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July 26 – Antioch

It never ceases to amaze me how our Father can take, what may be considered, unconnected or seemingly random things in our lives and create this beautiful masterpiece that is His Plan and perfect timing. When I was asked to write this blog over a month ago, I had no idea what Pastor Daniel’s sermon would be about or what exactly would transpire in my life over that short amount of time. I have to be honest and say that I have been a little apprehensive about doing this, but our God is faithful and never fails to remind me of His promise in Isaiah 51:16, “I have put my words in your mouth…”.

The word that Pastor Daniel brought to us today hit very close to home for me, you see, I had the amazing privilege to be part of the 18 member mission team that you sent to South Africa on July 11-22. It was a trip that will absolutely change each of the team’s lives either in calling, awareness or many other ways that the Lord has determined.

This morning, Pastor Daniel spoke about the sending church of Antioch (Acts 13:1-3) and what it looks like to be a sending church. He spoke about 4 specific characteristics of a sending church.

#1: Hunger – A desperate, burning, searching hunger. A hunger that says, “I need you, God, I desire you, above anything and everything in my life.” A worshipful hunger, that invites His absolute, constant Presence in every area of our lives. A hunger where we discipline ourselves to a physical fasting, whether that is food, TV, internet, movies, whatever takes us out of His Presence. Is there a hunger in me and you for God? Have we stepped away from that intentional life of daily, hourly, minute by minute seeking God’s Presence and guidance?

#2: Listening – Acts 13:2 “…the Holy Spirit said…” The Holy Spirit is always speaking to us, are we listening? Are we intentionally cultivating a relationship with the Father so that we are able to recognize His voice? Are we ignoring what He is saying to us? I confess that this is an area that the Father has to work with me on quite often! I can be so stubborn sometimes, which so often gets me into trouble. But once again, thank God, He is always faithful and keeps working on me until I listen to what He is saying to me. How much easier, though, would it be for me to just listen and obey Him in the beginning?! To fully enjoy what He has in store for us we must be willing to give up whatever He asks of us. Are you willing to do that? Am I?

#3: Prayer – Prayer will mark a church that is sending, listening, talking and checking. What is going on in our prayer lives? Is it intentional, seeking, listening? Is it a one-sided conversation (me->God), or a two-sided conversation (God<->me)?

#4: Sending – A sending church is not content just to worship God, it also listens and does something. Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” We are all called to “go” at some point. For some, this means supporting or getting out of your “comfort zone”, for others this means moving and/or giving up everything and everyone that you know to do what God wants you to do. Wherever God calls us, we can be assured that the safest place to be is right where He asks us to be, in the center of His Will. Who knows what God can and will do in our lives if we will just obey! Sometimes it is difficult to obey, but God will make it all worth it in the end!

God has a specific, personal plan for each and every one of us! We are all called to live intentionally and on purpose. Ephesians 1:11 “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” In Christ, we are chosen, predestined and purposed in His will! So, what is your calling? What has God set you apart for? The Heavenly Father calls us by name, sets us apart, and has a plan and a purpose specifically for each and every one of us! Wow, how amazing is our Father??!!! Praise His Holy Name!!!

In Christ,
Debbie Eason

July 19 – After the Road to Damascus

Pastor Daniel’s message today had special significance for me.  I guess I fall into the category of “New Christian” as I’ve only been walking in a real relationship with God for a little over a year now.  I’ve read the story of Saul and Ananias before (Acts 9:1-19), but I never really considered the implications as Pastor Daniel laid them out in this morning’s message.  I think we tend to focus on Saul’s (Paul) conversion experience without considering the significance of Ananias in this story.

When the kids and I started going to Mid-Cities in June of last year, it was overwhelming to see such a large body of worshipers.  I was fortunate because God immediately put an Ananias on my path.  He knows how hard headed I can be and how determined I can get at times to just do it myself, so he put a married couple in our lives who had determination, biblical knowledge, compassion, love, and an extremely strong relationship with God.  He has used this couple time and time again to move in my life and in the lives of my children.  They have demonstrated over and over again the importance of putting God first in everything, relying on God’s plan for me, and having absolute trust in Him. I know that the spiritual growth I have experienced in the last 13 months has been partly due to their willingness to meet with me when it was not convenient, to affirm the person that I am and encourage me to grow spiritually, and to minister to my needs and the needs of my children—not just spiritual needs, but emotional and physical needs as well.  Around our house, we refer to this couple as our “spiritual parents”.

