2. The Prayer.
a. Paul does not just “accept,” the thing.
b. Paul prays hard to get delivered from the thing.
c. Besought:
i. The word that is translated “pleaded” is the same word that is used to describe the way that Jairus asked for the healing of his daughter who was dying (Mk 5:23).
ii. It was how a leper sought cleansing from his leprosy (Mk. 1:40).
iii. And it was how a servant begged his master for mercy over a bill that he owed so that he would not be thrown into prison and separated from his family (Mt 18:29).
iv. How would you pray if your daughter was dying? How would you pray if your limbs were being destroyed with leprosy? How would you pray if you were getting ready to be separated from your family that you loved because of a debt that you owed?

3. The Purpose.
a. Paul discovers in prayer that there is a purpose in the thorn.
b. Paul discovers that what we want and what God wants are two different things.
i. Paul thought he needed physical deliverance; but God knew that what he really needed was spiritual development.
c. Paul was reminded that the point of prayer is to get God’s will accomplished on earth not man’s will accomplished in heaven.
d. God is a parent who will not let his child eat a cookie because it will spoil the meal ahead.
e. God is a dentist, who has to drill and cause pain to deliver you from pain.

4. The Process
a. When we are given “a thing,” in our lives, we need to pray. Sometimes we will be delivered from the trial. Sometime we will be delivered through the trial.
b. We need to keep praying until God speaks to us.
c. The thorn became a gift through prayer. The buffeting became a blessing because God answered his prayer.

5. The Promise
a. The Christian does not live by explanation, but by promise.
b. The promise is Provision.
i. Grace.
1. We need Grace because we will always mess up when we go through stuff. The thorn hurts us and we hurt others. We stop trusting, We doubt God. Etc…
c. The promise is Presence.
i. My grace.
ii. When you are living with a thorn, you need the One who wore a crown of thorns to be with you.
iii. (Psalm 23:4)
iv. I do not need doctrine, other people, distractions, doctors, drugs, etc… I need Him.
v. Isaiah 43:1,2.
d. The promise is power. (v. 9)
i. “that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
ii. Paul literally says, “that the power of Christ may pitch a tent over me.” The picture is that of God descending from heaven and dwelling in the tabernacle among the people of Israel (Exod. 40:34). It is that of Jesus, who came down from heaven and dwelled, as in a tent, among his people (John 1:14).
iii. God dwelt in a tent that was covered with skins. It was small and insignificant looking from the outside, but inside it housed the glory of God. God dwelt in a tent of skin, human skin, in Jesus. Isaiah said, “he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” (53:2). The most valuable diamond is always shown on the darkest felt.
iv. God only dwells where He can shine.

6. The Pleasure
a. God turned the thorn, the thing, from a source of pain to a source of pleasure.
b. 2 Cor. 12:10
c. James 1:2
d. God leaves the thorns in our lives so that we might become like Christ.
i. He prayed three times and it did not leave.
ii. If Jesus had removed his thorns, He would have no power. It was when he received his thorns that he wore a crown.
iii. We would not be saved if He had saved Himself. We would not know heaven if He had not gone through hell. We would not know God if he did not become man. We would not know life if He had not tasted death for every man.

4. The Path to Peace
a. V. 4
b. The way of peace is not found by everyone just getting warm and fuzzy and loving each other enough to lay down their weapons. The way of peace comes by the way of judgment: “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people…”
i. Note that He is doing the judging, not us.
ii. This judgment comes when we go up and the Word goes out.
c. The response is a new formation, a transformation. The weapons of destruction are transformed into the weapons of production.
d. This new formation comes from intentional re-forming of our resources.
i. When God re-structures our life, we are able to change and become something different, become what God intended for us.
ii. He is able to take all the skills and abilities we have used to make war and use them to promote life, not death.
iii. We are re-formed, we are re-fashioned into something in His hand that become a tool to change the world.
e. The promise: God is going to transform you and allow you to use your abilities and talents to bring life, not death.
f. The process: It takes hammering out the details, taking some heat, and time to complete. (blacksmith analogy).
g. The product: You become an agent of change. You become someone who your children can respect. You become a leader of men. You become what God called you to be.
h. It takes people (the church, mentors) patience (because change is never easy) but it will bring promotion and peace.
i. The transformation is not from war to inactivity, but from war to work. The weapons are transformed into tools for work.

