I have been attending the Great Awakening since we began to go live on CTN on Sunday January 2nd. The meetings seem to be growing in intensity as the days progress. I have seen many people have an encounter with God during these 4 days. Pastor Eric Gonyon and his wife Jennifer have been sharing on the soul winning script and we have heard many testimonies on its effectiveness in the streets around the world in bringing people to the knowledge of Jesus.
Rodney has a great burden to see another Great Awakening in America which he has been sharing with a passion in these meetings. I wholeheartedly agree that America does indeed need another Great Awakening with all the debauchery so prominent in this nation. I pray with Rodney that we do see America touched and changed in this day with the poor the lonely and the brokenhearted all coming into a knowledge of and an experience with their Father who is in heaven! That the needy in spirit might see the love, salvation, companionship consolation, power and deliverance our God, the only true God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Christ, has to offer! May the true church, His church show forth his glory as never before! May the Lord our God the only God do many awesome signs, wonders and miracles to show forth his love for us as he has done many times in history for those who called upon his name! May every hungry heart be flooded with and overflowing with his love! To him be all the Glory, all the honor and all the praise forever and ever! Amen!- Dennis M.
I’m here in Valrico, FL and have been so moved by The Great Awakening! I witnessed to my baby’s nanny today using the Gospel Script. When I asked if she knew if she would go to Heaven, she said she didn’t know, but she’s a “good person.”
I explained the free gift of salvation and she said the prayer and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior!!! Praise God! Prior to talking to her, I prayed for holy boldness and for her heart to be open and receptive; then I stepped out of my box of fear and her heart was open and ready!!! Pastor Rodney/Adonica, thank you for obeying God and helping to awaken all of us who’s spirits were slumbering. The fire of God is real and His Spirit is moving!!!!!
The mission of the local church is: Preaching and teaching; Making disciples; Fellowship; Worship; Missions and evangelism; Maturity of the believer; Ministry in the home; Ministry to material needs.
Fellowship:
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9 KJV
Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice, has made it possible for man to be restored back into relationship and fellowship with God, the Father. When a man or woman accepts the free gift of salvation, he or she is now both a child, and a friend, of God. They are family. This fellowship with Jesus, Paul calls a “mystery” (Ephesians 3:8-12), but it gives us special privileges – in Jesus Christ we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him – we have the right to freely come into the presence of God Himself!
The cup of blessing [of wine at the Lord’s Supper] upon which we ask [God’s] blessing, does it not mean [that in drinking it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the blood of Christ (the Messiah)? The bread which we break, does it not mean [that in eating it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the body of Christ? 17 For we [no matter how] numerous we are, are one body, because we all partake of the one Bread [the One Whom the communion bread represents]. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 AMP
We believers, though many, are all one body – the Body of Christ. One of the functions of the Church is to facilitate, sustain and maintain fellowship between believers. The word translated “fellowship” is “koinonia”, which means partnership; participation; communicate or communication; communion. We have been brought into communion with Jesus Christ and we have also been brought into communion with each other as the Body of Christ. Romans 12:5 AMP says, “So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another].” Whether we like it or not, we are dependent on each other – we need each other.
And they were giving constant attention to the teaching of the apostles and to that which they held in common with them, and to the breaking of the bread and to the gatherings where prayers to God were offered. And a reverential fear came upon every soul. And many miracles that excited amazement and attesting miracles were performed by the apostles. And all those who believed were gathered together as a unit and were holding all things in joint-participation, and were selling their houses and lands and other possessions and kept on distributing them to all, according as anyone was having a need. And daily they continued to remain in the temple, in perfect unanimity, breaking bread at home, partaking of food together in gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having the good will of the people. And the Lord kept on adding to them daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47 Kenneth S. Wuest
Often when people use the word “fellowship” they relate it to games, dining, and social interaction. There is nothing wrong with such fellowship, when they conform to biblical ethics, but the word “koinonia” is so much more powerful than that. The Early Church met together for fellowship – for instruction in the Word of God, for prayer, to eat together, to partake of communion, and to worship God (Acts 2:42) – to fellowship in the Gospel and grow together in the Lord (Philippians 1:3-6). Paul testifies that even though James, Peter and John were called to preach to the Jews, and he and Barnabas were called to preach to the Gentiles, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas. They offered them all their friendship and support – out of respect for God and His will for all of them (Galatians 2:7-9). The Early Church were united together and had all things in common – they shared ungrudgingly whatever they had – food, clothing, shelter – with each other. Even the persecuted Macedonians, although not wealthy, begged Paul to be able to fellowship with the saints in Jerusalem through their giving (2 Corinthians 8:3-4).
These believers all chose to fellowship with one another because of their covenant with God and each other as the Body. A covenant relationship is one where you commit to fellowship with someone and to love them and bless them based on submission and obedience to God’s Word and not just because you feel like it or not. We are all going to be in heaven together and that means overlooking our differences. We can even agree to disagree, but we don’t have to be disagreeable!
