We Believe in You

And greetings in that wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to all of the visionaries of the kingdom of God that make up this God-ordained fellowship named the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ. I greet you this evening. I'm Brother Kenneth Carpenter, the General Superintendent of the ALJC. I do thank you, on this Monday evening, for allowing me just a little bit of your time to speak into your life and your heart the things concerning the great work of God in the ALJC.

This past March — 70 years ago — a group of men met in Urania, Louisiana, and there, 70 years ago in that meeting, they formed this fellowship, of which they named the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ. They chose the name "Assemblies" — the gathering together, the family of God coming together, brothers and sisters of like precious faith. But they not only wanted the name "Assemblies," but they also wanted the name of the great Head of this church, Jesus Christ. And so they came up with the name that we go by, and have for the past 70 years: the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It has maintained, through the years — through the 70 years — it has maintained that original purpose: that they wanted men and women of like precious faith, of the family of God, to be together. Many have witnessed to the fact, at our general conferences, our camp meetings, our district events — many have witnessed that the Assemblies has a very warm, cordial, inviting, family feel. They have said that they feel like that they've always been with us, and we thank our God for that warm family feeling of the ALJC.

We have often said about the ALJC that we are small enough to know you, yet we are large enough to serve you. The ALJC reminds me of the psalmist when he wrote in Psalms 133, verses 1-3: "Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the beard, that ran down upon the beard — upon Aaron's beard — even went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore."

It is like the precious anointing oil — this family feeling among the fellowship of the ALJC is like that precious anointing oil that ran from the head of the priest down to the skirt of his robe. And then he talked about the dew — that consistent moisture, that consistent moisture that brought growth to the land. And for 70 years, through the fellowship of the ALJC, God has been raining down His wonderful Spirit upon this fellowship, and we have been experiencing great growth.

I would like, for just a few moments tonight, to give you a report of the situation in Ukraine and in Russia. We have our missionary, Brother and Sister Adams, in Krakow, Poland, and they are in constant communication with our families and believers in the Ukraine. They are a source of blessing; they are a source of food and supplies, a place to sleep, a helping hand. And if you would please consider in supporting their efforts there in Krakow, Poland, to help with Ukraine — you can send funds through the World Missions department of the ALJC. Brother Matthew Ball is our director of that department, and you can send funding through, and it will go, and we will be able to do our part in Ukraine.

Also, our missionary in Saint Petersburg, Russia — Saint Petersburg, Russia is the second largest city in Russia. We have a thriving — a thriving apostolic work there in that city. Brother and Sister Stumbo — Brother Mark and Sister Wanda Stumbo, along with their son Jordan and Lindsay — both have works there in that large city. But they felt that due to the situation, the uncertainty in Russia, that about a month ago they came back stateside, and they are here. They are preaching; they are being a blessing to churches. They are staying in touch with the church there in Russia, and I know that the Stumbos certainly — certainly desire your prayers.

I do want to tell you that just around the corner, June the 27th through the 30th, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, we'll be having our annual General Ministry Conference. This year, we have chosen — we have chosen the theme this year — it is simply one word, and it is to arise. To arise. We have taken this from where Abraham had went through quite an ordeal with having Lot with him. It seemed that Abraham was faced with great contention. Abraham could not fully have the blessings of God upon him until that day that he separated from Lot. And when he separated from Lot — in Genesis 13 and verse 17 — God simply spoke to Abraham and told him to "Arise, walk through the land, in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee."

And we feel that this year, after we've had the uncertainty and we have had the constriction of COVID for the last two years — we feel to speak into the hearts and lives of the men and women of the ALJC that it is our time to arise. The land is before us: the north, the south, the east, and the west. God has promised us revival. God has promised us souls. God has promised us a harvest. And at GMC 2022 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 27th through the 30th, come join with us as we celebrate "Arise." You can find all of the information of the hotel and how to register for Arise 2022 — you can find it at aljc.org. aljc.org — all of the information that you need.

I would like to tell you once again about the tremendous God-ordained leadership that we are blessed with. It may be, this evening, that there are those that are with us on this General Superintendent's Address that may not be familiar with the ALJC. I would like to tell you about our leadership — our executive board and our departmental leaders: our Southern Regional Assistant Superintendent, Brother Jonathan Vasquez; our Northern Regional Assistant Superintendent, Brother Kenneth Allen; our Western Regional Assistant Superintendent, Brother Robert Wimberly; and then our General Secretary of the ALJC, Brother Josh Wilson. These men are here to serve you. They are men of revival. They are men of vision. They are men of holiness and of the highest character, and they are here to serve you. You can find out all the information about them, or get in contact with them, again through aljc.org — all the information.

