Church of Hope

3.24.19 || Open Doors

“I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” – Revelation 3:8

OPEN DOOR = OPPORTUNITIES

“And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” - Acts 14:27
“But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” - 1 Corinthians 16:8-9
“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison.” - Colossians 4:3

STEP THROUGH YOUR OPEN DOOR
1. Opportunities Come From Little Power
“I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” – Revelation 3:8

2. Opportunities Come From Keeping God’s Word
“I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” – Revelation 3:8

3. Opportunities Come From Honoring God’s Name
“I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” – Revelation 3:8

“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” – Revelation 3:10-11

3-17-19 || Wake Up

“…I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.” – Revelation 3:1

1. Wake Up
“Wake up!...” – Revelation 3:2

2. Strengthen What You Have
“…Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead...” – Revelation 3:2

3. Get Your Act Together
“…I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God.” – Revelation 3:2

4. Return To Your First Faith
“Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief...” – Revelation 3:3

03-10-19 || OVERCOMING JEZEBEL

FIVE THINGS GOD LOVES

“I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.”
– Revelation 2:19
1. Your Love
2. Your Faith
3. Your Service
4. Your Patient Endurance
5. Your Constant Improvement

PERMITTING JEZEBEL

“But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.” – Revelation 2:20

FIVE EFFECTS OF THE JEZEBEL SPIRIT

1. Manipulation
“But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to le my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.” – Revelation 2:20

 

2. Fear
“Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.” – 1 Kings 19:3
3. Isolation
“Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die…” – 1 Kings 19:4
4. Exhaustion
“…’I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.’”
– 1 Kings 19:4
5. Depression
“…He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.’”
– 1 Kings 19:4

OVERCOMING THE JEZEBEL SPIRIT

“…those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. I will strike her children dead...” – Revelation 2:22-23
“But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.” – Revelation 2:24-25

3.03.19 || PROMISE OR CON-PROMISE?

1. Know Where Your Truth Comes From

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword.” - Revelation 2:12
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” -Hebrews 4:12

2. Know Where You Live

“I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.” - Revelation 2:13

3. Pay Attention To The Small Things

“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.” - Revelation 2:14

4. Let God Give You Your Identity
“Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” - Revelation 2:16

“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.” - Revelation 2:17

02-24-19 || DON’T BE TROUBLED BY TROUBLE

John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

1. Remember Jesus
Revelation 2:8 – “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive.”

2. Keep Your Eyes On What Is Important
Revelation 2:9 – “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.”

3. While You Are Suffering Get Ready For More
Revelation 2:10 – “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life."

4. Your Morning Is Coming
Revelation 2:10 – “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.”

5. You Can Overcome
Revelation 2:11 – “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.”

02.17.19 || KEEP LOVE ALIVE

 Jesus Is With His Church
Revelation 2:1 – “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands.”
 Jesus Knows Your Life
Revelation 2:2-3 – “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.”
 Jesus Is Interested In Your Love Life
Revelation 2:4 – “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”
HOW TO KEEP LOVE ALIVE

1. Recognize Where You Are
Revelation 2:5 – “Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”

2. Turn Back To God
Revelation 2:5 – “Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”

3. Put Love In Action
Revelation 2:5 – “Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”

4. Keep Blessing Others
Revelation 2:5 – “Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”

02.10.19 || WHAT GOD IS SAYING ABOUT YOU

1. You Are Loved
1 John 3:1 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!...” (NIV)

2. You Can Be Totally and Completely Forgiven
1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

3. You Are The Light Of The World
Matthew 5:14 – “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

4. You Are God’s Masterpiece
Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT)

5. You Have A Divine Destiny
1 Peter 2:5 – “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.” (NLT)

02.03.19 || Value His Voice

1. Set An Appointment
Exodus 19:10-11 – “The Lord said to Moses, “go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.”

2. Be Still And Worship
Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God…”
Exodus 14:13-14 – “And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.’”
Acts 13:2 – “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting…” the Lord spoke

3. Pray And Read
Mark 1:35 – “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.”
Psalm 119:147 – “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.”

4. Listen and Write
Psalm 45:1 (MSG) – “My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness. I pour it out in a poem to the king, shaping the river into words.”
1 Chronicles 28:19 – “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, all work to be done according to the plan.”
Habakkuk 2:2 – “And the Lord answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.’”
1 Samuel 3:1 – “…And the word of the Lord was rare (Valuable)…”

1.27.19 || Guest Speaker: John Easter

Dr. John Easter serves as strategic leader for training for AGWM-Africa, director of Africa’s Hope, vice chancellor of Pan-Africa Theological Seminary (PAThS), and executive director of the Association for Pentecostal Theological Education in Africa (APTEA). John’s ministry focus aligns with the AGWM-Africa strategic campaign to train up men and women for church planting, to facilitate missions mobilization in Africa, and to equip missionary educators. His ministry assignment requires interfacing with over 300 AG schools and extension centers

1-20-19 || Victim Or Victor

1. WHAT do you HEAR?
I am a VICTIM
1 Kings 19:10 – “So he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’”
I am a VICTOR
Romans 8:37 – “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

2. WHO are you listening to?
Father of LIES
John 8:44 – “…When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (lies).”
Founder of FAITH
Hebrews 12:2 – “Looking unto Jesus, the author (founder) and finisher of our faith…”

3. WHERE do you go to LISTEN?
Place of the PITY PARTY
1 Kings 19:4 – “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!’”
Where God Reveals HIMSELF
1 Kings 19:8 – “So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.”

4. HOW Does “The Voice” Speak?
Not Rock Breaking…Not Earth Quaking…Not Fire Breathed
1 Kings 19:11-12 – “And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire…” In the Still Small Voice
1 Kings 19:12 – “…and after the fire a still small voice.”

The voice says – You are not alone…You are not defeated…
You are a VICTOR…I have something MORE for you!