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Saturday, October 9, 2010
5:17 pm pdt
THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S
Follow me to glimpse a scene where we find a teenager too young to enlist in the Army. He is bringing a care package for his
brothers when he witnesses a disturbing sight. The entire Army of mighty men is cowering in fright because of one enemy soldier.
The taunting of one enemy soldier has brought the Army of God to their knees in fear. Then this young boy gets riled up and
wants to fight this enemy soldier. He goes out to face him, and the enemy soldier known as Goliath makes fun of the young
boy. “Am I a dog that come at me with sticks”
This young boy called David makes an amazing statement that we would be well to understand:
1 Samuel 17:46-47 (NKJV) This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you.
And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth,
that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with
sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
The Battle Belongs to the Lord! The Battle Belongs to the Lord. Petra sings a song:
In heavenly armour we’ll enter the land
The battle belongs to the Lord
No weapon that’s fashioned against us shall stand
The battle belongs to the Lord
Our Journey through Joshua brings us to Joshua 10, providing us a glimpse at the longest day in the history of this world.
At the end of that hard day of fighting we can well imagine Joshua and his men breaking out in this song:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Our God is Marching On
Joshua 10 reveals the truth that we had better learn to grasp in our life, the truth that David learned even in his youth,
The Battle is The Lord’s. We can say God is Loving and merciful and forgiving, but unless we realize that God is El Gibbor
God the Mighty Warrior, we will never truly understand the nature of God.
We first see God called El Gibbor in Deuteronomy 10:17. Moses in Deuteronomy 9 & 10 is preparing His people for their
crossing into the promised land. He is reminding them of all God has done over the past 40 years. The way He miraculously
delivered them from Egypt and how he sustained them in the desert wilderness. He recounts how God gave him the 10 commandments,
not once, but twice. He reminds them of His covenant with them and how they must submit and not be stiff-necked. For the Lord
our God is God of Gods and Lord of Lords, MIGHTY (Gibbor) and Awesome. (Deut 10:17)
When Israel started to stray from the Lord after they had entered the promised land, Judges 2:15 reveals “Every time Israel
went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were
in great distress.”
If we does not return to our Confession and Belief in “One Nation Under God” we run the risk of finding ourselves fighting
against God and suffering defeat in our battles, causing great distress.
When we get in step with El Gibbor, we will find that He is the Mighty Warrior, and no foe, no problem, no obstacle is too
great for Him to defeat.
• MOSES Declared to the Hebrews “…Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today:
for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye
shall hold your peace.” [Exod 14:13,14]
• MOSES told Joshua: “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more
than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it
shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle…let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified
because of them; for the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. Deuteronomy
20:1-4
• Deborah told Barak: “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead
of you.”
• Jonathon told his armor bearer: 1 Samuel 14:6 (NLT) “the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win
a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”
• Jahaziel the son of Zechariah told King Jehoshaphat: [2 Chronicles 20:15] “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid!
Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
• David wrote: [Psalms 24:7-10] Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may
come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!
• Solomon wrote: [Proverbs 21:31] The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.
• King Hezekiah said this about the King of Assyria: [2 Chronicles 32:8] With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord
our God, to help us and to fight our battles.”
• Isaiah wrote: [Isaiah 42:12-13] Let the whole world glorify the Lord; let it sing his praise. The Lord will march forth
like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies.
• King Asa Cried Out: “LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us,
O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail
against thee.” II Chronicles 14:11
• Paul wrote: Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ… II Corinthians 2:14
This world thinks they can beat Him, in fact they shout that He is dead, He is asleep, He’s just an old man. Powerless, sitting
in the rocking chair, but oh no, El Gibbor is still His name!
Psalms 2:1-6 (NLT) Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare
for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they cry,
“and free ourselves from slavery to God.” But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger he
rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in
Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.”
We See the Awesome Power of El Gibbor in Revelations, where God reveals the Final Chapter:
The Apostle John knew Jesus as his Loving Savior, but when He saw Jesus as the Coming Judge, the Coming King, the Coming Warrior,
John fell at His feet as though dead. God is indeed EL GIBBOR, our mighty warrior, and we need to fall at His feet daily and
confess our need for Him to Fight the battles that we face.We need to make sure our enlistment papers are in order, that our
service record is clean , and our duty roster has been performed. He is the Mighty Warrior, and we want to be on His Winning
side.
• Revelation 16:14 (NLT) They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them
for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.
