Paula's Seminars

Meeting #1 “Contend for Your Inheritance”
This message is based upon the story of Gideon found in Judges 6 & 7. Gideon was an unlikely candidate for greatness. The youngest son from the least important tribe in his country… When God called him he was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the enemy. Smack in the middle of fear, oppression, and famine God called Gideon to the frontlines and changed his name to “Mighty Warrior.” This session will explain:

1. Contending means to stop looking back: “No longer a victim… no longer abused… no longer forsaken… no longer misused; A new name He gives to you.”
2. Contending means to receive a “name change” from God.
3. Contending means to press past your human limitations.
4. Contending means to obey in the small tasks, so that you may receive larger ones.
5. Contending means to fight with God’s resources, not your own.
6. Contending means hearing and obeying the Holy Spirit’s directives.

I urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. (Jude :3)

Meeting #2 “The River of Refreshment”
I enjoy walking along a lovely country road near my home. Aspen trees, mountain vistas, and sparkling streams grace the hills that surround me. In the Spring the streams overflow, causing the excess water to run in rivulets along the road—eventually becoming motionless and moss filled. What starts out as a vibrant, rushing creek eventually dribbles down to a stagnant, smelly culvert of water sitting along the side of the road.

If I were a hot and thirsty traveler, unfamiliar with the area, I might think that the stagnant water on the side of the road was the only available source of refreshment. And I guess I could drink it, but it sure wouldn’t taste good—nor would it be good for me.

But to the person who is familiar with the area, drinking that stagnant water would be unthinkable! All you’d have to do to find a clean, sparkling mountain stream would be to veer off the road a little and hike up a scenic trail for a quarter mile.

It’s one think to hear about a beautiful rushing stream in the mountains; it’s another thing entirely to expend the energy to find one yourself.

If we are to be “more than conquerors, then we must be willing to make the effort to seek the Lord with all our heart. In order to be well hydrated with the presence of God, we’re going to have to expend a little energy to get there—spending time each day in His word… time in prayer. Meeting two discuss the importance of seeking God’s presence, and how this always leads to a breakthrough of Freedom.

1. Freedom in our minds means receiving healing for:
   1. Obsessive or uncontrollable thoughts
   2. Demonic lies that play out like a DVD on repeat
   3. Chronic Insomnia
   4. Chronic depression
   5. Uncontrollable imaginations & fantasy life
   6. Addictions to drugs & alcohol, porn, gambling, smoking, eating…
2. Freedom in our bodies means receiving healing for:
   1. Illness
   2. Constant fear of illness
3. Freedom in our relationship with Christ means receiving healing for:
   1. Demonic lies of being unworthy, unforgiven, ugly, stupid, unlovable by God.
      

Meeting #3 “Awake! Awake!”
Time is almost up. Things are “winding down” and I can almost hear the ticking clock edging toward that midnight hour of Christ’s return. How soon? I don’t know. But I do know that it’s near, and now is the time for the church to “wake up.”

The last session of our seminar will be a powerful exhortation based upon Isaiah 52:1-2:

Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength, put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; Rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck. O captive Daughter of Zion.

In the Scripture above there are six action statements:

• Awake, awake
• Clothe yourself
• Put on
• Shake off
• Rise up
• Free yourself

Meeting three will encourage believers to make the choice to rouse themselves and to shake off the burdens of yesterday. In many homes each new day starts with a fresh cup of coffee and a fresh jolt of bad news. Turn on “Good Morning America” and you’re met with the most up-to-date war statistics, the latest child kidnapping case, or the newest disease that could possibly wipe out two-thirds of our nation. So, is the answer to boycott the news or refuse to read the newspaper? No, of course not. Now is not the time to insulate—now is the time to wake up—although I suggest waking up with the Word of God before turning on the news. Now is the time to stand upon the promises of God found in His word—taking them as a mighty shield to deflect the ominous thoughts that come to steal our peace.

“More than a Conqueror” is best presented as a two or three day conference or retreat—but can also be given over a series of several evenings, or as a one-day event.