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A tribute to a great man of God: Clifton Coulter
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and who-so-ever believes shall be saved.” “As you go preach, saying the Kingdom of God is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, cast of devils, freely you have received, freely give.”
The above is the sum of Clifton’s life. He was a man after God’s own heart. He wanted to see every man and woman he talked with get saved and know God like he did.
He was one of my greatest friends for over thirty years and a man after my own heart. We went through some tough times together. Several were times of life and death. But, we prevailed because we had a strong conviction about “God’s Grace” and how it works.
Clifton was not only my friend but my partner in sharing the word of God that meets all our needs according to His riches in glory. He shared in the grace of God and wanted everyone else to join him in knowing the freedom grace gives. He trusted God with everything he had for he knew who was his provider.
When I heard of his home going I wept. My tears were not for Clifton, but for me. I and all who knew him are going to miss him. As David said about the death of his infant son, “he cannot return to me, but I can go to him.”
Clifton, I will see you again, but until then go rest high upon the mountain with Jesus. See you, Old friend.
Gerald Reliford, your forever friend
(We will travel to Indiana on Thursday for Clifton’s Going Home Celebration.)
Messenger of Grace
Clifton Coulter
His message was one of grace
He told it wherever he went
When you heard him speak you knew it was from his heart
He made you laugh with the stories he told
That was just how he was
He loved his God, his family and his friends
We all are grieving but not for him
He has heard the words, “Well done you good and faithful servant.”
Your legacy will live on through the many you have touched
We have the promise we will meet again
Until then we will continue on in the faith sharing this good news of grace
Growing in Revelation of the Access we have in Christ who is Everything.
2 Peter 3:18 “But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory, now and forever! Amen.
Peter encourages the church to continue to grow in grace. To grow in grace is to mature as a Christian. We don’t get more and more grace. We grow in the revelation of the grace we have been given. As our minds are renewed with the Word we begin to understand the power which comes to us through the grace that is already in us. It is not about what we do but what God has done and is doing in us by grace. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. The way entered into a relationship with God is because of His grace that he has extended toward us. This is understanding of what Jesus did and to grow in recognition of this grace we have been given at our new birth. Jesus went to the cross and gave His life a ransom that secured for us access to God. This he accomplished by his death, reconciling us to God. To have the favor and the grace of God, we accessed it through Christ. Romans 5:2 “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
”Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Rev. 12:10-11.
God’s word is the final authority for everything in our lives. We are not to live by what we think or how we feel but by “every word that comes forth from the mouth of God”. The word of our testimony is not what we have done for Him but what He has done for us.
We are not called to study our lives and make choices. Rather, we are called to study and embrace what God tells us by His Spirit and His written and living Word. Overcoming Satan by the blood of the Lamb and our confession of faith is what God did to assure that His redeemed will always overcome the power of the evil one.
But, do we really have faith in God’s word? Faith comes from hearing God’s word. Amen.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14 Paul tells that our triumph comes from what God did in Christ. When we accepted Jesus Christ we were united with him. We now identify with Him. Everything God did in Christ He did it for us. He made it our victory also. The beginning of victory is to see yourself the way God sees you in Christ.
Life is a journey taken one step at a time. At times it may feel like a marathon but really to get anywhere we put one foot forward. In this journey called life we who are children of God are Christ’s aroma in the earth. Romans 8:37 says that “In all things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us”
Paul is saying that; we “are” more than conquerors…“present tense, active situation” in other words, Christians “keep on winning a glorious victory.” The fact is that even when all of life is against us, we are still “more than conquerors” and God will strengthen us to live out that glorious victory every day, in spite of how things look to us, or how we feel about our circumstances
But thanks be to God! For through what Christ has done, he has triumphed over us so that now wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Gospel like a sweet perfume giving aroma.
No matter the situations you may be facing, no matter what the enemy throws in; your path. One thing I am confident of is the fact that Jeus leads us in triumph. Remember this death on the cross is what brought our victory-the grave could not keep Him-death could not hold him-He rose up a victor from this place. And because Jesus wins you win. Don’t give up now!
When I was growing up I remember hearing this saying “you can count on it” or “as sure as the sun sets.” These were ways of saying it was a certain thing or a sure thing. I found out in my life that sometimes people could not or would not keep their word. There is one certainty in life that I know that I can depend on and that is God’s Word. The faithfulness of God to His Word has proven over and over again in my life.
In a day when our world so desperately needs something of surety, the psalmist says “I have that certainty and it is found in God and through God’s Word.”
What you say goes, God, and stays, as permanent as the heavens. Your truth never goes out of fashion; it’s as relevant as the earth when the sun comes up. Your Word and truth are dependable as ever; that’s what you ordered—you set the earth going. If your revelation hadn’t delighted me, I would have given up when the hard times came. But I’ll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words. Save me! I’m all yours. I look high and low for your words of wisdom. The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me, but I’m only concerned with your plans for me. I see the limits to everything human, but the horizons can’t contain your commands! Psalm 119:89 Message
The last few weeks we have sensed fall in the air. Morning’s are cooler, leaves are beginning to fall from the trees and the grass is beginning to turn brown. Following the fall season is the winter season which is cold, dark and dreary, then the spring season is a time of birth as things begin to bloom, and during the summer season there is sunshine and warm weather. Every season brings the path to birthing the next season.
We find in the Bible that our lives go through seasons as well. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace”. This Scripture is a reminder of the seasons and the changes that we go through in our lives. All of them are necessary for us to learn, grow and mature as spiritual beings. Each season brings the path to birthing the next season.
Our faithful God guides our steps from one season to the next. Yes He sees what is coming ahead for us and has already provided what we need to get through. God is always present and always leading us through each season. If you are in a season of heartache-His healing presence is there with you- if you are going through a season of sickness His healing presence is there-that is the key going through with His presence. Just as seasons in the natural change so do the seasons of our lives. Be encouraged with this Scripture from Hebrews 13:5 For He God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not!
I spent many years dreading my birthday. It was never for me a day of celebration. That is until the Holy Spirit spoke to me a few years ago, “Why do you not want to celebrate your birth-day. This is the day God chose for you to enter into this world. This should be a day of great celebration.” I knew the why but I had never dealt with the why. How often do we not embrace life because of the why’s.
In the book of Psalms, David writes in chapter 139 verses 13 and 14: “for it was You who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been fearfully and wonderfully made”. Fearfully when translated from the Hebrew means with great reverence, heart-felt interest, and with respect. Wonderfully when translated from the Hebrew means unique and set apart. Yes every human being was created to be Christ’s image bearer and to live a fulfilled life for an amazing and unique purpose.
I know there are stories of: you don’t understand I was adopted, I was conceived out of wedlock, I don’t even know who my father is, I don’t know who my mother is, I never felt wanted, what do I have to celebrate? I would never tell you those things do not matter because they are part of your life’s story and they do. I can tell you that God already knows those things and He loves you and you matter to Him. Start believing that you just did not happen to be here. You were destined by a loving heavenly Father who loves you so much. Allow the why’s, the brokenness, the hurts, the what if’s to be healed and start loving yourself for the unique person you were created to be. God loves you! Start celebrating your “BIRTH-DAY.” Start celebrating life. You were meant to be here. Yeah birthdays are a big deal!
At the time the woman was healed, Jesus was on the way to the house of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, to pray for his daughter, who was dying. When Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has made you whole,” Jairus’ servants came from his house, saying, “Don’t trouble Jesus any longer. Your daughter is already dead.” When Jesus heard them say that to Jairus, He spoke, “Fear not, only believe.” At that moment, Jairus could have believed the bad report, gotten in fear, and given up. But Jesus said, “Let Me tell you what to do in this situation, fear not, only believe.
”Jesus arriving at Jarius’ house said to them, “Why all this grief and weeping? The little girl is not dead but is sleeping. He tenderly clasped the child’s hand in his and said to her, “Little girl, I say to you, arise from the sleep of death]! And instantly the girl got up and started walking around
Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from going forward. What in your life has been put to sleep because of fear. I say to you, “Fear not only believe”.
Pastor Charles B. Widmeyer wrote the words and music for the gospel song “Come and Dine” in 1906. This song was written following the reading of John 21. It is based on an incident described in John 21:1-14 in which Peter and half a dozen of the other disciples had fished all night and had nothing to show for it. But Jesus was on the shore and had apparently not only caught fish, but prepared them, along with some breakfast toast. He called for them to make one more cast of their net “on the right side of the boat”. The amazing result was a catch so great that they had trouble hauling the net into the boat. When they came ashore, the Lord invited them to “Come and dine.” This was an example of the loving care and provision of the Lord. He provided for them in a very practical way as He does for us today.
“Come and Dine”
Jesus has a table spread Where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”;
With His manna He doth feed and supplies our every need:
Oh, ’tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time
“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”;
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;
He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”
The disciples came to land, thus obeying Christ’s command,
For the Master called unto them, “Come and dine”;
There they found their heart’s desire, Bread and fish upon the fire; Thus He satisfies the hungry every time.
Soon the Lamb will take His bride to be ever at His side,
All the host of heaven will assemble be; Oh, ’twill be a glorious sight, All the saints in spotless white; and with Jesus they will feast eternally.
From Pastor Shirely NINE WAYS THAT GOD IS ABLE….
He is able to make you stand: Romans 14:4.
He’s able to establish you: Romans 16:25.
He’s able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before His glory: Jude 24.
He’s able to make all grace abound toward you: 2 Corinthians 9:8.
He’s able to keep that which you’ve committed unto Him against that day: 2 Timothy 1:12.
He’s able to build you up: Acts 20:32.
He’s able to subdue all things: Philippians 3:21.
He’s able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think: Ephesians 3:20.
He is able to save you to the uttermost. Hebrews 7:25.
Able meaning-The Greek dunamai’”to have power,” Power refers to God’s strength to act. His ability to perform. That is the kind of power in God’s omnipotence.
He is able!
This is God Almighty (El Shaddai ) revealed to Abraham in Genesis 17:1. The New Testament meaning, “to hold all things in one’s power”. He wants us to “know” Him as the God who is “able” to do anything!
Psalms 24:8 “He is the Lord strong and mighty”.
“The refining pot is for silver and the furnace is for gold, and a man is valued by what others say of him.” Proverbs 27:22
What is the measure of a person? We watch and listen to what people do and say. The important issue is the relationship of what he says and what he does. Are his words and deeds in harmony or do they say one thing then do something different?
James says in chapter one that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. In other words, his words and deeds do not reflect the same condition. To talk one way and act another makes a person unstable in all their life situations.
This leads to doubt, fear, and even chaos for the one caught in the circumstances of life situations. Reading and living the Word of God helps bring all things into focus and The Holy Spirit is your Comforter. The Word of God is our source of perfect information and the Holy Spirit is the source of our strength to live it.
The promise “I will never leave you nor forsake you” was first given to Israel and Joshua before entering the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 31:6
This was echoed in Hebrews 13:5 He Himself has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you”. In a world and even in our own lives where things are constantly changing, what a comforting promise to hold onto.
The first part of this scripture in Hebrews reads “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.”
This tells us we are not to put our trust in riches or material goods, the things of the world we think will bring us contentment which will ultimately fail us. We as believers should place our hope in God, who has promised, “I will never leave you and I will never forsake you”.
“Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall”. Psalm 55:22 Peter echoes this in 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”.
Consider these scriptures: “Do not be anxious about anything” Philippians 4:6, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1), “Don’t worry” (Matthew 6:31).
As we look through Scriptures we are encouraged over and over “not to worry; don’t be anxious. Don’t be troubled. God knows what worry does to us. The one thing it will do is steal our joy and peace of mind.
God gives us the invitation to cast our cares on him and He will sustain us. Being humble allows God in our lives and trusting that he will take care of us. The cares of life come and go so we cannot run away from them or pretend they don’t exist. What we can do is not allow the cares to have us. The word casting means to throw. In order to throw there has to be a release. May our prayer be today, “Lord I release these cares to you today. I refuse to be anxious or troubled. You will give me peace in the middle of this storm. Your Word tells me to cast all (not just some) all my cares on you because “You careth for me.”
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Whether we realize it or not, we all operate in faith daily. When you sit down in a chair you don’t worry that it’s going to fall apart on you. You have faith that the chair will hold you. In the same way, God wants us to simply put our faith in Him. When we face the dark times of life, He wants us to sit and relax in the arms of Jesus and say, “I’m asking you to take care of this and I’m believing you will.”
Remember the old church hymn “Living By Faith”.
I care not today what the tomorrow may bring
If shadow or sunshine or rain
The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything
And all of my worry is vain
Living by faith In Jesus above
Trusting, confiding In His great love
From all harm safe In His sheltering arm
I’m living by faith
And feel no alarm
I know that He safely will carry me through
No matter what evil betides
Why should I then care though the tempest may blow
When Jesus walks close to my side?
Faith is what helps to get us through, lighting the pathway
in times of darkness, helping to give us strength in times of weakness.
Just as the surety of the sun rising and setting so does my Word for concerning you. Yes my Word is a sure foundation in the lives of those who call me their Lord. Never doubt that I would let one Word fall to the ground just to be void. For I have a purpose to what l have spoken to you whether it be through the Scriptures or in the moments when you have cried out to Me. So do not allow your thoughts to linger in the shadows of what if’s but be steadfast in the believing of what I have said. For I will speedily answer you and in due season it will be brought forth. Shout grace unto that which stands in the way of the manifested promise. With the shouts of grace you come into agreement with My spoken Word. For have I already decreed it is not by might nor by power but my Spirit says the Lord!
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 KJV
So also will be the word that I speak it does not return to me unfulfilled. My word performs my purpose and fulfills the mission I sent it out to accomplish.
Isaiah 55:11 Passion
God sees you with eyes of love. Before we ever loved him he loved us and had his eyes on us for his very own.
When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. Even if we were good, we really wouldn’t expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ROMANS 8:6-8
How do we look at ourselves? Sometimes it is hard to see who He has said we are looking through our eyes. Looking through His eyes things will look a lot differently. Do you feel safe, loved, hopeful in your relationship with God? When we have doubts about how God feels about us, life can feel uncertain.
THROUGH FATHER’S EYES
I never thought I would move beyond the past That I would never be free from the voices in my head From what I could see I didn’t like myself much And I would forever be bound I heard the Good News for those who would be believe I found freedom from the One who paid the price for me I read from the Word about who I am The Truth began to chase away the lies about my worth With His spirit now alive in me I am beginning to love what I see Looking through my Father’s eyes
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” Phil. 2:5”
Pastor Shirley’s sermon last Sunday about victory was awesome. It inspired me to continue with part two, although I did not know it would be this week. Hebrews says we should assemble together to stir up one another about the things God has done for us. My sermon today is entitled “Victory begins in the Mind”.
Scripture tells us that as born again believers we have the mind of Christ. (I Cor.2:16) But we must know that learning to use it is a real faith issue. Grace is the power of God that saved us but faith is the key to receive what grace made possible.
We must learn how to walk in victory in everything regardless of the present circumstances. That can only be done if we learn to trust and use the “mind of Christ”. The human mind is remarkable in its ability to function considering how little of its ability the smartest people can use. Victory comes by faith that believes “with God all things are possible.
Be of great courage today. I have overcome so shall you overcome. Don’t let it be even in your thoughts that you must just bear the trials that life throws at you. Rest in Me knowing I know and I Am working on your behalf to bring great deliverance to you. Rejoice for victory is already yours. As born again believers we have been assured of victory in our lives. There are times when we may not see or feel it. But it is still the Word. The devil is trying to defeat you through your thoughts. Don’t let it be even in your thoughts that you must just bear the trials that life throws at you. Jesus already bore it so we don’t have to bear it. God tells us to rest in him. Rest is when we completely trust the sovereignty of God and lean into His Holy Spirit even in the midst of not understanding the trials of life. We can rest when we know God already knows and he is working on our behalf to bring the deliverance. Be of good courage He has overcome so can we. I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have trials but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident,]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] John 16:33 For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deut. 20:4
2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. When you accepted Jesus God gave you a new nature and filled you with his spirit. The spirit of the Lord dwells in you and you are free. Our freedom comes because of Christ’s saving work and the spirit that he gave us. Freedom is not personal independence-the ability to make our own decisions and choose our own path in life. The freedom that Jesus said is ours is not doing whatever we want whenever we want. He was freeing us to do what we ought to do as believers. This is liberating us to walk in relationship with God and go and be the people he created us to be.
Peter Marshall, Before the U.S. Senate – Prayer Lord Jesus, thou who art the way, the truth, and the life; hear us as we pray for the truth that shall make all free. Teach us that liberty is not only to be loved but also to be lived. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. It costs too much to be hoarded. Help us see that our liberty is not the right to do as we please, but the opportunity to please to do what is right.
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