Dream Again - 2

Subject: Pastors Appreciation

by Rick Welborne

Proverbs 13:12 (NLT)
¹²  Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. 

Acts 2:17 (NLT)
¹⁷  ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 

Matthew 16:13-19 (NLT)
¹³  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
¹⁴  “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
¹⁵  Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
¹⁶  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
¹⁷  Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.
¹⁸  Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
¹⁹  And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” 

--Last week we started this series about “Dream Again” and I hope and pray that you are believing God to fulfill His dreams…His dreams in your lives.

--With it being Pastor’s appreciation Sunday I want to say thank you for allowing me to live out God’s dreams as I pastor you…and, yes, thank you and the Board of Deacons for your kindnesses to us.

--Also, I do not have very much time to share with you so let’s jump into this. Today I want to share three things I am dreaming for Life Church and I want us all to dream together. 

1. Dream with me that Life Church will be a church that is on the offense. 

--Peter had received a revelation of Who Jesus was, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  I hope we have the same revelation Peter did. He is our Savior and soon coming King.

¹⁸  Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)
¹⁸  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

--Jesus had a dream that these twelve disciples that He had chosen were going to be used to advance the church and to build the Kingdom of God. I am sure He was planting dreams in their hearts.

--Jesus said I am going to build my church and I am going to use and anoint you guys to help Me succeed in fulfilling my dream…I am looking for people here at Life Church to help me dream for God’s Kingdom.

--Aren’t you glad that when you dream and when you proclaim your dream that you never have to face opposition…Jesus said He would build the church so all we have to do is sit back and watch Him.

--As you read the book of Acts and the Gospels, you see that there was opposition on every front…we are kidding ourselves if we think Satan and his imps are going to just sit back. They are fighting already.

--Jesus is dreaming of building His church and the disciples are arguing who is going to sit on the right hand and left hand of God. They are even trying to get momma to politic for them. I hate politics.

--Jesus is dreaming of building His church and Peter is running his mouth about how he will never deny the Lord even if he has to die. Jesus is trying to build His church and Peter is running!

--Jesus is dreaming of building His church and Judas is betraying Him…don’t you ever believe everyone will come along with you on your dreams…some will even sell you out for 30 pieces of silver.

--Jesus is dreaming of building His church and Thomas is doubting Him…listen, these are the main guys to help Jesus fulfill what God willed Him to do. 

--Jesus is dreaming of building His church and He is arrested, mocked, scourged, made to carry an old wooden cross, and is crucified…the dream is over because the dreamer is dead. 

--The disciples have scattered and gone back to their old ways…confused, broken, and afraid that they could be the next ones on a cross. Just when you think there is no hope…three days later Jesus is raised from the dead!

--You see, dreams can be resurrected and people can be restored…Jesus spends 40 days with the disciples and then departs for heaven…they are filled with Holy Spirit…churched added to and then multiplied. 2 1/2 Billion.

--Jesus is still living the dream and He is living it thru us, His church! It is time that we experience the resurrection power of Jesus and go on the offense…Gates of hell can’t stop us! Come on, let’s dream!

2. Dream with me and let’s do our part to fulfill the Great Commission.

--Right before Jesus left for heaven he told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait there until they were filled with Holy Spirit power to be able to fulfill what He told them to do. Why would He do that?

--These guys had been thru a 3 year roller coaster…quit your job and follow Me, we are going to build the Kingdom of God, we are going to save people and set them free…yippee!! Liberators!

--Then comes along that whole crucifixion thing, they flee, they fear, they go back to their former lives, Jesus rises from the dead, they are restored and happy…By the way, I am leaving…What?

--I am leaving but My dream of building My church is still fully in operation…stay in Jerusalem until you are filled with Holy Spirit power…then go!

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. 

--I wonder where Jesus would start dealing with our unbelief and hardness of heart. Ok guys, you messed up and you, kind of, deserted me, the dream is still on. Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

--Some people…some churches have a misconception that the Great Commission or missions is optional…not to me and not according to the Scriptures…He said go! Dream!

3. Dream with me and let’s see a modern day church set apart for God!

Joshua 3:5-7 (NIV)
⁵  Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."
⁶  Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went ahead of them.
⁷  And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 

--Is your God given dream of enough value that you would be willing to be set apart for God…to be sanctified for Him? To live holy?

--At our CG someone was sharing their God given dream and it was so far beyond what human capability could handle…they questioned God about the difficulty…God said, “I have not called you to do easy! I have called you to accomplish My dreams in your life!”

--We are so guilty of making Christianity difficult…I want God to do amazing things in my life but it seems so difficult, so unattainable. "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people."

--The answer…follow His presence…follow Jesus to your dreams follow Him in this adventure.

Matthew 16:24-25 (NLT)
²⁴  Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.
²⁵  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

Genesis 12:1(NIV)
¹  The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 

Hebrews 11:8 (NIV)
⁸  By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

--If we will be set apart to live out our God given dreams…we must follow and we must obey the Lord, even if He leads us in a direction where we do not know where we are going. It is called trust.

Open the Double Doors – 6

Subject – Close the Door to the Enemy

by Rick Welborne

Isaiah 45:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
²  'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
³  I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 

Ephesians 4:2532 (NIV) 

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 

26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 

27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 

28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

–On Wed. Nights we have been discussing Opening the Double Doors, God telling us to close the doors, and tonight we will be talking about the dangers of leaving the door open or giving the devil a foothold.

–We see how Job had left an open door to the enemy because of his pride.

Job 32:12 (NKJV) 

1 So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 

2 Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. 

–We also see Peter and how Jesus let him know that Satan was after him:

Luke 22:3132 (NKJV) 

31 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 

32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." 

–We see how pride also caused Peter to say what he shouldn’t say and do what he said he would not do.

–In my listening to Robert Morris I have learned and perceived in my spirit that we open ourselves up to the enemy so often by leaving the door cracked a little for the him to come in.

–Tonight I want to deal with those openings that may not be what we consider the “big sins: murder, adultery, drugs” but I want you to be aware that Satan is an opportunist. 

–If he can get you doings these “little sins” he has open door into your life. He is the ultimate terrorist...he is patient and he knows sin is progressive...The little foxes spoil the vines. SS Little sins can grow.

–Let us go back to our text in Ephesians and see five ways we can close the door to the enemy of our souls:

1. We can close the door to the enemy by telling the truth to everyone.

–I had someone want me to lie to a family member of theirs to get them to come to church.  What?

Ephesians 4:2125 (NLT) 

21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 

22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 

23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 

24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 

–We are not secular humanist...we do not believe the end justifies the means unless the means is birthed in the Word and righteousness.

–We do not live by “situational ethics” where each situation dictates its own ethics...We have a standard and it is the Word of God.

–Situational ethics always leaves out the supernatural God factor...Escaping from Germans...baby crying.

–One person several years ago got angry with me because I caught them in a lie...they were not upset for lying...they were upset that I checked on them and caught their lie.

–I am upset you didn’t trust me...what?  Stop telling lies!  Christians, stop lying to each other.

Ephesians 4:15 (NLT) 

15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 

2. We can close the door to the enemy by controlling our anger.

Ephesians 4:26 (NIV) 

26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 

–We could spend several sermons on dealing with anger and how anger gives an open door into our lives for greater sins. Watch the progression in this scenario: 

–Well, I got mad at my wife and went out and did something stupid.

–Get in fight with wife and get mad.

–Get in car and speed off...pulled over for speeding and reckless driving.

–Get a ticket...smart off to the officer and push him...handcuffed and arrested.

–Spends night in jail mouthing off that he shouldn’t be there...next day before the judge.

–Would not shut up in front of the judge...contempt of court...gets 30 days.

–Wife does not have the money to bail him out...more angry...gets out and hits wife…back to jail.

–In your anger do not sin...he lost his temper but he lost more...his wife, his family, his job, his reputation...the devil laughs thru the whole journey.

–Man: My wife and I never go to bed angry...stayed up 3 months one time.

–You can control your anger by being full of Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:2225 (NKJV) 

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

23 gentleness, selfcontrol. Against such there is no law. 

24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 

3. We can close the door to the enemy by stopping our stealing.

–People who can work should work...when we don’t we steal from those who do.  Our government is turning healthy people into thieves.

–Can’t find the job I want...OK...work at the one you don’t want till you find it...don’t be lazy.

Ephesians 4:28 (NLT) 

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 

–I have little patience with people who are lazy and people who enable them. Help me, Lord. If you are looking for work diligently and doing what you can, there is no condemnation.

–Take care of your family...laziness is an open door...idleness brings temptation.

1 Timothy 5:8 (NKJV) 

8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 

–Fifty people walked out of a restaurant without paying...how horrible...thieves.–100 people walked out of church after being fed and encouraged without bring their tithes (10%)...how disobedient...thieves.

--We treat restaurants more respectfully than we do church…Restaurant we pay the full bill and then give 10-20 percent…church we complain about just paying the tip or the tithe. 

Malachi 3:810 (NKJV) 

8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. 

9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.  

4. We can close the door to the enemy by closing our mouths.

Ephesians 4:29 (NKJV) 

29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 

Proverbs 6:2 (NKJV) 

2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. 

