Faith - Hope & Evidence... Where's yours!

Recently it seems as though talk of miracles, faith & belief has been weighing heavy on the minds of saints. So many people are in need of blessings - spiritually, physically, financially. Loved ones need to be saved & delivered, people's homes need to be saved, they need food to eat & healing in their bodies. We've been coming together in prayer for miracles for all of the above as well as many, many other things and one thing that our pastor has tried to instill in us through the Word is the necessity of faith & our belief in what God can & will do in, through and for His people.

Before we get into what you need to do to get your prayers answered, we need to establish a basis for having faith. You need to understand #1 who God is & #2 what faith is & how to obtain more of it before you can get to #3 how to stand on faith & encourage yourself when you have nothing else!

#1 Who is God & what does knowing Him have to do with your faith?

1. Numbers 23:19 ~ God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
   
   
   • This scripture tells us that God is not like a human being - not like us... He CANNOT lie! His very nature, holy, pure & true, does not allow Him to lie.
    
2. 2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
   
   
   • These scriptures assure us that we can hold fast to EVERY word that God speaks into our spirits & every word in the scriptures. Also, through His Word, God has given us everything we need to do His will & accomplish goals in our lives!
3. Ephesians 3:20 ~ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
   
   
   • This is a powerful scripture because it tells us that God do more than we can possibly imagine! Think of something you feel might be impossible to accomplish... go ahead - think hard :-) ok, well whatever you just thought of, God can do exceedingly abundantly MORE than that!

July 7, 2011 ~ Bible Study with Sis. Doris Allen

1.  Lamentations 3:40 ~ Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.2 Corinthians 13:5 ~ Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

Psalm 26:2 ~ Test me, LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind.

• We must examine ourselves to make sure we are in right standing with God. Examining ourselves means searching the Word & seeking God to ensure that our walk is in line with His will. When we examine ourselves & follow after God & His way of doing things, we become His sons & daughters & we reap the benefits of being His children!

2.  1 Corinthians 11:25-28 ~ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

• Even when receiving the Lord's Supper, we must examine ourselves. If we drink & eat unworthily, we bring upon ourselves God's wrath. If we don't participate because we are in sin, we are still wrong & are subject to chastening by God.

July 10, 2011 ~ Pastor Leslie Crockett, Jr.

1.  Ephesians 4:11-16 ~ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

2.  1 Corinthians 14:20 ~ Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.

When we allow God to perfect us, we can have faith, stand on the Word & believe in God's deliverance. We can stop thinking as infants when it comes to the things of God & grow up, maturing in the Word!

3.  James 1:5-8 ~ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
 
1 Kings 3:5-14 ~ At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. “Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”

With perfection comes wisdom... whatever we lack, including wisdom, we are mature enough to know that we can ask God for whatever we need. We must have unwavering faith, without doubt.

July 3, 2011 ~ Pastor Leslie Crockett, Jr.

1.  1 Peter 2:4-12 ~ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

• We need to be spiritual sacrifices - like Christ when He prepared to go to the cross for us: "not My will, but Your will be done. We must deny the flesh & follow Christ, worshiping God in spirit & in truth so that we may be called righteous; for when we cry & the Lord will hears!

2.  2 Corinthians 5:17-21, 6:14-18 ~ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate", says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

• Christ will get rid of the old so we can become new! We can then submit & obey God, becoming & offering sacrifices to Him that are pleasing & acceptable. If God sacrificed His son & the Son sacrificed Himself for us (remembering He did NOTHING wrong to deserve the punishment He endured), we should be overjoyed to offer sacrifices to & become sacrifices for the Kingdom of God.

June 26, 2011 ~ Asst. Pastor Mitchell Morgan

1.  Numbers 13:1-3 ~ The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." So at the LORD’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

• Leaders cannot be without faith for without faith, it is impossible to please God.

2.  Numbers 13:17-25 ~ When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

• God will give specific instructions if we yield to His Spirit - don't let yourself stray or wander; stay focused. God sees us through the blood of Jesus who makes intercession for us. Thus grace & mercy abounds. Therefore, we as Christians who mess up & repent can move on & sin no more AND do the will of the Father!

Happy Father's Day ~ June 19, Pastor Leslie Crockett, Jr.

