Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 22, No. 1 January 2013
Do you operate out of the flesh or out of the Spirit? Rom 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”
Too many Christians are walking in the flesh today and they do not recognize how much they are hurting their spiritual walk. We can’t accomplish anything lasting by walking in the flesh. Oh, you may think you have helped someone today, but is the fruit lasting? Only what’s done for Christ will last. That means the deed must be done in the Spirit of God.
It takes a continual fellowship with Jesus to walk in the spirit and not the flesh. There are multitudes who perform their daily ritual of prayers but probably without accomplishing much because the formality is accomplished in the flesh.
That is why Jesus said to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him daily. As long as we are obeying this command, then we can be confident that we are living in the Spirit of God, that He is in control, and that whatever takes place we will receive the blessing of the Lord.
I believe we will see many changes in our world this year. All I know is I want to be in the part that is of God. What God has in store for His Church will be far greater than anything we can find in the world. So prepare your hearts and lives; live in the Spirit and not in the flesh; rejoice in His continual favor and blessing, and you will be satisfied.
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
Pauper or Prince
Jas 2:5 (KJV) “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”
The Lord told the angel of the church in Smyrna that He knew their works, their tribulation and their poverty – BUT they were rich!!! So are we paupers or are we princes?
Christians in America need to understand that just as material wealth is not a sign of God’s blessing neither is poverty an indication that the believer is under a curse. The Lord has chosen those who are rich in faith and who love Him to inherit the kingdom! So the church in Smyrna was poor in material possessions but rich in the eternal thing: FAITH.
While Americans, like no others, are extremely materialistic, the nations that have much less are experiencing miracles, even the raising of the dead. The church in America has become like the priests of Baal: How much can we get to help someone?
In addition, many are still preaching and advocating that Christians should be rich. What does the Word say? 1Ti 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
The Lord Jesus who was poor in earthly wealth told us it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. {Although I don’t consider anyone in our church to be materially “rich,” that doesn’t mean people don’t have enough to have nice things, but most are givers and God blesses them.} Don’t think that someone’s being poor means that person is not blessed by God. Don’t allow the contamination of the false gospel to infiltrate your mind. Yes, we need to work hard not only to have our own needs met but also to finance the gospel message.
Being rich or being poor is neither good nor bad. In other words, financial status is not a measure of your position in Christ. [I have often wondered about poor tramp-like beggars, if perhaps they could be angels in disguise – of course not those who are demon possessed.]
Jesus was always and still is a simple man. To think for one moment that we could get materially rich because of Jesus is a deception that has driven multitudes away. We are never to order the Holy Spirit around so we can get rich.
Luk 12:15-21 (KJV) And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (16) And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (17) And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? (18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Here was a man Jesus tells us about who had plenty. He worked hard and long to get enough, for what reason? So he could eat, drink and be merry. Not so he could serve the Lord and increase the Kingdom of God. The Lord said he was a fool! The Bible gives us many illustrations of the danger of being rich or of the desire to accumulate wealth:--Balaam, Gehazi (Naaman the leper offered Elisha money for the miracle so Gehazi took it and became a leper), Judas, as well as Ananias and Sapphira. The Apostle Paul warned those who would be rich would fall into temptation and snares (I Timothy 6:9). Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. It may not be too far off to say material riches are probably the chief cause of spiritual death in the USA.
The church of Smyrna was rich in faith. They were under great duress and tribulation, yet they were promised the crown of life if they remained faithful unto death.
The Romans had several gods, as did the Greeks. Yet Jesus mentioned only one god as being in competition with the true and living God. Mammon! (He was the Syrian god of riches). Mat 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Where do scandals come from? Greed! Sometimes I hear believers say they want to make a lot of money so they can assist the ministry, but they fail to realize that in reality, they are playing a game with themselves. God doesn’t build His Kingdom with money but with the Holy Spirit. Today most Evangelicals state emphatically: The Kingdom of God can only be spread in terms of the available money. This statement is one of carnality and fleshly. Ambition is what causes money to be the issue in building the Kingdom of God. Even as each of us has been and continues to be repeatedly challenged and tested in the area of money, our God has been faithful time and time again.
One of the ways God controls us is by the flow of money. Are we willing to give and sacrifice to help one another? The true saint looks to the Lord, knowing that when God moves, the money comes in.
