Red and Green Lights
Troy Brewer, OpenDoor Church, Burleson, Texas
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019
Simon says…
Matthew 7 has a common theme – abundant life, living life forward and principles of breakthrough
MATTHEW 7:7-12 IS ALL ABOUT THE LIFESTYLE OF ASKING AND HOW IT WORKS
* “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. – Matthew 7:7-12
MATTHEW 7:13-14 IS ALL ABOUT SEEKING OR ENTERING IN
The Narrow Way
* “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. – Matthew 7:13-14
Choices, options, decisions:
MATTHEW 7:15-20 IS ALL ABOUT KNOCKING OR PRODUCING FRUIT
* You will know them by their fruits
* “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Matthew 7:15-20
* IF YOU BELIEVE IN BREAKTHROUGH AND ACCOMPLISHMENT, YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN A SPIRIT AND ATTITUDE OF BREAKTHROUGH AND ACCOMPLISHMENT.
There are different levels of scripturally–defined concepts of breakthrough faith.
BREAKTHROUGH
ONE LAYER OF REVELATION: BREAKTHROUGH IS A MILITARY CONCEPT
* A breakthrough is a military concept. When one army is able to weaken its enemy’s forces to the point of collapse, a breakthrough occurs, allowing that army to invade and take its enemy’s territory.
* We know that we serve a God of conquest
* …we know that since the days of John the Baptist, people of the kingdom take new territory through violence and by force – Matthew 11:12
OUR BREAKTHROUGHS ARE OPPOSED BY POWERFUL FORCES
* For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12
* Whether we’re battling for breakthroughs against our own stubborn sin, the unbelief of a loved one or breakthroughs in the missional advance of our local church, reaching unreached peoples, rescuing persecuted believers, orphans, sex slaves, or the unborn, we are up against “spiritual hosts of wickedness or spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” – Ephesians 6:12
* BREAKTHROUGH IS ABOUT A BIRTH (New Beginnings)
* Birth of nation, birth of a company, birth of a dream
BREAKTHROUGH HAPPENS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
Biblical Keys to Goal Setting
* Characteristics of Kingdom people for goal setting and accomplishing vision
* Faith – We serve a big God who can accomplish the impossible. There is nothing He can’t do. We can believe He journeys with us and always has our best in mind. He is trustworthy and faithful.
* Humility – We never want to be in a position of demanding that things work out or that all our goals are accomplished exactly as we say. The Lord’s will always trumps our own. We need to be sure our attitude is one of humility before our holy and mighty God.
* Commitment – We need to commit ourselves to the tasks at hand.
* Diligence – Goals often require hard work. We need to be diligent in our effort.
* Perseverance – We will face set backs and disappointments, but need to persevere through rough times. Don’t give up!
* Alignment with God’s Word and Will – As we mentioned above, are we within the parameters of God’s Word and His character?
* Forethought & Planning – Have we done the appropriate homework before starting our task? Have we counted the cost?
* Motivation – We need to ask the hard questions. What is our goal and why? Do we have selfish motives or are we operating with a healthy heart.
WE PARTNER WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT BY ANSWERING THE CALL FOR A BREAKTHROUGH–DETERMINATION
* This is a call for holy determination. Keep praying and don’t lose heart (Luke 18:1).
Just like in any large-scale war, there are many battles. Some breakthroughs are achieved relatively quickly; others require long, persevering endurance. But either way, breakthroughs require a determination to keep up the assault.
SPIRIT OF “HALT”
If you are not sure or not determined, that’s when you begin to partner with a spirit of halt.
1 Kings 18:21
Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you HALT between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
Philippians 1:3
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…
Revelation 12 – The dragon and the woman scripture
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. – Revelation 12:1-4
The yoke of Jesus is easy.
HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK
Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
SPIRIT OF HALT / DESIGNED DELAY
It’s the simple understanding of releasing certain things at certain stages so you achieve certain goals.
Strategic planning requires strategic timing.
There’s a value for every stage.
You do not deploy the parachute inside the airplane or you will fall to you death after you jump out.
You do not introduce sexual ideas to children
you don’t provide sexual education to 3rd graders and bring in drag queens to read story books to your babies unless you
have an agenda for catastrophic failure.
DESIGNED DELAY IS PART OF THE BLUEPRINT AND STRATEGY TO PREVENT DISASTER AND ACCOMPLISH DESIRED OUTCOMES
Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)
For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
In the kingdom, there is certain revelation that must be released before other revelations.
There’s a plan.
When Israel graduated from the wilderness and crossed the Jordan into the promised land God took them to the city of palms
(Jericho)
After you get your diploma
A comprehensive examination is required