"Stay Connected To The River" with Jentezen Franklin

the following program is sponsored by friends and partners of Kingdom connection at Kingdom connection we're excited to launch a brand new way to help the ministry through text to give it's convenient and a fast way to connect your gift support to us and it's as easy as using your mobile device to set it up simply text any amount with a keyword KC two four five eight eight eight hit Send and you'll get a link to set up a payment method with your preferred debit or credit card don't worry this won't be charged to your phone bill and after a few quick steps giving from your device is as simple as sending a text for more information on how to set up more text to give today visit our website at Jensen franklin org slash gift thank you for your generous support of Kingdom connection each gift makes it possible for us to connect people to the message of Jesus impacting lives here at home as well as around the world 1763 on the Mississippi River there was a town that was founded and established by French settlers they called it the little Gulf the reason they called it the little Gulf gee Ulf is because it was the little sister of the big Gulf city which was known as New Orleans and it became a very prosperous in prominent City it was 32 miles northeast of Natchez Mississippi on the Mississippi River and sometime later a few years later a man by the name of Thomas Calvin bought the city and he had a dear friend and mentor in his life that had really impacted him and he wanted to honor him so he named this renamed the city I guess if you buy a city you can you can do whatever you want to with it and he renamed the city from Little Gulf to rodney mississippi because the man's name that had been such a great mentor in his life was a guy named Rodney and so he named it Rodney Mississippi and it became a very very prosperous city in America as a matter of fact by the mid 1800s it had discovered the industry of cotton and was responsible for bringing much of that agricultural prosperity to the south it all started there and so much so that Rodney became the one of the busiest ports in America for example by the late 1700s they had factories again the late 1700s they had factories they had schools they had hotels they had restaurants they had beautiful homes thousands of people living in this little town that became a large town called Rodney Mississippi as a matter of fact it only missed becoming the capital of the state of Mississippi by 3 votes that's how prominent this place was and of course it was beat out by Jackson Mississippi but something happened something that nobody could foresee the Mississippi River over a number of years began to change courses and little by little not suddenly but over the course of years the current and the river began to go in a different direction and by the early 1900's roddney Mississippi was over three miles off of the river it was built its whole commerce and prosperity was built from the Commerce and the boats coming in with the products and all the activity from the river but when the river went the opposite direction and there was a three mile distance then suddenly no longer there was access to the river and the commerce and all of the wealth that it provided dried up the town slowly began to wither and dine if you google it it will talk about one of the most prominent cities that America ever had in its early history became quote a ghost town you talk about a ghost town that is exactly what happened to Rodney Mississippi as a matter of fact you can go there now and there's only one Road in and one Road out and all that's left of that prosperous prominent City is an old decayed Presbyterian Church that's caving in on itself there's no business activity there's nothing but silent structures with crumbling echoes of what used to be there's a hollow shell of a town there are no inhabitants there are no people there are no families there are no children there's no prosperity there's no booming businesses there's no rustling and bustling in the streets of with prosperity all of it left when the river left it's a silent testimony that screams a powerful message to you and I today no matter how many great things you have going for you if the river ever leaves you you die John 7:37 in the last days jesus said if any man thirst let him come unto me and out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water and this spake he of the Spirit the Holy Spirit is a life-giving River the presence of Jesus is a river of living water and just like that little town in Mississippi when it lost the river when the river went a different course it dried up it withered up it lost its prosperity it lost its life and people began to leave and groves and abandoned everything the same is true for our life if there's no different between us a difference between us in that little city if we don't have the flow if we don't have the river that gives life if the Spirit is not leading us if the Spirit is not directing us if we're not in the current of the spirit that brings all of the blessings of God all of the success of God all of the victories of God it comes through the river if the river ever shifts and leaves your life then everything that you know and have can dry up and be joyless and lifeless no matter what else we have going for us if the river ever leaves us everything else will die my message this morning is stay connected to the river we have to have the river the river leads us the river constrains us the river guides us have you ever stood in a river it has a current if it's a real river you don't just get in the river and do what you want the current constrains you the current pulls you and that's how the river of the Spirit is even if you start to go in a direction that God is not wanting you to go in and go after things of the flesh here's how you know you're saved because there is a restraining the spirit you have to go against the current everything in you will say don't do that don't do that don't do that and even if you do it something in you will pull you back too quickly repent and get right with God and go in the right direction that's the power of the Spirit and if that if that conviction ever leaves you if that constraining force the Holy Spirit that keeps you back from things that you know are not right in your life if you ever silence that if you ever just ignore that and the river ever goes a different course then you will die spiritually you know we say to people all the time when they have loved ones at funerals the real her the real him is not here well the real me is the spirit me I am a spirit that lives in a fleshly body I am NOT a fleshly body that happens to have the spirit in Romans 8 chapter 5 said for those that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh notice the words after and they that are after the spirit do mind the things of the Spirit meaning this Oh God I want to be a person who is after the spirit I don't want to be after the flesh I don't want to be in a direction moving in a direction of the lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh the pride of life but we need to be people after the spirit I want to be a preacher after the spirit I want to be a man a father a husband that is after the spirit and I want a pastor a church that is after the spirit stay after the spirit follow where the current and the flow and the Spirit takes you we need to be like Moses he was so spiritually governed that he said I want my words I want my attitudes I want my actions to be after you Lord so much so that in Exodus 33 and verse 15 he said if your presence doesn't go with me I will not go up Exodus 33 15 is God saying if you don't if if your spirit doesn't go with me I won't go in other words where the direction of the Spirit II is not the flesh I don't want to follow the flesh I don't want to follow my desires my attitudes my actions my fits my carnality I want to get in the flow of the spirit that restrains me in the right direction and even if I start to say something my and you know the current will pull on my soul even if I start to look at something I shouldn't the current of the spirit that means being after the spirit oh I don't want to I don't want to lose that in my life I don't want to do what his spirit can't bless deliver us from fleshly pursuits I want you to look with me in Romans chapter 8 for just a moment if you have your Bible I want you to open it up sometimes we need to see it and read it besides seeing it on the wall you need to see it on your own Bible and in Romans chapter 8 it says this therefore brethren we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh for if you live according to the flesh you will die but if you through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh and put to death the deeds of the flesh you will live listen to this for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God one translation is powerful said this the proof of sonship is being led by the spirit not the flesh the proof that you're a son or a daughter of God is that you allow the spirit and it's current and flow to guide you and lead you and not your flesh so your actions your attitudes your words your your disposition your desires all of those things are in the river and the spirit leads you in the direction that he wants to go proof of sonship is being led by the spirit not the flesh Galatians three and verse three says it like this have you become so foolish having begun in the spirit you are now made perfect in the flesh in other words he's saying there was a time when you were in the river there was a time when you were in the flow there was a time when the spirit could adjust you and turn you and change you and move you in the direction God wanted you to go and you were in the spirit you started in the you were tender to his voice you were tender to his insensitive - to his desires and his convictions but he said having begun in the spirit are you now made perfect in the flesh you know a lot of things and a lot of you business people you started in the spirit you started that business and every morning when you didn't have a lot of money and didn't have a lot of business you'd hope that Bible you started it in the spirit you would read that Bible you would pray you it fast you would call on God and I think about this church you know we started in the spirit we we didn't have these screens we didn't have these cameras we don't have this big beautiful room we didn't have those cushion seats we didn't have all the stuff that we have we had the Spirit of God we started in the spirit now can we do it in the flesh is what Galatians 3:3 says I'm not for going back I don't want to do without our conditions and I don't want to do without all this nice and great stuff but but I do want to go back to always needing the spirit leaning on the spirit needing the guidance needing the anointing and you need it too it's not just for a preacher it's for you and if the river ever leaves you your prosperity dies if the river ever leaves you your life in your marriage your home your family it withers up and the houses become empty and lifeless you're living a shell you you have an outward appearance of a home but there's no life there same is true for a marriage don't let the river leave you we must be led by the spirit not the flesh go