The March Convention of 2016 was an epic way for us to enter the new season.  Welcome, spring!

Nothing fuels the Spirit of God inside you like fellowship, worship, and learning the Word.  This meeting was a grand slam as it nailed all three!  If you have a pulse, you heard some things that took you higher and made you stronger.

Elder LaFleur knows the heartbeat of his congregation and what people need for spiritual growth, and we have pastors and ministers that make up a really amazing team who work hard for our churches on a regular basis, not just during a convention.  All three days we were in a groove—we had a rhythm—because we were following what the Lord wanted.

And that set up on Saturday.

Didn’t you love the layout, the feel?  Something about it brought us in closer as the “ox treaded out the corn” in a mighty and substantive way.  Elder gave out so much (grown-up stuff) in what felt like 5 minutes.  Jesus constantly drew the disciples aside to teach them the deeper meaning of His messages.  Elder taught deep truths that are relevant for our inner man.  We have to be ready to grow with what God provides—which was a whole lot in these three days.  The hours were well spent and flew by waaayy too fast.

SOMETHING YOU WON’T SEE ON THE DVD

You know in summer when the rain comes down suddenly and really hard?  Tsunami-like.  It just pours.  And then it clears up like nothing happened.  That post-rain sunlight!?!?  It’s unlike any light I’ve ever seen and hard to explain, but it’s pretty magnificent.  The Ministry had that light.  Their words illuminated our church, and as they spoke, there we sat in that beautiful golden glow from heaven.

In our spiritual and daily lives, things happen, things come to fruition, life just keeps going and we need the certainty of that solid foundation to keep us humble, to shield and protect us, to make us happy, to not get fooled by false doctrines, to anchor our souls and ensure our stability.  Well, our ministry delivers—down to the last detail.

THE FOUNDATION

God’s people were strengthened by the Apostle, a wise master builder, who laid the foundation on which we can build our lives and stake our eternity.  His foundation was Hebrews 13:6.  From there he led us through the Bible showing us how God is our helper.  We saw that fear really has no strength of its own.  Every ounce of juice it possesses comes from us, our doubt.  He told us to focus and work where God called us, know God is on our side, and leave all the rest alone—it’s God’s business.

His words will be resonating for months to come as we process and work on change.  He passed things on to us for safekeeping, and he gave extras that we needed to soften the edges of some rough areas and get rid of fear of anything man does to us.  At the end, we had instruction for our souls and hope.  Lots of hope.

The Ministry built on that foundation delivering messages that landed back on Hebrews 13:6.  Each speaker continued the flow of thought and kept adding to the foundation—they presented with unique styles and based on individual experiences, but every gift worked together exhorting and solidifying the people.  The ministry (literally) brought out a feast.

Throughout the meeting we were moved by the Spirit of God, and on the last day, we left full of knowledge to grow.  The Saturday evening fellowship was something else (meet here next week for photos and fun memories of that night!)  Sharing a rundown with you—not casting pearls or spilling all the beans, just passing on a few highlights here and there that lifted us up.

The blog’s a little longer this week, but hey, you’re getting a chance to hear from 7 great men of God!

Grab a coffee, get comfy, and enjoy 🙂

1)  OUR APOSTLE, ELDER LAFLEUR

STAND FOR JESUS CHRIST

Hebrews 13:6-8  ^“So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.  Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God:  whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

We serve the same God who delivered three men from the fiery furnace in Daniel 3.  These three men flat out refused to bow down and took a stand for God.  Our fiery furnace is different today, but the God who delivered them out of King Nebuchadnezzar’s hand is the same One who will deliver us from our situations today.  We have to take a stand for Jesus.

Do what we are supposed to do in God’s Church.  Don’t butt into God’s business outside of church.  HE takes care of all that.

NUGGETS FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 2 AND 4

1 Corinthians 2:10  There are deep things of God.  “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

Vs. 13-14  Don’t try to get the natural man to like spiritual ways—it’s just not going to happen.  To the natural world, spiritual ways are foolishness.

1 Corinthians 4:2  It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.

Vs. 5  Don’t judge things before their time.

Vs. 7  Ministers, why are you glorying over things you received?  You didn’t come up with them; you received them.

Vs. 8  In times, you have acted like you’ve got everything.  Jesus was crucified for one reason–what He TAUGHT the Apostles.   And He only spoke the things His father taught Him (John 8:28).

Vs. 14  Paul did not write these things to shame the Church, but to warn them.

JESUS TAUGHT THE DISCIPLES

1 Corinthians 3  We have to get out of carnal thinking and be able to bear more than milk.

Hebrews 5 talks about strong meat being for those of full age and having too much milk make you unskillful in the Word of God.  You cannot be taught unless you listen.

Matthew 5  Jesus taught them (the disciples)…  be poor in spirit.  Don’t get mad or be in competition.

1 Corinthians 4:15  “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”  Vs. 20, His Kingdom is not in the word of man, but in the power of God.

YOU GO FIRST

James 4:8  Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to us.

“God spoke to me and told me to build at a time when no one had money.  Yet, look around.  He made a way.”  

Matthew 6  Trust God and seek His Kingdom, THEN, He will add things to us.

Isaiah 55:6  Seek Him.  He does not always seek us.  We have to seek Him to be saved.  Trust God and get to know Him.  Search Him.

Back to James 4:8.  Don’t be double-minded—you’re in and out.  Commit to the Lord and stay.

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

Jesus was strong.  Physically strong.  He threw people out of the temple (the money exchangers) and turned over their tables and their seats.  He walked in and physically brought the temple back to order—from a den of thieves back to the house of prayer.  Jesus did not do something He couldn’t back up.  He was not a weak man spiritually or naturally—He could have never carried that cross up Golgotha.

Matthew 16:24  “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Take up your cross and follow Him.  Things you are fighting—you won’t even realize—will drop off.  It is then that your main wrongs will start showing after the smaller things fall away.  Now, you have to battle the deep down stuff.  These will be your toughest battles.

IT IS NOT HARD (AT ALL) FOR US TO FOLLOW HIM

Rev 14:3-4  “And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.  These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.  These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”

We’re in this scripture.  It isn’t hard for us to follow Him.  We are not defiled, and we follow the lamb wherever He goes, and we do it willingly.

PATH TO RESTORATION

1 Corinthians 5:5  “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

The path to restoration may not always be pretty or smooth, but the good news is that people can be restored.

OUT OF THE VALLEY AND UP THE RIGHT MOUNTAIN

Obadiah 1:17-21  A reminder that because Esau sold his birthright, God will not even allow his children or descendants to survive—no one in the house of Esau will remain.  They will be consumed.  Keep climbing Mount Zion.

Joel 3:14  “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision:  for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”  We are not in the valley of decision anymore.

On Mount Zion the Lord will be the hope of His people.

2)  BROTHER PATRICK

We are in a race of endurance—steady like a marathon runner.

LEARN AND BE STEADFAST

Fall in love with His word and you will love His people.

God is immutable.  Elder is too.  That’s why God can use him.  The tribes were all positioned around the tabernacle, but the center (tabernacle) never changed… it was immutable.

When Christ died, the veil of the temple was rent allowing us to go “boldly to the throne of grace” for ourselves.  Come to church hungry—no matter how much you think you know.

We always need to remember the things God has done for us.  We can’t be so in love with where we were that we can’t move on.

SERVE AND PREPARE FOR THE BRIDEGROOM–CHRIST

Romans 12:1  Our reasonable service… the least we can do!  Being a living sacrifice is reasonable.

Eleazar went out looking for a physical bride.  Spiritually, the Holy Ghost is still looking for bride of Christ members.  Potential bride members must be prepared to serve willingly.

Don’t try to decide that someone is not bride material.  Would we have passed muster if we picked ourselves??

Hebrews 12:1  We are encompassed by a great cloud.  Testimonies of the saints are a great cloud that helps us lay things down and win the race before us.

Fellowship cannot be about commerce.  We have to know our bothers and sisters well enough to know when what we hear about them is not true.

FULL CIRCLE

Hebrews 13:1  We cannot continue in something if we never had it.

Vs. 2  Don’t judge people by how they look.

Vs. 3-4  Paul’s people were a well-taught group, but he knew they had to be reminded.  We must be reminded so we don’t let things slip.  Remember all the things that God has done for us.

Vs. 5  There has to be such a trust in our Apostle that we don’t covet anything others have.

ALL OF THAT…

“So that we may boldly say The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

“Thankful to be a team in this church.  We are doing this TOGETHER!!”

3)  BROTHER SUGGS

I was talking to Brother Kevin Wright one time, and he told me, “Righteousness will always prevail.”

TRUST AND OBEDIENCE

Do not remove the old landmarks.  Never forget where we came from and that the Elder met Brother Nick Gruick.

When we start lacking trust, that leads to disobedience.  Bible studies and other activities have promoted confidence.  All these things send ripples that we keep feeling.

Elder called S Jean all those years ago from Haiti and said, “I found it!”  You may not know what you found, but you found it.

In the Body of Christ, we move with the cloud (God gave the children in the wilderness a cloud to follow Him).

Ruth 3:8  Ruth lost all her sons.  She lost a lot.  But something in her soul longed to get back home.  We’ve all lost something.

Ruth 4:13  When you show obedience, God will restore your life.

HE IS WITH ME ALWAYS

Psalm 118:6  We go through fire, but we come out because we believe God is on our side and we don’t fear man.

Psalm 23:4 and Psalm 18:2  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:  for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”

I’ve been laying in bed at night and been comforted by knowing the Word and knowing God is with me.  When things go every which way, Trust in God.

Thankful we have a man of God on the scene.  Every time he’s been in the hospital, he gives Bible studies.  No matter what, he teaches the Word.

Luke 12:7  Like the song says, “He Knows Your Name”.

Vs. 9  If you deny God, He will deny you.

Vs. 32  ^“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

4)  BROTHER WRIGHT

Some people are ever learning, but they still never come to the knowledge of the truth.  No matter how well you quote the Word of God, you can be lost and not saved.

We operate in times and seasons, but the Word of God is timeless.

VERBAL VS. NONVERBAL BOLDNESS

Our boldness has to be tempered with experience and wisdom.

Actions speak louder than words.  The three Hebrew children were verbally bold in Daniel 3:16 when they told the king, “We are not careful to answer thee…”.  However, their boldness started before that statement.  When the king made a decree that opposed their beliefs, they had to choose whether they would obey God or man.  When faced with that decision, they chose to ignore the decree and continue their worship of the true God.  That action was nonverbal boldness.

JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS KNOWLEDGE?

The greatest in God’s kingdom is the servant.  The ministry are servants unto the people—they feed, instruct, and exhort.

Isaiah 54:13  “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.”  If children aren’t taught, what do they have confidence in??   When it comes to the issues of life, we need to know the Word of God.

Isaiah 33:6  “And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation:  the fear of the Lord is his treasure.”  Knowledge and wisdom are our stability.  Teaching is very important.  Jesus told the disciples to learn of him.

Hosea 4:6  God’s people were destroyed for lack of knowledge.  Because they didn’t want to learn, God rejected them and their children.  Don’t get galvanized in this world—politics, news—this world is not our home.

BOLD AND PEACEFUL

Hebrews 13:6  We can’t be bold for carnal reasons.  Boldness is not about being loud—you can be loud and wrong.  Jesus was bold and called names like fox, hypocrites, etc., but He had something to back it up.  Don’t talk it if we can’t walk it.  Be steadfast and unmovable–that is bold.

I Timothy 2:1-3  Pray for those in authority in our world.  Our goal is to have a peaceful life—the right spirit goes a long way with God.

Hebrews 13: 1-6  No channels were changed from “Let brotherly love continue” to “We may boldly say”.  These scriptures go with living a peaceful life.  Don’t create a ruckus or situation of calamity—lead a peaceful life in Godliness and Honesty.

WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE AND A MIND TO WORK

I Samuel 17:26, 36  Do we not believe we can take the giant?  Look, we’ve already taken lions and bears.

Nehemiah 4:1-2  Some are emboldened by their numbers, their henchmen, their roll dogs.  (We don’t want this boldness.)

Nehemiah 4:6  They sent a message by working to build the wall.  We’re sending the same message as we keep working and building the wall with God on our side.  The same God that helped them in Nehemiah is helping us (Hebrews 13:8).

Malachi 3:5-6  “For I am the Lord…” God does not change.  We change certain things with the climate—these are okay, buutt… we do not change the doctrine.

5)  BROTHER GIBBS

This church is enduring and everlasting.  We need to pray for people to have desire–you can’t do anything without desire.

ADVICE TO HEED

As a pastor of a church, I talked to the Elder one time and sought advice on getting people to listen.  He sort of laughed and gave me this wisdom:  “Lead them, Love them, Teach them–they’ll listen then.”

Over the years, Elder has taught and wrote the things of God in our hearts.

Leviticus 8  It took a man of God to pour the oil.  A proven ministry takes time.  Be very careful how you touch God’s anointed or His little ones.  Walk in the right way, not handling the Word of God deceitfully.

WE KNOW THE GOD WE SERVE–WE KNOW WHERE WE ARE

1 Samuel 17:23  The spirit of God rose up in David—he knew his God.  The children of God will always be able to fight for the Lord.

