certain buttons won't work. God is more interested in changing me than he is in changing my circumstances.

When you sow a radical seed of obedience you will reap a radical reward. Pressure can bring impurities to light.

As long as you're a child then you won't receive the inheritance. The more we mature, the less we depend on others.

James 1:12 NLT

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Don't fight against everything that's hard.

**********Victoria Osteen************

PRESS IN & PRESS ON

Lamentations 3:23 NLT

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

· We know that we can start over but we don't know how to receive it.

Philippians 3:13 NLT

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

· There is nothing that we can do about the past and it doesnt represent your future.

Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

· We have to do some forgetting.

Psalm 27:13 NKJV

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

Hebrews 12:1 NLT

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Jeniro is on the go!

You've Been Framed

Joel Osteen @ Lakewood Church

Hebrews 11:3 KJV

Through faith we understand that the worlds were FRAMED by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

· God won't let you get so far off course that you ruin your destiny.

· God knows how to protect you from everything, even yourself.

· David experienced the frame in 1Samuel 25. He was going to go confront Nabal but Abigail met him on the road and talked him out of it.

· Jonah experienced the frame through a whale that swallowed him and spit him out on dry land. (Jonah 2:10 KJVAnd the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.)

· The more you pray the tighter the frame gets.

· Acts 9:4-6 KJV

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

· Notice that Jesus said "I am Jesus whom you persecute" God takes it personal when people kick against your frame.

· Psalm 91:7 KJV

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

· 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 KJV

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

VICTORIA OSTEEN

Develop a mindset of praise because when you praise you can't explain.

When you harbor resentment it overshadows the desire to do right.

Sometimes it's more important to do right than to be right.

James 1:19-20 NLT

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

In marriage instead of becoming one someone wants the other to become like them. Sometimes you have to study and adapt.

Disappointment and frustration are temporary; your relationship is forever. Family is a gift from God.

You can create what you want with the words that you speak.

Jeniro is on the go!

Resisting Temptation: There's An App For That

Every week, I serve some awesome pre-teens at Lakewood Church through Level 56.

Level 56 is our exciting, high impact service designed exclusively for 5th and 6th graders. Our tweens discover an exciting new world where they can hang out with friends, enjoy games and fun activities and learn leadership and social skills through biblical principles that will prepare them for the future.

This month we are ministering on the topic Resisting Temptation: There's an App for That

Bottom line

There’s no better way to escape temptation than to run from it, and the best way to flee temptation is to be prepared for it.

Key Passages

• Genesis 19:10-17

Two men reached out and pulled Lot inside the house, locking the door. Then they struck blind the men who were trying to break down the door, both leaders and followers, leaving them groping in the dark. The two men said to Lot, "Do you have any other family here? Sons, daughters—anybody in the city? Get them out of here, and now! We're going to destroy this place. The outcries of victims here to God are deafening; we've been sent to blast this place into oblivion."   Lot went out and warned the fiancés of his daughters, "Evacuate this place; God is about to destroy this city!" But his daughters' would-be husbands treated it as a joke. At break of day, the angels pushed Lot to get going, "Hurry. Get your wife and two daughters out of here before it's too late and you're caught in the punishment of the city."   Lot was dragging his feet. The men grabbed Lot's arm, and the arms of his wife and daughters—God was so merciful to them!—and dragged them to safety outside the city. When they had them outside, Lot was told, "Now run for your life! Don't look back! Don't stop anywhere on the plain—run for the hills or you'll be swept away."

• Genesis 19:23-26

...The sun was high in the sky when Lot arrived at Zoar. Then God rained brimstone and fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah— a river of lava from God out of the sky!—and destroyed these cities and the entire plain and everyone who lived in the cities and everything that grew from the ground.   But Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.

Memory Verse

• James 4:7 

Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Objectives

For students: -To discover the story of Lot -To identify temptation -To develop tools to fight temptation

Summary

There’s no better way to escape temptation than to run from it. But temptation isn’t like a pack of wild animals pursuing us. It comes at us when we least it expect it, and it’s hard to see the danger. We need to prepare ourselves for tempting situations, be ready to give an answer when we are tempted, and be ready to run when there’s no other choice.

*******************My Personal Notes*******************

I think that this is an excellent lesson for our preteens. They are getting to an age where there are a lot of temptations that they have been warned about! This story teaches them to listen, obey without hesitation, keep moving forward, and to love others.

Listen, Obey, Move Forward

Lot hesitated and had to be lead out of the city. Another lesson is to keep moving forward. Sometimes we make the right decision and flee temptation but we keep looking back instead of moving forward. We wonder "what if" and question ourselves right out of doing the right thing. Lot’s wife looked back at the city after the men told her not to do this. She had to pay the price. 

Love Others

Another lesson is that God wants us to help those who love Him. When Abraham found out that the cities would be destroyed he pleaded with God to save his nephew. Many times we know that someone else's decision may lead them to a bad outcome and our love should compel us to help that person flee the temptation to do the wrong thing

Unshakeable Faith

Instead of being discouraged you have confidence. Because before I had a problem God already set the miracle in motion.

