REV. TIMOTHY L. MELTON, PASTOR
CHEROKEE PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCH
“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins!
“Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple everyday and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.
‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed?’ We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’
“‘I will tell you why!,’ I respond. ‘It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.’
“‘What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.’
“‘You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?’”
“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people
“Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
“Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
“Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
“The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.
“Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.”
Isaiah 58:1-12; 59 (NLT)
Both Pastor Timothy Melton and Evangelist Tim Dove, at the beginning of this week’s service, said that they had received a Word from the Lord this week during each one’s separate ‘quiet time’ and study. The Word they each gave concerns The Church, and the Revealing of the Bride of Christ. It was a non-denominational message meant to be for all denominations who follow Jesus as Lord. Both messages were similar in that the Lord told them that this year the Church is going to be attacked by the enemy, the evil one, like never before. This was meant as a warning, so everyone can all be forewarned and ready to take it seriously. This should be a priority in our prayers and service to the Body of Christ.
“Cherokee Pentecostal Holiness Church, is on the cutting edge,” stated Pastor Melton. In the revealing of the Bride of Christ as The True Church, the Lord asks each one to examine themselves and give an answer, “Will you still worship Him? Answer His compelling call? Choose peace and safety? Can you be of a part of a Church without walls or buildings, if need be? Are you ready to be ‘sifted as wheat’ as Peter was? Are you ready to go out into the ‘highways and byways’ to seek those who are lost? The Bride is to be spotless, without blemish…Ponder these questions. Stockpile your time with the Lord, not just food. Fasting ‘moves’ you.
“We know, according to the Word, there is also to be a great falling away of many who, in their own pride or ‘fear’, will not choose to continue together with those who are in the Church. Leaving a hole there, a sad separation for themselves, from those who have chosen to continue onward and upward,” he quietly explains.
“God loves His people. Do a mighty work amongst the Cherokee. This will lead us into the last great ‘harvest of souls’. The Harvest begins as the Bridal Invitations for the Wedding Feast are issued and answered ‘yes!’ It will be ‘soon and very soon!’ All of the new names will be added into the Lamb’s Book,” he added.
