Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 20, No. 6 June 2011
As we see the fulfillment of God’s Word coming to pass, it seems to be more difficult to find good news in the world. You can have one report at a certain time of the day just to have it cancelled out an hour later. Nothing seems to stay in place.
Actually, the above statement is not true! One thing that is sure and steadfast is the good news of Jesus Christ and the Gospel message. Our God does not change. Mankind grows worse and more evil. But our God is always good and rules in righteousness. We may not be able to get away from evil reports, but we can certainly reach out with the good news of our Lord and Savior. People need to hear it. People were not made to carry sorrow continually. So we must bear the good news.
Rom 10:15 “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
You don’t have to be a preacher of a church to declare and speak forth the good news. But you do need to be in right relationship with the Lord Jesus in order to have something good to say. So take the time to be filled with Jesus and then reach out and share the good news with others. It will encourage and bless them. And you might just receive a blessing as well.
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
End of Days: Part 2
Luk 21:36 (KJV) Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
We are in a time when occult practices have been added to the medical fields in America with little concern for the effects: meditations; yoga, hypnotism and psychic phenomena are all increasing as signs of healing. Revelation 13 tells us there will be great signs among the false prophets that will turn many away from godliness. There is an increase in the one world government that is said to bring new freedoms to people. In other words, we are involved with antichrist schemes without even realizing it. And the deception comes because we do not continually pray for wisdom and insight from the Lord. We must heed the word of the hour that tells us to be extremely obedient to Christ.
The trumpet is blowing that deception is all about us because perilous times are beginning to break forth. We must experience this turmoil because it serves to purify the remnant. EVERYONE WILL FIND THEMSELVES IN THE SPIRITUAL LEVEL FOR WHICH THEY HAVE PREPARED. During this time the hidden things are exposed. We will be able to distinguish those who are serving the Lord and those who are not.
But in order to know the truth, we must call upon the Lord continually, watching and waiting with the utmost carefulness. The place of safety in the Most High is a “secret place.” It is known only to the Lord’s true servants. WHERE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF WHEN TROUBLE STRIKES? Remember, the majority will be deceived by the cunning works of Satan. The fire has come to bring us to the light of all the secret things so that every man’s work may be revealed as to the true nature and motive operating.
If we watch and pray, God will deem us worthy to receive the truth and will keep us from yielding to the temptations that will abound in our day. The Word tells us God will prevent us from being deceived and overcome. Instead, we will be able to stand in triumph before Jesus, not having been harmed spiritually by the seductions and attacks of the enemy (John 17:15-17).
2Th 1:3-5 (KJV) We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; (4) So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: (5) Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
One problem bringing deception is the way that faith and belief are being defined. THE SCRIPTURAL MEANING OF FAITH IS OBEDIENCE – i.e. works of righteousness according to the will of God. Faith without works (of obedience) is dead. Mental assent of faith produces nothing. In order to be counted worthy, we must do the works of watching and praying. ONLY THEN CAN WE ESCAPE DECEPTION. Many are deceived because they have lost the desire and effort to pray. Therefore, they will not be found worthy of escaping the seductions of these last days. The spiritual and material seductions of antichrist will overtake them.
Rev 3:10 (KJV) Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Guard the Word of Christ’s patience; walk patiently after Him, not seeking our own desires, our own life, but only the will of God. Christ will guard us so that we are not deceived during the days of testing.
What I want to emphasize is this: Those who are guarding the word of the Lord are not necessarily those who talk a good talk, but those who follow the Lord in patient endurance. Such faithfulness is your spiritual protection!
The protection is not from great tribulation, but from the hour of temptation, testing or trial. What is this hour? It is an abundance of lawlessness and change in our country’s freedoms.
Remember the difference between tribulation and testing: tribulation is redemptive – it purifies. Testing, temptation and trials reveal what is truly in us.
Lawlessness and sin are what has filled the earth today. Christians are already overcome, not by tribulation but by sin. It is this lawlessness and sin that brings on the great tribulation.
These are days of reaping. The wheat and tares coming to maturity causes the Lord to gather His wheat into His protection but to separate the wicked tares to be burned. What is that?
There is a remnant sealed by the Holy Spirit that becomes the firstfruits that mark the beginning of the harvest of the earth. Through this remnant the harvest will begin; and there, great multitudes will be blood-washed (Rev.14:14-16).
