Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. [2Cor.5:17]
The Church Ministries
Pure Love to Others
E.G. Marshal
Dr. Alcott W. Burns
My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me? For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.
How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me? The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law. All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me. They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts. Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. [Psalms 119:81-89]
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. [2Cor.12:7-10]
Paul was talking about his thorn in the flesh, this thorn was a hindrance to his ministry, and he prayed 3 times for the removal of it, but God refused. Most people think it was a sickness, or something wrong with his eyes, it was none of those- the only thing that God can’t get rid of out of normal circumstances is the problem of persecution.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. [2Tim. 3:12]
Well I have pleaded with the Lord more than three times, and my body is very week and very anxious of what illnesses have become of me. I have constantly asked the Lord for healing, and I pray so much for others, how am I going to build up other people, when I can’t even build up myself? Have I failed? Maybe I am doomed; it might be all over, for an earthy ministry, but deep down- I don’t believe it is over, nothing can hurt- Christ's Church or have any obstacle in front of it. I believe that during these times of sickness and being unable to even do much, this is the time that the Lord can really teach me the inner thoughts- of the mind of Christ. Anyway at times- I am feeling all alone, I guess some of you out there, have felt the same way, It only makes me talk to God even more. I have had people lie to me, torment me, not care about me, and just the feelings I get from a off the scale gift of discernment, sometimes I do not even wish to look into their eyes to see who they really are or what is their next plan. At times I can see right through a person, and know what their thinking, plus I can even pick up their future plans wheather they even know it or not. And all the drive that I thought I had, is just not there, for how long I do not know. Or it could be a simple satanic trick, during this war of the spirit of truth, So the next question is, am I a saved active Christian anymore? Am I still a true born again Christian? Is all this pain and suffering to much for me? Let us all be truthful, there is nothing that I can do, without the power of God, or the filling of the Holy Spirit, and the love and peace from Jesus our savior.
I guess in today’s world, possessions and accomplishments mean a lot, I have never really had anything of great value the way Job did, and I never had any children to lose the way Job did, I have began to understand that I have lost many things as far as possessions, I have left many things behind in my travels, and I have given away many things to people, to friends and foes. Only a few things in a life time, that ever meant anything, to me, it was mostly a old 1800 bible, the first addition of the 1901 ASV Bible first teacher’s edition, plus a few other really unimportant things, but why list them they are gone- and God replaced many other things for me better then I already had, like my Christian Library, it is so large I don’t have room to even put all the books in the bookcases. In the world people judge by what you do, and what you have, but like me I look into the heart of a man, the same way God does-- I look at a man or woman’s sincerity rather then there accomplishments and possessions, and my accomplishments for the world are not much, but my memories of the good parts of my life will live with me forever. My accomplishments for God- since I learned about God and found a man that could guide me to Christ, after that have been beneficial. I have never been rich, in fact most of my life I have been poor, even now. I guess I cherish helping people more than anything else; maybe that is why I am such a threat to Satan. Giving is very important, even if it is handing a person some spare change, or giving a hitch-hiker a ride. Or a hug of Love or an email of thanks or prayer, when it is working- It is a joy within the work and pressing on for God and His children, that who Paul- me- really is, I care, and I pray for others and I care for others, even though I probably don’t have the strength, but each week, I am trying to save lives, I don’t want anyone to end up in hell, so each week for the past 6 years, I have been risking my health, and have taken chances like staying up all night and not eating while I write the sermon, plus when the writings disappear, again this week, frustration and hurt, plus the waste of time, to make me stay up even longer and get even weaker as the day unfolds. I don’t know what it is- it is probably just the wiles of the devil trying to stop me from helping others, and he comes in and destroys such beautiful words and ways that would help people through there lives or through maybe a crisis situation, a need for a miracle, may it be a healing or some other medical problem, or just a family affair. I read the word and truly study each scripture and color code it underline important parts and color in distinctive parts of scripture. Each day though I am lying down, I still don’t waste any time, usually from 12-to-12 everyday, and keep going through each translation till I finish one bible, and go to a next, this month I am doing a replacement King James translation, because my leather bound bibles, now a days, the pages are not sown into the binding, they are just glued, witch is wrong, the use of a bible can be a lot and the book has to be able to take the constant use everyday, like my old King James, the binding is just glue and, this bible was new, and it had the gold leaf stitching around the whole inside of the leather bible to show the quality of the bible. But as we all know today is nothing but cheaper labor, many things now are made in another country, the way things are going- we are just falling into just a group of lies, so it may seem to some, but who even seeks the truth anymore?
"Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." [John 18:37]
And here we have a Roman leader with much knowledge not even understanding what Jesus even said or could not even put two and two together by asking Jesus "what is truth"? And then he goes out to the crowd of mostly Jews His own people, and says I find no fault with Him at all.
For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. [Psalm 72:12-14]
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. [Deut.31:6,8]
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [2Cor. 5:14-21]
Blessed are they who in loneliness can say, “Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” God is the only friendship that can really meet all our soul’s deep needs and cravings. Human companionship helps us at a few points; the divine has its blessing for every experience. We never shall be left alone when we have Christ. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, he will ever stand close beside us. When other faces fade out of view his will shine out with tender love, pouring its light upon us. There are special experiences of loneliness in every life for which Christ is needed. Youth is one of these times. Youth seems happy and light-hearted. Companionships swarm all about it. But often times a young person feels lonely even in the middle of such scenes and friendships. All life is new to him. As his soul awakes a thousand questions come to notice, demanding an answer. He is in a world with a thousand paths, and he must choose in which he will walk. Everything is mysterious. There are perils lurking on all sides. Choices must be made. Lessons must be learned. All is new, and at every step the voice is heard, “You have not passed this way here to there.” This loneliness of immaturity, when a young soul is taking its earliest steps in life, is one of the most trying and painful feelings of all the years. If Christ be not then the companion, lonely and unsafe indeed is the way. But if he walks beside the young soul in its inexperience all is well.
There was a time back in the 70’s me and a friend of mine were hitch-hiking along I-10 heading toward Florida, and we were somewhere near the border of Texas and Louisiana, and we saw a rest area, and it began to rain and on top of these picnic tables were awnings so we had to walk way back into this field way off the hi-way, and set our backpacks, my guitar, and ourselves, under these awnings, to stay dry, and I would say we were a few football fields away from the hi-way, and it took a good 10 minutes to get to the first awning, and we had to sit there for about 15 minutes and I prayed for someone to get us out of this situation. We were surrounded by swampland and it would have made it hard to sleep out there during the night. We waited a while and then I saw this white pick-up stop and he just sat there, just sitting along the hi-way, he could have been reading a map, I know he didn’t see us because the cars were going by so fast and by then it was a long time since we were out on the hi-way, then this truck started beeping the horn and waving, I was saying to myself how can anyone see us so far from the roadway, it was too far and raining, so we started to walk over towards the truck, and the man kept waving. We got to the truck and this man was all dressed in white casual clothes, and the white truck, and with white interior. He said get in; we got in, put our dog Pax in the back and slipped our backpacks and my guitar under the tool box in the back. We got in and I asked him how did you see us, so far away? He just said I saw you, but I asked him did you drive by once before, and he said no, I just saw you and stopped, I still to this day could not figure it all out. Here is a man in a white truck, dressed in white, with white hair, and I asked the kind man what he did for a living, and all he said was he was a consultant, the conversation did not go any further, the rest was just small talk, after many hours and many miles he said had to make a turn north, so he took us to a motel, paid for it, and the woman was not going to let the dog stay, this man in white actually convinced this woman that he was a show dog, with out lying, he was explaining the hair and his feet and finally, the motel woman said that will be fine. Then we got into this room and he returned with three double cheese burgers( the restaurant kind) one for each of us, and one for Pax, my dog, and then slipped us a five dollar bill, and he said get something for breakfast. We didn’t know how to thank him, and I have never experienced anything like that. You see a simple prayer brought us an angel, from out of nowhere. So God is always listening, and always watching, and always hearing.
