Does BIG NAME Preachers Equal Power and Manifestation

Now let me say this, this is not a blog to trample on the feet of men and Women I admire. NO this is to ask you a few questions.

A friend of mine is having a conference and we were talking about how slow her registration has been. Even her friends who said they would register to support and live in the same city has not done so. When she asked why, One response was: "Well I just found out "Big Name" Preacher is doing something that same weekend so I am going to that instead. I'm praying for your event though. Girl, I know God is going to do a great thing at your event." WOW for real, that is like a slap in the face. Lord Help your people.

It is my belief that she meant every word. But let's look at what this message is really saying. First, we as Christians have become just as star studded as the world. We hear Prophet, Evangelist, Bishop, Apostle or Pastor "big name" is going to be somewhere and we will almost sell our children into slavery to get there. While our Pastor, at the church we attend, cant get us to come to a prayer meeting. We will hop from state to state or city to city to see "Big Name" singer but our church musical struggles to have 100 people in attendance. Now I am not saying this because I have not done it but that will not stop me from speaking the truth and shaming the Devil. I will repent along with you.

Second, her statement shows that she does not uphold her word. She gave her word she would support and then she choose not too. My Bible tells me that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. (Rev 21:8). harsh, maybe but truth. If we give our word that we are going to do something we should keep that word. If we look at how God views His own Word, that would give us an understanding on how we should handle our words. The Bible says:

I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame. (Psalms 138:2)

It seems to me that we need to watch what we say and only say what we truly mean. Now I am not saying a person cant change their mind, however, it struck me that this dear Sister was not going to tell her "friend" that she was not going to come if she had not called her.

I know the hard work behind setting up a conference and trying to follow God's direction for the conference and then you have to worry if any one will come to hear the word of the Lord...Now it's a shame that many times the life changing word that I have received did not come from the "Big Name" preacher,  I ran to see, but the "No Name" preacher in the little church on the left hand side of the street in the neighborhood no one wants to witness in. Not always but it is the case many times. I have been in a service where a "big name" was scheduled but for some reason they did not preach or was delayed at the airport, etc... and the replacement preacher, if you will, preached a Rhema word for me that changed my situation. On the other hand I have listened to a "BIG name" preacher and shouted but left in the same bondage I had come in.The reverse is also the same. But let me make my point, please!!

Which makes me think, are we putting too much in a name?

Lastly, If God has called someone to preach His word and he esteems His word according to Psalms 138:2 as he does...Why would we think that the Word that comes from the "No name" preacher is any less than the Word that comes from the "big name" preacher. Let me ask you something...When was the last time you heard a sermon that you can still talk about today. Not who preached the Word but what the Word actually was. I have heard many sermons from "BIG name" preachers and to save my life I can remember one point. Then there are some that I can remember and probably even re-preach if I had to. I kid  you not, I have more sermons that I remember from My Pastor,  Bishop Rufus K. Turner, than I can remember from Prophetess Bynum, Bishop Jakes, Pastor Jamal Bryant, just to name a few. These are anointed men and women of God, however, they are messengers just like I am a messenger of the Gospel.

Let me say this again, this is not to make you stop going to hear "BIG Name" preachers, but it is to bring your attention to your motives. Remember, this friend said "Girl, I know God is going to do a great thing at your event." My thought is this, what if the deliverance you need is at the small "no name" conference but you are at the "big name" conference with others who are just as star studded as you are. The Spirit moves and stirs you but doesn't change you... However, the other conference, the Spirit of the Lord is there changing lives, breaking bondage and putting the Devil on the run... there is power and manifestation, not emotional feel good stuff. Now this can happen at any conference (the emotional feel good stuff) but I think we need to check our motives. It might be that God wants us to go to the "BIG NAME" conference but did you even inquire of the Lord. I think when God has anointed a person to plan a conference and they are being led to have certain speakers, it because God has something special He wants to do in that assembly of folks... We must be mindful where the Lord wants us to go and what He's trying to do in our lives.

Go where the Lord leads you but do not forsake the "no name" conference because you are thinking "who is that? I have never heard of him/her" or "who else is going to be there?" Remember God can use anyone or anything to bless you. He is the one who knows what you need. Inquire of Him and if He tells you to go... GO... whether "BIG NAME" or "NO NAME!" You may just receive the Word you are looking for because you were obedient.

