Someone asked me the other day what that means. In a nutshell I responded that it means we believe, and expect, in the modern day supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and world.
The Rock is a PENTECOSTAL church.
Jesus told the early followers to wait and be filled with the Holy Spirit before heading out for ministry (Acts 1:4). They obeyed and guess what? God baptized them in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues and immediately they were filled with boldness for evangelism accompanied by signs and wonders (Acts 2). So much so that scripture records that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47)!
When asked about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues Peter responded that the promise was for every believer!
"Peter replied, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for YOU and YOUR CHILDREN and for ALL who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call" -Acts 2:38-39
We are a PENTECOSTAL Church:
*We believe in and practice the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the intituled evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 2, 10, 19)
*We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit - Healing, Miraculous signs, Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom, Faith, etc. (I Cor 12)
*We believe in Spirit empowered boldness for evangelism (Acts 1:8)
*We believe in the laying on of hands, the anointing and the supernatural (James 5, I John 2)
Do YOU believe in PENTECOST?
Does your life reflect your belief in Pentecost? Have you received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues? Do desire for God's Spirit to move in your life?
As a leader at The Rock does your ministry reflect your belief in Pentecost? Do you often speak of the necessity of the Holy Spirit? Do you allow time to hear what the Spirit is saying, lay hands on those you minister too and believe for the supernatural?
Paul has warned us about doing ministry on our own...
"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit' s powered, so that your faith might not rest of men's wisdom, but on God's power" I Cor 2:4-5
We need what the early church prayed and waited for...
"Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of you holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly" Acts 4: 29-31
Would you agree with me in lifting up this request to the Lord for our church family?
Funny, while many seem to worry about new people or unbelievers being offended or resistant to Pentecost that is not my experience.
Usually it is comfortable Christians that are the most resistant to the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to focus your energy and faith on those that are hungry and seeking...I promise...they're out there!!!
If we can encourage or help you in any way let me know!
Blessings,
Darren and Toyie
PS. - Did you know that there are over 600 million tongue talking Pentecostals around the world? Estimated 1 out of every 3 believers alive today!!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Power of ONE
Happy Monday!!!
It is BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO CHURCH time. The summer break has been awesome but now it is time to get back into the routine!!! (those of you like me who work year round are going...what break! I know, I know but still the summer is awesome!!!!!)
Seriously, though, we often talk about reaching our city or changing our world. Statements like that sound great and certainly spiritual BUT IMPOSSIBLE! The truth is, none of us can change reach the whole world and quite frankly God isn't asking us to.
However, we can all reach ONE. Is there ONE person you can invite??? ONE co-worker, neighbor, family member or even stranger??? Instead of thinking about the impossibility of the whole world, concentrate on the POSSIBILITY OF JUST ONE!
I challenge to ask God the ONE He is asking you to reach out to. Make the call, drop by their house, send them a text or email. If everyone just reached ONE can you imagine the possibilities?????
Have a great week!
Blessings,
Darren & Toyie
It is BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO CHURCH time. The summer break has been awesome but now it is time to get back into the routine!!! (those of you like me who work year round are going...what break! I know, I know but still the summer is awesome!!!!!)
Seriously, though, we often talk about reaching our city or changing our world. Statements like that sound great and certainly spiritual BUT IMPOSSIBLE! The truth is, none of us can change reach the whole world and quite frankly God isn't asking us to.
However, we can all reach ONE. Is there ONE person you can invite??? ONE co-worker, neighbor, family member or even stranger??? Instead of thinking about the impossibility of the whole world, concentrate on the POSSIBILITY OF JUST ONE!
I challenge to ask God the ONE He is asking you to reach out to. Make the call, drop by their house, send them a text or email. If everyone just reached ONE can you imagine the possibilities?????
Have a great week!
Blessings,
Darren & Toyie
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Time to Reboot?
The other day my IPhone wasn’t working right. It was ok, but slow. Dropping calls, struggling to load data, sluggish. It was functioning but something was wrong. It has happened before and the man at the store told me to turn it off and give it time to reboot. It seems nowadays phones are more like computers than phones. He said sometimes the phone gets a bug, small virus, or just a glitch that affects the performance. It will work but not as efficiently, making every task much more difficult and take longer than necessary.
So I turned the phone off and rebooted it. Amazing, the thing is like brand new! I forgot how good that phone works!
The Lord spoke to my heart. Sometimes you need to reboot. It works but something is wrong. You will never know how wrong until you reboot. Only after rebooting will the difference be clearly seen.
If you are like me, when circumstances or life feels bogged down my natural solution is to simply work harder. Keep on keeping on. Sometimes that is the answer. Perseverance is certainly a part of life as well as Christian character. However, perseverance isn’t always the answer. More effort doesn’t always produce more results.
Eccl 10:10 If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success. – NIV
Sometimes we just have to “turn it off” spend time alone with God and let him “reboot” our system.
Acts 3:19-20
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
NIV
Let us never forget that for a believer it is not by might, nor by power but by God’s Spirit. In Him we live and move and have our being. Christ in us the hope of glory.
Perhaps like me, sometimes you need to let Christ REBOOT your system so that you can gain fresh perspective, new insight and greater clarity for the tasks before you.
Blessings!
So I turned the phone off and rebooted it. Amazing, the thing is like brand new! I forgot how good that phone works!
The Lord spoke to my heart. Sometimes you need to reboot. It works but something is wrong. You will never know how wrong until you reboot. Only after rebooting will the difference be clearly seen.
If you are like me, when circumstances or life feels bogged down my natural solution is to simply work harder. Keep on keeping on. Sometimes that is the answer. Perseverance is certainly a part of life as well as Christian character. However, perseverance isn’t always the answer. More effort doesn’t always produce more results.
Eccl 10:10 If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success. – NIV
Sometimes we just have to “turn it off” spend time alone with God and let him “reboot” our system.
Acts 3:19-20
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
NIV
Let us never forget that for a believer it is not by might, nor by power but by God’s Spirit. In Him we live and move and have our being. Christ in us the hope of glory.
Perhaps like me, sometimes you need to let Christ REBOOT your system so that you can gain fresh perspective, new insight and greater clarity for the tasks before you.
Blessings!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Love over knowledge
This morning in my devotion time it occured to me that it is more love in my life that I need not knowledge. How often in times of need,or circumstance do we look for knowlege to bring an answer or solution. It is certainly natural, the widsom of man, but what does God say?
"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God" - Phil 1:9-11
Paul told the Phillipians that it was LOVE they needed more of above all things. Paul said that as their Love for Christ deepened so would their knowledge and depth of insight. Knowledge and insight gained through Love leads to righteousness and brings glory and praise to God.
So often I seem to pass over love and go straight to knowledge. After all love is a "feeling" and knowledge is logical, pracitcal and readily useful. Is it? The Bible warns that knowledge without love can puff up leading to self righteousness, arrogance, pride and in the end - less love. Knoweldge can lead us to that precarious place of being right yet wrong at the same time. Ever find yourself at that dead end street? I seem to end up there more often than I would like to admit. Time and time again Christ leads me back to the path of LOVE.
Love has the power to melt pride, teach us to consider others first and open our hearts to renewed insight and wisdom. Love brings praise to God and honors Him. Love seeks no wrong, is patient, kind, trusting and above all never fails (I Cor 13). Love opens our heart to see things we have never seen, consider options never thought of and purifiies motives. Paul says the fruit of that will produce greater knowledge and insight than I could ever have without it.
Lord, today I ask you to increase my love. Both my love for you and others. I am tempted to today to rely on my own knowledge. Help me, to seek love, above knoweldge, for the situations I will face today; bringing greater glory and praise to your name. Amen
Blessings!
"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God" - Phil 1:9-11
Paul told the Phillipians that it was LOVE they needed more of above all things. Paul said that as their Love for Christ deepened so would their knowledge and depth of insight. Knowledge and insight gained through Love leads to righteousness and brings glory and praise to God.
So often I seem to pass over love and go straight to knowledge. After all love is a "feeling" and knowledge is logical, pracitcal and readily useful. Is it? The Bible warns that knowledge without love can puff up leading to self righteousness, arrogance, pride and in the end - less love. Knoweldge can lead us to that precarious place of being right yet wrong at the same time. Ever find yourself at that dead end street? I seem to end up there more often than I would like to admit. Time and time again Christ leads me back to the path of LOVE.
Love has the power to melt pride, teach us to consider others first and open our hearts to renewed insight and wisdom. Love brings praise to God and honors Him. Love seeks no wrong, is patient, kind, trusting and above all never fails (I Cor 13). Love opens our heart to see things we have never seen, consider options never thought of and purifiies motives. Paul says the fruit of that will produce greater knowledge and insight than I could ever have without it.
Lord, today I ask you to increase my love. Both my love for you and others. I am tempted to today to rely on my own knowledge. Help me, to seek love, above knoweldge, for the situations I will face today; bringing greater glory and praise to your name. Amen
Blessings!
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