Then the harvest will consist of a great multitude of faithful who refuse to worship the antichrist. Their names are written in the Lamb’s book of Life. They choose death over worshipping someone or something other than the true and living God. So God will bring them to His throne and bless them eternally.
Rev 14:17-20 (KJV) And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. (18) And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. (19) And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. (20) And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
Then comes the harvest of the wicked. There must be a defining difference between the righteous and the wicked. The Lord will make the way straight with a line of demarcation between the two. We need to know who are the righteous. And the Lord is beginning to show us.
The righteous are those who keep the commandments of the Lord. The unrighteous are those who find excuses not to do it. The environment of the earth is going to force righteousness and wickedness to be seen clearly.
When reading in Revelation about the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls of wrath, do not set them in chronological order – for that view creates only confusion. Instead, consider them as part of the time of harvest with what will be taking place. Those who do not overcome will not be ready to be raised from the dead. Instead, they will be gathered by the angels who have power over fire to cast them into the winepress of the wrath of God (Rev.20:4-6).
Mat 13:49-50 (KJV) So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, (50) And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
-Pr. Steve
. . . My calling as a pastor
Pastor’s Journal 2010
June 1: “You will have joy unspeakable once again. I will not leave you in this state of agony and sorrow. My joy will be made complete in you.”
June 3: “For God disciplines us for our benefit, so that we can show His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees and make straight paths for your feet, so what is lame may be healed.”
June 4: “Is the Lord’s power limited? You will see whether My word comes to pass or not.” (Num. 11:23)
June 5: “Keep yourself protected with the full armor of God. Remain clothed at all times and ready for combat against the forces of evil. Stay on the alert.”
June 8: “HOPE!”
June 11: “How can serving the Lord be so painful and yet so glorious at the same time? It is because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us both tearing down and building up. “We have the treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” (2 Cor. 4: 7-10.)
June 17: “ You are with Me in My plans”
June 19: “You must absolutely lose your mind in order to have His mind. That is not easy.”
June 25: “Close to you is where I want to be.”
June 26: “I rejoice and sing over you. You are faithful, a servant, one that is dependable and one I will honor. You will not turn away from Me but will serve Me honorably. My word is in you and I will sustain and keep you even when trouble and tribulation are upon you. So receive my song and rejoice.”
June 28: “I, the Lord, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by your hand. I will keep you and make you a covenant for the people and a light to the nations in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those sitting in darkness from the prison house. The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur. ”
June 29: “ The Lord will make a way.”
Go to the Lost
1Co 3:6 KJV “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”
All Christians are commanded to share with others those things that Jesus Christ has done and is continuing to do in their lives. With our testimonies of who He is and of His working on our behalf, we feed that need for the Savior in the lives of others. Many people already know about Christ, but many still need someone who cares enough to help them find a personal relationship with Him. We must not neglect to share even the things that we might consider to be small, for the Lord makes even a little go a long way.
Mar 6:35-44 KJV “And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: (36) Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. (37) He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? (38) He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. (39) And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. (40) And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. (41) And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. (42) And they did all eat, and were filled. (43) And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. (44) And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.”
Too many times I have heard well meaning Christian people say, “I don’t talk to people about Jesus. I just try to let the light shine by the way I live my life.” Yes, Christians should always be living examples, and the best example is to do what the Lord says and to say what He does.
Mat 28:19-20 KJV “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
I have never been able to get to know a person very well unless I have spoken with him or her. The world says that, “seeing is believing,” but the Bible says that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” And though we may not be able to go to all the nations individually, that does not excuse us for neglecting to share right now in the places where we live, where we work, where we shop, and where we play. We must realize that our families, neighbors, associates, acquaintances, and, yes, even strangers are our mission field. And though it has been said that, “actions speak louder than words,” we should more than double our effectiveness by using both.
2Ti 1:7-8 KJV “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (8) Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God…”
-Kurt Thurston
Quotes
“Depend upon it, if you are bent on prayer, the devil will not leave you alone. He will molest you, tantalize you, block you, and will surely find some hindrances, big or little or both. And we sometimes fail because we are ignorant of his devices…I do not think he minds our praying about things if we leave it at that. What he minds, and opposes steadily, is the prayer that prays on until it is prayed through, assured of the answer.”
- Mary Warburton Booth
“Only they who fulfill God’s commands have a claim on the Lord.” - Leonard Ravenhill
"Prayer is occupation with my needs,
Praise is occupation with my blessings,
but Worship is occupation with God Himself."
- Leonard Ravenhill
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