Your Independence Day: Receive the Spirit’s Power

 

The message that Apostle Holcomb preached this week is entitled, "Your Independence Day: Receive the Spirit's Power." The scripture text is John 20:22. Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. The Godhead is the ministry of representation. Thus when we are saved, it is the Holy Spirit who brings us to Jesus. No man can come to Jesus except he is drawn by the Holy Spirit. Likewise after we have accepted Jesus as personal Savior and Lord, it is He who brings us into contact with the Holy Spirit's ministry. If you are a child of the Most High, you need to receive the power of God, which is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. This supernatural endowment from God gives us power over Satan, sin and self. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability and the strength to quit habits, to release ungodly relationships, to walk right, to talk right, and to live right; to live our lives pleasing and acceptable unto the Father. The question then becomes according to Acts 19:1-6, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" This word since is interesting to me because it can carry a couple of connotations. Have you received the Holy Ghost because or in view of the fact that you are saved? Likewise, have you received the Holy Spirit from the time when or after you were saved? Both are indicators that the Holy Spirit's ministry is not optional, but it is necessary for the power of God from on high to flow in and through us. Acts 10:38 says that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him." Once again, this shows the ministry of representation in progress. Once we have received the Spirit's baptism, we can go about doing good, as Jesus did because God is with us. If you need to accept Jesus as personal Savior and Lord, please contact me. Likewise, if you are saved, and you are void of power; you truly love God but there are some things that you haven't been able to let go of; you need the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. You need the power of God! Allow Jesus to take you into another dimension of who He is; Savior, Shepherd and Sovereign King! Acts 1:8 says that you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And as always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

Honey I Blessed the Kids

 

Praise the Lord everybody! This week Apostle Holcomb preached a message in honor of Father's Day, entitled, "Honey I Blessed the Kids." The scripture text is found in Hebrews 6:20, 21. We learned that a man must be a model, mentor and motivator for his children. He must be responsible and accountable as he follows the example given to us in Jesus Christ. The word husband means house band man. The man is the person whom God has ordained to keep the house bound together. When the man is out of place, the wife is misplaced and the children are displaced. This is because at some point God has been replaced. When the man is in his proper position, he operates under the authority and he is responsible to God. The man must be in the position to declare the blessings of the Lord upon his family. When he has the proper establishment, he will never crack under pressure. His foundation is sure. The man will continue to hold the government of his family upon his shoulders as he rests in the Kingdom authority of our great and mighty God. Please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus. God bless you!

Learning Opportunities

 

Praise the Lord, everybody. This is Minister Novice. This week our Apostle, Bishop Nate Holcomb preached a message entitled, Learning Both: How to Live With and How to Live Without. The subtitle is Learning Opportunities. The scripture text is found in Philippians 4:10. The word opportunity is defined as the best time for something. We learned that every storm and situation in life is an opportunity to praise the Lord. The presence of controversy is not the time to quit God. Moreover, it is the opportune occasion to learn more about our loving, caring and sharing Heavenly Father. In verse 11, Paul says that he has learned to be content in whatever state he finds himself in. Contentment is a restful, peaceful state of mind that is undisturbed by external circumstances. It is an unwavering and uncomplaining acceptance of one's own lot, realizing that the joy of the Lord is our strength. The joy of the Lord is a deep sense of inner well being that's independent of whatever may be going on in our lives. It produces in us strength and fortitude which is a conquering attitude. As the people of God, we must learn that our contentment is not in some thing, rather it is in someone. Realizing this, when we go through storms and valleys, we will never lose our trust, reliance, confidence nor our faith in God. God must have the preeminence in our lives. When this is of such, we can tremble in our boots and never waver in faith because we have faith in God embedded in our hearts. And as always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus!

Jesus Christ, Better Life

 

Praise the Lord everybody! This is Minister Novice. The message that our Apostle, Bishop Nate Holcomb preached this week is entitled, "Jesus Christ, Better Life." We were taught in reference to the pulpit ministry of Jesus Christ and how that every message that comes from the pulpit should always end with Jesus. We must realize that whatever the devil brings, Jesus always comes and does better. The purpose of the pulpit is to pull us out of the pits of our lives and to inspire us to step out to fulfill our purposes in life. Additionally, the purpose of the preacher in the pulpit is to stand up and bring the book. He or she is to open the book of the law, the Bible and find the place where it is written of Him. It is written in the book of Nehemiah 8:4-6, "And Ezra, the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood which they had made for the purpose…….And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, and when he opened it all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands. They bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

