Thursday, March 22, 2012

Feast Of The Heart II

It is common to hear people say “I am my own master”. In other words, nobody has the right to tell me what to do, except me. I take care of myself and do what I want, when I want. I am my own boss.

In a way, this makes total sense because we are the kings of our own lives. However, whether you want to accept it or not, there is a spiritual king who has complete reign over your life: the King of Light or the king of darkness. Of the seven billion people in this world, each one has a palace where feasts are held for their guests.
We already know which foods appeal the most to the king of darkness, which is the devil, and his guests, the demons.

If, on one hand, demons are attracted to the feast in the palace of the heart, on the other hand, the King of Light –the Lord Jesus– is attracted by the aroma of delicious foods that awaken the desire for Him to come into the heart and once there, dine with the host in perfect communion.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3.20

Take a look at this list of foods that appeal to the King of Light:

Plate 1 – Sincerity
Plate 2 – Acknowledging your insignificance
Plate 3 – Complete surrender
Plate 4 – Confession of sins
Plate 5 – Renounce (sacrifice)
Plate 6 – Obedience to the Word of God
Plate 7 – Rational Faith
Plate 8 – Thirst for the Holy Spirit
Plate 9 – Faithful in everything, including tithes
Plate 10 – Baptism in Water

These are some of the foods that the King of Light finds appealing, when He finds someone willing to give up their own reign to offer it to Him, who is nothing more or nothing less, than the Author of life. This gives us a better understanding why He is called "King of kings". We are the kings of our lives and He reigns over us. Isn’t that wonderful, Assistants and all other readers?

"And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19.16

God bless you all
Bishop Sergio Correa

An Audacious Faith Is Violent

Rational faith is audacious, violent, bold and supernatural.

It is violent because it refuses to believe in the God of Abraham and live like Lazarus;

It is violent because it refuses to believe in the God of Moses and remain enslaved by the Egyptians;

It is violent because it refuses to believe in the God of Joshua and not obtain His promises;

It is violent because it refuses to believe in the God of Gideon, be called a Christian and continue being humiliated by the enemy;

It is violent because it believes that the God of David remains the same and will not allow the Goliaths of today to prevail;

It is violent because His Son has already overcome the principalities and powers of darkness, therefore it is unacceptable that they remain in control;

It is violent because the Kingdom of Heaven must be taken by force;

It is violent because, although He is the God of peace, He promised to crush Satan under our feet. Romans 16.20;

It is violent because it is constantly revolted and at war against the forces of darkness.

Rational faith is violently against the things of this world and the world is against those who possess it. This is why those who possess it are God’s friend and the devil’s enemy.

"Whoever, therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
James 4.4

What Does ' To Live By Faith' Mean?

Worldly people will never understand what it means to live by faith. They will only understand after the god of this world, who has blinded them, is cast out.

The words of faith sound foolish to this world because they are the language of God.

To live by faith seems foolish to this world, just like living by the rules of this world seems foolish to those who live by faith. They are two different worlds, radically opposed to one another.

This is such a serious matter that those who love the world are considered enemies of God.

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4.4 NKJV

Those who love the world only understand the language of self-glorification, fame, success, vanity, sex, money, power and luxuries; that is, everything that has to do with material gain. They care for and idolize their material possessions. While alive, they are solely focused on fulfilling their own desires.

How can these people possibly understand the language of God or of the faith?

On the other hand, the wise listen to the Word of the Almighty. Like it is written:
"For yet a little while and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." Hebrews 10.37-38

Opposite from the world, those who live by faith prioritize their spirit by nourishing it with the Word of God. They keep their soul from sin, but also do not ignore material gain.

To live by faith is to live in righteousness and by the justice of God. It is a life according to the discipline of His Word. Live each day in complete dependence on Him.

This is His just.

Testimony-A Pastor's Daughter

Hello, Mrs. Marcia!
I would like to share my testimony with you, so I decided to write you this email.
My name is Camila Martins, I'm 18 years old, my father is a pastor and I’ve been an Assistant for 3 years.

I was 3 years old when my parents began doing the work of God. At the age of 5, I was sexually abused by a relative, who was 10 years old at the time. Around the age of 7, I started having serious spiritual problems. I saw shadows, heard voices, had constant nightmares, always felt nervous and couldn’t relate to the other children at school. Because of all that I did not develop my skills as quickly as the others. My teachers suggested that I go see a psychologist.
Besides that, I had health problems as well. I suffered from constant earaches and hair loss. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was causing this and none of the medicine they prescribed solved the problems.

