Increase Your Faith

Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life. Proverbs 4:23 (CEV)

Pastor’s Commentary:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7 KJV)

When God created us in His image and likeness and breathed life into our forefather Adam, we all became living souls. We became breathing, cognitive, and thinking beings with individual minds, wills, and emotions.

The very center of all human existence is the soul. It’s what makes us, us. The largest component of the human soul is the mind, which is the source of thought. Our thought lives determine the quality of our spiritual and physical lives, or the lack thereof.

The New Living Translation translates Proverbs 4:23 like so: Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. When we combine this translation with the Contemporary English Version we get this: Above all else, carefully guard your thoughts because they determine the course of your life.

The course of your life is the direction of your life. How you think and what you think determine where you go in life and what you achieve. It’s not your race, physical attributes, or gender that determine what you do with your life or the goals you achieve. Success and failure in life is based solely on how you think. When your thoughts are consistent with God’s thoughts and plans for your life, you succeed. When they are inconsistent, you don’t. It’s that simple!

Set a guard over what you see, hear, and speak. These things all affect how you think and how you think determines how you live.

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New Members Orientation Notes

WMM & SACCI Vision Statement

Each and every one of us should know the vision for the ministry & church. These two aspects of the vision statement articulate our purpose for existence. In other words, they explain why we were founded and what the Lord expects of us. Our vision statement articulates the Lord’s mandate and commandment to us as a body of believers. All of our resources: personnel, financial, etc. are focused on fully supporting each aspect. Additionally, all of our corporate prayers and confessions must be in line with our vision as follows:

1. To make disciples of unbelievers & the unchurched, redeeming them to Christ: Spirit, Soul, Body, Socially, & Financially in Sierra Vista, the surrounding areas, & around the world. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15 NASB)

2. To teach the Body of Christ how to submit to & effectively apply the Word of God (Truth), so that each member will experience success in every aspect of the abundant life. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 4:2 NASB).

Our motto: “Walk in the Blessing!” (Galatians 3:13-14; 29 KJV)

o When the purpose of a thing is unknown, abuse is inevitable.

This is my mandate in your life:

1. To be a Shepherd to You

And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3:15 KJV)

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. (Ephesians 4:11 NLT)

2. To Provide Pastoral Care for You

Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. (1 Peter 5:2-3 NLT)

“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. (Acts 20:28 NLT)

Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit. (Hebrews 13:17 NLT)

3. To Preach the Word

Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching. (2 4:2 AMP)

4. To Pray for You and Get a Rhema Word for You

“But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4 NASB)

5. To be a Spiritual Father to Some of You

For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. (1 4:15 NLT)

Serving Christ by serving You,

WILLIAM J. McDUFFIE Founding Pastor & Overseer, Seed of Abraham Christian Center International & William McDuffie Ministries

And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29

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Stay Built Up in the Word By Keith Butler

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12 KJV).

When you put the Word of God in you, that is what will come out of your mouth in times of trouble. Instead of being stricken with fear, you will speak out the Word of God. And it is the Word that brings your deliverance.

So here is a load of scripture for you to put on your refrigerator door. Take a dose by speaking the word of God every time you see it:

“The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead” (Prov. 11:8 KJV).

“A man shall not be established by wickedness; but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.” (Prov. 12:3 KJV)

“LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” (Ps. 3:1-3)

“The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” (Ps. 9:9-10 KJV)

“The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee.” (Ps. 20:1 KJV)

“For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.” (Ps. 27:5 KJV)

“And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.” (Ps. 27:6 KJV)

Now if you are somebody having to deal with trouble emotionally, you should stick the above scriptures up on your refrigerator. Put it right on the refrigerator door because that is someplace you are going every day.

When you go to the kitchen, before you open that refrigerator, open your mouth and say what the Scripture says: “My God is my help in time of trouble. Father I want to thank you for it. Now where is that salad I was looking for?” When you put that word in, it is powerful enough to keep you safe, and cause you to be victorious.

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A person’s fear sets a trap for him, but one who trusts the Lord is safe. Proverbs 29:25 (GWT)

Pastor’s Commentary:

For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. Job 3:25 (KJV)

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Today’s Wisdom verse demonstrates the drastic difference between faith (trust) and fear. Faith is a powerful spiritual force. One could argue that it is the most powerful. Faith is the shield that stops “all the flaming arrows of the evil one”, and without it, “no one can please God.” According to Hebrews 11:1, “faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen…” (NLT)

There is no substitute for faith, but there is a powerful spiritual reciprocal that produces equal, yet opposite results called fear. Fear is nothing more than perverted faith. It is the confidence that what we hope for will NOT happen and it causes us to have doubts about things we cannot see. Fear is dangerous!

It was the spiritual force of fear that opened the door for satan to Job’s life. Job himself said, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” That’s what fear does; it opens the door to what we dread and don’t want to happen to us.

Proverbs 29:25 states unequivocally that a person’s fear sets a trap for him. In other words, fear holds people back from the good life God has in store for all His creation. It stops folks dead in their tracks, so to speak, and they never achieve their destiny. They become trapped by this unseen force and are rendered frustrated and ineffective in the earth.

Fear is a despicable enemy! That’s why we must resist it and cast it down from our minds. Where fear exists, faith is absent, so the only way to combat fear is to build up one’s faith. The key to faith building is found in Romans 10:17, which says, “So faith comes from hearing the message, and the message that is heard is what Christ spoke.” (GWT) In other words, faith increases as we listen to and act upon Jesus’ anointed Word.

No matter what you’re facing today, refuse to let fear grasp on to you. Keep God’s Word before your eyes, in your mouth, and in your heart. Your faith will thwart any and all fears that try to lay claim to your destiny. Remember: the one who trusts the Lord is safe.

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Disaster hunts down sinners, but righteous people are rewarded with good. Proverbs 13:21 (GWT)

Trouble follows sinners everywhere, but righteous people will be rewarded with good things. (GNT)

You are in for trouble if you sin, but you will be rewarded if you live right. (CEV)

Pastor’s Commentary:

There are no two ways about it, sin has bad consequences. Transgression has both temporal and eternal implications. In terms of the temporal, living a life of sin produces a life of trouble, tragedy, disaster, and despair. “The way of the transgressor is hard.” Proverbs 13:15 (KJV)

The Lord’s commandments are a gift to us and they are designed to keep us from the ills of sin. Obedience to God, therefore, serves as a shield to trouble in all forms. Are you constantly experiencing trouble in your finances, marriage, health, or career? Before blaming other people for your problems or rebuking satan, check your life out. See if any doors have been opened to the destroyer due to some disobedience in your life. If you find any transgression, repent. Trouble will have to leave you alone.

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The Lord gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6 (GWT)

Pastor’s Commentary:

According to Jude verse 25 (KJV), our Lord is the only wise God. Therefore, today’s Wisdom verse makes perfect sense. The Lord gives Wisdom because He is the only source. Consequently, He should be our only source for direction and instruction. Anything or anyone else is simply inadequate. Adam’s sin was, in essence, his desire to seek another source for knowledge other than God Himself. Let’s not make the same error!

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He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given. Proverbs 19:17 (NKJV)

Pastor’s Commentary:

The Lord is so adamant about helping the poor that He promises to repay those who do just that. Can you imagine that? God says in His Word that the entire Earth and all it contains belongs to Him. How can anyone lend to God what He already owns?

Today’s Wisdom verse speaks to the heart of a loving Father Who is so highly motivated to provide for all of His children that He repays those who do. Even though God created and owns the patent on everything, He has given dominion in the Earth to men, which He refers to as “gods” (See Psalm 82:1;6 KJV). Without people helping people, the work of the Lord is impossible because we predestined to be God’s co-workers (2 Corinthians 6:1).

When we employ strategies to aid the poor in their distress, we truly do the work of ministry. James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Even Matthew 25:31-46 tells us that the End Time Judgement is based on how the nations of the world help or fail to help the poor and infirmed. The Lord is very serious about this issue.

Without question, doing such works of righteousness do not make us righteous; we are made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ alone. At the same time, if we truly embrace being the righteousness of God, we will do these works. Beloved, don’t merely pray for the poor at meal times; ask the Holy Spirit to help you formulate a personal financial plan to materially and measurably take care of them. This is truly the Wisdom of God!

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Christmas is: Your Day of Deliverance By Keith Butler

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11 KJV).

With the world’s idea of Christmas, we tend to dismiss the main reason for the Christmas season. The word Christmas has lost its meaning in the hearts of much of the world.

This may be news to you, but Christmas has nothing to do with what you are getting, or how much money you have, or having a turkey on the dinner table, or whether your kids are acting right, or whether your love life is tight or fallen apart.

God wants to remind you of what Christmas means to you. It is because of what the Savior did that we can celebrate a glorious Christmas whether your circumstances are favorable or not.

Christmas is Our Day of Deliverance

The angel of the Lord has come to announce to the world that the Savior is here. The word savior means a deliverer, preserver, or messiah. The Messiah has come. The Deliverer has come. The Preserver of life has come. And that brings great delight and great joy.

Christmas is the anointing available for all who believe. We see that the Savior is Christ the Lord; and the word “Christ” is seen in the word Christmas. It means “the anointed one, and his anointing.”

The angel is actually defining Christmas in proclaiming that there’s One who’s coming with something special on Him, and in Him. He is One that is empowered to carry out the task of delivering, keeping and preserving mankind. He shall carry out the task of setting you free from bondage. He’s CHRIST…the Lord.

Christmas defines Christ as the Lord. Not a Lord, as in one of many; but the Lord, as in the only One. The word Lord means one who is supreme in authority. It is translated master, owner.

Hence, there’s great delight for you because the Lord, the Master, the Owner, is come. He came that day the Child was born in Bethlehem. He came that Christmas morning.

As we enter this Christmas season, recognize that Christ-mas is the Anointing of God in you and upon you. When you wake up on Christmas morning, give God praise, for this is the day that marks the defeat of the enemy and victory for you.

Christmas marks your day of deliverance.

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God Cares By Robert Achwera

1 PETER 5:7 AMPLIFIED 7 Casting the whole of your care — all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all — on Him; for He cares for you affectionately, and cares about you watchfully.

EXODUS 3:7 NIV 7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.

ISAIAH 63:9 NIV 9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

JOHN 11:35 KJV 35 Jesus wept.

Of course, the question arises, “If God cares, why doesn’t He do something?”

The answer is that God has already done something. Now it is our turn to act. God has redeemed mankind and set us free from the dominion of darkness by the sacrifice of Calvary. Now we must believe God’s Word and act on it.

The truth, which you may find hard to accept, is that God is already doing all He can to help you. But often, we are blocking God’s help in our lives by our unbelief and acting contrary to the instructions of God’s Word.

The solution is to ask God to help us see the truth and act on it. We should ask God to show us how we can stop hindering Him from blessing us as He desires.

SAY THIS: God cares about me and everything that concerns me.

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God Loves Sinners By Apostle Robert Achwera

JOHN 3:16 KJV 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Many people quote John 3:16 , but how many believe it?

God never changes. If He loved the people of the world in the past , He still loves them today. Yet many people think God is mad at sinners — and hates them.

ROMANS 5:8 NIV 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God is NOT mad at sinners. He loves them enough to die for them , even today! We should not be mad at sinners either. They are deceived and enslaved by sin. They need to be delivered, and no one can do it except Jesus.

Of course, God doesn’t want people to remain sinners. He loves them too much for that. Sin destroys. It brings death. But the gift of God is life, and that gift is found in a Person: the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the best friend a sinner will ever have. They need to know that. Someone has to tell them the truth. They think Jesus hates them because they’re a sinner and not perfect. (The devil already fed them that lie.)

Let’s tell them the truth!

2 CORINTHIANS 5:19 NIV 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

God is not holding people’s sins against them. People need to know that. When they do, they will love Jesus.

SAY THIS: Jesus loves sinners — so I love them, too. I love them enough to tell them Jesus will help them.

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