Bishop David G. Evans Channel | Bethany Baptist Church – Lindenwold, New Jersey

the work you place on you tells you whether you deserve something not just from people but from God because when I think I’m worth what God has promised I’ll position myself to receive I submit to you that most Christians are living beneath their blessings because they don’t think they’re worth what God has promised there [Music] hi I’m David Evans thank you for joining me today have you ever questioned your worth we have all had those moments of self-doubt are we strong enough smart enough quick enough wise enough I used to think my greatest enemy was the devil and my greatest adversaries were other people but I’ve since learned that my greatest issues in life usually do not stem from what’s taking place outside of me but what is going on inside of me is the problem today I want to take you into the beginning of a series of titled defenses we’re going to start out by taking an honest introspective look at who we are what we what could be holding us back from the freedom joy and blessing God is trying to give us join me now and the Bethany Church family as we discover what’s keeping us from being all that God has purposed us to be stay tuned and watch this turn with me to the book of Acts our series for this month is called the og the original God amen y’all thought about the regional gangster amen it’s called the og the original God Acts chapter 15 verse 1 says a certain man which came down from Judea taught the Brethren and said except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses you cannot be saved interesting when therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension disputation with them they determined at Harlem Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the Apostles unto the leaders and elders about this question and being brought on their way by the church they passed through Fenice and Samaria declaring the conversation the conversion of the Gentiles excuse me and they caused great joy unto all the brethren and when they will come to Jerusalem they were received of the church and of the Apostles and elders and they declared all things that God had done with them but they rose up a certain a sect of the Pharisees which believes saying that it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of moses verse one says and certain men which came down from Judea taught the Brethren and said except ye be circumcised after the matter of Moses you cannot be saved somebody say fences get down to verse five but they rose up certain sect of the Pharisees which believed saying that it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses somebody say fences in order to fully understand where God is taking us this morning it is critical that you and I be relieved of denial everybody in here is dealing with some kind of fence not outside of us but inside of us some barrier that’s internal that we have a problem crossing some obstruction that was this we’ve created based on our experience if we’re honest this morning we can declare and agree with an individual sitting anywhere near us that we’ve got a couple fences that we’ve constructed based upon what we’ve been through who we’ve created ourselves to be knock ourselves off our pace so fences are barriers that we create in response to some negative historical occurrence fences are not created by the good things in our lives fences are normally created by the disappointments by the setbacks sometimes something can happen to you sir early in life that you forget the cause for it and all you know how to do was react to it fences can be emotional fences can be spiritual fences can be psychological they can be ethical it can be racial they can be gender-based the greatest barrier to God fulfilling his purpose in our lives maybe that fence you’re dealing with 2016 fences an American film drama directed by Denzel Washington are written by August Wilson debut Denzel plays Troy a waste collector he’s a trash man Viola Davis plays Rose his wife as a youth Troy gets in trouble he becomes a thief to take care of himself he kills a man in the process of a robbery he goes to prison watch this and while he’s in prison he finds out he has major-league talent for baseball you didn’t hear what I said while he’s locked up he discovered something that he didn’t know existed inside of him are you still with me so he gets to play in the Negro Leagues but he never can make it to Major League Baseball and he believes there’s two fences in the way somebody’s age and race he believes age is in his way he believes his time has passed I’m I’m looking at some people that think that time has passed I’m looking at people that believe because you think you’re too old you think everybody else thinks you’re too old because you think you colored the wrong way that’s holding you back but in Christ Jesus I’ll heard something the other day he says I can do anybody talking to me all things through Christ who strengthens me I can do everything I need to do include knock down defense he has a musician son that he does not support he has another son who’s good in football who he will not support something is wrong with Troy he can’t encourage his children because of two things he’s hindered by jealousy and hindered by his own failure if he had succeeded he would think his children could succeed but because he did he keeps holding them back now instead of you looking outside this morning what happened to you that has held you back ain’t nobody talking to me what kind of fence do you have going on that you can’t get over because of something that happened to you and you never gave yourself somebody say another chance where we going troy is so steep so blocked that he tells his young athletic son when the guy comes to recruit you I’m not signing the permission papers failure and jealousy will create a fence that not only affects you because you don’t want no one else to go further than you’ve gone yourself somebody say misery loves company but then something good happens in Troy’s life he gets promoted to the driver of the truck first african-american in Pittsburgh even though he can’t read and has no driver’s license Troy’s story is so powerful but it’s more than just a heart-wrenching drum it’s real to all of us we have all experienced moments of self-doubt and we have all experienced moments of unforgiveness and those fences we build can be difficult to tear down but coming up next