I'm Overwhelmed by a Burden

By a burden for my region....my city....my street.

When I moved here 7 months ago I didn't realize the burden would intensify to the degree that it did.

Each time that I read a report from the newspaper or hear of another soul dying that we didn't reach the burden grows evermore. What more can I do personally, Lord to win my street, city & region to the Truths of your Word?

It was at the end of a long Saturday of outreach several months ago that I received a call from a man. He asked that we visit him as he had just received one of our doorhangers. As I hung the phone up God spoke to me and told me that this man had been contemplating suicide. We went to visit this man immediately. Not knowing exactly what we were walking into, I prayed all the way there. He met us on his front steps.

As we approached him tears began to flow down his cheeks from his wayward eyes. He invited us to come in. We prayed with him as I could feel the heaviness of the spirit of suicide lingering in the home. It was so real. Almost as if you could touch it with your hands. It seemed to wrap itself around you and engulf your emotions. When prayer was made and the Name of Jesus invoked I could feel the heaviness lift. As real as the spirit of suicide is, the Name of Jesus is even more real and even more powerful!

I asked him to go to a local restaurant to have a meal. As I sat down he asked me a question. "Pastor, has God showed you anything about me?" I said, Yes, you've been dealing with thoughts of suicide and God has a plan for your life.

The astounding look that appeared on his face was something that you rarely see on someone. Looking deep into his eyes I could see the despair, hunger & desparate cries of long sleepless nights and thoughts of lunging into eternity by his own hands. Confusion, yet relief, swept over him. Confusion from the enemy of his soul, yet relieved that he didn't have to remain confounded.

That was my 1st big experience with the spirit of suicide in this area. I believe it was that day that God pulled the veil on a dominant stronghold in our region to this young Apostolic Pastor. Since that day I've received reports of suicide attempt after suicide attempt. Many succesful in their pursuit of a duped exit from this natural realm. Some unsuccessful, to return only to the vices that catapulted them into their plight.

If you are suffering from this mental anguish I want to open myself up to you and our Church. There's only one true deliverance from the position that you find yourself in. Suicide is a spirit from the pits of hell and can only be broken and set free by the power of God.

As we draw closer and closer to the return of our Lord this spirit of deception, known as suicide, will intensify as satan continues his onslaught of the mortal as a way to gain the captive's eternal immortality. Below will have a list of ways that you can get in touch with me. Please DO NOT hesitate contacting me if you need help on your Spiritual journey.

Galatians 6:7

King James Version (KJV)

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Pastor Brian D. Young
TurningPoint Apostolic Church
1106 Forest Ave.
Maysville, KY 41056
606-584-7010 call OR text
pastor@maysville.cc
www.maysville.cc

The Things That I've Learned in Two Years

The title alone is surreal. Has it really been 2 years? March 4, 2014 will be the date.

God impressed me to write this blog the other day and I have been making notes since then. I do want to iterate that this is not an all inclusive list and should not be the expectation of your Church Planting, or similar endeavor.

There's just some things that are non-negotiable when it comes to this walking with God stuff. One is to never question God's voice. If it's God that you're hearing don't worry about the rest of it. He will make it happen. Your questioning doesn't validate God nor His omnipotence. Period.

I'm a quote fanatic and my favorite one at the moment is one that I seen on social media not long ago. "No one is greater than us". I can't do this Church thing as a one man show. I can't do everything that needs to be done in the Church, but the Church itself can. I've learned to empower people, it takes time but it allows you more time in the long term. Here's the kicker...people want to be used, but this is key-SET THE EXPECTATION. Never assume someone knows what you expect of them.

There's some people that want what I call in-directive positions. Simply a title but no true responsibility. They love to flaunt a title without pulling their weight in the overall direction of the Church. I've learned to use them in their strengths, try to develop them through their weakness and let God do the rest. God never called me to remold people, but he called me to lead them. It's not a bad thing if someone doesn't work in a position. That doesn't make them a bad person, it just simply means that their strength lies somewhere else.

Everyone that seems to have the gift of walking on water really don't. The super spiritual, holier than thou folks. You know...the ones that brags about how much they pray or how much that God uses them. These folks have to be handled carefully or they can cause much harm with little effort through this type of mentality, it's easy for others to latch a hold on it. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their super spirituality. What you do doesn't have to be sounded with a trumpet, God has ways of taking care of that.

Most folks that I've gotten to know in this Church plant truly want to be humble. Their desire is to like Christ, "Christ-Like", Christian. But one of the biggest things that I've learned in 2 years is being humble enough to apologize for things that you were unaware that you done, or said. I've found it much easier to apologize for something that you didn't do or are totally unaware of to keep ill feelings from being harbored. I know some in our movement have the mentality that this displays weakness in your position. I beg to differ, and God keeps record. Isn't it worth it to reconcile someone through a situation to see them saved versus the alternative?

From day 1 in our city we've been taunted, talked about and even told that people can't be saved in our Church. I'm so glad that God says differently. When Jesus said in Luke 6:28 to bless them that curse you, He said what He meant and meant what He said. It really works! My call isn't dependent upon what others opinions are...and for that I'm thankful!! It's one of the greatest feelings in the world to know that you are doing EXACTLY what God wants you to be doing. Are you doing what He wants you to do?

As a Church planter you learn to do without big buildings, a full suite of music...as a matter of fact you learn to have Church with NO music! You learn to have Church without new sound systems, a full Church staff, having the time to put into the Church that you feel like you need to. Here's the beauty-YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THIS TO HAVE CHURCH! The manifestation of the Holy Ghost has nothing to do with your sound system or whether or not your in a cathedral. The Spirit is made manifest when there's a hunger for the supernatural in you and your people. God wants it, we must also.

You can't afford, Spiritually, to have a bad Church service. Every service is like being on the front line of a heated battle. People are dying. People are making erroneous decisions. We DO NOT have time for ceremonial services with religious rhetoric. We are in a town that is heavily involved with traditional denominationalism. Very ceremonial. Fabricated by man. However, we MUST hear from the Almighty. We must hear a prophetic utterance from Heaven. Someone's eternal fate is in my hands when they're at my Church. We must treat it like that...every single service.

This is just a few things that I've learned in 2 years of planting a Church. Hope it helps, inspires and encourages someone. If you're a Church planter keep your head up and keep doing what God has placed upon you.

If you want to be a part of more than just another religion, you need to come to TurningPoint! Our anniversary services are less than 2 weeks away with some of the most dynamic preachers in Pentecost! Feb 28th - March 2nd.

In His Service,



Pastor Brian D. Young
TurningPoint Apostolic Church
606-584-7010
pastor@maysville.cc
www.maysville.cc