Champions for Life (Practice makes Perfect)!

Oswald Chambers once said, “the crisis will always prove whether or not you have been practicing”! In the College Football Championship the other night, we witnessed a story book ending, a made for the movies event, a classic! Whether or not you are a football fan or Alabama fan, you have to be in awe of what took place, by a young man (Tua Tagovailoa), who when his number was called, his door opened and the crisis demanded, stepped up to the plate and delivered a epic performance and helped his team win the National Championship! There are some spiritual lessons and nuggets we can glean for ourselves from this incredible outcome!

!. Practice the word! The Lord told Joshua in 1:8, “to not let the book of the law depart from his mouth but meditate on it day and night, that he do everything written in it, that he might make his way prosperous and successful”! In other words this young man, new the playbook! He had read, studied, meditated and practiced I’m sure many times when nobody was looking. And, he hung in and waited, even though he was ready and wasn’t in the game, but when the crisis came, he was the man who delivered!

2. Practice the Presence! Brother Lawrence was a 17th Century Monk who, whether he was in the Chapel on his knees in prayer, was in the Church service or doing the dishes, had learned the art of practicing God’s presence! The true freshman from Hawaii had done the same! You practice the presence through prayer, to keep a continual conversation going with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:17). By worship, for Jesus had told the disciples a time would come when they would worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23, 24)! Singing songs, hymns and spiritual songs keep you spirit filled (Ephesians 5:18), practicing God’s presence! And praying in the spirit on all occasions (Ephesians 6:18), building yourself up (Jude 20)! When asked by a reporter how he kept himself calm during the biggest stage of his life, when all was on the line, he was practicing God’s presence praying in tongues (in the spirit) which brought him the peace he needed to execute when his time came! God put His super on Tua’s natural and he performed with powerful efficiency!

3. Avoid Distractions and stay Focused! It’s the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things that come in and choke the word (Mark 4:19). This young man kept his focus on his goals, his passion for the game, his diligence to know the playbook, study of the game and knew his position! He couldn’t do everything, but he could focus on his desires and do the one thing! And on the biggest stage of his life, when the door opened, when the crisis came, it was his time to shine, and he was not distracted by the pressures of the moment!

4. He was Sensitive! In other words through his gifting and practicing, he had learned the feel of the game and at the exact moment he delivered a strike to win the game! Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me”! We have to learn the Lords voice and be sensitive to his leadings and promptings and know when to go and flow! So being sensitive and knowing His voice, we will bear much fruit and see great victories in life!

5. Give God the Glory! After Tua threw the game winning touchdown, and was interviewed, the first thing he said was, “First off I want to give Glory to God and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”! He put God first, gave Him all the praise, and became a instant hero not only in Alabama but all over the world!

Remember practice makes perfect! So, practice the word, know the playbook! Practice Gods presence through worship and prayer in the spirit! Don’t be distracted from you goals! Be sensitive to His voice and leadings! And give Him all the glory for what is done, and you will be a “Champion for Life”!| Leave a comment

THE YEAR OF PROVISION, PROSPERITY AND FAVOR…

In Isaiah 61 and Luke 4, The Prophet Isaiah prophesied and Jesus echoed that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, because the Lord had anointed Him to bring good news! He went on to say, “the time of Gods favor had come to them”! (TLB).  And as we go into a new year, the old has gone and the new has come! The enemy has fought our nation, fought the church and has fought you to hinder you and keep you from Gods best and what He is wanting to do! Through the prince of the power of the air, from politics and your own personal struggles, etc… he has thrown everything at us but the kitchen sink! But, we are still here and still standing at the precipice of “the year of provision, prosperity and favor”, because “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world”! 1 John 4:4.

