Heart and Treasure” (offering message) Listen as Pastor Dale shares experiences he had obeying God concerning giving money that made huge changes in other people’s lives and how Church of the Word International was named. King David’s “biggest sin” was when he allowed Satan to tempt him to number Israel (take a census) and because of his pride 75,000 people died. He (King David) gave money to buy a threshing floor in order to stop the plague. Your treasure reveals your heart. “Desire and Your Thoughts” Sermon: Text: Col. 3:1, 2. Jesus is no longer on the cross (dead), but He was raised (alive), and so are we. Don’t seek the world and what it has to offer, but put your eyes on Jesus. Who owns your heart? God deserves it. You control your thoughts and desires, and when you desire the things of God, that desire will separate you from the past. How do your create your desires? (Prov. 18:1) By controlling your thoughts through: 1) exposure (getting in the right environment); 2) associations (eat, drink, sleep that desire); 3) meditation (early in the morning and again before going to sleep). Set your affections above and imprint the things of God on your mind.
Heart and Treasure – Desire and Your Thoughts
Heart Search Part 4
“The point of offence is your point of deliverance”. In Part 4 of his series “Heart Search”, Pastor Dale Armstrong continues to explore the depths of God’s searching of our hearts, and our responsibility to search to own hearts. Key Scripture: Psalm 127:1-2, Psalm 139: 1-3, 23-24
Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Pastor Bob preaches about the importance of focusing on Jesus and the truth, especially in these end times, when the enemy would try to get our eyes on circumstances. Don’t let your circumstances control you. See Jesus, see His Word, and see things by faith. How do you see yourself? How do you see the church? Scriptures: Prov. 4:25, 26; Ps. 123:2; Rom. 3:4; Heb. 12:1, 2; II Cor. 4:17.
Heart Search Part 3
Lord, take out of me the things that don’t belong; Put in me the things that do…….. In this message, Pastor Dale Armstrong continues his series “Heart Search”. Foundational scripture: Psalm 127:1-2
Benefits of Prayer
Dwight Miller expounds on fellowship with God as being the reason God created us. An important part of knowing Him is the benefit of being led by His Spirit. Dwight shares experiences in which he depended on God to show him wisdom and knowledge of what to do and where to go. We can know God’s voice and be led by Him. John 10 and 11 tell of how the people (under Satan’s power) wanted to stone Jesus and how He escaped. Then Satan tried to lure Jesus back to the same place by Lazarus’s death, but Jesus, knowing God, waited three days to go to Lazarus. He was led by the Spirit of God, wasn’t “trapped”, and raised a dead man to life for God’s glory! Rom. 5:1 tells us that if we have peace with God, our struggle is not with Him. Rom. 5:8 says that God loved us when we were sinners. We don’t have the wrath of God because we have relationship with Him. That relationship can cause us to be led through and around the struggles. Be determined to hear God’s voice!
Heart Search Part 2
Pastor Dale looks at the tensions or paradoxes in scripture between what God does and what man does, as relating to our walk with Him. While a man’s response to truth is key, each response must be launched from your heart as directed by the Lord – not peer pressure, vanity or pride. God will do His part, but we must do our part. Key Scriptures: Psalm 127:1,John 7:17, Ezra 7:10, II Timothy 2:21, Phil 2:12/13
Prayer
Pastor Dale elaborates on prayer, including: a few conditions for answered prayer, strife being the result of a lack of prayer, desire being needed to motivate us to push out whatever is in the way of getting our prayers answered, acting on God’s promises, falling into joy, and patience ( we do not change because we know we have the answer). We need to ask for wisdom, which is a spirit, so that we know how to act on knowledge. If we lack wisdom, it’s a prayer failure. We need wisdom so that we don’t fall into temptation. Cry out for wisdom! When we keep His Word, but obey and live by His voice, blessings will overtake us. Scriptures: James 4:1-5; II Peter 1:3, 4; Eph. 1:16; Prov. 1:23; Prov. 2:1-6; Deut. 28:1-3
Love That Can Change Your Family
Keith Hudson shared his testimony of how a tongue-praying “seasoned” woman brought God’s presence of love to him when he was a hippie and how he was born-again and transformed. Your love for people will save them. Don’t close the door on your family. Pray for them. Forgive their sins and love them. Jesus saved us and forgave us in our sin. Keith and Mary ministered to the 17 to 25 year olds and to several individuals and couples.