In whatever situation that you may encounter in life, always remember to get God's prospective from the pulpit. The pulpit is where humanity meets divinity, where man meets God, and it is where the super comes in contact with the natural in our lives. We are admonished in 2 Chronicles 20:20 to "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper." Hermeneutically speaking, when you Amen God, God Amens you; and when you Amen His preacher, the preacher pushes you to step out and do better, to live better, to have better, and to be better. In all things, bear in mind these words, "The Lord is my helper. I will not fear." And please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

Jesus Christ in Charge

Praise the Lord everybody! This is Minister Novice. The message that our Apostle, bishop Holcomb preached this week is entitled, "Jesus Christ in Charge." The question becomes, is He in charge of our lives? The scripture reference is found in Colossians 1:12-19. Verse 18 says that in all things He has the pre eminence. When we say that Jesus is Lord, we are saying that He has the pre eminence. He is in charge of our lives. Therefore Jesus is our Master who rules us, our Owner who owns us and He is our Lord who directs and controls us. We have been bought with a price; by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Bishop Holcomb also taught us that living an effective life for the Kingdom is living like Jesus is in charge. We must be a Triple A church, being triple A people. We must have an appreciation for the Word of God which entails being pleased with hearing god's Word preached, speaking what we hear, speaking the same thing(homologeo) that there would no divisions among us; and having a devotion as we daily open the Bible and read God's Word. We must have affection towards the House of God. I was glad when they said unto me; come let us go into the House of the Lord. We must have an aspiration for suffering persecution for the cause of God. Always recognize that Jesus is not to be on our priority lists. He has the pre eminence and therefore He's on a page all by Himself.

Your Help Comes From the Lord!

 

This week I am compelled to encourage your hearts to continue to trust in, lean on, rely on and have confidence in God at all times; remembering that He is the same God in the night as He is in the light. In this world, we will experience tribulations, which are three times the trouble, but be of cheer because Jesus has overcome the world. The rains will descend, the floods will come and the winds will beat upon all of our houses; but it's the house that's built upon the rock and the revelation of who Jesus is that will stand. I'm also reminded of a song that goes like this…….I've had some bad days. I've had some hills to climb. I've had some weary days and I've had some lonely nights. These are all evil tidings, a lot of bad news. But the songwriter didn't leave us there. He came back and gave us the good news. He said, but when I look around and I think things over, all of my good days outweigh my bad days, so I won't complain. I'll say thank you Lord and I won't complain. My prayer is that the Lord will perfect everything that concerns you today and that you will stand perfect and complete in all the will of God for your lives. Remember that the joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of the Lord is an inner contentment that's independent of external circumstances. It produces in us strength and fortitude which is a conquering attitude. That inner contentment is an uncompromising acceptance of one's lot as we realize that God is still God in the good times and in the times if inquiry. We must come to a place where we can travel through our passages of pain with peace because we do not pursue God's prosperity, but we seek His presence and His person. God bless you and realize that when we close our hands, God opens His. Whatever you situation may be today, yes God can. Yes God will. But if not, He's still God. Don't give up. Don't give in. But keep looking up to see that your help comes from the Lord. Please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

A Fresh Dedication to Prayer

 

Praise the Lord everybody! This is Minister Novice. The message that our Apostle, Bishop Holcomb preached this week is entitled, "A Fresh Dedication to Prayer." He taught us that an effective Christian is one who communicates with God. The Bible tells us that the earnest, heartfelt, continued prayer of the righteous makes tremendous power available, dynamic it's working. However, a Christian who does not pray is in consequence dead, nuted, impotent, void, and powerless. If we are to be effective in prayer, we must learn God's way of communicating. We must discover what the Word of the Lord says and rehearse God's heart back to Him in prayer. It is not beneficial for us to go before the Father simply speaking what is on our minds. This is called straight line praying, praying amiss, or using vain repetitions; in essence hitting and missing. Here is my prayer for you all. Heavenly Father, I take with me words, Your Word and I turn to You in prayer. I pray that You will perfect that which concerns Your people. I always labor fervently in prayer that we may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God for our lives. I thank You that You watch over Your Word to perform it; and I put You in remembrance and plead together with You. I do believe that You will contend with those that contend with us and that You will save, heal, deliver, preserve, and make whole and complete. May the God of peace Himself, sanctify you wholly and may your spirit, soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Him, we live, we move and we have our being. In Jesus' name, Amen and amen. Please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.