CHRIST'S UNIBODY CONSTRUCTION

Praise the Lord everybody, let everything that has breath praise His holy name. I just finished reading the chapter entitled “The Task of Church Planting” from the book, “Global Church Planting Biblical Principles and Best Practices for Multiplication.” A book I wouldn't normally choose for myself but a friend recommended it to me. I found “The Task of Church Planting” to be great as a history of 20th-century church planting.

 As a historical article, I found it very well written, loaded with facts and information on what it takes to plant a Church, not only how to plant a church but how to keep it alive and growing. Even more importantly it was filled with Scriptural references to back up its most important points, like for instance scripture on what is a church (Acts 2:46-47) (Acts 5:42) (21:20,26 basically the whole book of acts). It talks about the importance of putting together a proper team to carry out the task.  It covers “the purpose of the Church” and even tries to answer the question, what exactly is “Church planting”?
This is a very ambitious project that supplies its readers with a comprehensive Guide to establish a God-pleasing Church.

Unfortunately, it all comes a little too late. Especially for the Body of Christ in America, and other modern countries across the globe. The whole dynamic of Church planting has changed in America where there is no shortage of churches. Some neighborhoods have as many as four. Except for some small isolated areas of the world the body of Christ is not in need of more Church planting teams, instead, it needs Church unification teams.

 If all the different denominations of the Church would come together and be one as God intended, the Church would easily spread the Gospel of Christ to every corner of the world. The Gospel of Luke does end with Jesus giving us the “great commission” and the Church has been trying to carry it out ever since, sometimes effectively and sometimes not so effectively.
Again, this article is full of great examples and ideas on Church planting, including, of course, Paul’s apostolic outline in 1st Corinthians chapter 3 where he states, What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it.

This scripture brings out an important point when Paul says, “I laid the foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it.” The time has come for the body of Christ to start building on, or perhaps rebuilding on what it has become. This is a well-written article that is rich in history and wisdom, but that is all that it is a history lesson.

God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off the Wall

CAN YOUR FAITH PASS THE "SPIT" TEST?

Praise the Lord, everybody. Let everything that has breath praise His holy name!! The Lord has truly been moving in my life these days. I have been blessed in many ways and I can not thank Him enough for what He is doing in my life right now. God has been keeping me very busy these days, causing me to neglect this blog, and for that, I am truly sorry.

  Today I have a couple of questions to start off with. How strong is your faith? And, would you let someone spit in your eye?
Mark 8:23 King James Version (KJV)
23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
 Blind or sighted, it takes a special type of Faith to allow someone to spit in your eye and call it healing. To make matters worse, after He gave him the first “treatment” the man still could not see! Yet he allows Him to rub more spit in his eyes. Verses 24+25 tell us the results of the man’s faith,  24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
25 After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes and made him look up: and he was restored and saw every man clearly.
The man may not have known who Jesus was as far as His deity was concerned but he had enough faith in a man he heard could heal him of his affliction. How many times have we believers blown our healings and blessings because we wanted to control how God was going to heal us or bless us. How many of us today would let our Pastor or Church Elder anoint us with his saliva or “spit” today to obtain our healing? Most likely we would run out of the door, go home and get on FaceBook or Twitter and tell everybody how the Pastor or Elder has lost their minds, meanwhile, our pains and afflictions would continue. If Jesus himself came down to heal us personally, I believe some still would not believe, and we know who He is.

The blind man did not truly know who Jesus was and is, but we have no excuse.  If you read the Bible you know that God does not think like a man, His thoughts are not our thoughts. We must stop trying to assist God with His work. The blind man did not question God. He could have said “is that spit you’re about to put in my eye? You sure you want to do that? Why can’t you use water?” but he trusted Jesus, that He knew what He was doing. Today's believer has too many worldly options to choose from when something goes wrong in our lives. We run here and there, looking for help and answers, always turning to God as a last resort. God wants us to trust Him to the point where even if He asks us to let him rub spit in our eyes, we will say “whatever you will, Lord.”
   PRAYER: Father God, forgive us for our lapses in faith. Help us to trust in you in all things, for it was you who created all things. Let us not turn to created things for help but to the creator of all things that were created. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
                                God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Spaking Off The Wall                                                                       
                                                           

THE SELFISHNESS OF DISOBEDIENCE

Praise the Lord everybody. As a Christian, have you ever felt the Holy Spirit instructing you to do something, and you want to be obedient, but something does not quite make sense to you, trust God always because disobedience is a selfish act.

 1st Kings 17:8+9            8) And the word of the Lord came unto Elijah,  9) saying, “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon and dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” 
 Elijah’s survival in this incidence depends on the obedience of two people, himself, and the widow woman. Imagine if Elijah had traveled all the way to where God had instructed and found that the woman had been disobedient. He would have found the woman and her son dead from starvation, because this is what she had planned, her and her son were down to their last bit of flour and oil, and she had made up her mind that they were going to make one last loaf of bread, eat it and then die, but out of obedience she gave her last to Elijah and we see what happens in verses 13+14  13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”   
There is a blessing in living an obedient life, but the blessing may not be just for you, so don’t be selfish, be obedient, and everyone will benefit. God Bless you.
PRAYER: Father I want to thank you for loving us enough to let us know how selfish we are in our disobedience to you. Father help us to have an obedient spirit reminding ourselves that our obedience not only blesses you can be a blessing to someone else as well
A little food for thought that the Lord gave me to think about and to share with you.
           God Bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

SALVATION: WHAT'S IN YOUR WALLET?!!

Praise the Lord everybody!! Let everything that has breath praise His Holy name! The Lord is surely moving me into a different place in Him. In these last and evil days, and I am letting Him have His way, gladly, since He knows whats best for me. I am truly looking forward to where He takes me.

The Bible tells us in Job that Job gave sacrifices for his children just in case they forgot or were negligent.I often wondered what kind of believer they were, did they sit around thinking they were okay because their father had them covered, or were they working out there own salvation with fear and trembling.



Genesis 15:6      Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as
righteousness.

 Whenever I'm out witnessing for Christ I've noticed there are a lot of would be Christians out there with other peoples credit cards. I don't want to say they're stolen because they may have picked them up by mistake or maybe they thought it was okay to use them.

It all starts when I ask them this one question, "Are you a Christian?" They immediately replied "yes I am" and then they go on to tell me about how their mother has been a member of Mount so and so's for twenty-five years and is head of the usher board, volunteers twice a week to give out food at the food pantry. Or they tell you how their father has been a deacon at the same church for thirty years etc but when I ask them about themselves they start making excuses about why they themselves do not go to church nor do they feel the need to set aside a day to fellowship and to worship the Lord.

 They are under the mistaken impression that their parents or spouses relationship with God is automatically accredited to them also. Then I have to pull out the word and give them the bad news. First I read Genesis 15:6  "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to HIM as righteousness."

Not his son, not his wife, not his daughter or anybody else. Then I tell them about Philippians 2:12 12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, then read to them Romans 10:9+10 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

They have to make their own confession of faith with their own mouths and their own lips. Thank God for your mothers and fathers and spouses salvation, but you can't get into heaven using their credit cards. Most were surprised to find out that their salvation wasn't covered by birthright and allowed me to pray with them and start them on their way.

Check your pockets and see whats in your wallet.

God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

                                                                        

                                                                     

                                                                        

                                                                     

                                                                                                                             

LET GODS WORD BE TRUE...

Praise the Lord!!! Everybody!! Let everything that has breath praise his Holy name!! As I've been saying all year, these have been challenging times for the body of Christ. I have been nudged to higher and higher levels in Christ by the Holy Spirit in recent times, ready or not, here it comes seems to be the theme this past year, and I thank God for the nudging.



Galatians 1:11+12     11) I want you to know Brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.  12) I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.


While out witnessing I hear it all the time, “men wrote the bible” or “the bible was changed by men to fit their purposes.” Paul had to address the same accusations from the Galatians. People then and today don’t want to hear the truth. They want to soften Gods word by saying “God never said that! Men just put that in there because it was a popular idea at the time of the crusades.” A lot of homosexuals said that about scripture condemning homosexuality. The truth of the matter is, yes, homosexuality was an accepted practice among men pretty much since the beginning of time, especially during biblical times. So was prostitution, human sacrifice and a plethora of other unseemly practices, they were called SIN, and God Spoke against sin from the very beginning when Adam and Eve committed the first one allowing sin to enter the world. Even before God gave Moses the law He Gave man a sense of right and wrong, a conscience that’s how Joseph knew to run and not sleep with Potiphar's wife.

I’m sure back then just as today there were plenty of men who would have gladly taken his place. We, believers, have more than just a conscience we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, leading us into all truth. Paul says “we have the mind of Christ”So I say to you “who is making up what?” The Bible tells us in 2nd Timothy 3:16 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Next time a nonbeliever tells you that the Man made up the Bible; just hold your head high and say “all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” “ Gods word says it and I believe it. Let God be true and every man a liar.” Ever since it was written, people have tried to Question the authority of the Bible. It is an attack ordained by Satan to undermine God's plan of redemption cause once you start to doubt even one part of Gods word, it's only a matter of time before you doubt the whole thing, and the devil knows this, so he tries to plant that seed as early as he can.

2nd John 1:7-10 states  7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

God Bess you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

FLINT FACED MEN: FROM FLINT TO TIN

Praise the Lord everybody! let everything that has breath praise His holy name!! For God alone is worthy to be praised. I am so grateful to God that He exposes our shortcomings. He does not allow them to continue to fester like an old splinter, possibly leading to a major infection in our spiritual life. God gives us the opportunity to avoid having to amputate that part of our lives that are festering. He does this by showing us where it is, then Gives us the chance to heal, whether it be through repentance, or just stepping up, and reaching for the next level in Him.

