A Spoken Word

Pastor Leon Wellington, vice president for the Inter-American Division, delivered the sermon in honor of his brother, Elder Valnie Wellington and his wife, Ivorine. They will be leaving Queens Faith Temple of Seventh-day Adventists.

Pastor Wellington’s opening words were, “This is the day we celebrate the life Jesus gave us. Today, we celebrate the life and work of Elder Wellington, my brother, and his wife Sister Wellington. We celebrate the life of these two stalwart members who have given their selfless contributions to Queens Faith Temple.”

Pastor Wellington informed the congregation that brother and sister Wellington’s dedication did not begin when they came to New York but from Jamaica, West Indies. They brought the same energy and commitment to Queens Faith Temple, which helped to foster its growth. We thank God for their commitment.

In honor of a communion service also held that day, the pastor said, “On this communion day, let us remember who we are and our commitment. God has called us out of darkness unto Him. We are selected, elected and precious. We constitute a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). If we truly appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made, then no commitment should be too great. What Christ did for us on the cross was to take away eternal death. Today, as we commemorate the shedding of Jesus’ spilt blood on Cavalry, we must make sacrifices and commitment to follow Him all the way.

“Thank God for forgiveness and thank God for Calvary. Once we were covered in sin but today thank God for His forgiveness. Love is never out of date love is never expired. Paul was thankful to God for his gift of grace,” Pastor Wellington said.

Pastor Leon Wellington concluded his sermon with these words: “Anyone who walks with Jesus and is committed will arrive safely at his/her destination.”

 

Love of God

What makes Jacob so influential although his name means con man, one who takes things by fraud, has a questionable character, and a schemer who conspired with his mother to steal his brother’s birthright? How does Jacob still gain respect from his 12 sons even at age 147?

According to Pastor Wilkie, Jacob’s life was transformed after he stole his brother’s birthright and ran away, God found him in the middle of the night while he slept (Genesis 28). “Sometimes we are too busy during the day so God has to visit us in our sleep,” said Pastor Wilkie. In the dream, Jacob saw a ladder ascending and descending from heaven. Jacob made a covenant with God (from this day forward he would give God one tenth of what he possesses).

A few takeaway lessons from this story:

1. Jacob got to a place where he learned to respect and treasure God. He understood that he is only strong when he surrenders to God.

2. Jacob understood what is meant to be a good the steward.

3. Jacob was a hard worker and his sons and his boss saw that and admired him.

4. Jacob kept on growing and learning

Because Jacob wrestled with God, he received a blessing and his name was changed from Jacob to Israel. Pastor Wilkie pointed out that Jacob treasured God’s love, overcame his sin shame name, but he walked with a limp. Pastor Wilkie reassured the congregation that sometimes God has to afflict us so that we can be saved.

What Do You Do When You Are At The Bottom?

Pastor Wilkie recounted the life of Joseph and the unpleasant situations he experienced such as.

• His brothers were Jealous of his relationship with their father and outraged at his prediction of being worshiped by his family.
  
• Joseph’s brothers kidnapped him and threw him into a pit.
• His brothers took him out of the pit and sold into slavery.
• Potiphar’s wife tried to mar his character.
• He was thrown into prison.

Because Joseph was a God fearing man, God empowered him to interpret Potithar’s dreams. This was a turning point in Joseph’s life which led him to his rule over Egypt. Despite the unpleasant circumstances, God was with Joseph and made all his childhood dreams a reality.

Pastor Wilkie reassured the congregation by using Paul’s words that, “All things work together for good to them that love God.” When you are at the bottom, look up, for God is above and His love surrounds us.

 

Let the church say Amen!

Dreams

On Sabbath, June 4, Pastor Hubert Wilkie spoke to the congregation about dreams. He presented eight essential points:

1. Dreams are designed to give us a vision when God is the Giver of these dreams. Some dreams are motivated by us and not God. We attract into our lives those things that are most dominant with our thoughts. The Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” You are not what you think you are. What you think, you are. You become what you think about most of the time. If most of the time your thoughts are negative, positive, pessimistic or optimistic, you become a negative, positive, pessimistic or optimistic person most of the time.

 

1. The focus of my presentation is about godly dreams. There are many things that God wants to tell us but because sometimes we are so ridiculous, God has to wait until we are asleep. There are many things that can cause you to dream: depression; eating too late. So you have to discern the source of your dream.

