Encounter Church Napa: Recent Episodes
Encounter Church
Justin and Virginia attended a conference at Bethel Church (Redding, CA) last week. One of the teachings was so powerful that Justin shared it with our church family.
We cannot separate healing from God the Father. It's part of His very nature...it's who He is.
Will and Jennifer Klier are missionaries through Chi Alpha to the Campus of UC Davis. Watch the video that was played during the service here: https://vimeo.com/163891733
The first step in beginning to bring the hope of God into your today is understanding that if God cares about your eternity, He also cares about your today...Having the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, the joy of the Lord, the love of God that’s been given to us in Christ, is our assurance that God actually does have a plan of salvation for us...The promise that we have in God is that when we crush grapes, God likes to turn them into wine. When life is crushing your grapes, I think that what we have, if we can stand on the promise, [is] that God works all things together for His [our] good.
How many of you have been water baptized? Did you become perfect after that? Yes, you did; but, did you do everything perfect after that? ... “God, I pray that you would pour out your Spirit. today, upon Your body. Jesus, help us encounter You in a way that totally immerses us in Thy will. Amen.”
My life is built on hearing the Lord; my life is built on having good character; my life is built on knowing the goodness of God in every situation...As a family we’ve walked through some hard space, but God has always been good. So, when I go back through my testimony and I look at all this stuff, the one thing that sticks out to me, all the time, every day, is that God is good...That’s Who He is; He can’t be any other way.
Hope is powerful. Prosperity is an attitude of the heart; it’s a mindset. You might have nothing, (i.e., lack things) but you can still be prosperous. God’s plan is for you to prosper in every area of your life. When you develop prosperous attitudes and thought patterns, as a consequence, your circumstances and your conditions will improve, because you see things differently. Prosperous actions come from a prosperous attitude.
Declarations: No matter what is happening around me or to me, God is always good! I am never a victim of my circumstances. I am an overcomer! I speak to any worry, stress, or anxiety and I say you cannot stay. Peace reigns in this heart. Because I trust in God, I am kept in perfect peace. My heart and mind are guarded and protected by God’s peace. My family is blessed with peace.
“My looking to Jesus brings great peace and joy; but it is God’s looking to Jesus that secures my salvation” (Charles Spurgeon). Here’s the difference between religion and Jesus: Religion says, “I will put a new coat on every person.” Religion tries to get you to look a certain part on the exterior. But Jesus said, “Repent and believe in Me, and I’ll put a new person in every coat.” Faith honors God and God honors faith.
Invite Jesus into your home; welcome Him in. This is a huge deal—this is a powerful thing—when Jesus entered Jairus’ home, what did He do? He kicked some people out and He welcomed some people in...When Jesus did that, He was under the authority of Jairus’ house because he welcomed Him. When you welcome Jesus into your home, you’re giving Him authority in your house. And you know when you do that you’re allowing Him to kick all the evil out and welcome all of Him in.
“Sacrifice has power. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the spiritual power. As the Scriptures declare, all of creation was made for the Son and through Him, and in Him all things hold together. There is nothing in this universe as precious as the Son of God. Nothing greater could be sacrificed. That is why the cross is the very power of God (see 1 Corinthians 1:18). There is no power greater in this universe than what is available to us through the cross of Jesus” (Rick Joyner). “Today’s sacrifice releases tomorrow’s provision and privilege. Today’s humility releases greater grace for the future. What you do matters, and how you live determines, in part, your outcome. So stretch yourself in prayer, love, fasting, and acts of kindness. Sow some seed in desperation and faith, and watch God move in your behalf!” (James Goll).
You and I were in God before we were even born; we are God’s creation in Him. But when Christ comes into us we become God’s sons and daughters. Not everyone is a son or daughter. Everyone is God’s creation; but when Christ comes in us, that spirit of adoption where we say, “Abba Father,” now not only are we in God, but God in us—“Christ in us, the hope of Glory.”
(1) I declare God is going before me making crooked places straight. He has already lined up the right people, the right opportunities, and solutions to problems I haven’t had. (2) No person, no sickness, no disappointment can stop His plan. What He promised will come to pass. (3) There is always a solution. I will always have the resources I need to do what needs to be done. (4) God’s provision is more than financial. He also meets my needs abundantly in my emotion, protection, relationship and idea. (5) My past is always turned to good. As I walk by faith, God has the incredible ability to turn every negative in my life into a positive.
You know that names are significant. We as parents...have the right to name our children. And we are prophetically hearing from God and we are speaking over their lives a destiny. We are speaking what God is saying over their lives. There’s power in agreement with your name. Rachael named her last son out of her pain; she called him Ben-Oni — “son of my sorrow.” She named him what she was going through as she produced him; and she put that name on him. But Oni can also mean “strength”; it can also be translated “son of my strength.” And it’s interesting that the word can mean both “sorrow” and “strength,” because they seem completely opposite. But what if they weren’t so different? What if great strength is always borne out of great adversity? It could be that the strongest people that you meet in life have been through the most trials and they’ve overcome and they’ve pushed through and they’ve persevered (see Galatians 6:9).
You’re going to decide in advance how much you believe God is going to do for you; and you’re going to be thankful for what you hope He’s going to do without knowing if He is going to do it at all. That is the Feast of Pentecost; and it’s still celebrated to this day. God is doing a heart-check. It says in Deuteronomy 6:10b, “Bring a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you’ve received from God.” But you don’t know exactly what those blessings are going to be. But, here’s the thing—you don’t get to do it alone. God gives instructions. He says your family, your household, even your farm laborers are all going to be a part of this celebration, and you’re all going to be part of the giving. And the largest portion of that giving is going to go to foreigners, orphans and widows. So you decision will not only affect you but also the needy among you. They are going to be the recipients of how much faith you really have.
It doesn’t matter how crazy you’re life is. It doesn’t mater what your history or your background has been; God is still up to something good. “He works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose”...They didn’t have the complete Bible like we do; they didn’t have the New Testament. But if they could just fast-forward to when Matthew wrote his Gospel...Jesus came from the line of Judah, Judah from the mother Leah, whom Jacob didn’t even want. The Savior of the World was born out of a relationship of rejection. And if you’re ever feeling like a failure, if you feel like a reject, like no one cares about you; God has a plan to bring forth Jesus out of your life...the presence of God is with you. The presence of Jesus is with you out of your rejection, out of your frustration, out of your failure—God turns rejection into blessing.
If God doesn’t become your Father you’ll never know who you are, and you’ll live with this mindset, this mentality, that you’re an orphan—you don’t have a father. Jesus paid a price to establish God as your Father. Jesus came to reveal a new name of God...Paul said, “He’s your Abba Father,”—your Daddy Father. You are already loved; no matter what’s happened in your past, you are already accepted. You are already called a beloved child of God.
Declarations of Peace and Joy—2016-04-17 Peace Declarations • I speak to any worry, stress or anxiety; and I say you cannot stay. Peace reigns in this temple. • Because I trust in God, I am kept in perfect peace. • I am known as a peace carrier at home, in the work place and in all areas of my life. • I have a unique ability to remain peaceful, even as responsibilities increase. • I do not have to strive for peace, as God has already given it to me. • I bring peace to extremely intense situations. • Those who experience anxiety claim it leaves when they come in contact with me. Joy Declarations • I am filled with unspeakable joy and glory as I live in the power of the Holy Spirit. • My joy level is increasing daily, and I have been created to experience fullness of joy. • Even in the midst of uncertainty, I live from a place of unshakeable joy. • My joy levels do not depend on circumstances or how I feel. • I am a carrier of infectious joy, and I release joy to others. • My joy and laughter are powerful weapons of spiritual warfare and help create breakthrough in my own life and the lives of those around me. Testimony Declarations: • I am well able to overcome all challenges—There is always a solution. • Every day I make the choice to walk in the freedom Jesus paid for me. • Even when I feel like quitting, I push on towards the goal. • I live a life of excellence. • I am free from condemnation, and during temptation I find God's strength working mightily in me. • When I declare my testimony, I release the same power of God that was released in the original healing to be released in myself.
More of your dreams than not are from God...Acts, 2:16-18 says, “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy’ (Acts 2:16-18, NKJV). And so the package that the Lord has promised us from that powerful day of Pentecost, from that point on, is that the package is given not just to the believers, but to the whole earth, that they will have visions and dreams and that they will prophesy.
