good morning my friends i'm Pastor
Steven Brooks.
welcome today to our online internet
around the world
church service and i'm so happy that you
are here today
i believe god's word which is loaded
with power
is able to empower you to do what he has
called you to do
and to be the person that he has called
you to be whoo praise the lord we're
gonna have a good time today in the word
of god
before we jump into today's message let
me share with you and remind you about
our upcoming israel tour
the dates for the tour are may 16
through the 26 20 22.
you've got time to get ready you've got
time to get registered you can get
registered
with a 300 deposit that secures your
spot
and my friends this tour is loaded
this is a luxury first class tour
uh hand-picked hotels the itinerary
is hand-picked it is going to be
fantastic i will be on the tour my wife
will be there
i will be teaching at various sites and
we are going to have
a lot of fun together i want you to get
registered i would like for you to come
to israel on tour with me again the
dates are may 16
through the 26 20 22
praise the lord we will be going to uh
various sites
caesarea by the sea uh this time we're
actually going to go to the stella
morris church where the cave
of elijah is at that's the cave he
actually lived in they say
there in the mount carmel area and of
course we will go up mount carmel
we will go to megiddo and to cana
and to nazareth praise the lord we're
gonna have a great time
going on a boat ride on the sea of
galilee
going to the golan heights going to the
jordan valley
going to the ancient city of jericho
we're going to go to the traditional
baptismal site
down by the kumaran area this is a
little further south
and this is a beautiful area uh also
we're going to go back to in getty while
this is where david
hid out when king saul was trying to
hunt him down and kill him
and you'll get a first-hand observation
of the type of a place david and his men
were staying in
this is a beautiful place but at the
same time it's a little bit rough
because it's out there
in the wilderness and you can imagine
david sleeping in some of those caves
and some of those caves are probably the
ones he literally did stay in
at various times so we're going to in
getty which is a national park
we will be uh going by saint george's
monastery one of the most photographed
sites concerning monasteries
in the world praise god bethany
and then on to jerusalem whoo to the
mount of olives
we're going to go to the garden of
gethsemane various places there in
jerusalem
we'll be in jerusalem for multiple days
oh my goodness we're going to be
shiva to the valley of ilah
and we are just going to have a
tremendous time the price
let's see where's that price i'm looking
for the price
the price all inclusive 46.49
46.49 that includes your international
airfare
and that's flying out of new york jfk
and back all the way to tel aviv and
back and includes all of your hotels it
includes tips
includes taxes it includes breakfast it
includes dinner
and also included in that is a special
fish lunch at the sea of galilee
so my friends uh this is the tour
that you have been waiting for and some
of you you have a burning in your heart
to go to israel and we're going to go
and we're going to see the sights
and we're going to go in comfort and joy
hallelujah
and we're also going to go and meet the
lord his presence
always comes there's always a refreshing
that the lord brings and we are
anticipating that as well so please get
registered
just as quick as you can the dates again
may 16th
through the 26th 20 22.
it is going to be an unforgettable tour
praise god i look forward to seeing you
there in person
praise the lord now today let's take our
bibles
and let's go to genesis chapter 12
and let's take a look for a moment at
verses 1 and 2.
now the lord had said to abram get out
of your country
from your family and from your father's
house to a land that i will show you
i will make you a great nation i will
bless you now everything
there's no exclusion everything that
god does always has a purpose
that is baked into it god has
pre-planned it out there's a reason
specifically for why he does what
he does and here he says i will bless
you and make your name great and
you shall be a blessing
i like that blessed to be a blessing
and yes there's a purpose for you being
blessed
his purpose for blessing you is so that
you can be a blessing everywhere you go
now this is important to understand god
will not bless you
beyond your commitment to be a blessing
let me say that one more time god
will not bless you beyond your
commitment
to be a blessing praise god
so often we like the finished product
of abundance or maybe we could call it
prosperity or however you would like to
label it or overflow
so often we like the finished product
but
there are many believers that don't want
to go through the process
that delivers that wonderful product
we must embrace the process and of
course
embrace the final product now
the process is that you give
according to the blessings upon
your life you step into the process
that enables you to come into abundance
and the process
is that you give according to the
blessings
upon your life you don't wait until you
have a lot of money
before you start giving how many
christians have you met
who actually have that mentality or and
are making that literal mistake
they're thinking i can't give i can't
give until i get a whole bunch of extra
