The Merry Christmas of Provision

Matthew 2:10-15
New King James Version (NKJV)
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Flight into Egypt

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.

It's amazing how God can open doors because of our liberality. We read here the first account of an offering set aside for Jesus...as a result, we see some amazing things happen in both Joseph's family and the Magi.

First of all, giving is an act of worship. When we give, this should be the mental picture...it's as if we are in the very presence of God...we fall down and worship (humility), then we bless our Lord with gifts from our treasures...not spare change, but treasures...this speaks of something saved up; premeditated if you will...something of value...

David told Araunah that he will never give to God whatever costs him nothing... - 2nd Sam. 24: 24

What's amazing about the account is, their giving set in motion the fulfillment of prophecy and the salvation of both parties! I believe because of their liberality, God was able to speak to them in order to avoid Herod! - Prov. 18: 16, 'A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.'

Secondly, what they gave became provision for Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt!!

2 Corinthians 8:1-5
New King James Version (NKJV)
Excel in Giving

8 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. 3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, 4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive[a] the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

So, not only did their gift make a way for them, it put in motion prophetic results and saved the Messiah...

We know that our giving can make a way for us, but could it possibly unlock the doors to prophetic impact? Through your giving, is it possible to intercept the will of God and make a powerful impact on the earth? You'll know for sure when you give!!

It's Our Turn

Genesis 37:1-11

Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Jacob gave his son a coat of many colors. Tunics in the bible many times were symbols of authority...but this was no ordinary coat...it many colors on it; this symbolizes the nations and tongues of the world...we are a planet of many colors.

Understand that Joseph was called by God to be a Deliverer. There are only a handful of these people in the bible.  What I love about this passage is, right after he got the coat...he began to have dreams. Listen, when God places the burden of the nations on you...He'll give you a vision for it!

So, where is the coat that God gave you? Is it hanging in the closet of your religious heart? What about the visions that God gave you? You cannot afford to dismiss them, or He will simply pick someone else. The similarities between Joseph and Jesus are quite astounding.

Just about everything that Joseph went through, Jesus did!  He was rejected by His own people...He was cast down...punished for who He was, not what He did. Through the life of Jesus, generations are saved...same is true for Joseph.

This is all nice, but where the point hits home is, that coat has been passed down to you and I...what are we going to do about it? God gave us authority so we can embrace the responsibility before us. He commanded us to go into all the world and make disciples. He also put a vision in our hearts that He longs for us to pursue.

- Pastor Melrose

The Five Go's of Surrender

Mark 10: 17 - 22, 'Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, asking, 'Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' So Jesus answered, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God." You know the commandments:  'Don not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, nor bear false witness; do not defraud - honor your father and your mother.' The young man replied, 'Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.'  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him saying, One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have, give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; take up your cross, and follow Me.'  But the young man was sorrowful at this word and went away, because he had great possessions.'

This scripture always fascinated me because you have a young man asking what we all want to get a straight answer from God about...'How do I inherit eternal life?'  Jesus told him that he lacked 1 thing, but he told him to do 5 things!!  If you study this portion out, it's quite interesting what the young man was trying to accomplish versus the answer he received from Jesus.

Jesus realized the true heart of this man and wanted to give him specific instructions on what he must do in order to have eternal life...

First, He told him to go his way...he has kept the Commandments since his youth; Jesus told him to stay on course, (Go your way)
Secondly, He told him to sell what he had...now, the larger truth had to do with his wealthy status in life, so how would that apply to you and me? Simple...when you sell everything you have, you're telling God that you are willing to part with materials closest to your heart in order to fulfill God's will...you are also willing to sell out for Jesus!
Thirdly, He told this man to give to the poor...the poor are more than folks without money, there are those who are poor in spirit and could use a lift every now and then. God has given you and I revelation and a word from heaven to bless others with.
Fourth, He told him to take up his cross - Fifth, He told him to follow Jesus...not anyone else, follow Him!!
These things He has also extended to you and I and He's challenged us to walk in these things as well.  So the question is, 'Will you Go?' Will you totally submit yourself to Jesus Christ?  Are you willing to do what He commanded the young ruler to do?  Think about it.

- Pastor Melrose

To Believe Is to Obey

We as believers in Christ must understand that God is bigger than our opinion and emotions.  He must be at the center of all we do.  I shudder to think of how many Christians out there serve the Lord with stipulations and boundaries; especially since there weren't any boundaries concerning His love and sacrifice for us.

Romans 5: 8 - '...Christ demonstrated His love for us in while we were still sinners, He loved us...'