• Revelation 16:16 (NKJV) And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
• Revelation 16:21 (NKJV) And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed
God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
• Revelation 19:11-21 (NKJV) Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful
and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns.
He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called
The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of
His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.
He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name
written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying
to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may
eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them,
and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their
armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured,
and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast
and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were
killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their
flesh.
Isn’t it encouraging to know how the story ends? Sometimes we get so down because of the struggles we are facing that the
power of God seems as a fable. But let’s see what the Lord wants us to grab hold of. Travel back with me to a day almost 3400
years ago. A War is being waged, a war of Righteousness, a GOD WAR that will determine the homeland for God’s Chosen people,
the Jews. Joshua and his men have made a league with the Gibeonites, a league which obligates them to defend them if the need
arises. Joshua 10 finds the Need Arising, and arising suddenly.
The men of Gibeon, who were great warriors (gibboriym), knew that YHWH was Israel’s shield and defender. The Gibeonites called
upon the name of the Lord, and sent word to Joshua. The King of Jerusalem despised what the Gibeonites had done. This peace
treaty was a sign of weakness to the Canaanites, and if not punished, would encourage other people to capitulate to the Jewish
forces. So the King of Jerusalem Adoni Zedek, decided to act. This alliance could not be tolerated.
5:16 pm pdt
Friday, September 24, 2010
GRACE
GRACE
by Christ Marriage-Ministry on Friday, September 24, 2010 at 3:37pm
When Jesus apply his GRACE to over lives; grace makes it easy for us to "be": be kind, be gentle, be peaceful, be
loving, to exercise self-control etc. There are some persons who are blessed with Grace to be strong or gracious in a particular
area in their life, while others find it difficult to be gracious in dealing with that particular situation. In other words,
to one person finds it very difficult to manage and to another person its no problem at all.
The Hebrew meaning of Grace is: favour, pleasant, precious.
Gracious: to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior., to favour, give, grant, intreat, merciful, have mercy upon, make supplication,
pray.
The Greek meaning of Grace is: the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life., acceptable benefits,
favour, gift, joy, liberality, pleasure, thanks worthy.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says: And he said unto me, "My grace i sufficient for thee: For my strength is made perfect in
weakness". Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Vs. 10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's
sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
I would like to focus on this particular meaning of Grace in the Greek: "The divine influence upon the heart, and its
reflection in the life", of the believer. The Apostle Paul sought the Lord thrice, regarding this thorn in the flesh,
Paul said in 2 Corn. 12:7...The messenger of Satan to buffet me. I believe Paul is saying here that this thorn gives the devil
a reason to attack him, in other words a door for the devil to come in and to create havoc in his life. It is obvious that
the Apostle Paul was not pleased with this thorn in the flesh issue. He wanted it go, he needed deliverance like now and
so he went to the Lord to seek his face that it might depart from him Vs. 8.
You would have thought that the all mighty God would have deliver him there and then. However, the answer came; MY GRACE
IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE: FOR MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS.
I have questioned God's word for many years concerning his Grace and his Strength being perfect in my weakness; as there were
times that I was brought to the edge, and even de-railed by the enemy. I failed and yet, somehow I was able to pick up,
repent and continue on my journey. Then later, just as Paul said , I learn to glory in my infirmities, reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distress for Christ's sake, vs 9:10 and even when I did not understand, that," for when I am weak,
then am I strong" vs 10.
Probably the best way to explain 2 Corn. 12: 9 is to use the word of God from Philippians 1: 28 which says: And in nothing
terrified by your adversaries* (enemy, misfortune, unfavourable circumstances, harm or distress), which is to them an evident
token of perdition* (destruction), but to you of salvation, and that of God.
vs 29: For Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
Now I understand, through all the failure, persecutions, and distress, because my heart was seeking after God and his righteousness,
he applied this Grace to my heart to keep me in him." Philippians 2: 28..., but to you of salvation, and that of God".
So even though I wished I did not have to go through some things. I now understand the purpose of God in me. Also I have learned
from experiences good and bad.
The Grace of God applied to our heart will influence us never to give up on Christ, knowing that according to Genesis 50:20
(King James Version) 20: But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is
this day, to save much people alive.
I have also learned that our weakness draws us closer to God. It is when we can accept our faults and understand that we need
the help of God to keep us, that he will apply his grace as he did for the Apostle Paul, that we can live a victorious life.
The King James Study Bible notes reads:... Sometimes fellowship requires confessing our faults (James 5:16) as we strive to
develop a unity of spirit and mind.
