Pastor Gavin Taylor LOJWO Leadership Series

Today, I want to speak to you about the importance of guarding your heart or (protecting your) heart. I also want to take some time to explain what that actually means. When I say “guard your heart”, I'm not talking about the organ that beats in your chest. That's your natural heart, that pumps blood through your body and keeps your physical body alive. I'm not talking about that “heart”. What I'm talking about your spiritual heart; which controls your emotions, feelings, and sentiments. Your spiritual heart is a synonym for your Soul; which consists of your mind, will, and emotions. To guard your heart, therefore, is to guard your Soul. The Bible says that your heart, our your soul, must be guarded (protected), with all diligence (or with the greatest of efforts), because your heart “affects all that you are” on the inside, and begins to release it on the outside.

Recently, I released a prophetic word stating that “your winter ❄️ is over”. I stated that you're about to give birth to some dreams, that you thought had been aborted, dead, and were gone forever. I mentioned that, although you thought they were dead, they weren't dead, they were just hibernating for the winter. I also told you that your season was changing and with that, flowers

Today is Resurrection Sunday. This is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This past Thursday, Jesus had His last supper with His disciples, He went to Gethsamane to pray and to prepare for the sufferings that were about to take place. He was then betrayed by a man He called friend; named Judas. On Good Friday, He was brutally beaten and crucified on a cruel rugged cross, finished His earthly mission, which was to die to take away the sins of the world (as the lamb

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The martial relationship supersedes all other natural relationships. Even the relationship between parents and children. The child is the parents responsibility up until they get married. After that, husbands and wives are to care for and provide for one another. Leaving their mother and father, and cleaving to one another. That, of course, doesn't mean that you throw your parents or your family away. It just means that your marital relationship (now) supersedes that relationship. Today, we're going to continue to explore how to properly prepare for this type of commitment.

Last week, I mentioned that you have to be prepared and processed to receive the blessings of God. Why? Because someone that is not prepared and processed for His blessings, will (ultimately) lose the blessing due to mismanagement. That's why you can't leave a million dollar inheritance to a five year old child. Its not about love, but about the ability to handle and manage. It is, therefore, left in a trust until the child is old enough to receive it. The child has to grow and mature before they are able to handle the responsibility of having that kind of money. It's a similar situation with us. That's where process and the preparation come in. ‭‭

Last Sunday, I know that dropped a bomb

This is my real point. You have to be prepared and processed for the blessings of God. The reason why you don't have what you want right now, is not because God doesn't want to bless you with it, (but) because you're not ready for it. You have to go through the process of being made, so you can be ready for His blessings. You don't want to miss this teaching. Blessings!

Your success or failure (in life) will be determined by how you handle provocation, jealousy, and envy. Provocation is an action or speech that makes someone angry; especially deliberately. With that being said, have you ever been provoked by someone? Has someone ever told you that you can't do this or do that? Has someone ever told you that you're not smart enough? If so, how did that make you feel? Did it stop you or did it fuel you? I don't know about you, but when someone tells me “I can't”, I have to figure out a way to get it done. Also, when someone is doing better than me, it also fuels me to do better. When you're attacked with provocation, or jealousy, or envy, you can either get bitter or get better. You have to make a choice.

I was in prayer recently, and I heard the Lord say that there is a difference between “FAKE Blessings” and “FAITH Blessings”. He said that FAITH blessings are created by sowing seeds of faith. Seeds of faith, just like any other seed, take time to grow up, because they grow downward first (to develop a root system), then they grow up out of the ground and are able to be seen. That's why it takes so long for your blessings to materialize. They're developing roots, so that they'll be lasting and not easily pulled up.

The amazing thing about “current trouble” is that it can make you forget about past triumphs. I mean, just a day prior, the Israelites witnessed God destroy Egypt and kill every firstborn male child. You would think that the Israelites would not be worried about Pharaoh and his army anymore, but they're completely terrified. At this moment, they're not thinking about what God has done, they're thinking about their current situation. “Current Trouble” has a way of making you forget where God has brought you from. The devil makes sure of it. Because, if you remember what God had already done for you, you would never be afraid of what the devil trying to do to you.

Today, I want to take this message a step further, because having “NOW Faith” is not enough. Once you start having faith, your faith must be constant. Your faith must then be released through your words and actions. Doubt must be eliminated from your heart. No matter what happens, no matter what the enemy does, you must continue to have faith in God.

