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Street Preacher’s Courage And Devotion Triumphed Over Arrests

by Christa
written by Christa

Pastor John Sherwood, who was recently acquitted of “hate speech,” shared his sentiments about continuing to preach the Gospel. The street preacher’s courage triumphed over the fear of potential arrests he may face when sharing the Word of God.

Public Disorder charge

Last year, police officers arrested Pastor Sherwood on charges of of alleged hate speech. Many complained of his “homophobic” message about Genesis 1:27-28. In contrast, Pastor Sherwood was only expounding on the passage of God’s original design for families. He boldly declared that a family unit consists of a father and mother, not two fathers or two mothers.

Prayers of support brought together the Christian community for the open-air preacher. Thankfully, Pastor Sherwood won the trial held last April 7.

In his interview with Christian Today, he recalled his experience on the day of the trial.

“My experience in the many months leading up to the trial was not a happy one,” he shared.

But the fearless pastor rested on God’s sovereignty. He took shelter on Jesus’ word in John 19:11. Before the crucifixion, Pontius Pilate told Jesus that he was powerful enough to have him released or not. But Jesus replied, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.”

With this, Pastor Sherwood calmly faced the trial believing in the God who reigns overall.

Street Preacher’s Courage

Today, he encouraged pastors and preachers to be bolder and not fear the persecution that may come with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He referred to Acts 4, where apostles Peter and John were also arrested because of the message of Christ. When warned not to preach again, the two apostles said, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)

“I accordingly believe that, despite the threats of the establishment or despite their wanting to control our activities, we must continue to preach the word publicly at every opportunity,” Sherwood said.

Moreover, during the apostolic times, disciples of Christ rejoiced when they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus’ sake. Sherwood said that the delight remains today.

“I firmly believe that biblical teaching should not be compromised because of pressure from the man-pleasing dictates and the fashions of the day,” he added.

Reference: Christian Today

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prayer
Faith

Do You Pray Like The Bible?

by Matt Brown
written by Matt Brown

Have you ever wondered if your prayer life looks like the people in the Bible? This question surprised me over the past several years. I grew up in church, but haven’t often stopped to consider the types of prayers the leaders prayed in the Bible.

Prayer is a very important habit.

Prayer is mentioned throughout the New Testament hundreds of times, and the Scripture tells us that prayer is supposed to be an integral part of our life as a follower of Jesus.

  • “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2)

  • “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

  • “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)

  • “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.” (James 5:13)

  • “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

Prayer was important to Jesus.

The Bible also shows us prayer as an important habit in the life of Jesus:

  • “And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.” (Matthew 14:23)

  • “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

  • “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

  • “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)

If Jesus prayed this much, how much more do we need to pray!

Prayer is something we can all use more of.

Prayer isn’t just for the most spiritual Christians. Prayer is something all of us can learn to do more of, and the more we learn the better off we will be. Henrietta Mears once said, “Christianity isn’t adding a burden to your life, it is adding power.” And the power that belongs to God comes to us through reading the Bible, seeking Him in prayer, the fellowship of the local Church, and submitting our hearts to God’s will.

Let’s learn to pray more like the Bible.

We see how important prayer is in the Bible, but how should we pray? I have been surprised to think of some of my prayers, in context of how the early leaders of the church prayed in the Bible. The more we learn to pray the Bible, and to pray like the Bible teaches us to pray, the better off we will be.

Consider some of these prayers in the New Testament:

  • Paul thanked God for people often. (See Romans 1:8-10)

  • Paul prayed for our knowledge of God to grow. (See Ephesians 1:17)

  • Paul prayed for our joy, peace and hope. (See Romans 15:13)

  • Paul prayed we would live in peace and unity with other believers. (See Romans 15:5-6)

  • Paul prayed for us to experience God’s power in our lives. (See Ephesians 3:16)

  • Paul prayed that our love for others would grow. (See Philippians 1:9)

These are just a sampling of the powerful apostolic prayers in the New Testament. I don’t know about you, but they are so different than the way I would naturally pray!

Now that we can see more of the prayers of the people in the Bible, it would be highly beneficial to begin to model more of our prayers after these powerful prayers!

____

Read more on the GOD TV blog – godtv.com

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Faith

It’s Time for The Church in America to Rise

by Brian Taylor
written by Brian Taylor

If you have been paying attention to the news lately, you’re either very excited or very nervous. We’ve seen the impact that President Trump has had on the world stage. It’s been so impactful that you could literally argue that he has given the Church in America the playbook for reclaiming the Seven Mountains of Culture. If you’re not familiar with the Seven Mountains of Culture, they consist of the mountains of business, education, media, government, religion, family, and arts and entertainment. These seven mountains are considered the key influences of thought throughout society. For more understanding on the seven mountains of culture, check out writings by Lance Wallnau, Johnny Enlow, or Os Hillman. 

If you’ve read Lance Wallnau’s book God’s Chaos Candidate, you may remember his telling of the encounter he had when meeting (then) candidate Trump.  In that encounter, he tells of how Trump believed that the Church had become soft. In the time since the campaign and the subsequent election, we’ve seen President Trump model what it means to be unequivocally bold. Lance Wallnau and many other prophetic voices have declared the President to be a modern-day Cyrus. King Cyrus was a king during the time that the Jews were in exile. Although, Cyrus was not righteous, God used him to help restore certain things for the people of Israel; the walls and the temple are just two things that were restored because of Cyrus.                    

Since taking office, President Trump has been noted by many for making strides to take the shackles off the Church in America. Early in his presidency we saw him take restrictions off the Church when he tackled the Johnson Amendment; a rule that prevented the Church from voicing political endorsements or feeling free to boldly proclaim truth on social issues. Earlier this year, we also saw the President move the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It was a bold move which declared the US recognition that Jerusalem is the true capital of the nation. 

In all this time since President Trump has been in office, he has shown the Church what it looks like to be bold and courageous, regardless of opposition. Yet, there are so many in the Church in America who have not picked up on this, choosing fear over faith. However, we know that Biblically, we’re told that “God has not given us a Spirit of fear, but a Spirit of power, love, and sound mind” (see 2 Timothy 1:7). Knowing this, there are a couple points we as the Church must take away from President Trump if we are going to have an impact on the seven mountains of culture, in the same way he has for both the mountain of government and the mountain of religion. 

Be Bold and Courageous

First, the Church must acknowledge it’s call to be bold and courageous. When God called Joshua to lead the people of Israel after the death of Moses, he charged him to be bold and courageous, because where they were going, they had not been before and they were going to face opposition that they had not faced before.

So too is the Church today is facing opposition that has not been faced before. It’s not the opposition of a natural war; it is the opposition of a cultural thought process that seeks to storm the gates of the Church by saying truth is irrelevant and the Gospel is powerless. It is essential that the Church recognizes the necessity to be bold in confronting its true enemy which is wrapped up in moral relativism or the belief that there is no absolute truth but the one you choose to believe. 

Proclaim The Truth

Second, proclaiming truth isn’t merely preaching the Gospel to a sin sick world; it is recognizing that culture must be won, not just through the mountain of religion but through each and every mountain of culture that has denied that there can be an absolute truth. We have seen in the last few week where the mountain of government has come under the onslaught of accusation without evidence because one particular movement says actual truth does not matter; it only matters what the accuser believes to be true.

The Church must be willing to proclaim that actual truth matters and that there is an absolute truth. If the Church allows individual truth to be acceptable, the Church will become crippled in its ability to have any impact in the nation. 

Be Present Throughout

In this Trump era, it incumbent that the Church recognize that the power of the Church is to go beyond the four walls of the sanctuary to each of the mountains. If the Church continues to allow itself to be confined to the four walls of the Church, the nation will be lost due to the ground that it refused to reclaim.

God has always wanted His glory to be present, not just in the mountain of religion, but also in the government, education, business, media, family and in arts and entertainment. When Christians are present on every mountain proclaiming truth, disavowing the lies of Satan through un-Biblical worldviews that seek to strip the Church of its influence, then we will see the truth that the “gates of hell shall not prevail,” (see Matthew 16:18).  

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Video

Martyr John Chau’s Video Message to Christians Before His Death

by GOD TV
written by GOD TV

Years ago, John Allen Chau embarked on the journey of being a missionary. He traveled from place-to-place, delivering the Good News to people around the world. But just recently, he was killed by an indigenous tribe known as the Sentinelese. The Sentinelese live on North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal, and are considered one of the world’s last uncontacted peoples.

