Celebrate Jesus! Ministries Fellowship

* CELEBRATE JESUS! MINISTRIES FELLOWSHIP PURPOSE: * To teach, preach, learn and study 'Basic Bible Truths' New Testament principles to develop mature Christians that will be able ministers of God's Salvation; and Life to every born-again Christian to be a witness of His forgiveness & available salvation through Jesus finished work at the Cross of Calvary. * To encourage those God call to service to Jesus Body, the Church, in 5-fold ministry - some Apostles, some Prophets, some pastors and teachers, evangelists, while others are called to administration & organization, ministry of help & such as He appoints them from time to time as He wills.

To help us in our walk to be effective as Christians in our own daily living and ministry to others we must first be "more than conquerors" in the battlefield of our own minds. * Prov. 23:7 reads: "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." * As we read the Bible we can see examples of godly men and women of God that sin because first they entertained a thought... All sin is first born in our mind through our thoughts, so we must have control over our mind and thoughts to live a life pleasing to God. Therefore, because of all that above - the Lord is giving an open door of ministry from His place to start in Lockport, NY to CELEBRATE JESUS! MINISTRIES FELLOWSHIP as the focus to reach out to souls in the Niagara Frontier, New York (USA) to start in 2010 a teaching and learning outreach as ZOE - 'Basic Bible Truths' School of the Bible, with fundamental series starting with Joyce Meyer's in-depth "The Battlefield of the Mind" because no matter how much we love Jesus and pursue to obey all commandments Jesus gave us as recorded in the Gospels, we will not be successful in having a Christian life until we get control of our thought life and the words that we speak daily as Jesus tells in the Gospels that sin starts in the mind, with a thought.

A few weeks ago while spending time with the Lord, I had this question on my heart. "What are Your plans for me & for my ministry?" From deep within my spirit I heard these words. "This coming year will be the year of the church." My first question was this. "What does it mean that 2009 will be the year of the church?" The church was here this year & last year. In fact, the church has been on the Earth every year since the time Jesus put His blood on the Mercy Seat. When Jesus became the first fruits into the Kingdom & became the firstborn among many brethren, the church was established. Jesus then took His position as the head of the church & all who received Him became a part of His body. The church has existed for centuries, so what does it mean "2010 is the year of the church?" Over the last few weeks I have meditated on this & God has spoken clearly to my heart. As for me & those who attend my church & receive from this ministry, 2009 is the year for every member of the church {His Body} to stand up & be the church. The time that once was future is now here. We are truly living in the last moments of the last days. We are the generation that will usher in the return of the Messiah. The waiting is over & the time is at hand for the church to stand up & operate in the power and authority that was prophesied by Jesus.

* 2010 is the Year for the Church to Stand Up and Be the Church: It is time for the church to quit being "seeker friendly" & become "Holy Spirit friendly." When the world looks at Christians, they should see the light shining in such a way that they are drawn to a loving God instead of being drawn to God's stuff. While it is true that God wants to prosper every believer physically & financially, the gift should not receive more glory than the giver. Jesus told us that Christians were to be fishers of men, but a BMW or a Mercedes should not be the bait on the hook. Now don't take me wrong. There is nothing wrong with owning a BMW or a Mercedes. Personally, a silver BMW Z-4 is a beautiful car & there is nothing wrong with having one. If you see one in the Pastor's parking spot at church, it's okay. God doesn't mind. However, the motivation of Jesus being pierced with nails & dying on the cross was not so you could have a new BMW & it shouldn't be your motivation for spreading the gospel either. We should attract people to a loving God in such a way that they will love Him more than His stuff. Many people in the local church they attend are hurting, offended, & bitter. I heard a man say last week that life had been bad to him. While it may be true that the world has treated him poorly, God is a good God & His plan is full of goodness. It's time for the church to get over bitterness, discouragement, depression, & fear of people. This is the year the church must take a stand & proclaim the Word to the world with strength & authority. Psalm 119:165 says, "Great peace have they which love Thy law & nothing shall offend them." The church must quit talking about what the world has done to them & start talking about what God has done for them. This is the time, this is the year for the church to stand up & be the church. While in Old Jerusalem, a storekeeper told me that Christians often leave tracts in his store hoping that he will find them & receive Jesus. He made an interesting statement to me. He said, "Instead of Christians leaving a tract, they should become a living tract, and then being a Christian would be attractive." It's time for Christians to quit talking about what they are in the world & be who they are to the world.

* 2010 is the Year the Church Walks in Correction: As a pastor, I have discovered that people enjoy coming to me for advice & they accept it as long as the answer is what they want to hear. We must develop the ministry of receiving the word "no" To hear quickly, & to be obedient without question makes one usable to God. Over the years I've had many approach me about their call into the ministry. There are those who truly will do whatever God calls them to do, but there are also many who will only answer the call if it involves a platform, podium, microphone, & cameras. There is nothing wrong with being famous. The Bible says that Jesus fame spread throughout the country & multitudes came to hear him. Jesus didn't seek fame, but used it as a tool. Likewise, fame should never be a ministry goal. In order for the church to be the church, Christians must be obedient to every word & not just to the ones they want to receive. We must go where He tells us to go, or stay where He tells us to stay without regard to fame or fortune. The Blessing will chase you down & catch you, but The Blessing only travels on the street named Obedience. God's Word may be served on a table, but it's not a smorgasbord. There are desserts, but you must also eat the vegetables. My wife, Loretta, is devoted to prayer. Privately she spends time in prayer, but also hosts several prayer sessions each week. I recently heard someone say that they were not going to prayer because they didn't get a lot out of prayer meetings. It reminded me of the time that a couple met me in my office to inform me that they were no longer going to work with children because no one appreciated what they were doing. When did appreciation become the motivation for ministry? When did we start judging prayer by how much we got out of it? Much of the focus has been wrong and needs to be corrected. We were created to worship Him. When we pray, we pray to the Father. If talking to the Father does not bring satisfaction, then an adjustment needs to be made & it's not the Father that needs to be adjusted. 2009 is the year the church walks in correction.

* 2010 is the Year the Church Must Obey Without Hesitation: The church has been commanded to "go ye therefore and make disciples." Whether or not you feel appreciated while doing it, is irrelevant. It's a command. Imagine how an army would function during a time of war if each soldier decided himself whether or not he