- Go to www.newbirth.org.
- Click on "News & Events" at the top of the page.
- Select "Resource Center."
- from there go to "Resources Listing."
- select "Strategic Life Plan."
GUEST
Eddie Long: One Minute Can Change Everything
CBN.com
– 60 SECONDS TO GREATNESS
Sixty seconds may not seem like much, but Bishop Long says greatness starts with a choice and everyone is capable of making the decision to be great. Every minute of your life can bring you closer to God who promises great things. He challenges you to prepare for the coming of these amazing promises.
The promise of God is you will reap if you don’t quit. Bishop Long wants to move people into the now and understand the value of the moment. He also encourages people to utilize time to the best of their ability.
This is not a prosperity message. It is more about the significance of the mind, body, and spirit and the balance between them. Balance is a challenge, and it is important. God’s order in lives is also important. It helps us to live more abundantly. Bishop Long says it’s a shame to die and never have lived.
God’s principles bring life to you. We need to know that God has a purpose for each one of our lives. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations (NIV)." All of us need to know that God knows us and has already set us apart to do things that only we can do.
ANSWERING THE CALL
Years ago, Bishop Long read a book about the 1904 Welsh revival. What stuck with him most was that Evan Roberts and others prayed fervently and faithfully for God to breakthrough and revive the country, basing their prayer on II Chronicles 7:14. They held on to the promise and obeyed the command to humble themselves and repent and God’s reviving Spirit swept across the land. Bishop Long wanted to pastor a church and believed that God had called him to pastor a big church. No ego he says, but felt this was what God had spoken to him. As he waited and prayed, he thought large would be a congregation of 1,500 people. The first church he pastored had 40 members. After a year, it still had 40 members. He continued to pastor that church for three years. By the time he left he had a congregation of 350 members.
After that, he went to New Birth and started with 300 members. When God poured out His blessings, things happened. The church grew suddenly. When they hit 10,000 members, Bishop Long was nearly worn out, but God kept going.
It was all God’s timing. Bishop Long directed numerous building expansion, land acquisition and building development efforts. These efforts led to the construction of a 3,700-seat sanctuary in 1991, a Family Life Center in 1999 and a 10,000-seat complex in 2001. Today, the church is 25,000 and nearing 30,000. “I had been so busy planning for 1,500 that God passed me by and kept it going so that I hardly know what happened,” he says. God will do the same for you.
FIVE THINGS GOD SAYS ABOUT THE VISION
Everybody wants to pursue the vision God has for them in the right way, but many people don’t move on because of circumstances. Different things can become hindrances. In the Bible, the prophet Habakkuk is known for wanting to pursue God and His purposes. The prophet writes this about his vision in Habakkuk 2:1-4 (NIV): “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a
herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright-- but the righteous will live by his faith.”
Before this passage, Habakkuk is complaining about the wicked prospering. Then, Habakkuk set himself on a rampart. In other words, he pulled away from distractions for awhile and put himself in place where he allowed the Holy Spirit to teach him. Then God was able to tell Habakkuk five things about the vision:
1. It is for an appointed time. Be patient. God has put you in this life and at this time for
a purpose that is made just for you.
2. It will speak. God seldom does everything in one great, continuous motion. There are steps along the way to make it happen.
3. It will not lie. God is not a human being that would hold back what He has promised. He will deliver.
4. It will surely come. What God promises will come. Remain faithful because you know, truly expect, the fulfillment of God’s promises in your life.
5. It will not tarry (won’t be delayed).
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