Keith and Mary gave a word to the congregation (hurricane). Pastor Dale told about what Keith had said earlier about a church that was preaching that there is no hell, and in that congregation of 5,000 people, only three people had a Bible. Don’t leave the Word of God. The Word records His nature, His character, and His will for our lives. His Rhema Word is where He takes the Word and breathes life in it and applies it to your situation. It’s what you read in the Word (Logos) and what you experience (Rhema). Get into the Word and the Spirit of God. God saves the best for last. Mary gave a word to Pastor Dale and Teri and the church here. We are called to a missionary work in which whole groups will go. Get up and take what you get here. Keith shared about the hunger to know God, even when he was attending a famous Jewish designer’s party. The anointing in you is always reaching out to others. There’s always someone wanting Jesus in a crowd. The anointing is so powerful because God loves people. We’re living in the days of manifestation, and God has saved the best for last. God wants to hear your heart. The key is repentance (Acts 3:19 and 20), and it’s not a negative word, but it is healthy and clean. We must be able to say, “I’m sorry. Forgive me.” Repentance is a huge part of salvation. Repentance causes change and removes sin. Learn to adapt. Repentance always brings time of refreshing, and it sends Jesus. Saying you’re sorry helps you become more tender. Keith and Mary prayed for and spoke over couples wanting to minister together prophetically. Keith encouraged the congregation that others are watching us, regardless of their outward attitude towards us. Seasoned people need to support today’s generation.
Repentance Couples Moving in the Prophetic
Building on a Firm Foundation
Offering message: Luke 6:47-49 tells us to come to Jesus, hear Him, and do what He says, and then our house will be built on the foundation of the rock. In Phil 4:15-19 Paul relates the relationship between sowing a gift to God’s work and submitting to do the Word of God with receiving the promise of God’s supply to the givers. Second Corinthians 9:6-11 again reinforces sowing and reaping and abundance. Sermon message: Matt. 7:24-27 Doing what Jesus says (saying in the Sermon on the Mount) is being like a wise man. Mark 4:24 Take heed what you hear; be careful what you listen to. Grow in God and endure sound doctrine. Bad things happen to everyone. Why do some fall? They are not established on the firm foundation. The Sermon on the Mount can be summarized as: walk in love and be a love-initiator. Luke 8:18 tells us to take heed to how we hear. Some people listen, but don’t hear. How we hear affects whether we get the right understanding. Hear how things are said. Pastor Dale shared two incidents in which people took what he said in different ways, and depending how the person took it, one was set free and one stayed in bondage. Heb. 4:2 says that the word preached to them and that they heard didn’t profit them. Why? They didn’t mix faith with the Word. In I Cor.3:1-3 Paul says that he couldn’t speak to the people as spiritual, because they couldn’t handle it. The people were too carnal. Carnality is envy (trying to be someone else, because the person doesn’t know who he/she is). Carnality is strife (having it your own way). So how do you get out of carnality? Repent! Carnal sins are the kinds of storms that will break you. How are you going to respond? Matt. 5:10-12 says that those who are persecuted for Jesus’ sake are blessed and should rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is their reward in heaven. Repent and rejoice!
A Man on the Wall
Ezek. 22:30 God sought for a man who would make a wall and stand in the gap, but He found no one. In Gen. 18:17 God asked, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” He didn’t ask if He should show him what He was doing, but whether He should hide it from him. The Lord did tell him, and Abraham stayed before the Lord (verse 22), and then he went near and asked God if He would spare the righteous (verse 23). He had intimacy with the Lord and fervency of heart as he negotiated for Lot’s family. Abraham was bold in front of God. We are righteous, and God is righteous. Just as Abraham had authority on earth because God gave it to men, so do we. Even with the righteous people, God called on His angels. Is. 59:15 In society he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Doing the right thing costs you. It takes intercession. Is. 59:16 God wondered that there was no intercessor. Prayer opens the door for His authority to move. Is. 59:17 He (Jesus) was clad with zeal. Jesus is our intercessor. When God couldn’t find a man as intercessor, He sent Jesus as our intercessor. Rom. 8:26-28 tells us that the Holy Spirit also is our intercessor. God tells us that we don’t know what to pray for as we ought, and we don’t know how to pray. Sometimes words aren’t enough. Verse 28 (all things work together for good) only works because of verse 27. If you just believe 28, you’ll have to believe that it’s God’s will for people to go to hell. When you pray, a lot of times it’s not intercession; it’s just you praying your own prayer concerns. When you intercede, you’ll be praying for countries, etc. Rom. 8:31-34 tells us that God is for us, and He freely gives us all things. Jesus Christ is our intercessor. Pray in the Holy Spirit. (Pastor Dale shares how praying in the Holy Spirit changed his plans for a month-long ministry trip in Europe and Russia.) Sometimes it hurts to pray in the Spirit, because it brings up emotions and things in your past that caused a lot of pain. Praying in the Spirit can allow God to sort it out and help you to be delivered from the hurt and the scars, so you can experience inner healing. Rom. 8:37-39 We are more than conquerors. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. What can separate you from God? Your past. If you don’t deal with your past, it will keep you out of the love of God. Let go of it. To be intimate with God is a one-on-one experience. Draw near to God and get alone with Him.
