The Significance of Baptism

Praise the Lord everybody! This is Minister Novice. The message that Apostle Holcomb preached in our 10:30 worship service on Sunday is entitled, "The Significance of Baptism." The scripture text is found in Mark 16:17-20. Along with Holy Communion, Baby Dedication, and The Right Hand of Fellowship, Water Baptism is one of the ordinances and rights of the church of the living God. Romans 10:9-10, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." These verses of scripture convey the heart of God concerning salvation. In thus saying, water baptism is not essential to salvation. However, it is an act of obedience. It is sequential to accepting Jesus as personal Savior and Lord. We participate in the church ordinance of water baptism to:

1. Identify with Christ

2. Receive the validation of the Spirit

3. Demonstrate the affirmation of the Father

The Greek word for baptism is (baptize). It means to dip into, emerge and submerge. When one is emerged under the water, it signifies the death and burial of Jesus. Moreover, when we are brought up from the water, it demonstrates the resurrection of the Lord. In so doing, our message to the world is that the old man is buried and that we rise in the newness of life. We are demonstrating outwardly an inward grace that has taken place in our hearts. Therefore, we do not receive water baptism to obtain salvation. We actually partake of water baptism because we are already saved. According to the scriptures, we are fulfilling all righteousness. In essence, we are declaring to the world that we are right with God!

Matthew 3:15-17, "And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." As always, remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus! God bless you.

 

 

 

 

 

The Truth VS Facts

Truth can be described as the true state of a certain matter. It is what a person has come to believe. It also answers the questions of what is really happening. The Bible is the Truth. It is not based on some thing. Moreover, it is based on the Truth, which is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 4:16, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Fact is basically something that exists, or is present in reality. Hence, these are things that can be seen visually. These are the things that can be verified according to man's standard of authentication. Facts do not require belief. Rather these are more or less the things that can be observed empirically, or by the senses. Therefore, facts can be seen and heard, as well as proven by the other senses. I am reminded of the difference between ethics and laws. Laws are rules of conduct or procedure recognized by a community as binding or enforceable by authority. Ethics deals with a system of moral standards or principles that will be carried out even in the absence of of authority. My point is that ethics are higher than laws. Ethics require a person to have a certain belief system. The same is true with the truth and facts. Yes, the Bible is factual. Moreover, the Bible is the Truth. It is the book about the Truth from Genesis to Revelations. It is an account of someone, not some thing. It is a Him book, speaking of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ. In essence, the Truth is higher than facts. For example, a person has a sickness. This is factual. However, the Truth has the higher and final authority. According to Isaiah 53:5, Jesus was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed! A person may be experiencing lack in finances. This is factual. the truth of the matter is that God makes all grace abound towards us that we have all sufficiency in all things. He also supplies all our needs according to his riches in glory by, in and through Christ Jesus. It does not stop there because not only does he supply all our needs, but he supplies them exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that works in us. This power is the blessed ministry and help of the Holy Spirit. Facts are facts and we do not deny them. However, as children of the King we live by the higher and final authority of the word of God.

The Blessedness of Happiness: Lost, Precious and Loved

 

Praise the Lord, everybody! The message that Apostle Holcomb preached this Sunday, 17 October 2010 at our 10:30 worship service is in the series, The Blessedness of Happiness. It is entitled, Lost, Precious and Loved. (Matthew 5:1-4) is the scripture text.

"And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Last week we spoke about being poor in spirit, which equates to being rich toward God, realizing that we all need Jesus. When we are rich toward God, we see people the way God sees them as we view the world through the dove eyes of the Father. This enables us to look beyond the faults of others as we see and address the needs of those who are less fortunate. The emphasis today is on verse 4, "blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." The Greek word for mourn is pentheo. It carries the connotation of lamenting, which is crying with God. There are times of rejoicing in our lives and there are times when we will mourn. It is of the essence that we are balanced individuals. (Romans 12:15) says, "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." There will be times that we experience the lost of loved ones and things that we hold dear to our hearts. It is important that we never suppress emotions that need to be expressed because in doing so, it could lead to depression. God gave us emotions and they serve needed purposes. Our emotions function as outlets and safety valves because we have an innate need to respond to given situations. The Bible speaks to us about occasions when even Jesus wept. Therefore, we realize that God cries with us. Even as we cry over the lost of loved ones that have passed on, we must also cry over loved ones that are lost. Souls are important and precious in the sight of God. He will always leave the 99, to go after one lost soul. The questions become, why are souls so important to God? What makes a soul valuable to God? What is a soul worth? The Bible teaches that our souls are worth more than the gain of the whole world. Our souls are of much value because they are desirable and they are durable. God desires our souls and so does satan. In (Luke 22:31), Jesus said to Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." 
Our souls are also durable which means that they are eternal. We will exist eternally somewhere. We must not allow the devil to fool us by causing us to believe a lie. There are consequences associated with our decisions in this life. The devil is going to hell and he desires to take as many of us with him as he can. Please realize that there is a Heaven to gain and there is a hell to shun. In essence, Heaven is a real place and hell is a real place. We do not come back and get to try again as something different. We do not come back! The truth is that we all have an appointment with death. The question becomes, where will we spend eternity? God loves us and He has made provisions for us by giving His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. If we accept His Son, we receive everlasting life. Every sheep needs a shepherd. Every sinner needs a Savior and every soul needs the Sovereign God. Remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus!