Read: ‘God, I Don’t Want To Die’- American Missionary Wrote Before Being Buried By Remote Tribe

An old video of John has recently emerged where he implores Christians to be bold in their faith.

“As Christians, we can’t stay the same,” John said.

I totally agree with him. We can’t continue living the life we had before we become Christians. We need to change. We can’t call ourselves Christians while holding hands with the devil. Meaning, we can’t proclaim ourselves to be Christians yet live like the rest of the world.

I don’t mean to say that when we become Christians we become perfect. But rather there should be a transformed life when you accept Jesus us your Lord and Savior. When you invite Him into your life you can be assured that His grace will cover you and it will not be about your works anymore.

“We need to change,” he urged. “We can’t just call ourselves Christians. In John 4:15, Jesus tells us that, ‘if you love Me, you will obey My commands’. If we call ourselves Christians, we need to live our lives for Him and obey these commands. We can’t stay stagnant and lukewarm.”

“So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelations 3:16)

“We need to know what we believe,” John declared, citing 1 Peter 3:15.

“We either change, or we don’t believe. If we call ourselves Christians, we need to live our lives for Him and to obey His commands. By our deeds and actions, people will know that we’re Christians.”

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

He even stressed the importance of knowing what we believe and why we believe it. Because as we go to the world, people will have questions about our faith and so we should know how to defend and demonstrate it.

We can see that even years ago, John’s was laying down his life for the sake of the Kingdom.

This made me think and ponder on how I have lived my life. Too often I stay in my comfort zone forgetting that God entrusted me with the Great Commission and the Holy Spirit resides in me.

Surely, John reflects Paul’s statement in the New Testament when he was imprisoned:

“I want you to know, my friends, that the things that have happened to me have really helped the progress of the gospel. As a result, the whole palace guard and all the others here know that I am in prison because I am a servant of Christ. And my being in prison has given most of the believers more confidence in the Lord, so that they grow bolder all the time to preach the message fearlessly.” (Philippians 1:12-14)

May John’s life and martyrdom give us the courage to give our best and everything we have for His name’s sake.

I declare right now as you read this, that God will give you the courage to go beyond your comfort zone and defeat the fear that the enemy is trying to inject in you. I declare perfect love that casts out fear and boldness for you to become the person God made you to be, in Jesus’ name! AMEN.

This article is written by Le-Jovale Vallejo.

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bieber
Articles

Justin Bieber Shares Powerful Gospel Message with 98 Million Instagram Followers

by GOD TV
written by GOD TV

Justin Bieber Shares the Gospel with 98 Million Instagram Followers

Easter Sunday was last weekend, and while many of us were putting on our Easter dresses and ties, Justin Bieber, the pop star who experienced the life-changing power of the Gospel, shared his own Easter message with his 98 million Instagram followers.

Bieber boldly said Easter is “a reminder that my Jesus died on the Cross for my sins and then rose from the dead defeating death…I am set free from bondage and shame…I am a child of the Most High God and He loves me exactly where I am how I am for who I am”.

Happy easter

A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on

With 3 million likes and almost 100,000 comments, Bieber definitely struck a nerve with his fans. Many were supportive of Bieber’s newfound faith and desire to proclaim truth:

  • sinfonie1Thats the Truth – JESUS
  • Anamaria_1235 Wow you are an amazing person God bless you forever and for always.
  • Hmjoy We are so proud of you, Jesus loves you, believe it

However, not everyone is happy with the Bieb’s using Instagram to share his faith by calling him crazy, cursing at him, or even unfollowing him. Some time back, Justin Bieber gave his life to Christ and was baptized in NBA star Tyson Chandler’s bathtub. He has found mentors in Pastor Judah Smith of Church Home and Carl Lentz of Hillsong. Since then, he’s often used his Instagram to share his faith with his millions of fans.

You have to wonder how Bieber feels about his fans having such an emotional reaction to his faith. At one point, Bieber said, “Sometimes when I don’t feel like doing something, but I know it’s right, I remember, I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t feel like going to the Cross and dying.” (Complex, Sept. 2015).

One thing’s for sure: Justin Bieber is using his platform for the Gospel. All of us, including Bieber, can grow in our relationship with Christ and our pursuit to be holy. Justin clearly sees how God gave up His Son for us, and now it’s our turn to tell others about this hope we have in Christ in anyway we can: at work, at home, and on Instagram.

