And Jesus said, "Come!"

Pastor Gary Stebbins, Church on the Rock - Melbourne
May 27, 2010


It is easy in this current season to be fearful and intimidated by any number of situations that we see going on in the world around us. Perhaps you are facing some serious challenges in your own life. I believe Jesus is saying, "Come!"

As we move into the summer months, I do not believe this is a time to drawback out of fear nor to embrace the summer months as the “lazy, crazy days of summer.”

In Mark chapter 8, we see Jesus ministering to over 4000 people in a desolate area. He felt compassion for them because they had been with Him for three days with nothing to eat. Jesus was very interested in the spiritual needs of people, but He also recognized their physical needs.

Jesus felt compassion for those who exerted the effort to go out to the wilderness and be with Him for three days, to sit under His teaching, and to experience His miraculous power. He could not minister to those who were not there. His compassion and ministry was extended to those who pursued Him, those who were present with Him in that desolate place.

In Matthew 14 we have another story where the disciples are in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. Jesus comes up to the boat walking on the water. One of the twelve disciples cries out to Jesus and says, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Jesus' response was "Come!" Peter gets out of the boat and walks on water with Jesus. He experienced something the other eleven disciples did not, because he made an effort to cry out to Jesus and was willing to step out in faith.

God always responds to those who make the effort to pursue Him and His presence. Those who did not spend three days with Jesus did not experience His compassion and provision. Those who remained in the boat and did not cry out to Jesus did not walk on water.

As I was praying this past week at early morning prayer , I felt God was saying that this was a “get out of the boat” season of time. I believe this is a season to cry out to God and ask Him to “command” us to “step out of the boat” so that we move into God's purposes for our lives and for the church in this season in which we live.

Are you ready to make every effort you can to pursue the presence of God and experience the fulness of His blessing and provision?

It is time to pray, to cry out to God.

Are you ready to ask God to command you to step out of your boat into His Kingdom purposes for your life?

What Motivates You?

Pastor Larry Booth - Our Father's House, Satellite Beach

May 18, 2010

“And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE TIMES MOTIVATES ME TO PRAY AND TO SEEK THE FACE OF THE LORD.

I find myself being drawn toward reading the last several prophetic discourses of Jesus found in Matthew 24 and in Luke 21 on a regular basis. The graphic descriptions of the times in which we live are found in these texts of the Gospels and are motivators for me to pray and seek GOD with passion and intent. How about you???

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO PRAY AND SEEK GOD?

With our American bent on extreme selfishness and self-centered living, most of us seem to need some kind of personal inconvenience or trouble to get motivated to pray and seek GOD. Does this sound familiar? Yes…we could say the circumstances and personal troubles can jump start our prayer life, but I believe a higher motivation should be the Word of GOD.

For more than 30 years now, my daily practice has been to spend time in God’s Word reading from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Over the last few years, the prophetic portions of Scripture have tugged on my heart like never before in my life. I believe this is truly Spirit-led. The Holy Spirit wants us to be ignited and drawn into the season and hour in which prophetic Scriptures are leaping off the page and crying out like a trumpet blast to tell us…now is the time!!!

SO FRIENDS…READ THE PROPHETS!!! READ THE WORDS OF THE GREATEST PROPHET OF ALL TIMES…JESUS OF NAZARETH…MAY YOU BECOME MOTIVATED TO PRAY AND SEEK HIS FACE MORE THAN EVER!!!

Have you taken you position on the wall?

Pastor Gary Stebbins -COTR-Melbourne, May 10, 2010


We are living in a critical time in the history of our nation. Our lives, our society, our nation, will be governed either by the Spirit of God or the spirit of darkness. There is no middle ground. We either serve the Living God or the prince and power of the air, which is Satan. We either allow Christ to rule our lives or the spirit of the antichrist will.

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour (1 Jn 2:18).

An antichrist is anyone who denies God the Father and Jesus the Son.

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son (1 Jn 2:22).

The antichrist spirit stands in opposition to God and His ways. The battle of the last days will be between the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of the antichrist. The church, under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit, is a force that the powers of darkness will not be able to stand against.

"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it (Matt 16:18).

One of the disciplines that brings strength to the church is prayer. Personal, private times of prayer are important, but there is strength in numbers. Our efforts are multiplied when we pray together.

