God wants to use CWI in God’s healing ministry. Expect God to use you in praying, healing, and giving words. It is harvest time. We all reap the harvest. We represent Jesus, not being ashamed of the Gospel. The Greater One lives in us. We are anointed. God crowns us. Be sensitive to His leadership. He still loves people. We must be yielded and willing. Faith comes by hearing the Word. We carry Jesus. We should reveal Him. We walk by faith. Faith pleases God. No devil can stop your doing God’s will. His name is above every other name. Let the glory of God shine through you. You have what it takes to change this nation. This is your appointed time. Stand up and do what you have not done before. Our nation needs us to show Jesus and the answer to all the problems. We are the answer, because we are the body of Christ. We carry the Spirit. Romans 8:26-30. Christians should reflect the love of Jesus. We should be like Jesus. He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Our assignment is to do the will of God for us. We were called to do what we cannot do in the natural. We are called to do the supernatural, because we are not of this world system. We are called according to His purpose, which is to get people saved. We are to be conformed to the image of His Son. This is His will. We are predestined, called, justified, glorified to do His way. The anointing comes from the head (Jesus). (Psalm 133:1). In the CWI “house” people should see a house of prayer, the generator and power house of intercession. Prayer will propel you into what He has prepared you for. This world needs to see the real Jesus in the church. We need each other. God is in us. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:14-18). We represent Jesus. He is love. We are to be in love. He who fears has not been made perfect in love. He is aligning us to conform us to Him. We are being made into His image. Where are we headed? We need to know our destination, so we can plan our journey. Cooperate with the vision of this house (CWI). We all must operate in the sensitivities. We have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren (1 John 3:14). God’s grace is enough. Do not hold back the goods to those who are in need. We are not alone. One broken link in the chain can stop everything. Love in deed and in truth. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. We must do it His way. Have the right attitude in what you do. Have a right heart, and give from a right heart. Repent! God wants us, individually and corporately, to clean up the church. Check up on your heart. Our hearts must be connected. Rightly divide the Word. We are desperate without Him. If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. We ask. We receive, because we keep His commandments, obey, and follow His plan. Prayer makes a difference in a region. We need to know what we are called to do. We are possessed with the Holy Spirit. There are some things we need to clean up in our lives. Those things can cause us to lose our sensitivity. Meditate on the Word of God (1 Timothy 1). What is God saying to us? CWI’s assignment is to change the world. Do your part. The end (aim, purpose) of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. All things are possible to those who believe. Together as one we are in agreement with Him. We will not settle for what the devil wants to do. We must come together as one, moving with sensitivity, and a pure heart. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We are a pattern of mercy. Love never fails. Stay full of love. Paul tells Timothy, I want you to walk in victory and whatever God has called you to do (1 Timothy 1:15-18). The good warfare is having faith and a good conscience. We sometimes do not see the fulfillment of a prophecy, because we are in a war. We have to do our part. By ignoring their conscience, their faith has shipwrecked. An exercise for us to do: Acts 24:16 Say: “I strive to always have a conscience void of offense toward God and men.” Other Scriptures: Titus 1:15; Romans 9:1; Psalm 139:24; 26; Mark 4:9. We need to hear the Holy Spirit, but we will not hear Him if we have a polluted conscience or if we are distracted. What stops the sensitivity is offense. What deep things are in me? (There were words about an umbrella that is being expanded over this (CWI) house; increased and changed influence; higher level of flow of revelation; dimension of truth being released to open hearts; price that comes with responsibility; more things to be responsible for; watchmen on the wall; the voice of authority will increase with a new level of power and demonstration; your words will carry more weight than they did in the past; things will change many times and almost immediately, like speaking to the tree or mountain; the tongue’s power is for blessing or curse; God has held back because of His mercy when we have cursed. We become responsible because of what He has shown us. Watch your words. Hold your tongue, if you need to. Out of your bellies will flow rivers of living water upon the people. His life will spring forth from our lips. The authority has changed. The anointing has risen. Speak to the atmosphere. Speak to the things that distract and hold back. Use your voice to be heard, in faith and authority. I will take you into the place of the dream, and when you wake, it will be as though you have already done it. Walk it out one day at a time. Release and don’t hold back the words I lay within your heart. Bring forth My blessing and speak My Word over the circumstances over this region. My Word will prevail, and it will not fail. You’ve know that I would confirm My Word. It will accomplish what I please. There are some things that I please to do. There are some changes that must come to pass. Prepare yourselves to be a voice to speak the things that will bring change and bring in the harvest.) With responsibility comes authority. (There were personal words: a relationship that has been going through things- pain, destruction; God is healing that. Fear because of pain in your body; that is not the truth; put it in its place; you don’t have the spirit of intimidation; the pain and inflammation is a strategy to get you to doubt; you will see the hand of My power in this hour; what which was on your family will not come on you. More children in this hour; prepare yourselves to teach and minister; they won’t know anything; to help their families to raise My children. Intercessors: believe for a harvest of children; they will watch how you raise your children. Lady concerned about her husband’s well-being; God is working underneath the natural; God is still flowing and showing who He is; God will take care of the situation and give you your heart’s desire; don’t underestimate what I can do if you will be obedient to Me to do what God shows you to do, God will be able to take care of your front door, because you watch God’s back door. A couple is to get ready for another child; make the adjustments in your heart; it’s the season and time for new life to come; prepare; be open and willing because it’s going to come.) A pure heart, a clean conscience, and sincere faith. Pastor Syd: The more you wait on Him, the faster He can accomplish what He wants.
