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Do Not Be Afraid

Deuteronomy 31: 6 - 8, Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed." NKJV

Sometimes the Lord has to speak very plainly in order to get us to move forward in life. We see this in today's passage as God ENCOURAGES Moses and Joshua to move ahead and possess the land of promise, even though there were enemies there. It's obvious that they were struggling against the fear that came as a result of the Lord's instructions. When fear gets a stronghold on our hearts, it stops our forward movement in the Spirit. Satan doesn't want us to be confident in the Lord, thereby, inheriting the promises of God, so he attacks our confidence. It is Satan's aim to take courage away from our hearts and paralyze us so that we won't advance against his forces. 

Most everyone has a dream or a set of goals they want to accomplish in life. Have you ever set out to live "your dream" or accomplish a certain goal and had a setback or hit a wall? Whenever we reach forward to achieve greatness, and the enemy doesn't want us to obtain the prize, he will attack us through unforeseen circumstances in an attempt to shake our confidence and get us under the control of fear.

When a person is under the influence of fear, it robs them of their confidence so that they don't have the power to fulfill what God has placed in their hearts. However, before a person can begin to move forward, they first have to address and overcome the fear in their heart that came as the result of an attack. Here is where you must allow faith to fill your heart and give you the courage to face your fears and overcome them. God spoke to Moses and said, "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be afraid of them. When God speaks to us, and we listen to His voice, faith will overcome the fear, and courage will return to our hearts.

Since we didn't receive the spirit of fear from God, it means that we have received Satan's lies, and we revere them as truth. The only way to reveal the blind spot in our hearts that believes the lies of Satan is to listen to God's voice and obey Him. God has you covered!

There's something about fear that needs to be highlighted in the statement that God told Moses to convey to Joshua. The Lord told them to stop giving fear and discouragement a place in their hearts. He also reassured them that He was with them and would not leave nor forsake them in future conflicts. They had a choice to make. Would they choose to allow fear to hold them captive and rob them of the Promised Land, or would they choose to listen to God, overcome the fear and face their enemies?

It comes down to this. Do you believe that God is still for you, even though you've been attacked by Satan? Do you believe that He will fight your battles for you, even though God requires you to face your greatest fears? If you really believe God is for you and will fight the battles in your heart, then you will overcome the fear and inherit the promises of God. Let me leave you with a scripture that Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome.

Romans 8: 31 - 39, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV

You Can Do It Through Christ,
Pastor Asa Dockery

In The Arms of Love

2 Corinthians 4 : 8 - 9, We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed... NKJV

Have you ever been rejected by someone you loved? Rejection is like a hot fire. It can bring out the best and the worst in all of us. Rejection in this life is pretty much enviable. Nevertheless, it's how we choose to respond to it and to the person by whom the offense has come that will determine whether we will allow it to control us, or whether we will rise above it. 

Before I go on any further, let me remind you that rejection wasn't in God's plan. Satan was the originator of this horror from hell. Satan talked Adam and Eve into sinning by rejecting God's plan for their lives. Afterwards, because of their sin, God had to reject them. Even so, we know that God still loved man because He killed an animal (Redemption) to cover the shame of their nakedness. Love covers sin. Consequently, we know that God didn't reject mankind; however, He had to reject the sin that was in them. Didn't God warn Adam in Genesis 2 that if he ate from the tree of knowledge, he would die? Yes. Therefore, it was sin that brought separation between man and God (Life). Now, we can go a little deeper in our study.

Rejection is a trap that Satan will use to try to pull people into his web of deceit. His next step is to exploit the hurt that has been caused. If a person decides to become a victim of rejection, and they open their heart up to Satan's lie, then he will have a hook in their heart and will pull them down to the bottom of the pit. Rejection, like temptation, is just another ploy the enemy will use to take us on a treacherous path to destruction and death.

There is only one way for us to overcome the schemes or tricks of Satan. We must fully engage and utilize our faith to continue to believe in God's goodness. Here is where your will comes into play. You will have to fight with everything in you, so that you do not give into the pain of rejection, and, as a result, give yourself over to the enemy because of the hurt you are experiencing. There is something alluring about listening to Satan's subtle lies and acting on our impulses because of an emotion that demands revenge. You may get a very temporary release when you act out of your hurt and strike back in unbelief, but it will be short-lived and will throw your soul into bondage. 

However, faith offers us another way; this way leads to life. Nevertheless, we must be willing to choose that path over self-gratification. If you honor God's Word in your heart, instead of giving into your human emotions, God will give you grace that brings comfort, peace, and restoration to your broken heart. Further, because you chose to take the difficult path of faith, God will reward you afterwards with a promotion over your enemies. 

Let me leave you today with a powerful story of someone who suffered great rejection, but overcame it. Consequently, God raised him up to be a leader over Israel. In Psalms 51, David tells us that his mother conceived him in sin. Scholars who studied this say that his mom conceived him out of wedlock. In other words, she had an affair; therefore, she broke her covenant vow with Jessie. Whenever God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint the new king for Israel, he entered the house of Jessie. It was there that Samuel met all the sons of Jessie. Or did he? Where was David and why wasn't he invited to the inauguration? After Samuel looked Jessie's boys over, God told him that none of them was going to be the next king. Samuel asked Jessie if he had another son, and reluctantly, he told him about David.

There was another time when David was treated with great disdain; this confirms he was an outcast and had been rejected by his brothers: When Jessie sent David out to the battlefield to take his brothers lunch, David was met with jealousy and contempt. Nevertheless, David just let it roll off his shoulders and focused his attention on Goliath. David always responded to rejection and hatred from his kinfolks with a tender heart for God. He didn't blame God for the actions of others. In fact, their actions seemed to drive David to seek God's heart even more. Here is a passage that will further prove what I've been sharing with you today:

Psalms 27: 4 - 12, One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, "Seek My face, "My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek." Do not hide Your face from me; do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me. Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. NKJV

In the verses above, we can see that David was forsaken by his father and mother. Even so, he chose to turn to the Lord, who had His arms out-stretched and waiting with great love. David allowed the love of God to embrace and fill his heart. Do you need to allow the love of God to wash over your heart and soul today? God has His arms open and waiting for you to jump into His love. 

Only God,

Pastor Asa Dockery

Love Isn't Earned But Given

Matthew 5 : 43 - 48, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. NKJV

If there is a message that resounds throughout the New Testament, other than the gospel of Christ, it is that no one can earn God's love. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that salvation isn't about works; it is a gift of God. Grace comes from who God is, and He is love. Until we freely accept God's love, we will always struggle with unworthiness and the need to measure up to a certain standard. You accept God's love by believing that He loves you as you are. Could it be that we often struggle with receiving God's love because we (humans)  sometimes make others earn our love, before we give it to them?  

One of the hardest portions of scripture in the New Testament for me personally is Matthew 5. Jesus doesn't mince His words with those who are considering becoming His disciples. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out the requirements for becoming His disciple. When you read the entire chapter, it doesn't take long to realize that we can't fulfill His requirements apart from God's grace and the Holy Spirit. After all, it was for this reason that Jesus came to earth, suffered, and died on a cross (that should have been ours) because we couldn't live it.

In the text that I used today, we see that Jesus requires us to return good for evil and to love those who don't deserve our love. Human nature wants to argue with the Holy Spirit when He convicts us to obey this command. "Lord, this person hasn't done anything worthy of my love." However, through this one scripture, Jesus shows us how (agape') God's kind of love operates. His love isn't based upon our ability to do something to earn or even deserve it. It isn't based upon our ability to repay or reciprocate His love. God's love for us is based on His will. Doesn't Paul tell us that God loved Jacob, but He hated Esau? Yes. Therefore, by His will, God has chosen to love us, even while we were still sinners and hostile toward Him. By the same token, Jesus requires those of us who choose to accept His love and His gift of eternal life to love others the same way that God, for Christ's sake, has loved us. By our love, we will show or prove that we are the children of God. 

I've already told you that chapter 5 has been a challenging portion of scripture for me personally. Even so, allow me to share a secret with you that I have discovered. When I choose to show love (out of my obedience to Jesus) to someone who hasn't done anything deserving of my love, I am set free from the chains of the fallen human nature that wants me (us) to disobey Jesus' commands. 

Furthermore, God gives me His empowering grace to obey commands that are humanly impossible to do at times, so that He can bless my obedience. The more we allow ourselves to do God's will and follow through with our commitment to keep the Word, the freer we become. As a result, we will be a greater witness to the world, and we will bring glory to our heavenly Father. The next time someone deserves your wrath, ask the Lord to help you show them His love.

Walking It Out!
Pastor Asa Dockery 

Controlling the Tongue

Proverbs 6: 16 - 19, These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren. NKJV

Jesus tells us in Matthew's gospel that we will know false prophets by the fruit they bear. He also tells us that it is from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Have you listened to what is on the hearts of people lately? When we step back and take a good look at the fruit of people's thoughts and imaginations, it tells us a whole lot about the condition our society is in. 

Out of the seven things that Solomon calls an abomination to God, three of them are directly connected to the tongue. Almost half the things that God hates about the wickedness of man originate from an evil tongue. Satan used the tongue to speak great lies to Eve about God and about Eve's identity. Through his words, he was able to deceive Eve, and then turn her heart against God. In other words, Satan caused division in the world. We know from the account in Genesis 3 that Satan spoke a lie to Eve; he bore false witness against God concerning the consequences of eating from the tree of knowledge, and finally, he sowed discord. 

Therefore, we can say that Satan is the originator of the problems mankind has with the tongue. James tells us that the tongue is a small member, but it can do great damage to the body. It can set small fires that quickly escalate into huge infernos, which destroy lives, marriages, careers, churches, and businesses. I have personally witnessed the tongue stop moves of God in the church by sowing discord among other members. 

Almost two years ago, our church experienced a mighty move of God's Spirit, and miracles begin breaking out in the body. There is a woman in our church that was in her house when it exploded from a gas rupture under her house. The explosion almost destroyed her leg. As a result of the extensive surgery on her femur bone, her leg was shortened. She had to walk with the assistance of a cane because her heel couldn't touch the floor. God did a creative miracle in her leg; it grew so that she is able to walk with her foot on the floor. Other miracles were also documented by doctors as notable and unexplainable (but we knew what really happened.) Nevertheless, soon after the outbreak of miracles, a spirit of offense entered into the hearts of some of the people; they began to speak against one another..., and the miracles were over. 

God created the tongue to speak life, but Satan perverted the heart of man so that we would begin to speak death over ourselves and over others. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. If we can control our tongues, then James tells us that we are perfect and able to control our entire body. Consequently, we must be very careful who we allow to influence our hearts and what we speak through our mouths. When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ as believers, we will have to give an account to the Lord for every word we have spoken. 

Are you able to control what comes out your mouth? Are you speaking faith and life? Proverbs tells us that we'll eat the fruit of our words. Guard your heart, so that you don't take up someone else's offense and become a party to sowing discord among the brethren. It's far better for us to take our grievances to the Lord in secret, and then allow Him to deal with the issue, than for us to say something that would bring judgment on us from the Lord. May the Lord help us to speak life always, so that He might be allowed to perform His good Word in our lives and in our situations. Let me leave you today with the priestly blessing that God gave to Moses, Aaron and the children of Israel.

Numbers 6 : 24 - 27, "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."' "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." NKJV

Pastor Asa Dockery

Repentance Brings Times of Refreshing

Acts 3: 19 - 21, Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. NKJV

The Spirit of the Lord has been dealing with my heart about the spiritual condition of the church, as well as our nation. However, the purpose of this word today isn't to preach about what's wrong; it is to share with you what the Word says about repentance. The Holy Spirit took me took me to several scriptures recently that illustrated times when Israel had turned their hearts away from God. Nevertheless, God remained faithful to them, as a faithful Husband to an unfaithful wife. Through these scriptures, He showed me how His love for the children of Israel (and for us today) goes far beyond our unfaithfulness.

Please allow me to share just a few passages with you, so that the truth about times of refreshing from the Lord can be established in our hearts. As a result of our being refreshed, hope can spring forth in our hearts for a brighter tomorrow. 

1 Kings 18 : 37 - 42, Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!" So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain." NKJV

Take note that after the children of Israel repented, and the prophets of Baal, as well as the false prophets who ate at Jezebel's table were killed, the rain began to fall in Israel, and the forty-two-month drought was ended. We see in this account the faithfulness of God to His people; He brought refreshing times to them and their land, after they turned their hearts back to the Lord.

Joel 2 : 16 - 19, Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'" Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, and pity His people. The LORD will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. NKJV

Just look at all the blessings and the increase that God promised Israel He would pour out on His people, if they would only turn to and pursue Him with all their hearts. God promised to restore to Israel the years that the enemy had stolen from them and to remove the reproach that had come upon them as a NATION... if they would only repent. Once again, we see that God is waiting on His unfaithful wife to return to Him so that He can show her His goodness and lavish His love on her. After repentance came into the hearts of God's people, the Lord relented from the harm that was about to be released upon them for their sin. Instead, God desired to pour out blessings and to bring them times of refreshing. 

Isaiah 54 : 4 - 10, "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy one of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused," says your God. "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer. "For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has mercy on you. NKJV

Once again, the Lord led me to a scripture that uses the reference of a husband and a wife. Even though God was angry with Israel for a moment and even forsook them, afterwards, He swore to them that He would never again forsake them... just as God had sworn to Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. If you will read the entire chapter from Isaiah, you will discover the tremendous blessings that God promised His people, if they would only repent and return to Him with whole hearts. 

I sense in my spirit that God's heart is broken over the choices of the hearts of His children; they have turned a deaf ear to the truth of His Word. It grieves the Holy Spirit when we seek to please ourselves rather than please our Husband, Jesus. The Lord led me to share this with you today so that you would know that it is always God's intention to bless His children, even while we're being unfaithful to Him. However, He cannot bless us, until we repent of our wicked ways and return to Him with whole hearts. 

Let us pray for our governmental leaders, church leaders, our nation, and one another, so that God will grant us the privilege of repentance. Consequently, He can, once again, shower us with His blessings and restore our nation to a place of honor. Change begins with us as individuals, as we become broken and honest before a holy God.

Seeking the Lord with All My Heart,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Free

Isaiah 9: 2, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. NKJV

In John 8, Jesus teaches us that if we will continue in His Word, we will come to know the truth and the truth that we know will make us free (paraphrased). We know that Jesus is the Light of the world. We also know (from John 1) that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. When God saw the sin and depravity of man, He sent us a Savior. When Jesus came, He spoke the truth, which is the light that shines in darkness and exposes the hearts of sinful man.

The purpose of Jesus coming into a world that was spiritually blinded by sin wasn't to condemn us; it was to show us what was hidden deep in our hearts. After the truth exposed the sin, the blood of Jesus was offered as the sacrifice that would save us from the condemnation of sin. Isn't it interesting that Jesus preached the truth that convicted people of their sins BEFORE He died and paid for our sin debt? 

Why did the truth come before the offering for man's sin was completed? Before mankind was able to receive a Savior, we first had to realize that we were sinners. Sin had blinded all of mankind, and without the light of God's truth, no one would have known about sin. We know this because Jesus and Paul both taught on the subject. Let me share a couple of excerpts from both. 

John 15: 22, If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. NKJV

Romans 7: 7, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." NKJV

We can see by these two examples that the truth had to come first, and then, once conviction was felt in the hearts of the sinner, the sacrifice was made for remission of those sins. Therefore, we know that God has given us hope for the problem that sought to take our souls to hell. Instead of God sending His Son to condemn us with His Law, Jesus came to shine the light of truth and hope so that we could choose life or death. 

Just like the prophet, Isaiah, declared in today's scripture, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. The Light was sent to set us free from sin's bondage; it was not sent to condemn us for our sin. However, we must now make the decision to forsake our sin because, according to Jesus' Words, we no longer have an excuse for it.

If we will choose to walk in the light of God's Word, then sin will lose its hold on our soul. Darkness isn't greater than light, and sin isn't more powerful than God's love or His truth. While we still have the time, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light in Christ. Whom the Son of God makes free, they are free indeed.

Give Me the Word, So I Can Be Free,
Pastor Asa Dockery