Our God is in control of all the money in creation. He does not depend on the wealth of man to perform His work. [We have created a Christian living based on our own works.] Money will not deliver us from the day of evil that is before us. Only the Spirit of God is able to save our loved ones.
We must cease looking to money to solve our problems and instead look steadfastly to the Lord Jesus, knowing that He always will pay for what He commands. Psa 37:25 “I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
There is a day of famine coming to the earth, but God will take care of us even if the American
economy staggers.
Only the Spirit of God can protect us from the danger that we are threatened with daily. Money cannot save us. There is no safety except in Christ. We are not to follow the unsaved. We are to stand, look to Jesus, and obey. He will deliver us just as He has done with the saints of previous generations, many of whom wandered throughout the earth and lived in caves, but Christ was with them. Money did not save them, the Lord did.
All of us must work hard to provide for ourselves and those who are dependent on us, always remembering the poor. We must stay gathered with those of like precious faith and help out each other.
It is up to us to decide whether we will be paupers in comparison to others or princes who are rich in faith in the Kingdom of God.
-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 2012
Jan 02: To be made holy is to walk humbly.
Jan 03: Without Me you can do nothing. Watch what I can do!
Jan 05: After you have suffered awhile, I will restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. Stand fast in the grace of God (I Pet.5:10-12)
Jan 09: For He has delivered me from all my troubles (Psm.54:7)
Jan 10: How long, O Lord, before this struggle ends? I faint for the weariness that follows me. I wonder “Where have You gone?” But I encourage myself in your promises. I remember what You have done in the past and I will carry on and put my trust in You. You will not fail us.
Jan 13: Whosoever exalts himself will be humbled and he that humbles himself will be exalted (Luk.14:11).
Jan 14: Your grace is given that we might endure the difficulties and troubles that are before us.
Jan 15: No matter what state of mind you are in, the love of God is always present.
Jan 21: The blessings of the Lord God are upon you. You are blessed in your coming and your going. Everything you find to do is blessed. Obey Me in all that I ask you to do and you will always be blessed. You, your household, and your family will continue to receive blessings from the Lord.
Jan 27: There is a fountain flowing. It comes from Immanuel’s veins. It is available to us for a continual cleansing night and day. If we continue on to follow the Lord, we will maintain a pure spirit, one that pleases our Master and Lord.
Jan 30: You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in You!
Newness
As I contemplate newness as meaning something new and beyond the usual, I believe that the Lord wants to bring us into the newness of His ways. While the world around us may be falling apart, the plan of God for our lives is coming together, if we are following it.
Isa 55:9-11 (KJV) “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (10) For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: (11) So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
God will not force us to walk in His Word; but He is, and always will be, faithful to guide those who will be faithful to follow. He has said, and it is written: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and everything else that you need will be added unto you.” (Paraphrased)
Psa 1:1-6 (KJV) “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (6) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary says: “To meditate in God's word, is to discourse with ourselves concerning the great things contained in it, with close application of mind and fixedness of thought. We must have constant regard to the word of God, as the rule of our actions, and the spring of our comforts; and have it in our thoughts night and day. For this purpose no time is amiss.”
Consider these two questions: What do we spend the majority of our lives thinking about? And, do those things bring us life and peace? When things like cars and washing machines break down without worth of being repaired, we usually have the good sense to have them replaced; but for some reason it seems to be harder for us to trade our thoughts for the new thoughts that God wants to give to us. However, if we will give ourselves to the instructions from the Lord in specific areas, we will discover new ways of thinking every day.
2Co 5:17-21 (KJV) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (19) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
There are still multitudes who do not know or live for Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, but they can be reached by those who of us who are living in the new.
-Kurt Thurston
Quotes:
“The desire of love is to give. The desire of lust is to take.”
-Unknown
"It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher."
-George Whitefield
Kids Korner
A police recruit was asked during the exam,
“What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?”
He answered, “Call for backup.”
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network - Richmond Center:
The History of the Early Church by: Dr. Stan Fleming
This course is a history of the early Church spanning from its origins to the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451. Along with general overview, special attention will be paid to the notable people, movements, and traditions that have created a rich heritage for the modern day Church. There will also be discussion of some notable fables that have emerged, such as The DaVinci Code.
February 7-9, 2013
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