Part 3: Living the EXTRAORDINARILY Blessed Life!

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Elwin Stokes
5 years ago
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1 Part 3: Living the EXTRAORDINARILY Blessed Life! Texts: Psalm 1:1-4 (NKJV)- Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; [2] But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. [3] He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. [4] The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Psalm 46:4 (NKJV) - There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. Part 2 - Planted, Fruitful, and Flourishing Where You are Planted Counts! A. It's important to have life strategies that really work! 1. Joke: The Nun who Opposed Alcohol Boudreaux was about to enter a bar when a nun began to shout, "You, sir! Don't go into that den of iniquity! Think first. Think of the damage that alcohol will do to your body, your liver and your stomach. Think of the harm it will do to your brain. Think of the damage you will cause to your loved ones and to your own family!" Boudreaux asked, "Sister, before you carry on about alcohol, have you ever had a drink? How can you expect anyone to listen to you when they

2 know you haven't ever tried alcohol yourself? Here! I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll go in and buy you a drink and you try it. Then if you still feel the same way, you can at least tell everyone that you know what you're talking about when you say that alcohol is not good for you! What would you like and I'll bring it to you?" The nun thought a moment and said, "You have a point. I'll do it. I don't really know what to order. What do you think I should try?" Boudreaux said, "Why not gin? That's something ladies often drink." The nun said, "Okay. But bring it in a cup so no one will know what I'm doing when I drink it." Boudreaux goes in and orders a drink for himself and a double gin for the nun and tells the bartender to put it in a cup. The bartender says, "Don't tell me: is that nun standing outside again?" 2. Last week, I spoke about different dimensions of blessings. The Bible mentions 30, 60 and 100-fold levels of blessings and fruitfulness. a. Matthew 13:23 (NKJV) - He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. b. Matthew 13:23 (AMP) - As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the Word and grasps and comprehends it; he indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundred times as much as was sown, in another sixty times as much, and in another thirty. c. Matthew 13:23 (MSG) - "The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. 3. Being planted will increase and multiply our fruitfulness. God's purpose for planting us in a family, relationship, marriage, church or career is to make us fruitful. 4. However, the enemy is determined to uproot and destroy us. To do his dirty work, he tries to separate us from family members, friends, and

3 relationships by causing conflicts between us. That's why the Bible instructs us to go to the person who has offended us or the one we have offended and try to reconcile our differences. a. Proverbs 27:10 (NKJV) instructs us to also honor our parents' friends and not forsake them. b. Long term relationships can be the most fruitful. 5. The enemy is always eager to uproot marriages. Divorce has become common even in the church but it was never ordained by God. 6. The enemy constantly seeks to diminish our fruitfulness by uprooting us from our job or career. He loves to make us start over again in a marriage, career or even building a house, because slowing us down always affect our fruitfulness. 7. Remember the Japanese Bonsai tree? It can live for many years or decades, yet grow to a height of only inches. While it may appear to be perfectly formed and shaped, it produces hardly any fruit. Its growth has been stunted because the horticulturist regularly digs it up and clips its roots. B. Not only is it important to be planted, bear fruit, and flourish, we must also consider the best place to be planted. 1. Watermelons will not grow in the desert. 2. I'm sure that you've probably never heard of Rodney, a small town in western Mississippi near the Natchez Trace. Geri and I have preached all across that area. a. Rodney, Mississippi, was once the most important city between New Orleans, Louisiana, and St Louis, Missouri. b. Situated near the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, this was where the waters widened to form a bay, making this town the center of commerce and trade. c. Originally built in the early 1700's, Rodney became the location for French traders to operate their businesses in the New World.

4 d. By the 1800's, the town had schools, hospitals, shops, a ballroom, hotels and restaurants. Its growing population thrived on the economy created by the French traders. e. This wealthy port received and shipped goods from the north to the south of the Mississippi River. f. Zachary Taylor, the 12 th President of the United State lived there. g. But today, the once thriving Rodney, Mississippi, has officially been declared a ghost town. It is dead because the Mississippi River changed courses after the bay had filled with silt. Today, Rodney is located three miles from the river. Sadly, when the river moved, the town did not follow. h. (See map: Mississippi) 3. Psalm 46:4 (NKJV) - There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. a. It is so important to live near the river; without it, we can never survive! C. In our daily lives, we must stay focused on the flow of the River. 1. In the midst of every river is a current. If you should go in the wrong direction, the current will pull and draw you back on course. a. That's what the Holy Spirit does. He tugs on your heart to prevent you from doing things a believer shouldn't do. b. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV) - I say then: Walk in the Spirit. 2. Always seek for God's will not just the important choices, but even the common, everyday decisions of life. Allow Him to guide you according to the principles in His Word. 3. Pray to have the heart of Moses when making his request to God: a. Exodus 33:15 (NKJV) - Then he said to Him, If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here." b. If God didn't go with him, Moses would rather remain in the wilderness than the abundant Promised Land that flowed with milk and honey.