A serious past requires a serious encounter. Jesus simply says, “Fix your eyes on me, I don’t look on your past...I don’t put it on a pedestal for the world to see; I erase your past and I give you a future.” God doesn’t look at your past. That’s the point of Easter; that’s the point of the Cross. Your past is covered by the blood of Jesus on the Cross. And so, when God sees you He doesn’t see your mess and your sin; He sees Jesus—He sees the blood of Jesus covering your life.
When we live in constant relationship, we start to become transformed and we begin to have wisdom. As we begin to have wisdom, then God puts us into a place where He can pour into us and sew into us, so when there’s a need, we’re there, we’re His vessel...There’s not a question of lack in the Kingdom. Someone has a need and you’re in a position, because of your margin, and because you’re in that relationship, you’re able to give and to do in the moment as He would have you give or do, because there’s never an issue of lack.
“The tense of the Greek for ‘be filled’ makes clear that such a spiritual condition does not stop with a single experience, but is maintained by ‘continually being filled’ as commanded here. A normal response to having received the fullness of the Holy Spirit is to gain a deeper compassion for the lost, a greater readiness to serve, or a more heightened hunger for spiritual pursuit” (Jack Hayford).
“The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way” (Oswald Chambers).
What does it mean to decree truth over a situation? This is how we can begin to be a blessing. Pray blessings that overshadow these other things—to replace the darkness that has overcome us. Read Isaiah 59 and 60: we bring light into darkness. We were meant to engage, and it happens; we were meant to engage. That’s what Papa would have us to do. We can begin to nullify and neutralize the effect of bad decisions and tough circumstances by making decrees of the solution over the situation...It is the responsibility of the church; it is the responsibility of the children of the Kingdom and the God of the Kingdom to make a difference and to engage.
When we fail to communicate boundaries, and establish them, and live in those boundaries, we feel like we’re no longer powerful. Well, that’s not the truth. We are powerful people; we’re not victims. And just because you’re a follower of Jesus—just because you’re a Christian—doesn’t mean you get to be a doormat. Sometimes we have this idea that, “I’m a Christian, so I’m going to do the Christian thing,” whatever that means. But, you’re not a doormat; you can say “No”; it’s OK.
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things” (Steve Jobs).
“Fear and love are enemies. They come from two opposing kingdoms. Fear comes from the devil, who would like nothing more than to keep you permanently disconnected and isolated. But love comes from God who is always working to heal and restore your connection with Him and other people, and bring you into healthy, live-giving relationships” (Danny Silk).
God shows us all throughout the Bible how He is not afraid of communicating with us...Sometimes it really does take courage to communicate, because there’s so many emotions involved...God is communicating with you; the Bible is Him communicating with you. God’s purposes and His plans always happen through the context of family...He wants to expand His kingdom and He’s going to do it through the context of family—in your family and in this church family; it’s always in the context of family.
Being a powerful person simply means that I take responsibility for my life. On a good day, I can only control me and no one else. And so the question we need to ask is, "How do I keep my love on?"...I believe in any relational interaction, it comes down to two core choices, or two functions that we act out of: either love or fear; every conversation, every thought, every pattern, every reaction is traced, I believe, to either love or fear.
Real, true, healthy relationships are based on the fact and the foundation that I continually choose you every day. Likability is conditional; “I like you” means that you make me happy today, you did something to please me today; but tomorrow I’m ticked off because you made me mad and I no longer want to be your friend...Healthy relationships are based on the fact that I choose you every single day. And it’s the foundation of the relationship that we have with God--that God has with us. John 15:16: Jesus said, “You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is the command: love each other.” Foundational...to every good, healthy, godly relationship is “I choose you.”
Most good things and most awesome things are really inconvenient. I was thinking about the most awesome views I’ve ever had of nature and of the world have all been on an inconvenient height; and the more strenuous height, the more off the beaten path it is, it seems like the more beautiful it is. The more inconvenient the location is, the greater it is. Jesus asks His followers to do amazingly inconvenient things. He tells the rich man, when the rich man comes and says, “I want to follow you,” He says, “Sell all your stuff, and then come back and follow Me.” He tells the guy that’s like, “Hey, Man, I’m totally on board, real quick, my dad just died and I just gotta bury him…”; and Jesus says, “Nope. Can’t follow Me if you go bury your dad. Let the dead bury the dead.”