Increase 2014

We are preparing for Increase 2014, October 3, 4 & 5 as we celebrate 6 years of ministry as Victory Life Christian Ministries. 

INCREASE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

• Friday, October 3 @ 7 p.m. @ V-Life: Love & Relationships Panel Discussion
• Saturday, October 4 @ 9 a.m. - Breakfast at The Rock Cafe Private Dining Room located at 1420 Knollview Dr Big Rapids, MI 49307: ($6.50/adult, $3.50 children 4-11, free for children 3 and under)
• Saturday, October 4 @ 11 a.m. @ V-Life: Love & Relationships (part 2) - Seminar with Pastor Eric and Lady Freda Tolbert
• Saturday, October 4 from 2-4 p.m. - Bowling at The Gate at at 706 Perry Ave Big Rapids, MI 49307: (Bowling and Pizza Package including 2 games of bowling, shoes and 2 slices of pizza - $10/person OR bowl for $3/game and $2.50 shoes)  
• Super Sunday, October 5 @ 1 p.m. - Week 300 w/ Pastor Razel Jones
• Super Sunday, October 5 @ 6 p.m. - w/ Bishop Marvin Sapp 

I know your faith is important to you.

Maybe you don't let many people know. Maybe you feel like it's personal and not really other people's business. Perhaps you are afraid that if you put it out there, you'll be held to a higher level of accountability for your decisions. I even think that some of you find yourselves doing things totally contrary to your belief system so that people don't find out just how serious you are about your convictions.

Many people seem to hide it, but if there were no consequences, I believe you would tell me that your faith is really important to you.

How do I know - I'm convinced that many people know that if it weren't for God they wouldn't be alive today, but it is not popular to acknowledge that thought publicly, so people keep it to themselves. But, when that car was engaging in the accident, it was God who shielded you from the hand of death - when you were about to lose your mind, it was God who held you together - when you didn't know where else to turn, it was your faith in God that gave you peace - that blessing that you received and didn't deserve, you have no other explanation than to acknowledge that God did it for you, even though you did nothing to earn or deserve the favor.

I want to challenge you today - don't hide your belief. While your faith is personal, we are called to share our faith. You are right, there is a higher level of accountability for your decisions once you claim the label of believer, but remember, you privately call yourself a believer already, so the accountability is already yours. To whom much is given, much is required. Today is the day for you to stop living a lie. Let the secret out. Let your declaration line up with your life and your life line up with your declaration. This post is resonating with you because I know your faith is important to you - today, I challenge you to live out the faith that is within you.

Mark 8:38New King James Version (NKJV)

38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Submitted by Pastor Razel Jones

Recharge

Today, I went to work and forgot my charger at home. It's the end of the day and I only have a little battery left. As soon as I get home, I will charge it up so that I have access to its use as soon as possible. Have you ever felt like my phone? Losing power, light dimming, running out of energy, seemingly about to die and not be of any good use to anyone?

There are two important steps I'm going to take for my phone that would be good for you to take as well to get your charge back:

• First, I will plug it in to the power source:

In the same way, when you're losing energy, you need to plug back in to your power source. In the presence of the Lord, there is fullness of joy and the joy of the Lord is your strength. The way to plug in is to find your way into the presence of the Lord. How do you get there? Prayer, reading the Word, praise, worship, meditation, fasting. These activities energize, refill, and recharge you. There are certain activities that you engage in that drain you and others that charge you. Find the things that energize you and recharge your battery.   

• Second, I will let it rest:

Sometimes, we burn out because we won't rest. I challenge you to be fully present in whatever it is that you're doing. If you're playing, totally commit to playing; if you're working, totally commit to working; if you're exercising, totally commit to exercising; if you're praising, totally commit to praising... if you're resting, totally commit to resting! With my phone, if I charge it while also using it, it is going to take much longer for the device to fully charge than it would if I would leave it alone to its charging. Rest, rest, rest! 

