Dr. Ronald K. and Sheila P. Powell

Dr. Ronald K. and Sheila P. Powell
Pastors of Crosswinds Christian and Counseling Center, Macon, Ga. (478) 254-3143

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Jesus said: The works that I do shall you do also and greater works than these!

 Doing the Works of Christ

 


I am a grace-teacher, I believe in righteousness by faith, not through works. But on the same token, I am passionate about the works of God that we are called to do. The problem is that many of God's people misunderstand the works that He has called us to do, so we go about doing the wrong works which lands us in unbelief.

 

The works in terms of righteousness is what the church today often refers to as works, but the fact is that if we are working for our righteousness, we are under the law and have fallen from grace. We think of falling from grace as to say, falling into sin, but that is not what the scripture is saying -- when we fall from grace, we have fallen in a place of unbelief, as we're relying on our works to make us righteous.

 

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Galatians 5:4

 

This is not what God intended. We cannot have peace with God while relying on our fallible human willpower to be righteous. We can only have peace with God when we rest by faith in His finished work of the Cross, thereby clothing us with His righteousness.

 

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1

 

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.
Romans 3:22

 

If we try to earn or own righteousness, then we have not received His righteousness by faith and we have fallen into unbelief concerning the work of Christ. Satan uses unbelief to enslave God's children into the wrong kind of works and he uses this common misunderstanding of scripture to put them into bondage.

 

So if the works we are called to do are not works of righteousness, intended to make/keep us righteous, then what kind of works were we called to do? The other day I was thinking about the works that Jesus called us to, and you know what the Holy Spirit showed me? It wasn't works as in living a sinless life so that we can be righteous (we are that in Christ by FAITH!)... the WORKS that we are called to do are the WORKS that Jesus Himself did Himself... cast out demons, heal the sick, and raise the dead!!!

 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
John 14:12

 

Jesus has done the work of making us righteous by clothing us with His righteousness when we accept His work on the Cross by faith. Our job is to accept that righteousness, which is done through believing by accepting by faith the work of the Cross. That is a done deal! But then God calls us all to do the works of Christ, the same things that He did while here on earth. That is, minister the good news of Christ to the lost, heal the sick, cast out demons, and yes, even raise the dead!

 

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:7-8

 

When we step out and do what God has called us to do, the signs and wonders of Christ will begin to follow us. It should be normal for a Christian to do the very miracles that Jesus did!

 

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Mark 16:17-18
Dr.  Ronald  & Sheila Powell   

Wednesday, November 2, 2011





Press Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Crosswinds Christian & Counseling Center Receives 2011 Best of Macon Award
U.S. Commerce Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement


NEW YORK, NY, October 26, 2011 -- For the third consecutive year, Crosswinds Christian & Counseling Center has been selected for the 2011 Best of Macon Award in the Places Of Worship category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).


The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.


Nationwide, only 1 in 120 (less than 1%) 2011 Award recipients qualified as Three-Time Award Winners. Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2011 USCA Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Weeping from the door post to the altars:

We have to make up our minds if this Book is absolute or obsolete. It's either got the answer for our generation or forget it. We have to make up our minds that preaching is not a profession, it's a passion which is drawn from broken hearts.

Listen to Joel:

Joel 1:13-20 (GW) 13 Put on your sackcloth and mourn, you priests. Cry loudly, you servants of the altar. Spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God. Grain offerings and wine offerings are withheld from your God's temple. 14 Schedule a time to fast! Call for an assembly! Gather the leaders and everyone who lives in the land. Bring them to the temple of the Lord your God, and cry to the Lord for help. 15 This will be a terrible day! The day of the Lord is near, and it will come like destruction from the Almighty. 16 Food disappears right before our eyes. Happiness and rejoicing disappear from our God's temple. 17 Seeds shrivel up in their shells. Storehouses are destroyed. Barns are ruined. The grain has dried up. 18 The animals groan. Herds of cattle wander around confused. There's no pasture for them. Even flocks of sheep are suffering. 19 O Lord, I cry to you for help! Fire has burned up the open pastures. Flames have burned up all the trees in the orchards. 20 Even wild animals long for you. Streams run dry. Fire has burned up the open pastures.