This past week, I was privileged to travel to Louisiana, where Brother Cody Mayo is the district missions director — World Missions director — for the Louisiana District. He put on there a wonderful — a wonderful presentation for missions in that district, giving honor to the former World Missions director of Louisiana, Bishop Virgil Harris. It was a wonderful service, held in the beautiful new auditorium of Brother Hutto, and the saints there did a wonderful job. Brother Azar, our missionary to Beirut, Lebanon, was there. The glory of the Lord filled the house, and the Louisiana District of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ, when it comes to World Missions, is alive and well. Great job that Brother Cody Mayo is doing there in that district.

A few weeks ago, I was privileged also to travel to Kentucky and meet up with Missions America director Brother Traxel — the Kentucky District. Brother Traxel and his family put on a powerful presentation, putting tools in the hands of a church planter — putting tools, valuable Bible studies, valuable information into the hands of church planters, into the hands that are contemplating starting a work. It was a wonderful outpouring of God's Spirit, and the Kentucky District of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ, once again with Missions America, is alive and well.

We also have our Apostolic Crusaders, and that is led by Brother Zach Hammond. We have our men's ministry, of which we call Ministry. Brother James Chesser is doing a wonderful job giving tools into the hands of the apostolic men of the ALJC. I do want to tell you that just a few days away, the Women's Esprit, under the direction of Sister Terry Scott, will be holding Deluge Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on April the 26th through the 28th. This is a special time for ministers and their wives only to gather together for a time of being ministered to. The Women's Esprit has been sponsoring this for many years, and it has been proven to be a time of refreshing. It has been proven to be a time of refocusing our vision, and it is helping our pastors and their wives and ministers to further the kingdom — the kingdom of God.

We also have an evangelist department that is headed up by — our director is Brother Sean Garnett. We have some of the most talented evangelists, their wives, and their families, that have proven to be a blessing to the churches in the ALJC. They're anointed. God has gifted — God has gifted them to be able to preach a church revival, to be a harvest, to meet the needs of an evangelist to that local church. And I would say to you, to reach out to Brother Garnett if you're in need of evangelists — you're looking for a good evangelist to come and bless your church. The ALJC have several tremendous evangelistic teams.

We also have our Christian School department, which is headed up — our director is Brother Caleb Tisdale. May the 23rd through the 27th, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, we'll be having National Christian School Competition. You may be interested in starting a Christian school. It would be to your advantage to come to National Christian School Competition and see other schools, and have tools and receive information of starting a school in your area. And that is May the 23rd through the 27th.

Then there's Kids Quest, that our director being Brother Nate Roberts — and a God-ordained and anointed ministry of him and Sister Brianna Roberts, how that they have blessed our churches with the ability to minister to our children.

Last but not least is our Apostolic Prayer Network — an Apostolic Prayer Network. Our director is Brother Thurman Covey. You can go online to prayer.aljc.org — prayer.aljc.org. You can submit a prayer request, and that will go out through the fellowship worldwide of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, you can go to this website and find many articles on prayer and how to pray, how to start praying, and it is just a wonderful, rich resource that you can receive through APN, Apostolic Prayer Network.

What the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ, and what I, would attempt to do this evening for the next few moments is to simply tell you — as the General Superintendent of the ALJC, representing the executive board and all of our departmental directors — this simple phrase: we believe in you. We believe in you. We believe that you are well able to do what God has called you to do, to do the work that God has called you to do. The very reason the ALJC exists is to give you the tools that you need to do the work that God has called you to do. And we believe in you. We believe in you, church planter. We believe in you, young lady that's feeling the call to be a missionary. We believe in you, that God is going to help you. We believe that you are a mighty person of valor.

You know, I recently read a little article about the famous escape artist Houdini, that could get out of any lock, he could get out of any trap that he was placed in. But there was one trap that he was put in — it was a jail cell that he could not get out of. And the reason that he was unable to get out of that jail cell is that the man that was locking the cell purposely turned the key in the opposite direction, deceiving Houdini to believe that the way that he was turning the key was locking — locking. And so Houdini, seeing the turning of the hand — of course he didn't know that what the jailer was doing was actually unlocking the cell — but when Houdini would go to jimmy the lock, if I could use that, he would always turn it the opposite way of what he saw the jailer do, which he was locking himself — he was locking himself in.

I personally believe that the enemy would like to fill our minds with lies. I believe that he would like to fill our minds with turning the lock the wrong way. You see, we are actually free, because God has set us free. God has given us the tools. God has given us the ability. God has called us. God has empowered us. And all we have to do is arise. All we have to do is go forward. Don't believe the lies of the adversary.

I've come to you this evening, as your superintendent, to tell you: don't believe the lie that you've had your best revival. Don't believe the lie that your town and your church is a burnt-over field, unable to have harvest. Dear saint of God, my brother, my sister, that is a lie. The enemy turned the lock the other way. You are free to do the work of God. You are a mighty person of valor.

Think about Gideon with me for a moment. Think about Gideon, whom the Bible says was threshing wheat by the winepress. It was a very hard time. The enemy had attacked, and the enemy had put them under bondage because of their sin. Gideon was threshing wheat by a winepress — there at a winepress, a place that should produce joy. That winepress, that place that should have produced that drink that brought joy and healing to man, was now empty of the grapes, and it was a place where Gideon could hide out, and Gideon could thresh wheat there for just a little bit of survival.

But God sent an angel. God sent an angel to Gideon, because just like the day that we're living in, when it's time to arise, God said to Gideon, "You are a mighty man of valor." God saw what Gideon could become. God saw the things that he could do through Gideon's life. And God didn't say to Gideon, "You fearful man that's threshing wheat." He called him what He knew he could become. He called him a mighty man of valor — just as I am this evening speaking into the lives of the good men and women of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I'm telling you: you are a mighty person of revival. You're a mighty person of God. You're a mighty vehicle and vessel for God to pour out His Spirit in your city, in your country. God is able to do a mighty work.

Well, we know that the next step of Gideon, in becoming what God knew that he could become, was that Gideon had to cut down the idol groves that was in his own life, that was in his own land. He had to take care — he had to take care of some personal issues in his life. Oh, how it would be my desire, my heartbeat tonight, that you would go ahead and take care of anything that you have in your life personally that is hindering you from doing the work of God. Oh, the mercies of God are great. The presence of God is wonderful. This is a day of forgiveness. This is a day of renewal. This is a day of getting things out of our hearts that are hindering us, that are blinding us to the revival that God wants us to have. And God had Gideon get the things out of his own — get the things out of his own life.

And then, when Gideon called an army together — and this is very important to you; it's very important as you go forward and arise — it's extremely important, it's essential that you have fellowship and voices into your life: voices that speak positive, voices that speak of harvest, voices that speak of a new beginning, voices that speak of looking forward, of what God is going to do — not necessarily what God has done.

So Gideon sounded a trumpet to assemble an army, and there were 32,000 men — 32,000 men that gathered. Pretty impressive. Pretty impressive. As a matter of fact, some of us today are held captive by numbers. We're held captive by a number. We get in our mind a preconceived idea about a number, and we either allow that number — if it's a large number, we can become self-confident in the number that we have; if it's a small number, then we begin to feel like that God could not use us because we're of a small number. And so, no doubt, when Gideon called 32,000 men together, he had a lot of confidence in that. He probably felt pretty good about 32,000. But God said, "Gideon" — God said to Gideon, "I want you to make an announcement, and I want you to simply say: if you are afraid and fearful, you're allowed to go home." If you're fearful and afraid — that's a lack of faith, that's a lack of vision, that's a lack of just having the divine energy of God to overcome obstacles — if you're fearful and afraid, then go home.

22,000 men left. 22,000 men. God was doing Gideon the favor, because there's something: you don't want to go into the battle with those that are fearful and afraid. They can cause pandemonium to break out, and they can cause you to actually lose the battle because of their being afraid — being fearful. Keep people of faith in your life. Keep voices that energize you. Keep people around you that believe that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we're able to ask or think. Keep visionaries around you. Keep good, positive, uplifting voices around you. Don't keep the defeated voices around. Don't keep those that are afraid to go, afraid to give, afraid to try again. No, no, no — let those voices go home.