and then when i get a bunch of extra
then i'll start giving
and that is a deceptive mentality
you don't wait until that point you will
not become
financially blessed as an accumulator
but
rather according to genesis chapter 12
verses 1 and 2
you become blessed as a distributor
so your your success is not based on
what you're accumulating
your success and your prosperity in god
is based upon your distribution it's
based upon your
giving out whoa it's time
to be excited about kingdom living
and we must have a giving heart
in order to look in in order to engage
this beautiful expanse of living in
christ
kingdom living you have to have a giving
heart now
first timothy chapter 6
first timothy chapter 6 verse 17
it says command those who are rich in
this
present age not to be haughty
nor to trust in uncertain riches
but in the living god who gives us
richly
all things to enjoy
let them do good that they may be rich
in good works ready to give
willing to share storing up for
themselves a good foundation for the
time to come
that they may lay hold on
eternal life praise the lord
now in verse 17 we're told that god
gives us good things to enjoy
who i like that
but we must we must bring out
verse 18 into the full expression of our
lives
and in verse 18 we have four things
we have four reasons for
you could even say the purpose for why
we're being blessed
and here they are number one we are
commanded to
do good
how many you know you don't have to be a
multi-millionaire to do good
hallelujah right where you're at
you can do good hallelujah it says about
jesus in acts chapter 10 verse 38
he went around doing good doing good
well pastor stephen what does that mean
well that has a pretty broad expression
doing good i mean that that's a big
umbrella to stand underneath
there's all types of creative and
expressive ways that you can find
to do good so we are commanded number
one to do good
number two to be rich in
good works rich in good works
you can go around doing good works
they don't have to be things like
building a skyscraper
they can just be these good works that
you see something that you can do
something that you can touch it's
something that you can
put your heart into and you can be a
blessing
so we do good we are going about
being rich in good works and number
three we are told to be
ready to give ready not reluctant
not oh oh i've had about enough of that
no
ready ready whoa
to give um see
you need a giving heart you need a
giving heart
to get on the heartbeat of god and to
get into that blessing
you need a giving heart so you connect
with god's heart
you're on the same frequency with god
well i'm on the frequency with god
you can't be if you're not a giver if
you're not a giver you can't be on the
same frequency
ready to give willing willing
to share oh pastor stephen i want the
whole pie
no no you get two slices we're going to
give you a double blessing
but the rest the rest we're going to
share
praise god we are distributors we're not
trying to
just grab everything grab grab
store grab you know hoard
no no we are told to do these four
things do good
be rich in good works ready to give
willing to share
in other words you're being blessed to
do these four things
you're being blessed to be a blessing
oh yes yes verse 17 god gives us richly
all things to enjoy oh you'll have
plenty to enjoy
but but as you look around you see the
work of the kingdom
as you look around you see you see
you sense the heart of god and you see
certain things
certain things that you must respond to
through these four steps of doing good
being rich in good works
ready to give willing to share now
when you work this process of having a
giving heart and being
involved in these biblical instructions
it will carry you hear me today
it will carry you into unlimited
blessing not something with a
restriction
not something with the ceiling that says
you can only go this high
and that's it you've tapped god out
god's done no
no you work these principles
and you step into this
kingdom process of living which is a
heart of giving
my friends it'll carry you into
unlimited
blessing now having shared god's word
with you
let's operate kingdom
process let's develop
the heart of giving let's exercise
our faith and honor the lord with our
finances
we are now going to bring the holy tithe
and the offerings into
the storehouse of god
is the systematic giving of 10
of all of your increase to the lord and
we're instructed to do that
in god's word we are staying with his
principles we are staying with kingdom
process
you are blessed to be a blessing this
brings you into the blessing
where it's manifesting profusely in your
life you're carried into overflow
and it gets greater and greater and
greater and greater
even into into the field of unlimited
blessing so let's honor the lord with
the tithe and let's
sow seed let's bring in offerings and
honor the lord
in that category as well now if you
prefer to mail in your tithes
and offerings please send them to
stephen brooks
international p.o box 717
moravian falls north carolina the zip
code here is 28654
again stephen brooks international p.o
box 717
moravian falls north carolina 28654
if you would like to bring the tides and
offering in online you can do so at the
ministry
website stevenbrooks.org
there's a link on the homepage that says
give it has a red heart on it you can
click on that
and you can bring your tithe and
offering in from anywhere in the world
day or night
into the storehouse of the lord you
could do so electronically praise god
thank you for your giving thank you for
your giving
father bless your people we thank you
that as you brought
abraham into full supply
into overflow we thank you that we are
the seed of abraham and i see you
lifting your people up
where they have great empowerment to
bless
because they are blessed and they have
great ability
to extend that blessing because they
have more than enough father bless your
people
in jesus name amen
and amen praise the lord today
glory to god well my friends today i
felt
led of the holy spirit to talk about the
subject
taste and see and this will be in the
category
of a continual study of the goodness
of god and we want to examine this today
in the light of god's word and let's do
so by starting today
in psalm 31
verse 19. this has been a key text for
us as we have been looking at the
goodness of god
and we're going to begin today from that
same portion
of scripture now let's pray heavenly
father
as we go into your word we ask that your
holy spirit would illuminate the
scriptures
and that our thinking our thought
processes
would be in harmonization with
your word which is also your
will for our lives thank you father let
the light
be bright but the eyes of our heart see
it
we thank you in jesus name we pray we
all agree and say
amen praise god
psalm 31 verse 19 oh how great
is your goodness god
is a good god his goodness is
legendary it's great it's not just
like average it's great goodness how
great is your goodness
which you have laid up which he has
reserved which he has kept stored up
just for us just for you
in this end time generation
which you have laid up for those who
fear you which you have
prepared for those who trust in you in
the presence of
the sons of men what
has been laid up my friends is now
being released into your life
keep your mind on the goodness of god
and how great that that goodness of god
is i want you to be meditating on god's
goodness
i want you to be meditating on the fact
that
it's for you and that it is being
released
into your life there are many different
things right now
that are competing for your attention
that are competing for what it is that
you're thinking about
and god through the instruction of the
holy spirit wants you to be thinking
about the beautiful
goodness of god flowing
in your life in philippians
chapter 4 verse 8 the message bible says
i say you'll do best by
filling your minds and meditating on the
best
not the worst again the message bible
says
i'd say you'll do best by filling your
minds
and meditating on the best not
the worst i'm aware like i'm sure you
are too
of all the negative crazy things that
are going on
out there in the world and in our nation
today
but that's not where your focus is
supposed to be
yes we can be aware of external
circumstances
but that's not where we're going to zero
in our focus at
no our focus needs to be
precisely defined as being on what
god is saying praise the lord
you know one of the last sermons that
prophet kenneth hagin
ever ever taught just before he passed
away
in one of those final sermons this is
what he said
he said we are indeed in the last days
and everything god said he would do
in the last days will be
done whoo stop and think about that my
friends were running out of time and
these good things that god has
spoken forth that will happen to his
people that will happen to the church
it's going to happen he's going to get
it done
and so we are actually living in the
greatest
hour because god has saved the very best
for the end and we're right there at the
end
again kenneth hagin said we are indeed
in the last days
and everything god said he would do in
the last days will
be done now i believe that because of
that
we need to be people that are rejoicing
we need to be people of great expectancy
because i'm telling you god is moving
now amongst his people and it's only
going to increase
this is a time to not only believe in
the goodness of god
this is a time to celebrate the goodness
of god can you give me a good shout of
amen out there
praise the lord
praise god hallelujah
exodus chapter 34
verse 6 oh i love this verse
and the lord passed before him that
would be moses
and proclaimed the lord the lord
god merciful and gracious
longsuffering and abounding
in goodness and truth
god is abounding in
goodness now that word abounding in the
hebrew
means more than an adequate supply
of goodness it means more than
what would be an adequate supply it is
an abounding supply it can also be
translated as
inexhaustible goodness
well pastor stephen god's been very very
good with previous generations he's just
run out of steam now
oh god's got plenty of goodness
and he has actually kept the best for
the end time generation
and it is being released now it has been
held
for a very timely season we are now in
that season
the goodness of god is being released
and it is coming
an inexhaustible measure
the lord the lord god abounding
in goodness say it with me the lord
the lord god abounding
in goodness whoo praise the lord
when you are convinced of god's goodness
it becomes a part of your belief system
whoo i need to say that again when you
are convinced
of god's goodness it then becomes a
part of your belief system
and when you believe it then you will
speak it and that's exactly my friends
what we saw
david do in one of the most beautiful
psalms in the bible
and that would be psalm 23 and let's go
directly to verse 6.