1.  Philippians 3:7-11 ~ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, & so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

• Give up everything for Christ because none of it matters & none of it compares to what He has to offer, not to mention what He gave up for us! Stature, position, riches, fame mean nothing! John the Baptist was a great man but even he said he wasn't worthy to untie the shoelaces of Jesus. Open your heart to receive the excellence of Christ; then you'll realize the other things are simply JUNK!

2.  Matthew 13:44-50 ~ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous & throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• When you come to the knowledge of truth/the Kingdom of God/the Gospel of Jesus, you give up all for this hidden treasure because these are the only things that matter - they are eternal. Because of sin, the treasure was hidden from us! Within that treasure there is life, healing prosperity, anointing, power, love, forgiveness, strength. This treasure is able to deliver & set captives free1 it can catch "fish" we can't because of its holiness!

Danielle & Tremell ~ June 17, 2011

  

A man who finds a wife finds what is good & Tremell truly has found what is good in Danielle! The couple actually know each other from high school & church. Tremell, professional chef who graduated from Scafani Cooking School in Metairie, played drums & Danielle, a recent student of Xavier University in New Orleans, has an amazing voice!

June 12, 2011 ~ Pastor Crockett

1. Philippians 2:12 ~ Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.


First off, you must understand that you don't work to get saved; you work BECAUSE YOU ARE SAVED! We must constantly work toward being fruitful for the kingdom of God. Being by the pastor's side, planning church functions, being in the church everytime the doors open is NOT working out your soul's salvation! Not saying that stuff isn't good in its place, but anything can happen that can prohibit you from being able to continue doing them. Then what? What will your "work" be then? Not to mention, how does any of that profit God? Do any of those things seal your fate? Do any of those things ENSURE your salvation? These are all things that can & will, at some point, cease to exist.


2. John 6:27-29 ~ Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”  Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

As mentioned in #1, those things are "foods that spoil". Spoil means to "perish" or to be lost, ruined, destroyed".  Why would we ever want to work for things which can be lost or destroyed? Salvation, which only comes from Jesus, cannot be destroyed! The work is believing in Jesus & what He did for us!

3. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 ~ So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Get away from what you're used to...

Many times we encounter situations that we feel are hard. Hard times may come because God is trying to get us to a new elevation in faith. They may also come when we've done something to bring them on. Either way, our fault or not, God has given us the tools we need to succeed!

There's this placed called comfort that we all know about. It's that place we dwell in because it's "safe". There's no trouble there because we are used to the things that happen there. We don't have to think too hard or do too much because everything is laid out. There's a routine & nothing changes. Dwell means to live or exist or at least to remain for a time so when you dwell in your comfort zone, you also deny yourself the opportunity to trust God. You, in essence, limit God's ability. Now don't be confused in thinking that you can stop God from being who He is, BUT you can shut Him out of your life by having no trust in Him.

June 9, 2011 ~ Bible Study with Sister L'Tanya Russ

Dwell in God; work the plan & plan the work!

1. Psalm 37:7 ~ Be still before the LORD & wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

You have to have faith in & trust God to perform His Word in your life! Trusting God means patiently waiting for Him & knowing that no matter what comes up in your life, He has it handled! Even when it seems as though others, who aren't saved, may be prospering despite their disregard for the things of God, know that God is still able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think! If He said it, He'll do it because He CANNOT lie!

2. Psalm 18 ~ A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

David was faced with circumstances that seemed out of his control. Regardless of that, he persevered in prayer to God! He declared his love, dedication & devotion to God! He glorified God for who He is, not just for what He could do for him. David worshiped God despite of his situation & God was able to get the glory in his life because of it! More importantly, he didn't forget where his help came from; when delivered, he praised God throughout it all! He continued to magnify the Lord!

June 5, 2011 ~ Minister Marcel Joseph

Minister Marcel Joseph gave a powerful explanation of the power of God that is at work IN us ~ God the Father, God the Son & God the Spirit!  If we yield to the spirit, surely we will be led by the spirit!

1. Philemon 4-6 ~ I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.


2. Colossians 1:25-26 ~ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.

The mystery that has been kept hidden that is now revealed to us is Christ in us! Jesus is the hope of our calling & because of His sacrifice on the cross, we are able to live a life free from sin. The same power that was at work in Jesus, is at work in us now!

3. Ephesians 4:4-6 ~ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and IN all.

What in hell do you want?

