Archive for the 'Pastor’s Corner' Category

* To seek the Lord’s presence and obey Him in my personal life and the life of our congregation

* To continue to hunger and thirst for a deeper intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, and precious Holy Spirit

* To lead in a way the releases the Father’s love and the fresh move of the Holy Spirit in everything that we do – so that all that we do is worship unto Him and lifts up Jesus Christ

* To keep our church balanced by continuing to raise up ministry teams in each of the ministry areas described in “The Purpose Driven Church” and make sure that the teaching and conference activities train, equip, and encourage congregational participation in each of these areas

* To evangelize to reach the harvest of souls that God has for us

* To raise up 15 disciples that are trained and equipped to befriend and disciple (love, nurture and teach) new believers, or those who have come back to the Lord, and bring them to a place that they can do the same with others

* Continue to look for spiritual calls on people and help them grow in releasing their giftings of the Holy Spirit in a safe environment

* To especially recognize the call of God on young adults and encourage our church to help them financially and spiritually pursue the call of God on their lives through education, mentoring and earning credentials

* To continue to travel helping strengthen and encourage leaders of small churches and their congregations through the Agape Barnabas Outreach

Suddenly!

David Farnholtz 2009

I have hunted white tail deer for years but have never gotten a large buck. I had an opportunity to go to Texas to hunt white tail deer and so decided to go. However the Lord closed the door to the trip. I talked with Stephen, a man at church who did a lot of archery hunting and asked if he would mentor me. He has been willing and patient with me.

One Sunday I preached a message that included how SUDDENLY, when everything seems to be going wrong and no hope is left, our Lord may intervene and turn things around. We also need to be ready because Jesus will SUDDENLY come back again when no one expects it. The next day, Monday, I was late to meet Stephen to go hunting. We got together and raced out to our hunting stands. We both went into the woods to different spots and then came out of the woods because there was someone already there. We drove to our backup spot and there were cars there and hunters going into the woods. Our third choice was 30 minutes away, but we had little choice. As I walked into the woods to my stand I went by a large deer scrape and said “I would like to see the buck that made that.”. Until i got to my stand I had 1 hour to hunt. After 45 minutes I began to quietly pack up. SUDDENLY I saw a large buck with high antlers begin to come into the woods from the field. I was all excited, but the buck turned away. I thought that he was going to come down along the corn field, so I switched positions. I waited and waited and began to think that he had sensed me and was gone. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him coming through thick brush. I switched position again and waited and waited. I picked out a tree at the end of the thicket and decided that when he stepped out from behind it I was shooting. Well, it seemed like forever, first the antlers appeared, then the head and neck, and then SUDDENLY, he stepped out and I instinctively shot. In archery, they always run away and you wait before going after them. I sat in the dark, wondering, “It happened so fast, did I even aim?”. Later, Stephen came, and we began tracking. There was no evidence that I shot him for about 15 yards. Then we found the blood trail and 15 yards later he lay dead. The Lord had directed my arrow through both lungs. Stephen field dressed him and we began to drag him out of the woods, wondering “How are we going to lift him into the truck?”. We went back to the truck to get a better way of dragging him. A farmer passed by and talked with us. We went back into the woods and continued to drag him, when another flashlight approached us. The farmer had taken his equipment home and come back to help us. Praise the Lord! He estimated the deer to be between 180 and 200 pounds live weight.

I know that God has blessed me with every trophy on the wall in my all season porch, both from Pennsylvania and Africa, and I draw all the closer to God with thanksgiving for all of the journey of life that I have experienced with Him.

I have lived long enough to see many die SUDDENLY in traffic accidents, by heart attacks and in other ways. I am concerned that many in America have been given a false hope of being ready to meet the Lord by preaching that includes what I call “sloppy or cheap grace”. These preachers teach that all you have to do to go to heaven is to make a prayer receiving Jesus Christ as you savior. This type of preaching and evangelism lulls people into thinking that they don’t have to make any changes in their lives. The message given is “Just go on living the way you have been and because of the Love of God you will be saved.

It is true that the love of God is expressed in sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that we can have forgiveness of sins. It is also true that we are saved by grace through faith and not by a string of good works that we have done (Ephesians 2:8,9). God is a just God and has made the opportunity for everyone to come back to Him through Jesus Christ. The bible also teaches that we must first repent of our sins (asking for forgiveness of our sins and deciding that with God’s help, we will turn from our current life style to one that honors Him), and then ask Jesus Christ to come into our lives to be our LORD AND SAVIOR. The Bible is clear that if we continue certain life styles, or center on self instead of the Lord’s will for our lives, we will most likely not go to heaven (Acts 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:1-21; Colossians 3:1-10; Romans 1:18-2:11).

However, the good news is that Jesus came, not only to forgive us of our sins, but to also set us free from the slavery to those sins (Luke 4:14-20). When I first repented and prayed to receive Jesus Christ, I was instantly delivered from binge drinking. There were other areas of sin, that step by step, the Lord has delivered me from, and released me into a wonderful journey of walking with God through every day life, led by the Holy Spirit. When we do mess up and commit an act of sin, we can quickly ask forgiveness and purpose to continue to repent. If we do, God will not only forgive us of the sin but also cleanse us from all unrighteousness giving us a brand new start (1 John 1:9). When we surrender control of our lives over to Him for Him to lead us by the Holy Spirit we also have the assurance that we will continue to be with Him even when we die. Our earth suits degrade but our spirits live eternally with Him and one day we will receive a glorified body like Jesus has as He was raised from the dead (1 John 5:11-13; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58). Until then we will continue to go through trials here on earth, but we are no longer alone, for our Lord leads us through the trials.

