(Word given about God’s wanting us to use us to bring in the harvest and our need to be obedient and faithful.) Communion: John 6:47-58 Jesus is the Bread of Life. Our sins have been remitted. Don’t abuse yourself with past sins. Sermon: Mark 16:14-20. Repent of hardness of heart and unbelief. To evangelize, go and tell others of what Jesus has done for you and give them Scriptures. It’s up to them to choose the Good News. Signs should follow you, not the other way around. What are the signs? Casting out demons in His name and living devil-free; speaking with other tongues; not being hurt by deadly things. Fight for Jesus. God confirms His Word. Kim Miller gave a powerful testimony of one person’s obedience to the voice of God bringing salvation to a whole Jewish family and healing to their son. (A word was given about pressing into Jesus and walking with Him in the light and repenting.)
The Christian Life
Faith
God has commanded us to have faith in Him. We have been saved by faith (Eph. 2:8, 9). In Rom. 1:17 and several other Scriptures we are told that the just shall live by faith. Heb. 11:1 tells us that faith is a substance, and in the Greek it is a verb- substantiate. To substantiate our faith, we have revelation from the Holy Spirit. We can believe that God’s Word is absolute. Rom. 6:6-11 says that we can “know this” and “reckon this”, which means that we can absolutely believe when we identified with Christ on the cross. We must identify with the faith of God. Matt. 16:17 and Eph. 1:17, 18 relate that the Spirit reveals things to us. Jesus’ Word is truth (John 17:17). See people through the eyes of faith, hope, and love.
The Christian Life: What’s in Your Wake
What follows after you? Praying in the Holy Spirit, healing, casting out demons? We as believers, not just the “pastors”, are to do Mark 16:14-18. (The Great Commission really was Jesus’ correcting the disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart.) Be a witness, tell the truth of the gospel, and tell what you have seen God do. In Mark 6:1-6 the people who knew Jesus from His hometown were offended when He laid hands on the sick, and their unbelief stopped Jesus’ doing mighty works there. When there was unbelief, He taught more to build their faith. Don’t let the devil rob you of mighty works. Matt. 14:28 demonstrates that faith is based on the Word of God and not on what you see or what has happened in the past. Use your faith so that it will grow, starting with where you are. Personalize Mark 16:17-18 by putting yourself in the verses. There was opportunity for people who sense there is ministry in their future and who are willing to lay their life aside for the gospel. “Here am I, Lord. Send me.”.
The Christian Life: Acting on Your Faith
Offering message: Matt.6:7-8 Ask, seek, knock if you want to receive. There is integrity in Jesus’ word, and it applies to those who believe in Him. Luke 6:38 is a word on giving in the middle of a message on loving and forgiving. The good measure return comes from believing and obeying. Sermon message: We live out our Christian life when we truly believe the Word and act on it in power and authority (Mark 16:14-17). Are you a true believer? Belief is not the same as an opinion. Belief is faith and action based on Jesus and the Word, such as laying hands on the sick. Mark 9:22-23 What are you believing God for? If your faith is weak, you’ve lost your hope, so you need to binge on the Word. Matt. 9:27 says, “according to your faith, let it be to you,” meaning you need to take the responsibility for your future. Be desperate and act in faith. Remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).
An Attitude of Praise, Worship, and Thanksgiving
(We prayed for rain. 2 Chron. 7:13-14) In John 4:20-24 the Samaritan woman was “hung up” on worship having to be on a mountain. In Phil. 3:1-3 the people were “hung up” on the ritual of physical circumcision (self-mutilation) and missed the true circumcision of heart. God is a Spirit. How much you know God is in relationship with how and how much you worship Him. How do we worship Him? We worship Him in and by the Spirit, speaking in tongues and glorifying Him. Deut. 28:1-14 tells about God’s blessings in relation to our willingness and praise. Deut. 28:15-44 tells about the curses caused by hardness to the voice of God and not serving God in joy and gladness. Our praise and thanksgiving should be louder before than after the victory. Col. 1:12. There is also a relationship between praise and inheriting. Rom. 1:19 -20 says that even though people can know God by seeing His creation, they do not glorify Him as God and are not thankful. Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually (Heb. 13:15).