Then he's left with 10,000, and God once again says there's too many. And He takes them to the water. And if you would drink water a certain way, you were to be chosen to be a part of Gideon's army. If you drank the water in a certain method, a certain way, you were able to be a part of Gideon's army. You know, the water throughout Scripture has always represented the Word of God.

Can I tell you that Gideon started with 32,000 men in his army, but by the end of the day he only had 300 in his army — but it was 300 that were able to handle the Word of God. Oh, my prayer tonight for World Missions, my prayer tonight for Missions America: God, give us 300 ministers. Give us 300 ministers that are able — that are able to handle the Word of God.

You see, on the Day of Pentecost, 120 baptized with the Holy Ghost have turned the world upside down. What God could do with 120 — what could God do with 300 men and women that are able to handle the Word of God? I'll tell you what God is able to do. God is able to send them into cities to start churches, and where there's no apostolic truth, God is able to raise up an apostolic truth in that city and build a mighty church for His name's sake.

I know what God is able to do. God is able to lay a burden upon a man or a woman's heart, give them the name of a city in a far country, and they go there with no apostolic voice in that city. And because they're able to handle the Word — they're able to handle the Word — they're able to establish, much like the Stumbos did in Saint Petersburg, Russia — much like they did when they went there years ago. Just Mark and Wanda Stumbo went there to Saint Petersburg because they could handle the Word. There's a mighty, mighty church there today, to the glory of God.

You know that Gideon went into that battle, and with 300 men, Gideon and his army was able to turn the Midianites around and give victory to the children of God, the Israelites.

I want to bring this to a close, because I want to end with the Apostolic Crusaders. The Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ has always been blessed with a strong youth department. And the reason that it has been blessed with a strong youth department — the Apostolic Crusaders — is that throughout the years we have emphasized, at our National Youth Conference every November, at our camp meetings in the summer, at our regional youth conferences — we have emphasized consecration to God. We have emphasized that God is looking to call those young men and those young women into the work of God.

For so just a moment, I want to speak to all of the Crusaders that are watching this evening. Gideon had a son by the name of Jether, and Jether was to be the replacement for Gideon. He was following in his daddy's footsteps. And it came a time in that battle that Gideon wanted Jether to use his sword against the enemy kings. And Gideon defeated these kings. Gideon got these kings in a place for them to be executed, and he turned to his son, Jether, and he said, "Jether, I want you to slay these sons of these kings. I want you to slay these kings. Jether, I want you to know the feel of victory. I want you to take your sword, Jether, and I want you to cut the heads of these kings off." But the Bible said that Jether feared, and he would not, for he was a youth. There was something about him, that he was fearful of doing this. There was something about it — his daddy Gideon had won the victory — but there was something about it: Jether wasn't willing to take up the mantle and defeat the enemy. And we know that Gideon came around, and Gideon did the work of the execution.

And I say that this evening to say this: that God is looking throughout the Crusaders, and God is needing, wanting, desiring to raise up young men and young women from the Apostolic Crusaders — young men and young women that will answer the call of God now in their life. It may be, young man, young lady — it may be five years from now that God has on His calendar for you to be in that country, for you to be in that city. It may be five years from now. But God knows that you need to begin a ministry of preparation — a ministry of preparing yourself, of becoming skilled with the sword, skilled with doctrine, skilled with the ability to teach a home Bible study, skilled with the ability to love lost humanity. And for the next several years, God could be using you and training you, that when the time comes, God is able to send you.

The verse of Scripture in closing tonight — the verse of Scripture says: "Many are called, but few are chosen." I've often asked, how is it that many are called and only few are chosen? It is because in between, from the calling to the choosing, is the qualifying. And God is looking for young men and young women — and the Apostolic Crusaders, you're called. You know what you have felt. You know the tug of God upon your heart. You know what you have felt. It's time to qualify your life. It's time to develop a faithful, consistent, daily prayer life. It's time to begin to study the Scriptures, to where you can skillfully present that there's only one God, and His name is Jesus Christ; that you can skillfully present that the only way to be baptized is in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of those sins; that you can skillfully present holiness unto the Lord, and the lifestyle that is pleasing to God.

I believe, ALJC, it is our day to arise. I believe that our best years and harvests are before us, as we arise and answer the promises of God Almighty.

Well, I thank you this evening for giving me a few moments of your time to speak into your life. Until we meet again, may God bless you, and may God keep you, and may our God always cause His face to shine upon you. Good evening, in Jesus' name.