Why Unstable Faith Will Always Lead You Away From God’s Blessings

God is up to something good!

Sometimes things look one way, but upon further review, there is something more to see. It may look one way now, but in truth, it is something completely different. When you take time to look at what God is up to from different vantage points in your life, you will discover that the spiritual perspective dramatically differs from what you may be seeing in the flesh.

Last week we talked about Israel’s distance from God spiritually. As a result, they were in a severe drought and famine, things were pretty horrific, and God had sent a prophet named Elijah to bring fire down from Heaven and prove to the people that God was unrivaled as the only deity. God also promised that He would send rain to renew and restore what the drought and famine had taken. When the people returned to God spiritually, everything around them physically began to improve!

If you missed last week's message you can watch it here.

Have you ever experienced seasickness?

Seasickness is a form of motion sickness that occurs when the brain can’t make sense of the information being sent from the eyes, ears, and/or body. So, for example, for some people, motion in a car, boat, plane, or even on an amusement park ride can make them feel queasy, clammy, or sick to their stomach. And, all of these physical challenges are a direct result of the brain not being able to make sense of the mixed signals it is receiving. The body appears to be on something solid, but at the same time, everything is going up and down.

Have you ever considered that God might struggle with motion sickness?

Forgive me for that play on words, but ponder this passage, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:16 NKJV)

In Revelation 3, Jesus was speaking to a church in Laodicea. He addressed people who are expected to be one way, but their faith is being manifested in an entirely different way. Jesus says I’d rather you be really hot or really cold, but this back and forth -- up and down faith -- is making me sick. Scripture tells us that He will vomit this kind of faith out of His mouth. It is a harsh but real visualization of how He feels about lukewarm faith.

How do we define hot faith? Or cold faith? How do you know if you’re only lukewarm? Most commentators tell us that it has to do with the intensity at which you pursue God.

James, Jesus’s brother, further teaches us that Jesus doesn’t have a high tolerance for anyone who is double-minded. What we know about Jesus is that without faith it is absolutely impossible to please Him, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him... and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)

Stay hot and intense in your faith, because God rewards the diligent heart that seeks Him fully! When we keep going after God, keep enduring, keep pursuing, and keep seeking Him we are rewarded and blessed. In the book of Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3, Jesus is talking to churches and believers...people who already follow Him, and He is saying to them that we must overcome whatever is in the world. This is incredibly important because He knows there will be a fight, a distraction, a hindrance, and a battle. We must press through what the world brings against us, keeping our faith hot! If we can do this there will be a special reward for us in Heaven.

How are you going to overcome the World?

How are you going to defeat the enemy?

Through faith:

For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. - 1 John 5:4-5 (NLT)

And, God’s preference, the thing He finds most pleasing is when our faith doesn’t waver as a result of life’s circumstances:

But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6-8 NKJV)

Straight up, bottom line, God will not bless anything or anyone that is unstable or double-minded.

Thankfully, we learn there is hope for all who do waver or struggle with stability in their faith. And, we get the life-altering lesson because of what the Bible teaches us about Elijah. He certainly had his ups and downs in life and even struggled with his faith on a very personal level, just like we do, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours...” (James 5:17 NKJV)

But when it mattered, Elijah showed up and his faith was on fire. He stood against over 850 false prophets by himself. Deeply believing in faith that revival would happen in his nation. He diligently sought God, and he believed that God would send fire to the Earth and prove His presence. He also believed that God would respond to the people's spiritual alignment and send a physical reward of restoration and renewal to the land. Through Elijah's strong faith, faith on fire, God ended the drought and famine. He brought rain and healing to their nation!

I believe God wants to do much the same for the nations of the world in our time. He just needs some Elijah’s who are ready and willing to stand firm in their faith and set the example of overcoming the world!

I invite you to view this message, “Here Again” in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/vjLKClOF-Is

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? 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. Would you like to make a difference in our 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

Three Ways You Can Be Certain Something Good Is About To Happen

Have you ever experienced a time when you believed something good could happen, but it seemed far away from your present time and place that it was hard to believe and have faith?