5. The Path to Pursue.
a. V. 5
b. Without a source of light we live in darkness. Darkness causes us to lack vision and understanding.
c. God created light before he created the sun and the moon. Light is a spiritual power, not just a physical power.
d. Jesus is the light of the world. (John 8:12) Without Him, we are blind to our purpose and our destination.
e. Light changes things, makes them grow, (1 John 1:7-9).
f. Those who follow Christ become the lights of the world. (Mat. 5:14-17) As the moon reflects the sun and shines in the night, we reflect His glory and shine in the darkness of the world.

2. The Experience of the Exile.
a. They were removed from their home.
i. They were young men, teenagers, who were away from parental influence for the first time.
b. They had to speak a different language.
c. They were being trained for three years.
d. They were being challenged to conform to their new culture.
i. Their names were changed.
1. i. The name Daniel (meaning God is my judge) was changed to Belteshazzar (meaning Bel’s prince).
2. The name Hannaniah (meaning Beloved by the LORD) was changed to Shadrach (meaning Illumined by Sun-god).
3. The name Mishael (meaning Who is as God) was changed to Meshach (meaning Who is like Venus).
4. The name Azariah (meaning The LORD is my help) was changed to Abed-Nego (meaning Servant of Nego).

e. They may have been made eunuchs.
i. According to Josephus, they were made eunuchs. (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 10, Chapter 10, first paragraph)
f. They were given food from the king’s table.
i. This would have been the best food you can possibly imagine.
ii. It would have been sacrificed to idols, and also not kosher food according to Levitical law.

3. The Attitude of the Exiled.
a. Daniel did not let what happened to him change his attitude toward God.
b. Daniel did not let the solitude of exile, the fact that there no parental accountability change his attitude.
c. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself” (1:8)
i. You overcome by your attitude. The world can make you play their game, speak their language, but they cannot change your heart and your attitude.
ii. Daniel could not help what they did to change what was outside, but he could control what happened inside.
iii. Eating the food and drinking the wine would have been a covenant act to Daniel. Daniel was willing to serve the King, but he was not willing to worship him.
d. If there is no purpose in your heart, there is no purpose in your life.
e. Too many people look at their circumstances and see no future. Daniel refused to despair or be discouraged. He had a purpose in his heart.

4. The Actions of the Exile.
a. Daniel developed a strategy.
i. Daniel did not give up and he did not give in.
ii. Daniel did not let despair or depression rule his life any more than the world system to rule his heart.
iii. Holiness does not happen by chance. Sanctification is God’s work brought about in and through men and women who, in dependence on His Spirit, diligently strive to be faithful disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some people equate spirituality and spontaneity. Daniel not only purposed to be pure, he planned ahead.
b. Daniel was polite.
i. He requested.
ii. He made a deal.
iii. This was the secret of the civil rights movement. (They do not create statues and make federal holidays for people who resist with violence.)
iv. Daniel used his brain more than his mouth.
c. Daniel was bold.
i. To make such a deal was faith in action.
ii. There is no physical reason why this test worked. It was God honoring their decision and lifestyle.
d. Daniel made a deal.
i. To be a kingdom of God “seed” you need to learn the ways of the world so you can overcome it. You are in the world, not of the world, but as long as you are in it, you need to learn how to operate in it.
ii. Never be afraid to learn. Never fear education.
iii. Daniel learned the art of negotiating with power.
iv. “You are never paid what you are worth, only what you are able to negotiate.”- T.D. Jakes.
v. They did not offend the official, but in a submissive attitude, won their argument.
vi. They had favor because of their attitude. You cannot get out of the ghetto and keep the attitude of the ghetto.
e.
5. The Results
a. V-20 “he found them ten times better…”
i. Daniel and the three friends were “better,” than the rest.
ii. When he refused to be bitter, he became better.
iii. These heathens did notice Daniel and his friends, not because of their faithfulness to God, but because of their submissive spirit, strong bodies, and scholarly minds. They were interested in the bottom line—performance. Nebuchadnezzar first took note of Daniel and his friends because they best met the qualifications he sought. He chose them in spite of their religious scruples more than because of them.
iv.
b. V.17 -“God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom
i. The world is changing. But God can give us creative solutions to the world’s problems.
ii. The job market is changing, and old systems are crumbling, but that just means that God can make us better. That means that we can change the situation by faithfulness to God.
c. V. 19-“ And the king communed with them;…”
i. God will bring you into positions of influence and relationships of strength and wealth.
ii. Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men (Proverbs 22:29).
d. V. 21- “And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.”
i. Daniel outlived kings and kingdoms. Governments and systems changed, but Daniel remained.
ii. Companies can go out of business, but you will continue.
e. They were able to face trials.
i. When you face the lion’s den, it pays to not smell like meat.
1. When you face the fiery furnace, it pays to not have combustible liquid in your life.

2. What does it look like when the church comes into Kingdom order.
a. There will be money to rebuild.
b. There will be new levels of faithfulness to give and to serve.
c. There will be new revelation of the Word.
i. You will find what you have lost.
ii. You will recover what has been lost.
d. There will be presence.
i. The throne
ii. The glory
iii. The fire
iv. Discernment
v. Prophetic voice.
e. Women and men will serve prophetically.
f. God will bless your generation. (Judgment was forestalled).

3. How do we come into Kingdom order?
a. Seeking God
i. Josiah sought God (34:3)
ii. To seek= “to tread frequently before.”
iii. It means to walk before God, to practice His presence every day.
iv. He was not seeking order, blessing, revival, etc….. He sought the King, and was brought into the Kingdom. (Matthew 6:33)
v. Josiah was young. He was 16 years old. There is no age limit to seek God.
vi. Josiah did nothing but seek God for 4 years, and in the 12th year, he acted. (2012).
vii. Josiah purged the land of idolatry because he was a God-seeker.
viii. The point here is that the actions of Josiah are an overflow of one action: seeking God. Josiah did not try to become David, he sought the God of David and became Josiah. Too many people try many things to bring revival and kingdom, but you need to only truly do one thing, and that one thing will bring everything else.

b. Separation unto God.
i. To live holy means to come into the order of God. To come into order, there must first come chaos to your disorder.
ii. In the creation order, God did not begin with order. He began with chaos.
1. Gen. 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
iii. To bring form from chaos and order from disorder, God then separated things.
1. Light from darkness
2. The water in the sky and the water from the earth.
3. The dry land from the oceans.
iv. Josiah brought chaos before he brought order.
1. He tore down all the idolatry.
v. Coming into Kingdom order is not without a mess.
1. Just as God separated light from darkness and land from sea, we have to separate what is God and what is against God in our lives, our homes and our churches.
2. Where there is no separation, there is no seeking, and there is no real kingdom order.

c. Simple Faithfulness towards God.
i. When you are faithful to God in one area, you will grow until you become faithful in all areas.
ii. They were faithful with money.
1. They paid their bills.
2. They paid the repairmen.
iii. They were faithful in service
1. V. 12
iv. They were faithful to be in their place.
1. V. 31
v. The king did not try to be a priest, the priest did not try to be king, the workers did not try to lead worship, the worship leaders did not try to offer lambs, etc…
vi. Because they were faithful, they found the Word.
1. The Word was lost in the church. The church had the Word, but the Word did not have the church.
2. Do not wait to “get a word,” to be faithful, be faithful and God will give you a word.
3. Be faithful with money, and God will give you revelation.
4. It is being faithful in money , service and position that will bring the Word into your life.

2. The Source
a. Even though we read about what Jacob does to create wealth, we must have as a foundational understanding that it is God who is the source for all of our blessings. (Deut. 8:17,18; 1 Cor. 4:7)
b. Jacob acknowledges that God is the One who has blessed him and kept him from being robbed by Laban. (Gen. 31:5-9)
i. Laban tried to change the deal every time Jacob was blessed.
c. God Himself tells Jacob that he is the source of his blessings. (31:12)
i. God says, “I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.”
ii. God sees it when those who follow the system of the world try to steal what you have worked for.
iii. We must remember that God sees and God acts for the oppressed.
iv. No matter what the devil does to try and change your blessing, God is the source of your blessing, and what he chooses to bless is blessed.

