Worshiping the Lord can be done in many different ways, and one of the ways we do that is by testifying and giving the good news of the kingdom. So I’ve got one of those testimonies. It is so cool how this happened. We’re going out of town tomorrow, and Conia went to get the oil changed today. She gets there, and she’s got a little points thing with the dealership we work with. They change the oil, she comes back out and is getting ready to pay them, and they said, oh, you had a points thing and you got a reward, so we’re not going to charge you anything for the oil change today. And the windshield wipers — she got new windshield wipers too. Which gave her the resources to go ahead and pay our electric bill, so we wouldn’t have to do that next week. We’re ahead now. And then our son-in-law and daughter had reached out to us — we’re actually going to their house to help with the grandkids — and they said, our water heater went out, and it may be four days before it’s fixed. Can you guys deal with that? And I thought Conia was going to have an attack right there. No hot water. But our son-in-law started working on it yesterday, and this morning I got out of bed to a text that said, they will be here tomorrow. It will be fixed sometime between twelve and five. It is done. You will have hot water all week. Praise God. God moved three different ways there. God supplied the oil change, our electric bill, and then hot water coming out of the wall. Praise God. So every single day.
When I was preparing for today, God put this on my heart. Last Sunday we started with this song, and today, before I knew any of this, the Lord just nudged me and said, do it again. So we’re starting with Great Things again today. That’s kind of our theme song anyway. We are expecting great things. I get up every day with that on my heart. God, we’re expecting great things today. Where are we going? What are we doing? So I just want to lift this up as a thank you to the Lord and a testimony to His goodness and greatness.
We started off with testimonies, and then we sang. We’ve been worshiping the Lord, and now we get to worship Him in our giving. Let me share this little devotional with you, titled, “A Generous Person Will Prosper.” Proverbs 11:25 in the NIV says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will also be refreshed.” Generosity is more than just giving money. It includes giving your time, your encouragement, your compassion, your wisdom, your forgiveness, your resources, your support — using your talents to bless others. The word translated “prosper” carries the idea of flourishing, being blessed, and experiencing God’s sustaining goodness. We prosper when we experience God’s sustaining goodness. We flourish. We’re blessed. To refresh someone is to revive them, to strengthen them, to encourage them, to restore and bring relief to them. People need someone to listen to them. People need someone to pray with them. People need someone to help carry their burden and remind them that God has not forgotten them. One of our members here, Joey — you get to do this every day. You got a word. You’re refreshing others by encouraging them. Sometimes Joey says he just smiles at them, and they go, oh, thank you. Praise God. And so when we refresh others, we will be refreshed. When you become a source of refreshment, you position yourself to receive refreshment also. Generosity creates a channel for God’s refreshing flow. His refreshing flow flows through you, and then it flows back into you. It’s a reciprocal process. You give, you receive. What flows through you, God knows how to flow it back to you.
So let’s make this declaration together. I trust You, Lord, as my source and supply. I will always have more than enough to give to every good work, because from You all blessings flow. Thank You for multiplying the seed I sow and increasing the fruits of my righteousness. So there are many ways you can give. If you’re in our online audience or our live stream, go to our website, EmergeInternationalChurch.org, and there’s a Give button right there in the top right-hand corner. Click it. It’s a big one. Somebody requested we enlarge it, so we did. If you’re here with us, there’s usually a QR code in our bulletin you can use, or we have an offering basket up here you can sow into with cash and checks — and we still take that. And do what? Yeah, gold bullion, whatever you’ve got. Father, we thank You for the privilege and honor we have to partner with You in seeing Your kingdom come, Your will be done here on the earth. I pray for a hundredfold return for every seed sown today. Thank You for blessing us beyond measure and being with us and surrounding us with Your favor. We give You praise and glory for it all, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
I want to thank Brother Kevin for playing along with me tonight and flowing with me even when I didn’t follow the chord chart. There was a chord chart? Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to God. God is so good, guys. The last few weeks we’ve been talking about the blessing of living God’s way, and today is part three. And what we’re seeing through these scriptures is this: God’s Word is God’s way. If we simply stay in the Word, study the Word, meditate the Word, pray the Word, declare the Word — as He says in Joshua 1:8 to Joshua — then you will see and know how to make your way successful, and to prosper and succeed in all you do. God’s Word is God’s way. God has given us His Word to reveal His heart, demonstrate His power, and guide us in living the life He has planned and appointed for us. One of the things Joey says in our Wednesday night Bible study is, his prayer request is always: just let the Lord show me how good it can get. And it keeps getting gooder, doesn’t it? As we understand and apply His Word, we gain the wisdom, direction, and spiritual understanding needed to walk in His blessings.
