You’ve found the right one! Come check us out Sunday morning! We’ll be waiting for you!

Charles Finney said:
“Revival is a renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God. It is giving up one’s will to God in deep humility.”

Why don’t we see revival in our day?

1. Lack of interest

We are not interested in making the changes in our own lives that would allow us to see changes around us.

“we are not living the abundant christian life because we are not willing to
repent (turn from our sin), replace, (get the world out and godliness in),
rekindle- (get in the word and allow it to change us.)

Solution : Matthew 9:18

2. We don’t have right relationships

Pro 17:20 He that hath a froward heart findeth no good:

We are critical of everyone around us….including the preacher.

People are angry,

jealous,

pessimistic,

self centered,

self-willed,

touchy,

easily offended,

grudge holding,

and unforgiving. ( this is a short list of our problems)

Solution:

Get out of your SELF and get more of Christ! Be filled with the spirit! and show His fruit ( Galatians 5)

3. We are full of Pride

this could have been listed above, but really needs attention alone.

Soren Kierkegaard a theologian,  philosopher and religious author, had this to say: 

“Do you not know that there comes a midnight hour when every one has to throw off his mask? Do you believe that life will always let itself be mocked? Do you think you can slip away a little before midnight in order to avoid this? Or are you not terrified by it? I have seen men in real life who so long deceived others that at last their true nature could not reveal itself;… In every man there is something which to a certain degree prevents him from becoming perfectly transparent to himself; and this may be the case in so high a degree, he may be so inexplicably woven into relationships of life which extend far beyond himself that he almost cannot reveal himself. But he who cannot reveal himself cannot love, and he who cannot love is the most unhappy man of all.”

Solution:  

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Humble yourself in the sight of God and realize that you are a wicked sinner in need of the leading and guidance of the Lord Jesus.

4. Unthankfulness

 

2 Timothy 3
1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

We want, want, want, but never thank the Lord fully for all we have. Never satisfied!

This is not pleasing to the Lord.

Solution:

List all you have to be thankful for. Praise the Lord for all things, even adversity and trial. Include lack of fulfilled desires. Be thankful.

 

Psalm 92:1
IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH:
Psalm 18:49
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

 

5. We lack faith

 

we insult God with our unbelief…
have any of us moved a mountain recently? Jesus says that if we have the faith as a mustard seed, we can say to the mountain…be thou moved! 

Solution: ASK believing.

James 4:2
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 

Are you asking God for faith?

Do you want to see revival? What are you doing about it?

Gospel Light has been busy and this blogger has failed to do any posting. For those of you who have missed us, please accept my apologies. I am going to attempt to catch things up here for a few minutes.

In a series that Pastor Giardino has titled, “The Windows of Heaven”, he has challenged both saved and unsaved alike to recognize that one of the Windows of Heaven is the window of opportunity. That opportunity being limited. Pastor opened up with the main passage of 2Kings 7:3-11 Comparing these four leper men to Christians, in that we live in sinful bodies that are doomed to die. Somehow God is still able to use us because of the New Life of the Spirit that we now live in. Finally we all were challenged with the question, as did the leper men, “Why do you sit here in church until you die?” We only have a window of opportunity remaining in our life to put our faith into action. God performed a tremendous miracle when the four leper men decided to step into the camp of the Syrians. There should be an audio of the message available on GLBBC Web site.

These messages on the “Windows of Heaven” are for all to hear on the main website and I encourage you to go there to listen.

In addition, Pastor has continued the series on the mind on Sunday evenings. We have also had a very informative series on the Cult of Free Masonry, taught by Thomas Interliccia on Wednesday evenings. For anyone who would not consider this to be a cult, PLEASE, get the CD of this series. You will be shocked at what you hear.

