"Pictures create feelings. Feelings create actions. Actions create destiny."
"The promises of God are not self-fulfilling. The promises of God do not fulfill by themselves. They are contingent upon response."
Jeff Arnold, Christian Life Center, Kingsport, TN
"Pictures create feelings. Feelings create actions. Actions create destiny." "The promises of God are not self-fulfilling. The promises of God do not fulfill by themselves. They are contingent upon response."
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Bro. Hendricks, 11 June 1995, Life Tabernacle Church
Matthew 7:13-14 Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? John 14:1-6 states the promise of mansions in the Father's house.
TEXT: 1 Sam. 7:1-3
1Sa 7:1 And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. 1Sa 7:2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. 1Sa 7:3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Make sure that we don't turn our backs from the Lord. Make sure that we always keep the presence of the Lord. Stay on fire with the Lord. Don't let anything hinder your walk with God. Don't let anything hinder your desire to make it to heaven. 20 years without the ark of the Lord. The ark of the Lord represented the throne of God on earth. It represented the presence of the Lord in the camp. Wouldn't it be sad to go 20 years in church without the presence of the Lord ...without the power of the Lord ...never see the great miracle I would like to submit to us that if we come to church, we can have programs, we can have great singers, we can have great musicians... but if we don't have the presence of the Lord, we are not going to succeed in life, we are not going to win the battle we are not going to overcome our adversities. (Verse 3) Their lives began to deteriorate when they turn away from the God. Their lives began to fall apart when they turn away from the Lord. All they did was to lament after the Lord and talked what it used to be. Sometimes we come to church and it's all our conversation of what it used to be. I remember the miracles of yesterdays. I remember the healing of yesterdays. I remember the revival of yesterdays. Their hearts were empty. Their hearts were full of worship but not to the one true God. - but it was cluttered with idolatry. You can continue to the place you go. You can go to the church. But until you know the Spirit of the Lord in your life, You will never overcome adversity - never live victorious - never have a victory shout Verse 3 states the condition of the people who for 20 years did not have the presence of the Lord. It was changing them from being the people of God to being people that were worldy minded. You see, when you got no presence of the Lord there will be something happening in your spirit. It will start in your heart and it will move into your spirit. And the next thing you know, you don't resemble as a child of God. The world doesn't see anything wrong. The only wrong it can see is the people of God. In the last days, they will call good evil and evil good. It's not what the world calls us that makes us what we are. It's what God call us that what makes what we are. We must understand that the presence of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord in our life is the thing that we need to keep our sanity and keep going in the right path because without the Spirit of the Lord we open up aour life and our families to some ungodly stuff. When you don't have the Lord in your life, we have no restriction, no restraint. Without the spirit of the Lord, they will be drawn into sin and they will not know what is right and what is wrong. Anthony Mangun, Because of the Times 2012
The kingdom of God is only visible in the body of Christ. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom.14:17). The beatitudes in Matthew 5 are the attributes of the people who have entered in the kingdom. It is doing what Christ would do. Preaching the gospel is not an option. There's no place for Apostolic spectators. If Jesus died for all men, then all men should hear the gospel. The church is not a museum, not a parade of talents, not a place for selfish ambition. The 4 How's (Rom. 10:14-15):
Jimmy Toney, North American Youth Congress 2011
TEXT: Eph. 4:11-16 "Our generation has conditioned our minds about giants. But we are not aware that we, ourselves, are the true giants. We are people of the Name. We are the Holy Ghost Army. We are the extension of Acts Chapter 2 church. We are a separated people." "Quit the grasshopper mentality. Quit thinking that we are too young. Quit thinking that we are a small-town church. Quit thinking that our church is too little. Quit thinking that we have nothing to offer. Quit thinking that there are too many odds against you. If God be for us, who can be against us?" "God knows we are giants. The devil knows that we are giants. It seems that the only missing ingredient is US." "We don't need Justin Biebers. We need young men who are Holy Ghost believers. We don't need more Lady Gagas. We need ladies of God." We Seek, He Saves!
by Jim Poitras The slowly revolving illuminated globe provides the backdrop as I sit at my desk, my mind restlessly spinning, and my spirit groping for direction from the Lord. I've been captivated today by one of the expressed purposes in the Word coming to earth, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). We serve a seeking Savior. Going back to the basics of our very existence is the reminder that our purpose in being here is exactly the same as His purpose in coming here. We are to seek the lost and train or disciple the found. No greater purpose. No higher calling. Robert K. Rodenbush had it right when he wrote, "Since it is not granted us to live long on this earth, it is logical to give our best and our most to something that will last eternally...reaching sinners and training saints." People from all walks of life boarded the Titanic in 1912. There were millionaires, celebrities, middle income earners, and even a few poor people. A few hours after the disaster, there were only two categories: lost and saved. It all comes down to that? lost or found. Much has been written in recent years about seeker-sensitive services. I suppose there is merit in that; designing services with the seeking sinner in mind. But, it goes much further than that. Seeker-sensitive churches ought to be churches that train and mobilize members to be seekers of sinners in our lost world. The soul-winner should be wise and sensitive. You find the lost only one way: by looking for them! We need to be seeker-sensitive Christians and ministers bringing sinners to Jesus and to the foot of the cross. Purpose-driven churches should be Gospel-driven churches. It is the Gospel that saves lives and redirects purposes. Acts 2:38 really works if you work Acts 2:38. The purpose-driven Christian is a Gospel-driven Christian. I love the promise expressed in "seek and to save that which WAS lost." It is interesting to use the past tense here. We call those things that are not as if they already are (Romans 4:17). Soul-winning and soul-seeking are acts of faith. We walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). We witness by faith. God does the work as He chips away at stony hearts. We seek. He saves! This is a YouTube playlist. "Looking Beyond" The Vision Series By Rev. James G. Poitras A Ministry of Africa Aflame United Pentecostal Church International The "Vision Series" lessons have been taken from Acts: God's Training Manual For Today's Church (Levels A, C, and T) by Rev. James G. Poitras. Lesson One: What's in the Blank? Lesson Two: Where are you Going? Lesson Three: Dreaming Dreams, Seeing Visions Lesson Four: The Heavenly Vision Parable of the Good Samaritan(Luke 10:25-37)
An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to have eternal life?" Jesus answered, "What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?" The man replied, "The Scriptures say, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.' They also say, 'Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.'" Jesus said, "You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life." But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, "Who are my neighbors?" Jesus replied: As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. Later a temple helper came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side. A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, "Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return." Then Jesus asked, "Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?" The teacher answered, "The one who showed pity." Jesus said, "Go and do the same!" Eternal Life Eternal life or kingdom of heaven is synonymous to the first and second of all commandments. “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-34, Matthew 22:35-40). This was written in Deuteronomy 6:4 to call our attention to the great importance of the truth that there is one God and there is none other but He. It is also true that we must love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and that we must love others as much as we love ourselves. These commandments are more important than all the sacrifices and offerings that we could possibly make, and they lead us to the eternal life (John 17:3; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:13; 1 John 5:20). Loving God Is Obeying Him Loving God is more than just reciting the Shema but respecting and obeying God, whom we know as the One true God! This is what life is all about (Ecclesiastes 12:17). We must do what God's teaching says; we don't just listen and do nothing. When we only sit and listen, we are fooling ourselves (James 1:22). If we truly know God, we obey Him (2 Thessalonians 1:8). The question “what must I do to inherit eternal life” may come from two different persons with different intentions: (1) one who has a reservation, and (2) one whose passion is to do everything to inherit eternal life. The first one will follow only if it doesn’t affect his reservation (Matthew 19:16-23). The second one is like when he finds treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. He is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that field (Matthew 13:44). He knows who God is and he is willing do all his best to obey Him. In this parable, Jesus is drawing a strong contrast between those who knew the moral law and those who actually followed the moral law in their lifestyle and conduct. Jesus now asks the lawyer if he can apply the lesson to his own life with the question "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?". He refers to the "good man" as "he who showed mercy." Jesus then tells the lawyer to "go and do likewise," meaning that he should start living what the moral law tells him to do. Loving God Is Loving Others We love because God loved us first. But if we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don't love the people we can see? The commandment that God has given us is: "Love God and love each other!" (1 John 4:19-21). We will do all right, if we obey the most important law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves. But if we treat some people better than others, we have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that we have sinned (James 2:8-9). If we love only those people who love us, will God reward us for that? Even tax collectors love their friends. If we love only our friends, what's so great about that? Don't even unbelievers do that? (Matthew 5:46-47). We may be faithful in helping other followers, but we should also do the same to the ones we didn’t know before (3 John 1:5). Let our action of kindness to come from our heart, and not be something we feel forced to do (Philemon 1:14), knowing that God is really the one doing what we do, if we live by the truth (John 3:21). Therefore, let’s warn anyone who isn't living right. Encourage anyone who feels left out, help all who are weak, and be patient with everyone. Let us not be hateful to people, just because they are hateful to us. Rather, let’s be good to each other and to everyone else, with the good intention of pleasing others better instead of ourselves (Romans 15:1-3). Let’s start “going