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NEWSLETTERS
All GWEA Monthly Messages for 2016
 
REVEREND GORDON WILLIAMS

 

I was asked a few years ago by some friends, “What is the most expensive Christmas Gift that you've ever received?” I thought for a few moments, and surprising to myself, I answered, “Just under $20 billion!”

They laughed at me and said, “You’ve got to be kidding!” I answered, “No, to be accurate, it was exactly: $19,470,400,000.00.” “Who in the world would give you something that expensive?” I explained that this is the amount Jesus paid for my sin in His “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” (Matt. 18:23–35)...


New Covenant replaces the Seven Festivals/Feasts of the Old Testament - November 2016 

The “New Covenant” began the day when Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, threw the 30 pieces of silver into the temple (Matt. 27:3-10). The old covenant prophecy was fulfilled, and the family bond between Judah and Israel were broken - they were no longer God's people.

"Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day,... So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the LORD. Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel. (Zech. 11:10–14)

The New Covenant "made the first one obsolete and outdated (Heb. 8:13)" and superseded the old. It made away with the "seven Old Testament Festivals/Feasts" outlined in Leviticus chapter twenty-three. These Festivals represented Israel's "works-righteousness", and were in preparation for the coming of their Saviour, Jesus Christ...


Thanksgiving is a time for thanking God - October 2016

When I was the Pastor of the "First Presbyterian Church" in New Jersey, I visited a man from our church in a hospital in Freehold. There was a man who shared the room with him, who must have watched and listened to me while I prayed. This man took the liberty to ask me, “Are you a Christian?” For the moment I hesitated, as an underlying truth instantly came to mind - not all Pastors are necessarily born again Christians. 

Just because church ministers (Pastors, Reverends and Priests) become ordained, that doesn't make them exempt from receiving Jesus' full Salvation package"All have sinned and fallen short of glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Without God's grace, their ministries are like "clanging cymbals that lack in God's (agape) love" (1 Cor. 13:1; 13:4-7). Nevertheless, I assured him that I was an "authentic Christian" (Mk. 16:17), who was able and willing to pray for his needs.  

As we talked, I learned about his ailment, which led me to pray for his healing. Later I went to visit him in his home, where I discovered he had a cancerous tumor. Now I knew why his belly was so huge - he looked like a woman who was 9 months pregnant. I ministered to him by his bed side, and watched as he struggled to raise his head up off the pillow...


Which Day is the Sabbath Day of Rest? - September 2016

Recently I have received a lot of questions regarding which day is the “Sabbath Day of Rest." In the Old Testament's covenant, God designated Saturday as the Sabbath Day of Rest (Ex. 20:8–11). A recent Pentecostal publication quoted several verses from the Old Testament regarding the Sabbath Day, encouraging people to observe and follow it.

However in the New Testament, the Sabbath Day of Rest had changed. Historically the first major change occurred in 70 AD where Christians were removed from their synagogues when refusing to defend Jerusalem and the Temple. The Sabbath Day of Rest had technically moved from Saturday to Sunday to symbolize Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead.

Jesus Christ is our new high priest, Melchizedek (from the tribe of Judah), and He has changed the day of Sabbath. (Heb. 5:1–5). Apostle Paul wrote, “Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day, “Today,“ saying through David so long afterwards in the words already quoted, ‘Today, when you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.” For, if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak of another day. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his labor as God did from His” (Heb. 4:6–10)...


Some Straight Talk about Ghosts, Evil Spirits and Demons - August 2016

The recent movie "Ghostbusters" has raised a lot of questions from people who have seen it. "Are ghosts spirits of dead people who have come back to haunt relatives or torment people presently living their past homes?
The answer is no one who dies can come back from the dead in the spirit. When people die they either go to "Paradise" which is a temporary Heaven for the saved (Lk. 23:43) or to "Hades" (Lk. 16) a temporary hell. They are kept there until Jesus comes back to raise everyone from the dead. Those who are saved go to the "New Jerusalem" (Rev. 21:2) in "Heaven" and the unsaved go to the "Lake of Fire" (Rev. 20:10) in "Hell". 