The other day God began to deal with me about one of my shortcomings that had begun to fester in me. He started by reminding me of the following scripture.

Isaiah 50:4-7           4) The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.  5) The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.  6) I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.  7) Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

I once wrote an article called "flint faced" men. I was inspired by the above scripture. The article was about men such as Noah, Abraham, Daniel, David, Joseph, Isaiah, Job, Paul, and the list goes on and on. They were men who were determined to serve God. Were They perfect men? No, but they were fully persuaded that they were going to serve the Lord, in season and out of season. They were not influenced by environment or circumstance. I used to like to think of myself as one of them, but now, looking back over the past few years, I realize I've been more like Tin then flint.

Flint is a very hard stone that is not very malleable, which besides being used to provide the spark to start fires, some used it to fashion daggers from, it can take a licking and keep on ticking.
Tin is weaker and a lot more malleable, it can be easily molded to conform to different shapes. I find myself being influenced more and more by the distractions of the world, and anything that my flesh is attracted to. I have subconsciously let my relationship with Christ be shaped by my flesh and not by the Holy Spirit. Paul warned us in Romans 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is so easy to allow the world to wear you down, and like a small drip, drip, drip, of water over years can lead to a large sinkhole, and also carve out grooves in rock. Paul lets us know that the best way to combat this is to have a renewing of our minds. David said in Psalms 119:11 - Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. We keep our minds renewed by Keeping Gods word fresh in our hearts and minds. The key word here is "fresh". Sometimes we find ourselves slacking off in our studies as the years go by, after the 5th or 6th times of reading the Bible from cover to cover you begin to think you can ease up a little now, or maybe you just memorized a couple of popular scriptures and feel they should be enough to see you through. To keep Gods fresh in our minds we have to continuously stay in it, not trying to remember some old bible study from years earlier where all the scripture kind of fades all together into a bunch of miss quoted scripture. How can you get any power out of that?

A "flint faced" man does not conform, he is constantly in touch with who and what he is in Christ, and he remembers what Apostle Paul taught in Philippians 4:8 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Gods word is all of these things. The word of God is alive and active and because it is alive it has the ability to appear to mature as we mature, revealing it’s deeper truths to us as we become mature enough to receive it. We can’t stand on our early revelations of Gods word. We must continue to study to show ourselves approved as He guides us to the levels we are called to be in him.

So if your Flint Face is starting to turn you into the "Tin man." Or whatever your shortcoming is, remember that God wants to bring you up, not take you down.

God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

THE CONSECRATION OF BROTHER DARRELL

Praise the Lord everybody. Let everything that has breath, praise His holy name!! God is great, and greatly to be praised! I will bless the Lord at all times and His praises shall be continually in my mouth.

This has truly been a time of reflection and introspection for me. God has been dealing with me about a lot of things lately and I've had to make some painful admissions. One of those admissions is the fact that I have begun to slip recently when it comes down to our special time together.

For years, every Tuesday and Friday I have been fellowshipping with God, which I have been calling "consecrating," but God has been dealing with me about my so-called "consecration." To me, fasting means just turning your plate down and mortifying your flesh as unto the Lord, but you continue to do your normal daily routine.
In my opinion, consecrating meant more, It meant not only mortifying the flesh by observing some sort of fast but also ceasing all your other activities of daily living and spending quality time in the presence of the Lord. The dictionary says the act of consecrating is; dedication to the service and worship of a deity. I was dedicating that day to the service and worship of God, but now I find myself doing more "fasting" and less "consecrating". I find myself more and more carrying on my usual everyday routine and spending less and less time in prayer, meditation, and worship.

God began to Bring back to me the words and life of Jesus who said in Luke 9:23+24  23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Jesus was telling His disciples and us today that to be His followers we have to commit our lives to Him daily, daily forsaking our old lives and living every day in consecrated service to God. In truth, we can not pick and choose which days we will be consecrated and which days we will not. God was letting me know that the things I do when I call myself "consecrating," I should be doing every day. Does that mean we have to be walking around all day looking stern, trying to convey a pious attitude, no, The Bible tells us in 1st Peter 1: 7,8,9  7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Yes, the joy of the Lord is our strength. But our joy should be in Him always, we need to stop trying to replace it with worldly joy when we feel the world is having what seems like more fun.       jesus was living a consecrated life every day. Jesus tells us in John 4:34 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Jesus said this to His disciples after they saw that He appeared tired and hungry, and they had been emploring Him to eat. I'm sure Jesus was tired and hungry, but I'm also sure that even in that, Jesus found joy and contentment. Paul states in Philippians 4:11-13(NIV)  11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  

Part of our daily consecration should be that as soon as we open our eyes in the morning we should give thanks and determine to do God's will that day, that should be our sustaining force throughout the day, fasting or not. I am determined to daily live my life "consecrated," in service and in the worship of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. PLEASE KEEP ME IN PRAYER.

God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall