Where You Have Been"
Praise the wonderful name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour and soon-coming King! Shout it from the mountaintops, let it echo in your valleys � Jesus is Lord! He�s coming back and it won�t be long. My cousin Rhonda and I used to sing a song when we were very young � �It Won�t Be Long�. As I read the Word and come into God�s presence, looking at all the Bible prophecy being fulfilled, I feel an urgency to get everyone I can �in�. If there was ever a time to be helping people come to Christ, it is today. If there was ever a time to be encouraging your family, your brothers and sisters in Christ, it�s today. My heart is heavy when I speak that, because I hear of so many being discouraged and cast down. They�re being discouraged by elders, by organizations, by people that claim to be God�s children. Everyone has a past, and everyone who is willing has a calling. I ask that you pray and consider yourself, your actions, your tongue, and �Where You Are Now and Where You Have Been�.
As I begin this message I must confess that at one time I was very guilty of being critical of others because of their past. Prison is one of the worst places for that. Yep, self-righteous convicts. You see, the murderers look down on the lower levels of crime. Like being convicted of murder is something to be proud of. I walked around like that for years, often feeling like people with this crime or that crime were the lowest of the low. I was extremely prejudiced against people that are homosexuals. Today I can tell you, �I hate the sin not the person!� I can tell you, �There�s deliverance in the name of Jesus Christ!� Anyone can get deliverance and stay delivered. Paul said so in I Corinthians 9:27, �But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.� Think about this: God doesn�t care what you done yesterday, last week, last year or 10 years ago - if it�s under the Blood all He cares about is what you are going to do for Him today. You see, there�s no little or big sin to God. One sin has the same weight as any other. All unconfessed sin will be judged the same. If you are forgiven by God, it NEVER happened! Man may remember, but God cast it as far as the East is from the West. If your sins are under the Blood, God can use you and if doesn�t matter what man has to say! Now think about �Where You Are Now and Where You Have Been�.
If God delivered you it�s time to tell somebody about it and help them get delivered. I�ve had my past brought up many times, and I�m sure it will continue until Jesus comes back. You know what? It doesn�t really matter to me anymore because I consider the source. I know who the troublemaker is. I recognize the adversary and it�s not the piece of flesh that stands before you or me, it�s satan and that person is his tool. Hey, they are usually someone religious. You see, I know where I�ve been, and I know where I am now! I know where some of my Brothers and Sisters are at right now, because you�ve cried to me. I know we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. That �high places� there means in the heavens around you, but I know it seems like the people sitting in powerful places. Let me tell you today that you are not alone in your battles. It�s time for God�s children to rally together in their armor and take back everything satan has stolen from them, from the church, and all he�s trying to steal today. The things God has given us can only be stolen if we fail to do battle � if we get divided. The strong must help the weak to stand. It�s time for all of the children of God to remember where they�ve been, and that they were delivered and given another chance. For some, many chances. Take a look at �Where You Are Now and Where You Have Been�.
To you that are despised by society, by the religious � if people look down on you � I want you to know that no matter what you have done, whether you are a man or a woman, God can use you. He can use you to lead others out who have been where you have been. You can be CONFIDENT about what God is doing, and that He will complete it (Philippians 1:6). He�ll complete His work in you as long as you are willing, and it won�t matter what any self-righteous person or organization has to say about it. Our God is ABLE! He has used the weaker, that what seems foolish, the base things and that which is despised for over 6000 years, and there ain�t no organization or religious bunch that can stop Him! Praise the Lord! In I Corinthians 1:25-28, Paul being inspired by the Holy Spirit spoke it all very clearly. When God knocks on a heart, that�s all He sees. Is that heart a proud heart or a humble heart? Is that heart a servant�s heart or someone looking for glory? God doesn�t pick up your past record and review it. He doesn�t look to see how many degrees you may or may not have. He doesn�t care if you�re poorer than dirt � all He looks for is that willingness. When you totally submit to Him, He�ll make you spiritually rich. The more you seek, the more you�ll find! The more you knock, the more that will be opened unto you! You can ask and receive. God will make a way where you never dreamed there would be a way. Jesus took everyone exactly as they were and said, �Go and sin no more.� He didn�t go over a checklist with anyone. He came to save them and the Holy Spirit taught them, both individually and through men and women of God. Take a strong look at yourselves � �Where You Are Now and Where You Have Been�. Are you closer to God today than you were yesterday? Do you desire to be closer tomorrow than you are today? Or are you whipped and discouraged by what the adversary has said through someone�s mouth?
Now I get to share some with the scribes, Pharisees, and religious bunch - children of the adversary. I�m sure glad that I have the highest quality armor, as I know some are gathering stones as I continue. Praise Jesus, God makes the best armor for war! Can I tell ya a little about your descendents? Well, they rejected Jesus and they killed the prophets and apostles. They followed the leading of their father the devil and crucified Jesus, only to be defeated by His Blood. A religious bunch did all that and they couldn�t raise the dead, or heal the sick, or feed a multitude with five loaves and two fishes, or set the captive free. I tell ya what they did do, they opened their eyes in hell. That same thing will happen now to anyone that oppresses, discourages, hinders or spiritually murders one of these little ones of God. That is, unless that person asks forgiveness. You see, my God forgives everyone�s path, even persecutors of Christians. Remember Saul? God forgave him and then used him mightily! In Luke 18:1-8, that widow was avenged of her adversary by a judge that didn�t even serve God. There in verse 7, Jesus told us that God would avenge His own elect that cry before Him day and night. Don�t be an adversary of one of God�s children. It�s time that some people get down off their high horse, run it off, and humble themselves before God. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). There�s not a one of us that has lived a life that would be good enough to get into Heaven! God has warned people about offending His little ones, in verses 10-17 of Luke 18. There are a lot of spiritual infants being offended today. Don�t be found guilty of that. Matthew 5:22 says that if you call your brother names - names meaning �worthless�, �no good� or �graceless� � then you are in danger of hell fire! Definitely not the place to be for one second � don�t spend eternity there! Look, Jesus came that everyone could have life and have it more abundantly. Our adversary came to steal, kill and destroy. Be an encourager of abundant life in Jesus today. Don�t be a destroyer, a thief of joy, a spiritual murderer. Search yourself, �Where You Are Now and Where You Have Been�. If you�re not happy with where you are, all it takes is a repenting heart and a humbly bent knee.
Now as I close, I pray the Holy Spirit will encourage each of my Brothers and Sisters in bonds, the ones who are cast down in the free world by some busybody or self-righteous person. To you that feel you have been too bad for God to use, that�s a lie straight out of the pits of hell. God used a lowly shepherd boy, small, probably stank from being around the sheep, laughed at by the people. But God could use little David! God used Moses, a murderer and often disobedient. God used Peter
too � violent at times, sometimes a liar, one who denied Christ � but Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom and used him mightily. God used Stephen and he waited tables for the widows � but being full of the Holy Spirit he did miracles. Saul, who murdered untold numbers of Christians, was changed to Paul and through the Spirit wrote a goodly portion of the New Testament! Can you imagine what Christians thought when they heard he was coming to town, with his past and all?!? Keep your heads up, your knees bent, remain teachable, have faith � God can use you if you are willing. Just remember �Where You Are Now and Where You Have Been�. You may be in prison, living in a box, not a penny to your name; but you can be a new creature in Christ with a bright tomorrow ahead. God bless!
In Christ, Bro. Don George
