relentless, part 1 (notes from John Bevere meeting)

Hi again! Here are notes from last night's meeting with John Bevere at Pastor Mac Hammond's church, Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, MN. I can't do the message justice, and I don't know how the notes read from someone who wasn't there, but in case it helps you, here it is! And if you like what you read even a little bit, here's a bunch of stuff you can do: 

1. Visit http://messengerinternational.com/ for more information on John Bevere and his wife, Lisa. Buy the book, CDs, DVDs, workbook, or curriculum for Relentless (which is what this message is from) or any other of his books... you will be happy you did!

2. Go to Living Word tonight (Friday, 6/15, 7 p.m.), tomorrow night (Saturday, 6/16, 5 p.m.), Sunday morning (6/17, 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 6:30 p.m.). The Beveres are ministering all weekend and I guarantee if you come expecting, you will receive much from the Lord! You can also watch all of these services live online at lwcc.org. 

3. Go to lwcc.org and watch this week's services on demand. 

Okay I think that's all for now... on to the notes!

Relentless: The Power You Need to Never Give Up

Philippians 1:29 NKJV
For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

“It has been granted... to suffer for His sake.” (think about that for a moment....)

Typical attitudes during adversity
-I can’t believe this is happening!
-Why me?
-Why do I have to go through this?
-I hate this!
-No one can relate to what I’m going through.
Etc.

Paul had these thoughts, but then he had a paradigm shift.

1 Peter 4:1 NKJV
Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin....

"Arm yourselves."

Imagine a nation sending military to battle, but without any armor. No guns, bullets, tanks, ships, etc. How ridiculous! If they had no arms they wouldn’t conquer. They would be killed or captured. It’s just as ridiculous for Christians to go into battle against the enemy unarmed. It causes them to react instead of act.

Commercial airline pilots are put through a series of tests in a flight simulator that is basically an exact replica of the plane they are training to fly. In that simulator they will go through extreme turbulence, loss of power, high winds, any type of adversity they might encounter. As one person said regarding training the pilot, “We beat them up [with extreme situations] for two days.”

The pilots might crash a few times in the simulator with the adversity, but they will eventually start to solve the problem(s). A lot of commercial aviation disasters have been averted because of senior pilots' flight training.

Example: there was a small plane crash pre-September 11, 2001. This was when some planes had no door separating the passengers and the pilot. When the tape was heard of what happened in the cockpit leading up to the crash, the pilot immediately jumped into action as he had been trained to do once trouble hits. He was going through all of the things to check and change. On the other hand, in the background, the passengers were freaking out... a.k.a. reacting because they had no idea what to do and were unarmed.

To be armed you must know:

1. Adversity (hardship) will happen. It’s inevitable.

John 16:33 NKJV
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

You will have tribulation. That word tribulation is thlipsis. John B. gave the definition in the Encyclopedia of Biblical words and the Strong’s concordance and both essentially defined it as pressure.

Paul affirms this in Acts 14:22 NKJV
...strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

We are going to have “many trouble/tribulations.”

2. You have the strength to overcome whatever you are facing.

1 Corinthians 10:13 TEV
Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.

God will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm.

"Allow" - that means God is not the author or instigator of hardship.

James 1:13 MSG
Don't let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, "God is trying to trip me up." God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one's way.

Adversity is either a direct attack from the enemy on you or a consequence of the fallen world we live in.

Luke 10:19 TEV
Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you.

He starts with “Listen!” The words following it are good, but he still places a special emphasis on the word listen. That word authority can also be power.

The Bible is more real than the chair you are sitting in because the Bible holds the power that created that chair.

Ephesians 1:19 Amp.
And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength....

Nothing is greater than His power... and it is in and for us who believe.

Jesus spoke to sickness, disease, etc. and commanded it to go. He didn't ask for God to take it away. John B. told the story of a couple who had been praying for their son's eye to be healed, and after reading Relentless (John's book), they realized they had been asking for something God had already given them. They spoke to the eye to be healed in the name of Jesus. It was healed.

There’s a default statement Christians use: “God is in control.” No, He’s not in control the way you are saying it. He put you in control.

Psalm 115:16 NKJV
The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.

If God was in control [in that way most people think of], he would have stopped Adam’s hand when he reached for the fruit off the tree in the Garden of Eden. He gave Adam control.

3. You never have to lose!
There were a few times during adversity where Paul didn’t know if he’d make it, but he said this:

2 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

The Spirit always leads to triumph.

4. You must embrace a positive attitude during adversity.
Paul went through the most extreme adversity. He was whipped 39 times in five cities. (Imagine what was going through his mind on the fourth or fifth time!) He was hit three times with rods. (The purpose of getting hit with rods is to bruise bones, which takes at least 6-8 weeks to heal from the excruciating pain.) He was stoned in other cities and shipwrecked. Adversity!

2 Corinthians 12:7-8 NKJV
And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

NLT
even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.

Paul begged to be rid of the adversity.

“God gets really quiet during adversity. He wants you to believe what He already said.”

Grace = power/empowerment. The immeasurable power we read about in Ephesians chapter 1
Weakness = human inability

Paul’s paradigm shift comes after hearing this.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJV
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

NLT
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul couldn't exaggerate when he wrote the Bible. So when he said he takes pleasure in weaknesses, insults, etc. he meant it. It’s the truth. He went from begging the Lord to remove adversity to taking pleasure in it. Paul didn't become a masochist. He realized that greater resistance requires greater power to overcome therefore producing a greater victory.

Paul wrote Romans three years after 2 Corinthians. He talks about his same adversities in that letter, but look at what he says.

Romans 8:35, 37 Amp.
Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword? ... Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.

He’s saying, Bring it on. Bigger battle = bigger victory.

James 1:2 tells us to count it all joy through extreme adversity and hardship.

99% joy and 1 link of sorrow doesn’t work because you’ll be as strong as your weakest link. Deliverance comes from 100% joy.

James 1:2-3 NLT
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

Consider it an opportunity when your faith is tested; your endurance can grow.

What is endurance training? It increases your capacity to handle future challenges.  

Pressure today simulates the pressure you’ll experience later down the road. Our trials feel harder than our current responsibility because it’s preparing us for future responsibility.

God uses your present challenges to strengthen you for greater challenges in your future.

How do you build muscle? Gradually. You add weight little by little. John told how he has been weightlifting for 17 years. He started at 95 lbs. Now he’s lifting 300-something. If 225 lbs were placed on him right away, it would have crushed him. He had to start with less weight. Muscle develops after the hard stuff. When he pushed up 315, 225 was routine. But 225 couldn’t be pushed up when he could only do 95. He had to go from 95 to 105 to 115, etc.

John B. told the story of his wife, Lisa, and him believing for finances to meet basic needs years ago. Now, the money they need for ministry is much easier to believe for each week because they strengthened their faith when they believed for personal needs so long ago. 

Psalm 139:16
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

This position you are in carries 145 lbs of adversity.
The next position God wants you in carries 185 lbs of adversity.
So God permits 155 lbs. of adversity. When you fail with that (you gripe, cheat, moan, etc.), you go back to 145 lbs. God can’t put you in 185 lbs of adversity if you forgo your endurance training.

155 is the path to 185. 

God has to start you at 95 to get you to 315.

James 1:4 NLT
So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Endurance = capacity.

This all describes a relentless believer... one who does not relent or become lenient.

So...(I missed this complete slide...)
1. Greater battles yield greater victories.
2. Your capacity expands and increases through adversity. 

Then he listed points 3 and 4, which he talks about in the book, and I believe he said he'd talk about point 4 tonight (Friday night). YAY!