Offering message: 1 Peter 2:5; Phil. 4:16-18; Mal. 1:6-9. Don’t give because of compulsion or need, but give unto the Lord being led by the moving of the Holy Spirit. If your offering carries no value to you, it carries none to God. What you don’t value and give in faith doesn’t bless you. Sermon message: In John 7:37-39 Jesus said that the believers should receive the Holy Spirit. He was not yet glorified, so the Holy Spirit had not been sent to us on earth. When the Holy Spirit came, He came to reside in us, just as Jesus had resided on the earth before He sat down beside the Father. Most people don’t know what belongs to them and have false ideas about the Holy Spirit. (Pastor Dale compared hunger for the Holy Spirit to learning to eat and appreciate sushi.) The Holy Spirit gives you power (Acts 1:8). If you’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit, appreciate your victorious living. Luke 11:11-13 tells us to ask for the Holy Spirit (after you are born-again John 3:16) – the first infilling and then a refilling on a frequent basis. John 14:16-17 says that He is the Helper. To build yourself up, pray in the Holy Spirit (Jude 20). The Spirit and the Word only help you when you apply them and put them to action. Discipline yourself in spiritual matters and pray in the Holy Spirit and with the understanding (1 Cor. 14:13-15; Acts 9; Acts 19; Acts 2:1). You have to turn on praying in tongues. Ask God for more and receive His power today.
Hunger for the Holy Spirit Part 1
Submission to God Part 5 – Staying In Your Place
Text: James 4:6-10. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. We submit to Him, and the devil must flee. Rebellion is opposition to [the one in] authority and is as the sin of witchcraft. Get the rebellion out of you, repent, and submit. In Esther 1:1-22 we learn that Queen Vashti did not submit to the king and lost her place as queen. Esther submitted to the king and to her uncle and turned around the situation for the Jews. God has placed each one of the parts in one body as He wanted (1 Cor. 12:18), and when people leave the place where they are to be, the body doesn’t function properly. Stay in the place where God wants you, and don’t move because of offense or “choice”. You lose grace when you’re not in the place God wants you to be. There was an imperative for people to be their prescribed place (2 Chron. 30:16 and 35:10; Rom. 11:13; Eccl. 10:4). The angels who didn’t keep their own positions God has kept with eternal chains in darkness (Jude 6). (See also Rev. 12:7-9). Submission is shown in the Biblical relationship of marriage, even though our culture doesn’t present the wife as needing to be submitted to her husband. Lucifer has no repentance because he got into pride and got out of his place. Don’t exalt yourself, but submit to the authority over you, even if you think the person isn’t fit (Ps. 75:4-7). Don’t leave your place, and don’t be moved by your flesh, but submit to God. You can fall to such a place that you can’t come back, because it is gone. Choosing your place in the body should be because it is where God tells you to be.
Are You Thirsty?
Text: John 7:37-38. If you are thirsty, came to Jesus and drink. In 2 Chron. 17:1-6 and 18:1 we see that Jehoshaphat strengthened himself in the Lord, but after he prospered, he got into pride and allied himself with the evil king of Israel, Ahab. Don’t allow God’s blessings to cause you to disdain why you were blessed in the first place. Put yourself in remembrance and stir yourself up. (Pastor Dale shared how he was born-again, filled with the Spirit, and called to the ministry.) The Gospel changes lives. The people left Jesus, so He asked the disciples if they were going to leave, too. You will be tested when Satan brings accusations against you for receiving from God. But, when you are thirsty and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, rivers will flow through and out of you (John 7:38). God will work where hearts will receive Him. Eph. 5:18 tells us to not be drunk with wine, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It means to keep being filled, and it’s a command. Being filled with the Holy Spirit will bring life to the Scriptures for you and is like being born-again all over again. Acts 19:2 Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? Get in the river and be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in other tongues. (Pastor Dale and others ministered for those who were thirsty to receive the Holy Spirit.)
Hindered
We need to apply faith to every aspect of our lives, whether it’s for healing or for direction in a church move. Likewise, we must discern if any hindrances are from the devil or if the Lord is stopping certain movement. In Rom. 1:9-13 Paul speaks about the hindrance that was keeping him from getting to the people in Rome. Again in Rom. 15:22 he tells how he was “much hindered”. Kenneth E. Hagin relates how he had his greatest fight for three years against demonic forces when he was starting Rhema Bible School. In 1 Cor. 16:9 Paul said that when a great door opened for him, he had many adversaries, and in 1 Thess. 2:17-18 the Bible says that Satan hindered them. Some things are just demonic. When Satan hinders, it’s to kill, steal, and destroy. On the other hand, sometimes God hinders, but it’s to bring life (John 10:10). In Acts 16:5-10 the Holy Spirit forbid Paul to preach in Asia. His “open door” led to a prison where he and Silas prayed and praised God, and then they saw all the doors open (Acts 16:11; 2 Cor. 2:13-14), and people were saved. It’s about salvations. Let God’s peace rule your heart (Col. 3:15) and don’t be ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Cor. 2:11-14). Know these three things concerning decisions: See deliverance; know the devil is mad because he hates progress; and be guided by God’s peace and Spirit.
Victory in Jesus Christ
Text: 1 Cor. 15:57-58; 2 Cor. 2:14. God gives us the victory through Christ Jesus, so be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the Lord’s work. Keep your eyes on victory. The Word can’t be bound, and God always leads us into triumph in Christ. Don’t submit to fear and terrorism. Ps. 91 is a powerful chapter to stand on. Run to the Lord when you’re in trouble. Great victories come from great battles. Make the Lord your dwelling place. Even though Jesus’ death on the cross looked like terrible defeat, there was a wonderful victory on the other side of the cross. JESUS IS LORD! That’s our position of victory (2 Cor. 4:5). We either bind or loose (Matt. 18:18-20). You have to take victory by agreeing. Walk in victory and pray that our faith does not fail (Luke 22:31-32). (Pastor Dale shared an update on the changes to the plans for where we meet.) Walk in faith and keep your eyes on Jesus.
Is God With You?
Knowing that God is with you means that all heaven is backing you. God in you is power and victory. Rom. 8:31 asks if God is for us, who can be against us? Samson was a man who did great things when the Spirit of the Lord moved upon him (Judges 13-16). God’s strength was on him when he killed the lion and when he killed 30 men and when he killed 1,000 mighty men with a donkey jawbone. He allowed himself to be vulnerable when he was sinfully involved with Delilah and didn’t realize that the Lord had departed from him. His strength was from the Lord; it was not his own strength. At the end of his life God strengthened him to bring down the temple of a false god and to kill more of the enemy then than he had in his life. Remember, God is in you. What you can’t do, God can and will do, if it’s what He has called you to do. Also remember that the Greater One is in you (1 John 4:4).
Share Your Testimony
Offering Message: We are like living stones being built into a spiritual house … to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). God doesn’t accept all offerings. We give to the Lord in faith our best first-fruits (Heb. 13:16; Gen. 4:1; Heb. 11:4). God is our Source. Sermon Message: The woman with the bleeding problem for twelve years pushed her way to Jesus by faith. How did she have faith? She heard testimonies of what Jesus had done (Mark 5:22-36). She knew she could be stoned for being around people in her time of uncleanness. Jairus, a synagogue leader, was right there with Jesus, going to his sick daughter. He could have been a threat to the woman with the bleeding problem. Her fear and her sacrifice concerned the testifying of what Jesus had done for her. While she was getting ready to testify, Jairus didn’t know that his daughter was already dead. Although the woman looked like an obstacle to his daughter’s healing, she was actually a source of faith for Jairus to believe that his dead daughter would be all right. [A friend from Titusville, Cindy, shared a testimony of Jesus’ healing her of leukemia, and her interceding for Pastor Dale’s son who was being operated on for appendicitis.] Sharing a testimony can be a basis for faith for someone in a test. Heb. 13:15 tells us to continually offer the sacrifice of praise and thanks to God. Make testifying a part of your daily life. TESTIFY AND GIVE THANKS TO GOD. When you identify yourself as who you are in Christ, fear goes. Testify and praise God. (Remember to pray for the team going to Honduras.)
