Cultivating A Ministry Culture Around COVID-19

The spring of the year 2020 will forever be historic in America. It was in the spring of 2020 that most Americans came face to face with the Corona Virus also known as COVID-19. This highly contagious viral infection has been the reason schools, businesses, daycare centers, movie theaters and even churches have been locked down. Disney has closed all of their theme parks for the first time since opening in 1955. Supermarkets can hardly keep food on the shelves, especially items such as hand sanitizer, toilet tissue and paper towels. In the midst of all the panic, what is the role of the church? Or of the believer? I have experienced conversations with people who were wondering how is it that houses of worship have gone dark. Why are the doors shut on houses of God? Why are there no live streams, prayer calls or videos to offer hope? Very few pastors appear to be reaching out to parishioners during this season and those who are mature in the faith seemed disillusioned while babes in the faith seem bewildered. Everyone is looking for answers and leaders in the body of Christ have a Godly responsibility to nurture the flock in this season. True leaders take situations like a pandemic or other disaster to point people toward the cross; encouraging them to embrace God’s word.

Are You Willing to Die in the Fight?

Recently, I was reading the book of Esther 5:1-8 and in do so, God revealed a profound truth to me. In the story, Esther approaches the king to inquire if he would join the feast she prepared for him. Her objective was to make a petition to him so that she could save her people from certain death. As I read this I thought: how brave of her, to go to the king without him calling for her which meant death if he was displeased. Then God addressed me with the question, “Are you willing to die in the fight?” I had to think again about Esther. She came to the king to seek solace for her people but knew if he did not raise his sceptre to her, he could have ordered her execution. Although Esther prepared herself by fasting and calling all of the Jews to fast with her there was a chance that things could not go in her favor.

Esther, for the advancement of the kingdom of God was willing to die if it meant her people would be saved. She allowed God to use her as a type of Christ. Her response to Mordicai was, “if I perish, I perish. I’m going to see the king” As I thought about her response, it made me realize that many Christians today say they love God but are they really willing to make the ultimate sacrifice? Are we willing to die to things that keep us separated from God in order to advance His Kingdom in the earth? Or are we just satisfied with our surface worship that doesn’t have substance? Are we just willing to continue to give God our lip service until something catastrophic occurs in our little world? And lastly, what should we be doing to show God we are truly ready to sacrifice whatever it takes to spread the Gospel?

On thing Esther’s example taught me is that we all need to pull in to get closer to the Lord. I learned through prayer that God loves intimate, one on one time with us. We need to sacrifice time with friends, children and even spouses to get a bit closer to Christ. Without spending significant time with God, we will crumble under the pressures of life. Esther knew God and because she did, had no doubt that God would deliver her people from the evil verdict that loomed over them. She harnessed the ultimate belief and hope that God would save her (II Thess 2:16).

We also have to humble ourselves even more toward God. Esther was humbled and willing to die at her husband’s hand for her people. The modern day believer, from what I’m witnessing is deluded into believing that trouble should never knock on their door because they are saved….it’s a fallacy! As children of God, we’re called to war in the spirit and our relationship is described in military terms for a reason. If a soldier is not willing to fight, prepare and do battle he is sent home. He is not ready to fully embrace his call. In order to be victorious in our battles we must trust God because He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).

It is time for the church at large to recommit to dying in the fight. We have to let our carnal desires go and spend more time with the Lord. When is the last time we’ve fasted, led a brother or sister to Christ, spent an afternoon in the word or a few hours in prayer? In spending time with Him, he will teach us not only how to wait for His timing (James 4:4) but also we will become more like Him. Our carnal nature will become subject to the Christ in us. Let’s endeavor to get closer to Him in this season. If we choose to do so, our carnal man will die which will allow us to win the battles the enemy of God throws at us. We will be more than conquerors while spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ in the earth.

What carnal desire or habit are you willing to sacrifice and thus die in the fight to evangelize the world?
http://www.thebrokenvesselspeaks.com

Is Deliverance A Thing of the Past?

The church in America is seriously under attack, this is nothing new. What is disturbing is that there are thousands upon thousands (I think I’m low balling this estimate here) of unprepared ministry leaders who are “trying” to operate in the arena of deliverance. Friends, this is a bad combination. It’s like being on a battlefield with a water pistol and you don’t even have any water. We are seeing a surge in new ministries but what we are not seeing more of is people who know how to worship and people who’ve experienced a radical, life changing deliverance. If we don’t have a measure of deliverance from bondages that hinder us, we are just a bunch of cheerleaders meeting every week that is ineffective in the Kingdom. I’m not mocking gathering at a church building at all. They are necessary for gaining instruction in the word and spiritual strength. However, we need to keep worship, prayer, and deliverance on our radar so that lives will be transformed. The true call of the church is to minister to the unsaved.

He Shed, She Shed But What Has God Said?

This past weekend I attended a home and patio show in my city. One of the vendors was selling sheds. These were not the structures one would see anywhere in America that is usually placed in the backyard to house their gardening tools. He was selling sheds as a counterpart to the man cave concept. He asked me was I in the market for one and I politely declined. He inquired why while sharing how beautiful they are, how they offer a place of solace and serenity etc. I reiterated that I wouldn’t need one. I replied to him that I have a home. He seemed puzzled while becoming irritated that he obviously wouldn’t make a sale with me that day. I explained to him that separate spaces are not the answer for a happy family; no matter how beautifully arrayed the structure. At this point he rudely walked away. The idea followed me home and God began to deal with me about how our society seeks separateness, yet yearn for relationship.

Doomsday Predictions & YOU!

