Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth- 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. 28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God. Romans 2:17-29 NIV

Jesus was the Seed of Abraham. God cut a covenant with faithful Abraham and promised him that through his Seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The devil already knew that Someone was coming, Who would bust his head (Genesis 3:15). God watched over and protected the Israelites through the generations, because of His promise to Abraham and also to ensure that the line of the Seed was protected.

Unfortunately, because God was so gracious to them, the Israelites took Him for granted. They thought of themselves more highly than they ought and put more confidence in outward shows of obedience – like circumcision – than in humbling themselves before the Lord and living truly godly lives. Many Jews received Jesus as their Lord and Savior in the book of Acts, but as for the others, their hearts were so hard that they could not recognize their Messiah when He came, nor would they receive Him.

Religion and tradition can not and does not make you godly – your heart must be submitted to God. Circumcision of the flesh, alone, has no inherent spiritual value. The Bible says that a man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, but he is a Jew if he is one inwardly. The circumcision of the flesh was a type and shadow of the New Covenant and the circumcision of the heart. True circumcision – the circumcision that makes a difference in eternity – is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit.

I speak the truth in Christ-I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit- 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. 6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad-in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls-she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. Romans 9:1-16 NIV

We, as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, should guard our hearts and always remember that it is God’s grace and mercy that has saved us and is keeping us even now. We must be careful not to take God for granted as many Israelites did, and become merely religious and traditional. We are not entitled to anything from God merely because of our own desires or efforts, but simply because of His grace.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:1-3 KJV

Under the Old Covenant, people wore ashes when they were mourning. Those who had sinned, or who were distraught about something, wore sackcloth with ashes on their head. In Isaiah 61:3, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah – Jesus – Who would come to give us beauty for ashes. The Amplified Bible says that He came to give us an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes.

Ashes are all that is left after something is completely burned up. In the natural, when something is broken, you can fix it, but if it has been burned up and reduced to ashes, it can never be restored back to the way it was, never mind better than what it was!

After these events, God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. 2[God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you. Genesis 22:1-2 AMP

By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test [while the testing of his faith was still in progress], had already brought Isaac for an offering; he who had gladly received and welcomed [God’s] promises was ready to sacrifice his only son, 18 Of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your descendants be reckoned. 19 For he reasoned that God was able to raise [him] up even from among the dead. Indeed in the sense that Isaac was figuratively dead [potentially sacrificed], he did [actually] receive him back from the dead. Hebrews 11:17-19 AMP

God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac because He was planning to sacrifice Jesus for all mankind. Since the promise of the New Covenant was based on the covenant God made with Abraham, Abraham – on behalf of all mankind – had to be prepared to sacrifice his son to the Lord. Of course, God did not want Abraham to actually kill Isaac, He just had to know that he was willing to do it. Abraham had so much faith in God’s promise, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be reckoned,” that he was fully prepared to kill Isaac and offer him as a burnt offering. When you finish burning an offering, only ashes are left. Abraham was convinced that God would raise Isaac from the dead even if all that was left of him was ashes!

Many of you feel as if there are areas of your life that have been left in ruins and burned to ashes – never to be recovered again – but the good news is that Jesus came to give us beauty for our ashes. If God has made you a promise, then you can stand on that promise and trust Him to bring something beautiful out of the ashes of your life.

Jesus came to give us an ornament – a garland or a diadem – of beauty instead of ashes. Instead of ashes on our head, we wear an ornament or crown of beauty. Jesus lifts us out of our mourning and gives us a reason to rejoice. He heals incurable diseases – leprosy, withered limbs, blindness, and issues of blood. He raised sons and daughters and brothers from the dead. Wherever things look hopeless and you feel helpless – Jesus is there to work a miracle if you will believe.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Whatever plans you have for yourself – God has better plans. Whatever evil plans the devil has for you – God has good plans – plans to give you hope and to give you a future. Ashes represent something that is over with no hope, no tomorrow, and no future, but in Jesus, we have a hope and a future. God has a future – a good future – for you!

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:24-26 NIV

The Bible contrasts the difference between those bound by religion and tradition – who put their trust in their own efforts – and those who trust in God alone. The Lord has reached out to us with life and liberty – if we will lay down our (lower) life, we can take up His (higher) life.

Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Luke 6:20 NIV

If we read the whole of the word of God in context, we will see that it is the blessed of God who are not poor. Every one who willingly obeys God eats of the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19). Every one who serves God with their whole heart is blessed and prosperous (Joshua 1:8). Wealth and riches are in the house of the righteous (Psalms 112:3). “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” means that we need to recognize that we are nothing without Jesus.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Luke 6:24 NIV

If we think that we don’t need Jesus – we are wrong. If we think that we can earn our salvation – we are very wrong. We need Him! In Him we live and move and have our being. Those who think that they don’t need Jesus, have all the blessings they are ever going to have. Earth is the only heaven a sinner will ever know and the only hell the child of God will ever know!

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Luke 6:21 NIV

Revelations 3:17 NIV says, “You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” We need to be hungry for God. We need to recognize that we need Him. We cannot afford to be self-confident or self-sufficient. God is our source and our supply. We need to recognize Him as our all-in-all. We need to be prepared to weep – to give Him our best – to commit to Him no matter what it takes – no matter what we have to lay down. We need to be willing to lay everything down for Him.

Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Luke 6:25 NIV

If we put our needs above His – if we think of ourselves first and take care of ourselves first – we will be found lacking.

Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. Luke 6:22-23 NIV

Those who stand up to be counted as a child of God, those who preach the unadulterated word of God and those who will contend for the supernatural will be persecuted. However, it is not something to be sad about, but to rejoice about. We are not being treated any differently than our Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. Luke 6:26 NIV

You can be religious and you can try to please people and tickle their ears and they will speak well of you, but it is nothing to be proud of. The fact that people like you is no indication that God is pleased with you as well. On the contrary, if you will please God and not man, the devil is sure to stir up people against you to oppose you. Rejoice if you are being persecuted for the word’s sake – it means that you are on the right track!

I have spent the past year going through the web reading articles about the love of God and the move of the Holy Spirit. I recently visited one site and read several posts regarding God’s love. I recommend anyone interested in growing as a Christian.

Habakkuk 2:2-3

2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

When the Lord called Adonica and I to start this church, He showed us the need for a local church that would:

1. Be a place where the Spirit of the Lord would have liberty to do whatever He desires.
2. Have powerful praise and worship.
3. Have powerful Word-based preaching and teaching.
4. Be a church of givers – in every way.
5. Be a praying church.
6. Be a place where people will come to be saved, healed, restored, renewed and then when they are ready – sent out to set others free.
7. Be a place where the average believer is fulfilling the great commission.
8. Be a church where we reach the community through powerful outreaches, bring in the lost, and make disciples of them.

In just three and a half years this local church has been a part of spreading revival around the word and has also been a large part of two great soul-winning events in New York City and Shreveport/Bossier. The best is yet to come.

We believe that the time is coming soon to rise and build a place that we, as a local church, can call home. We have sown much and harvest time is upon us.

We want to announce September 3rd as “Membership Sunday” We would love to have all the members of this congregation present at one time, so that we can share the vision for the next three years. You can choose to attend either one of the two morning services. Those members who work on Sunday mornings, please let us know that you will only be able to make it on Sunday night. This will help us facilitate the flow of the day. This is an important date. Please place this on your calendar and mark it for special attention. On this day we want to introduce all our staff to you and to show you all the different areas of this ministry. As your pastors, we want to share our hearts with you. Everyone will be given a nametag at the door. During the month of September, we will also be doing a survey to see how many people are coming through the doors in a week and a month – this will help us to plan and to minister to you in a more efficient way.

Prayer request – please stand in agreement with us for a church bus in order to help those who do not have transportation, to get to and from church.

2 Peter 3:9 (NKJ)9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Rodney Howard Browne shows us that God is very, very patient with us – earnestly desiring that we should come to repentance. He wants us to realize that we are hopelessly unable to save ourselves and to throw ourselves on His grace and mercy. Many people are under the false impression that God sends people to hell and that He is seeking every opportunity to do so. On the contrary, He is seeking any opportunity to send us to heaven! If He wanted us to go to hell He should not have sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, to be born of a virgin, suffer, die and be raised up again for our deliverance and salvation. He should have and could have left us alone, because we were already going to hell all by ourselves. John 3:16-21 (NKJ)16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.19 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.20 “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.21 “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” Rodney Howard Browne also shows us that God does not condemn us. We condemn ourselves by our refusal to accept the way He has made for us. The gospel is as simple, as it is powerful. People try to complicate it, but the truth is not hard to understand for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Jesus bore the penalty of our sin so that we could be born again into the family of God. John 14:6 (NKJ)6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Rodney Howard Browne teaches us that all we do is repent of our sin, believe that Jesus died and rose again, and accept Him as Lord of our life. From that moment on you are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and you become a partaker of God’s eternal life. Your heart will be forever changed from within and you will live in the presence of God eternally. Ezekiel 36:24-27 (NKJ)24 “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Rodney Howard Browne reminds us that God’s love and mercy have been extended toward you. He wants you in His family – He wants you as His child and He wants to be your Father. He loves you – you are valuable and precious to Him. He has done everything He can for you – in Jesus – and He is waiting for you to take the next step toward Him. He will meet you at the point of your faith and you will never be the same again!

Foundation Scripture: John 16:33 (AMP)33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage: be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [ I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] The word “tribulation” means pressure (literally or figuratively). It is also translated as – afflicted, affliction, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, and trouble in the King James Bible. If we live in this world and this world system, it is very likely that we will experience tribulations, burdens and persecutions. Everyone experiences tribulation in one form or another if they live on this earth, whether they serve God or the devil. The difference between the two, is this, those who serve God, are comforted in the middle of the trial and have a really good chance of coming out on top at the end. Those who serve the devil just have a horrible time with no happy ending! Romans 8:35-39 (NKJ)35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing that we go through can separate us from the love that our Father God and Jesus Christ have for us. Because of Jesus’ love, He came to conquer the enemy on our behalf, so that we can walk free and victorious! It does not matter what comes your way, you can take comfort and have confidence in this: that Jesus is on your side and if you will place your trust and confidence in Him, He will take you through to the other side – through into the victory! Jesus has already done everything that He needed to do for you when He conquered the world and the devil. You are not waiting on Him – He is waiting on you to take Him at His word and walk victoriously. There are two reasons that you face tribulations – because you are doing something wrong, or because you are doing something right! When you sin, tribulation comes your way as a result of sin. If you subject yourself to the world, to be like the world, you will reap the harvest of your sin and disobedience. If you are on the devil’s turf, you are subject to him. The devil may make you many promises, but there is no good thing in him and if you hang around with him, you will have what he has – distress, frustration, death and destruction – with no way out.

If, on the other hand, you choose to serve God only and you devote yourself to Him, you will face much opposition from the devil and the world, but the tribulation of persecution cannot defeat you, because your life is in God’s hands and your enemy is His enemy. That is bad news for the devil. Jesus told us to be of good cheer and be confident because He has conquered the world and deprived it of its power

I went up to a teenager and asked him” Has anyone ever told you that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?” he didn’t pay any attention to me so I proceeded with the script, and his answer was he wanted to die and go to hell, suffer a couple million years and come back as a demonic devil here on earth. I proceeded and when it came to the he said, “Fine I’ll bow my head.” And he ended up saying the salvation prayer. Praise God, 27 were saved at the high school. Thanks so much dr. Rodney howard browne. This script has helped so many people. Timothy P.

Thank you for the beautiful Spirit Led service this evening. The Holy Spirit had me flowing so wonderfully with the Service. How refreshing it is to experience such a free flowing of God’s Spirit into our homes. Thank you! Amazing, beautiful, refreshing, and restoring and I appreciate you all. I am praying for you all. Blessings, Peace and Grace to you. Larry C

Testimony:
In an apartment a lady was laying on a hide a bed (crutch bed) I started with the script. Has anyone ever told you that God loves you? She stopped me and said” I once had Jesus and then I lost Him and then He gave me this horrible cancer that is killing me”. I said you believe two lies from the pits of hell. First of all Jesus promised never to leave you nor forsake you. So you still have him. Second of all Jesus can’t give you cancer because He doesn’t have any cancer. He can’t give you anything He doesn’t have. Cancer comes from devil. First were going to get rid of this cancer. We finished the script. I realized her faith was pressed down. I saw Mark Documento, I said “Mark come help me pray I need your faith”. I cursed the cancer and Mark agreed with me. Then I loosed the power of the Holy Ghost into her body to fill up the area where the cancer came out. Her complexion changed and her eyes became clear. Her face had sunk. Now ill wasn’t. I challenged her to get up and walk. She had been in bed for 3 months. She got up and walked. Jean T.