Spiritual gifts (I Cor. 12-14) are corporate gifts to the body, as well as to individuals. In I Cor. Paul tells about the gifts in the context of the body and love. Love is to maintain our life with the Father. The fruit of the Spirit is love and all the other fruit come because we love (Gal. 5:16-22). Don’t forsake the fruit of the Spirit as well as the gifts of the Spirit. DO YOU WANT THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT? We are to covet them. We can’t desire the gifts, if we haven’t seen them. We can easily mess up tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy, but the others are farther from the human element. God doesn’t want us having dumb idols. GOD SPEAKS TO US. It marks you when God speaks to you. Jesus is the head over all the offices (apostle…), but the Holy Spirit is over the gifts. Every office and every gift is unique, so one person’s gift or office won’t look like someone else’s. We are to covet the best gifts. Which are the best gifts? Paul looked at prophecy as the one that edifies the body, but the gift you need to minister to someone in need is the best gift at that time. When we get to the end of our faith, we have nine gifts to take over. Covet miracles and the power of God.

Phil. 4:9-17; James 2. If you hear the Word and don’t do it, you will enter into deception. Giving to someone in need is an opportunity. God wants us to receive. Peter gave his boat to Jesus to use, and then Jesus provided a boatload of fish for him, causing Peter to repent. Faith grows. You can’t expect to believe for miracles of big things, when you have not learned to use your faith for small ones.

Pastor Dale teaches on John 8:1-12 and Rom. 8:1. Do you believe that Jesus does not condemn us? Do you understand that He loves us, even when we sin, and yet does not condone sin? Satan uses condemnation, which becomes a worse problem than the sin you committed. Everyone has sinned, and condemnation will only drive you away from God. Godly guilt is an indicator that you need to go to Jesus when you sin, and then run to Him. Pastor Dale tells a story of a hard-hearted mechanic, who had been hurt by a pastor, and how condemnation almost sent him to hell, but God’s grace saved him on his deathbed. Christianity is not morality and ethics. It’s the redemption of man from sin to righteousness. The real you, the hidden man of your heart, is a new creation. After being born-again, your flesh and mind can sin, but you can train your flesh to righteousness, because your flesh obeys you. Where does condemnation work? It works in your flesh, so do not give in to your flesh. Pastor Dale tells an experience of ministering to a senator and how he was victorious over the flesh, but how the devil made him feel condemnation. Stop condemning yourself. Celebrate the victories in your life.

Pastor Dale teaches on the gifts of the Spirit from I Cor. 12:1-3, with a focus on prophecies and testing them. In I Thess. 5:16-22 we are told to test and judge prophecies, holding on to the good in them and avoiding and abstaining from the evil in them. He shares various testimonies of himself wanting to receive a prophetic word with the wrong motive, and other people who did not judge correctly prophetic words they thought God had given them. A prophetic word should bring glory to God, not to the one giving it. A woman spoke prophetically to Pastor Dale, telling him that it is not necessary to test the distrusted (those words that are from “flaky” sources), but to test the words given by a tried and true minister/prophet. We are of God, and we know that Jesus came in the flesh, because He has come in OUR flesh personally. His Spirit is in us. The false religions may acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh, but they do not believe He comes into our flesh.

CWI is a Word of Faith church. We are part of the Body and members of one another. Pastor Dale relates his experience of being called into the apostolic ministry while he was pastoring a church and feeling the pull of “either-or”. When he was in Russia, he felt that he should be in PA pastoring his church, and when he was home, he felt tugged to be in Russia. He quit and realized he can do both, because it is not either-or. He can be a pastor and still be an apostle. Listen as he tells how he came to Lancaster. CWI Lancaster is to be an apostolic ministry. The Great Commission is still in effect. It is time for breakthrough. Be a “lion-flipper”. Don’t react, but respond. Pastor Dale briefly informs us of special times of ministry coming during the first part of this year.

We are to walk with the living Jesus, which means we will love others as Jesus did, not condemning them, and at the same time not condoning their sin. (John 8:1-11) Don’t even listen to other people’s accusations of another person. Why do people consider the church an enemy? They do not see God’s love or our love. Get to know Jesus so that you can act like Him. Remember the devil tries to get people to not operate in mercy and grace. Romans 8:1-6 People act according to their nature. When a person gets born-again and gets God’s nature, he might still sin because he has a body, and he need to (re)train it. You don’t have a fight with your flesh unless you have a new nature to fight against it. Peace comes when you change your old nature. Operate in the law of the Spirit of life and not the letter of the law. A person’s body should submit to his/her soul and his soul should submit to his spirit. Your spirit should rule you and lead you in love. We need Jesus and His love for ourselves and others.

