The Church of God, FL/GA Regional Offices

Prayers Requested for the Campbell Family

gkent — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 02:44:08 +0000

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of the father of our Regional Overseer’s wife, Sister Campbell. Prayers are requested for the Campbell family during this time of grief.

Funeral services for Mr. Robert E. Moncrief, aka Bobby Edwards, 86, of Smyrna, TN, formerly of Anniston, will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 4, 2012, at K.L. Brown Memory Chapel in Golden Springs with the Reverends Jerry Campbell, Ray Dupre, and Betty Bishop officiating. Interment will follow at Forestlawn Gardens.The family will receive friends on Friday evening from 5 – 8 p.m. at the funeral home. Mr. Moncrief passed away on July 31, 2012 at Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Cards and condolences can be sent to Sister Campbell at the following address:

Vivian Campbell
P.O. Box 6
White, GA 30184

Praying and Fasting… the Way to God’s Promises

jcox — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:11:34 +0000

Isaiah lived in a day when for- malism and hypocrisy had rendered fasting obnoxious to God. But we need to remem- ber that this was also true of their offerings, their prayers, and their worship. (Isaiah 1: 10-15) In the 58th chapter of Isaiah, God not only uncov- ered the self-seeking and self- pleasing which was behind this show of piety, but He went on to unfold the fast that He had chosen, and the bless- ing that it would bring to oth- ers as well as to them.

Fasting is connected with seeking God, drawing near to God, prevailing with God. It is designed to make prayer mount up as on eagles’ wings. It is intended to usher our praises and pleas into the very presence of Almighty God! It is the tool to give an edge to our intercessions and power to our petitions. Heaven is ready to bend its ear to listen when we pray and fast. The man who prays with fasting is giving heaven notice that he is truly in earnest; that he will not give up or let up until vic- tory comes. Not only so, but he is expressing his earnest- ness in a divinely appointed way. He is using a means for God’s promise… “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.” (Isaiah 58:9a)

We face crucial situations in our lives calling for divine guidance that require us to do as Ezra did in chapter 8: 21-23 “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict our- selves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.” Ezra was car- rying a large load of gold and silver to the temple in Jerusa- lem along a route infested with bandits. He needed God’s divine guidance! Prayer and fasting captured God’s atten- tion as noted in verse 23… “So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.” and in verse 31… “and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.” It is no secret that we are living in crucial times in our personal lives and in the Church. Our enemy, satan, who has come to kill, steal and destroy, is lurking all around us on our journey to that heavenly city. He is lying by the way as we walk in the way, waiting for any given opportunity to overcome any one of us. Just as with Ezra we must seek God with prayer and fasting for guidance in all that we do. Guidance, deliverance and ulti- mate victory comes about with prayer AND fasting…God has promised!

Ezra is just one of many, many biblical examples of the need to pray and fast as noted in the following poem. Can you identify those who prayed and fasted in many of the verses?

THEY FASTED

On Sinai’s mount, with radiant face, to intercede for heaven’s grace Upon a stubborn, wayward race…he fasted

Once lifted from the miry clay, when opposition came his way This soldier-king would often pray…with fasting

A seer, possessed of vision keen, who told the troubled king his dream Had light on God’s prophetic scheme…through fasting

The prophetess in temple court, beheld the Babe the two had brought For Him she long had prayed and sought…with fasting

He came to break the yoke of sin, but ere His mission would begin He met the foe and conquered him…while fasting

‘Set these apart’, the Spirit bade, a spring that soon vast rivers made Broke ope by men who as they prayed…were fasting

So shall they fast when I am gone? Was this no word to act upon? Ask countless saints who fought and won…with fasting

When we shall stand on that great day, and give account, what shall we say If He should ask us, ‘Did you pray…with fasting?’

Arthur Wallis

Why Fast?

gkent — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:12:34 +0000

Fasting is a command of our Lord and therefore important. When done with a pure heart and a right motive, fasting will provide us with the key to unlock doors, opening up new opportunities to reach the lost. It is a spiritual weapon of God’s power to the pulling down of strongholds. Fasting may be old-fashion and unpopular to some in the religious world, but should be as common as prayer in The Church of God. Scripture has so much to teach us by example and by precept of the value of fasting. In the Old Testament we see example after example of great Bible saints who fasted…such as Moses, the lawgiver, David the king, Elijah the prophet and Daniel, the seer. The results of their fasting are noted in the victories won and miracles wrought in their lives. In the New Testament we have the example of our Lord as well as of His apostles. Fasting clearly had its place in the life of the early church and must have its place in the church today!

Isaiah tells us WHY we should fast in chapter 58…“ to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free.” He points out that this is the fast God has chosen. We know the action words in this scripture…to loose, to undo and to let go…pertain to many aspects in our spiritual walk. And it goes without saying, fasting is necessary in the spiritual warfare of a soul-winner. It is warfare in the realm of “principalities and powers”. Satan is a stubborn foe and does not want to relinquish his grasp on the souls of our lost families, friends and the lost souls of strangers we pass in our life every day. He will not relinquish his hold on their lives unless compelled to do so. Fasting provides that compelling! The enemy is compelled (forced) to loosen his grip on the soul in captivity! Fasting is a powerful weapon, appointed and anointed by God, to break the enemy’s hold. Let’s be reminded of the time the disciples were unable to cast out the devil. They asked WHY they were unable to do so. Jesus answered, “Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a gain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:20-21) Are we willing to intercede and push back the plate to see the bands of wickedness loosened… to see the heavy burdens of sin lifted…to see those oppressed go free? It will be worth the sacrifice to see family and friends find true deliverance…living a life in total victory over sin! Jesus teaches us through His Word that victory is wrought and deliverance comes through prayer AND fasting!

******

REMINDER: The Region has been called to fast every Wednesday. If you are unable to fast the entire day, you are encouraged to do what you can. Let’s purpose in our hearts to be obedient to the Word of God and the prompting of the Spirit. As we come together in unity and purpose through prayer and fasting we will experience the miracle working power of God we so desire in our local churches, in our personal lives and in the lives of our families and friends!

THEY FASTED

On Sinai’s mount, with radiant face

To intercede for heaven’s grace

Upon a stubborn, wayward race

He FASTED

Once lifted from the miry clay

When opposition came his way

This soldier-king would often pray

With FASTING

A seer possessed of vision keen

Who told the troubled king his dream

Had light on God’s prophetic scheme

Through FASTING

The prophetess in temple court

Beheld the Babe the two had brought

For Him she long had prayed and sought

With FASTING

He came to break the yoke of sin

But ere His mission could begin

He met the foe and conquered him

While FASTING

‘Set these apart’ the Spirit bade

A spring that soon vast rivers made

Broke ope by men who as they prayed

Were FASTING

So shall they fast when I am gone

Was this no word to act upon?

Ask countless saints who fought and won

With FASTING

When we shall stand on that great day

And give account, what shall we say

If He should ask us “Did we pray…

With FASTING?”

(Author – A.W.)

The Year of the Fast

jcox — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 01:42:20 +0000

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seeest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee: the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obsecurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” (Isaiah 58:6-12)

Fasting is SELF denial. It is a form of “will” worship. The fast the Lord chooses takes the emphasis off of self and places the emphasis on others and their needs. As noted in the above passages of scripture it goes beyond pushing the plate away. When our focus is on the lost our desire will not only be to push back the plate BUT it will push us forward to be more involved in personal witnessing to “loose the bands of wickedness”. Every day we must watch and pray for opportunities to witness outside the walls of the church house. Souls are dying and going to a real place called hell! We MUST deny ourselves to see souls delivered from the bondage of sin!

Are we willing to deny self for the needs of others? When the opportunity presents itself to pray for a soul in the altar are we willing to stay and pray until the victory comes? The urge to pray for a short while and then stop must be denied. We must persevere in prayer! This type of praying will “undo heavy burdens” ! Altar work is hard work but denying self to pray a hungry soul all the way through will “let the oppressed go free”!! To see this kind of victory in our churches the counsel of the scripture is clear…we must deny self!!

We cannot afford to hide ourselves from our own flesh. In other words we must not deny (which means reject) any need to “take away the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity.” Being yoked means being harnessed. Anything that keeps us harnessed or focused on ourselves and our needs alone must be broken. Yes, we have personal concerns but denying self to put the needs of others before our own brings liberty to all! We must realize that it has to stop always being about “us” and allow the liberating freedom of the Holy Ghost help us reach out from a pure heart of love to minister to the lost and hurting. Blaming others for our ineffectiveness…pointing a finger at someone else rather than examining our own lives will block the flow of deliverance for the afflicted souls all around us. When our conversation (meaning our lives, not just what we say with our mouth) speaks of our needs alone, we must take heed to the counsel of the scripture. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes declares in chapter 1, verse 2 “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Everything in this life will be burned up…all is vanity other than a soul! Therefore, let’s not be found denying the Word of God as penned by Isaiah, but rather let us be found denying SELF to see those captive in sin go free! This principal will make our witness effective as we deal the bread of life to a hungry, lost and dying world.

Therefore, out of obedience to the Lord, as Regional Overseer of Florida and Georgia I proclaim this next Assembly year as THE YEAR OF THE FAST…the year of SELF DENIAL! Every member is encouraged to push back the plate in your personal fast and prayer time. Throughout the year corporate fast time will be called. As well, be found denying self in every aspect. In so doing we will all receive the promises of our Lord as declared in Isaiah’s writings.