he says surely now notice
when he's using the word surely do you
denote
uh trepidation do you
sense uh like somebody that's not quite
solid on this no you see somebody
that is completely persuaded you see
somebody that's completely convinced and
given over to that truth
which is that surely he says goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life
wow and you need to have that mentality
where you are absolutely convinced
that surely with no doubt surely with
great certainty
goodness is following you everywhere you
go now it comes in a tandem it comes in
a
in twins goodness and mercy
but today we're focusing on the element
of goodness
goodness always following you all your
life long the goodness of god always
with you
always with you why are some of you
always expecting something bad to happen
to you
where is that thought process
originating from
it's not coming from god it's not coming
from his word
you need to let your doctrine
and your theology
you need to let it be based on the word
and not on some
experience you had when you didn't know
the word
i've had bad things happen to me before
and when i look back at many of the
things that happened
it happened because i permitted it why
did you permit it pastor stephen
because i didn't know any better i
didn't know my authority in christ
i didn't know the goodness of god or
that god had a good plan
and so i was a little bit just open to
whatever
happened and if you're open to stuff
like that
you're like the person that goes to bed
at night
just trusting and hoping that
everything's okay and so you don't lock
your door
trust me if you don't lock your door
there is something
that the enemy there's something that a
thief just senses and picks up hey
i think over there is just an easy
target and you know what if you don't
like your door
you are an easy target
maybe you can get away with that for a
while i remember growing up
in rural mississippi my grandmother
never locked the door
my grandfather never locked the door
down they lived way back in the woods
and the nearest neighbor who was quite
some distance away they knew the
neighbor way over there
and they knew the neighbor way back over
on the other side and then there was a
saw mill way back on that other end and
back over there they knew who had that
so they kind of all knew each other
and it's not like you really had
drifters or strangers driving down
deserted long country roads
you know you know dirt roads with that
so everybody knew each other so back
back in that era
you maybe could get away with something
like that although
i still kind of thought it was strange i
i thought well i i thank you for
me i'd lock the door but that was just
back then
but how many of you know today you
probably should lock your doors
well i trust god well i do too but god's
not going to lock the lock on your door
he leaves that up to you
he leaves that up to you he leaves the
exercising of authority
up to you even if he's delegated it to
you it's up to you what you do with it
or
don't do with it so you need to use the
authority
that god has given you and so when you
start walking in the light of god's word
you realize that god is good he has been
good all the time he was actually trying
to help you
when when you didn't know certain things
he was trying to give indicators he was
trying to give
signs as much as he could he's not going
to violate
your will or override you in other words
he's not going to step in and
shout hey don't do that he's given you
free choice
which is also the freedom to get in here
and study and find out what's rightfully
yours
thank you jesus but my friends as you
begin to walk now in the illumination of
god's word and understand that he's good
he's good you'll see that goodness is
coming along with you everywhere you go
it's it's just god's goodness is at
every hand
some of you bless your hearts you think
that if you actually
make the full commitment to serve god
that he's going to send you to
antarctica
and you hate you hate freezing weather
and you think well if i really surrender
to the lord
he's going to make me do something that
i don't want to do
now who in the world told you something
crazy like that where is all of that
bizarre level of like retreating back
from god because you don't want to get
close to him because
because you think he's not good
my friends when your heart is
surrendered to him
and you are sold out to him and you are
living for him with all of your heart
he actually has nothing but
good plans for you he's he's even
sensitive to what you like he's not
going to send you somewhere you don't
like
and even if if if it were his plan to
send you there
that that liking it and loving it
suddenly it's it's given to you it's
given to you and you would like it
you really would you really you really
would he's not trying to make anybody
miserable he is a good god
let the word of god liberate you today
from thoughts
that would keep you from getting close
to god because if you think
well if i get close to god he's my he's
liable to send me off to mongolia to be
a missionary
[Laughter]
all of that crazy way of thinking comes
out
of a lack of understanding the goodness
of god
praise the lord he's good good good
surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me
all the days of my life and let me tell
you this it gets better as you continue
the journey
it gets better the goodness gets richer
and thicker and more apparent the longer
you walk with the blessed savior
and i'm here to tell you today that that
goodness will be with you god's goodness
will be with you
every single day of your life until your
life on earth is done
praise the lord so you need to expect
and accommodate the goodness of god
thank you jesus
thank you lord now this is something
that's very interesting
david said surely in other words you see
the conviction
the knowing that through personal
experience that god's a good god
um sometimes i hear
christians making technically what would
be a good statement
like god's good hallelujah god's good
you ever heard you know people kind of
you some of them get really into it
you ask them how they're doing oh pastor
steven i'm blessed
i'm blessed going in i'm blessed going
out i'm blessed with heaven's bet you
know pentecostals are real good that
i'm blessed with heaven's best
but if you were to stop and ask them