 

1. We need to know when dreams are from God. God’s dreams come to you at a contextual contradiction. God will contradict your existing realities. The facts of your life will always contradict the truth of your life according to the dream God is giving you. That’s why we need to operate based on faith

 

 

1. Moments of sadness are no indication of loss of your joy. Joy is an internal thing. No circumstance can take away the joy inside. Don’t let the facts of life control your destiny. Use the truth to inform the facts. You need to believe the truth. An acknowledgement of facts does not mean that a person is controlled by those facts.

 

1. Godly dreams will always be misunderstood and not accepted by those close to you. As in the case of Joseph, his godly dreams were even misunderstood by his father. The reason why your dreams will be misunderstood by those close is because of how they see you.  God does not see you as others. God’s dreams, when they come, they elevate you above what others see you as.

 

1. The enemy will always use those closest to you to discourage you out of your dreams.

 

1. Dreams and dreamful fulfilments will always include warfare. From those close to you. In Joseph’s dream, he was elevated from being steward to owner. Your destiny is wrapped up with the dreamer. So if you kill the dreamer, you kill your destiny.

 

1. Stay in your dream. Don’t quit.  God knows what He is doing. Every time you face difficulties in your life, you have to decide whether you want to quit. Critical circumstances do not cancel the dream. God wants to use you so you mature and get ready for the dreams He has in store for you despite the difficulties and setbacks that may occur. Remember, all things work for good for those who love God.

 

 

 

A Spoken Word

Before Leacroft Green, MD, started his sermon he entertained the congregation with two soul stirring and uplifting songs.

Dr. Green told us that, “God has a word for someone today. God brought you here not by tradition; He brought you here in His house to listen to the Word. Our message has to be taught because we the people perish because of lack of information. It’s amazing those who can’t do anything for you will block you from receiving a blessing or the source of help; but you should let those blockers know that you are not coming for them, you are coming for Jesus.”

There are two types of worshipers Dr. Green said:
1. Need Worshipers
Need Worshipers are all about worship; their main reason is to worship. They don’t care about anyone; it’s all about bringing glory to God.

2. Praise Worshipers
The praise worshipers are sensitive. If nobody worships with them, they can easily feel left out. They care how others see them.

Dr. Green admonished us to be “need worshipers” for God is looking for such individuals.

God, Where Are You?

First elder Claudette Henry encouraged the congregation that when we are facing trials and tribulations and we may ask the question, “God Where are You?” or “How could you allow us to suffer through so much pain?”  we are to be encouraged because when we need God the most He is present.

God cares for us, for we are his children. Jesus is in the mist of your troubles. He will pour himself into your empty places. We live in a world full of suffering this world is not our home. In this life we are captured behind enemy lines in a war on earth. However, God is always ready to be our refugee in every storm, and in every battle.

God is always with us and He is always willing to help us. God has everything planed out and for this reason He is able to fix any problem. Jesus was sent to save us and give us eternal life; anyone is able to be saved, just put your faith in God. In closing, Elder Henry re-emphasized that as Christians we must remember that we are bound for a better home where there is no more crying, no more pain, for the former things shall pass away and we will be with our Master throughout eternity. Let the church say Amen!

Champions

The story of Joseph and his brothers as we recalled it, was presented by Pastor Wilkie on May 14. Joseph never spoke ill,  of his brothers, abused  or disrespected them in any way; all he showed was love. However,  Joseph was guilty of being the brother that dreams . As a result, his brothers  hated him because  God had found favor in him. The brothers were afraid  of what  he would become.    

 

When  Joseph was cast into the pit, he thought  it was merely a joke.  Realizing that his brothers were behaving as though nothing wrong and returned to their normal duties, Joseph  realized he was deliberately placed in the pit.   How could they have been so cold?  Pastor Wilike stated that so it is  with  us Christians  who  actually meet and greet each other, when our hearts are filled with such great dislikes.  

 

These guys were no   stranger,  they were  his brothers, his  own flesh and blood. They later confessed  that after throwing Joseph into the pit, they saw  the anguish in his eyes.    Pits are  one of the most uncomfortable places. Sometimes God has to put us at a place where the only place we can look is up. Remember what men meant for evil, God turn it into something good.  God has a track record, in taking pits and  turning them into pit stop. God can take our  mess and turn it into a masterpiece.  God can take whatever others  throw at us and make it work for us.  

 

When Daniel walked into  the lion’s den, that  was a pit stop.   When Peter walked out of prison, that was a pit stop.   When Lazarus walked out the grave, that was a pit stop. When Paul walked outside his circle, that was a pit.  Let us allow God to transform our pits into pit stops.

