RevJohn - AnchorCasts Anchorage Church

Is there a stormy situation that you are going through today ?

Think of all the possible storms that’s around in your life. We will be lying if we say we don’t have any stormy situation at all. Now, this sermon comes as a rem inder that we are still not destroyed and that’s the very reason we are able to answer the above question.

What’s our decision about how we are going to handle the storm?

Simply, sail forward. Keep your faith on, steer your wheels through, this too will pass away. The Lord will come through for you. He will take you ashore safely.

No Storm is big enough to stop Jesus from coming through for you.

This is the only reason that should boost your faith in constant sailing forward in knowing that Jesus is right there with you in the storm.

Are storms good for us? How can it be ever?

Whether it’s good or not, it does pave way for us to build in faith. It keeps us focussed on God. Storms can never be pleasant but they do give birth to certain benefits in our lives, starting from being engulfed in fresh faith for survival in that storm to believing for complete restoration. Irrespective of what kind of a storm you are in, one thing that you can be sure of is, the Lord has a purpose in allowing that storm in your life.

Certain Stormy Situations as quoted in the Bible. Let’s learn deep truths from them.

Storm 1 - Mat 8:23-27 - Fear of the Situation

Journey starts with JESUS on the boat. He is very much around fully well capable of taking the disciples to the other shore. It is Jesus who initiated the journey. If the journey ends destructively in a mere storm at the sea, then there is no point of JESUS making this journey plan or even His presence with the disciples on the boat. Can that happen at all? Never. Never never. The one who initiated your journey knows how to take you safe to the shore. What we should learn from this account is, the peace that was inside JESUS was so great that it subdued the peace-less situation around. Peace that Jesus carried inside was the effect of the assurance of the FATHER’s presence with Him. When you have that assurance, fear has to flee and the surpassing peace has to start working even during the times of your storm.

Storm 2 - Mat 14:22-27 - Fear about the solution

Journey was ordered by JESUS who wasn’t on the boat. Jesus directed the disciples to go on a journey to the other shore. Jesus was not in the boat. But here the storm strikes again. But Jesus who wasn’t physically around was still able to know what His disciples were going through. He was able to sense the difficulty that they were battling with. He immediately comes through for their help. Jesus came walking on the stormy waters, Jesus made a bold statement by   that very gesture. He proved to them that He is sovereign over any storm and has control over it. But the disciples feared just on seeing Him. Sometimes, we too fear about the solution that approaches us. Just let Jesus get in to our boat, the storm will calm.

Storm 3 - Acts 27:10,22,25,42,43 & Acts 28:8,9 - Ship may be destroyed but we won’t be.

In spite of being really hit by the storm, in spite of hav
https://www.anchorage.one
https://instagram.com/anchoragechurch?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
https://www.facebook.com/anchorage4felicitation?mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://youtube.com/@AnchorageChurch

Even after the Lord promised Joshua in chapter 6 verse 2, that He has already delivered the city of Jericho and all of its men and king into his hands, the Lord still instructs certain things very clearly. Lets get a little deeper into His instructions to Joshua and grab the deep truths from this account.

To Read : Joshua 6 : 2-19

1. Exhibit Faith (Jos 6:3,4) :
Clear instruction to go around the wall of Jericho one time each day until six days but on the seventh day to go around seven times. This is where, the sermon gets its title, "SEVENTH TIME SEVEN". Its like, "Round and Round the Garden" as the nursery rhyme goes, Joshua was instructed with something specific to be carried out.

If we try to understand this in our intellectual minds, this doesn't look like it will help in anyway for breaking the wall down. Very often, we may find that we are instructed with something that doesn't look very meaningful in the sight of the world. But the question left with us is, "Are we ready to do that one thing, the Lord instructed us to do, in spite of the task looking very redundant ?"

The answer to the above question as "yes", really matters to God. Why?

It's because the Lord looks forward to seeing us exhibit our faith. If doing the same task in our context means everyday prayer, everyday meditating the Word, everyday claiming what He has promised, everyday confessing that one thing the Lord promised that He will do, it is still worth doing it even when we don't see things moving in the direction we desired. One day you will see the wall fall down. From this, we understand its important that we exhibit our faith in action.

2. Do Not Be Noisy (Jos 6:10) :
Joshua instructed, "do not open your mouth to talk anything as you wish". Joshua clearly instructed the marching troop, that no noise be made, not even to open their mouth to speak anything. They were just allowed to blow the trumpets, walk around and the retire at their camp.

This simply means, do not have your own opinions, don't judge what the Lord can do in impossible situations like that of a huge Jericho wall blocking the people of Israel from entering into the city of Jericho. "Blowing the trumpet" means, just speak words of faith, just proclaim His Word about you and "Shut Up" means, do not ever risk to speak unnecessary things, do not ever express your negative notions about what the Lord is about to do.

3. Kill 'em All (Jos 6:17(a)) :
They were instructed to, destroy everything and everyone in the city of Jericho. This simply means, the enemies that you have in your flesh needs to be dealt with properly until you make sure that you are dead to the desires of your flesh.