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4 NKJV
Where people are touched by the power of God and truly filled with the Holy Spirit, there will be harmony and fellowship. When we have unbroken fellowship with God then we will have harmony and fellowship in the Body of Christ. When our fellowship with God is lacking then there will be discord and strife. Discord and strife arises when people behave like the devil – when they are worldly, carnal, selfish and arrogant.
If we have genuine fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, we will walk in the truth and we will walk in the love of God toward each other. If we do not walk in love, we show ourselves to be liars – we are not in fellowship with God at all (1 John 1:1-7). Thank God for His blood that washes us clean and gives us another chance to do right. Thank God for His forgiveness. When we realize that we are nothing without Him and we humble ourselves to accept His love and mercy for ourselves, then it is not so difficult to love and show grace to a neighbor. God’s love makes it possible for His precious Church to fellowship with Him and fellowship with each other.
The theme of our Ministers Conference as those that attended was title No Limits, No Boundaries.
I was totally excited about the meeting. I had no idea what the Lord had in store for me. We were scheduled to sing this amazing song that our Pastor had heard. The song was written from Jabez prayer in Chronicles 4:10. I had heard of that prayer and really thought of it as a fad that went around the body of Christ. Seeing Ja-bez coffee mugs. Ja-bez teeshirts , Ja-bezplaques on the wall. Thinking to myself, I will not be part of a fad. Not considering that it is t he word of God that will not return void. That is an example of what can happen when you slack on the word of God. As I’m beginning to study this song by the scripture I take out Matthew Henry commentary to study the prayer verse by verse .If Pastor Rodney wants us to sing it then it’s very important that I have a revelation of what I’m singing about. Ja-bez mother bore him in sorrow. I don’t really know kind of sorrow but having children I kinda had an idea where she could have been coming from. But my heat really goes out to Ja-bez because he had to bear the name and the stigma that goes along with it. His childhood was probably miserable. I could relate to Ja-bez personally. His prayer to the Lord was even though his name meant one thing the Lord could turn thing around, and the Lord was his only hope.
What I learned from the meetings is that while there are no limits and no boundries in the power of God. We put limits and boundaries on ourselves. How much we will take off someone, how much we will give, how much we will do. The Lord says I want to take you pass your limit, your boundaries. I was being made into the prayer. (BUT GOD) is my motto…He is my strength, my source, my strong tower. I totally depend on him. He is making me over. And he has changed my name..During the conference I felt I was living2 Corinthians 4:9, troubled, perplexed, cast down always bearing the dying of the Lord that his life be made manifest. I learned I must decrease that he may increase. I wasn’t just singing a song I was and am praying a prayer. Bless me, keep me, that his hand be with me,
From evil keep, and don’t let it grieve me…THIS IS MY PRAYER
Ministers Conference 2010 challenged me to break off the limits of the fear of man, and breakthrough the boundaries of the things of the past. As Philip Smethurst was sharing on many of the trials that he and other ministers in Africa have endured—the hardships and sufferings of braving the elements, the death of dear friends, and facing persecution—I felt a stirring inside to truly sell out completely to Jesus, to be ready and willing to suffer and even die for Christ. I have been challenged to proclaim the uncompromised Gospel, to stop operating in the fear of man and just keep my eyes on Jesus.
One of the most impacting moments for me of Ministers Conference was when Alison Cruse got up to sing the song Alabaster Box. Everything God has brought me through began flooding my mind and I was overwhelmed with thankfulness to the Lord. God began ministering His grace to me and showing me that it is His righteousness in me that gives me the ability and willingness to obey His Word, I don’t have to muster it up in my own strength. The joy and peace of the Lord began flooding my heart and I felt so light, as if weights had just come off. Jesus is so amazing!
When I went to a person who worked at Lowe’s named Christian. When I asked him, if you were to die this very second, do you know for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that you would go to heaven? He said “yes,” I said “great, why do you say yes?” He said because he was a good person. So I proceeded with the script and he accepted Jesus into his heart today! (the soulwinner is 11 yrs old)
I went up to 3 Hispanic men and started with script. The one man kept nodding his head and I said “no your have to say it.” Then the man next to me started reading the prayer in Spanish and the man was saying it in English after me.
I prayed for a young man and he said that he stopped believing God because he lost his grandma. She had heart attack and after she had a stroke so I prayed the first prayer and it came to the part where he had to pray and he rededicated his heart to the Lord even though his friends were laughing.
After going to nursing homes and leading people to Jesus, I had to go get my oil changed in my van and Jesus caught another fish. The 18 yr old that handled my oil change came back to Jesus. I used the script!
We all know the heart is an important organ in our body. The human heart’s job is to pump nutrient-rich blood throughout our body. If the heart is not working nothing else is working either. Therefore, it is imperative that we maintain and take care of our human heart. We are told to eat right and exercise, because if we don’t, we can experience problems. But, not many of us know, we have the same responsibility to take care of our spiritual heart. The heart more often refers to our spirit, the innermost organ or the center of your being. Therefore, if we do not take care of our heart spiritually we can experience problems. In that same manner we must do whatever it takes to maintain our spiritual heart. I’ve learned the way to do this is by monitoring our thoughts and emotions, because every emotion is based out of love, faith or fear. We must do away with all negative attitudes, pride, un-forgiveness, malice, and hatred because all these things affect our heart.