I’m going to give you some insight into how to tear down your own fences and how to mend the broken pieces of your life don’t go anywhere I’ll be right back coming into a season when you don’t have time for internal fences where the major fences are God through Christ will give you the power to pull them down there’s a stone in your way but there’s somebody on your rug that’ll tell you come out problem in the story is a sense of worth borne out of a negative experience and personal failure worth is equal in value to a thing do I deserve a thing consideration of how you see yourself worth has to do with the value you place on you and something you desire so what is the value you place on you the value placed on something concerning you the work you place on you tells you whether you deserve some things not just from people but from God because when I think I’m worth what God has promised me I’ll position myself to receive Genesis 1:26 go there with me alright listen to me when God speaks easy the creating or confirming creating or confirming did you hear me he says let us make man mankind male and female in our image after our likeness let us father son Holy Ghost make mankind male and female in our image to reflect us after our likeness to behave like us and because they’re created in my image and in my likeness let them have dominion or authority over the fish of the sea over the fowl of the air over the cattle over all the earth over all the earth over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth some I say everything so God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him and in case you’re wondering male and female created he then so I made to reflect him in the earth and I made to move like him in the earth and I made to have authority in the earth now the question is not how God sees you but how do you see the problem we have with this text is many of us don’t think we’re what this so we can’t welcome the authority that God has created us to function in anybody saying nothing cuz if I think I’m worth it I’m trying to reflect him if I think I’m worth it I’m trying to move like him in the earth I want to see this Authority what’s this that we’ve been created to exercise plus it’s now 20 and God blessed them y’all in here what I said so you were born with a blessing on you he created you blessed the devil has you convinced that you’re not the Bible tells us to walk worthy of the Lord walk worthy of those let me show you what that looks like go to Colossians chapter 1 verse 9 says with this cause we also since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding I’m going to show you 6 root 6 ways that you have to walk worthy with the Lord is that Alright verse 10 says that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God so the first way that we have to walk worth of the Lord is pursue the goal of pleasing the Lord in everything we do if I’m not trying to please him I can’t walk worthy of him and I won’t change the perception I have of myself so I need to walk worthy of the Lord and live a life pleasing to him somebody say number two it’s in verse 10 it says right here I need to continually be bearing bearing the right kind of fruit look what it says under up being full in every that means stop being proving bad works because we know how to do that be fruitful in every one number three watch is still in verse ten increasing in the knowledge of God you can’t walk worthy of the Lord and no no Bible how you gonna know how to walk with him if you don’t know what he’s saying most Christians are living by here saying you got to be built up in the Word of God in knowledge of God for the right reasons because the goal is walking worthy of the Lord it’s a lifetime pursuit go down to verse 11 strengthened with all mind the fourth way I walk worthy of the Lord is continuously receiving God’s strength positioning myself to receive his strength strengthened with all his might according to his glorious power do you see that that’s verse 11 strengthened with all might according to his glorious power my mind Philippians 4:13 says I can do how many things so whatever you have on your list that you’ve told yourself you can’t do he’s it’s rewrite the list ain’t nothing I can’t do through Christ Jesus I can do the moment this flips on a switch in your spirit your faith will change and the doors that have been closer you will open cuz you’ll be worthy to walk through them you need to get those words now those words strength is something God does for us and something God does to us number five still in verse 11 what’s this now strengthened with all my according to his glorious power unto all patients unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness giving thanks unto the father the King James when they tried to break stuff up they broke up thoughts this is how this food to be strengthened with all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness giving thanks unto the father watch others words hmm no ready for this God is not ignoring you God is trying to build one of the kingdom essentials patience now you don’t like that word because in our lives it has a negative connotation because if I need patience it must mean God’s gonna take a lot of time let me help you biblical patience is endurance it means you have the wind and the strength to keep running until you get to the goal that God has watch this permanently placed you’re not running after something that’s moving you’re headed for a finish line and God says I need you to keep running and keep enduring until you get to what I promised you the problem is we compare ourselves to people two months now here comes the big revelation look at this with all patients all endurance and somebody say long-suffering now we hate that let me help you with it because longsuffering obviously means suffer long that’s obviously what it means but what it actually means is called means I’m calm going through and ain’t happening as fast as I wanted to happen but I’m still impatience is a major fence for God’s people I need to be calm in the season that I’m in what’s what’s it what’s just and many times God can’t move until you come because he’s looking for somebody that has endurance and knows how to be calm while he’s working things out long-suffering means that you’re not a person that tries to get revenge but you leave every outcome to God let’s see what else we have in here it says and with and what’s just