It's so easy to disregard spiritual things living in this world. Trust me; I get it! Kids, work, the spouse, bills, worry, illness, etc. - all these things have us so busy & bogged down that sometimes we simply have no time to think about the things we do in a day's time, let alone what will happen to us after we've died! It can be difficult to imagine death and anything worse than what we go through now, but please know, for the unbeliever - those who reject God, the torment they will suffer will be far greater than anything we can fathom!

Do you know how hard it is to sin? The bible says the way of a transgressor (sinner) is hard - Proverbs 13:15. You seriously have to work to go to hell! I mean really, when you think about it, it takes work, time, perseverance & effort to do the wrong thing. My pastor gave an example Sunday: if you are doing drugs, you gotta hide your "stash" so no one will find it & know you have it; you gotta hide for fear of getting in trouble with your parents, the police, your boss or anyone else. All that effort just for a quick high that won't last & has no fulfillment whatsoever (trust me when I tell you there are other ways of getting that euphoric exhilaration you're looking for - ways God won't be displeased with)! If you're cheating on your spouse, you have to hide your phone or emails; you have to hide gifts or receipts; you have to lie about where you're going AND go places where you won't be seen by people who know you or your spouse! It's a vicious cycle of unnecessary crap that makes life a struggle, makes living that secret or double life tedious & difficult! Why go through that? If you were honest and doing the right thing, life would be so easy! This is why the bible says the "WAGES" of sin is death (Romans 6:23)! You WORK to sin, then your pay/WAGES is death! The Message (translation) says "work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death!"

Helmet of Salvation

You know, I just read Ephesians 6 again & something stuck out to me! The bible says we are to put on the WHOLE armor of God so that we are able to stand against the devil: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes prepared with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, helmet of salvation & the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We are to PRAY ALWAYS! But here's the thing: sin doesn't just happen. You don't just wake up one day & say "hmm... I think I'll kill my neighbor" or "I'm gonna sleep with my cousin's boyfriend". No, sin begins as a simple thought.

Human beings are visual creatures and more often than not, we see something that appeals to us in some way & if you "think" about something long enough, it will begin to become a part of your heart. The bible says "where your treasures is, there your heart will be also" - Luke 12:34. Once it becomes a part of your heart, you begin to reason in your mind how it can't be wrong or might not be so bad or perhaps it can work out if you have control of the situation. All of those are deceptions that the devil will throw at you to get you in a position to commit the sin. God is SO intelligent! Salvation is the ONLY thing that keeps us from sin, which begins in our MINDS, thus the NEED for a HELMET OF SALVATION!

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The Lack of Self-Control

Many don't realize that most of what we deal with in this life is spiritual. The fact that you can't quit smoking, drinking, looking at porn, eating things you shouldn't, etc., let's you know that you have no self-control. But if you don't have control of your own body/life, who does? Do you know? Do you even know how to deal with it?

The bible says our fight is against "spiritual forces of evil", but that we should be STRONG in the Lord & the power of HIS might - not ours, but HIS! The thing that you are struggling with is not a human being - yourself or someone else - but against the evil powers of this perverted & dark world. Don't believe that? Well, Isaiah 14:12 & Revelation 12:9 both talk about satan & his angels being cast down to the earth & how he has been deceiving the world! This is a spiritual battle, my friends! But you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, standing against the devil through faith in God!

The bile says in Galatians 5:13-25 that we are to be free from the indulgences of the flesh and we should walk by the Spirit, humbly in love. Ephesians 6:10-20 tells you how to be free: stand firm in your salvation through prayer & faith in God with truth, peace & love! Don't be fooled; we are warned that we CANNOT go to heaven living any way you choose!

Be blessed & know that if you are awake right now, God has allowed you another opportunity to get it right with Him & be saved!

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Is He calling you?

I wondered for a very long time what God's will & plan for my life truly is. I wondered if He wanted me to sing again; I think I have a pretty nice voice & I love to sing so I thought perhaps I should be a blessing in the vocal arts lol. I went over the idea in my mind a million times but it didn't seem right. I couldn't figure out what He wanted me to do.

I was in my bathroom one evening & the Lord told me to run the race. Simple right? How could that simple task be my life's mission? How could a God so big have nothing for me to do except run a race? Nonetheless, I obeyed. I began to study more & that's when I realized that running this race was soooo much more than I assumed! In studying the Word I remembered that what God called me to do, as He has all of us, is to be obedient to His will. He called me to share His word with others & live my life in an acceptably pleasing manner to Him!