The Life of a Christian: The Christian Life
“The Christian Life”
Offering message: Wherever there’s strife, you are losing money. Walking in love is more important than faith, because faith works by love. Sermon message: Scholars wanted Mark 16:9-20 out because they had a problem with the fact that there is judgment (those who don’t believe shall be damned). Unbelief is perverted faith- faith in the negative and not believing in the face of evidence. Doubt is not believing because of lack of evidence. Hardness of heart is refusing to hear what is being said. You do nothing when you are in unbelief and hardness. The principle of action is to put the Word into action to release your faith. The power of the gospel transforms lives. What does the gospel of truth produce in a believer? It produces signs following him; casting out devils; speaking in new tongues; divine protection; laying on hands and the persons recover. You’re not a believer if you don’t act on the gospel. Let God use your hands. (Pastor Dale laid hands on the people to receive an impartation of anointing for healing in our hands with the direction to lay hands on the sick.)
Special Worship Service
This Sunday’s service was mainly a worship service. None of the worship is on the web. This 33 minutes of audio is short segments of other parts of the service.
Acting On The Word of God
Doing the Word of God is walking in wisdom. Storms will come, but you will stand, if your life is built on the Rock, and you act according to it (Matt. 7:24-29). There are seasons of storms; Jesus was attacked 40 days, and 3 victories are recorded. Mary found out that the Word of God has the power to fulfill itself and to produce, which it did because she agreed with it (Luke 1:37-38). If you need joy, agree with Scriptures about joy, etc., because that Word produces itself. Peter received from what he agreed to do when Jesus told him to let down his nets, and he only let down one net. HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD AND DO IT! Don’t let common sense stop you from obeying God. Obedience glorifies God. #1 Be sure you’re acting on the Word by faith. #2 Don’t let your circumstances justify failure (Luke 8:49 Jairus). #3 Recognize that fear will keep you from thinking big. God wants to bless you more than you can believe. #4 Some things will not work without the anointing. The Word and the Spirit agree. Sometimes you are building faith, and at some point you know you have the faith. Stand on the Word and wait for the move of the Spirit.
Your First Ministry
Offering message: Is. 30:21 God talks to us, and we should hear Him so He can guide us. In Deut. 28:1-2 God tells us to listen to and obey God, so we’ll know which way to go and will be blessed. Sermon message: Deut. 10:8 The Levites (priests) were separated to minister to God. According to the New Covenant, we are all priests, and our first ministry is to the LORD (in worship). Samuel, Mary, Anna, the leaders of churches in Antioch, angels, living creatures, and the elders ministered or will minister to the LORD. When Solomon sacrificed and gave praise to the LORD, His glory came down. You were made for God (Is. 43:7, 21). Karen Burrows and Pastor Dale led a time of worship and ministry to the LORD.
Obedience
Acts 9:3-6 is the account of Saul’s conversion when he was confronted with the Lord Jesus Christ. In an extremely short time what had been Saul’s truth was turned upside down. Immediately he asked the Lord, “What do You want me to do?” All that Saul had to do was to pass the test of obedience. Obedience releases power. The more obedient you are, the more accurate you’ll become. Deuteronomy 29:9 says to keep the words of the covenant, do them, and prosper. Don’t grumble. If you don’t prosper, it’s because of you, not God. Pay attention to the little things and obey to do them. There are five types of obedience. 1) Exact obedience (paying attention to details); 2) Instant obedience (not letting time pass, but moving on a directive); 3) Total obedience (not getting distracted); 4) Thorough obedience (Getting it done!); 5) Willing obedience (Isaiah 1:19 Doing what He told you to do even if you don’t want to do it.). Ephesians 5:18-21 tells us to be filled with the Spirit, talking and singing to yourself in psalms and spiritual songs, and submitting to one another in the fear of the Lord. Delight to do His will and enjoy obeying God. Submission is the transfer of desire. It’s when you set your goals in line with the plans and goals of someone else. Passivity is accepting another’s will as your own, but you are active when you pursue it. Press toward the mark (Philippians 3:14-15).
