I know. The statement sounds contradictory. Let me explain.
The bad news is that somewhere between 70% and 90% of churches need revitalization. That’s a wide range, but revitalization does not always have a precise definition. Regardless, there are a lot of churches needing revitalization.
The good news is there is a greater acceptance and a greater awareness of the need. With that acceptance and awareness comes a greater willingness to do something about it.
We are totally committed to helping churches revitalize. Through our two organizations, Church Answers and Revitalize Network, we are ready to help as many churches as possible. As the awareness of our resources has become widely disseminated, we get a lot of questions about revitalization. I thought you might enjoy seeing the seven most frequently asked questions. It will give you an idea where both the pain and hope reside.
Is my church situation hopeless? Sure, we’ve seen many churches close their doors. But we’ve also seen God’s hand work in miraculous ways in many churches. I do not believe any situation has to be hopeless.
What do I do if my members do not want to change? I have rarely known a church of any size that did not have a couple of members willing to walk alongside a pastor to move a church to revitalization. True revitalization often begins with the few, not the masses.
Does revitalization cost a lot of money? The statement, “We don’t have enough money for…
A Promise For You From Bible Promises: [06/MAY/2019]
Topic: He Is Pleased!
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. – Proverbs 28:13.
Read: Acts 3:19
From the written Word of God, it’s crystal clear that God loves us and desires our freedom and establishment as His own dear children. He wants us to enjoy prosperity on earth and continue until we meet Him in glory. His utmost desire is that we take charge over everything He created in the world as his original in the garden of Eden in Genesis 2:26. God created us to have dominion over everything He created.
But when man fell from this grace, he lost everything to the prince of the world – Satan. For His love, He sent Jesus to restore everything man had lost back to man. Therefore, for man to have full access to this restoration of all things that initially belong to him that he lost, acknowledgement of his shortcomings and repentance from those sins is required from man.
Now God is supposed to be bitter and angry with man, but when you go through the Scriptures, you discover that this same God (for His love for us) He is now the one pleading for us to return to Him in repentance. From proverbs 28:13, you discover that our repentance will not benefit God but us alone. God is pleased when we repent and come back to Him. We are supposed to be happy for God accepting us back, but He is happiest when we come back. The prodigal son’s father was happy more than the prodigal son when he returned home. Why not make God happy (though it’s for your benefit) now by returning to Him?
Bible Promises Thought: Though repentance benefits you in all ways, but God is the happiest when you repent. Therefore make Him happy to your benefit.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. — Philippians 4:8
I once interviewed a minister and his wife on our ministry’s television program. I asked the man what his weaknesses were. His answer: “You know, I don’t concentrate on them. I am sure I have some, but I couldn’t tell you right now what they are because I just don’t focus on them.”
I laughingly replied that I would ask his wife later. I was sure she would know his weaknesses, even if he didn’t. When she joined us later in the broadcast, I promptly popped that question to her. She replied, “To me, my husband is perfect; I don’t focus on his weaknesses. He has so many strengths that I just focus on them and help him be all he can be.”
It didn’t take me long to understand why these two were so happy and upbeat all the time—and why they had such a wonderful marriage. Confident people make it a habit to think and act positively. Therefore, they enjoy life, and they accomplish a lot.
Prayer Starter: Lord, it seems as though it’s a lot easier to see others’ negatives rather than their positives. Help me to see others through Your eyes, especially my loved ones and those with whom I am closest. I want to bless and support them as You do. Amen.
Wisdom is needed in order to be relevant in life and make impact on earth.
SCRIPTURE: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Wisdom is needed in order to be relevant in life and make impact on earth.
Wisdom, according to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, is the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice based on experience and knowledge. It is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise.
Wisdom is a critical requirement for a profitable life in time and in eternity. This means the absence of wisdom is the abundance of losses – losses in this life and in the life to come. People lose where wisdom is lacking. People even lose their souls in eternity in hell for failure to apply their heart to the wisdom of embracing the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ (Rev.21:8).
Wisdom is the mystery behind an outstanding life in every realm (Ecclesiastes 8:1). Throughout Scriptures, we see that people who were outstanding, walked with God and made impact in their generation were people of wisdom. Wisdom is needed in order to be relevant in life and make impact on earth. Solomon, for instance, made impact by wisdom (1 Kings 10:4).
