We Worship One God

A Brief Explanation

2012-01-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

Well, 2011 was a trip wasn't it? I'm starting off 2012 with a clean slate. Hundreds of people received the Holy Ghost throughout South Florida and that is just the beginning. We are busy discipling, teaching, and regrouping after a whirlwind year.

Due to your e-mails asking what caused the uproar here at the blogspot, I feel compelled to give a brief history. I assure you there is a long and involved sequence of events that led up to what happened. It invloves treachery, lying, threatenings, and all manner of skullduggery. You know, the kind of stuff that keeps those with long noses and longer wagging tongues supplied with fodder for a good long while, .....but I digresss. For those that do not know what happened here recently, let me explain. There was some contention to close out the year that has left most very happy, and some very angry.

In West Palm Beach one of our churches decided to go in another direction. This is, while sad, usually not a problem. What was a problem was that the pastor tried to do so without paying off the building. After a year long court battle, things were decided heavily in our favor and they were forced to vacate the premises while we took possession. It was a great relief to us, but it has angered them greatly resulting in the colorful (to put it mildly) comments left on this blog. Having been beaten in court, the aforementioned pastor and his brother had no other forum in which to vent except on my blog. The amount of hatred that can be spewed from a festering heart can be shocking.

Regretfully, I had to delete the posts. I know, I know that isn't fair. You would think that a judge, lawyers, and the many others who have full knowledge of the proceedings would be enough to convince those in error of their folly. The truth is some people can't admit what is obvious even when faced with overwhelming evidence. So.....since one or two bitter people can ruin it for everybody, I will have to restart the blog comment section. It is supposed to come to my e-mail now before it posts. Sorry to have to censor it, but crazy people know no bounds.

The answer is not to blame or hurl stones. We will pray for them. They really believed their delusion and have concocted quite a story to tell the people who attend the church there. When a lie is exposed publicly, hatred intensifies exponentially. The old "I'm not sorry I did it, I'm sorry I got caught" bit. Thankfully that is well behind us, time to move on.

Anyway, the future is bright and we are walking into it with aplomb. God has given favor. After cutting loose from dead weight, let us get back to what we do best. Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

A Few Things Learned in 2011

2012-01-02T03:19:00.000-08:00

Life turns on a dime. You can cruise through life, fully expecting things to remain as they are, only to find out that in one year the landscape can be altered dramatically. Sometimes
you ask yourself, “Is this really happening?” Many things have taken place in 2011, most of them good, some challenging. I decided to take some time to list some insights gained throughout the course of the year.

· God’s Word is true

I know, I know, deep revelation right? The point is that the veracity of this hits home the older I become. Verses seem to become more relevant until you realize they always were, you just hadn’t arrived there yet. The entire spectrumof human experience is painted on the canvas of scripture. The hues and tones of spiritual truth are breathtaking in their depth and profundity. Love, faith, treachery, duplicity, cunning, and integrity are spiritual themes that are found in holy writ. Men and women of God developed the good ones while their foes utilized the bad. When encountered in life, one tends to see them more clearly in God’s Word.

· Evil often masquerades as good

Evil people often don’t think they are evil. It is possible to become lost entirely in one’s selfish perspective and never examine personal action relative to the big picture. I am privileged to work with a wonderful man of God in Sr. Pastor Feld and his wife, and have seen firsthand the attacks from jealous and cunning people against their lives. In spite of this, standing resolutely in the face of mockery and derision they persevered and have won. 2011 was a battle, 2012 is the victory processional.

· Victory comes to those who trust in God

When hate filled barbs are thrown, stand fast. Evil snarls and spits because inwardly it knows it is losing ground. The escalation in volume doesn’t mean the enemy is growing stronger, it often means they know they are going over the cliffs edge and they have no other alternative. God has given us victory at every turn of the road, contrary to what Satan might have you believe. God is strong and His victory is so sweet.

· Truth is made known

Jesus said that which was spoken in secret would be shouted from the rooftop. A character trait of evil is that it is transient, it moves, it changes its story every other day, while truth is grounded. Testifying to truth’s stalwart nature and evil’s fickle mobility, David called the wicked “chaff” and said that the wind drives them away while the righteous would be like a tree planted. The firmness of truth means that it remains fixed where it was built. Satan’s effort to move you from this becomes frantic, and his tools are many and varied. He will try to tempt you out of your garden, entice you in the wilderness, and intimidate with stout words. Modern day attempts at this are accusations like “The grass is greener on the other side”, “You’re old fashioned”, “You’re out of touch”, “You’re brainwashed” or my personal favorite “You’ve drank the Kool-Aid”. I know it’s not particularly cerebral, but nobody ever said evil had to be smart or intelligent, it only has to be loud and hateful to attack the faithful child of God.

