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CONCLUSIONS

Recently, Pastor Karen spoke at the WE ARE ladies brunch at the Rock-Parkersburg. The word she delivered was a great wake up/reminder that we serve a GREAT BIG GOD!  She spoke on jumping to conclusions and this article was written from her notes and message.

She started off by telling us that our brains reward us for “coming to a conclusion” – even if that conclusion is wrong!  Because we are human, and want things fixed or solved, when we come to  a conclusion, right or wrong, our brain rewards us with dopamine. Interesting to say the least.  But then I began to think, oh my, how many wrong conclusions have I came to and been satisfied with in my life?  Then she said when Jesus said in Luke to “pray to the Lord of the Harvest” and ask Him to send laborers into the fields, He wouldn’t have said that had He not already come to the conclusion that there was a Harvest…for He is the Lord of that harvest!  So, when we pray, we need to go to His conclusion and pray it backwards!  AHHHH – now she had me!  Hook, line and sinker!

But first, let me share the definition of the word conclusion.  There are two –

  1. the end or finish of an event or process.
  2. a judgment or decision reached by reasoning

When I read the definition again after she shared it, I was like – “Of course!” Obvious! Why?  God is not in time.  Therefore, when He looks at situations in our lives, He sees the end of the process or He sees us finishing as His conclusion! The Bible says He declares the end from the beginning!  He already sees our end!  Jeremiah 29:11 says His plans are for our good – to give us hope and an EXPECTED END.  He’s expecting the end!   However, when we look at our situations, we often make our decisions by our own reasoning!  This, my friends, has been going on since Adam and Eve took the bite from the fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil!  When they came to the conclusion that God was keeping something good from them and tasted and ate of human reasoning.

See, our conclusion, above all else, must be – Our God is a GREAT BIG GOD and He is FOR US not against us!  That is the first conclusion we must make and it must override all others.  And if we make this our ruling conclusion then let’s see what will follow…

Perhaps you have an ailment in your body.  Statistics tell us and society agrees, that once a person hits middle age their bodies start to be less than what they used to.  They say, your bones will ache, eyesight dims, energy level drops, etc.  And most people accept this conclusion as an unchangeable fact and don’t even think of trying to take care of their bodies with diet and exercise.  They reason and jump to the conclusion that age is the culprit, and therefore it  becomes a fact for them.  Or maybe you know someone who has received a diagnosis that is not positive.  With all the data and information and opinions out there, it would be easy to get overwhelmed and accept the doom and gloom report.  But, what would a great big God say?  Remember, Pastor Karen said to go to the end of HIS conclusion regarding the situation you face and pray it backwards – or bring His conclusion into your life.  HIS conclusion is His word.  So what does the word say?

1 Peter 2:24 – By His stripes you were healed.

Isaiah 53:5 – He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed.

Psalm 103 – Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all His benefits, – who heals all our diseases, even renewing our youth!

What if the next time sickness comes or an ache or pain that says you are not as young as you once were, what if we went to His conclusion? What if we stopped and said – NO – I will choose to go to His expected end for me and draw that conclusion instead?

What about a financial need.  Maybe the bank has come to the conclusion that they want more money from you.  Or the hot water tank goes out and the baby needs diapers and you don’t have the money for both.  What will conclusion will you come to?  How about one of the following:

2 Cor. 9:8 And God is 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.

Phil 4:19 – And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Mal 3:10 – Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

How about we go to God’s conclusion and begin to pray and declare – Father, You promised that You would meet my needs. So I thank You that You have already provided what I need and I am standing on Your word.

What are you doing?  You are praying the conclusion – God’s expected end for you  and this releases FAITH!  Dopamine is good, yes, God created it.  But if my brain is going to reward me either way – I choose to come to God’s conclusion  AND  receive faith!

God takes His conclusions very seriously.  Remember the twelve spies?  Ten of them came to a conclusion other than what God had already said and they all died!  But the two that took God’s conclusion as their own…  Even though they had to walk through the wilderness, they received their conclusion even 40 years later when Caleb at 85, said give me this mountain!  God’s conclusions have no expiration date!

The word also tells us in Isaiah 14 that one day we will see the enemy and say “is this the one who caused all this trouble?” We will be astonished at the trouble we let this puny  little devil cause us when we serve a Great Big God!  There have been too many conclusions drawn that the enemy has more power than he really has.  Folks, if we would truly believe that our God is bigger, greater and for us, there would be nothing that could stand in our way.  We will go through stuff – but we will go THROUGH!  And we will win!  THIS – must be our conclusion.

So, I challenge you.  Begin to do an inventory and ask Holy Spirit to show you where you have accepted or came to  wrong conclusions in your life.  And when He does, confess, repent, and then meditate on the conclusion of the Lord until it becomes yours.

 

Final conclusion? Our God is a great big God!  

IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

This is probably one of the most recognized scriptures in the Bible. We hear it often at funerals because it is comforting. But have you ever taken the time to break down exactly what David is saying? We memorize it as children, we recite it at public gatherings and it sounds great – it is! But what is it actually saying? I mean, how is Jesus being a shepherd going to help you? Do you ever want? Sure – we all do. And why does He set a table for us in front of our enemies – couldn’t we just go somewhere in peace? LOL

I am a huge fan of the saying “You gotta read the Bible to READ the Bible!” I mean, as you grow in the things of the Lord, you realize that although the Word of God is full of over 7000 promises, unless you employ them and exercise your faith they won’t do you much good.

Here is an example I heard years ago: A man dies and leaves millions of dollars in his estate. However, his heirs never bothered to read the Will so they lived in poverty and in lack when they could have lived like a king…. are you seeing the parallel?

Jesus didn’t just die for our eternal salvation – although that would have been more than enough! He died for our complete and total restoration in this life AND salvation in the next. What an awesome God!

So let’s get back to Psalm 23. It is a lovely, poetic Psalm, and we have now established, that in order to partake of the goodness of this Psalm, we need to employ it. How do we do this? We read it, meditate on it and release our faith – especially when we see things that are contrary to it! This is what we must do with all of the promises in the Bible. We must put them to use and get them down in our heart. Joshua 1:8 tells us to meditate on the word day and night and in this way we will have good success!

So, let’s break this scripture down and see exactly what King David is saying in this particular scripture. (Note: the meanings that I will give all come from the Strong’s Concordance of Greek and Hebrew)

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Shepherd there means an actual shepherd – yes because we are often referred to as sheep. It also means companion, special friend and one who tends.

I shall not want. The word want means, lack, decrease, or diminish. I don’t know about you, but I want no part of lack, decrease and diminishing and that is the exact opposite of what God wants for all of us. So, I say we break ties with lack, decrease and diminishing now. How? The words of your mouth is a good place to start. Declare out loud: I break all agreements with lack, decrease and diminishing in Jesus’ Name! Then guard your words from here on out. Whenever you see a situation that looks like decrease remind yourself (and the enemy) you have broken those ties. Release your faith and exercise your rights as a believer!

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; – he leads with care, guides to place of rest, refreshing

He leads me beside the still waters. This meant just that – and still waters are peaceful!

He restores my soul; He restores my soul, myself, my life, my appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion and activity of mind

He leads me in the paths of righteousness He leads me into what is right or just or normal, into righteousness (as vindicated), He leads me into justification (where controversy is concerned), He leads me into deliverance, victory, prosperity, and a covenant enjoying salvation!

For His name’s sake. – His glory

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
the valley of death, darkness, distress and danger

I will fear no evil; I will fear nothing disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant, no unhappiness, pain or misery, any bad land, water, bad value, a worse than worst comparison, I will fear no sadness, no viciousness in disposition, no evil in ethics, wicked, or evil thoughts or persons, deeds or actions, no injury, or calamity

For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Rod also means “mark of authority” and staff also means “support of every kind” (Note also that the rod is a symbol of covenant and power. When two people made covenant, they would often exchange personal items and the rod of a shepherd was often unique to them. If you had HIS rod, it meant to every enemy that came at you – YOU WERE MARKED WITH HIS AUTHORITY – in other words – you could speak for Him and if you went into battle, the owner of that rod, that mark would go with you and you were not alone!)

