Encouragement

by Pastor Marie Esposito

True Faith and An Enlightened Heart

by Pastor Roy Esposito

Ephesians 1:18_(NIV) ”…that the eyes of your HEART would be enlightened in order to KNOW…”

— Our hearts will embrace what our heads can not.

— Our hearts will lead us to places in God that our heads could not even imagine.

— Courage and Valor can never be attributed to our intellect.
— Courage rises from our inner self and supersedes our reasoning.

— True faith has the same affect and influence over our minds.

— Faith doesn’t come because we understand; it comes from the Heart.

— We don’t believe because we understand —  We will understand because we believe.

— This current time — An opportunity to lift our lifestyle UP to the standard of God’s Word.

Psalm 119:105  — Love God’s Word and NOTHING will offend you.

— “Rest and peace will follow an unoffended heart.”  –PR

— We must embrace all of God’s instruction, AS IT IS WRITTEN, even before we understand why God has said it. And don’t think we can actually DO IT. — We must also learn to embrace NOT KNOWING  (mystery) as a BLESSING.

— It must be this way until we stand before Him at The Judgement  b/.c:
“God must violate our logic in order to pry us away from the deception that results from relying on our own reasoning.” — PR

— Proverbs 3:5  — Trust in God — NOT your reasoning!
— 1 Peter 5:7 — “Cast you cares on Him for He cares for you.”

— Having your hearts enlightened may not prevent you from becoming offended. it will give you the wisdom and ability to REPENT and move on and up with grace and peace!

Encouragement

by Pastor Marie Esposito

Moving Ahead In Faith

by Pastor Roy Esposito

 When fear and doubt roll in – remember:
You didn’t choose Him, He chose you to become like Him.

He chose you because He felt you could actually do it!

Remember also:  You are never alone in this undertaking  — HE is with you! He will help you.

John 14:26 – God’s gift: The Spirit of Holiness

Holiness – doing stuff God’s way.

Further instructions from this verse: DON”T YIELD TO FEAR, or be TROUBLED in your MIND.  Instead BE COURAGEOUS!

Courageous — to move ahead in faith because you TRUST HIS VOICE, even when you can’t see what lies ahead.

Luke 18:8 –  ”When I return will I find faith on the Earth?”

Faith – 1. Can’t be learned in the traditional way.
              2. Is gradually imparted to us through the Holy Spirit as we follow His prompts.
             3. Trains us through Divine encounters, supernatural experiences, and in revelation found in and because of the Holy Scripture.

Scripture that doesn’t lead to Divine encounter will only make us RELIGIOUS.

It teaches us to rely on external, Earthly standards created by man to try define God’s nature and ways.

H.S. revelation of scripture — teaches INTERNAL spiritual realities only knowable through the Spirit.

Revelation – given to transform the inner man to make possible a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Romans 8:7 (Passion)– “The unrenewed mind, focused on the flesh, fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to His direction — because it cannot!

1 Corinthians 2:5 – Faith established by God’s almighty power NOT man’s wisdom.

2 Timothy 3:5 – “…having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.”
        FORM BUT NO POWER!

2 Timothy 3:7 – “…always learning but never discovering the revelation of the knowledge of truth.”

“The better you get at hearing God’s voice the less fearful and more courageous you’ll become.” – PR

Ephesians 1:18 (NIV) – Our hearts enlightened so we can KNOW – have knowledge and understanding of – the HOPE and POWER of our salvation through Jesus Christ

Hebrews 11:1 – Faith gives us the ability to see what is yet unseen.

Trust God – Stay Strong – Keep moving ahead in faith – “See” the plan of God for you unfold through the continuous revelation the Spirit of Holiness will give.

Greeting from Pastor Marie Esposito

The Mystery of Faith

by Pastor Roy Esposito

Two realities that form our life:

1. To be present in the moment  —  ”Be where your feet are” — Sister  Josephine
2. Allow distractions to keep us asleep and create the illusion of truth.

Unknowns  — “Mystery”
Mystery  — Things not fully understood
Spiritual Mystery — a reality that’s not apparent through human reasoning and only knowable through divine revelation.

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)  – “Now faith is the substance ( REALIZATION) of things hoped for, the evidence (CONFIDENCE) in things not seen.”

Passion Bible — “ Faith brings our hope into reality. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.”

Belief transformed into Faith is an empowerment to life.

Habakkuk 2:4  — “ –the righteous shall live by faith.”  – NOT a command but a declaration of TRUTH.

Romans 1:17 (Passion)  “– moves us from receiving life through faith to the power of living by faith.”

Habakkuk 2:4 (Hebrew) — “ The righteous man by his faithfulness, consistency, firmness, belief, and steadfastness — SHALL LIVE”

“If I choose to live only by what I already understand I run the risk of creating a god who looks alot like me.” — PR

Luke 5:1-11 (NKJV)
Vs 1 — Taught the multitudes close to shore
Vs 2  – Two boats —   1. Our way      2.God’s way
Vs 4 — “launch out into the deep”

The blessings won’t be found in the shallow waters of faith. — PR

“Close to the shore”  — staying with what is comfortable and familiar, never really leaving the old ways.

“Launch out” into the deep waters of Faith — of His Presence— of His Word — of Worship — of the Spirit — of Joy  — launch out into the Deep of His Heart.

This is where the blessings and miracles are found!

Vs 6 — the miracle of the fish  – so many that the boat began to sink ( the old ways/life)
Vs 8 — The miracle actually revealed Peter’s true nature to himself
Vs 10 —  “Don’t be afraid.”

Luke 18:8   “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find Faith on the Earth?”

(Click on underlined heading to list to the messages)

A Word from Pastor Marie Esposito

Awake, You Who Sleep!
_{by Pastor Roy Esposito}

“Every act of compassion no matter how small or seemingly insignificant holds the potential to help many to the victory .of  an abundant life found in Christ Jesus.” – PR

Our “toys”/idols – rock us to sleep and cause us to stay asleep by offering us temporary relief from reality’s sufferings.

An old saying – “The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in marshes and flowers in gardens.”

“I was born asleep, I live asleep, and I will die asleep if not inspired to wake up.” – Anthony De Mello”

It’s only when we become sick of being sick will we seek the “cure” in earnest and wake up!

1 Peter 1:3-9 (NKJV)

Renewed minds in Christ can conquer fear, panic, rage, and greed.

Emotional Disarmament – not denying but laying aside our emotions in order to “see through” problems and not have to “wrestle” with them.

Warriors – sacrifice self-interest for the sake of the greater common good.
Children – demand that their desires be met.

Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

The Principal of Impermanence – all things eventually come to an end.

Questions: In what state will I be in when this pandemic ends?
How strong will my faith be?
                What will I have faith in?
                What will be the depth of my love for others?

Ephesians 6: 8-17

Worship

Rise Up

In The Shadow

Encouragement

Pastor Marie Esposito

Sermon

A Spiritual Vaccine (cont)

by Pastor Roy Esposito

Isaiah 55:11 – God’s Word doesn’t return to Him empty and without fruit.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 – His plan for us gives us HOPE for a future that’s fruitful.
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in Him with all you HEART

Levels of Truth:

Inferior Truth – Is informed by our own understanding – no real answers just speculations
Speculations are uncertainties
Uncertainties cause anxieties
Anxiety is a precursor to FEAR
FEAR is the opposite of FAITH
Faith gives us confident expectation

Superior Truth – God loves us – Is with us – Is in us!

Psalm 23:4 – “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”
Joshua 1:5-9

The Superior Truth doesn’t cancel the Inferior –It over-rides it!

The Spiritual Vaccine is not just the belief that God is with us. It is also the belief that we are with God – ONE with Him and partners with Him in this world and in this life,

Thank you to Rabbi Marc Gellman for his inspiration.

Rise Up!
by Marie Esposito

Look Up and Lift Your Heads

Psalm 23
Proverbs 3:5 – Put your Trust in God!
Psalm 121: 1-2 – Lift up your eyes!

The 15 Songs of Ascent – Psalms 120-134

Psalm 120 – A cry of distress to the Lord for help in great suffering
Psalm 121 – Song of praise to God who shields us from all the schemes of the enemy
Psalm 122 – Song of joy as we enter the holy city of God:  OT  – Jerusalem  —  NT — “New Jerusalem”
Psalm 123 – A cry to God for mercy
Psalm 124 – A ballad of how God saved His people from destruction
Psalm 125 – Dwelling in God’s peace
Psalm 126 – A song of restoration as God’s people gather in Jerusalem:
                   vs. 5 ” Those who sow their tears as seeds will reap a harvest with joyful glee.”
Psalm 127 – A reminder that without God we can do nothing.
Psalm 128 – The importance of reverence toward God.
Psalm 129 – A song of victory
Psalm 130 – Our hope in the Lord
Psalm 131 – A reminder to wait on the Lord with confident hope.
Psalm 132 – The importance of Jerusalem as God’s resting place.
Psalm 133 – A song of joy of the certainty we have in God and the power of His word.
Psalm 134 – A song of worship to God regarding the certainty we have in Him and the power of His word.

These 15 Psalms offer us a condensed version of the emotions we experience as God’s people as we “set our hearts on a pilgrimage.”
They are songs of praise, worship, lament, hope, defeat, and victory and especially trust in God.

Ps 146:6
Ps 84:5-7 – “Baca” – weeping
                                  a spring – life – rain – symbolic of the H.S. – pools – blessings

Luke 21:25-28 – “Look up and lift your heads.”

Romans 8:32 – He will freely give us all things!
Hebrews 4:16 – Access to His Throne of Grace where we will find HOPE and MERCY!