Everything will be shaken

One of the best things about God is that no matter how much you get to know him, and how much time you spend in his word, there's always more!


God is going to rekindle the fire (That's not as good as it sounds)
When He rekindles the fire, everything that can be shaken, will be shaken, so that the only thing that remains will be him!


The first thing we have to remember is it's not about us
2 Corinthians 4:5  "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake"
If we're going to preach Jesus, everything else needs to be shaken out!


4:6 "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ"
When God shines in our hearts, any darkness we have in there has to leave. light and darkness can't occupy the same place


4:7  "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us"
We can't do it on our own, God has to do it through us
There's a whole world of darkness that needs his light


4:8-9 "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed"
When we're in Jesus, we can't be defeated. But, if we step away from God, these promises are not valid
Think of him as an umbrella, as long as we're under him, the storm can't reach us. but, if we step out from underneath him, we will get wet.


4:10-11 "always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh"
We're supposed to die daily like Jesus did
Jesus suffered a lot! Why are we surprised when we suffer just a little bit?


If you don't pull a weed out at the root, it will be back again the next week


4:15 "For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God"
This is for your sake!
If you want to show his glory, the other stuff needs to be shaken out; it needs to be pulled out by the root!


4:16 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."
Out part: don't become discouraged
We need to pray to be renewed daily
You can't do it on your own
But you can do all things through Christ


God's going to use the willing vessel
we need to be willing to go through the shaking so that he can use us!


4:17 "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory"
Our suffering is but a moment compared to the eternal joy that we will have!


Hebrews 12:26-29 "whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven" 27 Now this, "Yet once more" indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear 29 For our God is a consuming fire"
He is a consuming fire that's going to burn up everything that's not of him!


We need to be unrecognizable to the people, because they won't see us, they'll see Christ through us!
There will be people watching, would you rather them see you fail or Jesus succeed?
If people see you defeated, they won't want what you have, but if they see you victorious, they'll want what you have!

Do you know him?

There are many injustices in this world, but the worst one is lack of knowledge of who Jesus is


Matthew 16:13-15  When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philipi, He asked the disciples, saying "Who do men say that I, the son of man, am?" 14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, Some say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them "But who do you say that I am?"


Jesus doesn't want to know what others think of him and what society thinks, He wants to know what you think! He wants for you to know who He is, not to know who people say He is!


Matthew 16:16-17  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.


No man can tell you who Jesus is! Only God can, when you get into His word, pray, and spend time with Him.

Isaiah 60:1 Arise; Shine
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is
risen upon you


Arise - Stand up in a hostile, aggressive sense
Shine - To be a reflection


To be a reflection, first you have to see something. A mirror can't reflect you unless it sees you
If we're going to be a reflection of God, we're going to have to know Him first.


The glory of the LORD is who He is! In other words, Who He is has risen upon you!


Lord, I pray that you bless everyone who reads this post. Give them the desire to dive into the knowledge of who you are, so that they may become a reflection of you! Give them that hunger for a personal relationship! In Jesus' name, Amen!

JOSEPH KONY MUST BE STOPPED

"Joseph Kony (born c. 1961) is a Ugandan guerrilla group leader, head of the Lord's Resistance Army. (LRA). While initially enjoying strong public support, the LTA turned brutally on its own supporters, supposedly to "purify" the Acholi people and turn Uganda into a theocracy ruled by the Ten Commandments. The LRA is a militant group with a syncretic Christian extreme religious ideology, known for the atrocities they commit against civilians, including murder, mutilations, rape, and in some accounts even cannibalism.
Directed by Kony, the LRA has earned a reputation for its actions against the people of several countries, including northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan. It has abducted and forced an estimated 66,000 children to fight for them, and has forced the internal displacement of over 2 million people since its rebellion began in 1986. In 2005 Kony was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, but has evaded capture."


Joseph Kony is a threat and must be stopped. The world has joined together to raise awareness and stop Joseph Kony in 2012.
"How can I help?"
Start by watching this video. It will explain the rest

Will you be silent, or will you make your voice heard?