all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness giving thanks unto the Lord continuing to give God number six joyful praise not for what he’s going to do but for what he’s already the Bible says joyful praise and I ask God why you making this distinction talking about praise is there such a thing as non joyful prayers where there’s mechanical praise and then they’re joyous praise there’s praise because you think it’s the right thing to do and praise it has power to bring God where you are it has to be joyful pray what I wash this now which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life if I don’t think I’m worth an inheritance I won’t believe God has one for me sometimes our focus on the past is our fence the Bible lets me know that God wants to make this change was to pull down these fences in each of us in the inner man where the major fences are God through Christ will give you the power to pull him down now what blows my mind he’s not going to pull him down for us we need to get out of our heads if it doesn’t happen for us if God doesn’t move the way he moved for us like he moved 20 years ago God’s not moving you need to get that out of your head the Bible says behold I’m doing some new things I need you to stop auditing your road trying to decide who’s worthy to sit near you I need you to put your ruler back in your pocketbook and your eyes back in your head and stop judging people cuz they’re not dressed for church give them time to learn what the culture is God has not changed he’s still the original God he’s still the whosoever that is done whatsoever if you call upon the name of the Lord you shall be saved the real deal right through here is we need each other I’m not worried about what you look like as much as I’m worried about what you can do come on talk to me somebody watch how this works he’s still the healer that he has always been he can still tear down give you the strength to tear down your emotional defenses knock down the fence that’s been keeping you from opportunity he’s still changing people’s mind transforming people’s thinking still knows how to give you the power to move that 25-year fence of offense that fence of rejection that fence that’s a habit that ain’t good that lifestyle is not pleasing to God tell you name of that barrier it’s coming down if any man be in Christ he’s a new creature old things are passed away old fences are coming down I must admit it’s human nature for us to build fences around our hearts when we have experienced a negative situation our intentions were to offer ourselves safety and security but these fences will always lack the true protection you need instead they reveal themselves in our fears negative self-worth unhealthy feelings and emotions but God created you to be blessed and He desires for you to receive everything that he has in store for you I want to close this show by taking a moment to pray for you that you begin to realize that you are worthy to receive good things from God and that your self confidence and your confidence in God or restore let us pray father thank you today for the power of your spirit and your word it is amazing how you love us and how you desire for us to be all the create lists of me now Lord help me by the power of your spirit in you would destroy the fences of my land that are hindering my progress my relationships and my destiny with you thank you Lord in Jesus name Amen my announcer is coming to share with you some important resources to help you tear down the fences in your life for good watch this and I’ll be right back do you feel regret over your past feeling like you’ve missed your window to become or do something great or maybe you’re just frustrated in every new relationship because you’re held captive by the emotional pain of one past failed relationship or quite possibly your struggle is financial it seems like no matter what you do you cannot get ahead in life always living check to check and never having enough David G Evans has a revelation you need to hear that will change your situation right now the greatest barrier to God fulfilling his purpose in our lives may be that feeling you see what you’re feeling regret failure frustration these are all fences the enemy uses to try and ensnare and block you from releasing the greatness and the power of God within you but there is good news you are God’s beloved you were born again with his power to tear down and destroy any fences standing in the way of your god-given destiny you have authority and you are powerful and God desires for you to overthrow every obstacle that opposes his truth in your life to help you engage and tear down your barriers David G Evans has prepared a dynamic sermon series titled fences in this power-packed series your eyes will be open to the fences and barriers you’ve constructed as defense mechanisms you’ll begin to recognize them as destructive elements that will keep you from your destiny but this series will also equip you to dismantle your damaging fences by using the weapons of your warfare to bring them for good starting today you can eliminate the impossibilities obstacles obstructions and uncontrolled emotions that have held you captive for far too long it’s time for your fences to come down stop unknowingly participating in your own demise and learn how to use the Word of God faith and the holy spirit to utterly bring down your fences call now with your gift of $45 or more to receive the entire uncut thought-provoking and life transforming series fences but wait when you call right now we’ll also send you a copy of David G Evans highly inspirational and encouraging book healed without scars you’ll be moved you’ll cry and ultimately be transformed as you journey with David G Evans to uncover the root of past wounds and their accompanying memories so that you can finally experience the freedom Jesus blood bought for you today is your day of deliverance and victory call now and receive the impactful and life transforming 5 sermon series fences along with David G Evans amazing life-changing book healed without scars God created you with power now use it propelled by the Word of God to destroy your fences today God has already prepared a future and hope for you it’s time to walk in it a call now our operators are standing by please connect with us on Twitter Facebook Instagram or online at David G Evans com tune in next time and join me again as I continue my series on fences right here on elevate [Music] you [Music]