You prepare a table before me You set in order, furnishes, and arranges – a king’s table for private use and sacred use – for me

in the presence of my enemies; – In places where I am bound, in a narrow place, when I am in distress, besieged, when hostility is towards me, when I am being treated with enmity, being vexed or harassed.

You anoint my head with oil; – to make me prosperous, acceptable

My cup runs over. – I am saturated

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; – GOODNESS – pleasant to the senses, pleasant to the higher nature, good, excellent, valuable, glad, happy, prosperous of man’s nature and good understanding of our intellect, good, right and ethical and MERCY – goodness, kindness, faithfulness shall follow me – to be behind me, follow after me, run after and pursue me – How is this for a REAR GUARD? (Isaiah 52:12)

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Folks, notice when we are distressed, in a narrow place (anything have you up against a wall?) When we are besieged (perhaps with reports of illness, or financial issues – relationship problems, when there is hostility towards us or we are being harassed – THIS is when He sets a King’s table before us – right in the middle of all the chaos. Why? Well, I have a couple of thoughts on that. I believe He is always demonstrating His authority and power. He doesn’t have to wait til the storm passes, He will bless in the midst of the storm! And another – God can’t just give us everything at the beginning. If He did we would be spoiled, we would not have faith and we would actually be pretty weak. A blessing in the midst of our enemies says brings refreshing, encouragement, and hope! It also says to the devil – ha ha! My God is greater than anything you can throw my way! You can’t stop this blessing and you won’t stop my breakthrough. It says He never leaves us and that He sees right where we are.

Are you in the middle of a battle today? Go sit at the King’s table – eat of His goodness. The table is ALWAYS set! He’s serving extravagant portions of hope, increase, faith, love and peace. How do we partake? EATING the Word of God! Whatever “weapon” the enemy is throwing at you currently, find scriptures to combat what he is throwing at you and then for dessert, worship and honor Him. Honoring God will always bring blessing. ALWAYS.

Let’s read Psalm 23 – with the in-depth meanings –

The Lord is my Shepherd, my companion, my special friend who tends to me, I shall not want, decrease, diminish or lack anything. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; guiding me with care to places of rest and refreshing. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; myself, my life, my appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion and activity of mind. He leads me in the paths of righteousness – into what is right or just or normal, into righteousness and vindication, into justification (where controversy is concerned), into deliverance, victory, prosperity, and a covenant enjoying salvation For His name’s sake – for His glory. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, darkness, distress or danger, I will fear no evil; I will fear nothing disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant, no unhappiness, pain or misery, no bad land, water, bad value, a worse than worst comparison, I will fear no sadness, no viciousness in disposition, no evil in ethics, wicked, or evil thoughts or persons, deeds or actions, no injury, or calamity For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me for You have placed on me Your mark of authority and I have all the support I need! Because I am in covenant with You, anyone enemy that dares to come against me will also be coming against You. I am not alone! You prepare a table before me – You set in order, furnish, and arrange – a king’s table for private use and sacred use – for me in the presence of my enemies; – In places where I am bound, in narrow places that are uncomfortable, and also when I am in distress, besieged, or when hostility is towards me, and when I am being treated with enmity, being vexed or harassed. You anoint my head with oil; – You make me prosperous. My cup runs over – I am saturated. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; – goodness, excellence, value, gladness, happiness, prosperity, understanding, ethically good, AND mercy, kindness and faithfulness – they all follow me pursue and run after me all my days! And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

This encourages me greatly. No matter what we face, no matter what the enemy throws our way, we have His mark of authority. We are in covenant with Him. He’s got our back! He will even bless and refresh us in the middle of the battle. And if He will do that, you know He will get us through to victory! What a mighty God we serve!