 

The Metamorphosis of the Mind: Change Into Something Different

Praise the Lord everybody! This is Minister Novice. The message that Apostle Holcomb preached this Sunday is entitled The Metamorphosis of the Mind: "Change and Become Something Different." The scripture text is found in Romans 12:1-3. Our mantra for this year is 2010, We're in. We are getting into what we're into. It is written in Acts 17:28, "For in Him we live and move and have our being." This means that our dependency is not on the world. Our dependency is on the Lord, the Kingdom of our God and the Power of His Christ which is the blessed ministry of the Holy Spirit. Also in Acts: 1-7, the scriptures tell us of how the people of that day were making an impact on society. They turned the world in a different direction. It was actually the right direction. As they did, so must we declare and proclaim with our lives that there is another King, one Jesus. In this particular message, we are being taught in reference to having the Kingdom mindset.

The question becomes, how can we change ourselves into something different? We cannot. Only God can change a man and transform him into a new creature. The Greek word for transform is (metamorphoo). It means to become something different. The example given is that of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. The dimensions and altitudes of the butterfly are different from that of the caterpillar. Once the transformation has taken place, it can never return to what it previously was. So it is with us, once we have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord. Bishop also talked about the word, repent. He has been teaching us God's Theology of "Re." The Greek word for repent is (metanoia). It means to modify or change the mind by association. Repentance carries the connotation of changing the mind by renewing the mind to the mind of Christ. In essence, when we repent, we turn from our old lives and turn to Jesus. He makes us into another vessel. The Bible teaches that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away and all things become new. Be not conformed to the world or the world's way of thinking and living. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In essence, do not allow yourself to be modeled, molded and fashioned into the pattern of the world's way of doing things. We must repent and change according to the likeness of God. Remember that in order to repent, we must think differently about sin. We must feel differently about sin. We must also choose to live differently as a direct result of the Holy Spirit's conviction that Jesus is Lord and King. Remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain
in the place by Jesus.

 

From the message "The Bill of Rights of the Christian Faith"

 

The Manacarta

 

Repentance

1. Regeneration 6. Reformation
   
2. Redemption 7. Revived
   
3. Reconciliation 8. Reproved
   
4. Rejoice 9. Reasonable
   
5. Restoration 10. Remember
   

   
    

   Repentance begins with regeneration. We become regened because of redemption. We have been bought with a price by the finished work of Calvary through our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He brought us back and reconciled us to the favor, which is the grace of God. We can therefore rejoice! This is good news!
   

   God has restored us by fixing us. He has reformed us by changing and transforming us into a better state. God locates us where we are, but He doesn't leave us the way He finds us. He has revived us by bringing us back to life, back to the high point with Him.
   

God rebukes those that He loves. Therefore we should never despise the reproving of the Lord. Because of all that was previously stated, it is only reasonable that we would serve Him. It is only the appropriate, respectable and proper response that we would always remember the Lord as we continue in communion with Him. Therefore we must repent from what has kept us from considering Jesus.

Repent: Living above the Common

Praise the Lord everybody. The message that Apostle Holcomb preached this week is entitled, "Repent: Living above the Common." This is living above the ordinary, the familiar and the normal. The message text is found in (Matthew 3:1, 2) and (Matthew 4:17). We must have the Kingdom message, the Kingdom mindset and the Kingdom ministry. In other words, it's all about Jesus. He is the message, the mindset, the ministry and the model of the Kingdom of God. It's all about Him! As stated in the previous scriptures, John the Baptist and Jesus' message was repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. "At hand" is a Hebraism which means that His help is available to us. We have right of entry to another dimension of help because we have access to God's resources. This is His support, His supply and His surplus. It is in Him that we live, move and have our being. This means that our dependence is not on the kingdom of this world. Our dependence is on the Lord, the Kingdom of our God and the Power of His Christ, which is the help and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. There is another King! Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! The Greek word for repentance is (metanoia) which means to modify or change the mind by association. It carries the connotation of changing the mind by renewing the mind to the mind of Christ, which is the ideology of Christ. The precondition of repentance is brokenness. In essence we must feel differently about sin. We must think differently about sin. We must also choose to live differently as a direct result of the Holy Spirit's conviction that Jesus is Lord and King. As children of the Most High God, we have dual citizenship. In the United States we are under a democracy. We are also citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven which is a Theocracy. We must begin to access our Kingdom mindset and think about things the way God thinks about them. It is essential that we discontinue the worldly mindsets as it pertains to our lives and to the church of the Living God. Remember when God asked Adam, Who told you that? In other words, where did you get that from? Remember that God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8, 9) We must get the Counsel of God's understanding concerning every situation. We then yield and submit to God's point of view and we take God's position in every matter. Our philosophies must be married to God's Theology. Praise the Lord! As always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus! God bless you and have a wonderfully blessed day!