Submission to God Part 4 – Suffering
Main texts: James 4:6-10 and 1 Peter 5. God resists the proud but gives His ability (grace) to the humble. If we submit ourselves to God, we can resist the devil, and he must flee. Submission is not easy. It includes suffering. Submission is not agreement. You submit when you don’t agree. Submission is not weakness. It is strength of character. Submission is not forced. No one can make you as an adult submit. Submission comes before authority. Submit means to rank or arrange under. Jesus suffered because He chose to pay the price for our sin and to submit to the Father’s will (Heb. 2:8-10, 14-18; Heb. 5:5-10, Matt. 26:36-44). We are to humble ourselves, which includes the suffering of not getting our own way. 1 Peter 2:18 tells us to submit to those over us (employers, etc.), regardless of how they treat us. First Peter 5:9-10 tells you that God will restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered. Keep rank in God’s kingdom. This is especially important in spiritual warfare.
School of Miracles Part 3
Listen to Pastor Sydney’s testimonies of miracles that God did for him, Jen, and his family. Rom. 1 and 1 Cor. 1 tell us that the Gospel, the Word of God, is power. What has Pastor Sydney noticed about the miracles of God in his life? #1 There was a desperation, a knowing that God was his/their only source. Desperation creates a cry in your heart. Go to God’s throne-room, and God will grant justice swiftly. God’s time is now, and you’ll see the manifestation at the appointed time. First get the victory in your heart and take your case to the Almighty. #2 Find the Word concerning your situation and stand on it and speak it. The Word is the will of God, so then you know how to pray. Is. 55:7-9 says about the wicked, that they don’t have the thoughts of God. But God has revealed His thoughts to those who have the Spirit of God. The command of God always carries the grace to do it. #3 Release your faith by speaking and acting on the Word. The Word only does something for you when you act on it. Remember, the Gospel is the power of God. Make the Word yours.
How to Escape Part 3
A young lady name Anatasia testified to Jesus healing her back while she was in her seat during a CWI healing service. (It was the same service that another man’s back was healed.) Sermon message: The Body of Christ should be more positive than the world and should magnify the Lord, because He is bigger than any problem. There is a way out. Pastor Dale shared about the way the Lord took him out of extreme depression/suicide. Lighten up. Job, the first book of the Bible to be written, records Job saying that “at famine and destruction I will laugh.” God is faithful, and He won’t give up on you. Talk about Jesus. Look at Jesus. He knows how He is going to come through for you. How do you escape? #1 Praise Him with joy. #2 Have a prayer life. Every failure in a Christian endeavor is a prayer failure. Spiritual problems require spiritual solutions. In Luke 22:39-43 Jesus was saying that if you have a prayer life, you won’t have a sin problem. You can say, “Not my will, but Your will be done” only if you have a prayer life. Heb. 4:15 Jesus was tempted but was without sin. Boldness comes before grace. You are going to make it.
