July 2015
The Holy Spirit comes like a fire to purify, enlighten, warm, melt and consume. The scripture warns us to not quench or dampen the Spirit's work in our lives. This can happen when we refuse to respond, have an inadequate/chilled response, or an exaggerated/disruptive response to the Holy Spirit's promptings. We are called to be led by the Spirit!
Some things in life we will not be able to understand or explain at all, but there are a lot things, God wants us to see very clearly. Our eyes are opened by the leading of the Holy Spirit; it is not possible to live a supernatural life by natural means. It is a true statement - if we are left to ourselves - we will create our own perspective. Everyone has a different perspective - that will change as we grow and mature in Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us that we have the mind of Christ and it's because we have access to the Holy Spirit. If we have the mind of Jesus Christ we can know the heart, plan and will of God. God is about making things better, redeeming the situation. What are you doing to make your church, your home, your community a better place?
Brother Rick Clendenen came and gave a prophetic word for this year. The church will be more of a demonstration of Christ than just the manifestation of Christ. We need to know the time and season we are living in - read 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Everything can be found in these verses for us to live in this time; how to be the church, how to watch our personal attitude and the need to trust God for His grace. Brother Rick closes with the keys to survival for the church in the last days.
Kevin Ramsby, Senior Pastor at Revival Tabernacle in Detroit, shares his amazing testimony of how he survived a home invasion where he was stabbed 37 times. Kevin was seconds away from eternity when he heard four words, "They still need you." In Mark 11:23-24, the bible tells us when you are facing the mountains in life - ask and believe you will receive - believe that God will move the mountain. We all have mountains that need moved but we cannot stop there - continue to verse 25 and see that forgiveness comes before our prayers. We all have the choice to forgive and release that person, will you choose to forgive?
Pastor Tim Dilena joins us from Brooklyn Tabernacle. Everyone would all like their prayers to be answered quickly. In John 16:24, Jesus said to "ask, and ye shall receive." The hardest part that can set us off in a downward spiral is in between "ask" and "receive." God will never give us something we're not ready for. His curriculum and way of teaching us is a lot different than we think. We need to learn about what is going on in our life and the character of God. What happens when we ask a simple prayer...
Dale Yerton began his message in Daniel chapter 1. Daniel teaches us that we are not prisoners of war, we are children of God! If he can prosper in Babylon, we can prosper where we live! When Daniel changed his attitude and came to respect the authority he was under, God used him in a great way. God showed Daniel, he was looking backward when he should have been looking forward to the coming Savior - and we should be today. Redemption is the answer!
We must not allow negative circumstances happening around us to take our focus off of biblical principles for Christian living. In fact, as things get darker around us, the response of the follower of Christ becomes even more illuminated. We are to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us.