3. The Strategy
a. V. 25- Joseph was born.
b. With a changing of time, there needs to be a change in your strategy.
c. Joseph was the son of promise, the one who would deliver them all.
i. Your “ Joseph” has been born. Your promise is already alive in your life and your home. No matter what you go through, God has already prepared the way out before you ever go in.
d. Even though God is your source, and God has already provided the promise, we still need to develop strategies for success.
e. Strategy Principle #1- You will have to work for your prosperity, because it will not be given to you.
i. 31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing:
ii. God does not give you wealth. He gives you the ability to create wealth.
iii. Money is not going to rain down from the sky on you. You will have to find a way to create wealth, and God will give you that way.
iv. You cannot trust Laban to give you anything.
f. Strategy Principle #2- It takes time to create wealth.
i. Jacob was not wealth overnight. It took six years before he left Laban and returned to the land of Promise.
ii. Do not look for “get rich quick” schemes. Be faithful to what God gives you, and He will make sure you are blessed.
g. Strategy principle # 3- What you look at is what you will birth.
i. Jacob wanted spotted and speckled livestock, so he made sure that the animals were looking at a spotted and speckled pattern.
1. He made sticks (37-39)
2. He separated (40)
3. He bred the strong (41-42)
ii. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” (Isa 45:22)
1. ( Nu 21:8,9 2Ch 20:12; Mic 7:7 Zec 12:10 Joh 3:13-16 6:40 Heb 12:2 ; John 10:28-30 Tit 2:13)
iii. You become what you behold (2 Cor. 3:18)
iv. Keep looking to the Lord for strategy as well as your source.
1. David could not wear the armor of Saul to defeat Goliath (1 Sam. 17:39). We cannot use the strategy of the world for Kingdom work.
h. Strategy Principle # 4-When you encounter setbacks, remember that since God is your source, “Laban” will not be able to defeat you.
i. What Laban tried to do.
1. He took all the spotted and speckled away from Jacob from the start.
a. The “he” in v. 35 is Laban.
b. Laban agree that Jacob could have all the speckled and spotted, but then took all of them 3 days journey away from Jacob. That way, Jacob would not have anything to start with, and Jacob could not use the special livestock to breed others.
2. Jacob did not give up. God gave him a way to make it work, and God will give you a way.
a. There is no record that God actually spoke to Jacob during this time. It was only after Jacob had been through the trial that God spoke and gave him a dream that showed that God was with him all the time. (Gen 31:11-13). Even when you do not sense God is with you, He is. When you’re struggling financially it’s easy to think that God doesn’t care, because He doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers. But He uses the difficult times to teach us to trust and obey Him. He always cares for His people!
b. When God wants to bless a man, He will bless him regardless of the circumstances! If God is on your side, it doesn’t matter if the deck is stacked against you. If God is on your side, it doesn’t matter if you are dealing with unscrupulous people. If God is on your side, He can take the solids of life and turn out a thousand speckled sheep. He can do it because He is God!
i. Strategy Principle #5- There is a purpose to your prosperity
i. God does not just bless you to bless you. He blesses you to become a blessing.
ii. Jacob did become wealthy. (Gen. 30:43).
1. The Hebrew of verse 43 says, “the man burst out exceedingly exceedingly.”
iii. The purpose of the wealth was to provide a way for Jacob to return to the land of Promise and fulfill the original design for the descendants of Abraham. (Gen. 18:18) .
1. John Wesley preached the sensible formula, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” Someone pointed out that many modern Christians have concluded that two out of three is not bad!
iv. Becoming wealthy is not a worthy goal. Wealth is a means, not a goal.
v. The saved sanctify the unsaved. (1 Cor. 7:12-14) The reason Laban was blessed was because of Jacob. The reason your company is blessed is you.