and doing likewise” from our heart (Philemon 1:14), from our strength (Ephesians 4:28), from our speech (Ephesians 4:29), from our soul (1 Thessalonians 5:16), and deep in our prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). “For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do” (Mark 7:8). “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8). A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes (like lawyer wigs or military officer spurs), but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings. Traditions can persist and evolve for thousands of years—the word "tradition" itself derives from the Latin “tradere” or “traderer” literally meaning to transmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping—and new traditions continue to appear today. While it is commonly assumed that traditions have ancient history, many traditions have been invented on purpose, whether that be political or cultural, over short periods of time. (Source: Wikipedia) Every country and group of people has their own tradition to follow. As it becomes their guide to daily activities, tradition gives birth to many related concepts: customs, conventions, laws, norms, routines and rules. Tradition becomes their identity. While living on earth, no one can escape from it, at home, with the neighborhood, in each country... everybody is affected. We are living in a world full of tradition of men, full of philosophy that merely supports the tradition. I came from a family with many traditions and I grew up embracing them without questions because I respected my oldies. I honestly believe that there's nothing wrong with tradition, according to the motive of applying them to daily lives. The problem only occurs when this tradition of men opposes the commandment of God, such that its philosophy and empty deceit lay aside the teachings of Christ, making void the word of God. We have received the two most important commands: The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself (Mark 12:29-31). All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands (Matthew 22:40). These two commands are inseparable: If we love God, we must also love each other as brothers and sisters (1 John 4:21). Based on this fact, the tradition of men is the one to be laid aside when we consider the two most important commandments of God. The tradition of men has nothing worth saying and only plan to deceive us. Let us set it aside so that it will not cause a problem for a brother or sister or hurt their faith. The 14th chapter of Romans is citing a very good example of laying aside the tradition of men. It advises us, "…not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way" (Romans 14:13). Let us not base our judgment on the tradition of men, its philosophy and vain deceit. Let us focus mainly on the two most important commandment of God in order that the saints of God to live at peace and to help each other have a strong faith (Romans 14:9). Let’s not focus on the tradition of men; let’s focus on loving our brothers and sisters. Don’t exchange your love to brothers and sisters with the tradition of men. Whenever we meet such a crossroad, let’s have a simple “snake and ladder” test. “Which one is lawful and which one is helpful?” “Which one is lawful and which one edifies? (1 Corinthians 10:23). Which one are you holding, a snake or a ladder? A snake will bring you down and a ladder will bring you up. The tradition of men may be lawful but it may not be helpful and it may not edify. It will only bring you down to temptation and snare. On the other hand, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple (Psalms 19:7). This is the same spiritual gift that Paul received, which he wished to impart (Romans 1:11). It is the same spiritual gift that Apostolics can use to grow stronger in faith, if the same reminder is observed. I'm a soul winner in Christ and it's my way of worshipping God from the time I found mercy in Christ Jesus. But my human flesh gets tired when, every now and then, I reach out for the lost souls, when I seek them. My heart receives a stabbing pain when the God's word is ignored, when I see tracts in the trash can, when people continue to become spiritually blind, dumb and deaf. On the other hand, I find strength when I am weak and rest when I am weary. The mercy of God keeps me going. Even so, maintaining believers in the fold is another thing but of the same purpose of salvation. We ought to encourage everybody to fight hard for the faith that God gave his holy people, like a treasure that must be kept with fear of having it taken by the thief when it comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. Having one lost sheep from a fold of a hundred sheep is having an extreme pain; finding it is having an extreme rejoicing. Whether we feel pain for the lost soul or we rejoice for the one who repents, whether we keep the believers in faith or we use them in the ministry, whether we give tracts or we conduct the Home Bible Study, it is for the same salvation through faith in Christ Jesus to work out with fear and trembling. Jesus reminds everybody: "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 25:13). "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Apostle Paul also reminds us to be watchful (1 Corinthians 16:13; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 4:7). The devil is our cunning enemy, and he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to attack and eat (1 Peter 5:8). Look out! Watch out! Don’t give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). He’s full of craftiness. Therefore, always turn on the red alert. “Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence” (1 Corinthians 10:12, MSG). The choice is yours to follow and that makes your destiny. It's not as simple as how the options are listed below. Sometimes there's a fine line of separation between them, which may be neglected if not followed carefully. A specific example is in Romans 14 with verse 13 as the key.
There are several ways to have the internet parental control on your computers:
This writing discusses the third option. I read a number of articles in the internet about negative comments on UPCI's position letter for computers and the internet. This writing is not intended to defend it. It's my own way as a loving father to control the internet access of my children until they're able to decide on themselves with the fear of the Lord or until they become accountable. Please understand that I don't enforce such control to other parents because I believe that parents have various methods of dealing with their own children. I'm just sharing you a technical know-how. I have a free internet parental control software that can block any other site on the net. It’s one of the only free internet parental control programs on the web. Here’s what it will do for you:
If you need such a free internet parental control software, please use the Online Guest Book in order that I may send you the details through your e-mail address. The downloadable software is only 155KB. It's very easy to use.
Notes:
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