Needless to say, deciding whether or not to go through with the surgery was no small task. It was clear to me in those moments of time that I did not have all the wisdom that I needed to ask God for what was necessary.

I recall praying and just saying to God, “God, I don’t know what to do here, I don’t even know what to ask you for, so before I starting asking you for anything, can you please tell me what to ask you for?”

Immediately I heard in my spirit, read Romans 11:29. I read that verse of scripture and concluded that men and women are called and gifted by God. When I realized that God gives gifts to mankind according to His plan and purpose, I knew by the Spirit of God what to ask for. From that point, I prayed this prayer, “Father God, I pray that you will cause me to be in the hands of a gifted doctor. I know there are those who are skilled, talented and even good at what they do, but I pray that the one who ministers to me will be GIFTED first, skilled, talented and good at what he/she does. Amen and thank you Lord!!”

The decision became simple from that point, because I knew that God had instructed me with regards for what to ask. When we need the aid of a physician, attorney, accountant or anything else, it’s good to pray and ask God for the Gifted!!!

- Shirley Howard

Of all the characteristics that Jesus could have chosen to mark His disciples, He chose love.

We’ve been looking at the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit and how essential the grace of God is to developing God’s character within us. Character is that which a man essentially is. Who we are on the inside sooner or later will come to the surface, and usually under stress. Character development takes time; putting a mask on, only a brief amount of time.

Before we begin to study the love of God as a fruit of the Spirit, let’s, again, remind ourselves of the importance of depending on God and the provision of His grace by faith to bear spiritual fruit. It is, after all, the fruit of the Holy Spirit and not something that can originate with our flesh. Jesus taught it this way: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:1,4-5, King James).

We have this wonderful divine partnership with God, the Holy Spirit. And as we rely on Him and the divine influence of His grace that He brings to bear on our hearts we will bring forth the appropriate fruit and much of it to God’s glory.

Love is something that is absolutely vital. We were created to both give it and receive it. We thrive when the love of God is active and operative in our lives, and our lives are much richer because of it. More than one songwriter has written of its special grace and power to change lives. One in particular believed that it was love that made the world go around. And he wasn’t far from the truth because God is love.

We are commanded to bring forth the fruit of love toward God and toward others. In fact, we are commanded to love even our enemies. Loving after this manner cannot be accomplished through mere human effort and God does not challenge us to draw from our own limited human resources to do so. Only God’s grace and God’s grace alone can empower and transform us to love God’s way.

Of all the characteristics that Jesus could have chosen to mark His disciples, He chose love. Not knowledge, not wisdom, and not power; but love. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Again, please note that it doesn’t say that we’ll be known as a disciple of Christ if we preach about love, pray about love, sing about love or hold it as one of our dearest doctrines. No, the Word says very clearly that we are only His disciples as we act out our love one for another.

In addition, the totality of God’s character is summed up in this one word. God is love. He doesn’t just have love; love is who He is. God’s love does not originate in the soul of a man but with God Himself. The scripture says in Romans 5:5 that, “. . . the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (King James). Now, that’s grace. We are assured that the fruit of love can grow in our hearts and become part of our character because God has planted the seed of that love in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. The rest is up to us as we, by grace and through faith, follow His leading and admonition to love.

As we learn to love one another, we find that love truly permeates every area of our existence. The Bible tenderly warns us that we are not to merely love in word or tongue, but as Jesus did. We are to love “in deed and in truth” (John 3:18).

We are also admonished that faith works by love. That we are to, by love, serve one another, forbear one another in love, speak the truth in love and to provoke one another to love. We are also commanded to walk in love, love in faith, and to be knit together in love. While some may knit faster than others, we are all commanded to love.

Love is truly an all-encompassing fruit of the Spirit in our Christian lives! Through God’s grace we can love beyond our human abilities. Thank God!

- Pastor Marshall

The combined manifestation of His character and power result in a much clearer picture of who Jesus is.

One author wrote that grace is that divine influence upon the heart transforming us into the gracious image of Christ Himself. In other words, the grace of God is transforming in its power, not leaving us in the condition in which it found us. The grace of God is formative, producing in us the very character of God.

We are not God and on our best day fall well short of God’s glory. But as the Holy Spirit is allowed to bring the grace of God to bear on our hearts, the end result will be both the fruit of the Spirit and the operation of His giftings. Not one or the other but both. It is foolish to argue that one is more important than another. Both are important to living in the fullness of Christ and representing Him to others faithfully and accurately. The importance of walking in the fruit, or character, of God is just as important as flowing in the power of the Holy Spirit where spiritual gifts are concerned. The combined manifestation of His character and power result in a much clearer picture of who Jesus is.

The same man, the apostle Paul, who said that without the fruit of love we are nothing, also taught Christians to covet the operation of spiritual gifts. The point in all of this is not to win some argument but to first make the point that both the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are essential aspects of God’s character and ministry, and for us the result of the divine influence of God’s grace upon our hearts. And, secondly, to encourage you as a believer to allow God to complete in you what He has begun. Don’t settle for less. And don’t let someone’s religious point of view rob you of His very best for you. You will be blessed and so will others by the divine change brought about in you by the operation of God’s grace in your life.

People need Jesus. Not just some reasonable facsimile of Him. When the grace of God is flowing from you, people have every opportunity to realize that Jesus lives and cares for them. They may not readily receive Him but they are confronted with the reality of His presence and made to think about eternal issues.

Let’s talk about spiritual fruit. Before any tree can grow and bear fruit, a seed must be planted. The largest and most productive apple tree in any orchard was once a tiny seed; planted, cultivated and nourished until it grew to fruition. So it is for all of us who are called to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. As the Holy Spirit brings God’s grace to bear on our hearts and we submit to Him, fruit is born.

We must never neglect this partnership with the Spirit of God. The fact that He has come to live within us does not mean that the bringing forth of divine fruit is automatic. We must honor this relationship and stay in faith in order to see the desired results. The fruit of the Spirit, as we said earlier, is the character of Jesus Christ. In His earthly ministry, Jesus manifested His glory exceedingly through love, joy or gladness, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, gentleness, and self-restraint or self-control. These traits were evident in the way Jesus treated those around Him, from the one caught in the act of adultery, to the young children that just wanted to be close to Him in the crowds.

And now that Jesus has gone to be with the Father, He has sent the Holy Spirit to partner with us in bringing forth the fruit of the Spirit, that we might develop the character of Jesus Christ. The grace that He is willing to impart to us for this purpose is abundant. Therefore, as we yield ourselves to Him, we should confidently expect to bring forth the fruit of His grace to His glory, to our benefit, and for the benefit of others.

Remember, that character is defined by some as what we do when no one is watching. Grace will bring us to our full potential in Christ as we yield ourselves to God in faith.

- Pastor Marshall

The fruit of the Spirit, as well as the gifts of the Spirit, need to be combined in order to accurately represent His life to others.

If someone were to ask me to sum up in just a few words what the grace of God meant to me I would simply answer them, “Life in a new dimension.” I’m sure those of us who are Christians have at some time or another prayed or desired to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing higher in all this life to which we could attain. To walk like He walked should be the goal of every true Christian disciple.

I believe that this was one of the things that Paul had in mind when he wrote, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, King James). Paul knew he had not yet arrived at the place where he should be in walking and living after the Spirit but was on his way.

This likeness to Jesus, of course, is produced in our lives only by the working of the Holy Spirit and as we access the grace of God by faith. As we yield ourselves to Him, He brings forth the fruit of the Spirit which is His love, His joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. All of which make up, in fact, the character of Jesus.

But another aspect of likeness to the Lord Jesus which is often overlooked is the active presence of the gifts of the Spirit, active in and through our lives and ministries, just as they were through His. It seems as though much of Christianity is satisfied to hold to one or the other but not to both. Typically, we hold only to those issues that are reasonable to us or explainable to others. It seems to me that all too often we are more concerned with how we appear to others and what they might be thinking about us rather than considering how God views us. We will go to great lengths to not appear foolish before men while at the same time ignoring the grief of the Holy Spirit. I want to say to you today that the life of Christ lived out through us by His grace is a supernatural way of life; one that many may never understand or appreciate. You have to decide what’s more important to you.

If we agree that the fruit of the Spirit is the character of Jesus, let us also acknowledge that the gifts of the Spirit were the manifestation of the power in His earthly ministry. And if we really want to be like Him and represent Him to others, then both are essential for us also. The church should be extremely concerned with how we are representing Christ to the world.

A minister was sitting in a restaurant with a Jewish businessman one afternoon at lunch attempting to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. After listening considerately to this minister, the man asked this question: “Tell me. Which Jesus are you referring to? Are you referring to the Jesus that the Baptists or the Methodists preach? Or are you thinking about the Jesus of the Assemblies of God or the Church of God? Are you trying to tell me about the Jesus that works miracles today or the one who doesn’t?” The businessman looked this minister in the eye and said, “I may not know what I need to know in order to be saved, as you call it. But this one thing I do know: there is only one true God and I will look to Him for all I need and to be forgiven.”

What a mess! We seem to choose the Jesus that we are most comfortable with – and we must stop. Not only are we hurting ourselves but we are confusing a world that we say we are committed to reach.

The fruit of the Spirit, as well as the gifts of the Spirit, need to be combined in order to accurately represent His life to others. Not one or the other but both. The grace of God at work in you will bring forth both His character and power. Then others will have the opportunity both through you and through others in the church to see Jesus as He is in Spirit and in truth.

As we truly give ourselves to this new way of life, we will discover how incredibly important the grace of God is to walking faithfully in it both to God’s glory and in our outreach to others. It is Jesus that the world needs – not just a reasonable facsimile.

- Pastor Marshall

Believing is an equal component to prayer.  Jesus instructed us to add believing to our prayers when we pray. It appears that believing is to prayer what wet is to water.  In Mark 5:36 Jesus instructed Jairus to “only keep on believing.”  Jairus had made a request of Jesus earlier, and the message had come to Him that he would no longer need Jesus’ help.  The situation that Jairus was in had gone really bad.  However, in the midst of what could be perceived as the absolute worst case, Jesus told Jairus to “only keep on believing.”

You may find yourself in the midst of what you perceive to be the worst case today.  I say to you that which was spoken by Jesus to Jairus, “Only keep on believing.”

- Shirley Howard

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse Himself.

In Galatians 3:13, the apostle Paul gives a summarized statement regarding Christ’s redeeming work. Paul writes, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (King James). These are astonishing words. The language is shocking. The thought so amazing, so profound, that we would not have dared to state it ourselves. But Paul doesn’t seem to hesitate.

When Adam fell to satan’s temptation, the whole human race was subjected to sin and bondage and came under the curse of God’s Holy Law. The Bible teaches: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekial 18:4, King James).

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse Himself. The curse due for our sin was transferred from us to Him. He took it voluntarily upon Himself in order to deliver us from it. Christ literally became our Substitute. Every criminal sentenced to death under the Mosaic law and executed, usually by stoning, was then hanged on a tree as a symbol of divine rejection. Death by hanging was the outward sign in Israel of a man who was cursed.

The Romans executed by crucifixion. To be nailed to a cross was equivalent to being hanged on a tree. So Christ crucified was described in Jewish thought as having been hanged on a tree. He was recognized as having died under the divine curse. This is one of the reasons why Jews had such a difficult time accepting that Jesus was the Messiah. When Christ crucified was preached, the Jews would sometimes shout back, “Jesus is accursed.” The fact that Jesus died hanging on a tree remained for the Jews an insurmountable obstacle to faith until they saw that the curse He bore was for them.

What Jesus accomplished on the cross of Calvary He accomplished for all of us. He was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. The ransom He paid by His own blood can only be laid to our account by personal repentance and faith. Jesus is the Grace of God toward us. So trust in Him alone today and be saved.

- Pastor Marshall

In II Thessalonians 3:1 Paul the apostle exhorts us as disciples of Christ to pray that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified.

There are courses on which the word of God must travel in order to reach those whom God desires to come to repentance, be delivered from darkness and experience salvation.

God has made request of us to pray that His word would have free course and that His word be glorified.  As we pray in agreement with what God desires, His word will find its way into the lives of those who desperately need it.

- Shirley

God’s Word is just as personal, just as binding, and just as fresh and alive today as when it was first spoken.

There was a young woman who was told by her physician that she would never be able to conceive children. Anna had always desired children of her own and was initially devastated by the word of her doctor. But Anna turned to God in her brokenness and heard something different from Him in prayer. Her Heavenly Father assured her that it was His desire for her to have children and He promised to bring it to pass. To say the least, Anna was excited and took God at His Word and within the year conceived and brought forth her first of what would become five sons. Anna allowed the word that she had heard from God to be the final word in her situation and responded to it in faith. As a result she received a miracle in her body allowing her to have children.

The foundation for faith is the integrity of God’s Word. We don’t have to worry about whether the Word is able to produce what it promises. God Himself will see to it that not one word He has ever spoken will fail. Faith is never any better or more pure than its source or its foundation. If we believe the promise of someone who doesn’t have the power to make good on his word, our faith is in vain.

But it can never be so with faith in the Word of God. God’s Word cannot fail because first, it is absolute truth, and second, the power of God stands behind it to make it good. “No word from God”, the Bible says, “shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment” (Luke 1:37, Amplified). Since God and His Word are one, we may commit ourselves to His Word with absolute assurance that our faith cannot fail to produce what He has promised.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, also received a great miracle in her body on the basis of a promise to her from God, spoken by the angel of the Lord. At first, she questioned the possibility of such a miracle but her heart finally came to rest by faith in God’s promise to her. It was the word spoken by the messenger of God that she believed. She had to believe that word more than she believed her present circumstances. She answered the angel by saying, “Be it unto me according to thy Word” (Luke 1:38, King James). And the miracle of divine conception, and virgin birth, took place. God’s Word mixed with faith brought it to pass.

There are many things God is willing to do but will not do until someone, by faith, takes Him at His Word. At that point of faith in God’s Word, God stands behind that particular word and makes it good. Whether it is salvation, forgiveness of sin, victory over temptations, release from some binding habit, wisdom to solve a problem, supply for a material need, guidance, physical healing, or whatever we need according to the will of God, our faith puts God’s Word into operation and it is impossible for His Word to fail.

God’s Word reveals what God is willing to do. God is willing to save the worst of sinners, to give His wisdom for what might seem an impossible problem or healing for an incurable disease. He is ready to do all that He has promised.

But we have a problem. Instead of allowing our faith to rise to the promises of God we have endeavored to reduce God’s promise to fit our experience. We tend to interpret God’s Word by human experience instead of taking it as God intended. Many have turned God’s Word into a lifeless creed, into an intellectualized theological system, instead of accepting it as though the Master Himself were speaking it. We have trimmed the Word down to fit our experience, to fit what we can explain. Some portions of His Word, like certain spiritual gifts, we have relegated to the age of the apostles while others are ignored altogether.

We have failed to realize that God’s Word is just as personal, just as binding, and just as fresh and alive today as when it was first spoken. It has the same authority and carries the same power-potential as if Jesus Himself were in our own town preaching today. One of the most tragic things that Christians have done is to treat the Bible as though it were a common book. In one breath they exalt it and declare it to be the infallible revelation of God’s will, but in the next breath they deny its believability. It’s time to meet God’s Word once again with faith.

- Pastor Marshall

God’s Word cannot fail because God cannot fail.

We are going to study further that quality of faith that receives the bountiful grace of God. Trust is the appropriate response to the grace of God shown to us through Jesus Christ. And that trust is the result of time spent with God diligently listening to His voice with the intent to learn and obey. God and His Word are one. The Scriptures are an infallible revelation or self-disclosure of God. There is no inconsistency between God and His Word.

It follows then that God’s Word cannot fail because God cannot fail. If God failed, the entire universe would cease to exist, for God not only created all things, but by Him all things are held together. He is literally upholding all things by the Word of His power according to Hebrews 1:3.

So, God cannot fail. And whatever God has promised to do, He will do. God watches over His Word to perform it. God and His eternal throne of absolute power stand behind every word He has spoken. If you can’t trust God’s Word, then you can’t just God.

The scripture says, “Forever, O Lord, your Word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). In Psalm 138:2 the Word says, “You have magnified Your Word above all Your name!” And, again, in Matthew 24:35 Jesus says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away” (King James).

