Understanding Delay is Not Denial

But the dove found no rest for or the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him... And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf (Genesis 8:9-11).

God knows just when to withhold from us any visible sign of encouragement, and when to grant us such a sign. How good it is that we may trust Him anyway! When all visible evidences that He is remembering us are withheld, that is best; He wants us to realize that His Word, His promise of remembrance, is more substantial and dependable than any evidence of our senses. When He sends the visible evidence, that is well also; we appreciate it all the more after we have trusted Him without it. Those who are readiest to trust God without other evidence than His Word always receive the greatest number of visible evidences of His love.
--C. G. Trumbull

Believing Him; if storm-clouds gather darkly 'round,
And even if the heaven seem brass, without a sound?
He hears each prayer and even notes the sparrow's fall.
And praising Him; when sorrow, grief, and pain are near,
And even when we lose the thing that seems most dear?
Our loss is gain. Praise Him; in Him we have our All.
Our hand in His; e'en though the path seems long and drear
We scarcely see a step ahead, and almost fear?
He guides aright. He has it thus to keep us near.
And satisfied; when every path is blocked and bare,
And worldly things are gone and dead which were so fair?
Believe and rest and trust in Him, He comes to stay.

Delays are not refusals; many a prayer is registered, and underneath it the words: "My time is not yet come." God has a set time as well as a set purpose, and He who orders the bounds of our habitation orders also the time of our deliverance.
--Selected

How often have I said that delay does not mean denial. The believer must learn perseverance. Not every battle is won expeditiously, in fact, most battles call for patience and perseverance. They demand that we execute faith, and faith is only required when pragmatic and empirical evidence is not forthcoming. We look for signs when faith does not require them. We allow the vicissitudes of life to set the atmosphere of our existence, when our faith should dictate our position. 

God is still God in the midst of our darkest moment. Our circumstances don't confound or surprise Him. We must learn that theconceived machinations of the enemy is not the end, but the beginning of the movement of God on our behalf. It is your perseverance -- sustained by your audacious and radical faith -- that transfers you from the depths of darkness to the middle of a move of God. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace 

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Check out some additional resources by Dr. Rick Wallace 

1. The Invisible Father: Reversing the Curse of a Fatherless Generation - Dr. Wallace examines the destructive force of absentee fatherhood in America from a biblical Perspective

2. Renewing Your Mind: The Dynamics of Christian Transformation - Dr. Wallace discusses the power of your thought process to completely transform your life

3. Elevation through Revelation - This book was written to encourage and inspire you as you travel through life.

4. When Your House is Not a Home - Dr. Wallace engages the enigmatic issues that face marriage in America -- from a biblical perspective.

5. The Power of Healing Affirmations -- This short book goes straight to the matter of how you word and thought affect healing in your life. (A must read)

Blogs

1. 100 Men of Purpose -- Encouraging and teaching men to rise up in their God ordained design

2. Master Fitness 21 -- This site focuses on believers living healthy lives spiritually and physically

3. Anointed Inspirations -- A little something to get your day going.

4. Christian Impact -- The revelations of God that reveal the call and ability of believers to impact the world around them.

Character Above Comfort -- Faith Producing Peseverance

We have to find a way to move past the defeatists mindset that is stalling so many destinies in the body of Christ. We are forfeiting victories that Christ has paid a dear price to provide for us. It is not about rituals and sacramental rites, its about connecting with the power source and executing the divine plan for your life. This ethereal journey was never about comfort, but conquering. It is time to rise. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Additional Resources by Dr. Rick Wallace

Books

1. The Invisible Father: Reversing the Curse of a Fatherless Generation

2. Renewing Your Mind: The Dynamics of Christian Transformation

3. Elevation through Revelation

4. When Your House is Not a Home

5. The Power of Healing Affirmations

Blogs

1. 100 Men of Purpose

2. Master Fitness 21

Obtaining Your Crown of Glory

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb . . . and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Rev. 12:11).


When James and John came to Christ with their mother, asking Him to give them the best place in the kingdom, He did not refuse their request, but told them it would be given to them if they could do His work, drink His cup, and be baptized with His baptism.

Do we want the competition? The greatest things are always hedged about by the hardest things, and we, too, shall find mountains and forests and chariots of iron. Hardship is the price of coronation. Triumphal arches are not woven out of rose blossoms and silken cords, but of hard blows and bloody scars. The very hardships that you are enduring in your life today are given by the Master for the explicit purpose of enabling you to win your crown.

Do not wait for some ideal situation, some romantic difficulty, some far-away emergency; but rise to meet the actual conditions which the Providence of God has placed around you today. Your crown of glory lies embedded in the very heart of these things--those hardships and trials that are pressing you this very hour, week and month of your life. The hardest things are not those that the world knows of. Down in your secret soul unseen and unknown by any but Jesus, there is a little trial that you would not dare to mention that is harder for you to bear than martyrdom.

There, beloved, lies your crown. God help you to overcome, and sometime wear it. --Selected

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It is funny how believers so often look to circumvent life's struggles. It is amazing how we tend to search for and anticipate progression outside of resistance. We want to apprehend God's promises without enduring his processes. We claim to be his followers, yet there is no evidence of our bearing a cross.

We say that we are followers of Christ, but all we seem to be seeking is self. We desire a life of ease but full of reward. We have failed to realize that our greatest gain comes through difficulty as God shapes us and develops character within us. Even in our perceived failures, those moments in which we seemed to have totally missed the mark, God is working to develop humility and perseverance.

When the vicissitudes of life roll into your paradise, it is not the end, but the beginning. It is at this moment that God begins to move in the undercurrents of your struggle. God functions through your obedience and commitment to His will. It is not God's purpose to appease you, but to prepare you. It not His desire to grant your wish list, but to empower your destiny. It is not is greatest concern to tend to your comfort, but to facilitate your character.

Dr. Rick Wallace

We continue to meander through the maze of mediocrity because our perception of greatness is marred by secular paradigms that place the emphasis on us instead of God. We struggle through bouts of misery and depression because we have been convinced that this life is about us, so we become disenfranchised every time something does not go our way.

We have yet to apprehend one immutable truth: No cross; no crown.

Yes, you were designed for greatness, because God does not deal in mediocrity. However, this greatness only comes through the fulfillment of your design, not the apprehension of personal aspirations. Seek first the Kingdom of God is the command. Are you committed to kingdom work, or you striving to achieve the American dream? Are you sold out to Christ or engrossed in filling your wish list.

Some of your greatest challenges are actually assignments. Things you have a proclivity to avoid are actually the source of your work and the conduit for God's greatest blessings for you. These challenges are your opportunity to take up your cross. God is looking to build a powerful testimony in your life, but it begins with your obedience and willingness to see the assignment through. It begins with taking up your cross. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Stay the Course

When desperation tempts you to change course in search of expediency, don't do it. Stay the course. God is not limited by your deadlines and He can move even after the 12th hour to bring about deliverance and elevation.

Stay the course, even when it seems that the results are slow and the deadline is approaching. Whenever you are attempted to abandon the current path for one that seems more expedient you fall into the enemies plan to distract you. Though your situation may linger for what seems like an eternity, stay the course. God rewards faithfulness not capriciousness. Be still, look ahead and do what God has given you to do and trust that He is going to do what he said that he would do. Has He ever failed? Has he ever come up short? Have you ever looked for Him and He wasn't there? Of course not, so why become frenetic and unglued because things are awry. So what if life is not bowing down to you, so what if the enemy is incessant, so what? Nothing seems to work? Stand in there and refuse to give in.

God wants to bust a supernatural move in your life. Some of you are experiencing a breakthrough right now, but you are going to let delay convince you to walk right out of it is search of an easier and faster way. Every break through comes in phases. Like everything is the walk of faith, true breakthroughs are dynamic and the move in harmony with your commitment to stay the course.

Dr. Rick Wallace

By the time you actually witness the physical manifestation of the breakthrough you have already experienced the spiritual breakthrough which is the product of your perseverance. Once you have achieved your spiritual breakthrough in which the angelic forces from both sides are warring either for you or against you (See Daniel Chapter 10), the enemy becomes desperate because now your victory is eminent. His only hope is to convince you to move out of position to receive what the forces of good have fought so hard for you to have.


Trust me, stand still and trust God, your breakthrough is coming. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Climbing Upward

Climb Upward

"And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst" (Ezek. 41:7).

 

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"Still upward be thine onward course:

For this I pray today;

Still upward as the years go by,

And seasons pass away.

"Still upward in this coming year,

Thy path is all untried;

Still upward may'st thou journey on,

Close by thy Saviors side.

"Still upward e'en though sorrow come,

And trials crush thine heart;

Still upward may they draw thy soul,

With Christ to walk apart.

"Still upward till the day shall break,

And shadows all have flown;

Still upward till in Heaven you wake,

And stand before the throne."

 

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We ought not to rest content in the mists of the valley when the summit of Tabor awaits us. How pure are the dews of the hills, how fresh is the mountain air, how rich the fare of the dwellers aloft, whose windows look into the New Jerusalem! Many saints are content to live like men in coal mines, who see not the sun. Tears mar their faces when they might anoint them with celestial oil. Satisfied I am that many a believer pines in a dungeon when he might walk on the palace roof, and view the goodly land and Lebanon. Rouse thee, O believer, from thy low condition! Cast away thy sloth, thy lethargy, thy coldness, or whatever interferes with thy chaste and pure love to Christ. Make Him the source, the center, and the circumference of all thy soul's range of delight. Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. Upward to heaven! Nearer to God! --Spurgeon

 

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"I want to scale the utmost height,

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I'll pray, till heaven I've found,

Lord, lead me on to higher ground!"

 

Not many of us are living at our best. We linger in the lowlands because we are afraid to climb the mountains. The steepness and ruggedness dismay us, and so we stay in the misty valleys and do not learn the mystery of the hills. We do not know what we lose in our self-indulgence, what glory awaits us if only we had courage for the mountain climb, what blessing we should find if only we would move to the uplands of God. --J. R. M

 

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"Too low they build who build beneath the stars."

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We were not designed for mediocrity, we were designed for greatness; we were designed to reflect the omnipotence of God. We must rise up and live out our destinies through resisting complacency. 

At Your Word: A True Faith Declaration!

RWM SERMON- 04-08-09 At Your Word

Foundation Scripture:

“But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your “Word” I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5)

“At Your Word”; one of the most powerful statements in human history.  Yet, it is more than a statement.  It is an illuminated and erudite state of mind.  It is not supported nor justified by rationale or intellect.  It cannot be attained and cultivated by the empiricist nor the pragmatist.  This state of mind is not esoterically associated with sight walking.  It is spiritually empowered and sustained in faith.

If we are to ever live our lives in the abundance and awesome power we were created to live in, we must take on an “At Your Word” state of mind.  Proverbs 3:5,6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”  

This state of mind requisites a total commitment of the heart.  I’m not speaking of the heart in a sentimental nor emotional type of way, but as the center of your existence; that force at the center of your soul that guides your every action.

This state of mind also calls for us to move away from our natural proclivity to intellectualize, anatomize, and rationalize every situation.  We are told not to lean to our own understanding.  This ethereal journey of Christianity calls for faith, make no mistake about it.  Not faith in the superficial sense of the word, but that faith that says, “If God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.  This is a faith that is not deterred by circumstance.  This is a faith that refuses to acknowledge the illusionistic portraits of despair painted by the enemy.  When we truly trust God’s word, we will be able to stand in the midst of the storm and respond,” at your word”.

This state of mind does not consider nor tolerate difficulties and thrives in the cul-de-sac of impossibilities.  This is the ultimate in trust.  It says all things are possible if we only believe.

In our scriptural passage, Christ asks Peter to cast out his net.  This, in and of itself may seem somewhat insignificant; however, let us look a little closer.  First, Peter and his partners had been fishing the entire evening (the best time to fish) but had caught nothing.  Peter and his partners were professional fishermen and Jesus a carpenter.  Jesus had already commandeered Peter’s boat and transformed it into His pulpit.  Peter could have responded to Jesus’ directive with the arrogance of expertise; he was in fact the professional when it came to fishing. Yet, we see something completely different; Peter’s surrendered spirit.  Peter points out the obvious, we’ve fished all night and we’ve caught nothing.  Then there appears the conjunctive adverb, “Nevertheless”, in spite of or irregardless.  Nevertheless negates the preceding statement and points to the subsequent statement. 

“At Your Word” -there is no logic or rationale, but at Your Word.  All of the evidence says the opposite, but at Your Word.  Peter’s response reveals his servility, teachability and implicit obedience.  These virtues are the bridges to the blessing.

The scriptures tell us that the nets were filled with so many fish that they began to break.  When Peter’s partners brought their boat over to help, both boats were so overloaded by the catch that they began to sink.  This constitutes exceedingly abundantly above all that Peter could have asked or imagined. 

If Peter would have trusted his own intellect or expertise, he would have never experienced the awesome power of God to provide.  He would have missed his overflow moment; that moment in which the Red Sea is divided in its entire splendor; that moment when the sun stands still as time yields to prayer; that moment when dry dead bones become living flesh; that moment when you say Lord, I cannot understand, but at Your Word.

You’ve been praying for a breakthrough; you’ve been searching for that place of overflow.  God is saying to you now, “Step out on the water.  I know what the circumstances reveal, I know what your friends are saying, and I am cognizant of the things that have happened in the past.  I am God, step out on the water.” 

You have spent too much time rationalizing, contemplating, and procrastinating.  You have wondered around too long in the fruitlessness of empirical confirmation.  You have struggled mightily under the opaque shadows of inevitability.  It is time to say to the Master, “At Your Word.”  At Your Word, I will stand, at Your Word I will press on; at Your Word I will rejoice.  At Your Word, I will have the audacity to praise you in the midst of the storm.  

It was Peter who led the disciples on the day of Pentecost.  It was Peter that healed the lame man at the Gate Beautiful.  It was Peter that contributed three letters to the Biblical Cannon.  None of this would have been possible if he would not have stepped out from behind human viewpoint and into the phosphorescent light of divine guidance.

“And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”  (Isaiah 58:11)

In the preceding scripture we find promises of strengthened bones, watered gardens, and unfailing springs; these are similes for sustaining power, prosperity, and the blessings of God’s saving grace.  However, the first thing we notice here is that God will guide you.  Only when you submit to the guidance of the almighty will his power flow fully through you.  The question then arises; in the time in which we live, how does God guide us.  There are numerous ways that we are guided by God in our Christian lives: Through the filling of the Holy-Spirit; the Holy-Spirit convicts and prompts us in our actions; Through the Word of God inculcated into the mentality of our souls; the Word of God is the will of God.  Through prayer; when the believer prays to God for Guidance, which is a legitimate Christian right, God answers.  God guides us through providential circumstances; providence is the molding of events by God to obtain the fulfillment of His divine purpose.  In whatever manner God chooses to guide and lead you, it is your Christian duty to respond.

In 2 Peter 1:19, Peter alludes to the profitability of heeding God’s prophetic Word.

Right now, God is calling us to step out, stand up, and be sure.  This is not a time for sight walking.  This is not a time for rationalization.  No, this is a time to stand in faith, walk in faith, speak in faith, and live in faith.  This is a time to say, “At Your Word.”  This is done without regard to current circumstances, without consideration to past situations, without contemplation of the negative conjecture of naysayers.

It is time to cast out your nets.  God is calling you to reap the bountiful blessings of obedience.  There is someone out there God has called to step into the arena of entrepreneurship, yet, you are thinking, “I’ve tried this before and it was a disaster, experts are saying that this is not the time, the economy is not conducive to the successful launching of a business, nevertheless, “At Your Word.”  Someone has been called to relocate to a new city, to follow a dream, to fulfill their destiny, but there’s uncertainty with a new environment, the anxiety associated with change rears its ugly head, the support of friends and loved ones seems sporadic at best,  nevertheless, “At Your Word”.

God has called you to vacate that abusive relationship, to walk in the liberty of emancipation, to stand in the sufficiency of His power and grace, to live in the fullness of purpose; however, this situation is all you have ever known, there is no family support in place, you suffer from a fear of being alone, nevertheless, “At Your Word”.

At Your Word says, “Lord, I see nothing but you!  The moment is dark, but You are able.”  At Your Word says, my friends have forsaken me, but I trust your Word to heal.”  It’s time to step up and step out.

You keep gazing back into your past for confirmation.  You keep consulting the circumstances for authentication and corroboration.  It's time to view things through a different lens.  You have been viewing life through the lens of empiricism.  You have been viewing life through the lens of popular opinion.  You have been viewing life through the lens of social acceptance.  You have been viewing life through the lens of retrospective inquiry.  It is time for a paradigm shift.  It is time to start viewing things through the spiritual lens of faith.

But Bishop, I’ve never been successful in this area of my life.  My life has been one big failure after another; everyone says that I’m in over my head; they say that I’m reaching beyond my abilities.  I say that God’s Word is true.  His word says, “Things that are not possible with men are possible with God.”(Luke 18:27)  His Word says, he is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us”.

Let go of the past failures; God desires to open up the windows of heaven.  God desires to send excessive blessings, an overflow of power, a surplus of abundance and peace, over and above what you seek, extraordinary favor and a superabundance of joy.  Take Him at His Word.  Stand on His promises.  Live in His awesome power.  Cast out your net and become the head and not the tail.  Cast out your net, become the lender and not the borrower.  Cast out your net and be above and not beneath.  Cast out your net and see the glory of God revealed in your life.  I promise you if you cast out your net your life will never be the same.

I invite you to simply tell God, "At Your Word".

May you be richly blessed,

Rick Wallace

Founder & President

Rick Wallace Ministries

100 Men Of Purpose

Ph: 832-429-7542

Mobile: 713-371-8678

rpw@rickwallaceministries.com

www.rickwallaceministries.com

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