We’re One Body - So Let’s Take Good Care of It!...Part I

Ephesians 4:11-13…And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. 

“And He gave some” (v. 11, emphasis added). The Lord is the only one who has the power to call someone into the fivefold ministry office. He is the only one with the authority to hire leaders to build His Church, He does the background checks and the interviewing, hiring, and firing.  GOD is even the one who conducts the performance evaluation to determine whether or not the person hired will receive a promotion based upon his or her work ethic and job performance.

GOD calls, not man. GOD makes the decision regarding your promotion, not man. GOD looks at your heart to determine your next assignment, not man. It is the Lord who pours the knowledge and wisdom into your spirit regarding your purpose, not man. Everything begins and ends with GOD. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13).

“And He gave some.” (v. 11, emphasis added). GOD does not call everyone into the fivefold ministry office. This doesn’t mean that others are of less importance or have no responsibility within the body of Christ.  All parts of the body are essential components that are needed to function as a healthy and whole body.

 But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. (1 Corinthians 12:20–22).

End of Part I

Blessings from on High.

The Peacemakers are The Children of GOD!

Matthew 5:9…Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

GOD calls the “peacemakers” children of God. This passage of scripture is short, but powerful!  In order to be considered “peacemakers,” we must first resolve to find peace within ourselves.  Peace that sparks a praise that will release us from our personal ‘prison’ experiences. This peace exceeds our own understanding and comes only from GOD.

The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy our peace that comes from above. The enemy’s purpose is to distract our mind from GOD, from the study of His Word, Prayer, Praise, and Witnessing.  Once the devil knows he has you distracted, then he will place a desire in your mind to ‘eat’ of the things that are forbidden for you to ‘eat.’ Your eyes will focus on the ‘food’ the world offers and not on GOD. 

The world’s ‘food’ is temporal, but the ‘food’ GOD offers is eternal. Once your attention is off of GOD, your alignment to His will-will be jeopardized.  And Ultimately, your peace will  become hidden in ‘soil unable to produce any good fruit.  Only GOD can dig deep in you and pull out that seed of distraction the enemy planted.

In order to combat the subtle ties and tricks that disturb your peace, your lifestyle must be that of Consecration that comes through prayer, praise, worship, studying, and fasting. 

Our flesh must die daily as the Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:31. Although there may be a war going on in our members, we must always satisfy the thirst of our spirit man and drink the cup of Jesus Christ. As we drink from the cup of obedience to Jesus Christ, our peace will no longer be stolen from us at the altar of our own personal dilemmas and experiences.

The peace Jesus gives will bind the pieces of a puzzled past and lead us to our present-day promises.

John 14:27…Peace I [Jesus Christ] leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Blessings from on high!

ARE YOU A THERMOMETER OR A THERMOSTAT?

Let no one depise or think less of you because of your youth, but be an example (pattern) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity!" 1 Timothy 4:12

A thermometer is an instrument for determining temperature. It simply reflects the environment. Individuals that are thermometers will say what everyone else says and do what everyone else does. However, GOD has called all of His children to be thermostats. A thermostat is an automatic device for regulating temperature.....it sets the atmosphere! As a blood bought believer, it is important that you don't just live in this world, but that you set the atmosphere by being an example. As 1Timothy 4:12 it says you must be an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. Jesus has called His children to set the "speech temperature", "conduct temperature", "love temperature", "faith temperature", and "purity temperature." Don’t be like the thermometer who only reflects what is going on in its surroundings, instead do as 1 Corinthians 11:1 says and be imitators of Christ, so that others can follow you as you follow Him! Remember, GOD called you the salt of the earth and the light of the world! Salt adds flavor and seasons…it is not bland! And light shines in dark places! You are salt, you are light, you are a city that sits on the hill! Set the atmosphere, be an example, and shine! Don’t worry about being seen by others, because you cannot and will not be hidden according to Matthew 5:14! Many will see the life you live for Christ and the example you set and will want to know and glorify the GOD that you serve. That's why it’s important that you always go with GOD! To go with the flow of this world is to live with limitations, but to go with the flow of GOD, is to open yourself to unlimited possibilities that you have never before imagined! When you follow and go with the world you will limit yourself because any and everything you do will be based on what the world has done or is doing. Forget about being extraordinary….or standing out…you will just reflect the temperature that the world sets. But when you follow and go with GOD…you will see the impossible become possible! You will allow GOD to lead you and with Him, you will set the temperature and be the example! Today, no matter what you face....decide to go with GOD! Follow Him instead of this world! Be an example and set the atmosphere! Don’t reflect the world because the world is constantly changing! The world can be up today and down tomorrow. Instead reflect on GOD....He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! And He does not and will not change!

                                                                                                                      WHAT'S IN YOUR MOUTH?

What is in your mouth? Are you eating things that are just for temporary comfort/relief? Are you speaking things that have no spiritual value? Then Now is the time for you to open your mouth and speak words of faith, not unbelief or doubt! You have a purpose! And In order to walk into your destiny you must watch your tongue! Death and life are in the power of the tongue!! So Watch your mouth!!!

In Colossians 3:2 it says, "I set my affections on things above!" I opened my mouth and spoke over my gift and it manifested and grew right before my eyes. Check this out! Paul said No one else had to speak over my gift, no one else had to approve my gift…all it took was for me to open my mouth in agreement with the WORD and cry aloud, spare not and declare what thus saith the Lord!

Yes, you do have a purpose and yes your destiny will be manifested, but you must open your mouth by faith and speak word(s) over your life! “.......Call those things which be not as though they were!” (Romans 4:17) So go to the mirror.........look.........who do you see?  IT IS YOU! Now speak, say….I decree that I will be a success! I am the head and not the tail, I'am above and not beneath!!! SPEAK UP!!! Your mouth is too powerful! Remember that Jesus always spoke in the present what He expected to see in the future. Now Today.....speak the Word only over your life! Speak what you expect and not what you fear! Speak!! It's not supposed to make sense.....it's supposed to make FAITH!  What's in your MOUTH?

Lift up your Head and you will Lift up your Gate!

Psalm 24:7…Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in”.

YOU are the gate holding the key that will unlock your future and launch you into the next wave of God’s glory. You are the door that must be opened. 

Lifting up your head is your responsibility. No one else can do it for you. Others can motivate, encourage, and inspire, but ultimately you must decide to position yourself for the lift.

 Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”.

GOD stands at the door of your heart knocking. GOD stands at the door of loneliness, unforgiveness, disappointment, frustration, anger, and heartache—knocking.  GOD is waiting for you to open up and let Him in. Can you hear Him knocking? His knock may come in the form of an opportunity. His knock may come in the form of a promotion. His knock may come in the form of enlarged territory. His knock may come in the form of increased faith.  Just listen for His knock.

You are the gate that must be unlocked and the door that must be opened. GOD is waiting for you to let Him in.

Blessings from on high.

Their Is Power in the Wait!

Isaiah 40:31...But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”.

If we will be truly honest, waiting can be a difficult thing. When GOD has promised us increase, greater, miracles, healing, a spouse, etc., and that promise has not yet happened, we are tempted to question Him and His Word. However, during the wait we must realize that GOD is doing an inner work in us. We may have to stay in the wilderness a little longer than expected in order to flush some things out of us that could be a hindrance to stepping into the promises that GOD has prepared for us. GOD knows exactly how long the wait should be so that when the promises appear, we are ready for them mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Isaiah 40:31 identifies several experiences during the “waiting” period.

1)    Our strength is renewed. GOD renews our strength supernaturally by stabilizing our thoughts. Can we be real. The human side of us will always focus on negative things and that those things are the reason for our promises being stalled.  The word of GOD tells us that a double-minded man is unstable in all of His ways, and let not that man think that he will receive anything from the LORD (James 1:8). It takes a person strong in the faith to bring his or her thoughts into alignment with God’s. Each test we face in life brings with it renewed strength for our spiritual journey. This strength carries us one step closer to His promises.

2)    We will mount up with wings as eagles. Not only is our strength renewed, but we will learn how to soar during adverse and turbulent winds. GOD mounts us up by His Spirit, causing us to soar in extreme conditions. It is not by our might or power, but by His Spirit that will give us the lift to rise above our storms. As we mount up and fly, we will soar higher and higher into the presence of GOD where nothing else matters but Him. As we are caught up in the air, He will then drop unexpected blessings for us to enjoy at the moment we least expect it. GOD desires that our attention is more on Him than His promises. He commands us not to have any other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3). We must never reach a point where His promises become our god. The wait is preparing us to rise up and soar.

3)    We will run and not be weary. GOD will give us endurance. As we focus on fulfilling His purpose during the wait, He will give us endurance to persevere. His assignment must come first. As we serve in His assignment for our life, then He will serve us with His promises. Our mission in life should be to serve Him, faithfully.

4)    We will walk and not faint. During the wait you are actually walking into the promises of GOD.

Blessings from on high.

KNOW WHAT DOOR YOU'RE ABOUT TO ENTER!

We are all familiar with doors. In our natural lives we use doors every day. They simply represent a way to transition from one area into another area. Merriam-Webster defines a door as “a usually swinging or sliding barrier by which an entry is closed and opened.” I prefer to define a door simply as “something that opens and closes” and something that separates this from that. GOLDEN NUGGET A Door Is Something That Opens and Closes and Separates This from That We commonly use the term door in a broader sense such as a door of opportunity opening up, or perhaps a door to a new job.

Just as there are physical doors and doors of opportunity, there are also spiritual doors. Some doors can only be opened at the appropriate time. Some doors can only be opened up by the right people. Some doors can only be opened by the Spirit of God. Some doors will only open specifically to access destructive forces. There are many, many kinds of doors. To help expand on this concept, here are a few door types for you to consider:

• Natural and Physical Doors

• Geographical Doors

• Spiritual Doors

• Doors in Time
• Doors of Relationships
• Doors of Opportunity
• Doors of Blessing
• Doors of Destruction

Revelation 3:7-8 says, “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.

Blessings,

CA L.R.Gooden Jr.

IT'S REALIGNMENT TIME!

I want to talk to you about the word RE-ALIGNMENT.

The definition of Re-alignment is the act or instance of restoring or changing something to a previous or different position.

There has been a clear changing of the guard for the last few years as several major leaders have been moved, demoted, stripped down, exposed, or passed away.

After a great testing, a new generation of Christian leaders are emerging from the sidelines. Largely unknown, they have been prepared in obscurity for such a time as this just like with Esther. They will be of all ages and from all backgrounds to include men and women.  And what will matter the most is that they will have a pure heart fully devoted to God.

It has never been more vital for God’s people to realign themselves with the right people in the right places. Our destiny will depend upon our correct alignment in this new season upon us.  Warning this may mean exiting from significant relationships, changing jobs, career fields which may include resigning from your sororities and secret societies and even possibly moving and relocating to a different region.

It may be painful, uncomfortable, and lonely for a season. But don’t allow false loyalty to keep you in an old wineskin. God has much more for you – but you may need to reposition or disconnect from some things to fully enter into it.

Luke 5:37 NKJV…And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.

Blessings,

CA L.R.Gooden Jr.

EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE!

I want to talk to you about the word EXPOSURE:

What is Exposure it is the act or condition of being exposed to something dangerous, cold, or harmful, or the harmful effect of something on your body. It also means the revealing of something private or secret, the revealing of a person's bad or immoral character, or the revealing of a person's secrets.

Things that have been hidden will continue to be revealed at a faster pace. Great deceptions will be exposed. There will be a desperate attempt to continue to cover-up corruption, lies, injustice, fraud, greed, and other evils but It will fail. Evil will overplay its hand. Light will shine into the darkest corners of corruption.  Secret documents and recordings will surface and a level of exposure will come that will shock all political factions.

National leaders will be disgraced and will be removed before their terms are finished. Anger will boil over among people and there will be protests on the streets and great civil unrest.  Trust in all institutions (banking, investing, schools, hospitals etc will be fractured).  And in the midst of this, evil leaders will arise from the sidelines who will gather people to themselves. Some will start out to appear to be noble and trustworthy; others will be demonically assigned to create chaos and advance the antichrist agenda. Discernment will be vital for our survival. The enemy will use the chaos to attempt to install more puppet leaders in government to continue their ruthless agenda to destroy the world.

Matthew 10:26 NKJV…Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 

Peace and Blessings,

CA L.R.Gooden Jr.

DO NOT BE MOVED BY THE DISRUPTIONS!

I want to talk to you about the word DISRUPTION:

We are living in a time of disruption. Crisis after crisis has been coming upon the earth as the shaking, shifting, and sifting continues (and even intensifies) for the foreseeable future.

The spiritual and geopolitical tectonic plates are shifting and colliding in every region of the earth and sphere of society. The epicenters of power are being redefined. There is a great displacement taking place. As new alliances are formed between different countries, some previously ‘emerging’ nations will rise to great prominence as others that were at the forefront of power will see their dominance  significantly decline for the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

This global realignment in 2024 will bring war, violence, material conflict, economic sanctions, uprisings, strikes, attempted murders and even political assassinations.  We will also experience an unprecedented rise in natural disasters and other unusual crises, including contamination of food/water and unusual diseases that make COVID-19 look like nothing.

We must continue to watch the Middle East because it’s very volatile, especially with what happens in Israel as the war with hamas palestinians continue to rack up insurmountable deaths that will cause world leaders to pressure Israel into a cease fire.  Long-standing allies will turn their back on Zion. But God will defend His people.  There will be much fear and anxiety as people simply won’t know where to turn. It may even appear as if the world is coming to an end…but we all know that time has not yet because the 3rd temple hasn’t even been built yet.

Matthew 24:7-8 NKJV…For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows. But know that for the Remnant GOD has opened a door of escape in 5784.

Peace and Blessings to you in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ.

CA L.R.Gooden Jr.