A Need For Understanding

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Nov 172010
 

Psalm 119:34
Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
KJV

In order for us to keep God’s commandments, we must have understanding. If we do not have understanding we cannot keep God’s laws. David stated here that if he had understanding he would keep the law and would observe it with his whole heart.

The problem is people do not observe God’s laws with their whole heart because many have already said in their heart that they cannot keep His commandments. This mentality is compounded by teachers, preachers, and pastors who instruct them grace was given to cover all their sins… and so they continue sinning willfully because they believe they’re not accountable anymore to uphold the law because of grace. God forbid.

Some believe it’s because the Spirit of God can now dwell inside of us that we’re able to keep God’s laws- but look at this.

John 8: 2-11
2. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4. They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6. This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11. She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
KJV

Jesus tells the woman to go and sin no more. Keep in mind the fulness of the Spirit of God dwelled in Jesus after He was baptized and no other miracles and wonders do you hear about. The Spirit of God did not dwell in man at this point… yet Jesus tells the woman to go and sin no more… evidently it was possible.

Do we mess up sometimes? Do we fall? Yes sometimes we do, but that is what repentance is for. Now hear me when I say this- write it down, tweet it, do whatever you want to do to document this… KINGDOM CITIZENS DO NOT SIN EVERY SINGLE DAY! I am so disgusted with teachers of the word saying this. When I hear a confessed believer saying this it reflects to me on their teacher… that is if they are consistent in assembling themselves together each week. Anyone who teaches this IS NOT teaching according to the word of God. I am not perfect by no means- but I’m going to do my very best to obey God’s laws.

Think about this. As of this writing I have been married for over 9 years going on 10. I love my wife so much! Now because I am married their are certain things that I cannot violate or it will impair, cripple, hurt, or destroy my marriage. Here are some examples of things that would violate the bond of our marriage.

  • Talking to other women flirtatiously
  • Going on a date with another woman
  • Sleeping with another woman
  • Talking on the phone with another woman for hours as if I was single
  • Lusting after another woman
  • Trying to get another woman’s phone number
  • Spending income as if I was single again without communication with my wife

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that are unacceptable behaviors once you are married. Now if I had a document with this on it and I had to carry it around constantly reminding myself throughout the day…

“Ok ok, let me make sure I don’t commit adultery today, I’ve got to make sure I don’t stare at any women today, I don’t want to ask another woman for her phone number today because after all I am married and this would make her mad.”

Even if I kept up with these laws of marriage throughout the day, my wife would not be very happy. Why? Because if I love her I shouldn’t have to remind myself day in and day out to stop myself from committing adultery. Imagine me coming home and saying everyday “I’m sorry I messed up today, but this sister was fine!

Yet, we do this very thing with God…

See God doesn’t want us having to constantly follow a set of laws routinely like this… It doesn’t mean anything, because we’re following the letter of the law. We’re going through a routine- there is nothing real behind it, there isn’t any passion behind what we’re doing. Remember without understanding you’re just following a list of “To-Dos”. Without purpose you have nothing to motivate the action- and you cannot keep anything without motivation.

My motivation to please my wife and keep our bond sacred is I love her with all of my heart and I will abolish anything in my life that would distance me from her. I don’t have to keep a list of “What to do and not to-dos” in order to do the right thing because my motivation is our relationship and the love I have for her.

God is the same way.

John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
KJV

We build on our relationship with God through time in prayer, reading and studying His word, praise and worship… Being obedient to His laws and commandments becomes natural because we don’t want to do anything to distance our self from Him. Now read this…

Hebrews 10:16
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
KJV

The pharisees problem was that they followed a list of 613 laws (the letter of the law) without having a true passion to please Him and to draw close to Him. (the spirit of the law)

I don’t have to remind myself not to hook up with someone else because I’m married- it’s automatic because I love my wife and I can’t let anything divide us.

I don’t have to remind myself not to steal something because God told me not to- it’s automatic kingdom culture because I love the Lord and I can’t let anything distance me from Him.

-For the Kingdom

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Lord

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Nov 162010
 

Would you go to a lawyer for legal advice who didn’t understand the difference between interpreting the “spirit of the law” and the “letter of the law”?

Would you let someone cut your hair whose experience is primarily their 4 year old child’s?

What about having a health diagnosis made by a Doctor… of Veterinary Medicine?

Of course these are all ridiculous questions- the answers are fairly obvious. The point of these questions is not to say one needs a specific education from a particular university to be chosen, but that we want those associated with a certain field of study… to have studied! We want someone who has a passion for what they believe in,  a passion for their purpose.

