Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 23 No. 2 February 2014
We have all heard “What goes around comes around.” A lot of things have happened over the past few years, and I believe the consequences are just around the corner. If God does not intervene, we are going to see some pretty horrific problems.
I am so glad to have the Lord to guide me through all this. I know that God is on the move right now and His children are under His wings. But don’t take it for granted. We must continue to fear the Lord about everything that is taking place. And I don’t mean “reverence”, I mean fear. There are still many in the churches today who are being told that God is not judging us. Oh, yes, He is. But remember, His judgments are true and He is faithful. So if you fear Him, you won’t do something stupid.
Too many don’t think that God gets upset. Remember the Scribes and Pharisees? Jesus got extremely upset with those religious ones. They didn’t have the fear of the Lord even though He was right there in their midst. So don’t take the Lord for granted. Humble yourself before Him, fear Him, and obey His every command. And you will be alright; you will come through in glorious victory, and you will defeat the enemy.
We don’t live like the world, so don’t act like them. Show yourself to be a person of God who truly knows how to live in this day.
1Pe 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
Test of Faith
Rom 5:1-11 (KJV) “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (2) By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (3) And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; (4) And patience, experience; and experience, hope: (5) And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (6) For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. (8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”
Faith must be tested. Verse 3 tells us to glory in tribulations. It is extremely difficult to rejoice in hardships, persecutions, loneliness, and misunderstandings; yet God says to do it.
Paul tells us to do this because tribulation produces patience, experience and hope. And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. The reason we can glory in tribulations is that we accept their coming as from God and know they produce a character which cannot be produced any other way.
Paul shows us four stages in developing our character that come from tribulations:
PATIENCE: endurance, perseverance. It is an essential aspect of Christian character. Without it we are not able to receive some of the best blessings and provisions from the Lord.
EXPERIENCE: trustworthiness to produce character; a mature character. “We believe your experience has proven you are capable of handling this.” But what we really want is God’s approval that we can withstand in the hour of testing.
HOPE: expectation or confidence. This is a steady hope that does not leave you. It may waver, but you continue to maintain that hope in spite of circumstances to the contrary. This is not wishful thinking, or flights of fancy, or escape from reality. It is a hope that is strong and confident with an expectation of results.
LOVE OF GOD: this is so far from being disappointed that it exceeds any hope we may have had. This is the final objective of building the character of Christ Jesus in our lives, and the outcome is evident in verse 2: “rejoic[ing] in hope.”
Verse 11 states, “We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This joy does not come because of what the Lord has done for us, but because we find our final and highest satisfaction in nothing and in no one except Him. THAT IS YOUR MARK OF MATURITY, when God Himself and God alone becomes the source of your deepest joy and highest devotion.
(I Corinthians 13:7) Love is the only thing strong enough to endure every test. Love cannot stand without endurance and endurance won’t matter without love.
(Vrs.13:13) Once again love is the greatest, but we need all three until our character comes into maturity. Verse 18 explains how this maturity is produced:
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.”
Glory = Romans 5:2 doxa – Paul says we can rejoice in the hope that this glory is developing.
(James 1:2-4) James also tells us to joy in our trials. Although contrary to our natural thinking, rejoicing in the testing of your faith results in patience. And that is the only way you can come into the “fullness of God.” [“have her perfect work”]. James says it this way: “…that you lack nothing.” When you know what the outcome is going to be, you are more ready to endure and experience some joy in the test. I think God’s people don’t know why they have to be tested so much.
1Pe 1:5 (KJV) “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
God wants to show you off! But not until you have been made ready. It is only through faith that God’s power can work effectively in our lives, and that faith is an essential requirement for participating in the full and final revelation of God’s salvation.
Then God tells through Peter (vrs.6-7) that your faith will be tested in the same fashion that gold is tested and purified – by fire!
1Pe 4:12-13 (KJV) “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: (13) But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
When you first begin to go through fiery testings you think some strange thing is happening to you. And until you do go through them, people will think you are strange. They will think something is wrong with you, that maybe there is sin in your life; therefore, they often judge you harshly. But Peter assures us that this kind of testing is a necessary part of life to purify our faith. So he says, “Rejoice!” And there is that “glory” again. [doxa = honor to a place that people will trust you with a good reputation.]
Trials, testings, tribulations, afflictions are among the ingredients in the crucible by which God refines and purifies His people until they meet the requirements of His holiness.
Isa 48:10 (KJV) “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”
Any metal that goes through the fire and fails the test is rejected. In Jer. 6:30 Israel was called “rejected silver” because they had refused to allow the continual judgments of God to purify them.
Peter thought he had arrived when he tried to rebuke Jesus for saying He was going to be crucified.