Steps in the Supernatural
Deut. 1:2-3 tells us that it took the Israelites 40 years to take an 11 year journey. Is the fulfillment of what God has told you stretched out? Genesis reveals how God operates: He spoke and His words created (Gen. 1). In Gen. 2:7, 19 God formed man and animals. It was a two-step process: 1- creating by the spoken Word and 2- forming the final product. What God has spoken to you has already been created. Then we wait for the formation. Ps. 139:16; Eph. 1:4; Ps. 139:13; Jer. 1:5 tells us that God knew, saw, formed, and chose us before the foundation of the world and before our birth. How does faith work? It works the same way: God spoke and created, and God formed what He told us He would do and what He provided for. Faith has those two steps: God speaks and when we line up with Him, we see the fulfillment of what He said. So what hinders and delays that fulfillment? As we see in Abram’s life, there is required integrity and obedience. It took 24 years for the manifestation of the word of God to Abram and Sarai to come. In Gen. 17:1 God told Abram to walk before Him blameless. But Abram didn’t. In what ways? 1) Incomplete obedience (Gen. 12:1-2). 2) Lack of truth and integrity (in the way he gave his wife into other men’s harems. 3) His trying by the works of the flesh to form the promises of God (Gen. 16; he created an Ishmael. Ishmaels are created whenever we do things by the flesh instead of by the Holy Spirit. 4) Abram operated in unbelief (Gen. 17:4-18; he laughed when he was told that he would be the father of many nations- his name changed to Abraham). It wasn’t until God had Abraham circumcised in flesh and in his heart that the fulfillment of Isaac could come. Col. 2:11, 12; James 3:2-4; Rom. 4:19-21. It was during the 3 months after the circumcision and name change that Abraham was a man of unwavering faith. Allow God to deal with the issues in your life. What has God destined for you? Be obedient (immediately), be truthful and full of integrity, allow God to cut off the fleshly things, and operate in faith, not unbelief.
Prayer
Prayer is communion with God, a relationship with Him, and being mindful of His presence. In Eph. 6:10- tells us about the whole armor of God and that we are to pray always with all kinds of prayer and supplication. James 5:13-18 reveals how to pray effectively and how to pray for healing. Prayer can be unfruitful: praying according to your lusts, praying against God’s will, praying religious, mindless, repetitive prayers. Prayer is not rebuking the devil, because that’s taking authority over the enemy. Don’t disconnect from communion with God. We know we are to pray to God, the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ (John 16:23). You can talk to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit, but prayer is to God. How do you know if your prayer is effective? When you are in good communion with God. Adam and Eve had good communion with God before the Fall, and Enoch’s communion was so good, he was taken up. Luke 18:10-14 mentions the prayer of humility (knowing who you are with God and knowing who you are without Him) compared to the one who speaks the “prayer” of self-justification. Is. 56:7 tells about God’s saying that His house should be a house of prayer. The congregation spent time praying in the Spirit.
Second Chances
Offering message: Heb. 7:8-10 The tithes belong to God. When we give, we are giving to the living God. Sermon message: John 21:1-6 After Jesus was crucified, Peter had left the ministry and had gone back to fishing, his pre-disciple work. Peter loved Jesus, but he didn’t really listen to what Jesus was saying about His imminent death and resurrection, nor did he understand it. Jesus had to rebuke him. He told Peter that Satan wanted to sift him like wheat. He warned him that he would deny Him three times. Peter bragged that he would die for Jesus. Peter looked at his role as one of protecting Jesus instead of doing what Jesus needed him to do in His final days and hours. Three times Peter made a public denial of Jesus, and after His resurrection He allowed him to give public expression of his love three times. Jesus knew Peter loved Him. Jesus is love, compassion, forgiveness, and restoration, and just as He took a broken man, Peter, and restored him to become a humble leader, so He can take you, even if you failed Him, and He will forgive and restore you. Jesus is greater! Matt. 16:21,22; Matt. 26:31-35; Luke 22:32-38; Matt. 26:41-54; Luke 22:56-62; John 21:7-17; Ps. 103:20 (Angels listen to the Word when you speak it.)
There’s A Miracle Under Your Seat
Text: Eph. 2:4-8. God loved us when we were dead in sins, even when we were His enemies; He is rich in mercy. You may slip and fall, but God still loves you. Don’t ever waver from God’s love for you. God made us alive together, raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. His grace and kindness in providing salvation, resurrection, and our place in authority are eternal. He wants to show His kindness for eternity; His goodness stretches backward as well as forward. God extends His grace, but we have to receive it. We can’t boast about our faith or our salvation. Our fasting and confession on faith can become works. Recognize that all comes from God, and that He has something for you. God created you to do good works, but they are the results of your having received Him. In Gen. 2:1 God rested on the seventh day from all that He had created. He made man and female on the sixth day. (“Man” contained both male and female.) God’s last day of creation was man’s first day. Man started on God’s rest day. Salvation is like that. You start with and you rest in what God has finished, and then you work out the plans that God has invested in you. What God has finished, He’s not going to do anymore. He’s already answered your prayers and provided for what you need. God is the Creator. He is eternal. He is immutable. Our finite minds can’t comprehend an infinite God, but understand that your life is intricately planned. Look at creation. Look at how intricate your body is. Imagine how much design and planning God put into your days. II Tim. 1:9 It’s according to His purpose and grace which was given us before time began. Your salvation was before the world began. He knew all of your problems since time began and had an answer already prepared. He had a whole eternity to work out your problem. Pastor Dale tells about an experience of God’s prepared answer for him when he was in Washington, D. C. His purpose for you is being worked out in your life. Receive the grace of God. God is not caught by surprise at our sin. If we fail to see God’s plans, He has many back-up plans. His nature is unchangeable, and it’s love. Don’t fail to receive God’s grace! Pastor Dale tells about God’s working things out for his friend, Gene Olon, who was ministering in Romania. He also relates about God’s connection in Andorra and about another experience with Gene Olon, when Gene was beaten up in Romania and was missing. Your life and your days are not chance. You can miss the grace of God, but He knew you would sin. God designed you for victory. I Cor. 15:57 and II Cor. 2:14 tell us that God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. God knows, prepares, and provides for us.