• God is faithful even if it isn't happening on my time table.
• God promised Abraham and Sarah a baby

Romans 4:20 NIV

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

• Don't consider your circumstances, consider your God.

Romans 4:19 NIV

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead.

• Even if you are believing for something that seems small, like a scholarship, know that God has you in the palm of his hands.
• When you magnify God your problems become smaller.
• It takes the same amount of time to be positive as it takes to be negative.

The disciples were on the way to heal a sick girl but a report came in that she had died. Sometimes you have to ignore the report.

Mark 5:36 NIV

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

• It's good to have information but sometimes you can know too much. If you listen to the experts long enough they will talk you out of God's best.

Matthew 19:26 NIV

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

God's ways may not seem logical like with Mary or the Fisherman

Luke 1:38 NIV

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.

• Mary was promised to have a child before she knew a man. Mary did not question the promise.

John 21

• Caught a miraculous number of fish on the advice of a "non-fisherman"

Victoria Osteen

When you are prepared you do a better job. There are some ways to prepare to follow God.

Psalm 100:4 NIV

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

• enter his presence in faith and good spirits.

Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

• Put on the armor of God.

• Read the Bible and see what God says about you.

Jeniro is on the go!

MAKING ROOM FOR INCREASE

You can't get increase on the outside without making room for it on the inside. You make room for increase on the inside by changing your thinking.

· e.g. if you don't think you will get out of debt then you probably never will.

· Mark 2:22 NIV

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins."

God has unlimited supplies what decreases is our ability to receive it.

·if I have thousands of gallons of water but all you have is a gallon jug then it's obvious that supply is not the issue.

·Matthew 9:29 NIV

Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith let it be done to you";

2 Kings 4:1-7 NIV

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord . But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves." Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"

"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a small jar of olive oil." Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side." She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."

But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

· If she had more jars then she could have gotten more oil

Psalm 35:27 NIV

May those who delight in my vindication

shout for joy and gladness;

may they always say, "The Lord be exalted,

who delights in the well-being of his servant."

· It's ok to want more for yourself.

· There was a man fishing. Everytime that man caught a big fish he would throw out back but he would keep the small fish. Someone finally asked him why he was throwing the big fish back. He said that it was because he only had a ten-inch frying pan. Some people need to buy a new frying pan.

· Some people have a ten-inch frying pan mentality...e.g. well this was my mom's frying pan...we''re just a ten-inch frying pan family.

· Proverbs 13:22 NIV

A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.

Isaiah 60:1 NIV

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

· Glory indicates weight.

Psalm 150:2 NIV

Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Jeniro is on the go!

Ups & Downs: The Great Adventure

I usually serve with the Kidslife team in Level 56 on Saturdays, but tonight I served with the Lakewood P layers (Drama Ministry) to help the 1st-4th graders learn about love. I did however get the notes for this weekend and decided to do a devotional about what this particular topic means to me. The Level 56 Summer Break Focus Topic has been "Ups & Downs: God's Faithfulness. This weekend we are focusing on the "The Great Adventure" and I'm sure Jonathan did an amazing job teaching this message to the kids! The large bolded italicized text is part of the message that was shared.  The scriptures that I share below ARE NOT NECESSARILY the scriptures the kids heard at service; this is my personal devotional on the topic! 

God has a great big plan for all of us. He has the most amazing adventure already planned out for us! All we have to do is get ready, trust him and and go on this adventure.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

When we plan to do something EVERYTHING in the plan is included to lead us to that desired destination even the things that we see as insignificant. Like David; his work as a shepherd prepared him to defeat Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:34-37But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

In this story, I see Saul as Carl and David as Ellie: some people see the vision and some people don't. David didn't get an attitude, he just explained his case like the next video. David was more than ready to go on a BIG adventure.

The couple in this video was more than ready to go on a BIG adventure.




Point #1


Don't be afraid to dream BIG! 
Now, let's take a look at Carl after he has lost all of his dreams. 


Point #2


God always has good things in store for us.
Level 56 is the Lakewood Church exciting, high impact service designed exclusively for 5th and 6th graders. Tweens discover an exciting new world where they can hang out with friends, enjoy games and fun activities and learn leadership and social skills through biblical principles that will prepare them for the future.

Matthew 19:26 ...with God all things are possible.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  

Ephesians 3:20 [God] is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us

God created the entire universe; the things I want are nowhere close to the universe. Thinking about God as the awesome creator and that he is empowers me to dream big. If he can speak the sun into existence then my dreams are no match for God. I just have to believe.

Sometimes things don't happen the way we think that they should but our ways are not God's ways.

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”  declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Sometimes the people who we thought would share in a dream leave but it doesn't mean that God won't give me the desires of my heart. Furthermore, even though certain people didn't make it to our dream physically they still helped us get there and we should honor their memory without letting their memory impede our future.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

2 corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” [are] the things God has prepared for those who love him.

It's hard to lose sight of the fact that God has good things in store for us but we have to always remember that he does. I think Psalm 27 is a good representation of this fact. I'm sorry that I missed serving with the Level 56 team this week but I know the kids will be blessed by this message and I hope that you were too.

Psalm 27