Would the message of the book of Job change if God had not restored to Job his former blessings? No. God is still sovereign. Jesus said that anyone who gives up something for the Kingdom of God will be repaid. Our restoration may or may not be the same kind as Job’s, which was both spiritual and material. Our complete restoration may not be in this life, but it will happen. God loves us and He is just. He will not only restore whatever we have lost unjustly, but He also will give us more than we can imagine as we live with Him through eternity. Cling tightly to your faith through all your trials, and you too will be rewarded by God, if not now, in the life to come.
I am going to have to cut this short, I had two pages mixed together as I was putting a good sermon together about the heart and gifts of Christ, How when we become born again we are given much more then just salvation, we have been given gifts from all different areas, I had them all written down but right now I don’t even know if I even dare to find them, I want to get at least what I have printed and published, it has been even hard enough just to publish the data I have so far, so the last section I tried to publish didn’t even work, and that has been happening a lot, I need to apologize to all my friends and the people I need to write back too, the members, the prayer warriors, all the Bishops, all of the main staff, I need to try and trade what I have for a good working computer, but I asked a new group and they would say bring in what you have and we will see what yours are worth, and we will give you a deal, I already know that scam, as far as the computers I have they will be worth nothing, and I will get a new computer that I would have to pay for most of it. I have been through this before, people aren’t out to help save lives they are out to make money, they don’t want to help a Church or a Public Charity, or even a ministry, that part is meaningless to the local computer people, If I can’t get a ride hitch-hiking in this town I am not going to get any deals on a new computer, I will just deal with what I have and do the best I can no matter how long it takes, I would be better off to find the best computer and get that fixed, then pay for the spy ware etc. disk, then get someone to guarantee their work so I don’t have to pay an additional 85 dollars or so, if something little goes wrong. I had a computer under warranty and they still made me pay money. But I will have to wait for that extra money that the president mentioned, at least that is what I was told. So I can call and get help, like I said I am happy to have what I have and God will get me out of this somehow, I have been too sick this whole week that I have not even left the house except a few minutes on Tuesday to go to the pharmacy. Most of all the days it was raining hard, so that was Friday last week where I had to go to the store for something minor, and I checked the mail then, even when I have to go somewhere I didn’t even have the strength to even make it to my friends ministry, I have realized that I could not do anything a few days in a row, my body just does not handle it. I need this computer fixed, and if by some blessing someone or some other church or ministry donates to me or us all of The Church Ministries, I need the strength just to get through the weekends, the hours I sit up and get up and down and arrange pillows, it is something, if someone could see what I had to do they would have ended this whole thing along time ago, plus pay for it on top of everything else, But this is my tithes and offerings to this church or if I can make it across the street to the church Sunday, that is if I didn’t stay up all night. I really wanted to be around people so at least I can help them face to face, but just taking a shower, shaving and getting all my stuff together, wallet, keys, healing oil, notebooks, etc. Takes time, and the more time I spend on my feet the more pain I go through and the more anxiety I go through, I am better off just studying the bible, that is what it says in Jos.1:8 to take over the shoes of Moses, this is what Joshua asked God when Moses could not enter the promised land, and Joshua had to take over. More or less it says read the word day and night and you will get all the knowledge and wisdom you will ever need. I need to get checked up, on all my blood and organs; I just don’t know how to explain it. The weakness, the pain the difficulty to walk, and just to carry something is the hardest thing ever. When I worked out, I could carry all kinds of things with one arm, now it is a bit different, and the pain in my bones, is strange too, that I never had before, I should just have faith that God would heal me. Or find one of those healing seminars.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for another day of life, we are all here to worship you in the ways that we can, in our hearts and our spirits and in truth, we do love you, and we all want to thank you for the peace you have given this church, and all the wisdom and knowledge that we can teach to the local people of Hilo, Hawaii- to the far ends of the earth. We have come here today to talk about your Son Jesus, and how we love Him, and how thankful we all are to have Him as our savior, please excuse my speech, but I know my healing will be coming, which will release a testimony that will stir up the whole world, and You will receive the glory upon glory, this church is all you Lord, it is Yours, guide us in Your way to the righteous conditions and ways of the early church in which Jesus wanted to build. In Jesus Name, Amen