Jesus Christ is the living Word. John 1:1-2 reveals that Jesus, the Word, existed from the beginning. He was with God and He was God. This establishes the divine nature of Jesus and His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. God’s Word is more than written instructions or commands. God’s Word reveals who God is: His heart, goodness, love, glory, wisdom, character. Through Jesus, we see the Father’s nature expressed in a personal and tangible way. Understanding who Jesus is helps us recognize that God’s Word is not separate from His nature. It expresses His heart and His way of doing things.
The second thing we saw last week was the power of God’s Word. John 1, verses 3 through 5, declares that all things were made through the Word. In Him was life, and that life became the light of mankind. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. Because Jesus is the Word, these verses reveal the creative and life-giving power of God’s Word. The Word brings light, life, and understanding into our lives, even when we face darkness, uncertainty, or difficulty. God’s Word is powerful because it originates in Him. It reveals truth. It provides direction and enables us to see beyond our circumstances. When we embrace His Word, we gain access to the wisdom and guidance necessary to navigate life according to His purpose.
The third thing: God’s Word illuminates our path. Psalm 119:105 — you’ll know it when you hear it: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This verse illustrates two essential ways God’s Word guides us. Number one, a lamp to our feet: God provides direction for our daily lives. His Word helps us make decisions, choose our actions, respond to challenges, and walk in wisdom one step at a time. The second way: His Word is a light to our path. God gives us understanding about the greater direction for our life. His Word helps us recognize His purposes, develop godly character, and become the person He created you to be. God’s Word provides more than information; it brings inner enlightenment. It doesn’t just illuminate outside of us; it brings light and enlightenment within us — clarity, instruction, understanding. It equips us to make progress, to exercise His wisdom, and live in alignment with His will.
And the fourth thing we talked about last week was living God’s way. God is committed to leading, guiding, and equipping us for everything He has called us to do. His Word reveals both the steps we should take today and the direction in which we should walk throughout our lives. However, experiencing the benefits of His Word involves more than simply reading or knowing Scripture. We must receive it, meditate on it, understand its meaning, and put it into practice in our daily decisions and actions. As we follow His Word, we learn to live according to His wisdom rather than relying solely on our own understanding. His Word continually directs us toward His purposes and ultimately toward an eternal relationship with Him. One of the definitions of His light — His Word is a light to our path — is that it shows the way to His house. God wants us to come be with Him. God’s Word is His way, and His way leads us into the life He has prepared for us. Jesus is the living Word through whom all things were created, and His Word continues to bring life, light, wisdom, and direction to those who follow Him. God has not left us to navigate life on our own — here you go, you’re saved, now let’s see how you do. Through His Word, He shows us where to place our feet today, and then He illuminates the path ahead of us. Our responsibility is to know His Word, trust His guidance, and apply His truth to the way we live. Here’s a good question to ask yourself: am I allowing God’s Word to guide both my daily decisions and the direction of my life? The blessing of living God’s way is learning to walk with Him and His Word daily. What you focus on becomes your reality. Our thoughts powerfully shape our perception, behavior, and outcomes. As Proverbs 23:7 states, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Paul challenges us in Romans 12:2 — don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the Word of God.
Today we will continue to look into the person and the power of the Word, the person and the power of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:6 in the Amplified: “But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him, for whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out.” I’m still in teacher mode, so bear with me — we’re going to work through each of these words and drill down deep.
