Welcome,It’s great to be in touch through this weekly blog. I offer it as a way to encourage you to stay the course during Operation Take Back, our 40-day spiritual journey beginning Monday, September 21st through Friday, October 30th.
You may have participated in a 40-day spiritual journey with us or another group of Christ followers over the years.
During Operation Take Back, you will be given a variety of opportunities to keep you motivated along the journey. This weekly blog is one of the ways I will be directly communicating with you, along with preaching our weekend services and leading our Acts 19 service on Friday, October 23rd.
Over the 40-days you will also have opportunities to meet with pastors and key leaders following our weekend services to interface in topical discussions aimed at strengthening you throughout the journey. We have also planned a wide variety of multimedia approaches designed to stay connected with you during the journey.
Will you put aside 40 days to seek God and to war in the spirit on behalf of your family, your career, your finances, and your spiritual life? If you answered yes, let’s begin this journey like no other—with a dogged determination to take back everything the enemy has stolen from us. And let’s finish in victory. Here are your marching orders: No Surrender. No Retreat.
Our King Cometh!
Dr. David Ireland
Hello Dr ireland my mom is going on the forty day journey, and is going to do the fast of danielle. You have really influce my family icluding my brother keep it up
ReplyDeleteP.S my name is jade, and when r u going to come to the 11:45 service? Its been awhile , and from my opinon Pastor Anthony and The music ministry and Preacher Rick Carlos are really doing a great job with the services while ur @ the Rockaway Campus.Keep up the goo work.
ReplyDelete-God Bless
Jade Bernadel
I look forward to the start of our 40-day journey on Monday, September 21st. I would have launched a very provocative message at both campuses on the weekend before (19th & 20th) that deals with our feelings and emotions. Get ready to grow in a substantive way once we get going! I would encourage you to prepare for the journey by answering five reflective questions.
ReplyDelete1. What do I want from Operation Take Back?
2. What 40-day practice(s) will I commit to doing (i.e., fasting, journaling, etc.)?
3. Which Bible promise(s) will I seek (i.e., peace, salvation of household, healing, etc.) after?
4. What area(s) of my life will I seek to reclaim?
5. Who is my accountability/prayer partner?
Answering these questions will move you along the path to reclaim your life.
Greetings Dr. Ireland,
ReplyDeleteI am one of your members who has done several journeys in the past. However, I am not looking at this journey with dismay, but with excitment and promise. I also know the journey's I've done in the past, although they may not have been too successful as far as commitment, have still helped me in my walk. I have a stronger understanding of just what God wants from me becasue of them.
So now I am ready to TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I may have lost in those past battles and more!!
May God continue to bless you and your family as we stand on the frontline of our fight.
Good Morning Dr. Ireland,
ReplyDeleteYesterday's message on forgiveness is one that I have heard on more than one occasion, however I have not ever heard it fully explained the way that you did. I want to thank you for giving me a fuller understanding of forgiveness, and preparing us all to embark on this exciting journey
Pastor, I am excited to start the 40 operation take back. At the top of the summer a prophecy went forth at church that this would be the summer of Suddenly's and it resounded in my soul. Within a couple of weeks my boss asked me how I felt about working out of the Nashville office and my heart soared. It's a long story, but I've been wanting to move back to Nashville. In any event I'll be moving in november and this 40 season of prayer will be ushering me into a new home and I'm excited. My oldest son will be my prayer partner, so I can live out my transistion with him. And celebrate God's goodness as a family.
ReplyDeleteCarmen Day.
ReplyDeleteHello Pastor David,yesterday in our way to church I was talking to God about my economy, saying that I was tired of the lack of economy I'm going thru, so I said to him I want to give you an ofrend and I though maybe $500.00 for my surprise when you step in the altar and stared talking about all the needs of the church and ask if we could ofrend extra $500.00 or whatever amount we can for couple of months Oh God! I said to myself there is not doubt that I have to do this. God spoke to my about the $500.00 ofrend even before you said it. God is good, we must believe his word!
I'm ready to Operation Take Back.
And we are so happy to be part of the family of Christ Church and having you as a Pastor.
God bless you!!!
You have impacted my life tremendously.I was hesitant in coming since I have been hurt badly by church already.Somehow your messages has helped me handle the transition.Thank you and your wife for teaching me humility.
