Assistants in Focus Nov/01/2015

What is in your mind?

     The little foxes

     What has been your greatest concern related to your sins? I know that majority of people are most likely concern with what they consider as big sin, such as: adultery, robbery, prostitution, violence, crime… etc. It’s not wrong to keep an eye on them, but how about those sins that they consider as small and therefore, they don’t put their attention on them, but they are the ones that destroy the most.

     “Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes”. Songs of Solomon 2.15

     Dear reader,
     Be careful with the sins that perhaps you do not consider as sin, like an evil thought that you’ve been keeping and from time to time you feel like putting it into practice, or can be a desire of having something or someone which is contrary to the will of God, you know that it is wrong but you insist on feeding this evil desire inside of you.

     Do not forget that what is big today was small yesterday, and what is small today will be big tomorrow. If there’s a little fox inside of you today, then you better remove it right away; otherwise it’ll become big tomorrow and you won’t be able to remove it and your life will be destroyed.
Think about it.

Bishop Carlos

Remaining in the Paradise

    “ The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, 'Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?'
      The woman answered the snake, 'No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden.  But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.''
    But the snake said to the woman, 'You will not die. God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree you will learn about good and evil, and then you will be like God!'
     The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat. She also liked the idea that it would make her wise. So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it. Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it.
     Then it was as if their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were naked. So they got some fig leaves, sewed them together, and wore them for clothes.” Genesis 3.1-7

    Dear all,
    Take care of your spiritual life by living in the fear of God all the time. Do this so you may be able to enjoy what God has promised in His Word. Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden, Paradise. There was no pain, sickness, poverty, misery, violence, no suffering simply because they were living in the fear of God. There was respect and consideration with everything that God had done and had given them. However, a time came when they gave ear to the voice of the devil. Instead of rebuking it right away, Eve decided to keep a conversation with the evil one. Like many are still doing today and as a consequence of her mistake she fell into temptation and ended up doing what she knew in advance that she should not do. God was very clear with her when He said, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.” Genesis 3.3

    Their lack of fear brought suffering and shame upon everyone who had nothing to do with their mistake. That’s why we all have to be very careful about whatever we do, otherwise we will destroy the life of innocent people.

    It does not matter what you have to do to live in the fear of God, whether you are criticized, persecuted or whatsoever, just do it because in the end you will have the guarantee of your salvation.
Bishop Carlos

I HAVE A DREAM CONCERT - COMING SOON

Assistants in Focus Oct 25, 2015

He who truly fears God

Fear God and Live

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
pride and arrogance
and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Proverbs 8.13

      He who truly fears God searches above all things to preserve his salvation and for this to happen he knows that he has to live his life according to the Holy Scriptures.
The man and the woman born of God they carry inside of them the character of the Almighty, they have the pleasure to please the One who saved their souls. They know how precious it is to have the assurance of salvation. They don’t neglect their communion with God, nor do they allow their character and reputation to become a shame for them and their Lord. For this reason, the ones born of God do not get involved in gossip, or conversations that do not edify their spiritual life. They do not waste time by pointing fingers toward somebody else’s mistakes because their concern is to correct their own mistakes.

      “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not see the beam that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye. Luke 6.41-42

     He who is born of God is always keeping his heart from evil desires, hatred, grudges. There’s no lies, no half true. He is God’s blessing everywhere he goes.
And you? Have you been living your life in the fear of God?

Bishop Carlos

Those who are of God accept discipline

Those who are of God accept discipline

The Lord’s body is disciplined and works in harmony, because all parts are in agreement. There is no division, because all of its elements are important and are part of this Body.

There are people waiting in line at the hospital for a liver transplant because their own liver is no longer working. Therefore, I ask: Do you want to be transplanted, changed or removed by force? We must identify these damaged organs so they can be removed from among us. This is not injustice. Honestly, it would be unfair to allow this organ to remain in the Body and contaminate everyone else. This is discipline within the Church.

When someone remains in indiscipline, they are not part of the Body; instead, they are a foreign body.

You have to have the sensibility that, above all things, God must come first in your life, even above your family, though they are also important. And, when a wife speaks words of doubt, instigating the pastor against the Church, then she is no longer being a helper, and her husband must protect his heart and correct her.