Retune Your Sensitivity
Rocky – The Mystery of the Body of Christ: Working Together Ron – You Are Not Here, But There
Offering Message (Jay Stoltzfus): Philippians 4:10, 19. Believe God to receive more. The blessing is not just for us but for the people we are ministering to. Pastor Jay shared how God turned an $8,000 mistake into a $20,000 blessing. Pastor Syd Ropp: Those who hear the Word and keep it are blessed (Luke 11). Be careful how you hear and do it. Ask, seek, and knock. How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Daily ask the Father to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Sermon Message (Rocky Veach): God is building His body on the earth. We are to do His will. Matthew 17. The key words are “mystery” and “workings”. The church is a mystery, a secret society, but we have made it common. There are more than 30,000 denominations. The real church is mysterious, and it will overcome. We are to know Him. We are to love. There is only one church. Rocky shared his testimony about a small church near his grandmother’s house. He was drawn to that mysterious place at the age of four. The Lord drew him; it was a mystery, and that is what drew him when he was eighteen years old. The church is the force that restrains. We must know God and recover the church, one person at a time, one church at a time. The church is “the call”. The church is about the call to follow Jesus Christ together, to come out into public together. It is not a building. We just keep doing church. Jesus paid the price. Is Jesus in the body? What are we gifted to do? What have You called us into to do? Solve problems in the spirit realm with God and come to Jesus. The mindset of Jesus is found in Acts. Jesus shows how to teach people the mystery of God. Jesus used the word “church” at a place of iniquity, a place where the fallen angels had come down and corrupted mankind (Matthew 16:13). He came to tell them how to stop the mystery of iniquity. Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, and Peter said that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). Right now being an agnostic is the thing. That just means people who have some knowledge, wisdom, and religion, but are without God. Many people will fall away from the faith, if they do not have the Word in them. God works through the Word. It works in the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Be in the Word all the time. Truth in your life enables you to detect deception. There are many wrong spirits in the church today. We should want what is God’s will. God deliver me from me. We should want the mysterious church, the church that is led by the Spirit of God. We should not do what we want to do. With faith all things are possible, so that we can be the real church. The remnant church is the underground church. The underground church in China is not free to worship, but they are sending out missionaries. They are willing to take the land and die if needed. (He talked about The Heavenly Man and The Underground Church.) Help us. We want to do God’s will. Deal with your heart first. We must have the Word, the Spirit, and the body of Christ. This is the mystery of godliness, the mystery of faith. Who do you say Jesus is? Jesus was saying that He was the man to help mankind and to stand in the gap for us. We must hear from God. We are built to succeed spiritually and militarily. We have the keys in Him, but we must think like God. In Revelation 1:9 John was in prison because he was a Christian and shared the testimony of Jesus Christ. We should be out in the world to preach the truth. There can be trouble when you preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Keep going in following God’s call. Follow Him and trust in Him. Be a Joshua, Caleb, or a David. John was in the Spirit. It is like we are not really here, but we are there (Revelation 1:10). “We’re not really here, but we’re there.” The Bible says we are Jesus! As He is, so are we. We are His body. He raised us up together. It is a mystery, because we do not know how that can be true. God was in Christ. We should speak the Gospel. It is powerful and mysterious. God spoke to John that He is the beginning and the end. John turned to see the voice Who spoke to him, and he saw seven golden candlesticks. He saw the glory of God and the anointing of God. The seven candlesticks are the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). The first thing John saw was the church before he saw Jesus. What God fulfills, He does through the real, mysterious church. Our job is a high calling. His grace is a burden of responsibility that works by faith. We should let His grace work through us. When we are in Jesus, there is a revelation of the church in Him. God wants us to come back to Him. God is calling you. Answer your call. What is the way You are showing me? When we see You, we shall be like You. Ron Cohn: The way the Father sees things if that we are no longer here, but there. We are to see things eternally, not temporally. As you have walked life facing problems and care, you realize now you are no longer here, but there. As you walked in the earth, and Satan tried to get you to stare, you realize now you are no longer here, but there. As you walked in the earth, sometimes weather that was bad, and weather that was fair, you now realize you are no longer here, but there. When things seemed short, and there was not enough to share, you realize now you are no longer here, but there. The day that you gather around the throne, and there’ll be no care nor fear, you will no longer be there, but here. Bob Hawk: God wants to activate the stirring of the healing anointing in the CWI body. We will need to step out in uncomfortable situations. Jesus taught, preached, and healing. God anointed Jesus, and He healed all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with Him (Acts 10:38). Act on what you believe. Think, if the house was burning, you’d get everyone out. We are to take out the good news. We need to help others. There are places we need to be for divine appointment and assignments. Walk out of your comfort zones. Separate yourself so you can know your sonship and the maturity that He is calling you to. Maturity is walking by His Spirit and listening to God’s voice. He will show us what to do, if we pay attention to Him. We have to lay down the sin. He has instructed us. Our part is to submit and obey to His voice. Things are subject to change very quickly in this nation. His healing virtue shall flow from your hands. Lay your hands on the sick, and they will recover in the name of Jesus Christ. God has called you to Himself. Ask, seek, and knock. God wants to visit us as a church. There is a spiritual fire in you. Expect to receive the tangible presence of God’s healing power and for signs following. Step out if you hear a word. He has anointed us to be His hands. It is the hour.