back to prayer and fasting go back to being holy spirit sensitive go back to convictions and consecrated lives go back to the river listen to the river and if the river is pulling you in one direction and your flesh wants something else go with the river because the river is taking you to life but the flesh will lead to death someone may ask them what could what can make a river change its location how could that happen to the city of rodney mississippi how does a river that's running by a city prospering it bringing life to it how does it change direction this is what they studied and the engineer said I'm not making this up it was a buildup of debris over time so much silt so much debris filled in and begin to obstruct the flow of the river didn't happen overnight it was just a little thing a little pile a little bit of obstruction a little debris a little a little silt and it and and and you don't allow the river to wash it away and they said sometimes you'd need to get out there and dig that stuff up so that the river has a continual easy flow but at some point the river begins to decide it's a whole lot easier for me to go in another course and direction than it is for me to try to break through because one little pile becomes another pile and another pile of debris and sit silt and another and another and before you know it the river is being forced away and it's not just a little few feet now it's a half a mile it's two miles it's three miles and that describes so many people so many people who started in the spirit so many people who were full of the Holy Spirit so many people who were into the word so many people who were so your joy was not stuff your joy was Jesus but little by little the river starts changing course and you're dying you're dying on the inside you're done there's nothing that can take the place of Jesus I don't care how prosperous you get I don't care how much money you make I don't care how many houses and boats and cars and jet skis you better never lose the river because if the river leaves you die the more silt and gravel that piled up over time more and more and more and finally the current changed it started going somewhere else that wasn't resistant the water the water no longer flowed to that city the debris had closed it off the river has to flow it has to flow if you find yourself this is the amazing thing they said if you go to Rodney Mississippi oh there's water there but it's stale stagnant water and if you take a blade of grass and throw it on top of the water what you will see is it sits on top steel it doesn't flow there is no flow and therefore there is no life and so in other words if you looked on the outside it looks like that that city has a water supply and that describes many Christians on the outside they look like they have life but is there a flow are you being led by the Spirit it has the spirits restraining power on you so forceful that you don't just do things and you lose your convictions and your consecrations and I know this is old-fashioned preaching but folks we're either after the spirit or after the flesh we don't need to be deceived in this hour I still believe that when the Spirit has control of our lives he takes us in a direction and if we don't allow the river to wash away the debris wash away the pain and the hurt wash away the lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh the pride of life wash away bitterness and unforgiveness wash away evil speaking wash away bad attitudes and ugly spirits that stuff begins to dam up the river and causes it to go a different course and suddenly you wake up like Samson and wish not the spirit had departed your life your success everything that you need is connected out of your bed le will flow rivers of living water and your prosperity and your joy and your marriage and your family it's not between you and your husband are you and your employees it's the river flowing through washing everything clean getting out habits and things that try to destroy our lives and I'm praying today that that while I preach the Spirit will begin to control again the Spirit will begin you're either going after the flesh or the spirit and I thank God for the Holy Spirit that will constrain you and it shows up in sensitive ways I told you yesterday with Bishop TF Kenny I called him a lot now I called him yesterday and said I love you how you doing and he said Jensen this is how he talks to me he said the Bible said that Samuel when he spoke the word not one of his words fell to the ground here's what he told me I said what does that mean and he said that means he didn't speak any dirty words and we think dirty words is just blankety-blank but dirty words can be cruel words can be hateful words can be gossipy words can be cut down somebody and humiliate somebody and give them a piece of your mind words well guess what the river does he starts going like that and if you don't let the river come and wash that out of you it becomes who you are these things matter the fruits of the spirit peace joy patience long-suffering kindness love the Spirit will wash the debris the Spirit will wash the silt the spirit will wash all of the piles of things that try to that the lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh the pride of life it'll wash it clean oh we need we need that we need the river to flush and remove all resistance to being led by the period I remember when the current moved me I remember times in my life where the current and here's here's the next and final part of this message when that River started going the other direction those people had to make a choice we can stay here and die we can go with the river and live and I