LETS PRAY FOR GRACE THAT HE WILL HAVE MERCY ON US.
OH HOW I THANK GOD FOR HIS GRACE.
Yours in Christ
Pastor Jasmin Thompson
8:02 pm pdt
Monday, August 16, 2010
LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as
symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
(Deuteronomy
6:4-9 (NIV)
Revelation 13:16 NIV) Satan will force everyone, small and great, rich and
poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead.
Satan corrupts everything. God told us to tie His words as symbols on our hands and to bind them on our foreheads.
At the time that this was written, the left hand was considered to be unclean. The right hand was the clean hand. The forehead
was the center of wisdom. It is no simple matter of choice that Satan places his mark on the right hand and on the forehead.
Symbolically, he wants everything to be his. He wants our righteousness and our cleanness. He wants our wisdom and our choices.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
(Deuteronomy 6:9 (NIV)
It is also no small matter that Satan has attacked the family and the home. He realizes that the home is the primary place
of establishing and building faith. If he can remove God’s Word from our homes, then he knows that he can steal and kill.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down
and when you get up.
(Deuteronomy 6:7 (NIV)
Here is another attack, Think about this. Do we impress God’s Word upon our children? Our school system used to be able
to teach Biblical principles. The schools would reinforce what was taught at home and at church. We used to be able to pray
in school. That has been removed.
Satan is doing his best to make sure that what God has commended will be undone. Satan does not come up with anything that
is new. He takes the very Word of God and twists it to his purposes. If you feel that something is not righteous, then check
God’s Word. If it goes exactly opposite of what God says, then turn as fast as possible away from the lies and the deception.
I think that we all need to hear this as often as possible. We must also take it to heart.
Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
5:30 pm pdt
Discerning Spiritual Gifts:
Every Christian has a spiritual gift: When we were born physically we possessed certain natural abilities.
When we were born again spiritually, born into the Family of God, we find that we received certain spiritual abilities
as a member of the Body of Christ. “So we being many are one body in Christ and
everyone members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the
grace that was given us…” Romans 12:5 & 6
Joy comes in exercising our gift: The root word for gift is “charisma”. This comes from the
word “char” which means joy. “Charis” is the word for grace, which involves God
giving us the desire, and power to accomplish His will. (Phil. 2:13)
Finding personal fulfillment and making your call and
election sure is only possible by developing our spiritual gift: Each of us has
a desire for meaningful achievement. The ultimate of this is having a significant
part in a divine program. This divine program is being carried through the Body
of Christ by the proper functioning of each person’s gift.
Each gift is designed to unify and bring to maturity the
Body of Christ: Just as there are varying functions in the members of our body,
so each Christian has a particular and necessary (vital) function in the Body of Christ.
God wants each of us to understand our gift: If we are to concentrate on our gift as instructed in Romans 12, we must first understand what that gift
is. Also, if we are to have harmony with others within the Body of Christ, we
must understand what their particular functions are. When we know and understand
the spiritual gifting of others and recognize their indispensable place in the Body of Christ, we move toward true unity,
harmony and growth to maturity.
There has been much confusion in the Body of Christ concerning
the general subject of “Spiritual Gifts”. When we exercise our motivation (Romans 12) through our ministry (1 Cor. 12:27-31, Eph. 4:11) the Holy
Spirit determines what manifestations (1 Cor. 12:7-11) will benefit the receiver the most. (1 Cor. 12:7). A person concentrating
and depending on their spiritual charisma, using it through the service or ministry opportunity open to them will see the
manifestation that the Holy Spirit directs in the lives of those to whom they are serving.
The motivational or charisma gift, as someone said, is “The Unction to Function”.
Now let’s take a closer look at : Rom 11:29
“For the
gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” The word “gifts”
is the Greek word “charisma” which means Divine gratuity or endowment and is the primary motivation in the life of a Christian. It is through this gifting we are to do all service for the Lord. And when God gives something, He does not take it back; the Charisma He equipped you with is given to you
by God and is yours to develop and use in His service.
Rom 12:1-3 “I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man
the measure of faith.”
There are seven basic motivations:
1.
Declaring Truth (prophet)
2.
Serving (ministry - server)
3.
Teaching (teacher)
4.
Exhorting (exhortation)
5.
Giving (giver)
6.
Administrator (ruling)
7.
