Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 24 No. 1 January 2015
We read about the time that Job lost everything. In one year he lost his children, his money, and his health; but Job didn’t pray that he would get all that back. He did not focus on any of those things. Instead, he came to realize that when you are in right standing with God, all the rest will fall into place.
Here is a truth you learn when you lose what you love: When you have nothing left but God, you discover that God is enough!
Much of the book of Job is about him arguing with God and complaining about his lot in life. Are you doing the same thing? Stop worrying. God is big enough to handle it. As long as you are abiding in Christ, He will take care of you and cause you to grow stronger in Him.
Job did not know what had taken place in heaven with Satan before all these calamities befell him. He didn’t know Satan had said to God, “Take all Job has and he will curse you” (Job 1:11). But God knew, so he allowed it to happen. When the testing was over, God hadn’t changed his mind about Job. The only one who had changed his mind was Satan.
And please remember what happened in the end. “The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12).
Keep trusting God no matter what your trouble, and you will see the victory.
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
Father God
Joh 17:1 (KJV) “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:”
The Bible says that God was in His fullness in Jesus. “In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form” (Col. 2:9) And yet He did not pray to the God in Himself. It is true that we have God in us, but it is also true that we have a God in heaven; therefore, we don’t pray to the God that is in us. We pray to the God who is in heaven. He is an external God. So we have this mystery – Christ is in us and He is with us. And He is in heaven at the same time.
Vrs.1 says, “The time is come.” Things are not random. Everything moves at the hand of God. We look at our circumstances and wonder if God is far off. But He is in control. That does not mean our destiny is inevitable because God gives us choices to make. And our destiny depends on those choices. And yet God knows what we will choose. So it is a great mystery.
If we pray, God will give us the desire that He has for us; but if we don’t pray that prayer daily, then our choices may be wrong because they come from our own desires. God will give us the right desires that lead us to righteousness if we ask Him.
In the O.T. God promises if you go to war and blow the trumpet, He will remember you. In N.T. terms, this means that if we pray, God will answer. Your situations are not inevitable. We are making decisions that will affect us eternally. It is important that we ask God to give us His desires and that we pray every day, expecting God to guide us. You don’t have any idea what you need or what you want, but He knows. And He will bring that to us in answer to prayer.
In John 17:1, Jesus prays, “Glorify Your Son that Your Son may glorify You.” This exchange is true for your life. If you glorify Jesus, He will glorify you. But in order for this result, we have to be walking humbly with our God. We are not glorified to look better or be better, but to humble us. Any glory that we receive is always for Him; never let it go to your head. Jer 9:24 “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”
Never seek glory for yourself because nobody is impressed with you. Everybody is self-consumed naturally. Instead, glory in the Lord. Follow Jesus’ pattern: “Father, glorify Me, so I may glorify You.” If you receive any glory, turn it around so that God obtains the glory.
Vrs.2 – “You gave Him power (authority) over all people.” How many people does Jesus have authority over? What about the rotten people? Jesus has authority over them all. Not just the church. Some people will not accept the Lord because even though He is in control, things seem to keep getting worse. The answer to that apparent contradiction is that God is moving toward a new world of righteousness, just the way He wants it.
God is going to finish what He started. God began with man in a perfect Paradise. There was plenty of food available, and it didn’t even rain. Instead, a midst came up from the ground to water everything. The environment was more beautiful than you can imagine. The first two inhabitants had the whole world before them. They could have gone anywhere and done almost anything -- until they made that one fatal error: They disobeyed God.
If you reflect on Eden, you will know what God thinks about when He thinks of the world. He walked with them, and the Presence of God was with them continually. Even now, He is in the process of restoring such a relationship, for that is what He is going to have. The Bible clearly tells us this is the way He is going. There will be no sorrow, no tears, no death, and no sickness.
As we consider the problems in the world, we realize God uses them to draw us to Himself. If you never had any trouble, you would never grow up; and without problems, there would be no clear distinction between unrighteousness and righteousness. God knows and feels all the pain of people. He knows about the sick person or the starving child. And His awareness causes God to move everything toward what is going to be. In spite of contrary circumstances, you have to have faith to believe in the goodness of God.
