Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 23 No. 12 December 2014
God instructs us to get rid of all bitterness so that “no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Heb.12:15). There seems to be so much disappointment with people; but I am telling you by the power of the Holy Spirit within that God loves you and will see you through so you don’t have to hold on to anything that causes bitterness or frustration or anger. We are being trained in this day to obey His commands by accepting what the Word tells us and then acting on that Word.
“Get rid of all bitterness” is a command which implies success if you obey it. It is a choice, not an emotion. God won’t control your emotions, but neither will He let them influence Him. Choosing to obey in spite of your feelings always results in success! Determine to make obedience the mark of your lifestyle.
In order to do that you will have to forgive often, even many times in a day; but continual forgiveness keeps bitterness out of your heart. Then you can walk in the joy of our Lord, and with the joy you can be strengthened to overcome every rebellious act that comes against you.
Never again allow anyone to enslave you by making you bitter. Ask God to bless the offender. Love your enemies! Pray for those who take advantage of your kindness of love. That is what keeps you on top. You are conquering evil with good. Glory.
I pray you will have the best of holidays this season. May the Lord fill your heart with His life and peace and joy.
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
Protection
Psa 91:1 (KJV) “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
As chaos begins to fill our country, there is a prophetic burden from the Lord to prepare by finding your protection. Historically, people have had their times of prosperity and then disaster; so what I am talking about is not uncommon. We are not God’s pets who can expect to get away with everything. However, we are to be prepared by allowing our faith to rise up as we get the mind of Christ so that we will not worry about what may or may not happen.
Isa 26:3 (KJV) “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
But to do what it says here is the condition. More and more we are hearing about who are the true Christians today. The latest finding is that only 1% of professing Christians are true disciples. For the past 100 years we have had stories like this. Today, denominations don’t want to hear about true disciples because their earnings are based on membership instead of true followers of Christ.
The key phrases, “He who dwells” and “If you abide in Me,” are what Christianity is all about – dwelling and abiding. The experience of dwelling and abiding is found through the reality of living in Christ, an experience that begins simply enough: You begin by talking to the Lord about everything. You make Him the center of your life, the most important part of every day. You thank Him continually for everything, and you ask for His help when there is a problem. These are the responses of ordinary Christianity.
Instead of operating out of our brain, which is hostile to God, we must learn to live in Christ. Although we may have one thousand ideas, Christ is the CEO – Chief Executive Officer. And He is the One God gave to build the Kingdom of God. You may think you will know what to do when things get tougher, but Christ is the One with the answers. What does the boss say? Although this concept sounds so right, it is violated all the time. You think you are supposed to be doing this or that, but did you ask the Lord? Beware of the obvious – that is assumption! Remember Joshua and the Gibeonites. Nothing is obvious and basing our decisions on the obvious is a good way to fall into the trap of the fowler. We want to follow the rational or carnal “soul” instead of following the Lord who dwells in our “spirit.”
I am saying there is a way you learn to abide in Christ. There is a way you learn to make Christ your thinking, your speaking, your actions and your emotions. The transference from “self” to “Him” comes with much practice. Even for those who like to hear from the Lord, it takes a long time to become accurate in hearing and a long time for truth to emerge. You would think that God would be right there to reveal truth to you. But for some reason it doesn’t work like that. You have to keep praying and keep testing, testing and praying, in order to prove God’s will. And even then you have to walk in fear and trembling.
Staying in touch with Christ is difficult for various reasons. In addition to our being constantly assaulted by demon spirits, our natural ambitions also play a part as our fears and sense of duty enter in. When we do make a mess of things, we simply have to cry out for help. THAT is the cry God will hear, and He will deliver because that is the way He operates.