The Mystery of the Body of Christ – Together – Tuesday Jan 19
Pastor Syd encouraged all to be careful listeners and doers. Rocky Veach: Coming back from Australia, Rocky sensed a spiritual darkness upon arriving in the USA. This is a critical time. We have become familiar with the ways things are, but we need to remember who we are and who Jesus is. We need to walk as God has laid out for us to walk. His yoke is easy and His burden is light, but it is still a yoke and a burden. We are to make a difference here and to hold back darkness, doing what God wants us to do. There are some teachers, and there are some builders. We are to build in the Spirit. Expect to finish your race. Believe that you are going to make it. There are two things happening in the world. One is the mystery of iniquity, which is the world system, which is against the body of Christ. The other is the mystery of godliness and faith. The book of Revelation talks first to the church. Church is a bad word. The right word is the call of God. We are a body. The vision of a believer is to do the will of God. Do not go with the flow but make a difference. We should be impacting issues like abortion and stop looking like everyone else. The Word is deadly. You do not play with it. God wants us to get things working and stop acting like everything is fine. Text: Ephesians 2. God, in His mercy and great love, made us alive (quickened us), who were dead in sins. He made us alive (quickened us) together with Christ. He raised us up together. He made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He fitted us together. We are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. The books Paul wrote were to groups of people. God, wake us up. We are the ones to choose to walk out the call of God for ourselves. Take what you can and move with it. The opposition we may face is nothing compared to the glory. We are not to treat God as common. We should not be that easy to figure out, because we are a secret society (Ephesians1). The Ephesians 1 and 3 prayers are powerful. God wants to give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. God is working with the energy in us that was in Jesus. Spiritual issues manifest in more obvious problems, such as in areas of relationships, finances, and health. Darkness is the working of Satan. The workings of God are in our coming to Him, specifically in prayer. We have to work with Him and step into spiritual things. Do we want the spirit of revelation? Find out who God is and the power He has. Expect supernatural things. If you keep coming up to a wall, come into the secret place with God and find out what is the spiritual barrier. We need to be in our prayer closet. God hears the voice of the Spirit. Pray in the Spirit. Get the armor on and get into the Spirit. Build what builds the heart of God. We need to be difference-makers. The Ephesians prayers, chapters 1 and 3, are about what should happen in us. The mystery needs to be working. Prayer is spiritual warfare. Satan copies what God does. Sadly, many in the body do not even believe in the devil. Bohemian Grove is an evil and real place. Many in the church ignore or refuse to believe the evil that is happening, BUT GOD!
Four speakers – Monday evening – Jan 18
Pastor Syd (Hearing and Listening for God’s Spirit’s Leading): Isaiah 50:4, 5. We need open ears to hear what the Lord is saying. Pastor Syd told of how he stood in faith to hear what the Holy Spirit wanted him to do concerning a school for his son, but no answer was coming. He asked the Lord about it, and he heard all the word curses he had spoken against school when he was a child. He immediately repented and put the blood of Jesus over those he had cursed. Immediately He gave him the name of the school and the first grade teacher, and so he knew which was God’s choice. In Mark 4:9 Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” This was the Parable of the Sower. Mark 4:22 tells about the hidden and revealed things, and also says in verse 23, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” We have to pay attention to what we hear. He will show you more if you recognize that the Lord is speaking to you. Then be careful how you hear. We need God’s Spirit to know His hidden wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:6-3:3). He has revealed the hidden things of what He has prepared for us. The deep things are the things we need to develop and cultivate. The natural mind does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. We have the mind of Christ. Paul tired to speak of spiritual things to the people, but they were too carnal to receive them.
Bob Hawk gave a word about shifting, preparation, an awakening, a stirring within us, removing weights, running with new shoes and with the Word. This is a new day and hour of God’s power.
Rocky Veach: A great thing is ahead of us. There is preparation. Rocky shared how one month after he was born-again, the Lord showed him a photograph and said that she was his wife. Expect to hear. Expect Him to surprise you. Expect Him to speak to you. Put yourself in a position to hear. He said that 2016 is “The Year of the Angler”. Put your line with a big hook in the water and let the Lord give you a big catch, some big fish. Jesus used parables because the ones who do not have a heart to hear, will not hear. Parables bypassed the natural mind and were meant to go to the heart. We are open to subliminal things, but open yourselves to the Word and hear what God has to say.