From the age of 13 on, my problems worsened and the traumas from the past came back full force. I started hating God because I blamed Him for my pain and suffering. I hated my relative for abusing me; I felt great anger, disgust and hate towards all men.

I remember an incident where my father and I were leaving the Church and a pastor, who also happened to be a family friend, came to greet us with a hug. When he came close and I smelled his scent, I wanted to vomit. But, I managed to hold it in. Despite being a family friend, a companion of faith and work, I disliked him because he was a man.

At school, I started acting different. I started dressing like a boy, using vulgar language, lying, faking my father’s signature to leave school early and I hated all the boys at school.

When I was in Church, I was completely different. I dressed properly and was well behaved, but I didn’t like attending Church meetings, especially on Friday.

I had so much hate built up inside and I no longer cared. One Sunday, during the meeting, while the pastor was seeking the Holy Spirit, I crossed my arms and kept my eyes open. After the meeting, an Assistant came over and spoke to me. She said that I had to accept Jesus and that I shouldn’t wait to hit rock bottom to seek Him.
I simply got up, turned my back to her and walked away. From that moment on, my life went completely downhill. The trauma I thought I had already buried in the past became a reality.

From one week to the next, my attitude changed and I decided to approach the older boys at school. I wanted to be just like them: the way they spoke, acted and dressed. I joined the school soccer team and started having feelings for a girl.
The only reason I never had a relationship with her was because I was scared the UCKG would find out and remove my parents from doing the work of God. That was my train of thought; I wasn’t worried because it was an abomination to God.

One day, that same girl introduced me to her god and explained that if I served him, he would give me everything I asked for. I knew she was talking about the devil, but even then, I began to follow her advice and I even ended up asking him for something. I hated this guy from school (I hated everyone, for that matter), so I asked the devil to make him have a motorcycle accident and break his right leg. Said and done, it happened the very next day.
Even the kids at school said that I needed God in my life, but I always replied: "I don’t need that guy. If He wants my life, He is going to have to prove that He’s actually good."

Time passed and I became addicted to pornography – movies, magazines, internet, etc. I masturbated every day. And the fact that I started asking the devil for favors began to weigh heavy on my shoulders. Demons started visiting me every night and abused me. It was horrible and it wasn’t only one, there were many because it lasted a long time and this would go on several times throughout the night.
I couldn’t see them, but I felt them. It was as though a man was on top of me and I couldn’t react or yell out for help. I felt depressed, nervous and cried all the time, but I never told anyone, not even my parents.
I knew God could help me get out of this situation, but the hate I carried inside was so great that it wouldn’t allow me to surrender my life God. I was in a sad situation.

However, one day as I was going to bed, knowing that they would come and abuse me again, I began crying. I was so tired of that whole situation. As I lay in bed, I remembered the Assistant coming over to speak to me and what she had said. I cried out the name of Jesus, I cried like a child and implored Jesus to save me.

That day, I was able to sleep in peace. It still took me a while after this happened to acknowledge that Jesus was the only One powerful enough to save me. Two months later, we were transferred to another Church and that’s when I decided to truly surrender my life to Jesus. I started going to church every day. I sought my deliverance, I sought the Holy Spirit without fear or shame of what the other pastors’ children or Assistants would say...

In four months, I was delivered and baptized with the Holy Spirit. I understood that the Spirit of God was the guarantee that I would never fall away from the faith again. But, in order to receive the Holy Spirit I had to do something that seemed impossible: forgive!
I was able to forgive the young man that abused me and all the other people I harbored so much hate against. That’s when I received the Holy Spirit and everything changed!

I am a new person. I'm no longer nervous all the time or rebellious. I don’t have any sicknesses, nor do past traumas affect my life in the present or future. I have no fears, grief or sadness. I no longer need pornography or masturbation to fill the void I had inside. Demons no longer visit me at night to abuse me. Now, I can help those who are suffering just like I was suffering.

Today, I can help other pastor’s children who are suffering in a world of promiscuity, addiction, homosexuality and are unable to break free; Assistants, who are women of God, but suffer because of a past trauma and although they have been reborn, it’s still too much for them to handle.

Mrs. Marcia it is very important that we come to these people’s rescue because many pastor’s children are suffering alone. Their parents don’t even imagine what they are going through, just like mine didn’t know either.

Today, I can sincerely say that there is nothing more important than having your life in the hands of God. The love of a father, mother, sibling or loved one can never compare to the love of Jesus!
Kisses
May God bless you more and more!

Collaboration: Marcia Panceiro

An Ex-Pastor's Daughter's Testimony


In February, I experienced something wonderful: my sacrifice was finally answered.

During the Campaign of Israel, I asked God to transform my family, especially my parents, who committed a great mistake by joining the World Church.

One day, I was listening to Bishop Macedo’s program and I heard the devil speaking about the World Church. At that very moment, I called my mother over and had her watch it with me. She just remained quiet, as she thought about everything she saw.

That same week, my father announced he wanted to leave the church. So I began praying even harder to tie-up whatever demons would try to stop him. But, God had already transformed him.

The next day, my father decided to tell the leader of the church that he was leaving. However, the devil was not willing to give up so easily. During that week, they constantly called him, offering him a better job with a higher position. This is because the World church takes into consideration how long the pastor served at the Universal Church. In other words, the longer he was a pastor at the UCKG, the better.

But I was sure that God had already transformed my father. Today, for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus, both of my parents are no longer a part of that lie. My father said he would never go back there again, he is very happy.

Now, I see him genuinely smiling and there is peace in his words and actions. My mom said he is praying every night, which is something he had not done in a long time. I am so happy about this great victory. I pray that they find the way back to the Lord Jesus.

Everything we place on the altar with all of our heart, God sees and does not forget. He may even take some time in answering, but when the time is right, He blesses us.

Helena

No faith,No will to Live,No Anything

Do you know when a person thinks to themselves: "I'm completely lost, I have nothing left, there is nothing to lose, so it’s all or nothing, life or death. If I live, I live and if I die, I die."
And they decide to dive into the world of crime.

When a religious person is living in sin, he begins to think just like this criminal.
"Since I'm already lost anyways, one more mistake or one less mistake won’t change my spiritual state. I have been going to church, I’ve kept my vows and nothing..."
This kind of reminds me of the story of the young man and the harlot in Proverbs 7.6-23.
And this is where people become discouraged and give up the fight.

Many people say, "My faith is not like theirs. I feel empty and discouraged.
I HAVE NO FAITH, NO WILL TO LIVE, NO ANYTHING ...
I have led a meaningless life.
If God wants to help me, He has to do it on His own, because my strengths have faded away.
Sometimes I feel like I'm in a quicksand pit and there is no way out. The more I move, the faster I sink.
Who can help me?"

Answer:

Although you don’t have the strength to fight, you have the strength to continue living in sin, isn’t that right?
The strength you have been using to sin can be used to make things right.
This is what we call faith.

Faith is power. It serves for good or for evil, depending on the will of its owner.
Faith is obedience. When you use this power to obey the Word of God, your life will never be the same.
Without this obedience to the Word of God, you will not see His results.

Church attendance and loyalty to some easy things to practice are important.
However, nothing is more effective in solving problems than the sacrifice of sin.
Sin neutralizes faith and hinders the action of the Holy Spirit.

My Father, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, remove the spirit that has prevented Your people from thinking.

God bless you.

Fear in Faith

I believe that there is nothing more valuable in this world than the assurance of our soul’s salvation.
It was not, it is not and it will not be easy to fight the good fight and keep the faith. But God’s divine mercy has always found me.

What is the secret behind attaining and keeping your salvation?
Obedience to the Word of God.
This cost me to sacrifice the sins of my youth. It cost me to sacrifice idolizing my mother, forgive my oppressors, run away from the wrong crowd, suffer injustices without being able to do anything about it...

During this long journey, I have carried my sacrificial cross on a daily basis.
It was hard, but never beyond my limits. Especially, since my salvation has always been the most important thing in my life.
I took no shortcuts or breaks. It was worth living through each sacrifice in order to keep my salvation.
Keeping a clean conscience and moving forward without looking back, was and has been key in building the foundation of my faith.

Like an evil spirit, sin haunts its victim causing him to become discouraged and eventually disobeying.
I have learned that whoever we obey is our master.
If we obey sin, it becomes our master and an obstacle blocking God’s promises.
If we obey the Word of God, then Jesus is our Lord and all His promises shall come upon you and overtake you. Deuteronomy 28.2

I have learned that faith in God has nothing to do with emotions. It can be summed up into the obedience of His Word.
In conclusion, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I have found a priceless pearl, a hidden treasure and have achieved my salvation.
But it will only be definitely mine if I remain in the faith until death.