It means, everyone of us who is awaiting the BLESSING should deal with our own Jericho, though in a worldly way, it may mean very fragrant and savoring. Anything that we leave out today may become a thorn in our flesh (Ref. Num 33:55) later on when we are blessed abundantly.

4. Make the Right Choice (Jos 6:17(b)) :
Rahab made the right choice. She made the choice of clinging to the RIGHT SIDE. Sh
https://www.anchorage.one
https://instagram.com/anchoragechurch?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
https://www.facebook.com/anchorage4felicitation?mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://youtube.com/@AnchorageChurch

This is a Prophetic Message preached in Anchorage Church on 03 September 2023. Though this was preached in the local church in Dubai - UAE, this is a message meant for the global church, this is meant for nations across the globe. This belongs to everyone who is a believer of Jesus Christ. 

The promise of God to His church in this new month September is that He will bring about HUGE BLESSINGS to people who have been waiting upon Him. Blessings include Physical / Monetary / Material Blessings too. Whenever you hear the word 'Blessing', let not your mind interpret blessing to be just materialistic. Blessing is more than just being blessed with worldly, materialistic blessings. Blessing is s superset encompassing all kinds of blessings that you can think of. Jesus died on the cross to bless you in every aspect of blessing.

Now, this month September 2023, the Lord speaks specifically about blessing you with physical blessings that you haven't even known about, those things that haven't been made visible to your physical eyes. God will shed light on those blessings which were long held in darkness and when He blesses you with it, His intention is just not to bless you but to make you a blessing to the Kingdom.

To Read : Isaiah 45:2,3

I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

Here, even as Rev. John Samuel is so excited in announcing the Lord's promise to you, he literally prepares you for the blessing that's ahead. On a serious note, he warns that none of you should be buried inside the blessing because of your overly desire for material blessing. He preaches with a beautiful analogy that, looking up to the blesser constantly rather than being buried in the blessing only can keep you alive physically and spiritually. 

Preparation for Upcoming Blessing :

Joshua 5:2 Circumcision - as per today's understanding / new covenant understanding, it is to re-establish / renew relationship / stay in relationship with the Lord no matter how the circumstances are. Even if your life looks like walking in the wilderness, the Lord is mindful of His promise to His people and He wants you to remember it and always recall that it's not by man's strength but by His faithfulness and purpose you will be blessed. According to the NT Texts, Circumcision is of the heart, this again means the heart posture should be set right. The purity of the heart matters, while you wait for the promised physical blessing to manifest. Pride & arrogance cannot let God come near you, God is against proud and haughty people. He is near to those who are humble and with a contrite spirit.   

Joshua 5:10 Passover - Jesus is your passover. In the new-covenant understanding, its a perfect reminder of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. He went to the cross to let the weak say, "I am strong", to let the poor say, "I am rich". The original glorious reason behind Jesus becoming your substitute and taking up that death on the cross was to save you from eternal damnation and bless you in His intended ways. Passover also means bringing a circle of protection around you by the blood of Jesus, that keeps you from the devouring plans of the enemy against you and the blessin
https://www.anchorage.one
https://instagram.com/anchoragechurch?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
https://www.facebook.com/anchorage4felicitation?mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://youtube.com/@AnchorageChurch

It is a prophetic Message. It's a message to His Church from the Lord.

There is going to be abundance and it will overflow. God wants to show up for His church. Glory of God will be revealed.

John 10:10 says, Jesus has come to give life and life in abundance. When it is said "life", it simply means life and not death. When it is said, "abunance", that means more than just living ever.

Life : This means you have been escaped from death eternal. Wages of sin is death and there's not even one "non-sinner" apart from God Himself.  This implicates that everyone is supposed to die, die eternally, without a question due to the sin nature that passed on from the first man Adam. But God, because of His overly love for His creation mankind, made a solution that could escape mankind from the unescapable punishment death. The solution is Jesus. Whoever believes in Him shall not die, but have everlasting life.

Life in Abundance : Firstly, when we live full of Jesus, we will be filled with Jesus in abundance  and that abundance will overflow and affect wherever the overflow flows. The most blessed thing is, Jesus is able to bless us with any kind of abundance that we need in this world too, so that this abundance in us will start overflowing which will just not meet our need but more than that. The overflow of that abundance will become a blessing to many around us. This will become an impacting factor that will reflect the love of Jesus through us and showcase who Jesus is in our lives.

To Read : 2 Kings 4:1-7

The Oil from the small flask started flowing supernaturally until all the prepared vessels were filled up. The need of the hour at that time was to pay up the debt and release the children out of the lawful clutch of the creditor. This was met when God started blessing that widow, in her dire need when she looked up to Him for her solution. It was just not the need that got met at that time but there was left over. It makes us understand that there will be an abundance which will start overflowing when we just trust in the Lord.