Building a Firm Foundation: Tithing, First Fruits First
Offering message: Heb. 5:5-11, Heb. 6:20, and Heb. 7:1-2. What do you give to your High Priest? First, you give the tithe, secondly your sacrifice of praise and worship (which reveals your heart), and thirdly your confession of sin (which cleanses you). Sermon message: Matt. 7:24-29 Build on the firm foundation. Matt. 6:33 Seek first the kingdom of God, then the rest will come. The tithe on your money is not yours, and Mal. 3:8-11 says that you have robbed God if you aren’t giving your tithes and offerings. Deut. 8:16-18 tells us that God gives us the power to get wealth. God’s covenant establishing power is subject to your wealth-gathering power. Prosperity is a spiritual tool to subject this world’s rulers to God. Finances in your hands are a tool.
The Holy Spirit
Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the part of the Godhead who dwells here. He is our access to the promises of God, and He is our communicator with the Father. What does the Holy Spirit do? He is our teacher; and He brings what Jesus said to our remembrance; He guides us in truth; He gives us revelation of what is God’s will and His Word. He gives us power. What is the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives? He empowers us to be His witnesses; we need Him to be able to minister. What does it look like to have the Holy Spirit in our lives? We should be getting revelation from the Word, walking in the fruits of the Spirit, and coveting the gifts of the Spirit. How much are we moving and desiring to move in the Holy Spirit? Start walking in the Spirit and in love. Ask Him and God will break your heart for others.
Building on a Firm Foundation: The Fear of God
Prob. 8:1-5; Prov. 3:5-6; Is. 11:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:19-31; James 4:7-8. You cannot trust your mind, and if your heart is wrong, everything is wrong. Your heart should echo the Word. Talking yourself out of doing what God told you to do is leaning on your own understanding. Suicide is a spirit caused by opening a door to a spirit. You can trust the Word. When you don’t know what to do, praise, pray, give, love, stand, and do what you know to do. Jesus is the source of our wisdom. God made foolish the wisdom of this world. Christ is the power and the wisdom on God. When you cry out for wisdom, you are crying out for Jesus. God uses the foolish things of the world. Reputation is pride in disguise. Jesus is your wisdom. Obey Him. Purify your heart and get rid of the double-mindedness. If you’re facing something, put your heart into going through it, and learn from it. Wisdom is for you. Don’t lean on your own understanding.
The Fear of the Lord
Acts 9:31 says that the church walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and they were multiplied. Fear of the Lord is different from the world’s concept of fear. Matt. 10:28 tells us to fear God, which means that we are to reverence Him. Phil. 2:12 tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. The fear of God removes the desire to sin. Sin causes a distance from God. Caution: God is a loving God and does forgive, but if we continue to sin, there are warnings. Heb. 10:26-31 says that if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Other verses about the fear of the Lord: Prob. 1:7; Prov. 8:13; Prov. 10:27; Prov. 14:26, 27; Prov. 16:6; Prov. 19:23; Prov. 22:4. Is. 66:1, 2; Heb. 12:28, 29. Serve God with reverence and godly fear. We cannot please Him without the fear of the Lord. How do we purpose to develop the fear of God? Don’t adapt to the world’s fear. Develop the fear of the Lord by the Word of God. Meditate in it. Pursue God daily. Rom. 2:4-11 The goodness of God leads you to repentance, but His His wrath and righteous judgment will be revealed. There is a balance between love and justice. Heb. 4:11 Labor to enter into His rest. Ps. 25:14; I Cor. 7:1. Develop a holy fear of God and go into His presence and lay at His feet.
Building on a Firm Foundation: God’s Blessings
Offering message: Deut. 28:1, 2 The condition of God’s blessing is conditional: if you harken and obey His voice. God cannot reward disobedience. Sermon message: Text: Matt. 7:24-27. Hear the Word, act on it and do it. God is not your problem, and your problems are smaller than God. James 1:16-19 God is good. If Satan gets you thinking that the problem you’re experiencing is from God, you can’t resist. Why do bad things happen? There is a devil and there is sin in the world. Be a doer of the Word. Hearing but not doing the Word brings deception. Grace empowers you to act on the Word, but mercy is the“free pass”. I John 4:19-5:3 The commandment is to love God and to love our brother. We are to keep this commandment. We forgive, not by feeling, but by commandment. Josh. 1:2, 5-8 The past is dead. Get up and don’t quit. Be courageous. Observe to do. ACT. Meditate on the Word to know what to do, then you’ll make your way prosperous, and then you’ll have good success. Deut. 29:9 Keeping the Word and doing it allows you to prosper in all you do. I Kings 17:2-4 If you obey God, you’ll be in the right place for blessing. John 14:21 If you keep His commandments, He will manifest Himself to you. John 10:17-18 Jesus received the power to lay down His life by obeying God’s commandment. Do you want to walk in God’s blessings? You must keep and do His commandment.
Give Him Your All
Offering message: Pastor Pat shares his testimony of God’s faithfulness. Luke 6:38 You give, and God gives to you. Joseph got what the Father promised, even though he went through bad times. We give because we are like our Father. Sermon message: Col. 3:23 Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as to the Lord and not to man. Give God you all. We are working as unto God. We represent God, so do it well. Impact peoples’ lives wherever you go. Cooperate with God. Col.3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of Jesus, as if Jesus did it, giving thanks to God. Others will give thanks, too, because of what we do and say. Prov. 22:29 Be diligent in business, and you will stand before kings. The reward is God’s blessing.
Building on a Firm Foundation: Obedience
Offering message: John 4:35; John 6:5-11. Order before increase. Jesus told Philip to do what would test him, for Jesus knew what He would do. Live by the supernatural. The will of God comes before every financial decision. God gives wealth to fulfill the vision. The issue is souls. Be thankful for what you have and stop operating on limits. The only limits are on what God wants to do. Sermon message: Matt. 7:24-27 Build your life on the Word- hearing and doing it. Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered (Heb. 5:8), such as loneliness, rejection, abandonment, and death. Through the tough times you can learn obedience. In a problem, stop looking for an answer and simply obey God. Deut. 28:1, 2 Success is measured by obedience. Harken to the voice of the Lord; He still speaks today! I Kings 19:9-12 tells us that God spoke in a still small voice to Elijah. Obedience is suffering. Fast and pray over big decisions. What is God saying to you? Be diligent to obey the Lord. I Tim. 1:18 War a good warfare and don’t let Satan take what God told you to do. Obedience, not results and money, is your measuring stick of success.
The Spirit of Man: Who Is Hindering You
In Rom. 1:9-13, Rom. 15:22, and I Thess. 2:17, 18 Paul writes that often he was hindered from coming to be with the church by circumstances he couldn’t control. Even with amazing things happening, Paul was hindered by Satan. Things don’t always go the way we planned because of adversaries. You have to be determined to fight for the will of God, and don’t just take what life gives you. In I Cor. 16:9 Paul wrote that a great and effectual door was opened to him, and there were many adversaries. Then in Acts 16:5-13 Paul was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go to preach the Word in Asia. There are some places God does not want you to go. So, you have to determine if it is Satan hindering you or God forbidding you by the Holy Spirit. Regardless, keep moving. God clarified His will to Paul through a vision in Troas. Years later, in II Cor. 2:11-13 Paul came to Troas again, and this time a door was opened for him by the Lord, and he went to Macedonia. The door that was opened to him was a prison door. Your experiences get shaken by Satan. Come back to your spirit. Check your heart. Acts 16:25 In the midnight hour, what is your heart telling you? When you don’t know what to do, praise and pray. In II Cor. 2:12-15 the earthquake opened all the prison doors, and the jailer and his household were saved. There is always victory in your problem. Don’t be quick to run away from problems and victories. You don’t know the impact on others of even one of your victories.
Grace Not in Vain
Offering message: Debt is like bondage and slavery. This is a a debt-free zone. John 6:5. God’s blessings are tied to God’s purposes. If God can get it through you, He will get it to you. Sermon message: Texts: James 1:16-19; 2:14-18; I Cor. 15:9, 10; Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 2:1-7; Titus 3:5-8; Col. 1:12. Hear and act. Anything that will lead you away from acting on the Word will lead you to deception, because your being a hearer of the Word only and not acting means you are being deceived. Faith impels you to act. Act on grace and live free from sin. The works come after grace. God is good to all. It is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. We are saved by grace, and it is His grace that empowers us to live a higher life. Act on the Word. Faith’s highest level is praise. Don’t know what to do? You can always praise God and pray.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 1
Texts: Prob. 8:11-36 (Wisdom, the fear of the Lord); Matt. 25:14-29 (The Parable of the Talents); John 6:5-13 (The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes); Mark 4:13-20 (The Parable of the Sower and the Seed). Wisdom comes from God and is personified in His Son, Jesus. Wisdom is a spirit. Wisdom is infinite and unlimited and existed before creation. The word “parable “ means to lay side by side and is a comparison. A talent is a measurement of gold. In the Parable of the Talents, the faithful ones doubled what they were given. Jesus said that to whom has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. God wants us to have abundance and unlimited thinking in our lives. The fear of loss is a crippling thing. Good stewardship is how you double and increase what you have by opening yourself to abundance thinking. God’s resources are unlimited. Don’t have limited thinking and don’t fear loss. Money is an exchange of time and effort. We are commanded to multiply our money. The Word that is sown in our heart is the source of all multiplication. Jesus measures by our faith when we release our money. Get the Word in your heart, and you’ll prosper. Release more faith and give in obedience. Plant the word of prosperity in your heart, and then wisdom will lead and guide you. Don’t allow time to be a limitation, either. Time makes you think you failed. Get the limits off your thinking.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 2
Prov. 8:14-21. Hate the lack of wisdom and seek wisdom as a priority. Riches and honor are with wisdom, and God leads a righteous man to inherit wealth. Inheritance is a legacy of increase. Prov. 2:1-6 You have to apply yourself to the wisdom of God. You have to work on it, just as you work for increase through a job. Wisdom makes you not care what others think of you. It is a treasure. Do you cry out and seek for wisdom? You must be strong in desire and hunger for it. Prov. 1:20-23 A scorner says, “I don’t need wisdom. I know better than that.” The Spirit leads you into all truth. Let the Holy Spirit tell it to you straight. Prov. 9:8-12 Some people you can’t help. A scoffer will hate you when you speak the truth to him. Speak strongly and rebuke a wise man, and he will be wiser. Wisdom gives you riches and honor, and it also gives you the promise of long life. Job 28:12-13. You can’t buy wisdom. Wisdom is the fear of the Lord. If you don’t the price of wisdom, you won’t value it. Cry out to God for wisdom. Wisdom comes from an answer to prayer. James 1:5 Ask God for wisdom. You need it!
