Elevation Church Messages

04.29.12 - Surrendered Prayer

Elevation Church — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Several weeks ago I experienced a tremendous outpouring of God’s spirit in my heart as Gary and I prayed through the night - alone on the lake. The Lord cleaned me out and restored many things to me. Prayer is the connection we have to meet with the Living God. Prayer is the means by which we come into the presence of God. Teach us Lord, to pray...

There is a tremendous call from the heart of God to the body of Christ to pray... A call to us personally...

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess 5:16-18

Real prayer is talking with God out of unconditional acceptance and genuine relationship.

Religious prayer is mouthing repetative words without assurance of acceptance. Matt 6:7

Prayer is between you and God and many times is done in solitude and silence. Matt 6:6

Jesus was a person of prayer

He prayed when he was baptized. Luke 3:21-22

He prayed alone... a lot. Luke 5:15, Mark 1:35, Matt 14:23

Jesus prayed a long time about important decisions. Luke 6:12

Jesus fasted and prayed and overcame the devil. Luke 4:14

Jesus was transformed as he prayed. Luke 9:28

Jesus prayed for children. Matt 9:13

Jesus prayed for his disciples. Luke 22:31

Jesus prayed for us. John 17

Jesus prayed to be All Surrendered the the Father. Matt 26

We have so much noise in our lives

Our lives are so filled with clutter and stuff.

Some are addicted to work, addicted to stress.

We wonder why we have no peace.

We wonder why we don’t hear God’s voice.

Lord, teach us to pray - Luke 11

Jesus went alone, and he went to the mountain - the mount of olives. There he was refreshed, received anointing, and had fellowship with the Father.

Jesus prayed God’s word when he was tempted by the devil. And he didn’t come out of prayer tired or weak - he came out full of the Holy Spirit.

When pressured - Jesus prayed in the Garden. It’s the place of oil - pressured and sqeezed. You can’t fake the anointing. It is squeezed out in prayer - Jesus HAD to PRAY to bend his will with the will of his Father.

If Jesus needed to pray - I NEED TO PRAY.

Jesus’ ministry started with prayer - he prayed constantly - went by himself - and finished his mission by prayer - his very last prayer was for YOU. Luke 23:34

He hung on the cross - took your sin and your shame upon himself - and prayed for you. 2 Cor 5:21

04.22.12 - The Surrendered Church

Elevation Church — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Special Guest Speaker - Paul Neely

Our own Paul Neely shares an awesome word about the purpose of the surrendered church.

04.15.12 - The Prayer of Repentance

Elevation Church — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Last week as we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus the Spirit of God was so strong! People were just getting touched and changed all over the place. Praise God for what He is doing in lives - as we become All Surrendered to Him. Today we’ll focus on verse 12 of the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 -

“forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”

The most powerful, most liberating prayer in the world is the prayer of repentance and the prayer of forgiveness

The weight of sin comes off of us onto His shoulders

The power of bitterness is taken away.

Guilt are washed away by His forgiveness.

There is freedom in repentance, freedom in forgiveness.

Repentance is found throughout scripture:

Mark 1:5 - John the baptist - Repent and believe

Matthew 18 - Jesus - Forgive as you have been forgiven

Acts 2:38, 3:19 - Peter - The Spirit is released in our lives and we experience times of refreshing as we repent

2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is so patient with us

1 John 1:19 - Jesus is so faithful to forive us

One of the worst sinners in scripture - King David. David was an adulterer, murderer, liar and deceiver - yet he finds favor with the Lord. Let’s look at 2 Sam 11

David gets out of his purpose - 2 Sam 11:1

David falls into sin - vs 2

David tries to hide his sin - vs 6

David’s sin turns into more sin - vs 14, vs 26

God sends Nathan the prophet - 2 Sam 12:1-10

David confesses his sin - vs 13

God is merciful to David - vs 24

Davids prayer of repentance - Pslam 51

One thing God can’t resist - repentance

God turns your mess into a message

God turns your test into a testimony

Purity comes trhough repentance

You can try to PERFORM: change by human effort

CONFORM: morph to a better environment

or you can TRANSFORM: happens when you humble yourself and repent. Bottom line - when you live a repentant life, it’s a life all surrendered.