Most would agree with the above statements… but when it comes to being citizens of the kingdom of God, the country we associate our self with, whose King we say we follow… many times it doesn’t seem we understand God’s laws nor his word. I say this because of those who, I dare say, say Jesus is their Lord but they don’t do what He says.

Remember Lord comes from the word Adon- where we get Adonai which means Owner. So if He owns you, why do we still disobey His commandments. I’m afraid in today’s theology of many peoples we have made grace a religion. I have heard it said of those “I’m no longer under the law, I am under grace.” And this is a scripture that is wonderful to us… but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted by many and is used as a weapon against God’s laws in order to break God’s commandments. Many have set in their minds that they cannot obey God’s laws and so they live as if grace covers any sins they continue to commit and live in… because after all, their not under the law any more. Paul said “God Forbid” that we may break God’s laws just because we’ve been grace. We’ve been given grace so we can be once again in the kingdom of God, be in right positioning with the kingdom, right standing with the King because of the blood of Jesus.

Will a judge pardon someone for theft so that he can now break into as many banks as he wants to without fear of consequence? No. If he was pardoned it meant he was released from the judgment that was due for his crimes, so that he can be a part of society again. He was deserving of punishment according to the law but he was pardoned by grace given from the judge. This is what Jesus did for us.

Ask yourself this… if grace is given to cover every sin you could ever commit going forward… then what is the purpose of repentance anymore? If you are on your way to heaven no matter what you do, because of grace, what is the need for repentance?

God gave us grace, ability, to keep His laws again- Not sacrificial law, because that was the works that Paul was speaking of that cannot save, but ability to keep God’s laws- which never change.

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Kingdom Obedience

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Nov 042010
 

Where is the discipline of His disciples? We have interpreted grace as a weapon that destroys having to be obedient to law- when actually grace came to destroy the condemnation of the law we were under and the sacrificial law of the past. Every where you look there are people who claim to belong to God but “they don’t do what He says.” Did God give us grace so that we could violate His commandments all of our lives? God forbid. It is time for His citizens to return to obedience.

Myles Munroe is currently this year teaching on “Kingdom Law for Kingdom Living” and I was deeply inspired by just the few short messages that I heard on the subject. God begin to reveal things to me in my own life that I needed to put under subjection to the King of glory. God began to open up revelation to me on the subject and show me His desire for us to walk in His ways. The result is blessings, benefits, and an abundance from Heaven being poured out because of the natural laws that are built into being obedient to His commandments… and it will overtake you.

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Impacting Earth

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Oct 282010
 

Colony • a group of people sent to a new land in order to influence and impact the settlement with the culture and ways of the parent country from which it was sent and is subject to.

Are you demonstrating the ways of Heaven in your life? Can people see you and know you’re from another country?

Numbers 15:16
There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.
NASB (Emphasis Added)

What laws do we live under? The laws of God? Or do we overrule God’s laws with man’s ways.

If you’ve kept up with our video lessons, you will know we have been studying on the “purpose of prayer”. I haven’t been able to do another video yet on prayer because the Lord has really been speaking to me about obedience. Without obedience we drift into sin because we violate God’s laws and our prayers cannot be heard because of iniquity.

There is a dangerous teaching that must be addressed and only those who really want to be citizens of His kingdom will hear instruction. Jesus said “If ye love me… keep my commandments.” The question is… why are we not?

Because of grace?… ahhh but grace is misunderstood. We define grace as if it is the opposite of law.

Romans 6:15
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
KJV

The problem lies with our misunderstanding of law. See there are two laws. There is sacrificial law which was abolished with the coming of Jesus and there is the laws of God which never change. The law said we should die because of sin but God gave us grace from the condemnation we were born under so that we could live.

Live how? If we are under grace why can we not just rob all the banks, covet our neighbors things and take what we want, commit adultery and kill anyone we don’t like? …after all we’re not under the law we’re under grace… Does that make sense? No.

Grace in the Greek comes from the word “charis” where we get “charismatic” which is ability.

So what has He given us ability to do? To walk in newness of life, to be forgiven, to become a holy vessel unto Him.

He did not give us grace so that we can… continue in sin perpetually without consequence. Where did we get this definition? A judge grants you mercy not so that you can do whatever you want, but so you can be given the ability again to fulfill the law. You cannot decide to become a legal law abiding citizen when you’re still a convict. You have to come before the judge and plead.

