Congresswoman Maxine Waters was on the clock during a Congressional hearing when she asked a question to a witness and the man tried to filibuster and run up her time. Congresswoman Waters started declaring, “Reclaiming my time,” meaning she was demanding back all the time he was wasting.
Forward Thinkers, this month, October 2017, I’m declaring we will redeem all the time we wasted and all the time we allowed the enemy to enslave us with non-productive activities.
Redeem- to regain possession of, to atone or make amends for
Redeem My Time
Redeem my Peace of Mind- Forward Thinkers, we must refuse to allow the enemy to have our peace of mind for another second. Forward Thinkers, let’s evict the negative energy of the enemy out of our thoughts. Forward Thinkers, let’s declare we’re redeeming the time we wasted on negative thoughts. Forward Thinkers, there are over 4 million people in Harris County; why are we continuing to allow people who are robbing us of our peace of mind, space? Forward Thinkers, it is okay in real life to block or delete people.
Redeem my Joy- Forward Thinkers, we must refuse to let any outside source determine our joy. Jesus is the source of our joy and no one can take away our joy. The saints of yesterday used to declare, “This joy I have, the world didn’t give it to me and the world can’t take it away.”
Redeem my Self-esteem- Forward Thinkers, it’s time to announce to your most vocal critics that their opinion no longer matters. God overruled their opinions of you when He said you were wonderful. Forward Thinkers, we must believe God and declare we are wonderful.
Redeem my Future- Forward Thinkers, we must remember the reason it’s called “the past” and commit to leaving it in the past. Matter of fact, it is time to tell the past to pass out the way because our best days are ahead, not behind. Forward Thinkers, we know the plans the Lord has for us and today we are declaring, “We’re redeeming all the time we wasted on our past.”
Lamentations 3:52-62
Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird.
They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me;
the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to perish.
I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit.
You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.”
You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.”
You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.
Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause!
You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me.
Lord, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me and what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long.
Forward Thinkers, let’s focus today on verse 58. Lamentations 3:58 will be our shifting word. We need a shifting word because many of us are tired from dealing with all the difficulties of life. In sports a team is giving a certain number of time outs to use when things are going in the wrong direction, things look confusing, or doing a sense of urgency.
The writer of the book of Lamentations is calling time out. Lord redeem my time my life is moving too fast in the wrong direction.
My Case- Forward Thinkers, yes its personal, you are on trial, hood talk you caught a case. During a trial there is a lawyer, a jury, and a judge.
Forward Thinkers, Jesus is the Lawyer assigned to fight for you and praise the Lord Jesus has never lost a case.
Forward Thinkers, the jury is made up of people assigned to determine your guilt or innocence but grace canceled the jury selection because no one was perfect enough to judge your case. Remember the bible says let the person without sin cast the first stone.
Forward Thinkers, God is the only judge worthy to judge us and He ruled to redeem us. Let the redeemed of the Lord shout Glory.
Let’s back up and seek revelation from verses 52-54:
Enemies- Forward Thinkers, stop being distracted and realize your enemies are designed to become your foot stools to your next elevation. Your enemies are assigned by God to assign in the building of your future therefore it’s time we redeem our time and celebrate our enemies.
Life in a pit- Forward Thinkers, open your spiritual eyes what looks like a pit could be God’s place of hiding you while He strengthens you for your next big move. Let your pit time recharge you to reach the victory lane.
Stones being thrown at you- Forward Thinkers, flip the negative stones into stepping stones to your success story. Forward Thinkers, the stone throwers will become your marketing agency and make your name great. What the devil meant for your bad God will turn into your good.
Water over my head I thought I was about to die- Forward Thinkers, thank God help showed up and rescued us. Let the redeemed of the Lord shout won’t He do it!!!
Forward Thinkers, yes things look bad but let’s keep our eyes on the word and not be overwhelmed with worry. Verses 55-57:
The writer of the book of Lamentations gave us perfect advice when he said I prayed in the pit. Forward Thinkers, we must never allow any situation to stop us from praying. Notice when he prayed in the pit the Lord heard his prayer and strengthened him. Forward Thinkers, the Lord also told him as well as us do not fear. Forward Thinkers, we can trust God’s track record.
Verses 59-62
Seen the wrong done to me- Forward Thinkers, life may not be fair but we serve a God that will turn the tables back in our favor and prepare a table for us even in the presence of our enemies. Remember this battle is not ours it’s the Lords.
Plots and insults against me- Forward Thinkers, remember every coin has 2 sides: one side is for your enemies and God will deal with them because whatever they sow they will reap. But the other side of the coin is about us and how we handle our enemies. Forward Thinkers, will we pass the test?
The goal of our enemies is to distract us, detour us, and rob us out of our time working on our destiny.
Verse 58 the shifting scripture of the day: You, Lord took up my case. You, Lord redeemed my life on a cross way back on Calvary.
Pastor E. A. Deckard is the Senior Pastor/Founder of the Green House International Church located, in both Houston, Texas, and the Woodlands, Texas. Pastor Deckard is also the Co-Founder of the No More Bloodshed Movement. To contact Pastor Deckard for speaking engagements contact him at pr.ghic@gmail.com, follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Periscope @ Pastor E A Deckard or the church website www.ghic.net.