Any time you doubt God’s love, think about Calvary. If you have faith in God and walk humbly before Him, your life, including all its valleys, will go in the right direction. Tribulation works patience. When you meet people who have never had problems, you soon realize they lack the experiences required to be authentic.
Honest people take the bitter with the sweet and move through life the best they are able. These are heading toward Paradise. So have faith in God because Jesus has authority over all people. Jesus is much greater than we understand. Everything that we see today came through Christ. God, working in and through Christ, created all of this for us. He is greater than we can imagine. Do you recall what happened to John the Beloved, the one who leaned on Jesus’ breast, when He saw Jesus after He was resurrected from the dead? He fainted. Why? Because our Jesus is something else. He’s not just a teacher who wears sandals. He is the MIGHTY KING and He has all authority.
“That he should give eternal life…” This does not mean “forever.” Angels live forever, but they don’t have eternal life. Eternal life is the life that is in the body and blood of Jesus Christ. And that is not given to any angel. It is given to us because that is how we marry the Lamb. It is the life of God Himself. The emphasis is not on the duration of time, but on the quality of life. Eternal life is the divine life and nature. No other creature can have it because it comes only through the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Do you realize what you have?
“…To as many as thou hast given Him.” God has not given everybody to Christ. Does it mean that not everyone can be saved? NO! In fact, scripture tells us that anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and is baptized can be saved. So what does He mean? It doesn’t mean that from the ranks of mankind, God has chosen certain people, not to be saved, because anyone can be saved who believes and is baptized. That is God’s Word and it can’t be changed. Rather, it means that God is creating RULERS. Why? Because if He doesn’t, everything that He is doing to prepare us for eternity will be a mess. The problem in Eden was that there was no ruler. There was no one to tell Eve what she was doing was not the right thing to do. We want God to tell us when to do right, but God uses people to whom we are supposed to be submitted to help us get through life the right way.
If God is going to restore Paradise, He must develop rulers. Anyone who can stand in this world the way it is and love God and believe Him is a cut above the average person. Yes, God is making rulers.
One principle in weight training is that of encountering resistance. Without resistance, no muscle will be developed. Everything depends on pushing against resistance. That rule is true not only in weight training; it is also true in everything in life. You develop character by pushing against resistance. You develop righteousness by pushing against unrighteousness. If you never have anything to push against, you will never have any strength. Your strength comes when you encounter resistance. Thus, God is developing people with spiritual muscle. The Bible calls it a “Rod of Iron.” They shall rule with a rod of iron. That iron is developed in our personality as we do right when it is difficult. And that iron will govern the nations in the time to come.
Maybe you are going through an extremely difficult time and are thinking, “Why would God allow me to suffer like this? ”The reason is not that God has forgotten you, but rather, that He is building iron in you. Nothing is random. God is very precise in all that He does. That is why it is written: Mat 12:36 “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
Try to imagine a God so great He can recall every word that comes out of your mouth and everyone else’s mouth. “Idle word” means it has no purpose. It is just talking for the sake of talking. From that you can figure just how great God is. He knows what He is doing in your life. He knows what you are doing every moment that you are breathing. He has a purpose in it. You can throw up your hands and quit and develop a hatred for God or you can look to the Lord and say, “Father help me, strengthen me that I can go through this victoriously.” If you do the latter, you will develop a character that will serve you well in the time to come. Don’t hold too tightly to this life. The best is yet to come. What does this require of you? Mic 6:8 “…to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”
Mat 11:29 (KJV) “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Mat 11:28 (KJV) “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
What is that rest? It is to know the Father. Christ came to us that we might know the Father. To know the Father and to have God in your life is far better than anything this life can offer you. The knowledge of the Father comes thusly: Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn.14:6). He is the way to the Father, He is the truth of the Father, and He is the life of the Father. Jesus came to bring you and me to the Father. It is time to know the Father and to glorify the Father. All that we have learned from the Bible and from Jesus is a prelude to the Father. If you know Christ and the Holy Spirit, then it is time to get to know the Father. The church has not been adequately conscious of this truth before now. People can get saved and people can get baptized in the Holy Spirit, but we must get to know the Father. Don’t miss what Christ came to do. He came to bring us to the Father, the place of our rest. The yoke of Jesus is the yoke of the Father because He always obeys the Father. For this reason the Father has given Him all the authority of God’s hands. He is the supreme Lord. And the next step is for Him to reconcile us to the Father. Let us get to know the Father!
