Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 21, No. 9 September 2012
It was 30 years ago this month that I started in ministry. I had ignored the call for many years, but finally agreed with the Spirit. I began as a youth minister. We had a great group of young people and it was an enjoyable task to teach them and guide them on their journey in life. The only problem is that now after 30 years, I don’t know where they are or what they are doing or if they are serving the Lord. I have a plaque on my wall in the family room which they had signed. I see it often and think about them, hoping they are living for the King.
Since that time we have continued to be faithful to the calling and have seen God do many miraculous and awesome things in our midst. We have memories of good times and of bad. It is all a part of ministry, especially when you are a pastor. I really don’t know how we have made it through so much. But we are blessed to have grown in the Lord over these 30 years. I am not the same person I was back then, and not even the same as I was last year.
We are tired, but we still want the Presence of God above all things that we hope for in this life. I know we are in dry times, and sometimes they seem dismal at best. But I will keep my faith and witness in the mercies of the Lord. He is still the answer to our walk. And He is closer than ever before.
This theme verse has been with me all these years and is still our prayer: 2Th 3:1 (KJV) “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:”
I pray that the Lord will keep you through your entire journey and that nothing will hinder you from staying the course.
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
PUT AWAY SIN
Heb 9:26 (KJV) “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
How many of you believe that Jesus Christ came to put away sin? How and when does this deliverance and transformation take place?
We are told in Hebrews that the new covenant is better than the old one because it does away with sin that the blood of bulls and goats does not do. So the majority have been taught that the new covenant is better because while the old covenant did not really forgive our sins, the new does. However, the reality of the new covenant is that it actually contains the authority and power to remove the practice of sin from us. We need to believe this truth if we are to come through this transformation process.
Do you not know that all the pain and sickness and trouble each of us experience is because of the sin in the world? Jesus is the only way to make a difference. And if that difference is true, then we can be set free from being the problem to being the solution for the world through Jesus Christ.
Think about why you have suffered. Was it in vain? Of course not! My God is not that kind of god.
Eph 5:26-27 (KJV) “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Does this sound like a bride for the Lamb as being one who is forgiven but not transformed? If you believe the new covenant is better because of the blood of Jesus Christ, then you must accept that it is also because the power of Christ Jesus is in us to set us free from the sin that so easily besets us.
Jesus came to deliver us. That means we can control the impulse over sin until it is finally removed from us.
When we speak of transformation we are talking about death to the adamic nature so that Christ can be formed in us and about making room for the Father and the Son to dwell in the new nature with a resurrected physical body clothed with a house of eternal life from heaven which is a robe of righteousness that comes from living a life of holiness and obedience to the Spirit of God.
I am talking about a total forgiveness and total deliverance from all that is of Satan. All of this is our Christian salvation.
I am about to make a statement you all need to hear: The obedient Israelite was forgiven his sins. But the presence of sin, the compulsion to yield to sin, remained with and in him. The Day of Atonement took place once a year to remove the presence of sin from the camp. But the blood of bulls and goats cannot effectually remove the presence of sin from us.
Through the Lord Jesus Christ, however, the very presence of sin is removed from us. Through Christ, the guilt, the urges, and the effects of sin are all removed from us.
When we have truly received Christ by repenting of our sins, the guilt of all the sins we have ever committed or ever will commit has been cast behind God’s back, never to be remembered against us again (Isaiah 38:17). By one offering, Christ perfected forever those who are sanctified and abide in His Presence and will.
Now we stand before the Lord without condemnation in the sight of God. The purpose of our complete pardon is that we might cooperate with the Holy Spirit to remove the presence of sin from us and heal us of the effects of Satan’s influence over us in the world.
Do we still sin while this process is taking place? YES!
But, we must remember that the pardon is only in effect as long as we follow the Spirit of God in His program of sanctification and transformation. The moment we go back into living according to the flesh, which includes the desires of our flesh and soul and carnal mind, we come under condemnation.
God never permits us to exist outside of His laws. This is the reason we continue to repent-- so the process will continue in us until we are fully transformed. If we do not continue to repent, the process is like leaving a person without food and water –resulting in eventual death.
The word “forgiveness” is absolute: either we are totally forgiven or we are not. But forgiveness is not the issue. The issue is whether or not we will be changed.
According to John 15 the Father is looking for fruit. The fruit is the moral image of Christ created in us as we are delivered from the bondages of sin and transformed daily by the Presence of Christ in our lives. Apart from this deliverance and transformation, there is no evidence of the new covenant operating.
So you see, we were forgiven, we are forgiven, and we shall be forgiven eternally, provided we cooperate with the Holy Spirit who is at work delivering us from sin: Rom 8:4 (KJV) “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Hebrews 10:14 (NIV) ”because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
Forgiveness is true only as we continue in His program of salvation. In order to abide in the state of perpetual forgiveness, we cannot willfully live according to the sinful nature but must live according to the Spirit. If we are not following the Spirit, which is the case with many Americans, then the righteous requirements of the law of God are not being met in us. We are not recipients of this transformation. Instead, we are subject to Divine judgment.
Hebrews 10:26 addresses the critical issue of Christians choosing to sin willfully: “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,”
We do not inherit the Kingdom of God and we are removed from the Vine; i.e. Christ.
When God says we are to be “conformed to the likeness of His Son,” He doesn’t mean exhibiting a better attitude or displaying a more godly behavior. It means the power of God transforms us into the express image of Christ, spirit, soul and body.