As this year began, I heard that I need to teach on the original intentions of God for us. Of course, in order to find His original intentions, you have to go back to the beginning and see how He originally created things to be.

As you all know, today is Christmas Day. Today, people (from all over the world) will be giving and receiving gifts and I think that's beautiful. I love to give gifts and I love to receive gifts. But, I just wanted to remind everyone about the real reason that we have this season. His name is Jesus. Today, I want to talk about what we can give Him (as a gift) today. Everybody else is getting a gift. Why not give one to the greatest gift giver ever?

You should be thinking (right now) what you're going to do different, to make 2023 a better year than 2022 was. Did you have a good 2022? Great! What can you do to make this upcoming year even better? - Change your thoughts. Change your words. Change your actions. Then your life will change.

How you ever found yourself in a situation like this? Everything around you is dead? In other words, nothing is working and nothing is happening. Everything around you looks hopeless and helpless. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you felt like there was no way out? Have you ever thought to yourself, “what am I going to do to get out of this?”. This is the situation that the Prophet Ezekiel is looking at in Ezekiel 37:1-10. There was death everywhere. No situation could be more hopeless than this; But God. Through His intervention, this dead army was resurrected by His great and mighty power. If He could do that to those dry bones, He can do that to your dead and dry situation as well. So, the question is, how did this change take place? We're going to review that right now.

Also, change doesn't happen in your life, just because God loves you. Change will only happen when you decide that change needs to come, and you do something about it. There are many people that have been waiting years for their life to change, but they're in the same place they were 10 years ago. Why? Because they haven't done anything to cause a change. As we all know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. If something's not working in your life, it's not going to start working, just because you keep doing it. It's time for you to figure out what you're doing wrong, and start doing something different. That starts with finding out what the will of God is concerning your situation. Change will only come, after you have found out what the will of God is and you begin doing it.

For that last couple of weeks, we talked about the fact that fruit of your life begins with what you think (on a regular basis), which produces the fruit of your lips (or your words), and (ultimately) produces the things you do (or your actions). This is the fruit that grows out of our lives. These are the things that God is looking at. These are the things that God will (ultimately) judge us by. With that being said, we better make sure that we're producing good fruit. To support our ministry, you can give online at www.lojnorthnewark.org/donate. You can also give using our Cash App at $LOJNN or through Givelify using the following giving link: https://giv.li/g4uzj3. May God richly bless you in your giving.

Last Sunday, we talked about the fact that fruit of your life is defined as; What you think

This past Thursday, on “Let's Talk with Pastor Gavin Taylor”, Pastor Todd ministered on the fact that not everyone is going to heaven. If you didn't get a chance to see it, make sure that you go back and watch it. One of the things that he mentioned was the fact that we had to be producing good fruit, not bad fruit, to make sure that we make it in. Today, I want to talk about what it actually means to have good fruit in the kingdom of God.

I recently went down a “rabbit hole” as I was studying the scriptures. As I was in my personal study time, my eyes fixed on one statement and I couldn't let it go. That statement was “God is Faithful”. I know that's a simple statement, but it really stuck out to me, so I began to research how many times the Bible states that “God is Faithful”, and in what ways He was faithful. I was amazed at how many times I read that God was Faithful. In this message, we will review them together. Please like and share this message with your family & friends! To support our ministry, you can give online at www.lojnorthnewark.org/donate. You can also give using our Cash App at $LOJNN or through Givelify using the following giving link: https://giv.li/g4uzj3. May God richly bless you in your giving.

Today, I want to specifically speak to those that are feeling weary and are overwhelmed with life. I want to speak to those that are feeling like they don't know how they're going to make it. Those that are struggling and need help. Now, this might now be for everyone right now at this moment, but we will all need to know what to do when we reach this point in life.

The Bible says that God “is able to carry out His purpose” in our lives. Let's just stop there for a moment, so I can say this. God is going to do everything that He said that He would do in our lives. Not just because God wants to, but because He's able to. You see, a lot of people have good intentions, but they lack the power and authority to bring those intentions to pass. That's not God's issue. God is ABLE, which means that He has the power and authority to back up His word, and to fulfill all His promises.

This anniversary marked the completion of year number 9. The number 9 in the scriptures means divine completeness or finality, harvest, and fruitfulness. In the natural, a full term pregnancy last 9 months. Then, the woman gives birth. For this past year, I believe that we've been in a birthing position, carrying and developing the promise to full term. As we enter into year 10 (at the conclusion of our anniversary), I believe that we are giving birth to twins. This is the 9th month and the 9th year, as was confirmed by Bishop Barbara when she came here. That's double 9's and God said this year is the year of the double portion blessing. Not just one, but two.

There are rewards for our service to the Lord, and I'm not just talking about heaven. Heaven is the ultimate reward. But God has also made provisions for us on earth. The Bible states that if we would seek the kingdom of God, FIRST, than all the other things, that we're believing for, will be added to us. Your work for the Lord is not in vain. Never forget that. Give Him your very best and He will give you His very best.

In a horse

Last week, I mentioned that you (as born again believers) already have everything that you need to live a successful and Godly life. God has left us with His Word and His Spirit to ensure our success in life. Those two things are all we will ever need to live a wealthy, healthy, and holy life. God made sure that we had all the help we would ever need to be successful. With that being said, success is still not automatic. You see, you have to work with the Spirit and you must work the Word. Somebody once said that God's word will work, if you work it.

Last week, I mentioned that you (as born again believers) already have everything that you need to live a successful and Godly life. God has left us with His Word and His Spirit to ensure our success in life. Those two things are all we will ever need to live a wealthy, healthy, and holy life. God made sure that we had all the help we would ever need to be successful. With that being said, success is still not automatic. You see, you have to work with the Spirit and you must work the Word. Somebody once said that God's word will work, if you work it.

First of all, you have to settle it in your mind and in your heart that God wants you to prosper. In fact, this scripture states that above all things, God wants you to prosper (financially) and be in good health (physically, spiritually, and emotionally). In fact, He “delights” and “takes pleasure” in your prosperity. I'm mentioning this because if you don't believe that it is the Will of God for you to prosper, you never will. That's why it's important for you to know that, as your Father, it is God's great desire to see you succeed in life. Just like any good father, our Heavenly Father wants His children to do well. It's a disappointment for a father to see his child struggling and living in poverty. No good father wants his children to do poorly. So why would it be difficult to believe that He (as the Ultimate Great Father) would want anything but prosperity for His children? The devil is the only one that wants to see you fail. He comes to steal from you, destroy your life, and (ultimately) kill you. But Jesus makes it very clear that He came to give you the God kind of abundant life, that leads to joy and abundance.

Today, I wanted to talk about the importance of being in the presence of God. There is protection and safety that comes with abiding in His presence. In His presence, God is able to protect you from danger that's happening around you. His presence is like an invisible bubble that you're living in. You're physically in the presence of danger, but you're still being protected from what's happening around you. It's like watching a storm ⛈ outside your window

One of our great missions in life is to find the door that God has opened for us. Oftentimes, we waste time trying to open doors, that God hasn't opened for us. This leads to a great deal of frustration in our lives. If we focus on finding the doors that God has already opened for us, our lives would be a whole lot easier.

How many of you have prayed the Lord's Prayer? I'm sure that most (if not all) of you have. If you have, did you realize that literally asked God to forgive your sins in the same way that forgive others sins? I suppose that would be a good thing if you are the type of person that's quick to forgive others for their wrongdoings; but, if you don't, do you really want God to answer that prayer? What you're really saying is, “God, forgive me like a forgive other people”. That could be a dangerous request, because most people want revenge and judgement when someone wrongs them. Is that what you want from God? You see, most people want mercy, but they don't want to be merciful. If you're going to receive mercy, you have to give mercy.

I am making a distinction right now between natural wisdom and Godly wisdom. Natural Wisdom, as we discussed earlier, is the ability to use knowledge accurately for results. In other words, Natural Wisdom is when a person does what he knows to do. That is what makes a person wise in the natural. Knowledge is the attaining of accurate information, but Wisdom is the application of that knowledge. That's natural wisdom. Now, Godly wisdom, is having insight from God's point of view. As we see, from this scripture, only “God understands the way to wisdom and He knows its place for wisdom is with God alone”. This, Wisdom, is considered Divine Revelation. This is wisdom that can only come from God. This is when God gives you information that is not readily available to others. This, wisdom, is what I consider to be the ultimate edge in life. It's the greatest advantage, because no one else is privy to this information. This is what they mean when they say “Favor ain't fair”. As God's child, you are privy to information that no one else is privy to. The key is, we have to understand more about the Wisdom of God and how much of a benefit it is to us.