Thanks be to God Who gave us grace, not to make a mockery of His kingdom, but to be out from under the law, the judgment we deserved, in order to be able to continue in His grace forgiven for the old and being obedient to His commandments.

I have a video I will be shooting this week and will have it online shortly afterward. I pray His knowledge will bring revelation to your spirit and awaken His purpose in you. The Lord is calling His people to return to Him, to return to His ways, His laws, His commandments and experience the full weight of His kingdom in our lives.

-For the Kingdom

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Murder

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Jul 062010
 

I was talking to a Pastor friend the other day and discussing with him about prayer and the mind. See, I did something wrong.

I committed… murder. That’s right, I… committed… MURDER.

Now that I have your attention let me explain before S.W.A.T. breaks down my door.

I must start off by explaining something very important for kingdom citizen’s to understand. In law there is an idiomatic antithesis between “the letter of the law” and “the spirit of the law”.

The letter of the law is when you take and obey the literal wording of the law.

The spirit of the law is when you interpret what the original authors of the law intended by the law.

This is so important for us to grasp and understand when we read the bible. Let me explain a real life analogy that I used recently. If I am with my son about to cross the street, I tell him to ‘hold my hand’. Now the letter of the law would interpret from this that he is to hold my hand no matter what. Regardless of circumstances he must never let go, because he must obey the literal wording of what I have said.
The spirit of the law though interprets that the reason I want him to hold my hand is because I don’t want him to get hit by traffic. Both would accomplish the same purpose in most circumstances- but what if while crossing I faint and fall in the street unconscious? If my son holds to the letter of the law, he cannot let go of my hand for any reason, putting him in danger. But if he understands the spirit of the law then he’ll know I didn’t want him to get hit by traffic and so he will let go of my hand and get to the safety of the curb… and hopefully get me help! When we read the bible we must know and understand these two contrasting views- it’s important to know both.

Now let’s look at the bible when Jesus explained the contrast between the two.

Matthew 5:21-22
21) Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22) But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment

and this…

Matthew 5: 27-28
27) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

This is revelation right here. See, there is a difference in what “we say” and what “He says”. Verse 21 of Matthew 5 Jesus is saying (paraphrase) “Look, you say if a man kills a man he is a murderer- BUT I say, if you even hate your brother you have committed murder.” See the problem with the way the pharisees taught was- by the time they realized they had done wrong it’s too late… someone’s dead or a marriage is wrecked. But the spirit of the law is that you have already committed murder in your heart if you hate your brother, or committed adultery if you look upon someone to lust after them. We have to understand God’s laws in order to obey them. If we think we have to kill someone to violate the law, but God’s intent is even the thought of it, then we never repent because of our ignorance. Our understanding has to be of the spirit of the word- so when we have these thoughts we’re convicted in our heart and can turn quickly and change our thinking.

Now, back to my charge. Sometimes it can be hard to pray for your enemies. I’m not talking about the occasional incident of someone who won’t let you yield onto the highway and you blow your horn at them- I’m talking about when you’re tested constantly for a season by someone who is in your life every day. This could be a friend, a neighbor, a boss, etc. You try to be the peace maker but it can feel like they want to destroy you, at least in the season. Now Jesus says to pray for our enemies and do good to them who despitefully use you. Sometimes we can feel like we’re doing this- but is it your words or your heart?

See in my situation with my words I was saying “Lord, bless them and help them- they need you God…”

But somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I was praying “LORD! REIGN DOWN BLOWS UPON THEIR HEAD WITH BOLTS OF LIGHTING FROM THE HEAVENS!”

This is funny now, but it’s serious. I was trying to pray and concentrate on what I was saying but somewhere in the back of my thinking, though I tried to hide it from myself, I was thinking “Well, God will understand what I really mean.” Sometimes we get the idea because we’re saying one thing that God will do the other thing because of our words… how incorrect. I realized then I had committed murder in my heart because of my aggravation of the situation. Now this whole scenario took place in about the span of 30 seconds… but that’s enough. It’s my understanding of the spirit of God’s word and my seeking of the kingdom and His righteousness that causes me to turn. I love Him, and if I love Him I will keep His commandments.

So… are you guilty of murder? Is there someone you have let get to you? You’ve tried to cover it up by praying for them with words only… but your heart has been resonating something else. Get rid of it now. Repent before that hate turns to bitterness. It’s not kingdom and you lock up heaven when this is in your heart. God CANNOT answer your prayers or release great things in your life when you hold the keys to earth and lock up heaven. It’s His word and His law, so He must follow it. (Matthew 5:24)

Release it now and unlock -(loose)- heaven again in your life.