Now as I close, let me say this too. We preachers whether BIG NAME or NO NAME need to stop prostituting the Word of the Lord. Going to the highest paying church and putting on a show. If you have a Word to deliver, deliver the Word and let God deal with the other. I am one who believes that a preacher SHOULD be paid for bringing a life  changing Word. especially those in full-time ministry, however, stop this madness of I cant preach for less than $$$$.$$ amount of dollars. The Gospel was given freely to you so freely give and let God touch the hearts and minds of the people. I know many churches will not pay or pay very little but the word says my God shall supply all your needs according to HIS riches not the saints. Churches need to pay or allow you to take up a love offering but stop demanding credit numbers, large deposits and large sums of money for something that came to you freely. Now this is not to say that you cant have a set number...but remember this is the Gospel and not some cheap speech! Okay i have said it all.

Be blessed and encouraged
Pastor Linda Hillman

BTW - for those who are wondering, yes I am in full-time ministry and yes i have a set number that I charge to preach however, I also listen for the voice of the Lord and will make the adjustments he tell s me to make. No I don't consider myself a "BIG name" preacher but I do know if I show up to preach. There is a Life changing, bondage breaking, set the Devil on the run - WORD from the Lord. 

 

Paying Your Vows!!!!

So today, I finally got an opportunity to sit and listen to a sermon my brother bought over to the house by Dr. Juanita Bynum. It is entitled "Paying A Vow". Now I am NO Juanita Bynum and I will not re-preach her sermon however, there were somethings that were said in this sermon that made the Baby in me jump. So listen up as I talk about what stood out to me.

So let me give you her sermon text... Well she just really said 1 Samuel never gave chapter and verse but she went on to talk about Hannah and how she wanted a son and prayed to God for a son. We all know the story so I will not take the time to recount it. But the story can be found in 1 Samuel 1.

My Situation:
Now I will talk about the things that stuck out to me and I took note of. My situation does not cause God to move in my behalf. I can pray about my situation all day long but until I am ready to make a vow to God... A real vow, it all just talking. Now we all know how Hannah's nemesis taunted her because she had no kids. Even though it bothered Hannah to tears and she prayed and fasted about that thang. God was not concerned about it. In other words what people say and do does not concern God. He does not have to prove himself to anyone. If he chooses to do it...it's because that was how he intended it to be down from the beginning. Now listen to this it was not until Hannah made a vow to God that God took heed to her reply and the Man Of God spoke into her situation.

The Vow:
Now I am not saying you have to make a vow to god all the time. But most of the time when we make vows it is in the heat of the battle. When things are going very wrong. We are emotional, mentally, spiritually and financially spent. Our friends are few far and in between. We are left alone and we are desperate for change. Sound familiar. We say something to the effect of: God, If you get me out of this situation, I promise I will ____________. (You feel in the blank). the Question that then struck me is Linda what Vows have you made that you have not honored. The tears began to fall because I have made many vows. I hate to admit it but some I have forgotten and God has redeemed me from the situation and a few more since then. So then she made another point that slapped me in the face. We are so busy decreeing and declaring a thang...but God can not trust us to keep his word but we want God to honor everything He has promised us.  So now I ask you this...What if the promises that God has promised you is being held up because you have not paid your vow. yeah I know...Light build huh.

Now What:
Let's go back a bit let me talk about the Decree and Declare scripture. Here is it is the KJV: it says,

"Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways." Job 22:27-28

So basically, we have been decreeing things and declaring things but we have not paid our vows. So when what we decree and declare does not come to past we want to shake our finger at God and ask why? PAY YOUR VOW!! Cant you just hear him saying that in return. So Sister and Brothers... Now what.

Well if you are like me, you repent ask God to truly forgive you for lying to HIM. Ask him to bring back to your remembrance all the things you need to make payment on. He will. He has not forgotten.

Now another point that came and slapped me full in the face is this. Not all vows are honored and accepted. He only accepts those that bring him glory. So when you make a vow to god if he can use that thing you have vowed he then accepts your vow. With that said...When Eli told Hannah she would have a child Hannah was not pregnant yet. However she praised God because she knew that His word was faithful and she had a bargaining chip on the table. She would give God the child he gave to her. God had need of a prophet and she had need of a son. So see Her vow was something that would bring God glory in the end. It was not for that day but ten twenty years from that day. Samuel would be used to anoint King David and Jesus would come through the lineage of that King. So you see, We may be holding up our own blessing because we can not be trusted to keep our vows.

