Abundant Life Church
On Tuesday, Sister Gloria taught about Mark 4 and the four kinds of hearts. She particularly exhorted us to forgive, and not to become offended. If our hearts are anything but good ground for the Word of God seed, we’re not going to be able to receive fully from the Lord.
The first couple of years we attended the SWBC, Cherie and Anna Claire went to Marble Slab Creamery for ice cream. I just slipped down the street to a place called Jamba Juice to get a smoothie. Cherie and Anna Claire thought I was suffering with some awful-tasting juice while they were feasting on ice cream.
One evening, Cherie asked me for a sip of my juice. Let’s just say the veil was lifted, and no one has been back to Marble Slab since. We’ve been enjoying Jamba Juice ever since.
Strawberries Wild is one of our favorites, though I’m now hooked on Pomegrate Heart Defender. They’re delicious, and in moderation, they’re healthy!
The SWBC is held at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Depending on whether you ask me or Anna Claire, it either looks like a huge shellfish or an alien spacecraft. Inside, it’s built to be an exhibition and sports center. In past years, the circus has come to town after the SWBC. Skating exhibitions are held here, too.
During the week of the SWBC, though, it’s a big church. When the doors open in the morning (8:00), people scramble for seats on the floor. We like to sit up in the seats on the side, though. The book tables for KCM, Jerry Savelle, Jesse Duplantis, Creflo Dollar, Len Mink, and others are in the exhibition hall, which is behind the platform.
What you see here are the platform from the front, the platform from the side with Len Mink (the worship leader) reading announcements, and Len Mink on the jumbo screen. Hey, it’s not the Sistine Chapel, but it’s an anointed church for a week!
Brother Jerry taught today about the nature of God. The nature of God is not miraculous, he said. The nature of God is abundance. Miracles only occur when there is lack. It’s better to live in the Blessing than the miraculous. It’s better to live in divine health than to need healing.
God doesn’t just want to supply our needs. Brother Jerry taught from several scriptures, but particularly settled on 1 Timothy 6:17, that God gives us richly all things to enjoy. Before he got saved, Brother Jerry enjoyed fast cars and motorcycles. When he entered the ministry, he gave them up so he could concentrate on God. The Lord gave them back to him for his enjoyment. God gets joy when we have joy. He just wants us to keep Him as our number one focus, and to give him all the glory for the things He gives us to enjoy.
As Brother Jerry phrased it, “Wherever God goes, He leaves a trail of abundance.”
He finished with Psalm 35:27:
Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
We all shouted for joy!!
First, a note about this picture. It’s not one I took. I found it on Flickr, but because Brother Jesse jokes about his wife, Cathy, I thought it would be good to put up a picture of them both.
This morning, Jesse Duplantis gave us Part 2 of his lesson from Mark 11:22 – the four words that will change your life: “Have faith in God.” He taught:
Doubt is a cancer growth in the spirit. It must be cut out by the scalpel of faith. What is the scalpel of faith. What is the scalpel of faith? The sword of the Spirit.
From Mark 2:6, he taught us that while all of us will have doubt in our minds, we have to bring them into capitivity to the obedience of Christ so that doubt won’t park in our hearts.
Brother Jesse said the devil is a flesh devil. Your flesh isn’t saved. If you want your flesh to be holy, you have to crucify your flesh.
Finally, he taught that it’s better to live in the Blessing than to live for miracles.
I wandered back to the book table area and saw a huge boat of a station wagon. It was the car in which Jerry Savelle drove Brother Copeland during the early years of Brother Copeland’s ministries. Any of you who have followed Brothers Copeland and Savelle have heard stories about this car. Here it is.
I had a chance to visit with a couple we met here last year. Patrick and Martha are from Denver. Last year, Patrick had severe back pain. Bob Frost, the usher I wrote about earlier, prayed for Patrick. This year, Patrick is pain-free, and is giving God all the glory.
The heat has broken. It’s only 102 today. 
Inside the convention center, though, we’re wearing sweaters and jackets.
While walking around the book table area, I saw Camille Wilder. Those of you from ALC will remember her as Marty Copeland’s armor bearer during their visit in April. We’re hoping to have more time to visit with Camille during the week. She’s a wonderful sister in the Lord.