 

 

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authority
FaithLifestyle

Seven Keys to Your Doors of God-given Authority

by Pat Schatzline
written by Pat Schatzline

Your Doors God-given Authority

Have you ever felt like you simply did not have access to go where God has called you to go? Like you were lacking authority? We have been there, Karen and I! For years, we knew that God had more for us to do. We just couldn’t seem to find the keys. Jesus gave a promise to the disciples that they could have the keys. Matthew 16:19, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

The word “Keys” (kleis in the Greek) means power and authority.

For two years, Karen and I, after being prompted by the Holy Spirit, have prayed for the Matthew 16:19, “Keys to the Kingdom.” The word “Keys” (kleis in the Greek) means power and authority. I am writing you today to tell you God has keys for you. Last summer, on July 25, 2016, Karen, Abby and I were in Orange Beach, AL to attend a dear friend’s ministry board meeting that Karen and I serve on. We decided to go on a prayer walk that morning on the beach. As we walked along a deserted area of the beach we took hands and prayed, “Lord, give us the keys to the kingdom.” Suddenly, there in the ocean surf was a key. We ran into the water and picked up the key.

…without His authority you will never be granted into places that have previously been closed to you.

Karen and I rejoiced over this simple act of love from the Father. That morning our God knew we would be walking, praying and need a sign from above. Since that moment we have seen God do more in one year than in the last 19 years! God has shown us that without His authority you will never be granted into places that have previously been closed to you.

Have you ever lost your keys?

There is nothing more frustrating than needing to get in a door, but finding it locked and the key nowhere to be found. I must speak to those that feel frustrated spiritually. It is time to find your keys! A few days after we found the key on the beach I had a prophetic vision while praying. In the vision, I saw the waist of Jesus with a large belt on it. On the belt was a massive key ring with thousands of keys. Jesus spoke to me and said, “Pat, I have every key you have ever needed to accomplish my work. Now tell my bride I have the keys!” The prophet Isaiah declared in Isaiah 22:22, “I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”

You belong to the family of God.

Did you know that God has keys for his bride to go places that they never imagined? Realize that you belong to Gods family! 1 John 3:1, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God….” We must realize that God has been waiting for his children to grab ahold of their authority! If not you, then who? Romans 8:19 declares, “For [even the whole] creation [all nature] waits eagerly for the children of God to be revealed. (AMP)” Therefore, you have access to His house. Everyone in our family has a key to our house. Would we give that key to perfect strangers? No! Only those who belong to the family! You belong to the family of God.

…big doors open with little keys.

I have learned that big doors open with little keys. Often we are trying to go places without access being granted. This causes us to get frustrated and live a life haunted by a terrorist called lethargy. God has not called you to be stuck in the same place, but we are called to move forward. I have come to tell you that God has called you to realize that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)” This is your moment to take back what the enemy has taken from you and to walk places you have only dreamed!

7 KEYS TO YOUR DOOR OF AUTHORITY

Key #1

Repentance– Cry out to God and ask him to forgive and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.  The blood of Jesus has given you and access to the very heart of God!

Key #2

Develop a prayer life! 1 John 5:14-15, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” When you pray you learn the heart of God! God is waiting on you to tell him what you need. Phil. 4;6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Key #3

Live in His Presence! Every day seek out the secret place! God is waiting on you for secret encounters. Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Here is a key we have found: the way we position ourselves impacts the volume of God’s voice. The surroundings we choose to be in either position us closer to God or farther away. When God calls us deeper in Him, we must put away all distractions and allow our faith level to rise.

Key #4

Study His Word– God’s word is his map for your life! Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Key #5

Grow in Faith– Realize that nothing is impossible with God! Jesus promised in Mark 11:23-24, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Key #6

Walk in Boldness- Your boldness determines the path God leads you on! Luke 10:19-20, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

Key #7

Be a giver! Giving opens doors that you could have never imagined would open for you! Proverbs 18:16, “Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people!” When you invest in the kingdom of God everything else will be given to you.  Matt. 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Are you ready to see doors open? Rev. 3:8, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” This is yours now!  Finding that key on the beach that day led us on a journey this past year where we have literally begun to find other keys: keys to our health; keys to new streams of finance; keys to blessings over our family; and keys to His kingdom.  We want the same for you!

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