The Goodness of God

Many days as I am waking up in the early morning hours, there is already a song in my heart. One of my favorite songs to hear in my spirit is “The Goodness of God”. The lyrics, “All my life you have been faithful …” remind me that I’m grateful for the goodness of God. (Btw: In my opinion, nobody can sing that song like Ce Ce Winans.)

This Sunday, I visited Calvary Chapel, Titusville. Yes, there is a Calvary Chapel that has been meeting locally for nearly one year. The pastor preached a great message leading the congregation in a continuing verse-by-verse study of the Bible, currently in the book of Acts. After the sermon, we sang together the song “The Goodness of God”. I can’t adequately explain how endearing that was to me. It, tied to the confirming message from the pastor, fueled me. Currently, the church is meeting in a confined space but is only about one month away from moving into their expanded and newly remodeled worship center.

God is moving in Titusville. He is definitely shaking up the pulpits too. Because I regularly visit different churches, I can see where God is tearing down and where He is building up. The pastors that are willing to seek God and hear from Him are being positioned to lead a growing spiritual revival. However, the others who are stubbornly holding on to false doctrines and cultural traditions will lose their followers when God shifts congregants to new locations. God is wanting church leaders to humble themselves under His authority rather than arrogantly holding on to their man-made seats of honor.

God told me right away when Steve Yuke was ousted at Park Avenue Baptist Church, that Steve would create a new church. It is currently happening, with pre-launch services on Sunday evenings at the American Police Hall of Fame. The church is named Church Four Eighteen (C418), after a key Bible verse from Luke 4:18. There is a Facebook page and a website with the same name. I’m glad to hear that Steve moved quickly to get a Women’s Ministry Director. That’s vital for healthy church growth. God is watching for good doctrinal teaching now that the pastor is not confined to Baptist denominational stance. I’m hoping for God-honoring success.

God led me to write this on the introduction page of my latest magazine. “If revival is going to happen, we must be risk-taking truth-tellers. We cannot accept the herd mentality that is so prominent in churches today. We cannot sit back and accept false teaching for the sake of maintaining a fake unity. God expects us to stand against the devil’s schemes, not to accept them in a feigned peace-keeping bravado. Have courage to speak God’s truth even if it hurts. That’s revival!”

The introduction continued: “Hear God, speak truth, fight for justice, war against evil, expose lies, walk in the Spirit, don’t blend in. The devil wants to weaponize your compassion into accepting less. Isn’t that why revival doesn’t happen? Status quo isn’t cutting it! Stand in the destiny calling that God ordained for you. RISE UP to create revival.”  

Every day since the end of last year, I have been writing daily posts as God has led me to assess the churches locally. You might not understand how important this is to God if you’re not being similarly led by Him. But because I’m walking in my own shoes, I can say with certainty that God is all over this. He forces me to listen to online sermons from several churches each week. He wakes me up earlier and earlier to engage me in writing these posts. He reviews each paragraph with me. He modifies and edits the structure until it suits Him. He introduces words that are not part of my normal vocabulary. I think that He does that to remind me that these are not just my own thoughts being typed onto the page. He allows me to feel His determination and passion against the false doctrines and at times against the false teachers. It’s important to God that I be completely in sync with Him. Doesn’t He want you to walk as intentionally with Him? Will you go where He leads? Will you speak boldly against the devil’s attempts at perverting what the church is supposed to be? Will you war against evil or will you instead sit proudly in its midst?

It’s not easy being the rogue prophet, but God wouldn’t have it any other way!