The devil put thoughts in our head so we should never respond to the first strong emotion, or make any important decision for our life when we are tired, worn out, upset, or when we are experiencing weakness anxiety or fear. The human heart is well protected from outside danger and it is very difficult to reach I’m told. In the same manner we must also protect our spiritual heart from outside danger. When God saved us he changed our heart and our spirit became new. Therefore, we must allow the word of God to work in our heart and renew our minds until there is nothing left of our old nature. God does not want anything from us without a sincere heart so we must strive to live in peace with everyone, and love thy neighbor as thyself—- which is the greatest commandment. But most of all what I learned last week is that it’s not about outwards things but about the consecration of the heart. God wants a healthy heart, one that is pure and upright. We must long and strive for Holiness of heart because Holiness comes from a pure heart.
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This week has been a major heart check. It has been a reminder that the heart is the most important thing; the heart is where everything starts. God doesn’t look at the outward appearance but He looks at the heart, not just our actions but our motives and intentions. I know that my heart has not always been right and there are areas that the Lord has shown me that I need to work on. It all starts with the little things, we have to be watchful and on guard. We have to be watchful of what we put in our heart, and what we meditate on. God is such a good God, he doesn’t just tell us we are wrong and we need to fix things but he goes further and shows us what we should meditate on. Philippians 4:8 “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any raise, think on these things” When thoughts come we have the choice to take those thoughts and meditate on them or we can cast them down. I love how good God is, Psalms 130:3-4 says “If you, Lord, should keep account of and treat [us according to our] sins. O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You [just what man needs], that You may be reverently feared and worshipped.” I am so thankful that the Lord is merciful, that he is always on our side. I am thankful that he doesn’t look at my past sins and failures and judge me based on those, but he loves me and forgives me. He is patient, kind, and ever ready to believe the best, he never fails.
During this series of teachings on “The Matters of the Heart” some very profound wisdom and courage was planted into my life. These are things that really ministered to me, the story of Saul and David, the differences between religion and Righteousness, finally having a pure heart before God.
The story of Saul and King David Ministered to my heart greatly, because it show’s how pure David’s love for God was. One thing I learned from the story is if we’re doing what we ought to do we won’t put ourselves into a situation like King David. We won’t be on top of the roof looking at Bathsheba while we’re suppose to be at war, at work, reading or whatever the case maybe. David went on to sin against the Lord, showing us that every one will fall short of the glory of God. Later on David turns from his sin and with a repented heart continued serving God. Now David had many different choices set before him as do we in our everyday life. David had the chance to kill Saul twice, but because of his integrity and his Love for God he didn’t. This shows us that if we trust in the Lord our God no matter what situation we get into he will always see us through. God even delivered David when he brought trouble upon himself. David was wise enough to acknowledge God in all of his ways. David was a man after God’s own Heart. This story is the perfect example on the matters of the heart.
Now I want to talk about the difference between Religion and righteousness which has everything to do with the Matters of the Heart. Many people think you have to be religious in order to be Righteous. Righteousness is being free from works. While on the other hand Religion emphasizes on works. No man can earn righteousness, it is purchased by God. Religious people often believe you have to do all sorts of things in the flesh in order to please God. The bible says the opposite of that, there is nothing we can do in our flesh to please God. Righteousness is something we must understand was bought for the believer by the blood of Christ. The Bible does say none is Righteous no not one. Religious people take that scripture out of context by believing it justifies them to be able to do anything and everything they want because the Bible says no one is Righteous anyway. Religious people such as Pharisees believe they have to do all sorts of works to earn it, they honor God with there lips but there heart is far from him. It is so amazing God sent Jesus just so we wouldn’t have to be a far off from him and his presence no more striving to reach him. We can know he came to set us free from Religion. We can put on what was purchased for us, true Righteousness.
One of the most important things I learned in the sessions is about having a pure heart before God. I was refreshed on the teachings of walking in love. Love has everything to do with keeping our heart pure. The Bible says watch over your heart with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life. Pastor Adonica taught us that our heart is like a garden, gardens take time and effort. Our Heart will take time and effort too; we have to get rid of all the bad things in a garden if we want healthy fruit to grow. The same with our heart, we have to get rid of sin, and arrogance, anything that would hold us back from producing healthy luscious fruit has to be pruned from our heart. Any good fruit has to be nourished and cultivated. We have to be very careful what motive we do things in because when we get to heaven everything we have done on earth will be tried and sent through the fire. What is not of God any wood, hay and stubble will be burnt. This would leave us with nothing to show for our life on earth, no eternal gifts to bring our king. This is why we must protect our heart and walk in the Love of God always.
Everything we learned in the “Matters of the Heart” class was absolutely astonishing, some of it was brand new information and some of it was very much needed refreshed information. God has already begun to deal with me about many different areas from the teachings on the Matters of the Heart.
The kitchen crew of the world famous BLUEWILLOWINN received Jesus today (12 saved in the kitchen) Family at campus(6-7 people) Mexican restaurant (2 students) Waiters (almost led everyone to the Lord at restaurant) -got led to the Lord Lady got saved in nursing home.