That first word, “without” — it means separate, apart, lacking. Your level of belief in God and who He is impacts your day-to-day life, and what you believe about God influences your life. So how do you see the Lord? How do you see His Word? How do you see His way? Are you without faith in those things, or do you have faith for those things, or are you just waiting to see what God does? The word “faith” here means conviction of the truth of anything. Belief — the conviction that God exists and is the Creator and the Ruler of all things, the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. A strong and welcome conviction of belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. The character of one who can be relied on, fully persuaded in the gospel truth. Conviction. Do you have a strong conviction today? A conviction is a deeply felt, unwavering commitment to a truth. So what this verse is teaching us is our faith is founded on our conviction of our Father God, of who Christ is. It’s a moral principle or cause that moves a person to act from deep within rather than just intellectual agreement. It’s more than a mindset. It’s a loving, transformative guide that anchors a person’s faith and gives them the courage to live out what they believe, even when it’s difficult or other people don’t agree with you. He is the Creator and Ruler of all things. That word Creator — you are a child of God. He created you. You are created in His image and likeness. That’s who you are. And He is the one who can be fully relied on. The word character is a part of this, and it means deep-seated moral and ethical values, who you aspire to be — ethical standards, integrity, honesty, and strength of will. The Lord has all of this. We can trust Him.
Without faith it is impossible. The word “impossible” means without strength, being impotent, powerless, weak, disabled, unable to do. If you don’t have faith, you don’t have the power to do anything with the Lord. And then it says, without faith it is impossible to please. And “please” means to gratify entirely, to be well pleased. Have you thought about what pleases the Lord? Believe in His Word and His way. Believe in who God is and that He loves you. And guess what? He’ll be pleased with you. You know what? Conia and I are leaving tomorrow to go to our daughter and son-in-law’s home. Yes, I am from the South. But we’re going to see them, and I know what’s going to happen when we get out of that car. Those grandkids are going to come running past me going, Nani! Nani! You’re here! No, they’re going to come to me too, especially that little one. Kate’s my snuggle bunny, my snuggle partner, and here she comes. She jumps in my arms. Papa! And I love what she does. Conia gets up and fixes the kids’ breakfast, so she always fixes me something, and I come upstairs to eat. I sit down at the table, and Kate gets down from where she is, walks over to me and goes, “Papa, what you got?” I said, “My breakfast.” And she just smiles and looks at me and goes, “Bite?” I’m thinking, sweetheart, you’ve got food over there. Bite. So she sits there and helps me eat mine, and then she goes back and finishes hers. But that’s okay. You hear what I’m talking about. You’ve experienced it. God is pleased when we come and spend time with Him and love Him and believe in Him and desire to partner with Him.
The word “come” — those who want to come to Him are drawn. It means to come or draw near, visit, or worship. What we’ve been doing here tonight is worship, and the Lord rejoices in it. Scripture tells us all of heaven is singing along with us tonight and rejoicing with us because of God’s goodness. Those who want to come near to God — and that speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — must believe. “Believe” means to have faith in, to have faith upon or with, to show respect to a person or thing, to entrust one’s spiritual well-being to Christ, to be persuaded of and put confidence in. Faith, hope, and love work together. Hope fuels faith, and faith inspires hope. And that word “hope” in the Greek means three things. It means active expectation — getting up expecting every day. God’s goodness is coming. He’s going to show me the way today. I expect it, and you go out looking for it. It is not sitting around wishing and waiting. The second: confident expectation. I go forth expecting with faith for today. Confident means with faith for today. So you go forth full of faith today, looking and expecting to see God move. And the third: unshakable expectation. I don’t care what’s going on in the world economy. I don’t care what’s going on around me. I don’t care what people think, or if they believe in God or not, or if they believe in me. I know that I know that I know that God said it — His Word has told me — He will show me the way. He will lead me. He will guide me.
