Annual Business Meeting – 2018

Subject: Annual Business Meeting – February 28, 2018

by Rick Welborne

2 Samuel 7:18-23 (NKJV)
¹⁸  Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: "Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
¹⁹  And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?
²⁰  Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant.
²¹  For Your word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them.
²²  Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
²³  And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name--and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land--before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods?

--David has built his house and is living in it but feels bad that He has not built a house for the Lord to dwell in.

First Nathan tells David to do what was in his heart to do and then God’s shows up and speaks to Nathan.

--God reveals that it will not be David who builds a house for Him but it will be His son. David is overwhelmed by God’s promise…thus our text: I feel so much like David:

1. "Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 

--I am not trying to compare myself to David but I ask the same things…Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my family that you would bless me so much? And You have brought me this far! Unbelievable!

2. What makes all these blessings so unbelievable is this fact: “For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant.”

--You see, I know me and I wouldn’t bless me…I know all my faults and insecurities. But You have done great things for me. You know me and bless me anyway. I feel so unworthy of what God is doing for me and for us.

3. The Lord has done great things to fulfill His own Word and His Own Name’s sake.

--We really believe it is all about us…David had the ability of putting it (worship and praise) on God. Therefore, You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You… 

--We give all…everyone say all…we give all the glory to God for what is happening here. It’s about Him!

4. Who is like your people, like Israel, and like spiritual Israel, the Church?

--Who is like those who have been redeemed by the Lord? Who is like those of Life Church? You guys have blessed the Lord with your faithfulness. Most of you have caught the heart and vision of your leadership.

--I know I am tough on those who claim to be in covenant with us, yet do not support the vision of missions. If a pastor, who was a man after God’s heart, told me there were strawberries on the road…I would get a bucket.

--Overall, I am so proud of those of you who have declared your allegiance to God, to the Great Commission, and to your leadership…236 Faith Promises…$257,800…we have surpassed last year! Praise the Lord! 

--Forgive me for thinking, “What if?” That’s what leaders do…they dream big!

5. So what shall we say about our great God!

2 Samuel 7:21-22 (NKJV)
²¹  For Your word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them.
²²  Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Praying Circles Around Your Walls – 5

Subject: Is It Possible to Keep Dreaming for a Lifetime

by Rick Welborne

Joshua 6:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
²  And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
³  You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
⁴  And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
⁵  It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him." 

Psalm 126:1-6 (NKJV)
¹  When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream.
²  Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
³  The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad.
⁴  Bring back our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South.
⁵  Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.
⁶  He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him. 

--I want to say a great big “Thank You” to all of you have committed to the general missions 2018 here at Life Church…you will be so glad you did when you stand before the Lord…see all who will be there.

--I still want to challenge those of you who have not yet made a Faith Promise…remember our goal is 100% participation…there is such power in unity.

--I do believe God wants me to continue with the series we were doing prior to our Missions Emphasis. Praying Circles Around Your Walls…wow! Do we have a lot of walls in our lives?

--Much of what I will be sharing today comes from Mark Batterson. He was so inspired by Honi the Circle Maker and by a question that Honi asked even after the miracle of the rain. I am slightly modifying it.

--Is it possible to keep dreaming for a lifetime? In other words, can we keep circling walls (praying circles) as we age and see them fall before us as we trust God?

1. Let us choose to be like those who dreamed.

Psalm 126:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream.
²  Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
³  The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad. 

--Until the day Honi died, he was mesmerized by the statement in verse 1…We were like those who dreamed. This caused Honi to ask the question…Is it possible for a man to dream for a lifetime?

--We have all met people who have chosen for whatever reason have decided to stop dreaming and have become complacent to live “back there” somewhere.

Batterson: Neuroimaging has shown that as we age, the center of cognitive gravity tends to shift from the imaginative right brain to the logical left brain. And this neurological tendency presents a grave spiritual danger. At some point, most of us stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory. Instead of creating the future, we start repeating the past. Instead of living by faith, we live by logic. Instead of going after our dreams, we stop circling Jericho.

--Look at your neighbor and repeat this: It doesn’t have to be that way. We have a choice in the matter. We can choose to keep circling the walls or be trapped behind them…our choice!

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NKJV)
¹⁹  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
²⁰  that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

--Harriet Doerr lived during a time when women did not go to college…lack of money and then, raising children kept her from her dreams…temporarily. She dreamed of writing books. At 74 she did!

Doerr: One of the best things about aging is being able to watch imagination overtake memory!

--Harriet sounded so much like Caleb in the Old Testament…even at 85 he was not willing to stop circling the walls and he was determined to keep dreaming God sized dreams.

 Joshua 14:10-12 (NKJV)
¹⁰  And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.
¹¹  As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.
¹²  Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said."

--I am so glad that I pastor a multi-generation church but I am so thankful that I pastor a bunch of seniors who have made the decision that it is not all about them and their past. 

--You have blessed our youth, our children’s ministries, our music, our missions giving because you understand that God is not finished with you yet.

--You can go all over Central Florida and find churches who are filled with senior adults who believe church is all about them…no youth, no children, no growth…just watching each other die off one at a time.

--God give me a bunch of Harriets and Calebs who are willing to keep circling in prayer the walls before them. Seniors who are willing to see a campus in Fruitland Park and one in the Villages.

--People who say to your pastor, who is only a senior by age but not by his heart, give us this mountain! We are still strong and can do something great for the Kingdom of God…walls are going to fall.

--I do not want to be a pastor who sets his ministry and calling on cruise control just because of my age…I want my latter years to be greater than the former…I want to pass off the baton to a hungry pastor and church!

Kristina Torbet (Missionary to India) – If your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near. If your dreams exceed your memories, you pioneer.

2. It is possible to keep dreaming for a lifetime.

--Maybe you are asking “Who is right? Harriet Doerr or the neurologist?” The answer is both. As we age, either imagination overtakes memory or memory overtakes imagination. 

Batterson: Imagination is the road less taken, but it is the pathway of prayer. Prayer and imagination are directly proportional; the more you pray the bigger your imagination becomes because the Holy Spirit super-sizes it with God sized dreams. 

--Batterson goes on to say that one litmus test of spiritual maturity is whether your dreams are getting bigger or smaller. The older you get the more faith you should have!

--Because you have walked with God and have experienced more of His faithfulness, you trust Him for more …it is God’s faithfulness that increases our faith and enlarges our dreams. 

--Maybe you would say…Pastor, I am not dreaming for anything and truthfully I do not know what to dream for…then, get behind your pastor and let his dream be your dream. Follow God’s man in your life. His vision!

--When you do that you will realize that your pastor’s dreams are God’s dreams and they are biblical…reaching the world thru missions and reaching the world thru another campus. Our dreams are Jesus dreams:

Mark 16:14-20 (NKJV)
¹⁴  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
¹⁵  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
¹⁶  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
¹⁷  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
¹⁸  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
¹⁹  So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
²⁰  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. 

--If you can’t make yourself follow Pastor Rick’s dreams, then for the sake of the Kingdom of God, follow Jesus’ dreams. Have your stroll down memory lane but keep dreaming until the day you die. Age is irrelevant! 

3. You can keep dreaming if you keep praying. 

--Honi answered his own question “Is it possible to dream continuously for a life time” because he never stopped praying. Once he saw God answer his prayer for rain, how could he stop praying?

--What miracles have Jesus worked for you that were great enough to keep you praying for a lifetime…I am sure we have our list…especially if He saved us out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Batterson: If you keep praying, you’ll keep dreaming, and conversely, if you keep dreaming you will keep praying. Dreaming is a form of praying, and praying is a form of dreaming. The more you pray the bigger your dreams will become. And the bigger your dreams become the more you will have to pray. In that process of drawing ever-enlarging circles, the sphere of God’s glory is expanded.

--The day of our death is not the date etched on our tombstone. The day we stop dreaming is the day we start dying. When logic overtakes imagination we rob God of glory that is due to Him.

--Batterson says the death of a dream is subtle form of idolatry. We lose faith in the God Who gave us a big dream and settle for a small dream that we can accomplish without His help. 

--We go after dreams that do not require divine intervention. We go after dreams that do not require prayer. We let god take the place of God. Our left brain of logic overtakes our God Who can do anything.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)
²⁰  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
²¹  to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

--Nothing honors God more than a big dream that is way beyond our ability to accomplish. Why? There is no way we can take credit for it. Big dreams keep us on our knees. 

--Big dreams are not just methods whereby God does great things for us, but it is also a means whereby He does great things in us. Is it possible to keep dreaming for a lifetime? Yes…keep praying circles around your dreams!

Prepare Your Hearts to be Blessed – 5

Subject: Keys to Revival and Missions: Praying and Obeying

by Rick Welborne

Psalm 37:3-7 (NKJV)
³  Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴  Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
⁵  Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶  He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
⁷  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; 

1. We must be willing to pray for divine desire.

--If we will love missions and if we will pursue revival we must be willing to obey God’s Word and delight ourselves in the Lord…the word delight has the connotation of never being able to get enough.

--For some it is football, golf, tennis, shopping, shoes, etc. movies…Net Flix. 

--We need to get to the point where we cannot get enough of the Lord in our lives…where we are delighting in Him all day long. We must be like Jesus:

Philippians 2:5-8 (NKJV)
⁵  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
⁶  who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
⁷  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
⁸  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

--The way up in the Kingdom of God is down…down on our knees humbling ourselves before God in prayer and worship. We must be like John the Baptist!

John 3:28-31 (NLT)
²⁸  You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’
²⁹  It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.
³⁰  He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
³¹  “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. 

John Alexander Dowie – “Power in the church is shown in this…that a man gets lower and lower.”

--For God to manifest in revival and in missions we must be filled with divine desire!

2. We must believe that we can hear God speak to us.

John 10:27 (NKJV)
²⁷  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

--We just recently heard on the news how that person (not a lady) Joy on the View was mocking Vice-president Mike Pence for saying that he prayed and that God spoke to him.

--She tried to retract her statement by saying that she gives to her church…when you say that a person talks to Jesus…that is ok…but when Jesus talks to you…you call that mental illness!

--Jesus Himself said that My sheep hear My voice…the progression is that as you learn to hear His voice you get to know Him and He gets to know you…this is called relationship not religion.

--God can even speak to us about Faith Promises…all we have to be willing to do is to listen to His voice and follow Him.

3. We must be willing to constantly pray in Holy Spirit. 

--If we are constantly praying in Holy Spirit there is no way we will not have a heart for missions and a heart for revival. Praying in the Spirit gives us greater intimacy with God.

Romans 8:26-28 (NKJV)
²⁶  Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
²⁷  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
²⁸  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

--Groaning signifies the agony (the labor pains) we have when we are before God believing Him to do what can only be accomplished by Him. We are trying to birth something thru God’s strong presence.

--We can pray in the Spirit for our missionaries and for each other knowing that we are absolutely praying God’s will for them. 

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 (NKJV)
⁹  But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
¹⁰  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
¹¹  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
¹²  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 

--As we pray in the Spirit these verses reveal to us that God will give us great revelation about what He has provided for us. These are things only the Spirit of God can do.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 (NKJV)
¹²  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

¹³  These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
¹⁴  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
¹⁵  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
¹⁶  For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

--Do you see how important Holy Spirit is to all of us and how important it is for all of us to pray in the Spirit?

A. We receive Him so that we may know the things He has freely given us…important!

B. We receive Holy Spirit so we have God’s wisdom instead of man’s wisdom…important!

C. We receive Holy Spirit so that we have the mind of Christ…important!

4. We must be willing to engage in Scriptural screening.

--No voice from God will ever contradict His Holy Word…when a personal revelation goes totally against the Word of God…reject it totally and kindly correct the person! They must be held to account!

--Lady years ago came to my office and shared something that totally went against God’s direct command…I read her the Scripture and tried to reason with her.

--She said to me…I know that is what the Bible says but I also know what God told me…I am going to do what He told me. Of course, I told her the voice she heard was not God…she was indignant!

--She said that she had served God a long time and that she knew His voice well and I again told her that God would never contradict His own written Word.

--I started not to go here but I am…how often is it when the voice we hear contradicts God’s Word that it has to do with inappropriate relationships. We hear a voice but it is not God’s, it is our own desire!

--We are led by the spirit but it is a spirit of lust and infatuation! Oh, how our flesh lies to us! Ten years later this lady comes back to me and says the Word was right! Of course! That relationship didn’t work!

James 1:12-16 (NLT)
¹²  God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
¹³  And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.
¹⁴  Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
¹⁵  These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
¹⁶  So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 

--Charles Parham believed that the Azuza Street Revival died prematurely because there began to be words that were given that were not God’s Words. Our heart for revival and missions is tied to God’s Word!

Mark 16:15-20 (NKJV)
¹⁵  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
¹⁶  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
¹⁷  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
¹⁸  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
¹⁹  So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
²⁰  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. 