Ron Cohn: Secrets. Hearing. Changing. We should hear the secrets of God and then change. The secret things belong to the Lord our God (Deuteronomy 29:29). Everyday God does something to us, for us, and through us. He shared about paying attention to God connections, like seeing “Rocky” on a TV in a business he was in the same day he was going to meet Rocky Veach for the first time. The body of Christ needs to be ready to hear God’s revelations. Some things God reveals to you are never to be shared, if people are not ready to hear them. There is an alignment of heaven and earth. Ron shared about a “God meeting” with a young man at the gas station and how he knows that his obedience caused that man’s life to be forever changed. Are you willing to pay the price to get God’s secrets? To do that you must cut some things off and consecrate yourself. When God’s secrets are given to a person, they become revelations. God does not hide things from us but for us. In Daniel1:20 Daniel and the three other Hebrews were willing to pay the price and were ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers. God reveals secrets (Daniel 2:21, 28, 29). Ron shared four recent occurrences, such as words from God and open visions that he was to share with people. Can God trust you with His secrets? Will you be willing to pay the price? God knows what is in the darkness. God has His own noise cancellation system. It is not praise and worship. It is a joyful noise.
Healing – Is It God’s Will to Heal Today
When we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. Then we can know that we have what we ask (1 John 5:14). Luke 5:12, 13 is about Jesus being willing to cleanse the leper. Jesus is always willing, but the hindrance is our lack of faith. We are told in Isaiah 52:14 – 53:5 that Jesus bore our sicknesses and diseases (incorrectly translated “griefs” in some translations), and carried our pains (sometimes translated “sorrows”), and by His stripes (wounds) we are healed. Matthew 8:14-17 says that He healed all who were sick, and quoting Isaiah, he wrote, He took our weaknesses (infirmities) and bore our sicknesses. First Peter 2:24 notes that He bore our sins, by whose stripes we were healed (past tense). He already provided for our healing. We enforce His Word in our healing. We take it. Acts 3:1-10 is about the lame man who was healed in the name of Jesus Christ. He did not just stand, but he leaped, praising God. The Greek word for “saved” is sozo, meaning physical healing, deliverance, well-being, and more. It is by the name of Jesus Christ that the man was made whole (Acts 4:8-12). There is no other name under heaven that is given among men by which we must be saved. Christ redeemed us from the law (Galatians 3:13). What does that mean? Deuteronomy 28:16-68 are the things that are curses. [They are the curses we have been redeemed from.] We are to go and preach, and those who believe and are baptized will be saved. There would be signs to those who believe, such as laying hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:15-18). If you are suffering, pray for yourself. If you are sick, call for the elders of the church and let them pray over you and anoint you in the name of Jesus, and if you believe, the Lord will raise him up. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man makes great power available. We need meekness of heart to believe and receive. The humble get the grace.
Serving Jesus – Jan 10
(There was a word given about shakings, the church awakening, changed lives, digging deeper into the Word, and Christ as the living sacrifice.) Offering sermon: Finances are a grace of the Lord. God is able to make every grace abound to you (2 Corinthians 6:8). Sermon text: Matthew 25:31-40. Jesus separates the sheep and the goats, which means that those who are saved (the sheep) are those who believe and confess Him as their Lord. However, we are judged (not saved) by our works. Every act of service that we do horizontally, to other believers, we do vertically in spiritual service or worship to God. We are to be living sacrifices, choosing to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God, holy, acceptable, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1). Service is spiritual worship. It is not lip-service, but it is doing, waiting on as a waiter waits on customers. We should ask ourselves: What is my personal service to God and to the Body of Christ? We are to use our freedom to serve one another through love (Galatians 5:13). Fruitless Christians are selfish Christians. The five-fold ministry gifts are for the training and equipping of the Body so they can serve one another (Ephesians4:11). Serving is work, and we can do it as onto the Lord. There should be two to three people deep in each position on the “service teams” in the body at CWI. Jesus gave us the example of being a servant when He humbled Himself and took the place of a slave by washing the feet of His disciples (John 13:4-17). Take the lowliest job and serve each other. If you know these things, you are blessed (happy) if you do them. Want to be happy? Serve others. Colossians 2:23 and Ephesians 6:7 relate about serving enthusiastically and with a good attitude as to the Lord and not to men.
God’s Word and His Presence Are One: Speak the Truth in Love
Offering Message: The Word is working mightily in me. Just as your soul prospers, which is mind renewal with the Word, so will you be in health (3 John 1, 2). We believe in our heart (our spirit) and confess with our mouth (our flesh). Deliverance does not give you mind-renewal. Thinking God’s thoughts in our soul prospers us. We will work Your Word, Lord. Sermon Message: Political correctness is a cancer in this nation and is trying to shut down truth. It started in the church by our allowing political correctness, and what the church allows, grows. The earth is our place, and we have God’s authority here. We must repent, walk in a love of truth, and be able to discern when and what to speak. We need to speak the truth in love. Ezekiel 3:10, 11 tell us to receive God’s Word into our hearts and hear with our ears. Jesus said that he who comes, listens, and does is a wise man. Speaking truth does not depend on the other person’s receptivity to it. Jesus is the truth. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. His Word gives us access to His presence (John 1:1-18). His Word is the doorway and leads us into God’s presence. Let’s love the Word. Let’s love Jesus. Matthew 8:5-13. God sent His Word and healed them. His Word brings the Presence of God. His Word and His Presence are one.