when they're not you know when they
don't put on the show you know
if you're to ask them do you really
believe that
some if they're honest would say
well in my head i know that's the way i
should
respond but i've got areas of my heart
where no i don't really believe that
that's why you can shout and holler
stuff like that i'm what's going on
bless going out
but you live a very ordinary life
there's there's nothing
that denotes an exceptional goodness
of the touch of god there why it's not
really believed
it's not really believed you have to
believe it first
you have to believe it first and then
you speak it and say it
see david believed it that's why he said
surely goodness
and mercy they're following me every day
of my life
he believed it and when you believe it
you'll say it with that tremendous
knowing and there's proofs trust me
they'll be all over your life
proofs of goodness all over the place
second corinthians chapter 4
verse 13. the apostle paul said
and since we have the same spirit of
faith
according to what is written i believed
and therefore i spoke who's he quoting
david david said that i believed
and therefore i spoke by the way that's
exactly what he was doing in psalm 23
he believed that god's good and he
believed it
to a point where he's absolutely
convinced of it and he says
surely and so he believed
and then spoke so here and since we have
the same spirit of faith according to
what is written
i believed and therefore i spoke we
paul speaking here we also believe
and therefore speak
let me see if i can clear something up
that was a little bit of a confusion
amongst some when
the word of faith movement was real
strong
you had a lot of believers that got uh
that were flowing in that which is a
good thing but a lot of them were making
these
real strong how can i say faith
statements um how you doing brother oh
i'm blessed i'm on top i'm never on the
bottom
i've got more than enough and you know
they start they you know they they've
had you know
they've heard that you're supposed to
make a good confession so they're
they're making it
and uh they're really gung-ho and worked
up
but here's the problem you have to
believe all that
you have to believe it first and a lot
of them never
rooted in the word so much that it just
took hold in their hearts with a
tremendous faith
where there is total certainty in there
doubt has been blasted out and they
believe it well trust me
when you believe it what do you do well
paul said we believe
therefore in other words once we believe
therefore we
speak and when you really do
believe and you are convinced that god
is good
then you speak and there's evidence of
it
there's proofs of it in your life why
because you know he's good
hallelujah he's good
i know a young minister that
he he's an itinerant minister and he was
asked to go speak
as a guest evangelist at a certain
church
so while he's giving his you know
sharing his message
he just happened to say god is a good
god
can you shout amen and nobody really
shouted amen
well he didn't quite understand what was
going on but he just kept on with his
message
and this young man told me he said
pastor stephen he said after i had
preached that message the pastor the
senior pastor of the church called me
over to the side
and said brother don't ever make that
statement ever again in this church
he said what statement he said god is
good he said are you telling me not to
say god is good
he said well god's not a good god he
loves us but he's not
good he'll he'll put you in a car wreck
to teach you a lesson
he'll put cancer on your children to
teach you lessons so that you can grow
and mature in the faith he's
he's not good and so
there you see a classic example of a
minister
this minister had a large church of a
minister
whose doctrine was terribly deformed
because of life experience so he is
basing his view
through a cloudy lens that's obscured
by personal trauma and disappointments
in life
and he's basically saying that because
i've had some bad experiences in life
god's not good but see he was also a
person
that did not know his authority in
christ that did not
know how to deal with the devil when the
devil showed up and
you know in some ways he got steamrolled
by the enemy
and then you know what the enemy does on
top of it after the enemy does these bad
things
sometimes even the preachers sometimes
even the full gospel people or even the
christians
you know what the enemy does after he's
done it after he has put
his junk on them he'll actually retreat
and
hide with the religious guys and he'll
whisper
god did that to you and can you believe
there's christians that are
unilluminated enough
in the light of god's word to actually
not be able to discern
that's not god that's the devil that did
that
and then because they think the devil
did it the next thing you know
they don't think he's good they don't
think god's good
so i'm here today to say from this
pulpit that god
is good he is absolutely
completely good whoa hallelujah so don't
run away from him
run to him because the closer you get to
him
trust me you're getting around the the
universal core
of goodness woo hallelujah
[Laughter]
and if you had had some bad times you
get close to the lord
he'll bring healing into your heart and
he'll even
when you release that bitterness and
stuff like that that frustration
and you repent of it he'll heal you
he'll even restore joy
back into your life well pastor steve i
made some really wrong decisions well
he can bring healing and restore
complete
joy back into your life that's how good
he is praise god
so yes we want to have
strong confessions of faith we want to
speak in agreement with god's word
my friends but we have to believe god's
word first you really have to get
settled
on this that he's a good god he is good
he's not it's not wait and hit you over
here with a hammer he is a good
god now god is going to use his goodness
towards his people as a witness to
unbelievers
and even to backslidden christians
i'd like for you to see this in psalm
126
verse 1 god's going to use his goodness
towards his people
as a witness to unbelievers and even
towards backslidden christians
126 1 when the lord brought back the
captivity of zion
we were like those who dream then our
mouth was filled with laughter and our
tongue was singing
then they said among the nations now
when it when you read the phrase they