5. We must be willing to look for God’s divine timing.

Habakkuk 2:1-4 (NKJV)
¹  I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.
²  Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.
³  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.
⁴  "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. 

--We must watch and pray and then wait to see what He will say to us. God operates by seasons and we must be careful not to miss our time because of our impatience.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 &11 (NKJV)
¹  To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
¹¹  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 

--Our vision for another campus in the Villages, our vision to be a great Mission’s church, and our vision to experience Holy Spirit manifestations will come but we must wait for God’s time…His season!

6. We must be willing to boldly obey.

--Revelation has little value if we are not willing to obey what God reveals. Note: there is a difference between patience and passivity!

--We are believing God to grow us to one thousand, for another campus, for a half million in missions, for Holy Spirit presence but as we patiently wait we must, pray, seek, give, go, and send!

--For revival and missions to be relevant we must pray and obey!

Jeremiah 11:4 (NKJV)
⁴  which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,'

Praying for an Open Door

Subject: Trust God to Open a Great Door

by Rick Welborne

1 Corinthians 16:9 (NKJV) 

9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 

–There is a great and effective door and I believe it has your name on it but please realize that there are many adversaries.

Adam Clark Commentary and Critical Notes - A great and energetic door is opened to me; that is, God has made a grand opening to me in those parts, which I perceive will require much labor; and besides, I shall have many adversaries to oppose me. Door often signifies occasion or opportunity; but here, the apostle may allude to the throwing open of the great doors of the Circus Maximus before the chariot races began; and the many adversaries may refer to the numerous competitors in those races. God gave him a grand opportunity to preach the Gospel; but he was not to expect that either Satan or wicked men would leave him unmolested.  

–I believe that the Circus Maximus (a great and energetic door) is about to open up for everyone who is pursuing God, those who are worshiping no matter what, those who are putting on the armor of God every day, and those who are knocking on the door!

–Sister Browne said that one of the reasons we have not been able to get out there and rescue the captives is because we are just nurturing on own wounds...she said it is time to get your armor on and get in the fray of the battle...people need to be set free.

Matthew 7:78 (NKJV)    

7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.   

8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 

–Remember what I preached about our fasting and praying being that push toward the great and effective door being opened.

 Isaiah 58:614 

6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 

8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 

10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 

11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 

12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. 

13 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 

14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken." 

Barnes - That such a work of grace, such a setting open of a great and effectual door, is often the occasion of increased opposition to the gospel.  Why do we get so surprised when we have opposition to our efforts of serving Christ with all our hearts.

–Paul chose to stay in Ephesus even in the midst of great opposition...why should we hang in there in the face of trials and tribulations.

A. The opposition was regarded by Paul as an evidence that the Holy Spirit was there.

B. It was proof that the enemies of God were alarmed, and that the kingdom of Christ was advancing. 

C. His presence also would be needed there, to encourage and strengthen the young converts who would be attacked and opposed; and he deemed it his duty to remain. 

Barnes Notes on the New Testament - A Christian should regard it as his duty to remain faithful thru trials when there is such opposition.  His presence is needed to comfort and encourage the church; and when the minds of men are challenged, it is often the best time to present truth, and to defend successfully the great doctrines of the Bible. 

Matthew Henry - True courage is whetted by opposition; and it is no wonder that the Christian courage of the apostle Paul should be emboldened by the zeal of his adversaries. They were bent to ruin him, and prevent the effect of his ministry at Ephesus; and should he at this time desert his station, and disgrace his character and doctrine? No, the opposition of adversaries only awakened his zeal. He was in nothing daunted by his adversaries; but the more they raged and opposed the more he exerted himself. Should such a man as he flee? 

Matthew Henry's Commentary - Adversaries and opposition do not break the spirits of faithful and successful Christians, but only enkindle their zeal, and inspire them with fresh courage.

–It is time that we lay hold of the promises of God...is there opposition...yes...put on the armor...will there be challenges...bless the Lord at all times...are there people who need to be set free...fast and pray!!!

Romans 8:3132 (NKJV) 

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 

–This is our year church...pursue Him, trust Him, worship Him, love Him...

–2018 will be a year to remember at Life Church Assembly of God...get ready!!!

–What if the enemy continues to attack...I can guarantee it but hear your Pastor:

Romans 8:3739 (NKJV) 

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.