Monday, September 19, 2011
It is time for a new beginning!
As I spend time in the presence of God, the one who created me, I realize as He shows me that their has been too much noise in my life. Even as I am a soul winner and a disciple maker, within that lifestyle, their has been too much noise. This noise I am referring to isn't necessarily bad "noise". It is best described in my own words as noise that needs to be put aside for a moment or two, noise that needs to be brought to Jesus' feet. All my worries, all my desires for the people who I minister to, all my ideas, all my work, all my love, all of my false identity, everything, must be set aside at Jesus' feet and left their so that Jesus can take it from me, so that I can live that life that Jesus talks about, about taking His yoke upon Him, and He will give you rest. Their is no peace like the peace that Jesus gives and allows us to experience. Their is no joy like Jesus and being at Jesus' feet and allowing Him to hold me, allowing Him to caresse me and let me know everything is going to be ok. That I do not need to be afraid anymore. That everything that seems out of control is actually under control of the one who created me. Stop, listen and lay these things at the feet of Jesus, and allow God to speak to you right now. Take five minutes to shut the TV off, get off Facebook, stop talking, put some piano music on, or some soft spiritual music on and allow Jesus to come face to face with you so that you can finally experience that peace and joy in Him. He wants you, He loves you, and He longs to be with you just as you long to be with Him!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
A new beginning by Sarah
Sarah Castellanos
The following are my notes from when I had the opportunity to listen to her preach to youth leaders and Pastors kids. The title of her sermon was "New Beginnings". I was inspired from her teaching, and have began to implement this concept of having a new beginning in every area of my life.
Notes:
You must realize that you are always an example to everyone, because eyes are on you.
It is a new beginning. It is a new beginning for your lives. I believe that God has changed your life to the point that you are ready to do something new. It is never to late to serve God!
2 kings 5
This man was extremely successful, and he had seen many many victories, but he had leprosy, and leprosy stops everything. "I would rather have a disease that is eating my flesh, than a disease that is eating my soul" DL Moody.
Sin is what keeps us from growing as a leader! It is what keeps us from our cells growing. We must not have sin in our life.
1. The first thing he had to do is to take off his mask.
Verse 5; Naaman thought he could buy this new beginning. It is unbelievable that so many people that are like Naaman today, that they go to cell, church, and that they are achieving great successes. God does not want our successes, but he wants us to come to him as we are. And then as we do this, we will be able to experience the grace of God on our lives.
Of you who are here, you need a brand new chance.
God wants to use this new Generation, to start something fresh. It begins by presenting itself just as you are, stop pretending who you are. Sometimes we get used to this "Sunday" face.
A lot of times we get used to pretending. God is speaking to us all of the time. A lot of times we pretend, we pretend we are the most holy out of everything, and that we are holy. The only way we will be able to get a brand new start is if we stop pretending.
Verse 10
God does not think the way we think, God speaks to us in the weird ways, When God speaks, do not think, obey! Just obey
This man had a bit of an ego.
When God speaks we must die to our ego, if you want to know the dream of God, you must leave your ego at the cross, pride is something very strong.
We must give up that pride!
Pride will take you out of purpose for God.
Sometimes we are so close to experience that new beginning. God will always ask of us to give up something. When God speaks to you, do not think, obey!
God sees the bigger picture! The G12 spreading thru out the world, was the result of obedience. It wasn't until Pastor Claudia was told by God to start a new church in Miami that really started spreading the G12 vision thru out the world!
Imagine the result of your obedience and how it can allow you to do great things for him. Remember, you do not see the big picture.
Take that leap of faith that God has asking you to do. The fruit will come when you obey! When you stop playing with sin and contamination, you will be allowed to grow!
If you are spiritually dead, then you will not want to do what God wants you to do but when you have a relationship with God and you are obedient, then the ideas will come and you will find a place in the church.
Are you listening?
It was so clear, and it was so easy, it just demanded that he humble himself.
God does speak to you. A lot of times their are so many distractions, that you do not hear God you must truly take some time to connect to his spirit. Are you listening to the words that God is speaking to you?
Allow him to give you that fresh message to your life, but how can we hear the message if we aren't listening to the message?
Above all, when Naaman obeyed, he experienced the miracle.
Identify the distractions in your life. Make time to read the word, pray to God, to study the word.
And further more I just want to say to the audience who is reading this,
That today is a new beginning, that this week is a new beginning, that this year is a new beginning, that this week does not have to be the same as last week, nor this year need to be the same as last year. I speak new beginnings over my life and lives of those reading this, that things are changing, because God is a God of new beginnings!
