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A WORD WITH YOU   

       There are only two kinds of Christians:  those who are filled with themselves and those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Many of us spent time at the altar this week dealing with issues that have prevented the Spirit from controlling our lives.  God has spoken.  Many critical decisions—about sin and lack of discipline and failure to surrender—have been made.  Many of us have crowned Christ the Lord of our lives once again.  That is revival!  Are you experiencing revival?
       There are no un-contested victories in the Christian life.  Every time we retake territory that has been occupied by the enemy, we are going to have a battle.  The devil never gives up any area he has controlled without a huge fight.  Our decision to surrender to Christ is only the beginning.   Let me say two things about what we can expect over the next few weeks and months.
       First, those of us who responded to the Holy Spirit in repentance and surrender can expect unusual outbreaks of spiritual opposition in our lives.  Be prepared for it. Don’t think the battle is over.  For some of us, the battle has just begun. Second, our church can expect some unusual and unexpected testing from the most unlikely sources. Whenever a church determines to walk in victory and in the blessings of God and whenever a significant “critical mass” of its people decides to live in the “new normal,” the devil will change his game plan and bring pressures and problems into the congregation to distract them from the main issue—the continual surrender of our lives to Jesus.
       We’ve had a touch of revival.  Let’s press on to the summit.  Let’s go for the gold.  Let’s not stop praying and surrendering and loving until the church and all of its ministries are controlled by the Spirit of Jesus.

       Sunday night we resume 605, our contemporary worship experience.  The 605 band will lead the music portion of our worship with their usual sense of excellence and spiritual passion.  Our theme for the next several weeks is THE ADVENTURES OF ELIJAH, a teaching series beginning in 1 Kings 17.  I’ll be teaching tonight.  Kevin will share some of these teaching times with me.  The messages will be relevant, practical, and deep.  We will not be snorkeling for truth; we’ll have on our SCUBA gear!  God is blessing the church on Sunday’s at 6:05 p.m.  Be here.

       Easter is the high point of the Christian year.  More unchurched people will attend on Easter than on any other day of the year.  We have the opportunity to invite our unchurched friends to EFBC for our Easter celebration this year knowing that the service will challenge them creatively and sensitively with the good news of Christ’s victory over sin and death.
       On April 4, we will celebrate Christ’s resurrection with one Sunday morning worship service beginning at 10:00 a.m.  The service will be characterized by the proclamation of the gospel by the pastor, the musical proclamation of the gospel by our choir, musical teams, and orchestra, and the dramatic presentation of the gospel with both live and video presentations.  We will hear testimonies of people who have met Christ in the most unexpected places.  We will discover that, no matter what road we are on, the Living Christ is there with us if we’ll only open our eyes to see Him.
       The next several weeks are critical.  The Lord is going to find out if we are the kind of church where He can manifest Himself, His love, and His truth in powerful ways.  I’m praying for the “new normal.”  Tell someone!

       Alan Day, Senior Pastor