Dear Church Family

February 26, 2012 - Sometimes the Glass is Empty and We Must Admit It

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We have all heard thequestion, "Are you a 'the glass is half-full' or 'the glass is half-empty'kind of person?" As a Christian, I believe it's important to reveal thehope we have in Christ by being a "the glass is half-full" kind ofperson. However, sometimes the glass (of our life) is completely empty and anyattempt to determine if it is "half full" or "half empty"is self deception and a waste of precious energy and time!

The only way any ofus received salvation and became a Christian is to admit, "Lord, my glassis empty, and I need You in my life!" The person that never accepts Christafter hearing the gospel multiple times is the ultimate poster-child for selfdeception. Anytime we need God's provision in our life regardless of the need,denial of our need guarantees the need will remain. The book of James remindsus, "You have not because you ask not!" Admitting to ourselves wehave a need and then confessing that need to God is crucial to receivinganything from God.

As Christians, thereare times we can lose our first love for God. We can lose our passion andmotivation in life. It is never God's fault but clearly ours. We are theresponsible caretaker for our life, not God. All the grace, power, passion, andmotivation we need is 100% from God, but it is 100% our responsibility to admitour need to God and ask Him to touch us in the area of our need. You could haveone million dollars in your bank account and literally die of starvation. Themoney to buy food is in your bank available for you to access, but you must bewilling to ask the bank for some money through a withdrawal, check, or debitcard. Unless you make a move, all your money for food will never move from youraccount.

Acting strong, whenyou are actually weak and need God's strength, is not the way to become strong.The way to regain our strength is to admit we are weak, and we need God'sstrength. The Bible says, "Let the weak say, I am strong," and not"Let the weak say, I'm not weak." GOD'S PROVISION FOR OUR LIFE BEGINSBY ADMITTING OUR NEED EXISTS!

If your glass isempty, don't needlessly waste your time trying to determine if your glass ishalf full or half empty! Admit your need to God and hear the promise ofMatthew, "If you being evil know how to give good gifts to our children,how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to them that ask."LET'S BE BOLD AND ASK!

February 19, 2012 - Embracing change in our life

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Each day, we have theGod-given choice to allow God to change us or not! Each day, we have theGod-given choice to allow God to give us grace to live victoriously in themidst of unexpected trials, temptations, and tribulation! The choice is ours!God has already made it abundantly clear throughout the Old and New Testamentwhere He stands on the issue! God desires that we live in an atmosphere ofpeace and Sabbath rest regardless of our internal or external challenges. Yetthe choice lies with us as to whether or not we change internally and livevictoriously in the midst of life's daily challenges. The power and grace allcomes from God; but the choice to access God's power and grace is not God'schoice, the choice is clearly ours!

There is a markeddifference between TOLERATING CHANGE and EMBRACING CHANGE. Far too often, wemerely tolerate change in our life; but we truly don't embrace change in ourlife. THERE IS A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOLERATING CHANGE AND EMBRACINGCHANGE! This has to do with the issue of the position and attitude of ourheart! Parents should EMBRACE their children, but sadly some parents merelyTOLERATE their children. This has to do with the issue of the heart. HOW OFTENDO WE TOLERATE THE THINGS GOD WANTS US TO EMBRACE? HOW OFTEN DO WE EMBRACETHINGS THAT GOD DOESN'T EVEN WANT US TO TOLERATE, LET ALONE EMBRACE?

February 12, 2012 - WE ARE CREATURES OF HABIT, GOOD AND BAD!

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Whether we realize it or not, most of us are creatures of habit—both good and bad!Some of us are more organized than others. Some of us are more "line-upon-line" typethinkers. Some of us are prone to observe the world through an explainable "systems"mentality. It would be easy to quickly answer and say, surely people who function withthese previous perspectives, are the people who are most given to be "creatures ofhabit." Yet, in reality, all of us to some extent or the other perform necessary daily actsof stewardship and responsibilities often in a particular ritualistic order!

Example: If you work, go to school, or are retired, five out of seven days you probablywake up about the same time each morning. And from that same time each morning(even the most unreligious and non-spiritual people), we all go through the same "ritual"to get ready each morning. And most of the time each morning, we repeat the samemundane ritual to get ready in the same order each day. As I was preparing to cometo the CFN campus (knowing I would be writing this article today), I paid very closeattention to my morning ritual. And sure enough, I observed the "order of my morningritual," and it is exactly the same as it was everyday this week and the same as it hasbeen for many years! Why? WE ARE CREATURES OF HABIT; and actually, it seemsto become more of an ordered ritual the older we get. There is a certain comfort thatcan be experienced through regular predictability.

This is good to a point which allows us to be orderly and organized in our life, but onlyto a point! This sense of order and predictability can also cause us to rebel and beresistant to any changes in our life. There are only two immutable things which areconstant and unchanging in the world: 1. JESUS and 2. CHANGE. We know Jesusis "the same yesterday, today, and forever." Yet, from the time we are born (let aloneborn again), things are constantly changing around us. CHANGE is the only otherconstant here on earth besides Jesus!

How we deal with change in our life, how we handle the unexpected, the unpredictablechanges, crisis, and storms of life is crucial to our physical, mental, spiritual, andrelational health!

This week I discussed how we can stay healthy and strong in our life evenduring times of unexpected storms and crisis! How do you deal with unpredicted andun-welcomed change in your life?

"THE JUST MUST ADJUST, IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO LIVE BY FAITH." Romans 4:17

February 5, 2012

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We just finish our 21 days of prayerand fasting. We were praying: Lord Change Me, Lord Show Me, Lord Direct Me, andLord Empower Me! I have heard many great testimonies of God's power and graceas Pastor Billy preached "Lord Empower Me!" Praise God and thank you,Pastor Billy.

As you know, PastorMarianne and I were in Jamaica for a CFN Jamaica reunion of students and staff.I had initially thought I could get back in time to preach last Sunday'sservice but that ultimately proved impossible.

It was such ablessing to hear the testimonies of our former students and how God is usingthem mightily to do great things for Him. We were also so inspired by ourseasoned ministry friends who had served on staff with us and pastored churchesthroughout the small, island nation of Jamaica. Our God is faithful to blessand prosper us regardless of where in this big world He calls us! Our Lord isTHE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER; and His Gospel is the same as when Paulproclaimed, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the powerof God that brings salvation..." (Romans 1:16)

Haiti is the poorestnation in the western hemisphere and many of our former CFN Jamaica studentswere from that country. We heard testimonies from the Haitian students of God'ssupernatural provision in the most severe circumstances, God's grace toprotect, and God's favor to open doors when it seemed impossible. The ApostlePaul talks about how the Corinthian believers, in the midst of severe lifesustaining challenges, were graced by God to give to others in need whichcaused them "to abound in greater blessing." I was reminded of thisregarding many of our Haitian students. They were the least likely to give orbuild anything substantial for God, yet they had been EMPOWERED by the God whocan do "exceedingly abundantly above all you can think or ask." THEIRFAITH IN GOD TO BLESS AND MULTIPLY ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THEY GAVE TO HIMWAS...thrilling, inspiring, and quite frankly contagious!

This is what it meansto be a true witness for Christ! Note, they didn't preach to me! In the joy ofthe Lord they were BEING A WITNESS, THEY WERE NOT WITNESSING! There is asubstantial difference between being a witness and merely witnessing! Merelywitnessing is motivated by law, by "have to" mentality and by"ought to." There is very little joy or passion or real God-sustaininglife which is birthed out of "merely witnessing." Being a witness isquite a different thing altogether. Being a witness comes forth out of the veryrivers of life put in us by God almighty! It is motivated by joy, thanksgiving,love, grace, and the life-sustaining power of God. This is what I heard and sawby many of our Haitian students, and it was absolutely over-the-top inspiring!

One last thing! Iwant to let you in on a little known secret to a maximum blessing from God.Here it is: POUR YOUR TIME ANDLIFE INTO SOMEONE WHO GENUINELY WANTS TO GROW AND BE CHANGED BY GOD. AT SOMEPOINT, YOU REALIZE YOU ARE NO LONGER POURING YOUR LIFE INTO THEM; BUT THEY AREPOURING THEIR LIFE INTO YOU! Wow, it is the ultimate in fulfillment, joy, andsatisfaction. "Thank you, Lord, for allowing me the maximum blessing ofbeing the student and my former students to be the mentor!"

January 29, 2011

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As I write thisblog post, Pastor Marianne and I are on a plane traveling to

Jamaica. As many ofyou know, we served on the executive staff at the CFNI Bible School in Jamaicafor several years prior the moving back to Dallas to pastor CFN Church. Thisweek, there is a reunion for former staff and students at the school in MontegoBay. President Dennis and Ginger Lindsay ask us to go with them to helprepresent both former staff in Jamaica and an extension of the leadership inDallas.

We are stillfinishing strong with the last week of our 21 days of prayer and fasting. I wasoriginally thinking I could get back to Dallas for this Sunday's service, butthat was not possible. I know it will be a powerful service given the quality andquantity of time our church family has been praying and asking God to pour Hispower and grace upon us!

I have asked PastorBilly Thompson to preach this week in my absence. Billy is not only arespected member of our staff and church family, but he has been a beloved andtrusted spiritual son to me for many years. God's calling and grace is uponboth he and Joy; and anytime they stand up to minister, I know they havesomething to say directly from the heart and will of God. We will be prayingfor you as we ask for you to pray for us.

After a holidaybreak, we have started them again in this New Year and semester. There are homecells meeting both on and off the campus throughout the week. You can call thechurch office, go onto the CFN Church website, or talk to a staff member aboutbeing part of our cell ministry. We all need the blessing and growth whichoccurs through our Sunday worship service each week; but we also can havetremendous growth and blessing as we meet together in the intimacy of homecells! The pattern of the early church has always remained a great pattern forour lives! They met regularly in the "temple" and "from house tohouse;" and as they did, there was both blessing and growth. As part ofthe CFN Church family, be a part of the Sunday worship gathering and thehome cell fellowships. Don't miss this valued opportunity for both spiritualand relational growth!

Next Sunday, I will be preaching WALKING AND

LIVING IN GOD'S DREAMAND VISION FOR YOU!

January 22, 2012

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As we find ourselves in the last week of our Annual CFN Church 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting, two very important things we must realize:

1. We all need God in our lives!
2. We all need other people in our lives!

That is, if we are seriously interested in having a fruitful, productive, and fulfilling life! Based upon thetwo-fold love commandment Jesus stated to "LOVE GOD" and to "LOVE PEOPLE," our relationship with God and one another is huge! In the early church, there is an ongoing and consistent testimony that all believers grew in their relationship with God and one another beyond a large number meeting for worship, prayer, and studying God's Word. It says they also met in smaller groups "from house to house!" They grew in "favor" with both God and man!

Each week, my sermon topic and sermon outline is used in the home cell groups each week to facilitate study, discussion, prayer, and ministry among one another. It is a very powerful and amazing placefor personal and corporate growth when we are all growing and praying around the same Christian discipleship Biblical principles. Yet, it is more than "principles," it is about growing in these principles together in our love for God and our love for one another. It would be foolish for anyone to ever think a man truly loved his wife and children, unless he actually spent both quality and quantity of time with them.
We will always have time and find time to spend with people we truly love. Praise God, I remember when I first met Pastor Marianne and fell in love with her! Wow! I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. And because I still love her now as much and more than ever, I still want to spend as much time with her as possible. Why? Because I love her! We manage to find time for people we truly love. I believe a church family is the same way, and home cell groups give us this wonderful opportunity to demonstrate our love for God and one another.

January 15, 2012

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If you missed being with us last Sunday, we are having our annual January CFN Church 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. It is not too late to participate in the blessing! For the past 25 of our 30 years of pastoral ministry, Pastor Marianne and I have prayed and fasted in the early days of each New Year for God’s will to be fulfilled in our lives and ministry. And…we have seen God’s wisdom, favor, and grace sustain, provide, protect, and bless each time! This has also been true for the last 10 years as senior pastors of CFN Church.

Printed material outlining our scheduled prayer and fasting, a prayer calendar with daily scriptures for prayerful meditation, and some excellent teaching and practical information concerning fasting is available for you today. Jesus reminded the disciples that prayer alone is sometimes not enough for God’s will to occur. Sometimes it takes prayer and fasting! (Matthew 17:21)

This Sunday, I want to discuss the importance of having tenacity when we fast and pray. Tenacity is often crucial to being a success at almost any endeavor we undertake. I have known people who have made better grades in school than everyone else, yet they were not always the most intelligent in their class. But, they surely had more tenacity than anyone in the class! I have known athletes who have been considered the best in their sport, yet they were not considered to be the very best athletes. But, because of their tenacity, they became the best!

The American Heritage Dictionary defines someone who has TENACITY as someone who has COURAGE, PERSISTANCE, PERSERVERANCE, HOLDS FIRM. Paul addresses the need for tenacity as we serve God in Galatians 6:9 (NKJV) “And LET US NOT GROW WEARY while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not LOSE HEART.” Other translations use the terms: DON’T ALLOW YOURSELF TO GET FATIGUED, DON’T QUIT, DON’T GIVE UP, DON’T GET FAINT IN ACTING NOBLY, DON’T GET FAINT-HEARTED, DON’T BE UNDER ANY ILLUSION BY THROWING YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND QUITTING!

Prayer Calendar

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January 8, 2012

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Now that it is one weekinto the New Year, we are all too familiar with the common practice of peoplemaking New Year's resolutions. Almost assuredly, a majority of these"promised resolutions," have either already been broken or are onlydays away from being compromised. The reason why so many people areunsuccessful is their goals for the New Year are often made in their ownwisdom, their own strengths, and in their own unrealistic and selfish desires.For Christians, there should be a marked difference between unrealisticpromises made by people in the flesh and our capacity to pray and fast at theoutset of the New Year in order to get God's wisdom and direction for outlives.

Since 1980 Pastor Marianne and I have taken adesignated time at the beginning of each year to fast and pray for God's wisdomand grace for the New Year. For the last 10 years at CFN Church we have takenthe first part of each New Year to seek the wisdom and direction through prayerand fasting. In Matthew 6 Jesus makes it very clear that both prayer andfasting should be a regular discipline of every believer. Jesus said,"WHEN YOU PRAY" and "WHEN YOU FAST," assuming it is aconsistent part of our life. On another occasion Jesus let the disciples knowprayer alone may not always be required for His will to be done. Sometimes ittakes both prayer and fasting together for God's healing, deliverance,salvation, or provision to come to pass.