Luk 22:31-32 (KJV) “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: (32) But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Peter’s character had not yet been refined. He wasn’t ready for that kind of trouble in his life, so Jesus said He would pray for him that his faith would not fail.
The same is true of us. There will be times of pressure that will seem unendurable. It may be that we will yield and temporarily fail. But all is not lost! There is a way back, upon one condition: that our faith not fail. So long as we do not abandon our faith under pressure, our faith is more precious than gold which perishes “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10 KJV).
The question for each of us is whether our character will have been so formed that we will come through tribulation victoriously with our faith intact. There must be no place within us that resists the application of the Word of God to every area of our lives.
Remember this: Heb 12:1-2 (KJV) “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
He is both the author and completer of our faith. Scripture clearly warns us that our faith will be subjected to severe tests. These are necessary to prove its genuineness and to develop strong Christian character in us.
So when your faith is tested, when tribulations come, begin to rejoice in the love of God because He is refining you for His purposes.
-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 2013
Feb. 6: The last few days have been difficult. Physical ailments keep me from getting to where I want to be with Christ. The battle is intense, but God is still God and He wins. He says, “You are My friend because you do what I say.” I am so grateful for the continual friendship with God. When others seem to let you down, He won’t!
Feb. 7: Count the days, for you will truly see what I will do!
Feb. 8: I consider everything as a loss that I might know and gain Christ. That concept is much deeper than any of us really understands. Yet nothing should stand in the way if we truly want more of Him. Is this what the Lord is asking of us? Oh, the depth of His love.
Feb. 10: True humility is no thought of success and no thought of failure. It is no concern for recognition and doesn’t worry about insult. True humility bows only to the humbleness of our Lord and Savior.
Feb. 14: God is my only source of wisdom and goodness. On You will I wait all day long!
Feb. 18: I bow my knees to the Father of one Lord Jesus Christ, that He would grant us, according to His riches of glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. (Eph 3: 14,16)
Feb. 20: The Lord is good to them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. (Lam 3:25)
Feb. 21: I make room for the Holy Spirit to direct me and guide me into all truth and obedience to Jesus. I pray for more of the Holy Spirit in my life.
Feb. 28: Let the joy of the Lord be your strength!
History Repeats Itself
Ecc 1:9 (KJV) “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
For those who are still of the world, and even for us who are Christians, successes and failures are neither something new nor are they exclusive; rather, they are the outcome of the way we live our lives and the result of who we desire to be. So we must take action to keep the good growing and flowing into our futures while at the same time prohibiting the bad from repeating itself. Here are three ways of gaining the wisdom to help us along the way; and the third of these is the greatest. First, we can gain wisdom from the experiences of others. Second, we can gain wisdom from our own past experiences. And third, the greatest of all, is having the knowledge and wisdom that comes from the Holy Scriptures as well as having revelations which we receive by spending time with God.
Even now, with the beginning of a New Year, many people have put their hope in a “New Year’s” Resolution. Unfortunately, most such resolutions just become history repeating itself. The crisis becomes greater when, without a change for the good, the bad conditions just become worse. Our faith and our hopes sink to a critically depressive level as a result of repetitive failures which produce within us a constant state of crisis.
Have you been, or are you currently down on yourself because of past or present failures? Do you have a plan or a hope that can cause a change for your good? You will be blessed to know that God has a plan in His word for your situations.
1Pe 5:6-10 (KJV) “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (7) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (9) Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (10) But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.”
Hallelujah! Those scriptures, and other scriptures that God can lead you to are your greatest hope, but you will always have to accompany them with your own “Good fight of faith.”
All of our failures are accompanied by our weaknesses, so we must make ourselves aware of what things trigger our weaknesses. For some people it is Stress, or Boredom, or Anger; but whatever it is for you, take the time to find out what the Holy Bible has to say about it, and take every issue to the Lord in prayer until something starts to change. And then follow up by writing down the differences that prayer and the scriptures have made in your situations so that you can recall your victories and keep your testimonies from being stolen by the enemy.
-Kurt Thurston
Quotes:
"A church with apostolic foundations is that body of people whose central impulse and principle of life, being and service is one thing only, namely, a radical and total jealousy for the glory of God."
-Art Katz
"The 'flesh' is too bad to be cleansed; it must be crucified."
-Watchman Nee
"Most Christians don't hear God's voice because we've already decided we aren't going to do what He says."
-A.W. Tozer
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network - Richmond Center:
The Believer’s Authority by: Rev. Randy Clark
This course examines the unseen forces at work in the world. Particular emphasis is given to the origin of Satan, his motivation for attacking God’s creation and Jesus’ victory to give believers authority over him. The origin, powers and limitations of demons are also explained.
March 6-8, 2014
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