Rev. De Jesúsis the pastor of New Life Covenant Ministries in Chicago, now the largest Assemblies of God church in the United States. He made a passionate plea to delegates to focus on what’s really important as pastors and leaders, and to operate by faith. Here are some excerpts from  his message.

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PLENARY SESSION 4 - SHARE EVERY DAY

God is looking for people who are willing to be used by Him to stand in the gap for the spiritual needs of the society around them ... people who are willing to operate steadfastly by faith.

 

•  “God uses unusual people. In the Bible we find people who are messed up, but God used them. God can do amazing things in the lives of people who live totally every day by faith.”

• “God is going to be particular about who he is going to anoint … [he is pleased when] a man or woman of God operates by faith.”
• “Only two times Jesus is amazed by a person’s faith. One time was in seeing the centurion’s faith, and the other time was the widow with the two coins for an offering.
  • The centurion’s god was Caesar. Yet in his desire for Jesus to heal his servant, he said to Him, ‘You’re a man of authority. I’m a man of authority. You don’t even need to come… just send the word and my servant will be healed.’ Matthew 8:5-13)
  • “Pastors, if your vision is to reach your community, God will send you an army to reach them.”
  • “The widow was a person who regularly went to church. The rich gave a lot of money that made a lot of noise on the metal plates. Making a lot of noise does not get the attention of Jesus. Abandon your faith in money and put your faith in God. Depend on God for everything like the widow did.”
  • “You’re going to have to decide in this Council what kind of ministry you’re going to operate. God is not dead. Don’t trade the Spirit just to become relevant to your society. We are a Pentecostal movement and we should not be ashamed of that. We believe in the Bible and in speaking in tongues. God is looking for a church that really cares about meeting the needs of the people. We are called to walk by faith.”

Ezekiel 22:30 (NIV, 1984)

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.”

• The church is being called to stand up … to focus on the important issues. “There are laws against what we believe … but because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s ethical. The church should be the head and not the tail. The church needs to make our voice heard … to stand in the gap … even at risk of our lives.”

   

• “We need to stop caring about what people think about us, and start caring about what God thinks of us. Most people think of Christians as judgmental and moralistic. But we should be known as a community of love … a community of forgiveness, offering a life of transformation.”

   

• “When you decide to take a stand for what you believe, you are at risk of losing everything. There is a global decay in our society, not just economic. We need to stand in the gap. But no weapons formed against us shall prosper. Man your battle stations. Our job is to empty hell and fill heaven for the glory of God.”

1 Samuel 17:10

• “Your devotional life is a private audience between you and God. But there is a time when it will become public. People come to our churches, and we lack power. We are a Pentecostal movement, but we have not taught the church to fight.”
• “Jesus flipped the tables because there was no difference between how the courtyard looked and how the temple looked. We cannot look like the world.”
• “Stop using prayer as a crutch not to do anything. There comes a time when that prayer has to convert to action. God says, is there anybody who will stand in the gap and fight?”
• “The giant mocks at the core of what you and I believe. David’s anointing was not to carry a cheese sandwich. You were anointed to confront giants. David said, how dare you insult my God? God, give us pastors who have the courage to confront prime ministers, governments. David stood where he was at. It wasn’t the rock that killed Goliath. It was all faith.
• “Many say, ‘I’ll do the ministry when God sends me the money.’ You have it backward. Do the ministry and God will send you the money.”
• God elevates people for reason. God elevates people for a season. May God give you a second wind. A third wind. Dr. King once said, “Courage is an inner resolution to go forward in spite of obstacles.”
• “There comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular, but one must take it because it’s right.”

Wilfredo de Jesús was named one of the 2013 honorees of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. A full recording of his session can be ordered by visiting http://paoc.org/events/general-conference/recorded-sessionsor http://www.swordfishdigital.com.