Time to Come Down From the Mountain

Pastor A. A. Jackson Jr., Pastor of the Forest Hill M.B.C of Fort Worth, TX has a saying that I understand a little better now. After the celebration of his sermon/invitation, Pastor Jackson would always says. "It's time to come down now, "We are coming down now".

After these three says with Dr. Issac Culver Jr., and the Jerusalem Baptist Church family of Gary, Indiana, I certainly can say I have been to the mountain top. I concur with Peter that "Lord it's good for us to be here." The hospitality of the church, the life lessons I gleaned from Pastor Culver, the area fellowship of the local Pastors, Dr. Marion J. Johnson Jr.,, Pastor Richard Wilford, Pastor Dwight Mobley and the wonderful praying saints of Jerusalem Baptist was truly amazing.

Because they have no shortage of preaching in Jerusalem, I had a hot crowd every night who basically preached for me every night. Thank God for running a revival for a preaching Pastor because the wood has already been chopped, all you have to do is stir it up. The wisdom they conveyed with me each night will be something that I take with me for a lifetime.

As wonderful of a time as I had I still here Pastor Jackson saying, it's time to come down, there is work to do in the valley.

Please pray for us as we enter into covenant agreement with the local Pastors of South Bend. We praise God for Pastor Keith D. Witherspoon who is leading an effort to call our area churches together for a time of prayer and fasting so that we may beseech God to end the shootings and violence that has plagued South Bend over these last 6 weeks.

Thank God that the mountain gives us what we need in order to face the opportunities of service in the valley. There are demon-possessed boys in the valley with faith-debating fathers and confused communities but in the midst of it all Jesus says " Bring the Boy to Me". I am pledging my support to work, pray, fast and enter into covenant with all of the other Pastors that in prayer we will bring our Boys and daughters to Jesus for the Healing of the Community.

I preached a sermon Tuesday night out of Mark 9:14-28 titled "IT IS POSSIBLE"

I. We all have an "IT" The it is your "demon"

VS 18 (NIV) "It" seizes him, "it" throws him to the ground


VS 20 (NIV) When the spirit saw Jesus "It" threw the boy into a convulsion.


VS 22 (NV) How long has he been like this, "From Childhood, "IT has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him"

We all have an IT. Something that bothers us, haunts, hassles and harasses us. We try and run away from IT but it still comes, We try and sleep to get away from IT and we dream about it. Many of us have not just developed our IT but we have had our IT so long, IT is part of our family. We have become comfortable living in our dysfunction.

We justify our IT, "My mother was crazy", "you know I'm just real, I"m a Gemini I have two sides" when in reality we are fighting a demon that has set up camp to try and tear down what God has designed. The violence that is going on in South Bend is an IT. IT had been ignored, IT had been overlooked, and now IT must be dealt with because, IT will not go away by itself. IT will not be wished away, or legislated away, IT must meet Jesus.

II. We all deal with IF. If deals with out Doubt.

The father's problem was not a demon but it was doubt.


VS 23- "If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us"

Many of us deal with IF. We have seen out IT so long that we have stopped believing that God can do anything but fail. We say maybe I will always be crazy, maybe the best I can do is a drop-by man instead of a husband, maybe depression will always haunt me, we have spent so much time looking at the problem we have forgotten to look at the provider.

III. Jesus says "He is" Jesus can deliver us from out ITS and our IFS.

VS 24- Everything is possible for him who believes.

Max Lucado in his book, "Just Like Jesus" says God loves you just the way you are but he refuses to leave you there. he wants you to have a heart like his. He wants you to be just like Jesus.