An Online Devotional from Pastor Chad Carter

W e ' r e m o r e t h a n j u s t a C h u r c h . . . W e ' r e a F A M I L Y !

"The Best Is Yet to Come"

Pastor Chad Carter

Preached New Year's Eve, 2006-2007

@ Family Harvest Church

These Excerpts are from Pastor Chad Carter's New Year's Eve

message to the congregation of Family Harvest Church

What God wants to do for us today – on last day of the year – is to allow us to look back at all he has done. ...to give us faith to believe for what He is about to do!

2 Corinthians, Chapter 1 and verse 10, says:

10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust

that he will yet deliver us;

Oh hallelujah! Now let me say it again . . . What God wants to do for us today – on last day of the year – is to allow us to look back at all he has done. God wants to give us faith to believe for what He is about to do! ...

It’s like David when he was facing such turmoil and his heart was broken, and his face was covered in tears, he said, “bring me that sword that I took off of Goliath, because when I look at it, faith comes into my heart. When I look at it, I can remember the great victory that God wrought for me on that day, and it gives me faith to believe He’s going to do something in the very near future!”

Like David, though we may find ourselves distraught and perhaps in despair, God has given us enough past victories that we can remember and believe in faith for future victories to be made manifest as well!

Let's look at our Scripture in 2 Corinthians 1, verses 8-14 in The Message Bible... paying special attention to what he says in verse 10:

8-11 We don't want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this

came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn't think we were

going to make it. We felt like we'd been sent to death row, that it was all over

for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened.

Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were

forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he's the God who raises

the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it again,

rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are

part of the rescue operation—I don't want you in the dark about that either. I

can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God's deliverance of us, a

rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.

12-14 Now that the worst is over, we're pleased we can report that we've

come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world—

and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn't by

any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him,

uncompromised. Don't try to read between the lines or look for hidden

meanings in this letter. We're writing plain, unembellished truth, hoping that

you'll now see the whole picture as well as you've seen some of the details.

We want you to be as proud of us as we are of you when we stand together

before our Master Jesus.

...The Word of God declares that we are made strong by reason of the prophecies which went out before us… 1 Timothy 1:18 says:

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies

which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

What is he saying here? The Message Bible says it this way:

“The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All

those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in

your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all,

this is a fight we're in.”

How many of you understand, this has been, AND STILL IS, a fight for our lives? It’s not over, we still have more fighting to do if we are to say alive… But the Word of God tells us that He has not left us helpless… He has not left us without hope… He HAS NOT left us without a Word! God has given us Word after Word to take heart in and be encouraged!

Pastor Rod Parsley says, "When a Word from God is given, reason is never required... Faith, and faith alone, must unlock that door."

How do we have faith to believe that on the other side of the door is the promise and provision of God?

According to our Scripture in 1 Timothy 1:18, we are made strong enough to believe, strong enough to endure, strong enough to press ahead, strong enough to fight, strong enough to stand, strong enough to forge ahead, strong enough to have faith in the midst of opposition, ALL BECAUSE OF THE WORDS THAT HE HAS GIVEN ALONG THE WAY.

We have had a year in which God has spoken to us to discern that which He has spoken among us. We are to stand up and recount the prophecies that have been said to us…

...We are to remember the words of prophecy that he has given us through Pastor Musee in Nigeria, West Africa…

...We are to remember the words of prophecy spoken to us under a tremendous anointing of the Holy Ghost through Evangelist Bill Clark during his week of Revival…

...We are to remember the words of prophecy and the visionary revelation that I, as your pastor, your anointed five-fold ministry office gift, has written and made plain to us, writing it clearly and in large print that it may be seen by us on the run – as we press ahead toward the mark, running with fervor and might into the promise that lies just ahead!

...And by those Words of prophecy from the Lord, we are to take faith, and believe God for what lies just ahead. Yes, we have fought many devils and stood our ground. Yes we have battled in great opposition and warfare. But the Word of the Lord gave us faith for the fight, and faithfulness in the fight produced a promise of power, provision and favor. Today, we remember those promises. Today we remember the Words spoken, and know that God is taking us to the next level in this journey…

When the sun sets on this day, another year will be behind us. The chance for making good on resolutions from last year will be over. The opportunity to complete what we desired to complete in this year of the number of man, 2006, will be gone. Anything we desired and determined to accomplish this year has only a few more hours to be realized. If it does not occur, that desire and dream will be nothing more than a failed, missed, forgotten opportunity.