Standing
Ephesians 6:10-13. Our root nature is to win and conquer. We are victorious. Be strong in the Lord, and do not be afraid of weakness or trial. The wiles of the devil are the strategies behind the events. Follow God’s plan and destroy the devils. Satan hates you and your family. You do not wrestle with a helmet, shield, and sword. Paul is talking about standing. You will never have victory over Satan by wrestling. The battle is the Lord’s, and the victory is mine. Stand in what Jesus has provided so that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. This is an evil day for Ukraine. A couple years ago the Lord told Apostle Dale to run as fast as you can and preach as much as you can. Now he knows why: so he could stand in the evil day. Realize the season you are in, whether it is a time of resting or learning or whatever. Any time of preparation is not wasted time. You withstand. Recognize God is preparing you so you can withstand in the evil day. He will prepare you for loss or trial, so that you do not fall. Stand for the integrity of the Word and do not compromise. What are the principles before standing? Have we done all to stand? #1 Make sure there is no wall, no sin between you and God. Check if things are right with you and God and your brothers and sisters. If not, get your relationships right. Matthew 25 tells us to get our relationships right with our brothers and sisters before worshiping God. A broken relationship will allow the evil one to win. The devil cannot steal what you are willing to give. Strife is the biggest hindrance to your standing. Repent. Cut off strife and ask God to pardon you. Forgive the other person in the name of Jesus. #2 When there is a problem, give something away. For every need, there is a seed. You are a pipeline of God. God wants to flow through you, so give. Apostle Dale told of how he was blessed by taking a hitchhiker in the other direction when his gas tank was on empty. #3 Check on your monitors, your spiritual warning gauges. What are they? They are peace and joy. Let peace be your umpire. Ask “why?” when you lose your peace. Let peace rule and guide you. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Depression is a sin and is selfish. Concentrating on yourself is looking for happiness, not joy. You get joy in the presence of God. Joy keeps you going. You must express joy.
Victory in Christ Jesus
Jesus Christ is our Lord, Savior, and Master. We can share about our encounters with God with those in godless societies. We found God and had an encounter with Him. God encountered the whole world at Christmas. Paul says that God will perform the good work that He started in us (Philippians 1:6). He loves so many individuals that it encompasses the whole world. If we are not careful, we let the world’s negativity get on us, but we are the victorious! 1 Corinthians 15:57 and 58 tell us that God GIVES us the victory through Jesus Christ. We do not have to fight through it. He wants to give us the victory. Romans says that we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. The closer we get to the will of God, the easier it gets. If there is a struggle in your life, ask Him if you are doing His will, because that is where the victory is. He gives us to victory, and our part is to be steadfast and abounding in the work of the Lord. The Lord wants us to have a spirit of victory, a victorious consciousness. God wants to encounter and break into our lives. It is not doing penance. He gives us the victory. God comforts us when we go through things, so we comfort others with the victory that He gave us (2 Corinthians 1:3). He brought us through victoriously. We go through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). We do not camp out there. We have the victory. You are going to win. It is a matter of the truth of God’s Word. God always causes us to triumph in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14). He manifests the savor (the taste and smell) of Himself in us. We are the Bible that people read. We represent Jesus and His victory. Apostle Dale told of going to a Ukrainian hospital with the President’s wife. This is where wounded soldiers are hospitalized. Two young men, both with missing legs on opposite sides, were in beds. Simultaneously both the President’s wife and Apostle Dale started crying. The wounded soldiers, so excited and honored to have the President’s wife visit them, cheered them up. We serve the Lord Jesus Christ! He is still the Captain of the host. The world has always been crazy, but the joy of the Lord is our strength. Now we have much to be thankful for (2 Corinthians 2:14), because God always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus. Your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Apostle Dale told of a Bulgarian pastor who was chained in a dark prison cell with an evil man. He shared his food and the gospel with his cell mate and brought him to Christ. The authorities released them into the bright sunlight, causing them to be blinded, but the pastor kept sharing the gospel. God always causes us to triumph. You have to develop a victorious consciousness. It is easy to get into the barrage of negativity. The widow said she was preparing her and her son’s last meal before they died, but the prophet told her to feed him first, and she and her son did not die. The victory is in Christ Jesus. Christmas is a hard time for those who lost someone. Be sensitive to them and remember you are the victorious ones. Come through. Turn from sadness and loss. Decide to let the lost ones go, and get on with life and rejoice.