(John 8 and Rom. 8) Listen to powerful testimonies of how God has ministered in Russia. Pastor Dale exhorts us to spend so much time with Jesus and in the Gospels that you speak and think and act like Him. Do not listen and look at everything. The conflict is between your inner man and your outer man, your flesh and your spirit. Your body is not you. Condemnation is a negative view of yourself that conflicts with the Word of God. The mind is the gate-switch that either puts you in agreement with the flesh or with the spirit. As long as we have bodies, there will be lusts. You can’t resist on your own, but you can by being strong in the Lord. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is stronger than the power of the devil to tempt you. Which one are you focusing on?

Freedom from condemnation is because of freedom from sin. Grace is more than forgiveness. Grace empowers you to live holy in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. What we lack in self-discipline (which is the same as those in the Buddhist or Muslim religion), God supplies with His Holy Spirit. Grace isn’t a cover-up, but it is an empowerment. We cannot avoid temptation if we are alive. We need to draw on the grace of God. How? 1) Practice the presence of God. Devotion to God is a lifestyle and an approach to life. 2) Recognize your need for God and His strength. Make God the supremacy in your life and depend on Him. Grace is more powerful than sin.

When Adam disobeyed, he lost dominion over himself. He had been clothed by glory. Your spirit is supposed to have dominion over your soul, and your body can be trained to righteousness. We must minister, worship, commune, talk, listen, praise, and spend time with the Lord, so that His strength is exchanged for ours. Doing works is not righteousness, but we must work (labor) to enter into His presence. Being led by the Spirit is not just for decisions. When you face temptations, you are not facing them alone. Walk with the Holy Spirit; He is greater than the temptation, and He will help you look at things differently. Don’t mix the law and the Spirit. Remember no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you shall condemn every tongue that rises against you.

Rom. 8:1-5; Ex. 28:41; Neh. 13:10. Listen as Pastor Dale explains the difference between legal and vital truth. Grace is not permission to sin, but empowerment to walk in love and in the Spirit. Sanctification is separation from the flesh- go and sin no more. Consecration means “to fill your hands”, such as filling your hands so full of God and His Word and work, and you cannot “pick up” sin. The time between the call of God on your life and the separation to Him is a time of pruning. We receive the anointing to serve when we are in a body of believers members of each other and of Christ. By focusing on the Spirit, we can better “see” the giftings in the body. The apostolic ministry of Apostle/Pastor Dale and CWI is gathering the called of God and setting them in their place.

John 8:1-11; Rom. 3:9-11; Rom. 8:1-4; I Cor. 10:13; I John 1:7-9. The love of God is unconditional, but His blessings are conditional. Pastor Dale warns of cyclical errors in the church, such as the shepherding movement and now the “greasy” grace movement. Jesus died because sin is sin. Don’t go so far that sin loses its sinfulness. The purpose of the law is to lead us to Christ, so those laws you keep and follow should be those that lead you to Christ. Jesus took the place of the woman at the well when He went to the cross. Satan wants you to feel that you’re different. A lot of winning over sin is to run, to flee from it. The law cannot keep you from sin. It’s not as much putting down the flesh as it is picking up the Holy Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is how to get holy. Make sure your heart is not hard and seared. Before Christ- how does sin affect me? After accepting Christ- how does my sin affect Him?

Mal. 3:8-11. When people ask, “Why did this happen to me?”, it is related to sin. It is not God’s intended will and blessings. Romans 5 says that even death came as a result of sin, because sin puts wages on us. When Jesus healed the crippled man, He told him to go and sin no more, or a worse thing would come upon him. In II Cor. 11, Jesus tells us that some people died prematurely because they didn’t discern the Lord’s Body. Poverty is not spiritual. In Ps. 112, God puts wealth and riches with righteousness. Losing your vision will cause you to perish (Prov. 6:10,11). The tithe is men carrying the vision of the Body of Christ in their hearts. We are in this with the Lord. Not giving the tithe is robbing God, and that brings a curse. Each person in the Body is part of you. We are members one of the other. Have a vision for the Body.