You have to keep in mind that you are a man of God. Assistant, pastor or bishop is a mere title that you borrowed. But, as a man of God, wherever you may be, God will be with you. What does He expect from His servants?

When God called Joshua, He said:

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying…” Joshua 1.1

The Holy Spirit refers to Moses as a servant of the Lord, but He initially refers to Joshua as the son of Nun. In the universal story of God, the name of the pastor, bishop or assistant is included. But is he described as a servant of the Lord or just his father’s son?

After he was called and served God with his life, servant of the Lord was added to the name of Joshua, son of Nun. As it is written:

“Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.” Joshua 24.29

As a servant, you are disciplined, and your nature becomes disciplined too. It was the Holy Spirit that did this. Discipline was born in you when you were born of God. And we serve each other because we are part of the harmonious Body of the Lord Jesus. A person who rebels against this harmony is not of God, and does not serve God. Therefore, he must be expelled.

But why are there people who have been in church for such a long time, yet they’re not part of the Body of the Lord Jesus? He says:

“Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” Matthew 23.33

This is the only kind of person that Jesus is revolted with: those who are fake, hypocritical and deceive. It’s the kind of person who appears to be one thing, but inside he is something completely different; he is insincere and wears a mask.
Bishop Macedo

O que fez a diferença?

Assistants in Focus Oct/18/15

Assistants in Focus 101815

Love your neighbor

Being born of God

Don’t deceive yourself!

"There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews." John 3.1

Even though Nicodemus was an expert in the law, a teacher, and a very well respected man among the Jews, he was a Pharisee. In other words, he taught one thing, but he used to do other thing. He had ever had an encounter with the Lord Jesus, therefore he was not born of God.
Biblical knowledge is not enough to save anybody. If this was the case satan would be saved because there’s no one in the world who knows the Bible better than he does. However he is condemned to spend all his eternity in the Lake of Fire.

The only way that a person can be saved is when he or she has an encounter with God and is born of the Holy Spirit, exactly as it happened to the Lord Jesus.

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!  But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.'
 Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I do not know a man?'
 And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God'. Luke 1.26-35

This is what has to happen to all those who want a new life and to guarantee their salvation. It does not matter what you have done in the church or the title that you have, if you were not born of the Holy Spirit, then there’s no assurance of salvation.

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3.5,6

Bishop Carlos da Costa

Assistants in Focus 101115

Assistants in Focus 100415

Walking in the Spirit

Walking in the Spirit

To walk in the Spirit is to walk in the faith. To live in the assurance of the fulfillment of the promise.  At the same time getting away from doubts, fear, and memories from the past that are always attacking.

It is not possible to walk in the Spirit and have doubts. That’s why is important to rebuke all negative thoughts that are blown into our mind all the time. It’s not too much to resist doubts by saying “it’s tied up in Jesus name”! You don’t need to speak in a loud voice. Use the Word of God against any type of negative thought.

The Lord Jesus was straight forward with Peter when He said
"Don’t hesitate before the threaten of evil, resist it strongly all the time. Don’t think that evil thoughts will go away by themselves. A little bit of distraction is not going to help."

“But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭8:33‬ ‭

You must confront them, rebuke them, resist them as if they are satan himself, as soon as he blows thoughts that go against your faith your faith. Because of that Paul said "Remember, the biggest battle of faith happens inside of us against doubts, fear, anxiety and worries with the past."

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭

To walk in the Spirit is to walk in the faith. To live in the Spirit is to live in the faith. Only those who are born of the water and of the Spirit are able to do that


Carlos Da Costa
Bishop

They despised the spiritual

Day 16 of the Fast of Daniel


Let him hear what the Spirit says

Like many, who do not want to invest in spiritual things, half of the virgins did not want to invest in the things of the Spirit either.
Most likely, they thought their religious practices were enough.
They despised the Oil that keeps the fire (faith) lit.
It is very common nowadays, for people to invest in their children’s education, the stock exchange, their career, family, relationships, etc. They are always thinking about the future. None of this is wrong. But, the spiritual is most important.
This is why we are putting all our strength into the 21 days of the Fast of Daniel.

When a person is committed to receiving the Holy Spirit, they don’t give any excuses for not doing the Fast. There are 365 days in a year, so why cant we stay away from Facebook, YouTube, TV shows and all other sorts of entertainment for 21 days? How did we live before Facebook (it was created in 2004)? What about YouTube (created in 2005)? So how can anyone say they can’t live without them? We have to invest in the spiritual.

The five foolish virgins waited for the groom, just like the wise virgins. When we compare them to those who do not invest in their spiritual life, we can see the
same attitude. When the groom arrived, their lamps had gone out and they desperately ran to buy more oil. They had money to buy oil, but preferred to keep it to invest in other things.
And why would a bride want to save money? If this happened today, she would use it to buy her wedding dress, jewelry, makeup, pay for the reception, invitations, cake, etc. And that’s exactly what many people do: they rather invest in material things, and not in spiritual things.

This is our opportunity to invest in spiritual things. And those who do not invest will lose.

When the five foolish virgins came back, the door was already closed. And, if many do not invest in pouring out their life on the Altar through sacrifice and complete surrender, they will find the door closed too. In other words, they will lose the greatest opportunity to transform their lives. Just like the foolish virgins knew where to find more oil, but did not go earlier, many know where to find the Holy Spirit, but they must seek Him now.
Do not allow your spiritual life to go out. Let’s go get the oil while there is time.

Collaborated by: Bp. Ubirajara Fonseca

This is My beloved Son

Day 15 of the Fast of Daniel


He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says:

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came heard from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. Mark 1.9-11

As I meditated on this passage, I asked myself why did the Lord Jesus, being the Son of God, have to be baptized in water and have the Holy Spirit descend upon Him? I think it was to give us an example of what happens to those who sincerely repent of their sins and surrender at the feet of the Most High, ardently yearning to have a new, clean life from that moment on, where their essence is to obey God’s Word and walk in His path, sacrificing their flesh, their feelings, who they are (spiritual sacrifices, such as being promiscuous, committing adultery, illicit desires, etc.) what they have (material sacrifices, such as having their heart on their money, property, children, etc.) to receive the greatest Treasure a man can receive, the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

When the Lord Jesus sees such surrender, a thirst in the soul of the candidate for the baptism of His Spirit, the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends upon him and fills his being. Those who are around him cannot hear the voice that comes from heaven, perhaps not even he can hear it, but the spiritual world, such as the heavenly angels and, most importantly, all of hell, can hear it loud and clear.

“You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.“
In other words, “attention angels, archangels, cherubim and seraphim serve him as needed, keep him from all evil, another beloved son was born, and pay attention hell because from now on THIS IS MY SON and no one will dare touch him. From now on he bears my Seal, my DNA”.  Praise God.

I think this is the purpose of the Holy Spirit for this Fast of Daniel.
So, are you willing to give up everything you have and everything you are to become an untouchable child of God, carrying within yourself His DNA?
THINK ABOUT THIS.
Collaborated by: Bp. Sergio Correa

COMMENTS

Gabrieli Beretta
Good afternoon, Bishop!
My name is Gabrieli and I am from Criciuma. I wanted to leave a comment about the Holy Spirit.

I’ve always been a person that had doubts about everything. I always allowed doubts to invade my mind, because I thought it was just the way I was, but now I know it was the devil that put those negative thoughts in my head.
For about 3 years, I was in Church seeking the Spirit of God, but never received Him. That’s when I stood up against the devil, I participated in the Israel Challenge and what hurt me the most to sacrifice wasn’t the money, but all my doubts. There were days when all I wanted to do was sit on my bed and cry because the devil would bombard me. He sent thoughts 24 hours a day trying to convince me that I would never receive God’s great Treasure. He would tell me that a drug dealer or prostitute could come to Church and could receive the Holy Spirit, but I wouldn’t…
I’d go outside sell sweets to build my sacrifice and the devil would be there, putting doubts into my head. However, my biggest dream was none other than being baptized with the Holy Spirit.
One day before giving in my vow, I closed my bedroom door and separated the money I’d be putting into the envelop in ascending order. I sprayed it with my most expensive perfume, because my God deserves the best. That Sunday, I sat in the first row and when the pastor called everyone to come forward, I couldn’t help but think about all the times I had told the devil, “All the doubts are tied up, because I know I’m going to be baptized”. I repeated this until I was sure he had run away from me. Like it is written in the bible: resist the devil and he will flee from you. I couldn’t hold back the tears as I remembered everything I went through to get to that moment. But today there is only joy. A short time later, on a Wednesday, I was determined to receive the Living God, either He was going to descend upon me or I would go get Him in heaven. And it was during this meeting that an ABSOLUTE CONVICTION burned in me and never left again. Oh, what day Bishop! Then, whenever I’d think about that moment, I’d be overcome with such joy that I’d laugh, even while hanging the clothes to dry, lol. Bishop, I just wanted to share a little bit of my story, because a lot of people might find themselves in the same situation during this Fast. I didn’t receive the Holy Spirit until I stopped doubting.

