Category: Sermon

Recordings; notes; and/or scripture references from the weekly sermons from the RCF pulpit.

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You’ve Got a Friend

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting yourself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and LISTENING to His voice in the depths of your hearts. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.” –Mother Teresa

  • Being ALONE – can allow us to enter into peaceful solitude and find salvation and rest
  • LONELINESS  – carries with it a vague sense of not mattering or not belonging
  • LONELINESS – is melancholic and nostalgic – a longing for “home” and the peace that comes from solitude.

“Home is the place where when you get there, they have to let you in.”
    –Robert Frost

  • “Home” – not as much as being a building but a web of relationships.
  • We’re at HOME when we are with people who know us and still care for us regardless of our behavior
  • Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to ME…”
  • A FRIEND – is someone you know, like, and trust; one who will stand with you in a struggle.
  • All of Jesus’ early disciples either knew each other or were related to one another. They weren’t randomly picked.
  • Point: He knew them BEFORE He called them – warts and all!
  • Jesus’ chosen friends:
  1. Peter– proud, tempestuous, impetuous, denied the Lord
    Luke 22:50-51 – Cuts a guy’s ear off
    Galatians 2:11 – “A man-pleaser.”
    Matthew 17:4 – Rude and spoke out of turn
    1. Thomas – John 20:19-25 – Unbelief
    1. John – The “Apostle of Love” – wanted to incinerate people -Spirit of MURDER
  • James and John – “Sons of Thunder” – All Noise – No Power!
  • Mark 9:38 – “Hey, you’re not from MY CHURCH-put that demon back in that guy.”
  • Women with them;  Luke 8:1-3 – “…healed of evil spirits….”
  • Mark 3:13-15 – “And He called unto Himself those He WANTED.”
  • Ephesians 3:17-18 – That we might “KNOW the love of Christ….”

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Rest

Selah- pause and calmly think of that. PAUSE.

We need to be filled with His goodness consistently. When we rest, He removes anything that is detrimental to HIS character. HIS Rest causes is to feel satisfied, nourished, and restored from the inside out. REFRESHED, REFILLED, REVIVED, RENEWED, REJUVENATED, REPLENISHED IN HIS PRESENCE: RESTING. Resting in His Grace changes our viewing platform and our perspective. REST IS A GIFT FROM GOD that we need to take care of our spirits, souls and bodies.
                                                          -Saundra Deltona Smith MD. SACRED REST

Some ways to come into rest:

BODY – MIND – EMOTIONS – WILL – SPIRIT   Rest in Your Identity as ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED.

“A wounded spirit who can bear?” PROVERBS 18:14b(KJV) 

GOD CAN HEAL THIS. GOD CAN HEAL ANYTHING.

“SPIRIT-MAN, ALIGNED WITH GOD, WALKING IN RHYTHM WITH HIM IN AUTHENTIC TRUTH, WILL RESULT IN HEALING AND ACCEPTANCE IN EVERY PART OF OUR BEING.” -Pastor Marie

Social – Sensory – Creative

COME TO GOD. GET RESTED IN HIS PRESENCE.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS, for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “COME WITH ME BY YOURSELVES TO A QUIET PLACE AND GET SOME REST.”

 When we rest, we synchronize with God. Our natural circadian rhythm will reset in harmony with Him.  

Exodus 33:14- My Presence shall go with you, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.

Nu’ach: to rest, settle down, be soothed or quieted; to be secure; to be still; to dwell peacefully.

Ephesians 3:14-17(TPT) “So I kneel humbly in awe before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the perfect Father of every father and child in heaven and on the earth. And I pray that he will unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power. Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and THE RESTING PLACE OF HIS LOVE will become the very source and root of your life.”

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Love: Jesus Style

Love: Jesus Style by Pastor Roy Esposito
  • Matthew 22:37-39
  • John 13:35 — A “New” commandment:  “Love as I love.”
  1. Attentiveness — Jesus LISTENED and was PRESENT
  2. Caring Confrontation  — No MALICE
  3. Generational Thinking  — Imparted Authority
  4. Celebrated People  — as Gifts from God  —   Matthew 25:40 (TPT)
  5. Humour  — approached people with Joy and Mirth
  6. Creativity  — spiritual matters in improvisational stories- “Parables.”
  7. Reverence – respect for people, family, home, nature
  8. Compassion –  KARA – (Gothic)  – “To enter into another’s sorrow with them”

    First,  become “CARERS”  — HEALING follows
    John 7:38 (AMP)
    James 5:15-16 (AMP)

  9. Forgiveness– The ultimate expression of God’s love

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Foreknowledge, Predestination, and Freewill: 18-Jul-21

by Pastor Roy Esposito

  • 1 Samuel 23:1-13 – Two questions:
    1. “Should I go?”
    2. “Will I defeat them?
  • Two questions:
    1. “Will Saul threaten the city because of my presence?”
    2. “Will they deliver me to him?” – God answered “Yes” to all four.
  • But NONE of these events actually occurred!
  • Significance: Foreknowledge does not necessitate predestination.
  • The theological point: That which never happens can be foreknown by God but NOT predestined simply because the event NEVER HAPPENED.
  • The fact that God foresaw an event does not require that the event WILL happen.
  • It may become an ACTUAL event or just a POSSIBILITY.
  • Predestination and Foreknowledge are separable.
  • God may foreknow AND predestine an event which doesn’t necessarily include the decisions to yet be made by those He has granted the gift of FREEWILL.
  • The final outcome of the event may be sovereignly ordained but the MEANS to that end may or may not be ordained.
  • Implications:
    • This is the way God has decided  His rule over human affairs will work.
    • Has significance in understanding the “FALL”  and the presence of all evil in general.
    • God is GOOD and never evil.
  • There is no biblical reason to assert that God is a factor in the evil of the world.
  • There is no biblical reason to argue that God predestined the “Fall” even though He foreknew it.
  • There is no biblical support for the idea that God has factored in all evil acts in history in order to bring about His “Grand Plan” for the universe.
  • God doesn’t need the rape of a child or a holocaust so that some greater good may come from it.
  •  EVIL is a perversion of God’s good gift of freewill.
  • EVil arises from the choices made by imperfect beings – human and divine.
  • Freewill in the hands of imperfect beings, human or divine, means that they can opt for their own authority in place of God’
  • Heaven and Earth are separate but CONNECTED realms.
  • Sadly, BOTH of God’s household have experienced rebellion resulting in a protracted war against God’s original intention.
  • Good News! – God is fully committed to preserve what He began.
  • Philippians 1:6 – “God is the one who began this good work in you and I am certain He won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.”
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The Lord’s Prayer – 11-Jul-2021

by Pastor Marie Esposito

The Lord’s Prayer 

Our heavenly Father,  MAY THE GLORY OF YOUR NAME BE THE CENTER ON WHICH OUR LIFE TURNS. May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. Manifest your kingdom on earth. Luke 11:2 

John 17:26

Jesus’s LIFE PURPOSE WAS TO MAKE KNOWN THE NAME, THE CHARACTER AND THE WILL OF GOD TO HIS DISCIPLES.  

Luke 11:1-4 

OUR FATHER -Family -intimate relationship – acknowledging God’s authority – His protection, His care, His love is ours. All that He is- is ours – all His expressions are functions – every aspect of what is His is ours. 

WHO ART IN HEAVEN-Where is heaven? In the heavens and here and in our hearts. 

HALLOWED BE THY NAME- Worshiping and bowing in reverence before the Holy Father.  Surrender.  All of his Names indicate His character. First and foremost, He is Holy. – His empowering grace for us. 

THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN- We are in agreement with your desire for Your Kingdom to rule and reign. Your will is best. 

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD… We ask for provision for the day, physical and spiritual. We ask specifically for again indicative of the intimate family relationship. 

FORGIVE US AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS-Be specific – Confess, repent, and move back into grace. Help us with this and that. Help me with this and that. 

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION – Keep us making good decisions and remain on the narrow path in this and that. 

DELIVER US FROM EVIL – deliver us from the snare of the fowler. Ps 91:3 says Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler. Father, help us to uncover the subtle plans of the enemy.

MODEL  – OUTLINE FOR EXPANSION. JH

 God’s power alone can change things and bring heaven’s rule (HIS kingdom) INSTEAD, and the honor and the glory for PRAYER’S ANSWERS ARE HIS.

THE PRAYING IS OURS TO DO. 

ALL KINGDOM MINISTRY BEGINS WITH, IS SUSTAINED BY, AND WILL TRIUMPH THROUGH PRAYER. JH 

Without the intervention of God’s kingdom rule through prayer, Earth’s circumstances will succumb to inevitable consequences. Earthly scenes of need MUST  be penetrated by God’s “will here, as in heaven.”

INTERCESSION. WE REPLACE AND DISPLACE  powers, principalities, rulers of darkness and their evil intentions, and man’s base, evil fleshly inclinations. WE MUST PRAY-

HERE IT IS IN THE PASSION VERSION-Luke 11:1-4 “Would you teach us a model prayer that we can pray, just like John did for his disciples?” 2 So Jesus taught them this prayer: “OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, MAY THE GLORY OF YOUR NAME BE THE CENTER ON WHICH OUR LIFE TURNS. May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. Manifest your kingdom on earth. 3 And give us our needed bread for the coming day. 4 Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. And rescue us every time we face tribulations.” 

PERSISTENCE BROUGHT THE DESIRED OUTCOME. 

He instructs us to ask and keep on asking persistently; Seek and keep on seeking persistently; Knock and keep on knocking persistently and the door will OPEN.

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Anger 04-Jul-2021

by Pastor Roy Esposito

  • Contempt – Holds within it the intention to harm and is Anti-Love; Anti-Christ
  • Matt 5:21-26 (TPT) — Don’t HOLD anger in your hearts
  • a FEELING that can seize minds and bodies and impel one to act against any perceived threats
  • Ps 4:4 (NKJ) “Be angry and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still.”
  • “Go to a safe place (bed) – take a beat – think it out – still your emotions”
  • Eph 4:26-27 (TPT)
  • Eph 4:26 (NKJ) -” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.”
  • Jack Hayford – “Anger may win a moment, but it is not to win the day.” -Don’t hold it even for a day!
  • Anger expressed with contempt will quickly turn dark and evil
  • Contempt – has within it MALICE; the will to do evil
  • Intention: To make a painful impression on us
  • Beyond the spontaneous form of anger – Choose to stay angry – “Angry People”
  • Angry People – carry a full supply of rage with them, ready to explode
  • When anger is not waived off and chosen to be indulged there is an element of Self-Righteous and Vanity at work. People with wounded hearts and egos
  • The antidote for the poison of contemptuous anger: Persisting in LOVE
  • 1 Cor 13:4 – Love never fails!
  • Jm 4:7 (TPT) -” Surrender to God, Stand up to the devil and resist him and he will run away.”
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Count It As Joy

by Pastor Roy Esposito

  • Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
  • Hearing (Hebrew) – to hear the Word with a willingness and intent to obey it.
  • Ephesians 6:17 – The Word – a “two-edged sword”…
  • Established will of God – knowing the scriptures
  • Communicated Word of God — what is God saying to me personally
  • Obedience to BOTH aspects are essential to gain spiritual authority
  • Spiritual Authority is God’s planned destiny for the Church
  • Ephesians 3:9-10 – the hidden mystery of God to be revealed by the Church
  • “Manifold Wisdom” – many dimensions; variegated, many-colored

The picture is of God’s wisdom having many-sided applications, varieties, and shades that are colorfully expressed.

  • Church Authority – to DEMONSTRATE God’s wisdom in its many forms
  • SALVATION is FREE – but every other gift, ministry, or execution of power must be EARNED through testing against God’s will.
  • Hebrews 4:15(NKJ) – Jesus went through the same process and became our High Priest
  • Matthew 4:1 – Led by the Spirit into the desert
  • John 1:4, 1:14 – Jesus: The “Word” made flesh
  • He is the bridge between the TRANSCENDENT and the MATERIAL universe
  • His Temptation – whether the WORD had the depth of character to fulfill God’s purpose
  • Luke 4:14 – The outcome; “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.” – the AUTHORITY of the Spirit through which He could do the supernatural works of His ministry
  • Jesus’ response to the devil:
    “It is written…” – The Established will of God; and
    “It has been said…” – The Communicated will of God
  • When the Word is proven through testing, it is endorsed by heaven and is able to accomplish, bring to maturity, and finish what was decreed.
  • Proven dedication to the Word establishes Christ-like character without which NO AUTHORITY can be given.
  • We are to give our lives to God as a “living praise,” as Lucifer was first created to do.
  • Romans 12:1-2 – Living praise/sacrifices – have their NATURE transformed to Christ’s.

Christ’s authority and the Church’s purpose become ONE.

  • 1 John 4:17 – “As He is, so are we in this world.”
  • Ephesians 1:22-23, 1 Corinthians 15:27 – All things under Jesus’ feet
  • 1 Corinthians 12:27 – We are Christ’s BODY
  • Colossians 1:18 – Christ, The HEAD of the Church – the Body has FEET
  • Psalm 133 Oil (anointing) runs down from the head over the body – an extension of authority
  • 1 Chronicles 28:9 – David to Solomon: Serve God with a LOYAL HEART and a WILLING MIND
  • The spiritual conflict we experience exists to test the SUBSTANCE, CHARACTER, and INTENT of our hearts.
  • Loyalty to God and His TRUTH are weighed and developed through testing and are the assessor for the amount of authority and power released to us.
  • Willingness to respond to God, the proper intention of heart and mind, and PATIENCE are the required prerequisites
  • James 1:2-4(TPT & NKJ) – “Let patience have its PERFECT work, that you may be MATURE and complete, lacking nothing.”
  • Perfect (Greek – Teleios) – consummate soundness – Denotes Maturity.
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Father’s Day – 21-Jun-2021

  • Luke 1;16-17 – Turn hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.
  • Wisdom of the Just – a mindset and perspective that is yielded to  God’s Word and is easily persuaded by it to act in conformity to it.

Malachi 4:5-6 – A “Fathering Spirit” – an Apostolic anointing established through HEARTS that reflect God’s heart

  • Father Spirit – not based on GENDER
  • A HEART issue – never a SUBMISSION issue; a FUNCTION not a POSITION
  • Galatians 4:19(TPT)
  • 1 Corinthians 4:15-16(TPT) – Fathers INSTRUCT and CORRECT from love
  • Proverbs 4:1-2 – Fathers impart KNOWLEDGE and RESPONSIBILITY
  • Cannot be a father without first being a COMMITTED SON
  • Committed Son – possesses a COVENANT HEART
  • 2 Kings 2:1 – Elijah and Elisha
  • Vs. 10 – “If you SEE me…” – a father’s influence must be seen and acknowledged for his anointing to be passed on – Vs. 12 – “My Father, My Father!”
  • Vs. 14 – Elisha “crosses over”
  • Religionists have sought to master the Bible without allowing the Bible to MASTER THEM.
  • Anointing flows THROUGH us not TO us.
  • Spiritual provision does not FOLLOW you – it WAITS for you
  • True fathers do not just bless – they BUILD
  • We will never outgrow the oversight of our fathers.

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Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

Will the Real Jesus please stand up?

If we do not turn to Him and surrender, He cannot help us.

His Word tells us that when we turn to the Lord, the “veil” is removed from our eyes – from our hearts (2 Cor. 3:16)

My initial thought was a raging, flowing river of life.

I heard the sound of many waters.

I felt His Presence flooding me with light, life, and healing.

I saw it and heard it.

  • Revelation 1:15
  • Revelation 22:1
  • Psalm 46:4
  • Ezekiel 47

Who is Jesus to you?  Who Is JESUS?

He is the Son of God and the Son of Man!

He is glorious!

He is Radiant!

The Holy Spirit whispered the word:

EFFULGENCE – the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light, shine, radiance, brightness

 Jesus is always “MORE THAN.”

            He’s God in human flesh—Emmanuel—God with us!

     His joy is real; it is contagious.

     His love is filling and satisfying.

     His grace is sufficient.

   Times of intensity and challenge and distress push us right into His

GLORY THROUGH THE CROSS.

From that time on, it is not you by yourself,

       BUT IT IS YOU PLUS+++ THE LORD.  More Than. 

All of us may be in an ash heap from time to time, but the Lord wants to bring us into ENLARGEMENT.

TO SEE AS HE SEES. To see His glory and to carry His glory.

 WEIGHTY GLORY OR FEATHERWEIGHT?

EMANANT – It means issuing or flowing forth; passing forth into an act, or making itself apparent by an effect as in an improvised, often spontaneous spectacle or performance, especially one involving audience participation.

EMANANT —-This is the perfect word to describe the manifestation of the brightness of glory that flows out from Jesus.

HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

The whole earth is filled with His glory.

Isaiah 6:3 …a great antiphonal chorus they sang,  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with His glory.

His holiness (1) HOLY in heaven, (2) HOLY in this world, and (3) HOLY in the ages to come. Today we can see the triune God being praised:

Holy [Father]  Holy [Son]    Holy [Holy Spirit]

So Who is Jesus?

Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15).

He is “the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person” (Heb. 1:3).

He is the total Embodiment of God.

He was crucified so that He could emanate light, life, and healing from every wound He suffered.

All of the Living River, all His glory, flows into us and over us. JESUS. JESUS. JESUS.

We partake of His suffering UNTIL…  the glory of His resurrection is seen rising upon us.

He is Radiant; He is the pure and shining One

We shine as lights in the world dancing in the River of LIFE

Psalm 62:1-2

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An Upward Adjustment – 6-June-2021

by Pastor Roy Esposito

  • 1 Corinthians 1:26-29(TPT)
  • 1 Corinthians 1:28(NKJ) – God has chosen the things that are NOT to bring to nothing the things that ARE.
  • Proverbs 8:4-21 – Love – Seek – Obey God
  • Judges 6:8b-10 – Amorites – “Sayers” – Midian – “Strife and Contention.”
  • Isaiah 54:14 “You shall be FAR from oppression….”
  • Obeying – to accept God’s word as TRUTH and act “as if.”
  • “Whenever we fail to obey the voice of the Lord, we will begin to fear the power of the gods of this world and be oppressed and enslaved by them.” – PR
  • “Many Christians have chosen NOT to confront the hidden issues of their lives with the power, and authority of the love of Christ but have ADJUSTED their lives DOWNWARD to the level of their current oppression.” – PR
  • Gideon was hiding in fear in a winepress when God called him.
  • God looked past his circumstances and even his own self-image and spoke directly to the “new man” He was creating.
  • Our strength – We are SENT!
  • Whom the Lord SENDS He Empowers!
  • 2 Corinthians 12:7-10(TPT)