Lighthouse
September 7 2025
  • Doxology
  • How Great Is Our God
  • Agnus Dei
  • Great Are You Lord
  • A couple weeks ago I shared about the future of the church. Vision, Purpose and Culture they are all apart of this series.
    I said, “We are in a spiritual battle, a culture war and always the unintentional straying from the vision of the church.
    We jumped into 2 Chronicles 20:1-29. ( Jehoshaphat and his encounter with the enemy)
    The people were tested, everyone was pushed to the edge “we die or God intervenes.”
    POINT ; The king and the people forgot who they were.
    We used numerous scriptures.
    One main point was a “shift from death to life.” It is so easy to be overcome by death, or bad reports. It puts us into a place of panic and we can freeze, forgetting Gods greatness.
    Remember in this case it only took one generation ( 55 years)
    There was a shift from being in the wilderness to renaming it “The Valley of Blessing” in verse 26.
    2 Chronicles 20:26 NLT
    26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.
    Another point about our churches future was Christ is in charge
    He is the head of the church. Our direction as a body of believers is completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit and what He wants to do.
    I made the statement that,”It is possible to be Spirit filled but not Spirit Led.
    Paul says in Galatians
    Galatians 5:16 ESV
    16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
    If we look at that from the opposite point of view if we don’t walk by the Spirit we will gratify the flesh
    Galatians 5:25 ESV
    25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
    It easy to get out of step with the Holy Spirit.
    If you are carrying out the desires of the flesh you are not walking by the Spirit.
    If our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit is the Spirit present or is he somewhere else, or is He suppressed.
    When the King is in residence in England the Royal flag (standard) is flown. When they are driving in a convoy the royal flag is on the edges of the car. When the union Jack is flying it means the King is not here.
    Question. which flag is flying over your residence. Holy Spirit Flag or our own flag
    Superintendent George Wood used an illustration of a glass of water. He said;
    If the glass is filled with water and you bump it( meaning give it correction or stress it in some way) what comes out of it. Does love , joy , peace, longsuffering, kindness, gentleness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self control come out or . Or does something vial and mean bitter, nasty and hostile come out.
    One is filled with the Holy Spirit, one is not filled with the Spirit no matter what they say.
    For the second one it was a medal they wear on the outside rather than grace on the inside

    A further point is we need to change from professional to passionate Christians.

    Instead of Christian by title we need to love God again
    Revelation 2:4–5 NASB95
    4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
    We have to change the culture of our church to reflect this reality.
    Have you ever watched a couple who’ve been married for decades still treat each other like newlyweds? They laugh, they playfully tease one another, and it’s evident they’ve returned to that first love. Similarly, God reminds the church (that’s us)to rekindle that early excitement in our relationship with Him. It’s like going back to that first date—pure, simple, and full of joy! Excitement in the air and hope for a future.

    SEND OUT THE WORSHIPPERS

    2 Chronicles 20:21–22 ESV
    21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” 22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.
    The singers went out before the army. The same with the battle of Jericho in Joshua chapter 6
    Worship will be a front line ministry.
    A powerful psalm of a King
    Psalm 118:14 NASB95
    14 The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.
    Did you know;
    In the early days of the U.S. military, soldiers often formed choirs to sing before heading into battle. Their harmony brought a moment of peace amidst uncertainty. This illustrates that sometimes, singing can be a powerful act of faith. It builds camaraderie and helps us remember that we are not alone. It’s a reminder that smiling, sharing laughter, and singing can uplift our spirits in the face of challenges.
    As i was praying and thinking about the church and its history of 86 years. I was thinking about Ephesians Ch 6 and spiritual warfare.
    I thought about the traffic in and out of the church.
    I was praying about this and about the church. A question arose, who has the keys to the church. My answer was I don’t know
    Some in this room have keys
    Some might have keys that should not have keys.
    Others have keys but never use there keys
    Some have lost there keys
    I immediately got the message
    We have to take back the keys

    TAKE BACK THE KEYS

    Revelation 3:7 NLT
    7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:
    The key of David is out of Isaiah 22:22 “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open.”
    Jesus says in Rev 1:18 that he holds the keys - In other words he has the authority over life and death.
    Who ever has the keys has the power, control and the authority.
    It is about access. Whoever has access has power control and authority.
    I felt the Spirit posed a question. Who has access, do you even know?
    Joyce Meyers say, Negative thoughts lead to negative lives; focus on godly thoughts for transformation.
    You have to be careful what you let in. Because what you let in now wants to stay in. If you allow it in enough it is like you give it keys. Once it has keys it has access, power and control.
    Jesus gives this illustration in Rev that He has the keys - He has the authority - He has control.
    When it comes to spiritual warfare who has access that shouldn’t have access. Even if they have not been here in years they still have access.
    Keys are associated with kingly rule and divine authority.
    Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom
    Matthew 16:19 NASB95
    19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
    In other words the church has keys. We have authority to say no not here or yes lord .
    The church has been given the authority by the Holy Spirt to cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead.
    Once you cast out the evil or wickedness you have to lock the access point.
    Matthew 12:43–45 NASB95
    43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
    What is the story here?
    A man was delivered from evil spirits. He gets himself cleaned up, but what did he not do?
    He didn’t fill it with the things of God and neither did he lock the door.
    A friend or ours had a dream. She walked into her front room and saw a man with a sack taking all her valuables and shoving them into a sack. She was surprised that he did not even flinch when she walked into the room . She shouted at him to put her stuff back. He looked at her as if she had no authority over him. She chased him out of the house and woke up. She felt it was her family and things dear to her heart that he was stealing from her. He was able to come into her house because He was let in somewhere along the line she gave him authority to come into her home.
    The story is guard your door and keep it locked so evil doesn’t have access to your house. If you have evil cast it out and lock the door.
    What do you allow into your house?
    Division, arguing and fighting, complaining, gossip, bad attitudes, bad movies, negative news, drugs. alcohol ( which is called a brawler and a mocker) entertaining people you should not. Bad company corrupts good morals. Bad company could be gossiping Christians.
    If you go to bed angry your leaving the window wide open for the enemy to come in and when you wake up he will be right beside you- You can bank on it.
    Conclusion
    I want to close centering on this last point.
    We want a God centered , life filled church. We all personally want a God Centered , life filled life. We want the enemy out and the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
    We want to be true worshippers and passionate about our faith.
    We must return to our first love. Remove what was allowed to move in years ago and take up residence against the Spirit. We need to guard the gates of our minds
    Lets regroup
    What is holding you back from your first love of God?
    Discouragement, Lack of Hope,

      • 2 Chronicles 20:26NASB95

      • Galatians 5:16NASB95

      • Galatians 5:25NASB95

      • Revelation 2:4–5NASB95

      • 2 Chronicles 20:21–22NASB95

      • Psalm 118:14NASB95

      • Revelation 3:7NASB95

      • Matthew 16:19NASB95

      • Matthew 12:43–45NASB95

Lighthouse
darryl.sandford@gmail.com
530-275-4822
https://lighthouse-v.faithlifesites.com
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