The Book of the Prophet Joel is a three-fold vision that should serve as a prophetic insight into what is facing the modern church. This three-fold vision can be divided into these revelatory observations:


1. That which they were presently facing - in this case an actual plague of locust that had come in and devoured the land
2. That which was soon to come - the invasion of the land by the armies of Judah’s enemies.
3. That which was conditionally promised - an outpouring of the Spirit of God as a result of the repentance
Not unlike in the days of the Prophet Joel, the church of today is in much the same condition as Judah was in that day. Judah had allowed the idolatrous worship of Baal, the people were walking in lawlessness and the priest had ceased to teach the law and were no longer serving God with a pure heart.

Hear Nehemiah:
Nehemiah 1:1-11 (GW) 1 These are the words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah: During the month of Chislev, in Artaxerxes' twentieth year as king, while I was in the fortress at Susa, 2 one of my brothers, Hanani, arrived with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had survived captivity and about Jerusalem. 3 They told me, “Those who survived captivity are in the province. They are enduring serious troubles and being insulted. The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” 4 When I heard this, I sat down and cried. I mourned for days. I continued to fast and pray to the God of heaven. 5 I said, “Lord God of heaven, great and awe-inspiring God, you faithfully keep your promise and show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments. 6 Open your eyes, and pay close attention with your ears to what I, your servant, am praying. I am praying to you day and night about your servants the Israelites. I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against you as well as the sins that my father's family and I have committed. 7 We have done you a great wrong. We haven't obeyed the commandments, laws, or regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses. 8 Please remember what you told us through your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and continue to obey my commandments, though your people may be driven to the most distant point on the horizon, I will come and get you from there and bring you to the place where I chose to put my name.' 10 These are your servants and your people whom you have saved by your great power and your strong hand. 11 Lord, please pay attention to my prayer and to the prayers of all your other servants who want to worship your name. Please give me success today and make this man, King Artaxerxes, show me compassion.” I was cupbearer to the king at this time.

We feel a little nervous these days of talking about human depravity.

• Well, heaven knows, there has never been as much depravity around as we have today.
• Look at the iniquity that was on the earth when the prophet Elijah came on the scene.
• The nation was in bondage to idolatry, and impurity, and infidelity, and indifference.

And it's my contention this morning that this pulpit is no place for puppets.
In this day in which we live it's prophets that we need.

Look at the heart of Daniel:

Daniel 9:2-20 (GW) 2 In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from the Scriptures the number of years that Jerusalem would remain in ruins. The Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah that Jerusalem would remain in ruins for 70 years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and looked to him for help. I prayed, pleaded, and fasted in sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God. I confessed and said, “Lord, you are great and deserve respect as the only God. You keep your promise and show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments. 5 We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commandments and laws. 6 We haven't listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the common people. 7 You, Lord, are righteous. But we—the men of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, and all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far—are still ashamed because we have been unfaithful to you. 8 We, our kings, leaders, and ancestors are ashamed because we have sinned against you, Lord. 9 “But you, Lord our God, are compassionate and forgiving, although we have rebelled against you. 10 We never listened to you or lived by the teachings you gave us through your servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has ignored your teachings and refused to listen to you. So you brought on us the curses you swore in an oath, the curses written in the Teachings of your servant Moses. We sinned against you. 12 So you did what you said you would do to us and our rulers by bringing a great disaster on us. Nowhere in the world has anything ever happened like what has happened to Jerusalem. 13 This entire disaster happened to us, exactly as it was written in Moses' Teachings. Lord our God, we never tried to gain your favor by turning from our wrongs and dedicating ourselves to your truth. 14 So you were prepared to bring this disaster on us. Lord our God, you are righteous in everything you do. But we never listened to you. 15 “Lord our God, you brought your people out of Egypt with your strong hand and made yourself famous even today. We have sinned and done evil things. 16 Lord, since you are very righteous, turn your anger and fury away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Jerusalem and your people are insulted by everyone around us because of our sins and the wicked things our ancestors did. 17 “Our God, listen to my prayer and request. For your own sake, Lord, look favorably on your holy place, which is lying in ruins. 18 Open your ears and listen, my God. Open your eyes and look at our ruins and at the city called by your name. We are not requesting this from you because we are righteous, but because you are very compassionate. 19 Listen to us, Lord. Forgive us, Lord. Pay attention, and act. Don't delay! Do this for your sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” 20 I continued to pray, confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel. I humbly placed my request about my God's holy mountain in front of the Lord my God.