What Am I Following After in Life
There is a common thread in the Christmas story. Mary (Luke 1:26-38), Joseph (Matthew 1:20-23), the shepherds (Luke 2:15), Simeon (Luke 2:25-29), Anna, and the wise men (Matthew 2:2-6) all received a word from the Lord, either through an angel or through a prophet’s word in Scripture. It is only the Word of the Lord that leads people to the Savior. We all need to be willing to follow after the Word of the Lord. What are we following after? Do we know what is word of the Lord? If we gain everything, but lose our soul, what does it profit us (Mark 8:36)? Think about what you are doing: How is it fulfilling the will of God for my life? Shane testified to his brother’s life and how his premature death on Christmas Eve 2011 was due to what he was following after. All that God has provided for, His promises, protection, and provision, are available for us when we are in His will. Where do we look for help when we are in pain? We will be subject to whatever we yield to and follow. Repent and move from whatever you are subject to. Take an inventory of what you eat, speak, read, etc. We must be willing to judge ourselves. In Matthew 16:21-24 Peter did not look at what Jesus was saying would happen to Him from the perspective of His following God’s will. God’s will for your life is your cross to bear. Jesus is our life source. Because Jesus has the words of life, where else shall we go? If we follow another road, we are subject to whatever is on that road. Examine your life. Is there anything in your life that keeps you from being sold out to Jesus? Follow the Word of God for your life, the unique word for you. A key of understanding everything about a great relationship with God is what it means to have a covenant relationship. Develop your covenant relationship.
Serving Jesus – Dec 13
Text: Matthew 25:31-46. Salvation is not by works but by grace through faith. That is what divides the “sheep” and the “goats”. However, God judges the sheep, those who have received Jesus, and rewards them according to their works. Those who do not believe are cursed.The sheep are the Body of Christ, the family of God. Jesus gave the five-fold ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13) to train the Body to do the work of the ministry. We are to do the work of the ministry. Romans 12:1 says that presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice is our reasonable service. We are alive and have to choose to be set apart. When we take our place, the whole Body can function. The Amplified Bible says that being a living sacrifice is “spiritual worship”. Ministry is service. It is like being a table waiter, waiting on someone. Service is spiritual worship. Ephesians 6:5-8 tells servants and slaves to be obedient as to Christ. When you sow spiritually to the Lord, you reap back. Galatians 6:10 says to do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith. We are to serve God with spiritual gifts, show honor to one another, and do His will (Romans 12:2-13). Jesus came to serve and for doing that God gave Him the highest position (Matthew 20:25-28). We should not be selfish (Galatians 5:13). We should grow and stop thinking about ourselves. To become great, you must first be a servant. Jesus served the greatest. A mark of maturity is when you stop thinking of yourself and serve others instead. Look out for the interests in others. He humbled Himself to the point of death. He is exalted to the right hand of God, and Jesus allows us to sit with Him. Our homework assignment is to read John 13:1-17.
Vision for Ethiopia
Pastor Demeke Getahun and Wagayhu Ketema shared the vision for Ethiopia. John 9:7, the name “Siloam” means “sent”. In 1993 the Lord told Pastor Demeke that he would remember the poor (Galatians 2:10). The vision that Pastor Demeke and Wagayhu have in their hearts is for establishing clinics in Muslim communities, address sanitation and hygiene needs, and teach about micro-financing, nutritional support, and development of their own resources. God has given Pastor Demeke a fifteen year vision (2016-2031). He was in a Muslim elementary school. He fled Ethiopia and went through a land where he is now going to go back to. Their approach will be to show the love of Jesus to the Muslim people. Their first clinic will be in the eastern part of Ethiopia, which is a 97.5% Muslim area. A member of their church has given them this land. They have started the non-profit process and have a couple board members, one of which is Pastor Syd. In March Pastor Demeke, Wagayhu, and the woman who donated the land will meet in Ethiopia with local church leaders. They will need a team to work with them, and they will study the local government. Pastor also wants to go back to a church that was established many years ago. Wagayhu is getting rehab training. A medical team is to come from here to Ethiopia. The children there need immunization treatments and instruction in nutrition. There is much TB, malaria, and polio. Also, the girls get married when they are eleven to thirteen years old and need help with pregnancy issues. Clean water supplies are a concern, too. Pastor Demeke and Wagayhu will go to show the love of Jesus Christ. Please pray and give.
Serving Jesus – Nov 29
Jesus gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to us to train and equip the saints (the Body of Christ) to do the work of the ministry and to build the Body until we all come to the unity of faith (Ephesians 4:11-13). The Body of Christ could be compared to a picture of Christ in collage form made up of many individual pictures. Ministry is work. Each person takes his or her part. We are not saved by our works, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In Matthew 25:31-46 the first thing Jesus does is to separate the sheep from the goats. This Scripture is about the sheep (the righteous, the believers). It does not apply to the Syrian refugees, except those who are Christians. We are made righteous only by Jesus. His righteousness has been given to us. God sees us as Jesus. Whatever we do for the Body of Christ, for our brothers and sisters in Christ, we do for Jesus, whether it is providing food, drink, clothing, shelter, health, or comfort, when we do it as to the Lord. We need to use wisdom in our priorities and responsibilities, not putting those we are responsible for in danger. We are the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), and Jesus Christ is the Head (Ephesians 1:22, 23). Although we are not saved by works, we are judged and rewarded for them. We are to work for the good of all, especially our fellow believers (Galatians 6:10). What we did to the least of His Body, we did for Him. We are called to freedom and through love to serve one another. We are selfish if we want to be served, rather than serving.
The children’s ministry
Earnestly Desire Spiritual Gifts
Jesus said that it was better for Him to go to heaven than to stay here on earth, so the Holy Spirit could come to us (John 16:5-7). Jesus said that we would do even greater things than He did, because He was going away (John14:12). First Corinthians 14:1 states that we are to pursue love and to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. Do you desire spiritual gifts? Do you strongly want them? Ask and you will receive. Make it your burning desire to have God’s spiritual gifts. God has established strength to silence the enemy and the avenger (Psalm 8:1-2). Take authority. Your tongue can establish or tear down strongholds. For example, both Goliath and David used their tongues to decree, but David spoke God’s Word. The Holy Spirit prompts us to declare and decree things. He waits for our words to be spoken. (Kevin Burrows ministered a word and song, and released the anointing to an individual. Larry Hostettter shared a word of testimony and encouragement.)
Finishing Strong in Faith – Nov 8
We are to occupy for the Lord. It is about how you finish. We need to see and hear the Word, so that we get it and maintain it. When we have the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is the Word of God, grace and peace are multiplied to us. The Bible is our instruction manual. If you want to know God, get to know His Word. His Word in us causes us to change and grow (2 Peter 1:2-4). We receive His divine power through His Word. We have been called to glory and virtue. We belong to the Lord and should live like His children, seeking first His kingdom. God’s #1 problem with us is that of our wills. His #2 problem with us is changing our minds. The truth will set you free, but you can decide to either be a spectator or a participator. Participators receive more. What do you think about all day? The first temptation was doubting the Word. We are to meditate on, act on, and speak the Word (Joshua 1:8). Satan puts lying symptoms on our bodies. They are lies because Jesus already bore all our sicknesses. Doubt is taking a second thought. I believe the truth, and I say the truth. It is written! Find a promise in the Word for your problem, because there is one truth will change your situation. The Word is an infallible truth and anchor. Believing the Word is faith. God wants you to have faith in Him. Remember, no situation is bigger than God. Hebrews 5:13, 14 say that we should exercise our (spiritual) senses to discern good and evil. Do not let the world live in you, but renew your mind with the Word (Romans 12:1, 2). Use your imagination for God, by seeing yourself doing the things that Jesus did. Hell is the absence of God. God will use whatever you have, even if it is just a smile. Think big. Give more, Get into the Word and fan the fire of the Word of God. Allow the Lord to speak to you about your faith life. Develop the muscle of faith and exercise faith every day, so you have faith-fitness. Finish strong. Will He find faith? Offering Message (Josh Yoder): Psalm 37:21-26 (AMP) I am righteous and deal kindly with other. I am able to give. Money is a tool to bring people to the Lord. Our inheritance is all those who we bring to salvation in Jesus Christ. Your giving affects the next generation. You can receive when you get excited about the Lord.
Good Steps or Intimacy
Josh Yoder read a word that the Lord gave him, and then he expounded on it. God wants intimacy with us. There should be a longing, a passion, a desire in us for Him. We might learn and perform good “dance steps”, but if we don’t have the passion with joy, it is just like good works. God’s heart is for His people to be as free as He is. Let ever increasing revelation come to each Scripture. A revelation makes you vulnerable to it. Read John 3:16, 17. Give yourself as Jesus gave Himself. Don’t jump off the altar when the fire gets hot. You can come out with victory. God will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death. We are to help and give water to those in the dry places and help those in the wilderness. When you plateau, you wither and are thrown in the fire (John 15). Judgment is grace. God judged Jesus so we can have grace. Judge yourself. Prune off the dead. Are you and do you stay fired up? Dry times are your fault, not God’s. If entertainment is filling you, it’s wrong. Relaxation is from the Lord. You can get dry if you’re putting other things in. It’s like giving salt to an already thirsty person. We are only fed by the Word of God. Do something to keep yourself awake. Get the Word into you. The Word must be in quality, along with love and works. James 2:17 says that faith without works is dead. A good dancer may have good steps, but an elite dancer does the steps with passion. In James 2:18-26 Abraham’s faith was backed up with good works. What you connect to, you act with and build on. 2 Corinthians 3:6 says that the letter of the law kills. You must have the Spirit and the Word. You need intimacy with God. Don’t allow questions to ruin your foundation. Seek God and the result will be the revealed Word. You attraction is based on your desires. What do you desire? Delight in the Lord. Bend yourself toward Him. Stretching is painful. Getting in the Word can be like stretching. Get closer to the Lord. How do we flex the Word when we are in tragedy? Moving in love in the dance is love. We know in part. We are beginning to know who we are in Christ. It comes through intimacy. The Holy Spirit guides us through the things of God. What are ears to hear? Our spiritual ears work only in an atmosphere of love.
Making Covenant with the Lord and Each Other
How should you find a spouse? Seek the Lord first, and then He will show you or lead you to His choice for a spouse. You make a covenant when you set yourself apart to God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us to draw near to God, seek Him, believe that He exists, and believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He rewards our seeking Him and our drawing near to Him. Faith pleases Him. We get faith by hearing and hearing by the Word. Proverbs 18:22 says that he who finds a good wife finds a good thing, and he obtains favor from the Lord. Seek God and then the blessings come, but do not seek Him just for the blessings. Make God your number one priority. Seek the Lord, and you will not lack any good thing (Psalm 34:10). As you get closer to God, you are getting closer to your future spouse. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). If you abide in God, He will abide in you; you shall ask whatever you desire, and it shall be done for you (John 15:7). Matthew 6:33 commands us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these other things will be provided. God spoke a blessing over Israel and to us, that His plans for us are to give us a future and a hope, but we must seek Him with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:10-14). [There was a service of covenant and communion for singles and then for married couples.]
