Kingdom Ministry, Proclamation and Demonstration!

Kingdom Ministry, Proclamation and Demonstration!

First, Jesus preached repentance and the good news of the kingdom of God. Then He cast out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead... all of which proved that He was the real deal.  I've tried to look at ministry the way Jesus approached it. What was the message Jesus preached? 

We have been commanded to carry on the ministry of Jesus until He returns! If that’s the case, then, I think it would be good to actually know what type of message and ministry Jesus had when here on earth. 

The good news Jesus proclaimed was the gospel of the kingdom of God. You could summarize the message of Jesus in  Mark 1:14-15:

"14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 

15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." " (ESV)

The heart of the Christ’s message was both the proclamation of God's action...

"the kingdom is near"... and the demands for a response...”repent and believe." This salvation was presented with the idea that the "kingdom of God" is close... I are you ready for the Kingdom? For the rest of His public ministry, Jesus demonstrated that the kingdom of God was nearby, by healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead. Every miraculous act had a purpose... to confront people with the message that the kingdom had come and that they had to decide to accept or reject it. This was the twofold pattern of Christ's ministry which was repeated wherever He went. Jesus presented His message with, first proclamation and then demonstration.

The people of God are very good at the first part (Proclamation) of this approach to ministry; however, we really need God to demonstrate His kingdom power through us! This can only happen through a true Encounter with the Holy Spirit!

A Call to Fight! We Must Awaken!

It is time for the church to wake up! There are more lost souls than ever walking around us!!!  I’m not asking for God to send Revival,  I'm asking for God to begin an Awakening of the church (True Believers)! We have allowed our passion for reaching a lost and dying world to be replaced by being comfortable in the pew!

a•wak•en•ing/əˈwāk(ə)niNG/

Noun: An act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something.

Adjective: Coming into existence or awareness.

Today I will AWAKEN! This day I make a choice to fight and not slumber, to step into God's purpose and anointing! I choose to equip and cover myself with the Whole ARMOR OF GOD! I will not be dressed up with no place to go. The Captain of my soul commands us to move in His name! To engage the spirit's of addiction, anger, bondage, strife, bitterness, and fear!  But most of all bind the Spirit of religion! 

I cannot sit by with the knowledge that souls will be lost this day while I bask in the Grace and peace of God! I must move.... Move FORWARD! (Ephesians 6)

There is a cost to this and I must be aware of that fact!   To free those who are captive is to invite the enemy to attack my life!!!!  

No, I'm not asking God to send revival... I'm asking God to make me the REVIVAL!  To make us the REVIVAL!!!!

You Can Make It!

You Can Make It!

There are many times that we feel as if we will not make it through our day! In Christ, we can make it. What a comfort it is to know that we can turn everything over to Jesus! If you are loaded down with the worries of your day why not do what Peter said in the 1 Peter 5:7, 

“Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you." (NCV) 

The power of Christ can help us deal with whatever comes our way. There is no need to be afraid if we are trusting in Him with everything. If we do not look to Him, then we are helpless when we face difficult times. We are lost trying to find our own way.   There is only one thing you can do when you are lost… use your compass and find “true north”!  That's what outdoors adventures are taught.   What is our true Spiritual North?  It's simple, it's the Cross!  Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Our true direction is found only when we surrender our worries and anxiousness to him!  There is only one way to find peace to find direction and that is on our knees before the Cross in prayer!  Jesus has some powerful word he leaves us in John 14.   A better way to put it is, Jesus gives us a powerful GIFT!

““I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

John 14:27 NLT

So right now why not just take a second to turn it all over to Jesus. Remember He cares for you!

Love & Peace

Pastor P.

"An Honest Moment!"

To be totally honest I got and e-mail last night about the persecution of Christians in the nation of Kenya! I felt bad for those people but I did not have true empathy for them. I have spent the morning repenting for my lack of genuine heart felt compassion. I think we forget so often how blessed and spoiled we are in this nation of ours. I am afraid that sometimes we live out the scripture in
Matt 24:12 "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,"
We cannot get to the place that our love toward people becomes cold because we feel helpless and unable to change this evil world around us.
Truly if we are the body of Christ then we should be moved beyond just the feeling bad for those people to true heart felt prayer and anguish. When we hear of things like the horrors in Kenya we should not be able to go right to sleep! We should be so troubled that we can't find rest until we touch God on behalf of our family that is suffering!
I just ate lunch and my biggest problem was to choose what to eat. There are people right now that have to try to find something to eat so they will not starve. So right now yes pray for the Christians that are suffering! However, before you do why not join old Pastor P. and repent for not being moved beyond just feeling bad about the situation to imagining you were in their shoes.
Prayers for you and our suffering brothers and sister who are across this world!

Remember you are in my prayers!
Pastor P.