Month: May 2022

Posted on

The Ascension – 29-May-22

by Pastor Roy Esposito

                                     The Ascension                                    5-29-22

– 2Cor 1:20 (TPT) “For all of God’s promises find their YES of fulfillment in Him. And as His Yes and our Amen ASCEND to God, we bring Him glory.”

– When God is Glorified, His power is Magnified. It is the power given to believers to overcome any obstacle that may arise.

– Message Bible – “It is a sure beginning to what God plans to complete.”

–PROMISE- [Grk] Espangelia  – Both the Promise itself and the assurance of that promise’s fulfillment

–  REMEMBER – RECORD  – REVIEW  – RECITE (aloud) and they will become the very fabric of your Being and the platform of your operations.

– Jesus Christ is both the Promise of God and the fulfillment of it.

– Phil 2:13 – “For it is God who works in you to will and to work, for His good pleasure.”

– It is God, Himself, whose power creates in us the desire to come to fulfill His Purpose for us.

– Rom 8:28 (NLT)  – “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

– Rom 8:29 (NLT) -” And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And He gave them right standing with Himself, and he PROMISED them his glory.”

– God has invited us into the holy community He shares with His Son and the Holy Spirit.

– Qualifiers: 

1. To LOVE as defined in 1Cor 13:4-7 {please read for clarity}

2. Say “YES” to His call. We are “called” to become MORE THAN WE ARE: A call to His Purpose.

– Eastertide: 5 celebrations that each underline a specific step in the process of “becoming’.

  1. Lent – A sacrifice of SELF. Speaks of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert and the 3 temptations He faced and overcame. 

– These are common to humanity and must be faced and rejected:

a. Temptation to sieze Power – b. To base identity on Prestige – c. Gain status through Possessions.

  1. Palm Sunday  Relates to the Passion with which Jesus embraced His purpose.

Passion Week – Week in between Palm and Resurrection Sundays.

Speaks of the need for daily expressions of purpose.

                  3. Resurrection Sunday – Speaks of the transformation of all creation

          4. Ascension  Day – Celebrates the final blow to satan’s power over the  

                               earth. It is the assurance of the promise’s fulfillment

          5. Pentecost – The giving of the power to become the New Creation            

                    through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit     

– *Interesting*  – Before Jesus ascended He took His disciples to the Mt. of Olives: The place first associated with His suffering and passion but now the place associated with His Glory.   

– It was a seminal moment of transition: From the passion of His suffering to the Glory of His resurrection.

– Within the process of Transformation there is Transition.  

– Ascension Day – is a reminder of Jesus’ total victory over evil.

– Remembrance – becomes a transitional factor as we move from sorrow, doubt, discouragement, and fear to joy, hope, and greater faith.  

–                       Three Important Theological Truths 

  1. He ascended into heaven in bodily form – not just vapor – not just Spirit 

       Inference; He took humanity to the heavenly realm with Him

  1. Assures us of joining  Him, The Father, and the Holy Spirit in Holy Communion and Community
  2. Assurance of His continued mediation and intercession for us and giving us access to the ongoing flow of the Holy Spirit’s power.                                                                                                       
Posted on

Communion 22-May-2022

We want to do something physical in order to release the supernatural.
We lift our hands to You, Jesus, in complete surrender.
God, we praise You and exalt You right now.
Praise creates a forcefield around us that the enemy cannot touch.
It lifts us into the heavenly realm. 
Worship releases Your manifest Presence into our lives.
We bow down and worship You, Lord.
We speak and declare that:
We desire to diminish the enemy’s plan 
We want to launch Your plan, Lord, here, right now, in agreement with Your Word and the Holy Spirit.
We want to release Your kingdom in every area of our lives.
God, Your intention is that we live in Your heartbeat renewed, transformed, empowered, and filled.
We desire to abide and remain in a communal relationship with You.

Thank You, Lord, and Amen.

When we take communion: we are celebrating the finished work of the
Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, together as His body.  We are DECLARING AND DECREEING THAT THE CROSS HAS THE FINAL SAY in our lives.  What Jesus paid for with His life is ours.

For communion:

  • prepare
  • worship
  • find rest
  • find peace

EXCHANGE REALMS.

We separate from the first Adam and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and attach ourselves to the last Adam and the Tree of Life in a covenant relationship with Him.
–Wade Taylor

We are a branch attached to the Vine in a place of abiding and remaining.  THEN WE TAKE COMMUNION AS AN ACT OF FAITH.

In the kingdom of God, physical obedience brings spiritual release.  Life is released through our obedience.
–Bill Johnson

[We practice the disciplines in faith to bring life to our lives.]

So, what did Jesus say about communion?
Paul writes in I Corinthians 11:23-25,26

Taking communion
POSITION and aligning ourselves.
He said to do it often.
Stand soberly, reverentially, resting and at peace: grateful and celebrating your victory.

How we stand:

  • Worship
  • Rest
  • Peace  

Worship – in gratitude, opens the heavens. 

Rest creates a relational cycle of constant surrender – We rest in the awareness that God is present.

Peace is a ruling state of being. 

“When we take communion, we remember Who He is and What He has done.  We agree with what Jesus did for us – we declare and decree in agreement with the power of His crucifixion and resurrection by our actions – celebrating communion with Him.”
–Marie Esposito

Taking His very life (the Bread) and drinking His blood ( the fruit of the vine),  we receive.

We agree and announce BY OUR ACTIONS what Jesus did, and we receive empowerment from the spirit realm.

“Communion is the meal of absolute victory; Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross was more than enough to bring healing to our bodies and freedom from sin.  Jesus commanded us to take communion in remembrance of Him that we would continually live aware of the victory we walk in.”
–Bill Johnson

1 Corinthians 10:16-17

Jesus is the Bread of Life.  We are His body.  Communion brings His very life into our body.

The law of the Spirit of Life – we are SET FREE FROM THE LAW of sin and death through His Resurrection and Ascension  –
WE  receive healing, divine health, and longevity of life.
We identify with His Life gift- we are SET FREE  by HIS BLOOD
Romans 8
First Adam – a living soul
Last Adam – Quickening Spirit.

LIVING BREAD – LIVING BODY – LIVING BLOOD – LIVING LIFE
WE RECEIVE THE POWER OF AN ENDLESS LIFE. – Hebrews 7:16

We celebrate this when we take communion.

Posted on

Power to Overcome – 15-May-2022

Align by Pastor Marie Esposito
by Pastor Roy Esposito

“Born Again” – a new state of being

It begins with a personal decision with a commitment to that which will allow me to apprehend it.

I must come to the truth that there is no ME apart from my actual life.

I am not separate from my life – I can’t say “I believe” – and then act in a totally opposite manner.

Being Born Again can’t remain just a concept. 

It must translate into what I actually do in my daily interactions IF it is to be meaningful.

Because – if I don’t LIVE it, I will never EXPERIENCE the benefits of what it tangibly means for my life

Without experiencing God’s goodness, it will be hard to believe His promises and plans for me.

Experiencing the goodness that following Jesus affords is foundational to attaining the “Life More Abundant” that He spoke about.

When we receive Jesus as our Lord, we receive LIBERTY.

But without Experiencing His goodness, Liberty can soon devolve into License.

This is because there is a constant conflict within each of us—a battle for control of our minds.

Romans 8:7-9 – “The carnal mind is enmity with the Spirit.”

The solution lies in yielding to the Spirit of God.

Galatians 5:16-17(TPT) – ”As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.

“For your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder Him from living free within you!  And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self-life from dominating you.  So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.”

It is important to understand and acknowledge that the battle we’re engaged in is not with some overpowering cosmic force from without; the battle is WITHIN.

We have to “see” that what seems invincible has ALREADY been defeated by Jesus’ cross. – and act as such.

If not, we will continue to convince ourselves that we are just helpless victims and not Victorious Conquerors.  [see Romans 8:32-39(TPT)]

If we believe we are helpless, we won’t continue to wrestle – we’ll just ‘let it happen to us” – We’re Only Human – right?

Ironically, these patterns of wrong thoughts that lead to wrong actions are not the invincible forces they masquerade as – they’re instead fragile!

They are a simple matter of old habits, feelings, and perceptions we carry about certain things and people.

They are remnants of the “Old Man” and the “Shadow Nature.”

They are typically activated without any reflection.

We probably would not have let them influence us if we had thought things through.

Often these actions of sin are actually contrary to who we really are.

They are rarely the result of deliberation and careful calculations.

Left unchecked, our routine unconscious behavior will manage to keep our deliberate will and conscious mind off-balance and on the defensive.

This causes us to do more wrong through denial, rationalization, the use of misleading words, or outright lies.

Romans 14:17 – “The Kingdom of God is Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Spirit.” – Right?

These are INNER conditions of being.

Luke 17:21 – “…for indeed, the Kingdom of God is WITHIN you.”

This is why the battle is fought within:
It’s a matter of what’s IN us that will make the difference in the type of life we’ll live.

John 14:30 – Jesus told them, “…the ruler of this world is coming, but he has NOTHING IN ME.”

The struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane was a matter of Jesus’ inner man – His mind and emotions – being hammered, trying to get Him to Distrust the Father.

But it was what was NOT in Jesus that kept Him impervious to the attack of the enemy; ultimately, the ruler of this world had nothing in Him! – and He was aware of that!

Yielding to the Spirit and becoming Born Again allows the Spirit’s power to keep us from being deceived.

We are able to realize that nothing has the power to lead us into wrong thoughts or actions except that which we have given power by permitting it to remain in us.

And the most dangerous ones are the “little things” that we leave unattended to because we regard them as “normal.”

But we are no longer normal if we’re “Born Again.”  We are a new species(new creation) that hold heavenly characteristics.

Experiencing it will seal it as our “New Normal.”

Fortunately, God has equipped us for victory in the battle.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6(TPT) “…our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide.  We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude raised in defiance of God’s true knowledge.  Like prisoners of war, we capture every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.

Since we are armed with such dynamic weaponry, we stand ready to punish any trace of rebellion as soon as you CHOOSE COMPLETE OBEDIENCE.”

We will have victory when we choose, fully and freely, to surrender the old stuff to the Spirit.

It can be as simple as, “Yes, Lord, I want to be Born Again.”

Posted on

A Mother’s Influence – 5/8/2022

Mother’s Day Encouragement by Pastor Marie
A Mother’s Influence by Pastor Roy

5-8-22

Today is a day set aside to honor mothers.

Not everyone is a mother but all of us Have mothers.

There are many types of mothers: good ones, bad ones, biological, spiritual even DEN mothers  for the Cub Scouts among us

It’s been said that Mother’s Day is traditionally the day when children give something back to their mothers for all the Spit they produce while washing dirty faces, all the old gum they held in their hands, all the noses they wiped, and all the bloody knees they ‘made well’ with their kisses.

This is a day mothers are rewarded for washing sheets in the middle of the night, driving kids to school when they missed the bus, and enduring all those football and soccer games in the rain.

Mothers hold a very influential part in our lives.

I believe the greatest, most important job in the world is being a mother.

Mothers are teachers, disciplinarians, and cleaning ladies; some are gardeners and landscapers. Mothers are Doctors, Lawyers, Psychologists, and counselors– chauffeurs and coaches.

Mothers are peacemakers, Nurses, educators, accountants, and entertainers

Mothers are developers of personalities, and molders of attitudes.

Mothers are soft voices saying, ”I love you, it’s gonna be OK.”  

Mothers are a LINK to GOD – they are the first impression of God’s love for us.

For all this and much, much more – we celebrate moms today.

Mother’s Day began as an early Christian festival in Europe called “Mothering Sunday” – and the faithful were called back to their original Mothe Church

It was designated to be on the 4th Sunday of Lent.

In the USA two women were integral to the celebration of Mother’s Day: Ann Jarvis and Julia Howe

Just before the Civil War, and although she had no children of her own,  Ann Jarvis started “Mother’s Day Work Clubs to teach young mothers how to care for their children

These clubs became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided by the war.

In 1868, “Mother’s Friendship Day” began  and both union and confederate soldiers gathered to promote reconciliation

1870 – Julia Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” which was a call to mothers to unite for world peace.

1914 Pres. Woodrow Wilson established the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, with no mention of reconciliation nor world peace.

Mothers are a conveyance of generational spiritual blessings and anointings: and a great catalyst in faith-building.

2 Timothy 1:4b-5 (TPT)  “I’m filled with joy as I think of your strong faith that passed down through your family line. It began with your grandmother, Lois, who passed it on to your dear mother, Eunice. And it’s clear that you too are following in the footsteps of their godly example.”

Today, we’re gathered to make a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.  We love you moms!

End with a column written by Erma Bombeck:

On the Day Mothers Were Created
-Erma Bombeck

On the day God created mothers He had already worked overtime.

An angel said to Him, “Lord, you sure are spending a lot of time on this one.”

The Lord turned and said, ”Have you read the specs on this model? She is completely washable, but not plastic. She is to have 180 moving parts, all of them replaceable. She is to have a kiss that will heal everything from a broken leg to a broken heart.

She is to have a lap that disappears whenever she stands up.  She is to be able to function on black coffee and leftovers.  And she is supposed to have six pairs of hands.”

“Six pairs of hands!”, said the angel, “that’s impossible.”

“It’s not the six pairs of hands that’s the problem,” said the Lord, “It’s the three pairs of eyes.

She’s supposed to have one pair that sees through closed doors so that whenever she says, “What are you kids doing in there?” She already knows what they’re doing in there.

She has another pair in the back of her head to see all the things she’s not supposed to see.  And she has one right in front that can look at a child and who goofed and communicate love and understanding without saying a word.”

“That’s too much”, said the angel, “You can’t put that much into one model.  Why don’t you rest for a while and resume your creating tomorrow?”

“No, I can’t”, said the Lord, “I’m close to creating someone very much like myself.  I’ve already come up with a model who can heal herself when she’s sick – and who can feed a family of six with one pound of hamburger and who can persuade a nine-year-old to take a shower.”

Then the angel looked at the model more closely and said, ”She’s too soft.”

“Oh, but she’s tough”, said the Lord, “You’d be surprised at how much this mother can do.”

“Can she think?” asked the angel “Not only can she think”, said the Lord, “but she can reason and compromise and persuade.”

Then the angel reached over and touched her cheek. “This one has a leak,” he said. “I told you, that you couldn’t put that much in one model.”

“That’s not a leak”, said the Lord, “That’s a tear.”

“What’s a tear for?” asked the angel.

“Well, it’s for joy and sadness, disappointment and for pride.”

“You’re a genius,” said the angel.

And the Lord said, “Oh. I didn’t put that there, it’ comes as part of the package.”

Posted on

Born Again – 1-May-2022

Being Born Again – is NOT just “changing uniforms and teams”- Devils to Angels.

It should signal that one has received and accepted a Divine Invitation to a whole new State of Being – Spiritually Transformative.

John 2 – Jesus does His first miracle: Water to Wine at a wedding feast.

John 2:11 – “…This was a sign revealing His glory (illuminating His divine state of being), and His disciples Believed in Him.”

Something out of the ordinary was seen, which caused people to believe.

“I believe that when we are Born Again, our lives should reflect something “out of the ordinary” – in our words, actions, and attitudes – but also in a godly Heart approach to everything and everyone we interact with.” – PR

John 2:23 – “…many believed in His name when they SAW the signs He did.”

Believing seems tied to Seeing.

John 3 – Nicodemus, the Teacher of Israel – “How does this work?  It’s God, I know – BUT HOW?”

John 3:3 – ”Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is Born Again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus could see the miracles but couldn’t understand them. He could recognize the Kingdom but couldn’t conceive how it worked.

John 3:5-6 – Born of water (Water of the Word: Ephesians 5:25-26, James 1:18, 1 Peter 1:23) and the Spirit’s breath one cannot enter the Kingdom – Flesh is Flesh / Spirit is Spirit.

Abilities that accompany the New Birth:

The Word of God becomes clearer

H.S. works and wonders become solid experiences

Faith comes alive

Affectations of the Kingdom become realized – “On Earth, as it is in Heaven.”

“New birth is more than being “saved.”  It is a requalifying experience opening up the possibilities of our whole being to the supernatural dimension of life fitting us for a beginning in God’s kingdom order.”  – J. Hayford

Keys:  1. Must be received by FAITH

2. Give oneself to it fully

Alternatives:  

Religious people

Consumer Christians – a) “Get out of hell free”  b) Utilize church for activities without ever giving their lives fully to God –  inner selves, thoughts, feelings, and intentions. Never inwardly transformed and not committed to becoming so.

The experiences received in this realm are transforming – step by step – “Glory to Glory.”

If we are not motivated by the Spirit, we will remain motivated by another force: Our natural proclivity toward SIN – Romans 6:16 “Slaves to sin.”

2 Corinthians 3:16-18(TPT) (PLEASE READ)

Psalms 27:13 – “Lord, I want to SEE and EXPERIENCE your goodness here in the “land of the living.  I’m willing to commit to that which will allow me to do so.”