The beautiful thing about truth is it endures regardless of all of these things. One prophet stated that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Go armed with this knowledge knowing that if God be for you, who can be against you? Sanballat can curse, Tobiah can rail, Rabshakah can mock, but God’s people move forward in spite of empty curses. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Whatsoever Things Are Pure.....

2011-12-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

There is nothing that can prepare you for opening up your blog page and seeing a verbal slugfest underway. Colorful accusations, slander hurled with abandon, and sly insinuation all combine to create an interesting cocktail. I think I will shut down the comment section for awhile. What was meant to be a blessing and an encouragement to many turned into a sad, degenerative melee.

I want to say thank you to people whom I love dearly rushing to aid us as accusation was slung. Some things were comical, some shockingly true. A dog pile of well meaning well wishers. I love you too. Many articulated beautiful, sincere truths, while some broke it down. What a couple of days! This is a message to those well meaning Peters who stand gazing balefully at a modern day Malchus, sword drawn. I think you cut their ears off.....actually I think you lopped their entire heads off.

I know you mean well, but remember that innocent people read here too (though some observations did make me chuckle). Nevertheless, the best way to stop cancer is to cut it away, not spread it. You have every right to be indignant and I applaud your zeal. Now let us get back to the real work of focusing on building the churches. Satan (and his children) would like nothing better than to get us to refight battles we've already won. Take comfort in the fact that our adversaries are defeated, and are in our rear view mirror.

I think it good to offer thanks to not-so-well meaning enemies as well. It is flattering to know that my website is worthy of being monitored so closely. Such volume, such passion. Honestly, I didn't know I was that important. It is nice to be thought of so often, even if it is with something less than love.

I would recommend this. Instead of focusing on me, Sis. Urshan, or my Sr. Pastor and his wife, how about we all focus on the harvest? There is much to do. We are hardly worth so much energy being expended. I believe it can be put to good use doing something constructive.

I have learned that mockery and hatred are not in the arsenal of the child of God. I would imagine Michael could have said alot to Satan as he withstood him. The problem with responding to hatred in like manner is that we are instructed to:

Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Prov. 26:4

When pearls are cast before pigs they never recognize them. They only sully what is good and decent in their snorting around that which they will never understand. Unfortunately, the bitterness of one or two has caused quite a commotion. In light of this, I will remove the comments section for awhile. I'm sure I'll turn it back on shortly. I'll just let some things simmer down a bit so we can feel the love again.

Rather than come down from the wall to dialog with Sanballat and Tobiah, let us put up our swords and get busy with the trowel. There is so much happening I hardly know where to begin. Let it be said of us "And so built we the wall....."

New Happenings! Catching Our Breath After Summer

2011-10-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

Ok…I know that it has been a long time since my last blog, but things have been going just a mile a minute over the course of the last few months. As I type this, I am sitting in Seattle, WA, getting ready to catch a redeye flight back to Fort Myers in time to preach tomorrow morning.There is so much happening that it is difficult to recount all of it.

This is a synopsis of the latest happenings:
·
We finished work on our educational facility in Ft. Myers. We now have several thousand more feet to have classes in, have
dinners, fellowship, etc.
·
We began work on our new commercial kitchen.
·
We took a trip to Alabama where we teamed with Sr. Pastor Feld, Phil Endris, Myles
Young, Cody Marks, Steve Pixler, Greg and Jeremy Wilbanks, Barry Sutton, and many others to host the IGNITE conference. Words fail to describe. There was natural fun: canoeing, biking, hiking, athletics, recreation hall complete with ping pong, pool, a bon fire that didn’t quite work, paint ball and more. Then there was the spiritual. Services were dynamic! Both day sessions and evening were life changing, and then there was 11th hour. What a time! After an exhausting day of travel back home on the bus on Saturday everyone was tired but exhilarated.
·
Academy Transport now has 7 buses and is servicing charter schools in the Lee county area as well as bringing new people to church. These are dynamic things happening!
·
Scores of people baptized in Jesus name and filled with the Holy Ghost in the last two months.
·
We have reacquired our West Palm Beach location that was involved in a property dispute.
It has been renamed The Rock Church East and it is opening for church!! Many people in the community are asking about it and the future looks very promising.