said among the nations
the word nations in our english language
is the hebrew word
g-o-y and it basically means the
multitudes
who are outside of the covenant
of god the multitudes who are
separated from god because they have no
covenant with him
so it would be in other words what we
would call the gentiles
it says then our mouth was filled with
laughter and our tongue was singing
then they said among the among the
nations in other words the unbelievers
those away from god the lord has done
great things for them
talking about god's people the lord has
done great
things for them then the psalmist goes
on to say the lord has done great things
for us
and we are glad praise the lord
god is going to put his goodness his
touches of goodness upon your life
and it will be as a witness to those
that don't know the lord
and it will be used as conversation
starters it will be used as
touch points where you have an
opportunity
to share god's goodness with them so
that they can come into
the goodness of the lord and of course
come in the salvation
we also see this in romans chapter 2
verse 4 or do you despise the riches
of his goodness forbearance and
longsuffering
not knowing that the goodness of god
leads you to repentance let me say that
again
not knowing that the goodness of god
leads you to repentance
the passion translation says in
reference to god's goodness here it says
it's meant to melt the heart
the goodness of god is meant to
melt the heart whoa praise god
i see hearts falling out right now
because you're seeing
that god loves you cares about you
and he has a good plan for your life
praise the lord when they see god's
goodness on your life
it is designed to melt their heart
the message translation says that god's
goodness
leads us into a radical life change
think about that and that's a good
translation it's
it is a paraphrase translation but
he's pulling from the greek meaning and
the intent
of what's being expressed there and he
is saying that god's goodness
leads us into a radical life
change and i believe for many of you
you're going to start thinking
differently
as you realize that god loves you and
that he's
good and that he's good to you all the
time
praise god so god's goodness leads us
into a radical life change
so ask yourself this question do you
really just want to be
mediocre or average
or maybe we could say normal or even
subnormal
do we want to just be like that i don't
believe so
i believe that god greatly desires
to distinguish you with
his goodness i want to say that again
real slow
god wants to distinguish you
with his goodness he's going to he's
going to cause you to stand out
because his goodness is so strong upon
your life
and this would be even a radical
goodness i'm talking about radical
goodness not just normal goodness now
remember
god's goodness is described as being
great
as being abounding as being
inexhaustible and so this really is a
radical extreme goodness
and god's gonna let that
touch you and be displayed in your life
get
ready my friends get ready for this whoa
praise the lord
hallelujah god's going to do such an
amazing work in your life
that you'll be able to look at your life
and say i
live a radical christian lifestyle
i live an extremely good life
that glorifies the lord and draws others
to him
thank you jesus glory to god
let's go to psalm 34
verse 8 this is one of those beautiful
scriptures that's very easy to memorize
and very easy to just get it down into
your spirit
and i want you to be meditating on this
particular verse this week
because you're going to see
manifestation
this again is verse 8 from psalm 34.
o taste and see
that the lord is good blessed is the man
who trusts in him
o taste and see that the lord is good
have you ever stopped to think that as
david wrote this
through the inspiration of the holy
spirit
that this is actually a directive in
other words this is not something that
you just read and
oh you just think oh that's so poetic
that's very that's very nice
no this is a directive this is something
that you're supposed to do
this is something that you're actually
literally supposed
to experience oh taste
god wants you to do it and see that the
lord is what
mean and nasty ready there grape you're
out
no god is good
and he wants you to taste and see that
he
is good
you know i was meditating on this
and here's a few insights that the lord
gave me
you're going to have new taste
experiences
with the lord's goodness just like there
are countless
flavors of food there are countless
blessings of god's goodness
for you to experience oh taste
oh taste think about how many flavors
there are you have italian flavor you
have mexican
flavor cuban flavor you have japanese
flavor soy sauce and sushi and all of
that and
you have americana type flavors and then
the spices
can just go on and on and on
indian food it's all good isn't it thai
food it's all good
but these flavors can just continue but
my friends
is the same way with the lord's goodness
god wants you he invites you to taste
this taste this taste
these different elements of his goodness
who praise the lord
taste and see that the lord is good
sometimes you have to taste certain
things to know
if you like it and god will allow you to
do that
he'll set it up i've seen him set things
up in my life
that would be if i could use a another
expression for it
almost like a taste test and he's like
well just you know
find out which one that you like and
then we could talk about
you know the full manifestation whatever
it is you want in that area
but some things you don't know until
there is a
taste and so if you go to you know these
various ice cream
places you and you don't really
know what is available you might just
want to get some samples
and taste and trust me i'm sure you'll
find something that you like i have my
favorite i know when i go in
exactly what i'm looking for praise the
lord and there's these different ice
cream stores we have
one not too far away every time my wife
and i go i know
i know exactly what i'm looking for
they've always got it there for me my
wife she's going to get
a different choice but some things you
have to taste it
to know if you like it and the lord will
allow you to do
that taste and see that the lord is good
i was reading a book that i have by a
very
godly prophet and this old prophet lived
this life out he passed away
he went on to the lord uh went on to be
with the lord in heaven
he wrote some really good books and he
was talking in one of his books
about a supernatural vision he had in
which the lord jesus came to him
and stood before him and extended his
arm out to him
and said touch me touch me
i am all together goodness
and this this prophet this man of god
touched the lord
and he had the sense that within the
lord
there is not one speck of evil
there is not one thing of him that could
harm you or ever
do you wrong he is all together
goodness whoa praise the lord
so i believe there are experiences
that are being lined up for you right
now
to experience the goodness of the lord
manifested revealed in your
life some of them may even be smaller
expressions
but there could also be some large
expressions where
they're so large they're almost like
billboards
that display god's goodness on your life
and it will generate conversation
as you go watch out praise the lord it
is for the glory of the lord
to this and let me say this
when the lord told moses
in exodus chapter 33 i'm going to pass
by you get ready
he said i'm going to show you my glory
because that's what moses wanted to see
did you notice that when the glory was
displayed
so much of it was displayed through the
goodness and
anytime you get into the glory of god
you
are touching a key element of that glory
which
is the goodness of god
the goodness of god is his very best
for you praise the lord
the goodness of god is his very best for
your life thank you jesus
psalm 65 verse 4
blessed is the man you choose and cause
to approach
you that he may dwell in your courts
we shall be satisfied with the goodness
of your house of your holy temple
we shall be satisfied with the goodness
of your house the word satisfied in the
hebrew
it means to supply fully until
no more is needed again that word
satisfied
means to supply fully until
no more is needed
i'm here to tell you today that good
things from god
are on their way to you and you need to
be expecting them
you need to be celebrating the goodness
of god
rejoicing in the lord in his goodness
whoa hallelujah praise god
and delighting in his ways i see
beautiful manifestations of the goodness
of god
coming into your life look don't ever
let the devil come in there and put a
wedge
between you and the lord he loves to try
to do that
and one one of the most successful ways
that i
see him do that to to christians
is by trying to give
doubt that god is good and trying to
give
suggestion that see there god's not nice
if he were he wouldn't allow that to
happen to you see god's not good
if he were good that wouldn't have
happened and he tries to put
through the believer's sometimes
lack of understanding of the word he
tries to put that wedge of separation
and if he can be successful in that
it will short circuit the goodness
of god in that person's life so you must
you must come close to the heart of god
you must remove any bitterness
and you must never blame god for
anything bad
so often the reason unfortunate things
happen to people
is because it's because the devil did it
and the individual did not know how to
deal
with these dark adversarial forces
and then when it happens the devil who
actually did it
says god did it you need to be mad at
god and the whole time
the devil did it and he's laughing
laughing
laughing because all that junk it comes
from the devil
but god's a good god he look the way
some christians
view god is that if this were real
god's going to get locked up by the
authorities for child abuse
that's actually how warped some
believers are
in their thinking about god they accuse
him of all of these awful things
but if a literal real parent on the
earth did that kind of a stuff
the health authorities would come pick
that person up and put them in an
institution
god is good it's the devil who's bad
and wrecks havoc and causes great pro
problems so so you have to realize god's
good
he gave you authority he has given you
power
he's giving you wisdom he's given you
strength
and you have to know who you are and you
have to know
your rights in him and you have to
resist the devil
and you have to always realize that
god's good god is pulling for you
and that his his entire intentions
towards you are always good
so if there's something bad going on
it's not it's not god it's the enemy
it's the enemy and i'm here to expose
those
those wrong plans of the enemy those
evil workings of the enemy as
being exactly that of satanic origin
praise god i
i was walking outside of my residence
one time and there was a neighbor close
by
and she had a very tough situation in
her life that she was dealing with
and she was very negative about it and
she was a christian
i don't doubt her salvation one bit she
loved the lord she was saved she went to
church every time the church doors were
open
but she was mad she was literally flat
out mad at god
and i i said sister
i said the lord is not the one that has
caused
these great things in life that you have
to bear these great difficulties
she said yes he is he's the one that put
this on me to teach me a lesson
and to make me humble i said
i said no i said it didn't come from god
and she got mad she said yes it did
and she wasn't going to change it this
is a person
the enemy has taken a wedge and driven
in there of separation between her and
god and she's mad at god she's literally
mad at god how can you ever
receive the goodness when there's a
blocker like that
and it grieves god it grieves god that a
person like that
has had the enemy blind them spiritually
um and so it will block the blessings
god's always good
god's always good god's always good well
then why did that happen
why did something like that happen
pastor stephen well first of all it
wasn't god
that did it but if something did happen
so often things happen because we don't
know our rights in christ
we don't know our authority we don't
know how to exercise it
we we didn't pray we didn't address it
we didn't deal with it and
there it is but the whole time god
is for is even still and god says look
if if you're in that situation i'm still
here i'm still good
now look to me and i'll give you relief
i'll give you help
sometimes god can even remove that
situation
at the least he can turn it and
supply grace and he can pour in blessing
to where even with it you have a smile