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If It Was Easy

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Jun 162010
 

If the things worth achieving were easy they would already be done. This also goes with the phrase ‘Nothing worth having is free’.

I heard Dave Ramsey answer a question about why he charges for his Financial Peace University DVD set once. He said (paraphrase) ‘That you don’t hold value in things that you get for free, but if you have to sacrifice money then you want to make sure you get your money out of it.’

This is so true! Anything worth having has a cost associated with it. Electricity is nice to have and has a cost. A good job has the cost of hard work. A good relationship has the investment of time in it. Vegetables and fruit have the cost of sweat and labor. Sweet victories have the cost of trials and battles. Everything has a cost.

There are some who define themselves as a Christian… but they show no sign of the cost of their old ways. They haven’t sacrificed the pleasure of getting high, they haven’t kept themselves from their lusts, they haven’t forgiven those who have offended them- they continue to hate. We cover these issues up and don’t deal with it by calling a lot of it… human nature. We say things like “Well the Lord knows you need a little break sometimes.” What?!?

Isn’t it funny how we try to associate the Lord with many of our pagan activities. We preach a God of only love, peace, and understanding. We speak about Him this way as to assume He is OK with the breaking of His law. You catch that? H-I-S  LAW.

OK- look at this. Many times when we start reading these types of paragraphs, like above, our mind starts racing for a scripture to defend our life. We’ll remember that one scripture but will not study the whole law. Could you be an effective lawyer if you only knew one article of law? You would be clueless the first time the other lawyer says “I object your honor!”. You would think ‘Why? How can he object, this law says this…’
But you see, you only studied that one little article of many articles of that one subsection of many subsections of one section of many sections. How can you be effective with your one article.

How could God be less thorough than man?

The awesome thing about God’s word though is it is easier to understand than man’s laws. You don’t have to pass a bar exam or go to some high end college to understand His law- in order to have it be effective in life every time for you! He has designed it with such complexity where it covers every single area of life- but so simple because He wants everyone to know His word and understand it. The wonderful thing is all you have to do is read and obey it. The sad thing is we won’t read it.

His law are instructions for life.

Instructions come with new devices not to make you’re life hard but so that you can get the full use of the device and not destroy it by using it in a way it was not meant. Would you buy an iPOD and go swimming while listening to it? No, why? Because you know it was not made to be submersed underwater and will short circuit the device and will not function. You have that knowledge so you act accordingly. Your body was made to take in food, water, and oxygen- but we neglect the natural and put drugs, high fat content foods, and nicotine in our bodies. Then we wonder why do I have high blood pressure, bad health, clogged arteries, and failing lungs. We have violated the natural laws of our bodies. We violate God’s law when we don’t obey it, regardless it we know it, and wonder why we’re not getting results.

Law determines everything in life. It’s not always easy to follow law but remember God is the designer and He gives us law, not to make it hard, but for our good. It will bring us the best results and we’ll get the full and correct use out of our life, our purpose. It’s not always easy quitting smoking, giving up those fatty foods all the time, or sustaining ourselves from unrighteous desires- but it will bring about rewards that are worth it. The lessons Dave Ramsey teaches has a reward of getting your financial life in order, which is also a kingdom law. Giving up cigarettes has the reward of healthy lungs and heart. Giving up those high content sugary foods will increase your energy when substituted with fruit. It’s a law that is in place! If it was easy everyone would do it!

So get in line with God’s word, study it, understand it. We get in line with His law and it works, not the other way around.

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The Courtroom

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May 192010
 

I was speaking to a friend the other day. He asked me, “How can I increase my faith?”

This is a common question we have all asked ourselves. I started with the scripture I think most know ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” But then we delved into this a little bit deeper.

See we sometimes get this idea of faith being like God’s ‘fairie dust’ that He sprinkles on us when we’ve been really good, or read a lot of the bible, or prayed a lot or something. So our concepts are wrong because we have associated faith with something we’ve seen in movies, or read in books. Therefore we have setup a road block on the way to our understanding faith, and that sets us up for failure and feeling inadequate as a believer.

Faith is simply this- ‘Believing in or for something, based on God’s word, regardless of circumstances or opposing information or views, knowing that God’s word is the only evidence you need to substantiate your claim while continuing to trust in Him until it comes to pass.’

See what happens is we believe for a little while. Then when nothing seems to happen or change, we put worry and doubt into the equation. Then we say things like ‘Things like this always happen to me’.

