Make Me Over - The Shaping Process

This year every thing we are doing is about building on the foundation that God has provided for us. Everything from the recurring events to the series preached from month to month builds on where we have already been.

We have Shifted and God has Shaken us….Now it’s time to ask God to Make Us Over. There are some things God wants to do through us, but we cannot truly walk in our calling until we are made over. God wants to Shape our Image, our Faith, our Attitude, and our Actions.

No matter how dark our past or present, God is saying He is not finished with us. He wants to create something in us that will not only show the world His power but will bring glory to HIS name.

This series will give us a new self respect for the shaping process. The shaping like the shaking is not always comfortable and smooth but the end result will blow our minds. We must be patient through the process. We must submit to the process. Watch God shape us into the vessels He can use. All we have to do is tell God to Make Me Over.

Get Ready for the Shaking

As we get ready for the next phase in the life of this ministry, God is doing some shaking. The Lord is shaking up some things in our lives, in our ministry, and in our nation. The shaking is the preparation period for our blessings. The shaking is preparing us for our destiny.

The Bible declares in Haggai that the latter temple will be greater than the former. Maybe you’ve lost some things in the valley of your life. Maybe you’ve lost some relationships along the way. Or maybe you feel just plain lost. Well, God is going to shake us and things around us to get us back on the right track.

God wants to Restore things – joy, finances, health, relationships. He wants to Reposition us – situations in life may have gotten us off track for our destiny, but God wants to put us on the right track. He wants to Redefine us – give us a new identity and show us who we really are in God. We are special. We are chosen by God. We matter to God. God is going to restore things, reposition us and redefine us. Are you ready for the shaking?

Fighting for Your Life

During this time in history it is important for the believer to acquire as many victories as possible. Some of the challenges we face are unlike anything we have ever seen and beyond the magnitude of past fights.
For this reason God has led me to minister a series entitled “Fight for Your Life”. There are many areas where Satan is trying to attack and we must be ready for the fight. Whether you are struggling in your relationships, your finances or your faith, there is direction from God on how to handle your fight.
From forgiveness to focus, from faith to your family all of us need to fight to keep things together. In this series God will give the tools we need to stay in the fight. If we just stay in there and follow His direction we all know that the fight is fixed and we win. Don’t give up, stay in the Fight for Your Life.

Excerpt from first sermon in the "Fight for Your Life" Series:
We need to take a real close look at what Christ did at Calvary. Somebody is in a fight right now. You’re fighting right now to forgive someone that has wronged you. You’re fighting to forgive someone that has said something bad to you. You’re fighting to forgive someone that has mistreated you. Maybe when you look back down the dark corridors of your life, you’re fighting to forgive someone who has molested you; that has raped you. You’re fighting to forgive someone that has abused you in your life. But I stopped by this morning to challenge each and every one of us that just as Christ forgave those at Calvary.
It is God’s desire and design that we forgive those that have wronged and mistreated us. One of the greatest challenges in life is to forgive someone that has wronged or mistreated you. But when you don’t forgive others, it places you in a position to miss out on the blessings of God for your life. You place yourself out of divine position that you cannot receive everything that God has in store for you.
Most importantly, God wants us to forgive voluntarily, immediately and completely. That is when we are freed to receive what He has in store for us.

New Opportunities

Greetings in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. I am so excited to join you via the internet through our blogspot and e-newsletter. It is my goal to be more in touch with the St. Mark congregation and with the community as a whole.

I recently challenged the congregation at St. Mark Baptist Church to realize the magnitude of what God is doing in our midst. We have an awesome opportunity before us and it is up to us to step out and make the most of this time. We must be prepared. We must partner with God. And we must pursue our purpose. The manifestation will blow our minds.

As we closed out 2008, I put the finishing touches on my series dealing with the “Shift of God”. As the country has now shifted into a new political era with the swearing in of President Barack Obama, so God has orchestrated a shift in the religious community. There is a renewed urgency about the plan of God for each and every one of our lives. God is ready to do great and mighty things in our churches and communities, in this country and around the globe. God is ready to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think. But we must be in position.

We must move into position so that we can be all that God has called us to be. What that means is that we must understand the opportunity of the Shift. When we experience a great shift in our lives, it is an opportunity for us to either change or strengthen our position. Some are babes in Christ and some of us have been walking with God for a while and are firm in our relationship with God. Regardless of where we are on our walk with Christ, there are always areas where we can improve in our walk.

First, we must Prepare for the great opportunity that God is presenting to us. Preparation means spending time with God through worship, prayer and study. As a matter fact, in response to a recent poll on our church website, many who responded said that they had trouble hearing and knowing the voice of God. Through prayer and consideration I began this new year with a series entitled “How to Hear from God.” If we are going to grow in our relationship with God we have to hear from Him and that means spending time with Him. Worship ushers us into the presence of God. It gives Him the honor that He is due and opens our hearts to receive from Him. Then we must pray often. Prayer is our direct communication with God. It is the time we spend giving thanks and petitioning God as a child talks to his father. It is also the time that God uses to speak to us about the direction He wants us to go. Then we must study His word for revelation. The word of God is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105) We need to know the word of God so that we will have clarity and direction.

Then after we have Prepared to make the most of this opportunity, we must Partner with God. A partnership is the pulling together of two or more who have a common goal or purpose. By partnering with God we can’t fail. He has all the resources. He knows the purpose and the expected outcome and He is able to protect us against whatever roadblocks may come our way. A successful partnership in the kingdom takes a willing vessel and it takes an all-knowing and all-powerful God. And understand that in every partnership there is a senior partner. There is someone who has the majority say-so. Because God is who He is, I think it is wise for us to view Him as the senior partner. We are finite beings. We can only know so much and only do so much on our own. But, God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts. When we are willing to allow ourselves to be used by God, that is when the miraculous takes place in our lives and the lives we touch.

Now, once we have made preparations and formed the right partnership it is time to Pursue our Purpose. In your prayer and study time with God He will show you the things that He has called you to do, your purpose. When you seek God, He will give you the desires of your heart. Your heart’s desire should be to do whatever you can to please Him. Your heart’s desire should be to fulfill the purpose for which you were created. He gives each of us spiritual gifts, talents and abilities that were designed to be used to glorify Him. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-8) When we press toward the purpose we complete the assign God has for us. Remember there is a prize when we press. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-15)

Continue to prepare for your great opportunities, make God your senior Partner, and you will have the strength and courage to pursue your Purpose.

Internet Broadcast

St. Mark is excited to inform you that in 2009 we will be streaming live Sunday mornings at the 8am service. To watch the live stream and other videos including the choir concert "Next Level Praise" visit our website at WWW.SMARK.ORG or www.mogulus.com/stmarklr.

It's time to SHIFT!

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Something new in 2009!

Beginning in January 2009, Bishop Steven Arnold will be posting inspirational blogs to keep you in touch with the messages at St. Mark. Post your comments, ask questions and most importantly open up and tell us God is using St. Mark and Bishop Arnold to touch your life. Look for this new addition in January 2009.