on your face
praise god praise god he is nothing
but good touch him he's nothing
but good he's nothing but good
one day you'll stand before him in
person
and you'll see he's nothing but good
there's no way he put cancer on you
he's nothing but good there's no way he
put your kids in a car wreck
he's nothing but good
and you love him for it but by faith
love him now
and receive the revelation from his word
of who he is
now he passed before moses and moses was
like
whoa the goodness that's off the limits
the goodness is off the charts
and that's true and he saw that as we
would say
under the old covenant wow
glory to god now father i pray you bless
your people with the fresh revelation
and that you make them smile
because nobody wants to draw near to
somebody who's mean and nasty
but father you're so good that it be
an exciting invitation to come near
because of your goodness and to enjoy
the exuding
of that goodness upon us thank you
father god
thank you father god thank you thank you
heal those father who've had a wrong a
wrong perception
of your character heal them
of that now father we give you praise we
give you praise and we say you
are good father in jesus name
amen and amen glory
glory glory before i close on that let
me just ask you a question
if you are an unbeliever and you
saw a christian that taught or promoted
the concept
that god loves you god wants to save you
but be ready he's mean and if you come
to him he's probably going to put you in
a car wreck to teach you a lesson
what kind of an unbeliever what kind of
a sinner would say i want to come to a
god like that
i'm having a hard enough time in life as
it is and i'm supposed to go serve a god
who wants to save me but yet the moment
i get saved he's going to beat me up to
teach me a lesson
they'd be like i don't think i want
anything to do with a god like that
my friends we have to think we have to
think about what we're presenting
to the world we have to think about our
doctrine that's why paul said not let
many let that many be teachers
you will give an account for what you
teach
so for a pastor to stand up and say
god's not good
he's refuting the eternal word of god
and he will have to give an account of
that and
and there will be loss of merit loss of
reward
not only for his own life but he's he's
misdirecting people
mm-hmm
thank you lord jesus do you ever notice
god's word makes sense
it's not hard to figure out he's either
good or bad
he's good praise the lord father bless
your people with your goodness i thank
you give them an
expectation because it's coming with
waves of glory
and so much of that glory can be
described as goodness waves
waves of goodness coming upon them
this year this year in jesus name
shout amen that means so be it praise
god amen
now if you're watching today's program
and you don't know christ as your lord
and savior
but you want to get your life right with
god today
then right now pray this prayer after me
say lord jesus
you died on the cross to save to redeem
sinners like me jesus i turn from my sin
and i ask you now come into my heart
wash all of my sins away write
my name in your book of life
and i give my heart to you thank you
jesus
for saving me now in your name i pray
amen he heard that prayer he saved you
the moment you lifted it up to him
that's how good he is you belong to him
now live for him every day of your life
and experience
taste and see that he's good that he's
good now today
let us take holy communion we're going
to celebrate
the goodness of god and we're going to
proclaim his death
until he comes because it's through his
death upon that cross
that he bore all of our sin all of our
shame
the full blast of the curse of the law
he took it
upon himself through his death so that
we
could receive eternal life newness of
life
in him so we celebrate his death because
it's through his death
that we have eternal life
praise the lord please today grab some
unleavened bread
and some grape juice
glory to god
[Music]
hallelujah hallelujah let's pray
father we thank you for the bread and we
thank you for the juice
and we bless it we consecrate it
and we set it apart as holy we thank you
that this is now the body and the blood
of christ so father as we receive the
body of christ we thank you
that we embrace your word
that you are good and that your mercy
endures forever we thank you father god
that your mercy
and your goodness are going to follow us
every day that we are on this earth
for the rest of our lives now father we
believe that
we expect your goodness to show up
we expect to enjoy it and for others to
see it
and it will be a magnet of curiosity
to them that is a door for us to share
christ
thank you father for your goodness we
now receive the body of jesus
it's all because of him that makes it
possible in his name we pray
amen and amen let's receive together
praise the lord father we thank you for
the blood of jesus
we ask that if we have committed any
sins that you would forgive us of our
sins and wash them all away
and father if anybody has sinned against
us
we completely 100
forgive them and we bless them and we go
on
in in a walk of forgiveness
now father we give you praise thank you
thank you for
everything that is ours in the new
covenant
that is based upon the shed blood of
christ
that gives us legal access and
permission
to come into your very presence and
enjoy
your goodness thank you father you're so
good you made heaven for us
wow whoo glory father we received the
blood of jesus with great thanksgiving
in christ's name we pray amen let's
partake together
praise the lord please lift your hands
with me
and say lord you are good
say it like you believe it with all of
your heart say lord you are good
and your mercy endures forever say it
again say lord
you are good and your mercy endures
forever
praise god praise god
praise the lord now let us say this
together
surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me
all the days of my life see personalize
it
make it your personal promise believe it
say it again say
surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days
of my life
the goodness of god will follow you all
the days
of your life and it's showing up this
week
expect it get ready for it be looking
for it
and let it be thick and profuse
upon your life god bless you thank you
for watching
i'll see you back next time