Hi everyone!  We’re preparing to gather in Riverside this week!  The meeting will not only advance the Kingdom of God, but also personally impact every individual.

Think:  one meeting could change your life.

Pray for the ministry and safety of all who are traveling.  Whether traveling or spending late hours preparing to host, everyone arrives feeling refreshed, energized, and insanely inspired to dive into what God has in store.

We’re a strong church, but as time gets closer, we’re going to be stronger than you think.  It’s coming.  Whoever you are, and wherever your journey has taken you, we’d love to see you this week at the Riverside Meeting!  Join us as we gather united, to lift up the name above all names that carries life, truth, power, and salvation <3

The excitement is palpable, and the eagerness of those traveling is like kids the night before going to Disney World.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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The Riverside General Meeting and how it has nothing to do with playing church, going through the motions of religious traditions, or copying the most current church trends.  Lives are at stake, so those are not an option.

This meeting is about hungering and thirsting for righteousness and getting so serious in our relationship with God that we draw a line in the sand.  Decide that even though our soul was made subject to the carnal mind, as Jesus brought His under subjection, we will keep our hope and patience to do the same, manifesting as sons and daughters of God.

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  –Romans 8:19-21

Put Down The Giant Foam Finger

Have we gotten so accustomed to our “preferred style” of church that we have forgotten how and why it all started in the first place?  Why did the early church believers fully commit and give their very lives for it?  What is our purpose when we go to church?

If the book of Acts shows us anything, it’s that being a Christian is about much more than being a fan of Jesus.  It’s about us being dedicated, whole-hearted followers of Him.

Everybody Just Pretend Like We’re In Acts 2

Familiarity is a thief to our fervor in hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  It dulls thankfulness and diminishes enthusiasm.

Whether you’re someone who didn’t go to church as a child, someone who just got saved, someone brand new to His Church, or someone who’s been around church their entire lives—keep knocking until it changes everything.

Jesus did great things for the early church in Acts.  We weren’t there that day in Jerusalem, but He found us worthy to receive the same Holy Ghost.  Like the disciples, He chose us to be part of His church and preach the truth.  May we never lose sight or take for granted the magnitude of that calling.

Gather ‘Round

Fifty days after Passover, Pentecost comes around.  As the apostles and believers were in one accord in one place, a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind filled the house where they were sitting.  Tornado?  Nope, God is pouring out His Spirit on them.  They are being filled with the Holy Ghost.  Other Jewish folks in Jerusalem heard the ruckus and ran to check it out.  Some stood in awe and others thought they were drunk.

Peter begins to speak telling them that what is happening here is everything the prophet Joel said would happen.  Peter quotes a couple Psalms that prove Jesus is the Messiah, for whom they have all been waiting.

A crowd of 3,000 have gathered since Peter started preaching.  They all decide to repent and be baptized so that their sins can be forgiven.  Their hearts are pricked and they ask the apostles what they must do?

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.  –Acts 2:38-41

These new Christians spend their time with the apostles and each other, breaking bread as they go house to house, praying, praising, receiving the Word with singleness in heart, and working in the Church.

Good times abound.

God has poured out His Spirit on us, individually and collectively as a church.  Don’t let what He put in us die.  Acts 2 was only the beginning.  There was a lot more to do.  The saints gave their lives to help build the church.  They could not have labored and lived lives of strength if they had not kept what happened in Acts 2 alive.

Take My Cash Money

Not exactly.  This is the best investment you’ll ever come across, but not monetary.

Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.  –Acts 8:15-20

It All Sounds So Familiar

Are we caught up in our own realities to the point we aren’t hungry or thirsty for righteousness?  Are we still expectant for what God has for us?  Are we coming to God already full from the world?

Thank you, next.

Some things should never become so familiar that they’re no longer special.  There is nothing “everyday” about Jesus pouring out His soul unto death so we could overcome sin and live forever.  There is nothing “everyday” about revelations God gives directly to you.  When He reveals truth to you, it’s between no one else in the world—just you and Him.

Sounds Random, Right?  Wrong.

It’s funny how you can be surrounded by so many people, yet a feeling of not belonging, loneliness, homesickness, or wondering if you’ll ever find “your people” creeps in.  You feel like you’re the only one who is going through this trial.

God doesn’t lead you somewhere to leave you alone, without a family.  God has a people out here, and yes, we bump into each other sometimes refining and making each other better, smoother, more able to withstand rough waters, or enjoy smooth sailing that lets us restore our strength.  How do we manage to stay together through thick and thin?

We are knitted together by the truth and our love for Jesus.

You Are Who You Surround Yourself With

Protect your space, and guard the circle around you.  Seek friendships with strong saints in the church and hear what they have learned on this journey so far.  You’ll find they’ve experienced fear, loss, and heartache, and the fact that they’re still here means they found their courage.

We’re not here for only the truth that makes us feel good.  We’re here to make it all the way to the end.  We need the Lord to do that, but we also need His Family.

GPS, Get Me There

If you’re hungering and thirsting for more of God, put us in your GPS.  The saints at Riverside and all those traveling to get there, welcome you.  We’re expecting great things to happen as we gather in His presence and in one accord for this meeting!!!

We’ll save you a seat!