DeanSweetman.com » Overcoming Life Obstacles http://deansweetman.com Sermons, Podcasts and Teachings to Live Your Best Life Sun, 20 May 2012 18:48:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Dean Sweetman is Sr Pastor of the C3 Church with a campus in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He also serves as Executive Regional Overseer for C3 Americas. The Sweetmans moved to the USA in 1996 for the sole purpose of planting the Lawrenceville church. C3 Church currently serves the Atlanta community in a unique way through itís technology and charity work. Last year, Dean and Jill planted the C3 Church in Studio City, California. As Sr Pastors of both churches, they split their time between Atlanta and Studio City and have homes in both cities. Dean is a sought-after speaker in both church and business settings and an emerging author. His passionate and uncompromising preaching will inspire the most on-fire believer as challenge those who lack the fervor required to serve God. C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA webmaster@christiancitychurch.com webmaster@christiancitychurch.com (C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA) C3 Atlanta Online with Dean Sweetman DeanSweetman.com » Overcoming Life Obstacles http://audio.thec3church.com/podcasticon.jpg http://deansweetman.com/category/overcoming-life-obstacles/ Spiritial Growth & Unity http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/29/spiritial-growth-unity/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/29/spiritial-growth-unity/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:16:22 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=710 The book of Hebrews was written to introduce a new Jesus. Some chapters mention Jesus the man, Jesus God’s Son, Jesus the Savior, and Jesus the Christ; but this book was about Jesus the High Priest. A figure all members of that society recognized: Romans, pagans, unbelieving Jews, and also believers who followed Christ. They all knew, but why was that important enough to write about it in Hebrews? It was important enough because the Christians who were reading this letter should have already known something in this book. They were re-learning Algebra 101, and they should have been able to teach it.

The High Priest was responsible for many things, but it all boiled down to one main thing: he alone spoke to God for the people, and He alone heard from God for the people; now fast forward to 2012. Some Christians and churches still believe the pastor or priest talks to, and listens to God for them. Hebrews 5 says that’s a problem, we should be doing our own hearing and speaking. Jesus came to be the final High Priest, but when Jesus left the earth, He appointed a new priest – me and you. When Jesus left the Holy Spirit came to help us hear God’s voice so now we can go to God, one-on-one. We speak to Him in prayer, and He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. That only works if we pray, and we read, but do we?

Most of us now, and most of the Hebrews then understood that, so why is the message repeated for all of us to hear? The answer is, because we know it, but we run from it. We prayed, and trusted God for something – something big, or something small, it doesn’t matter – we trusted Him, and it all fell through. We may never know why, but at that moment, the fear, and doubt, and hurt crept in; and we stopped speaking, and we stopped hearing, and we stopped growing – or worse, we started sliding backward. Do we know we can still pray, of course. Do we know God is still there, yes, but we stop trusting Him with our lives and our futures.

Read Hebrews five; actually read chapters one through five, none of them are long so it will only take you a few minutes, but it’s a few minutes that can restore your hope, and trust, and confidence in God’s Word for your life; not the preacher, or the priest, or the reverend – you.

God’s Word is ALIVE – it can give you life. His Word is ACTIVE – it works today, and every day. The Word is POWERFUL – it is stronger than your worst problem. God’s Word is a SWORD – the sword cuts, and penetrates all the way to our heart. The Word is our JUDGE, and here it is critical to understand that John chapter one says, Jesus is the Word, which means He is the judge. But this Judge faced pain like we face, and has encountered sin like we do, but He won! So when we come before Jesus as Judge, we face a Judge Who has already been where we are – He was the priest, now we are the priest. So He offers mercy when we’ve done wrong, and He gives grace when we need help doing right. Talk to Him again and don’t be afraid; read the Word, and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit’s voice.

You are the priest. Lay your wrongs on the altar, then receive God’s forgiveness and blessing at the altar, and let them begin a Hebrews 5 change in you.

Verses Used:
*Hebrew 5:5-14

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/29/spiritial-growth-unity/feed/ 1 The book of Hebrews was written to introduce a new Jesus. Some chapters mention Jesus the man, Jesus God’s Son, Jesus the Savior, and Jesus the Christ; but this book was about Jesus the High Priest. A figure all members of that society recognized: Ro... The book of Hebrews was written to introduce a new Jesus. Some chapters mention Jesus the man, Jesus God’s Son, Jesus the Savior, and Jesus the Christ; but this book was about Jesus the High Priest. A figure all members of that society recognized: Romans, pagans, unbelieving Jews, and also believers who followed Christ. They all knew, but why was that important enough to write about it in Hebrews? It was important enough because the Christians who were reading this letter should have already known something in this book. They were re-learning Algebra 101, and they should have been able to teach it. The High Priest was responsible for many things, but it all boiled down to one main thing: he alone spoke to God for the people, and He alone heard from God for the people; now fast forward to 2012. Some Christians and churches still believe the pastor or priest talks to, and listens to God for them. Hebrews 5 says that’s a problem, we should be doing our own hearing and speaking. Jesus came to be the final High Priest, but when Jesus left the earth, He appointed a new priest – me and you. When Jesus left the Holy Spirit came to help us hear God’s voice so now we can go to God, one-on-one. We speak to Him in prayer, and He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. That only works if we pray, and we read, but do we? Most of us now, and most of the Hebrews then understood that, so why is the message repeated for all of us to hear? The answer is, because we know it, but we run from it. We prayed, and trusted God for something – something big, or something small, it doesn’t matter – we trusted Him, and it all fell through. We may never know why, but at that moment, the fear, and doubt, and hurt crept in; and we stopped speaking, and we stopped hearing, and we stopped growing – or worse, we started sliding backward. Do we know we can still pray, of course. Do we know God is still there, yes, but we stop trusting Him with our lives and our futures. Read Hebrews five; actually read chapters one through five, none of them are long so it will only take you a few minutes, but it’s a few minutes that can restore your hope, and trust, and confidence in God’s Word for your life; not the preacher, or the priest, or the reverend – you. God’s Word is ALIVE – it can give you life. His Word is ACTIVE – it works today, and every day. The Word is POWERFUL – it is stronger than your worst problem. God’s Word is a SWORD – the sword cuts, and penetrates all the way to our heart. The Word is our JUDGE, and here it is critical to understand that John chapter one says, Jesus is the Word, which means He is the judge. But this Judge faced pain like we face, and has encountered sin like we do, but He won! So when we come before Jesus as Judge, we face a Judge Who has already been where we are – He was the priest, now we are the priest. So He offers mercy when we’ve done wrong, and He gives grace when we need help doing right. Talk to Him again and don’t be afraid; read the Word, and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit’s voice. You are the priest. Lay your wrongs on the altar, then receive God’s forgiveness and blessing at the altar, and let them begin a Hebrews 5 change in you. Verses Used: *Hebrew 5:5-14 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 30:25 Mature Christian http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/22/sunday-04-22-12/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/22/sunday-04-22-12/#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:40:40 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=703 One of the hardest things to witness as a pastor is to see people come into relationship with Christ then slip away without finishing the commitment. It’s fairly easy to commit to Christ; in fact, one can almost be talked into it. The hard part is in becoming mature Christians. There is the ”standard of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) for us to measure up to. We start off as children easily “tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching”. In fact, this was one of the common struggles throughout the first 100 years of the Church leading Paul to constantly write letters to correct and guide the early Christians.

Christ gave the church “gifts” mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 including “the apostles, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers” to equip God’s people to build up the Church, the body of Christ. Apostles are culture changers; people involved in governmental oversight, overseeing new works and new territory. Prophets are given to the Church to provide insight. All of these gifts work together in subjection to order to cause growth in God’s people. Pastors are the gateway into the Church. Pastors have a heart for God’s people and are there to take you on your Christian journey. However, pastors can’t do all the work to facilitate your growth. Growth is facilitated by commitment to the Bible and prayer. Merely coming to church is equivalent to barely making it in your Christian walk.

What does maturity mean? The road to maturity begins with service. There is a point in your Christian walk where you should go from taking to giving; from consuming to creating. Be mature and start to serve in God’s house. Don’t let the little things that trip you up this year, trip you up next year. As in marriage, working through issues now prevents encountering the same problems later.

When you are a baby, someone feeds you. Most Christians stay in the “feed me” stage and don’t experience the growth and journey God wants to take them on. Growth is painful and difficult; it stresses our faith. When you ride on the coattails of someone else’s faith you won’t have what you need on the inside of you when your storm comes. Our faith in what God says is the only thing that can get us through.

Ephesians 4:16 says “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.” Not only are there functional body parts, there are joints and ligaments that are essential for perfect health. Joints supply movement; ligaments supply the connection between bones. Ligaments are the real-deal relationships that hold the body together. Our goal is to build a local body that will work; that can reach our community; that can make a difference. The power of the local body is that in one’s weakness the other is strengthened.

Many think “I don’t know where I fit” and use that as a reason to not commit or grow in the body of Christ. The appendix is a useless part of the body. It only gets infected and causes you pain. There is no such thing as an appendix in the body of Christ. Some folks live to be that pain by lashing out when hurting and God can remove that as one has an appendix removed. When an infected appendix is not removed, it infects the whole body ultimately causing death. You can decide to be a part of the functioning body of Christ. When you make that decision you move from immaturity to maturity.

Verses Used:
*Ephesians 4:11-16
*Colossians 2:19

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/04/22/sunday-04-22-12/feed/ 0 One of the hardest things to witness as a pastor is to see people come into relationship with Christ then slip away without finishing the commitment. It’s fairly easy to commit to Christ; in fact, one can almost be talked into it. One of the hardest things to witness as a pastor is to see people come into relationship with Christ then slip away without finishing the commitment. It’s fairly easy to commit to Christ; in fact, one can almost be talked into it. The hard part is in becoming mature Christians. There is the ”standard of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) for us to measure up to. We start off as children easily “tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching”. In fact, this was one of the common struggles throughout the first 100 years of the Church leading Paul to constantly write letters to correct and guide the early Christians. Christ gave the church “gifts” mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 including “the apostles, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers” to equip God’s people to build up the Church, the body of Christ. Apostles are culture changers; people involved in governmental oversight, overseeing new works and new territory. Prophets are given to the Church to provide insight. All of these gifts work together in subjection to order to cause growth in God’s people. Pastors are the gateway into the Church. Pastors have a heart for God’s people and are there to take you on your Christian journey. However, pastors can’t do all the work to facilitate your growth. Growth is facilitated by commitment to the Bible and prayer. Merely coming to church is equivalent to barely making it in your Christian walk. What does maturity mean? The road to maturity begins with service. There is a point in your Christian walk where you should go from taking to giving; from consuming to creating. Be mature and start to serve in God’s house. Don’t let the little things that trip you up this year, trip you up next year. As in marriage, working through issues now prevents encountering the same problems later. When you are a baby, someone feeds you. Most Christians stay in the “feed me” stage and don’t experience the growth and journey God wants to take them on. Growth is painful and difficult; it stresses our faith. When you ride on the coattails of someone else’s faith you won’t have what you need on the inside of you when your storm comes. Our faith in what God says is the only thing that can get us through. Ephesians 4:16 says “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.” Not only are there functional body parts, there are joints and ligaments that are essential for perfect health. Joints supply movement; ligaments supply the connection between bones. Ligaments are the real-deal relationships that hold the body together. Our goal is to build a local body that will work; that can reach our community; that can make a difference. The power of the local body is that in one’s weakness the other is strengthened. Many think “I don’t know where I fit” and use that as a reason to not commit or grow in the body of Christ. The appendix is a useless part of the body. It only gets infected and causes you pain. There is no such thing as an appendix in the body of Christ. Some folks live to be that pain by lashing out when hurting and God can remove that as one has an appendix removed. When an infected appendix is not removed, it infects the whole body ultimately causing death. You can decide to be a part of the functioning body of Christ. When you make that decision you move from immaturity to maturity. Verses Used: *Ephesians 4:11-16 *Colossians 2:19 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 40:00 The Tithe (part 1) http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/05/the-tithe/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/05/the-tithe/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:38:33 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=653 The tithe is found in both the Old and New Testaments. We see Abraham paying Melchizedek the High Priest a tenth of what he took as spoils of war, along with the first communion. People in those times learned to give their tithes of crops abundantly into the storehouse, a literal building that could hold food and seed in case of famine. In modern times, we pay our tithes to the local church – not a TV ministry, not a parachurch organization, but to the (store) House of God. If we have not learned yet that tithing is not an option for us as Christians, how can the church be “chief upon the mountains” as the bible declares? Tithing brings honor to God, brings blessing into our lives, and causes God to throw open the Windows of Heaven – it is the only time we are allowed to test God! He is saying to us, “Try it! Put Me to the test, I want to blow you away with My generosity as you learn to be generous!”

