The theme for this conference was to press past difficulties in your life to reach the blessing God has for you. In the Bible, wine is equated with power. As grapes need to be pressed to become wine, so we need to be pressed spiritually to get to our spiritual power.
During the first teaching of the conference, Joyce spoke about pressing past your feelings.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14
When we take the easy road, we are not getting the blessing that we would be getting than if we take the narrow, more difficult road. We all have feelings that we experience in life. Some people feel rejection, betrayal, abandonment, revenge seeking, self-pity, self centeredness, jealousy, depression, discouragement, disappointment, and many more. When we let these feeling control us, we are taking the easy road. When we let these feelings control us, we are too consumed by them to be available for Jesus to use us. When we put the feelings aside we are able to serve God. We are here for a purpose, God has a purpose for your life. If you hold on to the past hurts you will stay unhappy and miserable. If you put the hurts behind you and give yourself up to God to be used for His purpose, then you will receive blessings and you will have joy.
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
During the second teaching, Joyce spoke about pressing beyond guilt and shame. Sometimes you may feel that God is chastising you. It is a good thing that God shows you what you are doing wrong. It is only because God loves you and wants you to be better. Similar to a parent chastising a child, they punish a child so that they will learn to do what is right. Instead of making excuses, you need to say yes God, you are right, I have no excuse. I'm sorry, forgive me and I rejoice that you care so much about me that you show me what I can change. God forgives our sins because He wants to have a relationship with you. You need to move past not liking who you are. God loves you, and created you in the womb to be who you are. You can not like what you do, but don't not like who you are. Your value should not be tied to something in your life. You are no surprise to God, nothing you do surprises Him or makes Him love you less. You won't make any progress if you are so wrapped up in who you are not, and what you have not done. We need to let go of guilt. Some people are addicted to feeling guilty.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9
We are sinners and need a savior. Jesus intercedes with God for us continually. Satan loves to tell you that everything is all your fault, and that you are not good enough. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. When Satan comes to accuse you, tell him: I am none of your business! I belong to another!
Don't be upset about how far you have to go, be excited about how far you have come!
Joyce's third teaching was on pressing past the pain of feelings. Your soul says; I want, I think, I feel. Emotions are the believers #1 enemy. Our flesh wants to do things that make it happy, even though it is a bad thing. One example is overeating. If we left it up to how we feel, we would eat whatever we liked and become overweight and unhealthy. When we press beyond these feelings, we eat healthy and stay healthy. So you can see that when we press beyond the wants of our flesh, we receive a benefit. If we make right choices when we are hurting, we will be victorious. You have to make a choice to be helped. Life is not fair, but God is just.
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
You have three choices:
1- Press past the pain now
2- Decide to do it later and stay miserable now
3- Keep the pain forever and stay miserable forever
7 Instead of your shame
you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours.
8 “For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them. Isaiah 61:7-8
God loves to take someone whose life is in fragments, and who has turned their life over to God; He likes to take them and transform then and bless them beyond measure.
You need to start living a life of expectancy. There is no greater testimony than a transformed life. You should learn to enjoy where you are now on the way to where you are going.
The final teaching for this series was to press past anger and unforgiveness.
When your spirit/soul/mind get full of anger you can't grow spiritually. No matter how we feel, we need to choose to do what is right.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59
We need to pray for forgiveness for the people who hurt us. They are probably in pain and are lashing out at you. Being godly says more to your enemies than anger.
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
God is faithful and will bless you if you do the right thing. Put your anger aside and bless your enemy. When you do good to others you are paying back Satan. Anger is in itself not a sin, it is what you do when you are angry that is the sin. When you choose to move beyond your anger, you get a release. It no longer has a hold on you.When you are angry, talk to God about it.
If you repress your anger, it will come out in other ways; depression, overeating, bitterness, resentment.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12
If we want to be a witness to those that hurt you before God, we need to pray for them and ask God not to charge them with the sin. Instead ask God to bless them. This may lead to them turning to Christ. Our example is more powerful than our words. We need to forgive as God has forgiven us.
The conference was very powerful, and really showed how holding on to our past hurts could be detrimental to our walk with Christ. When we press past these hurts, we are opened up to a world of blessing and God can really use us to be a blessing to other people.
Each day Pastor Mike Shepherd did an altar call. Praise God, more than 1100 people turned their lives over to Christ!
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