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 3
Texts: Prov. 8:1-5; Ps. 90:12; Ps. 39:4; Deut. 32:29;Prov. 6:6. Wisdom has more to do with the heart than it does to the intellect. Wisdom is a spiritual product. What is life? It is time, environment, and decisions that a person makes. We are to measure our days and to consider our lives (time). Value time and value wisdom. How do we value our time? 1) Time is a resource, which can be managed and recorded. 2) Time can be measured, so use a calendar to measure the use of your time. 3) Time is limited, so don’t get lazy and waste it. 4) Time is money and money is time. 5) Time can be stolen, so don’t let people steal your time. Most of our time is stolen by relationships and distractions. Want to have a 13th month? Get up an hour earlier every day or stay up an hour later every day. 6) Time can be determined. Write down birthdays, anniversaries, and habits (like reading through the Bible) on your calendar. 7) Time has natural groupings. Group phone calls, check e-mails infrequently in a day. Grouping work and having a routine reduce stress and promote dependability and comfort. There are three types of time from a Bible perspective: 1) rest, 2) work (productivity, preparation, and maintenance), and 3) joy.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 4
Don’t Lean On Your Own Understanding. Prob. 8:1-5; Prov. 3:5-6; Is. 11:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:19-31; James 4:7-8. You cannot trust your mind, and if your heart is wrong, everything is wrong. Your heart should echo the Word. Talking yourself out of doing what God told you to do is leaning on your own understanding. Suicide is a spirit caused by opening a door to a spirit. You can trust the Word. When you don’t know what to do, praise, pray, give, love, stand, and do what you know to do. Jesus is the source of our wisdom. God made foolish the wisdom of this world. Christ is the power and the wisdom on God. When you cry out for wisdom, you are crying out for Jesus. God uses the foolish things of the world. Reputation is pride in disguise. Jesus is your wisdom. Obey Him. Purify your heart and get rid of the double-mindedness. If you’re facing something, put your heart into going through it, and learn from it. Wisdom is for you.
Overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by Your Testimony
Bob Hawk gives two words to the congregation. Sermon message: Rev. 12:11 We should be overcoming the enemy, and if we aren’t, it’s our fault. We need to get our fight back and invade the kingdom of darkness. Rom. 8:31-39 tells us that God is for us and that He loves us. Love never fails; God is love; His love has been put in our hearts; we are more than conquerors! Say “NO!!!!” to the enemy and don’t lose your faith. First John 4:4 says that we are of God and have overcome, because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world, and that’s our testimony! In 1 John 5:1-5 we learn that as believers we are born of God, and we overcome the world. Jon Fike shared his testimony of saying “NO!” to what Satan tried to do to him on his family’s vacation and the overcoming power of his testimony and Jesus’ blood. In 1 Tim. 1:18-19 Paul tells Timothy that according to testimonies he could wage good warfare but to make sure his conscience was good. Hold your faith and keep your conscience clear.
Sudden Impacts Are You Prepared
The Lord told Bob prophetically that 2011 was going to be a year of sudden impacts, which all of us have seen to be the case. There have been positive suddenlies and negative ones. How we respond to these happenings depends on the place of the Word in our lives. Are you moved by circumstances or by the Word? When these situations hit you, you will find out if you have faith in the Word and the Lord, and there will be a defining line between those who are committed to the Lord and those who aren’t. We are to be world-changers. There is an explosive force in us. If we are operating in the truth and true faith, we will rise to a higher level of discernment, so we can bring a word into people’s lives. How we react to these happenings will also equip us for a stronger anointing. What’s the right response/reaction? LOVE. We must be motivated by love and be agents of love, because love never fails. Satan will try to bring confusion to God’s order, but we must stay in and be controlled by peace and the Holy Spirit. Eph. 4:1 Don’t let Satan take God’s Word from you or the measure of God’s gift that is in you. The five-fold ministry gifts are to equip us so we can get the work done. Pray that we can discern the motives of people and be keen to the activity in the spiritual realm and step into the authority with the Word.
