REJOICE!

"Sing, oh barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman," says the Lord.

"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your defendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited. Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of Hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth." Isaiah 54:1-5

Last month my husband and I went to a Pioneer Rally in San Jose. If you're not familiar, it's something our fellowship does; it's a small series of Holy Ghost packed sermons. In this case it was a Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday morning. Five powerful sermons, in three days! Talk about awesome!!! 

All of the sermons were incredible, the Spirit of God was there and He spoke to me. I want to share with you a little bit about the sermon that was preached on Friday night. The pastor who preached is Kevin Foley, a phenomenal preacher in our fellowship! 

He opened with the text I typed above in Isaiah. He entitled the sermon "Your Past is not Prophecy but your Future is"

Sometimes in life we can go through hard seasons, seasons of discouragement, and of barrenness. We can have this idea in our minds that, "it's always gonna be this way." You see, the way we think and speak really does affect our lives.

We can get into ruts. We stop expecting good things. We gauge our future by our past, by past failures. Why is that? 

We think, "I will never see the blessings of fruitfulness in my life." We can start to view life through the pain, through past disappointments. This becomes a lense in which we view the future. This is unhealthy.

God has greater things for you and I than the mistakes of our past, greater things than our short comings. Gods promise is prophecy, His promise is that the future will be very different than the past.

You are going to see something greater than you ever had, in the future! You're not bound and chained by your past! Gods precious word, sets us free! Look at Sarah, she was barren for 90 years, and God promised that she would have a son, and she did!

God doesn't look down on you because of your frustration. He does glorious things for those who have dealt with barrenness. God can make barren people fruitful. The past isn't prophecy but your attitude is. 

Your attitude speaks about your future, choose to have a good attitude, choose to speak hope and faith! In this scripture God tells us to SING before anything else, shout for JOY! (Let me remind you He's speaking to the barren) You can rejoice in your struggle. You can choose to praise God no matter what situation or hardship you're going through. Your attitude will prepare you for your future.

We have the victory in Christ, act like it! 

Rejoice in the goodness of God! Rejoice knowing that fruit is coming! An atmosphere of joy allows fruit to grow. No matter what happens in life, we can choose to rejoice! Jesus told His disciples, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven!" (Luke 10:20)

If your joy is only based on when you're successful, then your joy will come and go. If you rejoice in salvation, you can rejoice forever! Let joy be your posture. 

There is a personal faith action, to enlarge ourselves; then revival comes! Ready ourselves for the fruit, prepare for the harvest. What do we need to do to stretch ourselves, to grow personally? The scripture says, "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes." (Vs 2) 

What is the enlarging that we need to do to stretch ourselves? People skills, not being intimidated. Pastor Foley said, "They smell, it's ok!" (Insert loud laugh)

How can I enlarge myself to be used by God? How can God use me to bear Him fruit? Do something by faith, that you have not been able to do! 

Prepare now for what God holds for us in the future, don't wait to prepare. We need to be ready for what is ahead, we need to be hopeful.

We think that we are limited by our power and abilities. His power is prophecy. By yourself you are barren, but God has the ability to give children and to give fruit. "For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited." (Vs 3)  This is His promise to us! It is by His promise that things are fulfilled in our lives. The Father promised, the Son purchased, and the Spirit produces in our lives. 

God can heal the emotional scars of the barren times, you don't have to hurt any longer! "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth." (Vs 4)

The future that God has for you will be so joyful, that you will forget the pain and shame of the past! "And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore." (Vs 4)

Rejoice today, because the future that Christ has promised is far greater than the past has ever been! Ready yourself, He who promised is faithful! (Hebrews 10:23)