THE BIRTH OF A CHURCH
It was 1982, Carrie was just born and Gwen & I were attending a special meeting at Charles & Frances Hunter’s City of Light Church featuring Vickie Jameson .. some of you remember her being on the PTL Club when she would begin to sing and have prophetic words for the people .. among other things, she said, “Several STRONG ministries are being birthed this night.” I felt a ROCK of strength appear in my heart .. many people who knew me commented when we got back from Texas how different I seemed .. Jesus imparted the gift of Pastor in my heart and I knew it !!
As my time with the Hunters neared a year, a STIRRING started in me… I was HAPPY there, I was PROSPERING there, I was COMFORTABLE there … but God was speaking to me about coming back to my home town and starting a NEW work .. I wasn’t listening. After a month of so, the blessings all seemed to STOP and I REALLY began to seek the Lord .. FINALLY, one time in PRAYER I blurted out, “It was BETTER at home!” At HOME .. at home ... the message finally got through .. we moved home in Aug of 82.
Ezek 34 first half:
Ezek 34:1-16 KJV
34:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
The scripture in Ezek 34 reminded me a LOT of the verse we read LAST WEEK: Woe unto you lawyers .. taken away the key of knowledge … not entered yourselves … prevented them …
So, ironically, a friend ALSO by the last name of Hunter was a salesman at a local cemetery .. he got us the cemetery chapel FOR FREE .. this church started in the CEMETERY with 6 people Bro Hunter took me to pray for a man in Henry Ford Hospital … we showed him the scripture in Mark that says, Lay hands on the sick in Jesus’ Name and they shall recover .. we prayed .. the VERY NEXT DAY his sugar level dropped to normal (he was a diabetic) .. then I asked him if he wanted to receive Jesus as his savior and he said, “Oh yes .. how could I NOT after what He has done for me?” The church doubled overnight!!
We were on vacation in Florida when I was privileged not only to MEET Jamie Buckingham, but to spend some TIME ALONE with one of God’s Apostles .. He asked me what my greatest fear in the ministry was .. I responded, “My youth” .. he pointed his finger in my face and said, “Don’t say that anymore .. your YOUTH is your GREATEST STRENGTH .. most of us have had to spend YEARS unlearning what we learned in CEMETERY (his word) .. you are FRESH, UNSPOILED .. you can HEAR FROM GOD without the garbage spoiling the Word. God can USE you.” From that day until this, I have never been ashamed of being young and in the ministry .. don’t YOU be afraid either .. just GIVE OUT GOD’S WORD … the Word is older that ALL of us put together !!
We moved after 6 months .. mall ..“Get up .. get over the hill .. go into town ..”
Stan & Sandy Cool .. at on of their Florida timeshares .. don’t usually go to the Friday night “mixer” .. saw a nametag .. Rochester, Michigan .. “Oh, I’m a Christian, too .. oh, I’m on our church board, too .. we are looking to buy a church .. we are looking to SELL a church.” Stan called me IMMEDIATELY .. “Don’t buy that little building .. God has something better !!”
We signed a land contract for this building on Dec 28, 1989 .. if someone had told me that we would purchase a major church building before the decade was out, I would have told them they were CRAZY ..
After we signed the contract, the pastor said, “When do you want us out?”
Recall the first half of Ezek 34 .. I joined the local minister’s association .. I want to be a part of the community .. things went fine for a while, but after a while, I saw the fulfillment of the Ezek scripture .. first, the minister’s group came out AGAINST the promise keepers movement .. when I spoke up in SUPPORT of Promise Keepers, I was ALONE .. (quote) ..
The next indication that the scripture was true was at the very first Baccaluriate service the association was asked to lead .. The opening “prayer” or “call to worship” went something like, “We invite the spirit of the sun and the moon and of the trees to be present here .. we ask the those who have departed this year be present, etc”
The final straw was when the minister’s group invited PFLAG to come and speak to us .. the idea was that we could gain understanding from our
dialog and be in support of homosexual people who “couldn’t help being what they were” … ARGHH do I have time for my response? …
Now let me share with you by the Holy Spirit where we are prophetically by our text scripture ..
People were EXTREMELY steadfast here at Heart for 20 years .. C & F Hunter even commented … then, about 2 ½ years ago, we had a Word from the Lord in this congregation .. someone spoke out in the public gift of tongues and Lee W had the interpretation .. here it is:
“ Specific for the People Present
This day I have called you,
By Divine appointment
Into this place,
Into My very presence.
I called you forth to hear my very word.
I am asking you to mix faith with the word you are about to hear.
I am asking you to receive,
for this is a special time,
a special place.
You are a special people.
This day this congregation,
The people present,
are the people that I want here today to hear this word.
It will be a word that will set you free.
It will be a word that will inspire you, encourage you, and lift you up.
The days are dark ahead,
But My Son is shining bright,
to give you a path.
A path of Light,
A path of Fullness,
A path of Joy.
Listen carefully to the words I give you.
For Grace and Mercy is upon you,
And Faith has been given to you, to enable you to do all things
through My Son.
Follow the Light you see before you.
Walk straight.
Walk tall.
Walk strong.
And you will see the deliverance of all the nations and all the people.
For My Son is soon to come. “ Mar 9, 2003
This Word came to pass in the last 2 ½ years, people were shaken .. some remained steadfast, others did not .. I found myself discouraged and confused from time to time as I was not aware of the bigger picture .. God has settled my hear by showing me where we are prophetically as a church and where we are going !! Want to hear?
Ezek 34 middle to the end …
Ezek 34:17-31 KJV
17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.
30 Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.
31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
The spirit of God is speaking to me as CLEARLY as He did in the beginning saying, “Just as you see My Word being fulfilled in the middle of this chapter, so are you in the MIDDLE CHAPTER of your ministry. You are now entering the SECOND HALF of your ministry and the LATTER will be GREATER than the FORMER.”
What I am hearing is, God is going to POUR OUT His blessings STARTING TODAY at least DOUBLE the anointing, double the CLARITY of the Word, DOUBLE the POWER, and DOUBLE the LOVE . . .
The FIRST HALF of this church started almost 23 years ago with 6 people .. the SECOND half is starting out with 86 people .. what will God do in this place … I am EXCITED to find out
Now, how do we position ourselves for the blessings that will be poured out? By COMPLETELY obeying God’s greatest and second commandments: -----------------------------------------------------------