Turn On The Light And Get It Right

TURN ON THE LIGHT AND GET IT RIGHT
By: Bobby Sullivan

Proverbs 4:18-19 (The Message) “The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.” But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker travelers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.

“But the lovers of God walk on the highway of light, and their way shines brighter and brighter until they bring forth the perfect day. ¹⁹ But the wicked walk in thick darkness,
like those who travel in fog, and yet don’t have a clue why they keep stumbling!”  TPT

NOTE: Who are the right living people? Those who publicly, without reservation, without hesitation, openly acknowledge Jesus as Lord of their lives. He lived a life for you called Righteousness and it is up to you to walk in it, live with it, breath it in so it is woven in every fibre of your being, so it oozes out of your pores.

Because of that declaration over yourself, you can now receive by faith that you are the righteousness of God. You are the full expression of heaven on earth. The longer you are privileged to live the brighter you shine.

Solomon is summing up his argument to his son on how he should walk in a godly way rather than the ungodly.

He talks about the Highway to righteousness or the path. It usually refers to the way a person walks in their life. Meaning the path of those who walk in what is right. This is not the interpretation of your peers but what is right in the sight of God.

Watch this! This path is described like the light of sunrise that increases in brightness until noon. For the one who seeks the Lord, desires God’s wisdom and walks in it, this one will grow brighter as God’s illumination through his Spirit and scripture continues to grow daily.

How many can testify or acknowledge that we have had aspects of our character and demeaner that were not illuminated by his glory that were sinful? But it was along that highway of righteousness that the street lights turned on. Things I didn’t see before are more clearly seen in the light of His Word.

Now Solomon talks about the ways of the wicked: Their switch has not been turned on. It’s not that it’s not available.

The word Darkness in Hebrew is “apelah” and it means gloominess, intense deep darkness.

Like in the middle of a moonless, starless night, it is used to describe the naïve who stumble and grope through life. It is a darkness that goes beyond the absence of light; a darkness that can be felt because it can’t be seen. This word indicates gloom, despair, distress, and anguish.

The point is Jesus makes it clear that He has come as Light into this dark world. He is the one who illumines us so we will not stumble, stagger, trip and fall.

THE BRIGHTER YOU SHINE:  There will be an unprecedented increase in the effectiveness of the Righteous for 2021. There will be much road construction happening this year. Repairing the road of the righteous as well as building new roads. I believe 2021 will change the entire infrastructure of the church as we know it. God will be changing a lot of light bulbs! Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify the father in heaven. This will be the year that the wicked need sunglasses when you walk by.

God wants you to have more! Live a life of abundance.  Why do you think scripture says, “Give and it shall be given, good measure, pressed down, shaken together will men give unto you.  PRESSED DOWN, COMPACTED, COMPRESSED, SHAKEN SO IT SETTLES.

Proverbs 4:18 (Amp) “But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared].”

Genesis 1:28 “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion”

Jesus recovered for us the ability to rightfully rule and reign. The right to partner with heaven and force all evil out of this scene.

Most of the church world believes calamity will strike, hell will rule, and God will come rescue a lifeless, useless, weak, insignificant, powerless beat up bride.

Exodus 3:8 “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey,…”

Listen, if that was the blessing God had for people in the Old Covenant, how much more will he have for those in the NEW? Flowing, flourishing, fruitful and full to the faithful followers.

Psalm 15:14 “May the LORD give you increase more and more, You and your children.”

Proverbs 11:24 “There is one who scatters yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty.” 

Matthew 25:29 “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

Many people have an issue with the word…MORE!!  More Lord!!  If we want to see Bridgewater City of God will need More Lord

Mark 4:24-25 “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

Luke 18:29-30 “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Note: Habbak 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”  This is a promise! Everyone will know. HE can not come back until this happens, IF he does, he is not a man of his word. However, He holds his word above his name.

IF This will be the year of demonstration and manifestation, then my faith capacity must be enlarged to handle what is going to happen. I want to take the limiter off my life, blow up the boundaries and get rid of the religious restrictions, the governor that controls my acceleration. Lord take off the emergency brake please! I want a saturation of Gods glory in this city!

John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Romans 8:37 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

Romans 5:17 “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

So as horrible and miserable sin and the effects of sin, sickness, poverty etc. came from one man…..how much more the complete opposite came through Jesus! WAKEUP and smell the roses! The Rose of Sharon! GO BE JESUS! The reign of righteousness that God wants to live through you should supersede the rule of the wicked.

We should be a stark contrast to the pains that we see daily

Our lives and our very existence should be a radical afront to the forces of evil that we are eliminating darkness every time we walk in the street.!

Radical Christianity is normal Christianity. Everything else is subnormal and subpar.

Notice in Romans 5:17 it says those who receive. It doesn’t say achieve. You don’t work for righteousness, go to school for righteousness, get anointed for, prayed for, imparted with. It is a gift!

2 Corinthians 3:7-9 “ …the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.”

He was so impacted by the presence of God that there was a noticeable difference that people said, “You have been in the presence of God”  Can we make a declaration rather than a resolution that we will seek his face more than his hand. His Presence rather than his presents.