Now, I have two sets of questions for you to think about:

• How do you recharge? What builds you back up again? Where do you gain your energy from?
• What is blocking your rest? What distracts you from being fully present when you rest?

Matthew 11:28-30New Living Translation (NLT)

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

1 Peter 5:7New Living Translation (NLT)

7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 

My best isn't good enough

Have you ever felt like you were giving your best effort, but that effort was not good enough? How frustrating! I remember in my undergraduate work in college taking a Business Law class. I once had aspirations to be a lawyer, so I was extremely excited about the content. We were going to spend much of our time studying contracts. I happily went to class, did the homework, engaged in the discussions, studied hard, and when I took the tests, I repeatedly received low grades - mostly Ds to be exact. This was uncommon for me. I'm not proud of this, but I must honestly admit that at that point in my life, I typically only put in a little work and received As and Bs, so this was a different experience for me. I was working hard - giving my best - and almost failing the course. Consequently, I took the course again with a different teacher and I'm glad to report I received an A the 2nd time around - but, I think I learned more from the D.

What a life lesson! There are days now where I feel like I felt in that Business Law class while engaging in ministry, administration, career, fatherhood, marriage, etc. While passionate about what I'm doing, sometimes my best just isn't good enough. Sometimes I don't have enough time, knowledge, energy, or experience and some things fall short and go undone. So, what do you do when your best isn't good enough? I have three suggestions:

1. Know that you're in good company.

Throughout the bible and throughout history we find many stories of great individual success stories that often eclipse the back-stories of extreme failure in the same individual. We could run down the list of amazing failures who we know as amazing successes, but you've seen all of that before. The takeaway is that you cannot learn to be great without experiencing some failure. Strength is born out of struggle. So, even if you feel like your best is not enough and you're falling short, know that you're in good company.   

Romans 3:23 (NKJV) confirms this truth when it states, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  

2. Don't stop trying.

This, or some variation - don't give up, keep going, try again, etc. - seems to be the advice that I tend to default to in almost every situation. We can't afford to give up. I've heard it said that "failure is not an option." I beg to differ, failure is absolutely an option - an option that I have found myself selecting time and time again. What is not optional when tasked with accomplishing a task God has asked you to do is quitting! You may fail, but you cannot quit. It can be so frustrating to give your all and still not measure up to what is needed, but that does not give you an excuse to stop giving your all. When the good effort that we offer doesn't work, we have a tendency to stop offering good effort. Don't get lazy! Don't let your frustration stop your efforts. 

Galatians 6:9 (KJV) validates this advice as it encourages: "let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

3. Stop relying on your best.

This final advice is humbling, yet eventually encouraging to grasp. Left alone to our own abilities, we are likely to fail over and over again. It is not until we allow God to add His extra to our ordinary - His super to our natural - His above to our average, that we will ever be able to fulfill the purposes of God in our lives. God loves to use insufficient people, organizations, systems, processes, places, and things. Using something that is not enough on its own demonstrates His greatness. When God uses me with all of my issues, it communicates to those who know me that it must be God at work. God is not intimidated by our issues, shortcomings, struggles, or weaknesses. So, today I challenge you to offer your best, but rely on God's best - His anointing, which gives us the ability to do what we could not do on our own. 

Here are a few NKJV scriptures to reinforce your reliance on God rather than self:

• 2 Corinthians 12:9: And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
• Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• Matthew 19:26: But, Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Submitted by: Pastor Razel Jones

You fit the description

Deuteronomy 28:12-13New King James Version (NKJV)

12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

Last week, I went to a neighborhood park in Kentwood and played with my daughter while a team from our church met about some upcoming events. At one point, I went back to sit with the group working on the event. A few minutes later, two police officers approached the picnic table where we sat. As they approached, we asked "what's up?" 

One of the officers responded, "we received a call and we're looking for someone here in the park - can I see your ID?"