School of Miracles Part 2
(Tongues and interpretation were given about God’s love, joy, and peace in us.) Be a magnet for blessings. They should overtake you like your dog greeting you when you come home. John 5:1-4 There were multitudes of sick and needy people, but Jesus ministered to certain ones and mainly those who came to Him. There are seasons for miracles. When the Spirit moves, move with Him. Get yourself ready for God to move. In Mark 6:1-7 the people were offended because of a spirit of familiarity. Jesus taught the people to build up their faith when they didn’t believe in Him. If the gift of the Spirit (the supernatural) isn’t in operation, healings can happen based on faith in the Word. Don’t be offended at the Word. It is Jesus. Mark 5:25-34 tells about the woman who was healed of the issue of blood because she heard of Jesus. Whatever she heard was enough to cause her to press in for her healing. Desperate people take drastic moves to get dramatic results. Press in. Pastor Dale told of Norvel Hayes commanding a woman, who didn’t know how to play the piano, to do just that for worship in a service.
School of Miracles Part 1
John 2:1-11 is the account of Jesus’ first miracle of changing the water to wine. Mary, Jesus’ mother, expected a miracle, which brought glory to God and caused His disciples to believe in Him. How do you receive a miracle? Pastor Dale shares his and others’ experiences of God’s miracles in his/their life/lives. #1 Learn to expect miracles. Look for them and expect the impossible from God. There’s always victory and deliverance. #2 Respect God’s timing. Don’t let defeat destroy you and keep you from seeing the miracle. #3 Instantly obey God. #4 Exactly obey God. John 5:3-8 tells of the healing at the pool of Bethesda. You have a choice to respond or to rationalize when the Spirit is moving. Respond and don’t wait until the anointing has passed. #5 Prepare for your miracle. There’s something you can do to prepare for your miracle. Act on your faith. It causes your mind to be creative. Dream again and get ready to receive. #6 Act on your miracle. Faith is an action. Take a step of faith. PRAISE GOD FOR YOUR MIRACLE!
How to Escape Part 2
Communion: Taking the cup means that we are baptized with the baptism that Jesus was baptized with, the baptism of death (Matt. 20:20-28). Sermon: In 1 Cor. 10:13 God tells us that no temptation has overtaken you (personally) except what is common to man, and that God is faithful to make a way for you to escape what you are not able to handle. Jesus has already been through whatever you’re going through (Heb. 4:14). Pastor Dale tells of a man who God delivered from cocaine, but the same man couldn’t overcome his nicotine addictions. God knew he couldn’t handle the cocaine addiction, so he gave him an instant deliverance, but he could win over cigarettes. Every test has a way of escape. Obedience is more than victory, which can be based in self. We are incapable of fighting sin. Our fight is that of faith. You don’t resist sexual sin. You flee from it! You don’t need victory over it; you need to escape from it. You aren’t strong enough to overcome. So how do you get out? The number one way is to praise the Lord as a lifestyle, and number 2 is to have a prayer life. Luke 22:40 tells you to pray that you do not enter into temptation. The way of escape is to realize that you need a prayer life. Heb. 5:7-8. Jesus was tempted to not go to the cross. He didn’t try to be strong. He asked for prayer. Let the trials of life take you to your knees. Pray for yourself (James 5:13). Don’t pray for people who don’t want it or who aren’t believing in faith. The presence of temptation is the call to pray.
Pray for Repentance, Revival, and Reaping
God loved us first and gave us His Son Jesus (Eph. 2; John 3:16-21). He is worthy of glory (Rev. 4-5:14). Ps. 2:8 tells us to ask for the heathen for our inheritance. We must ask and pray for the lost, here in Lancaster and beyond. How should we pray? 1) Pray for boldness (Eph. 6:19; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 4:29-31). 2) Pray for a door into their lives (Col. 4:2). 3) Pray that the Word will find good soil. 4) Pray that God would grant them repentance (Acts 11; John 16:8-11). 5) Pray for workers to be sent to them (Matt. 9:35-38; John 4:34-38). Pastor Brian: 1 Peter 4:17 says that judgment begins at the House of God. We must prepare our hearts for revival. We must humble ourselves and pray. Jesus said it is finished. He bought our redemption. Prayer is the ultimate action. Ask God to put His heart into yours. (There was time for prayer for the lost.)
