Jesus said that His house would be known as a house of prayer. Charles Spurgeon said that the prayer meeting drove his church. Prayer must be genuine, authentic, focused and Spirit led. When we intercede for others we have one hand on them and one hand on God. We become the wiring connecting them to God. There is no situation or circumstance that is too big for God.
Through the Exodus story, Pastor Gary Wilkerson paints a picture of two houses. One is in doubt — not sure if they're safe. They question whether they did everything they were supposed to, and if they did it correctly. The other house stands in quiet confidence, secure in what God has promised. Sometimes we have to be silent and let the Lord work on our behalf. Moses stood and lifted his rod in faith. God did the rest.
In Exodus, Pharaoh shows us a picture of how our life and ministry can be limited by the boundaries imposed by ourselves and others. Sometimes we limit God to only the things we can accomplish with our own abilities, when God often desires to use us beyond our own strengths. Many of us learn to do ministry still wearing the chains of bitterness, anger, addiction, etc. — not walking in the full freedom of Christ. We'll often hold back if something seems too extreme, radical or fanatic. Some of us limit God by keeping our faith to ourselves or making it just about us. Many of us want to follow Christ, but aren't willing to make the sacrifices it often requires. It's time to break down the walls and stop limiting what God wants to do in and through our lives.
The preacher's message must be conviction of sin through the law, coupled with sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. The methodology must be full dependence on the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Our motivation must be genuine Christ-like love for people — not money, fame or recognition. The American church needs a fresh baptism of love.
* We apologize for the music over the beginning of the sermon. It will stop after five minutes.
Pastor Claude Houde of Église Nouvelle Vie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada shares about "The Spirit of Expect." God's workmanship in us can only be accomplished by Him. He is a creating Spirit that wants to create something in and through us. Much of the modern church walks in so little of the Spirit. They have no spiritual inertia and are reduced to powerless imitators. In the end, only the supernatural works of God will survive.
The church is to be a place of healing and restoration, but we often find fighting and bickering. A lot of us are engaged in war, but with the wrong enemy. It isn't uncommon to find more compassion in the local bar than in the local church. We must lay aside our differences, forgive each other, love each other and seek out the lost. There are many backslidden believers longing to return to the church, but they fear the judgment they'll face if they do. It's time for the church to open its doors and hearts to the lost and hurting that desperately need healing.
Pastor Gary Wilkerson opens up the EXPECT 2011 Church Leadership Conference with a message about holy confidence. In an age when the media has headlines of pastors and leaders failing and falling, there is a temptation to muster up some spiritual gumption and declare that we won't mess up. This can be a prideful self-confidence worked up in our flesh. In truth, there was only one Shepherd that never failed — Jesus. It is through Him that we acquire the perfection required by God.
It is time for the church to return to the supernatural. Some of us try to build the supernatural with the natural — planning, reasoning, flesh, etc. Others of us are in a place of hopeless and discouragement — a powerless and prayerless place. God wants men and women that will get up, fight back and stand in faith. Jonathan and his armor-bearer only took a half-acre of land, but their faith shook Hell. Moses was an old man with a stick and a one-line sermon, but he had faith. No matter how small your ministry may seem or how useless you may feel, with faith God can move supernaturally through your life.
This message is for everyone who is stranded in mixture. You have gone from the promises of God into a place of emptiness and struggle. When we live in mixture we give the enemy access into our heart and mind. God wants you to come back to Him. The moment you turn to Jesus Christ and ask Him to cover you He will respond to you by confronting all your enemies and settle the matter quickly. Today you can come back into the promises, protection and provision of your Kinsman Redeemer. The invitation is to come to the feet of Jesus and let Him fight for you.
1 Corinthians 13 is often thought of as a sentimental bit of scripture about love. We aspire to love as it is described in these verses, and use it as a checklist to measure how well we are doing as Christians. What is being described here is God's perfect and unconditional love — a love that is impossible for us to achieve in our own efforts and strength. It is meant to show us our spiritual poverty in contrast to the richness of God's love. Christianity is not a self-improvement plan. It is a work of Christ through the Holy Spirit. He gives a new heart with new desires, and imputes to us His righteousness, strength and desire to love like He loved.