Stay Sharp With the Word
Using the analogy of a butcher sharpening his much-used knife, we need to sharpen ourselves with the “knife” of the Word. We can become “dull” in discernment, but we need greater sensitivity and discernment so we can minister to others to set them free. I Tim. 4:1, 2. If we adapt to what we hear in the world and become apathetic or like the world, we allow compromise and a watering-down of the Gospel to come in. II Tim. 3:10-17 tells us that if we live godly in Jesus Christ, we will suffer persecution. The holy Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation (sozo) through faith in Jesus Christ. We must be able to discern, because there is deception. We can live godly because of His grace. Who are you seeking? Where is your faith? Always discern what you’re hearing. Listen to God, not man, so that you may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. Using the analogy of a butcher sharpening his much-used knife, we need to sharpen ourselves with the “knife” of the Word. We can become “dull” in discernment, but we need greater sensitivity and discernment so we can minister to others to set them free. I Tim. 4:1, 2. If we adapt to what we hear in the world and become apathetic or like the world, we allow compromise and a watering-down of the Gospel to come in. II Tim. 3:10-17 tells us that if we live godly in Jesus Christ, we will suffer persecution. The holy Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation (sozo) through faith in Jesus Christ. We must be able to discern, because there is deception. We can live godly because of His grace. Who are you seeking? Where is your faith? Always discern what you’re hearing. Listen to God, not man, so that you may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Whole-Hearted Faith
This is a time when we need to be powerful. Luke 18:1-8 exhorts (commands) us to pray and not get weary. Do the Gospel; share it; lay hands on the sick; pray for people. The heart-confession connection causes change in your life. We must be full of faith in order to fight. What is God doing in you? God will speedily avenge His own who cry out day and night. Heb. 11:1 Faith is a now, quick-work. Situations are subject to change in Jesus’ name. What controls you: what you hear, see, and feel or what the Word of God says? Ps. 103 tells us to bless the Lord with all that is within us and to bless His holy name and to not forget His benefits. Don’t tolerate what you shouldn’t. Don’t let your faith fade and faint. Sharon Hawk shares how she prayed about seed and received a harvest to plant the seed, when Bob’s faith was faint, and he didn’t even think to pray about it. Luke 18:1 There should be constant prayer in the CWI body. We’re connected like a husband and wife. Do we let things slip? Don’t faint. If your faith slips, recognize it, and repent (turn around). There are many demonic forces blocking people, and then people make decisions out of the will of God. Stay in the Word and the Holy Spirit. When we get blessed, God’s kingdom is increase. Awake! Stir yourself up! Repent! Change!
The Spirit of Truth
John 16:13 The Spirit of Truth guides you into all truth. He tells us what He hears the Father say, and He will tell you things to come. Pray in the Spirit to know what the Father’s plan is for you everyday and then do it. De-clutter your heart of cares and deceitfulness and lusts, because they destroy the ability to hear. I John 4:1-6 There are many false prophets. We must be sensitive to what the Greater One inside of us is saying so we can overcome. The Holy Spirit and God’s peace guide us. Wherever you go, the anointing manifests. John 15:26 The Comforter has come, and He brings you freedom. Are you on the wrong road, a road of the flesh, the world, worry, jealousy…? Get on the highway of the Holy Spirit so you can get to your proper destination and complete your assignment. II Cor. 4:4 The god of this world blinds those who don’t believe, so they won’t receive the Holy Spirit. We can know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error.
Haiti and Healing
Chester shared videos and testimonies from his recent trip to Haiti, where medical teams and a ministry under his direction were serving. (Sam Zook also shared testimonies.) He also preached on God’s divine healing through Jesus Christ. It is God’s will to heal everyone. Using Scriptures, he affirms that God has provided for our healing, and it’s up to us to access it. Why don’t people receive healing? Lack of knowledge of God’s promises; failing to ask God; questioning God’s will; sin, which separates us from God; failure to act on God’s Word; thinking it’s not God’s time to heal; misunderstanding Paul’s thorn in the flesh; misunderstanding Job. How can a person overcome? Stand on the Scriptures; know you have authority over the devil and sickness; focus and saturate yourself on Scriptures; examine your heart; know you’re delivered from curses, such as sickness; establish a point of contact for your healing; confess the Word; hold fast to the promises and do not waver. We pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and in heaven there is no sickness or disease. We are healed, and we are to lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 5
Offering: Mark 6:30-44 Jesus gave of what He had, blessed it, and fed the multitude, even so that there were 12 baskets left over. Sermon message: I Cor. 1:30 Jesus became the wisdom of God for us. He will give us His wisdom, if we ask and seek and cry out for it. Wisdom is not knowledge, but helps you to know how to put knowledge to work. Wisdom is skillful. In Ex. 35:30-36:2 we learn that God gave artisans the Spirit of God in wisdom and understanding and knowledge and all manner of workmanship. He gives skill for you to do your job. Prov. 4:1-7 Listen and pay attention to wisdom. It’s not just a confession, but you must apply yourself to go after wisdom. The 3 keys to wisdom are instruction, correction, and rebuke. Prov. 1:1-7 Teaching gets wisdom to you. When there was unbelief, Jesus taught. Prov. 1:20-30 tells us to repent and turn at wisdom’s reproof. Prov. 12:1, 15 The one who hates correction is stupid. Prov. 13:18; Prov. 15:5, 31-32; Prov. 9:8; Prov. 29:15. There are touchy areas where wisdom may be needed but not easily received, such as weight, marriage, children, business. Show where a person is wrong in the Scriptures. Heb. 12:5-9 God chastens by discipline. II Tim. 3:14-4:5 says to preach the Word, rebuke, correct. Heb. 13:17 Receive correction from your pastor, and let others speak into your heart.