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isa 62:6-7).

We are called to be watchmen, to stand in the gap for our nation and for all mankind. We are called to intercede for each other, our families, our community, and the world. Nothing God wills to do on earth will happen without prayer. When believers pray together in agreement with each other and with God, nothing will be impossible to them.

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matt 18:19-20).

There is great power in a church that unites itself together in prayer. God is calling His church to prayer. In Acts 12, Peter has been arrested and thrown into prison by King Herod. Herod’s intent was to kill Peter like he had done to James. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appears to Peter and leads him out of the prison and sets him free.

And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying (Act 12:12).

Peter’s deliverance was the result of people gathering together to pray. Corporate prayer is perhaps our strongest weapon against the spirit of the antichrist. That is why Satan works hard to distract, divide, and destroy unity in the church.

God moves when His people unite themselves together in prayer. Spending time together in prayer will not only move heaven, it will change us. Praying together with others brings us into unity and sets us in place as watchman.

Do you pray?

Have you taken your position on the wall with others?

Voice of the Lord

Pastor Tim Franklin - Freedom Christian Center

April 29, 2010

Ps. 29:9 “The voice of the Lord causes the deer to give birth…”

Awesome is the voice of the Lord! It strikes terror in the heart, like the roar of the lion. It soothes and comforts like a mother over her child. It creates, it destroys, it raises up and brings down. Awesome is the voice of the Lord! Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice and listen and follow.”

In Psalm 29, ‘the voice of the Lord’ expression is used eight different times. The Voice of the Lord is over the waters, is full of majesty, breaks cedars, divides flames of fire, shakes the wilderness and makes deer give birth. Awesome is the voice of the Lord!

I heard the voice of the Lord say today, “there is a slowing down of spiritual birthings.” Upon hearing that, I immediately thought of Ps. 29:9 “that it is the voice of the Lord that causes the deer to give birth.” It is amazing, the things that have come forth in the earth because people have heard the voice of the Lord. Churches get started, ministries come forth, governments shift, people are born again, healed and delivered ― all because of the voice of the Lord.

So when I hear God whispering that there is a slowing down of spiritual birthings, my spirit man immediately begins contending for the hearing of God’s voice in our region. We must hear His voice! He has plans for us! There are blessings and prophetic words hanging over our region. We must hear His voice and bring forth those visions with strength.

Forward movement stops, village life ceases, spiritual climates digress, and corruption of culture, family, and society begins to take place when God’s voice is not heard. When His voice is not heard we lose sight of His vision for us, our community and our nation. Amos said strongly in 8:11 "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord God, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord. (NKJV) That was not good for Israel and it is not good for us.

Would the deer give birth without the hearing of the voice of the Lord? Would the wilderness shake? I want the things of God to accelerate in our region not slow down. I am contending for breakthrough! I am contending for revival! I am contending for ‘God activity’ all over our county. I am contending that His voice be heard in our land! Rise up intercessors! PUSH! Rise up church! PUSH! Rise up and PUSH! Bring forth what God has put inside of you.

Do not back down, let up, turn aside or quit! Rise up and PUSH!

Have You Found the Secret Place?

Pastor Larry Booth, Our Father's House- April 22, 2010

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Have you found the secret place? I’ve heard that question before and often pondered the meaning of the secret place. One thing is for sure, each of us needs to meet with GOD and receive revelation for our day to day living! Amen!

The psalmist writes, “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear HIM, and HE will show them HIS covenant.” (Ps.25:14)

The very word translated most frequently in the New Testament for prayer "proseuchomai" is a worship word meaning to bow before, which certainly implies the fear of the LORD mentioned by the psalmist.

I believe it is in the place of worship where the secrets of GOD are revealed. Two wonderful examples from the Word of God are found in II Chronicles 20 and Acts 13. King Jehoshaphat set himself to seek the LORD (verse 3) and proclaimed a national level fast. The Bible tells us that the Spirit of God came upon a man who was standing in the midst of the assembly. The word of revelation defined the battle plan and set the worshippers before the army. Wow…what a place to meet GOD!!! Hallelujah!!!

In Acts 13 we see mission strategy unfolding from the place of worship and prayer. The Bible says, as they ministered to the LORD and fasted (Acts 13:2) the Holy Spirit revealed the plan of the hour. Hallelujah!!!

Do you see it? I believe GOD is raising up MyHOP for such a time as this. HE is putting us in the place of worship and prayer where we can corporately minister to the LORD. I believe we shall see revelation coming forth with divine strategies for our region as we gather, worship, pray, fast at certain seasons and minister to the LORD.

Will you become part of this awakening to minister to the LORD? Will you make the place of prayer and the seeking of GOD a priority in your life? May we find this road covered in grace that will enable us to fulfill our destiny as a region in GOD’S kingdom purpose. Hallelujah!!!

Looking Toward Heaven

Pastor Gary Stebbins, COTRM- April 15, 2010

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Jesus set out to find some time alone and went off by Himself in a small boat. However people were desperate for a touch from heaven and by the time Jesus arrived at His destination, a great crowd had already assembled. In Matthew 14:14 it says that Jesus “felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”

As the day wore on and evening approached, the disciples, obviously tired from a long day, suggested that Jesus send everybody home. “After all,” they reasoned, “ … this place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves (Mtt 14:15)." Sounds like a reasonable and even responsible thing to do. However, Jesus had other plans. Jesus suggested that the people did not need to go away, and furthermore, He asked the disciples to feed them. “What,” I am sure they must have exclaimed, “We only have five small loaves of bread and two fish, how can we possibly feed a crowd so large?”

Jesus did something very interesting at this point. He took the bread and the fish and, “looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied (Mtt 14:19-20).” I found this very interesting when I read it. There was not enough food to feed the over 5000 people who had gathered, and yet Jesus calmly, “looking up toward heaven” offered them the bread and fish that they had.

How could Jesus feed five over 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish? Immediately following this miracle, Jesus, “went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone (Mtt 14:23).” It was Jesus pattern to regularly get away and spend time in the presence of God the Father and pray. His constant communion with the Father enabled Him to minister to the people. During these times of drawing away from the crowds to be with His heavenly Father, Jesus became increasing aware of the Father’s heart. As a result, in His moment of need, all Jesus had to do was “look up toward heaven” to reassure Himself of God’s purpose and plan for Him at that very moment in time.

It is obvious that prayer and spending time alone in the presence of God was important to Jesus, as it should be for us today as well. Looking back at the beginning of this passage of scripture, there is another benefit of spending regular, consistent, time with God. When Jesus first saw the crowd that had gathered it says that Jesus “felt compassion for them and healed their sick.” When Jesus looked toward heaven, He was not just feeling sorry for the people because they were hungry. Through spending time in prayer He had acquired the heart of the Father for the people around Him. His heart was filled with the compassion of God for the people. Therefore, even after a long day of ministry, Jesus was willing to take time and demonstrate the reality of the Father’s compassion by asking God to feed the people. In faith, without any outward sign, Jesus thanked God for the provision to feed over 5000 people.

Today we want to be able to work the same miracles that Jesus worked, but are we ready to spend the time in communion and prayer with the Father that Jesus spent?

I think we are!

How often do you pause to “look toward heaven?” Do you regularly spend time with God alone? How about gathering together with other believers to pray and worship God?

Knock, Knock

Pastor Tony Hauck, COTRM- April 9, 2010

There are two types of knocking on doors in the New Testament. One is in Revelation 3:20, where Jesus knocks on our door. Let’s call this passive, since all we have to do is open the door when Jesus shows up.

The other is in Luke 11:9-10, where we knock on His door. We’ll call this active for obvious reasons.

Now I love when Jesus initiates spiritual activity, but I think we may be unbalanced. Our default mode seems to be to wait around for Him to do something. And when nothing happens, we spiritualize by playing the “God is sovereign” card. But consider some things He has said.

You don’t have because you don’t ask (James 4:2). Draw near to God (i.e. you go first), and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). You can’t please God unless you believe He rewards diligent seeking (Heb 11:6). Always pray (knock) persistently and don’t give up (Luke 18:1-9).

Seems to me we’re supposed to be doing most of the knocking. We need to realize that we have the power, through prayer, to stir up the activity of God. If our spiritual lives are boring, it’s not His fault.

Have you knocked on the doors of heaven recently?