"And Let The Fight Begin"

Does it ever feel as if you are under a spiritual attack, or as if Satan has picked you out to pick on you? If you have ever asked this question, you deserve an answer. Sometimes we as people of God fail to realize how much power we have. We fail to recognize the level of threat we oppose on Satan and the Kingdom of Hell. The bible saids in Mark 16:17; "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;". Verse 18 continues; "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Do not be deceived my friend, you have more power than you think. If you have been born of water and of the Spirit, then you have been given a power. The Gates of Hell cannot prevail against you. There is no weapon that is formed against that will prosper.

The enemy of your soul has set out to destroy you. We are in a war, and you are under attack. Evidently, the eyes of the enemy has focused in on. You have become a serious threat. You may be a teenager striving to live for God, and it seems like everybody is against your decision. Friends and family may seem to be against you and turn their backs on you. You have to be strong and put on the whole armour of God. It's time to stand on Truth and fight. Ephesians 6:11; "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. It is vital that you become strong in the faith and in the doctrine and in the gospel. Satan desires to sift you as wheat. He wants to shut you up. He wants to you to forget about your testimony and silence it. You must understand, that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. You can overcome these principalities and powers. You don't have to be defeated. Colossians 1:16 teaches us; "For by him were all things created, that are in heaaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or PRINCIPALITIES, or POWERS: all things were created by him, and for him:". Colossians 2:10; "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all PRINCIPALITY and POWER:" As you have become a threat to the enemy and he desires to sift you, Jesus said, "I have prayed that your FAITH fail not."

If you are a new convert or not so new, you must be strong and settled. I encourage you, along with the apostle Paul, to stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of thw Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perserverance and supplication for all saints.

Finally, Colossians 1:23 I will tie in with Colossians 1:22. "If ye continue in the faith GROUNDED and SETTLED, and be NOT MOVED AWAY from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; you will be presented holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

God Bless.

Troyce D. Mack

ARC - United Pentecostal Church

7 Berkeley Street

Manning, SC 29102

David W. Gleason, Pastor

"The Joy of The Lord"

Decisions, decisions, and more decisions. The process of deciding or by making a judgment. Life is so full of decisions. Everywhere you look, there is a decision to be made. When the alarm goes off in the morning, you make a decision to stay asleep or to get up. You decide what you will wear and what you will eat. These decisions are very minute and doesn't make a big deal one way or another. But there are also decisions that must be made that can cost you your very life if the decision made is error. We must ensure that we make the right decisions daily.

It is often said among us, that Jesus is a perfect Gentleman. He will not impose Himself upon us. When He took the dust of the ground and made mankind, He made us free moral agents. This means we have our own wills and are free to satisfy them. Let me tell you what kisses the Heart of God. When a human being, with all of his knowledge, wisdom, and self-will chooses to follow after the things of God and reject the things of the world. You can do anything you want to do in this wealthy and plentiful world. There is no one that can stop you from doing what you want. You have your own will and God can not and He will not rise up against your will. But when you say, "Not my will, but Thine be done", it instantly becomes the Joy of the Lord.

Some times the Will of God can be a tough pill to swallow. You may not fully understand, thus, it is His will. We become strengthened when we yield to His will. For it is written, "...for the joy of the Lord is your strength." The joy of the Lord is when a free moral agent forfeits his will for God's will, this is the joy of the Lord. Are you looking for joy, peace, happiness, and strength then you should totally submit to the will of God. Make that decision today, because your life depends on it. Do you want to go to Heaven or Hell? Choose ye this day my friend. You must be born again of the water and of the Spirit. In other words, You must repent of your sin, be baptized in water by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ, and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. You must make a decision. Will it be YES or NO. Some people just don't make a decision at all, for different reasons. Maybe they are not quite ready to submit, but what they don't know is that being indecisive is a decision in itself. God wants a yes from you, for this is the Joy of the Lord!

    Troyce Mack

        

          7 Berkeley Street

         Manning, SC 29102

   Pastor David W. Gleason; Sr.

I Know Who I Am!

Have you taken the time to look around lately? If you did, you probably have found something similar to what I've found. Everyday it appears that there are people walking this earth and living life with no care. Well, of course, everyone is living their life and this is very normal. The problem is, people don't really know who they are, they don't know why they are here, they don't know how they are here, and they definately don't have a clue on how to get out of here when that very appointed second arrives for their departure.

It was stated earlier that just simply living the clueless everyday life is indeed normal. You see, the problem with this world is, there are absolutely too many normal folk around. If this is normal, then I want to be STRANGE. I don't want to be normal.

I know who I am, I know why I am here, I know how I am here, and I know how to be saved. I am a Christian. Many people have a messed up perception of what Christianity is. We think we are born a Christian, but this is no where near the Truth. A person is never born a Christian, but he is BORN AGAIN a Christian. For it is written, "....Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 3:5. You must be born again.

So here it is, I am a Born again of water and of the Spirit Christian. What exactly does this mean? Well, I have been baptized in the Name of Jesus Chirst for the remission of my sin, this is the "WATER". I have been filled with the Spirit of God, by faith and by the Grace of God. When I received the Holy Ghost, I bagan to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance, just like it said in the written Scripture. This is being born of the Spirit. Now I have truelly become a Christian. I am a Pentecostal. Don't get it wrong, Pentecostal is not some denomination, it is an experience. On the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, the 120 were filled with the Holy Ghost and are known as Pentecostals. I am a Pentecostal because I received this same experience, the Holy Ghost! But wait there's more. I am not just a Pentecostal, I am an Apostolic Pentecostal. Apostolic is not some denomination, it is a doctrine. Apostolics teach and preach exactly what the Apostles of old taught and preached. The Apostles preached, "The Oneness of God - Jesus is God manifested in Flesh", Water baptism in Name of Jesus Christ", The Infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with tongues", Holiness - Seperation from the world", "Modesty", "Gifts of the Spirit", "Fruit of the Spirit", and many other precious teachings of the Apostles given by Jesus Christ. One more nugget for you today; Holiness is not a denomination, it is a way of life, it is a lifestyle.

The norm is people living their lives with the false perception of Christianity. Again, I don't want to be normal, so I will search the scriptures and do all that it takes to ensure that I am saved in the end. You must be born again my friend.


Troyce Mack

7 Berkeley St.

Manning, SC 29102

Pastor David W. Gleason; Sr.