Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 22, No. 12 December 2013
The time is upon us for the holidays. Busy, busy, busy -- on top of all the other areas we have to deal with. But we must not forget the Lord first and foremost.
Jas 4:8-10 (KJV) “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. (9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
Is there not a hunger in your hearts for Jesus? Especially at this season of the year? I hope nothing hinders or stops you from this great desire. Make sure you are keeping yourself in purity and holiness. Clearly confess any problems or mistakes and name them for what they truly are. Firmly denounce them to the Lord. This is a step of humility that is essential for drawing near to the Lord. When we do this in earnest, we will discover that we have the ability to resist the devil:
Jas 4:7 (KJV) “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
You will discover that this will be the best time of the year for you. We have suffered greatly throughout the year. It has been difficult, but our God has not abandoned us; neither has He forsaken us.
I just pray this will be a blessed time of the year for each and every one of you. Don’t let the darkness rob you of the joy and peace that this time of year is supposed to bring. Blessings and the favor and glory of God be with you.
In Christ
Pr. Steve
Faith Comes By Hearing
Rom 10:17 (KJV) “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
“Whatever is not of faith is sin” (Rom.14:23)
“Without faith it is not possible to please Him” (Heb.11:6)
Faith is compared to precious gold in 1 Pet.1:7. Its value is unique. There is no substitute for it. Without it we cannot approach God, we cannot please Him and we cannot receive His life.
How then do we acquire faith? Is it something we have no control over? How many times have you said, “If I just had enough faith”? Usually, that happens when we are in the valley of despair. But we find in Rom.10:17 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (word = rhema). Faith “comes”! If I don’t have faith then how do I get it? From the rhema of God. All we have to do is get a word from the Lord.
Pro 4:20-22 (KJV) “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. (21) Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. (22) For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”
“My son…” God is speaking directly to us, His children. He tells us that His Words are health to our being. They are medicine to us to receive healing. Doctors prescribe medicine for ailments that make us feel better. God prescribes the Word to us to give us faith.
There are four directions to take God’s medicine:
-“Attend” – give undivided concentrated attention to God’s Words
-“Incline your ear” – to incline means to humble yourself and be teachable. Lay aside your prejudices and misconceptions and receive with an open mind what God says to you
-“Let them not depart from your eyes” – Keep your eyes focused on God’s Words. Don’t allow conflicting sources to fill your mind
-“Keep them in the midst of your heart” – Keep meditating on them and retaining them in the center of your heart
What is the difference between the logos (word) and the rhema (word)? Logos is the unchanging, self-existent “Word of God.” It is God’s counsel, settled in eternity forever: Psa 119:89 (KJV) “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
Rhema, on the other hand, is derived from a verb meaning to “speak” and denotes a specific word that is spoken – something that occurs in time and space.
When Paul said that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God,” he is using the word “rhema,” not “logos.” So this agrees with the fact that he is referring to hearing something that is spoken.
When you receive a rhema from God, at that moment it imparts life. When you hear His Word speaking to your heart, there is life imparted. And the outcome will be faith coming to you.
2Co 3:6 (KJV) “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”
“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Apart from the Holy Spirit, there can be no rhema. The logos is available to everyone – but it is too vast and complex for the mind to comprehend. Rhema is the way for the Holy Spirit to bring the logos out of eternity and relate to my human experience. Rhema is that part of the total logos that applies to my particular situation.
When faith comes in this particular situation, the initiative is with God. This leaves no room for presumption on our part. It is God who knows what part of the logos we need at any given moment. By His Holy Spirit He directs us to the very words that impart life so they become a rhema – a living voice for us to hear. To the extent that we hear, we receive faith.
Once again - DIRECTIONS FOR HEARING: attend; incline your ear; let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart.
As you follow these instructions you will hear. So hearing consists of four elements. The rhema of God is made specific and personal. A rhema comes to each of us individually from God. It is for a specific time and place. It is ongoing; and with each successive rhema, our faith increases.
Since life in the Spirit is contingent on having faith and allowing the Holy Spirit to feed you daily with the Word of God, what does it mean if you are not receiving rhema from God? It means your faith is dwindling. Mat 4:4 (KJV) “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
“Proceeds” is a continuous present tense. We could say, “Every Word as it proceeds from the mouth of God to my spirit will cause me to live.”
Isa 55:8-13 (KJV) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. (9) 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. (12) For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (13) Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
We have two levels operating here. One is the heavenly and the other is earthly. On the heavenly level is the divine logos – God’s ways and thoughts. On the earthly level is man’s ways and thoughts, far below those of God. They are actually incompatible with His. There is no way for man to rise from his level to that of God, but there is a way by which God’s ways and thoughts can be brought down to man. Like the rain and snow that bring heaven’s life-giving moisture down to earth, God says, “So shall My Word be which goes forth from my mouth.” It is a part of the heavenly logos coming down to earth as rhema to meet our needs.
When the rhema is received and obeyed, life comes forth and God’s glory is revealed. We go out with joy and are led forth with peace. Instead of thorns and briars (which represent our thoughts and our ways), we receive the myrtle and fir trees, (which typify God’s ways and thoughts).
This is the way that God works with His people today. By the Holy Spirit He takes out from His eternal counsel (logos), a rhema – a specific word that fits our particular situation in time and in space. As we hear this rhema, faith comes and we can please God. Rhema is the way that God brings down a part of eternity and relates it to our human experience. And through the rhema, the logos becomes specific and personal for us. It becomes our “daily bread” by which we can maintain our spiritual life and our ongoing walk with 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
Dec 01: The carnal mind is at enmity against God because it is not subject to the laws of God. Therefore we must have the mind of Christ to guide us. Our decisions must follow the leading of the Spirit or we will not please God. Lord, help us to think on the higher things to keep us in this hour of darkness.
Dec 03: It is the spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63).
Dec 06: Your fellowship is sweet, O Lord. I walk in the purity of Your Holy Spirit so nothing will hinder Your closeness. I want nothing but You and Your guidance. Everything else is futile. Thank You for the blessings of life and protection from the evil and darkness.
Dec 12: Thank You, Lord, for the most precious time You have given me this year for meditation and prayer to You. I have learned more than ever what it means to have Your mind and thoughts, especially when it comes to circumstance that affect us. You truly have answered cries to my heart and I can accept things that before were too difficult to ascertain. There is a deep joy and peace in serving You this way. I feel like I have endured unnecessary things just to find that they are necessary. Oh, God, help us to trust You more and more and let You be our all in all. AMEN.
Dec 17: The enemy has come to steal, kill, and to destroy; But I have come to give life and to give it more abundantly (John 10:10).
Dec 19: Stand firm! Let nothing move you. Keep giving yourself to the work of the Lord because your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Dec 22: Your desire, Father, is my desire. To do Your will always is my prayer. Your will is to dwell in me all my days. Thy will be done.
Dec 23: I will keep asking God for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that I may know Him.
Dec 24: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others above yourself.
Dec 25: Discouragement is the result of self-effort. Fight the good fight of faith.
Dec 26: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong and there is not favoritism (Col.3:23-25).
Dec 27: I have separated you for Myself and sanctified you to be a dwelling place for Me.
Dec 29: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Who forgives all my iniquities and heals all my diseases and redeems my life from destruction and crowns me with lovingkindness. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Dec 31: Even though you have been rejected. I accept you. I approve you!
No Regrets
Leaving the past, loving the present, and looking forward to the future -- that is what it is going to take if we are to have no regrets. The good thing is that if we follow the leading of Jesus Christ as we move forward, we find we are not alone in our quest.
2Co 5:17 (KJV) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Yes, Christ will make all things new; and even though it may not be overnight, our faith in His assurance will keep us strong through the changes. We must start to realize that we don’t have to re-live our past mistakes when we are walking closely with the Lord; for when we allow Him to rule, everything changes. And there is no limit to the situations and circumstances that God can make work together for our good.
Rom 8:28 (KJV) “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Joy, and peace, and love, and life are ours to live in Christ Jesus, because we have received the greatest gift of all through the sacrifice that He has made.
I found a great acronym for the word regret:
R – Reliving past mistakes
E – Evoking the pain felt in the past to the way you feel today
G – Giving into the bondage of ‘would have, could have, and should have’
R – Remembering only the negatives, and missing the positives
E – Easily being absorbed into self-pity
T – Takes away your joy
A new start means NEW-- not just the old revamped. It means fresh, clean, clear, and living. Both the Old and New Testaments testify that God has always wanted to set His people free from regret and the things that cause it.
Isa 61:1-3 (KJV) “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (2) To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (3) To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”
With a world full of people who need to be set free from the past just as much as we do, we dare not monopolize all the healing for ourselves. Rather, we are commissioned to take Christ’s healing and freedom to them.
-Kurt Thurston
Quotes:
"We must remember that Satan has his miracles, too."
-John Calvin
"Pride is God's most stubborn enemy! There is no sin so much like the devil as pride. It is a secret and subtle sin, and appears in a great many shapes which are undetected and unsuspected."
-Jonathan Edwards
"Where God is not glorified - that place is sick."
-A.W. Tozer
"The devil's not fighting churches today, he's joining churches."
-Vance Havner
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network - Richmond Center:
The Book of Jude by: Dr. Mark Allen
This course provides an exegetical and interpretive study of the Book of Jude. It searches out its richness of meaning by an examination of the original language, historical backgrounds and parallel passages. January 9-11, 2014
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