Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.   For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.   Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.    Hebrews 4:14-16

How easy it is to forget verses like this one when we are going through trails and sufferings...I find that when things are going well my faith is always strong and unmovable, but...when I am facing something beyond me my faith quickly turns into fear and doubt and unbelief.  I forget everything I believed and find myself struggling to hold on.  This is the testimony of most people I know.  We trust in our intellect that God is who He says He is, however, when the tests come we fail miserably.  The question I have for you is this...Do you or do you not believe that God is ALL POWERFUL?  Come on now, think about it!  Forget what your Sunday School teacher taught you and look deep into your heart and your experience and answer in truth.  

When Sarah got sick I wrestled with all of this everyday until I came to the conclusion that God owed me nothing!  I remember thinking that the only answer to my situation was for God to instantly heal her.  I didn't want to see her suffer and I didn't want to watch my sons struggle with their faith as to why God didn't heal her.  I came to a very powerful decision, and that decision changed my life!  I realized that God could instantly heal her if He wanted to!  He died to do such a thing.  But what was hindering Him?  Was it His Word?  His promises?  No, it was me!  There were things in me that He had to change so that a much bigger opportunity could be revealed in my life.  He needed to change my faith in who He IS!  I also found out that by allowing God to take us on a journey we would witness His great and powerful love He had for us.  Our journey was given to change our faith.  I now know that God has the power to heal instantly!  Before I believed it but rarely saw it happen.  It was through the trial that God made His voice heard in me.

I want you to see something that happened in The Scriptures.  

Mark 6:34-36  And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.   And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:  Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 

 What a sight this must have been...people coming from all over to hear Jesus!  However, after teaching them a problem arose.  Now understand something, a problem can be an opportunity.  There are times when God allows your situation to be come an opportunity for you to demonstrate the Word of God.  What good is it to say you believe in the power of God and yet when tested you fail?  Here it is...a large hungry crowd, too tired to walk back to town for food.  When Jesus saw this crowd He was moved with compassion.  Every time is Scripture that it tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion He did a miracle!  Why?  Compassion means, "to suffer with."  Jesus never allowed a problem to be greater than His faith.  He saw all problems as an opportunities to show forth the power of God.  Compassion helps you to see the problem as an opportunity!  Now, the disciples saw the same problem but had a different solution.  They lacked compassion and said, "send them away...there is nothing here to give them..."  After all there was an estimated 5000 men, not counting women and children.  Some estimate that there were as many as 25,000 people there that day...all hungry!!!

Mark 6:37  He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?  

This verse is amazing..."Give YE them to eat..."  YOU give them to eat...YOU!  Their reply made sense when they said. "Shall we go and buy 200 pennyworth of bread and give them to eat?"  They answered Him sarcastically because they knew that Jesus knew that they had nothing to give this large crowd!!! Jesus was asking the impossible!  Now remember this...the impossible is always possible with God through YOU!

Mark 6:38  He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 

What do you have?  "Go and see..."  This is the test!  Jesus knew well what they had...just a small boys lunch of five barley loaves of bread to two small fish...in Matthews account the disciples said, "But what are they among so many!"  To the common faithless person that made sense...NOT ENOUGH so why try! Somewhere in your Christian life your faith has to change into His faith or you will always miss the very reason that Jesus came to this earth...He came to bring to you the Kingdom of God...He brought to you Heaven...Remember when Jesus told us how to pray?  "Thy Kingdom come!  Thy will be done ON EARTH as it is IN HEAVEN."  This is NOW!  NOW! Is there lack in heaven?  Is there sickness in Heaven?  NO!!! Access into this is through faith!  The Bible says Faith cometh by hearing....HEARING?  Yes, Hearing!  It never said that faith cometh by what you have heard!  Hearing is present...now!  Living, breathing, moving faith that sees impossibilities as common place with God.  The people who struggle with this the most are those who are suppose to be living it!!!  How can we touch the world when we do not believe this ourselves?  Now don't tell me you believe it unless it is in daily practice in your own personal life!  I believe that the lost in our cities have discovered that we lack what we are suppose to have.  They are no longer coming to us because what we are advertising is not what we are giving out.  We have become spiritual atheist.  Without the demonstration of god's power what do we have? Programs, entertainment, shows, all the things that the world has.  The problem is this, none of these things change the condition of those who are hurting and needing God the most!  We should be ashamed!


So, here it is, the have five loaves and two fish...now what?

Mark 6:39-43  And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.   And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 1  And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.   And they did all eat, and were filled.   And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 

Now I know that all of you know this story well...I highlighted three things to bring to your attention...

1. Jesus "gave them to his disciples to set before them..." Inside of me flows the power of Almighty God to feed the hungry no matter how large the crowd is or the lack of supply I may have available!  If I stay in constant contact with the holy Spirit then His supply flows through me.  Jesus gave them the food...You feed them... He supplied it but we have to feed them.
2. "And they did eat and were filled..." What?  A small lunch feeds 25,000 people?  You say, yeah, but that was Jesus doing all of that and I am not Jesus...! True, but I want to shed a little light on this... Jesus left all of His divinity to come to earth and live just like a mortal man.  His power didn't come with Him!  His power came through the Holy Spirit.  The same Holy Spirit we claim to be filled with. Notice how often Jesus prayed!  If this fact is true then after the resurrection when the Holy Spirit was poured out that same power became available to all of us as well...the same measure became available to those who would be willing to pay the price for it!  This power is not cheap as I am finding out.  It will cost you much to flow under the anointing that you were birthed for.  Keep reading I will make this point much more clearer later.
3. "They took up twelve baskets full of fragments..."  How many baskets?  12  One each!!!  I will also deal with this in a minute.  More than enough...everyone had their fill and there were left overs!

However, most people end this story at this point but it was not over.  Something else happened that was very much a part of the feeding of the 5000...

Mark 6:45-50  And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.   And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.   And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.   And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.   But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:   For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 

 The party was over and it was back to reality for the disciples.  They had truly witnessed a miracle and without a doubt talked about it on the boat before the storm came.  I have found that God always tests our faith when He is wanting to show us something that will change our lives.  This storm was no accident, it was ordained to test these men of God to prepare them for the calling they were to fulfill.  First note:  Jesus saw them toiling on the sea...He knew their situation was hard and He knew that the wind was contrary to them.  Their situation was hopeless without a doubt!  The next thing we see is at the darkest hour of the night Jesus walks on the sea out towards their boat...close enough for the disciples to see Him.  They immediately though that it was a spirit and became afraid.  The old fable of the time was that if you saw a spirit during a storm it mean certain death...they were afraid!  This can relate to those who receive a bad doctors report after they had been prayed for.  The Scripture says that He would have passed by them...WHAT?  That doesn't at all sound like Jesus now does it?  Why would He have passed by them?  Maybe that's where you are at today?  Ever think about that?  Maybe Jesus is closer than you think but he is waiting for you!  Then the Scripture uses the word BUT..."but in their fear they cried out..." I know God sees our fear and He sees it with compassion.  It's not wrong to have moments of fear...but somewhere out in your storm is Jesus and I can guarantee that!  


Now, I told you that this story was connected to the feeding of the 5000...check out the next verse...

Mar 6:51  And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. Mar 6:52  For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. 

Here they are told something very important..."They considered not the miracle of the loaves..."  You see sometimes miracles are awesome and that is why God has to test us with storms so that we can understand the miracles.  When we doubt, the miracle no longer has power.  Notice the very last part, underline it in your Bible and never forget it...it tells us the reason for all of this..."for their heart was hardened..." Could this also be the reason for so few miracles today?  Our hearts have become hard, accustomed to not receiving what was promised?  Could this be the reason why so many fail during times of trails, sickness and testings? Maybe this is why we pray for the sick instead of obeying God's command to heal the sick.  A hardened heart will keep you in the natural and instead of seeing your storm as an opportunity to trust and believe God you become overtaken by it.  You then miss it and lack faith and become fearful.  What a dreaded place to be at!

In closing let me state something for you.  I too struggled with this in my life until God so graciously allowed us to "go through" sickness with my wife Sarah.  I now believe more than ever that there is coming back to the church the mighty power of the Holy Spirit.  We are soon going to see such powerful miracles in the Church like never before.  I know that I...ME...Kent Whitecotton....will be a tool to seeing blind eyes opened, deaf ears hear, cancer healed, disease healed, and even the dead raised back to life again...why??? because God's Word said so!!!  That is enough for me to seek after spiritual gifts like Paul told us to do in 2 Corinthians 14:1.  But this is also for you!  Jesus said, "If thou cans't believe, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE..."  You must realize that you were baptized in the Holy Spirit not to just speak in tongues but to have power to heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, heal the leper (cancer)....this is your heritage as a believer!  Take it!  Seek God until you get it all!

Just so you know, since our trial ended we have already begun to see miracles...cancer was healed, blood disease was healed, stage 3 lymphoma was healed...only the beginning of what is coming...this is our heritage "to destroy all the works of the devil."

Love you,

Pastor Kent

See Jesus in my Storm

   Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.   For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.   Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.    Hebrews 4:14-16

How easy it is to forget verses like this one when we are going through trails and sufferings...I find that when things are going well my faith is always strong and unmovable, but...when I am facing something beyond me my faith quickly turns into fear and doubt and unbelief.  I forget everything I believed and find myself struggling to hold on.  This is the testimony of most people I know.  We trust in our intellect that God is who He says He is, however, when the tests come we fail miserably.  The question I have for you is this...Do you or do you not believe that God is ALL POWERFUL?  Come on now, think about it!  Forget what your Sunday School teacher taught you and look deep into your heart and your experience and answer in truth.  

When Sarah got sick I wrestled with all of this everyday until I came to the conclusion that God owed me nothing!  I remember thinking that the only answer to my situation was for God to instantly heal her.  I didn't want to see her suffer and I didn't want to watch my sons struggle with their faith as to why God didn't heal her.  I came to a very powerful decision, and that decision changed my life!  I realized that God could instantly heal her if He wanted to!  He died to do such a thing.  But what was hindering Him?  Was it His Word?  His promises?  No, it was me!  There were things in me that He had to change so that a much bigger opportunity could be revealed in my life.  He needed to change my faith in who He IS!  I also found out that by allowing God to take us on a journey we would witness His great and powerful love He had for us.  Our journey was given to change our faith.  I now know that God has the power to heal instantly!  Before I believed it but rarely saw it happen.  It was through the trial that God made His voice heard in me.

I want you to see something that happened in The Scriptures.  

Mark 6:34-36  And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.   And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:  Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 

 What a sight this must have been...people coming from all over to hear Jesus!  However, after teaching them a problem arose.  Now understand something, a problem can be an opportunity.  There are times when God allows your situation to be come an opportunity for you to demonstrate the Word of God.  What good is it to say you believe in the power of God and yet when tested you fail?  Here it is...a large hungry crowd, too tired to walk back to town for food.  When Jesus saw this crowd He was moved with compassion.  Every time is Scripture that it tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion He did a miracle!  Why?  Compassion means, "to suffer with."  Jesus never allowed a problem to be greater than His faith.  He saw all problems as an opportunities to show forth the power of God.  Compassion helps you to see the problem as an opportunity!  Now, the disciples saw the same problem but had a different solution.  They lacked compassion and said, "send them away...there is nothing here to give them..."  After all there was an estimated 5000 men, not counting women and children.  Some estimate that there were as many as 25,000 people there that day...all hungry!!!

Mark 6:37  He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?  

This verse is amazing..."Give YE them to eat..."  YOU give them to eat...YOU!  Their reply made sense when they said. "Shall we go and buy 200 pennyworth of bread and give them to eat?"  They answered Him sarcastically because they knew that Jesus knew that they had nothing to give this large crowd!!! Jesus was asking the impossible!  Now remember this...the impossible is always possible with God through YOU!

Mark 6:38  He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 

What do you have?  "Go and see..."  This is the test!  Jesus knew well what they had...just a small boys lunch of five barley loaves of bread to two small fish...in Matthews account the disciples said, "But what are they among so many!"  To the common faithless person that made sense...NOT ENOUGH so why try! Somewhere in your Christian life your faith has to change into His faith or you will always miss the very reason that Jesus came to this earth...He came to bring to you the Kingdom of God...He brought to you Heaven...Remember when Jesus told us how to pray?  "Thy Kingdom come!  Thy will be done ON EARTH as it is IN HEAVEN."  This is NOW!  NOW! Is there lack in heaven?  Is there sickness in Heaven?  NO!!! Access into this is through faith!  The Bible says Faith cometh by hearing....HEARING?  Yes, Hearing!  It never said that faith cometh by what you have heard!  Hearing is present...now!  Living, breathing, moving faith that sees impossibilities as common place with God.  The people who struggle with this the most are those who are suppose to be living it!!!  How can we touch the world when we do not believe this ourselves?  Now don't tell me you believe it unless it is in daily practice in your own personal life!  I believe that the lost in our cities have discovered that we lack what we are suppose to have.  They are no longer coming to us because what we are advertising is not what we are giving out.  We have become spiritual atheist.  Without the demonstration of god's power what do we have? Programs, entertainment, shows, all the things that the world has.  The problem is this, none of these things change the condition of those who are hurting and needing God the most!  We should be ashamed!


So, here it is, the have five loaves and two fish...now what?

Mark 6:39-43  And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.   And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 1  And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.   And they did all eat, and were filled.   And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 

Now I know that all of you know this story well...I highlighted three things to bring to your attention...

1. Jesus "gave them to his disciples to set before them..." Inside of me flows the power of Almighty God to feed the hungry no matter how large the crowd is or the lack of supply I may have available!  If I stay in constant contact with the holy Spirit then His supply flows through me.  Jesus gave them the food...You feed them... He supplied it but we have to feed them.
2. "And they did eat and were filled..." What?  A small lunch feeds 25,000 people?  You say, yeah, but that was Jesus doing all of that and I am not Jesus...! True, but I want to shed a little light on this... Jesus left all of His divinity to come to earth and live just like a mortal man.  His power didn't come with Him!  His power came through the Holy Spirit.  The same Holy Spirit we claim to be filled with. Notice how often Jesus prayed!  If this fact is true then after the resurrection when the Holy Spirit was poured out that same power became available to all of us as well...the same measure became available to those who would be willing to pay the price for it!  This power is not cheap as I am finding out.  It will cost you much to flow under the anointing that you were birthed for.  Keep reading I will make this point much more clearer later.
3. "They took up twelve baskets full of fragments..."  How many baskets?  12  One each!!!  I will also deal with this in a minute.  More than enough...everyone had their fill and there were left overs!

However, most people end this story at this point but it was not over.  Something else happened that was very much a part of the feeding of the 5000...

Mark 6:45-50  And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.   And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.   And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.   And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.   But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:   For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 

 The party was over and it was back to reality for the disciples.  They had truly witnessed a miracle and without a doubt talked about it on the boat before the storm came.  I have found that God always tests our faith when He is wanting to show us something that will change our lives.  This storm was no accident, it was ordained to test these men of God to prepare them for the calling they were to fulfill.  First note:  Jesus saw them toiling on the sea...He knew their situation was hard and He knew that the wind was contrary to them.  Their situation was hopeless without a doubt!  The next thing we see is at the darkest hour of the night Jesus walks on the sea out towards their boat...close enough for the disciples to see Him.  They immediately though that it was a spirit and became afraid.  The old fable of the time was that if you saw a spirit during a storm it mean certain death...they were afraid!  This can relate to those who receive a bad doctors report after they had been prayed for.  The Scripture says that He would have passed by them...WHAT?  That doesn't at all sound like Jesus now does it?  Why would He have passed by them?  Maybe that's where you are at today?  Ever think about that?  Maybe Jesus is closer than you think but he is waiting for you!  Then the Scripture uses the word BUT..."but in their fear they cried out..." I know God sees our fear and He sees it with compassion.  It's not wrong to have moments of fear...but somewhere out in your storm is Jesus and I can guarantee that!

Now, I told you that this story was connected to the feeding of the 5000...check out the next verse...

Mar 6:51  And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. Mar 6:52  For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. 

Here they are told something very important..."They considered not the miracle of the loaves..."  You see sometimes miracles are awesome and that is why God has to test us with storms so that we can understand the miracles.  When we doubt, the miracle no longer has power.  Notice the very last part, underline it in your Bible and never forget it...it tells us the reason for all of this..."for their heart was hardened..." Could this also be the reason for so few miracles today?  Our hearts have become hard, accustomed to not receiving what was promised?  Could this be the reason why so many fail during times of trails, sickness and testings? Maybe this is why we pray for the sick instead of obeying God's command to heal the sick.  A hardened heart will keep you in the natural and instead of seeing your storm as an opportunity to trust and believe God you become overtaken by it.  You then miss it and lack faith and become fearful.  What a dreaded place to be at!

In closing let me state something for you.  I too struggled with this in my life until God so graciously allowed us to "go through" sickness with my wife Sarah.  I now believe more than ever that there is coming back to the church the mighty power of the Holy Spirit.  We are soon going to see such powerful miracles in the Church like never before.  I know that I...ME...Kent Whitecotton....will be a tool to seeing blind eyes opened, deaf ears hear, cancer healed, disease healed, and even the dead raised back to life again...why??? because God's Word said so!!!  That is enough for me to seek after spiritual gifts like Paul told us to do in 2 Corinthians 14:1.  But this is also for you!  Jesus said, "If thou cans't believe, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE..."  You must realize that you were baptized in the Holy Spirit not to just speak in tongues but to have power to heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, heal the leper (cancer)....this is your heritage as a believer!  Take it!  Seek God until you get it all!

Just so you know, since our trial ended we have already begun to see miracles...cancer was healed, blood disease was healed, stage 3 lymphoma was healed...only the beginning of what is coming...this is our heritage "to destroy all the works of the devil."

Love you,

Pastor Kent

Faith to Believe

Romans 15:13  Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Have you ever had a hard time believing in God's Word?  Come on now, be honest.  It is always easier to believe for others to be healed than it is to believe for yourself.  That is why God wants us to be encouragers to those who suffer...many time when your sick finding faith is very difficult, all you can do is hold on and hope things turn out all right.  I have always had the faith to believe for others because I never had to worry about the outcome.  However, when Sarah got sick all that I knew and believed was going to be tested.  I remember I did everything I was taught to do...I prayed, named it and claimed it; I spoke to the mountain, yelled at the devil, and tried with all my heart to believe that she would be healed.  I often wondered if I was lacking the required amount of faith to be healed.  I had settled it in my heart that the only way I could believe God was for her to be miraculously and instantly healed.  Understand something, God knows what He is doing!  Everything He does has a purpose.  I knew God could heal but could he sustain us?  That was something I was never taught to believe...Could God actually use this for His glory and for my benefit?  I had to settle my faith totally in God even when we heard bad news or when she would be rushed to the hospital...I had even learned to settle the dreadful possibility that Sarah would not survive the treatments...that was hard, but I did it.  I gave her completely to the Lord's work and purpose...I told God it was all up to Him, I would step aside and trust Him...so glad I did!

 I had to endure nearly 300 days of trust in the Lord because that is what He wanted.     More than needing a miracle I needed to know the powerful grace available to those who believe.  God sustained us and showed us His tender mercies.  Our eyes opened up to the needs of others around us.  We seen pain and hurt firsthand...much like Jesus did by coming to earth and living among us.  Now when I pray and believe for others it is with renewed faith because I have witnessed His power in our lives.

What about discouragement?  Well, I never said that you would never get discouraged because you will.  David said, "At what times I am afraid I will trust in you."  Discouragement does creep in especially when the journey is long and drawn out.  Again, that is why other believers must learn to become encouragers.  We have to learn to suffer with those who suffer...this is the law of Christ.  In fact, did you know that the word compassion means "to suffer with?"  True compassion is always demonstrated by actions...othewise all you have is sympathy.  We have plenty of that!  We all feel sorry for those who go through hard times but what are we doing about it?  We must learn to touch others and speak faith into them and even stand before God on their behalf...until we learn to do this all we have is sympathy and pity, that will never heal the sick!

I challenge you to use your journey to touch others along the way.  Please be sure to continue to pray for Julie and Kevin.  Kevin is doing much better and is able to be is a special home with his lovely wife until he is out of danger.  Sarah and I have fallen in love with these two great survivors and we know that God is going to complete in them His work like He did for us.

Thanks for listening,

Pastor Kent

OFFENDED

OFFENDED!


Have you ever been offended by someone?  I have and it's not fun. Have you ever offended anyone?  There are two kinds of offences...One is what someone has done to me, and the other one is what I have done to someone else.  Both of these are serious issues that cannot be allowed to remain in our lives regardless of how long ago they have been.  So, how are we to Scriptually handled offenses?  


What do you do when someone hurts us.  Many just leave the church and go on somewhere else.  Others stay around and return the offence through anger, bitterness, words, attitudes and thoughts.  But how are we suppose to deal with it and what does the Bible say on this subject?

Mar 6:1-6  And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.   And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?   Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.   But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.   And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.   And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. 

Notice what happens in this passage....Jesus came into His own country...on the Sabbath day he began to teach in the Synagogue...The people hearing Him were astonished and wanted to know where He got the wisdom from which he spake, and where the mighty works came from... Then came the offence...We know who you are!  Once the offence came in the release for miracles stopped and unbelief settled in their hearts... When you allow the devil to keep in your heart an offence you will hinder the work and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Just think of what that town missed out on!  You will cease to be effective when there are offenses against you.  I believe that only the Holy Spirit can reveal to you what areas you have offended.  With a sincere heart He will open your eyes. 

Matthew 11:6  And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 

There's more to consider....

Matthew 5:21-26  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:   But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.   Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;   Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.   Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.   Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 

I want to share with you what the Holy Spirit spoke into my own heart.  I had a long trail of offences I have left behind me.  People I had offended by my actions and indiscretions.  Little did I know that by not making them right I had opened up gates for the enemy to come into my life and have access to my spirit man.  I became hindered in my prayer life...hindered in my own personal relationships with my loved ones...and hindered in my own ministry.  Why?  Because satan had gained a foothold through my offences.  The above passage is a very serious one to consider.  Even when you look at Paul's teaching on the Lord's table you see the danger of offences not made right...

1Corinthians 11:27-30  Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.   But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.   For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.   For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

Only by making the offense right with our fellowman can it be deemed right before God.  There is no other way!  We have to stop with the excuses and the false logic and repent to our brother and then can we become properly restored before God.

But you say, "I have done nothing to them!  Why should I be the one to make it right?" We are never responsible for what others do to us...only for our own actions.  However, some may be offended at us due to something we are not even aware of.  This offence must be made right.  I have often asked the Holy Spirit to search my heart for anything thing that I am unaware of.  He sees all!  I have gone back many times and tried to make it right through forgiveness and honest confession.  It has not been easy but it has been rewarding spiritually.  


If you go back to the above Scripture in Matthew 5:21-26 you can easily see something that happens to us if we fail to make it right...Jesus said, "LEAVE THERE THY GIFT and go thy way, FIRST, be reconciled to thy brother..."  If you fail to do this, then you will be turned over to the judge and cast into prison...Prison is a spiritual place of isolation from the true intimacy with God.  Jesus said, "you will not come out until you have paid the uttermost farthing..."  In other words, "Until the debt is cleared..." Time does not remove the offence!  Not even death can remove the offence...Only true and honest confession to the one offended can become right before God...then He will open up the prison and set you free.


For any of you that are reading this...go now to your prayer closet and get courage to return to your past and make it right.  Ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart of love.  No matter what kind of response you get back, you will find a release from your captives and a new passion for your Father.


Thanks for listening


Pastor Kent

Help, I need a miracle...

I will never forget the day when Sarah called me from the doctor's office and told me she had leukemia... Many of you reading this will recall the very day when bad news overtook you and left your faithless for a moment. I was not use to hearing bad news like that in my family. Since that day I received the news from my younger brother Robert who is a pastor in Maryland, that two of his three daughters were diagnosed with MS. Funny how quickly bad news can take away all hope and faith. Everything that you have taught from the pulpit now is challenged...Everything you believed about God is challenged. I have since learned that faith is not true faith without testing. It is what you do that proves what you believe. When I receieved that call from Sarah I also received many other calls that made me doubt and misunderstand the Word of God. I had only one option...What did God's Word say about this?

I have since found that the Word of God has much to say about the testings of your faith. God does have a divine purpose in all that comes your way. Some will be overtaken, destroyed and even lose faith in God and fall away. WHY? Because their faith failed them. It wasn't rooted and grounded in the Word of God. It had no root!

How do you get it rooted? Trust in the Words that God gave to you through His Word. You may be asking WHY LORD? Why am I having to go through this trial? When Job had received word that he had lost everything he did something amazing...he shaved his head, put on sack cloth and ashes and HE WORSHIPED! You heard me right! He worshiped! Why? Because he trusted fully in God and knew God had his best interest at heart. I know this is hard to do and it might take time to get to that place. That is why God needs the church to reach out to those who are suffering and become encouragers to them. I encourage all that are going through trials to use them to push you into a new place with God by seeking the face of God. Sometimes trials are God's only way to get you from point A to point B.

Yesterday in church we had two people testify of being completely healed of cancer...one of them never had any treatments at all and the doctor was all but positive that according to his tests he had cancer. BUT GOD...God healed Him. I do know however that he wrestled with God while waiting to be tested...this is when you have to put faith to the test and know that God is going to speak into your life. It is not easy and some are allowed to go through things that will push them into great testing...but never give up! God hears the cries of those who suffer. I know it is not easy for you and that many of you are afraid...I pray that God will restore true faith in your heart and that He will comfort you in ways that you do not understand...When my wife Sarah was sick I prayed everyday and wrote a daily blog that I used to challenge my faith to believe in God...the blog is now a book, "Weak in Body, Strong of Heart." My wife is doing great and God has touched her...but it was a journey of faith. May God be with you during your journey as well. Please do not hesitate to send us your prayer requests and testimonies to encourage others with, and we will stand with you believing for your miracle.

Thanks for listening
Pastor Kent

Our Story

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

It is literally impossible for me to describe to you all the things that has happened to Sarah and I in the last two years. But I will try to share with you where it all began. In July 2010, God began to deal with Sarah and I. I had started preaching a series of messages at the Church on divine healing. I had always believed strongly in the power of healing but for the most part I had not seen too much in the supernatural. While I was studying the Word of God on the Subject the Holy Spirit told me to read the Book of Job. After reading the first 7 chapters I realized that I needed to get back to my subject of healing, after all, Job was not about healing but about suffering. I immediately turned to the Book of James chapter 5 and the first verse that I saw was verse 11, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." Now God had my attention. What was going on? Why was this happening to me? A weird feeling came over me as if God was trying to tell me something. Suffering? Me? I had always believed that suffering was always from the devil and that blessings were always from God. But could God actually be wanting me to go through some type of suffering?

Well, shortly after this Sarah had a doctors appointment and was told that she had Renal Cell Cancer (cancer of the kidney). We were floored to hear this but our doctor, who is a Christian, told us that there was absolutely nothing to worry about because all they had to do was to remove the kidney and she would function very normally for the rest of her life. We were relieved to hear this news. Then, in September of 2010 Sarah was scheduled to do lab work in preparation on the surgery. After reviewing the blood work they found something disturbing. She was immediately sent to a specialist for tests. After the test results came back I received a call from Sarah telling me that the Doctor wanted her to go immediately to the U-Mass Medical Center and begin immediate chemo-therapy because she has leukemia. Not just any leukemia, she had the worst form...Acute Myeloid Leukemia. There was only a 30% survival rate for this cancer.

I want to say that I felt that God had prepared me for this but that was not true. I was floored! I told her not to go and that we would stand together in agreement to pray for a miracle. Her doctors pleaded with us not to do this because if Sarah got the slightest cold or cough it could turn fatal. This was on Thursday, September 23, 2010. She came home and we prayed. It was hard telling our family and friends the news. I felt lost as to what to do next. Upon advice from our Doctor and our District Pastor, Bob Wise, we decided to bring Sarah before our Church the following Sunday for prayer and if by Tuesday she remained the same then we would go into the hospital.

News about Sarah spread to all our friends and family and it quickly overwhelmed us. I felt led of the Lord to start a daily blog to keep everyone informed as to what was going on...I never expected that the blog would turn into telling my own personal story of what we were going through. Tuesday came and we were told that nothing had changed. I felt disappointed in God because I so wanted to see her healed from this...now we had to go through it. We met with Dr. Nath on Wednesday morning at 8 am across the street from the hospital. Sarah had her bags with her ready to begin a 6-8 week hospital stay with intense chemo-therapy. Little did we know that God was taking us both on a life changing journey that would change our lives. Her treatments lasted nearly a year but through it all God showed Himself powerful to us. Everyday God showed up! God began to reveal His true nature to me in a way I had never before known. Trials turned into great triumphs. About halfway through the journey we were encouraged by a dear friend to get the blogs published. This became another miracle when Tate Publishing agreed to contract to us a book entitled, "Weak in Body, Strong of Heart."

We have learned that God can test our faith and release in us life changing miracles if we are willing to trust Him. The journey has changed our lives as well as our trust and dependence upon God! Romans 8:18 is true in every way... "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

What is your story? Never be afraid to ask God why...He always has a purpose in all that He does.

Thanks for listening,

Pastor Kent