In Isaiah 40:31 and Genesis 22 there are keys and things we can do to enter into the blessing God has for us! In Isaiah it says, “they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall run and not grow weary they shall walk and not be faint”! In Genesis 22 The Lord told Abraham to take his son, his promise, and sacrifice him on the altar. So he took his son immediately and went to the place God told him. There is a key here, Abraham told them, “stay here, me and the boy are going yonder to worship”! A Worship lifestyle is key in following,obeying and receiving from the Lord! The boy asked about where the sacrifice was and Abraham told him the “Lord would provide”! So they went to worship and as Abraham was about to do the sacrifice, an Angel showed up and said, “don’t do it, for I now know God is first in your life”! TLB. Matthew 6:33 say, “if we seek the kingdom first, (his will and way of doing things), then all these other things and blessings will be added to us”! Abraham looked up and a ram was caught in the thicket, and so they sacrificed it! In Genesis 22:14 they called the place “The Lord Provides”-and it still goes by that name till “this day”!

So the keys and things we can do as we enter into 2018:

*Sit…be still and know He is God!

*Wait…entwine your life with Gods!

*Fast…Sacrifice on the altar. For example food yes for spiritual purposes, or fast from your bad attitude, complaining, anger, resentments, addictions, media, etc…..so you can:

*Receive…Direction. Guidance. Deliverance. Healing. Prosperity. Favor. Open doors. Ideas and blessings. It was Abrahams faith and obedience that brought the “Provision”!

*Run…As you sit, wait, fast, you will receive his provision of strength so you can run into the New Year and Season empowered and highly favored to receive what God has for you!

*Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem everyday and Gods Blessings will be on you and your household and all you put your hand to! For those who Bless Israel are Blessed! And those who curse her are cursed! And by doing so, “you will bless yourselves”! Align yourself with those who Bless Israel and flee the curse! Pray for Her Prosperity and Protection! A “VERY IMPORTANT KEY” as we move into the New Year!

So… the Lord has spoken to me it is a Genesis 22:14 kind of year! The “Year of Provision”! At the Morningstar conference the word was “Year of Prosperity”! A great friend of mine said, “Year of Gods Favor”! (In all areas)! For our Nation! For the Church! For your Family and…for your Life, Ministry, Business all you put your hand to!

So rejoice, be faithful and obedient and step out into the irresistible future!| Leave a comment

Lavished!

Lavish, to bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities upon! The Lord would say to you today,”I lavish upon you my everlasting never ending love”! I gave my best for you in my Son! I desire to lavish my blessings on you in abundance today, and every day I load you up with my blessings! It is my good pleasure to lavish on you my kingdom, and to give you all things to enjoy! So delight yourself in me, draw near me, trust me, acknowledge me and I will lavish on you the desires of your heart!| Leave a comment

Blunders

Know in your knower today that His grace (His unmerited favor to you) is sufficient for you! For He makes even our weakness’s our strengths, for by His grace and Spirit you are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! And, despite “Blunders”, despite failures, despite missed opportunities, His grace ab0unds towards you, covers you, strengthens you and blesses you! For we all stumble in many ways, but the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all! Finally, know that even our Blunders are working together for our good, for His grace covers every blunder past, present and future…| Leave a comment

Walk this way…

My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

We all have decisions, situations and circumstances we face each new day. But the Lord does not want us to be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, to present our requests for guidance and direction to him. And His peace which is our umpire will then guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! We have a promise from him, that we will hear His voice behind us saying, “this is the way, walk in it”, whether we turn to the right hand or the left! So don’t be anxious, pray and listen, and then….Walk this way!| Leave a comment

This Is The Day!

The Psalmist said, “this is the day the Lord has made, let us Rejoice and be glad in it!