Tell me what you hear in these men that is missing in our houses of worship today?

• How many warnings did the Kingdom of Judah receive to repent and return to the place that God had desired?
• How many warnings has the Body of Christ received to repent from our spiritual harlotry and religiously disguised idolatry and come back to fidelity in Jesus?
•Where is the weeping over our lost family members? Where is the passion for the heart of the Lord?

We have all changed and not for the best…
Lucifer has taken our fight, taken our passion, taken our prayers for the lost and replaced them with Lord Bless Me! Lord Comfort Me! Lord help Me! Lord Give me!

Who will weep for the lost as one who has lost an only child?

Let’s Pray
Lord Restore the weeping heartof your servants, Lord Restore our fight, Lord forgive our many sins and the sins of our families and this nation. Send a refreshing from the Lord that will lift us from the depths of lethargy and self serving prayers. Raise up your people and let the world gasp at the changes you have made in us. Enough of the laughter of a secular world that ridicules and mocks your people Lord. Raise a people in this hour that have not only your heart, but your mind.
In Jesus Name Lord, Be glorified in your Church and among your people forever.
Amen

Monday, August 1, 2011

Empowered for a purpose

Isaiah 6:1-13 (GW) 1 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne. The bottom of his robe filled the temple. 2 Angels were standing above him. Each had six wings: With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They called to each other and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory.” 4 Their voices shook the foundations of the doorposts, and the temple filled with smoke. 5 So I said, “Oh, no! I'm doomed. Every word that passes through my lips is sinful. I live among people with sinful lips. I have seen the king, the Lord of Armies!”
6 Then one of the angels flew to me. In his hand was a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “This has touched your lips. Your guilt has been taken away, and your sin has been forgiven.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom will I send? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me!” 9 And he said, “Go and tell these people, ‘No matter how closely you listen, you'll never understand. No matter how closely you look, you'll never see.' 10 Make these people close-minded. Plug their ears. Shut their eyes. Otherwise, they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their minds, and return and be healed.” 11 I asked, “How long, O Lord?” And he replied, “Until the cities lie in ruins with no one living in them, the houses have no people, and the land is completely desolate. 12 The Lord will send his people far away, and a large area in the middle of the land will be abandoned. 13 Even if one out of ten people is left in it, the land will be burned again. When a sacred oak or an oak is cut down, a stump is left. The holy seed will be the land's stump.”
"Who will go for us?" Isa 6:8 NIV

Understand two things:
(1) Borrowed beliefs have no power. You must have a personal encounter with God or your life will have no impact.
• After they'd been filled with the Holy Spirit, we read: "The apostles testified powerfully…and God's great blessing was upon them all" (Ac 4:33 NLT).
(2) Unused power has no value. Isaiah writes: "The posts of the door were shaken…and the house was filled with smoke" (Isa 6:4 NKJV).

• What a mind-blowing experience to have in church! But Isaiah had to leave, go out and perform God's purposes. "I heard the voice of the Lord saying: 'Whom shall I send?'…Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.' And He said, 'Go, and tell this people'" (Isa 6:8-9 NKJV).

You must spend time in God's presence building a relationship with Him, then carry His word to those hurting around you.
Matthew 17:4-5 (GW) 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it's good that we're here. If you want, I'll put up three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when a bright cloud overshadowed them. Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love and with whom I am pleased. Listen to him!”

When Jesus took His disciples up the Mount of Transfiguration Peter got so caught up in the experience that he wanted to stay there. "Lord, it is good for us to be here" (Mt 17:4 NIV). But Christ explained that His power is not for storing—but sharing.

Paul wrote: "I will not…speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me" (Ro 15:18 NIV).

Paul didn't glory in what Christ had done for him, but through him.
God has only one reason for filling you with His Spirit, that's to pour you out in service to others.

Jesus said: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach…[and] heal the brokenhearted" (Lk 4:18 NKJV).

You have been empowered for a purpose!Acts 1:3-9 (GW) 3 After his death Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about the kingdom of God. 4 Once, while he was meeting with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised. Jesus said to them, “I've told you what the Father promises: 5 John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when the apostles came together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 Jesus told them, “You don't need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him.

Preachers, this is why you are called:
Acts 26:18 (GW) You will open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's control to God's. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and a share among God's people who are made holy by believing in me.'

BUT I’M NO PREACHER: Matthew 28:16-20 (GW) 16 The eleven disciples went to the mountain in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they bowed down in worship, though some had doubts. 18 When Jesus came near, he spoke to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Renewing the Mind (Party 1)

RENEWING THE MIND

I. Representative Biblical references

A. Attitudes of mind that need to be renewed
Rom. 1:28 - "a depraved mind, to do things which are not proper"
Rom. 8:5,7 - "mind set on the flesh" *
Rom. 12:16 - "haughty in mind" *
II Cor. 4:4 - "blinded the minds of unbelieving"
II Cor. 11:3 - "minds led astray from simplicity and purity to Christ" *
Eph. 2:3 - "the desires of the flesh and of the mind"
Eph. 4:17 - "the futility of their mind" *
Phil. 3:19 - "set their minds on earthly things" *
Col. 1:21 - "alienated and hostile in mind"
Col. 2:18 - "inflated without cause by a fleshly mind" *
Titus 1:15 - "their mind and their conscience are defiled" *


B. Calls for renewal
Rom. 12:2 - "be transformed by the renewing of your mind" *
II Cor. 4:16 - "our inner man is being renewed day by day" *
Eph. 4:23 - "be renewed in the spirit of your mind" *
Col. 3:10 - "the new man is being renewed to a true knowledge..." *
Titus 3:5 - "renewing by the Holy Spirit"


C. Attitudes of a renewed mind
Isa. 26:3 - "the steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace"
Jere. 17:10 - "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind"
Jere. 20:12 - "The Lord who seest the mind and the heart"
Matt. 22:37 - "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength" *
Rom. 14:5 - "let each man be fully convinced in his own mind" *
I Cor. 2:16 - "we have the mind of Christ"
Phil. 2:5 - "have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus" *
Phil. 4:8 - "whatever is true, right, pure...let your mind dwell on these..." *
Col. 3:2 - "set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" *
Heb. 8:10; 10:16 - "I will put my laws into their minds"
I Pet. 1:13 - "gird your minds for action" *
Rev. 2:23 - "I am He who searches the minds and hearts"

Monday, July 5, 2010

Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine


Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine

Today's message features two hard sayings, of the Lord. They are "hard" because they offend the beliefs of thinned skin postmodernist. Since they are difficult for "post moderns" to hear, many can be easily taken back by their abrupt and coarse intimations. Here is the "offending verse:

Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Mat 7:6)

The postmodern view: You're not supposed to use name calling in a highly evolved society such as ours. This notion, though not wrong in itself, has become a rather excessively applied norm in our times and also misses the point in terms of this passage.

Here we have Jesus calling certain (un-named) people dogs and swine! Our society demands explanation in times like these of such horrible words coming forth from the sinless Lord Jesus.

One of the reasons people are so easily offended in our modern age is, they lack understanding, to a great extent, of simile and metaphor.

A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things and normally includes words such as "like" and "as." For example: "He is as swift and strong as a horse!" Similes have the two ideas remain distinct in spite of their similarities.

Metaphors compare two things without using "like" or "as". For example, "He's a real work-horse!" Metaphors are usually more forceful than similes since the distinction intended between the compared things is often ambiguous. For example if I were to observe someone doing something mean or cruel I might say, "Wow, what a dog!" Now the expression does not mean I have gone blind and think that this person is actually a dog. I mean that he is manifesting qualities of a (wild or mean) dog. However, just how distinct he is from an actual dog is left open to interpretation. But for the record, I am NOT saying he is a dog.
The point here is that some appreciation for the nuances of language and the art of comparison are necessary as we negotiate life's road.

Examining what the Lord says - as we examine the Lord's "offensive" sayings here, let's look at them both in terms of their historical root and then to what is being taught.

1. First of all let's be clear that the Jewish people were not indicating positive traits when they used the term dog or swine to refer to someone.

Dogs in the ancient world were not the pets of today. They were wild animals and ran in packs.

Pigs were unclean animals and something no Jew would ever touch, let alone eat. These are strong metaphors indicating significant aversion to some aspect of the person.

2. Do not give what is holy to dogs- This was a Jewish saying that was rooted in tradition. Some of the meat that had been sacrificed to God in the Temple could be eaten by humans, especially the Levites. Never was it to be thrown to dogs or other animals to eat. If it was not eaten by humans it was to be burned. Hence holy and sanctified meat was not to be thrown to dogs because it was holy.

3. [Do not] throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot - Pearls were an image for wisdom in the Old Testament. Now the point here is that Pigs valued nothing they could not eat. Pearls could not be eaten, if they were placed before pigs they would sniff them, determine they were not food, and simply trample them underfoot.

4. So what is being said? Sacred matters, sacred things, wisdom and participation in sacred things should not be easily offered to those who are incapable of appreciating them. There are those who despise what we call holy. There is little that can be done in such cases except deny them the pleasure of tearing apart holy things or trampling them underfoot.
Jesus is saying that some people are like dogs who tear apart sacred things and have no concept of their holiness. Some people are like pigs who do not appreciate anything they cannot eat or use for their pleasure. They simply trample under foot anything that does not please them or make sense to them in the same way that pigs would trample pearls underfoot or dogs irreverently tear apart blessed food dedicated to God.

Further, there are some who, though not hostile, are ignorant of sacred realities. They do not perhaps intend offense but it is necessary that they should be taught and then instructed on deeper mysteries.
The Lord is indicating that holy things are to be shared in appropriate ways with those who are able to appreciate them. It is usually necessary to be led into the Holy and just walk for the unprepared or unappreciative.

Careful instruction and gradual introduction to sacred truth is necessary before sharing something so holy. Even the unintentional trampling underfoot of sacred realities through simple ignorance was to be strictly avoided.

To be sure, these were historically difficult times for the Church and persecution was common. The Lord's warning to protect the holy things was not just that they might be trampled underfoot, but also that those who were like unto wild dogs and swine might not turn and tear you to pieces (Mat 7:6).

Does this information serve the 21 century church? I propose that today people are just as they were in the first century church if not worse. Criticisms easily abound for things that are not understood. Scripture comes under the scrutiny of "Human Wisdom" today perhaps more than it ever has. Those claiming to be wise deny the simple truths of Gods word and deny Him right to rule over their destinies because of their Spiritual blindness.

That being said, our Lord's instruction still applies to the 21 century church. Some things just never change.