The Fear of the Word

Glory to God!

This year the Lord has been speaking to us about what it means to fear Him. We have learned that God created man for three essential purposes - to be like Him (godliness); to know Him (fellowship) and to do His will (co-labour). After the fall of man, man became ungodly, separated from God and unable to produce lasting fruit. Consequently Christ came to both model restored humanity as well as restore man to God's original purposes for man.  Jesus modelled perfect godliness by revealing the Father (John 14:9); perfect fellowship,  being in the Father and He in Jesus (John 14:10) and perfect co-labouring as Jesus only did the will of the Father (John 14:31). Through faith in Christ the believer is born again and restored to God's original purposes for him in Christ. Therefore those who are in Christ, are empowered to be godly (Eph. 4:24; 1 Pet.1:16; 2 Pet. 1:3), are made one with God in true fellowship (1 John 4:15) and are able to co-labour with God to produce lasting fruit (Eph. 2:10; John 15:4,5). These three purposes for man can only be fulfilled as the believer fears God by relying on Him, responding to Him and revering Him. 

Yesterday the Lord showed us that those who fear Him will also fear His Word. This is what God says in Isaiah 66:2,

"This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." 

Those who truly fear God will tremble at His Word. That means that those who fear God will fear His Word by relying on God's Word, responding to God's Word and revering God's Word. 

The believer fears God's Word when he relies on it as his source for life rather than as a solution for his problems. The Word of God must be the believer's daily bread (Matt. 4:4) and source for godliness (2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12); victory over the enemy (1 John 2:14; Eph. 6:17) and for life as he meets with the Author (1 John 2:27; John 5:39,40).

The believer fears God's Word when he responds to it in obedience. True humility is dependence on God rather than on self. Those who obey God's Word are relying on God's Word rather than on self. It is these whom God esteems and blesses and whose worship is acceptable to Him (Isaiah 66:3-5). Obedience is the fruit of our fellowship with God (John 15:10; 1 John 2:3-6).

The believer fears God's Word when he reveres it and honours it. Just as the power of God could not be manifested when the Living Word, Jesus was not honoured in His home town, so the Word of God cannot do its work in those who don't revere it as the very words of the Lord (Mark 6:4-6). Those who revere the Word receive it with a humble attitude as the God-breathed communication that has creative power to transform lives (1 Thess. 1:5; 2:13).

We praise God for His awesome revelation to us and for showing us that to fear God is to also fear His Word!

Next month there are quite a few changes to our events, locations and meeting times so please make a note of the following:

18 December @ 15:00 - Family Christmas Service at CZF
24 December @ 16:00 - Christmas Eve Service at IBTC (Kurhessenstr.14)
25 December - NO meeting!
1 January @ 15:00 - KLF meeting
1 January @ 18:30 - Soup kitchen (Gutleutstr.121)

Quote of the week:

"This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word." Isaiah 66:2

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True Worshippers

Glory to God!

Yesterday the Lord spoke to us about worship and this is what He showed us:

• God saves us to set us apart to be a holy people - a people who belong to God and worship only Him. Exodus 7:16; John 4:23,24; 1 Peter 2:9; Eph. 1:11,12 
• Salvation restores man to true fellowship and communion with God and turns "rebels into worshippers" (A.W. Tozer)
• To worship God is to honour and value Him above anything else.
• The believer is called to worship God with his life. Rom. 12:1
• Looking at the response of Martha and Mary to the presence of Jesus we see two forms of worship. Martha worshipped Jesus by serving Him whilst Mary worshipped Jesus by desiring to be with Him and being satisfied by Jesus alone. Both forms of worship honour Jesus but Jesus commends Mary for her actions and tells her that "one thing is needed." Luke 10:38-41
• True worship honours God when He is the believer's greatest desire and the One who satisfies him most.
• We honour those whom we spend time with because time is the only resource that can never be replenished!
• Spending time with God in the secret place because He is our greatest desire and only He can satisfy, honours God and glorifies Him most.
• God has created a God-shaped hole in each person that can only be filled with God (Blaise Pascal).
• Idolatry is desiring created things and being temporarily satisfied with them instead of desiring the Creator and being satisfied in Him. Isaiah 57:9,10; 1 Peter 4:2; Hosea 13:6
• The devil seeks to tempt man to desire and be satisfied by created things rather than the Creator.
  
• The Psalmists worshipped and honoured God when their desire was for Him alone. Psalm 73:25; 42:1,2; 27:4; 63:1
• Being satisfied, filled and content in God is great gain! 1 Tim. 6.6; Phil. 4:11; Eph. 5:18
• The Psalmists worshipped God when they were most satisfied in God. Psalm 17:15; 63:5; 90:14; 23:1

God is looking for worshippers who value and honour Him above everything else because they desire Him more than anything created and find satisfaction in Him more than in anything else.

We praise God for teaching us to be true worshippers!

Quote of the week

"When I awake, I will be satisfied, for I will see you face to face." Psalm 17:15

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Healing Presence

Glory to God

Our Healing Presence Seminar with Richard Maybery was very powerful indeed! Many lives were deeply touched by the Father's love as Richard shared liberating truth and people responded to God's loving kindness. Richard spoke on healing life's hurts and addressed shame, fear and control; inner vows; ungodly beliefs; and the father-heart of God. We spent much time in God's healing presence as we worshipped the Lord and simply allowed Him to saturate us with His Spirit.

Yesterday we had a full house as we joined with Charity Church from Hanau for our first joint meeting. Richard Maybery spoke to us about understanding God's ability to make His children fruitful in the desert and how hope is our anchor in difficult times. After God's Word to us, Richard ministered to us and once again the Father touched us deeply with His healing presence. We praise God for Richard and for being a true spiritual father to us, demonstrating the Father's love and encouragement to us.

Quote of the week

"See how very much the Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

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The heart of the bride of Christ

Glory to God!

The Lord is continuing to speak to us about loving Him and loving one another out of our fear of the Lord. Yesterday the Lord spoke to us from 1 Peter where he writes,

"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart." 1 Peter 1:22

The Lord calls every believer to take responsibility for his life and to purify himself "from everything that contaminates body and spirit" (2 Cor. 7:1). Obedience to God's Word brings the believer into agreement with God's will so that God can do His work in and through us. God's will is that the believer should have sincere love for the Church - a love that is deep and from the heart. The Lord is more concerned with the heart than He is with behaviour or outward appearances (see 1 Sam. 16:7 and Mat. 7:21,22). The Lord spoke to us about our need to face the facts and the condition of our hearts and to confess and repent of bad attitudes and bad fruit. