Troy A. Brewer's Blog, page 214
July 18, 2020
UNDERSTANDING LAZARUS
I am so pleased with your heart for the lost. Continue to share your testimony of new life and I will call forth those you love by name!
UNDERSTANDING LAZARUS
I love John chapter 11 where Jesus goes to raise Lazarus from the dead. Now remember, Jesus had already told the disciples about the rich man who “ate sumptuously” and Lazarus, who begged for his scraps.
Both men died, but Lazarus was comforted in Abraham’s bosom while the rich man was tormented in hell. The rich man begged for Lazarus to be sent back to warn his brothers to avoid the very hell he was wallowing in. Abraham tells the rich man, “No.”
But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’” – Luke 16:31
Is this a parable? A mere story or figure of speech? I don’t believe so. I think it’s the key to understanding the raising of Lazarus from the dead after four days in John chapter 11.
You know what else I think? I think the story of Lazarus and the rich man happened during that four days. And while Abraham didn’t have any faith or hope in mankind to see this whopper miracle and believe, Jesus did. He said a resounding, “Yes!”
“Lazarus, come forth!” Had Jesus just said, “Come forth” all the dead would have raised, so He had to be specific. Lazarus hears the voice of Jesus through the rock and that “gulf fixed between heaven and hell.” His heart starts to beat and the blood begins to flow.
While the prophets never had the power to save, Jesus did. I don’t think Abraham himself had a clue about what was going to happen. The resurrection of Lazarus was a powerful sign and I’m sure many believed, but it was not as powerful as Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Now that is still blowing minds today!
Do you believe? Do you know someone who needs to believe? Tell them about your rise from death into life. Testify to a God who suffered in hell for three days so they don’t have to. Let your resurrection story be a witness to your unbelieving brothers today!
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO ASK THE LORD TO SEND A SIGN TO YOUR LOST BROTHERS AND SISTERS. LET YOUR NEW LIFE BE A WITNESS TO THE RESURRECTION POWER OF JESUS.
From my sermon series EXODUS
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PASSION OR POTLUCK?
You were created to accomplish My vision. Not only do I have a plan for you and your life, I’ve planned how you will uplift others and glorify My name. Partner with me to bring this plan to fruition.
PASSION OR POTLUCK?
If you are not surrounded by people who love you, celebrate you and recognize you as a person of God, get away from those people. They are toxic to your advancement in Jesus.
Give them the left foot of fellowship and tell them, “I will see you on the Great Day. I will love you, but I will love you from a distance.”
I spent most of my life surrounded by people who didn’t understand me. How many times did I hear, “You’re just not like us…” I wanted them to love me. I wanted to fit in and tried to be like them, but I just wasn’t. To them, I was weird.
Today, I know that everyone is weird, especially you. Yes, you are weird. You’re unique, but believe me, there is a calling on your life only you can do and a tribe that is perfect for you.
As your pastor, I say, “Permission granted for you to be you, and do what you do!”
If the place you want to serve God, or how you want to serve God, has not been traditionally recognized in the Body of Christ, go anyway. Take the Spirit of the Living God into the streets, ditches, jungles, suburbs – all four corners of the earth.
You have something amazing to offer that nobody else does. Those who tell you otherwise are whack! They are not part of your tribe. Yes, there are other people who think like you. Find them. Go after your passion and leave the frozen chosen to their potlucks.
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” – Colossians 3:23
From my sermon series I LOVE MY TRIBE
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July 17, 2020
Episode 47 – Knowing the Argument
My wife, Leanna Brewer, and I discuss: knowing what the actual thing you have to accomplish is, and not being drug off into endless arguments that will keep you from doing the thing that God has called you to do.
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July 16, 2020
TRIBAL UNDERSTANDING
You not only belong to Me, you belong to My Church. I love it when you are active and alive as a member of My Body. Share your gifts and I will pour out even more. The Body of Christ needs you as much as you need it.
TRIBAL UNDERSTANDING
Depending on where you are in the world, one of the things you come across is that tribes are uniquely different. Every tribe has its own weirdo stuff.
Though it use to be like that here in the United States, it’s not really like that here now. Why? Because everybody has the same media, which is the same language, so everybody can be controlled by the same spirit now.
It use to be there was a big difference between how Arkansas people acted and how Texas people acted. The cultures were completely different. You could just tell as soon as you were around somebody, you knew what region they were from. That’s a tribal understanding.
What do you value? What are you dedicated to? What things does your culture emphasize? Those things are tribal. Those things have to do with the people you self-identify with.
My tribe makes a big deal out of Jesus. We are dedicated to the least of these – the slave, widow, leper and orphan. We take care of the poor and don’t pressure them to become part of our church. Our culture emphasizes the presence of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we camp out around the Spirit, not a sermon.
My tribe worships with abandon and goes after upgrade and every spiritual gift Jesus is offering. We want more of Him so we can bring more people to Him. My tribe considers the unsaved as prisoners of a cosmic war between Satan and the One True God. We refuse to see them as wonton sinners unworthy of grace.
I love my tribe here at OpenDoor Church. If this sounds like you, we have the same tribal understanding. We’re just as weird as you are.
Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. – Philippians 2:2
From my sermon series I LOVE MY TRIBE
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July 15, 2020
TURNING THE TABLES
I see the thief at your door and the fox in your vineyard. I long to chase them away. Let go of your self sufficiency. Any kind of “self” is about you and not about Me. Let Me be sufficient to fight your battles. I Am a Man of war and I never fail.
TURNING THE TABLES
When Jesus showed up in the temple in Jerusalem and He turned over the tables, He ran off the thieves. He corrected things.
Think about this: He’d been to the temple a hundred times and had never done that. Why not?
He didn’t do that until they treated Him as a King. They lined the streets and they cheered, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
If you’re sick and tired of the little thieves in your life, you know – the things that steal your peace, relationships, money and ministry – and you’re wondering why Jesus won’t run these things off, it’s because He needs to be your King.
It’s only as a King that He runs off the thieves and turns the tables over.
When you turn the table on something, it means you change the momentum from what is against you to the thing that is for you. That’s called Jehovah Nissi – “the Lord is our Banner.”
The banner refers to the flag on a battlefield. King Jesus is a warrior king. He likes to scrap it up for your sake. In fact, He considers fighting for you to be just plain glorious!
Do you know Jesus as your King? Is He your Banner – your warrior king? Trust in Him to fight your battles today. Turn those tables!
Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.” – Exodus 17:15
From my sermon series JESUS UNVEILED
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July 14, 2020
FACE TO FACE
You are made in my image. Not only do you have My ability to love and forgive, you are eternal. Seek My face. Know My eyes are always smiling on you. There is no condemnation.
FACE TO FACE
I was just thinking about the face of the Lord and what it means to know His face. It’s one thing to seek the Lord concerning His hand. It’s another to seek Him concerning His voice, and it’s still another thing to seek Him concerning His face.
To know Him face to face is such a big deal and I want to tell you, you don’t just get in the face of Jesus. You get in the face of Jesus by invitation only.
Now, Moses would get in the face of Jesus, but there was a cloud and he couldn’t actually see Him. Moses would meet with Him and the Lord would speak to him face to face, then He defined what that meant when the Bible says:
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. – Exodus 33:11a
This means God was saying, “This is a different kind of friendship. We’re going to talk, to get to know each other. I can’t show you My face Moses, because if I did, you would just supernova.”
Father God eventually did lift that cloud and let Moses see His face and, that brother did supernova. He probably couldn’t wait for God to say, “OK, Moses. Are you ready? TA-DA!”
But that was before Jesus. Jesus removed the veil between God and man. He ripped in half the thing that keeps us from seeing His face. Jesus wants to be known by you and to know you.
Amazing isn’t it? A God who loves. A God who wants to know you personally and intimately. A God who wants you to know Him the same way. This is how I know Jesus is the One True God. All man-made idols throughout the world and throughout the ages hate humans and enjoy punishing and torturing mankind. They are made in our image.
What’s real is that we are made in His. Show someone the face of Jesus today. He loves it when we look like Him!
From my sermon series JESUS UNVEILED
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July 13, 2020
THAT’S COMMITMENT
Some days it’s not about how you live, but what you stand for, regardless of your mistakes. Look around with spiritual eyes. Celebrate what I’ve done and what I am doing.
THAT’S COMMITMENT!
Why do the promises of God matter? Because God keeps His promises – each and every one, to each and everyone of us. Now that’s commitment.
His promises are both a spoken and written commitment. If you’re not exactly sure how God is committed to you, or how God has defined His commitment, learn His promises. BibleGateway.com has discovered 5,417 of them in the Bible.
Why would Father God make so many promises? Because He loves being committed to you. He loves it! It’s not a burden to be committed to you. It’s His idea, not yours.
When my daughter had her first baby, she said she never knew she could love so much. I remember feeling like I could never love anything more than my kids. Then I had grandkids. Sorry, kids. I still love y’all, but grandkids are awesome.
Jesus says, “I promise you, this is how I am, and I want you to start living as if I had personally promised these things to you because I have.”
We have an ultimately personal God. Yes, He loves to make promises, and they are all for our good. So go after them. Mine them out of the Word and stand upon them. Declare them. Proclaim them and activate them.
The power of life and death is in the tongue, so commit to speaking life. Take Father God up on His promises and share them with a world in need of goodness. He says, “Yes” and you say, “Amen!”
