I just want to say that I am proud to be at the River Church and to be a part of what God is doing in and through Revival Ministries International! This church and ministry are ministries of integrity and utmost excellence. That being said, I would like to share with you what God has impressed on my heart since the beginning of the Great Awakening services at the River, that now more than ever is the time for God’s people to turn to Him and seek His face in prayer. Every great move of God throughout history has been preceded with a great movement of prayer. I am reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:14 where God says if His people which are called by His name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek His face that He will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land. I believe the sin of the church in this hour is the lack of seeking His face! We seek His hand, what He can do for us but we don’t seek His face and find out how He views things or even what He is looking at. We know it is His will to heal our land, He makes it very plain in the above mentioned scripture that it is His will! He is just waiting on us, His people, to lay aside all the junk that keeps us out of the prayer closet and get busy with the business of prayer! America and the world are battered and bruised, in need of healing! It is going to take praying saints and a praying church, the whole church, if we are going to see God move in the measure that is needed in our country and in our world! Now I will go and pray! Will you? – Tildon W
Now the pastoral prayer in this church, was a longer type prayer and at the end of this prayer, the pastor who was giving the prayer would recite the Lord’s Prayer with the congregation.
Rodney & Adonica, thank you so much for the obedient step of faith that you have and are taking by airing The Great Awakening every night! I have watched as much as possible and Holy Spirit has been doing a new thing in my heart and life! Even though we have always made room for Holy Spirit in our personal lives and in our church, Church in the City and have always preached about winning souls I must sadly admit that I have NOT been the #1 soul winner in our church. Oh, I led people to the Lord at our altars and I would always “let my Light shine” when I was out in public but I never was brave or bold enough to ask the BIG question.
The question that really mattered. This past month we have had prayer twice a day @ CITC and the Lord is doing some amazing things. The most amazing thing is what He is and has been doing in ME! Hearing all the glorious testimonies on your program from those that got saved out on the streets has “opened the eyes of my understanding” and created a desire in me for souls like I have NEVER had in the almost 40 yr we have been in full time ministry. Believe me, this is not something I am proud of! Sitting there in prayer every night I had this conviction that I had to do more than just pray! I knew that just like Jesus when I left that place of prayer, I had to GO YE and tell of His Love and do my part to get people into the Kingdom! I got out my soul winning script and put it my purse so I will have it at all times so I can take advantage of the opportunities that the Lord brings my way.
This same “epiphany” is happening in Mike as well. I KNOW that what happens in the head flows down to the body so this year is going to be a year of Harvest for us @ CITC! We are getting ourselves organized now for the outreach that we are embarking on. I am more excited about who I am In Christ and what He has called me to do than ever before. God is building His Church and His Kingdom and I am humbled and blessed to do my part! I love you guys more than you know and we plan to get down there in the coming days.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we will eat to win, water and vegetables and you guys can eat what you want to, this rich, fat-saturated diet.
“Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!” Psalms 31:19 NKJV
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” Psalms 23:1-6 NKJV
Expect His goodness
“[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! 14 Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.” Psalms 27:13-14 AMP
David makes this exclamation: “What, what would have become of me, had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living?” In other words, “Because I trusted in God’s goodness I experienced it. I couldn’t have made it without Him! You need to expect Him too and He will take care of you!” God wants us to know how much He loves us and He wants to show us how good He really is. We need to get a revelation of His goodness – we need to expect His goodness.
Express gratitude
“Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple. 5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas.” Psalms 65:4-5 NKJV
Deuteronomy 28:47 (AMP) says that all these curses shall come upon you, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness of [mind and] heart [in gratitude] for the abundance of all [with which He had blessed you].” Many of God’s people are not blessed – they are cursed – because they do not acknowledge God’s goodness toward them; they do not recognize that all their blessings have come from Him; they don’t appreciate what they already have and what He has already done; they are not satisfied with His goodness. They either take God for granted, or they think that He has not done enough for them, or they take the credit for the blessing. They walk on dangerous ground. God makes it very clear that He is the source of our blessing and it is vitally important that we serve Him with joy and gratitude.
Praise God for His goodness
“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” Psalms 100:1-5 NKJV
“I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord And the praises of the Lord, According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, According to the multitude of His lovingkindness.” Isaiah 63:7 NKJV
Because He is good – we can be good
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-24 NKJV
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8-11 NKJV
“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” Romans 15:14 NKJV
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is also the character of God. The Holy Spirit imparts God’s character to us so that we can be like Him here on the earth. We are to demonstrate God’s goodness here to the world. We are to tell them and show them how good God is!
I just said, “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”. I closed my Bible and I felt so bad, I walked from the pulpit (it seemed like 10 miles) down the steps and I was supposed to sit on the front row.