T
here comes a time in life when you have some questions and you need an answer. It happened to Tamia Hill, national recording artist and famed wife of NBA super star Grant Hill when she fell ill with numbness and tingling in her limbs. When she finally got to a hospital with her lower extremities completely numb she found out that she needed an answer for multiple sclerosis. It recently happened to Alfred Grimes. He was a faithful employee of Washington Mutual. And when the housing market went bust he found himself needing an answer for unemployment. And, it also happened to Alex Rodriguez when his wife of several years decided that she could not take it anymore. Though Alex is wealthy, handsome and powerful he recently found himself needing an answer for a broken family and a bitter divorce.
Has it ever happened to you before? Has life ever brought you to a place where you needed an answer and all you could do was pray? Have you ever needed to get a prayer through and it felt like God was just silent? I pray to God that this devotional finds you at a time in your life when you are praying for some answers. I hope that there is a man reading this communique' who needs an answer for physical healing in his body. I pray that there is a woman who is reading this message who needs an answer to financial heartache. And I hope there is a young person reading this devotional who has been hurt in a relationship and needs an answer for the pain. The reason why I hope that believers like that are reading this lesson right now
is because we serve a God who answers prayer! And in many instances, while you are in prayer requesting what you need from the Him, He already has your answering knocking! It happened in the book of Acts when the church of God prayed for the Apostle Peter. Here is what it says, And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished (Acts 12:11-16, KJV).
Here's the question of the day, "what should you expect from God when you need for Him to have your answering knocking?" Three life changing principles leap from this passage that will empower you for ever. First of all, expect your break through to happen while you are on your knees. Get this, miracles happen when you pray. Heaven sends help when you pray. Demons flee when you pray. And, your answer will come when you stop trying to fix it and pray. Prayer is your ability to put a piece of heaven in your life when it seems like all hell is breaking loose. Notice when the people of God in this passage needed help from the Lord they did not just whisper a quick cute prayer. They locked themselves up and prayed until God sent their answer. When was the last time you locked the door, turned off the TV, shut off your cell phone and prayed? If you want your answer to knock trust God and do it! Secondly, expect some interference from the enemy. Have you ever started to pray and it just seemed like everyone needed you all of a sudden? Or, you bowed down to pray and were so tired you fell asleep? Or better still you were so vexed that you started to pray and could not pray at all? These are just tactics from the enemy to block you from the blessing of answered prayer. In this passage, Herod provides some interference for the church. He has killed James and he wants to do harm to the church too. But, get this the only way to deal with demonic interference is with some spiritual intercession. In short, team up with other serious saints who love God and love you and get them to pray with you. And, when you pray reverently enough you will discover that your answer is knocking! And, lastly you can expect some supernatural power to be released. Watch the power in the passage. Peter is in jail, but he is released without bail because the Lord sends an angel to get him. Peter arrives at the house where the saints are praying for his safety and he is not just safe, he is home! In fact, Peter is knocking while the people of God are praying! In short, their answer was knocking. A young lady whose name was Rhoda was so happy when she heard Peters voice at the door that she forgot to open it and let him in. Has God ever done this for you? If He has not, keep on praying, He will! The Lord has a wonderful habit of sending you the answer that He wants you to have when you pray! The true story was told of a Beaumont mailman who was on his route. He was in a rough neighborhood when the Lord spoke to him while sitting in front of a badly damaged house and told him to go to the grocery store and buy grocery for those inside. The mailman went to the store and returned with the grocery and knocked on the door. When the door opened there stood a little old woman who looked down into his hands, saw the bags and exclaimed with vigor, "are you the one the Lord sent with my groceries?" She told the mail man, "I just got off of my knees telling the Lord what I needed and before I could get up good He had you knocking at my door with food in your hand! What a mighty God we serve!" Get this, don't just read this devotional pray! In fact, pray right now. Praise the Lord and receive this in your spirit, God really does answer prayer. And when you are faithful He will have your answer knocking! Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Visit us at www.jradolphministries.org
attending college, instantly we became tight like glue and as thick as thieves! We did not plan a pregnancy and surely our gift of life was not a mistake. I remember that day sitting in Pappadeauxs Seafood Kitchen on 610 having to tell Harry I was pregnant. I was scared, emotional and to say the least did not know what this was going to entail. Of course we were dating, however, I neither of us were sure if we were ready for marriage. Those words that are still as sweet as a honeycomb coming from Harry 20 years later; “have my baby I got your back and if you don’t think you can handle motherhood just give me my baby and I will raise it." Every step of the way Harry was right by my side. I could not want or ask for anything. We continued to date for years
