TIDINGS APRIL, District Secretary/Treasurer. From the Heart of the Superintendent

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1 TIDINGS VOLUME APRIL, 2018 From the Heart of the Glenn & Betty Beaver Living Out an Answered Prayer Though I have never been on a film set for the making of a movie, I have heard on television as a film maker calls for, lights, camera, action. This phrase came to mind recently as I read again John 14 and Acts 2. During the discourse of Jesus with His disciples during their fellowship over the Last Supper, He told them, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever; the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16). The answer to Jesus prayer began on the occasion of the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4, And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now we have the privilege of living out a continuation of that an- swered prayer. Acts 2:39 states, The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. It is interesting to note that three phenomena occurred during the beginning of the Father answering Jesus prayer. There was sound, lights and action. The church still needs all three of these manifestations of the Spirit. First of all let s consider the sound. We live in a world of sound bites. Regrettably, this mentality is also prevalent in the church. We must give equal attention to planning for the sound of the Holy Spirit moving in our gatherings as we do to other aspects of the order of the service. Praise and worship should be spontaneous and from the heart. The scripture says that the answer to prayer came suddenly. The sound was unannounced but real just the same. Lord, let the sound of people glorifying your name be heard once again in our gatherings! Secondly, there was lights (fire) which sat upon each of them. John told the disciples that Jesus would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and fire. This fire is associated with the light of the gospel, pointing people to Christ the Savior of our souls. It is also the burning passion which all followers of Christ must have for those who have not heard the gospel message. We must recognize that many of those who have never heard may live as close as a work associate or the person we met in a checkout line. Lord, let the light of your passion for the lost burn like a fire shut up in our bones! Thirdly, there was an action in which all participated. The action which is called for, with the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, is power to be an effective witness LXXII NUMBER 4 Glenn R. Beaver for Christ Acts 1:8. Too often, because of our emphasis on the initial physical evidence, people fail to understand that the primary purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to give us the boldness and wisdom to be effective witnesses for Christ. Jesus did not tell His disciples to wait in Jerusalem so that they could speak in tongues or operate in the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit, rather to be empowered to witness. Furthermore the utterances which were given by these first Pentecostals was simply speaking the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:11). In our sound-bite world it is difficult to get people to be still long enough to hear a well thought out, Spirit inspired message, delivered from the heart of a passionate messenger of the gospel. Lord, give us a heart once again that is passionate for the lost and sensitive to the voice of the Spirit in disciplining those who come to Christ! In Acts 2 everyone heard the sound, saw the light (fire) and took action as they spoke in a language which they had never learned. Father, once again help us to live out the answer to the prayer Jesus prayed! LET THE SPIRIT ABIDE! Billy & Bettye Nickell District Secretary/Treasurer God s Economy for Giving and Receiving (Philippians 4:15-19) One of the core doctrines of Christianity is stewardship, defined by Merriam- Webster as, the conducting, supervising, or managing of something, the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one s care. Contrary to popular opinion among believers, stewardship is about more than money. As members of God s family we ve been charged to carefully and responsibly manage the time, talents, opportunities, relationships and resources which come under our oversight. Based on Scripture, promotion, prosperity, position and much more, are inseparably associated with stewardship, as seen in the parable of the talents, the proverb of the field of the slothful in Proverbs 24 and the teaching of Jesus in Luke 6:38. Recently, I was challenged to reexamine my own life of stewardship while listening to the stirring interview of Dr, David Jeremiah visiting with the founder of Hobby Lobby, David Green. Green s latest book, Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously was the premise of their conversation. In the course of the dialog David Green spoke of the early years of his company when the business was exponentially booming. He confessed in the interview that he believed pride crept into his heart, which may have been the reason for a season of great difficulty they subsequently faced, threatening the future of their business. He further explained how the Lord begin to deal with him about he and his family giving fifty percent of the company s profits to Kingdom work. That in itself is impressive, but what the Green family did next was even more amazing! Wanting to do more than say, this company belongs to the Lord, they decided to take legal steps so that none of the family, including the founder and his wife, could ever do with the company as they solely elect, for the purpose of being in alignment with God s Economy For Giving And Receiving. The book of Philippians is a believed to be Paul s fourth prison letter, written shortly after Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon (probably around A.D. 61) during Paul s first imprisonment in Rome that lasted from A.D Within the fourth chapter of this epistle that emphasizes rejoicing, Paul turns the spotlight to God s Economy For Giving And Receiving, using the church in Philippi as the backdrop. Luke, the writer of Acts, shows Paul s ministry in Philippi began when he and Silas went to the riverbank outside the city on the Sabbath. That day Lydia, a woman from Thyatira who was a merchant of expensive purple cloth, believed Paul s message, resulting in she and her family becoming Christ followers, the first recorded converts of the church. The next converts were the jailer of Philippi and his family after the jailhouse rock that occurred when Paul and Silas broke out in worship around the midnight hour. From that humble beginning a church was birthed and by the time Paul writes this letter he states in the first verse of the first chapter that they have deacons and bishops, which means the church had grown. Paul is no longer in Philippi, as earlier pointed out, he s now under house arrest in Rome, but he writes to express his gratitude to the church he founded for supporting his ministry, and he connects their generosity to three things inseparable things synonymous with God s Economy For Giving And Receiving. The Source is the first of the three key components found in the nineteenth verse of the chapter, But my God shall supply all your need). The foundation from which Christians teach, preach, believe and practice can be stated in four words, God Is My Source! He s the Source of our salvation, the Source of strength, the Source of life, peace, joy, healing, deliverance, provision, and the Source of everything for life and eternity! As Paul delves into the subject of the church s giving to missions and supporting his ministry, he begins by focusing on the Source, But my God shall supply. Years earlier, John introduced his gospel much the same by stating, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, declaring God as the Source. The church at Philippi, known for their generosity and benevolence, understood the economy of God was not based on the Roman Stock Market, the Gross National Product, the rate of inflation, their geographic location, or the price of rice in Philippi. They were fully aware that stewardship must be based on the Source! What a difference there would be in our giving and our living if the church of the twenty-first century would have a fresh revelation of the Source! The late W. A. Criswell, the renown pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas told of a man in his church that had become a multimillionaire. One day while visiting with the pastor he confessed, Now that I m a multimillionaire I can t afford to pay tithe! I didn t have any trouble paying tithe when I made $1, a week. Dr. Criswell listened and then invited the man to join him by kneeling there in his office so he could pray for him, but before kneeling the man asked, What kind of a prayer are you going to pray concerning me? Dr. Criswell said, I m going to pray that God will take you back to making $1,000 a week so you can learn again the importance of giving and receiving based on God being the Source! The Supply is the second of the three ingredients Paul addresses in the verses of this text. The words he uses to describe this divine Supply are, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Much of my life I ve heard well-meaning people say, Now remember, He didn t say He d supply our wants, He said our needs! insinuating the Supply is limited and very frugal, yet Scripture shows otherwise. Everything concerning our Source and His Supply is marked with abundance! The life He gives is everlasting! The joy He supplies is unspeakable and full of glory and His peace transcends human understanding! Strong s Concordance says the Greek word that s translated need means, necessity, want, desire. There s a clear explanation to the stats which show only three-percent of Christians actually give tenpercent or more to the Lord. There s a reason over thirty-percent of professing believers have a big zero by their name in the endof-the-year giving statement. They neither are convinced He s the Source, nor that His Supply is enough to meet their every need! If He has promised to, supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus, it would be time well spent to become apprised as to His riches. Psalm 24:1 says, The earth is the Lord s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. In Haggai 2:8 He tells the prophet, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. And in Psalm 50:9-12 He announces that He does not need bulls or goats from our pens because all the animals in the forest are His, and He owns the cattle of a thousand hills. The church at Philippi, though limited financially, gave with abundance by virtue of being connected with the Source and His Supply. The Sower is the third non-negotiable in God s Economy for Giving and Receiving. It is not by chance that Philippians 4:19 is recorded in Philippians, rather than Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, or one of the other epistles. Most Christians are quick to quote, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, while not having a clue as to why Paul writes those words to the Philippians. The answer to the mystery is found in verse fifteen where the apostle writes, Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. The believers at Philippi were sowers, giving generously to the work of the gospel! God s promises of sufficiency and abundance are inseparably linked to sowers who exercise stewardship by generously sowing financially in faith! That s Who the source has promised to provide abundant supply - those who sow! It s God s economy for giving and receiving.