We are called to respect the altar of God – back in the days when priests offered sacrifices for the people, there was an increase of bribery as folks wanted to get rid of their lame, crippled and diseased cattle or sheep, and paid the priests to offer those on the altar, as if God were blind! Malachi was a prophet to the priests who had a lot to say about honoring and respecting the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, as you can read in the verses noted above. God’s principles don’t change, He will always bless you if you put Him first. If we have all our bills in front of us and wait til they are paid up to pay our tithes, we will never manage the 10% because the bills always seem so insurmountable. But if we line them up and put the tithe at the head of the line, we will find that supernaturally, the money is there to pay the rest! The priests (pastors) are responsible to tell the people that God is righteous and deserves the firstfruits of our labor, as Malachi aptly points out. We will miss out on a huge life blessing if we allow that 10% of our paycheck, disability or unemployment check (whatever we are getting as income, as opposed to monetary gifts from others) to go unpaid to the local church, the storehouse of blessing.

Tithing is probably the scariest thing we will ever do as Christians! It is easy to get saved, but it sure it hard to trust God with our money. Only 6% of the church in America tithes, according to Barna Research Group. This proved true several years ago, when Ps. Phil asked me what I had given in an offering. We discovered we’d given the same amount, and in a group of over 100 people, each of us had contributed 1/3 of the total offering taken that day. The 6% had prevailed, sadly. We are promised a return on our tithes and offerings, thirty, sixty or even a hundred times over what was given. No bank has ever given me that much of a return! What God can get through our hands and into others, He will get to us so we can do it again. If we are on food stamps, share some with others – there are always areas where we can give to people.

We have to learn that God sees our heart, He knows how much we make, and He is asking us to repay Him for the blessing of being able to work, or being able to draw a check due to disability, unemployment, etc. We want everyone in this church to thrive, and tithing is foundational to making that happen. We must look at our hearts, decide to give the Lord the honor and respect He deserves, lay our tithes on the altar, and watch the miracles unfold! I can’t wait to share more about this and tell you great stories of many who have tithed and received new jobs, raises, bonuses – all because we took a chance and risked loving God with our whole hearts.

Verses Used:
*Numbers 18:26
*Malachi 1:6-8
*Malachi 3:8-10

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/02/05/the-tithe/feed/ 0 The tithe is found in both the Old and New Testaments. We see Abraham paying Melchizedek the High Priest a tenth of what he took as spoils of war, along with the first communion. People in those times learned to give their tithes of crops abundantly ... The tithe is found in both the Old and New Testaments. We see Abraham paying Melchizedek the High Priest a tenth of what he took as spoils of war, along with the first communion. People in those times learned to give their tithes of crops abundantly into the storehouse, a literal building that could hold food and seed in case of famine. In modern times, we pay our tithes to the local church - not a TV ministry, not a parachurch organization, but to the (store) House of God. If we have not learned yet that tithing is not an option for us as Christians, how can the church be "chief upon the mountains" as the bible declares? Tithing brings honor to God, brings blessing into our lives, and causes God to throw open the Windows of Heaven - it is the only time we are allowed to test God! He is saying to us, "Try it! Put Me to the test, I want to blow you away with My generosity as you learn to be generous!" We are called to respect the altar of God - back in the days when priests offered sacrifices for the people, there was an increase of bribery as folks wanted to get rid of their lame, crippled and diseased cattle or sheep, and paid the priests to offer those on the altar, as if God were blind! Malachi was a prophet to the priests who had a lot to say about honoring and respecting the Lord of Heaven's Armies, as you can read in the verses noted above. God's principles don't change, He will always bless you if you put Him first. If we have all our bills in front of us and wait til they are paid up to pay our tithes, we will never manage the 10% because the bills always seem so insurmountable. But if we line them up and put the tithe at the head of the line, we will find that supernaturally, the money is there to pay the rest! The priests (pastors) are responsible to tell the people that God is righteous and deserves the firstfruits of our labor, as Malachi aptly points out. We will miss out on a huge life blessing if we allow that 10% of our paycheck, disability or unemployment check (whatever we are getting as income, as opposed to monetary gifts from others) to go unpaid to the local church, the storehouse of blessing. Tithing is probably the scariest thing we will ever do as Christians! It is easy to get saved, but it sure it hard to trust God with our money. Only 6% of the church in America tithes, according to Barna Research Group. This proved true several years ago, when Ps. Phil asked me what I had given in an offering. We discovered we'd given the same amount, and in a group of over 100 people, each of us had contributed 1/3 of the total offering taken that day. The 6% had prevailed, sadly. We are promised a return on our tithes and offerings, thirty, sixty or even a hundred times over what was given. No bank has ever given me that much of a return! What God can get through our hands and into others, He will get to us so we can do it again. If we are on food stamps, share some with others - there are always areas where we can give to people. We have to learn that God sees our heart, He knows how much we make, and He is asking us to repay Him for the blessing of being able to work, or being able to draw a check due to disability, unemployment, etc. We want everyone in this church to thrive, and tithing is foundational to making that happen. We must look at our hearts, decide to give the Lord the honor and respect He deserves, lay our tithes on the altar, and watch the miracles unfold! I can't wait to share more about this and tell you great stories of many who have tithed and received new jobs, raises, bonuses - all because we took a chance and risked loving God with our whole hearts. Verses Used: *Numbers 18:26 *Malachi 1:6-8 *Malachi 3:8-10 C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 22:16 Faith & Vision http://deansweetman.com/2012/01/15/faith-vision/ http://deansweetman.com/2012/01/15/faith-vision/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:57:37 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=640 Our church will begin fasting and praying on February 1st for 21 days. This is an opportunity to go to the next level for real this year, to overcome challenges and bring about lasting change. If you fast AND pray, change WILL happen! We look to the New Testament church for examples of how to work together, how to mature in Christ, how to be a “marketplace apostle”. One of the first men to rise up to a new level was Barnabas, a tradesman who, during a time of famine, sold a field he owned and gave all the proceeds to the apostles in Jerusalem to help other believers. Others followed his lead, and the whole church banded together, sharing and selling so that no one would go without. What they owned was not their own. The people made sacrifices for each other, and this was the first example of charity in any culture of that day. Let’s be sure our things aren’t getting in the way of where God wants to take us.