Pay Your Vows... I know I am asking God to help me do just that.I am sure there will be more to come but not until I finish the tithing series, I still owe one more lesson :)!

Be blessed and encouraged!

Just Because You Need To Know!!!

by Diana Bell on Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 12:46pm

“WE ARE IN A GREAT SPIRITUAL WAR BETWEEN GOOD & EVIL”

Our Higher Power has chosen us as his blessed vessels in this royal chess game called life. His love for us all is shown by him believing in us, to believe in him, and guide us through every step of the way. Not only did he die for our sins, but he died knowing that we would “fight the good fight”. People, we are made in His image.

We must show our God that his death was not in vain. The world wants us to believe that life is all about material things and uses the bittersweet weakness of mankind, “our women”, to illuminate media advertising, & poison our subconscious to believe that it’s OK to mentally and physically abuse them, believing its OK to lust for money, cars, clothes, jewelry & music, “when life is truly about LOVE”! See, the unconditional love we have for ourselves, should allow us to love another just the same, “Do to others as you would have others do to you”. Even though there are those who choose to do wrong, we have the free will to right!

We all are connected spiritually in mind, body & soul. Understand, we as a people shouldn’t put the next man/woman down, however, build each other up to having royal mentalities. Some of us who are more fortunate than others, should not be prideful or with greed & selfishness. If you see your brother/sister in need, try being a blessing to them & watch how the law of attraction works as a blessing in your life. Be joyful when sowing a good seed & watch your blessings manifest to another. This is the way of our Lord God!

We have the power to change someone’s whole day with a kind word. Speak great things in your neighbors life by complimenting there day with a good deed. Imagine a society where the negative energy is traded in for peace & the understanding that no one is perfected! “An eye for an eye will only make the world blind”. People, there is a WAR at hand & our very families, are blind to it, due to the fact that, we are so against each other. If we, as a people, are going to choose to be against anything, it should be all odds!!

You're Just Plain Rude

I am so tired of hearing people say, "I just keep it 100" or "I just keep it real" but what they are actually doing is just being plain rude. How do I know, because I have been and many times am guilty of it myself. We think if we just put that label on it that it means we can say what we want and how we want with no consequence but we put it off on the other person. We tell them to stop being so sensitive or even worse they just cant handle to truth. However, does not the Bible say do everything in love. So let me ask you something, if I love you and I cant find a way to tell you the truth in a manner that you can receive, do I really love you?

See, I would like to say people just cant handle the truth but the fact that is screaming in my head is the one that cant adapt is the one that cant handle the truth. Even Jesus did not treat every one the same way. I mean with the Pharisees, Sadducee and the scribes he was one way but the lady caught in adultery he was another way. Yes, Jesus said some raw things but notice his demeanor when saying these things. Look, I will always keep it 100 and be real, however, I don't have to leave dead bodies behind me. I don't have to wound everyone because I want to tell the truth and shame the devil.

There will come times when I will need to spit it out and it may be bitter to the one receiving but I need to do that when the Lord leads me to do such. I mean really, my mom would lay the law down and she spared not my feelings when it was needed to make me better and even though it hurt at the moment, looking back I know she did the right thing. There was even times when my Bishop has said something that made me say..."WHOA Nellie, that was harsh",  But in the end, it was needed and helped me get it right. I was not wounded fatally.

So now let me ask you something, that last email you sent reaming someone for not doing something or complaining about this or that...was it said in love? Was it sad in frustration, in the flesh, out of anger? Be real with yourself now, if you had of counted to ten before pushing send  or walked away from your computer for an hour or two would you have said the same thing in the same way? Okay maybe yours was done in person... so had you thought before opening your mouth to respond would you have said the same thing, had you ask for time to reflect would you have escalated the situation? It sounds trite and silly but just really think about it.

The Bible says that the tongue can set a forest on fire...Have you ever really thought about that. It's time we stop thinking we are the ones being misunderstood. In reality we are the ones causing the confusion. Think before you speak. That way you will keep it 100 and no one will accuse you of being fake and phony. Trust and believe. AND I ask that you keep me on the straight and narrow also.


