LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH - CORE VALUES

God to move and manifest.

The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people (Ps. 22:3). The word inhabits means He feels welcome and comfortable enough to abide in an atmosphere filled with praise and worship. God desires an atmosphere thriving in unity, excellence, hope, and love; people are attracted to this type of atmosphere.

There are two types of atmospheres we must be aware of;

• Physical atmosphere which we can see, smell, hear, touch, and taste.
• Spiritual atmosphere which is more real than the physical. Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Note - Both the physical and spiritual atmospheres are important. People often are drawn by the physical environment, then they are transformed by the spiritual atmosphere and presence of God.

1. It is a spiritual principle: The right atmosphere determines health and growth. In Genesis, God created soil before plants, the sky before birds, the water before the fish. Genesis 2:2, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.”
2. God responds and intervenes in the right atmosphere: Acts 16:25-26, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose.”
3. It is God’s desire: Exodus 25: 6 says, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell.”
4. We live in a sensual world: I Kings 10:4-5, “When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.”
5. It is a requirement for the supernatural life: Exodus 33: 15, “Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

Setting the right atmosphere is both a cooperate and personal responsibility. This is because what you do not do personally, you cannot perfect publicly.

1. Praise and worship - Psalm 100:4, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”
2. Reading the word - John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
3. Prayers and fasting – James 5:16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Acts 2:31, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
4. Meditation and confession - Joshua 1:8, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
5. Expectation – Psalms 62:5, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation [is] from him.”
6. Preparation – Mark 14:12, “On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover meal?"

1. Worry and anxiety – Luke 12:22-23, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.”
2. The flesh – Romans 8:5-7, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.”
3. Sin – Isaiah 59:2, “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”
4. Lack of planning and preparation – Luke 14:28, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”
5. Guilt and condemnation – Revelation 12:10, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”
6. Bitterness & unforgiveness – Hebrews 12:15, “Be careful that no one falls short of the grace of God, so that no root of bitterness will spring up to cause trouble and defile many.”
7. Division and disunity – Mark 3:24-25, Jesus tells us why unity is so important. He declared, “If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”