SO much good news for us all!

God took David & put him back in his purpose - he can do that for you. As you repent you forgive others - and you forgive yourself.

04.08.12 - The Surrendered Life

Elevation Church — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:30:00 +0000

As we remember the life Jesus surrendered for us today, and His resurrection from the grave - believe and know that our promise of new life became reality through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It comes through surrendering our lives to Him, only then can we receive His life in us - the new life that only Jesus can bring to us.

Surrender your pride - Romans 3:23 The first step in surrender is to agree with God about your sin. To openly admit that you don’t have life figured out - and that you need God in your life. His love, forgiveness and direction.

Surrender your will - Romans 6:23 It’s time to quit white-knuckling life. Left to ourselves, we will not make it. Our ways are not God’s ways and we can’t approach God through human effort or believe the lie that we can control the outcome of life. We can’t. We must surrender all effort to control outcomes and learn to put our trust in God. Leave the self-life behind.

Surrender your purpose - Romans 5:8 Jesus came to fulfill His purpose - and He did. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. We can’t find our purpose apart from Him. He came to show us how much He loves us. His purpose was to demonstrate to the world that God loves us and desires to fill us with the purpose that we were uniquely created for, walking in the joy that creates when we are fulfilling our life’s destiny.

Surrender your heart - Romans 10:8-10 It is with your heart that you believe. What our heart is set upon, that do we worship. Believe. Believe what God says is true. Believe the promises in the Bible are true. Believe that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to make the way for us to know God personally and abide in His presence. Believe Jesus ascended, and sent to us the Holy Spirit which He promised, who lives in us as our constant counselor, comforter, and encourager.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

04.01.12 - The Power of Simple Prayer

Elevation Church — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:30:00 +0000

As we being this series you are invited to surrender your life to Christ afresh.

Prayer - giving yourself to God in prayer knowing and learning to hear His voice in your heart.

Consecration - Being set apart and devoted to the worship and service of God.

Obedience - embracing and acting on the word of God, written and spoken, while leaving the outcome up to Him.

Prayer starts with knowing Jesus - knowing his word, knowing his voice, knowing the leading of his hand:

Your faith is either built on Relationship or Religion
Relationship = Life. Powerful and priceless
Religion = Death. Powerless and toatlly worthless garbage
Php 3:1-11, Paul says “I did religion, I want relationship.” “Religion is garbage, Jesus is priceless.”

Eternal life is knowing Jesus - how do we know Jesus?

Study Jesus in scripture: Entire OT points to Christ, over 450 prophecies - entire NT reveals that Jesus is God. Jn 1:1
Seek through prayer, worship, connection - Matt 7:7-8
Listen for his voice: John 10:3, 1 Sam 3:1

The power of prayer out of relationship with God:

One man with a relationship with God has more power than a multitude stuck in religion. 1 Kings 18:36-37
The prayer of a righteous person (one who is in relationship with God through the finished work of Jesus) is powerful and effective. James 5:16
Prayer brings peace. Php 4:6
Prayer builds confidence: 1 John 5:14
God answers to prayer are gifts to us: Matt 7:9-11
Prayer makes the impossible possible: Matt 21:21-22

God hears and God answers:

Ishmael - God heard his cry for water in the desert
Rachel - God heard her cry for children, Joseph & Benjamin
Nation of Isreal - God heard and brought them out of slavery
David - God heard his prayer and rescued him from death
King Hezekiah - God heard prayer and lengthened his life
Early Church - God sent the Holy Spirit when 120 prayed
Peter - Peter prays and an angel releases them from prison
You and me - we have testimonies of answered prayer

One man or woman in relationship with Jesus who asks, seeks, knocks - God hears and he answers! Matt 6

Prayer is answered not out of religion
not out of praying the perfect prayer
not out of saying the right thing or good behavior
Prayer is answered because when you receive Jesus you are now a son or daughter and he is Daddy!

Take your 30 Days of Prayer card and write down one thing and lets pray!