May God richly bless you as you continue on your journey with our Lord. If this note will help others that you know, please make as many copies as you want and give it to them in the Love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

WHAT CAN EVERY CHRISTIAN DO IN THESE END TIMES AS EVENTS OCCUR?

AS WE HEAR ABOUT EVENTS THAT ARE OCCURRING IN OUR COUNTRY OR IN ANOTHER COUNTRY SUCH AS EARTHQUAKES, TORNADOES, FLOODING, HURRICANES, FAMINE, SICKNESS, TERRORIST STRIKES, VIOLENT TRAGEDIES, WARS, LEGISLATION AGAINST GOD’S WORD, LEGISLATION SUPPORTING GOD’S WORD, ETC.

• As soon as we are aware of these events we should go to the Lord in prayer

• We should ask ourselves, “If I was in this situation, how would I want people to pray for me?”

• Part of our prayer should be asking our Lord what to pray for, writing those things down as He directs us, and praying them back to Him often throughout our prayers – examples of prayers are: Lord, intervene with your mercy, with your favor, with your healing, with your protection, with your provisions, mobilize others in the area to help, etc.

• If we have received a prayer language to pray in the Spirit, we should do as the apostle Paul did, pray with your spirit and pray with your mind (1 Corinthians 14:15 NIV)

• We should ask our Lord if we are to do more, such as write letters, make phone calls, go to the scene to help, etc.

WHEN WE COME ACROSS SITUATIONS SUCH AS AN ACCIDENT, A PERSON WITH OBVIOUS NEEDS, ONE OF THE ABOVE EVENTS HAS OCCURRED IN OUR AREA, ETC.

• Immediately ask yourself, “If this happened to me, what kind of help and prayers would I want?”

• If it hasn’t already been done and is needed, phone for emergency help such as an ambulance

• ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO LEAD YOU IN RESPONDING TO THEIR NEEDS – If you are first on the scene, what action – if already a crowd, then what prayers should you make

• Reach out to them in love – if they are hurt and you can reach out and touch the injury let the love of the Holy Spirit and the healing of the Holy Spirit flow through you into them (you don’t have to pray loudly making a spectacle)

• Offer whatever help you can to comfort and meet their needs and the needs of their relatives and friends that may be there – blankets or coats, rides, food, clothing, helping them find shelter, etc.

• Tell them Jesus is helping them through you and that Jesus loves them very much. Share scriptures with them that give hope as well as instructions – examples are: you are important to God (Ephesians 2:10); Jesus gave His life so that you can receive forgiveness and have a new start (1 John 1:9); The answer we need is in the Bible (2 Timothy 1:16,17); You can have the peace of God even in the midst of your trial (Philippians 4:6,7); The Lord is near (Philippians 4:5); We can change (Romans 12:1-3); Jesus has died for your sins and provided for your healing (Isaiah 53:4,5); etc.

• Release the spirit the Lord has given you – “a spirit of power, love and a disciplined mind” (2 Timothy 1:7) by being calm, giving assurance, expressing love through your concern and actions, and let the Lord lead you step by step as He has promised to do (Proverbs 16:9; Galatians 5:25)

• If it is apparent that they need more help than you can give them, put them in touch with those who might be able to help them more – try to get their names and phone numbers so you can follow up

• Do not judge or condemn them if you see habits that need to be corrected – cover them with prayer and focus on the immediate need first – then offer the hope of change through Jesus Christ as they realize that they should change – the Holy Spirit will do the convicting and use you or others to help them repent once they are willing to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit

• All of us can change the atmosphere around us by being upbeat – people want to be around us and eventually ask us where we get our strength and optimism from – that is when we can share what Jesus has done in our loves and what Jesus would like to do for them

• All of us can carry a set of tracts that explain salvation, healing, and give hope in Jesus Christ

• Never underestimate what a loving smile, a kind word, and a helping hand will do

Have you forgiven others and moved on with God or are you entertaining the spirit of offense with a victim mentality?

• Psalm 51; 1 Timothy 2:1-4,8 – God is requiring in these last days that believers have pure hearts, clean lips, and clean hands as we seek to serve our Lord
• We cannot have pure hearts and clean lips unless we forgive others as God through Jesus Christ has forgiven us
• Psalm 103:8-13 – When God forgives us of our sins, they are forgotten and not brought up to us again and again
• 1 John 1:8-10 – When we ask God for forgiveness He not only forgives us but cleanses us from all unrighteousness – We have a fresh start with God and life – We don’t have to commit that sin again, we have a choice to repent or go back into sin
• Romans 8:1-4; 28-39 – When God forgives us and we walk in repentance we do not have to entertain accusations from the devil – his condemnation of trying to get us to meditate on the sin we did instead of going on with God and focusing on what He would want us to think on and do in obedience to Him
• Matthew 6:12-15 – It is essential that we forgive others when they sin against us
• Matthew 5:23 – If we are not reconciled with our brother to the best extent that we can, our walk with the Lord is hindered
• Colossians 3:13,14 – We are to forgive others to the same extent and way that God has forgiven us
• 1 Corinthians 13:5 – If we keep records of wrongs in our hearts, we are not walking in love and we are giving legal right for the spirit of offense to enter us and begin to give us a mentality of a victim – we will be offended again – as Christians we are to refuse to let the spirit of offense take root in us, and if it has we are to get rid of it and any bitterness that has accumulated in us
• If we do not forgive others as God through Jesus Christ has forgiven us we distance ourselves from God, our prayers are hindered, it is harder to hear God and unbelief begins to creep in because we will pass the blame for damaged relationships onto others and wonder why God would put us through such persecution
• Galatians 5:16,24,25 – If we truly forgive, we are already pleasing God and can live by the Holy Spirit and keep step with the Holy Spirit