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. – 2 Corinthians 1:20
From my sermon series MILK AND HONEY
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July 12, 2020
TRUTH HAS A NAME
Know in your heart the truth will make you free! The chains of bondage have been broken. Walk in the freedom Jesus died to give you.
TRUTH HAS A NAME
In a time and place in world history where truth, we’re told, is subjective may I offer a reality check?
First and foremost, truth in the Kingdom is defined by the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just an idea, truth is, in fact, a person.
Jesus answered, “I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6
Jesus is what’s real. That’s what truth is all about – what’s real.
Know this: Jesus is perfect humanity. You heard me – perfect humanity. Jesus is perfect theology, perfect manhood, the perfect mind, the perfect friend. He is the perfect truth. To know Jesus is to know the truth.
After defining King Jesus as truth, truth is articulated as what is ‘on target’ with the Kingdom. The Kingdom is where the King has dominion. When you see something that doesn’t look like the King has dominion, it isn’t true!
You and I cannot follow a mob when we are following a king like Jesus. You show me a person caught up in the mob of hatred, and I will show you someone who did not follow Jesus onto that bandwagon of bullies.
There is a big difference between followers and fans. Fans have to be entertained in how they follow Jesus. Followers are required to pay a price in how they follow Jesus. Be sure you’re not just a fan, but an actual follower of Jesus. Followers become leaders when they rescue the lost and guide them to the Truth.
Are you a fan or are you a follower? Followers are free!
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO KNOW JESUS IS NOT IN THE MOB. EXIT THE BANDWAGONS THAT SO EASILY DISTRACT YOU FROM LEADING THE LOST TO THE TRUTH – JESUS!
From my sermon series I LOVE MY TRIBE
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July 11, 2020
RADICAL DEPENDENCE, RADICAL LOVE
Do not doubt that I call you friend – that you are family to me. My love for you is immeasurable and I love it when you call on Me for help. You are not a burden, but My beloved child. Trust Me with your failures and faults. I will lead you out of captivity.
RADICAL DEPENDENCE, RADICAL LOVE
What you and I learn in the wilderness is to radically depend on King Jesus. We don’t just depend on Him sometimes. We depend on Him all the time – again, radical dependence.
In the wilderness we learn…
We are nothing without Him.
We are safe with Him. He is our provision.
He is our healing. He is our life.
He is our cloud by day, our fire by night.
Think about your own wilderness experiences when you ended up in places you didn’t want to go. When you went into situations you thought would kill you, but God was so good to you in that place and it changed your life.
Radical dependence was a game-changer me and it can be for you as well. For the rest of your life you will say, “Oh, I get it now. Whatever the problem is, it’s not God.” You learn that in the wilderness because in the wilderness, the only thing you have going for you is God.
We all go through those times in life where everything we’re familiar with is gone, the green of life is gone and now we’re in this barren place. However, God is so good to us through that trial, that when it’s finished we say, “I am the friend of God. I’m family with Him and that means there’s no limitations on my life whatsoever.”
When you can say that, you cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. That’s where God gives you the green light. Be backs you up and says, “Sic ‘em!”
Know this: your Promised Land is coming! Whatever wilderness you’re in – your marriage, health, rebellious kids, addiction, financial hardship, depression – it doesn’t matter to Jesus. He’s there. Lean on Him in radical ways. He will envelope you with radical love.
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. – Psalm 27:13-14
From my sermon series MILK AND HONEY
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July 10, 2020
UNCOMFORTABLE PLACES
I have set a shift in your heart and your mind. Where you once said, “No,” you will now say, “Yes!” You cannot increase the harvest when you say, “No.” Expect an abundant harvest in this new place!
UNCOMFORTABLE PLACES
Every one of us is a creature of comfort. We like things to go our way, not be too hard or too inconvenient. Well, guess what? God is not going to send or invite you into comfortable places. Nope.
That’s why He gives you His Spirit that He called, “the Comforter,” because He doesn’t invite you into any comfortable places. He just doesn’t.
He says, “You’re going to be in a place where you’re out of your league, over your head, not surrounded by people who love you and think you’re awesome. You’re going to be completely uncomfortable. But, I’ll be your comfort instead of the place I’m sending you.”
The Bible clearly says the Lord of Harvest expects a return on His investment in you.
“Therefore, pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” – Matthew 9:38
We are all laborers and that includes you! The problem is not the seed, or the ground. The problem is not enough laborers. Laborers are people who are willing to do the work toward the harvest of lost souls.
Are you willing to take on the agenda of the King? To commit to the Kingdom and plant seeds of truth, water them with love and watch the Lord of the Harvest bring in His crop in your life and the lives of those you touch?
Today is a good day to be uncomfortable. Get your hands dirty by tilling the soil of lost people’s lives. Plant a Kingdom seed!
From my sermon series LORD OF THE HARVEST
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