How to Escape Part 1
Text: 1 Cor. 10:13. God wants you to escape temptation. Learn how to get out of what you’re in. Satan wants to isolate you, so he lies to make you think your situation is unique, and you’re the only one experiencing what you are. Temptation can mean to solicit to do evil, but it also means a trial or test. Faith doesn’t mean that you won’t have problems, but that you’ll get through them. So, how do you escape temptation? The #1 way is praise/joy. James 1:2 tells us to count it all joy when you experience trials/temptations. Your response to a temptation will be your first step out. Joy is a spiritual force and belongs to believers. Neh. 8:10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and it’s there for those who choose it. Temptation reveals that the devil is at work. Whatever is out of line will draw you like a magnet bringing Satan, trying to keep you depressed, etc. What’s the cure? Praise! (Ps. 33:1-2; 33:1; 8:1-2). Hit Satan with praise to God. Stop looking for answers. Praise – that is the answer. Praising God has a mirror effect so that whatever God is, we participate in. Praise is the weapon that shuts up the devil and is our declaration of God’s worthiness. Paul and Silas praised God when they were in prison and were delivered overnight. (Acts 16:22). Give thanks to the Father for He has delivered us and translated us into the kingdom of God (Col. 1:12). Instead of spending your energy fighting, praise! God is faithful. If you have a big problem, magnify God and choose to praise Him.
Submission to God Part 3 – God’s Choice
James 4:6-8. When we are humbled and submitted to God, then we can resist the devil, and he will flee. We are double-minded when we are in pride and then try to resist the devil, whose sin was pride. Submit means to arrange under. When we are under God, then the devil is under us. 1 Cor. 15:20-28 tells us that Jesus submitted to God. Respect God’s order. There is rank in God’s kingdom. When we keep rank, it brings unity. When someone is out of place, the rest have to work twice as hard, such as if a person is blind, then the other senses have to work much harder. DON’T TRY TO MAKE OTHERS SUBMIT. Children must be trained to submit (Prov. 22:6), so that they will be trained to be led by their conscience and the Spirit. When the wife submits to her husband, she is submitting to God. Pastor Sydney explained about submitting to government authority (Rom. 13:1-17; 1 Thess. 5:12-13). We must respect the place and the work of the leaders over us. Their position is their qualification. Aaron and Miriam learned this the hard way in Numbers 12. Paul corrected himself in Acts 23:1-5 for not submitting to the high priest. YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT TO YOUR LEADERS, but the enemy will tell you otherwise. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram came against Moses and bred rebellion in the whole Israelite community and experienced God’s judgment (Numbers 16). When the glory of God shows up, there is immediate judgment. Remember: God places priority on His choices. The centurion and his servant understood authority in Matt. 8:5-10. If you are submitted to your leaders, they have a right to stand with you for what you’re believing.
His Power Part 2
Offering message texts: Luke 6:38; Matt. 6:1-4, 19-25; Gen. 8:15-20. Sermon: God wants all men to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). His power is still available, and He needs His representatives (us) to take His power to show His goodness and signs and wonders to people. How does God work through men? One way He works is through miracles and the gifts of the Spirit, but these are not daily happenings. The second way is through divine healing. Read these Scriptures, and you’ll see how these people received healing: Mark 2:1-5; 3:7-8, 10; 5:21-28; 7:31-37; 9:14-22; 10:46-52. How did they get healed? They were healed through their own faith. Jesus did not pursue anyone who was sick, but they sick came and aggressively pursued Him. It’s not our prayer or our faith that makes people well. You can’t push your faith or anointing on someone who is sick. A person can be healed when that person draws on the healing anointing. We release God’s healing power that’s in us. People must seek Jesus; IT’S THEIR OWN FAITH THAT HEALS THEM. Don’t have altar calls for the sick, but allow the sick person to come to you. If people know the anointing, the Holy Spirit, and the Gospel are in you, they can expect to receive. Ed shares several testimonies of healing miracles that people received by their own faith. Expect and anticipate in faith (Acts 1:8-9 and Heb. 11:6). Rethink how you present the Gospel: I have the goods, but they must make the request. People are not healed by your faith, but by their own faith.