God bless you.

Esse é meu filho amado

15º Dia do Jejum de Daniel

Quem tem ouvidos ouça o que o Espírito diz:

Naqueles dias, veio Jesus de Nazaré da Galileia e por João foi batizado no rio Jordão. Logo ao sair da água, viu os céus rasgarem-se e o Espírito descendo como pomba sobre Ele. Então, foi ouvida uma Voz dos céus: Tu és o Meu Filho amado, em Ti Me comprazo. Marcos 1.9-11
Meditando sobre essa palavra, fico a me indagar: por que o Senhor Jesus, sendo o Próprio Filho de Deus, teve que Se batizar nas águas, e o Espírito Santo descer sobre Ele?

Penso que foi para deixar o modelo de como acontece com aqueles que se arrependem sinceramente de seus pecados e se rendem aos Pés do Altíssimo, desejando ardentemente seguir uma vida nova e limpa, em que sua essência é obedecer à Palavra de Deus e andar nos Seus caminhos. Sacrificando sua carne, seus sentimentos, o que são (sacrifício espiritual como prostituição, adultério, desejos ilícitos etc.) e o que possuem (sacrifício material como coração no dinheiro, nos bens, nos filhos etc.), para receber o maior Tesouro que um ser humano pode ter: o batismo do Santo Espírito.

Quando o Senhor Jesus vê essa disposição, essa sede na alma de um candidato ao batismo de Seu Espírito, então os céus se rasgam e o Espírito Santo desce sobre ele e inunda o seu ser. Os que estão ao redor não conseguem ouvir Essa Voz que vem dos céus, talvez nem mesmo a própria pessoa ouve, mas o mundo espiritual, tanto os anjos celestiais como, principalmente, o inferno inteiro ouvem em alto e bom som: “Tu és o Meu filho amado, em ti Me comprazo.”

Em outras palavras: “Atenção, anjos, arcanjos, querubins e serafins! Sirvam-no em tudo que ele precisar, guardem-no de todos os males. Nasceu mais um filho amado. E, atenção, inferno! A partir de agora, ESSE É MEU FILHO. Ninguém ousará tocá-lo, daqui para frente ele carregará o Meu Selo, o Meu DNA.”

Graças a Deus!
Vejo que essa é a proposta do Espírito Santo para este Jejum de Daniel.
E você está disposto a abrir mão de tudo que tem e tudo que é para se tornar um intocável filho de Deus, carregando em si o Seu DNA?

PENSE!

* * *

Comentários

Gabrieli Beretta

Boa tarde, bispo!
Meu nome é Gabrieli, sou de Criciúma. Queria deixar meu comentário sobre o Espírito Santo. Sempre fui uma pessoa que duvidou de tudo, sempre deixei os pensamentos de dúvidas entrarem na minha mente, e achava que era eu quem pensava assim. Hoje sei que era o próprio diabo quem jogava os pensamentos negativos, e eu os alimentava.

Fiquei uns 3 anos e meio na Igreja buscando o Espírito de Deus, mas nunca O recebia. Foi quando eu parti para cima do diabo e fiz a Fogueira Santa. O que mais doeu sacrificar não foi o dinheiro, mas sim todas as minhas dúvidas. Houve dias em que minha vontade era apenas de sentar na minha cama e chorar, pois o diabo veio com tudo. 24 horas por dia ele tentava, jogando pensamentos de que eu não poderia receber o Bem maior de Deus, que um traficante ou uma prostituta poderiam chegar à Igreja e, na mesma hora, poderiam receber o Espírito Santo, mas eu não poderia…

Olha, bispo, fui para rua vender docinhos, e o diabo lá estava, tentando jogar dúvidas na minha mente. Mas o meu maior sonho não era outro, além de ter o batismo com o Espírito Santo.