In the movie, ghosts/demons/evil spirits were pretending to be dead friends, family members or acquaintances. These beings are called "familiar spirits" (mentioned sixteen times in the King James Bible) pretend to be dead people that came back to deceive and mislead everyone...

Edification means to be Healed - July 2016

We recently had our annual Carrick Camp Meeting! It is always exciting to see what Jesus is going to do as people come to receive ministry. There was a man from Listowel, ON, who brought a friend to meet with me in a Tim Horton’s Restaurant in Harriston, ON several months ago. This lady had been encouraged by her two friends to come and meet me to receive prayer for healing.

She appeared anorexic as we prayed together for healing. She had a lot of questions, for some of which, she did not like my answers. I explained that if she wanted to receive healing, it was necessary to invite Jesus Christ to be her Saviour and Lord and to ask for forgiveness for any sin in her life. And it would also be necessary for her to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues (Mk. 16:17).

Like a lot of people, she had heard some negative things about the Holy Spirit and about speaking in tongues. I explained, “Most people, including Pastors, don't know the Holy Spirit, and especially about the spiritual gift of speaking in a tongues language.

Most have never been involved in a church that follows Paul’s advice as quoted from the bible, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies him or herself” (1 Cor. 14:4). Most people think that the word “edification” means that you will just feel nice. Not true! The Greek translation “to edify” means that when Christians pray with their Holy Spirit-given tongues-languages, they or other people can receive healing...


The Holy Spirit Guides and gives Churchs Vision - June 2016

God’s promises each believer with a new heart. "I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ez. 36:26). This first happened on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came as promised, baptizing the believers into Christ and giving them power to be His witnesses. The Day of Pentecost also witnessed signs which followed the coming of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus had predicted those who believed spoke with new tongues (Acts 2:4; Mk 16:17), the supernatural ability to speak in a language unknown to them. When a church leadership decides the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not for today", the very heart of their church is cut out, and their fellowship is left with hopelessness. 

Every time church leaders, pastors and theologians tell people it is not necessary to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, they take on the attributes of “religious people”.  A religious person is someone who lacks the assurance of their Salvation and the hope of Jesus’ guidance every day (John 3:3-5). Without the power of the Holy Spirit there cannot be any “signs, wonders and miracles". "'Unless you people see signs and wonders,' Jesus told him, 'you will never believe.'" (John 4:48) 

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a key part of the Salvation package and essential to every believer receiving thereof (Acts 1:4). Without the power of the Holy Spirit there can be none of the “Gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 12:6–8; 1 Cor. 12:8–10) where Jesus’ people can have their needs met. Without the power of the Holy Spirit there can be no “Fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22–24). Without the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit", we can only achieve these traits on the surface level. The human spirit produces the works of the flesh Paul describes in Galatians 5:19:21...


The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is for All Christians - May 2016

Pentecost Sunday is on May 15th and Jesus used this day as a constant reminder about receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. “Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (Jn. 7:39). The Baptism of the Holy Spirit was, and is the second half of being born again (Jn. 3:3, 5, 7). 

Each believer must have his/her own Day of Pentecost to receive Jesus' full salvation package. This was well demonstrated on the first Day of Pentecost when the one hundred twenty believers in the Upper Room were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. “And they were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). “All” means everyone including children, teenagers, adults and senior citizens. There is no age limit or restriction upon receiving. The youngest child that I've prayed with for the infilling of the Holy Spirit was two and one-half years old. The eldest person, was a ninety nine year old man who after receiving commented, “I just got in by the skin of my teeth...


God Has Got the Whole World in His Hands - April 2016

Sometimes Christians do not know how unique they are! Many people believe that all religions in the world worship the same God. This is absolutely NOT true. The first year, after my ordination, I was the Pastor of three churches in Maxwell, Ontario. After preaching about Jesus’ death on the Cross of Calvary" (Jn. 19:30) and "His physical resurrection from the dead" (Jn. 20:27), I received a call from a man who attended the Easter service.

