Yesterday I had the privilege of spending some time with Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City.Pastor Jim has had a profound impact on my life and ministry through his books (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire; Fresh Faith; Breakthrough Prayer, The Church That God Blesses; etc.) and through the Tuesday night prayer meeting held at BT.
In fact, when we planted PCC 5 years ago about 40 people (just about the entire adult portion of our church at the time) chartered a bus and attended the Tuesday night prayer meeting. This proved to be a life-changing experience for me and our church plant. To witness an entire church calling on the name of the Lord in a corporate experience was so powerful.
Here are a few things I learned from Pastor Jim yesterday:
1. Love God with all your heart and live each day with a fresh supply of the Holy Spirit.
2. Teaching people to call upon the name of the Lord trumps "cute and clever programs".
3. Don't be in a hurry when you are in God's presence. Take time each day to cultivate an intimate relationship with God through the person of the Holy Spirit.
4. Surround yourself with humble, Godly men and women that know how to pray.
5. Reaching the lost and seeing them saved by God's amazing grace never gets old.
6. The most authentic expression of worship is simply saying "yes" to God.
7. God blesses a church that abandons itself to His Word and is desperate for the Holy Spirit to show up in their midst.
8. A church will eventually reflect the inner life of its leader.
9. There is no room for racism in the Kingdom of God.
10. Never underestimate the power of prayer.
4 comments:
That's pretty cool! And we were just talking about him last week! I remember meeting you guys that night at Brooklyn Tabernacle....seems like so long ago! Ellen :)
Hi Pastor Dave,
I came out of the Brooklyn Tabernacle and the one thing that I have learned from Pastor Cymbala who is one of my spiritual heroes also, is to live an abandoned life for Christ. I admire the the way he lives his life, simply to please God. He adds no complication to the process of living the christian life. Like he says, saying "yes" to God, praying always, and seeking intervention of the Holy Spirit are key. I can still see him in my mind's eye, on the stage, with his arms stretched open wide saying, "Lord use me in which ever way you choose."
When I started attending PCC I thought you were affiliated with Pastor Cymbala/BT in some capacity because you reminded me of him: your style of preaching/teaching, your simple approach to living the christian life;it's not you, it's all God, your sense of humor, the style of worship and your dedication to prayer are qualities that drew me to return to the church over and over until I took out membership. Those are some of the qualities that come to mind when I think of Pastor Cymbala.
God Bless You
Thanks, hj. I appreciate your comment and am humbled by your comparison. Bless you. Dave
Hi Ellen! Yes, time goes by so quickly when you are having fun. Great to have you and Levon as part of our family.
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