P H O P

What an incredible weekend and opportunity to make God famous! Our church had the wonderful opportunity to set up in the Pasadena Health Fair and witness the power of God to our hurting community. 

I was so proud of the church that took their Saturday, weathered the storms, came out to the event and ministered to nearly 1,300 people! There were so many people saved and delivered; we are truly blessed to be a part of such a powerful thing for Jesus Christ!

Acts 16: 10 - "Now after he had seen the vision, 

immediately WE..."

This is what church is all about; working together, seeing people saved and lives touched by the mercy of Jesus Christ!

Now is the time people, we cannot sit around and argue and debate over doctrine, church fights, and nonsense...it's time to rise up as the people of God, the "Called out Ones" and preach the gospel to every living creature.

My friend, people are dying and going to hell, what are you going to do about it? It's time to fight and rescue as many as we can! I'm just so thankful that God chose my family to come here and see this great harvest...

Our youth gave up their comfort and volunteered to wear costumes to help minister to the kids that came to the event. It was so special!!

 Our booth was set up right in the middle of the action; several families came through - well, they had to! You had to visit EVERY booth in order to qualify for free presents...it's a nice feeling having people come to US instead of the other way around!

Revelation 22: 17 - "The Spirit says to the church, whoever is thirsty, let him come...whoever is thirsty let him come and drink the water of life"

The Gospel Confrontation

Jeremiah 20:7-9

7 O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded;
You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.
I am in derision daily;
Everyone mocks me.
8 For when I spoke, I cried out;
I shouted, “Violence and plunder!”
Because the word of the Lord was made to me
A reproach and a derision daily.
9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.

At the heart of the gospel, is the good news that Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind…however, in order for that to be the good news, we must be made aware of the bad news! The Lord Jesus Christ always confronts our present conditions…conditions of our heart; this way, we can turn away from our sinful disposition, and know why.

How Shall they Know?

Romans 10:14

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

This very truth of the gospel is what divides many religions and faiths. Believe it or not, there are ‘Christian’ churches who have rejected this principle altogether.

They have simply given up on evangelism, or have stopped completely.

We live in a world of the offended: to keep the peace, many God-fearing churches have sacrificed their zeal for God in order to please men.

Matthew 24:9-11

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

Luke 6:26

26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Understand this truth – the preaching of the gospel will make people upset. Jesus told us that this will happen…no one wants to be told about their shortcomings, and conviction isn’t something people rush into feeling!

This unchurched generation makes excuses for why they won’t attend church…

-        It’s boring

-        All the preacher wants is your money

-        I don’t need church to go to heaven

-        Church is in my heart, not in a building

The truth is, if you’re absent from Church, you’re absent from the conviction that comes from God through church.

Yet, it’s really sad when, even the church of Jesus Christ is sorely lacking in this conviction! If you’re not convicted when you come to church, it’s for 2 reasons…

1.  You’re so cold, God can get through to you

2.  The authentic, convicting preaching of the gospel isn’t found

We have been called by God to preach the full gospel and in doing so, there will be, no, there must be conviction given by the Holy Spirit!

John 16:8

8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Standing for Truth

It’s been said that if you won’t stand up for something, you’ll fall for anything.

The church of Jesus Christ needs men and women to stand up and declare the gospel! This is in – your – face, personal evangelism! In other words, we’ve been called by God to tell it like it is!!

Acts 7:51-54

51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

It was a brave thing that Stephen did…it cost him his life, but his death was heaven’s gain. He went out like a soldier, like a real man of God…telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

I’ve often wondered how that episode touched something deep inside of Paul (Then Saul), that day?

We read his boldness in preaching the gospel, I wonder if the seeds of the gospel were sown into his heart all those years ago.

I’ve had people come to me, that I haven’t seen since high school, and they tell me that they’re saved and live for God, and always express gratitude for me standing up and preaching when I was in school…what about your impact?

Are you going to sit idly by and watch your family or friends die and go to hell and you say nothing? I hope not.

Shut up in my bones

Text:

9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.

Jeremiah was obviously discouraged, but his love for God, and their relationship spoke louder than what he was going through, and he simply couldn’t hold in the Word of God! Can this be said of you?

Will we only tell people about Jesus whenever things are alright in our world, or no matter what?

Are you filled with the Holy Ghost? If so, His word will stream from your heart and you’ll be a witness for sure. There is a boldness and passion that only His Spirit can give to you and to me.

Let us be a people who will speak His Word, live the truth of it, and make known to the world the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mark 16:15 – ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature.’

Houston Strong

Philippians 4: 13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

Judges 6:3-4

3 So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

Judges 6:24-35

24 So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

25 Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.

28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. 29 So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.”

31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” 32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”

33 Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

1.  Too many of God’s people are oppressed by their enemies. Midian became bullies over time. Israel opened themselves to this oppression with their rebellion…there are other times however, where the enemy simply oppresses because they are not impressed by our devotion.

They always oppress / attack what you’ve produced in your life…you can never grow in Christ without demonic opposition…

Matthew 13:24-28

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’

This is the type of oppression that will sometimes make you question God, much like Gideon did…

Judges 6:13

13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

Even though his and our whining and complaining is totally unjustified, God will still call us what we would become, rather than who we presently are.