Sister Gloria Copeland taught today about three words the Lord told her to remember when preparing to receive the end of her faith:
She also reminded us of Psalm 84:11 – no good thing will be withheld from those who walk uprightly. Holy living is important if we want to receive “good” from the Lord. As an interesting point, she quoted Rabbi Lapin, who said there are no Hebrew words for “retirement” or “coincidence.”
Jesse Duplantis is not only an anointed preacher. He’s also one of the funniest human beings I’ve ever heard. If indeed the joy of the Lord is our strength, Brother Jesse is the Arnold Schwartzenegger of the body of Christ.
Today, he talked about four words that will change your life: “Have faith in God.” Those four words from Mark 11:22 can revolutionize our lives. He preached that in any area of life, it’s impossible to succeed without believing both in God and in yourself (Christ in you the hope of glory).
Brother Jesse talked about the need for a plan to support our dreams. Pharaoh had the dream. Joseph had the plan to implement the dream. God gave power to the man with the plan.
From Mark 7:37, he exhorted us to do all things well, just like Jesus. If we don’t believe in what we’re doing, we can’t do it well.
Any time you hear Jesse Duplantis preach, you will laugh. He told us about coming off his airplane to be greeted by someone who thought he was Creflo Dollar. “I watch you all the time, Creflo. You’ve had a great impact on me, Creflo.” Then the guy walked away, hesitated, and came back. “You’re not Creflo, are you?” Jesse said, “No. I’m Jesse Duplantis. Creflo’s white.”
The first day at the Southwest Believers’ Convention is awesome! We reconnected with our friends, Bob and Connie Frost. They’ve been ushers at the SWBC for many years, and we’ve sat in their section each time we’ve come. They’re strong believers, and two of the most encouraging, joy-filled believers I know. It’s great to be surrounded by love and faith.
As always, Len Mink led worship. The KCM worship team is one of the best, and the presence of the Holy Spirit was almost palpable. Brother Len has led worship for the Copelands’ meetings for over 30 years.
Brother Copeland was the first speaker this morning. It’s always thrilling when he bounds onto the platform and cries out, “Shout Amen somebody!” Cherie commented how dapper he looked in his two-toned shoes.
Brother Copeland began laying the foundation for what he’ll preach on this week. His preaching will center on The Blessing. He began in Romans 4:1-16. He noted that Abraham found out how God would treat him as if he hadn’t sinned – just believe God and do what He says. From verse 7, he noted that sin and iniquity will block the operation of the Blessing. While preaching from verses 13-16, he noted that we don’t earn our salvation or healing, so what makes us think we have to earn our prosperity. Just as salvation and healing come by faith and grace, so does prosperity. When God sends us into a situation, He is sending us in to apply the Blessing.
Brother Copeland preached that we are to mimic God, to imitate Him, to act like Him. (Ephesians 5:1). As an illustration, he remembered taking skiing lessons from the Mayer brothers, both of whom had been Olympic champions. All they taught was how to turn. (He said anyone can go straight down, but the results are disasterous). Brother Copeland’s aim, though, was to look like and act like the Mayer brothers when he skiied. In the same way, when we imitate God, we should expect to see the same results.
Brother Copeland talked at some length about being healthy. He preached that we need to eat real food, and was very blunt – eat organic food instead of genetically engineered food. We need food that’s like our bodies. In the same way, we need the unadulterated Word of God to feed our spirits. Religion, he said, is like genetically engineered Bible.
As he has preached so often this year, the Blessing began in the Garden of Eden. The Blessin of Abraham that is ours is just a continuation of that same Blessing. In Isaiah 51:1-3, we see that we should be living in the Garden of Eden even in desert circumstances. We are blessed!!
To the glory of God, we’re safe and sound in Fort Worth. The angels delivered us from a couple of precarious situations along the way. We’re thankful to be here!
Last night we had our traditional first meal at Reata, a local steak house with lots of Texas personality. Afterwards, we got Jamba Juice, courtesy of Camille. Thank you, Camille! And we got some sleep and a good workout today. I’m glad for vacation.
I’m excited about what the Lord is going to do at the Southwest Believers Convention. More later.