What Happens When We Walk in Righteousness?

Happy New Year! Well WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had a wonderful time taking a closer look at the meaning of Righteousness. The question that was posed by Minister William Merced Jr. was " What happens when we are righteous?

Psalm 112:1-10 (Contemporary English Version)
God Blesses His Worshipers
Shout praises to the LORD! The LORD blesses everyone who worships him and gladly obeys his teachings. Their descendants will have great power in the land, because the LORD blesses all who do right. They will get rich and prosper and will always be remembered for their fairness. They will be so kind and merciful and good, that they will be a light in the darkfor others who do the right thing. Life will go well for those who freely lend and are honest in business. They won't ever be troubled, and the kind things they do will never be forgotten. Bad news won't bother them; they have decided to trust the LORD. They are dependable and not afraid, and they will live to see their enemies defeated. They will always be remembered and greatly praised, because they were kind and freely gave to the poor. When evil people see this, they angrily bite their tongues and disappear. They will never get what they really want.

How many times do we picture a God who we must be fearful or afraid of? How often have we been " Forced to obey, because if not you will reap what you sow?" Why would anyone want a relationship with a God who has no compassion? No love? No Justice? Today we were reminded that when we worship God gladly and obey his teachings we are blessed. We are blessed, because God has made us " Righteous". In other words God has given us the gift of righteousness, which is Jesus. When we have a relationship with the Father we have authority to rule in the land the Lord gives us.

He loves us so much that this blessing is passed down to our children and their children. Why? The son will do what he sees the Father do. John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. We are rich! Yes, the Lord may bless some of us with monetary wealth. But this blessing goes way beyond this. Our house (our temple, mind, body and soul) is blessed.

We can be a light in this dark world and draw others to the Lord. We can be the hands and feet the mouthpiece of the Father and lend to the poor. Surely we were called to be a blessing! Thank you Jesus for making me righteous!

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY would like to wish you and your family a Happy New Year filled with blessings!

Designed to Praise & Worship

WOWgroup Global Fellowships NY had an awesome time digging into the Word of God and finding out that yes Worship is a time for celebration, but it is a spiritual discipline.

To frame our study today we turned to the Old Testament book of Exodus.  We learned that the word worship is used 20 times.  We learned that the underlying theme is often thought to be the exodus, but if we take a closer look we will see that it is about worship.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY looked at three passages to see if this was true.

Exodus 3:9-12

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

 ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

 ¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you^[a] will worship God on this mountain.” 

After our discussion of the following scriptures we understood that God sees when we are hurting and in need and the way he reacts to us is by saving us.  This is the Father's nature, because He loves us and we are His children.  We are therefore called to be in a relationship with Him.

Point number one ~ Worship is: AN EXPRESSION OF RELATIONSHIP

Minister Tanya Merced assigned the following scriptures to the group: Exodus 7:16,8:1,8:20,9:1,10:3,10:7 

WOWgroup Global Fellowship noticed that the whole point of the Exodus was to have His people worship God.  After discussing these scriptures and noticing the common theme in all of them we understood that the reason God saved us was for us to Worship Him.

Point number two ~ Worship is: AN EXPRESSION OF APPRECIATION

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY then turned to Exodus 40:34-35 the second half of the book of Exodus, the setting of the tabernacle.  We each took a turn and discussed how it would be if we would witness the cloud and experienced what Moses did.  Just like Moses we agreed that we would be overwhelmed and in awe of our Lord and savior.

Point number three ~ Worship is: AN EXPRESSION OF AWE

One thing WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY agreed upon is that there is no "RIGHT" way to worship.  There are lots of ways to express relationship, appreciation, and awe. 

Romans 12:1-2 NIV

Living Sacrifices

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

The Heart of Worship = His Will

Happy Anniversary
WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY celebrated its 2nd year Anniversary with WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ.

Our focus today was on our outward expression "Praise" to the Lord. Minister Tanya Merced focused on three points:
Why do we sing at church?
Why should we create a record?
Why should we give thanks?

Do you know that the bible mentions to "Sing to the Lord 104 times?" Singing in the bible is a form of giving God praise for what He has done. The focus is on the heart of the singer. God wants us to sing to Him. Okay, if you are like me and don't have a performer's voice you might be self-conscious, but God doesn't care. The Lord takes pleasure in your praise when it comes from your heart. Remember the heart of Worship = His Will.

Another reason why we should sing praises to the Lord. When we sing to the Lord something happens in the spirit realm.

2 Chronicles 20:21 "And when he had consulted with the people he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and to say, Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever."

Jehoshaphat sent the choir out in front of the army. Now you know they must have been saying this is crazy. (But singing praises changes the atmosphere ~ spiritual/natural. Praise brings total confusion to the things that are not of God.

Jehoshaphat's army won. The enemy became confused and started killing each other.

Why Should we record our services, takes notes, prophetic words?

We need to capture and understand what God is saying.
We need to make it a habit to take notes and not rely on our memories to retrieve information, so that we can go back and reread it, pray over it, pass it down to others. When we record the Lord's word we are honoring God.

Benefits of Note-taking

1. Clarify and structure your thoughts and actions.
2. Keep track of what has happened.
3. Plan what needs to happen next.
4. Keep good and correct records of ideas, facts, and information.
5. Reinforces your understanding of the information.

Thanksgiving

In the Old Testament some of the jobs of the priest were to stand and thank God for all the things He had done and what he was doing. We too must have this ministry in place in our church, our homes and in our private times with the Lord.
We need to begin thanking God for everything instead of complaining. We need to develop an attitude of gratitude and be thankful for all the things that we have.

Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord".

When we focus on all the things that God has done for us it prepares our heart to enter in and worship.

To worship You I Live

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had a great time examining the meaning of " WORSHIP". Before we began today's message we each gave our own definition of what worship meant to us.

Some of the things that were mentioned at the meeting was that worship meant being thankful to God and showing it without pride. Another word that was used was death to self, and to surrender our very best. Everything that we are " our soul, mind, and spirit".

We then watched a clip from the movie " There Be Dragons". If you would like to see the clip Click Here. After we watched the movie we shared what we felt the movie was saying about worship.

After the discussion Minister Tanya Merced shared on what worship and praise is all about. Praise in the bible refers to some sort of outward expression: lifting the hands, shouting, dancing, kneeling, singing, playing an instrument, etc. Praise is something you can see or hear. Worship on the other hand, is a form of sacrifice or humility.

In the Old Testament Genesis Chapter 22, God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and Abraham considered it to be worship unto God. Psalm 95, "come let us worship and bow down." Romans 12:1 tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, and that is considered our spiritual act of worship.

John 4:24 " God is Spirit, and those that worship Him will worship in Spirit and in truth." Jesus told us that we must come to the Father in Spirit, because He is Spirit. In other words, when Jesus said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. God is spirit, and Jesus is truth. John 16 also tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Now that we have access to the Father we must come and worship as He is.

As Christians we must understand that Jesus was telling us and showing us that the Father is looking for those who truly worship. Is worship about singing, praying, studying the word, etc? The answer is that is just part of it. The kind of worship the Father who is Spirit is looking for is a living sacrificial one. We need to come to God in complete humility and lay aside our will so that God can have His perfect will.

The Heart of God = His Will

Humility has everything to do with the breaking down of our will. The will is the hardest thing to break, but David said "...the sacrifices You desire are broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart." (Psalm 51:17).

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY at the close of the meeting understood that in order to please and honor God we must get out of the way and say just like Jesus " not my will, but Yours be done".

What Does Resurrection Sunday Mean to You?

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY celebrated Resurrection Sunday with praise and worship. Thanking God for His faithfulness to us all.

Casting Crowns Set Me Free was played as we watched a clip from the Passion of Christ. What an awesome loving personal God.

We shared Holy Communion and were reminded that Jesus broke bread with His disciples and called each one of them friend. How awesome is He to call us a friend.

Today we focused on the following question:
What Does Resurrection Sunday Mean to each one of us?

We had the opportunity to see two films and then give our personal insight. If you would like to see both clips click on the following:

The Tomb is Empty
Tell Everybody

After seeing both films, I can honestly say that both have reminded me of what Resurrection Sunday really is all about, but the one that really spoke to my spirit was the second clip.

We see in the second clip Mary Magdalene crying passionately about Jesus' body being removed from the tomb. We see Jesus behind her and he wants to console her, but he can't. Mary recognizes Jesus and tries to hold on to him. Jesus tells her to not hold on to him.

John 20:17
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Jesus when he rose from the dead told Mary not to touch him. Jesus was telling Mary there is a new way ~ things are not the way it used to be. Jesus death on the cross and his resurrection created a new relationship between us and the Father (A New Covenant).

What Does Resurrection Sunday Mean to me?

Resurrection Sunday means that I have total access to the Father, because of Jesus obedience. I can know the Father as a loving, caring, personal, God and not like a distant force.