2.  Gideon gets this revelation that God is a God of peace because, in light of his discouragement & despair over his present circumstances – God chose to believe in him! It was there, that Gideon built an altar of worship based on that revelation alone…where is your altar?

This is where the plot thickens…God tells him to tear down the false altars of his community…you cannot build an altar to the Lord & to the devil at the same time.

Exodus 20:3-5

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

This is where your devotion touches others…look out! 

The war is now on!!

Text verses 25 - 32...

25 Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.

28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. 29 So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.”

31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” 32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”

The people rose up in anger because his relationship with God disrupted their relationship with false gods…this is a sure sign of salvation!

You know that you are truly saved, when your life begins to rub other people the wrong way…

Matthew 10:33-35

33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;

This is the part of Christianity people don’t want to deal with…but it’s the reality of life in the Kingdom…put it simply, we cannot please everyone, and we must be able to take stands against compromises, no matter who or where they come from…even our own family.

I’ve known husbands to threaten their wives about the KOG…and vice versa…

Gideon was mentally and spiritually prepared for that day of reckoning with the people, because he judged the Lord to be a God of peace. He knew that no matter what, God had his back and was able to keep him, and bring about victory; not only for him, but for the entire nation…

3.  We get the benefit of knowing that Gideon through God brought about a great victory over the enemy who was oppressing them…he put his faith in God, and recognized that God would bring about victory by bringing peace to his heart.

Knowing that God is in control, no matter what is a great source of peace for you and for me. We must be obedient to God, take risks of faith for Him, knowing all along, that no matter what happens…God will take care of you and of me…

*Pioneering in Dallas was a risk – my confidence was in knowing that God had our back

*Coming to Pasadena was a risk – my confidence was in Jehovah Shalom…

Where is your confidence? Who do you trust in when the chips are down? Who do you run to when things get tough – whoever / whatever that is, therein lies your god. That place should be given to Jesus Christ if we are to be the Christians He’s called us to be.

The God of peace is not only fighting for you – He lives in you! Victory is yours!!

A Broken Life

Matthew 14:17-21

17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

We are all very familiar with this miracle. If you’d be honest, you wish that Jesus would do that in your life and your sustenance. The truth, the Lord wants to do this to you ALL THE TIME…however, there are some things that must be done in order for Him to do it.

Recognize the Need

Verse 15 – 16,  15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

As the story would have it, the people there are very hungry, so the disciples common sense answer was, send them away, so that they can get food…however, Jesus didn’t want them to leave, He wanted them to be provided for on the spot.

This is the essence of ministry. Why send people elsewhere when God has called you to feed them?

Why do you pray with people on outreach or at the altar, then never see them again? Probably, because you don’t want to feed them or minister to them, but you want ministry?

If we are not careful, we’ll spend hours putting together bible studies, but never minister to people – you have all of this knowledge, but no fruit.

Work with This

Text - 17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

God works with what you have, not what you wished you had. Many times we cop out because we say that we don’t have what it takes, when the exact opposite is true…not only do you have what it takes, but it’s more than what you realize.

Do you know how I know? It’s simple; Jesus asks for it! It must be worth something if the Lord has need of it and asks for it.

Matthew 21:1-3

21 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

Too many have the lottery mentality: ‘Lord if I had a million dollars, I would give…’

The truth is, you’ll probably NEVER have a million dollars, so you might as well give what you DO have! The bible says, ‘…he who is faithful with little…’

Now here’s the great issue and challenge…

When the Lord asks for what you have, WILL YOU GIVE IT TO HIM? Many respond with YES…that’s good, but what the Lord is asking for is YOUR LIFE!!

The bible doesn’t give us great details, but according to Jewish living, the lunch the little boy had was most likely all the food he and his family were to live on for that week…so it is safe to say, this boy gave EVERYTHING.

He trusted these strangers to take it from him and use it for a greater purpose than himself. This is where many of us get hung up.

• The church just wants to use me
• What do I get out of all this?

Not realizing the blessing that is attached to giving our all to Christ.

The Miracle of Reckless Abandon

Verses 19 – 21, 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus took what the boy had, then He broke it.

Can you be broken before the Lord? After you’re broken, can your life be given to others?

Saying yes to this causes a divine multiplication that you can never accomplish on your own!

It went from 5 loaves and 2 fish to 12 baskets full of bread and fish, as well as nearly 15,000 provided for.

See, a broken life can meet the needs of multitudes!

This is where the rubber meets the road…many want to be used, but in order for that to happen, you have to give yourself over to the Lord, and then allow Him to break you!

Some of you may have heard me pray this prayer:

“Lord, I bind envy, strife, jealousy, and discord.” I pray that over our church regularly, because I know what people want most of all is a voice. While on the surface, there is nothing wrong with that – deep inside, are character issues that fight against humility and fading into the background…many are not willing to do this…

If Jesus is going to break you – can He have the right to shut you down? What if the most effective thing you can do in the church is shut up? It allows you to search your heart, your motives, and bring true direction into your life so that you can see the big picture around here.

The miracle happened whenever what was given to Jesus, was broken! Can you survive on the leftovers? According to the Lord, you can!

2 Kings 4:6-8

6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

Now, imagine what your life would be like, if you allow Jesus to fill you up, break you down, and distribute you to our city, and then the rest of the world! You and your family can live on the blessing of that for the rest of your Christian lives!