Wonderful Weekend!!!

I suppose I will begin at the beginning, which is Friday night. We attended our first sectional function as members of Section 7. It was wonderful because my husband was able to sit with me and enjoy the rally and not have to plan it or be up front! Some people may not understand this but it is wonderful to just go to something and not have to plan it! Anyway we were the new kids on the block, so to speak, but our church came out in force! For sure we had the largest representation according to our congregation size, but I really think we had the largest number of people there, period! We were soooo proud. We had elders and young people alike enjoying the rally, and afterwards the company of each other. We ALL went to eat at Posados and enjoyed a time of fellowship! Then bright and early Saturday morning, we began an awesome workday. We had around 47 people there to help do whatever!!! Someone told me that some of their family, who no longer attend our church, called them on Saturday morning to find out what was going on at the church. They are watching, and before too long, they'll be joining us! We cleaned out the Sunday School building, and by cleaned out, I mean everything! We filled up a 20 cu. ft. dumpster. It was wonderful to get it all cleaned out and ready for a good scrubbing and painting. Some of the men then went and cleaned out some of the storage rooms in the gym. We stopped and ate lunch, and then went back to work! I know work and fun don't usually go together, but Saturday they did! After all the work was over the men broke out in a good game of football, until someone got hurt! It was a minor injury and every one's okay now! The lady's all pitched in and helped out the current cleaning team to get their stuff done before that night! Can I just say there is nothing better than working for the kingdom of God with His wonderful people?!I think somewhere around 6:00 pm or so that most everyone left to grab a bite to eat before prayer. Then, at 7:30, we all came back for a time of prayer! I had told two or three different people that day that we were going to have an awesome weekend. I could just feel it! You can't be together with your brothers and sisters, and work in unity, without it effecting the move of God among you! I was right, the prayer Saturday night was beyond description. God met us in such a powerful way! Then in keeping with Greater Apostolic Tabernacle tradition we fellowshiped until somewhere around 10:30pm, it was wonderful! Arriving early for prayer on Sunday morning, you could just feel the undercurrent of the move of God! My husband preached one of the greatest messages I have ever heard. He has preached it before, and I feel it is one that every person trying to live for God should hear! He titles it "Overcoming...Me". He explains the difference between conviction and condemnation. One of the most powerful points in the message is when He explains how God can keep forgiving you when you seem to keep messing up in the same area. When God forgives you, He forgets your sin. His Word says He casts our sins into the Sea of Forgetfulness. Who are we to reach through the blood of Calvary and pull out those things that God has forgiven and forgotten? Conviction is from God and it brings repentance, but condemnation is self inflicted and causes us to shut down. We feel like we are failures even when we've been forgiven. My husband says it puts guilt on the forgiven and chains on the free. The difference between Peter and Judas was that Peter was convicted and Judas was condemned. People who are condemned in there own minds are never able to work in the kingdom of God. They always feel like they are a failure, or they dwell on their failure, rather than having faith in the blood of Jesus to forgive and cover their sins. After the service was over, one of the ladies who has been in church all of her life, and now has children of her own in their teens, told me that she had never really understood the difference between conviction and condemnation. She said, "While he was preaching, I realized why God can forgive me for the same sin over and over, because for Him it's the first time! He doesn't remember the times I've asked Him for forgiveness before!" Talk about liberating someone to walk in the victory of the forgiving blood of Jesus. All of this, of course, hinges on a person always striving to live for God and is in no way a license to sin. Sunday morning was a beautiful time in the presence of God, and we are growing together and becoming more like Him!
After a little afternoon siesta we came back for anther awesome service! The praise and worship was great and then the word went forth and it was .....I can't really think of the right words to do it justice. I have been so in awe of the way God has been using my husband. I know him like no one else does. I have heard every message he's preached in the last 9 years, and they have all been wonderful. However, the anointing that has come upon him as he is leading this great people is just causing my jaw to drop! God has given him different anointing for the different places and times of his ministry, and it is beautiful to see what He is doing now! He preached "The Hammer and the Sword." I can't tell you all about it but I will tease you with this little bit. When God called Nehemiah to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem, they were under attack of the enemy. Nehemiah instructed the builders to work with their hammer in one hand and their sword in the other. As a church trying to rebuild some walls that have been torn down, this is what we must do! We must build one another and use our sword to defeat the enemy when he comes against us. Another beautiful point that he made was we must have the wisdom to know when to pick up the sword, and when to put it down. Many young Christians have been hurt, and permanently damaged, by someone wielding the sword, when they should have been encouraging and building a brother with their hammer! Well, as I said, it's just a teaser because this post would be too long for anyone to read if I wrote it all. I suppose you could get a copy of the CD if you want it. After the message, we all went forward and joined with our families for a time of prayer. After some time, we were sort of moved out of the way for Angela to make her way to the altar. Angela is someone who has lived for God in the past and now has made her way back to God! She was sitting in the back of the church when she looked at her sister-n-law and said, "Will you go up front with me?" They had not much more than laid hands on her head when she began to speak in that heavenly language! She would stop for just a few seconds to utter through her tears, "Thank you God for giving me another chance, thank you God for another chance," and then she would once again speak in that heavenly language. I know all of heaven stopped, and the angels were rejoicing over Angela coming back to God. I know this is only the beginning, just a hint of what God has in store for us, but I am sooooo excited. I know our mission field is full of hungry people just like Angela looking for a second chance at God and life. Please continue to pray for us as we shine the glory of God in our city! I can't wait for Wednesday night. I know something just as powerful is in store for us! It is wonderful to have anticipation in your spirit about the things of God! I will do my best to keep you all informed, as it is encouraging to hear a good report!