Empathizing (shower of mercy)
Rom 12:4 “For
as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So
we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the
proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that
exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence;
he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Knowing each other’s motivation coordinates and unifies
Christians within the Body of Christ: If an Apostle has the gift of serving,
he will emphasize practical needs. If a Pastor has the gift of mercy he will
emphasize the feelings of people through his messages and prayers. If a Prophet
has the motivation of administration, he will emphasize getting projects completed and the proper procedure to accomplish
the projects. If an Evangelist has the gift of giving, he will encourage all
those to whom he speaks to be sensitive to the needs of others thus eliminating poverty in the church. If the Teacher has the gift of teaching, he will encourage the body to look up the meaning of words, get
revelation from the Lord and to be accurate in their sharing of the Gospel of the Kingdom.
The goal of our basic motivation is freeing other Christians
to carry it on as an activity. We will be especially sensitive to any Christian
who is not exercising our motivation as a part of his Christian life, whatever his basic motivation may be.
- We must
exercise our gift in love to avoid competition and disunity. (1 Cor. 12:13-14)
- We must
be aware of Scriptural guidelines in the exercise of our gift. (1 Cor. 14:40)
t
In life, small problems and irritations tend to grow and multiply when they are overlooked and ignored. Busy schedules,
routines and agendas often leave tired, exhausted people who not only may neglect their physical appearance but their spiritual
condition as well. Small sins are left as a residue that begins to accumulate on our heart. Repentance is exchanged for more
pressing prayers that impact life now. Worship is set aside for Eternity and work is the primary concern of this day. After
all, God helps those who help themselves. Wrong! That is not in the Bible, but how would we know that when we haven’t had
the time to read the Word of God in months other than when our Preacher or Sunday School Teacher spoon fed it to us! God is
calling His Children’s attention to the details of their salvation and that which is blocking righteousness. Do you feel things
heating up? God is attempting to clear the pathways of His Glory in your life. Will you receive His Cleansing today? Or attempt
to avoid the fire?
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Not Forgotten
Even though we have forgotten about him; he has not forgotten about us. We very seldomly hear about Satan and his works
anymore. They are hardly ever preached about, and forget about being taught what to watch out for. In this day
and age of prosperity ministry, Satan is running rampant in the lives of Christians everywhere. We are so busy thinking
about what the Lord can give us that we forget that we are to confess our sins one to another. It is more important
how the Lord has blessed us materially than his mercy and grace extended toward us. Spiritual wickedness in the high
places... Fugedaboudit. What about how easy it is for some mimistries to promise the world if you send in a thousand
dollar seed. It is fine to send in a thousand dollar seed but send it for the right reason. Send it because you
want to bless the ministry, and not for what you can receive.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
No more than you can bear
How many times have you heard the saying that God won't put more on you than you can bear? How many times have
you said withing yourself, "Lord this can't be true; this is too hard for me", I want to clarify this for you right now.
We don't feel that we can bear any thing no matter how little. We don't even want to take the blame for when things
happen to us because of our own evil. We are compelled to point the finger at someone or something else.
I want to point out for you that we don't really know how much we can bear, and this is because we don't want to pay
consequences. Note "God" won't put more on you than you can bear because he knows how much you can bear. He says
take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The only time that the burden that the Lord puts on
us is light; is when we allow him to use his strength to carry the load. When we are weak; this is when the strength
of the Lord is made perfect in us. II Cor. 12:7-9; 7And lest I should be exalted above measure through the anundanced
of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted
above measure. 8. for this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9. And he said unto me, My grace
is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
So don't be so fast to give up. Let Jesus control the load, the only thing that you can do to help him is to give
the situation fully to him.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Jesus the same forever more
As much as things have changed and even more illumination of revelations; Jesus remains the same. While we have
found out that there are higher heights and deeper depths in him he has remained the same from the time that he existed with
God as the Word, until the time when he was received back to that oneness with the Father. In this we place our hope
and our trust knowing that his spirit also abides in us.
Pastor Anthony Berry
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Holy House of Thunder Ministries
Elder Harriett Perkins-Senior Pastor
Elder Anthony Berry-Co Pastor/Overseer Internet Pastor
Holy House of Thunder Disciples for Christ Church
377 Rockaway Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11212
Tel. 347-574-2491/2
Bishop Theotis Joyner Overseer
Redeem and More Church of God
1883 Pitkin Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11212
Feel free to visit Holy House of Thunder
337 Rockaway Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11212
If you would just like to see what we are about; are looking for a Church Home, or are looking to change
your Church home.
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