03.18.12 - The Power of Jesus

Elevation Church — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Review of what we’ve covered so far:

Humility of Jesus - Jesus is eternal Creator, the One Isaiah saw, the One who was , is and is to come. The Word that was with God in the beginning and was God. The GodMan, Col 2:9 - Servant, Matt 20:28, Obedient King of Kings, Php 2

Identity of Jesus - Fully God, fully man, 1 Tim 2:5 - the bridge between man and God, the only way, that connects us. Jesus invites us to share His identity - we are his sons and daughters. We are His hands, His eyes, His touch...

The Mission of Jesus - Jesus was sent, He knew his mission and was comsumed with that mission. He gave His all - completing His mission FULLY - and now He includes us in His mission. We are Christ’s ambassadors to the world.

The Power Of Jesus

Jesus’ power to deliver: Mark 1:21-28
Jesus’ power to heal: Mark 1:29-34
The power of prayer: Mark 1:35-37
The power of the Gospel: Mark 1:38

How can we make our days more like a day in Jesus’ life?

Let Jesus deliver us from darkness that keeps us in bondage - to free us and drive out whatever is not from God.
Let Jesus take us by the hand, help us, raise us up and heal us - then, like Jesus, take others by the hand, raise them up so we can immediately start serving one another.
Jesus calls us to be people of prayer - times of quality meditation, in solitude and silence - to love God and let God love us, listen for His voice, let Him guide and direct us.
Let Jesus preach to you! Let Him announce God’s reign in your midst - and begin proclaiming, like Him, God’s of peace, salvation, healing and deliverance to everyone, everywhere.

Today:

Turn to God in prayer
Let Jesus drive out any darkness that demonic forces try to keep you in bondage and torment with
Allow Jesus to take you by the hand and heal you
Welcome God’s reign in your heart to share with others

03.11.12 - The Mission of Jesus

Elevation Church — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Review of what we’ve covered so far:

Identity of Jesus - Fully God, fully man, 1 Tim 2:5 - the bridge between man and God, the only way, that connects us. Jesus invites us to share His identity - we are his sons and daughters.

Your belief in who Jesus is... is what defines your faith.

Liberal christians: Jesus was a good man - not God in flesh.
Jehovah Witness: Jesus was Micheal the Archangel, a created being, became a man. NWT ‘the word was a god’
Mormonism: teaches Jesus was not God but a man that became one of many Gods - that he was one of the many sons of God whose brother was Lucifer.
New age guru Deepak Chopran says: “I see Christ as a state of consciousness we can all aspire to.
Scientology says: Jesus is an “implant” forced upon a thetan (human soul) about a million years ago
Christianity is not a religion, not a philosophy. It is faith in the life, death and resurrection of the Godman Jesus.
Jesus is either a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord.

The Mission of Jesus

1. Jesus was sent: John 3:16

Part of the trinity sent another part of the trinity
Later Jesus would send us the Holy Spirit
God sent him on a specific mission

2. Jesus knew His mission:

He came to seek and save that which was lost. Luke 19:10
He came to find and bring back the wanderer. Matt 18:12
He came to share the good news with the poor, to set free, heal the blind and announce God’s favor to all. Luke 4:18-19

3. Jesus was consumed with His mission: Mark 1:35-39

Jesus had no alarm clock - He preached all day, healed the sick and cast our demons.
At 12 Jesus knew He must be “about my Father’s business”
His zeal for the mission comsumed Him. John 2:17

4. Jesus finished His mission: Luke 22:39, John 19:30

He gave His ALL - mission ACCOMPLISHED
Took our sickeness, our wanderings, oppression, guilt, shame, took our kiss of betrayal, our injustice, mental anguish, mockery.
He took the sins of the world. Not 25% of the job, or 95%. ALL

5. Jesus includes us in His mission: Matt 28:19, Jn 20:21

He includes us in His identity AND in His mission. Rom 1:16
We have now become the bearer of His mission - His hands, His feet, His eyes, His ambassador. 2 Cor 5:19-21
He counts us worthy for His mission. 1 Tim 1:12

Jesus was sent, knew His mission, was consumed with His mission, finished His mission, and includes me in His mission.