Now I am working on listening to God and trying to recognize those opportunities to serve as an Ananias in someone else’s life.  I can testify to the absolute importance of being intentional in our discipleship.  It’s shortchanging someone if you merely introduce them to Christ and then walk away and expect them to get it on their own.  You miss out on the blessings of watching them grow closer to God and helping to increase His kingdom.  Not everyone you meet will want you to serve as their spiritual parents, but I think we need to be careful about merely increasing the quantity of God’s family, without paying attention to the quality of the relationship new Christians have with our Father.  It’s like Pastor said this morning, God wants to use you in a significant way to impact people.  God can only use you to minister to people if you allow yourself to be available.

So, are you listening to God’s call to forge a bond with a new Christian?  Are you obedient to His will even when it costs you something like personal time or time with your family?  Are you pouring into anyone?  Knock on the door of someone’s heart today…they just might let you, and God, inside…

Stephanie Green

July 12 – Mathias: Faithful, Obscure, and Rewarded

The Journey

Wow! What an awesome anointed Word today church! Amen? As I sat in the pew receiving the Word of God through Pastor Daniel this morning, I was flooded with emotions as I reflected on our past, our present and even the future plans! What an awesome God we truly serve. I believe that in some way or another I could relate to the life of Matthias as Pastor Daniel conveyed it. Could you?

One of the scriptures that I hang onto always is found in Jeremiah 29:11, “for I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord. “Plans to PROSPER you and NOT to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a Future!” I can tell you that there were times in my life when I questioned the Lord if He really meant that. Do you ever wonder or doubt God and His promises or His Word? As in the book of Acts, which begins with the command from Jesus to His disciples to WAIT and not leave Jerusalem without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I often heard the Lord, asking me to wait on Him to direct my steps. Waiting on God is not easy for our flesh is it? Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Are you willing to be patient and wait on the LORD? Do you trust that he is timely? I learned this lesson the hard way. I’m a doer so naturally I felt that I could make things turn around better and faster only to find that I could make a larger mess of things.

I praise God that the Holy spirit is readily available to us, as it was to the disciples, for empowerment. The holy spirit is the enabling power of God and once it enters your life, you receive power. I found the power I received in forms of levels was dependent on the power that I surrendered to God. I realize now that the transformation of my life was due to my dependency of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Another realization I had to voice to the Lord, was that I had come to the end of myself. I realized that no matter what I did or didn’t do, I had no control over my circumstances in any area of my life and that of my loved ones. This is where the empowerment of the Holy Spirit became real to me. There were moments of lowness, weakness where my eyes couldn’t see past the fog of pain or devastation, yet it was those times the Holy spirit would empower me to continue the walk believing Jeremiah 29:11, I have plans for you…prosperity..future. Have you ever thought of throwing in the towel?

There was a time in my life, where Hope was a foreign word to me with no meaning whatsoever. Both sets of parents were dying of cancer, our marriage about to dissolve, my womb was diagnosed barren and well lets just say chaos was a way of life. Then we met Jesus and were baptized in His name! We invited Him not just into our hearts but to have our hearts as his own. Through the empowerment of the Holy spirit and our dependency upon the LORD, He transformed us into witnesses for him for His glory through our life’s experiences. We have witnessed miracle after miracle in our lives. We started out being part of the crew that Pastor Daniel described today in service. You know the good for nothing sinners? We are obviously evidence that He can and still does transform people. My dad was healed of a brain tumor in 2002. Our marriage has been restored beyond what it ever was! I have two kids miraculously knit by the hand of God in HIS TIME! Our health, finances, relationships etc have all been restored for Gods’ perfect purpose and all in His timing. We are witnessing a harvest in our lives…even in the midst of our not so perfect circumstances. We still have obstacles and opposition in our path, but through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the promises of God are able to endure. Prayers we prayed 8 years ago are being answered. Talk about God’s timing and not our own. Have you been praying for something for quite some time? Let me encourage you to stay the course with JESUS! Harvest time is near for you too, remember what he does for one he will do for others. God is faithful. Did it happen over night? Absolutely not. Was it easy? No, the pain and sacrifices we have endured sometimes lead us to have those conversations that started out like this: “Lord where are you?”