guess what I'm saying to some of you is you can't live in the past and if God is moving on you need to move on if the rent if the river changes courses change direction and go with it or die that's what I'm telling you stay on fire stay if the river leaves you that's why church is so important it can't ever become something if we get time and we don't have nothing else to do and there's no more fun things going on this weekend the river I'm not saying this cuz look the place is full I'm not saying this cause I'm saying it because it's the truth the church and the kingdom it's the river that that brings life to your relationships between you and your children your wife your marriage your husband it's all desperately meeting the river and if the river ever leaves you you're gonna die your marriage is gonna die your family joy is gonna die you'll be a shell of a family and a home and a life and so the outline has run out how many of you how many of you would be honest I tell you that lyin got me after the spirit am I after the flesh are after the spirit flesh death or spirit out of your belly will flow rivers of living how many of you would love for a imma call it what I called it for a holy ghost gully washer y'all know what a gully washer is it's when it's when when the streams overflowing all of a sudden coming down the ridge of the mountain there's a gully washer in any debris and any silt that has built up anything in our heart that's not pleasing to God any attitudes any actions toward anyone anything any little compromise little dirty words and little cruel words you get in the river and the river will take you in the right direction and Direction is more important than location if you're moving in the right direction you're gonna get there how many of you would love for the River of Life to remove all the debris from your soul this morning let me see your hand from your mind wash your eyes clean wash your ears clean wash your heart clean wash your soul clean wash your emotions clean wash your memory get the debris out the bitterness the unforgiveness let the rip quit listen quit letting that stuff have a foothold because the way the river changes is if you don't remove it knock it down don't let it keep piling up and piling up and piling up because sooner or later the spirit will say you're not going to change I'm gonna go find someone who will don't let that don't get comfortable with that addiction don't get comfortable with that sin don't get comfortable with that compromise but let the river hit it and wash it away this morning all over this room I'm going to ask you to stand your feet no one moving please just stand to your feet for the next 30 seconds I want you to lift your hands high and I want you to see a gully washer coming I want you to see it cascading I want you to see it like a flash flood and it's coming to your soul it's coming to your heart it's coming to your mind it's coming to wash your eyes and your ears and your thoughts and your heart and your soul it's coming to wash away bitterness and and pain and and and hurt from yesterday it's ready to wash it away they just begin to open your mouth and begin to cry out to God I don't care what anybody thinks this morning Lord I need you to wash me with the river of life I don't want to have resistance I don't want to start in the spirit and now lean on the flesh I need you Lord I want to get him the current I want to feel the resistance I want to feel the constraint of the Holy Spirit in areas that I'm compromising I want to yield to the river you seek you're got in it and it went up to his knees and his ankles and his waist and then he said I couldn't resist it it was water I had to just go with the current that's where victory is that's where victory is are you led by the Spirit now more than ever jinsan Franklin and kingdom connection partners around the globe are helping spread the good news that Jesus is coming again and we are believing for a revival to be sparked in the very heart of Israel through the celebration Center in Jerusalem you can be a part of helping the Jewish people receive the Messiah and open the doors of worldwide revival when you sow your best gift into the ministry this month when you send a gift of $30 or more you may request Jetson Franklin's brand-new book why the Holy Spirit in this teaching you will learn through scripture about the role of the Holy Spirit in your life if God is calling you to make a difference for his people in a greater way with a gift of $1,000 or more we will send you our celebration Center kit which includes why the Holy Spirit along with a special gift selected just for you a beautiful Jerusalem stone gift commemorating more support of Israel through the celebration Center in Jerusalem God is calling you to be a part of his outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all nations call now and spark revival around the world by giving today life is real vivid alive beating breathing it happens behind closed doors and out in front there's joy there's laughter chaos lifelong friendships are forged love is found moments cherished and never forgotten life is a gift and together we are real family real friends real people experiencing real life three Chapel this program has been brought to you by the friends and partners of Jenson franklin media ministries for more information on this broadcast or for additional resources go online at Jensen franklin dot o-r-g

Channel: Jentezen Franklin

Views: 49,733

Rating: 4.8335371 out of 5

Keywords: Jentezen Franklin, Kingdom Connection, Free Chapel, TV, Ministry

Id: H6ionSVJIG0

Length: 28min 36sec (1716 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 06 2015