The Power of Words

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY

We first began with Cami Ortiz a young seven year old girl reading a verse from her Princess devotional book. What a beautiful moment we experienced in the presence of the Lord.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY was presented with three clips from Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. If you would like to see each clip click here:
Lab Coat
Dad's Approval
Real You

After we viewed each clip we discussed what we saw and what lesson we learned from each one.

Proverbs 18:21 ESV
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear it.

Proverbs 15:4 ESV
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Minister Tanya Merced focused on the three clips and shared that as a result of Flint's mother speaking life into her son's life he didn't give up. We see throughout the film that Flint states in his own words " From that moment on..." Although his future inventions failed Flint did not consider himself a failure. The reason why Flint did not feel like a failure was due to the fact that his mother changed a negative situation (teasing) into a positive one (perseverance). The mother deposited seeds that would later go on to multiply and produce good fruits.

On the other hand, Flint's father spoke death upon his son's dream. Flint's father never approved of his son's inventions. It may have been that his father wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and inherit the business. Another reason could have been he was embarrassed of his son or he wanted to protect his son from failure. We see Flint searching for his father's approval, but as a result of his father's actions it produced a strained relationship between the two of them.

It is the job of every believer to build one another and not destroy. We are called to encourage and to bring hope to a lost world. In fact we might be the only Jesus people see. Our life must be a reflection of the King of Kings. If we believers are speaking death (negative) than the only thing we will produce are rotten seeds. Remember seeds do grow and multiply under the worse conditions. What kinds of seeds would you like to leave behind?

Below you will find five simple things you can do to encourage one another.

1. Speak encouraging words.
You want the person to know that you care and that you know they can do it.

2. Encourage by cheering them on. (Praises help to motivate)

3. Follow the Lord's example. Be an encourager! (Psalm 10:17)

4. Think positive. Don't use negative words or ideas.
We all have challenges we have to deal with in our life, however, if you focus on the challenges you will never see anything good in your life. You will lose focus.

5. Pray and dig deep into the Word of God.
The more you stay connected to God the more you think like Him. Leaving no room for doubt or hopelessness.

Psalm 19:14,
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

The Sharecroppers Seed

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY ~ Began its awesome Sunday Celebration with a Mime Give Me Your Eyes performed by Minister Tanya & Son Andrew Merced. If you would like to see this mime click here.

After the mime WOWgroup was paired into partnerships and each were asked to view the following two clips. After viewing the clips each partner had to compare and contrast the films and come up with a common theme.

Links: Wheat things

Johnny Appleseed

Scripture References:

2 Corinthians 9:10 (New Living Translation)

¹⁰ For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Galatians 6:7-9 (The Message)

^7-8Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

^9-10So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

Minister Tanya Merced gave the definition for a sharecropper and explained that the landlord was the father above who is the creator of all.

Def. Sharecropper ~ A tenant farmer who gives a share of the crops raised to the landlord in lieu of rent.

(God is the landlord and we the believer His children are the tenant farmers who have the responsibility to take care of the land and give Him the very best).

***One of the things that we must be aware of is that God doesn't need us to give. It is us who need to be blessed.

Let me just mention briefly some of the things every believer must give in order to live a blessed life.

1. We must be able to give to the Lord our hearts. We must surrender all that we are (our soul, thoughts, emotions, etc.) If we do not surrender this we find ourselves in a pit that produces no fruit. (These pits could be anger, unforgiveness, abandonment, self-pity, lust, adultery,etc.) When we give our hearts to the Lord He has something to work with. The process at times is very painful, but when the Master is finished molding us to His likeness we are able to produce fruits(blessings).

2. We must give our time to the Lord. We do this by spending quality time with Him, through prayer, meditation on His word, praise & worship, journals, etc.) You cannot trust a person you do not know well. (God is all about relationship). The more time you take in getting to know Him the more you will reflect Him and produce fruits(blessings).

3. We must give the Lord the tithe and offerings. The tithe which translated means "tenth or one tenth" it also symbolizes testing in the bible. Many of the tests starting with Pharaoh (10 plagues), Jacob with his wages (10) and other tests in the bible.

The tithe is not just one tenth of every dollar you make. It is your test. Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I want to end with Nicole Mullen's song ~ Sharecropper's Seed.

http://www.rhapsody.com/nicole-c-mullen-2/sharecroppers-seed-volume-1

I am going to continue this teaching online at A Touch of Peace ~ I hope that I see all of you there so that we can dig deeper.