But like Pastor Daniel said today, Stay the Course. Stay with Jesus. You are not forgotten much less forsaken. Fear will come to crowd your thoughts but don’t allow it to crowd your path get around it and keep going! Society models giving up, it’s the chicken ramp way out. Get on the ride with Jesus, it’s the best ever! Stay in the word, even when it convicts and offends you, remember, the Lord is after your heart and its changing. Are you willing to surrender it to Him? Only His greatness awaits you. Jesus is worth the pains, the sacrifices, the ridicule and all persecution you will endure. Remember that he is interested in changing your heart.

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Call on Jesus!
In His Grip,
JoAnn Velasquez

An Update from Pastor Daniel

Through God’s Word the Holy Spirit instructs, convicts, and encourages us. What has God been showing you in you as you have read through the Book of Acts?

Pastor Daniel

July 5 – What Are You Full Of?

Who do you belong to?

This is a question that God spoke to me a while back which stirred up a deep wrestling match in my soul. There are only two possible answers; either I belong to myself, or I belong to God. It is an “either or” question, there is no middle ground. Either I belong totally to God, without reservation, or I belong to myself.

The context of this question came as I was reading in Acts about Paul willingly going to Jerusalem, knowing that he would be arrested and imprisoned, and because of this willingness God caused him to stand before kings and nobles and preach the Gospel. (See Acts 21:4, 23:11, 25:23, 27:24)

It is easy to declare that I belong to God when things are going well. When I read in the Bible of how God delivered the Israelites with a mighty hand and gave them peace on every side, when I read of the heroes of the faith listed in Hebrews 11 and how God moved circumstances for them in miraculous ways, when I have a good job and my family is safe and well, when everyone speaks well of me. Those are the times when it is easy to say that I have laid my life down at the cross of Christ and surrendered everything to Him.

But it is not during these times that this question is truly answered. At the end of Hebrews 11, in verses 35 to 38, are other heroes. These heroes did not have a happily every after ending. These were martyred, imprisoned and tortured for their faith. It was in this context that God asked me the questions “Who do you belong to?” and “Do you desire so much more of Me and the advancement of My Kingdom that you would willingly lay down your freedom and your life for My sake?”

Pastor Jimmy told us today that every time God moves, opposition and persecution will rise up against that movement. We see this in Jesus’ life, in the apostles’ lives, and in our own lives. Paul even declares this in 1 Cor. 16:9 “because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”

Therefore each one of us is called to examine very carefully our commitment to Christ before we ask for more of God and for His Kingdom to advance.

He has stated that He will strongly support those whose heart is completely His (2 Chron. 16:9), so my questions to you today are:

What, or who, are you full of? (We can only see what we are full of by what we are leaking out, Luke 6:45)

How much do you desire more of God, and how much do you desire to see His Kingdom advanced?

And finally:

Who do you belong to?

I believe as the Church begins to faithfully commit to living out the answer to these, we will see a move of God unlike any that has ever come before. Are you ready?

Chance Anderson

June 28 – Refined by the Spirit

This week as we continue our tour through the book of Acts, we stop to take a look at one of my favorite people in the whole bible: the Apostle Peter.  I guess I like Peter so much because I can relate to him: I find myself wondering the way Peter wondered, asking the questions Peter asked, and at times stumbling the way Peter stumbled.  Yet, as Pastor Mickey talked about this morning, there was a distinct difference in the Peter we see before Pentecost and the Peter we see after Pentecost.  There was a boldness and a testimony to Peter’s life once he had been filled with the Holy Spirit; this same Peter who just a month and a half earlier had not once, not twice, but three times denied the Jesus that he knew and loved.

We first see this boldness through the Holy Spirit well up inside of Peter in Acts 2:14-36 as he bears witness to all the things that he saw while Jesus was still with them.  Peter testifies with a power that is not of himself, and I truly believe that God has called me AND YOU to be a witness and testify everyday through our lives.  You see, Jesus’ death saved us from sin and death, but his resurrection saved us to something just as important: to witness and minister with power not of ourselves, but of the Holy Spirit of God.  Can you imagine what Midland/Odessa would look like if we walked in the authority and power that God has given us through the Holy Spirit?  What will happen to Mid-Cities when we allow “the stream or river” of the Holy Spirit to refine away our rough edges?  Today, I invite you to join in the conversation of what our lives should look like as Post Pentecost Christians who have not only been saved from sin and death by the cross, but saved to a life of power and testimony by Jesus’ resurrection and gift of the Holy Spirit.