After the famine in Acts 4, a very zealous Jew named Saul was at the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, a man killed for speaking the truth about the Resurrected Christ. The Christians went into hiding because of the persecution now upon the Church, and in Acts 9 Saul goes to Damascus to kill Christians there who are sharing the Gospel. He actually thinks he is doing God’s will! On the way, the Lord blinds him and he comes to faith in Jesus himself, not eating or drinking for three days afterward. A Christian in the area named Ananias is asked by God to go to Saul, lay hands on him, and let God heal him – however, Ananias has heard Saul will arrest any Christians in the area! After arguing with God, he summons up his courage, lays hands on Saul, and goes so far as to call him “Brother” as he obeys the Big Ask that God had given him. Saul becomes Paul, the greatest apostle to ever live, the one who wrote most of the books of the New Testament, and from whose life we can learn so much about perservering and following the leading of the Holy Spirit! The thing is, he was not even accepted by the local church and the apostles who had been with Jesus until Barnabas, whose name means Son of Encouragement, befriended Paul and vouched for him to the church leaders in Jerusalem. You can’t fulfill your destiny until someone believes in you. It took the courage of Ananias & Barnabas to bring the killer of Christians into the family of the church. People then and now are looking for someone to care for them. We need lots of people to reach out to new folks at C3 this year, and our leadership classes are going to help us get confident as we step out and mature even more.

When God asks us to do something big, something scary, something well and truly out of our comfort zone like He asked of Ananias, we know that by prayer and fasting we can accomplish anything that God has laid before us! He is going to ask us this year to do what we have never done before, therefore it makes sense to prepare ourselves for this year of challenge. You don’t have to be a pastor to bring love and care to people in your world. We have to come out of our immaturity and the mindset that says, “Oh, that’s someone else’s job” and begin to really grow in our faith. This means that the people around us who need help will have someone there to encourage, to mentor, to pray for them – you! When the religious Jews threw Peter in jail for healing a crippled man on the Sabbath in Acts 12, the church was praying for him fervently, but when an angel opened up the jail and got Peter to safety, no one praying at the house believed it was really him knocking on the door! These people had seen the house shake with the power of prayer, but had forgotten that God really does work miracles! Don’t pass your miracle off as coincidence, believe that God meant for your prayers to be answered.

We are all currently afraid of something God is asking us to do, some challenge we’ve come up against. God will give us the means to conquer the fear and win the challenge, but we have to step out in 2012 and do what frightens us. This church will go to another place in Christ if we all step out, fast, pray and believe that God wants to do miracles in us, for us and through us. We’re not going to waste 2012, even when unseen tests come at us from left field, like the pain I have been having in my neck all last year. We do not give up, we find a way to make it through the maze of life because God believes in us!

