First Assembly of God Newsletter                                                                                 July/August 2011

Like hundreds of bubbling underground springs, revivals are waiting to burst forth in individuals, churches, and communities across this nation. They can either become fountains of life or dry up before they even reach the surface. What will make the difference?

Revival can be expected when Christians have the spirit of prayer for a revival, that is when they pray, their hearts are set on nothing less than a genuine outpouring of God’s convicting Spirit on saint and sinner alike. Prayer is the state of the heart. A Christian who has this spirit of prayer feels concern for the lost. They are always on our mind. This is prayer “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). His prayers seem to flow from his heart like water: “O Lord, revive Your work” (Habakkuk 3:2).

However, a revival consists of two parts: that which concerns the saint and that which concerns the unsaved. Because I am speaking primarily to Christians, let me share a scripture with you found in Hosea 10:12: “Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness upon you.” Fallow ground is ground that has once been tilled but now lies dormant. It needs to be broken up and mellowed before it is ready to be planted.

If you want to break up the fallow ground of your heart, you must begin by looking at yourself. Examine and note the state of your mind. See where you are. Many people never do this. They pay no attention to their own hearts, and never know whether they are doing well in their faith or not. They don’t know if they are making progress, stagnant, or regressing.

Now is the time to divert your attention from other things and look into this. Thoroughly examine the state of your heart, and check to see if you are walking with God every day. Self-examination is looking at your life. It is considering your actions since receiving Christ as your Savior, and learning the true character of your life. If sins have been committed, confess them and repent of them one by one.

Those of us who profess to be Christians should never be so self-satisfied that we expect to start a revival by suddenly jumping out of our slumbering state and by starting to witness to the lost. We must break up our own fallow ground first.

You may get excited without breaking up your fallow ground, but it won’t last for long. Your zeal will not be effective in witnessing to the lost. Unless you are right with God, and filled with His Spirit, your work will be mechanical and fruitless.

Let’s begin to break up the fallow ground in our hearts, and echo the words of the Psalmist – “Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?”

God bless you.

—Pastor Jeff

In his letter to the Board, Mr. Kiser stated “I have reviewed the statement of assets, liabilities, and net assets-cash basis of the First Assembly of God as of December 31, 2010 and the related statement of support, revenue and expenses-cash basis for the year then ended. My responsibility is to conduct the review in accordance with Statements for Accounting and Review Services issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.” That statement is a mouthful that basically means he checked to make sure that we are following good accounting principles in managing the church finances.

Mr. Kiser summarized his report by stating “Based on my review, I am not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying financial statements in order for them to be in conformity with the cash basis of accounting.” We were pleased, but not surprised, to receive a clean bill of health on our financial records. It is a positive testimony to the diligence of our church Treasurer and the monthly reviews conducted by the Administrative Board.

Should you desire to read Mr. Kiser’s full report, or have a question about the management of our church finances, please feel free to contact me. I will be glad to share anything in our financial records except for items that are of a confidential nature.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all of you who faithfully support First Assembly in so many ways. If it wasn’t for your faithfulness we could not do all of the things God has called us to do here in our church.

—Steve Parsons