One misconception some people have about prayercombined with fasting is that it is a "works" effort on our part toconvince or impress God to do something for us or someone else. Nothing couldbe further from the truth. The truth is prayer and fasting does not change God!Prayer and fasting changes us! It changes us by creating a greater sensitivityto the voice of God, the will of God, and the wisdom of God to know how tofulfill God's will.

Our 21 days started Sunday January 8th and runs consecutivelythrough Sunday January 28th. We are not requiring or asking anyone to fast withus by not eating for 21 days! Rarely is it in our best interest to withhold allfood for more than several days. There are numerous ways we can have a powerfuland meaningful time of designated prayer and fasting while still ingesting someform of nutrition for our physical bodies. (We provide this teaching throughour handouts this morning.)

Please join our CFN Church family for the next21 days! I believe it can change your life and take you places in yourrelationship with God and other believers, which can set you on an awesome pathfor your life in the New Year! Have a happy and blessed New Year and let's seethe miracle salvation of our God!

http://www.christforthenationschurch.org/prayer.html

January 1, 2012

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I pray you had a wonderfulChristmas celebration as God showed Himself strong for you, your family, andfriends. I am always amazed at how this very special time of the year createstwo very different responses in people—for some: joy, love, and peace; while inothers: stress, fear, and depression. It all depends upon what dominates ourattention during the Christmas holidays! Is it Christ in all His glory and lovefor us or is it all the other potentially distracting things? The choice isours! Each one of us is personally responsible for our own spiritual, mental,emotional, and physical health. God supplies the grace and tools to make theright choices; however, they are OUR choices, not God's!

One of the most powerful ways we can focus our lives towards God and set ourhearts on His Kingdom and His priorities for our lives is through prayer andfasting. As Christians, Christmas is generally not a time to fast. It is a timeto feast and celebrate. In the Old Testament, many of the important celebrationsthe Jews were directed by God to observe, where He had protected and blessedthem, was by having feasts. This was when they would celebrate God's provisionand abundance in their life through food. Not to the point of gluttony, butnever the less a celebration through food (feasting). We also learn fromscripture that there is a time for feasting and there is also a time forfasting. Fasting does not change God! Fasting changes us and positions us tohear God, receive from God, and obey God in our lives.

As we reflect upon the year that has past, thank God for His many blessings inour lives, and contemplate God's direction for the New Year of 2012, it iscrucial to set aside a time for prayer and fasting! It is crucial for our livesindividually, and it is crucial for our lives corporately as a church.

This year, we have designated Monday, January 9 through Sunday, January 29 as 21Days of Prayer and Fasting! There will alsobe selected days for corporate prayer and fasting as well as individual prayerand fasting.

Happy New Year and may God's richest be upon you in 2012!

December 25, 2011

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Merry Christmas to you and your family! It says so much about your commitment to our Lord foryou to choose to be with us this morning. For all the glorious things thecelebration of the birth of our Lord can be to us as believers, I am also awarewe can have many distractions at Christmas that can cause us to lose our focusand priorities. May God richly bless your decision to be with us today!

Christmas without Jesus becomessomething entirely different and cannot truly be even verbalized as Christmas!Christmas is CHRISTmas! He indeed is the reason for the season! Christmas is atime of giving and the celebration of giving, but it must be understood withinthe proper context. God was generous towards us by sending His only Son toredeem us back into right relationship with Him. Our response back to Him is:

1. To receive God’s gift of eternal life through His Son!

2. To respond back to Him in gratitude and generosity with our lives,our time, our talents and gifts, and our financial resources!

3. To reciprocate back to people the same grace and generosity God hasdemonstrated towards us!

CHRISTMAS IS: God gave first to us, we receive and give back to God, andwe give to others what God has so generously given us! We celebrate this greattruth this morning!

Next Sunday is January 1, 2012! Service time will be from 11:00 am –12:00 pm. We will also be takingHoly Communion together as we ask for God’s will and direction for our lives inthe new year.

As in previous years, for 2012 CFN Church will have 21 days of prayerand fasting as we dedicate ourselves to God and His Kingdom. These 21 days ofprayer and fasting will be from Monday, January 9 thru Sunday, January 29. Wewill be posting more detail concerning the prayer and fasting on our churchwebsite, www.christforthenationschurch.org and will be giving physicalcopies to everyone the next two Sundays.

Have a very Merry Christ-centered Christmas!

December 18, 2011

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Back in the early 1960’s, the City of Chicago had an extreme problem with rats. They had done everything they knew to solve the problem but to no avail. A scientist at the University of Chicago began to do a research study concerning the taste buds of rats. Over time he was able to determine the taste of food they preferred over any other. In fact, research showed that when supplied with many choices of flavors, the rats preferred one over all others. They would eat it and ignore all the others. It was like the rats could not resist eating this flavor of food. So one of the scientists had an idea!

He created a rat food with the irresistible flavor, yet it was created with no nutrition whatsoever. This invention ultimately solved the rat population of Chicago. They placed large quantities of the food in the areas where rats had the highest density. In a short time, it destroyed most of the entire rat population of Chicago. Once the rats starting eating the food, they ate nothing but this new formulated food. And because it had no nutritional value, the rats would swell up to massive size and die due to malnutrition! They were eating large volumes of the food, but it had no benefit for them because it had no nutrition! It tasted good and it was filling, but it had nothing within it to sustain life!

Why do some people go through the motions of celebrating Christmas to only feel hollow, empty, and unfulfilled? Like the rats, people can “fill up” their time and activity with all kinds of “Christmas things;” but there is nothing to sustain life. The true substance of Christmas that can sustain our lives and give us hope and a future is Jesus! Christmas without Jesus is like eating food with no nutrition. There is nothing from which we can be sustained! Jesus is the reason for the season because Christmas is all about Jesus who forgives us, sustains us, and gives us eternal life with Him!

Don’t walk around hollow and malnourished at Christmas time! “Taste and know the Lord is good” (Psalms 34:8). He has all the spiritual nutrition we need! “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

December 4, 2011

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As Christians, the celebration of Christmas helps to remind us of God’s deep eternal love for us! He sent His Son Jesus to become one of us. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The only way God the Father could rescue us from our terminal condition called sin, HE HAD TO BECOME ONE OF US SO HE COULD RESCUE US! Wow! This is the miracle of the Incarnation! Not God living inside of a human, but God becoming a human! Not God wrapped in flesh, but God becoming flesh! The Son of God became the Son of Man through a virgin Hebrew girl named Mary! The least likely candidate to fulfill God’s plan to redeem all of humanity, and He chose Mary!

Some would say: “Mary was too young!” “Abraham and Sarah were too old!” “Moses couldn’t talk!” “David was an adulterer and a murderer!” “Jonah ran from God!” “Matthew was a tax collector!” “Peter had a horrible temper and he denied he ever knew Jesus three times!” The pattern seems obvious but is not always understood. The God of all hope loves to turn hopeless situations and hopeless people into testimonies of hope, encouragement, and destiny.

Many of the current world conditions don’t necessarily evoke a great deal of hope. Many nations are teetering on total collapse due to economic and political uncertainty! Our nation has gone from being a “lender nation” to a “nation of ever-rising debt!” A number of our own states are completely bankrupt and are functioning everyday on borrowed money! There is the ongoing daily threat of terrorists who believe they have a right to maim or kill defenseless people to affirm their desire to have world dominance! There are worldwide floods and droughts taking place simultaneously! This exacerbates the already existing famines in some places around the world! There are earthquakes and tsunamis that are costing lives and costing untold economic destruction to the countries and regions where they occur! So much devastation! So much destruction! So much lack! So much hopelessness based upon all the information and what can be seen! How can hope rise to the surface in the minds of those who have witnessed and experienced these kinds of real life traumas?

In John 11 the worst, of the worst life situations occurs. Lazarus (whom Jesus truly loved) becomes critically ill. His sister Martha sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was near death, and that He needed to come immediately in order to rescue Lazarus’ life. Jesus seemingly ignores Martha’s emergency request; and shortly after His refusal, Lazarus dies. Four days pass, to the point where Lazarus dead body begins to stink, and Jesus appears on the scene. Martha greets Jesus and promptly reminds Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21) Jesus goes on to say, “Your brother will rise again.” (John 11:23) Martha’s response is, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection…” (John 11:24) Then Jesus drops the nuclear bomb of all statements of the New Testament, “I am the resurrection…” (John 11:25) In spite of the fact Lazarus had been dead for four days and a rancid stench was coming from Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus orders the stone to be rolled away and raises Lazarus from the dead!

YOU CAN’T GET ANY MORE HOPELESS THAN DEAD! God was saying, “There is no such thing as a hopeless situation, not even in death! I am the God of hope!” This is the power and hope of Christmas! God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ into a seemingly hopeless world by becoming one of us. The God and author of all hope sent Jesus to rescue us from the law of sin and death. Nothing that is happening in the world today can over-ride the love, the grace, and the hope of God! Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, is a celebration and proclamation to all the world, THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE IN ANY AND EVERY SITUATION WITH GOD! JESUS CHRIST, THE HOPE OF GLORY!

November 27, 2011

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I trust you had a Thanksgiving holiday of gratitude and blessing! With gratitude towards God and those around us, this is the greatest place for our hearts and minds to be as we enter the Christmas season. I once saw a sermon title on a church billboard during the Christmas season which stated, OUR STOCKINGS ARE FULL BUT OUR HEARTS ARE EMPTY!

This is a sad but true statement concerning some people’s experience during Christmas. Yet, it is totally unnecessary and can be avoided as a disciple of Jesus. It first must start with our hearts focused upon the true message and meaning of Christmas! This is not always the easiest thing to do as we see an ever-growing secularization of our American society and the secularization of the celebration of Christmas itself. A fast growing number of American companies in retail are requiring their employees to say, “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings” instead of “Merry Christmas!” They “claim” they don’t want to offend people who are not Christian and do not celebrate Christmas. Yet, the celebration of Christmas, and the date of Christmas, is a United States Federal Government holiday voted as such and sanctioned into law by U.S. Congress. The secularists in our country have no grounds whatsoever for their actions except they are determined to create a secular America!

No one ever felt empty and depressed at Christmas while understanding the true meaning and message of Christmas! But people do feel empty and depressed when they experience Christmas through the eyes of a secularist. The power, the beauty, and the mystique of Christmas is completely stripped of its power to transform our life and give us hope for the present and the future when we take Jesus out of the scenario. Jesus truly is the reason for the season! Without Jesus, Christmas can become as dark and dismal as the celebration of Halloween!

As Christians, and more specifically as Christians living in the United States, we must be prayerful and vigilant and prepared to “…Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15) And especially at Christmas! We cannot—and must not—be passive when it comes to the secularization of Christmas! By law of the United States Government and the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this Christmas don’t let anyone try to convince you it is best to avoid using the term “Merry Christmas!” We don’t have a federally sanctioned holiday for “Seasons Greetings!” God the Father did not send His Son Jesus Christ to become one of us for “Seasons Greetings!” JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD HAS COME! LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING! MERRY CHRISTMAS! Season’s Greetings? NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!

November 20, 20011

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Unfortunately God's people often forget to be thankful! You need not look any further than David's record of the children of Israel in Psalms. Their total unnecessary plight for 40 years could have been completely avoided. They could have made their destination within a mere week had they not forgot (being unthankful) about God and all the miracle provisions He had supplied for them. Psalms 78:11 "They FORGOT His works and His wonders." Psalms 106:13 "They soon FORGOT His works." Psalms 106:21 "They FORGOT God their Savior." Anytime we forget what God has done in our life we become unthankful and rebellious. And if we are painfully honest with ourselves, we are all guilty from time to time of FORGETTING what God has done for us. Unfortunately, the moment we FORGET,

we lose our capacity to be thankful. The remedy to not forget is to be thankful and stay thankful. You can't be thankful to God and forget what He has done for you at the same time. Having and maintaining a thankful heart in our life is an incredible antidote to all kinds of disobedience and sins in our life.

This Sunday, I am completing a series of sermons entitled, THE EXTRAVAGANCE AND POWER OF A THANKFUL HEART! We have been using 1Thesselonians 5:18, "In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus," as the foundation for the series. In previous Sundays, we have seen how a thankful heart can help us:

1. Stay focused and not be distracted
2. Keep right priorities in our life
3. Allow our gift(s) to be a blessing and not our demise
4. Allow our tangible blessings to serve as blessings from God and not as paralyzing idols.

Living in the United States of America, we are fortunate to celebrate Thanksgiving. Too often this holiday is seen as a "good thing" to do once a year, that is, to be thankful and express thanksgiving. However as Christians, we are under direct command by God to live a daily life of thanksgiving! We must allow the great holiday of Thanksgiving to translate into Thanks-Living! Being thankful becomes a daily way of life—everyday, 24/7, 365 days a year.

Pastor Marianne and I want to thank you and thank God for your love, commitment, and friendship as part of our CFN Church family! Our God is so good, and we see His goodness and grace working in and through all of you. Being a part of our church family and co-laboring with us in this community is a blessing for us, and we thank you for this ongoing opportunity we have together! Please allow the holiday of Thanksgiving to bring you to a place of Thanks-Living!

This Sunday, I will be teaching how Thanksgiving and the "giving of thanks" ultimately results in us be a giving and a generous people. As Christians, we are not owners of anything tangible or non-tangible but mere stewards; it all belong to God! "The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness." (Psalms 24:1) We are "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:1-2)

November 13, 2011

2011-11-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

For the past several weeks prior to Thanksgiving, I have been preaching on having a thankful heart. As the series has progressed, I have titled it “The Extravagance and Power of a Thankful Heart!”

All of us are familiar with challenges in our lives (great and small) that can often be paralyzing. There are times when we consider all the options in the midst of our circumstances, and we simply don’t know what to do. We can get stuck, frozen, and completely paralyzed when it comes to making a decision. As a Christian, what do we do when we are faced with this dilemma?

What do we do when we don’t know what to do? We can always be thankful! Paul writes, “IN ALL THINGS GIVE THANKS; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

The scripture could not be any more explicit concerning God’s will for our life! We are to always be thankful! We are to be thankful IN ALL THINGS, not FOR ALL THINGS! Many things can happen in life that cannot and

should not be celebrated; there is nothing good that can been seen or received in the situation. There is nothing in the event itself that should facilitate a thankful heart. But God is always worthy of our praise and thanksgiving! In the midst of any trial, tribulation, or life challenge we can always be thankful to God—thankful for who God is and thankful for what He has done in our lives’! When we don’t know what to do, IN ALL THINGS, we can be thankful to God! We can BE THANKFUL and STAY THANKFUL in every circumstance of life! There is a certain extravagance and power that comes to us from God when we maintain a thankful heart. A thankful heart becomes a protection and a safe-guard to help us handle life’s challenges and also maintain a heavenly perspective about life itself.

Last Sunday, we discussed how a thankful heart can empower us to stay focused and maintain Godly priorities in our life. We see this exemplified in the stories of the woman with the alabaster flask (Luke 7:36-47), Mary who was visited by Jesus in her sister Martha’s house (Luke 10:38-42), and the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus (Luke 17:11-19). In all of these stories, the only people who were not “distracted” and maintained their spiritual focus were the people who maintained a thankful heart! There is an amazing extravagance and power we receive from God when we choose to maintain a thankful heart! The horrible enemies of worry, stress, fear, depression, and rejection can be “brought to their knees” by having a thankful heart! A thankful heart positions us to maximize the will of God in our life!

Jesus said, “I have come that they (us) may have life, and that they may have it (life) more abundantly.” (John 10:10) The Extravagance and Power of a Thankful Heart positions us to receive this MORE ABUNDANT LIFE Jesus proclaimed!

November 6, 2011

2011-11-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday, we are blessed to hear from our own Pastor Billy and Joy Thompson on their recent mission trip to West Africa. God did some wonderful things through them and in them, as they spent time exhorting, teaching, and training pastors and leaders! Whenever you can impact leaders, you ultimately impact all the people the leaders will be reaching with the gospel. The impact of ministry to leaders can be greater in scale and numbers through the principle of multiplication. We look forward to hearing their reports, testimonies, and spend some time praying for the people they were able to reach.

Also this Sunday, I will preach the first in a three-part series of messages entitled, THE POWER, ABUNDANCE, AND CONTAGOUSNESS OF A THANKFUL HEART! On Sunday, November 20, we will have our annual CFN Church Family Thanksgiving Luncheon. Make sure and purchase your tickets today. We have kept the price reasonable so all can celebrate with us.

Make your plans now to attend our CFN Church Family Festival on Saturday, November 12 from 12:00 – 3:00 pm in the field to the west of the Library Chapel. We will have food, games, community service booths, music, and drama. The Gospel will be preached so that people can be saved, healed, and delivered. Let’s be the salt and light of Jesus to this community!

Let’s believe together that God will pour out his love, grace, and power upon us this Sunday as we seek and worship Him!

October 30, 2011

2011-10-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

Just a few nights ago, the Texas Rangers, (the professional baseball team for the DFW area), they were one pitch away from winning the Major League Baseball's World Series and becoming the World Champions. But as close as they were at least two different times, they ended up losing the World Championship to the St Louis Baseball Cardinals. The Rangers were literally several seconds away from winning the most prestigious game in all of Major League Baseball, yet their opponent won the championship instead.

So close! Within a breath! Only seconds to be

admired and become the most celebrated team in all of baseball, yet St Lois won the Championship right out of the hand of the Texas Rangers! Wow! So very close, yet now a far away distant memory!

Have you ever felt this way about some aspect of your life? You had all your faith, all your hope, all your emotions geared towards the outcome of a situation or a circumstances surrounding your life, your family, your job, or a relationship, and within a flashing moment of time everything changed before your eyes. Your worst case scenario in that situation to your grave disappointment has taken place! All your energy leaves you and your body and mind seem to go numb. What do you do? What do you do when you have no earthly idea what you should do? You're disappointed, you're confused, you're hurt, you're angry at yourself, at others, and maybe even angry at God!

What do you do, when you don't know what to do? God has given us some answers in His word!

September 23, 2011

2011-10-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Isn’t it amazing how two people can hear the same word and each one “hears” two completely different things? The word spoken by the person was the same word each of the two people heard, but each person interpreted two totally opposite images. For example:

When some people hear the word “mother,” it immediately brings images of love, nurture, comfort, and security. I have often heard people say, “There is nothing like sitting down to eat a meal cooked by my mother!” And sometimes it even brings tears to their eyes! “Mother” is a comfort word, a soothing word, a word that brings peace and security! Yet, another person can hear the word “mother” and it brings anger, rage, rejection, a sense of abandonment, and stress. Why does each person have two opposing images though they heard the same word?

It doesn’t take a PhD in counseling to give the right answer to this question. The first person obviously has/had a mother who loved them and did all the wonderful things mothers should hopefully want to do for their children. The second person has/had a mother who abandoned them, rejected them, and possibly even abused them!

The images we have of family, mother, father, marriage, husband, wife, brother, or sister, and how a family interacts with one another, is massively important to our spiritual growth and development. Our image of FAMILY (Biblical or secular) determines our image of THE CHARACTER AND NATURE OF GOD! And our image of THE CHARACTER AND NATURE OF GOD determines how we respond to THE WILL OF GOD in our lives.

I pray God will gives us revelation and grace to hear from Him as we discuss this important subject of our images and thoughts, and how they powerfully impact our spiritual maturity and calling in life.

October 19, 2011

2011-10-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

October 16, 2011

2011-10-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

A pastor friend of mine was preaching at a large youth conference. At the end of his sermon, he gave an altar call for the youth to accept Christ or to come for special prayer. God’s power and grace touched many hundreds of these young people that night. Many were from non-Christian, un-churched homes; and in addition, many were from horrid backgrounds of abuse of every kind imaginable. One 17-year-old girl gripped his heart, and he said he would never forget her as long as he lived.

There were many young adult counselors who prayed individually with each youth that came forward. As my friend stepped down from the stage, he saw a young girl standing alone without anyone praying or counseling with her. She was crying hard and had her head in her lap as she kneeled at the designated prayer altar. She had long, dark hair that completely surrounded her face so that all he could see was her hair. He approached her and asked permission to pray. She nodded yes without ever looking up and then said (with her head still in her lap) she wanted to accept Christ. As he began to lead her in the sinner’s prayer (which she had quickly agreed to do), he was not at all prepared to deal with the painfully honest way in which she responded.

She repeated the prayer after him, without ever raising her head so he could not see her face. He prayed, “Heavenly Father! Thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sin!” He then waited for her to repeat that part of the prayer, yet she remained silent. He thought perhaps she didn’t hear, so he repeated it again and waited for her to respond. Once again she was silent. He tried to get her to look up at him, but she would not raise her head. He then asked her if she heard that part of the prayer, and she quickly nodded she did hear his words. She looked up for the first time with wet hair surrounding her face from her tears. Her face was noticeably bruised with one eye dark and discolored. She looked at him and said, “Mister, I came for prayer for Jesus to forgive me of my sin, but I have a real hard time trying to say the “Heavenly Father” because you see all my father ever does is get drunk and beat me up!” Wow! A most valuable lesson was learned by my friend about why some people have a difficult time responding to God and receiving from Him.

When we have a twisted and marred concept of the character and nature of God, it is often hard to rise above that concept and receive from God—even when something is clearly the will of God for us! Our thoughts about God, both good and bad, can greatly detract or enhance our capacity to receive from God.

In the case of this young girl, she could not receive the love and acceptance from her “Heavenly Father” because she had a marred concept of God as Father due to the concept of her earthy father and his abuse to her. Each one greatly impacted the other!

Too often, it is merely assumed if (by God’s grace) we turn our heart and mind towards God and His will in our life, that is all which is necessary to receive and respond to God’s will. However, we can seldom rise above our thoughts about God when they are contrary to the true character and nature of God. With this is mind, it becomes much more powerful and important for us to receive such passages as: Hosea 4:6, “…My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Proverbs 23:7, “As a man ‘thinks in his heart (mind), so is he.’”

October 09, 2011

2011-10-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks, we have been discussing the subject of healing. The very nature and character of God encompasses the concept of healing! In Exodus 15:26, God proclaims, “ For I am the LORD who heals you! ” The Hebrew word being used in this passage is the word, Jehovah-Rophe--THE LORD THAT HEALS! One of the frequent statements used in the New Testament concerning the ministry of Jesus is, “ And Jesus was moved by compassion and began to heal their sickness. ” Jesus began his ministry by reading in the temple from Isaiah 49:8-9, “ The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…to heal the brokenhearted… ” Without discounting much of the Bible, one cannot separate God from the theme of healing!

The unfortunate thing is often healing becomes something that is divisive and causes some members of the Body of Christ to alienate themselves from some other Christians.

This is not the will of God in Christ Jesus! Healing is a subject that must draw us together and not alienate

us from one another. After all, we have a hurting and dying world that needs the message of Jesus and His healing!

We have seen how the very nature and definition of the word “salvation” in the New Testament is the Greek word “sozo” which means “wholeness.” Wholeness and healing in terms of every aspect of our life: our spirit, our soul, our body, our relationships, our need for provision, and our calling and purpose in life! The very nature and character of God is to heal.

The past several Sundays we have discussed, without foolishly thinking we always understand everything about God’s actions toward us, there are at least 14 reasons given in scripture as to why we can sometimes hinder God’s healing in our life. And if we can hinder God’s healing in our life, then we can also promote healing in our life based upon God’s obedience in our life.

This sunday, I want to discuss what the Bible tells us about God’s mercy. Healing is often actualized in our lives through God’s mercy. Recently a valid question came out of one of our home cell groups. The question was, “As God’s mercy can be associated with His healing in our life, what about the scripture that says, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’ Rom. 9:15?” This passage cannot be fully understood unless we study it within the context the Apostle Paul quoted and wrote these words!

Let’s talk about God’s healing as it relates to His mercy. Are there things we can do in our life to hinder or promote God’s mercy in our life?

Blessings…………………………………….Pastor Billy

September 25, 2011

2011-09-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

For the past four Sundays, I have preached on healing. It is sad and unfortunate that this subject—which is so close to the heart of God and the ministry of Jesus—is sometimes very controversial and divisive. For too long the devil has won the battle in the Body of Christ by allowing healing to be something that is unnecessarily divisive! As people who believe in healing and fully understand healing is something which goes right to the core of the nature and character of God, we have a responsibility to reveal and teach others about healing. God’s healing is a direct manifestation of His great love and compassion towards us. This is why anytime the term “and Jesus was moved by compassion” is used the ultimate result is that someone got healed.

Often the general church population has overreacted to some people’s lack of wisdom, sensitivity, and compassion towards those who are sick. Rather than ministering God’s healing to them, they have heaped shame, guilt, condemnation, and confusion to the person. Like “Job’s comforters” they have done everything but bring comfort and healing.

I am genuinely grieved and sorry that this has been the behavior of some Christians towards those who are sick. However, I refuse to overreact to the horrendous actions by some as an excuse to not recognize there are at least 14 examples in scripture that can explain why sickness occurs and what we can do to position ourselves for God’s healing in our life! (This does not mean we can have all wisdom to answer all questions about healing! But it does mean there are some answers given to us by God in His Word which we have often ignored.)

Due to the length of information on this subject—and the need to discuss this subject with all of God’s wisdom and compassion possible, I plan to extend this series at least an additional week beyond today. This morning, I will talk about seven of these 14 passages concerning healing.

May we be prayerful and allow God to guide us through these next weeks with faith and expectations!

Blessings…………………………………………..Pastor Billy

September 18, 2011

2011-09-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

Why is there often so much controversy about healing? What does the Apostle Paul mean in 2 Corinthians 12 when he talks about “the thorn in the flesh?” Was it a physical sickness or was it something altogether different?

We serve a great God, and a God who heals! Without foolishly assuming Christians will ever be able to answer all the questions concerning healing, I do believe God has given His people some answers in His Word!

To hear the sermon series visit:

http://www.christforthenationschurch.org/

Blessings,

Pastor Billy

Semtember 04, 2011

2011-08-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today is part two of a five-week sermon series, THINGS YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO ASK ABOUT HEALING BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK! The series includes:

1. August 28 – Does God heal? Is God a healing God?

2. September 4 – What is the Biblical definition of healing?

3. September 11 – Are there differences between healing in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and healing today?

4. September 18 – What are the greatest fears and controversies concerning healing?

5. September 25 – How did Christians ever become so divided over the Biblical concept of healing?

With the upcoming CFN Voice of Healing Conference (Thursday, September 29 – Saturday, October 1), I thought it was most fitting to “grease the skids” for this very crucial event. It gives this great worldwide ministry an opportunity to “re-dig the old wells” of God’s initial revelation that He gave to Gordon and Freda Lindsay those many years ago. Often the strength of God’s people’s future is dependent upon remembering the past—what God has brought us from and how He has specifically called us in ministry! Given the current climate and condition of the world today, I can’t think of a more relevant Biblical subject than healing!

WHAT IS THE BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF HEALING? My heart’s desire and prayer is for each Sunday’s service to grow in God’s favor, grace, and power and that He may manifest His healing for all who come. God’s healing is too often minimized among His people due to fear, doubt, and not having our heart and mind in the right position!

Lord, thank you for rolling over the fears, doubts, and wrong positions of our hearts and minds! Fulfill Your promise to Your people in Your house today—“I am the Lord that heals you.” (Exodus 15:26)

Blessings…………………………………………Pastor Billy

August 28, 2011

2011-08-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Recently while watching the national and international news, I noticed two overwhelming present realities in the world:

1. There is often a great lack of compassion in the world

2. Everyone seems to need some form of healing in their life

With these two overwhelming needs, I thought of one of the frequent statements made about Jesus in the New Testament, “Jesus was moved by COMPASSION for them, and HEALED their sick.” (Matthew 14:14) If there was ever a time for the compassion and healing of Jesus to be present in the world, this is the time! So for the next four Sundays, leading into the CFNI Voice of Healing Conference, I will be preaching a sermon series entitled “ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU EVER HAD ABOUT HEALING BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!”

For too long there has been a huge barrier in the Body of Christ between Christians who believe in healing and those Christians who don’t! This grieves the heart of God and causes the non-believing world to reject the good news of the gospel. This is not the will of God in Christ Jesus. It’s time for a thorough examination of what the scripture says about healing, and at the same time, a sober and honest conversation about when healing occurs and when it doesn’t.

Healing must always be understood in a holistic way. That is, healing of our spirit, our soul (mind, emotions, intellect, and will), our bodies, our relationships, and our provision to live here on earth. The God of love, the God of heaven and earth, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is equally interested in all these aspects of our life.

Blessings…………………………………………..Pastor Billy

August 21, 2011

2011-08-15T14:36:00.001-07:00

As Christians, most of us are familiar with the Great Commission made by Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Yet, what we have classically called the Great Commission did not begin with Jesus. The Great Commission actually began with God’s call upon Abraham’s life. “I WILL MAKE YOU (Abram who God changed his name to Abraham) A GREAT NATION; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; AND IN YOU ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

Throughout covenant redemption history, beginning in the Old Testament with Abram (Abraham) and into the New Testament with Jesus, there has always been a calling from God to His people to be a blessing to the world. Jesus even made this more explicitly clear by telling all who would ever be His disciple, “You are the SALT of the earth and the LIGHT to the world.” Contrary to contemporary liberal belief, which is mostly accusatory towards Christians as causing problems in the world, Christians’ presence and witness in the world makes the world a better place! Just the presence of God alone (through the Church and His disciples) has always and continues to make a huge difference in the earth. When you couple this with the multiple deeds of charity and kindness that have been expressed through building hospitals and schools, and feeding, clothing, and housing people in need, it is nothing short of the express witness of God’s love to the world through His people.

Prior to Pentecost, as the 120 people waited in the upper room for the Holy Spirit to empower and change them, Jesus gave further detail to the Great Commission with these words, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in JERUSALEM, and all JUDEA and SAMARIA, and TO THE END OF THE EARTH.” (Acts 1:8) You can’t be more detailed and explicit than that! Christians should not only be a witness in their “Jerusalem” (the community in which they live), but we are to go to the nations of the world. Not all can go to nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but we can support those that are called by God to go to the nations.

Last Sunday, we were privileged to hear the miraculous story of Dr. Robert & Susan King. I have known them for 31 years. They are called by God to go to a nation which most people would be unwilling to go—the nation of Afghanistan. They were missionaries to Mexico for many years; but several years ago, the Kings were called to return to Afghanistan where Susan grew up with her missionary parents.

Blessings……………………………………….Pastor Billy

August 14, 2011

2011-08-11T14:16:00.001-07:00

A hearty welcome to new and returning CFNI students! Opening rally for the fall semester is this afternoon at 2:30 with school starting tomorrow morning. It is going to be a power-packed semester in the presence of God!

This morning I want to talk to you about security! We presently live in society that is obsessed with security. We lock and dead-bolt our homes and apartments. We often have security systems in our homes, vehicles, and businesses. The need for our country to “secure our border” is a regular talking point by leaders and politicians. We have several U.S. federal agencies for the sole purpose of protecting and securing the safety of our country against terrorists’ attacks. For certain, the issue of security looms huge in our country today!

Proverbs 10:9 states, “He who walks with integrity walks securely…” (NKJV) It could be paraphrased, “He, who has integrity and lives with integrity, has genuine security.”

When God imparts His integrity in our heart (because there is no integrity apart from God), how does His integrity bring security to us?

Blessings………………………Pastor Billy

August 7, 2011

2011-08-03T12:25:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday we begin to speak on the subject of how our stewardship of money is directly connected to our spiritual life, our relationship with God, and our relationship with others. In the face of our nation’s mounting debt and the need for the kind of national leadership to address this problem, we all must be willing to look in the mirror and ask the question, “Lord, am I a good steward of the financial resources you have entrusted to me?”

Jesus said, “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:11 NIV).

Contrary to popular belief, as Christians, there is a direct link between money and our spiritual lives. Money is amoral; it is not good or bad. It depends upon the condition of the person’s heart who has money that determines the negative or positive of money. Paul writes, “For the love of money is the root of all evil…” (1 Timothy 6:10) Money is not evil, yet the love of it is evil! We all need money in order to live, and God is certainly aware of our need. Yet, money becomes a test by God to determine whether we can be trusted. Can we be trusted with “true riches?” Within its right perspective, this places the stewardship of money in a very important place in our lives.

Last Sunday we discussed how good stewardship of money should be organized and prioritized in our life. This morning I will discuss what Jesus meant by “true riches?”

Blessings…………………………..Pastor Billy

July 31, 2011

2011-08-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

^{Scripture reminds us “the borrower becomes a servant to the lender.” Debt can become a deep and wicked hole that places us in an ongoing bondage that can paralyze. There are enough things in life the devil tries to use to paralyze us, so why give him additional ammunition? All debt is not wrong or sinful, yet as Christians, we must be wise when it comes to how we view and spend money.}

^{For multiple generations, our country was blessed to be a lender nation. Not anymore! We are now a debtor nation, and we are quickly sliding into a dangerous place unless we have bold leadership that can change our nation’s mentality concerning debt. None of us as individuals would ever be allowed to keep borrowing the way our nation has while not repaying the previous balance of debt. We would be sued and/or possibly spend time in prison. We must pray for our nation and our national leaders as the time is quickly running out about how to solve the challenge of our nation’s debt. Jesus made a profound statement concerning money: “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who then will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:11)}

^{So what must we do as followers of Jesus concerning the issue of the financial stewardship and debt in our lives?}

^{First, we must take the words of Jesus very seriously. Our stewardship of money is a test given to us by God Himself. It is a test that signals to God, yes or no! Can we be trusted, and can we be trusted with true riches? So we must see poor stewardship of money as an evil weapon of Satan himself. Money truly matters! Not the “love of money” but the correct perspective and stewardship of money.}

^{Secondly, our perspective, priority, and stewardship of money are quite essential to our relationship with God and our spiritual life!}

^{Blessings……………………………….Pastor Billy}

July 24, 2011

2011-07-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, Casey Anthony was released from a Florida county jail under the tight security of the local police and her attorneys. She was recently acquitted of murdering her two-year-old daughter. There has been a ground-swell of disappointment and great anger by many people across the United States. A huge percentage of all people polled thought she was guilty of murder though she was found not guilty.

For the last several months before, during, and after the Casey Anthony trial, many national news agencies helped create a frenzy of protest and anger towards her and her defense attorneys—so much so, their lives were being threatened through phone calls, emails, letters, and protests outside the Florida county jail. It seemed the more the tabloid news broadcast the Casey Anthony story and trial, the more anger and hatred were being expressed towards her. This corporate anger apparently reached its height on Monday through a local woman living in the DFW Metroplex.

A young woman called the police from her car in great desperation. She was asking to be rescued from a lady in a car behind her who was repeatedly ramming her with her car and shaking her fist.
When the police arrived on the scene, they carefully tried to unravel the mystery and motivation of this woman’s blatant anger. The woman quickly revealed the source of her anger. She thought the young woman in the car in front of her was Casey Anthony. Apparently the young woman looked strangely like Miss Anthony; and when the woman saw her, she could not control her hatred and anger! She felt the necessity to ram her car! Wow!

Paul writes, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” (Eph. 4:26-27). It’s not sinful to be angry! If that were the case, Jesus would have been guilty of sin when he knocked the tables over in the temple. (Matt. 21:12) It’s sinful to stay angry and to allow our anger to control us. This is why God provides us with the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16), to rescue us from allowing our flesh to totally control our decisions and actions. This woman obviously didn’t have the power of God helping her control her flesh! She had a complete and total “flesh-feast!".

“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body (flesh) of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord…” (Rom. 7:24-25) “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:2) As a member of the CFN Church family, let’s all mutually agree, by the grace of God, DON’T GIVE PLACE TO THE DEVIL! NO ROAD RAGE!

Blessings……………………………………Pastor Billy

July 17, 2011

2011-07-19T12:55:00.001-07:00

The book of Proverbs reminds us we can learn by watching the ants on the ground. I also believe we can learn by observing the animal kingdom.

Recently I watched a special segment on the Animal Channel about a specific species of deer in Africa. These particular deer had learned to protect themselves from many of the African predators by avoiding the open tundra. The fields of the open tundra are where a majority of the African carnivores feed. So this species of deer adapted to eating the various plants and grasses that are under the cover of trees and foliage. Unlike the deer that graze on the tundra, these deer found their greatest nourishment by digging up grasses and small plants and eating the roots. As researchers began to observe these deer, they noticed a very unique relationship between the deer and birds within the African canopy.

Several species of birds would perch themselves in a tree above the feeding deer. As the deer would dig up the grass and small plants, worms and insects would be unearthed. The birds would immediately descend from the trees and feed upon these worms and insects. The deer never seemed threatened by the birds which would often be feeding right next to their mouth, nose, and face.

There was also a second fascinating discovery that was observed. Scientist knew that occasionally some of the African carnivores would hunt within the canopy instead of the open savannah. Yet they rarely observed these particular canopy deer being attacked. Through close observation they discovered the key to the deer’s safety.

When the birds were perched above the deer, and a predator would get within close proximity to the deer, the birds would break out into a fevered pitch to warn the deer of impending danger. The deer would then quickly run to safety within another area of the canopy.

The deer supplied the birds with necessary food, and the birds provided safety for the deer. Wow! It was a God-given relationship of mutual cooperation between the deer and the birds. As sure as we can learn from the ants, I believe we can learn from the African canopy deer and birds.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12—God has created the various parts/members of our body (eyes, smell, hearing, hands, head, and feet) to work together for the mutual good of our physical bodies. As members of the Body of Christ, we have many members, but we are one Body!

We must have the same cooperation and care for one another as the members of our body, as the ants on the ground, and as the African canopy deer have with the birds of the canopy. Let’s choose to be wise by learning from the creatures of God’s great creation! Let’s choose to not think “too highly of ourselves” and to learn to love, appreciate, and cooperate with our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. LET’S DON’T ALLOW THE MEMBERS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM TO BE SMARTER THAN THE PEOPLE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Blessings…………………………………Pastor Billy

July 3, 2011

2011-07-06T09:05:00.001-07:00

During some of the recent thunderstorms, our neighborhood had several power outages. My house and the houses for several blocks around me were without electricity for as much as three hours at a time. You really don’t realize how much you need and depend upon electricity until you are without it. Even though I knew we had no electricity, each time I walked into a different room, I found myself flipping the switch to turn on the light. I thought to myself, “Billy, you are crazy! You know there is no electricity! Why do you keep trying to turn on the light?”

We are creatures of habit more than we realize! Each time my house lost power, it took me more than an hour to stop trying to flip the electrical switch in an attempt to turn on the light.

Contrary to popular belief not all habits are negative. In fact the word “habit” is a neutral word. It is neither negative nor positive! We can develop good habits, or we can develop bad habits. We can develop righteous habits, or we can develop unrighteous habits! The choice is ours! Hebrews 5:14 (Amplified) proclaims: “But solid food is for full-grown men (women), for those WHOSE SENSES AND MENTAL FACILITIES ARE TRAINED BY PRACTICE (HABITS) to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.” THE CHOICE IS OURS!

We create righteous habits by practicing righteous behavior. We create unrighteous habits by practicing unrighteous behavior. It is so simple, yet it is so profound!

We can all become “creatures of good habits” just as easily as we can become “creatures of bad habits.” Choose life and not death! Choose Godliness and not Godlessness! Choose the Kingdom of God and not the kingdoms of this world!

Practice does not make perfect! Jesus makes perfect! But Godly practices make Godly habits!

Blessings,

Pastor Billy

June 29, 2011

2011-06-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

I remember some years ago there was a most unfortunate negative connotation towards a person who was adopted as a child. A regrettably negative tone that if you were “adopted” you were almost made to feel like you were a second-class citizen. Fortunately, that negative image has been greatly reduced! I recently heard a great story which perfectly illustrates the blessing and power of adoption.

There was a first-grade class where all the students were asked to bring a picture of the family. As each student showed their family picture, one little red-headed boy showed his family picture. Everyone in the family had black hair except him. When questions came from some of the students why he was the only one in the family with red hair, he responded, “I am adopted!” Another student quickly asked, “What does th at mean? What is adopted?” Before the young boy could get the courage to answer the question, one of the girls spoke up and answered: “I know what adopted means because I am also adopted! ADOPTED MEANS YOU ARE BORN IN YOUR MOTHER’S HEART INSTEAD OF HER STOMACH!”

Wow! Out of the mouths of babes!

It’s wonderful to know, as Christians, we were born in the heart of our Heavenly Father long before we were conceived in our mother’s womb. “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear but you received the SPIRIT OF ADOPTION by whom we cry out Abba, Father.” (Rom. 8:15) Praise God! We are all privileged to be adopted!

Thank God for having biological parents! But when we are adopted, we are blessed in two ways:

1. The parent(s) always selects the adopted child by choice

2. The child is conceived in the heart of the parent

Both of these things are true of our adoption as sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ! Be proud! Stick your chest out! Praise God! We are first-class citizens adopted by our Heavenly Father! Proclaim it to the world!

Blessings, Pastor Billy

June 12, 2011

2011-06-14T11:09:00.001-07:00

Now that we are officially into the summer season, I hope you will take some time away from the routine of your normal activities and responsibilities to rest, refresh, and recharge! Some take vacations, while others take stay-cations (a vacation where you don’t travel but stay home). It’s not about the necessity to spend money or travel, but it is all about pulling aside and replenishing your body and your soul.

Jesus set the example in his life through showing the wisdom and need for spending time away from the normal routine grind of daily responsibilities. He also encouraged His disciples to do also! (Matt. 14:13, Mark 6:31-32, Luke 4:42, Luke 9:10) The New Testament term that is used is: “deserted place.” In other words, a place that is completed away and separated from the familiar routine and responsibilities life! Jesus needed that time, the disciples needed that time, and we need that important time as well!

During the eighteen days Pastor Marianne was in Israel, I took the words of Jesus to heart concerning “getting away.” Most of you know I stayed here to finish writing my book. I initially considered writing in the quiet and tranquility of my empty home. However, I also thought about the need to get away from the routine and familiar, which often can be both restful and inspirational. I was blessed to have a relative who owns a ranch outside of Dallas who heard I was writing a book. They were gracious to invite me to stay at their ranch to write and get away for inspiration. I did it, and it was one of the best things I could have ever done. I got away from the telephone, the computer, and all temptations that could distract me from my writing. I indeed went to a “deserted place.” The restfulness and inspiration of my stay was quite incredible.

All of us need to find a deserted place occasionally to recharge our soul and body. It could be going to a local lake or park, a local museum, the zoo, the possibilities are endless. I have discovered, the more seriously we take to heart the words of Jesus into our priorities and life style, the wiser, the more creative, and more energetic we can be in all areas of our life. FIND A DESERT PLACE THIS SUMMER AND BE BLESSED!

Blessings,

Pastor Billy Allen

May 22, 2011 - Honesty

2011-05-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Church Family,

Local TV and radio news recently broadcasted an interesting story about a teenage girl who found $2,000 in a mall parking lot. She immediately realized that it would have been wrong for her to keep the money. (She surely must be a Christian!) With the help of her mother, she contacted the police department who promptly came to her house, wrote a report, and took the money into custody. The DFW media learned about her story of “unusual honesty” and immediately broadcasted the story. Local news-talk radio began to discuss the story and what happened next was amazing.

A number of people phoned the radio stations or were interviewed on the TV news and ridiculed the girl for not keeping the money. Yet, seemingly a larger number of people said they admired her honesty and said, “we need more people like her in our society.” Days later, the teenage girl found that someone had mailed her an unexpected, anonymous check for $1,000 with a note thanking her for her honesty and integrity. People started calling a local radio station, pledging money to the girl in appreciation for her personal honesty and ethics. That same radio station then handed her a check for $3,000! Another radio station has set up a bank account in her name where people who admired her could send money to say “thank you.” All of the donations have not been calculated yet, but it is estimated that her “new bank account” could have thousands of dollars deposited on her behalf. Wow!

There are several interesting aspects of this story. One aspect is a “tragedy” and several other aspects are a great testament of good! The tragedy is one of the major reasons the news media ran the story. This girl was being portrayed as an abnormal person with an unusual set of personal ethics. (Making it news-worthy!) This is truly tragic. The fact that honesty is seen as abnormal is a sad commentary in today’s society.

Secondly, there are several good things about this story. Even though many people would have kept the money, there was a ground-swell of people who admired the girl and realized that we need more people like her in our society. They wanted to honor and reward her for her ethics. This story testifies to the fact that within the hearts of most people is the knowledge of how we should act and live, though many are not willing to do so themselves!

The way we create an honest society is one person at a time deciding, (by the grace of God); “I will be honest and make decisions of integrity in my life.” CHANGED PEOPLE CREATE A CHANGED SOCIETY! CHANGE SHOULD ALWAYS BE OUR FRIEND AND NOT OUR ENEMY!

Blessings…………………………Pastor Billy

May 15, 2011

2011-05-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Church Family,

One of the great “DNA’s” of the mission and vision of Christ For The Nations is: “Christ For The Nations, More Than Our Name, It’s Our Mission!” You can’t go to any continent or country in the world and not find someone from Christ For The Nations who has already impacted that region with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over 35,000 have graduated from CFNI and over 450 more were added to that number from last Friday’s graduation. These new graduates will be leaving this campus to impact the nations with God’s love and power!

In addition to these recent graduates, CFNI is sending 11 missionary teams to 15 different nations this summer. Pastor Marianne is leading one of those 11 teams to Israel. Her team of 34 will be leaving May 17 and returning May 31. (The team is made up of students and non-students.) As part of our service this morning, we will have a special “prayer and sending forth” time asking God to protect and anoint the team, give them wisdom and favor, and return them to us safely with awesome testimonies of God’s grace and power.

Not everyone can go on a mission trip, but everyone can pray and give towards those who do go! So in a real sense, you can be a part of Pastor Marianne’s ministry team as you pray for them before and during their May 17-31 trip. There is no distance in prayer! This morning, I will be discussing the subject of prayer and how our prayers can hugely impact the ministry outcome of short-term mission trips. I will be showing examples of how people’s lives were impacted through prayer in the New Testament and from personal experiences we have had on mission trips around the world.

We live in a very big world! But our God is so much bigger than the world! God can reduce the world into a much smaller place! As we give ourselves in ministry, pray, and enlist others to pray for us, miracles happen and the world around us is reduced in size and magnitude due to the greatness of God!

Blessings,

Pastro Billy

May 8, 2011 - Motherhood

2011-05-10T13:04:00.001-07:00

God bless you and Happy Mother’s Day! Statistics tell us there will be more long distance phone calls made today in the U.S. than any other day of the year. All of us have a mother, not only the women who gave us birth, but surrogate mothers and spiritual mothers who have loved and cared for us. The scripture is very clear concerning how we are to view our mothers: Deut. 5:16 “Honor your father and YOUR MOTHER, as the Lord your God has commanded you, THAT YOUR DAYS MAY BE LONG, and that IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”

We are not commanded to honor our mother because she is (was) a good mother. The command to give honor is totally and completely unconditional without merit of any kind. But it carries an awesome two-fold blessing for all who obey!

On Sunday, I was discussing the biblical definition of motherhood, looking at both the best and worst examples of motherhood in the bible. In God’s love and wisdom towards us, He graciously provides these contrasting examples so that we may fully understand the true meaning of womanhood and motherhood.

Due to the ever changing icons of motherhood in the 21st century, I believe it is more challenging to be a woman and mother than possibly at any time in history. We need the Spirit of the living God to show us His will for motherhood!

Blessings………………………Pastor Billy

April 24, 2011 - Christian Tradition vs. Man-made Tradition

2011-04-26T10:44:00.001-07:00

Dear Church Family,

As Christians, there is no greater day of celebration, worship, and thanksgiving than Easter/Resurrection Sunday! This day is our great tradition and heritage as believers in Jesus Christ! The awesome and unique situation of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection makes Easter Sunday a fabulous reality and tradition. Yet with every God-given tradition and heritage we have as Christians, there also comes a huge responsibility of personal stewardship. The need to keep within our hearts a reverence, an appreciation, and the highest regard for what Jesus Christ did for us and humanity over two thousand years ago.

The word “tradition” can often create a variety of heart-felt responses by Christians depending upon what a person actually means by “tradition.” Even in the New Testament the word “tradition(s)” is used in two completely different ways.

Tradition is used in a very positive way! 2 Thess. 2:15 “…Stand fast and hold the TRADITIONS which you were taught whether by word or our epistle.” 2 Thess. 3:6 “…Withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the TRADITION which he received from us.”

Tradition is used in a very negative way! Mark 7:13 “making the word of God of no effect through your TRADITION which you have handed down…” Col. 2:8 “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the TRADITION of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Easter is one of the great Christian traditions. It is the very cornerstone of our faith. Not allowing Resurrection Sunday to become a “ho-hum tradition” which steals the miracle of what Christ did for us is crucial. This morning, let’s talk about God’s will for us on this glorious day and how we can keep it real, relevant, and life changing. Easter is a powerful “tradition” that continues to change and impact our life everyday and not a “tradition” that lulls us into defeat, mediocrity, weakness!

Blessings……………………….Pastor Billy

April 17, 2011 - PALM SUNDAY, Amen or Oh Me?

2011-04-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Church Family

In the last two weeks I have been preaching a sermon series, “Nine Ways We Can Hear the Voice of God.” If there was ever a time in human history to hear the voice of God, THIS IS THE TIME! But, it is not enough to know God speaks to His people and even know the nine ways He speaks to us; we also need to know “the hindrances” to hearing God’s voice! What are the things we can do to better position ourselves to hear God’s voice?

Luke 19:28-40 gives the story and history of what we often refer to as Palm Sunday or the Triumphal Entry. It is the story of Jesus riding on a donkey near the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem. Many of the people threw their coats on the road, waved tree branches, and cried, “Hosanna, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” What happens next and Jesus’ response is to this situation is fascinating!

Luke 19:41-48 is Jesus response to the Triumphal Entry and did He ever respond! As Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, “He saw the city and wept over it.” The reason He did this was that many of the people “missed their time of visitation.” Then Jesus leaves, goes into the temple, and demonstrates another outburst of emotion. This time He doesn’t weep; He knocks over the tables of the money-changers. Jesus says, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves.”

In both instances, Jesus responded with great emotion and great intensity; one through weeping and one through anger! Both emotional responses were to the same problem! IN BOTH INSTANCES, MANY OF THE PEOPLE DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND THE WORD OF GOD IN THEIR MIDST!

I love Palm Sunday! It should be a huge AMEN for all who recognize the presence and voice of God! However, Palm Sunday can be a huge OH-ME for those who miss God’s presence and voice in their midst!

What are the things that hinder us from hearing God? What are some things we can do to position ourselves to better hear from God?

Blessings………………………………..Pastor Billy

April 10, 2011 - Hearing the voice of God

2011-04-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Church Family,

Last Sunday I began a serious biblical discussion on the subject of hearing the voice of God. If there was ever a time for God’s people to hear His voice and walk in His will, His counsel, and His wisdom, this is the time! In our present world of rapid telecommunications, there are “many voices” competing for the most important voice in our life, the voice of the Living God! To review from last Sunday, I preached a message entitled:

NINE BIBLICAL KEYS TO HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD

1. Scripture – 2 Tim. 3:16-17, Ps. 119:105 (inspiration and direction)

2. Holy Spirit direction – Heb. 8:10-11, John 16:13

3. Godly counsel – Prov. 11:14

4. Prophetic – 1 Thess. 5:19-21 (word of knowledge, word of wisdom, personal prophecy) more conformational in nature than directional

5. Confirmation – Matt. 18:16

6. Peace of God – Col. 3:15

7. Circumstances and timing – Acts 18:1-3 (Paul’s relationship with Aquila and Priscilla started as a casual relationship, developed into a working/vocational relationship due to their common skill at making tents, and ultimately became one of most important relationships in the book of Acts.)

8. Ministry to others – Luke 6:38, James 5:16

9. Dreams & visions – Acts 2:15-18

In light of these nine very important concepts, this morning I will be showing examples from scripture and through personal testimonies how God leads, directs, and speaks to us these nine different ways.

Blessings……………………………………….Pastor Billy

April 3, 2011 - Seeking God’s Direction

2011-04-05T09:26:00.001-07:00

Dear Church Family,

As a Christian, have you ever been in a very challenging place in your life and needed to make a crucial and important decision that you knew could greatly affect your life and possibly your family? A job or career change? Should you go back to school? To marry a particular person? Where to send your kids to school? The purchase of a vehicle or maybe even a home? How to confront someone you know who is “out of control” in their life and desperately needs to have a reality check? These are all examples of the practical day-to-day issues we face and need God’s direction, wisdom, and counsel. “Lord, what should I do?”

Some years ago after preaching a Sunday morning sermon, a woman came forward and asked for prayer. She needed God’s direction about an important decision in her life. I could sense the stress and heaviness she had concerning this decision, to the point of almost becoming physically ill. As she poured out her heart in great detail prior to my prayer, I sensed God had a Word of Wisdom for her. I told her the following:

“Before I pray, I feel God wants you to know Jesus said, ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ You are overwhelmed by this decision because you have made the mistake of thinking the decision is yours. If you were the Lord of your life, the decision would yours. But Jesus is the Lord of your life so the decision is God’s not yours. Rest in His love, grace, and peace believing He will direct you. IT MAY BE AN IMPORTANT DECISION, BUT IT NEED NOT BE A HARD DECISION, BECAUSE HE WILL LEAD YOU. TRUST THIS TO BE GOD’S WORD FOR YOU!”

Almost immediately, even before we prayed, the heaviness and burden of her decision left; and she was in a place where she knew God would direct her. (And I’m happy to announce God did!) Ever since that event, which was a “word” that brought blessing to that woman’s life, I have received that same Word of Wisdom for myself and have given it to many others. The word I gave to the woman proved to be an ongoing word of counsel to myself and many others that I would be privileged to pastor.

Blessings………………………………………Pastor Billy

March 27, 2011

2011-03-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Church Family,

I recently heard a disturbing interview given to an “evangelical pastor of a fast-growing church.” This pastor has recently written a book on the subject of heaven and hell. I was shocked as I listened to ABC-TV interview the pastor who said, “We need to rethink our traditional biblical ideas about heaven and hell, who goes to heaven and who goes to hell! It is inconceivable that God would send millions of innocent people to hell!” Wow! I’m not sure where to begin!

First of all, I would be most interested to discover where this pastor got his ministerial training. Secondly, he is both confused and ill-informed about what the bible actually says about heaven, hell, and why people ultimately spend eternity in one of the two places.

The story of God’s covenant relationship with man is—Good News, Bad News, Good News!

· Good News – God created man and woman in His likeness and image and said it was very good. (Gen. 1:26-31)

· Bad News – Adam and Eve disobeyed God and the law of sin and death came to reign in their hearts and over the entire earth. (Gen. 3:6-24, Rom. 5:12, Rom. 8:22)

· Good News – God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to the earth to redeem humanity and all the earth. (1 Cor. 15:3-4, 21-22, 2 Peter 3:13)

God never has and never will send anyone to hell! The choice of going to heaven or hell has always been given to man. Deut. 30:19 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” The choice for life and blessing or death and cursing has always been given to us and not to God, even though God clearly makes His desire and will known to us—THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE.

The choice for life and death was Adam and Eve’s choice and not God’s! All the covenant people of the Old Testament had the choice of life or death; it was never God’s decision. In the New Testament, John 3:16 clearly communicates that eternal life with God depends upon our response and choice to what Jesus did for us at the cross. “Whosoever would believe on Him (Jesus) will have eternal life.” People go to heaven because they have made heaven their choice. People go to hell because they have made hell their choice. So it is very clear (based upon scripture) God has never sent anyone to hell!

So the last logical question must be asked and answered, “What about people who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ? They have never been given the opportunity to choose life or death?” The Apostle Paul deals with this very question at the beginning of his letter to the Christians in Rome, Romans 1:16, 19-20 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…(For those who have not heard) what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them, for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE.”

Isn’t it great when we let God in His Word answer these questions about heaven, hell, and how it is determined where a person will spend in eternity?? WE SERVE A JUST GOD, A GREAT GOD, AND A GOOD GOD!

Blessings……………………………………..Pastor Billy

March 20, 2011

2011-03-22T14:24:00.001-07:00

Dear Church Family,

I recently took a vehicle to get it inspected. While there I was talking to the mechanic that inspects all the vehicles at that particular garage. I was aware all modern vehicles have computer systems. I also knew the inspection station had a computer they connected with the car computer to access the overall quality of the exhaust system. However, what the mechanic told me greatly surprised me!

He said in order for a vehicle to pass inspection, the computer not only accessed the present quality of the vehicle’s emission system, but it also accessed the quality of the emission system from the previous 120 miles. In other words, the computer made a judgment of both present and past performance and condition in order to determine if a vehicle passes inspection. Wow!

I thought to myself, because of the blood of Jesus, God the Father does not judge us based upon past performance and condition. He only judges us in light of our present condition based upon the blood of Jesus. Praise God! I am so glad God doesn’t judge me like the inspection station computer, using my past to place judgment. “As far as the east is from the west, God separates our sin from us, forgives us our sin, and remembers it no more.” WE SERVE A GOOD GOD, HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER!

Blessings…………………………………………….Pastor Billy

March 13, 2011

2011-03-22T12:48:00.001-07:00

Dear Church Family,

We should all be very concerned about a certain independent “Baptist” church in Topeka, Kansas that has garnered a groundswell of unfortunate publicity in recent months. This church and its members spend most of their time “protesting” outside military bases and at funerals of military men and women who have lost their lives defending our nation and others against terrorism. They carry signs that state: “God Hates Homosexuals,” “God Hates America,” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

As Christians, it is a mistake to quickly discount this independent church as a group of crazy, misguided. and deceived people who are nothing more than a cult that should merely be ignored! Unfortunately, there are massive amounts of unsaved/un-churched people who believe this church and its leadership are revealing the God of the Bible and the Gospel of Christ. NO WONDER WE OFTEN FIND IT HARD TO WITNESS TO PEOPLE ABOUT CHRIST!

This church is confused and deceived about the Gospel they claim to believe. What they believe and preach is complete unadulterated heresy. Yes, it is true that God hates sin (Psalms 45:7), but God loves people in spite of their sin (John 3:16)! These people are making a huge mistake by demonstrating hate toward sinful people. THIS IS MISREPRESENTING THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB! IT IS MISREPRESENTING THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Behind the misguided heresy these people are preaching, there is a tremendous lesson to be learned. God hates sin, but He loves all people who are born with the condition of sin and those who practice sin. These people (in Kansas) incorrectly think if you love those who are sinful, you are approving of their sin. Even though God loves us unconditionally, He does not approve of our sin. OUR TASK AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST IS TO HATE SIN BUT ALWAYS LOVE WITH THE SAME UNCONDITIONAL LOVE WITH WHICH GOD LOVES US! FEAR OFTEN KEEPS US FROM LOVING THE WAY GOD LOVES US!

Blessings…………………………………Pastor Billy

March 06, 2011

2011-03-10T10:24:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

This morning I will be continuing my sermon series “HOW TO STAY HOPEFUL WHEN THERE IS SO MUCH HOPELESSNESS AROUND YOU!” With the “nations raging” (Psalms 2:1) and the nations “distressed” and “perplexed” (Luke 21:25) and “men’s hearts failing them from fear” (Luke 21:26), more than ever, we need a word from God as to how to stay hopeful!

The last two Sundays we have discussed the importance of Abraham’s calling from God. As he and his wife Sarah were well into old age (90 plus years), God told Abraham he would be the “father of many nations.” This was virtually impossible physically since Sarah was well beyond her years of fertility. Yet, Abraham’s testimony from Romans 4:18 is “CONTRARY TO HOPE…IN HOPE, ABRAHAM BELIEVED.” Contrary to natural human induced hope, through the supernatural hope of God, Abraham believed God!

Hebrews 11:1 states, “Faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen.” As important as faith is in our Christian life, you can’t have faith without first having hope. Hope is like the blueprint of our faith. Before a house is built, a blueprint is produced by the architect so the builder has a guide and plan to follow. Hope is that blueprint for our faith. As Christians, we must stay hopeful in spite of an often hopeless world.

Last Sunday we discussed three ways we can stay hopeful:

1. God gives us HOPE through IMPARTATION (Rom. 5:1-2)
2. God gives us HOPE over time through LIFE’S EXPERIENCES (Rom. 5:3-4)
3. God gives us HOPE as we minister HOPE to hopeless people (1 Peter 4:10, James 5:16)

It’s not wrong to be hopeless as a Christian, it’s just wrong to stay hopeless!

Blessings…………………………………….Pastor Billy

February 27, 2011

2011-03-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Church Family,

David asks the rhetorical question in Psalm 2:1, “Why do the nations rage; and the people plot a vain thing?” The obvious and immediate answer is that nations people try to live their lives and make their plans without God! It’s amazing today to turn to the world news via television, newspaper, radio, or Internet and see this happening before our eyes. “The nations are raging!” And the real tragedy is they often do not even understand the nature and source of their “rage!” People worldwide are demanding freedom, yet few of them understand that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the only way genuine and lasting freedom can come to their lives. Democracy can be wonderful, but democracy is not necessarily the Kingdom of God. Democracy can only function properly if its leadership understands the need for God.

With this in mind, what will happen to the “raging” Northern African nations that are attempting to rid themselves of evil, godless dictators? Will there ever be true peace? What about the stability of our own nation? Gasoline only this week has gone to over $3.00 a gallon and is expected to be $4.00 or more by the end of the year! How do we as Christians stay hopeful when there seems to be so much hopelessness around us?

I will be continuing the sermon series I started in the previous week, “HAVING HOPE IN THE MIDST OF HOPELESSNESS!’ Let’s worship Him!

Blessings………………………………Pastor Billy

February 20, 2011

2011-02-24T08:31:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

I was recently moved by the Holy Spirit as I heard an
alarming statistic. This was the statistical headline,
“Hopelessness on the increase in America!” My first
thought was, “Well, of course there is a great deal
of hopelessness because millions of people are not
Christians.” But the more I began to pray and reflect
upon the whole idea of hope vs. hopelessness, the more
I realized the epidemic of hopelessness in the Christian
community.

How can we as Christians become hopeless when God
has done so much for us? How can we become hopeless
when the Bible says, “The God of all hope…Jesus in us
the Hope of glory…rejoice in hope...we were saved in this
hope…we were called in one hope…Jesus Christ, our
Hope…” There are so many passages that speak to the
promise that Christians can have hope, yet hopelessness
does exist, and even in the Christian community!

This morning I want to talk to you about hope. How do
we get hope? What part should hope play in a Christian’s
life? How do we lose hope? When we lose hope, how do
we get it back? Is there a way to always maintain hope?
What part does hope play in our relationship with God
and our faith in God?

God has given me a word of hope for you this morning!
David said, “My hope is in You.” (Ps. 39:7) If you have lost
your hope, today is your day! If you have minimal hope,
today is your day! If the spirit of hopeless (heaviness) has
covered you like a dark cloud, and you see no way out,
today is your day! LET’S TALK ABOUT HOPE!

Blessings,
Pastor Billy

February 13, 2011

2011-02-10T12:26:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

I hope you survived the unusual winter weather we have had here in Dallas for the past two weeks. We have all had quite a bit of “downtime” at home staying warm and, thankfully, sheltering ourselves from the cold temperatures. In other words, our homes became a fortress against the winter storm. It reminds me of the classic Martin Luther hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” God is our fortress! The same way our homes became a fortress against the dangers of winter weather, God is our fortress (safe place) who we can and should run to in our storms of life.

Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7 that all of us will experience “storms of life” which will blow upon our lives. None of us are immune! We all have to deal with storms (challenges) of life. So the real question is will we run to the Rock, Our Fortress, and the Lord our God? Psalm 91:1 affirms this powerful spiritual truth, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” As I recently sat in the safety and warmth of my home as the snow was falling, I said, “Thank you, Lord, for safety against the storm! You, Lord, are my Rock, my Fortress, and my Safe Place where I can run every day of my life for safety, comfort, rest, and wisdom to deal with all the storms of life!” LET US RUN TO HIM! HE IS OUR FORTRESS!

Blessings……………………………….Pastor Billy

February 6, 2011

2011-02-03T13:21:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

I recently became interested in my family heritage and to see how far back I might be able to trace my family’s history. At some point, most of us wonder how our family was shaped and fashioned over time. As I began to search my family history, I was surprised to discover I had a cousin and great aunt who had already done most of the hard research. Wow!

It was fascinating to discover my family on my father’s side had been traced back to 1633 outside of London, England. There was something very satisfying and settling about feeling “connected” and a part of something larger than myself.

I believe within the heart of everyman God has put a desire to feel connected and to belong to something or someone larger than ourselves. The love command, given in the Old Testament and by Christ, gives great explanation to this human need! “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.” Another way to express it would be WE ALL NEED TO BE CONNECTED, CONNECTED TO GOD AND TO ONE ANOTHER.

As Christians, besides being connected to God, we are truly connected to one another and even more so within a local church family. My prayer for you as we enter the second month of 2011 is that you will discover our CFN Church family to be a very loving, accepting, and caring place where you can feel connected and that you belong! We all belong to something greater than ourselves.

Besides the wonderful time each week we spend together in church on Sunday, my prayer is for you to strengthen your “connection” by becoming a part of one of our home cell groups. The true joy of our love for God and one another can be wonderfully discovered in a home cell group. Don’t miss out on the blessings! If you haven’t already, sign up today!

Blessings……………………………………Pastor Billy

January 30, 2011

2011-01-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Church Family,

Today is day 21 of our 21 days of prayer and fasting. It is the culmination of all we have been praying and asking God to do IN US, FOR US, and THROUGH US in the New Year! We have been asking God to: CHANGE US, SHOW US, DIRECT US, and EMPOWER US in the days, weeks, and months ahead. God makes it very clear to His people in 2 Chr. 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal (perfect, right, has integrity) to Him…” When we add fasting to our prayers, it helps us get our hearts LOYAL-PERFECT-RIGHT-WITH INTEGRITY towards God. It puts us in a place where God not only desires to reveal His power towards us but He can trust us with His power and glory. James 4:3 states: “You ask and do not receive, because YOU ASK AMISS, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” In the New Year, we don’t need to be asking God with prayers that are “AMISS.” Prayers which are foolish! Prayers which are of the flesh! We need prayers which are centered in the word of God and will of God! Prayer which clearly please God and He longs to answer on our behalf! Prayer accompanied by fasting places us in a position to have greater sensitivity to the will of God and positions us to pray Holy Spirit directed prayers which come from the heart of God!

This morning is a special time for God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s power to be poured out upon you. Upon your life! Upon your circumstances! Upon your family and friends! Believe God to do “exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think, according to the power (God’s power) that works in us.” (Eph. 3:20) Let’s take the limits off our lives and circumstances this morning! Let’s take the limits off of God this morning! Let’s believe the God of love, grace, and power to touch our lives like never before! Lord, “stretch out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:30).

Blessings,

Pastor Billy Allen

January 23, 2011

2011-01-21T23:37:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

Today is day 14 of our 21 days of prayer and fasting. I
hope you have entered this powerful and important New
Years spiritual discipline with us. I am convinced it is
one of the great ways to enter the New Year with God’s
blessing, wisdom, and direction. As we all pray: Lord
CHANGE ME, Lord SHOW ME, Lord, DIRECT ME, and Lord
EMPOWER ME, HE WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYER! Make
sure you get a copy of the five page prayer and fasting
guide to help you follow our 21 day “great adventure”
together!
I believe as surely as God had a Promised Land for the
Old Testament people of God, He also has a Promise Land
for His people of the New Covenant. Paul reminds us in
1 Cor. 10:1-14, the Old Covenant people serve as “our
examples.” The five sins that kept many of the people
out of the Promise Land are the same five sins that can
keep us out of our Promise Land today. These five sins
listed in 1 Cor. 10:6-10 are LUST, IDOLATRY, SEXUAL
IMMORALITY, TEMPTING CHRIST, and MURMURING
(complaining).
As we ask God to change us and direct us in the New
Year, it is crucial to remove all barriers of sin from our life
that can block God’s grace and blessing. This morning I
will be discussing “God’s Promise Land For Us In The
New Year” from 1 Cor. 10:1-13. We serve an awesome
God who loves us and always makes provisions for us
to obey Him. “God is faithful, who will not allow you
to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the
temptation (God), will make the way of escape, that you
may be able to bear it.” (1Cor. 10:13).

Blessings,
Pastor Billy

January 16, 2011

2011-01-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Church Family,

As we enter the second week of our 21 days of prayer and fasting, I trust you are using the prayer and fasting guide with the listed scriptures to be meditating upon each day. If you haven’t thus far, I encourage you to join us starting today. Each Monday and Friday morning from 6:00 – 7:00 am (in the Dream Center building) we are having corporate prayer. Each Wednesday night at 7:00 pm we are having prayer in our home cell groups. Call the church office or see the website to get a list of the various home cells which meet throughout the Dallas community and on the CFNI campus. Even if you can’t meet for corporate prayer, you can certainly pray and meditate the scriptures with us in your home. We are asking God first and foremost to CHANGE ME, SHOW ME, DIRECT ME, and EMPOWER ME! It’s good to allow God to use you to pray and see people, families, communities, and nations changed! But it is even more miraculous when we allow God to change us!

True transformation and change must always start with me and you! Changed individuals bring changed families. Changed families bring changed communities. Changed communities bring changed nations. Changed nations change the world. In 2011, let’s allow the salt and light of God to change us so we can be the salt and light to our families, communities, nations, and world!

Blessings………………………………………….Pastor Billy

January 09, 2011

2011-01-18T12:44:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

May God’s reign from heaven be yours in 2011! With each new year, we as Christians often hope to “seize the moment” as an opportunity to set new goals, make better priorities, and make God-directed resolutions which allows us to be more Christ-like and fruitful as a person. Who wouldn’t desire this in the New Year? However, it does present a tremendous challenge for us in the implementation side of our resolutions.

Volumes of well meaning (Christian and non-Christians) lose their passion and enthusiasm with resolutions in the New Year caused by two things:
First, people often set unrealistic goals which cause them to be overwhelmed and defeated from the outset. By February 1, they have totally given up their resolutions. We must first set realistic, attainable resolutions that are solidly forged in the wisdom of God!

Secondly, we are often so overwhelmed by the multiple past New Year’s resolution failures, we basically say to ourselves, “Why even try, I know I will just fail anyway!” Both of these scenarios are recipes for New Year’s frustration. As your pastor, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO SAVE YOU FROM NEW YEAR’S FRUSTRATION which is a horrid, dysfunctional disease no Christian should have to endure!

My secret recipe for avoiding New Year’s frustration is very simple yet profound. DON’T MAKE ANY PROMISES TO GOD, YOURSELF, OR ANYONE ELSE UNTIL YOU HAVE FIRST PRAYED AND FASTED ABOUT WHAT RESOLUTIONS YOU SHOULD MAKE! Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us the key: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him; and He shall direct your path.”

Starting tomorrow, Monday, January 10 through Sunday, January 30 (21 days), I am calling our CFN Church family to a time of prayer and fasting—a time to seek the Mind of Christ for your life and our church’s life in the New Year! Let’s agree to only make decisions and resolutions that are realistic and are grounded in the wisdom of God. We serve a loving and just God. He never calls us to do anything without also supplying the grace, power, and practical “how-to” in order to fulfill His purpose for our life. Most resolutions fail miserably because they are rooted and grounded in the flesh, not in the Spirit. Though we live in a flesh body and a flesh-directed world, we can live a life of victory and fulfillment in the Spirit. Prayer and fasting are tools God uses in the hearts of His people to bring clarity, wisdom, direction, and attainable goals and resolutions. Most importantly, prayer and fasting conforms us into the likeness and image of Christ. Wow! Now that’s a real New Year’s resolution! Let’s talk about it this morning.

Blessings……………………………………………..Pastor Billy

January 2, 2011

2011-01-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Church Family,

I want to thank Pastor Mischa Harrison for preaching last Sunday in my absence. Pastor Billy Thompson will be preaching this morning as Marianne and I finish the last leg of our Christmas vacation. I trust you had an inspired and memorable Christmas filled with all the joy, hope, and celebration our Lord can give this special time of year.

As we approach the New Year, as Christians, it is always wise to allow the New Year to point us towards reconciliation, restoration, and new beginnings. These are three powerful revelations of our Christian faith. We celebrate our achievements in the Lord, receive forgiveness and learn from our failures, and we anticipate the New Year with greater wisdom and zeal to improve and become better in the Lord. The best way to empower ourselves with God’s power and wisdom in the New Year is through prayer and fasting. Throughout the Old and New Testament, God’s people have experienced total transformation of their lives’ and their circumstances through prayer and fasting.

Starting January 11 through January 31, our CFN Church will be having 21 days of prayer and fasting. I believe it is the most important way we can move into the New Year with God’s grace, power, and wisdom. I look forward to discussing this with you next Sunday as I begin a sermon series on prayer and fasting for the month of January.

Let’s anticipate together a blessed and prosperous new year together at CFN Church!

Blessings…………………………….Pastor Billy

December 12, 2010

2010-12-08T12:31:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

We had a great time last Sunday with our special Arts Outreach Christmas program. A very special thank you to Pastors Tom and Rayanna Fields for their vision and leadership which gave life and fruitfulness to the ministry! Also a special thanks to a multitude of adults and children for their servant hood in helping to make the Christmas ministry such a blessing.

As Christians, during the Advent-Christmas season, it is important we stand strong for the “witness” of Christmas to not be erased by our unbelieving, growing secular society. In our country, it amazes me that “secular progressives” want to make it fashionable to use the word “holiday” instead of “Christmas.” Yet, Christmas is a nationally recognized federal holiday sanctioned by the United States congress. CHRISTMAS is a national holiday! HOLIDAY is not a national holiday!

Many years ago, the world famous Adolphus Hotel began having an annual Christmas parade through downtown Dallas. Over the years, it has grown in size and popularity. But six or seven years ago, they changed the name of the Christmas parade to “Holiday parade.” They didn’t want to offend someone! GIVE ME A BREAK!

If anyone desires to celebrate any other religious tradition during this season of the year, fine, it’s a free country to express your conviction! But Hanukah, Kwanza, or any other alternative religious celebration are not federally sanctioned holidays. Only Christmas (a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ) is a federally sanctioned holiday. Christmas is and should be recognized because 95 percent of the immigrants that came to this land from Europe and founded our country were dedicated Christians who recognized Christmas as fundamental to their belief and faith. JESUS IS INDEED THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

I encourage you to not allow anyone to take Jesus out of your Christmas celebration. If someone says to you: “Happy Holidays!” Say back to them: “God bless you! But not Happy Holidays, it’s Merry Christmas! It is a federally sanctioned holiday by the United States Congress celebrating the birth of Jesus! MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

Let’s agree to not allow anyone to take Jesus from our Christmas! Happy Holidays?????? I think not! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Blessings………………………………..Pastor Billy

December 5th., 2010

2010-12-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

Dear Church Family,

As we enter the second week of Advent this Christmas season, I hope you are maintaining a thankful heart as well as a heart that anticipates all the joy and love of this special time of the year.

I recently saw a guy wearing an interesting “saying” on his t-shirt. It said, “Warning! I do dumb things!” At first glance, I thought how silly and stupid to wear that written on a t-shirt. However, the more I got to thinking about it the more I realized how painfully honest this guy was about himself. As much as we try to live for God, the truth is from time to time we all do “dumb things.” I am not suggesting we go get one of these t-shirts. The saying just helps us remember how much we need to depend on God and His power everyday of our lives.

Christmas means a multitude of things for those of us who love God. Our need for God 24/7 could be at the top of the list. “Warning! You and I do dumb things!” And especially without God! Christmas causes us to draw near to Him even as we realize Christmas is about God drawing near to us. Praise You Lord!

Pastors Tom and Rayanna Fields have a special presentation this morning through our community arts outreach ministry. Children from six years through high school will be giving glory to God through the various genres of dance, drama, music, flags and banners, painting, sculpting, etc.
For More information: http://www.christforthenationschurch.org/creative.html

Then we will continue to give glory to God as I preach about “The Life of God” the second sermon in a four-week series, THE GLORY OF GOD AT CHRISTMAS.

Let’s draw near to Him!

Blessings…………………………………….Pastor Billy

November 28, 2010

2010-11-27T20:51:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

I trust you are having a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving weekend. As Christians, we all have so much to be thankful for at Thanksgiving. As we all move forward into the Christmas season (knowing Jesus is the reason for the season), it is essential to allow Thanksgiving to help us move into a spiritual place we can refer to as Thanks-Living! Thanks-Living makes it nearly impossible to NOT enjoy the Christmas season as long as we maintain a thankful heart.

All the JOY, HOPE, and LOVE of the Christmas season can get completely wiped out with an unthankful heart. Unthankful hearts covet! Unthankful hearts are jealous and wanting! Unthankful hearts cannot see the many blessings that surround them! Thankful hearts don’t covet! Thankful hearts aren’t jealous and wanting! Thankful hearts can SEE the blessings of God and receive the JOY, HOPE, and LOVE of Christmas!

Today, the first Sunday in Advent (a celebration of the Lord’s coming), I will begin a sermon series entitled: THE GLORY OF GOD AT CHRISTMAS! The glory of God is the manifested presence of God. Part of the mystique, beauty, and power of Christmas is God’s manifested glory coming to us through the incarnation of Christ. God became flesh! “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and WE BEHELD HIS GLORY, the GLORY as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) And when the angel of the Lord visited the shepherds to proclaim the birth of Jesus Luke 1:9 states: “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the GLORY OF THE LORD shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.” Everything about the birth of Jesus and the celebration of Christmas has to do with the GLORY OF GOD—God’s manifested presence. Let’s talk about the GLORY OF GOD at Christmas!

Blessings………………………………Pastor Billy

November 14, 2010

2010-11-16T15:53:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

As we prepare to enter the Thanksgiving holiday week, as Christians it is essential we fully understand and embrace this holiday with all our heart in the presence of God. Having and maintaining a thankful heart is crucial to our spiritual lives and ongoing spiritual maturity. The “benefits” of a thankful heart are many, which I will discuss in my sermon this morning.

The many difficulties that can be created by an unthankful heart can include: jealousy, coveting, stress, depression, anger, physical sickness, and sleeplessness to only name a few.

The “blessings” of a thankful heart are many! The “curses” of an unthankful heart are many! The choice is not God’s. He has already made it abundantly clear He desires His people to be blessed. The choice is with us! If you want God’s best in your life with His blessing, you must have and maintain a thankful heart. I am convinced some people are not powerfully impacted by God at Christmas time, which should be one of the great moments in the year for Christians, because the enter Christmas with an unthankful heart. What a tragedy!

As Americans, we are given a tremendous gift prior to Christmas by having an official national holiday called Thanksgiving. The true celebration of Thanksgiving gives us the wonderful opportunity to get our hearts in the right place before Christmas season comes. It is the “gift” of being able to realize (as Christians) Thanksgiving is not something we do and celebrate once a year. Thanksgiving is a way of life every day for the Christian!

I challenge you to allow God to translate your Thanksgiving into Thanks-living! Let’s talk about it this morning!

Blessings……………………………Pastor Billy

Testimony

2010-11-12T21:20:00.001-08:00

Dear Church Family,

Marianne and I thank all of our family, friends, and CFN Church family who have prayed for Marianne this past week. As many of you know, Marianne was hospitalized late Monday the 18th at Baylor Hospital Dallas. The initial prognosis was that Marianne could have had a reaction to her anti-rejection medication or a reaction to the oil-base paints that are currently present at our home in Carrolton due to remodeling. However, those ideas were proven incorrect as a series of tests were run on Pastor Marianne.

We serve an awesome God who is always present and a help to us in a time of need! We have known and realized this wonderful truth for many years and particularly in light of the following testimony. The miracle was that Marianne was released to go home Thursday afternoon. Following being diagnosed has having had a stroke, the doctor stated:”you are a very lucky woman,” but of course we realize there is no such thing as luck--only the blessing of God!

These are the details of the miracle:
1. The stroke was in the very smallest blood vessel in her brain.
2. When the blood vessel burst, there was no aneurism (bleeding).
3. When the blood vessel burst, it repaired itself, and did its own bypass.

So what actually took place was the blood vessel that burst, was immediately closed off and healed, and the blood vessel immediately attached itself to another blood vessel and repaired itself and did its own bypass. There was no bleeding whatsoever that traveled anywhere in the brain outside the blood vessels, which could have caused extreme pain, some forms of paralysis, or permanent damage, None of these things happened. Praise God!

The doctor said the stroke took place in the short-term memory area of her brain, and she may never recover the memory of the 48- hours period just prior to the stroke.

We serve an awesome, sustaining, healing God who we have preached for 30 years. We have endeavored to allow God's grace and provision to not only touch and bless others. but to touch and bless our lives. We do realize we never stand alone when it comes to God's blessing and healing in our lives. We know that hundreds of people have participated in this miracle healing for Marianne through their consistent and faithful prayers. We humbly thank you and our Lord for this awesome demonstration of God's love and grace. We look forward to seeing our CFN Church family this Sunday as we with great joy and thanksgiving celebrate the great God we serve.

P.S. In light of Marianne’s recent kidney transplant procedure it is very important to know the doctors said this milady had nothing to do with Marianne’s kidney transplant or the present fully functional kidney that she has operating in her body. As most of you probably know, my sister Teri was the transplant match and donor for Marianne. This has been a great blessing and miracle for our very close knit family. The doctors said even during all this recent three days in the hospital, Marianne’s new kidney never stopped functioning at nothing less than 100% capacity both then and presently.

November 7, 2010

2010-11-05T16:48:00.001-07:00

As a parent, I always enjoyed watching and observing my two boys mature and have measures of success in their life. It really didn’t matter if it was in the classroom, on the athletic field, in leadership, in our family, or even now as adults with their careers. It is always great to say two things to Billy or Jaysun: “Son I love you and I’m proud of you!” All children need this kind of affirmation and so do we as adults even if it only comes from God. The feeling of satisfaction of watching my sons grow and accomplish things in their life is one of the things I love most about fatherhood. It makes me proud and has even become more satisfying to see them achieve more than my own personal achievements. It’s wonderful to be a proud father!

Being a spiritual father is really no different than being a relational and biological father. It always makes me so very proud to observe my spiritual children grow, mature, and have a fruitful and productive life for God! Evangelist Daniel King is certainly no exception!

I have literally known Daniel his entire life and have known his parents (Dr. Robert & Susan King) for over 30 years. The Allens and the Kings attended seminary at Oral Roberts University together and have remained very close through partnering in ministry in the local church, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and South Africa. You get very close to people when you spend as much time in ministry as we have with the King family. I love all five of the King children (Daniel, Melody, Stephen, Esther, and David) like they are my own flesh and blood. They are my kids, my spiritual kids, as Marianne and I were honored to become God-parents to Daniel and Jessica King’s son Caleb. Praise God, I’m quite the proud parent!

I am thrilled to have International Evangelist Daniel King with us this morning. Daniel grew up on the mission field with his parents traveling through the U.S. and Mexico participating in almost every conceivable form of ministry. Within this kind of spiritual atmosphere from a very young age, Daniel knew he was called by God to be an evangelist. He and his wife Jessica have won over 1,000,000 people to Christ and have recently set a goal to win 1,000,000 people a year to Christ through King Ministries International which I am honored to serve as a board member.

Daniel has traveled to 54 nations preaching the gospel. Recently he has ministered in Indonesia, Ethiopia, Mexico, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and Sudan where he held services of 50,000 people. He has written 14 books and greatly maximizes his impact through leadership and pastors conferences. This last week, Daniel was the keynote chapel speaker at CFNI. As a proud father, I know you will be blessed this morning through the ministry of International Evangelist Daniel King!
Blessings……………………………………..Pastor Billy

October 24, 2010

2010-10-21T13:51:00.001-07:00

Dear Church Family,

I recently heard an appalling news story about a man in Dallas who killed another man over a parking place in front of a business. Can you believe it? There have also been numerous reports about people with “road-rage” who stopped their cars and got into fist fights with one another merely because the other person pulled their car in front of them while driving. There are reports of husbands battering their wives and wives battering their husbands. The wife of a guy I grew up with in Dallas ran over him with her car three times within a matter of seconds attempting to kill him. Some months ago I saw him at my mother’s funeral, and he was thanking God he was still alive. His “ex-wife” served time in prison for her actions. What is going on in our society with all this anger and aggression people are demonstrating towards one another?

As Christians, the quick and easy answer is, “Well, they just all need Jesus!” This is true, everyone needs Jesus; yet I believe the answer demands more detail in this situation. Due to the increase of the secularization of our society more and more people’s “flesh” is being confronted with demon powers and the law of sin and death. Jesus stated in the last days we should expect to see more of this type overt sin and fruit of the flesh. A blatant increase in the pornography industry is just another example of how people are often more “flesh-driven” than under the control by the Spirit of God.

This is why we need to have the Fruit of the Spirit in our life which can help us put our flesh under the submission of the Holy Spirit and our own recreated spirit through Christ Jesus. I believe my present sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit is so very timely and necessary to the circumstances we are living. The Fruit of the Spirit is God’s gift to us (if we will receive it), and it can help us defeat the law of sin and death and our own flesh. Hopefully we can all proclaim every day and in every challenging situation of our life: “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 12:2)

Blessings……………………………..Pastor Billy

October 17, 2010

2010-10-13T14:26:00.001-07:00

I recently saw a story on a TV news program that caught my attention. It was a story about a man named John Chelminaik who was attacked by a black bear. He and his wife have a vacation home in Washington State. John had gone on a walk near their mountain home, and had returned within a short distance from his house, when he was suddenly attacked from behind by the black bear. As he fought for his life he was screaming as loud as he could, knowing his wife was near by within feet of their home. His wife heard his calls, called 911 Emergency, and then ran to his side to try to help. By the time she got down the driveway, the bear had backed away from John but was standing a short distance away growling and pacing back and forth. With great danger to her own life, John’s wife, Lynn, stayed right beside him waving, distracting, and miraculously keeping the angry bear at a distance until the emergency personnel arrived.

In an interview six weeks after the bear attack, John was quoted: “There is no doubt in my mind, my wife saved my life. She refused to leave my side even putting her own life at risk.”

The bible refers to a Godly wife as a “help mete,” not a helpmate but a help mete. The word help mete comes from the Greek word “paraklete,” which refers to the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16 Jesus says: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another HELPER (paraklete), that He may abide with you forever.” In John 15:26 Jesus says: “But when the HELPER (paraklete) comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, He will testify of Me.” Paraklete, which we translate HELPER, means “ONE CALLED ALONG SIDE TO HELP AND NEVER LEAVE.” This is who the Holy Spirit is to us—The Helper. He is called along side us to help us. And this is exactly what Lynn Chelinaik was to her husband John. She was his HELP METE, called by his side to help him in his time of need.

John Chelinaik has a faithful wife, one called by his side to help him in his time of need. The Holy Spirit is our faithful HELPER in our time of need.

This Sunday I want to talk to you about the FRUIT OF FAITHFULNESS!

Let’s worship HIM WHO IS FAITHFUL!

Blessings………………………………..Pastor Billy

October 10, 2010

2010-10-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday (October 3) churches from around the world (our church included) joined to pray for the Jewish people, the nation of Israel, and the peace of the city of Jerusalem. We carried this same prayer anointing into our cell groups during the week throughout the community. There were some tremendous testimonies of God’s grace and power as our church family prayed for Israel. God promised Abraham: “Those that bless you (and your descendants) I will bless, and those that curse you I will curse.” (Gen. 12:3) There is a special blessing from God for those who pray for and support Israel. There always has been and there always will be until the return of Christ. As a church family, we should all be proud of our deep and rich spiritual heritage of the Lindsay family and Christ for the Nations which has always stood in solidarity with Israel.

As we continue to pray, it is important to know millions of Christians throughout the U.S. and the world have mutually decided to set aside a time of prayer and fasting for the upcoming November 2 election. I believe our upcoming election is crucial to our nation’s history and quite worthy of our prayers. I don’t necessarily believe the opposite of love is hate! I believe the opposite of love is apathy. Apathetic people do nothing—how-be-it good or bad! Jesus said: “I wish you were cold or hot….because you are lukewarm and neither cold or hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (Rev. 3:15-16) For example, the major reason abortion was voted into law in our country was due to the fact that many millions of Christians apathetically did not vote, and the results was the minority pro-abortion people did vote. Thus, we have the negative results of that apathy today. Evil can often occur when good people choose to do nothing. The result is people who are “less than good” get their way in a society.

Jesus’ command to be SALT and LIGHT to the world means we must pray, but it also means we must “put legs to our prayers” by getting involved in the process to include voting and aspiring to assume leadership positions at the local, regional, national, and international level.

I encourage you to join with the growing number of Christians in our nation and around the world who are fasting and praying between now and November 2^nd that “God’s Kingdom would come, His will would be done, on earth as it is in heaven” in the United States of America!

Blessings……………………………………Pastor Billy

October 03, 2010

2010-10-01T15:01:00.001-07:00

Dear Church Family,

Today is a very special day for two reasons. First, today churches around the world are joining together to pray for the nation of Israel. In fulfillment of biblical prophecy, in 1946 Israel became a nation once again. God brought tens of thousands of Jewish people who had been scattered throughout the world back to their God-given homeland. As Christians, it is very important for us to be aware how crucial Israel is in the last days prior to Jesus’ return. In addition, there is a supernatural blessing from God for supporting the Jewish people. God told Abraham in Genesis 12, “I will bless those that bless you and curse those who curse you.” Because of this special day, I am delaying my present sermon series “Bearing Fruit That Lasts” in order to preach on the importance Israel plays in our lives and have a special time of prayer for Israel.

Secondly, our own Charles and Diane Gyurko are moving from Dallas to the San Antonio area. They have faithfully served in leadership as co-founders of CFN Japan and here at CFN Church for many years as elders, teachers, counselors, and prayer warriors. They have always made themselves available to help and bless others. Charles and Diane have been tremendous models of the love and compassion of Christ in our lives and to the people of this community. We are honoring the Gyurko’s today and will have a special reception for them immediately following the service. Charles and Diane love and support Israel which makes this special day of prayer for Israel and honoring them for their servant hood a double blessing for all of us.

On this beautiful, cool, crisp fall morning, let’s worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth. He is worthy of all our praise!

Blessings………………………………..Pastor Billy

September 26, 2010

2010-09-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Church Family,

I hope you had the opportunity to attend the CFN Healing Conference this week. For many years, Ginger Lindsay (President/Dr. Dennis Lindsay’s wife) has held a ladies conference in September here at CFNI. After the ladies conference last September, Ginger and the executive leadership felt “God’s prompting” to having a Healing Conference this year rather than the ladies conference. It is very important for all of us who have been touched by the ministry of Christ For The Nations to be aware that part of our spiritual DNA is the ministry of healing.

Gordon & Freda Lindsay created The Voice of Healing which initiated their early ministry and only later became CFNI. With great men of God in those early days joining with the Lindsays in the healing ministry such as Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin, Sr., it is easy to understand how healing, miracles, and the power of the Holy Spirit was a vital part of the ministry. The Voice of Healing and Christ For The Nations has played a vital role in world-wide church history in the last 70 plus years. The impact of true New Testament Christianity with the shameless claim of God’s miracle saving and healing power cannot be denied. And this week, being able to reclaim this awesome spiritual heritage we have has been a tremendous blessing.

This morning we are blessed to have with us one of the keynote speakers for the CFN Healing Conference: Juennine Dante’ Fox. God launched Juennine’s ministry in 1994 when she prayed for a woman God raised from the dead. She was the catalyst for the Putten Revival that swept the Netherlands in 1998. Multitudes of people were saved, healed, and transformed. The whole nation was impacted as the result of Juennine’s ministry. She has preached the gospel on TV and radio while traveling to the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Please open your heart to receive all God has for you through this mighty woman of God!

We are re-digging the old wells of healing and revival and reclaiming our spiritual heritage of the Voice of Healing and Christ For The Nations!

Blessings…………………………………………Pastor Billy

September 19, 2010

2010-09-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Church Family,

As Spirit-filled Charismatic Christians, it is very important to live our lives by the miracle power of God everyday. We need to call upon Him in all situations of life and believe for supernatural miracles, healings, and divine interventions. I was recently reminded of a miracle God did for us many years ago in the middle of the hot New Mexico desert.

We were on a choir tour with fifty high school kids from our church ministering in churches across the southwestern U.S. We were on a bus halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was in August and the temperature that day was around 110 degrees. Suddenly the bus engine just stopped, and the bus coasted to a complete stop. Our bus driver, who had worked for the bus company for over twenty years, shook his head and said, “This does not sound good at all!” He got out of the bus, went to the back, opened the door where the engine was, looked over the engine for a few minutes and said. “This engine is completely blown! I have seen this happen before! The only thing we can do is call the bus company and within two or three hours they can get a new bus out to us!”

The kids were tired and hungry, it was 110 degrees without any air conditioning, and we were expected to minister in a church three hours away within the next four hours. I looked at the bus driver (who at the time was not a Christian) and some of our adult and youth leaders and said, “I believe God can heal this bus engine!” I took some anointing oil and some of us laid hands upon the hot “blown bus engine” and commanded it be healed in the name of Jesus. I also prayed, “Father, I thank you this bus is called into the ministry with us during this choir tour, and I thank you for healing this bus engine!”

By the end of our prayer, the bus driver had stepped back some distance from the bus. I was sure he thought we were all religious crazy people. At the “amen” of the prayer, I looked over to the bus driver and told him to go start the bus. He rolled his eyes, shook his head, and very reluctantly went to the front of bus, placed the key in the ignition, and the bus started immediately. GOD HEALED THAT BUS ENGINE THAT DAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NEW MEXICO DESERT! Wow! Later that night at our service, the bus driver got saved by giving his heart to Jesus. Praise God!

Nothing is too large or too small for our God. He is longing to intervene and bring His miracle power to our situations in life, but we must believe and ask Him boldly to do so! This week believe God to move on your behalf!

Blessings………………………………………….Pastor Billy

September 12, 2010

2010-09-09T14:53:00.001-07:00

Dear Church Family,

This last week the DFW area received a great deal of much needed rain. Thank you Jesus! Unlike other parts of the country (and even other parts of Texas), North Texas is blessed with many water reservoirs and an above average annual rainfall. You essentially cannot have life without water. Humans need water to live as do plants and animals. Water is crucial to the survival of all living things on earth!

As wonderful and necessary water is on earth to giving and maintaining life, too much water at one time can serve as a disaster to all living things. There were parts of Texas (including some of the DFW area), that flooded leading to the death of people and animals and the destruction of property, houses, and buildings.

Water can save life or water can take life depending upon its application and the amount used! Water can be used to create electricity or water can be used to electrocute people and animals that are around electricity. Water can be used as an agent of life or water can be used as an agent of death. Proverbs 18:21 says “DEATH AND LIFE ARE IN THE POWER OF THE TONGUE…” Water is God given but it can be used for either life or death. Our tongue is no different! It is God given, but it can be used to give life or to give death!

I encourage you today to use your tongue to speak life and blessing over your life and those around you! Discipline yourself to speak life and not death! Take a tall glass of ice water, take a sip and say: “Thank you Jesus

for life!”

Blessings………………………………………Pastor Billy

September 5, 2010

2010-09-07T14:19:00.001-07:00

Dear Church Family,

As I continue my sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-25 and as our cell groups reflect upon the same subject, I am certain we can grow together into the likeness and image of Christ.

As Christians, we all have the same challenge: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Gal. 5:17) Prior to this Paul writes: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” WE DON’T HAVE TO YIELD TO THE FLESH, BECAUSE GOD HAS GIVEN US GRACE AND POWER TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT! BUT, WE MUST BE WILLING TO DO IT HIS WAY AND NOT OUR OWN!

It’s impossible for any of us to change anything in our life unless we are first willing to admit we have a problem and therefore have a need to change. The only reason a person becomes a Christian is they must first admit their own spiritual bankruptcy and dire need for God’s grace and forgiveness. Becoming a Christian doesn’t happen any other way! Unfortunately, we live in a society that promotes and celebrates denial of one’s personal problems and at all costs...God Forbid… “Don’t feel the need to take responsibility for your own actions….do your best to blame someone else!” The “blame game” goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.

Anytime we try to blame someone else for our own actions, we are lying to ourselves and are refusing to take responsibility for our actions. When was the last time you heard of a business C.E.O. or politician clearly caught doing something illegal and they immediately admit they were both guilty and wrong? ALMOST NEVER! Have you ever noticed the whole world seems to be completely innocent?.......NOT!

One of the great things God desires to do in our lives as Christians is to become REAL! To become transparent! To become genuine! To become honest! To become a person of real integrity and be willing to take full responsibility for our own actions! To “put to death” once and for all the blame-game!

May we all allow God’s grace to work in our lives so that His true character and nature can flow through us!

Blessings…………………………………………..Pastor Billy

August 22, 2010

2010-09-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Church Family,

As we enter a new school semester and attempt to approach the fall season, our CFN Church family is thrilled to start our weekly home cell groups. Some of our cell groups are meeting on the CFNI campus while others are meeting in homes of the various communities around Dallas where our church members live. If you haven’t already received a two-page document detailing the vision of our home cell groups, please get a copy from one of our ushers this morning. This document will help you fully grasp the vision and organized plan for our home cell groups.

This morning I will be starting a sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5. Each week the cell group facilitators and members of the cell will utilize my sermon outline from that Sunday to use in the home cell group that week for study, discussion, and prayer. Sometimes as Charismatic Christians, we can so emphasize the power of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in ministry to the neglect of the Fruit of the Spirit which helps us LIVE THE LIFE of our faith in Christ.

I thank God for all I can learn about the gifts of the Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit! However, the spiritual gifts are primarily to help me bless others in ministry! The Fruit of the Spirit is primarily going to help Billy Allen (the man, the husband, the father, the brother, the uncle, the friend) live my life in a Christ-like manner. All of us need both training in ministry and training in how to live the Christian life apart from “ministry” although they are very much inter-connected.

There is a potential tragedy I want to avoid in my life and help you avoid in your life! The potential tragedy is moral failure because of the lack of foundation we have in Godly character and integrity! It is possible to mature in “the doing of ministry” but fail to grow in “living the Christian life.” We should never feel we must choose between these two important areas of growth. It takes God’s power, “the gifts,” and “the fruit” to grow into full maturity as a believer and someone called in ministry. I am looking forward to our growth together through our corporate worship services and our home cell groups. Let’s believe together God will “do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think.” (Eph. 3:20)

Blessings………………………….Pastor Billy