We must believe that He is. And “He is” means to be or to exist, to come into existence, to come into history. He has come into history. We’ve invited Him in as Christians, which means He comes upon the scene of our heart. And as He gets there, when you believe He is, you know there’s a miracle to be performed. And that miracle He performed in you was He saved you, sanctified you, set you apart unto Himself, and gave you eternal life, life forever. Guys, you’re already an eternal being. In one sense, you’re already living in eternity. We’re just in a box right now called time. He is not some distant being out in space somewhere. He is present right here and now. And He says: you’ve got to come believing that I am and that I am a rewarder. That word “rewarder” means one who recompenses, who pays one back for any service, loss, expense, or other sacrifice. One who pays the wages. He’s always more than enough. God is a rewarder. He desires to reward you and to bless you abundantly. That is His heart.
And He said, if you will come diligently — and the word “diligently” means steady and constant. You get up every day, no matter what’s on, trusting Him, believing in Him. Constant in effort and exertion, attentive, persistently consistent. Heard that before, Kevin? Diligence is a part of living in the blessing of God’s way every day. He said, if we will come diligently seeking Him — that means we come searching for Him, investigating, scrutinizing, craving, demanding, requiring, to worship. God, I want to come into Your presence every day, in every way, in everything I do, everything I say, with everyone I interact with. I want to come in Your presence, Lord. I want to be with You. It’s a daily, daily, daily way of living. A lifestyle.
Prioritize your time with the Lord. Matthew 6:33 in the Amplified Classic: “But seek, aim at and strive after first of all His kingdom and His righteousness, His way of doing and being right, and then all these things taken together will be given to you besides.” That word “seek” in the Greek — in order to find His will and His way — means to inquire into. Lord, give me wisdom. How do I walk this out today? How do I represent You well? It means, by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to crave, to desire to worship God, to aim at and strive for. I want to know You, Lord. I’m coming seeking You and pursuing You. This is a daily practice, a key to walking in His way. Seek first. Well, that tells us something. “First” means in time, place, order, or importance. First in rank, influence, honor, chief, and principal. All He’s asking is, come seek Me first. How many times have we gone and gotten everybody else’s opinion and advice and then gone, okay, Lord, everybody else says this — what do You say? And God goes, you know, if you’d have come to Me first, we could have done this a lot quicker, a lot easier. The priority of His presence and His power opens the door to His provision. Let me say that again. The priority of His presence and His power opens the door to His provision.
So come and seek first His kingdom. Kingdom speaks to the royal power, the kingship, the dominion, the rule, the right or authority to rule over a kingdom. The royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah. The royal power and dignity conferred on Christians. Think about that. We have royal power and dignity that’s been conferred on us by our Father God in the Messiah’s kingdom. This is God’s realm of responsibility, and you are a citizen of God’s kingdom. In fact, I love this: you are a member of the royal family. I remember my daughter growing up, she would tell me, “I’m a princess.” And I’d go, yes, you are, baby. And she goes, “No, Daddy, I’m the princess of the world. There’s a lot of other girls that say they’re a princess, but I’m the princess of the world.” And I said, okay, I agree with you. She’s in her late thirties now. She still says that to me. Praise God. We’re a part of the royal family. That’s how you need to see yourself. Don’t let the enemy tell you you’re nothing, you can’t do it, you can’t make it. You’re a part of God’s kingdom, a part of His family. You’re a part of Him. His Word, the Holy Spirit, His counsels, His interests, all things that are due to Him.
So we come first seeking His kingdom and His righteousness. And that word “righteousness” means His state of being, who He is as He ought to be. The condition acceptable to God. It means integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting. We get to walk in God’s righteousness and live it out. Walking in His righteousness is living in God’s way of being and doing. It’s just that simple. And then it says, “and then all these things.” Guess what the word “all” means? Each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything. He holds nothing back. He is always more than enough. All these things will be added unto you. And the word “added” means add again and again and again and again. Give more, increase, proceed further. Call it in. Speak to it. Fruitfulness and multiplication is the result of seeking first His kingdom and His way. The very thing He spoke over Adam and Eve in the beginning: be fruitful and multiply. That is ours. And in His kingdom, as we seek Him first, that capacity and power to be fruitful and multiply comes forth from within us. It’s going to be added to you, He says. You, God’s child. You are God’s representative, ruling and reigning here on the earth, His chosen one, a member of the royal family. To seek first the kingdom is to pursue and walk in God’s way. Living God’s way is not about slavery. It’s not about simply following the rules. God’s way is the best way to exist, to live here on earth. It is what Jesus said He came to give us.