Let the church say Amen!  

May is Stroke Awareness Month

The National Stroke Awareness Month program places emphasis on making the public aware about acting FAST. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. High blood pressure is the most important risk factor for stroke. Stroke death rates are higher for African-Americans than for Caucasians, even at younger ages.

According to the National Stroke Association, a person experiencing a stroke can be treated if people act FAST – 80 percent of strokes can also be prevented. FAST is an easy way to remember the sudden signs of stroke. When you can spot the signs, you’ll know that you need to call 9-1-1 for help right away. FAST is:

F – Face Drooping – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?

A – Arm Weakness – Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S – Speech Difficulty – Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like “The sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?

T – Time to call 9-1-1 – If someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get the person to the hospital immediately. Check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared.

Author: Queens Faith’s Health Ministries Department

Hope Anyway, Pray Anyhow

Pastor Wilkie’s message from the Lord, focused on the scripture of 1 Samuel 1: 1-18. He introduced his message with a soul-stirring quotation from Henry D. Thoreau, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song in them.” We all lead lives of quiet desperation in a sinful world. 

He expounded on the quiet desperation of the family drama of devout Elkanah and his two wives, Hannah  and Peninnah. Peninnah had Elkanah’s children but not his love, while Hannah had his love but went childless. Peninnah therefore taunted Hannah for what she lacked. This made Hannah desperate. 

 

This particular year, as Hannah sat in the temple , she prayed to God “in her heart” that her lips moved but there was no voice heard. She “poured out her soul ” to God, so intensely, that the priest, Eli, accused her of being drunk. However, when she explained how deeply sorrowful her spirit was, he understood her heartbreaking desperation. God gave Eli a blessing for Hannah. In that moment she received a “peace that surpasses all human understanding” and went her way rejoicing.

In closing, Pastor Wilkie used the imagery of hope in a painting of a woman on top of the world playing a guitar with one string, with musical notes ascending to heaven. He encouraged the congregation to give what we have to God in faith. If all seems lost and we only have “one thing” left, bring it to God in faith, and “ hope anyhow, pray anyway. ” God can make a sweet melody of our lives, if in faith we give Him our all, no matter how little and insignificant we think it is.

As the appeal was made, many souls in quiet desperation with teary-eyes, moved to the altar, filled with hope for a change in their experience as he offered the closing prayer and the benediction. 

Meditation and Gratefulness

We are continuing are series on stress since April is Stress Awareness Month.  Meditation was listed as one of the techniques for managing stress. It is defined as “the act or process of spending time in quiet thought”. HOW and on WHAT should we meditate on? The Bible is God’s instruction manual for life.  It provides the answers and gives us comfort, peace and hope for a brighter tomorrow. Can the Bible really show us how to deal with our stress, regardless of our situation? I say YES.

It starts with having a positive mind set. How do we achieve a positive mind set with so much negativity around us? How do we stay positive when things do not and will not always go our way? You did not get that promotion that you were expecting. You were not able to refinance your home loan. Your son/daughter seems to be going down the wrong path.  You were diagnosed with a terminal illness.  And the list goes on and on.

Let’s see how God shows us how to meditate and reduce stress.  The secret is for us to control our thoughts and to be positive. We accomplish this by being grateful and meditating on what God has given us instead of focusing on the things that we do not have.

Take time out of your busy day (5 -10 minutes), and give thanks to God. Really focus on those things he has blessed you with. You can Meditate on this while taking a shower. You did not get that promotion, Thank you God for given me a job. You did not refinance you home, Thank you God for given me a home. Your children are getting in trouble, Thank you God for allowing me to be there for them. You were diagnosed with a terminal illness, Thank you God for given me a family that will support me and stand with me. You do not have a family, Thank you God for you always being there with me.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8

When negative experiences and situations are coming at you, and when it seems overwhelming, then stop, take a deep breath and simply take time to focus on something lovely and good. Overcoming stress starts with the ability to control our thoughts. We need to focus on the positive, uplifting things of God. If we just open our eyes and our hearts, we will see that that they are everywhere.

Another important part of having positive thoughts and thus less stress is worrying less. We need to put GOD back on the throne and NOT our worries. When things seem too overwhelming; then is time to allow God to take control. Allowing God to go to work will relieve you of the stress of doing that work.  He wants to help us. He will only help us if we ask him and believe in him.

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27

Brought to you by Queens Faith Temple of Seventh-day Adventists Health and Temperance Ministry Department. 

Contact: DrsCharlesQueensFaithSDA@gmail.com