We will keep butting our heads against the wall until His will and our will become one. We do not abandon our wills. We keep them razor sharp. Becoming indecisive is a red flag -- it is the beginning of passivity. We are to be decisive and sharp, but we have to keep submitting every idea, thought and action to the Lord while a blending takes place. Christ has a will of His own. We see that in Gethsemane, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” Two different wills are operating. The will is the most specific characteristic of the human being. When we say “lose your life in Christ,” we mean “lose your will.” It is that important. Learning to do the will of God begins with those God is calling out from the ranks of mankind, a very small group, to come to know how to rule with Him. When God is finished with this process, every person on earth will be doing the will of God. Can you imagine? “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done…”
God has given man 6000 years to make a mess of everything. And when we are finally finished, then God will take over and fix it all.
Jesus said, “I delight to do thy will, O Lord.” If you are willing to do God’s will, then you are in the best place you have ever been. When your will and God’s will are identical, then you are in the most wonderful place of all. That goal is what we are to pursue, and we pursue it every day. That is the Kingdom.
The union of our will with His takes us back to dwelling, “He who dwells.” The highest state that any human being can reach is to walk humbly with God; but once we determine to do so, a torrent of lusts and passions, duties and expectations, both of our own and others’, as well as fears, all crowd in to cloud our mind so that we can’t walk humbly with Him.
The key to protection, to survival, and to fruitfulness during this chaotic time in the world is to live in Christ, engaging in a constant dialogue with Him. You may not be used to that – but keep practicing and submitting every decision to Him. Maintain a grateful heart until relationship and gratitude become your way of life. This spiritual union, called abiding in Christ, is the goal God has for us here in this place.
“He that dwells in the secret place of the most high…” “Secret place” = shelter. You may not need that right now, but some of you do need a shelter. Fears are gripping you because you don’t know how you are going to make it. I am here to tell you if you are abiding in Christ, God is a shelter over you; and the only way Satan can get at you is by luring you out from the secret place. How does he do that? Satan’s tactic is to get you to focus on the trouble and problems that surround you instead of on God and His Word, and then he tempts you to take matters in your own hands. Determine to remain, stay, abide under the shadow of God’s protection; and He will not fail you. Keep yourself under the shelter.
Psa 91:5 (KJV) “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;”
In other words, no bad news will frighten him.
Psa 34:6 (KJV) “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”
These are promises for us. But they apply only when we are dwelling in God. They do not apply just because we go to church. They do not apply just because we think we are a good person. They apply only if we are dwelling in Christ. Remember John 15 says if we abide in Him we will bear much fruit. But if we don’t bear fruit, we are cut off and thrown into the fire. What is the fruit that God is looking for? It is the image of His Son. He is looking for the image of His Son in us. And if He doesn’t see Christ’s image in us and in those we influence, we are cut down.
No more than a fruit tree can produce fruit by straining, are we able to produce the fruit of the Spirit, the nature of Christ, by self-effort. If you abide like a tree in the ground, the water will come up through the roots; photosynthesis will take place; and fruit will develop. As the tree abides, fruit effortlessly comes forth in its season. As we abide in Christ, the fruit of His nature will come forth.
We don’t have to strain to be righteous or holy because lasting righteousness and lasting holiness come through the constant practice of abiding in Christ, talking and living with Him all the time. The only thing that matters in your day is your contact with Jesus; for only that is eternal, all else is futile.
Rev 3:20 (KJV) “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Of course this verse is talking to the church, not the world. But this communication is not a one-time event. You do it all the time, for He is continually knocking at your door. He is asking, “Will you get your attention on Me? If you will, I will come in and dine with you. I will dine on your obedience and worship, and you will dine on My Body and Blood.” This should be happening throughout the day. Most of you eat more than once a day. Every time you go to do something, He is knocking. He says, “Let Me tell you what I think. I will help you.”
Rev 3:21 (KJV) promises, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
The key to ruling with Christ is to keep opening the door. We don’t realize He is knocking because we become too preoccupied with ourselves and our troubles. He wants to bury our burdens and to give us wisdom and help. We can accept His help, or we can keep making messes out of our lives as we continue doing things our own way.
The only reason we have famine and pestilence today is because we don’t know who is running the show. It is Jesus. And He is just waiting to take charge, but He won’t unless you give Him permission to do so.
