4:12 Productions Blog

I preached a sermon recently from 1 Sam 17…you know…the David and Goliath story.  It was interesting to see what David did to overcome the fear that gripped a nation as Israel faced Goliath and the Philistines.  If you are facing a situation that is causing you stress or anxiety, take these few lessons from David: 

1. Don’t Forget Who God Is –When David volunteered to fight the giant, King Saul quickly trying to discourage the young shepherd from going forward.  The King said, Goliath has been a soldier from his youth, and you still a boy.  It would’ve been easy to focus on what people were saying, but David chose another path.  He reminded Saul of his encounter with a lion and a bear as a shepherd and how the Lord had delivered him from the paws of these beasts.  He later told Goliath that God was the God of the armies of Israel.  This infers that David knew something of the power of God through Israel’s military history.  Remember Joshua? Deborah? Gideon? Samson?  David drew strength from all these examples as he faced what many believed was impossible.  What do remember about the God you serve?
2. Declare The Victory With Your Mouth- The young warrior told Goliath, ‘Today God will deliver you into my hand and I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds’…WOW.  When was the last time we got THAT specific about how we plan to come out victorious?  I believe David got a vision of that victory and published it with his mouth.  Whether you get a Rhema Word about your triumph or you are standing on God’s written Word-DECLARE it out of your mouth.  You’ll be surprised at how much more encouraged you will feel and how much power you will release as a result.
3. Act Quickly -After all the threats Goliath hurled towards David, the Bible says that when Goliath arose, “David hastened and ran toward the army and the Philistine”.  David realized that he was in a moment of destiny, that God had called him for such as time as that one.  To focus on the size of Goliath, the giant’s armor bearer or the Philistine army would have been to allow fear to creep in.  He would’ve lost focus like Peter did when walking on the water.  When the anointing moves you, don’t think twice!  Just do what He is calling you to do!  Move faster than the enemy!  Notice when Goliath rose, David was already running to meet the challenge!  Don’t even give the enemy a chance to size you up: before the devil knows what hit him, you should be all over your purpose!   
4. Celebrate with a Praise- David cut off Goliath’s head after the giant went down.  The giant had already been miraculously slain with the slingshot so why cut off his head? It was customary for the victor to take the head of the defeated as a trophy.  In other words, to celebrate the win.  Notice the Philistine army had not dispersed yet.  Any one of those soldiers could’ve shot David. But when the Philistine army saw David lift Goliath’s head above his corpse, the whole army began to run and the army of Israel gained strength from this act.  When we celebrate our victory, even when we are not totally in the clear, we can have amazing results!  Any demonic forces that are still clinging to our lives will have to flee and we will be a source of strength to those whose faith is failing. 

This blog was written by Stanley Porter, President of 4:12 Productions and award nominated writer/composer of three urban gospel albums.  To find out more on Stanley Porter visit www.stanleyporter.net

I have been trying to figure out what to blog about next so I read through some private journals I’ve been writing over the last few years.  One thought keeps surfacing: Be flexible.  This lesson applies to Business, Ministry, and Life.  It is true that increased flexibility promotes health on a physical level.  When you stretch your body, you increase your circulation, allowing more precious blood and oxygen to reach your muscles and brain.  Working on your natural flexibility leads to clearer thinking, easier movement of your limbs, and increased energy levels.  Some fitness experts even say flexibity can positively impact your strength level.  I yield to you that being flexible in business, and life will lead to a smarter, faster, and stronger YOU!  Flexibity may look different depending in which area you are trying to adapt, but the results should be equally rewarding. 

So if you’re reading this, remember the following two points:

1) Nothing goes your way ALL the time.  A mentor once told me there will always be trial and error in life.  The least we can do is try to minimize the error.  Great advice…if you accept the fact that there will be errors.  I think people who rebound the best are those who anticipate problems before they occur and try to tweak their strategy to avoid maximum failure.  How about that: flexibilty in the planning phase and during implementation. 

2) Refusal to change can mean wasted time and opportunity.  Roadblocks, and failures can provide great moments of reflection and become launching pads for success.  The energy it takes to remain angry and dissatisfied over an outcome, can be used to fine tune strategy and shift direction. 

In conclusion, flexibility has proven to be a huge asset for me.  Over the past year, I have realized that half the goals I wrote down a year ago, do not even apply to my current situation…things have changed!  My company has seen personell changes, unexpected financial crisis, and we are currently moving from one office space to the next.  Personally, my family dynamics have changed dramatically, and my music ministry is moving in some unexpected, albeit postive, directions.  Furthermore, the state of our nation’s economy is impacting the way everyone is living and working.  In the midst of all this, 4:12 Productions is forging fresh relationships, developing new products, expanding our online activity, and improving our work systems.  I attribute this steady momentum to, among other things, our ability to remain flexible.  If you’re looking for a great book about flexibility, I suggest Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson.

This blog was written by Stanley Porter, President of 4:12 Productions and award nominated writer/composer of three urban gospel albums.  To find out more on Stanley Porter visit www.stanleyporter.net

Music has changed.   Wait..music is constantly changing.  You know what?  Church is changing too and this impacts the music we hear in worship.  It’s easy to feel lost in all of the transitions, new chords, and convergence of musical styles in Christian and Gospel music today.  There is hope for the real worshipper, trying to find his or her footing in this new musical landscape: God Never Changes.  If we can find Him in the music, “I’ve got a feelin’ that everything’s gonna be alright”.

We must deal with the tensions that we feel.  For some of us the more traditional songs bring us to a place of communion with God.  For others, who are more contemporary, we’ll take God in a worship chock full of rock, hip hop, jazz, and even classical music!  It is sometimes easy for one group to frown upon the worship experiences and tastes of another.  I love traditional gospel because that is what I grew up on.  Though I can appreciate contemporary Christian music, there are others for whom it is the vehicle by which they came to know the Lord.  For these people, there is a different connection with and through this genre.  So we must understand this: God is not limited to one form of Christian musical expression.  Musical expression reflects the culture we are in at the moment.  However God has NEVER let cultural boundaries limit his ability to move and reveal himself!

 A quick sidebar: No matter what music you identify with, never confuse musicality with the anointing.  Beautiful singing, lovely keyboard playing, and heavenly organ sounds are not automatically representative of the anointing!  Be careful!  Perhaps in a later blog I will break this down. 

For now keep praising him!  If you’re singing “How Great Is Our God” He’s worthy!  Even if your dancing to “What A Might God We Serve”…He’s still worthy!  And he hears all of our praises.

This blog was written by Stanley Porter, President of 4:12 Productions and award nominated writer/composer of three urban gospel albums.  To find out more on Stanley Porter visit www.stanleyporter.net