Heart Search Part 1
Ps. 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. We are going to enter into a greater revelation of the church, the Body of Christ. Ps. 138:8; Ps. 139:23, 24, 7-8, 17. Our sins separate us from God, and His grace has caused Him to turn away. Open the door and He will come in. Our prayer must be: “Oh God, I bare my heart before You.” God looks at the heart, and He desires mercy. Acts 1:8 tells us that after the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we shall be witness, not go witnessing, although that’s good, too. God is concerning about our “being” a witness. The woman who anointed Jesus was a witness. What are you devoted to? Jesus is more important than your life. Be sold out to Jesus. Satan’s sin was pride. For revival we need the spirit of repentance. Open the door of your heart, and God will bring purity.
Yes, Lord
Matt. 9:27-31 is the account of Jesus healing the blind men. When asked if they believed that He could heal them, they said, “Yes, Lord.” Saying yes causes things to move in your life. Your yes is actually faith. According to your faith (your yes), let it be done to you. The yes must be in your spirit and will get you through things. [God doesn’t go to the past to get your future. Forget the past.] Keith and Mary ministered prophetically to the church body and to individuals and couples in the congregation.
Our Mouths and Our Words
God has new things for us, so don’t get stuck in the old ones. Ezekiel 12:23, 25 says that the Lord speaks and that word will come to pass; He speaks and He will perform it. This is a time to declare and decree His word over people, places, and things. A decree is a decision. Keith encourages us to decree God’s word for whatever we are believing for. We are God’s mouthpiece. Is. 44:6, 7. Listen to what you are saying, and when you listen to what you are saying, ask yourself if you would be saying that. Get a prophetic word for yourself, your ministry, or whatever needs direction. Ps. 50:23 “… to him who orders his conversation aright, I will show the salvation of God.” Ask God to forgive you for your words, and then discipline your spirit man to line up your words with the Word (no negative speaking, complaining, and murmuring). Angels want to be involved with our words, but those words must be in agreement with God’s Word. Get rid of the cobwebs of sin – wrong speaking. Set things in order. Ask God for a word for what you need and make it a prophetic declaration. Keith and Mary ministered prophetically to the church body and to individuals and couples in the congregation.
The Fear of the Lord
Acts 9:31 and Heb. 12:28 and 29. The fear of God means no compromise, but obedience to Him, His will, His Spirit, and His Word. His commandment is to love Him and to love one another. The sin of The Fall was disobedience. We can’t carry sin into the throne room. Confess your sin to Him. Jesus Christ shed His blood and went to hell for you. Judgment begins in the house of the Lord. Become a living sacrifice for Jesus. We are called to His perfect will. Get right with Him in every part of your heart and minister to your family and to the people you meet. Reverence the Lord in church services. If we don’t reverence Him, He can’t draw the unsaved in.
Did I Ever Tell You About
Listen to Pastor Bob and Sharon Hawk’s testimony about proving God in tithes and offerings, a word given through Pastor Dale, and Pastor Bob’s prophetic words to individuals. Ps. 34:1-10 tells us to bless, praise, magnify, exalt, and seek the Lord and that He delivers us from all our fears and saves us; taste and see that the Lord is good. Jer. 32:17 records that nothing is too hard for God. (Also: Mark 9:23 and Mark 10:27) Pastor Bob shares many testimonies of God’s goodness and His limitlessness. Teaching from Job 22:21-30 -acquaint yourself with God everyday and make decisions only in the peace of God; receive and meditate on His Word; put away, resist iniquity; make Him the delight of your life; decide and decree your desire. Mark 11:12-24 tells you to say and not doubt in your heart, and you shall have whatever you say. What do you want? BE SINGLE-MINDED! Repent. Pray and speak the same thing. Desire Jesus.
Being Led by the Spirit of God
Rom. 8:12-16. In these end times we must be led by the Holy Spirit and not by the flesh. We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds and put to death the deeds of the body (flesh). Maintain your spirit life and don’t let your flesh control you through your mind. If we are led by the Spirit of God, we are the sons of God, which are the mature ones. We have not received the spirit of bondage to fear. Listen to Pastor Bob’s wife, Sharon, share her testimony of fear manifested in compulsive-obsessive behavior and her deliverance from it by using the Word and releasing forgiveness in her spirit and in her mind. Train your flesh to listen to the Spirit. Meditate on the truth that you are a child of the Almighty Creator God. Communicate with your Father through the Holy Spirit. Ps. 34:7-11 tells us about the goodness of the Spirit and what we have as God’s sons. Pastor Bob delivers a word at the end of the service.
