nycu newsletter issue 19

8/10/2019 NYCU Newsletter Issue 19

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nycu-newsletter-issue-19 1/10

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Restoring a Vision Evangelizing Nations

NEWS YOU CAN USEJanuary 17, 2015

Happy New Year friends!I don't know about you, but I'm excited about what God has done, isdoing, and will do in 2015! I'm expecting a mighty harvest in Jesus'

name! I'm standing on Psalms 65:5,11. It says, "You faithfullyANSWER our prayers with AWESOME deeds. You crown the yearwith a bountiful HARVEST." Other translations say, "You crown theyear with Your GOODNESS." If by chance like me, you in 2014 sowed

many tears, went through deep waters and rivers of difficulty, stayedfaithful to the Lord, endured persecution, experienced restoration in

some areas, and last, but certainly not least, grew spiritually; I'mthanking God in advance that you and I not only will reap in joy, but

also experience a bountiful HARVEST. Oh yes, this harvest is full ofLASTING fruit (John 15:16) and is drenched in joy, peace, love, and

faith! Friend, what I'm about to say is not JUST to your pastor, mentor,best friend at church, or anyone else. It's to YOU! God has not

appointed YOU to mediocrity, but to a life of profound HARVEST. He has ordained YOUR life to bear MUCH fruit (John 15:8, Galatians

5:22-23)! His plan for you is rooted in His FAITHFULNESS, guaranteedby His ETERNAL WORD, and undergirded by all the riches of HIS

GLORY (Philippians 4:19). I'm believing and expecting God to "not JUSTmeet our expectations, but to explode our expectations with

IMMEASURABLY MORE (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)!" Hallelujah! I believethat what HE has for US and will do THROUGH each and everyone of us

will surpass our wildest dreams and I am excited about it!

*Praise break

A Message From Raven

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Issue #19

Love. If you're like me, you love LOVE, Amen! But here's the

question that Jesus has laid on my heart to ask you, "Are youloving like Him?" Listen friend, we can preach every day, post

scriptures on Facebook, go to church, speak in tongues, beanointed, etc., and many would think that we are not only saved,but really growing spiritually and being used of God. But if we are

walking in bitterness, unforgiveness, and/or offense we are notonly stunting our spiritual growth, but also hindering what God

wants to do in, for, and through us in this world.1 Corinthians 13:1-3 shows us the importance of love.

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels,but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a

clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if Iunderstood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all

knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could movemountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I

gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed mybody, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I

would have gained nothing."

The key indicator of spiritual growth in the life of a bloodbought believer is not speaking in tongues, being gifted, gettingdeep revelations from the Word, faith, or giving (although all of these things are WONDERFUL and each child of God should

desire and walk in these things), it is, however, his or her lovewalk. As the body of Christ we have to yield our hearts

completely to Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to produce the kindof fruit only He can produce in our lives.

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

Not just for our sakes, but for the sake of this world. You see,"the preaching that this world needs are the sermons in

shoes who are walking WITH and LIKE JESUS." As peoplewho have been saved, we are Jesus' hands and feet in this

world. We all have been given the great commission to goout there, share the Gospel and make disciples, but I feel that that the greatest hindrance to our "talk" is indeed our

The Importance ofWalking in Love

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Issue #19

"walk." We say we are His disciples and thatwe love Him, but do we really (John 14:21,23& Matthew 22:36-40)? Can this world lookat us and tell by the fruit of the Holy Spiriton our lives that we are His disciples or dothey see someone who yes, maybe aChristian, but is mean, hateful, bitter, andunforgiving? John 13:34-35 NLT says,

"....Love each other. Just as I have lovedyou, you should love each other. Your love

for one another will prove to the world thatyou are my disciples."

It's not by how many scriptures you know;satan knows them too (Matthew 4:1-11). It'snot by how many times a week you go tochurch (even though we should go to church<Hebrews 10:25>), but, It's by your love forpeople that this world will know that you

The Key indicator of Spiritual Growth in the life ofa blood bought believer is his/her love walk.

are truly God's disciples! 1 John 4:7-8 says,"Dear friends, let us continue to love oneanother, for love COMES from GOD.Anyone who loves is a child of God andknows God. But anyone who does not lovedoes not know God, for God is love." LOVE is important in the life of a bloodbought believer! It shows that we are childrenof God and that we KNOW GOD! "WellRaven, I love people, I just don't really like orfool with some......"

Let's stop here: Friend, we are called tolove, live, walk, and talk like Christ in thisworld. We are called to live by what the

Word says. Condoning anything that goesagainst God and His Word is NOT lovingsomeone or showing love to that person.The Bible tells us to preach the Word and

to be prepared whether the time isfavorable or not to correct, rebuke, and

encourage with good teaching (2 Timothy

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Issue #19

3:16-17, 4:2 NLT). LOVING someone does not mean we sitaround, quiet when we see that they are either doing

something wrong or heading in the wrong directionbecause we are afraid that they may either dislike us oraccuse us of judging them. Friend, as God leads you Hewill not only open the door for you to minister (correct,rebuke, encourage) someone, but He will also give you

the words to say. No, they may not receive what you haveto say or change the next day because of it (only God cantruly change someone), but your words will be a seed andthen God will use someone else to come along and water

it and then one day God will cause the seed to grow asthe person chooses to surrender and draw close to Him.

"After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are onlyGod’s servants through whom you believed the Good

News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. Iplanted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it,but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who

does the planting, or who does the watering. What’simportant is that God makes the seed grow. The one who

plants and the one who waters work together with thesame purpose. And both will be rewarded for their ownhard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you areGod’s field. You are God’s building." 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

NLT

So you may say that you love everyone, but don't reallylike or fool with some. Listen, at times I believe that in thebody of Christ we can be very "clicky." If someone is not in"our circle," we don't bother to be kind, let alone show love tothem. If someone did something to us 8 years ago, we SAYthat we forgave that person, but we not only drop them, butalso refuse to be kind or show love to them. This attitude doesnot please God. It's true, everyone is not going to be or

stay the best of friends. Times change, people change,and things change. It's also true that God at times willlead you to separate yourself from someone, but onething that should always be constant in our lives if we areChristians is love. So what are the characteristics of loveand how can we show it?

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastfulor proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It

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Growth

stops

wherepride starts.

“If I am your

SOURCE, why am I

the LAST ONE you

come to? I long tobe gracious to you.

Look to and

depend on Me. I

have EVERYTHING

you need.” -God



Issue #19

does not rejoice about injustice butrejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love

never gives up, never loses faith, isalways hopeful, and endures through

every circumstance." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Whew! There it is. Love is patient and kind,not just to your circle, but also to thoseoutside your circle. Matthew 5:46-47 NLTsays, "If you love only those who love you,what reward is there for that? Evencorrupt tax collectors do that much. "Ifyou are kind only to your friends, how are

you different from anyone else? Evenpagans do that." If we're only loving or beingkind to our friends, how are we different fromthis world and/or the people who don't knowJesus? Love is not jealous or boastful, proudor rude, not just in "Christian settings," buteverywhere we go. Love does not demand it'sown way, is not irritable, and keeps NORECORD OF BEING WRONGED. Friend, ifyou are still telling everyone and theirmomma what that person did to you in

great detail, you aren't walking in orshowing love. Love does not rejoice aboutinjustice, but rejoices when the truth wins out.It never gives up or loses faith, it is alwayshopeful and endures through every

circumstance. Satan can't love or showlove for love is not in him. This agape lovecan only be displayed through and livedby true children of God. You can't fake thistype of love for long, whatever is in you, willeventually come out. "Well Raven, I lovepeople, but some people are just reallymean and nasty." Friend, I understand.Growing up in Martinez, Georgia, I'm notashamed to say that I was very sheltered andnaive. lol! I was raised in a saved household,got saved at 13, and thought that as long as Iwas nice to people, they would be nice to me.But when I went off to college, I encounteredmany mean folks. I had two choices, I couldbe like them and be bitter, nasty, rude,hateful, and mean or I could be like my Father, and forgive, let it go, and CHOOSE towalk in LOVE. It wasn't easy, matter of factthere are still people who are not very nice tome, but what's important is that I did andcontinue to do what God called me to do andthat is to show love. I've learned to notpretend to love others or just say that I do,but to really love them (Romans 12:9-10 NLT)by walking, talking, living, and yes, loving them like Christ loves them. Matthew 5:44 has become one of my many mantras:

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SIMPLE distractions can prevent you from hearing Godspeak. Distractions like your TV playing in the background,

your computer opened to 5 different social media sites, andyour phone “permanently” attached to your hand.

Sometimes we have to shut it all off, FOCUS, and get in theWord so that we can hear Him clearly. So if you are feeling

distracted, impatient, bitter, irritable, in need ofencouragement, or just need to hear His voice... grab your

Bible and get alone with God! He has a word for YOU!

Simple Distractions…….



Issue #19

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them thathate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

Loving our enemies, blessing them that curse us, doing good to them that hate us and praying forthem which despitefully use and persecute us can be very hard. But Jesus did it and because thesame Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, lives in us (Romans 8:11), we can too! Yes, it's hard,but it's worth it! It's worth growing spiritually and being free from the bondage of unforgiveness,bitterness, and offense. It's worth showing love, planting or watering a seed in this world so thatthey may one day either come to know Christ or grow in their personal walk with Jesus. It's worthbeing "perfect" as Matthew 5:48 AMP says, "You, therefore, must be perfect [growing intocomplete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height ofvirtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect." It's all worth it. I don't know about you,but I don't want anything or anyone (including myself) to get in the way of what God wants to do in,for, and through me. I truly want everyone to get saved if they're not, fall in love with Jesus,and truly live for and like Him, but I've learned that the best way I can share the Gospel is bywalking in LOVE. Without it, I gain nothing and am nothing.

So friend, today I challenge you to first pray and ask God to show you, you. Ask Him to show youanyone that you have not been kind to or showed love to. Ask Him to show you anyone who youhave not forgiven. When He does, repent and then sincerely pray for that person and pray thatGod not only changes you from the inside out, but also perfects you in His love. Ask Him to helpyou love like He loves, forgive like He forgives, and to see that person the way that He sees them.And then, if God leads you to, SHOW LOVE and be kind to that person....reach out. It maybe in the form of an encouraging word, Facebook message, text message, card, small gift,or a good ole fashion phone call. Don't be afraid to do this, God is on your side and is proudof you for CHOOSING to walk in love!



Issue #19

Hey sister or should I say Kingdom woman! God has impressed upon my heart to start anotherseries and this one is dedicated to you! Each month, I will share one thing to encourage/inspireyou to be all that God has called you to be. As God leads, I will also share with you things that

YOU as a Kingdom woman should either start doing or continue to do. So let's get to it, shall we?

As a Kingdom Woman, your personal time with Jesus must be a priority in your life! Intimacy withHIM is vital! For it is intimacy that releases power, faith, strength, joy, peace, wisdom,

discernment, identity, and destiny. And girlfriend, you need all of this to do what God has calledyou to do, Amen! Listen, as Kingdom women we all have a lot on our plates. Some of us are in

school others are working full time jobs. Some are teachers others are nurses. Some stay at homeand raise Godly children, others work full time in the ministry. Some are newlyweds/married othersare patiently waiting for their man of God to find them. I'm sure you can add to this list, but do me afavor and think about your daily schedule. When you first wake up in the morning what do youdo? Do you go straight to the kitchen, to the gym, or do you often aim to complete whatever it is

that is first on your schedule for work/school? Well, today I want to encourage you to......



Issue #19

God wants you to know Him intimately. He wants to share some things with you and teach you His

Word. But in order for us to grow spiritually, learn, and be the powerful women of God thatwe are called to be we have to set our alarms, tell our flesh to hush, and make a decision to

spend time in prayer, in worship, and in the Word. Although our schedule may be fulldepending on our individual obligations, often times it is simple distractions that result in a

lack of intimacy with our King. SIMPLE distractions can even prevent you from hearing Godspeak. Distractions like your TV playing in the background, your computer opened to 5

different social media sites, and your phone “permanently” attached to your hand.Sometimes we have to shut it all off, FOCUS, and get in the Word so that we can hear Him

clearly. Sister, Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, that text, those emails, that paper work, etc., can wait.So today, let's make a commitment that we will wake up 30 minutes to our hour earlier than weusually do and spend some time with Jesus. Pray, turn on some praise and worship music and

dance before Him, get in the Word.....I promise your day will go a whole lot better when you start itoff with Jesus.

Dear Kingdom Woman,Good MORNING! Get up, grab your Bible and get alone with

God! He has a word for YOU!



Issue #19



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Thanking God in advance for a week ofsweet peace, great joy, uncontainable

blessing, supernatural strength,unprecedented favor, unexpected

opportunities, and unimaginablebreakthroughs...... for YOU and I! AMEN!

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nycu newsletter issue 19

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