Our Christmas program, “Celebrate Christmas” was a success in that the Lord Jesus was magnified. For lack of a better term, this show was ‘performed’ on two different occasions with several visitors each night. The choirs (children and adult) , our radio theater actors, soloists and our story teller, Gabe, did a fantastic job of bringing us laughter, joy and truth. If you missed it, you should feel sad about that, especially if you are a member of GLBBC. While the reason for the celebration is the Lord, it is done for the people of the church and the edification of the saints.

The last couple of months have included our Harvest dinner, a youth trip to Sight and Sound theater in Lancaster, PA, Keepers of the Faith groups making and selling pies and hot sauce for Thanksgiving, a very full house at Pastor and Mrs. Giardino’s Christmas open house, a Super Saturday Candy Cane event for kids, a couples  Ugly Christmas Sweater dinner party, our annual Ladies Christmas fellowship, and the Christmas program. For pictures, see our website. They should be posted there soon. It has certainly been a busy place and we are happy to have a church people who are willing and ready to serve the King of Kings. We would love to have you visit us and meet our happy group of people.

We will be in church Sunday morning. Where will you be? Join us at GLBBC!

Sunday School starts at 9:45

Sunday Morning Service is at 11AM! We look forward to seeing you!

Come join us for some fun this evening as the teens of GLBBC treat us to a night of good clean fun!

They have been preparing skits, etc. All proceeds will help them take their trip to the Sight and Sound theatre in PA.

Cost is $2 per person

7:00 PM at GLBBC on October 28

Cotton Candy, Popcorn, cider and donuts will be available.

OK, so admittedly, the blog posts have not been the first thing on my mind of late, but let me just fill you in on what has been going on around GLBBC! It’s been a busy place to be! Although it may be a bit long, Please read all of the following as I recap several services here.

Gerald Sutek, Missionary to the Philippines visited us with a message of the love of Christ and our ( I say OUR because we as Christians are ALL called) calling and obligation to  win the lost.

Jesus took a step down - He became sin… ( Phil 2:5-9) so we must be willing to step down if necessary, to see souls come to Him.

Jesus was sent to do a work of faith. Pro. 3:5-6 What are you trusting in other than Jesus….whatsoever is without faith is sin. Trust God, not man. In this point, Bro. Sutek told us of stories where he trusted only in the Lord for providing for his needs. Owe no man anything.

Jesus was on a journey of love. John 3:16 Do you love your neighbor? do you have love for that crowd of peeople. Jesus had compassion on them all.

Are you willing to go where there aren’t any beautiful people? A rescue mission, a homeless shelter or the slums? Paul said he was the chiefest of sinners. What about you?

the greatest thing in life is to serve Christ.

Another blessing of  a guest preacher was Evangelist Brian DelGrande. Although his visits were unplanned by us, God planned them FOR us.

Bro. DelGrande brought us a message on why people stop serving Christ. 

One thing we need to keep in mind is that

QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION!

“Once we learn to quit, it becomes a habit” ~ Vince Lombardi – American Football coach

It’s not always easy to read daily, pray, win souls, attend church, give.

Sometimes family will wear you out. Finances will wear you out. Friends will wear you out.

You may quit just before the blessings come!

Make sure you take the time to listen to this one! CD’s are available as well as the opportunity to listen online. Although all messages are not posted yet, we are working on it, so come back often for more!

We were treated to a second helping of Evangelist Brian Del Grande. He first spoke on a Wednesday night and by God’s grace was available to speak to us again. The air sparked with anticipation as we, the congregation sang hymns and readied ourselves to be fed. We were treated to a sweet song, Sanctuary, by Mike G. This song moved a few people to visit the altar before the preaching began. After a brief reminder of our Family Conference coming up this weekend with John and Lee Marshall, Brother Del Grande came armed with a message aimed towards the youth of our church. Adults and I listened intently as the meal was laid out before us.

The name of the message was entitled: What Can Cause A Wounded Spirit?

1.)  Words – Proverbs 18:8, 12:18, 25:18, in chapter 25, verse 18 the word that was emphasized was maul. ( heavy, wooden hammer). Negative words can adversely affect a person. Especially from a family member or a friend.

2.)  Wrong Choices – can cause a wounded spirit. example: no children, leaving the ministry, marriage w/o biblical counsel.  In 2 Corinthians 6:14 God specifically warns us against being unequally yoked. If you are a Christian, there are 3 people in your life you are to seek counsel from; God, parents and your pastor. Remember, no one is perfect. How can you look to the future if you are always looking back to the past?  Philippians 3:13

3.)  Whipping – don”t get me wrong, discipline is necessary and biblical! Proverbs 22:15, and Proverbs 29:15. For instance, if a child can watch a 2 hour movie, they can be trained to sit still during a church service. God does get the glory for all goodness. Maestro please, (Bro. Del Grande demonstrates a conductor’s action of directing an orchestra). Get the point? Discipline is needed. Some parents whip but not out of love, it ought not to be so. Ephesians 6:4. Discipline w/o love brings about rebellion.

4.)  Wayward children – Genesis 28:8-9, Proverbs 17:25, 10:1.

Children when you turn your back on the very God that created you, you wound your parents. Not to mention, our Creator. if, you as a parent have a child that has jumped ship. Don’t let anyone ride you as a failure. The last time i looked, everyone has a free will.

5.)  The World – think of the prodigal son in Luke 15: 11-24 This son had his eyes on the world, he left home and spent all. He did return home, but at what cost? He lost his purity, and no inheritance, but he got forgiveness. You are not missing anything by staying away from the world. John 8: 33- 36.

We were left to ponder these points and Brother Del grande gave us some ways to heal our wounds.

a) Word of God – Psalms 119:15-17, the book will do nothing for you unless you read it. When you are hurting, i don’t know about you, but I don’t run to the book of chronicles. When I am hurting I turn to Psalms, where i can find comforting words. We must stay in the bible.

b) The Work of the Holy Spirit – John 14:16, need i say more?!

c) The Wonderful Saviour – Isaiah 53: 3-4, Psalm 34:18

God is fully able to heal all spiritual wounds. Cast all care upon Him for He careth for you. Has anyone wounded you with their words? Let’s look up and not down. Praise the Lord for his wonderful mercy and grace. The service ended and we were dismissed.

Evangelist and ministry leader Bob Creel came in and preached a message on David’s mighty men. and What a message it was! You MUST hear it! Go to our main web page. Click on the “Hear messages” button and find Bob Creel. You don’t want to miss this one.

OK…enough for one post. Add these fine preachers to the preaching and teaching that we hear on a regular basis and you have a crowd with no excuse when we each stand before the Lord. We have been given much to ponder. Praise the Lord!

Pastor Giardino continued the Family Conference with his morning message.

^{Is. 49:2}And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me

Admitting that in urging people to do the right thing, pastor will be preaching to himself as he is still raising and training children.

We went to Is 49:1-3 and then to Ps 144:12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

The methods of polishing and buffing haven’t really changed much in the last several hundred years. It still takes work.

1. Grinding for Good - In order for children to be surrendered to  God we must be willing to   grind away at them. It takes a spirit filled parent to hone the child. Are you spirit filled?

2. Buffer for the Benefit – Ps 128:1-3 We read earlier that they are like olive plants. the olive has oil in it. oil gives light it takes pressure to get that oil from our children.

Ps 127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Get those arrows ready to fire and send a lighted shaft into the world.

Our recent Family Conference was a success. We live in a day and age when the family is under attack. Divorce, unfaithfulness, rebellion, dishonor of parents, disobedience, etc. have all become woes of the time we live in. But does it have to be that way?

