Send your Glory Lord

"If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:11


I cannot describe to you the awesome, riveting, running over, exciting presence of God and His Glory that is starting to fill our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits here at the Lebanon Church of God of Prophecy! As you may or may not know, I have accepted the full time pastorate position at this church. I'm just in awe of God and His divine appointments that He has brought my way. I'm very thankful to be where I am today and I know that it's only by the grace and mercy of God that He has given me this season to minister to a great church body that has an excitement about them to "go into the harvest" and reach the lost for Jesus!

This past Sunday morning I was lead to minister to the congregation about the urgency to have the Glory of God in our individual lives, homes, and churches. I was lead to the account of the daughter-in-law of Eli found in 1 Samuel chapter 4. His daughter-in-law had given birth to a son, Ichabod. The name Ichabod has a meaning of "The glory has departed, or left" and he was named this because the Ark of the Covenant of God had been taken from the people of Israel. So often in our lives, we put ourselves into situations to where we find ourselves not walking in the glory of God. Sometimes, we allow ourselves to be mislead by what we subject our thoughts and actions to, that we don't give room for the glory of God to be welcomed into our lives.

We don't have to walk in "yesterdays" achievements. We don't have to continue on the same beaten path because it's always been the thing to do. I believe God is calling us to a greater standard than what we have been living and it's time to pray for the replacement of the spirit of Ichabod and accept the spirit of Immanuel, "God with us!" We have, for so long, let men's opinions and sinful ways dictate our blessings and outcomes of our situations instead of desiring "more God" in our lives. I believe, in my own spiritual walk, that I need to pray for the spirit of Immanuel in my life, everyday! It's when we put our total trust in God for our lives, that He truly blesses us with His glory!

What an awesome "revival" the church of God will experience when we start letting God work in our services, our lives, our work, our homes, etc... I pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that we can experience the  Glory of God in our churches like they did in the early church in the book of Acts. Why aren't we "adding to the church daily?" Maybe because we have been walking in the wrong spirit for too long. Let's expect the glory of God to be a refreshing breath of energy in our church services and subsequently revival will happen!

Walk and not faint

As I walked back into the sanctuary after getting a drink of water before the 11am service started, I knew in my Spirit that we were in for something special when our song leader began to weep and thank the Lord for changing the song service after only singing one song already. I began to notice that God was wanting to move in a mighty way in the service and that God was beginning with our song leader as he began to obey the voice of God. I began to since the presence of God and Him moving among others in the congregation and I began to praise and to worship God and to pray for all those in attendence to be open and "willing to obey". God is looking for willing vessels that He can fill with His Spirit so that we can be ministers one to another.

I'm proud of my song leader for allowing God to use him as a vessel yesterday because I believe that he was the key that started a domino effect, if you will, and we had a tremendous service. As the Lord continued to move, I began to seek the Lord for direction as to preaching or just waiting upon Him to see what was about to happen. I was immediately lead to read the passage of scripture in Isaiah 40: 28-31 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (NIV). Verse 31 in the KJV reads like this: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." The word renew in this scripture means change, so in other words, if we wait upon the Lord we will be changed!

Needless to say, the Holy Ghost did the preaching yesterday morning and we were filled with His presence. We had individuals on the altar, we had individuals walking the isles, we had individuals giving testimony's, we had individuals spontaneously singing songs of praise and hymns of old. It's amazing to be in a service when people get rid of the flesh and allow themselves to "wait upon the Lord and be changed in strength of the Spirit." I think it was a great way to kick off "Passion Week" and I trust that we will continue to be blessed as we "walk and not faint"! Be blessed today!

Commend Ourselves

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6: 3-4 "We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way..." Notice what Paul is saying in these scriptures, especially as you go on and read through verse 10. Paul said "we commend ourselves." The word commend is derived from the Latin word commendare: com- (intensive) + mandare, to entrust. So, to commend means to represent as worthy, qualified, or desirable; to speak highly of (praise); to put in the care of another (entrust). Paul is saying that as servants of God, and we that are saved by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ are servants of God, are to trust God in every aspect of their lives. Paul said in every way and he list some of the ways: "in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger..." we are to commend ourselves because, by Him, we are qualified and should desire Him, praise Him and trust Him, be servants of God. We have been given all authority over the circumstances that are in our life through the Saving grace of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Ghost!

It's our opportunity to give God praise and trust as being servants of God. We are called to a purpose and that purpose is spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to live sanctified lives by the drawing and convicting power of the Holy Ghost. Are you leading a spirit-filled life? Some churches have it in their "doctrine" that they believe in practicing and having a spirit-filled life but for some reason you don't see any "fruit" from the "gifts" that come with a spirit-filled life! In order to go through and come out on the other side of what Paul was referring to, and we all go through the things that are listed in these scriptures, we have to practice living sanctified and spirit-filled lives, putting all praise and trust in God as His servants!

Commend yourself today and be the best servant of God that you can be!

Overcoming schemes

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." (Ephesians 6:10,11)

So many times we look at this passage of scripture, or I do, and we visualize a devil in a red suit with horns protruding from his head and holding a pitch fork. I don't think that Paul visualized the devil in this form when he urged the church at Ephesus to "be strong in the Lord". The battle that we are fighting is NOT against a red suited devil with a forked tongue. Our battle is against "those that allow themselves" to be part of the "rulers and authorities and dark world" that Paul continues to talk about in the scripture. Paul talked about unity in the Body of Christ and that there were some that could not be part of that unity because of the "futility of their thinking that they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts." (vs17,18)

I'm mad at the devil because he has launched a warfare on me as to being a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the power of the Holy Ghost and I have shaken up some ground that he thought he had firmly settled in on! I have authority through JESUS and the HOLY GHOST to plow up every ground that the enemy has tried to make UNFRUITFUL! It is my job as CALLED from GOD to be so close to him in the Spirit, through prayer and fasting and more prayer and fasting and more prayer and fasting, that he causes me to be as Ezekiel and see the valley of dry bones and prophesy the Word of the Lord!

Paul wrote to the Corinthians and he said this, "I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval." (I Corinthians 11:18,19) Let me give the devil a big black eye here, I'm not so dumb that I don't know you have people settled in the church buildings that you use to playout your schemes. It's not rocket science! That's why I stand firm and I stand strong in the mighty power of God and I put on His armor and I fight against the wiles of the enemy and against the rulers and authorities and powers of the dark world. I am going to JUST UP as a Christian and fight the fight!!!!!