8 QUALITIES FOR SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION

1. Association
   Joshua 1:1
   “Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ minister (servant)”
   Water seeks its own level. Go deeper!

You get around people who have more… More in their marriage. More in their relationship with kids.
More in their relationship with God. More financial ability.  More fun.   It makes you want more!!!

Dave Semenko: Winger for Wayne Gretskys right hand man. Whoever went after Wayne, Dave got him first. He moved up the scoring list because of an association.

Pay careful attention to who your closest associations are because it’s an indication of the direction your life is heading.

Proverbs 13:20 NKJV

He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.   MSG Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.

2. Elimination
   Joshua 1:2 “Moses My servant is dead. So now arise [take his place], go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, the Israelites”

Release the past!!! Good or Bad. Some people live more in the past than the present. The past is not your testimony. Seize the now. Live in the moment. You are a new creation in Christ. Quit trying to resurrect the past!

ILLUSTRATION: Light bugs!

Flying forward with light on the past. They have more light on the back end of their life then what’s in front of them. God says forget the past! Leave that place. Cancel the membership. You have no right going back there.

There’s an Arab proverb that states that you should write the bad things that happen to you in the sand, so that they can be easily erased from your memory. However, most of us engrave the bad things that happen to us in marble; therefore, our painful memories remain immortalized in our minds.

We walk around with our failures, our mistakes, our disappointments, and our hurts from the past shackled around our ankles, weighing us down.

“Bring the past only if you are going to build from it.” – Doménico Cieri Estrada

“If you keep living in the past, send yourself an eviction notice” PBS

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges. 

“All the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put the past together again. So, let’s remember: Don’t try to saw sawdust.” – Dale Carnegie

3. Saturation
   Joshua 1:5    “…so I will be with you;…”
   Joshua practiced soaking time.
   Exodus 33:11 “…but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.”
   

New Living Translation

Ezekiel 47: 1-4 “In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. 2The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway.

3Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. 4He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. 5Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through. “NLT 

First degree of saturation is Ankle deep.

Second degree of saturation is Knee deep.

Third degree of saturation is Waist deep.

Eventually, the river becomes too deep to cross, and Ezekiel has a choice: it’s sink, swim, or be swept away! Let’s imagine that these three liquid levels represent different degrees of Holy Spirit saturation and gospel impact. For years this church has been making inch-deep inroads in our community.

We want to invite you to take your next step, to get your feet wet and discover the deeper currents of the Holy Spirit ready to flow in Bridgewater. Let’s springboard  off Ezekiel’s vision, and journey together in 2021 in the  three degrees of spirit saturation for increase in our lives and  impact in our city.

Don’t be discouraged. In God’s economy, powerful movements often start small. Before it grew into a raging river, the stream in Ezekiel’s vision was just a tiny trickle. Zechariah encourages us, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” ( NLT).

So, get your feet wet! IF you are going to do supernatural stuff you must put on your soaking suit!  Anyone can swim and play.

4. Meditation
   Joshua 1:8  “…you shall meditate on it day and night…”
   Confess the Word over your life.
   Meditate means (Hagah) (hug a) to mutter, to speak, to devise, to plot

HUG A the Word over your life daily. Embrace it

5. Prognostication
   Joshua 2:1 “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”
   Joshua 6:2 “See! I have given Jericho into your hand,”
   Ra’ah:- perceive, cause to see      Eliminate the status quo.     Prognosis is …there is MORE!

Dare to dream big with God. How many of you want to be used by God? To partner with him and be an agent of change

6. Incubation
   Joshua 3:1  “…and lodged there before passing over.”
   Don’t act on half-baked ideas.    Soak your plans. Lodge means they settled.

Know that it is a God idea not just a good idea

7. Articulation
   Joshua 3:9-10
   “Come near, hear the words of the Lord your God … By this you shall know” Get a clear specific written vision. There must be a revelation from God for you. In and through you. More than you ever dreamed.
   Habakkuk 2:2 “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets,”

8. Activation
   Joshua 3:15-16 “…the feet …in the brink of the water…Then the waters …rose up in a heap…”
   Get on with it. It’s your turn.     God acts — you act — God acts… You have to know what you’re acting on!

Mark 4:25  “For whoever has, to him more will be given…”

Proverbs 4:18 “…the longer they live, the brighter they shine.”

“Experiencing the greater glory is still My plan.

Ephesians 3:20 AMP: ²⁰ Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,

Jesus is excessive and He doesn’t have any intentions of conserving his grace to accommodate our lack of belief. HE is wanting to do MORE than you can think of imagine! Quit limiting him and putting him in a box.

“Experiencing the greater glory is still Gods plan.
2021 will be known as The Year of Visitations, Manifestations and Demonstrations”

If you believe that, meditate on his word, guard your associations, eliminate the distractions of the past, saturate yourself in his presence, wait on the Lord, voice your intentions, the activate them. As you do the light of Christ in you will get brighter and brighter.