In Jeremiah 1:11,12 we have an interesting passage having to do with the integrity of God’s Word. This verse reads, “And the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘What do you see Jeremiah?’ and I said, ‘I see a rod of an almond tree.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it’” (New American Standard).

What was the point of the vision? Jeremiah lived at one of the most critical times in all the history of God’s people, Israel. It was a decadent age, plunging into destruction. They had forsaken the Lord and had put their trust in human government instead of obedience to God. There was no regard for God’s Word. It seemed to Jeremiah that it was futile to preach. But God assures Jeremiah that His Word is a word of power and a word that cannot fail.

In this vision there is a play on words which is not translatable into English. Jeremiah did not use the actual word for almond tree. Rather, he used the figurative word for it. The almond trees blossom when other trees are still asleep in winter. So in the garden Jeremiah saw, the almond tree was awake. God was showing Jeremiah that just as the almond tree stays awake, so I am always on the watch or “I watch over my word to perform it.”

Even though the death of winter was over the land, God guaranteed the success of His Word. Not even the coldest spiritual conditions can keep the living Word of God from bearing fruit because God is behind it.

The foundation for faith is the integrity of God’s Word. We don’t have to worry about whether the Word is able to produce what it promises. God Himself will see to it that not one word He has ever spoken will fail. Faith is never any better or more pure than its source or its foundation. If we believe the promise of someone who doesn’t have the power to make good on his word, then our faith is in vain.

But it can never be so with faith in the Word of God. God’s Word cannot fail because first, it is absolute truth, and second, the power of God stands behind it to make it good. “No word from God”, the Bible says, “shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment” (Luke 1:37, Amplified). Since God and His Word are one, we may commit ourselves to His Word with absolute assurance that our faith cannot fail to produce what He has promised.

- Pastor Marshall

Sometimes, I think we are more concerned about the feelings of others than we are about what we might be causing God to feel.

Jesus taught, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). I think all of us would agree that if Jesus took the time to teach on anything that it is worth hearing. Jesus often taught topically and here does so with the subject of having or holding trust toward God.

Jesus makes it clear that faith is necessary to receiving from God. By faith we receive the grace of God which empowers us to live a new way of life. Jesus says that we are enabled by faith to move mountains. We are enabled or empowered by that grace that faith receives.

As we have endeavored to point out, this special faith is always built upon evidence of some kind. Unfortunately, in the world of human affairs, there may be an element of error, or even deception, involved with the evidence that we are given. We may believe something that is false and that does not conform to reality.

If such is the case, our faith will fail us, not because our faith was faulty, but because the foundation of our faith was unsure. We might be deceived or our faith misplaced. It’s happened to all of us at some point in life. This is not something to be condemned over or feel rejected by God over. When we are hurting or stand in honest need of help, we should know that we can run to God and get grace to help in our time of need. The Bible tells us to do just that. It tells us to come boldly unto the throne of grace to obtain the help that we need. If you feel condemned by someone else or within yourself, that condemnation is from the devil and you should take authority over it and overcome it. God will give you grace to do it.

However, our faithlessness is also a serious issue and should be dealt with. By our faithlessness, especially in view of God’s integrity, we stand in denial in one way or another of God’s truthfulness and authority. And that’s serious. Sometimes, I think we are more concerned about the feelings of others than we are about what we might be causing God to feel. The Word of God exhorts us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. Surely, in view of God’s faithfulness, our unbelief must be grievous to God’s Spirit.

God cannot lie. God is truth. There is no reality apart from the eternal nature of God Himself. All meaning flows from the mind of God, for His mind was the blueprint according to which the contingent universe was formed. God called the world into being out of that which appeared not according to the pattern of His infinite wisdom. Jeremiah 10:12 says, “He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom; and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.”

It follows, therefore, that when God says something, it is true, for God cannot lie. It is not only that God does not lie – He cannot lie. It is contrary to His nature. It is impossible for God to lie. A lie is the opposite principle to truth. If God could possibly lie, He would cease to be God.

God and His Word are one. And it is by hearing His Word that faith comes to be established in our hearts.

- Pastor Marshall