Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Elevate 2010 #2 - Sunday Night & Project Bless America

On the first night of the Elevate Conference, Bishop Joseph Garlington
spoke on the Power of the Holy Spirit. He made some great observations.

People in the church today are trying to accomplish New Testament Church works
without New Testament Church power.

He was sharing how unfortunately the Holy Spirit has been reduced to an experience and described as 'it'. The Holy Spirit is a person.

The same Holy Spirit that was inside of Jesus is the same Holy Spirit that we have received.

We have the 'Full Version' of God living within us.

I am bigger on the inside than I am on the outside.

He shared a great story about watching an older lady praying for a girl to be set free from an oppression of the devil and she simply placed a hand on her forehead and said: 'Holy Spirit come and do your work.' There was no effort, no struggle.

There is real power when we can minister from a place of rest and not a place where we are struggling and striving to make something happen!

Also in other news, one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in America is the Nepalese peoples. A few years ago in Atlanta, God called an ordinary man and gave him a mandate to reach this ethnic group with the Gospel and the love of Christ.
He obeyed the call of God and now the ministry to this people group here in America is growing at an incredible rate. Yesterday I received a call from him and he solicited prayers and support. Please do keep the ministry in Prayer. The name of the ministry is going to be called Project Bless America.

I love that name because it denotes what our role is as Christians here in America.
If you are of ethnic origin like I am (even though I was born in America), we must realize that God brought us to this land to bless and serve the people of this land.

The last thing that Jesus told us to do before he died was to follow his example of service. In John 13 he gets on his knees, dons a towel and washes feet. In Christianity, we need to recapture the concept of service. Our impact can have such huge significance.