The Shepherd's Fold Apostolic Church

 John 6:1-15 (The feeding of the 5,000) In verse 5 , Christ was testing the disciples when He asked: "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" Philip's response in verse 7 shows where his faith was. He quoted a dollar amount that wouldn't even be sufficient for each one to have just a little bread. Andrew's response wasn't much better-- a young boy who had 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish-- " but what are they among so many?" Many times, we as Christians respond to needs in the same way. We look at our insufficiency. We look at what we have and we say it's too little. Looking at what we have or don't have- we then feel insufficient and our faith is low. But the truth is--- what we have IS insufficient! Jesus told the disciples to set the men down and then He took what He had- the 5 loaves and 2 small fish-- and when He had given thanks for what He had- God created a miracle right then and there! Jesus was trying to ...

Matthew 24:1-28 Verse 4-- "And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you.'" In the day we are living Christians need to KNOW the Word of God more than ever before. We need to check everything against what the Bible says. Many will come and deceive as the serpent deceived Eve. Just one or two "little" words can change an entire thought and an entire life. We need to know our Word and not just read it and memorize it, but make it an active and powerful part of our daily lives. Verse 23,24--if anyone comes to you and says Christ is here or Christ is over there- don't believe it! "For false christs and false prophets will rise up and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect."   There are two kingdoms present in the world today. The kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of antichrist. Antichrist is a spirit at work in spiritual darkness and preys on the dark areas of a person's mind...

Mark 4:13-20; Matthew 25:14-30 It is our responsibility to sow- God brings the increase. If we don't sow, we can never reap. We must continue on. We can't be detoured or distracted. We will have setbacks but we can't let it stop us. Luke 12:48 "...For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." Our requirement is to plant. God will bring the increase. Our requirement is to be obedient to sow where God has placed us. It doesn't matter whether it is in a well lit and open area, full of opportunities to be seen or whether it is in a small, dark place unseen by the masses. That choice is up to God. Our responsibility is to sow what and where God has put us. Don't try to open doors that God has left shut. Be obedient to what He is telling you to do. We will never reap if we don't sow where God has placed us. (From Pastor Keith's Sermon 7/8/2012...

Mark 3:1-6 Jesus's first words to the man with the crippled hand were: "Step forward".   This means to "Arise into the midst".   Jesus next told him to "Stretch out your hand." If he wanted wholeness his first step was to take a step- forward.The man was used to the crippled hand- he had gotten used to it, had adapted to it. Between "Step forward"   and "Stretch out your hand"- there was a battle raging in the man's mind. The battle between these two statements was in his mind. He had to make the decision of what he was going to do- step forward and receive Christ's healing, or go on like he had in the past. His faith was being tested and stretched. God wants to stretch our faith. We say we want revival-- God says "Step forward" and "stretch forth". We have to win the battle in our minds. We have to believe that God is going to do what He says He is going to do. Our minds become our biggest obstac...

Mathew 26:36-46 Verse 39: "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'" Jesus knew that the time of His death was coming soon. The disciples wanted Him to stay and set up His kingdom on the earth. But Jesus knew He wasn't going to set up an earthly kingdom but was going to set up a heavenly kingdom. He came to a decision that night in Gethsemane. He suffered His will that night so that He would be able to suffer physically on the cross. He had to come to the place of giving up His will for His Father's will. God won't make us do something. We must give up our own wills. We can't put if off until tomorrow. We must submit our will today. His will never takes place in our life until we give up our will. We think- we'll do it next week. We'll pray tomorrow, next week. There must be a breaking of our will. It re...

Acts 8:26-40 This text describes the incidence where God used Philip to preach to an Ethiopian who was a high ranking court official. Afterwards Philip was caught up by the Spirit and ended up at Azotus, many miles away. Philip was one of seven men filled with the Spirit to help wait on tables ( Acts 6:5,6 ). He was like anyone else except he allowed the Spirit to fill him and use him. He didn't have his own agenda- he allowed God to lead and direct him. We first find Philip in chapter 8 going down to Samaria- a place where many others avoided. But because of his obedience a revival broke out and many received the Holy Ghost. Then God spoke to him and sent him into the desert and that is where he met the man from Ethiopia. Philip had a Divine Appointment from God. He didn't allow his own schedule to dictate to him. He allowed the Spirit to lead him. He stopped what he was doing and followed the Spirit. God wants the church to get to the place of "Divine" ha...

Joshua 3 Verses 3,4: "And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore." To "sanctify" means to consecrate, to dedicate yourself to God alone. It involves committing your life to the Lord to live holy, pure and dedicated to Him. God is asking us to consecrate ourselves today. The Presence of God is going to move in an awesome way soon. Christians need to be ready. We need to let go of the things that cause God shame and cause our lives to be unproductive for the kingdom of God. We need to cleanse our hearts and minds. (From the Pastor's Bible Study-- August 1, 2012)