I’m Ready to Run
by Bobby Sullivan

Philippians 4:13  “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” AMP

Infuses- permeates, saturates, seeps, marinates

I’m ready to flavor my province more than my plate. We must (as Salt) depart from the safe place of the plate and present a living Jesus to a dying world.

Our Mission Statement: Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea

Bridgewater deserves an encounter with the realities of heaven. It deserves to be inoculated and inebriated by authentic Christianity functioning in signs, miracles and wonders.

TELL TEDDY AND FREDDY I’M READY!!!!

The cave is not the place to hang curtains, lay carpet, park your car and get comfortable! The Cave was created to stay cool and abide
What do you do when you’re called to be a King but you’re Confined in a cave?
Have you ever had your calling in conflict with your circumstance?
David arrived at the cave because he was fleeing for his life. King Saul had decided he was Public Enemy Number 1 and decided to try to kill him.

David was coming to grips with the reality of his situation. It was in darkness that he found light. In all cultures and epochs (in almost all seasons in a person’s life) the cave has been the symbol of creation, the place of emergence and birth.
David was about to engage an epoch season! In seasons of Epoch, Jesus never changes but one thing that does-culture changes!
“Epoch” is defined as a particular period of time marked by distinctive features or events.
The world will try and cancel your culture while God is recreating it! HE is about to invade social media like never before! When the church feels like it’s down from the devil, Holy Spirit comes in to revive those dead bones! An epoch is shifting and changing in the church! We will either embrace change or be embarrassed by our excuses.

In this new epoch season, we have to ask, “What new tools do I need?”

Noah traded his hammer for a shovel. He went from being a builder to a planter. When his Ark landed he was in a new season.

David was in a new season so he could be seasoned

David has been brought to the absolute bottom of life!  He is hurting, he is broken and he is defeated. The Crown Prince of Israel is living in a cave!  He does not rest his head on a sumptuous bed in the palace, but on cold rocks of a cave!  He no longer sleeps in the bed of the princess, but he seeks rest in the damp darkness of a forsaken cave.
He does not find comfort in the house of a friend, but he fights loneliness in a deserted, dirty cave.

God allowed David to come to this cave, so that David might learn not to lean on the props of family, friends, finances, fame, the flesh or the future.  David was taught, through his sufferings, to totally lean upon the Lord.  You see, God was not trying to destroy David.  He was not trying to discipline David.  God was attempting to develop David into the man of God the Lord wanted him to become.
God was ready to rescue David even when David wasn’t ready to reach for a rope!
What do you do when you feel like you have nowhere to retreat to but a cave even though you know you’re called?

GET OUT OF YOUR COFFIN! YOU’RE NOT DEAD YET!!!

Important to realize that your current reality is an opportunity for revelations to be revealed!
While you are in your cave, He will come to where you are and confirm His faithfulness and His promises to you!  God will use your cave as a banner to write His love over your life!
These men who gathered themselves around David were there because they were fed up with Saul.  The distressed came to David.  This word means “to be under stress and under pressure.”  We are also told that those who were in debt came.  This speaks of those who “could not pay their bills.”  The discontented also came.  This word refers to those who are “bitter and who have been mistreated.”  Here was a group of hundreds of people who have suffered under the tyranny and taxation of Saul and they are fed up.  They go to David because they believe that he is God’s man for Israel.
I am sure that David could not see in his life what they saw.  At that time, David could only see defeat and discouragement.  While David could only see the cave; those who came to him could see the crown.  They gathered themselves around him and believed in him, even when he was down!
1 SAMUEL 22:2 “All those who were in distress or in debt or disconnected gathered around him and he became their commander. About 400 of them.

Be careful when you complain because the company that God sends to your cave may be your next church. I’m ready to take the rowdy radical ones! Give me the tatted up bikers, give me the truckers, Impact will take those that others leave behind.

What David didn’t know was that these same men would be the ones that would bring him to the throne.
If these men didn’t have the reputation of being rough, they could not be relentless.
Some things can only be supernaturally set up when you’re sitting in a cave.

What you have is all you need for where you are. You are not held captive in a cave. Your calling is not confined because you are more than a conqueror.
It was in the cave and from the cave that David carried the conviction of being King!

Psalm 57 (NKJV) – Prayer for Safety from Enemies –Written to the Chief Musician. Set to  “Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam (a psalm as precious as stamped gold) written by David when he fled from Saul into the cave.

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by.”

Focusing on the problem only intensifies the fear, whereas focusing on the one in control of the situation alleviates it.

NOTE: { COVID IS NOT YOUR STORY! This is not the title of your life. It’s an ugly chapter but you will overcome} David stated that he would take refuge in God “until destruction passes by.” David understood that true safety from Saul was found not in a cave, not in retreat, not in status, not in popularity or those who surrounded him… but in the Lord.

He wasn’t hiding from Saul, but he was hidden from Saul in the shadow of God’s wings!

Charles Spurgeon “How can the Lord be merciful to a trustful soul? Our faith does not deserve mercy, but it always wins it from the sovereign grace of God when it is sincere.”

vs. 2-6 “I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.
He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. Selah
God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire,
Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me; Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah
Psalm 57:7. “My heart is steadfast, ( firmly fixed in place, immovable, resolute, loyal, faithful, committed, devoted, dedicated, dependable, determined, steady , true, constant, relentless, unchanging, unwavering, unflinching, and uncompromising) .
O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.
Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations.
For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.”

