I will be preaching at Millgrove Bible Baptist tonight as well as both services this coming Sunday. Pastor Dave Voorhees has had to have a second surgery. Please pray for him. Bible Baptist is special to me it is where I preached my first revival meeting! Pray for me I desire that God will be glorified and that He will do a mighty work in hearts and lives! Thanks for visiting and thanks for praying, Bro. Tracy |
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Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. James 4:8a The wonderful aroma of the cedar tree is truly activated when placed into a hot fire. I remember a cool fall day when I was cleaning and clearing some brush I threw some pieces of cedar on the fire. The cool fall air filled with the wonderful smell of that tree. I watched the smoke make its way far into the sky. That aroma seemed to saturate every place in that field and tree line. In the times of deep trial and testing when I am in the Lord's kiln I humble my self in His mighty and caring hands. I draw near to the Lord by way of praising and blessing His name and in such times my desire is for there to be a plume of praise finding its way to my God that has an aroma that pleases and blesses Him. The Bible says, "Cast your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1Peter 5:7). Your life will be filled with the wonderful aroma of peace when you come close and near to the Lord. It won't be the peace that the world gives, but the peace that the Lord Jesus promised, (John 14:27). Such peace will be on display for others to witness. As you draw near to almighty God it will be seen and known. You will be blessed and others will be prompted to ask you how it is you are handling the particular situation. The saints will be comforted and the sinners will know conviction. That will be an open door to share the Lord Jesus Christ. E.M. Bounds wrote, “Our praying, however, needs to be pressed and pursued with energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage which never fails.”
Now is not the time to fold up or give up. We need to pray fervently and continually for America! For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 Emotion is a fickle thing. On one hand our emotion is an outward expression of an internal joy that overflows for all around us to see and that can be a good thing. It is encouraging to see others get fired up and excited about the Lord. It can be likened to a spark that is contagious. The fire of another brother or sister in Christ can light our fuse and breathe life into the lifeless ember that lies lazily within our cold hearts. On the other hand emotion can be a trap that if we are not "Feeling it" we can be brought low and our faith and trust in the Lord will be like the waves on the ocean up and down, sideways and backwards. We will be tossed around and there will be no substance or stability to our faith. Emotion in and of its self is a lot like a bottle of soda, after a while it loses its fizz and becomes flat. The bottom line is that emotion in the Christian life needs to be rooted in and the by-product of something and that something is two fold- The Holy Ghost and the Word of God. When the Holy Ghost and the Word of God is the origin and the makeup of our emotion and excitement the two will provide stability and longevity and this will give substance to our excitement. The Christian life will be a lamp that will never run dry of its precious oil. The Holy Spirit does a magnificent work within the believer as He illuminates the glorious truths of the Bible. It makes for the perfect storm as the Word of God and the Holy Spirit move in tandem to light the fire of excitement and joy within each believer. Revival fire within the lives of the redeemed will be real when they give themselves over to the Word of God and desire to live a Holy Spirit filled life. That is a fire that can't be contained. What we need within the body of Christ is a revival fire that is authentic and not man made. We had a blessed time in the Lord today at Weston Baptist! Thank you so much for your prayers! I can truly tell that folks are praying! The saints were stirred and the altar was used. Praise the Lord!! God met with us! I will be filling the pulpit this coming Wednesday night and both services on Sunday at Millgrove Bible Baptist. Please pray for Pastor Dave Vorhees who will be having surgery. Thanks for visiting and thanks for praying, Bro.Tracy When we see through the eyes of the bible we will not tremble at the sight of that which is going on in the world. Our confidence will not be in ourselves, but our confidence and hope will rest entirely in the living God. I recently read these words from Leonard Ravenhill, “One of these days some simple soul will pick up the Book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed.” Those words hit me like a hammer between the eyes. We will truly never live until we come by way of God and His word. If we, who are the redeemed in Christ Jesus ever allowed God’s Word to do the work that God desires for it to do in our lives we would soon live and walk in victory on the mountain top as well as on the valley floor. Listen, and please let this sink in- neither the mountain top nor the valley floor is out of reach of Almighty God’s power and presence. Jesus asked this question on the stormy sea "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith" (Mark 4:40b). I want you to look back and remember: 1. The powerful promises from the Word of God. 2. The powerful provisions from the hand of God. Looking back can be a great way for us to move forward by faith- We will be reminded of God's faithfulness time and time again. Will you call out, cry out and come down to your knees on the behalf of America? Revival must begin in the hearts of each individual believer. Many have grown cold and complacent and our spiritual temperature is below freezing. We need a Holy Ghost stirring. Consider the youth and the teens, and where it is they are heading, and in fact where it is they are at this very moment. Because we as a nation has turned from God, we have subsequently turned from His Word, and the young people are a product of such a turning away. The slope is slippery and the slide has been in motion year after year. Consider all of those who are now adults who are the product of silent pulpits and scheming so called men of God who have peddled, proclaimed and presented not the one true gospel, but their own brand of godless gibberish that leaves out the blood of Jesus and promotes the goodness and the works of a mere man. These have been and are nothing more than the pawns of satan leading individuals astray and allowing them to continue on their path to hell and thus leading counties, communities, cities and a nation down the ungodly path that we tread on this very hour. Now is the time to dig in! Now is the time to be prayer warriors! Now is the time to bring and share the soul saving, destiny altering truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! Now is the time to invest our time wisely in the very soul of this nation. Today is the day. Our hearts should be broken and our eyes should be filled with tears because of the way our nation has shut out, blasphemed and turned from the One True Living God. The devil is a liar, and is in the business of deception. He wants to take as many as he can to hell with him. The Bible say, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs14:12.) This verse tells the story of many Americans at this very moment; in small towns, rural areas and big cities. We need to: I. Nurture a burden- For the salvation of the people! II. Nurture a brokenness- For the seriousness of our sin! III. Nurture a boldness- For the sharing of the Gospel! “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” II Timothy 4:7 Where ever you may be and whatever you might be enduring I want to simply encourage you to continue fighting the good fight and to continue on the course that the Lord has laid out for you. At the time the Apostle Paul was writing this, his life here on earth was drawing to a close. In II Timothy 4:6 Paul writes, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.” With that said, I want you to consider your fight and your course that you are on. I am speaking not only to those of you whose life might possibly be drawing to a close, but also to those, who (Lord willing) have many days and miles that lie ahead of you. I implore you to continue to fight! I want to encourage you to finish the course and keep the faith until the end. Run through the tape at the finish line...Don't pull up short! Don't veer off the path! Don't give up! Don't give in! Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and strength! The life you live in Christ Jesus will be a marker for all those around you. It will show where you stand; It will announce what you believe and it will define whom you belong to. Each day is an opportunity to bring glory to God. Cease the day! Grab the day with both hands and squeeze everything out of it you can in CHRIST JESUS! Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) while desiring the sincere milk of the word (I Peter 2:2) and seek those things which are above (Colossians 3:1-2.) Dear Christian, no matter your position or place in this world, never lose sight of what lies ahead and the One who awaits you at the end of your days here on this earth. May we all be able to say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” and in doing so, we will finish strong. “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” II Timothy 3:14 I recently read, “When Benjamin Franklin wished to interest the people of Philadelphia in street lighting, he didn’t try to persuade them by talking about it; instead, he hung a beautiful lantern on a long bracket before his own door. Then he kept the glass brightly polished, and carefully and religiously lit the wick every evening at the approach of dusk. It wasn’t long before Franklin’s neighbors began placing lights in brackets before their homes, and soon the entire city awoke to the value of street lighting and took up the matter with interest and enthusiasm.” I want you to be encouraged to, “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of.” The path you continue down in Christ Jesus and His Word, which you have been taught, will be a powerful example for those around you. As a Christian, you are being watched. The lost watch to see how sincere you are about that which you have spoken to them about. The saints watch to see how serious you are about Christ as not only Saviour, but as Lord of your life. As we desire to be more Christ like and live Holy Spirit filled lives we are presenting a pattern for others, and when that pattern is based on the Lord Jesus and the Word of God that we have been taught by many along the way it will shine like those lanterns up and down those streets in Philadelphia, so many years ago. Our faithfulness to God will speak mightily and it will have an effect on many today and tomorrow. We may never know here on this earth what impact we have had upon those around us. It is first and foremost about being faithful to God and not about putting on a show for man. By setting a godly example, you will present a pattern for the young and old alike. Consider that when you set such an example, you will be a stepping stone for the next generation to witness today and an example for them to emulate in the future. Our faithfulness to God will speak mightily and it will have an effect on many today and tomorrow Let's continue to continue in the power, in the might and in the strength that comes from Almighty God. There is much is at stake and we will not get an opportunity tomorrow to relive today. |
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