Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 23 No. 9 September 2014
Prayer seems to be on the hearts of many today. That of course is a good thing since we are to be praying continually without ceasing. But people are turning to prayer because of the uncertainty of the future. I have said it before, but I will say it again, “I don’t know what people do who don’t know the Lord.” One phone call or one email can set you off because of the things that people go through and have to endure. I am continually giving it all to Him because my body is too frail to carry stuff that comes from people.
Aren’t you glad the Lord has it all under control? Yes, even your life and the details of all that you endure. His life in us is the blessing to sustain us, keeping us strong in the fight. But you do have to pray continually. God wants the fellowship and the relationship that comes in getting to know how to pray to someone who will listen and, most of all, who will answer.
Your prayers don’t always have to be “Lord, help!” Make sure you include the praise and adoration that He deserves. After all, He is Lord and He is King of your life. And remember this: Isa 65:24 (KJV)
“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
See how much He loves you. He will bring you through. That is a promise!
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
Full Manifestation
Eph 3:14-19 (KJV) For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15) Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (16) That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; (17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (19) And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
“I bow my knees unto the Father…”
1. That he would grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man.
2. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.
3. That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.
4. That you might be filled with all the fullness of God.
Every blessing from God begins as a seed. Do not imagine being filled with the Spirit is all there is and that is it. After the Lord Jesus was filled with the Spirit at His Baptism, He had to go forth to be still further perfected by temptations and the learning of obedience.
When the disciples were filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, this experience equipped them with power from on high so that they might have victory over sin in their own lives.
The Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and it is He who must guide us into all truth. He leads us into the knowledge of Christ, into true holiness and into full fellowship with God. The fullness of the Spirit is simply the full preparation for living and working as a child of God.
When we consider the matter from this point of view, we see how important it is for every child of God to obtain this blessing. Paul did not regard it as a spiritual distinction intended only for those who were prominent or favored among the children of God.
His request was that by the special work of the Spirit, God would bring believers to their true destiny – to be filled with all the fullness of God. This is what the Christian life ought to be.
Paul’s letter indicates that the Christians of Ephesus had received the Spirit when they believed in Christ. But Paul says that they do not yet know or have all that the Spirit has and can do for them. He realizes the danger of stopping short of spiritual fullness and thereby making no further progression of the Spirit. So Paul prays that the Father would strengthen them with might by His Spirit in the inner man. THIS STRENGTHENING WITH THE SPIRIT IS EQUIVALENT TO BEING FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT! It is the condition of a healthful, growing and fruitful life.
Paul’s prayer is that God would remember and bring into operation all the riches of His grace and strengthen them with might by His Spirit in the inner man.
Learn that your life daily depends on the Holy Spirit to work with your inner man to strengthen you spiritually; otherwise, you cannot live as He would have you live. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the pledge that God Himself is working everything in us from moment to moment.
Expect everything from God alone. Expect His manifestation to you of the riches of His glory. Expect that you will be strengthened with might by His Spirit who is already in you and growing into a vital form of existence. Let this become the desire and confidence of your soul: Prayer: “Manifest Your Spirit in me so that I might have strength to live for You.”
The fullness of God comes when the Father moves into your heart. Jesus shows us the Father. But the Father can have no fellowship with the creature except through the Son. In other words, He can have no joy in you except as He beholds His Son in you. To be filled, therefore, your life must become a visible expression of the life of Jesus.
Christ’s indwelling is a possession of our hearts that is truly divine and life-producing. The Father strengthens us inwardly with might by His Spirit so that the Spirit brings our will, like the will of Jesus, into entire agreement with the Father’s will.
The result is that our heart, like the heart of Jesus, bows before the Father in humility and surrender, seeking only the Father’s honor.
It is the Spirit revealed in us that enables us to know Jesus who then introduces us to the Father. God longs to see Jesus in you. He cannot rest until He makes His abode in your heart. This, the greatest blessing, comes only through the fullness of the Spirit.
The result is a love from God that produces streams of living water flowing out of us.
Love is the fulfilling of the law.
It “works no ill to your neighbor” (Rom.13:10); it “seeks not its own”(I Cor.13:5), and it “causes us to lay down our lives for one another” (1 Jn.3:16).
Love takes no account of sacrifice. It is a blessing to love. The Lord wants to fill our heart completely with Himself, thereby producing the fruit of “LOVE.”
God is love and He has provided everything that you may know love fully. This is why God wants you to be filled with the Spirit of God. How much of your life is love?
When we are filled with the Spirit, then God will bring us to Himself; and we shall be filled with all the fullness of God.
When God called the world into existence, it was in order that it might reveal Him. He wanted to manifest Himself to His creation. Even though scripture clearly tells us the whole earth is full of His glory, God created man after His image to reveal the glory of God in a reflection of His likeness. All that we see now is a reflection of the creator, but there is an image of God yet to be manifested in which man is filled with God.