Recently, it has been in the news that December 21^st 2012 is the END OF THE ENTIRE WORLD! Now, as foreboding as this my seem, I think we need to take a deeper look into how we’re responding to this news more than worry about whether that date is the END. Walk with me on this thought for a second. What if that was the date the world was ending. What would you do? 

Club Christian

I consider myself an unlikely activist in the Christian community. I feel especially drawn to shedding light on the unpopular issues that exist within the body. It is evident that we have a plethora of  useless “feel good” preaching. Hollywood is alive and well as shallow leaders perform rather than minister to their flock. It seems evident that there exists a tremendous deficit in life altering truth. This naked truth illustrates to us that the majority of the body of Christ lives in constant limbo. Many have no clue what their purpose is and expect lack luster leaders to fill their spiritual void. It is here I feel compelled to emphasize I harbor great love for the people of God. They are diverse, talented and beautiful. However, many have adopted a club mentality in relation to their walk as a believer. They’ve perfected the lingo, embraced worldly attire, listen to compromising  music, purchased the status quo vehicles and appear at the right churches. They’ve been duped into believing these rituals make them blessed. By trusting in the most popular pastor they deem themselves anointed. If this were true, every unbeliever with similar lifestyles would be heaven bound. There are many people in this world who have no relationship with God yet achieve similar milestones in their lives that often includes wealth. So the inquiry becomes, how do we discern who is really the blessed believer from the passive/aggressive atheist?

Jesus is not a magician.

In order to find firm ground in our relationship with God we must diligently commit ourselves to holy living. Everyone wants miracles, everyone wants to be used of the Lord and everyone is seeking a “fresh” revelation. Seriously? Why do we need to believe for miracles when we don’t believe enough to honestly report all of our taxes to the IRS? If we are kingdom minded believers we must uncompromisingly begin the process of taking full responsibility for our own spirituality. In order to cultivate a climate for miracles, an extreme level of spiritual discipline and maturity has to exist. It will not manifest by depending solely on Sunday morning homilies or mid-week prayer meetings. Sermons and weekly meetings will only supplement our spiritual journey but not the meat.

Change has to be embraced!

Club Christian exists because the spirit of compromise has infiltrated many converts. The hunger for Godly interaction has waned. If we are to see the miracles, signs or wonders our heart has to become pliable before the Father. His anointing of deliverance and healing is driven by love. If we don’t have it, the word says we are none of His (I John 4:20). Miracles show up when our heart mirrors His with an abundance of love and compassion. There is no magic scripture that will help us find a deeper intimacy with God. It happens through a choice we make to get closer to Him. We who claim to “be the church” have fallen short in our directive to love our fellow man unconditionally and need to repent. Once this is done, then we can seek direction in sincere selfless prayer. His provision of Godly instruction will provide directives to get us back on track. An investment of time, individual assessment and a willingness to change must be initiated. This self evaluation will supply an insight as to how committed we really are to the gospel. If this practice is not engaged we must face the fact that we’re not on fire for God at all, just mere unbelievers masquerading as saints.

God shouldn’t be scheduled into our day like an afternoon ball game. He should be the center of our very existence.

The depth of miracles we will witness in our lifetime will only match our level of belief. The unreserved love of Christ must reach believers and unbelievers. In Mark 9:29 the disciples learned that some things will improve or radically change solely through prayer and fasting. The disciples were perplexed because they were unable to cast a demon out of a man. They thought that just their mere association with Jesus would be enough. They thought that their word would be authoritative enough to help but in they end, they were ineffective. Jesus told them what it would take. Praying and fasting is what it takes in this dispensation just as it had then. We’ve heard it said or even said it ourselves “freedom isn’t free”. Indeed, it’s not. In order for miracles and deliverance to happen, someone has to pray into the wee hours. Someone has to fast a bit longer than what is comfortable. Someone has to desire to hear the voice of God. Hanging out at Club Christian with mediocre believers will not yield such results. The kind of power needed to deliver those in the condition of the demonic man in Mark 9:29 will not occur through eloquent, empty prayers or constant pleading of “the blood”. Obligatory offerings or regular appearances at conferences with renowned leaders will not facilitate yoke breaking deliverance either.

We American Christians blame the devil for so much he can actually take lunch breaks! There are some hardships we have to endure and some warfare that has to be waged if we want the modern church to emulate New Testament moves of God similar to those recorded in Acts. We will not always be able to pray everything away and blame the devil. There are some battles God wants us to actually fight which reveals what kind of stuff we’re made of.  Some challenges we face really are tests. Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7 believed the stumbling block he struggled with would exalt him above measure. He gladly bore this inconvenience, knowing it would keep his heart knit to the will of Christ. Some adversity will drive us daily to our knees; which is where we need to be anyway. No matter how painful or unfair, some trails we  will just have to press through in our walk with God.

The miracle is sometimes learning that we can walk through the fire and trust God while coming out on the other side.

We can’t find true peace in a thriving church if we linger at Club Christian. Club Christian has only a form of godliness because it is based on human effort. We won’t see miracles trying to attain celebrity on Christian networks or other venues that promise millionaire status. Club Christian is for those who are not brave enough to truly hearken to the voice of God. Now those brave souls who choose to avoid Club Christian and strive do the will of the Father daily are the heroes of the faith. They obey God even when society believes it’s not popular. Let us seek the Lord with a pure heart and mind. Let us return to loving others as much as we love ourselves. If we take the initiative to seek the meat of the word, we’ll find there is no viable place for us at Club Christian.

Be encouraged..…

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Denise Joyce Williams lives in Florida with her husband who is a career soldier. Her first book entitled, “The Healing Of A Broken Vessel” was released by Publish America in 2009. Her much anticipated second book entitled “Chambers Of The Believing Heart” is expected to be released in the spring of 2012.