If you need Jesus today He came to leave the 99 for the one, He’s reaching out to you - for God so loved the world....

03.04.12 - The Identity of Jesus

Elevation Church — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Last week we began this series with “The Humility of Jesus”

Php 2:5 JESUS IS: HOLY, CREATOR, MAN/GOD, SERVANT, EXECUTED CRIMINAL, RESURRECTED KING OF KINGS.

Today we go deeper into the IDENTITY of Jesus - and your identity with Jesus.

Every person on earth has a deep need to understand thier own identity - the world is fascinated by identity.

God made each of us unique and complex - Psalm 139
Even identical twins are different - we are all indentifyable.
Our genetic blue print - DNA - comes from our parents.
If you unwrap all the DNA you have in all your cells, you could reach the moon 6000 times. We are a masterpiece!

2. What we know Biblically about Jesus’ identity.

JESUS WAS A MAN:

He had a normal brith. Matt 1:18-25
He was circmsized at 8 days - Luke 2:21
The child grew in size, wisdom, and stature. Luke 2:40, 2:52
He was hungry, thirsty, had human physical desires. Luke 4:2
Suffered physical and emotional pain. Heb 5:8, John 11:35
Was tempted in every way. Heb 4:15

JESUS WAS GOD:

He was concieved by the Holy Spirit, born to a vrgin. Matt 1:18
All the fullness of God dwelt in him. Col 1:9
He was given the name Son. Heb 1
He acknowledged his Sonship with the Father. John 10:22-39
He had the same nature as God. Php 2:5-6

Jesus is the one and only mediator between God and mankind. 1 Tim 2:5

Jesus bridged the gap betweem sinful man and Holy God.
Only He has the ability to reconcile man to God.
Since He was made like us in all ways, only Jesus could be the eternal High Preist and make atonement for our sins.
Once, willingly and for all time, Jesus offered Himself as the atonement sacrifice for all those who follow Him. The sin debt of mankind is such that, it required a Divine sacrifice for its remission. No other being was capable of providing and offering the price of man's redemption. Since Jesus' sacrifice paid the sin debt, no other sacrifice is required, and the Office of High Priest for His people is forever filled by Him.

Jesus shares His identity with YOU. John 1:10

We are rebirthed spirtually - His DNA, His hands, His eyes
He gives us the name SON and DAUGHTER, we are His children, part of His family - Rom 8:14, Gal 3:26, I Jn 3:1
Your identity is NOT your job, your family, your past, or your failures - it’s not what others think of you, your car, your house or any things or circumstances.
Your identity is defined by your faith and belief in Jesus Christ - the Changer of Identities. Saul->Paul, Simon->Peter
As a believer your are now identified with Christ - He call us brothers & sisters (Heb 2:11)
When we believe & accept Him, we’re dentified in Him - HOLY, PURE, RIGHTEOUS! He who had no sin became sin that we might

become the righteousness of God in Him! 2 Cor 5:21, Jn 1:11-12

02.26.12 - The Humility of Jesus

Elevation Church — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Today we start a new series simply entitled “Jesus.” No one in the world is more hated and no one is more loved than Jesus Christ. To some He’s the greatest blessing - to others He’s a curse. This world is so messed up and confused about who Jesus is. We want the REAL JESUS - the Jesus of the Bible! We’ll see who Jesus was, is, and is to come - and today we will see The Humility of Jesus...

We must see Jesus before He came to earth to see His Humility - Isa 6

Isaiah got a point of view of God - like looking thru a curtain

The overwhelming holiness of God brought Isaiah to say “Woe to me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips...”

Some would say God is ying & yang, darkness & light, good and evil.
The angels say NO! God is Holy! Only good, only light. only love, perfectly holy, eternally holy!
Pride, haughtiness, and arrogance fill us when we compare ourselves with each other.
Humility, conviction, and repentance fill our lives when we compare ourselves to a HOLY GOD.