The following are my notes from when I had the opportunity to listen to her preach to youth leaders and Pastors kids. The title of her sermon was "New Beginnings". I was inspired from her teaching, and have began to implement this concept of having a new beginning in every area of my life.
Notes:
You must realize that you are always an example to everyone, because eyes are on you.
It is a new beginning. It is a new beginning for your lives. I believe that God has changed your life to the point that you are ready to do something new. It is never to late to serve God!
2 kings 5
This man was extremely successful, and he had seen many many victories, but he had leprosy, and leprosy stops everything. "I would rather have a disease that is eating my flesh, than a disease that is eating my soul" DL Moody.
Sin is what keeps us from growing as a leader! It is what keeps us from our cells growing. We must not have sin in our life.
1. The first thing he had to do is to take off his mask.
Verse 5; Naaman thought he could buy this new beginning. It is unbelievable that so many people that are like Naaman today, that they go to cell, church, and that they are achieving great successes. God does not want our successes, but he wants us to come to him as we are. And then as we do this, we will be able to experience the grace of God on our lives.
Of you who are here, you need a brand new chance.
God wants to use this new Generation, to start something fresh. It begins by presenting itself just as you are, stop pretending who you are. Sometimes we get used to this "Sunday" face.
A lot of times we get used to pretending. God is speaking to us all of the time. A lot of times we pretend, we pretend we are the most holy out of everything, and that we are holy. The only way we will be able to get a brand new start is if we stop pretending.
Verse 10
God does not think the way we think, God speaks to us in the weird ways, When God speaks, do not think, obey! Just obey
This man had a bit of an ego.
When God speaks we must die to our ego, if you want to know the dream of God, you must leave your ego at the cross, pride is something very strong.
We must give up that pride!
Pride will take you out of purpose for God.
Sometimes we are so close to experience that new beginning. God will always ask of us to give up something. When God speaks to you, do not think, obey!
God sees the bigger picture! The G12 spreading thru out the world, was the result of obedience. It wasn't until Pastor Claudia was told by God to start a new church in Miami that really started spreading the G12 vision thru out the world!
Imagine the result of your obedience and how it can allow you to do great things for him. Remember, you do not see the big picture.
Take that leap of faith that God has asking you to do. The fruit will come when you obey! When you stop playing with sin and contamination, you will be allowed to grow!
If you are spiritually dead, then you will not want to do what God wants you to do but when you have a relationship with God and you are obedient, then the ideas will come and you will find a place in the church.
Are you listening?
It was so clear, and it was so easy, it just demanded that he humble himself.
God does speak to you. A lot of times their are so many distractions, that you do not hear God you must truly take some time to connect to his spirit. Are you listening to the words that God is speaking to you?
Allow him to give you that fresh message to your life, but how can we hear the message if we aren't listening to the message?
Above all, when Naaman obeyed, he experienced the miracle.
Identify the distractions in your life. Make time to read the word, pray to God, to study the word.
And further more I just want to say to the audience who is reading this,
That today is a new beginning, that this week is a new beginning, that this year is a new beginning, that this week does not have to be the same as last week, nor this year need to be the same as last year. I speak new beginnings over my life and lives of those reading this, that things are changing, because God is a God of new beginnings!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
2011 G12 conference "Dream"
I had the priviledge of attending the 2011 G12 conference entitled "Dream" in Ontario, CA this weekend, and there were so many things God was showing me. The power of a dream was the theme. While at this conference, I was really expecting God to really allow me to have a more intimate relationship with Him, my wife, and I was also asking God for specific dreams for my family and ministry.
Before I came to this conference, it seemed that many trials had come into my life. The circumstances were so thick in my life, that it had caused a blockage of me being able to see my dreams clearly. I had begun to loose sight and hope for my dreams. However, as I entered into the conference with an open heart, God began to immediately set me free from the weight of these circumstances and trials in which I was facing. My heart began to weep, and I could not stop crying as the worship and presence of God was so thick during ministry time.
Some of my favorite times at this conference was; when Sarah Casteanos preached, when my wife and I gave an offering in faith, and listening to Martin Smith worship.
When Sarah preaches at any conference, I am always amazed at what God does and how powerful He speaks to me thru her messages. I thank God for Sarah, and I love her because her heart is for the youth of the next Generation. Every time she preaches, my life is wrecked and I find myself weeping at Jesus' feet in humbleness and repenting before my Jesus. This year, she was preaching on being the salt of the earth from Matthew chapter 5. That morning, my devotional was actually from this chapter, and about me being the salt of the earth. It was incredible.
The significance of my wife and I giving a great offering of faith this year was because my wife had had her hours recently cut at work. We are literally missing about 1/3 of our income now. However, by faith we were able to gather enough money to not only go to this conference, but to also give a faith offering of $100 as a covenant offering. We gave in faith that God would take care of us and provide for us in that time of need when we would need it the most. Very similar to the time Abraham came before God ready to give his one and only son in whom he loved. God sent an angel at the last minute and told Abraham to not sacrifice his son. And because Abraham came before God prepared and ready with a willing heart, because he gave his best, God made him the father of the multitudes. A pastor told me once that their will be a time when God takes everything from your life, because he wants to test your life, to test your faith. Today God has taken everything from my wife and I and we are learning to depend on Him and not our finances.
Listening to Martin Smith (formally known as the lead singer of Dilerious?) was a joy and an experience like I have never experienced before. I noticed something different in the way he lead worship as opposed to other great artists or worship leaders, in that he really connected to the crowd and lead the crowd into worship. He wasn't just simply up on stage performing, but he would look at the faces of those in the crowd, and smile. He seemed to be amazed at what God was doing in the United States thru the G12 vision, and excited that he was with these sons and daughters of the living God. He was with us, and the presence of God was so thick that it was as if we were in Heaven singing to Jesus! Their was such a peace about Martin Smith that blew my mind, the way he carried himself and smiled genuinely with peace and joy. He said one thing that really changed my life, he said "ya know, with people all in here, we are all going thru different circumstances, but the great thing is that we are all here worshipping God, and this is what we were called to do, we were called to be at peace and worship God. Sometimes in life we just need to stop and spend time worshipping Jesus, because that is what we were created to do.". That is so true!
Martin Smith captivated the heart of worship, so dynamic, refusing nothing but excellence within the team that plays with him. I believe all worship leaders should learn the dynamic of worship from this man. He truly know how to capture the heart of worship like I have never seen before from any other artist.
Before I came to this conference, it seemed that many trials had come into my life. The circumstances were so thick in my life, that it had caused a blockage of me being able to see my dreams clearly. I had begun to loose sight and hope for my dreams. However, as I entered into the conference with an open heart, God began to immediately set me free from the weight of these circumstances and trials in which I was facing. My heart began to weep, and I could not stop crying as the worship and presence of God was so thick during ministry time.
Some of my favorite times at this conference was; when Sarah Casteanos preached, when my wife and I gave an offering in faith, and listening to Martin Smith worship.
When Sarah preaches at any conference, I am always amazed at what God does and how powerful He speaks to me thru her messages. I thank God for Sarah, and I love her because her heart is for the youth of the next Generation. Every time she preaches, my life is wrecked and I find myself weeping at Jesus' feet in humbleness and repenting before my Jesus. This year, she was preaching on being the salt of the earth from Matthew chapter 5. That morning, my devotional was actually from this chapter, and about me being the salt of the earth. It was incredible.
The significance of my wife and I giving a great offering of faith this year was because my wife had had her hours recently cut at work. We are literally missing about 1/3 of our income now. However, by faith we were able to gather enough money to not only go to this conference, but to also give a faith offering of $100 as a covenant offering. We gave in faith that God would take care of us and provide for us in that time of need when we would need it the most. Very similar to the time Abraham came before God ready to give his one and only son in whom he loved. God sent an angel at the last minute and told Abraham to not sacrifice his son. And because Abraham came before God prepared and ready with a willing heart, because he gave his best, God made him the father of the multitudes. A pastor told me once that their will be a time when God takes everything from your life, because he wants to test your life, to test your faith. Today God has taken everything from my wife and I and we are learning to depend on Him and not our finances.
Listening to Martin Smith (formally known as the lead singer of Dilerious?) was a joy and an experience like I have never experienced before. I noticed something different in the way he lead worship as opposed to other great artists or worship leaders, in that he really connected to the crowd and lead the crowd into worship. He wasn't just simply up on stage performing, but he would look at the faces of those in the crowd, and smile. He seemed to be amazed at what God was doing in the United States thru the G12 vision, and excited that he was with these sons and daughters of the living God. He was with us, and the presence of God was so thick that it was as if we were in Heaven singing to Jesus! Their was such a peace about Martin Smith that blew my mind, the way he carried himself and smiled genuinely with peace and joy. He said one thing that really changed my life, he said "ya know, with people all in here, we are all going thru different circumstances, but the great thing is that we are all here worshipping God, and this is what we were called to do, we were called to be at peace and worship God. Sometimes in life we just need to stop and spend time worshipping Jesus, because that is what we were created to do.". That is so true!
Martin Smith captivated the heart of worship, so dynamic, refusing nothing but excellence within the team that plays with him. I believe all worship leaders should learn the dynamic of worship from this man. He truly know how to capture the heart of worship like I have never seen before from any other artist.
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