Ministers of Jesus Christ
Church of The Lord Jesus Christ
Assemblies of The Apostolic Faith
Atlanta, Georgia - USA
Apostle Dennis G. Smith, Pastor and Spiritual Overseer

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APOSTLE'S MESSAGE

 Date: February 28, 2021

To all the Saints of God,

     Grace and peace be unto all the Saints of God around the World.  As this Coronavirus Pandemic continues, we are continually reminding the Saints of God that we are obeying the magistrates and following the guideline of the health and governmental authorities for the safety of all people. 

      Health authorities and governmental officials continue to strongly encourage people to wear face coverings in public and use social distancing, wash your hands, and get tested to help stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus.  In some places wearing face mask is mandatory in all indoor and outdoor public spaces.

      As of February 25, 2021, the City of Atlanta, Georgia remains in Phase I of the Reopening Plan due to the infection rate of the coronavirus.   Throughout the State of Georgia businesses must continue to operate with social distancing and sanitation rules to keep customers and employees safe.  Covid-19 vaccinations are available and distributed under phase 1A+ plan in Georgia. The vaccine is in limited supply and currently offered to health care workers, first responders, individuals ages 65 and older and their caregivers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and 911operators.

      We are continuing online service through Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube.   Baptism and prayer service are available using social distancing and personal protective equipment.

       As we obey the Magistrates, we have complete faith that God will continue to hear our prayers and provide a way for us through these uncertain times.

  Romans 13:2-4 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

  TITUS 3:1-2 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

  

 This week’s encouraging words of growth focuses on: 

Entering the Rest of Jesus Christ (part 1)
 By Apostle Dennis G. Smith

      When we speak of rest, are we speaking of worshipping on a particular day?  No.  Are we speaking of a law to rest on a particular day? No.  Are we speaking of keeping the seventh day of the week or Sabbath day in the time of the Church?  No.  Are we speaking of worshipping on a particular day of the week?  No.  We are speaking about the rest given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Matthew 11:28 - 30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

      When we speak of rest, most people will think of relaxation of our physical body from our daily chores.  Some will also think of peace from wars and conflict with other people or other nations. One thing we all know from our physical existence, that we all need rest for our mind, body and soul.   So, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ invites us to come unto him and receive a rest for our souls.  We cannot achieve pure happiness in our life if we are always in battles.  We cannot enjoy the fruit of our working hours or labors if we never stop from our work to eat and taste the fruit that we produce.  Just like we must rest at some point doing a 24-hour day and recover from our daily chores we must also recover from our battles in our soul.  Because there is a need to rest, God made the Sabbath for mankind.

 Exodus 20:8 - 11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

 Even though in the 4th commandment of the moral law God instituted a day for rest which was kept under the old testament it was fulfilled in the new testament by Jesus Christ giving us rest in our body and soul and a future time of rest eternally with the Lord God.  We should readily acknowledge that a time of rest was instituted by God almighty himself.  It was also made a part of the moral law and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 

       We as Christians today we do not judge in a particular day or the Sabbath days.

 Colossians 2:14 - 17 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:   Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

  But we keep the principle of rest and refreshing from our daily work on our available or chosen day or time to rest our mind and physical bodies.  

      We also speak of a spiritual rest in receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost which pours out love, joy, peace, gentleness, longsuffering, patient, and kindness in our inner being.  We speak of receiving the gift of God by faith, believing and holding on to the words and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation.  This gives us a rest in our present life and a rest to come in our eternal life with Christ.

      To receive this rest, we must have complete trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and look at how he remained faithful to the task in dying for our sins.  The scripture affirms the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ and Moses to the task appointed them.  It is sometimes a hard thing for us to imagine in a world full of hate, racism, crime, wars, greed with many other evil things that we must face and battle daily that we could find rest in the mist of all the troubles of daily life.  For man born of a woman is but a few days and full of trouble.  

      But when we experience the love of God and the receipt of the Holy Ghost, we do find rest for our body and soul.  The key is to remain faithful to the indwelling Spirit so that we can function daily in love, peace and eternal hope.  We must learn to look upon the Lord Jesus Christ as an example of faith and also Moses who continued on faithfully until he died despite of all the troubles happening to them and around them.  Moses as the lawgiver revealed the will and law of God Almighty faithfully to the Nation of Israel God’s chosen people.

 Hebrews 3:1- 3 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.  For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.

 Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the builder, foundation, and cornerstone of the Church, gave a time and a principle for resting.  So that when we speak of rest or sabbath, we are no longer referring to the seventh day or any particular day but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which guides us into the principle of rest for our body to refresh and heal, also rest for our soul or inner man to function in peace and the future eternal rest with God Almighty.

 Because many of the children of Israel in the wilderness did not remain faithful to the God, they were left to wander in the wilderness forty years until most of them died there and the faithful ones led a new generation into the promise land with victory.  This establishes that we must hear the voice of God the indwelling Holy Ghost and not become hardened listening to the deceptions of glory seeking men.

 Hebrews 3:7 - 10 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.  Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.   So, I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)   Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

 So, we see that we must open our hearts and minds daily to the leadership and guidance of the Holy Ghost that will indwell all believers that diligently seek him to find rest for our souls today, in the time to come and then we will find rest for our physical and spiritual man.  We must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to enter into his rest.