Text: James 4:1-2. Your first ministry is personally worshiping the Lord, and the second part of that is your personal prayer life. Prayer was meant for answers. If don’t we get what we pray for we need to check up on whether we asked and prayed, and whether we prayed amiss, praying with the wrong motive. Don’t take the world into your prayer closet, because God is against the spirit of the world and worldliness. Crises will make you pray negatively for needs because of bad circumstances, but positive needs will make us pray for things to change by changing ourselves. We pray to God in the name of Jesus, because we enter in by being in relationship with Him. If you don’t have joy, you don’t have a prayer life. John 16:23 and 24. Thank God for His blessings. Be specific in your prayers. Write them down. Joy is the result of a fruitful prayer life. Phil. 4:4-8 Rejoice, don’t be driven by lust, success, and how the world lives. Being prayerful and thankful brings God’s peace which guards your hearts and minds. Controlling your thoughts is being overwhelmed with the goodness of God.

James 4:1-2. Pastor Dale teaches about prayer projects. #1- Turn your worries into prayer requests. #2- Turn your opposition and conflicts into prayer. #3- Turn your needs into prayer. Rom. 8:32 tells us that God wants to bless each of us with things that are free from Him. How do we pray? #1- We pray by and in the Spirit. #2- We pray by and according to the Word. The Word and the Spirit always agree. Eph. 6:10 tells us to be strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might. It doesn’t matter if we are weak. He is the strong one. We put on His whole armor, stand against the strategies of the devil (worry, strife, contention), and resist the devil with the Word (Eph. 6:11-17; James 4:7; I Peter 5:8), use the shield of faith, have the sword of the Spirit, which is when you pray the Word of God. All of the armor has to do with the Word. Do you believe that you have overcoming faith? When the worry or conflict comes, turn it by praying in the Spirit and by praying the Word. What did Jesus do? He said, “It is written.” Follow Jesus’ example and use the Word to make the devil go.

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

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.

“No matter where you’re at in life, you know, God’s really not that concerned about your problems – Cause He’s really bigger”! In this message, Pastor Armstrong teaches on the compassion God has for you and the situations you face in life, but that He carries no worry or concern, because “He’s really bigger” than your problems. Learn how to best approach the dilemma of man’s free will versus God’s perfect will. Key Scripture: Mark chapter 10

You can be confident that God, who started a good work in you, will finish it (Phil. 1:6). Finishing means taking the imperfections and rough edges off. Col. 2:6 indicates that you are to walk in Him as you have received Him. How did you receive Him? You received Him by believing and confessing Him aloud. Philemon 6- our manner of life becomes effective by acknowledging (identifying and affirming) every good thing in yourself. Identify and affirm the way God made you unique. What is your curriculum in Him? What’s He teaching you? God feeds you what you need in the local body. Col. 2:6 also teaches you that you must be rooted and built up in Him, which are two different and yet parallel directions. What’s another form of confession? Thanksgiving- it’s a witness of victory and a form of confession.

“…..the Lord’s not done with you yet”…”. In this message entitled “Our Identification with Christ”, Pastor Dale continues to teach along the theme of his Heart Search series. Learn how God wants you to know that you are a person of value. Key Scrpture: Luke chapter 4.

Do you want to be strong? Courageous? Prosperous? Meditate on Joshua 1:5-8, Ps. 1, and Ps. 112. Exposure and motivation help you to develop a desire for something. Get so much Word in you that you begin to mutter (meditate on) it. Worry is the opposite of meditation. Turn the negative to a positive and speak His Word aloud.

Main texts: Ps. 139:23-24; Ps. 34:18-19. Other scriptures: II Chron. 16:8-9;Ezekiel 22:30; John 4:22-23. What is a broken heart? In Ps. 34 it refers to a heart that has been “tamed”, like a horse that has been broken to a bridle, bit, or a saddle. It’s when your heart becomes useable for God to move through. God “broke” Jacob. God is not the author of griefs and sorrows, so when He prunes and “breaks” us so that we become humble, NOT HUMILIATED, it’s so that we can bear more fruit. He wants to deal with your heart, so He can give you more. When you’re in trouble, your heart is the problem. Pressure reveals the heart problem. REPENT. It allows Gods to draw near to you. God wants revival, healings, and miracles, but He can’t unless there are people of a contrite, broken heart. #1 He needs people to stand in the gap on behalf of the land. That’s prayer and intercession. #2 He wants us to worship Him which glorifies Him. It takes work! The problem is lukewarm Christianity.