Verses Used:
* Acts 4:31-37
* Acts 9
* Acts 12

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2012/01/15/faith-vision/feed/ 0 Our church will begin fasting and praying on February 1st for 21 days. This is an opportunity to go to the next level for real this year, to overcome challenges and bring about lasting change. If you fast AND pray, change WILL happen! Our church will begin fasting and praying on February 1st for 21 days. This is an opportunity to go to the next level for real this year, to overcome challenges and bring about lasting change. If you fast AND pray, change WILL happen! We look to the New Testament church for examples of how to work together, how to mature in Christ, how to be a "marketplace apostle". One of the first men to rise up to a new level was Barnabas, a tradesman who, during a time of famine, sold a field he owned and gave all the proceeds to the apostles in Jerusalem to help other believers. Others followed his lead, and the whole church banded together, sharing and selling so that no one would go without. What they owned was not their own. The people made sacrifices for each other, and this was the first example of charity in any culture of that day. Let's be sure our things aren't getting in the way of where God wants to take us. After the famine in Acts 4, a very zealous Jew named Saul was at the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, a man killed for speaking the truth about the Resurrected Christ. The Christians went into hiding because of the persecution now upon the Church, and in Acts 9 Saul goes to Damascus to kill Christians there who are sharing the Gospel. He actually thinks he is doing God's will! On the way, the Lord blinds him and he comes to faith in Jesus himself, not eating or drinking for three days afterward. A Christian in the area named Ananias is asked by God to go to Saul, lay hands on him, and let God heal him - however, Ananias has heard Saul will arrest any Christians in the area! After arguing with God, he summons up his courage, lays hands on Saul, and goes so far as to call him "Brother" as he obeys the Big Ask that God had given him. Saul becomes Paul, the greatest apostle to ever live, the one who wrote most of the books of the New Testament, and from whose life we can learn so much about perservering and following the leading of the Holy Spirit! The thing is, he was not even accepted by the local church and the apostles who had been with Jesus until Barnabas, whose name means Son of Encouragement, befriended Paul and vouched for him to the church leaders in Jerusalem. You can't fulfill your destiny until someone believes in you. It took the courage of Ananias & Barnabas to bring the killer of Christians into the family of the church. People then and now are looking for someone to care for them. We need lots of people to reach out to new folks at C3 this year, and our leadership classes are going to help us get confident as we step out and mature even more. When God asks us to do something big, something scary, something well and truly out of our comfort zone like He asked of Ananias, we know that by prayer and fasting we can accomplish anything that God has laid before us! He is going to ask us this year to do what we have never done before, therefore it makes sense to prepare ourselves for this year of challenge. You don't have to be a pastor to bring love and care to people in your world. We have to come out of our immaturity and the mindset that says, "Oh, that's someone else's job" and begin to really grow in our faith. This means that the people around us who need help will have someone there to encourage, to mentor, to pray for them - you! When the religious Jews threw Peter in jail for healing a crippled man on the Sabbath in Acts 12, the church was praying for him fervently, but when an angel opened up the jail and got Peter to safety, no one praying at the house believed it was really him knocking on the door! These people had seen the house shake with the power of prayer, but had forgotten that God really does work miracles! Don't pass your miracle off as coincidence, believe that God meant for your prayers to be answered. We are all currently afraid of something God is asking us to do, some challenge we've come up against. C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 27:48 Marriage and Relationships – Part 1 http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/13/marriage-and-relationships-part-1/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/13/marriage-and-relationships-part-1/#comments Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:39:51 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=599 When God created marriage, He intended it to not only be a source of strength and safety for a man and woman, but also to reflect on earth the intimacy that He wants us to have with Him on a daily basis. Knowing this, is it any wonder that marriages are under attack from every side? Having a strong marriage speaks loudly for the God we worship. So how can we increase our chances of having a strong marriage?

First, it is essential to understand that people come into a marriage with their own subconscious ideas of what it will be like. When these two worlds collide, major problems can occur, which is evident in the number of marriages that are ended over “irreconcilable differences.” We must decide that rather than “my way,” we will commit to finding “our way.” Commonality of goal, the ability to communicate about everything openly, and understanding the need to compromise will help us craft a vision for where we are going as a couple…together.

Secondly, if we want to have commonality of goal, we must shift our mindset away from what society and tradition have said marriage should be. The old mindset of the 50’s and 60’s that sees mom at home all day vacuuming in a dress and pearls is still around and it’s completely unreasonable. In fact, it’s not even Biblical. True marriage is not about roles, it about sharing dreams together. It’s about submitting to each other in the knowledge of God. And it’s about putting the other first and making all decisions with the other in mind.

Finally, we must make the decision to commit to the commitment of marriage. No husband or wife is perfect. We all have faults and will all make mistakes. We cannot hold unforgiveness toward our spouse or shut them out. If we refuse to hear the other, we cause our marriage to begin to disintegrate. All marriages go through shifting seasons when one spouse’s needs overshadow the other. We must be willing to make whatever adjustments are necessary for the best interest of the marriage and the family – not simply decide based on our own self-interest.

As time goes on, life seems to be more and more hectic. We cannot forget that a marriage must be tended if it is to survive and grow. Resist taking the other for granted and be sure to make time for the wooing to go on. In marriage, we must offer affection and love that expects nothing more. Marriage is the most important relationship ever created. Children draw security from a strong marriage, and communities benefit from the foundation they provide. There is no condemnation in Christ. Perhaps you have gone through a divorce or are struggling in your marriage right now. The good news is, with God’s help, any married couple can decide today, to commit, or re-commit, to taking the steps that lead them to their best life.

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/13/marriage-and-relationships-part-1/feed/ 0 When God created marriage, He intended it to not only be a source of strength and safety for a man and woman, but also to reflect on earth the intimacy that He wants us to have with Him on a daily basis. Knowing this, When God created marriage, He intended it to not only be a source of strength and safety for a man and woman, but also to reflect on earth the intimacy that He wants us to have with Him on a daily basis. Knowing this, is it any wonder that marriages are under attack from every side? Having a strong marriage speaks loudly for the God we worship. So how can we increase our chances of having a strong marriage? First, it is essential to understand that people come into a marriage with their own subconscious ideas of what it will be like. When these two worlds collide, major problems can occur, which is evident in the number of marriages that are ended over “irreconcilable differences.” We must decide that rather than “my way,” we will commit to finding “our way.” Commonality of goal, the ability to communicate about everything openly, and understanding the need to compromise will help us craft a vision for where we are going as a couple…together. Secondly, if we want to have commonality of goal, we must shift our mindset away from what society and tradition have said marriage should be. The old mindset of the 50’s and 60’s that sees mom at home all day vacuuming in a dress and pearls is still around and it’s completely unreasonable. In fact, it’s not even Biblical. True marriage is not about roles, it about sharing dreams together. It’s about submitting to each other in the knowledge of God. And it’s about putting the other first and making all decisions with the other in mind. Finally, we must make the decision to commit to the commitment of marriage. No husband or wife is perfect. We all have faults and will all make mistakes. We cannot hold unforgiveness toward our spouse or shut them out. If we refuse to hear the other, we cause our marriage to begin to disintegrate. All marriages go through shifting seasons when one spouse’s needs overshadow the other. We must be willing to make whatever adjustments are necessary for the best interest of the marriage and the family – not simply decide based on our own self-interest. As time goes on, life seems to be more and more hectic. We cannot forget that a marriage must be tended if it is to survive and grow. Resist taking the other for granted and be sure to make time for the wooing to go on. In marriage, we must offer affection and love that expects nothing more. Marriage is the most important relationship ever created. Children draw security from a strong marriage, and communities benefit from the foundation they provide. There is no condemnation in Christ. Perhaps you have gone through a divorce or are struggling in your marriage right now. The good news is, with God’s help, any married couple can decide today, to commit, or re-commit, to taking the steps that lead them to their best life. C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 52:13 The Vine – Part 1 http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/06/the-vine-part-1/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/06/the-vine-part-1/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:47:47 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=595 Jesus is speaking to His disciples after they have shared there last Passover together and are walking toward the Mt. of Olives, where unbeknownst to them, Jesus will be taken away to be crucified. It is close to midnight, and as they pass a vineyard, He explains to them the vital importance of staying close to Him and in God’s Word as people that will bear great fruit for His coming Kingdom. This is not a parable or a passage for the unsaved, but for His disciples, 11 chosen ones who must now endure great testing and hardship in the days ahead. He begins by saying “I am the true vine, and My Father is the grafter of branches.” This would indicate to the Jewish disciples that Israel as a nation is no longer the vine (they had a golden vine on the Temple doors and understood their relationship to God was unlike any other) because their leaders chose to reject the Messiah whom God had sent. The vine was not spoken into existence in the Garden of Eden, God planted it, and waters it, and now Christ has taken on that role. Jesus is the Vine, so as nutrients come from the ground thru the main vine and the branches are fed only thru the vine; we are fed thru the Word of Christ and living with Him day by day. (see vs. 4)