Now, what is the secret of wisdom? It is the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 9:10). The fear of the Lord is the entry qualification for the school of wisdom. Where the fear of the Lord is lacking, people are denied access to the Wisdom of God. This fear of God is achieved by the knowledge of the Word of God. The more of His Word you know, the more of His fear you will connect. Men who study the Bible fear the Lord. So, distance from the Word equals the death of the fear of God. As long as the Bible is in your possession and it is not for decoration, you will abide in the fear of the Lord.
My counsel is, study God’s Word consistently and diligently in order to understand what it means to fear God and possess the wisdom of God.
REMEMBER THIS: Wisdom is needed in order to be relevant in life and make impact on earth.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Seek the Wisdom of God at the place of prayer.
Let the Word of God be your guide in your life’s decisions always.
PRAYER: O Lord, I ask that You impact me with Your wisdom from above. Let Your fear be in me always, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE FEAR OF THE LORD – THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM
QUOTE: You must make up your mind to be different in order to make a difference. Culled from WHO ARE YOU? by Dr Paul Enenche
DAILY READING: Ruth 2:1 to 4:22, John 4:43 to 54, Psalm 105:16 to 36, Proverbs 14:26 to 27
AMAZING FACT: Elephant trunks are stunted at birth, then rapidly elongate over the course of a few days.
TODAY IN HISTORY: May 6, 1816 – The American Bible Society was organized.
DON’T FORGET TO ATTEND: The Healing and Deliverance Service tomorrow by 9:00am at the Glory Dome, the Lord’s Garden, Airport Road, Abuja. Invite someone. God bless you as you do so.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION/WORD: I pray for a fresh Baptism of the fear of God that will usher you into a strange dimension of Divine wisdom today in Jesus’ Name.
Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Paul Enenche of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Pastor Paul and Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities
Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.
THE MOUNTAIN OF FIRE AND MIRACLES MINISTRIES POWER MUST CHANGE HANDS PROGRAM FOR MAY 2019 EDITION Topic: THE MYSTERY OF PRAYER. (Part 2) Ministering: Dr D.K Olukoya (G.O, MFM Worldwide)
Anchored Scripture: James 5:17 – “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.”
MESSAGE:
This passage makes us to understand that there are secrets of prayer, the people of the old understood but we do not.
Elijah used prayers to lock up heavens and put the keys in his pocket and walked away and after 3 years, he unlocked it.
Prayer is that platform where you wage war against the kingdom of darkness.
Prayer is a place where the power of God is acquired and sustained.
In the history of the church, there were no personal or city revival without prayer.
If you want to kill anybody, kill the prayer life.
Prayer is the key to unlock closed doors.
Prayer is the key to God’s blessings.
Prayer is an antidote against worry and cares of the world.
Through prayers, you can raise standard against the enemies of God. By it, you can rule the world.
Prayer reveals God’s agenda to His people.
Prayer is a sanitizer, it cleanses the environment.
Prayer paralyzes the power of darkness.
Prayer paralyzes the works of the wicked.
When you prevail in the place of prayer, you will overtake with bear foot against those that have gone ahead of you.
When you have a dream you don’t understand, Prayers sharpens all understanding.
There is something called “PRAYER DOZE”. When you take medicine, a doze is a quantity of medicine to work for you well.
Some are in small quantity of doze over a period of time, some are in larger quantity.
Prayer Dozes Elijah prayed 7 times before that little cloud appeared before rain fell. Which of the dozes of prayer did Elijah prayed that brought the rain? Is it number one or number three?
A doze of prayer is needed. Would there have been rain if Elijah had stopped at number 3?
It means many prayer investments can be wasted if one last prayer is omitted.
Prayer can also be dozes. In the mystery of prayer, there can never be overdose but there can be underdoze.
Constant doze of prayer will go fast, bit ceaseless prayer will go further. There are certain problems that the doze you take is required day and night.
Some condition may require you to pray day time and do vigil. If you have tried the day doze, try Jesus prescription: day and night doze.
If the problem you are facing takes 10 days and dose and you use one doze, you are looking for trouble.
Elijah prayed again: the “again prayer” brought the rain. If with the status of prophet; Elijah prayed again, then, we need to pray more.
When God’s people come together to pray, extraordinary things happen. The Bible says when two or three people gathered, He is in their midst.