Marriage and Divorce: Legal Covenant – Oct 18
The Pharisees asked Jesus if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason (Matthew 19:3-12). God’s plan is that a male and female leave their parents and be joined together. Jesus said that what God has joined together must not be separated. Moses said that a man may not remarry his wife, if she has married another in between. Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of their hearts. When you divorce, you are in your own plan, not God’s. Jesus said the only exception for divorce is sexual immorality (Matthew 19:9). Paul wished that all men would be unmarried (1 Corinthians 7:6-16). Your marital status does not indicate your spiritual status. The Lord commands that a wife is not to leave her husband. If she does leave him, she is not to remarry or be reconciled to her husband. A husband is not to divorce his wife. Paul said that a believer should stay with an unbelieving wife, if she is willing to live with him, and not to divorce her (or vice versa wife for husband). The believing spouse is set apart by the believing spouse. You are still in oneness, and there is still an open door to the spouse. God has a covenant with the believer. Submit your life to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7:27, 28 tell us to not seek to be loosed from a wife. Married people have trouble in the flesh. If you are looking for a loophole to get out of marriage, you are like a Pharisee. The sin of divorce is forgivable. Repent and live in the new covenant. While talking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus recognized the five marriages she had had (John 4:17-19). A wife is bound to her husband as long as her husband lives (1 Corinthians 7:39, 40). In Genesis 15 after Abram rescued people from Sodom and Gomorrah, God made a blood covenant with him that he would inherit the land and have many descendants. He and Sarai took things into their own hands and caused an Ishmael. God reestablished His covenant with Abram, changed his name to Abraham, told him he would be the father of many nations, and renamed him Abraham with a blood covenant. God renewed His covenant with Israel, whom He considered as His wife (Exodus 24:1-18). Throughout the Old Testament, such as in Jeremiah and Isaiah, God was angered by Israel’s adultery against Him. When Moses was on the Mt. Sinai for forty days, with smoke and fire coming from the mountain, he received the two stone tablets (Exodus 24-31). The words of the covenant were called The Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28). The people had corrupted themselves, while Moses was up on the mountain (Exodus 32:7). Moses (a type of Christ), interceded for God’s people and reminded God of His covenant with the Israelites, and God relented (Exodus 32:7-14). Why did God change during this “melt-down marriage” problem with Israel? It was because of His covenant with them. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation. Husbands, walk in the ministry of reconciliation. We are reconciled to Him because of the New Covenant. Baby dedication and offering message is placed after the message.
Go in the Name of Jesus
Text: John 4. As a result of the testimony of the “woman at the well” in Samaria, many believed, heard Jesus, and believed in Him. Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Jesus’ name is to be glorified, not our own. God can use us to change those around us. He has a plan and sees great things for each one of us. He saw a great plan for Abram and named him Abraham, the father of many nations, when he and his wife were childless. He is looking for one person who will say “yes” to Him. Who is willing to go? Who is willing to deny himself? Today the church is compromising the truth. Some preachers will not say “Jesus” in public, because they are ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ. Paul, and we, must suffer for His name’s sake. Acts 4:17 tells about a time when the early church disciples were forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus. Why? Salvation is in the name of Jesus. Healing is in the name of Jesus. We should not be ashamed of the name of Jesus, the Anointed One. Jesus is coming back to take His beloved ones who are reigning. Let’s be witnesses everywhere and use every opportunity (Acts 1:8). We are witnesses and light. Without us there is darkness. Being a witness is our primary calling. Jesus was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go through Samaria. It was a divine appointment. We must be willing to go, even if we do not want to go. If we obey, we will see His mighty hand. Pastor Demeke told of a successful man in Canada who was called to go back to a remote area of Ethiopia. There was no clean water, cars, or bikes, but there were demonic forces there. He joined a society to help the people, living with and like the people there. The whole community came to the Lord, and they prospered. If Jesus can find one person who is willing, he/she can change the world. The well where the unnamed woman was in John 4 was Jacob’s well that he gave to his son, Joseph. It was a gift. Jesus came to the gift (the well) as the gift. In John 4:10 He said that He was the gift of God. Jesus broke the unspoken rules: Jews did not associate with Samaritans. The unnamed woman had hurdles she had to deal with in order to enter Jesus’ fullness. Her manmade boxes were: 1) her race; 2) she did not like men; 3) religion and her belief; and 4) sin. Before we can worship God, we need to deal with our barriers. He told her that we are to worship in spirit and truth. We know that sin has no power when we encounter Jesus. How did Jesus get into her heart? He asked her to give Him a drink. Jesus was saying, “I need you. I am willing to drink from your cup. I want to commune with you. You are important to Me.” That opened her up to Him. He won her with His love. We should be willing to drink from the same cup as others. Salvation is the well of water into everlasting life, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit brings living rivers out of us. We should not be satisfied with what the world gives.