We were privileged to have Mr. & Mrs. John Marshall with us for the weekend. This wise couple is the parents of ten children, all grown now, but also all serving the Lord in their lives. Some are missionaries and/or wives on foreign mission fields. Others are leaders, pastors wives and laymen in the churches they attend. If there is anyone who can help us with the family, this couple is it. More on them at www.johnmarshallfamily.com

We started out with a message from Bro. Marshall on Friday evening. His message was on family revival. Although many of us wish for it, there will be no revival in our land if the family is not revived first. And before the family has revival, the marriage must be revived.

Genesis 34

After the rape of their sister, Simeon and Levi take things into their own hands. The burden doesn’t fall on them though. It falls on Jacob. Verse 30″ And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land,”

in chapter 35 Jacob meets with God. this is no small thing. Bethel is a picture of the house of God. Jacob met with God and got some things in order.

The head of the house must be in charge. He must put away the strange god’s. What strange god’s are in your home? What takes your time from God. What gets your attention before you have time with the Lord?  Get your house cleaned up and don’t bring those things back!

Get your family and home in order. Work together. Be a sweet smelling fragrance to the Lord. Sell out and be revived!

On Saturday morning we had split sessions. The men heard from and asked questions of John Marshall. The ladies met with Mrs. Lee Marshall. The  information we gleaned from these two fine examples is priceless. We heard of how to keep our marriages intact. We learned what is expected of a wife and/or a husband. We know better what our role is as a parent and what we should expect from a child as well as how to get them to love the Lord and be joyful doing it. All of these sessions, including the question and answer portions will be available on CD. Please do yourself a favor and order a copy.

Get the CD for all the details!

The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church…grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil.

Leonard Ravenhill

Our Sunday evening message was another hit from Bro. McDonald.

We heard about some kids in the Bible.

David

Ham

Daniel

Samson

Jacob and Esau

If you aren’t sure what we could learn from such a mixed group, click on the “Hear Preaching” button in the middle of our home page at www.glbbc.org. Listen to the message from Bro Ken. Join us next Sunday! We’ll be looking forward to seeing you!

Where were you on Sunday morning, September 11th? Maybe you had something better to do? Maybe you figured you didn’t need to be in God’s house and excused yourself for another activity, or because you were too busy to put the Lord’s Day first.

If so, you missed a phenomenal message from an evangelist who is in touch with the heartbeat of the Christians of this day and age…the last days. The Laodicean church.

Revelation 3:17
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Are you in denial? or does this describe you, like it does most of us?

Brother McDonald blessed the people of GLBBC this past Lord’s Day.

In the morning sermon, we turned to Ecclesiastes 12:1-7

Bro. Ken took this passage apart as he spoke of the last days and the need for us to get to know God and to do it NOW!

Today’s victories will help us later in life. David was just a kid, but he was victorious over Goliath.

Later he held the sword of the giant in his hand and was again the victor in battle.

In verse 3 of the text, he points us to the keepers….“the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble”,

The keepers are likened to the preachers of today. Many are losing their grip and using artificial means to uphold the services of the church and to get the people excited. ie: entertainment, no preaching on sin and holiness. No real conviction anymore.

Another point was the eyes ” and those that look out of the windows be darkened,”

People of today are living on feeling, not seeing….”don’t confuse me with the facts…I know what I felt” (Have you ever heard anyone say that before?)

The eyes have gone bad. We don’t see things spiritually.

Yet another point…“Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high,”

Are you afraid of taking the high road?  Could you sing this hymn and not be lying with your words?

I’m pressing on the upward way
New heights I’m gaining every day
Still praying as I’m onward bound
Lord, lead me on to higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Tho’ some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground

I want to live above the world
Tho’ Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the upmost height,
And catch a glimpse of glory-bright;
But still I’ll pray till Heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground

Chorus:  

Lord lift me up and let me stand
by faith on heaven’s tableland
A Higher plain than I have found
Lord plant my feet on higher ground.

This blogger isn’t going to tell you all of the message. It was all good and you need to hear it, but you will have to make the effort to get the CD or listen online. It should be posted by the end of the day.  This is a hot one!