The Bible says one can chase a thousand, two can chase out ten thousands to flight.
No prayer is wasted, prayer do not die. All the prayers you pray is like termite eating a cupboard little by little and one day, you will strike the target.
Prayer is a serious mystery.
Prayer rain:
After ministration prayers by Daddy G.O:
Every battle design to embarrass me, die in the name of Jesus
Powers that cannot harm me, but reporting me to powers that can harm me, before I leave this place: die in the name of Jesus.
Messengers of sickness in my body, die in the name of Jesus.
Powers assigned to make my enemies laugh at me, your time up: die in the name of Jesus
Oh Lord: before 24hrs, let me see your hand of power in the name of Jesus.
Banks of the enemies, hear the word of the Lord: vomit my money in the name of Jesus.
Powers commanding my life into the dustbin: die, in the name of Jesus.
Every battle I was born with, expire in the name of Jesus
Where is the God of Elijah: arise, answer my mockers by thunder In the name of Jesus.
Every battle, fighting from inside my blood: die in the name of Jesus.
We will continue next month.
From the JUNE PMCH, We are starting a series, the 7S Deliverance.
The 7 S we need to deal with:
SIN
SETBACK
SHAME
SICKNESS
STAGNANCY
STOPPERS
SUFFERING.
The Mystery of Prayer (Part 2) by Pastor D.K Olukoya
Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heaven 6 May 2019 – Divine Investment
1.I worship and adore You, my Father, because You’re the One who gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. (Click HERE for Open Heaven 6 May 2019)
2.Thank You, Jesus, for leaving all Your glory in heaven, for my sake, to suffer and die, that I may live.
3.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus name.
4.Father, as a child of Abraham, release upon my life, the grace to do what Abraham did, in order to access and provoke divine blessings and bountiful harvests, in Jesus name.
5.Father, please, give me a heart of sacrificial giving; let nothing be too precious or costly to give for the sake of Your kingdom, in Jesus name.
6.Father, let every opportunity to invest and sow precious and quality seeds into the fertile grounds of Your kingdom, never pass me by, in Jesus name.
7.Father, let every spirit of stinginess and tight fisted ness in my life, towards divine investments, be consumed by Your fire, in Jesus name.
8.Father, give me the grace to pay my tithes regularly, as at when due; and to give to Your kingdom business, bountiful and sacrificial offerings, in Jesus name.
9.Father, as I give to Your work, let men give unto me, in return, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, in Jesus name.
10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, and reward him for all his labours of love, in Your vineyard, in Jesus name.
11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus name.
12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus name.
13.Your Personal petitions. (Philippians 4:6)
14.In Jesus name I pray. (John 14:13-14; 15:16)
15.Thank you Father for answered prayers. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus name.
Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye’s book Ministry, in Jesus name.
Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heaven 6 May 2019 – Divine Investment
READ: Galatians 2:11-14 New King James Version (NKJV)
11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;
12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?
THE MESSAGE:
In our reading today, Paul opposed Cephas at Antioch. Before certain men came from James, he (Cephas) had eaten with the Gentiles, but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
Others acted insincerely with him so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity. Paul in his straight-forward nature, rebuked and corrected them. We must note Paul’s boldness and fearlessness.
Insincerity is a dangerous dagger that devours a person’s spirituality. It carries along falsehood and portrays a person as a liar because such a person claims to believe in one thing (God’s word) but his actions declare his faith as nothing but fallacy. Faith without works is dead. (James 2:17) God is not a Respecter of any person. In condemning evil, Paul respected no one, not even Cephas! The narrow road to heaven has no partiality or fear of persons on it. A spade must be called a spade.
Let us be honest, sincere, faithful and straight forward as Christians in our actions; there must not be compromise. Let us be crucified with Christ, so that Christ will live through us (Galatians 2:20), for if justification was through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.
PRAYER: O Lord, help us to be sincere Christians so that what we believe and preach will be seen through our actions in Jesus Name.
Matthew 14:30, ‘But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.’
Matthew 14:30-31
The reason Peter began to sink was because of his fear. In verse 31 Jesus used the word ‘doubt’ in reference to Peter’s fear. Fear is simply negative faith or faith in reverse. Where did this fear come from? Second Timothy 1:7 says, ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.’ It didn’t come from God. This fear was able to come upon Peter because he took his attention off of Jesus and put it on his situation.
Fear or doubt cannot ‘just overcome’ us. We have to let it in. If Peter had kept his attention on Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith (Heb. 12:2), he wouldn’t have feared. In the same way that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17), fear comes by hearing or seeing something contrary to God’s Word. We would not be tempted with fear or doubt if we didn’t consider things that Satan uses to minister fear and doubt. The wind and waves didn’t really have anything to do with Peter walking on the water.
He couldn’t have walked on the water apart from Jesus even if it had been calm. The circumstances simply took Peter’s attention off of his Master and led him back into carnal thinking. Likewise, Satan tries to distract us with thinking about our problems.
Peter’s faith didn’t fail him all at once, as can be seen by the fact that he only ‘began’ to sink. If there had been no faith present, he would have sunk all at once and not gradually. This illustrates that the entrance of fear and the exit of faith do not happen instantly. There are always signs that this is happening. If we will turn our attention back to Jesus, as Peter did, He will save us from drowning. No problem is too big for God. We should cast our care about the problem over on God and just keep our eyes on Jesus, the Word.
This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).
Know ye that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves . . . — Psalm 100:3
Whenever anyone asks me how I can be so certain about who and what God really is, I am reminded of the story of the little boy who was out flying a kite. It was a fine day to go kite-flying, the wind was brisk, and large billowy clouds were blowing across the sky. The kite went up and up until it was entirely hidden by the clouds. “What are you doing?” a man asked the little boy. “I’m flying a kite,” he replied. “Flying a kite, are you?” the man said, “How can you be sure? You can’t see your kite.” “No,” said the little boy, “I can’t see it, but every little while I feel a tug, so I know for sure that it’s there!” Don’t take anyone else’s word for God. Find Him for yourself, and then you too will know by the wonderful, warm tug on your heartstring, that He is there, for sure.
Prayer for the day: Oh heavenly Father, as I reach out to You I feel the “tug” of Your Holy Spirit, which tells me of Your presence!
Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.
Topic: The Blessing Is Connected To Your Consciousness
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing (Genesis 12:2).
Being born again, are you aware that you’re a package of blessings? Not only are you blessed, you’re a conveyor or dispenser of blessings. You’re the seed of Abraham; this makes you, not just a blessed man, but also a blessing. You’re divinely empowered to prosper and that empowerment impacts positively on everything around you as well.
The blessing also protects and preserves you such that irrespective of the challenges or oppositions you face, you always win. This is your life as a Christian; you’ve been empowered to succeed in all things and deal wisely in the affairs of life. However, the blessing is connected to your consciousness; it doesn’t work by accident. It works more when you’re conscious of it.
Let me explain it like this: someone else can pull virtue out of you by faith, as we read about the woman with the issue of blood, but that’s not you carrying out any operation at that time. The woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25 came in the press behind and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and she was healed instantly. Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” So many people were touching Him at the time, but there was something different about the touch from the woman; it was a touch of faith, a demand on the power of God.
Jesus knew that someone pulled power out of Him; He had the consciousness, just as the woman had the consciousness that if she touched Him, she’d be healed. So, you have to be conscious of the blessings of God in your life, and the greatest of such blessings is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Be more conscious of the Holy Spirit in you; you’re not an ordinary person.
Yes, there may be challenging situations, but when you’re conscious of who you are, and the greater One that lives in you, you’ll always win. Challenging situations never come to destroy you. Therefore, never get frustrated by your challenges or crisis; be unruffled. Maintain your composure; have the mindset of victory.
PRAYER Dear Father, what a blessing it is to be a conveyor and a dispenser of your divine love, power, glory, virtue, compassion and grace! I’m your extension; your outstretched arm to bring hope, succour, health, blessings, and deliverance to a dying and hurting world. Through me, your glory, power, and blessings envelop the lives of many, to your glory and praise, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: Deuteronomy 28:2-9; Ephesians 1:3; Philemon 1:6
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: John 3:1-21 & 2 Samuel 22
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Mark 8:10-21 & Numbers 9
Rhapsody of Realities 6th May 2019 Devotional was written by Pastor Pastor Chris Oyakhilome (D.Sc., D.D.). President of Loveworld Inc. aka Christ Embassy Int’l.
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