Why You Must Build A Culture That Looks Again

This post is a follow-up to the blog, TWO WAYS YOU CAN BE CERTAIN SOMETHING GOOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. I encourage you to review that post here. But, also recognize that Elijah’s story has even more to reveal.

Scripture is loaded with the truth regarding how God speaks regarding what we hear. He commands us in the last book of the Bible to be sure and keep an ear in tune with the Spirit so that we may listen to God’s voice. Throughout a broader context of the New Testament, we are reminded that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Likewise, we can not walk by sight, but we must walk by faith. So, we settle upon Hebrew 11’s foundation that faith is the evidence of things not seen. Why? Because faith starts with what you hear.

Do you hear something that you don’t see? Then, you are operating in faith.

I believe that God is starting a revival and an awakening in our nation and beyond! I realize, right now, we may not see it in its full glory. But we are in the stages of God repairing the altars. People are starting to review their relationships with God. They are beginning to give what is meaningful. They are beginning to allow God to remove the coincidence from their lives. And in return, God is setting the stage for something good to happen!

That is why you must build a culture that looks again. Allow me to explain…

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” -1 Kings 18:41

And said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times, he said, “Go again.” -1 Kings 18:43

Again, I ask, have you ever heard something that you didn’t see?

Maybe you’ve heard you're going to be free… but you don’t see it.

Maybe you’ve heard you’re going to be healed… but right now, you don’t see it.

Maybe you’ve heard you’re going to be restored and reconciled… but right now, you don’t see it.

This reality is why you have to build a culture within your life, family, and relationships that says LOOK AGAIN!

Seven times Elijah told his servant to look again. Seven times! And God is looking for someone, somewhere, that will build a “look again culture.” So many times, we give up too soon, and we MISS it. If you can hear it, you can see it...in due time.

You have to be willing to put something meaningful on the altar, allowing God to remove the opportunity for coincidence simultaneously. Then allow God to speak to you. The result: something good is going to happen in your life!

Be willing to hear and obey. Perhaps, even allowing time to pass. But, all along the way, keep your eyes on the horizon. If you hear the rain, then rain is coming.

Keep looking!

Don’t give up when it gets difficult or when frustration occurs because you will hear God long before seeing His movement.

Keep looking!

And one day, you will not only hear the sound of rain, but you will see the ground getting wet. Something good WILL happen!

I invite you to view this message, “Something Good is About to Happen,” in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/nu8UpjkgdQM

Here are a few things to evaluate in your life:

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving the anointing in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? Is it time to go back to the basics and renew your relationship with Jesus Christ? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. If God finds our time and energy valuable, are you ready to make a sacrifice and donate a little of both to your community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

This is as Close as You Are Ever Going to Get

The book, Win Your War, encourages us to think about these two thoughts:

1. For a Christian, this life is as close to Hell as you will ever be.

2. For a non-Christian, this life is as close to Heaven as you will ever be.

The latter of those two thoughts is a wretched one regarding any person in a non-Christian status. But, these reflections also lead us to consider that what we do with ‘the here’ and ‘the now’ is very important. We must allow God to be in it now so that He can be in it for all of eternity. Someday -- perhaps, soon -- EVERYTHING we know will end, and then the Kingdom of Heaven will come down and replace everything on Earth as we know it. The Kingdom of Heaven has a king, and that king is Jesus! As Christians, we should rejoice in this truth daily!

But, we should also acknowledge that we are living in between two times. The time when Christ’s Kingdom has already begun on Earth and the time when His full manifestation comes. In the interim, thankfully, Jesus taught us how to have ‘God in it’ experiences repeatedly. He said, when you pray, invite God in it! “Heavenly Father...Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10 KJV)

Again, borrowing some phraseology from Win Your War, to categorize things for a moment, into which category do you fall?

1. Are you inviting God’s Kingdom to come down through your prayers, your actions, and your faith?

2. Or, are you trying to pull culture up through good deeds and philosophies?

You are either a Culture-up person or a Kingdom-down person. Many people who want to do good get confused between pulling CULTURE up and bringing Christ’s KINGDOM down. But, a culture-up approach is exhausting and seldom does lasting good. We need to be the people who are inviting God’s Kingdom to come down through our prayers, actions, and faith!

Culture-up people focus on their political, artistic, and sociological philosophies. They want to establish their ideologies in our world and believe then it would be a better place. Anything that doesn’t add up to their ideologies is discarded and judged as wrong.

BUT, when you step into a Kingdom-down mentality, you recognize that it’s not about trying to pull everyone up; it’s all about inviting to pull Jesus’ Kingdom down! And ultimately, JESUS can change everything! We are currently living in a culture divided because of these two different mentalities. The only thing that can genuinely reshape our world is a kingdom down attitude. We need a Biblical worldview, and we need a vision filled with prophetic unction. We need God in it!

We are in a war, a spiritual war. The book of Revelation overflows with some of the most violent stages that the world will ever know regarding this spiritual battle. It is a war against darkness and light, against the antichrist and Jesus Christ. It’s intense and can be overwhelming to read. But here’s what I want you to know, blessed is he that reads and they that hear this prophecy. It’s vital that you know and appreciate this prophecy because God is in it! And, understand the prophecies of John’s Revelation are all about perspective!

Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy…

-Revelation 1:3 (KJV)

We must stop letting man’s ideology prevail in our personal space. If we are to win our world for the good and bring it into the light, we must renew our minds with a Kingdom-down mentality. Never ignoring that we are called to have ‘God in it’ through the manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

I invite you to view this message, “Upon Further Review”, in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/sE13MwguUI8

Here are a few things to evaluate in your life:

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving the anointing in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus and start seeing your life from a kingdom down mentality and a new vantage point, a fresh perspective? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Are you ready to take your next steps towards discipleship? Many non-Christians are as close to heaven as they will ever get, but through BEGIN, you can be equipped and empowered to change their lives! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Do you want to be a part of bringing Heaven down to Earth? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

How to Evaluate the Status of God’s Anointing in Your Life

So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told to Samuel, saying, “Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself…” (1 Samuel 15:12 NKJV)

From a young age, God used Samuel to speak as an oracle of Heaven on Earth. His obedience in being a voice led him to have an audience of kings, nations, and priests. On this particular occasion, Samuel let Saul know that there was a problem! Saul’s building of a monument unto himself when he should have invested his time in obedience to God’s purpose in his life was a significant issue.

So Samuel said, “when you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?” (1 Samuel 15:17 NKJV)

In the Old Testament, an experience with the process of anointing was quite memorable. According to the Lexham Bible Dictionary, it transpired as people were often anointed (with oil) to recognize the Lord’s divine calling upon their lives; the anointing was a physical recognition of their particular roles, such as king, prophet, or priest.

Visualize it in this way. If someone served on behalf of the Lord in a ministry or leadership setting, a ceremony would convene to anoint them with oil. A special version of olive oil would then be applied to the person’s body in public at the gathering. This physical recognition demonstrated what God was doing inside the person spiritually. Often the application occurred in the form of pouring large amounts of the oil over the candidate's head. I've heard some Bible teachers imply that the moment of anointing could include the deposit of as much as a gallon and a half of oil poured from a container that had formerly been an animal’s horn. This is obviously no longer a practice in modern Christianity, but we still desire the touch of God to be on our lives and on the lives of those who lead us.

If you feel like you’re giving your all in some areas of your life but can’t make traction forward, it is most likely because you lack God’s special touch or favor grace in that area.

While we no longer recognize God’s intentions for someone’s life through the outpouring of extensive amounts of olive oil, we can be certain that God is still in the business of anointing people. But, spiritually speaking, what is the anointing of God? Over the years, I’ve comprised a working definition of anointing. It has come about by funneling various statements from others into this bottom line: The anointing is a special grace upon our lives that allows us to be used by God to benefit others.

God wants you to experience His anointing! And, through that experience, He wants you to benefit others. In fact, the most famous passage in the Old Testament mentions reception and availability of the anointing, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. (Psalm 23:5 NKJV)

Here’s what you need to know, the anointing makes you appear more gifted than you actually are! When you are anointed, you can do things above and beyond anything you were capable of before God favored you with His touch. The special grace of God, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, can change things in your life. You will become a different person. But the anointing isn’t for you; it’s so you can impact others! Other people should benefit from any anointing God releases into your life.

How do we receive the anointing of God in our lives? Saul’s experiences provide us with some great insights.

Then Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” So he said, “To look for the donkeys…” 1 Samuel 10:11 (NKJV)

Through this example, Saul was exemplifying he would do whatever the "father’s house" needed. In response, through Heaven's actions, God confirmed He could work with that! The result was that God turned Saul into another man, one highly favored and anointed with the Holy Spirit, “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will...be turned into another man.” (1 Samuel 10:6 NKJV)

Be willing to look for the donkeys! Are you willing to roll up your sleeves and get to work? You have to be willing to serve before you are ever able to lead. Don’t limit who God wants you to be because you're not willing to accept the assignment He has for you.

If you want to be anointed, consider these four very practical realities.

1. Keep yourself LITTLE in your own sight. God will exalt humble hearts, but pride goes before a fall. Saul was humble when God first called him forward. He even had hesitancy regarding his abilities. But, unfortunately, he forgot to stay little in his sight and lost it all.
   

2. If you want to be BIG, you need to stay SMALL. A great reminder: Never forget how to bow at an altar, in the name of Jesus. Make yourself small in God’s presence!
   

3. People need YOU to be anointed. Because the anointing isn't for you -- it's for others -- the impact of God’s anointing will have a profound effect in your life for the benefit of everyone around you.
   

4. You need an experience with JESUS CHRIST. Jesus is the Anointed One. This application isn't up for debate. If you want to be anointed, you must be in a relationship with Jesus. He had this to say of Himself, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tiding to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound and recovery to sight to the blind. (Luke 4:18 NKJV)
   

We will never be able to maximize our effectiveness to lead our families, businesses, communities, or fulfill our destinies without the anointing! God can take small things and turn them into something big if you will seek the anointing of God within your life.

But with the anointing, “It shall come to pass on that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. (Isaiah 10:27 NKJV) The enemy will always try to yoke someone with something! He tries to yoke us with offense, addiction, and/or lust. He will try to weigh us down with every burden imaginable. BUT when you function under the anointing of Jesus Christ, every yoke is destroyed!

I invite you to view this message, “Move the Monument”, in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/DnAWKgW1duo

Here are a few things to evaluate in your life:

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving the anointing in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

1. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus and start breaking yokes off your life? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

1. Do you want to experience the manifestation of God’s anointing in your life and take your next steps towards discipleship? BEGIN may be the place for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

1. Let’s roll up our sleeves together, and accept the assignments God has for us! Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES