In an age of bitter fragmentation, increasing intolerance and breakdown in our society the body of Christ must come together in a true God breathed love. God promises the fullness of His power that will keep us from falling when we choose unity in the body and love for one another. Today—choose to let go of all bitterness and resentment and God will fill you with His love.
In Mark 5, we see vignettes of three types of faith. “You Can ” faith believes in the possibility that God can do something. “I Will” faith is a declarative faith that goes beyond believing something can happen to believing that it will happen. And the third type of faith is “Jesus Still Can.” This is faith that believes even though the situation looks hopeless, Jesus can still do a miracle—bringing life where there is death and hope were there is none.
There is an incredible promise for the nation that has drifted away from the things of God and now find themselves in captivity. There is still a way forward for the people of God. God‘s response to a nation that is drifting away from Him with incredible forgiveness and miraculous mercy. For every sincere heart that can hear the voice of God He is calling you back into His love and purposes.
The very many and very dry bones in Ezekiel can be seen as the many lost souls that need salvation; but they can also be seen as the many dry Christians we have in the church today. Are there lost people in your life who need salvation? Pray and prophesy that life would come into their dry bones. Have you grown cold in your walk with the Lord? Pray and prophesy, asking God to, once again, breathe his Spirit upon you.
In Acts 12, we see Peter imprisoned, chained and surrounded by guards. Through the church's earnest prayer, God began to deliver him. Chains fell to the ground, doors and gates swung open, but Peter was required to step through. When God's part was done, the angel departed, but Peter encountered another gate—one that did not supernaturally swing open. There is a part that God plays in bringing freedom to the captives, but He also invites and asks us to open the last gate by faith.
There is a great danger of falling into the trap of justifying wrong behavior to the point that you call wrong “right” and evil “good.” If you are sitting in the place of love, where the true Word of God is preached there will be something in your heart that is drawn towards the things of God. Make the choice today to put away those sins that Jesus Christ died to give you the victory over.
Pastor Gary Wilkerson wraps up the EXPECT 2013 Church Leadership Conference with a message about the blessings of God. We're not waiting to be blessed. We're not trying to figure out what to do or not to do to get blessed. We are already blessed in Christ.
Pastor Jim Cymbala from Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City shares at the EXPECT 2013 Church Leadership Conference about the power of prayer. We're to call out to God in our time of need. He hears and wants to answer our prayers. We see in Mark that our faith can move God's hand in the life of others when we bring them into Jesus's presence in prayer. Is there someone God has placed on your heart to pray for?
Pastor Carter Conlon from Times Square Church in New York City exhorts attendees of the EXPECT 2013 Church Leadership Conference to be honest in their dealings with all people. We are ambassadors of truth, and dealing dishonestly with people ruins our testimony. As we are honest, Jesus is faithful to release a supernatural supply to accomplish all He calls us to do. Don't let natural thought and reasoning keep you from the supernatural work of Christ.
Pastor Jim Cymbala joins us once again for the EXPECT 2013 Church Leadership Conference. The hardest thing in the world right now is to share the gospel and see new souls come to Christ. We've diluted the gospel. We've added to it. In trying to make the gospel deeper or more complex, we've actually made it weaker. It's hard to see new souls come to Jesus because we've wandered from the simplicity and purity of the Good News.