As the dawning of the day moves us from darkness to light. So will the entrance of God's word lighten up your life. Stay tuned for the teaching ministry of Charlotte Father, as she presents this life with Brinny-Tah-like Ministries. Today is your day for victory in Jesus.
Good day to you. I'm glad you're with us. We're so excited about this series as we talk about preparing for revival. You know, it's a real event that's going to take place.
But is there anything I can do to position myself for the revival that I believe Scripture is very clear about is getting ready to come. You know, it shouldn't always be, well, it's going to happen one of these days. But I want you to know God wants to move among us. And I believe He wants to do it to now.
And it's not a matter of our waiting on God. I believe He's waiting on us. Are we positioned? Are we ready?
Do we hunger and thirst for revival? When you really do, you're going to pray, you're going to intercede, you're going to seek the face of the Lord. Chantay has a special word for us. I want you to listen carefully as she shares those things with you.
Hello, I'm Chantay Hotman. There was no greater love than the love from our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. John 3 16 says, Jesus Christ is your Lord. He will give you that peace and that joy in your heart that you need.
And it promises us that He will give us eternal life. And we know in Ephesians, it says Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, where it is by grace you have been saved. Through faith, and this is not from yourself, it is the gift of God. It's nothing that we can do in ourself and who we are.
But this is a gift that God has given to us, that we can have eternal life. And it's by His grace and His love. Please pray a prayer with me today and ask Jesus to be your Lord and to be your Savior. Father, we come to you in Jesus' name.
And Father, I come and I ask you to be my Lord, to be my Savior. I ask you to cleanse me and purify me from all sin. I ask you to forgive me for anything all that I have done. And Lord, I ask you to come into my heart to be my Lord and to be my Savior.
In Jesus' holy name, amen. We'll praise the Lord. We know in verse 13 of Romans 9, it says, Call upon the Lord and you will be saved. So as you have called upon the Lord today, I believe that you have received Jesus and you have been saved and that you will spend eternity in heaven with me.
We'll praise the Lord. Please call or write to us and let us know what God has done for you today. Thank you. We'll praise the Lord.
Again, we're talking about preparing for revival. We've already talked about, you know, if you know an event, come in there are certain things that you will do to prepare for that event. And I believe that when we begin to think about preparing for revival, it's really seeking God as to what God would have us to do. You know, if the Lord moved upon me to pray for somebody that maybe they're in the altars, they want to be prayed for, but maybe God speaks to me and says, I want you to lay hands on them and I want you to believe for a miraculous healing for them.
But if I disobeyed that, then God is not going to have the liberty to move. Now he can use somebody else, he can use a different means, but it's important that the people of God obey the Lord. I think where we really get messed up is we begin to look at our own ability. You know, I haven't had enough training.
I'm not smart enough and I don't have the kind of monies and I don't have the exposure. And you know, we go on and on and on, but let me tell you something. You just simply do what God's called you to do. You obey him and the Lord will guide your steps.
I said this before, but I remember years ago, I had been filled with the Holy Spirit and I had a zeal for God. I wanted to do something for the Lord. And he began to draw me to this nursing home that was there in the little town close to where I left. And I'm saying, oh God, no, not the nursing home.
You know, it makes me sad. I don't want to cry. But anyway, God didn't let up with me. He just kept drawing me to that nursing home.
Long story short, I'll obey the Lord. And that turned into four years of ministry every Wednesday. And then God, what are you saying to me? The jail, the women at the jail, oh God.
You know, the nursing home is one thing, but the jail and I'll bathe. And I want you to know, I did that for two years. Every Saturday morning, I was there preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, what if I had no bad guy back there?
Well, he wouldn't have opened up the other doors that he has allowed me to walk through. So obedience is vital. And I look back and I begin to think of all that God has done through my life to minister to others. I can't thank him enough.
I can't praise him enough. And I am the one that is humbled and honored that he would use somebody like me. But you see, if we start pulling back and we don't do what God's called us to do, I believe it can hinder the leading of God. What God does want to do in the body of Christ, it can even hinder.
I believe the revival or put it all till a later time. But I believe in that as we come together again, we get our eyes on Jesus. We are obeying what he tells us to do. And again, our hearts are toward the Lord in praise and in worship.
It's like look out. Something glorious is getting ready to happen. So I believe these things with all of my heart. Now with that in mind, I want us to look at James chapter 5 and I'm going to start in verse 7 and we'll read through 11.
This is out of the Amplified Bible. I usually use King James Version simply because I was raised on it. But I love the Amplified Version a lot of the passages. But listen carefully as I read.
The scripture there says, so wait patiently brothers and sisters. So these passages are not to the world, to the lost. These passages are to the children of God. If you've been born again today, I want you to park up your ears and listen to what God is saying to us.
Wait patiently brothers and sisters until the coming of the Lord. Now, you know, when they saw Jesus as sin to the Father, this of course is after his resurrection. They saw him lead. They really believe that Jesus would pretty much get there.
Turn around and come right back. They really did. So they were anticipating the coming of Jesus Christ. Well, we know that he has not come even yet.
He's not come. He's not had the rapture yet. So way back then, again, over 2000 years ago, they thought Jesus would come in their lifetime. So they were very discouraged, especially when there was a lot of those in leadership and stuff in the government that was persecuting them.
They were killing some of the people of God. A lot of horrible things were happened. Well, they were very discouraged. So here the word is encouraging, not only the only one, but encouraging you and me.
We are to be patient. He is coming. We don't know when. I know a lot of us are saying, Lord, I want you to come right now and I'm with you and I'll get that.
But at the same time, we are being encouraged to be patient and to the coming of the Lord. Now, listen to this part. The farmer waits expectingly for the precious harvest from the land being patient about it until it receives the early and late rains. Now, I hope you remember what we talked about last week, but the farmer has to be patient.
If he becomes impatient and let's just say it's corn and he puts all those little kernels of corn into the ground that he's allowed to become sea corn, you know, what he wants to happen is for the rains to come on that. So it will begin to germinate and it will begin to spring up through the earth and cause a stalk. And then we know that there will be the ears of the corn that will come up on that stalk. Now, with that said, then eventually there's going to be a harvest.
The ends of the, if you call it the tassel, it's going to become dark and that means it's ready for it to be picked. And it's going to be the harvest that's going to meet their need in many ways. You know, the sweet corn, they can make it into bread. A lot of things was done with corn, but you see, if he becomes impatient, he may do something that's going to literally hinder the growth of that corn.
You know, we got the seed in the ground and it doesn't look like it's doing anything. I've waited a whole week and I don't see any sign. So we want to dig in the earth and see if it's doing anything. We'll tell you again, can hinder the harvest that can come forth from the seed.
So we have to be patient knowing that we have sown seed, like I've told you. It's been many, many years that I've been preaching about a less day revival. Well, I haven't seen it yet, but as sure again, as I'm sitting here, it's a coming. And I believe scripture prophesies that the revival is coming.
But I have to be patient. I have to be single minded knowing that God is doing a great work and it shall come to pass. Now, notice he's patient about it until it receives the early in the later rain. So the farmer knows the importance of it raining on his seed, but then he's going to know the importance as it is ready to be harvested, that the rains will come and it will cause what is necessary for that corn, not only to be the harvest, but that it will be tender and it will have the good flavor.
So the former rain in the later rain is very important. It goes on to say, you too be patient. Strengthen your hearts. Keep them energized and firmly committed to God.
Well, this is so powerful. We have to be patient. That's what God is saying to us. Be patient.
Strengthen your heart. Now, how do I strengthen my heart? Well, I assure you, I can't have my heart strengthened sitting in front of the ballgame. Is there anything wrong with ballgames?
No. But let me tell you where our hearts are strengthened. You know, it can be strengthened as I sit down with my Bible and I begin to read. I begin to see the promises of God.
I'm strengthened in my inner being that glorious things are getting ready to happen. The Lord is with me. He will never leave me nor forsake me. Our hearts strengthen that we don't become weary and faint in our minds.
Are we going to face troubles? Yeah, troubles are around us. There are troubles on every side. And you watch the news and you can quickly become very depressed or oppressed.
But we have to keep our eyes above Jesus. We want our hearts to strengthen. We want our hearts energized and notice again and firmly committed to God. You know, I'm energized in my heart.
When we'll come into the church and we'll have praise and worship. When we're preached to, when I hear a good report, my heart is energized. And that's a good thing. But then this latter part firmly committed to God.
Firmly committed to God. See, I think there are too many, if you will, Christians. They think they've done God a favor because they put a dollar in the offering plate or they showed up on Sunday morning. Well, you know, giving to the Lord is important.
And being in the house of the Lord is important. Take the Bible, say, for a bit not the assembling of yourselves together, especially as you see the in time approaching. If we ever were in the house of God, we need to be in the house of God today. Besides, this is what a lot of Christians don't want to hear.
If we don't assemble in the house of the Lord, we have not disobeyed God and that is sinful. Now, I know that's strong and that's hard, but that's just the way it is. We have to be somewhere that God would lead us to where we can sit under the leadership, that we can submit ourselves to what has been said or not. If you cannot submit yourself to leadership, you need to find a church where you can.
That's as simple as I know how to say it. And then we want to be in that place and we want to serve. You know, just coming in when it's time for service to start and leaving as soon as it's over and we don't do anything during the week. That's not even normal because when you begin to think of being a member of the body of Christ, I'm a member of the body of Christ.
Let's just say my little finger decided it's not going to work with the rest of the fingers and it just wants to vacation. It doesn't want to be a part. It doesn't want to serve. Do you realize how that's going to hinder the function of my hand?
We are all called and we all have a function. So I want to encourage you, begin to ask the Lord what He would have you to do. Sure you, there is something that God will lead you to do and it will be a blessing. We have to be firmly committed to God.
You know, that doesn't mean again I'm living for God today, but tomorrow I go back to the office and I will stand around and talk ugly. We're going to listen to the bad jokes. I'm going to go to places I have no business going. What am I doing in all that?
Well, I'm double-minded. I'm not single-minded on the things of God. I do believe this last day revival when it comes up on people, they're going to have this desiring to serve God, to be committed to God. I believe that.
I really do. But until that happens, I have to make a decision. I'm going to be committed to God. Now, this may sound like if you will, opposites, but I do.
I have my heart renewed and rejuvenated when I'm in the house of the Lord. But does that mean every Sunday morning when I get up, that I'm ready to get my clothes on and get to the house of the Lord? I'm so excited I can hardly wait to get there. Well, I don't mind telling you there are times that I don't have all that excitement.
My flesh would have to sit there on the couch and enjoy one more cup of coffee and hold my little dog. And some of you are grinning and you're saying, yes, you've been telling anybody else that. But you see, it's not a matter of walking after my flesh. It's a matter of walking after the Spirit.
I don't ask myself, do you feel like going to the house of the Lord today? That is a given. I am going. I am going to the house of the Lord.
And I'm trusting that that's will be your heartbeat. But I'm seeing so many Christians get out of charge. They're doing all that. Well, I can have church in front of my TV.
I can have church in my own home. And you know, I don't want to be mean, but no, you can't. There is a place that God wants us to go together, gather with other believers and encourage one another in the faith, yet have praise and worship together and to sit under the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So I want to encourage you to be faithful in that.
It says, because the coming of the Lord is near. Notice this. You too, be patient. Strengthen your hearts.
Keep them energized and firmly committed to God because the coming of the Lord is near. We don't know when He's coming, but He's coming. So we need to take this instruction. We need to be obedient to what the Lord is saying.
Do not complain against one another. Believers so that you will not be judged for it. Notice this. Do not complain against one another.
You're always going to be able to find faults in somebody else. You can find fault in me. And I'm sure there's plenty of them there. But the Bible is instructing us.
Don't be complaining against other people. Don't be speaking words of judgment against others. You know, we've all failed and come short of the glory of God. I know I have.
And I know that I'll sure I'll mess up again. But you know what? I am glad that I serve a God who loves me unconditionally and He loves you unconditionally. And you know, when I do mess up and it's revealed to me and I know, I want to confess that is sin to Jesus.
It's a scripture that is faithful and just to forgive me and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Notice the word, all unrighteousness. So what am I doing in that? I'm recommitting myself to the Lord.
Sometimes I pray God. I may not even know that something in me that may be sinful. But you know, whatever that is, Lord, forgive me. Reveal it to me, Lord.
I will repent. I will turn away from it in Jesus name. And I want you to know God is so faithful to forgive. And I'm so glad of the word it says.
And He forgets. Now, you and I may not have the ability to forget, but we do have the ability to forgive. I don't feel like it. You don't know what they've done to me.
Well, let me say, I feel like I know a lot about what's done and done to a lot of us. I know the pain of being hurt and disappointed. But I've also been instructed by the Lord to forgive. Because if I do not forgive, He says in His Word, I cannot forgive you.
Now, I don't know about you, but that terrifies me to think that I have seen in my life. And Jesus cannot forgive me because I have not forgiven someone else. Now, forgetting someone, I've said it before, it is not a feeling. It is a decision.
I will say it again. It's not a feeling. It is a decision. I may still be angry at someone.
I may still be very upset with them. But out loud with my mouth, I say, I forgive, and I call their name in Jesus name. I forgive them. What am I doing?
I'm obeying Jesus's command to forgive those who respectfully use me. I am to forgive. And then if I've had any part in that, I say, Lord, to forgive me. And if I have to, if God leads me in this direction, I may have to go back to that person and ask them to forgive me for what I've said or done.
You have to be led by the Holy Spirit and all that looks like. But it's important that we do forgive. And don't wait until you think, well, now I feel like it. You may never feel like it.
So we're going to obey what God's Word says about forgiving other people. Do not complain against one another, believers. It's talking to the children of God again, so that you will not be judged for it. Look, the judge is standing right at the door.
Who's the judge? It's the Lord God Almighty. He is the judge, not you, and not me. There may be things that I see that I don't like.
I may not agree with certain things, but at the same time, I don't walk in their shoes. And I am to love them. I am to pray for them. And let me tell you, it's going to work really great for ourselves.
So the judge is standing right at the door as an example, brothers and sisters. Here it is again, the family of God, as an example of suffering and patience, suffering. In fact, we don't want to hear about suffering. It is not pleasant.
But you know, when you look at the leaders of the church, we do see suffering. I mean, you know, Paul, he goes through a whole list of things that he went through. And, you know, I can't imagine Paul when he's given so much new revelation. It didn't rub well with a lot of people that was in the church of that day.
But nevertheless, he obeyed what the Lord told him. So sometimes there is suffering. Sometimes there is the need for patience. Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as his messengers and representatives.
You know we call those blessed, happily, happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God, who were steadfast and endured difficult circumstances. They didn't roll up their sleeves and say, I'm out of here. You know, I'm gone. I'm not going to do this.
This is too difficult. I've got too many people coming against me. You know, how many in the body of Christ, not only are they being persecuted around the world, but their families are. And I'm not going to even go into some of the things that some people that are doing the works of God are going through.
I trust that this revival is going to take place quickly, that we don't see a lot of the things that others are going through. I do know that already there are things that government wants to do to stop the body of Christ. Even when we begin to declare truths in the Word of God concerning relationships, they want to say we're committing a hate crime. No, we're simply preaching the gospel.
But you know, I don't know what we will see concerning these things, but let me say this to you. Do not fear and do not dread. Whatever we as the people of God face, and deal with, we will have God's grace to help us through it. I heard this recently prophesied that God is getting ready to dispatch more angels than he has yet dispatched.
Why? Because of the darkness that's coming into the world, the Bible said it's gross darkness. In other words, it's thick. It's like a cloud of darkness.
Now we are children of God. We're born of the light, Jesus Christ. And we know the light lives in us and the light can flow through us. But I can assure you the darkness is in the earth.
It's going to hate the light. And the darkness is going to want to distract us from the things of God. Hinder us. Well, you know, if I come against them enough, they'll shut their mouth.
If I can strap, if you will, the sickness or disease on them, I will keep them from preaching. The enemy is out to steal, kill and destroy. But I want you to know today that God has given you the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't you quit doing what God has called you to do because that's the very intent of Satan and demonic spirits.
So notice again, it came against the prophets. Troubles came. You know, we call those blessed, happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God, who are again steadfast and endured difficult circumstances. How do we endure in the Lord?
I know sometimes when I'm walking through different things, sometimes many times a day, Lord Jesus help me. Lord, you are my strength. I can do all things through you, Jesus, who strengthens me because I don't know about your life. Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed with so much to do, so much things going on in other people's lives.
And it grieves us. You have heard of the patient endurance at Job, and you are seeing the Lord's outcome. How he richly blessed Job. The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
He is full of compassion. And again, you know, it's not like God is shocked because these demons come to steal, kill and destroy. He sees them, but he's giving you the victory. He will give you the wisdom that you have need up to walk through anything that comes your way.
So persecution, we know it can be real, that it can be suffering in the earth, that you just keep your head up. You keep looking unto Jesus because one of these days we're out of here. I've enjoyed preaching the Word to you today. I'm trusting that it is making a difference in you.
Now I love you. I love you all. Hello, I'm Shontay Hoffman. Are you in an area in your life where you need a healing or a touch from the Lord?
God wants to touch your body or to just even touch you emotionally and give you his peace that passes all understanding. We know that the Bible gives us many promises of God's healing power. And Isaiah 53, in verse 4, it says, Surely he had born our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes, we are healed. I believe that God wants to touch you today in a mighty way.
We believe in God's Word and in his promises. And I feel that we can just hold fast to his promises every day and to speak his Word. I know that when my little boy was sick, that I just spoke the Word over him and I said, Micah, you will live and not die. And you will declare the Word to the Lord.
And I know that the Word says that Jesus, he sent his Word. And Jesus is the Word. God sent his Word to heal all of us from our sicknesses and diseases. Can I pray with you today that God will touch your body wherever you are?
The promise says that he will bring us peace. And it says that God even bore the grief and the sorrow that you may have today. That God wants to touch you mentally, physically, spiritually and every way. Let's pray.
Father, we just come to you, Lord, in the precious name of Jesus. And Father, I thank you for my brother and my sister today. Father, wherever they are, God, you know their need. And Father, I'm asking of you to touch their bodies.
Lord, to minister peace, enjoy and shrink to their hearts today. Father, I thank you for our healing and their bodies, that we can just hold fast to your promises that by Jesus' stripes, we are healed and we are whole. And Father, we thank you for your healing and my brother and sister today. Father, just touch their bodies by your power and by your might.
And Father, we thank you for it, that they are healed and they are whole in Jesus' holy name. Amen. We'll praise God. Please write to us their call and let us know what God has done for you today.
And I'm believing and I stand fast in prayer for your healing and from a touch from the Lord. Amen.