In all, God is doing so many things that there isn’t enough room to document it all. From our new daycare ministries opening in Fort Myers, Belle Glade, and West Palm to many new people
being added to the church daily, there isn’t much down time that’s for sure.

Come out and visit one of our locations. You will be glad you did!

P.S. Stay posted, there are exciting things ahead! We have a new video production we are working on in collaboration with Pastor Phil Endris in Gary, IN that is going to walk people through the Bible in a series of lessons. It will take us awhile to finish shooting and then go through production, but I am confident we will have it in a few months. Imagine being able
to attend Bible Study in the comfort of your own room on your own time. God bless.

Pastor Nathaniel Urshan

Powerful Weapons

2011-05-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

The longer I wrestle against this old world, the more I realize that God has given us exceeding great heavenly weapons to use in the fight of faith. Do not make the mistake of entering into spiritual warfare with the crude and ineffectual weapons of anger, bitterness, sarcasm, or even human logic. Scriptural battles of old were never won by the might of man’s hand, but were often won by the humble, the lowly, and sometimes even the comical.

Case in point, when Gideon snuck into the Midianite camp to gauge the climate there, he overheard a dream had by one of the guards. In the dream, the Midianite guard had seen a giant barley cake rolling through their camp and flattening it. A barley cake…….. Let that marinate in your mind a little bit. Frankly, in my flesh I can think of any number of things that would have glorified me better than that. How about the “Urshanator”, or “Ursh the Destroyer”, or anything muscular, masculine, and powerul right? That’s the whole point. It was not about man receiving glory but God. I’ll take it a step further. God even tailor made it to undermine man’s reliance on self, and to emphasize His power and might. Everybody was to know God did this thing, not man!!

Having said that let me speak of love, or more specifically, charity. I’m afraid charity has gotten lost in the shuffle of religious noise. Let me be clear, I do not mean the weak, anemic, permissive charity of “sloppy agape” or “greasy grace”. I do not mean a license to sin, or a lifestyle of “I can do anything I want because Jesus loves me”. No, I mean the humble, clear- eyed, thankful charity that is the greatest of things spoken of in I Corinthians 13. I will not allow secular religion to hijack God’s most beautiful attribute (and most powerful weapon).

I thank God for love that is merciful, but firm at the same time. Love can rebuke becaue its motive is to edify not destroy. Be thankful for a pastor, teacher, or friend that speaks the truth in love. Devils hate them the most because there is nothing for sin to grab onto to. It almost seems like charity does not strike out, but rather takes the carnal weapons out of the hands of those who try to use them. While hard experience teaches us that when we are hurt, hit back…..HARD, charity teaches us that God can take the weapon out of the enemy’s hand. If not that, then God Himself will fight the battle for you.

There is no defense against the unbridled, sincere, authentic love of God. It heals bitterness, it halts conflict, and it cannot be prosecuted. When speaking of the fruit of the spirit Paul said, “against such there is no law”. I have personally seen the hard eyes of young thugs open wide in the presence of the aggressive, sin breaking power of the love of God. Suspicious and scornful eyes that are fully prepared to answer insult for insult, taunt for taunt, and expletive for expletive are overpowered by a force straight from Heaven’s armory. There is no hidden agenda. No ulterior motive. There is nothing to fight. All one can do is acquiesce to the quiet grace that saves them from themselves. Once the love of God opens them brother, then the Holy Ghost sweeps in. As a matter of fact, I believe the working of God is immediately preceded by love. One writer said, “Faith which worketh by love….”

The Apostolic has this power at their fingertips. Paul taught that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. When we see sin holding someone captive, our reaction should not be disgust, anger, or self righteousness. These are fleshly reactions that reveal a lack of prayer in our lives. Rather there should be a violent spasm of compassion that wells up in us that a son or daughter of God could be twisted so by malevolence, deceit, guile, or hatred. I want to reach them, help them, and break the hold that Satan has on them.

It is not necessary to stoop to sarcasm and mockery to hurt another. Remember it is not them you are fighting; it is the spirit that enslaves them. When the accuser tries to stir turmoil within you, know that you have great weapons with which to fight. Satan stands powerless against the Holy Ghost filled child of God who wields the heavenly weapon of God’s love.