2Co 3:18 (KJV) “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
What we have been taught is that we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor.15:52). This change is talking about the physical body at resurrection, not the soul or spirit. We are told from 1 John 3:2 that when Christ shall appear we shall be like Him. The process will be complete with a new body. But John goes on to explain in the rest of the chapter if we continue in sin we are not of God but of Satan (I John 3:8).
The outward change is instantaneous at the resurrection from the dead. The inward change is through many difficult encounters of the Holy Spirit as He removes worldliness, lust and self-will so He can create Christ in us. If it were possible to create Christ in us in an instant, we would be robots.
If you hope to be changed in an instant from being a lazy selfish person to one who has great faith, you are lost. Christ can be developed in us only as we remain obedient to the Father’s will.
John 14:23 (NIV) “Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’”
Aren’t we all eagerly awaiting and earnestly crying out for this process. Rejoice that He has called us to this most glorious time in history. IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL!
-Pr. Steve
I am going to be sharing with you thoughts from my journal over the past few years. This is to show you how the Lord has brought about His Word in my life to minister to you and to show you how real this walk can be. Please read and understand by the Spirit about ...
. . . My calling as a pastor
Pastor’s Journal 2011
Sept. 2: For the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. (Jms 1:20)
Sept. 6: The tongue has the power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Pro 18:21)
Sept. 7: I want you to believe and see My salvation and healing taking place. Stand in faith without wavering and do not doubt what you don’t know and understand. I am a God who cares about what you pray and ask Me for. I am answering. Worship Me and give all the praise to Me for the blessing is at hand.
Sept. 10: The way to dying to self is patience, meekness, humility and total surrender to God.
Sept. 17: To surrender yourself to God is the same as learning Christ. If you really want patience, meekness, humility, and resignation, you will have to be prepared to give up all that you are and be led by the Spirit. The greater your distress to overcome, the nearer you are to the greatest relief from God.
Sept. 18: That I will never utter a word or do anything to others or myself unless it is under the influence of the inspiration of God. Rest in the Spirit of God.
Sept. 20: Every good and perfect gift comes from above. From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things.
Sept. 21: Be still and know that I am God. I am your refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Do not fear no matter what. There is a river, the streams shall make glad. I am in the midst thereof and will help at the right time.
Sept. 22: I do not understand You, but I trust You and know You are in charge.
Sept. 23: Tammy passed –
Sept. 27: True prayer – expect nothing from yourself and expect everything from God with all your heart.
REJOICE IN THE LORD
Psa 34:1-9 (NKJV) “A Psalm of David When He Pretended Madness Before Abimelech, Who Drove Him Away, and He Departed. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (2) My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. (3) Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. (4) I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. (5) They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. (6) This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. (7) The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. (8) Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (9) Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.”
If we can’t quite rejoice in “all things” right now, we can at least start by rejoicing in “some things” right now. We must beware that we neither have nor keep a defeatist mentality. A defeatist mentality will stifle any and all chances of success. We can recognize a defeatist mentality by taking note of having the tendency to accept or resign ourselves to the prospect of defeat. Defeatist mentalities are noticeable in other ways as well, but they are easier to see by those watching the way we act and react.
Isa 61:10 (NKJV) “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
How do you see yourself? Do you feel like a helpless victim, or do you see yourself as someone who is willing to try and do what it takes to accomplish something even in the midst of adversity? Are you a quitter? Are you prone to making excuses, or do you take responsibility for your thoughts of inadequacy and search out ways to overcome them? We know by the word of God that taking joy in the Lord is a way to overcome the things that would try to keep us in the doldrums. But if we are down and we don’t know how to find the joy of the Lord, do we just stay down; or are we willing to do what it takes to find our way to being strengthened in the Lord? First, we must realize that complaining about anything is like “majoring on the minors” and is an avenue only to deeper inadequacies. What is more productive is to realize what God wants for our lives in every situation that we encounter, whether good or bad.
Mar 12:29-31 (KJV) “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: (30) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (31) And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
Everything God has ever done was done because of His love for us. So to find strength from the love of God for ourselves, as well as for others, we must be willing to love the Lord, to love others, and also to love ourselves with the Love of God! Sometimes we think we know what and how we love, but we must not settle for leaning upon our own understanding. Whatever we find ourselves doing the most is probably what we love the most. We must not waste time criticizing ourselves, but instead spend more time in the word of God which talks about joy, about rejoicing, and about the Love of God. Spending time in God’s word will change our lives as well as the lives of those around us because people are most greatly influenced by who and what they spend their time with daily.
-Kurt Thurston
Quotes
"If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified."
-Leonard Ravenhill
"In the New Testament church it says they were all amazed - And now in our churches everybody wants to be amused."
-Leonard Ravenhill
"The men that have been the most heroic for God have had the greatest devotional lives."
-Leonard Ravenhill
January 29th,1808 "I never felt such longings after God or such a desire to depart to be with Christ. My soul thirsted for more full communion with my God and Savior. I do not now feel satisfied as I used to with the manifestations of the divine presence, but still feel hungry and craving." February 18, "I was enabled to lie at Jesus' feet and to wash them with the tears of contrition. No pleasure I have ever found in the Christian life is superior to this." February 28, "I was favored with great enlargement in prayer. I seemed to be carried out of myself into the presence of God."
-Edward Payson
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network - Richmond Center:
The Twenty-Third Psalm: A Summary of the Times of David
by: Dr. Alvis Harthern
This course analyzes in full detail the Twenty-third Psalm. In addition, events in the times of David and additional writings of David are submitted as the
basis for including each idea in this Psalm.
October 4-6, 2012
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