Andrew Strand

Children’s Pastor

June 21 – The Father’s Gift: The Holy Spirit

The Second Chapter of Acts is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. In it, we see the Holy Spirit come in power, the first 3000 believers get saved, and the foundation and growth of the early church. It’s an amazing event in God’s interaction with man throughout history. Sadly, differing opinions on what this chapter means has caused some division among the body of Christ. Due to this fact, many people do not know exactly how to respond or what to think when it comes to the topic of Pentecost.

The funny thing is, people didn’t know how to respond when it happened either! We see in Acts 2:12-13 the different responses in the people who saw what had happening. Pastor Daniel touched on their reactions this morning. We read that as people heard God being praised in their own language, some asked, “What does this mean?” Others just made fun and tried to explain it all away. In which group do you belong? Are you open to understanding more about the Holy Spirit?

This morning we worshipped to an original song called Holy Spirit Come in which we sang these words:

Holy Spirit

Come and Fill Us

Come Reveal Who You Are

My prayer is that He would reveal Himself to us as we study through the book of Acts this summer. In Acts 2:2-3, the Holy Spirit reveals Himself as a rushing wind and pillars of fire. Pastor Daniel made the great point this morning that wind brings change and fire burns stuff up. If you’ve received the Holy Spirit, you should be different than you used to be. What change has the Holy Spirit brought to your life? What has He burned away? Join in the conversation of how the Holy Spirit has revealed Himself in your life…

Pastor Chris Davis

June 14 – Introduction to Acts

Let me start with a disclaimer, I do not have this all figured out!  In fact, I started studying Acts a short time ago to learn more about the Holy Spirit’s role in my life.  I accepted Christ when I was 10, but my discipleship over the past 25 years has not included the power and purpose of the Holy Spirit.  So I am excited about this journey we are taking through Acts and pray you are too!

From this morning’s text (Acts 1:1-11). the verse that jolted me was verse 8: “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”  Pastor Daniel explained that this “power” is the power to be God’s witness!  As I walk this walk and God takes me from my Jerusalem to Samaria and even the ends of the earth, I am seeing more clearly that indeed power is needed to share God’s love!  Lately, the “power” I have needed is faith when I can’t see the end, confidence when I feel inadequate, peace when I am afraid and hope when all seems lost.  What does power mean for you as you testify to God’s work in your life?

Whatever “power” means for us, we then have to take it into verses 9-11 and what Pastor Daniel said about NOT just looking to heaven for the Jesus who was here.   We have to look at the Holy Spirit we have now!   It’s not just enough to have the power; we have to USE the power!  When we can’t see the end, we have to ask the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) to help our unbelief (Mark 9:24).  When all seems lost, we have to hope in God (Psalm 33:22, Psalm 38:15, Psalm 39:7, Psalm 42:5, Acts 24:14-16).  When fear seems to be about to swallow us, we must cling to the peace beyond understanding that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).  What power of God in your life can you testify to?  Have you taken a step of faith that God gave you power outside yourself to take?  Have you overcome a fear or insecurity to share the love of God?  What was it?  How did God show his “power” in that situation?  Let’s give testimony to the power of God in our lives… we’ll start right here in Jerusalem!

Walking with you,

HollyAnn Petree

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Blogging Through Acts

I am excited that this summer we get to embark on a journey together through the book of Acts. We will join the disciples as they take the teachings of Jesus to the world and discover the powerful work and movement of the Holy Spirit. I hope you will join us as we read through the book of Acts this summer. Here on this site, you can access our reading plan, as well as post comments on the blogs that will be new each week. Please feel free to share what God is showing you through the sermons, reading, etc. My desire is that God would move us spiritually this summer and we would discover God and His truth in the pages we read, along with the courage to walk in those truths. Before we dive into the book, let me take this first Blog to give some background to the Books of Acts.

Acts was written by Luke, a companion of the Apostle Paul (Acts 16:10-17) and a physician (Col 4:14), in approximately AD 63. Luke records what happened after Jesus’ resurrection, the beginnings of the first century church, Peter’s ministry, Saul’s conversion, and Paul’s missionary journeys. There are people healed, mass conversions, ship wrecks, trials, and executions in the 28 chapters of Acts. The Holy Spirit is active throughout convicting, empowering, and leading these men and women. As you read, be sure to ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart so that you see what He desires for you to see and receive truth from His Word to put into action. Come, let’s dive into his Word together!

This is new for us at Mid-Cities and I hope you enjoy your time here.

Daniel Stephens

Senior Pastor