Homage to the Doer

2011-05-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

Doers make things happen. It's true. There is a beauty to one who will reach into formlessness and mold, shape, and build some thing. There are so many great aspects to speak of concerning doing, that it is impossible to address each one. Nevertheless I shall try to articulate a few that resonate with me.

First, there is the doing or the building of some thing. There is a joy in doing something and doing it well. For the sake of itself. Not because you are working for someone else or because you are doing the minimal amount of work possible that you can get away with. No, there is something powerful in loving what you are doing so that when you are finished, it is done well and it conforms to the exacting standards that excellency requires. Contrasted with the slovenly, half hearted efforts of one who does not care and does not respect oneself enough to do the best they can, it is the difference between night and day.

Secondly, something takes place in the doer themselves when they perform up to their maximum effort. Integrity, responsibility, healthy ambition, and appreciation for excellence are all birthed in the doing of a thing when it is done well. Here's one; appreciation for the value of what is being done. In planting a church, I have learned that men and women who have done this are heroes to be honored and esteemed. This is even more true when the church stays the course of truth over the years, thrives, and produces godly saints that impact their world. Folks, it is hard work paying a church off and establishing it.

I thank God for those who have reached into the cesspool of worldly society, grabbed ahold of a soul, delivered it through the Acts 2:38 message, and then teach and train them into a victorious, overcoming life. Conversely, it is a travesty when a young man comes along that has never done, and because of that fact does not understand the platform given to him by a man or woman much greater than himself that has. Often the shallow will think they are heading into modern and enlightened opportunity by embracing modern ideologies and discarding as irrelevant truths carefully obtained at tear drenched altars. While claiming relevance, they in reality are giving away piece by piece, the blood, sweat, and tears of decades of faithful laboring saints and pastors that have died for the kingdom of God. Decades can be lost in a matter of a few years of spiritual ineptitude.

I am afraid that I am seeing too often in my travels looks of despair and hopelessness in the eyes of the elders as they look upon a new generation eager to launch into worldliness and a casual, maudlin approach to the eternal sacred truths of the Word of God. Young man, young lady commit yourself to the doing of the Work of God. Teach Home Bible Studies, devour the Word of God, pray into the wee hours of the morning, wrestle against the pervasive ungodliness of this generation. In doing so, not only will you do the Work of God, the doing of it will create steel within you that will not bend.

You will understand what price was paid to get to where you are. The dangers of compromise with the world will be illuminated starkly for you, and you will weep over the fact that you did not see them because your senses were not exercised to discern them. Or in other words, you didn't know what you were looking at. The doing of the work of God has placed something within me that no amount of carnal reasoning could. A fatal mistake of many is reasoning with backslidden people who have never done. Often they will be the sons and daughters of doers, but will not be doers themselves. Often you will find in the background of the compromisor a doer that built the platform upon which the compromisor stands. The doer will be clean cut, disciplined, and godly, while the compromisor will be slick, polished, scruffy, and trendy. While they tear down the ideals of preceding generations (all the while praising the godliness of their predecessors), they don't stop to consider that the church they stand in was paid for by the principles they now so glibly condemn. Many times the doer that went before the compromisor would not keep company with the descendant that has never done anything on their own. The descendant now uses the blessings of the doer's years of labor to promote a secular Christian ideal that the original doer would have resisted and condemned if they were still alive. It is so easy to criticize and speak of double standards and modern enlightenment when you have never done. Go sweat, go bleed, go feel the pressure of laying your all on the line and then see if you are so quick to criticize the doer and throw out all they ever stood for.

I know many doers who are becoming hesitant to do because doers are often criticized. It is simple to criticize something done when the critic has done nothing themselves. They are immune from criticism because there is nothing to criticize. I cannot tell you the amount of people who told me I could not start a church for various reasons or that I was doing it wrong. The truth is when you are taking the risk, when you are paying for it, when you believe in it, God will honor it if it is done according to the Scripture. His Word does not fail. As a matter of fact, the Scripture becomes more alive to you then ever before. Scriptures that you took for granted and yawned your way through become poignant and real. You will weep tears at the truth that speaks to you from the pen of another in millennia past that experienced the exact same fear or hope that you currently face. The Divine unction that prompted them to put pen to paper will course through you and will ring like a gong in your spirit. This experience will never be felt by the half hearted, the spoiled, the fearful, the skeptic, the critic, or the unbelieving. It is a lock that only opens with the insertion of the key of doing. C'mon what are you scared of? Step out and do the things you read of in the Word of God.