I received an email this week from a pastor friend and thought I would share part of it with you. Pastor Andy Anquoe, from FBC Sperry wrote...

                "I don’t know if you’ve heard but this Sunday, September 21 at 9 PM in the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall, there will be a satanic black mass held. Some satanic followers from New York have legally rented the venue & will perform this ritual to a sold out audience. Thus far, nothing has been able to stop this event legally because it is in essence a free speech issue. But during this black mass, it will mock a traditional catholic mass, desecrate the Lord’s Supper, and the devil will be summoned. Messing with the spiritual realm is a very scary thing.

                A new church plant, OKC Community Church, will meet in the same building, as it does every Sunday morning, before the mass happens that night. OKC Community Church has prayerfully decided to respond in love in order to try to be salt and light to the Satanists instead of responding in anger and fear. Catholic churches in the area are holding prayer vigils during the event also.

                Mark my words, more incidents like this will happen as our culture moves farther away from God. This is the world that we live in now. It will get worse. Yet somehow, someway, we must learn to effectively minister & engage people in the midst of it for the sake of the gospel.

                What can we do to counteract such things when they happen? Prayer is first and best place to start. As we pray we must:

·         Rely on God’s Power – We have no means within ourselves to win this battle for it is a spiritual battle. That’s why we must turn to God. Let us remember that we’re not fighting against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12) and the battle is the Lord’s (2 Chron. 20:15).

·         Rebuke in Jesus’ name – If Heaven’s mightiest angel, Gabriel, rebuked the devil in the Lord’s name (Jude 9), we must do the very same thing.

·         Recite God’s Word in prayer – Every attack that the devil brought against Jesus in His temptation was thwarted by Jesus’ use of Scripture. God’s Word is powerful! That’s why we must use it as a double edged sword (Heb. 4:12). It’s our major offensive weapon.

·         Retrieve our Spiritual armor – God has given us all the armor we need to engage in Spiritual battles (Eph. 6:10-18). We just need to put it and keep it on every day.

·         Remember the devil’s fate – No matter what the devil may do, he will be defeated and cast down into the fiery pit one day (Rev. 20:10).

                A similar event was abruptly cancelled at Harvard earlier this year as local area churches got together and prayed. Maybe the very same thing will happen here. If there was ever a time our great state needed us to pray, it is now." 

                I received this story by email this week and thought I would pass it on for your enjoyment and consideration. What are you going to do this week to spread the love of Jesus to others?

Reaching People Who Need Christ….

                Once there was a little old lady who would come out onto the steps of her front porch every morning, raise her arms to the sky and shout, “Praise the Lord”.

                One day an atheist moved into the house next door, over time he became irritated with the little old lady’s little ritual, and to make his point, every morning he would step out onto his front porch and yell in response to her shout, “There is no Lord”.

                Time passes with the two of them carrying on this way every day. Then one morning in the middle of winter the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted, Praise the Lord! I have no food and I am starving. Please provide for me, oh Lord”

                The next morning she stepped onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. “Praise the Lord,” she cried out. “He has provided groceries for me”.

                The atheist jumped out of the hedges and shouted: there is no Lord. I bought those groceries”.

                The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted, Praise the Lord! He has provided me with groceries and He made the devil pay for them”.

Reaching the people who need Christ;

Requires taking the gospel beyond the walls of the church!

God will open the door for you-

What are you going to do when the door opens?

God is looking to see what you are doing today –

Don’t miss the Blessing God wants you to have -

Share Jesus with someone this week

“Praise The Lord” and be all God wants you to be!

                In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to Earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November of 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles, and on it went. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.

                And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable is that those signals come from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth," writes Jaroff. The little satellite that could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.

                So it is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can and does work through someone with 8-watt abilities and they accomplish far more than they ever thought possible. Let's continue to Advance the Gospel through Ministry and Service and watch what God does through our availaility!

                A dairy farmer went to buy a new pickup truck. He had seen an ad in the paper about discounts and factory rebates, so he decided to trade in his old clunker. He chose a new model and was ready to write the check for the full amount when the salesman said, "Wait, I haven't given you the final cost yet." The farmer said, "Isn't it the price I saw in the paper?" The salesman said, "No, that's for the basic model, all the options cost extra." So after the options were added, the farmer reluctantly wrote a check and drove off in his new pick-up.

                A few months later the car salesman called the farmer because he needed to buy a cow for his son's 4-H project. The farmer assured the car salesman he had several good milk cows for sale for $500. The salesman drove out and selected a cow and took out his checkbook to pay when the farmer said, "Wait, I haven't given you the final cost yet." Then he handed the salesman a bill that read:

                BASIC COW- $500

                Two-tone exterior- $45; Extra Stomach- $75; Milk storage compartment- $60; Straw recycle compartment- $120; Four handy spigots @ $10 each- $40; Leather upholstery $125; Dual horns- $45; Automatic rear fly swatter- $38; Natural fertilizer attachment- $185

                GRAND TOTAL- $1233

                I don't know for sure but I bet the salesman reluctantly wrote the check and loaded up his 'fully-loaded' cow and went home . My guess is that the farmer had a pretty big smile on his face after the transaction was complete.

                Many Christians are only interested in the basic model of Christian living. They don't want to pay the total cost of fully surrendering to and following Christ. May God find us willing to 'pay the price' as we commit to advancing the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ! 

                Last week in our church service I shared pieces of our church's statements that guide us as we seek to advance the Gospel and fulfill our mission here at Glenpool's First Baptist Church. This week I share them here so you can read, reflect and remember  them.

We are more than a church we are a family! A family of faith located in the heart of the city with a  heart for the city! We are all about working together to reach Glenpool and the World for Christ!

We are here to make disciples that make disciples. Said another way, we work to produce fully devoted followers of Christ that produce fully devoted followers of Christ!

Guiding Scriptures- Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 22:36-40, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:42-47

We are...

Driven by a commitment to make disciples that make disciples --- Matthew 28:18-20

Motivated to do so by our love for God and our love for others --- Matthew 22:37-40

Focused with a passion to be witnesses for Him wherever we go --- Acts 1:8

                Our HOUSE Plan-                                                             Our Personal WORLD-

-          Hometown (Glenpool)                                          -    Workplace

-          Oklahoma                                                                   -    Organizations

-          United                                                                          -    Relatives

-          States                                                                           -    Live Next to (Neighbors)

-          Ends of the Earth                                                     -    Daily Contacts

Purposed to function well as a family- Acts 2:42-47

-          Evangelism- To introduce others to Christ- We are Messengers of His Love

-          Discipleship- To instruct others in the faith- We are Models of His Character

-          Ministry- To incorporate others into service- We are Ministers of His Grace

-          Fellowship- To include others in our family- We are Members of His Family

-          Worship- To inspire others to encounter God- We are Magnifiers of His Name

-          Prayer- To intercede for others and to determine where God is working and join Him there

                Almost 3 years ago God brought me and my family here to serve alongside and lead this church family. What an awesome privilege! This week the ministry of Louie and his family begins with this church family as the new youth pastor! Exciting times are upon us here at Glenpool FBC!

                The truth is--- We are making an impact in our community for the Kingdom and yet there is so much more to do. We are providing opportunities for life change to take place in the lives of individuals and families and yet there is more that we can do. We are involved in mission work outside of our community and yet there is more that we can do.

                Some may remember our vision dinners we did right after Vickie and I came. This was a time for us to see how much each of us knew about the church and to dream together about what might be in store for our church's future. As we prepare for the days ahead I believe it is time we do something like this again.  That is why I want you to make an extra effort to be a part of our dreaming/ visioning time that will take place next Sunday, August 17th, at 6pm! We want to spend some time hearing from you, sharing with you how God is stirring our hearts and most importantly seeking the Lord and His plans together!

                Here are some verses that speak to the reason for us to spend time together dreaming about the ministry here at FBC Glenpool!

Jeremiah 29:11- "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Psalm 20:4- "May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed."

Proverbs 20:18a- "Make plans by seeking advice."

Proverbs 19:21- "Many are the plan's in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

Proverbs 29:18a- "Where there is no vision the people perish."

            At the time it was completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. During the first phase of the project 23 men fell to their deaths in the icy water. Things were going from bad to worse because there were very few safety devices and the workers were becoming more and more afraid to work. And so, when it was halfway completed, they decided to take another look and make some changes.
                Do you know what they did? They built the largest net ever made and attached it under the area where the men were working. Was it worth the cost and the time it took to do this? Ask the ten men who fell into it without being injured! Not only did it save those ten lives, folks say that the work was completed in three-fourths the time because the workers no longer lived in fear of falling. The net provided them with the courage to continue.

                We need to know that we have a great safety net in the Lord. He is always with us to protect us, provide for us and to catch us when we fall. Having the knowledge that Jesus is there for us and with us should give us the courage to step out of our comfort zones and the confidence to go to work for Him! There is work to be done and there is a time frame to complete the task so step out in faith and do your part, knowing all the while that Jesus is with you ready to help you and to catch you when you fall!

                Pray for your mission team this week as they are on the field encouraging our mission partner, Pena de Horeb, in Acapulco. Pray for them to know that the Lord has His safety net all around them, protecting them in all they do for Him while they are away! Pray for yourself this week as you take the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and go to work for the Lord! May we all have a great week knowing that as we serve, wherever we are, that we can serve with confidence knowing that Jesus is with us!