2 Director of Church Ministries Ministers & Churches Death Benefit Association: A Ministry of Love Within our Fellowship there are many ministries that are worthy of our participation and support. With so many things offered, it is not feasible to be involved in everything offered and promoted by the General Council and the District Council. However, please allow me to highlight a program that should be known more as a ministry of love. The Death Benefit Association (DBA) is a ministry that helps to lift some of the financial burden off of an individual or family who has lost a loved one. Funeral costs are at an all-time high, and even those with life insurance often still face a great financial burden. I have often heard Brother Beaver comment about standing at the graveside with a family as they are saying their final goodbyes and being able to put his arms around them and handing them a check for $1,500. The response is always one of heartfelt appreciation and so often they will say, This is exactly what we needed. In Galatians 6:2, the Apostle Paul offers the following admonishment, Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (NIV). Here s how the program works. When a DBA member or spouse passes away, a check in the amount of $1,500 is sent to the designated beneficiary. Each time a member passes away a notice is sent out to all DBA members and they are asked to pay a $12 assessment. Your involvement in this wonderful ministry goes far beyond just the financial aspect but it also shows our appreciation and honor to those who have gone on before us. You might not feel that this ministry would be personally beneficial to you but think of it as a means of being a blessing to others during one of the most difficult times in their lives. In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul commended the church in Corinth for their generous giving to the Christians in Jerusalem. He then goes on to say, Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God. So two good things will happen the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:11-12 NLT). Would you consider becoming a member of the DBA? In doing so, you will be, in a tangible way, wrapping your arms around individuals during a difficult time when they need it the most. Application will be made available during Spring Tour and will also be made available to fill out online in the next couple of weeks. You can also call the office and we will be more than happy to mail you an application. Newly Credentialed: Kaylene Burns, Licensed New Pastors: Jayton, First Assembly of God Troy Riggs McCamey, First Assembly of God David Snodgrass Available for Ministry Gene Benningfield Larry Boyd Kelly Breckenridge Margie Gonzales Jack Hargrave Byron Jones Tracy McWilliams J.C. Owen Chris Pritchard Text Joe Robinson Forest Srader Marcus Tanner Neil Unwin Bible Institute April 21, 2018 Certified: Acts Licensed: Old Testament Survey Ordination: Pentateuch May 19, 2018 Certified: Prison Epistles Licensed: Roman Ordained: Poetic Books Tracy & Cara Lynn McWilliams West Texas AG District Officiary GLENN R. BEAVER grbeaver@sbcglobal.net NELSON GONZALEZ Assistant pastornelson@plainviewfirst.org BILLY D. NICKELL Sec/Treasurer fantastic1316@gmail.com SECTIONAL PRESBYTERS Kevin Anderson, Danny Williams Robert Burns, Vance Mitchell Mike Hanks, Eddie Lee HONORARY PRESBYTER Tom Lakey TIDINGS EDITOR TRACY MCWILLIAMS tracy.mcwilliams@sbcglobal.net th Street, P.O. Box Lubbock, TX, 79464, Phone: Please notify editor of any change of address. Third class postage paid at Lubbock, TX. Published monthly. Web site: wtaog.org 2018 Spring Tour SCHEDULE Glenn R. Beaver, Speaker West Texas District North Plains Section Monday, April 9 10:00 a.m. Amarillo, Southlawn Assembly of God West Plains Section Tuesday, April 10 10:00 a.m. Lubbock, Christian Life Assembly of God Pecos Section Thursday, April 12 10:00 a.m. Midland, First Assembly of God El Paso Section Friday, April 13 10:00 a.m. El Paso, Sun City Christian Center East Plains Section Monday, April 16 10:00 a.m. Crosbyton, First Assembly of God South Plains Section Tuesday, April 17 10:00 a.m. Brownfield, Christian Life at Brownfield