What a powerful scripture and a powerful statement.  I've learned over the years that I serve the God of Promises, not the God of explanations.  Make your call and election sure, the bible says.  It's in His good will to do what He pleases with our lives in order to manifest His glory...why do we struggle with this?  Many of us have a, 'Well what's in it for me...', mentality; this robs us of witnessing first hand, God's glory manifested in our lives.

I guess all I'm saying is, let God be God and allow Him to take control of your life.  I'm here in the Chandler Bible Conference and one of the preachers made an interesting comment during his message:  'Since when did we ever have to define the word, 'All?'  This is so true, yet, there are people in the Kingdom of God still seeking an explanation.

When God told us to forsake all, He meant, All...without hesitation or contractual agreement...simple obedience and reckless abandon.  The disciples did it before us and turned the world upside down, can we do any less?

- Pastor LaMont Melrose

Moving Forward in Christ: End The Drought

Moving Forward in Christ: End The Drought: 1st Kings 18: 42 - 46, '...and Elijah went up to the to of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,...

End The Drought

1st Kings 18: 42 - 46, '...and Elijah went up to the to of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, 'God up now, look toward the sea.' So he went up and looked and said, there is nothing...and 7 times he said, 'Go again.'  Then it came to pass on the seventh time, that he said, There is a cloud as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea! So he said, Go up and say to Ahab, prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.  Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.  So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.  The the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.'

What a powerful picture of prayer!  You see the prophet get down on his knees and believe God for rain after at least 3 years of drought!  I wonder how many of God's children are in a drought, spiritually?  During a drought, nothing grows, there isn't a life source to be found...what is alive rapidly begins to die...it's famine time, it's drought. How many have ever been there?

I know there are at least 2 main reasons why we as believers suffer through drought - time.  One, unrepentant sin!  Perfect example of this was King Saul...the bible said that when he prayed, God wouldn't answer him or heed him at all; it got so bad, he had to disguise himself and consult a witch...the very people he cast out of his dominion.  Another example is when the children of Israel were under siege by Syria...the daily counsel consisted of 2 ladies arguing over eating their own sons!!

During the time of drought, desperate times call for desperate actions!  If you're not careful, you'll consume people, make plans of wicked compromise like never before...God help us in our time of drought.  Another reason is simply...LIFE. Ever have life happen to you?

Listen, there are seasons in life that we all go through:  Summer is a time of vacation, sunshine, and fun...Fall is a time of discipline, quiet, cooler climate...Winter is a time of solitude, freezing climate, no growth, life is at a standstill...Spring is a time of new life, blossom, warmer temperatures and expectation!

Where are you now?  What season are you in?  You might wanna ask yourself, how did you get there?  What are your plans of getting out?  Can you hold on to Jesus and allow Him to call the rain back into your life and deliver you from the drought?

What I love about the scripture is, the moment the servant said there was a sliver of rain...Elijah moved like it was a tsunami coming!!  He didn't wait for the cloud to get bigger!!  The answer he received from God was big enough!  Is the answer from heaven big enough for you?  Does God have to present more proof in order to get you to start moving on His behalf?

Your faith and patience will give God the right to end the drought - let God be God in your drought, so that He can end it!

- Pastor Melrose

The Dynamic of Growth

Rev. 12: 11 - 'And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony...and they did not love their lives to the death...'

We can all cheer when we begin to grow in size, but nothing is more fulfilling than to see people grow in spirit!  Maturity and Growth are realized when the people of God become fully aware that they must conquer and overcome things in their lives.  Revival is an atmosphere, but Victory is a choice!  The Word tells us that without the Blood of the Lamb, we have no conquering to accomplish...what stabilizes this also is the word of our testimony.

A selfless love must be learned, developed, and mastered in order to fulfill the full will of God for our lives.  This recent revival with Evangelist Robert Hedegard was incredible!!  I personally believe it was because of the expectancy God's people had; in other words, the people expected to hear from God each and every service!!  They refused to be distracted by what was going on outside of the church and they refused to reach for entertainment in Christ...they wanted God to come down and minister, that's what He did!

Do you find yourself in the same place spiritually as you were the year or years before?  Could it now be that somewhere along the way, your value system went back to the world.  In other words, what you thought was important to Jesus at the beginning of your walk, isn't so significant now...friend of mine, it's' high time to get back in place!  The devil is a liar, and he's defeated; he must be defeated in your life if you are to experience the full potential of Jesus Christ.

Maranatha!!  Translated:  'O Lord, Come Soon'

- Pastor Melrose