We invited Reverend Fred Rodriguez to teach on the keys to becoming an effective leader. In this episode, Rev. Fred began to teach on the importance of catching the vision of the house.

Quitting is the only thing that can stop you from receiving God’s promises, and the devil knows that. That’s why he is working overtime to distract you. He is trying to trip you up as you’re running your race. You know when most people fall? When they’re not watching where they’re going. Most people trip and run into things, when they’re distracted. That’s the purpose of the distraction. That’s why you must stay focused. That’s why you must #neverquit​.

When Israel was about to take possession of the Promised Land, God told them to kick every enemy out of the promised land. They were supposed to "drive out all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their figured stones and all their molten images and completely demolish all their [idolatrous] high places, and take possession of the land and dwell in it". God instructed them to do this, because if anything remained of the former occupants, it would cause them to fall into the sin and miss out on all of the benefits and blessings that God had in store for them. God specifically said that, anything that remained would be "as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they shall vex them in the land in which you dwell". In other words, anything that was allowed to remain would be an enemy to their success, because it would be a point of entry for the devil. That’s why the Bible says to no give the devil a place, or an entry point into your life.

This past week, I mentioned that God is not into quantity, but He’s after quality. In other words, God is not into numbers. We may be into numbers, but God isn’t. He doesn’t need a lot of people to do a great work. He just needs people that will trust Him and that are willing to be used in a supernatural way. Now, if you want to be one of the “few” people that God uses to do great and mighty things, here are some qualifications that we can glean from the story and life of David.

As I was preparing for this message, it became very obvious to me that God is not into quantity, but He’s after quality. In other words, God is not into numbers. We may be into numbers, but God isn’t. He doesn’t need a lot of people to do a great work. He just needs people that are willing to be used in a supernatural way. He gives us the exact reason why He often uses a few people to do a great work. That is, if they’re are a lot of people, the people may think that they did it themselves.

This upcoming Sunday is Palm Sunday, which begins Passion Week. The following Sunday will be Easter Sunday. To kick this off, while still continuing with the theme of our last service, about the things that can hinder us from receiving God’s best, I thought it would be appropriate to minister this message tonight. I’m going to talk about the births of John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ. More specifically, I’m going to talk about how their parents received and how they handled the news of these births. I call this message, “How to Handle Divine Encounters”.

The only way to stay focused is to look away from everything that will distract you, and to fix your eyes on a target. That target is our Lord Jesus Christ. We focus on the fact that He completed His race, by staying focused, and now He has been exalted to the highest position ever created. He is now seated at the right hand of God, as the undisputed King of kings and Lord of lords. His victory shows us that, if we’re willing to go through what we have to go through, we will receive the promise of God. Jesus went through all of the cruel treatment, all of the abuse and torment. Then He went through the cross. Notice, I didn’t say that He went “to the cross”, I said that He went “through the cross”. After He went through the death of the cross, He was raised in great triumph and now He has made it to His destination. If we go through the valley of the shadow of death, we will make it to our promised land. The promised land is the focus, the valley of the shadow of death is the distraciton. You see, the enemy wants to distract you with the trials of life. He wants you to look away from your goal, and focus on everything that is happening around you. He knows that if he can steal your focus, he can stop you from reaching your destination. That’s why you need to stay focused. If you stay focused on the promised land, you will make it through the valley. If you make it through the valley, you’ll make it to the Promised Land.

Success is not something that can just be hoped for. Success has to be planned for. If you want to be successful, you must put a plan together and stick with that plan. This Year, if you really want to be successful, here are a few things you should do to get started with your plan.

We serve a God that is a covenant keeping God. A God that has backed everything that He has said that He would give us with a promise and an oath. Both of these things, the Bible says are immutable (or unchangeable). That just means that when He makes you a promise, that’s backed by His oath, you can take it to the bank. You see, when you’re trying to determine whether or not you can count on someone, you have to consider two things. First, are they trustworthy? In other words, do they keep their work. Well, the Bible informs us that it is impossible for God to lie, so we know that He’s trustworthy. He also backed the word by His promise and his oath. That’s another layer of confidence that we have in God.