Repentance: A Doctrine Worth Fighting For
There are people who need to be saved. You don’t know it, but perhaps that person will become the next evangelist. An American missionary in Pakistan was passing out tracts, and the General’s son read the tract and prayed the prayer of salvation, got filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in tongues. His father disinherited him and had him thrown into prison, and had the man who baptized him killed. He fled through Russia, Turkey, Europe, and ended up in Sweden. Every year he, Christopher Alam, wins about a million people to Jesus in crusades and churches. We need to get our fixation and joy on the right things. That joy will overwhelm us, and we’ll flow in it. Isaiah 59:1-2 says: The Lord’s hand is not shortened that it can’t save, nor His ear heavy that He can’t hear. God has not lost His power. We serve the same God who raised people from the dead. What separates us from Him is our iniquities and our sins. This principle is being attacked today. We are drifting away from repentance as a foundational doctrine. We need to contend for the faith and for what’s of eternal value. There are fundamental doctrines that we need to be teaching. Let’s not be gullible. After salvation, you might sin, but there’s 1 John 1:9 and Hebrews 4:16. You can come boldly to the throne of grace. Living in sin and feeling good about it isn’t living free of condemnation. If you don’t come to the throne of grace, you won’t find mercy and grace. You can repent and get rid of your sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Apostle Dale explains an example of how false doctrine about grace has come into the body of Christ through one well-known preacher. Acts chapter five shows that there was no “waterfall of grace” for Ananias and Sapphira. To live free of condemnation, you must stay out of sin and live in the presence of God. God is faithful and just. After you are born-again, you need to repent when you sin! Simon the Sorcerer was born-again when he tried to buy the power to minister the Holy Ghost (Acts 8). Peter told him, “Your money perish with you… Repent therefore of this your wickedness.” Sin is sin. You don’t determine your walk with God by your emotions, but by basing it on the Word of God. Hebrews 6 says that repentance is a foundational doctrine. If there is a “waterfall of grace”, then there’s no eternal judgment or judgment in the body of Christ. In Acts there are three acts of divine judgment: Ananias and Sapphira, Elymas the Sorcerer, and King Herod. The judgment of God is real, especially with the young in the Lord and with the move of the church. God protects His church. Grace can be pushed so far that it allows sin in the church, and then the doctrine of repentance and judgment disappears. Sequentially, sin becomes crowned as the leader of the church. Sin is rooted out by the power in God to confront and deliver. Sin that tries to come in and invade like leaven in the body has to be dealt with, or it will remove the power that needs to be released. God is displeased when truth fails (Isaiah 59:14-17). By preaching the doctrine of repentance and judgment, sin is brought out of the church, and then the church can be the salt of the earth she was intended to be. We need a resurrection of these doctrines to have the boldness to speak truth. Apostle Dale told of a Russian man, who was warned by the Lord through Apostle Dale not to go to America, and who was killed in a car accident when he went there. God gives a space of time to repent. In a special service at CWI, the Lord told Apostle Dale to get up on the stage and look around. When he did, He showed him a guest couple that he was to prophesy to. He was prophesying to the man about his ministry that he was running the race, but he was on the wrong track. God said that He wanted him to get on the right track and run straight, and if he didn’t, he would die. He’s dead. If you strip away the judgment out of the body of Christ, you take away so much of the boldness. Being in the will of the God is better than being in a safe place. Apostle Dale tells of his experience in Russia when he needed to repent and how his repentance in a frustrating situation became a blessing. God and Jesus are the same. The problem is my sin. Confess your sins. Repent. Get back to God. When you repent, He can take the bad situation and turn it around to a blessing. Thank God for the doctrine of repentance. There is sin in the camp. Let’s get it out and want a deep clean.
The Lostness of Man
We, as Christians, are a counter-culture. We should change what we oppose. We shouldn’t relate to sin. We should not compromise. We need to speak boldly. Your enemy will define you. Where would David be without a Goliath? We have to reclaim lost ground to present a pure Gospel. You have to see the iniquity around you in order to cry out for judgment and justice. Otherwise, the man who speaks and lives by truth becomes prey and is consumed. We have neglected some doctrines. Jesus has come to seek and save the lost (Luke19:10). He didn’t just come to pay the price. Satan blinds man from understanding his lost state (2 Corinthians 4:4). There is a blindness that a person doesn’t know he has. We have a Gospel revelation of our identity, nature, and fate. His name is Jesus. The lost don’t have that revelation. The way to Jesus is exclusive: He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). There is only one Gospel! Attitudes of inclusion do not belong in the vocabulary of a Christian, because we don’t want people to go to hell. There is the judgment of God, and hell is a reality. Man is accountable for his sins. By nature man is a child of wrath. The Gospel is to save man out of his lostness and of suffering eternal damnation. Hell is a motivation for evangelism. The real account in Luke 16:19-31 of a certain rich man and Lazarus was revealed to Jesus. There are seven truths from this Scripture. 1) Consciousness will continue after death with forms of communication. 2) He retained his memory and sentiments like a living man. 3) The good are rewarded, and the wicked are tormented with the recognition of what they deserved. 4) He was aware of others’ final destiny. 5) He was resolved that there was no means of transition. 6) All further efforts for salvation are abandoned after death. It’s over! 7) There’s complete brokenness. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Jesus affirmed the validity of the Old Testament. Value the Scriptures. Jesus knew He would be the One raised from the dead. Jesus didn’t stay here, because if you don’t believe the Scriptures, you’re not going to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. The revelation of the power of the Scripture is greater than raising someone from the dead. The rich man is still there in everlasting flames! This should motivate you and affect your prayer life and how you represent Jesus. Man’s lost state is sealed at death. In the resurrection, both good and evil are raised from the dead. He is the same Jesus that was raised from the dead. The saved will go to rewards and eternal life. Those who died in sin, separated from God will be placed back in a resurrected body to endure the consequence of that sin in that body and punished eternally. Hell is torment in fire, flame, weeping, and gnashing of teeth, eternally. Romans 2 says that the goodness of God draws men to repentance. Preaching hell is for the perishing Christians. You owe the debt of love to those who haven’t heard. Preaching of hell is to bring revival to a once-living church. Without the Gospel the heathen will go to hell. The fate of the lost is in the hands of the church. Are we the blind men? Do we do what we can to bring in the lost? Scriptures are more powerful than experience. Life is short. Old things have passed away and what needs to become new is a new perspective of the judgment of God and the perils of hell and the lostness of man. We need to oppose hell and Satan’s blinding of peoples’ minds. Don’t let your perspective of the lost wane. All things become new. He gave us the ministry of reconciliation, which is new (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). This is committed to you. You are a minister of reconciliation. Pettiness comes in when we lose our vision of God’s commitment to us. You are here in Jesus’ stead. We go, stand, and speak for Him. Be reconciled to God. Souls hang in the balance by what you do. Commit to do the work of an evangelist. Encourage others with your testimonies. (Pastor Bob shared his testimony. While he was walking he stepped across a threshold and he saw a pit and people around this pit, a big black hole. All of a sudden, someone would fall into the pit and disappear. He was seeing people he would never see again. One after another fell into the pit. The Lord spoke to him and asked him to reach a million souls. God rebuked him for asking why didn’t He speak this to him when he was younger. God dealt with him about the sleeping state of the church and his love-walk with people. His life was changed. There’s not another chance for those who go to hell.)
The Heart of the Father
Offering message: Ps. 66:12 and Is. 43:2 refer to going through the fire and the water, but God brings us out to a wealthy place. We all face problems, but what’s important is the person’s heart and what the person does under the pressure. Pastor Dale defined “landmark”. Sermon message: God sets the solitary in families (Ps. 68:5-6). God wants you rooted in a church family. He is a Father to the fatherless. Malachi says that the hearts of the fathers will be turned to the children and the children’s hearts to the fathers. Children, you may need to repent to your fathers. Learn from your father and look for a spiritual father. Fathers, pass the spiritual “baton” or “mantle” to your children or other youth and be the spiritual head. What Elijah didn’t do, Elisha completed. Invest in the next generation. Be an example (2 Tim. 4:12- 5:2). Your attitude allows someone to invest in you. The younger generation must receive from the former generation. (Matt. 26:53)
Birthing Through Praying in the Holy Spirit
Offering message: Gal. 6:7 Whatever you sow, you will reap, positive or negative. You don’t have a money problem; your problem might be obedience, faith, faithfulness… In due season you will reap, if you don’t quit. Sermon message: Gal. 4:19 tells us about Paul’s prayer for those who received salvation, but who slipped away. Travail in prayer comes before birth. Is. 66:7-10 says about Zion (the church) travailing and then giving birth. There is a point of prayer needed to bring forth children. Expect revival because prayer has gone forth. Pray in the Holy Spirit (Jude 20, 21). Your spirit has a voice, so link up with it. When you’ve prayed in the Spirit, something will come up into your mind, and then you can pray it out in English. Praying in the Spirit gives you answers and creativity. Rom. 8:14 tells us that if we are led by the Spirit of God, we are the sons of God. PRAY IN THE SPIRIT!
Jesus Is Lord: Who Is Jesus to Me?