Joshua 1:5. Crossing the Jordan means you’re going where you’ve never gone before, whether that’s healing or freedom from debt or whatever. Each of us is irreplaceable. Find your place in what God has for you and obey Him. He will not ever fail you! Heb. 13:5 and 6 tells us that He spoke that to Joshua so we can say that the Lord is our helper. Find out who you are in Christ. Look on the positive and on what you do have. Turn on the switch of boldness in order to obtain grace and mercy. Heb. 12:1 – run to win. You’re not running against someone. You’re running to win your own race that God has for you. Say, “Somebody is going to make it, and it’s going to be me!” Possess what belongs to you and cut off anything that holds you back. God will never fail you.

Gal. 2:20; Gal. 3:2-6; II Cor. 5:7. Listen to find out what change is, how it does not happen, and how it does come into your life. Is it moral reform? Is it fighting the devil until you’re dead? Does change come by trying to make it happen? Can you change someone else? How do you get the victory over addictions, pride, selfishness, etc.? Allow Christ to enforce the death principle in you and be transformed.

Pastor Dale teaches on how you can be victorious in resisting the devil. James 4:7 and 8 lets you know that if the devil is not fleeing from you, then you aren’t resisting him and submitting to God. HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF HATE TOWARD THE DEVIL. Matt. 6:24 informs you that you can’t love God and love the devil and his works. In Is. 1:19 you learn that you need to be willing and obedient to eat the good of the land. Get ANGRY at the devil and sin, sickness, lack, lying, overeating… Jesus taught that the people, not just the Pharisees and scribes, have authority in Mark 1:22-27. SHUT UP THE DEVIL! TURN AWAY FROM EVIL! USE YOUR AUTHORITY! Replace a negative thought with a higher thought. Jesus gives you the victory (I Cor. 15:57) and leads you in triumph (II Cor. 2:14). You get into God, and you’ll repel evil. HATE EVIL.

In Matt. 9:27-30 Jesus healed the blind men because they cried out to Him in faith, and Jesus said that it would be done to them according to their faith. In Mark 9:14-27 a man brought his son to Jesus after His disciples couldn’t heal him, and Jesus told the father that if he could believe, all things are possible. The father told Him he could believe, but asked Jesus to help his unbelief. He delivered the child of a deaf and dumb spirit, and when asked why the disciples couldn’t cast it out, Jesus said, “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” Was He talking about this kind of demon? No, He was talking about that kind of unbelief. In Mark 10:46-52 when blind Bartimaeus was healed by Jesus, he had to leave behind his beggar’s clothes. Be specific when you ask God for something, and don’t quit believing for your miracle. Get your faith from the Word. (Find out the difference between unbelief and doubt.)

Moses, Daniel, Joseph, and other Old Testament leaders did not know what we know, and that is the mystery Paul told about in Col. 1:25-27. What is the mystery? It is Christ in us. No other religion believes that deity can live in the heart of man. Rom. 8:9 tells us that God lives in us and that we are the temple of God, and if Christ Jesus does not live in us, we are not believers. Pastor Dale preaches on I John 4:1-4 and I John 2:20 and 27. Some false religions believe that Jesus came in the flesh, but they do not believe that He comes into our flesh, our hearts. Everything Jesus did was so that He could dwell in us. II John 7 and Col. 2:8, 18, 19 warn of deception. How can you not be deceived? Begin and end with Jesus Christ.

Scripture texts: Heb. 4:12, Is. 55:10-11, and Rom. 10:17. The Word is alive and ministers to a person’s heart (spirit). It’s only when the Word is received in the heart that faith can grow as a seed. It also makes it possible to reach people of all cultures because it causes change in the deepest part of man. The Word continues to produce. Prosperity, faith, and your relationship with God all take place in your heart, not in your head (mind). Principles and moral values are mind issues, and when fear comes, the mind shuts down. To get people born-again, they must believe the Word. If you don’t have faith in your heart, then God’s Word is not in your heart. Open your heart to the Spirit and the Word of God.

Texts: Col. 1:15:22; Rom. 5:12; Luke 3:22-38; and John 9. Before we were in Christ Jesus, we were in Adam, which means we were born in sin and were open to sickness, disease, and poverty. Jesus brought an end to the Old Testament. Abound in grace and mercy. Pastor Dale exhorted us to read and study Romans 5.