James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift comes from above” When I think about my beautiful baby girl Ariel I’m sure that me being her mother was my greatest gift from God! Ariel, whose name in Hebrew means lion of God, came into the world weighing 5lb 13oz on July 2, 1996. Doctors had advised me that my baby would be born with special needs and I was advised to have an amniocentesis which could result in a miscarriage because my pregnancy showed all the tell tale signs of a child being born with special needs. My OB-GYN explained to me that having a special needs child would change my life and I needed to explore my options. My response to Dr. Baker was having a child period is going to change my life and the amniocentesis was not an option. At that moment I knew that me being a mother - not to mention a single mother - was not merely by choice but rather by assignment! Now the story does not start with pregnancy it started with the courtship between Harry Gooden and myself. There are so many things that I can say about Harry; tall dark and handsome, smooth operator, loyal, faithful, trustworthy and the father of my baby girl. We met in Houston while I was
but we came to a place where our lives were heading in separate directions. At this point we concluded that the greatest thing to come from our expression of love was "Ari" and we would be better off as friends and co parents. Regretfully Harry earned his wings in eternity October 2014 after a brief battle with cancer. Things had already gotten real. I had to grow up really quick. I put my selfish ambitions to the side and accepted what was in front of me. My confession was "OK Father you are going to have to lead me and guide me and teach me how to be the mother you have called me to be." When I humbled myself before God, He gave me a vision and hope of the plan that He had for my baby. I knew then that I was only the catalyst to birth greatness and no matter what it looked like for us, God was going to be faithful to perfect those things which concerned us. I would be kidding myself and lying to the readers of this article if I said everything was easy. There were times I did not know how things would work out but seemingly they always did. As I reflect, God taught me principles in His word that has brought me to a place of abundance as a single parent. I knew and still know that "Ari" is my gift from God and many single parents need to know their children are gifts from God who are destined for
greatness. So the question becomes how can I accept my assignment and be the parent that God has chosen me to be? 1) You have to reconcile your past to unlock the blessing of your future! Reconcile means to restore friendly relations; cause to coexist in harmony; make or show to be compatible. I remember a time when "Ari’s" dad and I were at odds with one another. The relationship was breaking down and we were literally playing tug of war with "Ari". I got on my knees to pray one night and rather than me complaining to God about all the wrong Harry had done to me, I begin to worship God and tell him how much I loved him. At that moment I heard the Spirit of the Lord tell me from that moment begin to pray for my child’s father as if he were my brother. I begin to pray fervently through every area of his life and things begin to change. Nothing upsets me more than to hear a parent bash another parent especially in the presence of their child. I always wanted "Ari’s" dad to be prosperous because if He did, well, we did well. So rather than speak negativity about him I spoke blessings over his life. We got to a place where we were able to put our differences to the side and be the parents God expected us to be and "Ari" needed us to be. I was determined to not raise a child who had hatred and bitterness towards their father because of negative words I spoke. I tell my daughter even to this day that she is the blessing that came from the love that her father and I shared for one another! It is very important to reconcile. Reconciliation brings peace and understanding! 2) You must understand everything you need is already in your hands! In 2 Kings 4 there is a woman who finds herself widowed, broke and a single parent. This woman is like most of us single parents because there are uncertainties of how we are going to provide for our children. Like this single mother in scripture who inquired of the man of God I inquired of the Lord and He gave me so many resources to provide for "Ari"! I’ve been a cosmetologist for 21 years, owned 2 salons, licensed massage therapist, cosmetology instructor, hair extension company, Sr. Sales Consultant Verizon Wireless and Real Estate Agent Keller Williams Metropolitan! Not only has God blessed us in the marketplace, He has also opened doors for us in the Kingdom! I serve in ministry under the leadership of Pastor John and Lady Dorrie Adolph! Currently I serve as the Lead Intercessor of
the HOPE Ministry, Family Conference Team and Clergy Connection. If you use what God has placed in your hands, resources will never run out. In fact you’ll have so much overflow you’ll be able to help another single parent. 3) You have to allow God to be all that you need! God is a father to the fatherless and mother to the motherless! He is a friend that sticks closer that a brother! God is our husbandman and provider! His word declares that He will never leave us or forsake us! One day I caught myself saying that I was a single parent as if to brag about how I was doing everything myself and as if to take credit for raising a child alone. In that moment these same attributes of God that I so religiously recited on many occasions became revelation to me. I was never alone; God was available to be everything I needed! From that moment on God provided a village for me and Ari. Our village consisted of family members, clients, friends, church members and so much more. We never had a need that God did not supply! From school uniforms to tuition, school supplies, car pooling, mentoring - you name it God was and still is everything we need! As I stated before Ariel my lioness of God came into the world fighting for a chance to be great! Ari is an aspiring Makeup Artist and a future Broadcast Journalist! I understand now why God blessed me with this gift of motherhood. He knew I could handle it and He would get all the glory! Harry is among the great cloud of witnesses cheering us on in this race called life! And I’m left with the awesome assignment of watching and praying over my precious gift from God! Ariel Marie Gooden!
