Are You Thriving?

Sharing good news of great joy to all people,

Elation Church. This week we are having Caleb

and John for our live church service in Davenport,

Florida. And I know that many of you can't make

it to that live service, so I've decided to record

this message especially for those of you who

are unable to attend. Now, we begin this year.

talking about God's plan for us. And since this

is the first Sunday of June, I want to ask you

something. Are you thriving? Yeah, this week's

message is really going to be a recap of our

first message of the year, which we entitled

How to Thrive in 2025. But since we're already

five months complete into this year, I want to

ask you something. Are you thriving? And maybe

you remember what thriving means. I mean, it

means that you're growing, that you're developing,

that you're being successful, that you're being

fulfilled, that you are flourishing, that you

are prospering. You see, that's God's plan for

you and for me. is that we thrive. You might

say, well, where do you get this at in the Bible?

Well, Jeremiah 29 11, many of you have memorized

this verse or heard this verse hundreds of times.

It says this, for I know the plans I have for

you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and

not for disaster, to give you a future and a

hope. So God tells us, that his plans for us

are for our good. They're good plans. They're

not disastrous plans, right? They're good. God's

plan for you is for your good. Now, we look at

this word and that word good in the Hebrew language

is a word that you may be familiar with. That

word good that translated in English is actually

the Hebrew word Shalom. Maybe you've heard that

word. I mean, it's actually part of one of God's

names that we've recently gone through. You know,

a lot of the different names of God. God is Yahweh

Shalom. So God's plan for us is Shalom. Most

of us recognize that word and we would say, well,

the definition. of shalom is peace. And you would

be correct in saying that. So God's plan for

you is peace. Well, it means peace, but it means

more than peace. When you look at the Hebrew

word and look at the strong definition of the

Hebrew words in that particular word, it means

more than peace. It also means safety. It means

well -being. It actually means happiness. It

means health. It means prosperity. And it means

peace. So as I look at those words, I mean, I

say that that's the definition of us thriving,

right? That we're walking in safety and we're

in well -being and we're happy and we're healthy

and we're prosperous and we have the peace of

God. So do you have those things? Is that plan,

is God's good plan for you being fulfilled in

your life right now? See, there's something that

could be stopping God's good plan for us, and

it's not that God is holding out on us. So let's

take a look. In the Bible, not just thoughts

out of my head, but direction coming from Scripture,

from the Holy Spirit. Let's take a look in the

Bible at what could be stopping God's plan for

our peace, for our safety, for our well -being,

for our happiness, for our health, and for our

prosperity. I'd like to call your attention to

Mark chapter 6, verses 1 through 6. Very early

Mark 6:1–6

in Jesus' ministry, it says this, Then he went

out from there and came to his own country, and

his disciples followed him. And when the Sabbath

had come, he began to teach in the synagogue.

And many hearing him were astonished, saying.

And they were astonished and then they said something.

Now this word saying is the Greek word lego.

The Greek word lego. And here's what it means.

It means to lay forth in words. So they were

astonished and then they began to establish something.

They began to systematically say something and

have a set discourse. They're building something

and establishing something with their words.

That's what the word saying in our English Bibles

means. It comes from that Greek word Lego. So

what are they saying? What are they establishing

with their words? Verse two, they're picking

up in verse two. Where did this man get these

things? And what wisdom is this which is given

to him, that such mighty works are performed

by his hands? Listen to what they said. Is this

not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother

of James, Joseph, and Judas, and Simon? And are

not his sisters with us? So they were offended

at him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is

not without honor except in his own country,

among his own relatives, and in his own house.

Listen to verse 5. It says, Now he, Jesus, could

do no mighty work there, except that he laid

his hands on a few sick people and healed them.

And he marveled because of their unbelief. So,

I've got a question for you. Did Jesus want to

do more in his own hometown? I mean, he went

about doing wonderful miracles and multitudes

of people were healed. But in his own hometown,

it says that he could only lay hands on a few

sick people and heal them, and he couldn't do

any mighty work there, is what the Bible says.

So, did Jesus want to do more? I believe he did

because he wound up doing more everywhere else.

The question is, was Jesus able to do more? Now,

you might say, Jesus is God. He can do what he

wants to do. No, the Bible tells us specifically

that Jesus marveled at their unbelief and their

unbelief that was built up and established through

the words that they said. It hindered Jesus.

It stopped Jesus. from being able to do more,

from being able to do the things that he wanted

to do. See, they systematically built and established

unbelief with their words. And we need to be

reminded. I mean, I know it's only been five

months, but if we truly grasp what the scriptures

are telling us, then our answer to are we thriving

would be yes, in every area of our lives. So

if you say, yes, I am thriving in every area

of my life, then maybe you don't need to listen

to this again. But if not, we need to apply what

we hear. You see, our words, your words, my words,

and our unbelief can limit what God is able to

do for us. Let's take a look at Mark chapter

Mark 5:25

5, verse 25. Says this, now a certain woman had

a flow of blood for 12 years and had suffered

many things from many physicians. She had spent

all that she had and was no better, but rather

grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came

behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.

For she said, that's that same Greek word, lego.