This divine purpose is now frustrated by sin. Instead of being full of God, man is full of himself and the world, thus causing him to ignore God’s original intent.
So don’t say this full manifestation is too high an experience for you. God has placed His love in us through Jesus Christ that we would take God in His all.
“Filled with all the fullness of God…” As you make this your divine purpose in life, watch it come to pass. It will cause you to be firmly rooted in the love of God. It will convince you that nothing less than Christ Himself filling your heart can keep such a love abiding in you. It will make the fullness of God a reality within you. Desire nothing less than the riches of the glory of God. BE FILLED WITH THE FULLNESS OF GOD.
When Jesus went down into the grave, it was in faith that God’s omnipotent power would raise Him up to the throne of glory. That same power waits to work in you by His Spirit. We are being brought down to death daily that His image would come forth.
So say in your hearts: Eph 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
Unto Him be the glory!
-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
Sept. 6: My eyes wait upon the Lord until he have mercy on us. (Psm 123:2) The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. (Lam 3:25)
Sept. 14: God’s anointing remains. Sometimes we don’t feel it, but it resides within to guide us and encourage us as to God’s favor. I don’t know what is next, but I will continue to obey and walk in faith, trusting Him for every decision. I will experience His love throughout the day and find Him in all that I do and am!
Sept: 21: O that My people would listen to Me, then I would turn the enemy and subdue him. Listen and obey My voice and stop making a path for yourself. My path is the path of righteousness. I will give you peace and hope for sorrow and sadness so that you will know My joy and life. I am a God of great compassion. I know the pain of My people, but they must listen to Me and not walk in their carnal ways. Keep asking Me and keep acknowledging Me and I will keep your paths straight.
Sept. 24: I will not forget your labor of love to Me. When you lost all, you remained faithful and carried on my assignment for your life. I see that and will bless again. I know your love!
Sept. 28: Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer (Rom 12:12)
Why We Worship God
John 4:23-24 (KJV) "But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."
Sometimes people do not feel satisfied when they go to church, and sometimes they won’t even go to church because they don’t feel like they get what they want or “need” when they do go there. Those who would worship God need to keep in mind that when we go to church, we go to worship the Lord; and the priority is all about what we are to give to Him. God is not supposed to worship us! People have somehow turned worship into something that is supposed to benefit themselves; and if it doesn’t do something for them, then they start looking elsewhere, whereas actually they should rather be concentrating on the worship that they are to be giving to God.
Luk 7:37-38 (KJV) “And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, (38) And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”
That woman ministered to Jesus with everything that she had. To offer Him true worship, she was willing to be rejected, and scorned and even to be condemned. Even if it was the last thing she did on earth, she had made up her mind that she was going to truly worship the Lord Jesus Christ.
Luk 7:44-46 (KJV) “And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. (45) Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. (46) My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.”
Clichés such as “Do your own thing”, and “Have it your way” are made up by people who think the world revolves around themselves, but a true Christian worshipper of God ministers unto God and has the concerns of His Kingdom in mind always. Worshiping God in Spirit and in truth is a serious matter. In reality, when we worship God according to His Word, we will be blessed beyond measure as we discover the hidden things that are found only by denying self and instead truly worshipping our Creator.
-Kurt Thurston
Quotes:
"You know, people say that today. "Oh, I am just a saved sinner."
That is like saying you are a married bachelor. That is like saying you are an honest thief... You are either saved or you are a sinner."
-Leonard Ravenhill
"Though there are some tearful intercessors behind the scenes, I grant you that to our modern Christianity, praying is foreign."
- Leonard Ravenhill
"Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will."
- A.W. Tozer
"I want the presence of God Himself, or I don't want anything at all to do with religion."
- A.W. Tozer
"It is far better to drive men away by faithful preaching than to drive the Holy Spirit away by unfaithful preaching!"
-Al Whittinghill
"Revival will come only to a desperate church, not a contented one. He is ever the Rewarder of those who 'diligently seek Him.' not the mere casual inquirer."
-Al Whittinghill
"Most Americans worship their work, work at their play, and play at their worship."
-Al Whittinghill
Kidz Korner
Did Noah Fish?
A Sunday School teacher asked,
"Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?"
"No," replied Johnny.
"How could he, with just two worms?"
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network - Richmond Center:
Understanding Dreams and Visions by: Rev. Katrina Wilson
A study of both the biblical and scientific facts of dreams and visions.
The main emphasis is on dreams, and special attention is given to dream symbols in order to help the students understand and interpret their own dreams. Biblical texts are examined that share about the importance of dreams from God’s viewpoint and their effect upon man. This course gives balanced teaching that will help the student see how dreams are a vital tool even today.
October 2-4, 2014