-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 2014
Jan 01: Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. I want to see You, Lord!
Jan 02: With all the shaking that is taking place, everything will be shaken; but the righteous shall never be moved (Psm.55:22).
Jan 03: My prayer for this year, dear Lord, is that I might have a sound mind. “For God has given us a sound mind with love and power” (2 Tim.1:7).
Jan 06: The doors will open and the glory will flood out and many will see the glory.
Jan 07: I am confident of this one thing; if God be for us who can be against us.
Jan 18: Your love will never wane. I will still love you throughout eternity. My joy fills your life and you do enjoy My fellowship. There is a peace that overflows your heart, keeping you focused on Me! All of this brings completeness and satisfies all longing within you. Don’t lose it or take it for granted.
Jan 19: “And you shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave it with ‘Holiness unto the Lord’…And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead” (Ex. 28:36). May my mind be continually stayed upon You, O Lord, to be acceptable in Thy sight.
Jan 20: I have separated you from people that you should be mine (Lev.20:24).
Jan 21: He who loves much is forgiven much!
Jan 26: “For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy. ‘ I dwell in the high and holy place with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isa.57:15).
Jan 28: “Heal the sick and say, ‘The Kingdom of God has come to you’” (Luke 10:9).
In God We Trust
1Pe 3:3-12 (MSG) “What matters is not your outer appearance--the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes-- (4) but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. (5) The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. (6) Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as ‘my dear husband.’ You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, un-anxious and unintimidated. (7) The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God's grace, you're equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground. (8) Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. (9) That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless--that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing. (10) Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; (11) Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth. (12) God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he's asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things.”
Most times when people are acting out of character, or just have to speak their mind, it is because things are erupting in their hearts, the root cause of which stems from trust issues. For example, when things that are important to us appear to be falling apart and conditions continue to move beyond our control, our old nature pushes us to take control. Simultaneously, our passions and desires begin to manifest. As those situations arise, it is imperative that we give God the reigns and follow His leading.
Luk 6:43-49 (KJV) “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (44) For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. (45) A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (46) And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (47) Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: (48) He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. (49) But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”
It is easy to agree with the preaching and the teachings of Christ; but if we are to be able to walk in them, we will have to lay down our self-reliance, and instead put our whole trust in God.
Our obedience to God will show the true level of trust that we have in Him as we walk the truth of His Word.
-Pastor Kurt
Mother Basilea wrote knowing the times we would face:
“… the chosen ones of the Lord have to endure the horrors of this age. ‘A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master’ (Matthew 10:24 ESV). Today the heart of God is deeply grieved to see His children indulge in sin and run headlong into destruction. Do we not have the longing to stand at the side of our blasphemed Lord and suffer with Him so as to bring Him joy and comfort? Many who still take the commandments of God seriously are suffering bitter disappointment in their own families: children opposing their parents and vice versa, just as Jesus said in the Bible. Yes, at work and nearly everywhere else we are surrounded by the satanic spirit of this age. We are reliving the agonies of Lot. We are made to suffer rejection, mockery and hatred just as God the Father and Jesus are. … So let us willingly undergo the refining process and be tested in the furnace of affliction (see Isaiah 48:10) as chosen ones of the Lord…. If we go through this time of suffering in patience, that is, if we are ever anew prepared to go on suffering and to bear disappointments and humiliations, we shall become overcomers who will one day inherit abundant blessings as citizens of His kingdom (see Revelation 21:7).” Taken from To Give You a Future and a Hope
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network - Richmond Center:
Divine Health and Healing Principles by: Pastor Michael Joyner
Sickness and disease is a plague that has taken too much from God’s people. Lives, families and ministries have been torn apart by these weapons of Satan. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...” Many people are bound and even dying because of a lack of knowledge of God’s word concerning healing. God’s word is full of scriptures concerning healing and health. The purpose of this course is to educate and enlighten us to what God’s word has to say about the subject of healing and to help us appropriate what it says into our lives.
February 3-5, 2015
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