In The Beginning (Part 2) Description:In this message, Pastor Gavin gives us more of his “random thoughts” from his personal study of the book of Genesis.

Alright, so this is the first week of the 2021 and God gave me some fresh revelation about creation. There was a lot of scripture to pick through, but these are the things that really stuck out to me. There is so much to dissect, but I believe that God is really speaking to me (and us) through the book of Genesis. Things that will help us to prosper as we go through this year.

Without a question, this year has been an extremely trying year for many people and I don’t want to stand up here and downplay that at all. Many people have struggled to get through this year. Many have watched their friends and loved ones go home to be with the lord. Without a doubt, many people have shed many tears. With all that being said, there is still a reason to be grateful. Why? You’re still here. Even if you struggled to make it, you’re still here. Even if you cried a lot, you’re still here. Since you’re still here, know that God has kept you, and that He is able, in a moments time, to turn your situation around for you, and cause it to work for your good and His glory. When God turns things around for you, it will be so amazing that you’ll feel like you’re dreaming. Many of you have continued to sow, even through many tears this year, but you’re about “shout for joy” over the harvest that God is about give you. Can you say, “Amen”?!!! God is about to do great things for you, and people are going to see it and recognize it. He is about to restore to you everything that you’ve lost.

Right now, many people are concerned about the pandemic and what it has done, and the fear of what it may do to our economy. Many are believing that we’re heading for a severe recession, or maybe, a depression. Many people have lost their sources of income, due to this pandemic, and many people fear that it will just get worse. Today, I want to encourage you with this truth. If you’re prayerful, and you’re listening to God (when the famine hits), He can (and will) begin to navigate you through and even around this famine. In fact, I personally believe that God uses situations like this to bless and prosper His people. It’s called the divine wealth transfer from the hands of wicked to the pockets of the righteous. So, while other people are experiencing famine, and suffering through it, you can still be living on your way to living your best life. With that being said, today I have a mission of showing you that famines are reoccurring events, and how our forefathers, in the Bible, went through them, how they handled them, and how they (not only survived them, but also) came out on top and prospered through them.

Today, I won't be focusing on the person of Jesus. My goal is to talk to you about the power that resides in the name of Jesus, and the privilege that we’ve been given, as believers, to wield that power. Now, the name “Jesus” means “Jehovah Saves” or rescues, defends, delivers, preserves, avenges, and brings the victory. This name also means to succor or provide assistance and support in times of hardship and support in times of need. This name is the all encompassing name of the Great God that we serve. The name of Jesus is the name that is above every other name. It is the ultimate name of God that is used in the scriptures. At this name, the Bible states that “every knee should (or must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (that means that all the angels in heaven, every creature on earth, and every devil in hell must bow down and submit to the authority of Jesus), And every tongue [frankly and openly must] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

"The Lord Who Sanctifies or Consecrates”. To sanctify or consecrate means to set apart, or separate, or to declare holy. Being consecrated means to be separated for God's purpose. When you become one of God’s children, He separates you from the rest of the world. This separation is for your protection and because He wants to bless you. When He separates you, however, He also expects you to live different then the world He’s separating you from. He separates you unto Himself, separating you from evil and wickedness. You see, He’s Holy and, because He’s holy, He expects you to be holy. That means that we are responsible for sanctifying ourselves.

Throughout the scriptures God makes himself known, to His people, by many names. These names were all representative of an attribute of His character and His power. They were descriptive of what He is able and what He’s willing to do in the lives of His people. He used these names to paint a picture of Himself, so that you and I would know that we don’t have to worry, because He’s capable of helping us through everything we’ll ever face in life. All of these names (combined) tells us a complete story about the God that we serve. That’s why one name couldn’t do it. Our God’s power is so vast and unlimited, that it took many names to paint

Throughout the scriptures God makes himself known, to His people, by many names. These names were all representative of an attribute of His character and His power. They were descriptive of what He is able and what He’s willing to do in the lives of His people. He used these names to paint a picture of Himself, so that you and I would know that we don’t have to worry, because He’s capable of helping us through everything we’ll ever face in life. All of these names (combined) tells us a complete story about the God that we serve. That’s why one name couldn’t do it. Our God’s power is so vast and unlimited, that it took many names to paint a complete picture of His Omnipotence. Today, we’re going to paint a picture of the God that we serve.