Thanksgiving, Abundance, and Worship
II. Cor. 9:9-12. Because of your thanksgiving, your abundance comes. Learn to be thankful. A want is a deficit, poverty, what is lacking. The key to your success is your thankfulness. God supplies the wants (the deficits), but the abundance comes through thanksgiving. Giving does provide a harvest, but seek God’s face, not His hand. Thanksgiving is an action. I Chron. 16:8-12 tells us how to give thanks to God: making known His deeds, singing to Him, worshiping Him, bringing an offering, seeking the Lord. In the Old Testament it means an extension of the hand, confession, giving an offering, worship, telling God of His goodness, affirmation of Him, confirming that He is in your heart, a declaration (the enemy is under my feet), an admission (I’m lost without You). Worship Him our of your heart in your own personal time and go deeper. Thanksgiving magnifies God (Ps. 69:30) and get us into the gates (Ps. 100:3, 4). Other Scriptures on thanksgiving: Ps. 95:1-3; II Sam. 22:50; Phil. 4:5-7; Ps. 103. We have so much to be thankful for. Be thankful.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 6
Don’t Lean On Your Own Understanding. Prob. 8:1-5; Prov. 3:5-6; Is. 11:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:19-31; James 4:7-8. You cannot trust your mind, and if your heart is wrong, everything is wrong. Your heart should echo the Word. Talking yourself out of doing what God told you to do is leaning on your own understanding. Suicide is a spirit caused by opening a door to a spirit. You can trust the Word. When you don’t know what to do, praise, pray, give, love, stand, and do what you know to do. Jesus is the source of our wisdom. God made foolish the wisdom of this world. Christ is the power and the wisdom on God. When you cry out for wisdom, you are crying out for Jesus. God uses the foolish things of the world. Reputation is pride in disguise. Jesus is your wisdom. Obey Him. Purify your heart and get rid of the double-mindedness. If you’re facing something, put your heart into going through it, and learn from it. Wisdom is for you. Don’t lean on your own understanding.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 7
Eph. 1:17 Wisdom reveals what’s really important. It comes from God. Wisdom is a spirit. A spirit has an entity, an identify, and personality, and is a person. A spirit of wisdom is partnering with the Godhead. Wisdom doesn’t depend on you, because wisdom is having God in you. Are you listening to God? Get closer to Him so you can hear Him. Prov. 9:8-10 tells us not to correct a fool. You won’t win anyone by an argument. You must be willing to ask for and listen to instruction. Do we love change? If God isn’t talking to you, maybe you are not receiving wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. God rebukes and corrects us for us to come up to a higher standard. Cooperate with Him. Luke 2:40-52 Jesus grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him. Pastor Dale explains about Jesus as a boy at the age of manhood and His relationship with His parents and God as His Father. Jesus increased in wisdom by habitually submitting to His parents. Increase (to cut one’s way forward) is hard work and is not growth (which is a natural process). Wisdom needs habitual submission to bring increase. Jesus’ preparation: the age of manhood- time when He thought He was ready; He had abilities; He knew He was called, but He wasn’t really ready for increase in wisdom, stature, and favor until He habitually submitted to His parents. Submission is a transfer of desire, when you make someone else’s will your own. Learn to receive a rebuke.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 8
Eph. 5:13-19 says that all things that are discovered are made manifested by the light of God’s Word. You can take this to be a negative or positive thing. A moment of discovery can precipitate repentance, like a person finding out that he is going the wrong way. Repentance is a good thing and is turning you in the right direction. A walk of wisdom takes your out of darkness into a realm of light. Eph. 5:16 God redeems the time; for example, Jesus did His whole ministry in three years, and what took the Israelites forty years in the wilderness took Jesus forty days in the wilderness. Eph. 5:17 is a contrast to Eph. 5:15 and tells us that walking outside of God’s will is unwise. Wisdom is the power to do things, but it must be in the confines of the will of God. When people don’t know the will of God and their destiny, they turn to drinking. Instead of getting drunk, run to the Spirit of God to understand His will for you. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, speak in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs and praise God. Being filled with the Spirit changes your countenance. Col. 3:16 Letting the Word of Christ dwell in you in all wisdom brings teaching and praise. What is your problem? Let it develop you, and don’t be afraid of challenges. Who would David have been without Goliath?