Vs. 34  We’ve had lions and bears come against us.  We’ve felt crushing defeat.  But when we cried to the Lord, He gave us help.  David went after the giant.  He Smote him.  He Slew him.  The giant went down because he had defied the armies of the living God.

John 6:44  We didn’t come here on our own.  God drew us.

Numbers 27  We have a watchman, an Apostle.  Vs. 17, he led us out of confusion and darkness.  Elder has shown us how to live, not just told us.  Don’t tell me about it.  Show me about it.

Psalm 78:70  When Brother Nick taught, Elder said it was gold.  When Elder teaches the Word of God to us, it’s gold.

Philippians 4:3  Our names are in the book of life.  We do not have to wonder and question, “What’s going on in the Church?  Where is the Church now?”  We know what’s going on.

Revelation 13:8 and Revelation 17:8  We are not going to wonder.  We know who we are and where we are.  We are under a ministry of light and life and our names are written in the Book of Life.  Amen.

6)  BROTHER GILL

“God never forced me.  He left the bread out for me to see.  I wasn’t looking for the Body of Christ, but God drew me here.”

There is a price you pay for education and getting close to the Lord.  If you ever get anything done (in Him), it will be through God in you.

Hebrews 13:5  No matter the storm, no matter the hell, God will keep you.  He will not leave or forsake you.  Man will do things against you, but no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17).  Through bad things we find out things we need to know.  We find out who loves us.

ACTS 16

Vs. 25  At midnight, all the doors were opened, not just for Paul and Silas.  God will open all the doors again (Revelation 3:21).

God prunes those who are His—we are being changed right before their eyes.  What was natural, fell away.  What is spiritual, stayed.  God has our situation in control and is delivering us.  He didn’t call us to miss this.

Vs. 28  We are ALL here—and not divided.

EVERYTHING WE NEED

Psalm 27:1-6  God has given us men of God who study and can teach us.  We bear with each other and work together.  Our expectation is not in this world or politics, but it is in God.  Vs. 3, Trust in the flesh, you will fall.  Trust in God, He will keep you.  We’re in a place where we can find more of the Lord.

“You can tell me how to lay stone, but I’m going to listen to someone who does it and knows what they’re doing.  If I want to know how to build a church, I’ll listen to Elder, who has built this church.”

Psalm 56:4  We have to believe and act on the Word.

Vs. 9  God is for me.  Say this and mean it.

WORKING AT NIGHT

2 Kings 6:14  The enemy always works at night—in the darkness—with evil intentions.

Vs. 16  “And he answered, Fear not:  for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”  Keep your thinking in the light.  God is our Helper.

Vs. 17  And don’t forget to pray.  God can open their eyes to see.  They can’t see through our eyes.  It takes the Lord to give them revelation.  Elder LaFleur is a positive man and God has kept him.  The same God will keep us.

DON’T BE SHAKEN

In January, Elder told us to look for the unseen things and you will see things God has.  If men of God are working for your good, they won’t speak out of their own heart.  Listen to them.

2 Kings 6:22  God will deliver something in your hand to see what you’ll do.  Elisha said to feed them—the enemy that was coming against them.

2 Kings 7:1  Our faith will be put to the test.  We are going to prove to God that we are with Him.

Vs. 7  They fled for their lives.  Elder sent this scripture to a meeting—2 Thessalonians 2:2  “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”

The mystery of iniquity does not work here.  It works in darkness, and we have too much light.  God brought iniquity into light for us to see.  2 Thessalonians 2:11, it is God who sends them strong delusion that they believe a lie.

Vs 10-12  The king lost his trust in Elisha.  Things may look bad sometimes, but don’t lose your trust in God or His man.  Don’t worry about your enemy hiding—God has your back.

THERE IS JOY IN THE HOUSE!

We show God we love the truth by doing it.  God is cleansing the Body of Christ and revealing to our Apostle bringing us to a higher level.  We have to come up—and have the right spirit.

(The presence of God filled the church as people received prayer.  Following God’s blessing on our fellowship, Brother Nobles closed out the meeting.)

7)  BROTHER NOBLES

CLOSED DOORS

Brother Nobles gave the final exhortation in the meeting with encouragement to use the teachings that were given to us so we can continue moving forward and in the direction God is leading us.  He gave us something the Lord told him.

“God is closing some doors in this meeting.  Doors are being closed behind us because we have moved on.”

Then he cautioned us not to go back or to get caught on the wrong side of the door once it closes.

Continuing on the same foundation, Brother Nobles left the people with confidence, hope, and zeal to move on to great things ahead that the Lord has for us!!