3 CE, Next Youth Generation & Children s Ministries wtxnet.com Becky & Joe Nenstiel Women s Director We are EXCITED to announce camp registration is OFFICIALLY open! This year s camp theme is ALIVE (Ephesians 2:5). Nick & Alicia Rogers Nash & Anna We have four phenomenal speakers who will bring the message of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit! We were able to mail every church in our district a camp packet. The packet contains forms and promotional materials. Our website, wtxnext.com, contains all printable forms, promotional materials and downloadable graphics as well. Speaking of camp, Roaring Springs Camp & Retreat Center is booming with activity. Rick, Terri and Zach have hosted over 300 people in Thank you, Lord! Continue to pray for our ability to steward the camp into a year-round campground. Be a part of the excitement! Join us for CAMP WORK DAYS (April and May 28 - June 1) or contact Rick and Terri. They can coordinate another time for you/your church group to come out and make a difference. Praise God! Pastors, thank you for casting a vision to your church of the importance of Speed the Light in Because of your faithfulness, we have incredible news! Over the last 8 weeks, we were able to purchase vehicles for the following missionaries/ministries: 1. B & M Family 2. R & L Family 3. Life Challenge of Amarillo 2 1 3

4 Billy & Robin Snider Men s Director WEST TEXAS DISTRICT COUNCIL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD th Street P.O. Box Lubbock, TX NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID LUBBOCK, TX PERMIT NO. 138 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Around West Texas We express our condolences to the family of Connie Rice. Connie passed from this life and into her eternal reward on March 4. She is the wife of the late Renay Rice. Together they served as pastors in Turkey, Tulia, Abernathy, Anton and Dickens. Please be in prayer for the family during this time of grief. ESL Training videos for your church! Evangelize the international community in your town! Four training videos on different topics by Steve & Sheri Woodward. Visit culturecross.org and click the training link to access your free videos. Great to view individually or as a group. Prayer Requests: Stacy Akins, continued strength after cancer treatments and surgery; Carol Allen, undergoing treatments for cancer; Darla Anderson, recovery from cancer treatments, return of strength; Mary Beggs, Sarcoidosis; Ernie Brown, stroke; Mother of Ron Buxton, pastor Van Horn Community Church, recovery from stent implanted in the heart that has resulted in her having speech issues; Regina Gonzalez, Ankylosing Spondylitis; Lynn Hancock, complete healing from cancer; Cliff & Karen Houghton, autoimmune disease and lymphedema; Judy Redger, leg pain; Cruz Rodriguez, son of Manuel & Rosa Rodriquez, liver disease; Rey Rodriquez, complications from Muscular Dystrophy; Nova Lena Reeves, healing of leukemia; Kannen Richardson, son of Donnye & Roxanne Richardson, Multiple Sclerosis; Thelma Scoggins, mother of Brent Scoggins and Roxanne Richardson, cancer; Perry & Mattie Shuffield, healing; and Mylinda Wood, diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she is the sister of Tracy McWilliams, District Director of Church Ministries.

5 Celebration 2018 Combined 88th District Council & Camp Meeting June 4-7 Glenn R. Beaver West Texas Terry Raburn Peninsula Florida Hosted by Harvest Christian Center 1345 New Harvest Place El Paso, Texas