ReplyDeleteBLESSINGS
The enemy can keep what he has stolen. What he has touched is now contaminated. I am confident God has NEW stuff for me. In my opinion "Operation Take Back!" is about Kingdom business, reclaiming souls for God and bringing back lost sheep through intercession and fasting as Father Nash did.
ReplyDeletePastor Ireland, the excitement is in the air and our war clothes are on as we have launch out into the enemies grounds. We are equipped!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete1. Our Weapon (God's Word)
2. Prayer (Communication with God)
3. War Clothes (Holy Spirit)
4. Faith (Our Shield)
We are in this war and like David has done, we will bring back not some but all our stuff back!!!!!!! Praise The Lord!!! Let's Get it all!!!! Yeah!!!!
DAY #2: Work The Plan!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You completed day one of our 40-day journey. I’m excited by all of your postings. And, to learn that for some of you it’s not your first time taking a spiritual journey with me and the rest of the Christ Church family. Remember, our singular focus is to reclaim areas of our lives in which we’ve suffered loss, defeat, or limited growth. This spiritual journey is not to the neglect of rescuing lost loved ones, backslidden believers, and people who’ve simply been blinded by the enemy’s worldview, as one blogger so aptly put it.
To reclaim these essential areas you must work the plan found in the Operation Take Back booklet that I developed from the Bible. As we read through the Book of Acts over the 40 days, today’s reading covers chapter two. Another recommended book for the journey is Prayer & Spiritual Warfare by E. M. Bounds, which you can get through Amazon.com or from our church’s bookstore. The insights that Bounds makes on the subject of spiritual warfare is quite illuminating. For example, he says that “Faith gives birth to prayer. It grows stronger, strikes deeper, and rises higher in the struggles and wrestling of mighty petitioning.” This means that your faith is an essential part of your intercession and spiritual warfare. You must infuse your daily prayers with faith in God in order that the areas of your life can be reclaimed.
The application of faith is seen occurring in Acts chapter two, as the 120 people gathered for prayer in the Upper Room. By faith they all received the baptism in the Holy Spirit in a dramatic way. This wonderful experience was preparatory to their being used to share the message of God’s love in powerful ways to the people in their communities (Acts 1:8). As you’re getting fired up by the word of God, pray this prayer: “Lord, in the name of Jesus, use me today to impact someone’s life for good. Help me to reclaim courage and boldness so that I can fearlessly proclaim your salvation message in a way that connects with the culture in which I live.”
I can’t wait to hear your praise report! Have a great day!
Dear Pastor David!
ReplyDeleteThank you for that encouraging message. I woke up at 5 am to read scripture and pray. I am excited about God's promises for my life and for Christ Church!
PS- Can you post your messages on the front page of your blog? Right now it looks as if the last time you posted was August 17th. I am a blogger, so if you need help with this please don't hesitate to ask.
Have a wonderful day!
Good Morning Pastor David,
ReplyDeleteJust want to say thanks for the hard work and leadership you offer our church body at Christ Church, but also the outside world.
I say this because I recently had the privilege of seeing you speak at an event that was not tied to the church. You also spoke a word that had been spoken at our church before and was part of the launch of this 40 day spiritual journey(Go Get Your Stuff Back!), however. The anointing on the message was soo different! It was electric and commanding...
Not trying to compare the two as the anointing at Christ Church is always life giving and transforming! Just saying it was a different and pleasent experience and I pray that the Lord would open many doors for you due to the heavy mantle of gifts and anointing you carry with you. The world needs to experience it!
May the Lord Bless You...
I pray the everyone will have a blessed evening in the Lord.
ReplyDeleteHi Pastor David! Thanks for inspiring us to claim what the Word has already promised us. For everyone; if you enjoy listening to the Word, here's a great resource: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/real_play.php?aid=3&book=51&chapter=2&end_chapter=2
ReplyDeleteENJOY & GOD BLESS!
Hi again, I noticed that the link I posted for the audio bible did not work properly so here is a functional link: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/
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ReplyDeleteGreetings Pastor Ireland
ReplyDeleteFor the daily reading of the old testament should we be starting from Proverbs 1? The guide has proverbs noted for day 29?
The account in Acts 4 spoke to me in a profound way. Specifically, even after Peter & John had boldly proclaimed the Truth to the Sanhedrin and were let go, they asked God for even MORE boldness! And the very place where they prayed was shaken. I wrote in my journal, "I want that, Lord."