Only I may touch his clothes, I shall be made

well. Immediately the fountain of her blood was

dried up, and she felt in her body that she was

healed of the affliction. And Jesus immediately,

knowing in himself that power had gone out of

him, turned around in the crowd and said, Who

touched my clothes? But his disciples said to

him, You see the multitudes thronging you, and

you say, Who touched me? And he looked around

to see her who had done this thing. But the woman,

fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened

to her, came and fell down before Jesus and told

him the whole truth. And Jesus said to her, daughter,

your faith has made you well. Go in peace and

be healed of your affliction. Now, in this case,

we see. That Jesus healed this lady, but listen,

it wasn't all up to Jesus. But we also have to

consider that it wasn't just all up to her either.

I mean, she believed, she said, and she acted

in faith. But the healing came from God, just

like all healing, right? God is Yahweh Raphael.

He is our healer. All healing ultimately comes

from God. But this lady did something. She systematically

built and established her faith with her words.

You see, when the scripture uses that word Lego,

when she said, if I can touch the hem of his

garment, I'll be made whole. That doesn't mean

that she said it one time. See, just knowing

the definition of that word. It tells us something

that she had been saying that a lot. She had

said it over and over and over again. She heard

that Jesus was healing people. She most likely

believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah

because the scriptures foretold that the Messiah,

when he came, he would have healing in his wings.

And that word wings is translated edge. It could

be the edge of a garment. It could be a wing

on a bird even. It translates to the hem or the

edge of his garment. And so she was saying, she

was establishing over and over again, if I can

get to Jesus, if I can touch the hem of his garment,

I will be made whole. I will be made well. And

she said it and she said it and she said it and

she said it because that's what this Greek word

lets us know. Now, if we just read it in English,

we might think she just said it one time, right?

But the word means that she systematically said

it. She built something. She established something.

And that was her faith. And she did it with her

words. See, our words are very important. If

we want to thrive, if we want to experience God's

good plan for us, then we have to participate.

Our words come into play. If we're going to experience

it, Our words have to line up with it. Jesus

goes on to say this in Mark 11, verses 22 and

Mark 11:22

23. It says, so Jesus answered and said to them,

because his disciples were talking to him about

faith and they had seen him speak to a tree and

the tree withered up. So now the disciples are

saying, hey, what's going on here? Jesus answered

them and said to them, have faith in God. or

have God faith. You see, we need to have faith.

That's our part. It's not all up to God. It's

up to us believing, hearing, believing, acting,

saying. It's up to us too if we're going to receive

the things of God by faith. It says have faith.

In God, is what Jesus said. So what does that

tell us? It's not all up to God. And it's not

all up to us. Our part is faith. And his part

is God. He does the God things. He does the supernatural

things. But we play a part with our faith. Verse

23, Jesus said, For assuredly, I say to you,

whoever says to this mountain, be removed. and

be cast into the sea and does not doubt in his

heart but believes that those things he says

and this word says is again that word lego if

you don't doubt in your heart and believe the

things that you say will be done jesus said he

will have whatever he says so god's playing for

us It's for our good. It's for our safety. It's

for our well -being. It's for our happiness.

It's for our health. It's for our prosperity.

And it's for our peace. So if you look at your

life today and you don't seem to be thriving,

you don't look and say, wow, it's obvious that

God's good plan is happening in my life right

now. We need to remember it's not all up to God.

See, we have to do our part. It's up to us. It's

up to me. It's up to you to systematically build

and establish faith with our words. We're going

to have to speak against the things that are

keeping us from the promises and blessings of

God, that are keeping us from God's good plan

for us. We've got to speak against those things,

and we've got to speak in agreement with the

promises and blessings of God. All the things

in his word that he promises to us, this good

plan that he promises to us, we need to put our

words in agreement with it. We don't need to

say things that contradict God's good plan in

our lives. You know, if God's good plan is safety,

we don't need to talk fear. We need to talk that

we're trusting God, that he is going to keep

us safe. If God's plan is for our well -being,

and it is a good plan for our well -being, you

know, we need to talk in agreement with that,

not talk against it. If God's good plan for us

is for our happiness, we need to set our words.

on things in agreement with that, right? We don't

need to talk about that we're sad and we're down

and all those kind of things. If God's good plan

for us as far as health, we don't need to talk,

you know, well, you know, I've just got this

summer cold and I get it every year and I'm going

to keep it and it'll stay with me all the way

through. I mean, we don't talk against health,

right? God's plan is for our prosperity. We don't

talk lack. If God's plan is for our peace, we

don't talk fear. We talk in agreement with what

God said. And that's how we work with him. And

that's how we see his good plan come about in

our lives is when we begin to systematically

build and establish. Faith in God. Have faith

in God, Jesus says. So we need to put our words

in agreement with God's promises. Put our words

in agreement with God's good plan. And then we

can see it take place in our lives. Let's pray.

God, thank you for your word. Thank you for your

promises. God, I pray that we would take hold

of this. It wouldn't just be... something that

we listen to, but it will be planted in our hearts

and it'll grow and produce a harvest in us, a

harvest of faith. Help us to tame our tongues

and speak your truth and not waver, not doubt,

but know that you're a good God and you keep

your promises and your plan and promises for

us are for our good. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

This online worship experience was brought to

you by the friends and partners of Eulation Church.