Bishop Dale Bronner returned to City Harvest Church in June with two faith-filled messages.
CN PHOTOS: Daniel Poh
The founder of Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral, Bishop Dale Bronner, was in town to minister to City Harvest Church on the weekend of Jun 25 and 26. He delivered two timely messages, encouraging the congregation to press on in tough seasons.
BROKEN CRAYONS STILL COLOR
The message on Saturday (Jun 25) was titled “Living The Dream”. Browner opened with Genesis 37:9 (NLT), which says, “Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!””
“God made us to bring light into this world, that is why we dream in colour, not black and white,” Bronner said. “And the way to do it is step by step: you catch it, carry it, then convey it. Everything that God gives you is to be conveyed after you carry it for a period of time; it is not meant to be kept.”
Bronner went on to describe what dreams are: dreams are a result of the imagination; while the memory replays the past, a dream plays out the future. Dreams are also the substance of all great achievements; an idea from God can change a person’s life.
Using the story Peter walking on water in Matthew 14:27-29, the preacher explained that the things that are truly meaningful and life-changing lie just beyond our comfort zone. “But we don’t just step out on nothingness, we need to step out on the Word of God. Peter only step out of the boat after asking Jesus for permission,” said Bronner.
He likened hope to the blueprint of a construction project and faith to the building material. “If you lose your building material, you can always go out and get more,” he said. “But if you lose your blueprint, then the construction cannot continue. You can build, but you have no idea what you’re building. Don’t let the devil steal your hope; hold your hope because it is the big picture of your dream.”
Bronner identified three types of dreamers: those who wish for something, those who wait for it, and those who work for it. He encouraged the church to be a dreamer who works for his dreams, as it does not matter how one starts but how one finishes.
When in the Bible did God ever called anybody to do something that was easy? asked Bronner rhetorically. Jesus called Lazarus to “come forth” when the man from Bethany was already dead—that was not easy to do!
“Don’t let your dream to frustrate you,” Bronner encouraged the congregation. “There will always be setbacks that will discourage you and make you think that it’s impossible to reach your dream, but God is the Author and Finisher, He will finish what He started in you.”
God called Abraham to be a father, but he did not see the picture of his promise until God told him that his descendants will be like the stars in the sky and the sand under his feet. And when he got the picture, the baby came.
Bronner encouraged the church to dream in vivid colours, in great detail, as the mind does not know the difference between imagination in the dream and reality.
“Imagine it until it engages the heart,” he said.
Bromner ended with a story of how his granddaughter had cried over a broken crayon. To comfort her, he told her that now that the crayon was in two pieces, she could share it with her cousin. “You have nothing to share unless you have been broken—that was the revelation I got,” he told the congregation. “I do not want anyone to explain the Gospel to me if they have never missed the mark. A person will find the anointing out of the brokenness.”
Unimpressed with his revelation, his granddaughter continued crying. At this point, Bronner had picked up the crayon and started to color, saying to his granddaughter, “Broken crayons still color!” He taught the church not to stop just because they have been broken, because the gifts of God in their lives are irrevocable.
GOD PROVIDES RAMS
On Sunday (Jun 26), Bronner started off with a quip that a recent DNA test showed that he had traces of Asian blood. The most common blood type among Asians is B+ or “Be Positive”, he said. That is why Asians should “be positive”, he quipped to a laughing congregation.
Quoting Exodus 3:1-5, the story of Moses and the burning bush, the preacher introduced the topic of his sermon, “Pivot Points”.
“A pivot point is when you reach a place in your life and it is time to make a turn,” he explained. “A pivot point is a time to turn a meaningless void into a meaningful gap.”
Moses was at a pivot point when he came into contact with the burning bush. He had been experiencing a period of silence and was not listening to God. As a result, God set a bush on fire to get his attention.
“God will sometimes set something on fire just to get your attention, to get you to pivot. What is God setting on fire in your life today?” asked Bronner.
Bronner then used another example from the Bible. He read from Genesis 22:10-13, where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son and God showed up. Not only did God stop Abraham from sacrificing his son, He provided him with a sacrificial ram. Verse 13 reads, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.”
Abraham would only notice that there was a ram ready for him when he raised his eyes to look. Had he not, he would have missed the ram and sacrificed his son. Abraham was at his pivot point here; he had no way out and was too focused on Isaac, initially. Abraham’s entire disposition changed once he noticed the ram.
On the subject of the ram, Bronner creatively made use of the letters, ‘R-A-M’, to term different kinds of RAMs that God is able to provide when one is stuck at a pivot point.
“Rarely Accessed Method” is one that God keeps and only reveals in times of emergencies. “Readily Available Money” is a “ram” God provides in times of financial lack. “Recently Acquired Mission” is when God moves a person to his next level because he has faithfully finished his previous assignment. And then there is the “Rapidly Approaching Miracle” that is about to arrive for CHC, said Bronner.
“Whenever you get into a crisis, you are a candidate for a miracle! When you come into this house, you will see that God is a God of miracles!” Bronner declared with conviction to a cheering congregation.
On top of assuring the congregation with these RAMs that God provides, Bronner introduced a concept that Leonardo da Vinci called saper vedere, which means “knowing how to see”. He taught them to look from different perspectives when they are stuck at their pivot points. One can look within, look ahead, or look behind (just like Abraham), to deal with his problems from another angle. One can also look beneath at his foundation, recognize what has been supporting them all along, and to hold on to it. Looking around works too as it helps one to understand different concepts applicable. Most importantly, one should always look above, unto God, the “Author and Finisher of our faith”, as the Bible puts it.
Bronner said, “Only God can show you what was hidden for you. When you get down to nothing, God is up to something. If you would only look up and look through the nothingness.”
Throughout the service, Bronner stepped away from the pulpit to the front of the stage many times placing one foot firmly on the ground while lifting the other slightly above the ground. The foot that was above the ground allowed him to steer himself in different directions although the other foot was “stuck”. That is a literal demonstration of a pivot point. Both Moses and Abraham were caught in that situation—everyone experiences pivot points. Bronner advised them to do three things (that begin with D) when they find themselves in a pivot situation: Depend on God, Decide what to do, and then Determine their direction.
In closing, Bronner said, “A pivot is not an end, it is a change. Don’t close your book once a chapter ends, pivot! God will set you in a place you don’t realise you have options. But you do! You have a pivot point that allows you to turn and look from different perspectives, and it is critical to hear your Father’s voice. Keep on going!”