 We continue with a Message from Apostle S. McDowell Shelton …. This Is the Rest ……… 

THIS IS THE REST (part 1)
 BY Bishop S. McDowell Shelton

 "One thing that have I desired of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life”. (Psalms 27:4)

  When you do, you will find a revival in your heart.  There is something in the place where God is dwelling.  The scripture says,

 “…Behold, I lay in Sion…” (Romans 9:33) 

      If but for brief moments of your hectic life, you are able to forget that horrible outside world.   You are insulated from all of the shock, the disappointment, the harassment and the mediocrity that exist in the world today.  You are able to find something that governments have spent billions seeking in conferences.  People have written about it.  They built the United Nations to try to establish it; yet, they do not have it.  It is a rare commodity in this day.

 Let me tell you one thing: If you do not have it for, at least, a little while during the days of your life, you will not able to survive in this world.  It keeps you from going off the deep end.  When it appears that you are unable to deal with what life has put on you, God gives you a rest for a little season.   That is why the scripture says, “…This is the rest…” (Isaiah 28:12)   

 Things are going hard.   I know what you are talking about, and I can talk to you out of experience.  When it appears impossible, and it appears that one just cannot deal with the things that life has placed upon him, we have a rest.  We have a refresher wherein, He calleth the weary to rest.   He calls us by His Spirit and tells us to come and rest with Him in the Holy Ghost. 

 The scripture says, "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to his people.” (Isaiah 28:11)

   God has given us something that mankind in this day and age just does not know about.  The scripture says this: Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

 Who is your God?  The Lord!  And who is the Lord?  When Paul asked, "Who art thou, Lord?"  He said, "I am Jesus."  

Acts 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

 The prophet is saying, Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

      When I look back on the past, the Church has been faithful. No one can come and tell me it has been a failure.  When I look back on the past, there has been times when it appears to man that God had forsaken him; but man did not look deeply enough into the Word.  He did not wait long for enough his deliverance.  He did not remember that it was better for him to die (not having accepted deliverance) looking for that Blessed Hope and that Glorious Appearance.  Man did not consider the prize that was laid up for him.

 Isaiah 25:2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

 When God destroys a thing, no one can build it up again.  When God builds it up, nobody can tear it down. 

Believe me when God says, 'Live," you are going to live regardless.  When He says "die" (I do not care how many transplants or whatever else they do), you are going die. 

Isaiah 25:3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

The weak will have to pray for strength.  They will have to do like the man who said, "Lord, I believe.”  He spoke right out.  Then he said, “Help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)   

 You testify; but you think about that thing a second time when things are getting rough.  You cry out because you want to believe, you know that you should believe.  However, doubt is working on the inside.  That man was honest about the things.  He said, “Lord I believe; but help my unbelief.”

 Isaiah 25:3 - 4 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.  For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

 In other words, if they were poor, you have been strength to them. You have been help to the needy in their distress.  A refuge in the time of trouble.  You have been the solution to mankind in the time of storm.  A shadow when things are too hot for us.   (Things will get too hot for you.) You are going to need a shadow when life seem almost impossible.  When people are coming at you from every side, and everybody seems to be against you.  You cannot get any relief from anybody: rent man, milk man, bread man, boss on the job, the neighbor, the policeman giving you a ticket.  Everything!  Besides all that, the devil.  Then you have yourself, which is your worst enemy.  Yet God promised to be a refuge in these times.

 Isaiah 25:5 - 29 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.  And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.  And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.  And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

      All you have to do is to wait and be patient.  That is the trouble with the people today.  Nobody has any patient to wait for anything.  I know that you have to give up everything: you have to give up your sweethearts, your second companions, your pride, and some of your ways of making money.  You have to pay your tithes, offering, and sacrifices.   You have come to Church when you do not feel like it—not just on Sundays.  I looked over the congregation and I said “My”!  All of these people here tonight are willing.  Some are not willing, but they have come until God helps them to get willing.

 We will continue with these messages in Part 2……….

 May the Lord Bless you and Keep you and eternally hold you in the center of his will, may he open your understanding that you will come to know that you must repent of your sins and be baptized by immersion in water in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, then continue in prayer, tarrying until you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost with the sign following speaking with other tongues as the spirit gives you utterances.  Then you must leave the principles of the doctrine and go on to perfection overcoming the love of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life and continue steadfastly in the Apostle’s Doctrine remembering always that he that endures until the End, the same shall be saved.  In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who is God Almighty. Amen

With perfect love,
Apostle Dennis G. Smith

Currently the following groups are eligible for COVID vaccine in Georgia:

 

Beginning March 8, 2021, the following groups will also be eligible for COVID vaccine:

 Present Guidelines for Individuals and Businesses in Phase 1:

·        Stay home except for essential trips.

·        Wear face coverings in public.

·        Frequent hand washing.

·        Social distancing followed and enforced where practical.

·        To-go and delivery orders from restaurants.

·        Continue practicing teleworking.

·        Frequent cleaning of public and high touch areas

 

 Social Distancing guidelines:

When to Wear a Mask:

Those who are staying home and have no close contact with people who are infected with COIVID-19 do not need a mask most of the time. However, wearing a nonmedical or homemade mask may be helpful in certain situations or for certain populations. Wear a Mask when:

Because homemade masks protect everyone else from the droplets created by the wearer, it is important that as many people as possible wear these masks when leaving their homes. This helps prevent those who may be infectious but are only mildly symptomatic or not symptomatic from spreading the virus to others in the community.

Everyone should remember the phrase: “My mask protects you; your mask protects me.” By increasing the overall number of people who are containing their coughs, sneezes, and other droplets, it will help us control the overall spread of the virus.