There Is Another King: The Kingdom Message

 

Praise the Lord, Everybody! This is Minister Novice. The message that Apostle Holcomb preached this week is entitled, "There Is Another King: The Kingdom message." The scripture text is found in Acts 17:27, Acts 17:1-7. The Kingdom message is that it's all about Him, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. He is our soon coming and life changing King. Unless we allow our lives to be ruled and governed by Jesus Christ, there will always be emptiness on the inside that only God can fill. On the altar of our hearts, there will continually be the inscription to an unknown God whom we worship ignorantly. We have come to learn that Jesus is in every book of the Bible and even so, He is also in the book of our lives. The Bible is HIM book. It is the book about Him! In the Bible, You will find Jesus from Genesis to Revelations. He came in the volume of the book that is written of Him. Jesus is the answer to every situation that we may encounter. Regardless of what you may go through, remember that there is another King and His name is Jesus. He has the name that is higher than any other name. His name is higher than any sickness or any problem that we may face. At the name of Jesus every knee must bow and every tongue will confess to the glory of God the Father that He is Lord. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being. Indicating, that we are not dependent on the world's system; however our dependence is on the Lord, the Kingdom of our God and the Power of His Christ, which is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. God is our source and everything else is a resource. In the book of Philippians, Jesus is the God that supplies all our needs according to His riches in Glory. My encouragement, as always, is that you will remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

The Subject of Ignorance

Praise the Lord everybody. This is Minister Novice. The message that Apostle Holcomb preached this week is entitled, "The Subject of Ignorance." The scripture text is found in 1 Corinthians 14:38-40. We, the Body of Christ, the family of God at the Christian House of Prayer are still merismosing the matter of speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is supplication on our part, which is having a passion for what God wants. However it is intercession on the Spirit's part because it is He who takes hold together with us that which is opposite to and antagonistic towards us. He leads and directs us in what we should say when we pray to God. Paul concludes in 1 Corinthians 14 what he was teaching in the previous chapters. He expresses that after all that has been taught; if an individual still wants to be ignorant, allow him to remain ignorant. Ignorance is a commentary on what we don't know. It deals with not knowing the difference or not acknowledging the different reasons for being ignorant. We covered three primary reasons for ignorance. Number 1 is unlearned ignorance which bespeaks of being incapable of comprehending truth or knowledge because of inexperience or immaturity. Number 2 is unaware ignorance that demonstrates a lack of knowledge which could be the result of not hearing. We realize that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. In other words, it must be preached! In Acts 19:1-7, Paul came across some disciples and he asked them if they had received the Holy Ghost since they were saved. The disciples answered saying that they had not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. This is an example of unaware ignorance. Number 3 is unacknowledged ignorance, which to me is the most dangerous of the 3. Unacknowledged ignorance says that I have heard. I comprehend what you are saying, but I choose to ignore it and remain in a state of stubbornness. We also discussed 2 terms concerning our attitudes toward the Holy Spirit. Persona grata; this is the total acceptance of the 3rd person who is the ambassador of the God head. The very antithesis is persona non grata which means that we do not accept, we do not welcome, and we do not recognize, appreciate or celebrate the Holy Spirit as Heaven's agent on the earth. In John 20:22, Jesus said unto His disciples, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Why did He say this knowing that the Holy Spirit had not yet come? Why would Jesus have to tell saved people, disciples to receive the Holy Spirit? I believe Jesus knew that some of us would not do it and some us still do not receive the Holy Spirit's ministry. There are some people who want Jesus but do not want the Holy Spirit. Yet there are others who want the Holy Spirit without the tongues. We cannot and should not attempt to departmentalize God. The day of Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit came with His ministry. We do not have to tarry for him because He is here! The book of Acts is a continuous narrative and we are still living in the book of Acts today, which is the works or the acts of the Holy Spirit. The question then becomes, have you received the Holy Spirit since you've been saved? As always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus! God bless you!