Illustration:
It’s like the women who were chatting. One of them said,
“The day my daughter was conceived I had been painting
with red paint when a red fire engine drove by. I knocked
over the paint can and got red paint all over. Sure enough, my
daughter was born with red hair.” Another woman in the
group said, “That’s ridiculous. My mother told me that the
day I was conceived she dropped and broke a whole stack of
phonograph records, but it didn’t affect me, affect me, affect
me, affect me …”

2. TASTE: Ps. 34: 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
a. Notice the order- Look, taste and then see.
a. We cannot taste the Lord before we look to the Lord. But we never really “see,” never really understand the Lord until we experience the Lord.
b. Eve not only looked at the fruit, but she ate the fruit. She tasted and “saw” that she was naked and became ashamed. (Gen. 3:7)
i. The issue was that Adam and Eve ate what was not yet given, so they “saw” what they were not meant to see.
c. Strategy – I will only eat what the Lord gives me to eat.
i. Jesus gives us what to eat. He gives Himself. He tells me to eat of Him. (Mark 14:22-24; John 6:35)
1. Jesus died on a tree so He might be the fruit that truly makes us like Him.
d. This life can only give us a taste.
i. The goodness of God that we taste in this life is nothing to compare with the fullness of the feast that awaits us.
ii. Even just a taste of heaven fills us in this life.
e. You need to taste the Lord.
i. You need to take Him inside of you.
ii. Nothing else will ever satisfy your hunger.
f. How?
i. I taste the Lord when I receive Him into my life every day.
ii. I taste the Lord when I meditate upon His Word.
iii. I taste the Lord when I receive His presence, not only in worship, but through the fellowship of His people.
1. It is who you hang around that influences what you taste in life.

3. PRAY: Ps. 34: 17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
a. The Lord hears your prayers.
i. Note v. 15 of this Psalm. The words “are open,” are in italics. Not in original. Literally: “His ears are into your cry” . God is “into you.”
ii. The power of your prayer is not in you, but in Him. It is not your ability to cry out, but His ability, and willing readiness, to answer your prayers.
iii. When a child cries, we may want to get as far away as possible from it. But when it is our child, then we will run to the child to help and assist. You are not just a crying child, but His child.
b. The Lord delivers them out of all their troubles.
i. You do not have a problem that God cannot deliver you from.
ii. Not “some” or “most” but all.
c. Strategy: I will pray to the Lord more this year.
d. How?
i. Set aside a time each day. Be disciplined .(disciple)
ii. It does not have to be long, just daily.
1. The focus should be on quality, not quantity.
iii. If you miss, you go back to where you lost it (2 Kings 6)
iv. Keep track of requests and answers.
v. Be thankful.
vi. Listen
vii. Share your testimony with others.

4. DECLARE: Ps. 34: 20-22 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
a. There is a power in declaration that God wants us to discover in 2012.
b. Just as God created the world through the power of His words, (Hebrews 11:3) we need to speak and declare what we believe God is saying and doing for us this year.
c. Strategy: I am going to speak and declare the Kingdom to manifest in my life.
d. This passage is an example: (Ps. 34:20-22)
i. V. 20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
1. Jesus was crucified, but not one of his bones was allowed to break by God. (John 19:36)
2. The devil might bruise me, but he cannot break me.
3. Ps. 35:10 All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
ii. Declaration:
1. The Lord is going to keep us this year.
2. He is not going to allow us to be disconnected or broken.
3. The devil is defeated, and unable to stop God from blessing me,
4. The Lord is my Redeemer.
5. The Lord is not going to leave my loved one behind. (none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.)
e. How?
i. What are your declarations for this year?
ii. Write down what God is saying. “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” (Hab 2:2)
iii. Speak it out and watch it unfold.
1. Isaiah 42:9
2. Psalm 2:7,8;Psalm 9:11; Ps. 73:28
iv. Speak out for the next generation.
1. Ps. 78:6
2. Ps. 145:4
v. Declare for healing.
1. Ps. 118:17

2. Reflection. (v. 6)
a. Elisha threw in a stick of wood into the water.
b. The iron reflected the wood. It did what the wood did, which is float.
c. Into the stream of history, God has thrown a piece of wood, a Branch of Jesse, and the cross which He bore.
d. God threw the stick into our water so we would reflect His actions.
i. “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
ii. “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” (Mat 10:38)
e. Without Jesus, we all sink in our sin.

3. Reversal
a. The nature of the materials was reversed.
i. The iron floats like wood.
ii. The wood attracts the iron like a magnet.
b. This is the power of the Kingdom.
i. The lowly are raised to places of honor. (Luke 1:51-53; 1 Cor. 1:27,28)
ii. The unrighteous are justified. (Luke 18:9-14)
iii. The lost are found. (Luke 15:3-10)
iv. The dead are raised.
c. The work of the Kingdom is to “reverse the curse. “
i. God wants to reverse things in your life.

4. Restoration
a. The process of restoration begins with a question: “Where fell it?” (v. 6)
b. The man had to point to a place before the miracle could happen.
c. Where are you pointing? That is where you will get your miracle.
d. The man was working to build a house, but without divine intervention, he could not complete his purpose. He had to ask for help and point the way, and God did the rest. God is waiting for you to ask and point.

2. Do you know what you have?
a. V. 16-17
b. The disciples thought they were too limited to achieve the desire of Jesus. They only saw five loaves and two fishes. They did not “see” what happens when it is placed in the hands of Jesus.
c. This is the way God always works. The coming of the Kingdom removes the limitations of the past.
i. God’s presence. – He was once limited to a Tabernacle and a Temple, but now He dwells in each of us, who have become temples of the Holy Spirit.
ii. God’s people- he was once limited to the Jewish people, but now, “all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
iii. God’s power- It used to be only kings and priests and a few special people were anointed, but now He has given each of us access to the anointing. (1 John 2:27).
iv. God’s propitiation- It used to be that each home had to eat a Passover lamb, and each person had to slaughter a lamb to cover his sin, but now God has provided One Lamb, who has paid the price for all sin of everyone for all time.
v. God’s Priesthood- It used to be only a few priests could enter into the Tabernacle, and only one man once a year could approach the throne of God. But now, we all have access to come to His throne. (Hebrews 4:16).
d. Do you know what you have? Do you understand the way of the Kingdom?
i. The kingdom of God takes off all the limits.
ii. This is why it says: “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Mat 11:11)
1. The greatness of John is nothing in comparison to the greatness of the least in the Kingdom.
iii. Stop thinking of what you do not have. (time, resources, money, etc…) and start focusing on what you do have. You do not have limits. You are part of a kingdom that is eternal. It has no limits.
1. When you see an elephant in a circus, it is held with a little chain around its ankles that it could easily break. The elephant was trained when it was small with a big chain it could not break, and so became conditioned to believe that any chain could hold them, and did not take into account the strength and power of their size at their disposal.

3. Do you know how to receive?
a. Put what you have in the hands of Jesus. ( V. 18)
i. You have to let go to place it in His hands.
b. You have to get in order.
i. V. 19
ii. Cp. Mark 6:39,40
iii. The blessing was distributed in Apostolic order- from Jesus to the 12 to the people.
iv. The twelve were able to be a conduit, a channel of blessing, not because of their formal education or learning, but because they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13).
v. You have to share His vision to share His mission.
c. You will have more than enough.
i. V. 20- The people were all filled, and they also filled 12 baskets.
ii. Jesus took them from a condition of want and hunger to a place of abundance and overflow.
iii. This is the only miracle, besides the resurrection, that is in all four gospels. The reason is that this miracle is a picture of how the Kingdom of Jesus removes all barriers and limits and meets every need with 12 baskets left over.
iv. This next year has 12 months in it. God has more than enough for you.

2. Jesus is not the Reason for your Season.
a. We are told that the Christmas season is more than shopping and decorations and gift-giving. We are told that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” We like to have a reason for doing things.
i. We are not told anywhere in the Bible to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Yet, He is worth celebrating, and the church has created the entire Advent season to celebrate the coming of our Lord.
b. When we go through seasons of suffering, with bad things that happen, we try and find a reason for our season. We want to know the reason why we are suffering. God is able to deliver us, and He did not do it, so there must be a reason.
c. John 9:1-3
i. The disciples wanted to know why this man was suffering. They assumed he was being judged for sins, but they did not know if it was his sin or his parent’s sin.
ii. Jesus said, “God is not the reason for his season.”
iii. And Jesus wants you to know that He is not the reason for your season either.
iv. Jesus wants to manifest Himself in your life. He wants to be born in your manger.
v. If you are going through something because you did something wrong, then God is saying, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: (Isa 1:18,19)

2. There is Reason IN your Season.
a. The promise of the birth of Jesus is not that God will exempt you from suffering, but that he loves you and is with you in your suffering.
b. He is not the reason for the season; He is the Reason in your season.
c. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Mat 1:23)
d. God never promised that we would escape pain and suffering. But He did promise to be “with us,” as we went through it.
i. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psa 23:4)