As we enter this new day let us make the “choice to rejoice”! For His mercies to us are new every morning, so great is His faithfulness to us! For the Lord says, “today I am doing a new thing in your life”! So let the past sleep, let unforgiveness go, let the failures and missed opportunites be washed away in my mercy! Launch out into this new adventure called today! Trust me, praise me, thank me for I will make a way and show you my salvation, healing, peace, deliverance and provison! As you rejoice in this day called “today”, my joy will surely be your strength! So rejoice, for this is the day I have made just for you!!!| Leave a comment

Psalm 23 Experience

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active…

As we embark on a brand new day the Lord has made, open your mouth and agree with the word saying:

The Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need today. He is making lie down in green pastures that are green and plush and flourishing, he is leading me beside quiet still waters, he is refreshing and restoring my soul. Today he guides me along the right paths for His names sake. Even though I maybe walking through some dark difficult things, I will fear no evil, for He is with me; His rod and His staff, His Spirit and His word, they are comforting me. Today He is preparing a table before me right in the presence of any enemies that may try to come against me. He is anointing my head with the oil of the Holy Spirit, the oil of joy and the oil gladness. My cup overflows today!  Surely His goodness, love, mercy, grace and love will follow me today (His blessings are even chasing me down) all the days of my life, and I dwell in the house and presence of the Lord forever and ever and ever…Amen!| Leave a comment

The Art of Stillness!

For the Lord says, “Be still, and know (by intimacy) that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalms 46:10…So whatever you are facing today, whatever situations you face, whatever mountains need to be moved, whatever armies are coming against you, the Lord says to you today, “You will not have to fight this battle, take up your position, stand firm (be still) and the see deliverance the Lord will give you”! So be still!!! And know that He is God…For He shall be exalted over every situation in your life! Amen…| Leave a comment

For You Not Against You

The Lord is for you, not against you! He is mighty to save you! He is so delighted in you He rejoices over you with singing! Yes the Lord sings over you ( Zephaniah 3:17)! The Lord is at your right hand today, you shall not be shaken! For He perfects that which concerns you! Yes, He is perfecting, establishing, strengthening and settling you (1 Peter 5:10)! So rejoice today knowing, He is for me…helping me…singing over me! Amen.| Leave a comment

Double Grace and the Lords Override!

Zechariah 4:7 says, “Who are you O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a level plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace to it, Grace to it!”‘”
Act 4:33 And with great power the Apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound towards you…
As we have entered a new year many words and insights have come forward about this year!From the Year of Double Grace, the Year of Opportunities, the Year of Divine Reversals, and as the Lord has spoken to me ‘The Year of The Stride”, when you take a decisive step to and walk with the Lord in step and stride, incredible “Breakthrough” will come as My Lead Pastor has said! Galatians 5:25 says, “Walk in the Spirit and keep in step (or stride) with the Spirit! One of my anointed friends had said back in November, it would be “A year of extravagant Grace”! And today on my lunch as I read Bobby Connors word on Elijah List about “Double Grace” the Lord began speaking this word to me:
“This is the Year of Double grace and favor”! What the enemy has sought to do the last 7 years in the Nation, in our Families, in the economy, and in and against the Church, The Lord says, “I am going to Override it”, and make it of non-effect! I am going to make the mountains level plains! As I was receiving the word I thought of the attacks of the enemy through legislation, regulations through sincere but misguided people (this is not political, righteous exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people) the enemies of the cross and constitution and all they have tried to do to thwart our freedoms!The attack on the economy, the Military, the attack on family, ministry and the Church! And then my thoughts turned to the fact that the Kingdom of God is advancing and the Lord is building His Church and the gates of hell cannot prevent, overcome or prevail against the Church. And my friend that is you and me! For the Lord said, “I am reversing it, I am overriding it” and I am bringing Double Grace and Favor to my people!I thought of the devil when he had crucified Jesus, he thought it was over and hell was having a party, but on the third day he arose!!! The enemy the last 7 years has thought that he had us, had the nation and had the church but this year breakthroughs are coming, increase, divine reversals, and divine favor! Amen!
We need therefore to get our houses in order! Take decisive steps if need be to get in step, in stride and in relationship with the Lord. Return to first love, let him in and purify ourselves so we can be in position to receive!Like a friend of mine sent me a word recently that said, “If we straighten ourselves out, everything around us will straighten out!
So as we do, lets have expectation that God is pouring out Great Grace, Double Grace and He is going to Override the enemies plans and bring favor and blessing to our Homes, Families, Church and Nation with shouts of “Grace to it….Grace to it”!!! Glory to His Name!!!
Pastor Danny Ingram
Restoration Christian Fellowship| Leave a comment

Be Ye Being Filled…Continually!

In my upcoming book, “Be Ye being Filled”, I will be releasing important keys to accept, receive, and apply so you can produce great fruit in your spiritual walk and life! One thing I know from experience from my own life and over 23 years of ministry and observation is this…we leak!!! As the Lord told Jeremiah in 2:13 “My people have forsaken me and dug for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water”. As we walk the walk we sometimes get distracted with other things that enter in and choke the word God has given us, and our spirits get smothered and the anointing flowing to us and through us gets cut off! So the question becomes how do we stay continually filled and overflowing? Ephesians 5:18 says, “be not drunk with wine (or other things) but, be filled with the Spirit”! In the original Greek, that means to stay continually filled or “Be ye being filled”.
First things first of course, to be continually filled you have to be filled the first time. After they had been with Jesus 3 and 1/2 years, and been with him 40 days after he rose from the dead as he expounded the things of the kingdom of God and was about to ascend back to heaven, he gave them this command in Acts 1:4 and 5, “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised”, “For John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in not many days”. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “And you will receive power (Gk:dunamis, dynamite, ability, efficiency and might) when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses. On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 the Holy Spirit came and, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in languages they had never known”, declaring the wonders of God! What an awesome experience with Jesus that must have been! And the promise is for “you” and your children (Acts 2:39)!
Key number one after we are filled, is living a life of Praise and Worship! On the day of Pentecost they were as I mentioned, “Declaring the wonders of God”! Or, they were praising! What a praise service that must have been! In Ephesians 5:18-20 where Paul is saying to be “Continually filled”, he gives the worship key, “to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart to the Lord, and always giving thanks”! So living a life of praise, worship and thanksgiving is key number one for, “Be ye being filled” continually.
Key number two is living a life of prayer! For after they prayed or as they prayed on the day of Pentecost and in Acts chapter four verses 29-31 the Holy Spirit fell! After Peter’s and John’s infilling they were on the way to the daily 3 o’clock hour of prayer when they raised the man at the temple gate called Beautiful! Jesus said, “to always pray and never give up”! Paul said to “pray continually”! So as we live a life of worship, praise, thanksgiving and prayer this will help keep out distractions, stoke passion, keep us focused on the Lord, and help us produce spiritual oil and fruit that will last in our lives.
Key three in a nutshell is obedience! In the long run it will always cost you more to disobey than it does
to obey. So when we obey the word and what Holy Spirit is leading and guiding us to do, we will stay encouraged and continually filled, for as Peter and the apostles said in Act 5:32, “we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him”.
So as we live in obedience to the Lord’s commands and live a life of praise, worship, thanksgiving and
prayer we will plug up the leaks and stay filled with the Spirit and will, “Be ye being filled” continually…
Dan Ingram
Missions/Equipping and Youth Pastor
Restoration Christian Fellowship
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The Spoken Word

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes forth from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. Isaiah 55:10, 11.

As we live a life of relationship with the Lord thru the Spirit, learning Him, knowing Him and His voice, we can begin to live and minister at a whole new level when we begin saying what He is saying, praying what He is praying, singing what He is singing, and learning to do what we see The Father do! We will be as the old timers used to say, “functioning in the unction!” And, as we step out in faith (practicing the word and practicing His presence) and do so in every area of our lives we will see more fruit, more power, receive more revelation, blessing, provision and open doors for life, business, service and ministry! It is so exciting and builds our faith for the “Greater Works”, as we step out and watch the living word like rain and snow cover and water our lives and those we minister to causing His word to bud and flourish and self fulfill and accomplish all He wants it to! I believe this is a Ephesians 3:20 year! As we pray, say and obey what He is saying to us, He will do exceeding, abundantly above all we can ask, imagine or even think! Step out in Faith on His word and like Peter you too will walk on the water! Amen…