ReplyDeleteHi Pastor David,
ReplyDeleteThis is my second 40 day journey with Christ Church. I regret to say that I didn't complete the last one, but I intend to finish this battle. The devil has stolen so many things from me in the past and I WILL get everything back. I'm usually one of those people who start something and never finish it. I pray that God will give me the determination and tolerance to change that.
On Monday I started this new journey with a new passion, and every night since, I've had dreams about things in my past and present life. I believe that God is showing me that in order to win this war, I have to take my focus off of these things in my daily life and place my focus on HIM. I don't know how to shift the focus because these people and situations in my life present a very needy front that I'm unable to ignore. I feel overwhelmed with responsibility and even though I feel that I'm doing some kind of good for others, it's taking away from my own spiritual development and time I should be spending with God. Do you have any ideas on how I can help those people without losing my focus on what's important in my spiritual walk?
I feel truly blessed to be a part of Christ Church for the past six years and I love you and Pastor Marlinda dearly. I pray that God continue to bless you both abundantly to keep delivering the message to us in simplicity and clarity so we can apply it to our lives every day. Thank you and God bless!!!!
The Day After.
ReplyDeleteLast nights Power Encounter was one of the most moving services I have attended at Christ Church in a long time and I have been a member since 1996.
What I always enjoy most is 'watching' the natural manifestation of God work through Dr. Ireland and in Dr. Ireland's obedience to God, I love to 'see' the Power that exudes his natural man come alive! Dr. Ireland you were 'on God's fire' last night.
I have completed the 40 day journey and on the last day, I felt like Tamara Vassel, as though I did not take anything back from the enemy's camp, but I knew that was a lie because as I walked to my car, on my way to Christ Church, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me that I took 'me' back and He was right.
During this 40 day journey one of the most profound and unsettling things happened to me and my family, my marriage was dissolved, 10 years of marriage, 17 years of relationship with this person, gone, done, over. I never thought in a million years that my family would not be in tact or that a divorce would occur, not in my family, but God had another plan for me and it's not like He hadn't warned me in advance or tried to talk me out of my decisions before I took my vows, He was there all the time, protecting me. I believed at the time I was doing the 'right thing' and I still believe that God did ordain my marriage, however, it takes two and I realized that I was unequally yoked.
I felt heavy after work yesterday thinking what good would it be for me to attend service I didn't take back anything and in fact things seemed out of sorts, financially things were tight and as I walked to my car with less than a half of a tank of gas and $26.00 in my bank account I felt like the enemy was up to something. My sons did not want to attend service because now they are tired from school which all of a sudden came over them, I felt beat up and in the few moments of almost convincing myself not to go, I realized that I was buying into this heaviness of becoming weary, but I found my POWER! Once I made the decision to go to the service it was on!
I got in my car and prayed in the Spirit and the Holy Spirit told me that I had been transformed and that this was a NEW DAY!
God, in His awesome Sovereinty, allowed me to take back 'me', restored my vision for the future, moved me into my gifts and is allowing me to use them and when I woke up this morning, there was a monetary deposit in my bank account because of a bank error that took place on the 40th day of the journey. The enemy was trying hard to make me look at a circumstance that was only temporary, because God had other plans for my life.
At work I will be moving into a new position at my job, which I was told the great news on the 39th day of the journey and this great news is as a result of an answered prayer, my children are healthy, our congregation is stronger than ever. Pastor received the fresh anointing we had been praying about and we are alive for such a time as this. I know that we will receive what we need and then some from our Imagine More campaign and that God will answer every prayer according to His agenda and His time.
Tamara's health has been restored, her husband will be employed soon and the people who needed to be delivered and set free received their healing and deliverance and we are FREE! How about that?
I realized that what I felt after work yesterday was only natural, I had just come out of a journey, out of a war, out of a place that is now in the past, which has now been 'burned' in the fire, it's no wonder my natural woman felt that way.
To God Be The Glory!
The Journey for me has just begun and will be continuous for a lifetime. This is not new, for God said in His Word, "if my people, who are called by my name, will HUMBLE themselves and PRAY and SEEK my face and TURN from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will FORGIVE their sins and WILL HEAL their land". What a promise and to know that every promise ends in VICTORY!
I Will Bless the Lord!
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ReplyDeletePastor David, you prayed with me at the end of Saturday service (3/12) for my niece Mackenzie (tumor on her brain stem). My brother called me from Tampa yesterday and said she was sitting up and ate for the first time in 3 days. She's a lot more responsive. PRAISE GOD!!! We have to want for the test results but we are yet believing God for complete healing. ThanQ!
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