Psalm 57:7  (NKJV) “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.”
Psalm 57:7 (TPT) “My heart, O God, is quiet and confident. Now I can sing with passion your wonderful praises!”
Psalm 57:7 (KJV) “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.”
Psalm 57:7 (Youngs Literal Translation) “Prepared is my heart, O God, Prepared is my heart, I sing and praise.”
“fixed” (kûwn) :– to be firm, be stable, be established, to be ready, prepared.

Psalm 57:7 (MSG)  “I’m ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe. Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune…”

I’m ready to sing my way back to sanity! I’m ready to shout to the Southshore there is safety in the savior!
Rocky theme/eye of the tiger

Ludwig van Beethoven “I will seize fate by the throat; it shall certainly never wholly overcome me.”

Virtuoso violinist by 5 … began to write music mentored by Mozart … losing hearing in his 20’s
stone deaf by 50 … Wrote his 9th symphony … cut legs of piano and laid on the floors he could feel the music … conducted the symphony … never heard it with His ears … crowd behind him erupting

Take it by the throat … “I’m ready!!! Bring it on!”   Take the challenge by the throat!!
God Is For Me!!!!      Take sickness by the throat … Attack on your Family by the throat … Attack on your finances by the throat … Attack on your future by the throat.
DETERMINATION!!!  I’m ready … I’m fixed … I’m prepared
Most failure comes, not from a lack of talent or opportunity, but from a lack of determination.

This is the time when the body of Christ needs to face adversity under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and get more militant in her faith, stand up, stand strong, stand tall, and stand united. No longer will we stand by, stand off, stand still, stand back, stand behind, stand down, and stand aside and let this demonic attack thrive.

I’m done being stepped on, walked on, talked down to, looked over, not heard, silenced, filtered, and muted!! I’M READY FOR THE FIGHT OF FAITH because MY FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT!!!

I’m ready to partner with God, lock arms with Holy Spirit and not just wish for, but demonstrate signs, miracles and wonders and silence the religious critics with their politically correct poison of “If it’s God’s will”.
You have heard me say, “I don’t want to keep reading about history! I want to make it!!” My future is greater than my past and I’m not going to be sidetracked and distracted by the devil’s dumb detours and delays.

When you realize you are part of the promise, part of a prophesy and literally have a platform for prominence and promotion in the Kingdom, suddenly your identity is awakened to the fact that greater is he (REALLY) that is in me than he that is in the world!! That you are part of the army heaven!
If God is for us who has a chance against us? NO ONE and NOTHING!!

Babe Ruth (Yankee Stadium “House That Ruth Built”) said, “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” Struck out more than anyone but it more homeruns than anyone at the time

Galatians 6:9  “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”    DON’T QUIT!!!   DETERMINATION …MY HEART IS FIXED!!!!

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”   Mark Twain

Acts 20:22-24  “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. …
… But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Joy is when you embrace your race with grace!!!
He knew his ministry!!! Do you know yours?
Your ministry is not to be miserable!

We have been bombarded with the word mutate. It means to change or alter a compound or molecular structure. It changes inwardly.

Simple organisms like bacteria mutate rapidly.
Technology continues to mutate at an alarming rate.
Overnight, the gossip begins to mutate into headlines.
The technique has been to mutate the genes by irradiation or chemicals.
Genetically-engineered organisms mutate and develop their own new lifestyles

Our mission/ministry must mutate and develop new lifestyles at an alarming rate that inwardly changes the core, fiber by the influence of the Holy Spirit.

(Message) “What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.”

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”    Oscar Wilde

1 Corinthians 9:26 (NLT) “So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.”

Philippians 3:12-14 “…but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal…”
Paul had a passion because he knew his purpose, his path and his place in life. He was not swayed by every wind of doctrine! He was not moved by the opinions of his day. His convictions were stronger than others’ contradictions.
Paul New International Version
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. He didn’t get involved with politics, blogs, arguments, he resolved to know one thing and one thing only! HE was steadfast, strong, steady in his stand for Christ alone!!

Acts 26:19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,” Paul was in chains, prison bound but not bound in spirit.

Acts 16:19-20  (MSG) “What could I do, King Agrippa? I could not just walk away from a vision like that! I became an obedient believer on the spot. I started preaching this life-change—this radical turn …
…  to God and everything it meant in everyday life—right there in Damascus, went on to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and from there to the whole world.”
The moment Paul received this revelation he was ready to renounce his past and restore his future. He was a revived man!!!!

Colossians 1:28-29 “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.  To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.”

What God has called you to and for he will give grace to see it through. You are not graced for average and mediocrity!
You are a blessing! You are an open fountain to the goodness of God wherever you are. None of these things move me! Because I am moved internally by a heavenly force. I’m guided by a life principle that drives me in my life by his power, might and purpose. God can totally transform and transition people from dead to life.

PURPOSE MOTIVATES: When you grasp your “how” coupled with your “why”, it will make try. When you know WHY you’re doing something, you do it a whole lot better. We have been tortured with the “How you do things”, but without the “why” you are doing it without purpose and passion.
PURPOSE ALIGNS YOUR PRIORITIES: I’m going through the shadow of death
PURPOSE DEVELOPS YOUR POTENTIAL:
PURPOSE WILL EMPOWER YOU
PURPOSE CREATES ENDURANCE
PURPOSE PRODUCES MORALE
PURPOSE ENABLES EVALUATION: Our purpose, mission is so important. I want to know how I’m doing. I know I don’t have patience with people. I know my strengths and limitations. If I’m not evaluating everything it proves it has no value!
PURPOSE INCREASES OUR EFFECTIVENESS

EVERYTHING MATTERS, EVERYONE MATTERS, EVERYDAY MATTERS. ARE YOU READY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN?