Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 22, No. 10 October 2013
Where are you headed in this day? What is happening in your walk with Jesus? Are you discouraged and is your belief in question? Stop looking at yourself and what is in you and set your trust wholly upon God.
Psa 138:8 (KJV) “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Know God as the perfecter. Remember, He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. If you believe this Word of God, then you must trust Him to continue the work
in you.
God the beginning: He who began a good work in you will complete it. You did not choose Him, He chose you. You are in Christ if you fellowship with Him. And He is in you!
Php 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
The very thought of God strengthens the confidence that He will also perfect what He has begun. His faithfulness, His love, and His power are all pledged that He will perfect that good work. Let your soul find rest and courage in this knowledge.
There is but one condition – You must trust Him for this. You must in faith allow Him to work. You must say, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.”
It will be glorious. He will equip, establish and prepare us for all the blessed work that we will do in His kingdom. He will make it glorious!
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
Pressing Forward
For two thousand years the forgiveness of sins has served as a down payment on the redemption to come. The forgiveness is a beginning aspect of deliverance from the authority of Satan. It is a guarantee that when the Father’s time comes to make Christ’s enemies His footstool, giving Him the authority and power to redeem us from all that is evil, we will be “saved”, meaning we will be candidates for perfect and complete redemption from all wickedness.
This is what Paul is telling us here in the beginning of Ephesians: Eph 1:14 (NIV)
“ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.”
“To the praise of His glory” is spoken three times in this text. We were created for the glory of God, so all that is happening today in our redemption is for His glory. If you can grasp that concept, it will enable you to get through all the transition of the new creation taking place today.
1Pe 1:5 (KJV) “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Rom 13:11 (KJV) “And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed.”
It is closer than you ever thought about before. It is through the blood of the cross. Our current redemption is a deposit on the full redemption that is to come in the last days when our entire personality is redeemed from the image and works of Satan. This is the Day of Vengeance against all that is of the enemy of Christ. IT IS NEW, AND IT IS SURPRISING, AND IT IS NOW. You have to fight to win or you will be overtaken. The Lord has covered you with protection if you are willing to fight this fight of faith.
Forgiveness of sins has been acquired by placing our faith in the atonement made through the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross – but that is not the primary work of redemption. It is the starting point. It is the prerequisite for true redemption which is deliverance from the hand of Satan as Jesus Christ frees us from worldliness, sinfulness and self-will.
We have all asked the Lord to forgive us our sins. Now let us ask Him to deliver us so we can do the will of God. This is the day of deliverance from evil!
During the Day of Atonement, the atonement was made by two goats. One goat was slain and its blood sprinkled in the Most Holy Place. The other goat was led out of the camp and let go in the wilderness (Lev.16:8-10). This speaks of two actions that must be dealt with. First, the sin must be atoned by the shedding of blood. Second, an atonement (which is restoration or reconciliation to God) must be accomplished by the removal of the sin itself.
If God is to restore man and to reconcile man to Himself, not only must the sin be forgiven, but it must be removed. So when we preach forgiveness without removal we are not fulfilling scripture. Thus we have a very impotent church in this nation.
To preach forgiveness, removal of sin, and obedience to the King, we are preaching the full gospel message. Anything less than this is another gospel. What God is doing today is to bring us forward in His plan. Each of us must accept and flow with this plan the same way we did when we first came to the Lord. It is not difficult, it is simply new and unique because we have not been discipled in this before now. But it is still God.
Forgiveness of sin is not full redemption. Full redemption goes beyond forgiveness to the transformation of people who do the will of Christ in every detail of their lives. The issue today is one of complete obedience to the will of God.
You see, this “get out of hell” free card isn’t so great if you aren’t doing the will of God. Every one of us has a calling and a purpose. As long as we are seeking the Lord continuously to please Him, then we are in His will. It may take a lifetime of change; but we are in His will, doing what we know to do to the best of our ability.
It is a quite sobering to realize we are in a new day, but most people don’t even recognize it. It is very sobering to see God doing a new and surprising thing today, and yet the church can’t see it.
Here is a TEST for you: Even as a disciple of the Lord, is there something in your life that you continually wrestle with and can’t seem to gain the victory over? Then try this and you will find out for yourself if things are changing in the spirit world. NAME THE SPECIFIC SIN CLEARLY TO CHRIST. DON’T CLOUD THE ISSUE WITH REASONS OR WORDS OF JUSTIFICATION. If you have stolen, say, “I stole that Lord.” If you lied, say, “I lied about that Lord.” If you have hatred toward another person who irritates you, tell the Lord specifically about it. The more specific you can be, the greater your deliverance will be.
Now tell the Lord you need His help to never practice this behavior again – not ever again.
At this point Christ forgives you regarding this specific sin and begins to set into motion the wisdom and power that will deliver you completely from its resulting behavior. This is the transformation you have been waiting for. Try and see if there is not a change in the spirit realm where God is ready to put His enemy and your enemy under the feet of Christ. When a healing is released, a freedom takes place, and a rest comes in the battle, you know you have fought the good fight of faith.
From this point forward the Holy Spirit will bring to your attention, over a period of time, every bit of spiritual uncleanness in your life. When the Spirit shows you something, you must confess it, and renounce it with the force that comes in the power of Christ in your life. [Don’t make things up. If there is nothing to confess, don’t confess it, but that is usually not the case.]
What I am talking about is a new day in Christ – the Day of Vengeance, the Day of Restoration, the Day of Salvation against evil and the enemies of God.
Judgment always begins at the house of God and with those who are closest to Him. The Day of Vengeance will continue until the end of the 1000 year reign of Christ. All sin must be removed from the creation so there will be no rebellion of any kind during the eternal reign of Christ over the new earth. This is what the third day is all about and we are there.
This new and surprising thing the Lord is doing now, that which will make us more than conquerors throughout the judgments that are beginning to fall on the world because of sin, is our protection and preparation for the days ahead.
The enablement may be new to us, but not to God. It has always been a part of His plan. This new work of grace is built on all that has gone on before. We are not removing the old landmarks but simply marching forward as Christ leads.
Three feasts of the Lord are all in operation today. The Blowing of Trumpets means the King has come to His church so the Father may put the King’s enemies under His feet in our lives. We are to open the everlasting doors of our personality so that the Lord “strong and mighty in battle” may enter in and drive out all that is not of Himself (Psalm 24).
The Day of Atonement signifies all worldliness and all lusts and all passions of our flesh and self-will are being removed from us as we cooperate with the Spirit of God.
The Feast of Tabernacles occurs as Christ is formed in us so the time will come when the Father and the Son come from heaven and take up residence in this mansion.
Christ has certainly kept the best wine until now! Don’t you want to march forward with Him into the spiritual fulfillments of the last days? Faith and courage are required. There is never anything wrong with asking for more faith and more courage because you will come against some strong unclean spirits that hate you and some that have used you in the past. These spirits believe they have the right to your life, but that is all coming down mighty fast.
I want to keep pressing forward until all the sin is removed from my life and the full redemption of God is completed. I do not believe we will be able to stand the onslaught unless we are willing to follow His orders in this day. So it is your choice! Will you press forward in restoration?
-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
Oct 2: The plans that I have for you are perfect. If you find and follow those plans, your life will be complete.
Oct 5: Let me bind what You bind and loose what You loose. (Mat 16:19)
Oct 8: To maintain your health and wholeness keep joy flowing to your heart. The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Oct. 16: I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. (Jn 10:10)
Oct 17: I pray that I may speak the word with boldness by stretching forth Your hand to heal, with signs and miracles following in Your name. (Act 4:29)
Oct 18: I lose my life that I might have Yours, O Lord.
Oct 22: The Lord has chosen to give to you life and blessings if you will continue to obey Him and follow Him with all your heart. Listen to His voice and hold fast to Him, for the Lord is your life.
Oct 25: Only when we acknowledge our sinful behavior can we have the fullness of the Spirit.
Oct 27: They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. My people must wait on Me if they are to walk through the darkness. There is light ahead and My fellowship is in it.
The Professors and the Profane
Since the beginning of mankind on the earth, people have had the knowledge of God and have been afforded the opportunity to accept or reject His intervention, but some people still wish to believe that they can think and act any way they want to and still be in God’s good graces. The truth is that, “no matter how you wrap it,” the results are still the same today as were experienced from the beginning: Committing bad actions breeds more of the same and such actions are always followed by undesirable consequences.
Gen 4:1-8 (KJV) “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. (2) And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. (3) And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. (4) And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: (5) But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. (6) And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? (7) If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (8) And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”
In the account of Cain and Able, Cain was given the opportunity to repent for the discrepancy in the offering that he had brought before the Lord; but instead of humbling himself and repenting, Cain chose to do an even worse evil by killing his brother Able.
Gen 4:9 (KJV) “And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?”
When confronted by God about the location of Abel, Cain showed disrespect and lied to God. Before Cain could be accepted by God there would have to be a voluntary change in his attitude and his actions. But Cain would not relent of his evil ways, so God punished him.
Gen 4:14 (KJV) “Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.”
The scriptures say that it “rains on the just and the unjust,” and that is true; but a little rain is not to be compared to the needless suffering that can be avoided by repenting of our evil deeds and then allowing God to be our loving Heavenly Father and Lord. Current day Christianity is still subject to the Word of God. The greasy grace that some preach is at most “wishful thinking” for those whose desires are still set only upon this carnal life; but for those who will have true life, only relationship with the Maker will suffice.
The reason that God allowed these examples to be part of His Bible is to show the future generations that there is a right and acceptable way to follow Him.
-Kurt Thurston
Quotes:
"I had not discoursed long when the congregation melted into tears... a little boy about seven or eight years of age cried out exceeding piteously indeed and wept as though his little heart would break. I asked the little boy what he cried for. He answered 'my sins!' I then asked him what he wanted. He answered, 'Christ!'
...Many of the assembled were deeply affected, groaning and sobbing; there was a great weeping and mourning."
-William Bramwell
"I'm not about to put up a silly skit and preach a 15-minute message on 'how to cope' to a multitude of people who are dying and going to hell. I tremble at the thought."
-David Wilkerson
"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to the garage makes you a car."
-Laurence J. Peter
"The devil's not fighting churches today, he's joining churches."
-Vance Havner
"Speak every time my dear brother as if it were your last..."
-George Whitefield
"Some of the greatest satanic activity in the end times will take place in the pulpit."
-Dwight Pentecost
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network - Richmond Center:
Philosophy 1 by: Dr. Ronald E. Cottle
This course is Part I of an introduction to philosophy. Emphases include basic questions of philosophy and major classifications of philosophy. Criticism and review are from a Christian perspective.
Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2013
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