His Power Part 1
All other religions fear what we have. Pharaoh finally had to bless the Israelites because he experienced God’s power. The prophets of Baal saw that the true God answers by fire when Elijah called on God’s power. Paul said that the Gospel is God’s power for salvation for everyone who believes. The cross is the symbol of the power of God. We are authorized dealers of God’s power through the Holy Spirit. Why is the power needed? Jesus changed water to wine, and His disciples believed in Him. Nicodemus believed in Him because of the signs. Other Scriptures witnessing God’s power and causing people to believe in Him are: John 6:1, 4; 7:30-31; 10:24, 3; 11:47 (Lazarus raised from the dead); John 12:9; 20:30-31. Ed shared of a lumberman who died and was completely healed. Jesus’ signs demonstrated His love and compassion for people. He is the door and the way. Other religions are trying to get to heaven and to find the answer, but Jesus is the only way, the only answer. Why aren’t more coming in? Satan has blinded the eyes of most of the church so that it denies the power of God. There will be opposition even with signs and wonders. When God’s power is demonstrated, people will come. Believe God to use you to demonstrate His power to one person. The Holy Spirit is the sign of the power of God. Ed challenged us to print Acts 1:8 on index cards and stand in front of the mirror and read it aloud and pray in tongues. Keep refreshing yourself. God wants to use you to do signs and wonders.
Walking Boldly in the Darkness
A young lady received salvation. Bruce explained CWI’s call. The apostle governs the Word, the prophet guides, the evangelist gathers souls, and the teacher grows the Word. The word for CWI is REVIVAL IS NOW! God is waiting on us. It will be a sustained move of God. Are we ready? We need to be a warrior church of love. Revival is a new beginning of obedience to God. Bruce told of staying with an African warrior who intimidated a lion. The warriors went into the darkness to go after lions. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that the devil walks about like a roaring lion. DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DEVIL, BUT GO INTO THE DARKNESS AND BRING PEOPLE OUT OF IT! We must rise up in fierceness and intimidate the enemy. The world needs us to be warriors. Step into your call. Do whatever you’re called to do. You carry the light that overcomes the darkness by walking as children of light (Eph. 5:8). Pray that our eyes and hearts are open to understand God. Be bold. Share the faith and don’t fear rejection. We must compel them to come in. Quit being judgmental and love people into the kingdom. Be filled with love and the power of God (2 Tim. 1:7). There was a time of ministry and impartation. (Bruce will be ministering the School of Miracles at CWI in early April.)
Shaking in His Presence
We are to worship God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe (Heb. 12:25-29). We must live in His presence. His joy is our strength. The kingdom of God is within us, and everything else will shake and go away. Those who despise the Word will be destroyed, but those who fear it will be rewarded (Prov. 13:13). The church must be strong in the power of the Lord. We need to hear the Word and to do it. Only you can allow the Word to renew your mind. Put action to what you believe, and do what you’re called to do. Do we put importance on the Word, especially what we’ve heard over and over again? Ps. 19:7-11 says that we have been warned. There is danger ahead, and we need to know how to go forward. James 1:19-25 is a compelling and needed teaching for us to apply. The Word is powerful (Heb. 4:23). We can make a change in this nation, if we are doers, and if we don’t put up with what the devil is doing. Are you participating in what God has told you to do? Are you waiting for God to move when it’s your move? It is critical for us to live by the Spirit. There is a Miracle-Worker (Jesus Christ) inside of you. If we aren’t doing the Word we know, we are self-deceived. Walk in truth. Examine yourself to see if you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruit of it (2 Cor. 13:5). If we live in the present, He will constantly change us. Are you walking in the faith?