There, I sat, the African American male at a table with 4 African American women and 2 babies. As we sat, about two weeks into the tragedies in Ferguson, a flood of thoughts entered my head. As I reached for my drivers license, I stated, "so, I fit the description, huh?" 

The officer answered, "yes, you do."

I gave my ID and the officers realized that I was not who they were allegedly looking for. Thoughts continued to enter my mind. The main thing I wondered is what that description really was that I fit to those officers. Was it, black male? Bald? 5'6"? Did I look dangerous as I sat at a picnic table with my church leaders? Did I look like a criminal as I was pushing my daughter on the baby swing? How did I fit the description? This was a description that was not favorable for me to fit on this particular day. In their eyes, I wasn't a pastor - I wasn't an author - I wasn't a Christian - I wasn't a husband - I wasn't a father - I wasn't a human resources professional - I wasn't an MBA - I wasn't a consultant... I was a suspect.  

In contrast, Deuteronomy 28:12-13 shares a description we should all want to fit. The passage describes a group of highly blessed people. People who's work is successful; people with enough resources to lend to others in need; people who are in-charge leaders who have attained a level of honor and prestige and rank in their fields. 

How do you get to the point where you fit this description? The secret is found in the last part of the passage: if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 

As I thought about this contrast, I became a little sad to think that even if you heed the commandments and live a life that is pleasing to the Lord, people still may not see you in the same light that the Lord sees you in. Even if you've done nothing wrong, you may still simply be a suspect. 

I challenge you today to fix your sights on living to gain status with God rather than status with man. Peoples' perceptions of you may be inaccurate; they may see you in the wrong light; they may judge you without knowing who you are, but it is not peoples' perceptions of you that matter. What really matters is how God sees you and our text tells us that if you do what He says, He will bless you well beyond what any person could ever do for you. Not only that, He will cause you to be in a position to be a blessing to people who have had the wrong perception of you. Hold on to the promises of God! Living for Him is worth it! Without Him on that day in the park, I would have said more than I should and would have probably reacted in a way that would have caused more problems for me. With Him, I knew who I was and didn't feel the need to prove anything. Do you know who you are? Do you fit the description of a blessed person of God?   

Deuteronomy 28:12-13New King James Version (NKJV)

12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

Spiritual Disciplines Consecration

As we prepare for Increase 2014 on October 3-5, 2014, our church has begun a consecration focused on improving our spiritual disciplines in a variety of ways. We will consecrate and discipline ourselves everyday of the month of September. We would love for you to join us in this Consecration. Below are the instructions:

• Sundays - Increased worship (corporate and individual)
• Come to church worshiping, worship and then worship some more in the evening.

• Mondays -Increased meditation
• To meditate is to engage in thought or contemplation - to reflect
• Spiritual introspection
• Clear your mind of the clutter and give space for God to speak to you without interruption 

• Tuesdays - Increased prayer & fasting - fast from midnight - 6:00 p.m. 
• Preferably just drink water. If that's not possible, add juice and/or fruit.

• Wednesdays - Increased bible study
• Study a passage of scripture - dive into it - look words up, think thoroughly, search for revelation knowledge and understanding.

• Thursdays - Increased bodily exercise
• Discipline yourself to take care of God's temple, that is, your body through physical exercise.

• Fridays - Increased corporate prayer (15 minute prayer call at 6:30 a.m. EST)
• Start your day with a corporate time of prayer.
• Prayer call line - dial 1.605.475.3200 and enter access code 563087#

• Saturdays - Increased administration (handle some business that you've been needing to handle, but haven't been getting to)
• What administrative task have you been needing to do, but haven't gotten around to it? Discipline yourself to work on it today. Whether working on your resume, writing the song, book proposal, managing your calendar, planning an upcoming event, handling an assignment for school, for church, for work - whatever it is, today is a day to make progress towards completion of those administrative tasks that haven't been getting completed in your life. 

More information is coming soon about Increase 2014. In the meantime, stay consecrated and keep moving forward towards the actualization of your vision.