All the protection you need today is right there waiting for you to come into it. And with it come peace and calm and blessing. Don’t be afraid of tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. There is enough evil for today, but it doesn’t have to come near you.
-Pr. Steve
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<![endif]>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 ...
<![endif]>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 2013
Dec 7: O how He loves me, O how He loves me. I know I love Him, but to get it in me that He loves me that much -- to give us His Son -- is beyond comprehension. It fills my innermost being with eternal life. O how He love me! “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;” (I Jn.4:17-18)
Dec 12: We have just as much salvation as we have love. Full salvation is perfect love.
Dec 14: All that God bestows needs time to become fully our own. Consecration and faith are united in one word: SURRENDER. What we do is only the manifestation of what God is doing in us.
Ask God for you to feel yourself constantly in His hands!
Christ was the revelation of the Father on earth. Believers are supposed to be the revelation of Christ on earth.
We will abide in Christ more fully as we forsake all and follow Him. As I count all things loss for His sake, I am found in Him.
Dec 15: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct your paths.” (Pro.3:5-6)
Dec 16: We have been redeemed to fill our innermost being with the image of God in Christ Jesus so we can go forth and let that heavenly likeness reflect itself and shine out among our fellow man. This is what we are to live for!
Taking up our cross and following Jesus is nothing less than living every day with our own life given up to death.
The best place to practice self-denial is in our ordinary relations with mankind.
Dec 17: God makes everything beautiful in nature.
We need grace to make and keep us humble.
If you bear the image of God here, you will be fitted for the glory to come.
Dec 19: The word is not enough; the light of the Spirit must shine in you. Behind the valley of death there is abundance of life. It is often as we suffer in the flesh that the quickening of the Spirit is experienced. To be nothing is the only way to let God be all!
Dec 21: Do not think of how little you bring God, but how much He wants to give you. You never lose when you sacrifice for the Father.
A life marked by answered prayer is proof of our spiritual maturity.
Christ asked three things for His disciples: That they be kept from the world; that they be sanctified; that they be one in love.
Dec 23: To live by faith and faithfulness and in righteousness is Your desire for me.
Dec 24: To be saved is to be free from sin! The nearer we are to God, the less we are in ourselves. Let the weak begin to work for the Lord and they will become strong.
Dec 25: Through faith we press into love. You must love even if you don’t feel it. Love is not in feeling, but in faith. Feeling always seeks itself. Faith seeks Jesus. When you seek gladness, you are seeking feeling. Seek Jesus and gladness will follow.
Conformity to the world can be overcome by conforming to Jesus.
Dec 26: The secret to holiness is to seek Jesus. Self-sacrificing love is the essence of holiness. I must not seek for love, but for God who is love. Only the Lord God coming in can cast out self.
Dec 27: You can get closer to Christ after failure than before (Remember Peter and the boat). I can keep from sinning by being closer to Him. If we trust Him, God will bear our burdens.
Dec 28: The nearer one gets to the Holy One, the stronger a sense of unworthiness. The more blessed by grace, the deeper the conviction of sin. Humility is simply a sense of nothingness.
Dec 29: Whenever the evil one wants to keep you from salvation, he simply robs your faith.
Dec 30: In the Church the world must hear and see Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We know Jesus Christ only as far as we partake of His nature and life and Spirit. The greatest hindrance to the preaching of the cross is a worldly spirit.
Faith will be most tried when God wants most to bless. The more a believer really despairs of himself, the more glorious Christ will be in his eyes.
Quotes by: A.W. Tozer
"The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it."
"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
"God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves."
"It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply."
"The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. "
- A.W. Tozer
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network - Richmond Center:
God’s Plan for Financing the Ministry
by: Rev. F. Nolan Ball
The biblical plan for the financial support of those whom God calls into the ministry. Keys for releasing the local church into all of the financial resources it needs to carry out its mission. Topics include the three tithes and their uses, the place of tithes and offerings in Israel’s revivals, and financing the ministry in the New Testament.
January 8-10, 2014