Who Will Ascend into the Hill of the Lord
Pastor Alexey from Ukraine preaches in Russian as Alex Mirsaidov translates into English on Ps. 24:1-5. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? It is those who have clean hands and a pure heart. They shall receive the blessing from the Lord and His righteousness. When Moses was at Mt. Sinai, the people could not go to the mountain. In Ex. 24 Moses and the elders could go to God on the mountain, where he received a blessing. Moses could hear and see God more clearly than anyone else, because of his relationship with God on the mountain. He could see the Ten Commandments being written by God, and he saw God’s glory. He was in God’s presence and his face shone. When we are in God’s glory and presence, we are changed. The selected disciples who went with Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration believed who He was when they saw His glory from the presence of God. Do you want to ascend the mountain? The veil is torn, so we can approach His presence. You decide. One word, one time of meeting with God can change your life. The conditions are: relationship with Him, pure hands, pure heart, asking, seeking, knocking, climbing to the mountain, repenting, sincerely asking forgiveness, being in peace with others. It takes effort to be in fellowship with God and sometimes we must wait, like Moses being on the mountain 40 days waiting and like the disciples waiting in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. Part of the mountain is here in this church. The summit is eternal, and there are many summits. People have been willing to die for Jesus because they heard a word from God.
Overcoming Temptation
I Cor. 10:11-13 and I Peter 5:8. Temptation is anything that lures you away from God, and sin is when you agree with the temptation and act on it. Satan cannot “mess” with you, unless you’ve opened the door to him. Demons have the right to be on the earth, but they shouldn’t be at work in you. Learn from your past and be reconciled by the truth- how does that experience in the past relate to the truth? Judge yourself in light of the Word and the truth. The devil will tempt you relative to your need, but there is always a victory over the temptation. Call sin what it is- sin, realize and accept that Jesus is the only answer, and accept responsibility for your sin. Do not reconcile doctrine according to experience, but according to the truth. In Luke 4 Jesus was tempted by Satan, but He overcame. Deal with temptation wholeheartedly. Satan brings doubt and a temptation relative to a need that you have, but if you are looking to God for every need and speaking the Word and have no open doors to the devil, you can have victory. What are the principles for keeping the door shut? 1) Live by the Word and ask yourself what does God say? 2) Worship and serve the Lord only. You’ll be a servant of whomever is your source. 3) Do NOT tempt God by doing something to try to get God to respond to you. That’s pride. God does something first, and then we respond to Him. Our lives must be submitted to God. Do not try to prove yourself. Pastor Bill shared about dealing with a man with a demon and how the victory came to the man, because Pastor Bill spoke the Word of God in love.
Light Us Up and Send The Fire
Pastor Bob reviews I John 1:5-7, I John 4:15–18, Matt. 5:14-16; Ps. 104:4, and Heb. 1:7. God is light. God is love. We are the light of the world, and God make His servants a flame of fire. Chester Petersheim and Rachel Stoltzfus share testimonies of the recent trip with Dominic Russo Ministries to the Dominican Republic. Two other team members also testified to God’s goodness on the trip. There was time for ministry.
Prayer Part 2
In Matt. 9:38 the word “pray” means “ask”. In Matt. 14:23 “pray” means to supplicate, worship, humble yourself before someone higher, to make a request. In Matt. 26: 53 it means to call near, invite, beseech, call for, desire. Prayer is communication with God. To please God we study the Scriptures to rightly divide the Word, and we use our faith. II Tim. 3:16 tells us that the Word can reprove and correct us. God created man for fellowship with Him on His level. Fellowship with Him helps us to get to know Him, and then we have a stronger anointing and more power. Can God trust you with His power? Are you a son of God? You are if you are being led by His Spirit. If you’re not in Christ Jesus, there is condemnation. Are you walking in the realm of the Spirit? God can’t have dominion of you if you’ve given yourself and your dominion and worship to someone or something else. You’ll have the results Jesus did when you spend time with Him. Get into the Word. Respond to others based on the Word, not on what the other person said or did. Be led by the Spirit. Pray. Fellowship with the Father on His level, not yours.
The Law of The Spirit of Life
Rom. 8:1-2. The law of the Spirit of life has made (past tense) me free from the law of sin and death. How do we take knowledge of the Word and bring it to life? One way is to remind the Lord of His Word. Ask God what He wants to do in a situation or place. If you want revival, don’t give up praying, but keep proclaiming it. Never give up. (Listen to an example of holding on and not giving up- Lydia from Sweden.)
Light It Up
(There are several words, personal and general given at the beginning of the sermon.) God is light and God is love, and so are we. We are created in God’s image to do good works. What are you to be doing? Jesus did more than teaching, preaching, and healing. We are to be zealous for good works. Scripture is profitable. We can’t change if we don’t allow the light to expose our sin and the darkness in us. God wants profit from His church, and so we must present ourselves to Him to a higher degree. He wants to instruct us in righteousness. Where do you stand in your love walk?