One last verse before we close. I love this verse — John 10:10 in the Amplified Classic. Jesus said, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.” He was talking of Satan there, our enemy. “But I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance, to the full till it overflows.” That word “thief” means the embezzler, one who comes to waste and dissipate in extravagance, to pilfer, to steal. Petty theft. It’s a false teacher who does not care about instructing men, only what they can get from them, and who abuse their confidence for their own gain. That’s going on out there in the world today. That is who the enemy is, and he’s working through the world system to be a thief and steal from you. And “steal” means to take away by stealth. He’s trying to secretly steal from you, and you don’t realize it, and you go, where did he go? I thought I had this. He comes to kill — to sacrifice, to slay what God puts in your heart. He comes to steal your dreams. He comes to destroy — to destroy fully, to put out of the way entirely, to abolish, to ruin, render useless, to mar, to be lost, to vanish. My brother called me last week. One of the top guys in his company — fifty years old, beautiful wife, six children, seemed to be fine — went into his bathroom and took his own life with his shotgun. And nobody knows why. And I told my brother, the enemy got in there and stole from him, destroyed his confidence, and made him believe there was no hope and no way out. So why don’t you just go ahead and end it all right now? That’s what the enemy does. But Jesus said this: Jesus came so you can have. Say that out loud. I can have because of what God has done for me. That means to possess, to have in hand, to hold fast, to keep, to own by the bonds of natural blood or marriage. Jesus shed His blood for us. It means friendship or companionship, and external things — property, riches, goods, food, all the stuff. Jesus came that we can have. And He says, I came that you can have life. And that word “life” means life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed in this world for those who put their trust in Christ, and after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions, among them a more perfect body. And to last forever. The absolute fullness of life which belongs to God and Christ in His Word — all of that has been given to us. God is always more and better. And then Jesus goes on: I came that you can have life abundantly. And that word in the Greek means superabundant in quantity and superior in quality. Exceedingly abundantly above, highly beyond measure, more than is necessary, more remarkable and more excellent. We started this study in Isaiah 55, where it says God’s thoughts are higher than ours and God’s ways are higher than our ways. And that word “way” in the Hebrew means His lifestyle is a lot better than yours. And Jesus is saying, I came to give you the lifestyle that I live with My Father, and this is all yours. Let me say it again: living God’s way is not about slavery. It’s not about simply following the rules. God’s way is the best way to exist. It’s the best way to live here on earth. It is what Jesus said He came to give us. This is His life, His way, His lifestyle, high above where we are living. This is why Jesus came. God wants us to have and live His life. He wants us to walk with Him in His way. He created all of this for His children, and you are His child. He has empowered you to rule and reign here on the earth. His heart’s desire is to see us bring and experience heaven here on earth. Father, we thank You. We ask that Your kingdom come, Your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven, and let it be done through us, Father. Praise God. Pastor Conia is coming now with a closing thought and a prayer. God bless you.
So it occurs to me, as we look at all the excellence and all the superior and all the exceeding and above — nowhere does it say perfect. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. So if we’re walking around thinking, oh, I must not be walking in God’s way because I’m not perfect — you’re probably wrong. There’s a lot of things in God’s world that are imperfect, but excellent and loved and blessed just the way they are. So if you’re not perfect, it doesn’t mean you’re not the way God wants you to be. It means you are perfect in His eyes. So walk it out today. Love who you are, because God loves you just the way you are. Father, thank You. Thank You that You are the perfect One, and You love us even in our imperfections, Lord. You see the excellence and the love and the light within each one of us. Help us to see ourselves the way You see us. In Jesus’ name, amen. Y’all have a great week.