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 9
Get Wisdom and Get Understanding. John 8:31, 32 If we continue in God’s Word, we will intimately know the truth, which sets us and other people free. You need to be in the place of authority, or Satan will steal from you. Ps. 119:45 How badly do you want to walk in liberty? To keep from being bound up, receive the Word. The responsibility for seeking for the truth and promises is ours, not God’s. The Word tells us repeatedly to not be deceived (I Cor. 6:9, I Cor. 15:33, Gal. 6:7). I Tim. 3:10-13 If you’re not free in an area, search to know the truth for that. Prov. 4:1-7 Get wisdom and get understanding. Give me understanding (Ps. 119:34, 73, 125, 144, 169). Prov. 28:5; Ps. 111:10. To get God’s results, do it God’s way. In Matt. 13:18-23 (Parable of the Sower) they all heard the Word, but the results came as they responded to it. Seek for understanding. I John 5:18-20 Knowing God is understanding.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 10
Offering message: III John 2. Your soul can prosper if you are in a prosperous place. God’s will is good and is for your body and soul to prosper. Aaron Ray Zimmerman reported on the purchase of properties in Ukraine for ministry use. A word was given about God’s joy in giving, our surrendering our giftings, obedience, standing, believing, being touched, released, and sent; understand who God is and who you are in Christ. Sermon message: The Israelites left Egypt, a place of bondage, and went into abundance. Getting out of debt is freedom. James 3:13-17 tells us that wisdom can be earthly, sensual, and devilish. If you have envy and strife in your heart, you don’t know who you are. If your faith isn’t working, check out your love walk. James 1:16 warns us to not be deceived. Everything that comes from God is good. Phil. 2:2-4 exhorts us to be like-minded, and the only way we can do that is by agreeing on the Word of God. James 1:2-6 Count it all joy when you fall into various trials. “Count” there means like balancing your books, and you do that by joy and praise. Set your thermostat in prosperity and health, and balance your account with praise. I Sam. 30:1-8 is the account of the captivity of David’s and his men’s wives and families. He wept until he couldn’t weep anymore, but he had the power to praise God. There comes a place where you have to balance your own accounts and encourage yourself.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 11
Offering message: Gen. 26:6 and 12 tell us that Isaac sowed in a time of famine and God blessed him so that he became very prosperous. Even in poor economic times, we can prosper. Sermon message: Prov. 4:5 Get wisdom and get understanding! It’s like your mother calling you to the dinner table, “Come and get it!” You have to put effort into it. #1 You must have desire and an appetite for wisdom. #2 You must ask for wisdom (James 1:5, 6). #3 You must receive, or take, wisdom by faith (Mark 11:22-24). There is earthly, sensual, and demonic wisdom, and then there is wisdom from above (James 3:13-17). Wisdom brings wealth. Nothing compares with wisdom (Prov. 8:10, 11; 16:16). II Chron. 1:6-12 is about Solomon, who after offering 1000 burnt offerings, which pleased God, He asked Solomon to ask Him for whatever he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom. He spared no expense for the temple he built for God. His wisdom brought huge wealth, so that queens, such as the Queen of Sheba, and kings came to learn from him, bringing large amounts of their wealth (II Chron. 9:1-28). Wisdom thinks abundance. Change your mindset, and don’t sit in judgment of what people spend.
The Wealth of Wisdom Part 12
The sermon title- Merchandise Standard- Offering message: Prov. 3:9, 10. You are to honor God with your first-fruits. You determine the first-fruits by faith. You don’t have to wait until you know what is your increase, but you can tithe on what you need. God wants us out of debt so God can use us more and more; debt is a trap. God wants to bless you. Prov. 3:13, 14 “Happy is the man who finds wisdom…” It’s not a sin to be happy. God wants us happy; happiness comes with wisdom. You can merchandize wisdom. God wants you rich. Rich means having more than enough. What is money? #1 Money is a form of exchange. It’s an exchange of time, talent, effort. wisdom. The first step is to exchange it. What do you have? What knowledge do you have? Wisdom is better than the exchange of gold or silver. You can make money from your wisdom if you exchange it. #2 Money must move. It blesses every time it moves from one person, business, or place to another. Accumulation stops economies and money. God’s kingdom’s basic principal is for us to give. Giving is part of the godly movement of money. Matt. 25:14-21 is the parable of the talents. Focus on your gifts and what God has given you. Exchange what you have and can do with wisdom. The fear of loss keeps you from moving money. Stewardship is taking what you have and multiplying it. Being faithful with what God has given you allows us to enter into the joy of the Lord. III John 2. [Eph. 5:28, 29].
The Season for Jesus
Want to think outside the box? Listen as Pastor Dwight explains the role of God’s creation of man (Adam and Eve) with the birth of Jesus Christ. Texts: Gen. 1:26 ff; Matt. 1 and 2; Luke 1 and 2. God breathed life into Adam and gave him His glory and authority over the earth, but Adam didn’t stop Eve when she listened to the devil, nor did he take authority during the attack of the enemy, so the earth was turned over to Satan. Adam was created, but Jesus was the Son. What Adam lost, Jesus redeemed back to God by something greater than the Abrahamic covenant. Jesus ruled and reigned as a man on earth. He listened to God. [Whoever you listen to is your authority.] Jesus died as God on behalf of man, therefore solidifying His covenant with man. Jesus’ early life somewhat paralleled the Israelites- going to Egypt and coming back to take over the land. God’s will toward you is peaceful. God’s truth disciplines and teaches us. Jesus came to be our example. Don’t let Satan kill, steal, and destroy you. Rom. 5:1-4 tells us that we have been justified because Jesus came. We can glory in tribulation, because we are victorious. Offering message: Speak over the seed you give. Speak to your bank accounts, investments, etc., so your needs are met. Don’t negate your increase by speaking curses.
Christmas The Gift of Love
Pastor Dale read the Christmas account in Luke 2, a devotional from Daily Light on the Daily Path, and an e-mail of appreciation from a local waiter about the CWI youth. Pastor Dale stressed the importance of reading the Word, because it brings change to us when it gets into our hearts. It is the seed. The Parable of the Seed in Matthew says that we are the seed. It is truly about: “One way we love God is by loving one another.” Christmas is the gift of love.
Read The Book
In a very short talk, Pastor Dale encouraged all of us to fulfill God’s will this coming new year by reading and hiding the Word of God in our hearts. (Ps. 119:9-11) To conquer habits in your life, put more of the Word in your heart. Receive Jesus’ work by feeding on the Word intentionally. Put your Bible (or mp3 or CD player…) where you do something routinely to remind you to use that time to get the Word into you.
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Lancaster, PA
Saturday – 6:00 PM