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Sunday March 29,2015 Word of Life Christian Center celebrated its twentieth anniversary. The following message was something the Lord had given our church at the beginning through a small paper back book given to me by a dear lady, Ouida Ford. When I read it, really out of respect for her, I didn't realize the impact it would have on me and our new church. The message I preached last Sunday was the message I used to form a core value of our church. Love, Acceptance and forgiveness.
Our Commission We Live In A World Of Pain And Suffering The World Is In A Terrible State And There Is Only One Answer To All Of Man’s Needs, It Is Jesus Even in the Church there are those who have been wounded and disappointed and they are crying out for their need of fellowship with God and man to be renewed. We Are The Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ We Are His Hands And His Voice In This World Acts 4:29-33 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 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. 32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. We Have A Message To Declare To All Men We Need The Hand Of The Lord To Reach Out Through Us To Those Who Are In Need Some In The Church Of Jesus Are Just Plain Beat Up Beat Up By The Devil Beat Up With Health Problems Beat Up With Money Problems Beat Up With Relationship Problems These Are Not God Haters, These Are God Lovers But Somehow A Lie Has Been Believed Over The Truth Well meaning people have fueled the lie though passing judgment and now people don’t know what to think about this thing called church They believe they don’t measure up to everyone else who have no problems! We Are The Hand Of The Lord Jesus. We Are To Reach Out To The Hurting In And Out Of The Body Of Christ And Let The Power Of God Touch Them. We Are The Light Of The World We Stand In This Dark World For The Unsaved And For The Discouraged Believer Our message is this… Jesus Christ is the answer. He has paid your debt in full. God has a plan for you, he will give you hope and a future. 2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. So as Christ’s ambassadors, we are to represent Christ to all mankind. The Number One Attribute Of God Is What? God Is Love LOVE The first and foremost characteristic of God that we must show is love. People feel unloved People feel that what they have done has driven God away We must show the love of God to them We are love to the world Ephesians 2:1-10 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. So As Christ Loved Us, We Too Must Love. John 13:34-35 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." 2. ACCEPTANCE Everyone who is outside of fellowship with God and his body has a barrier to overcome How Do I Fit In? What Does It Take For Me To Be Part Of This Group Of People? There Is Only One Thing That Will Cause People To Know They Are A Part, It Is When We Accept Them. You Can Never Be A Part Of Something Until Those Who Are Already There Accept You John 6:37-40 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." So If This Is How Jesus Looks At It, We Must Do The Same 3. FORGIVENESS People have done wrong things They Come To God And In The Name Of Jesus They Are Forgiven But if we don’t forgive them, they will never come into the fullness of their walk with the Lord because being in the body is what we believers do on the earth What if the person has wronged us? People need the forgiveness of the lord, they need our forgiveness too John 20:22-23 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." The Power Of Forgiveness Is Unlimited So, 3 things that we, the body of Christ must practice and perfect. 1. Love 2. Acceptance 3. Forgiveness
Acts 2:1-4 And suddenly there came… Unawares, Unexpectedly Even though Jesus had told them of the coming Holy Spirit many times, when He came, He came suddenly, with no other forewarning If you were there when He came you got in on the outpouring There is one sure way to miss out on a move of God… Be somewhere else when He comes Not necessarily physically somewhere else, but mentally or spiritually somewhere else One device satan uses are distractions They are the things that get our attention off of what is important Hebrews 12:2a Priority Something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done or dealt with first Priorities : the things that someone cares about and thinks are important What Takes Priority In My Life? Your marriage and family are to be a priority in life If you have suffered the loss of someone you love you know how important love, marriage and family are Matthew 6:33-34 The Distractions Of This World Want To Dictate Your Priorities There is nothing as important as your spiritual wellness Spiritual wellness will heal the other issues of life There is a promised outpouring of God’s Spirit on this generation But this generation is the most distracted generation of all time Diligence in seeking God is out of fashion Holiness is “old school” In This Generation… Faithfulness to one’s spouse is optional but so is marriage But the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those who are seeking Him will spill out and overflow on a generation that has had no time for God Our passion for Christ will become contagious It Is Up To The Church To Get This Right So The World Can Be Affected Mark 16:15 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Can we be the stewards of God’s power?
Can we ask Him to trust us with more? Then Be Ready For A Suddenly |
AuthorPastor Dave White is Senior Pastor of WOLCC, founded in April of 1995. Archives
November 2015
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