The Lord is a solution giver. The solution He gives will not only bless us but it will make us a blessing. He gives us solution when we take a strong resolution to go seeking Him in full trust that He is the only solution provider. In sharing with Him what our actual status at a given instance, shows that we trust Him with our actuality. He doesn't judge us according to our weakness but He judges us according to the attitude in our hearts. This simply means, humility is the key to get God to intervene in our situation and help us with the solution. 1Peter 5:5 God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Keys to be blessed with Overflowing Abundance :

Key 1 - Nothingness : Ref. 2 Kings 4:2; Let's be ready to share about our "nothingness" to God. There is no need for shame in front of God. He knows all our weaknesses and faults. Despite, He will be pleased with our willingness to go to Him for the solution. We should be be ready to make all our self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and self-confidence nothing in front of God and go to Him as empty as we can.

Key 2 - Preparedness : Ref. 2 Kings 4:3; Getting prepared. "Getting prepared" here in the context  means keeping ourselves clean. The Lord will give us the grace to live above sin. He will stre
https://www.anchorage.one
https://instagram.com/anchoragechurch?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
https://www.facebook.com/anchorage4felicitation?mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://youtube.com/@AnchorageChurch

To Read : 1 John 5:4,5

Let’s get some deeper. It’s time to see the depth of a few greek words in the Bible.

Ginomai : born of a woman Ref : Gal 4:4
Gennao : born of a man Ref : 1 John 5:4

Both of the above words are presented as BORN in the English Bible. But in the original text, using the words separately at different occasions meant a whole lot of difference and it’s powerful to know.

The profound truth begins here. The first natural / physical birth is “Ginomai”, born from a woman as a baby growing up to become a common man/woman who is natural and carnal in nature. The second birth (re-birth; born-again), the spiritual one is called “Gennao”, being born from above, making the common man a spiritual one. This literally means born of the Father. Let’s put this in the context of a believer of Jesus Christ. Your first birth connected you to the World (Kosmos) whereas your second birth connects you to the Word (Jesus). And both are opposite to each other. World opposes Jesus. There’s a constant battle the world stages against God and His people.

Another set of Greek Words to understand.

Nikao (Greek) - overcoming continuously
Nike (Greek) - victory / conquest

Now, this is the greater truth. Jesus who overcame (nikao’ed the world) has invited us to be part of His victory life, celebrate it and axtion from it, as soon as He got inside of us as the Holy Spirit. He instigates us to be ‘more than conquerors’ and enjoy our decisive victory (hypernikao in everything) and see ourselves moving forward from the place of victory (nike) as victors 💪 (nike’ers).

Now how does all these hi-funda words help us?

It’s one thing to know these things for the sake of head-knowledge, but it is not the same when these things sync in your spirit.

The Lord wants you to know that you have been staged on the platform of victory that He has already got for you and made you rightful owners of it. Understanding this in your spirit and moving forward from that place of victory gives your victories in the world. 

Watch this empowring sermon by Pastor John Samuel and get recharged.

Share this to your friends and families and recharge them too. 

https://www.anchorage.one

https://instagram.com/anchoragechurch?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

https://www.facebook.com/anchorage4felicitation?mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://www.anchorage.one
https://instagram.com/anchoragechurch?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
https://www.facebook.com/anchorage4felicitation?mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://youtube.com/@AnchorageChurch

Many of us have the following questions or similar popping up at times.

Who is really the object of real love ? ❤️ In today's world, is there even something called 'real love'?, if there is, who is the one who can enjoy that real love?

REAL LOVE - doesn't count your wrongs, doesn't expect but gives,  even when not worth it is expressed. Simply put, its called 'altruistic love' in other words. Its the love above man's ability. It is the 'agapao' as mentioned in John 3:16.

The Bible says, "You are more than a conqueror". Yes, indeed yes! You are one. Who ever believes in Jesus is definitely one.

MORE THAN A CONQUEROR - when the bible says something, it really means something. Even the smallest / lightest phrase which is allowed by the Holy Spirit to be present as Bible Text does mean a lot. The Bible is totallly infallible, absoluttely inerrant and completey God-inspired. It could have been just "CONQUEROR" but it is not, rather it says, "More than a conqueror". This should mean something literally like more than a normal conqueror. Say like a "SUPER CONQEROR" or something. 

Who can be a super conqueror? The Bible confirms that people who believe in Jesus Christ are super conquerors.

Now whats the connection between "OBJECT OF REAL LOVE" and "SUPER CONQUEROR".  

The truth is LOVE OF CHRIST has empowered the acknowledge'ers & believers of PERSON & WORK of Jesus, to transcend into becoming SUPER CONQUERORS.
 
Watch this mind-blowing sermon by Pastor John Samuel, on how special you are, get your answers to the above questions and get to the depth of how this has elevated our position though we are normal people.

Watch, share and subscribe!!! Be bold to share it to someone and become a channel of their blessing! 
https://www.anchorage.one
https://instagram.com/anchoragechurch?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
https://www.facebook.com/anchorage4felicitation?mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://youtube.com/@AnchorageChurch