There is only a 1/2 inch difference between cutting off a useless branch that is producing nothing, and pruning back a healthy, fruit-laden branch that just needs to bear more fruit next season. When things are removed from our life it hurts but there is greater good to come! God will prune us to teach us to grow even larger in our capacity, giftings, and fruitfulness. This makes us turn to the nurtrients of Jesus to grow, multiply, become stronger & healthier! When we make poor choices continually, sometimes we get cut off – however, unlike the churches who want to frighten us by saying “that’s it, once you are cut off you are gonna burn!”, the Father who grafts seemingly useless branches will carefully cut into Christ, the Vine, and attach us to the main, life-giving artery. This is when God gets us to where we must trust in Jesus, when we are grafted in and bound to the vine – literally, the vinedresser tapes the branches so they stay put. We don’t have to give up, God will graciously make a way to reconnect us to Him! Choose to contribute to your church, to get involved when you don’t feel like it, that is called “trying again”. God’s NOT trying to kill us!!

God wants fruitfulness and He will do whatever it takes to get fruit from the ones He owns – “You are Mine, I bought you with a price and I require something of you!” There is a calling on our lives to produce something good for God! He will always pick us up and graft us back in – choose to stay in Jesus and in the Word “for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (vs 5) It may seem unjust to the fruitful but God is always going to prune us to cause an area of our life to grow. It’s the only way to get to the next level! The branch (us) grows again and bears even more fruit – and it’s not hard because He has prepared us for the next season. When the harvest comes and the grapes are put into the winepress – which is the Church – that new wine is the Holy Spirit, pouring out the wine of revival into all the people. The move of the Spirit in the last days will come from the fruit of the saints who are willing to be cut back in order to grow the church. This new wine means miracles, power, outpouring, and a flowing of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ.! “I have poured out My Spirit upon you”, Jesus said. We have to allow ourselves to be pruned and grafted or else the church will die. Look to Europe as an example, all the beautiful cathedrals and churches built hundreds of years ago are boarded up or have only elderly people attending – no fruit. In England, some Arab nations are buying up old churches and turning them into mosques, which then can only be used for that purpose according to Islamic laws and can never revert back to what they were intended to be – places where GOD shows up! This has happened because the church there decided to lay on the ground, wither and die. In Cambodia, they killed all pastors and Christians in the Khmer Rouge regime of the 70’s and now that nation is in desperate poverty. Even here in America, where we believe nothing bad can happen to us, we need to see that we are content to be a rich nation and have to open our eyes to the truth – we have to stay in Christ to survive!

Don’t run when you feel God’s hand pruning, we must ABIDE in Christ no matter what, that is the key. If we allow bitterness to fester in our minds during the times when we don’t understand what the Gardener is doing, it will wither us and we will die – but it will have been our choice. Instead, rejoice when you feel God is pruning you, cutting off something that you probably don’t need anyway, wanting to take you to the next level of joy and revelation He has for you! He is always getting the wine out of His fruitful ones, then asking us to grow more good grapes. Everything from Jesus feeds us and fuels us to start again. When things are really going terribly, you are probably getting cut – so get off the ground. Your attitude determines whether God regrafts you or not. Do not give in to the temptation to lay there, moan and groan about how sorry your life is and how mean God is – He always wants to give you a second, third, tenth, hundredth chance! He is patient with us and will always take us back again as we choose to put aside our pride and allow Him to heal us, to bind us to Christ and intertwine again with the other branches. Let the healthy ones around you help you grow.

Disciples, it’s time to GROW! Be fruitful, God wants your fruit to press out new wine for the church to stay alive and strong. Our focus now is on the 2020 mission to go into ALL the world and make disciples. A strong church keeps the Spirit moving and life flowing.

Verses Used:
*John 15: 1-6

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/11/06/the-vine-part-1/feed/ 0 Jesus is speaking to His disciples after they have shared there last Passover together and are walking toward the Mt. of Olives, where unbeknownst to them, Jesus will be taken away to be crucified. It is close to midnight, and as they pass a vineyard, Jesus is speaking to His disciples after they have shared there last Passover together and are walking toward the Mt. of Olives, where unbeknownst to them, Jesus will be taken away to be crucified. It is close to midnight, and as they pass a vineyard,... C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 32:30 The Four Rivers – River of Increase http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/18/the-four-rivers-river-of-increase/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/18/the-four-rivers-river-of-increase/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:49:04 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=560 In Genesis 2, we get our first view of the garden God planted as the dwelling place for man. He called it “Eden,” meaning “paradise” or “place of delight.” Verse 10 tells us that the garden was watered by a river that flowed through and out of the garden, then dividing into four branches. Those four rivers were named Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.

While we believe that Eden was a real place, it is also representative of the human heart. Each of us has the responsibility to tend the garden of our heart – the garden of who we are. The four rivers represent principles that God has given to help us cultivate good fruit in the garden of our lives. The first river, Pishon, represents increase and expansion, a principal that Jesus taught repeatedly. To experience increase in our own lives we must believe that God is our source of all things, learn how to get into God’s flow, and avoid the things that cause us to get out of the flow.

Today we live in a society filled with self-help gurus. As a result, we often think we can will ourselves to success if we just find the right book to read. But the river comes from God and we can’t will or self-help ourselves into the life He brings. If we try to make it in our own strength, there will come a point when our human strength will fail us. When difficulties come, when we can’t take one more step, we must look to the God of the River of Increase to be the source of whatever it is we need. Whether it’s strength, peace, joy, forgiveness, grace, patience, wisdom….whatever it is you think you’re out of, God has it and wants to give it to you. We only need to plant our lives by His river and let Him be our source.

We all know that water is an incredibly powerful thing. Rowing against a strong current will quickly tire you out and make it virtually impossible to reach your destination. But, as humans, we often seem bent on rowing against God’s flow – trying to get to our destiny under our own power. The Holy Spirit is God’s river. He flows into our hearts and wants to branch out into every area of our lives and spill over onto others. But we have to get into the flow.

You don’t need to look hard to find examples of people who have fought their way to the top but have not found happiness. Rowing against the river of God will never get you to a place of contentment. We each must decide to turn our boat and stop fighting God’s flow. The river may take us to places we don’t understand, but we will find ourselves in a place of unending increase that will spill over and grow the Kingdom of God. So come on and jump in, the water’s fine.

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/09/18/the-four-rivers-river-of-increase/feed/ 1 In Genesis 2, we get our first view of the garden God planted as the dwelling place for man. He called it “Eden,” meaning “paradise” or “place of delight.” Verse 10 tells us that the garden was watered by a river that flowed through and o... In Genesis 2, we get our first view of the garden God planted as the dwelling place for man. He called it “Eden,” meaning “paradise” or “place of delight.” Verse 10 tells us that the garden was watered by a river that flowed through and out of the garden, then dividing into four branches. Those four rivers were named Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. While we believe that Eden was a real place, it is also representative of the human heart. Each of us has the responsibility to tend the garden of our heart – the garden of who we are. The four rivers represent principles that God has given to help us cultivate good fruit in the garden of our lives. The first river, Pishon, represents increase and expansion, a principal that Jesus taught repeatedly. To experience increase in our own lives we must believe that God is our source of all things, learn how to get into God’s flow, and avoid the things that cause us to get out of the flow. Today we live in a society filled with self-help gurus. As a result, we often think we can will ourselves to success if we just find the right book to read. But the river comes from God and we can’t will or self-help ourselves into the life He brings. If we try to make it in our own strength, there will come a point when our human strength will fail us. When difficulties come, when we can’t take one more step, we must look to the God of the River of Increase to be the source of whatever it is we need. Whether it’s strength, peace, joy, forgiveness, grace, patience, wisdom….whatever it is you think you’re out of, God has it and wants to give it to you. We only need to plant our lives by His river and let Him be our source. We all know that water is an incredibly powerful thing. Rowing against a strong current will quickly tire you out and make it virtually impossible to reach your destination. But, as humans, we often seem bent on rowing against God’s flow – trying to get to our destiny under our own power. The Holy Spirit is God’s river. He flows into our hearts and wants to branch out into every area of our lives and spill over onto others. But we have to get into the flow. You don’t need to look hard to find examples of people who have fought their way to the top but have not found happiness. Rowing against the river of God will never get you to a place of contentment. We each must decide to turn our boat and stop fighting God’s flow. The river may take us to places we don’t understand, but we will find ourselves in a place of unending increase that will spill over and grow the Kingdom of God. So come on and jump in, the water’s fine. C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA USA clean 35:48 Biblical Freedom http://deansweetman.com/2011/06/25/biblical-freedom/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/06/25/biblical-freedom/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:51:04 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=480 There has been some confusion over what it means to live as the Christians did in the New Testament—when the Holy Spirit came to earth—and Old Testament—when laws and rules were overruled. The Galatian church began in freedom but, after false teaching was introduced, was going back into bondage to the law. The laws of Moses were revered and adhered to by the Jews because they were readable and understandable, but they just weren’t doable! It was a comfort to know what God wanted, but the Israelites continually deviated from the law, becoming influenced by the numerous pagan cultures of lands they conquered. King David established Jerusalem under Jewish laws in a godly state of mind, but Solomon, his son, married pagan women & turned the people to those gods. By the time Jesus came, only a few “religious sects” like the Pharisees and Sadducees were following God, and they had added to the burden and bondage that the law brings upon those who try to follow it without grace.

Jesus sets us free from SIN, which is the slave-master of humanity. Sin slowly degrades and eats away at the conscience of a human being. We cover up, trying to cope with living under the world’s system. Then along comes Christ to shield, block, and destroy the power of sin. As we believe, at that moment we are released from bondage. Where the Spirit is, the truth is also! Galatians 5:16-18 says, “My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?” These 2 natures that we grapple with—sin and Spirit— are bound by the world and bound by Christ.

Galations 5:19-21 continues the results of living in sin. We are led into bondage by not choosing the Holy Spirit to guide our lives to freedom. “It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.” BUT as we look on to the next verses, we are told what it looks like to live & be led by the Spirit, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness & self-control” – the last one is the most important!! Respond in worship and prayer to convictions. When we’re worn down after allowing sin to rule us, prayer and worship lead us to strength to repent and become stronger.

When we give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to move freely, He will break the rules!! We struggle to stay free –even the apostle Peter got called out by Paul when he chose to stop fellowshipping with Gentiles once other important Jews came to the town they were both in at the time. Religion may make us FEEL spiritual, but it’s a counterfeit and does NOT set us free! Sin has no power over us when we’re led by the Spirit. The law exposes sin, but we can never get to God thru obeying the law—only thru Jesus and the Holy Spirit and not by the works we do. There is a constant fight within all humanity between the flesh and the Spirit to do the right thing or the thing we WANT to do. Only the life-giving, freedom-loving Holy Spirit, who can’t be contained, brings pure, real, total freedom! He obliterates what we think God should or should not be doing. We know we are being led by the Spirit when His fruits show up in our lives (while the fruit of religion is hypocrisy -the thing that set Jesus off the most!)

This week we are going to be led into a new level of freedom during the Encounter conference. There is a response to the conviction of the Spirit, to repentance and letting go—let it flow through you!

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/06/25/biblical-freedom/feed/ 2 What we Say, Our Name, & The Holy Spirt http://deansweetman.com/2011/05/31/what-we-say-our-name-the-holy-spirt/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/05/31/what-we-say-our-name-the-holy-spirt/#comments Tue, 31 May 2011 13:39:46 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=475 When we submit to Christ, we have the power and authority to transform our lives and those of others by what we say. What comes out of our mouth is a release of what comes from heaven into our world. “Whatever we bind on earth is bound in heaven, whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 18. Growing our faith gives us the ability to function in the spiritual dimension. In the world, we would get tossed around by all the negativity that swirls there constantly, but when we are heavenly-minded and living for Christ, we don’t have to be part of the negative forces around us. We can create change by what we say and proclaim! Speaking connects us with the supernatural – it’s good to be positive, but that is not enough. We were created to be like God so when we speak His words we align ourselves with Him, creating peace in our lives. How we were raised & what was spoken over us can cause us to struggle with this, as the mouth is a powerful force for good or evil. It is always possible to create the changes we seek in our worlds!

Next, it’s important to realize that our souls are birthed at conception, and the being which is created at that point never dies. Our conceived beings are eternal, as we are made in the image of God, and He is eternal! So when the horrible happens and a child, born or unborn, dies, we can take comfort in knowing that God receives them and that their names are written in the Book of Life, burning brightly as innocents. As we age, when we turn to the Lord, again our names are bright lights in that book as we become more like Christ and want to make His name higher than ours. Those who continue to turn away from the Holy Spirit’s promptings will find their names fade from that book, if they choose not to reach out to what God is offering them. Our name is a vital component of who we are, and, in Proverbs, we find out that “a good name is better than great wealth” – Prov. 22. Your name is your calling card, for good or bad, and for all eternity.

The Holy Spirit is God on the earth today, and it is HIS job, not ours, to convict all men of sin, to comfort, and to bring understanding as we continue to search out what God is saying to us individually. In the Old Testament, God the Father spoke to the men of that time, and the Holy Spirit instructed the prophets what to say to the people of Israel & Judah. Then, for 33 years, Jesus was God the Son on the earth, showing us what God looks, acts, and sounds like. He had to die, not only for the sins of man, but to release the Holy Spirit to empower men, women, and children to have the authority we are talking about. Our authority comes from living in Christ and being filled with the Spirit! Remember how important that is! Even our impossible situations can be fixed up and made BETTER by God’s miracle-working power when we know who we are and what we have. In 1906, people were for revival in the country of Wales, UK, and in the city of Los Angeles; now, as a result of their prayers, over 1 billion Pentecostals filled with the Spirit are in the world today! We must look up to heaven, position ourselves in alignment with God’s Word, and realize that in every situation, God is bigger, more powerful, more abundant, and “able to do exceedingly more than we ask or think” – Ephesians 3.

]]> http://deansweetman.com/2011/05/31/what-we-say-our-name-the-holy-spirt/feed/ 0 Authority in Christ http://deansweetman.com/2011/05/17/authority-in-christ/ http://deansweetman.com/2011/05/17/authority-in-christ/#comments Tue, 17 May 2011 17:08:08 +0000 Dean http://deansweetman.com/?p=470 Some people interpret the Bible literally. I believe in taking the Word of God and interpreting it in the context of our society. I am a contextualist rather than a literalist. This simply means taking the Bible and making it apply in the context of our lives. The important thing is to live the meaning of the scriptures, to apply the teaching. We need to think about what God says and live out our faith. Apply the principles of the Bible to our lives.

We have been exploring the topic of who we are in Christ. We have authority in Christ. We have authority to do greater works in Jesus than He himself did. We have authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. We have authority to speak God’s word into existence. We have authority to teach all the nations.

Authority is powerful. It is something given to you – given from a source over or above you. When you are at work, your boss gives authority; he gives you access. When you start operating in that authority, you become so integral to the work, that you end up having more power over that process than the boss who gave you that authority. Jesus said to his disciples, “I’m leaving, but I am leaving you the Holy Spirit.” God has given us access to His power. He has given it, or delegated it to us. We need to step into that position and move within that power. He had all authority and He gave it to us. He said we could do greater things then He did, IF we live and walk in that authority.

Matthew 18:18-20: “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” We have been given the authority to open and close things, to bind or loose them, and to unlock or shut them in the context of prayer. We use this authority for when a breakthrough is needed. We are loosing the will of God on earth. The Kingdom of God is bigger than us. God’s will is bigger and more powerful then the world’s will. Jesus was talking about prayer and faith, about standing on the Word of God in authority. It can change the course of human life. Words are powerful. In authority, words can change the course of human life; they become potent. It is like having a nuclear device in the world of the Spirit.

Mark 16: 17: And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues. These miraculous signs will follow those who believe: healing and casting out demons. You have the POWER of the Holy Spirit in you! Don’t live in first gear when you have a V8 engine inside! In authority, we can bridge the natural and supernatural! Jesus spent so much time in prayer, He knew the heart of the Father. All the perfection of heaven can heal the broken. In those times that you need to stir the faith and soul again, go back to a time in your life when the will of heaven and the will of earth collided, and in God – everything aligned. See that time, visualize it, and find the confidence and authority in Christ.

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