5 c. Moses preferred the desert's hardships serpents, enemy threats, blistering sun and lack of water, than the comfort and luxuries of the Promised Land if God did not accompany His people. 4. This reminds me of a favorite song by Luther Vandross. a. "I'd Rather" ( 5. We live in a day when believers are content to be a Christian after whatever else they enjoy. Everything else comes first and God seems to almost be an afterthought. a. Many people talk about their beliefs and values, yet take no stand for biblical values. What seems to matter most is what the world has to offer. b. But if you point this out, they will immediately respond that commitment to God or His Word no longer matters. They say, "Oh yeah, I'm a Christian, too. But I don't believe God expects that anymore!" 6. I love this verse in the King James Version: a. Acts 11:26 (KJV) - And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. b. Yes, I understand that the first place the disciple were called Christians was in Antioch; but I like the fact that they were called Christians first!! c. We need to return to the place where we are Christians first and everything else is second. Being a Christian shouldn't come last, but first. 7. I never tell anyone how to vote. But I will say that believers should vote according to their Christian values and concepts. If Satan himself was the candidate, some would vote Democrat rather than voting according to their values. The same is true for Republicans. 8. Most of you know I'm a Cajun from Louisiana. My mother was Cajun French; my dad's father was of Norwegian descent and his mom was American Indian. Of course, just being a Cajun means that I am a gumbo (not stew I'm from Louisiana) mixture of everyone who ever lived in the

6 Louisiana swamps and marshes from the French, to the Indians and runaway slaves. I'm proud of my Cajun heritage! a. But I'm not a Christian Cajun; I'm a Cajun Christian (the adjective before the noun modifies the noun). I'm a Christian first and everything else is secondary to that. b. Galatians 3:26-29 (NKJV) - For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. [27] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] And if you are Christ s, then you are Abraham s seed, and heirs according to the promise. c. I'm not an heir because I'm a white Christian, a Cajun Christian, a Spanish Christian, or a black Christian. d. I'm not an heir because I'm a Democratic Christian or a Republican Christian. I'm an heir because I'm a Christian a child of God. D. Our private devotions must remain in the flow of the River. 1. Saul lost contact with God for not staying connected to the River in his private devotions. a. It has been said that Saul was king for 40 years, but was only anointed in two of them. In the other years, he had position, wealth, fame and prominence, but his connection with God had been lost. b. The Church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:4) had lost its first love because they had left the River. 2. Devotion and worship play a vital role in two aspects of a believer's life: a. The corporate, devotional experience is both exciting and celebratory. b. The personal, private devotional time helps a believer develop intimacy with God. 3. Corporate worship blesses us when we gather to exalt the Lord with other believers.

7 a. Worshiping together as a body is so uplifting, it reaffirms and strengthens our faith. The joyful benefits of community are absent if we fail to attend corporate worship. b. When early believers learned the value of corporate worship, they exhorted one another to never become so busy as to neglect the practice of gathering to worship. 4. As beneficial as corporate worship is, it must never become a substitute for time spent in personal devotion. Intimacy with God can only be developed in a personal setting not in a group. 5. Unfortunately, many believers have allowed corporate worship to replace time spent in personal devotion. While the reasons are varied, the chief problem is that they failed to develop a personal intimacy with God. 6. One of the best resources for prayer is a daily devotional guide, similar to singing from a hymnal or reading the words of a song on an overhead projector. a. A prayer devotional can be a great way to express our thoughts and feelings to God. b. As every seasoned believer will agree, reading and praying the Book of Psalms can also be delightful. 7. Since God is the River, develop a personal intimacy that will help you remain in the flow with Him. E. Worshiping at church helps us stay in the flow of the River. 1. Have you recently broken through to a new level of worship and devotion? 2. To those who regularly minister, have you had a recent River encounter with Him? 3. To live the extraordinarily blessed life, love and devoted worship are vital ingredients for every believer. 4. Worship can never be defined as merely attending church or singing with the praise team. It goes much deeper than that. Worship is when your heart and soul connect with God; it is deliberately shutting out everything around you and entering into the presence of a holy God.

8 F. Our ministries must stay in the flow of the River. 1. What is the Holy Spirit saying to our church family? How must we direct our attention and efforts? 2. I've heard people say that we should never ask our members to give sacrificial offerings. Instead, we should transfer the funds being poured into foreign missions into the building program. 3. In this year of learning and studying the extraordinarily blessed life, we must stay planted by the River. Don't allow the enemy to uproot you!

Part 29: Living the Extraordinarily Blessed Life!

Part 29: Living the Extraordinarily Blessed Life! Texts: Psalm 1:1-4 (NKJV) - Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of