(c) 2011 Evangelist Linda A. Hillman

Thus saith the Lord or did He?

I just starting "Thus Saith The Lord" by John Bevere. Man oh Man. Let me share with you a part that really made me think about my ministry and those that I have comein contact. Sometimes I think we do things thinking we are hearing from the lord but are we truly hearing from god or are we hearing from self?


Ok here is what I want to share...

Flesh vs Promise

The Bible reveals that prophetic ministry will play a crucial role in preparing the church for the Lord's return. Peter quoted the prophet Joel, who said that sone and daughters, menservants and maidservants will prophesy (Acts 2:16-18 and Joel 2-28-31). The enemy know this as well. He longs to cripple or prevert the prophetic and diminsh its effectiveness. He wants the church to remain fleshy, for then the precious is mised with the vile.

It comes as no surprise that a biblical pattern exist that applies to much of the current prophetic ministry. More often than not the Ishmael precedes the Isaac. Flesh will try to bring forth what only the Spirit can. Allow me to explain. When he was seventy-five, Abraham received a promise from God that he would have a son. After eleven years of waiting he and his wife devised a plan of action. Hagar, his wife's slave girl, was given to Abraham, and a son named Ishmael was born.

God allowed this and must have thouhgt, If they think they can bring forth MY promise through their flesh; I will wait until Abram's reproductive system is dead. Then I'll bring forth MY son of promise. Why? Because He will not allow flesh to glory in His sight! Thirteen more years passed, and both of them were dead reproductively (romans 4:19). Then Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac. Paul wrote:

The son of the slave wife was born in a humnan attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God's Promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God's own fulfillment of his promise. (Galatians 4:23, NLT)

God has promised to restore the prophetic in full power before Jesus returns (Acts 3:20-21). This expectation permeates the church. However, I have witnessed flesh's attempt to bring forth what God has promised.

There is the prophetic ministry of promise born of the will of the Father and there is the prophetic ministry born of the flesh and the will of man. What is the difference? Though both are conceived through geniune desire to fulfill God's plan and promise, the one birthed in flesh must be maintained by flesh while the one birthed by the Spirit will be sustained by the Spirit. Flesh reproduces flesh and therefore speaks directly to the desires of man. Spirit reproduces Spirit and therefore speaks forth the desires of God. The purpose of this book is the deiscern between the voices. For though the words of flesh may be pleasant to our ears, they will lead us into defilement, destruction or possibly death. Words of the Spirt, even if initially unpleasant, lead to the heart of God.

Let's be mindful of the spirit we operate in when we are giving a word to the people of God.

Let me share this with you too...

Pastor Ted Haggard of new Life Ministries in Colorado Springs, Colorado wrote in Ministries Today a few years back.

There are three levels of Prophesy:

1." Thus saith the Lord..." or "I hear the Lord saying..."
This is the highest form of prophesy. This is given when a believer is claiming to speak for God Himself. This type of prophecy is either 100 percent right or 100 percent wrong. Using this type of prophecy means that there can be no other opinions or contrary thought. Because the Lord has spoken, the discussion is over.

2. "It seemed to the Holy Spirit, and to us" (Acts 15:28)
This type of prophecy reflects a general consensus about the will of God. It may or may not be 100 percent accurate, but by saying this a group is saying that to the best of their ability they believe this is the will of God for a particular situation.

3. "Does this mean anything to you?" or What do you think about this?"
When, as we pray for people, a word or thought comes to mind, we can inquire of them what God is doing in their lives. Sometimes the Lord leads us into prophetic intercession. This could also be called a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge (1 Cor 12:8). This type of prophecy makes no claims of authority.

We must read carefully what the word of the Lord says about those with prophectic ministries and how they should operate. In the same way we will not allow people to speak a false or pagan doctrine in our pulpits or churches, or we reject a liberal theology that doesn't line up with the Word of Truth, we must be equally vigilant that prophetic ministries line up with the Word of God. Not saying we reject it all but saying that we try the Spirit by the Spirit and that we test all prophecy as stated in I Thessalonians 5:19-21.

Be blessed and encouraged!
READY...AIM...FIRE!!!
Evangelist Linda Hillman







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