Be careful- remember your words are powerful. You speak and then you end up what you spoke. See faith is powerful and it works both ways. Now I know some who would say “Ohhhh, God’s going to take care of you- we all say negative things sometimes.” -THAT’S NOT BIBLICAL!- That’s not kingdom. The bible say’s ‘without FAITH it’s impossible to please God.’

Did you read that? I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E! That means you cannot obtain the favor of the one who has the answers – the very One you are asking to intercede and move! We have got to get this! God is Holy. That means He cannot violate His own word, He does not lie, cannot lie, and never will lie. So when we doubt His word, we are doubting Him. And because of His word, the laws of the kingdom, He cannot act without violating His word if He moves in your situation and brings an answer to which you didn’t believe would happen. Now He may cause some things to happen to get you back in line with the kingdom, but He will not intervene until you are in line with His word. He’s just that holy.
He couldn’t make Jonah go to Ninevah- but He could influence Him with a whale. He couldn’t make Paul serve Him- but He could influence Him with blindness. God has His ways to get his children in line with His word so He can act in the earth. But who wants to have to get struck with blindness, or swallowed by a whale before saying “OK God, I’ll listen.”?

When you pray- you need to come to the court room of God prepared with His word. *Remember it’s the law of the kingdom. Ask Him according to His word.

“Lord you said this in YOUR word… , Lord here it is right here in YOUR word God… , Lord I didn’t say this, YOU did.”

See it’s about trusting His word regardless of the story your life is currently telling you.

1 John 3:22
22) And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

He’s a king. We remind Him of His word. God said ‘prove me’ (Malachi 3:10). He’s not a God that lies. We must continually believe for what it is He has promised- based solely on the fact that He said and so it’s just because He says so.

I laid it out to my friend like this. If you had a video camera in the front of your car and you were at a red light. The light goes green you accelerate and a cop then pulls you over for running a red light. You explain to him you accelerated after the light went green, but he refuses to change his decision. So you look at the tape from the camera (which is the evidence) and you decide to challenge the decision in court. From the tape you can see beyond a shadow of a doubt you’re at the light, it goes green and then you can the see the car is accelerating. You see clear evidence and know you are going to win. People tell you to just ‘pay the fine’ but you continue to wait until the court date. Friends and family may say ‘nothing will be changed in their decision’, but they don’t know about your evidence. If they knew about your evidence they would believe too. So you go through all of the constant advice ‘to just forget about it and pay for the ticket’, but you KNOW you’re going to win because of the evidence. You are going to court knowing the verdict because your evidence is completely solid. There is no way you can lose. Court time comes, the situation is laid out in the courtroom and then it comes time for you to state your defense. You play the tape and it is conclusive you are innocent and the ticket is dropped. The jury, the officer, the people in the courtroom may have had a made up mind before you even came in but the evidence changes everything. You win!

Hebrews 11:1
1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

God’s word is the evidence. In fact, it is all the evidence you need. When God’s word enters the courtroom and is presented as evidence all other evidence is THROWN OUT! And to quote Dr. Munroe “and with the Father being the Judge, the Witness being your elder brother Jesus, and the Holy Ghost as your counsel- How can you lose?”

It’s fixed! How awesome is it to be in the kingdom. We just have to get our mentality changed from being of this world- and realize we’re from that world. Get in the book, understand the laws and promises and then show up to the court (prayer) and state your case.

My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory! – He’s able to keep that which I have committed unto Him! – He’s able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that I may ask or even imagine! YOU said it Lord! I’m just trusting in You! My Owner, My Provider!

I love the kingdom!

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Who We Are – Lesson 3 – Kingdom Study Series

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Apr 132010
 

Lesson 3 dives, just slightly, into Who We Are. Have you ever asked yourself “Who am I? – Why am I here? – Is there a reason for my existence?”

Well, there’s good news… The good news is the good news. The kingdom is the good news. God’s purpose, since the beginning, has been to establish a kingdom on earth with his children ruling under his headship. Through us God wants to impact the earth with his will. Remember the “Lord’s Prayer”?

…thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth just as it is in heaven…”

So you have a purpose, a reason to wake up excited to live! Your father is king and you are an heir. He’s just waiting for you to return to him, so you can begin to live out your purpose he predestined you for!

In this lesson we cover some of the exciting scriptures that satan does not want you to know about. Law that reveals God’s purpose for you, and can unlock your understanding that you were born to do something great! After all, you were made in his likeness and in his image… it’s time we start acting like it.

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