Proverbs 18:21 (NLT) 

21 The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. 

–The devil has no problem finding an open door in people’s lives when their mouths are wide open.

Proverbs 18:67 (NKJV) 

6 A fool's lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows. 

7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul. 

–Open mouth insert foot...revised...open mouth insert Satan.

1 Corinthians 14:26 (NKJV) 

26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 

5. We can close the door to the enemy by listening to Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:30 (NKJV) 

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 

–I believe the list of things that follow in these verses not only open the door to the devil but also grieve Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:3132 (NLT) 

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 

32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. 

Jude 1:2025 (NKJV) 

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 

21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 

22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 

23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. 

24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 

25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.

Amen!

Dream Again

Subject: Don’t Give Up on Your Dreams

by Rick Welborne

Genesis 37:5 (NLT)
⁵  One night Joseph had a dream… 

Proverbs 13:12 (NLT)
¹²  Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. 

Acts 2:17 (NLT)
¹⁷  ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 

--Today with God’s help we are starting a series called Dream Again.

--I will be the first to admit that it has been difficult to focus on dreams promised either recently or years ago because of all that is going on in the world.

--At the end of last year (actually the whole year) we had one of the most divisive presidential campaigns in US history. The war continues with the country divided between right and left.

--Whether you think your side won or not, the truth is, our country is divided and the hostility is running high. It is hard not to get emotionally tied up in that. Constant negativity and accusations in the media.

--Cyber-attacks are increasing daily, Harvey, Irma, South Texas, South Louisiana, The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Florida, Mexico, and then, most recently, Los Vegas…59 dead and over 500 injured…many critical. 

--Pray for your President and all those surrounding him…so many disasters to try to manage when you are being attacked on every front. Pray for mercy, grace, and wisdom.

--Even though we can all give thanks for God’s hand being on us through Irma and for Him protecting us… storms have a way of being draining, distressing, expensive, and the worst to me…disorienting. 

--Before Irma we had never lost our electricity for more than 12 hours so it was hard for me to relate to people walking around in a zombie like state…what is wrong with these people? Then, it happened.

--You are tired, you are very much inconvenienced by the lack of comforts we have grown to expect, a/c, water, and easy access to whatever you need…fuel!

--You keep telling yourself and even telling the Lord how blessed you are…we lost electricity but some lost lives and some lost everything…now you fight guilt for whining.

--Sometimes storms and life leaves us in a bad place even when the lights come back on…things pile up and we forget to take the time to worship and to cast our care on Him for He cares for us.

--I don’t know about you but when innocents are buried in the rubble of an earthquake, when people are drowned because of flooding, when people who are just having fun and are killed…it affects me.

--I find myself, in the middle of the night weeping and broken, praying over and over saying “God please rescue these people”. Do we care enough to pray when they are perishing…souls lost or saved for eternity.

--I was so glad that the Grants were here after Hurricane Irma to do the Sunday morning and night services…I was exhausted from limbs and trees. I love and thank God for those two. They spoke God’s Word to us…to me.

--Beth Grant told us that night…Through this storm, by experiencing this storm, God was going to give us a voice like never before…in other words…He was going to give us the ability to dream again.

--I have been asking God this week to speak to me about His dreams for me, my family, and for you…the church of Jesus Christ…three things He spoke to me.

1. Don’t worry! Your dreams will be fulfilled!

--When the Lord first spoke those words to me I must admit that I was not very excited…I was about as excited as a one legged man in a hiney kicking contest.

--God had forgotten the world was going to hell in a hand basket, that I am praying for a prodigal, that I am praying for finances, praying for family situations, praying for hurting people in the church.

--I felt the need to remind Him what all was going, obviously He was surprised and apologized immediately…

No, He did not do that, He simply said “I know…dream again and don’t worry! Led me to these verses:

Philippians 4:4-8 (NLT)
⁴  Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!
⁵  Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
⁶  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
⁷  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
⁸  And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 

--Rejoice…I say it again—rejoice…I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall be continually in your mouth. Why does God have to keep reminding us of this…because life is tough and draining.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls--
¹⁸  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹  The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. 

--Not only does He tell us to rejoice and to worship Him…He goes on and tells us that in whatever situation we are in we must be considerate, gentle to everyone. Really, God, I don’t feel real nice.

--Oh, I need to be nice because You are coming soon…that is really a great reason. Don’t worry…pray! Sounds good and it even sounds spiritual but it ain’t easy when life is tough.

--Spirit filled people like to say…Pray thru…which my interpretation of that was always that we stay at the altar until we have some kind of manifestation of God’s presence…I think it can be that but even more!

--My interpretation is that when we are in a tough situation…we worship, we treat people right, we recognize the soon coming of Christ, we don’t worry, and then, we pray until we get thru the situation.

--Worry has never changed anything but prayer has moved mountains…You are dreaming again and there is a mountain in the way…worry want move it but prayer can. 

Matthew 21:21-22 (NKJV)
²¹  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,'

it will be done.
²²  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

--Once we gain God’s peace thru worship and prayer God’s peace comes. Then, we can think on those things that are true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.

2. Never forsake your God given dreams! God will fulfill them!

Genesis 37:5 (NLT)
⁵  One night Joseph had a dream… 

--Joseph, as a teenager, had a dream that his brothers and his parents would someday bow down to him and obviously they were all so happy about that…might have been better to use wisdom about his dreams.

--But you see, God dreams are that way, they are so exciting and so beautiful that you cannot keep them to yourself. Note: There will always be those who will try to kill your dreams.

--When I was a youth pastor in South Louisiana…we were on a mission’s trip to Mexico…I was on the backside of a mountain praying for the evening service…also begging God to let me be a missionary there.

--God spoke in 1982 and said you will go back to La. You will eventually become a lead pastor and when you do, your mission will be to make that church a great missions church. You have heard that part of the story.

--Listen because this key…when I got back to La. I did not immediately start looking for a church to pastor. God had said I would eventually become a lead pastor…it was not something I had to force. Just be faithful!

--Soon after I returned I was invited by the A/G leadership to come to the District for an important meeting…I had no idea what was happening…I asked my lead pastor to go with me because I was under His authority.

--He already knew about the meeting…I was so humbled when those men of God began to share one by one how they saw God’s hand on my life and how God was going to use me in the ministry. I was shocked.

--The Superintendent led the other leaders (20) to lay hands on me so that God would anoint me to be whatever God wanted me to be…they said I would hear from them soon about my future…OK! I did but what happened?

--I received a letter from the GC that my license has been pulled by the La. District and they were serving me notice. I immediately contacted my Superintendent to find out what was up.

--I found out how Joseph felt when he was thrown in the pit…I asked my leader if I had misunderstood the meeting I just had with them. No, it all happened the way you say but I changed my mind.

--You called me to a meeting, I came. You and everyone else laid hands on me (with you leading the prayer) and invoked God’s blessing on me to be used in a mighty way. Yes, but I changed my mind.

--I would be dishonest if I told you I handled that gently because I was confused and angry. He warned me to calm down and I encouraged him to be honest and keep his word. They pulled my license. 

--Someone got to the leader and questioned him so he told me to re-fill out all my papers for being licensed and I would be re-instated. A month later…sorry I lost your papers…do it again. Happened again. 1983 moved Fla.

--Left La to come to Fla SEU to finish my degree. No longer licensed with AG going to an AG school to get an AG degree…many offers to go to other denominations, they said I was crazy for staying. God said stay- dream!

--Got married in 1984 and it was still not resolved…can’t be an AG pastor unless you are licensed or ordained. Met a Supt from Ohio and became friends…told him my story…He, Milton, and I went to Fla Supt.

--Funny…I told him my story and told me I was lying…that couldn’t happen. It did happen. Who was in the meeting when they laid hands on you…I told him…I know this guy…I will call…everything was confirmed.

--PFDC Supt tells me to fill out their paper work and he would fight for me…not kidding…I did the paper work and they said they lost it…I almost did too…had to meet with them and do the paper work again.

--We were almost resolved to the fact that me being ordained in the AG was not going to happen…so close to giving up…no correspondence for months and one night at 10PM Supt calls:

--You have been fully re-instated with the AG and will be receiving a formal apology for the years you have been put thru this…I did. Their words humbled me:

PFDC Leadership: At a time when many are walking away from the AG and many are walking away from the faith, you have remained faithful and we thank you. You remained faithful in serving and ministering even when you did not have our formal blessing. Many of us in this room would probably not have stayed. Again forgive us and thank you.

--They laid hands on me and prayed for me. In Jan. 1989 I became youth pastor here and in 1991 I became the lead pastor…Dream again…First thing I planned (with Margaret Belew) Missions Convention. 

--Today we celebrate having 200 family units supporting 166 missionaries…this will be a banner year for Life!

Psalm 105:17-21 (NLT)
¹⁷  Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them— Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
¹⁸  They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar.
¹⁹  Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character.
²⁰  Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.
²¹  Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household; he became ruler over all the king’s possessions. 

3. When God fulfills the dream! Shout! The Lord has done great things for us!

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.