Um dia antes de entregar o meu voto, fechei a porta do quarto, separei as notas em ordem crescente e as perfumei com o meu perfume mais caro, mais cheiroso, pois o meu Deus merece o melhor. No domingo da entrega, sentei na primeira fileira e quando o pastor chamou a todos, não pude deixar de me lembrar de quando eu falava para o diabo: “Tá amarrada toda dúvida, eu creio que vou receber!” Eu repetia isso até ter certeza de que ele tinha fugido de mim, como diz a Bíblia: “Resisti ao diabo, e ele fugirá de vós.”

Não pude conter as lágrimas ao lembrar de tudo que passei para chegar àquele momento. Mas hoje é só alegria, bispo! Depois de um tempinho, em uma quarta-feira, estava determinada a receber o Deus Vivo. Ou Ele descia ou ia buscá-lO no céu. E foi nessa reunião que uma CERTEZA ABSOLUTA entrou dentro de mim e nunca mais saiu. Ah, que dia!

Depois, quando me lembrava, sentia uma alegria no meu interior, e ficava rindo sozinha, estendendo a roupa… kkk. Bispo, só queria deixar aqui uma pequena parte da minha história, e dizer que enquanto não parei de duvidar não puder receber o batismo. E muitas são as pessoas que se encontram assim neste Jejum. Deus o abençoe.

Day 12

THE MARK OF CAIN

Day 12 of the Fast of Daniel 

Let the unbelievers hear what the Spirit says:

Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me. Genesis 4.14

It is definite, just as the seed of obedience produces blessings, the seed of disobedience brings curses.

And the worst curse of disobedience is the absence of FAITH.

The signs of the mark of Cain were: fugitive, wandering the earth and fear. This is, he was a pit of doubts.

Doubt generated fear, which generated distrust, which generated worry, which generated weakness and he became a cursed man. These are characteristics of the children of darkness.

the wages of sin is death… Romans 6.23

Without FAITH it is impossible to please Him; (Hebrews 11.6)

Without FAITH it is impossible to approach God;

Without FAITH it is impossible to obtain the Promises of God;

Without FAITH it is impossible to have life since the just shall live by FAITH. (Hebrews 10.38)

Without FAITH, mankind is subject to the plans of evil.

Because evil is a spirit, it is impossible to confront him with physical and conventional weapons. A much more powerful spiritual weapon is required to overcome him.

FAITH is the only spiritual Power that is able to overcome all of hell.

Knowing this, evil puts all his strength into trying to prevent man from possessing the Spirit of FAITH.

This is why, when it’s time to seek the Holy Spirit, evil thoughts, worries, doubts, fears, etc. surface out of nowhere.

It is precisely to distract your attention away from the Holy Spirit.

Faith is the Power of God that emanates from His Holy Spirit.

Octavio has a doubt. He asks:
I’ve been in a relationship with someone for 1 year and we live together in the same house. This happened without us ever being officially married. I would like to know if this sinful behavior could contribute negatively to me not receiving the Holy Spirit? Bishop, I’m asking for help because I’m 100% surrendered to this Fast of Daniel, but so far, nothing has happened. I’m being plagued by negative thoughts…
Have a good day and God bless you.

Octavio’s question is relevant because it addresses the root of all evil that afflicts mankind: sin.

My dear Octavio, you said yourself that this relationship is a sinful act. You have condemned yourself. This means you have numerous doubts. This is the worst evil that sin does to man. It weakens faith and establishes itself firmly in the person’s consciousness in the form of doubts. And everything that is done with doubt, end up going wrong. I advise you to get rid of that sinful burden, and then, you’ll be able to get rid of the doubts. Through this sacrificial faith, you will be forgiven and receive the Seal of God.
The power of faith is not measured in size, but in quality. This is, absent of any doubt