2. This Holy God is Jesus! - John 1:1-14

Most people see Jesus as teacher, prophet, helper of poor, savior, but MISS that Jesus was, is and is to come a HOLY, HOLY, HOLY KING!
The eternal God, who is spirit, took upon actual flesh, an actual human body. The is ‘incarnation’ - ‘in flesh’.
The Word, Jesus, was with God, the Word was God.
The Word became flesh, made His dwelling among us.
The Creator joined the created.

3. Jesus and all His Glory - became man - that is humility.

Jesus became 1 man with 2 natures - fully God, fully man.
Jesus added His glory into humanity. Php 2:6
Again - we must understand who Jesus is before He came to earth to understand His humility.

4. Jesus became a servant - Php 2:7-11, Matt 20:28

He had the same stature as the Father - same attributes - all knowing, all powerful, all present, eternal.
He chose to lay that aside, He chose not to cling to that but to open His hands to us.
He gave up His divine position to be a servant - no rights, no priveleges, - he was hungry, thirsty, worked, bled, cried.
There is no human analogy that works for this.

5. Jesus’ humility went all the way to the cross.

Us: “I’ll love to a point, I’ll serve to a point. I’ll obey to a point.”
Jesus: Loved to the cross, served to the cross, obeyed to the cross.
All religions are NOT the same - We believe Jesus wasn’t just a teacher, prophet - but a humble God, who was HOLY, PERFECT, PURE - became a servant, humbled to the cross.

2 Cor 5:21 - To come to Jesus we must come humbly.

We can’t come by good deeds, good works - only by Faith.

We can’t buy it or earn it, we must come empty handed.

Comparing ourselves to His holiness, we are so sinful - so

come today - come to Jesus today...

02.05.12 - Building Your Family

Elevation Church — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:30:00 +0000

We are seeking God for wisdom to build our famlies - specifically building up our children. We do that as parents, as a church, and in our community. The most important role in our lives is to raise our children in Christ’s way!

Psalm 22:9 - Kids are learining before we think they are - they are learning to trust - right from the beginning.

Isa 28:10 - With adults we are renovating, but with kids we are building. Line upon line, precept upon precept...

Lets look today about Jesus’ ministry & teaching about children in the book of Matthew:

Matt 9:18 - Jesus constantly ministered to children.

His first ministry to a child was raising a little girl from dead
The gospels record 71 times Jesus that Jesus taught about or ministered to a child. As much as any other group.
The same devil that oppresess adults oppresses children

2. Matt 10:42 - Everything we do for a child matters.

It’s amazing how a small thing can make a big difference
We need to minister to our kids in body, soul, & spirit

3. Matt 15:21 - Our children depend on us.

4 times Jesus healed children in the gospels - all 4 times the parents asked for help.
Their healing, deliverance and spiritual life is greatly dependant on us! God has entrusted them into our hands.

4. Matt 17:14 - The devil is bent on destroying children.

The doors of communication must be wide open.
The doors of darkness must be slammed shut in your homes and your lives.
Everything we do in our lives effect our children. Ex 20:5

5. Matt 18:1-5 - When we receive kids, we receive Jesus

Treat your family with the grace & faith of a child.
Walk together in the humility & forgiveness of a child.

6. Matt 18:6-14 - Let’s dedicate ourselves to raise up a generation of kids that follow Christ with their whole heart!

Dedicated to setting the right example for them
Dedicated to welcome, love and value every child
Dedicated to seek and find those which are lost

7. Matt 21:14-17 - Let’s raise up a generation of kids that are unashamed worshippers of Jesus!

In one decade about 1 Billion children are moved to Heaven
The enemy is more concerned about kids praising God than he is about miracles.
When a miracle happens - we forget after a while. But when a child loves Jesus the devil has to deal with it for the next 80 years! Let’s get the word in our kids when they are young.

If you weren’t treated right as a child - would you open your heart and let God break that curse off of you now?

If you have never truly known the gentle, caring love of a dad would you let your Father in Heaven be that to you now?

Could we as familes, and as a church and community pray for our children and dedicate ourselves to raising a generation of children that love Jesus?