How does it make you feel when that which you have desired to accomplish does not get done? Now imagine how God must feel, when what He has desired be accomplished gets started, but not finished.

I believe we are entering a new season in which God desires to see His will accomplished! 2006 is the number of man. It was our opportunity to make good on what we believe God wanted to do.

Oh, but 2007, is not the year of man… 7 is the year of the perfection, and completeness of God. 2007 is a prophetically significant year…

My pastor, Pastor Rod Parsley, has declared that 2007 is a Year of Jubilee, when every man’s possession is returned to him, when the bound are set free, and inheritance returns. How can he declare such a thing – because in this year of 2007, he is turning 50 years old.

In the old testament, the year of Jubilee occurred every 50 years. In the New Testament, Jesus is our Jubilee, so we experience freedom in Him all year long!

But there are special times of release, special times of Jubilee anointing that come at the call of the priest. In the Old Testament, it was when the priest put the shofar to their lips and blew the horn on the close of the 49th year. In the New Covenant, since Jesus is out Jubilee, a special season of Jubilee begins whenever the prophetic voice stands up and declares it to be so.

So my pastor, as he closes his 49th year of life and turns 50 in the month of January, is prophetically blowing the horn… SOUNDING AN ALARM IN ZION… and declaring a Jubilee among the people of God. He says isn’t it interesting that God would have him born in 1957, so that he would celebrate his Jubilee birthday in the year 2007… the year of the perfect completion of God.

I'm hear to declare in unison with his voice today, that 2007 shall be a year when “functional miracles become complete.” THIS IS THE YEAR WHEN FUNCTIONAL MIRACLES BECOME COMPLETE!!!! ...

Pastor Parsley believes it is no coincidence that he is turning 50 and has been called of God to declare this Jubilee in 2007, the year of the completion of God. I say it’s no coincidence either… WHY? Because in two days, I will be celebrating my 30th birthday, in the same month as my pastor celebrates his 50th, and a Jubilee anointing has been declared…

Yes, this is 2007 is the year of perfection; the year of the completion of God… Yes, my pastor turns 50, and thus has declared Jubilee in this year of the supernatural completeness of God... But I am turning 30 in the very same month! 3 is the number of the Godhead in all it’s power, the number of the Holy Ghost and His anointing! ...I hope you can see the prophetic significance to all this…

2007 is the year of completion, the year of perfection… and in this anointed year, God is at work throughout our spiritual lineage… through my apostolic head and the 50th birthday he is celebrating, we are blessed to participate in the spiritual Jubilee that has been declared… But at the same time, through my 30th birthday, we are looking forward to the perfection and completeness of the year of God, the blessings of the Year of Jubilee, and a supernatural anointing of the Holy Ghost upon us as we forge ahead on the foundation of the Word of God given to us in His word and by the Words of prophecy which went out before us…

What a season we are in! Our Scripture for today, 2 Corinthians 1:10, reminds us yet again:

10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust

that he will yet deliver us;

The deliverance of God is upon us! The perfection of God is upon us! The anointing of God is upon us! I'm here to encourage you today... if He ever delivered you once, He's about to deliver you again!

This is the year when God begins to complete that good work which He has started in you! This is a year when that healing you got in 2006 gets complete! This is a year when your family that we planted seed in on Easter or Christmas or during revival, stops running from God and gives their lives over to His beckoning call of love and forgiveness!

This is the year when everything we've hoped and prayed and believed for takes another step toward us, and the Words of prophecy that have been given begin to manifest in our sight!

...Come on now, Church! Lift up your voice unto God in a shout of triumph and victory! The devil is defeated, God's enemies are scattered! What the enemy intended for evil in 2006, in 2007 God is going to turn it for your good!

Stand tall! Stand strong! Know that just over the horizon is power and victory that we've only imagined! This year may be behind us, and thank God for it! ...We're ready to put to rest the struggles of the past! We're ready to bury the conflict of yesterday! We're ready to see that which has opposed us lay in ashes at our feet!

As we march into 2007, glance over your shoulder just for a quick second to praise the Lord for hat you're leaving behind, then jerk your head back around in front of you. Start looking ahead as, together, in anointing and power, we run full speed ahead with our face in the wind! Shout to the Lord, Church! ...The best is yet to come!

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