3. How to find the Reason in your Season.
a. God is not with us the way we expect Him to be all the time.
i. Did they expect to find the Lord of all as a babe in the manger?
ii. Did they expect the promised Messiah to be born of poverty and die the death of a criminal?
b. The One who was born and became “God with us,” also cried out as he was dying on a cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mat. 27:46; Ps. 22:1).
c. In the Cross, God says, “I love you this much. I have not left you. I am here. I am suffering with you. No matter how bad it gets, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. My presence is unflinching and constant.”
d. He is with you now.

4. He is the Reason your Season is a Season.
a. I do not know why we suffer. But I do know we are not alone. And I know that the Lord who is with us will also not allow the suffering to be more than a season.
b. There is coming a day when He will make all things right.
c. He is the reason your season is only a season. Without Him, life is hell.
d. The God who knows all my tears (Ps. 56:8) will someday wipe them all away (Rev. 21:4)
1. “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” (Psa 56:8)
2. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev 21:4)
e. The Three Hebrew “Children” had it right when they face the fiery furnace:
i. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. (Daniel 3:17,18)
ii. Let us not bow to the idols of our false ideas of God and life. Let us not bow down to the idols of comfort and freedom from pain.
iii. Let us bow down to the child in the manger, to the Lord of Glory on the Cross, to Him who sits on the throne….

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for
thou art my praise.”-Jeremiah 17:14.
Introduction: Jeremiah was a prophet during the time of the Babylonian Captivity. Jeremiah tried to warn the people of God that they needed to repent and get right with God or else they would be attacked, and if not killed or sold into slavery, they would end up in bondage. Jeremiah said you are having these problems because you need to start living the Christian life, but there were other prophets, who said, “Thus saith the Lord,” when it was not the Lord who was speaking. These false prophets said that everything was at peace. God did not care how they lived, only that they went through the motions of religion. They said peace when there was no peace. And they were wrong.
1. Slight healing.
a. There are people who are “slightly healed.”
b. This is like someone who puts a band-aid on a gunshot wound and tells you everything is ok.
c. There are people who believe that religion will cover the wound of their sin.
d. There are people who believe that knowing the Bible is the same as living the Bible.
e. There are people who think if they do the best they can, God will save them and usher them into heaven.
i. They do not realize that the purpose of the gospel was not to get us into heaven, but to get heaven into us.
ii. If heaven is not in your soul now, what makes you think your soul will get into heaven?
iii. God does not just want to save your soul, He wants to change your soul.
f. Some people are lost in sin. Other are “slightly healed,” because they are not lost to God, but they are lost to change. They are lost to purpose.
i. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom 8:29)
g. To be “slightly healed” is to be falsely healed.
i. A person has a disease. One doctor tells him he needs surgery. It will hurt, but you will be healed. Another doctor says, “Just take this pill. It will not hurt at all. But you will be slightly healed. Be at peace.” What the second doctor does not tell you is,” It will not kill all the disease, and the disease will kill you.”
ii. We need surgery. Heart surgery.
1. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:19,20).

2. True Healing
a. In the verse of Jer. 17:14, we see a prayer for healing and for salvation.
b. Again, there are too many people content with getting saved, but not being healed of their sin, their addictions, their issues, etc…
c. Salvation is covering your sins and not counting them against you. But healing is taking out the sin by its roots and casting it behind you.
d. Sometimes, when a bone is broken and healed, it did not heal right, and has to be broken again.
i. Some of us need to broken again.

3. The True Source of Healing
a. Jeremiah prays to the Lord.
i. He is the source.
ii. He will not turn you away if you are sick.
1. And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:31-32)
b. We are healed by His grace.
i. We do not earn it or deserve it.
ii. Since we cannot earn it, it does not matter how bad we have been.
iii. Grace excludes no one.
c. His promises are true.
i. “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed.”
ii. The Great Physician has never failed when the patient allows a heart transplant.
d. Come to Him.
i. Do not argue with the Great Physician.
ii. Do not worry about getting a second opinion.
iii. Do not wait. No waiting room for this Dr.