Oasis Covenant Fellowship

Were you blessed today in service? Did God reveal to you something inside that is holding you back from a full commitment to serve Him with confidence? I sure hope so. The manifest presence of God is often revealed in a service through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Experienced pastors have described to me times of gently weeping in the congregation or spontaneous prayer occurring. We saw both today. By the authority of Christ, the Holy Spirit directly ministered to our church this morning. Praise God! I was reminded once again that the most effective invitation to the Spirit of God is through confession to God. When we are real with our worship and prayers, He is faithful to meet us at our deepest level.

I also want to share a necessary clarification from our prayer time. My words may have caused some to be confused about the role of sin as it pertains to our issues of fear, low-self esteem, self-doubt, etc…  My heart was to impress on you the incredible gift that God has bestowed in every believer, to offer encouragement and hope. I am confident that our Lord heard that plea and graciously responded. However, in attempting to focus on issues of self-worth, I spoke as if these feelings are not related to sin. The Scriptures are clear that the existence of fear, self-doubt, and the like are rooted in sin. To ignore the promises of God is to deny His sovereignty and to declare our feelings above His truth (Phil 4:6-9). Please forgive any misunderstanding.

To think of self-doubts and fears as sin may be a difficult concept for some. The beauty of this perspective is God’s provision for healing. As we confess these feelings that are not from him, we empty ourselves to be filled by His Holy Spirit. We are reminded that His Spirit is not one of fear and self-doubt, but one of power, love, and discipline (2Tim 1:7). It is our sovereign Lord who has opened our hearts, but it is our job to empty out the junk that prevents His filling. This morning was just a taste of what He can do during any prayer time, individual or corporate. I look forward to sharing more “filling times” with all of you.

Pastor Robb