Offering message: Josh. 1:8. You make your way prosperous. Find out why you aren’t winning and look for victory. Take care of what you have, but know that God wants to bring you more. Meditate on success and on the truth that you are victorious. Sermon: Matt. 16:13-25.Who do you say that Jesus is? You must receive Jesus as LORD, the way, the truth, and the life. Your response to His lordship is obedience and faithfulness. You must lose your life, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. I John 4:17. In Mark 7:20-22 Jesus said that it’s what comes out of a man’s heart that defiles him, and in Gal. 5:19-25 Paul mentions almost the same list of things that defile, but he said that the defilement comes from works of the flesh. Why? Jesus was speaking to unsaved men, because He hadn’t died or been resurrected, whereas Paul was talking to born-again people. Die to self and make Jesus LORD of your life.
Your Quiet Time
Prepare your heart to listen to God. Abraham (Gen.19:27) and Jesus (Mark 1:35) got up early in the morning to spend time with God. Daily time with God in the Word and prayer must be a priority. Make it a habit to have a place and a time to meet with Him. Worship Him (develop your love relationship and fellowship with Him). Daily devotions will keep you holy. Matt. 6:9 (the Lord’s Prayer) is a way to have your quiet time: Adoration (worship), Confession (get the sin out), Thanksgiving (count your blessings), and Supplication (prayer requests). Feed on the Word as spiritual food. Keep realistic goals, so you can meet them. Develop a system for yourself, and keep a notebook of what the Lord speaks to you. Treasure the Word, apply it (What does it mean for me?), and meditate on it. There is more in the Bible about meditation leading to prosperity than giving. (Other Scriptures: Job 23:12; Prov. 4:20-22; Josh. 1:8)
The Lordship of Jesus
Acts 9:1-6 Saul (Paul) was violently opposed to Christians, but God took him from fighting Him to submission. Christianity is not a make-over, but a new creation. Each person upon salvation becomes what didn’t exist before. The question we must ask is, “Who do you say I (Jesus) am?” Who is Jesus to you? We should ask, “What do You want me to do?” “Lord” speaks of submission and kingship, and as Paul put it, as being a slave to Jesus. Obedience is in relationship to His lordship. HE IS MY KING! Rom. 10:9-10 tells us to confess Jesus as Lord and to believe that God has raised Him from the dead. The new birth is a commandment. 1 John 3:2 says that we are sons of God. Don’t fight His will. LOOK TO JESUS! HE IS LORD! Know the difference between your will and His (John 7:17). Submit to His will and then you will receive His will. To affirm that He is Lord of your life: know your faith is in His lordship over your life; use His name by being under His authority; and want your life to glorify Jesus.
“Praise: The Highest Form of Faith”
Pastor Dale and others shared testimonies of God’s wonderful power and healing. What would you do if you were completely healed? Start doing it and release your faith by praising God. Praise is the highest form of faith. God’s Word works. Praise and thank Him for all He has done. Stir yourself up. If you are fighting a habit, apply praise to it. Fear is the opposite of praise; it is faith in the wrong thing. Mark 11:22-23 tells you that you will have what you say. Believe that what you say will come to pass. Are you saying what you want? Pastor Dale gave the challenge of praising God every time you brush your teeth.
We Need the Power of God: Pentecost Sunday
Text: John 7:37-39. You will be filled with whatever you’re hungry for. If you’re hungry for God, the Holy Spirit will flow out of you. God’s supernatural power makes things new. Be and stay teachable and be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues (Acts 19:1-6). You have to yield to the Holy Spirit. There is a reason why the power is or isn’t there: unity is needed. Thirst for unity. Call on God and expect the suddenlies from Him. Acts 2:4. The test is if you can worship when you get bad news. Be filled with the Holy Spirit to excess; be drunk in the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18-19). How do you have a move of the Holy Spirit? Glorify Jesus, worship Him, put Him first. You are always a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). Every day is a new relationship with Christ. You are a product of the new creation. Forget what is behind and reach forward (Phil. 3:13-14). Stir yourself up for personal revival. (There was a time of ministry and prayer.)
The 99 Going After the One Part 6
Neal shared some of his experiences with the supernatural. We must put our faith in the Lord, just like the Israelites did in the wilderness. Neal taught about how we can keep the harvest of new believers. We want to lay a good foundation in them and help them to grow spiritually, based on the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2). We need to be disciples (Eph. 4:15) and help them to grow in grace, in knowledge, in faith, and in love. He led a time of prayer for “The 99” and the harvest that will come from it.