“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord”.  (Luke 2:11)   Those were the words of an angel messenger bringing a message of hope and joy to common folks like you and me. Life would take on new meaning.  Their lives would experience great change, the birth of Jesus would transform their view of the landscape as they had known it. This was not just new hope for a coming year, for His work was an eternal work, one that would free us from the power of sin, chaos and futility.  He is Savior, Christ the Lord.

There was an openness of the Shepherd's to receive the words of an angel and in haste, they set out to find the Christ Child. The Bible said that they found Mary, Joseph and Jesus, the one that the world needed so desperately. Heaven says to us today what heaven said to shepherds on the hillsides: “Unto you is born this day … a Savior, Christ the Lord”. The reference to “this day”, includes every day that will come, all 365 days of every year that you will see in your lifetime. Jesus came to work redemptively, not just today, but to work His purpose for your life every day of the year!

Pastor Danny Borrell

“And they came unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was carried by four men.” (Mark 2:3)

 I want to name these four unselfish men.  Note that everyone else had already gone to the meeting to get a front row seat.  The four men who took part in the man’s healing represent four vital elements in a great work of grace.

The first man’s name I will call Prayer.  Prayer is the fundamental necessity in every move of God.  In Luke 11 Jesus reveals the spirit of prayer in the man who continued to knock at his neighbor’s door for food.  This man was intent.  He could not be denied.  His importunity opened the door.  Jesus said that this is prayer.

The second man’s name could have been Faith.  Faith grows out of the seed-bed  of prayer.  A strong prayer life begets strong faith.  Faith is the normal outgrowth of fervent prayer.  Faith becomes real and alive to the extent that we vitalize it through prayer.

The third man’s name might have been love or charity.  The world is waiting to be loved. People will go anywhere when they are convinced that you love them. It is impossible to catch flies with vinegar, but you can catch hundreds of them with syrup. Love will win every time whereas criticism and hard knocks will repel those who need our help.

Let’s call the fourth man’s name Perseverance.  When they arrived at the house where Jesus was preaching, they found it impossible to get the palsied man through the crowd and into the presence of Jesus. The fourth man, Perseverance, went looking for a ladder while Prayer, Faith, and Love were doing their part.

An old southern preacher once said, “There are three points in perseverance.  The ‘fust’ is take hold.  The second is hold on, and the third is never leave go!”  Perseverance keeps pressing in when it looks impossible and pressing on in the face of difficulty.  Perseverance knows that when you have Prayer, Faith, and Love working for you nothing is impossible to you.  Jesus said, “Arise, take up your bed and go thy way.”

Full of Grace,

Pastor Danny

THE INFLUENCE OF PRAYER

 “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”(Phillipians 1:9-11)

There has never been a day like today; the church must rise up to be the mighty influence God created us to be. Like the moon influences the tidal movement of the ocean, so prayer influences the practice of the church. As you pray, listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. He will be your helper and He will teach you how to pray in every situation. Paul under stood the influence that prayer exerted on the church.  He prayed and sought the Lord for his church family, as he did the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit would flow like a river.

 Paul must have prayed a lot, so much so that he said in the fourteenth chapter of Corinthians that he prayed in the spirit more than the whole bunch. My guess is that Paul knew something about prayer. In Ephesians 1:15-23 we find a record of Paul and his prayer for the church at Ephesus. In Ephesians 3:14-21 Paul prays for the church, he knew that without prayer the church would never rise to the level of dominion that God has called us to live in. I do not believe that we should all depend on someone to pray for us, though it is wonderful when a friend or a pastor takes you as their prayer charge. I believe we must all learn to pray for one another, and the power of prayer will be realized in the fullness that God desires for His church.

The practice of prayer is governed by the will of God and He is our enabler. See Romans 8:26-27. Prayer produces a sense of well being, however it is not spiritual therapy. Prayer is the will of man rising to the level of God’s will. Prayer makes the performance of the will of God possible. I believe that prayer paves the way for the host of heaven to come into the earthly realm and work in our hearts. The apostles in Acts 4:29-31 empowered by the Holy Spirit to pray and to seek His face spoke the Word of God with a boldness that shook a nation.  With great power gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So walk you in Him and learn the power of Spirit led prayer in your life. 

Pastor Danny

  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.  And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.” (John 14:12-13) 

I have never ceased to be enthralled with the magnitude of this scripture. Greater works than Jesus did are possible. There must have been, to some degree, a lessening of the power of God as a result of the weakness of His humanity (ll Corinthians 13:4), (Philippians 2:7-8).  The words “because I go unto my Father” make it clear that because of His ascension to the Father and His being seated at God’s right hand in power, His limitation is gone, and now we are enabled not only to sit at the right hand of God in power, through Christ, we will do greater works.

Connybeare and Howson in their book, The Epistles of Paul, quote Jesus as follows: “For although He died upon the cross through the weakness of the flesh, yet now He lives through the power of God.  And so I, too, share the weakness of His body; yet, I shall also share the power of God, whereby He lives.” (ll Corinthians 13:4) Jesus realized that the union that He had with the Father would be so intensely perfect that He could say as a literal truth – Greater works shall you do.

The ascension of Jesus to the Father and His being seated at God’s right hand, His limitation is gone, and now we are empowered to do greater works. Jesus’ promise of greater works was contingent upon two qualifications.  First, believe on Jesus, and believe that He is the Son of God, our Redeemer who died for our sins. Believe that Jesus ascended to the Father with power over death, hell, and the grave.  The second qualification is – ask in His Name:  “Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.” (John 14:13) Does “whatsoever you shall ask in my name” sound too good to be true?  Jesus said it, and He never lied but spoke the truth in love.  Believing and asking in His Name are the two vital elements for doing greater works.                                  

What are the greater works? I do not know all that I would like to know about greater works,  I do know that He invites you and me to go in His Name to heal the sick, cast out devils, and share the Good News. I know that by the laying on of hands, believers speak with new tongues.  I do know that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to those who will dare to believe in Him. (Eph. 1:19-20)

Jesus is the Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.  (Ephesians l: 22-23) I like this translation:  “Who fills all things everywhere with Himself.”  He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. May I ask you – what are the greater works? 

Pastor Danny

If the only tool you owned was a hammer, you would tend to treat everything as though it were a nail.  God gave each of us diverse gifts and callings. We are each unique. Paul said our gifts or tools differ according to the grace given to us.

•    “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…” (Romans 12:6, NKJ)
•    “… not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord”.  (12:11, NKJ) Romans

In verse 11 Paul said, do not lag in diligence, but be fervent in spirit as you serve the Lord. Evaluate your gifts and talents. You have all the tools you need to fulfill God’s calling and to affect every person God places in your pathway.

Pastor Danny