In 1 Kings, Chapter 18, there is a nation that has completely rebelled from God. The people lack God-consciousness, and very few know the truth about God. In response, God sends drought and famine to this nation. Things are incredibly bad, but the people still will not return to God, despite the horrible circumstances they find themselves in. Instead, they continue to get further and further away from God.

Elijah is one of the few people who are preaching the truth. He seeks God’s guidance and receives a vision for revival. So he invites all the false prophets and pagan worshipers to meet him on Mount Carmel. Upon arrival, Elijah realizes that he is the only one who represents God, and he is up against 450 false prophets. Can you imagine being outnumbered by 450 to one?

But, something good is about to happen!

God is ready to show up and send a message to this nation. He wants them to know that He is real and He is available to them. He wants the people to experience Him undeniably!

Elijah declares, “Let the god that is real answer with fire.” So then, he builds an altar to God, as the false prophets build an altar to their pagan idols. The false prophets put on a really good show. They start cutting themselves, yelling incantations, and making all sorts of weird sacrifices. BUT despite their best efforts...nothing happens. Elijah, however, has a miracle take place!

Something good happened!

I believe the biographical sketch of Elijah’s experience on Mount Carmel also reveals to us, THREE WAYS WE CAN KNOW SOMETHING GOOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN:

1. God is requiring you to put something MEANINGFUL on the altar.

A causal experience with God is no longer enough, and you feel the prompting of God to go to the next level.

And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” Then with the stones, he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold 14 quarts of dry seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and the wood.”

-1 Kings 18:31-33

Israel is in a three-year drought. As a result, there is a significant shortage of water taking place. You would have to go through incredible sacrifices such as travel, cost, pain, and adversity to obtain it. Not to mention Elijah had to get the water up to the top of the mountain once he acquired it! Therefore, in addition to the precious water, God also asked for a bull to be sacrificed, which was also meaningfully valuable in a land going through a famine.

And, yet God didn’t just ask for these valuable items once, but three times!

Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. - 1 Kings 18-34

Isn’t it just like God to invite you to go the extra mile? On the other side of Elijah’s sacrificial obedience, the altar and the trenches were overflowing with meaningful things. The result was that Earth had Heaven’s attention. Finally, something good was about to happen!

2. God is removing the opportunity for COINCIDENCE to take the CREDIT.

Sometimes the instructions we receive from God may not add up...they may not make sense, but God is setting up the stage so He can show up, and coincidence will not be able to steal His credit.

Elijah had said, “Let the god that is real answer with fire.” And he starts with an altar that is covered with water! What God told him to do doesn’t make sense. But God will make sure that this nation knows that there is no room for coincidence, and He is going to receive all the credit. Interestingly, the meaningful thing that God asked Elijah for was also the thing that was solidifying God’s opportunity to get the glory for that which was about to take place.

Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

-1 Kings 18:38

Only after something valuable had been given in obedience and all coincidence removed from the situation did something good happen! And, in this case, an entire nation experienced revival!

3. God is leading you to REVIEW your relationship with Him. Go back to the basics, go back to the fundamentals of your relationship with God.

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. -1 Kings 18:30 (NKJV)

Were they waiting on God, or was God waiting on them? They had been in a drought and famine for three years. They were in the middle of hellacious situations breaking forth in their nation, and horrible circumstances were taking place. Yet, NO ONE thought to fix the altar!

If you want something good to happen in your life, you have to be prepared to give something meaningful, and the most valuable thing you have to give is your time and energy. If nothing else, then God is calling you to put your time and energy on the altar. By doing so, you allow Him to work through the margin you have left. God will use you to impact lives! Good things start at the altar.

However, you can NOT repair the altar in your life without taking time to review it. Everyone has parts of their lives that need to be reviewed. Take a look at your life from all vantage points, and allow God to show you where your altar is broken down.

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