I visited him at his home where he explained that his wife was a Christian, but he was a Hindu believer. I remember on the wall of their dining room, was a large picture of his Hindu teacher that taught him about Hinduism. Although he was Hindu, he  was not partial and attended the Christian church services that his wife went to.

He quoted, “You said in your sermon that Jesus Christ was raised physically from the dead and that He could be touched by others to prove it. In all my years of going to a Christian Church, I have never heard that before! If what you said is true, Christianity is the most materialistic religion in the world because none of them believe that!” I responded, “That is true...


Jesus' Plan for Ministry - March 2016 

We have entered into what is known as Lenten Period, Ash Wednesday, Feb 10th until Easter, March 26th. It is a period observed by Christians as preparation for Easter, involving fasting and prayer. It’s a reminder of the 40 days in which Jesus fasted and was tempted by the devil to sin (Matt. 4:1– 1; Mk. 1:12–13; Lk. 4:1–13) .yet did not sin (Heb. 4:15).

During this time, Christians are encouraged to “give up something” and abandon some pleasurable habit as an act of devotion. However, our God (Yahweh) has given us a different definition of the kind of fasting that He approves. He said,

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD (Yahweh) shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am!" (Is. 58:5–9)...


God's Gift of Tongues - February 2016

The one question that keeps turning up is what a young woman asked me at a recent meeting: “Why is it necessary to speak in tongues?” My first words were, “Because it is God’s Communication System (Mk. 16:17; 1 Cor. 12:10). The one problem with this gift is that it is called/translated as “tongues” when it should be “other national languages”. "Tongues" is an outdated name.

We would have the same problem today if we continued to use the words “horseless carriage” instead or “car” or “automobile”. Could you imagine the look on the face of a car salesman if you said to him, “I would like to purchase a horseless carriage?” This is the same problem when the archaic word, "tongues" (gift of the Holy Spirit) is used today. 

Israel didn’t like it when God spoke to them at Mount Sinai. They were afraid and trembled, complaining to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us lest we die” (Ex. 20:19). The Gift of tongues-languages is one of the 6,500 real languages spoken in the world today. By means of them, God is able to give messages for everyone around the world in their native languages by using another person who doesn't normally speak their language...


Your Adventure with Jesus Awaits - January 2016

We are facing another “New Year 2016”! Another exciting year working with Jesus Christ! Another year working in the power of the Holy Spirit! Another year following our Heavenly Father’s Plans! Another exciting year of “Signs, Wonders and Miracles! At our Conference, the message that I was given to encourage Pastors and Christians was entitled, “The Adventure of Being a Pastor” and “Christians”. And this has been my life ever since I received Jesus as my Saviour and received the Holy Spirit. Our Churches are supposed to be a place where the Miracles happen.
 
Several years ago when I was preaching in the Prayer Palace, Toronto ON, a man brought a friend to the service. He had never been in a church before. His friend had witnessed to him and prayed with him for Salvation and brought him to the church which was over 2 hours away to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I prayed with him and he received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fell to the floor speaking in tongues.
 
Three weeks later, he telephoned me to ask me, “Can you tell me where I can find a church where miracles happen. He explained that the past Sunday he went to a Pentecostal Church in his city. At the end of the service, he asked the pastor, “When do the miracles happen?” The Pastor said, “What do you mean?” He replied again,“When do the miracles happen?”
 
The Pastor said, “The service is over.” He said, “Then I’m not coming back here!” He had seen “signs, wonders and miracles” happen when I was doing ministry. He was one of the miracles himself. He asked, “Is there a church in my town where the miracles happen?” Unfortunately, there was none! So, I asked him, “Will you take on a mission for me? Will you go to a different church every Sunday until you find a church where the miracles happen so I can refer people to that church?” He agreed. I have been waiting for almost six years for his call!
 
That is the problem we are faced with today. Every person who is saved and Baptized with the Holy Spirit, born again of water and the Spirit (Jn. 3:3,5,7) is a walking miracle. Jesus equips all of His witnesses...