There’s a ministry here for you! Get up, Get Active, Get Involved! Join a ministry TODAY!
SINGLES PARENTS’ MINISTRY
Special thanks to all who attended and participated in the "Not In My City" Fellowship hosted by Cathedral Church, Pastor Randy Feldschau on October 2-3, 2016. What an AWESOME Fellowship in effort to unite our city/ communities. Thanks to everyone who is attending and participating in the Sunday Night Bible Study facilitated by *** Dr. John Adolph. We are studying from Thom S. Rainer’s book, "I Could, I Might, I Can, I Should, I WILL.” Thanks to the Single Parents who attended ** and participated in Antioch Missionary Baptist Church Leaders’ Retreat, Galveston, Texas , October 21-22 , 2016. Thanks to the parents ** for attending and participating in Antioch Missionary Baptist Church Fall Festival, October 31, 2016. The Single Parents’ Ministry met Monday, October 10, 2016 for the Monthly Fellowship. It's always a joy and blessing seeing the children and parents in Great fellowship. We celebrated birthdays with a lite meal and cookies and we concluded with Praise Reports and Prayer Requests. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Simon, Ministry Leader at mrysim@sbcglobal.net or via Facebook or any parent who is actively involved in the ministry.
ANTIOCH PRISON/OUTREACH MINISTRY Praise God from whom All Blessings Flow! To God Be the Glory for what He is doing behind the Prison Walls!! Brief report from the Ministry: Isaiah 61:1 Says: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach Good tidings unto the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the broken- hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and opening of the Prison to them that are bound. Praise God! A brief Praise Report from the Ministry: On October 6, 2016, the Prison Ministry held services at the Mark Stiles Unit. There were over 150 men in attendance and 8 first time Salvations! On October 17, 18 & 24 th the Prison Ministry held an Evangelism Training Class for inmates at the Larry Gist Unit. There were 29 men that attended the class and received certificates in Evangelism! Praise God! Special thanks to the facilitators Rev. Alfred Chargois and Rev. Sanders Wilkerson for a job well done! Upcoming Events for the Month of November 11-19-16- 3 PM- 4:30 PM- Planes Unit ( women’s) Prison- Dayton, Texas Local State and Jefferson County Jail visits to Inmates upon request from family members. If you have any questions regarding Prison Outreach Ministry or would like to be a part of the ministry, please call Rev. Albert Chargois@ 409-861-1277- HM/ 409-201-1216 Cell or email: albertchargois@sbcglobal.net.
EQUIPPING MINISTRY
Ministry budgets are due by Dec 4th to Minister Cheryl Williams at cwilliams@antiochbmt.org or dropped to the front desk in the Administration building. Ministry Leaders meeting on November 19th at 9:00am. All ministry leaders are expected to be in attendance. The meeting will be held in Koinonia A&B.
CHRIST’S DEBUTANTES MINISTRY Thank you to participants, parents, sponsors and supporters of the Fifth Christ's Debutante Ball held on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 7 o' clock in the evening at Holiday Inn on Walden Road in Beaumont, TX.
SUNDAY SCHOOL MINISTRY
We are still in need of Sunday School teachers. At present, the majority of our teachers are women but we NEED more men!! We need your hearts, hands, help, and manhood. Give it some thought and come check us out.
GRADUATION MINISTRY -
DDM - Deadlines Do Matter! December 11th 2:00 p.m.
Community Service in Partnership with Antioch’s Outreach Ministry at Weiss Park
Don't wait and don't miss out on important information. Check us out on Facebook at Antioch Graduation Ministry, twitter @AMBCgrad and Instagram @AMBCgrad. For more information contact Dr. Porchanee' A. White @ 409.840.5941 or at porchanee.white@gmail.com.
MARRIAGE MINISTRY -
There’s a ministry here for you! Get up, Get Active, Get Involved! Join a ministry TODAY!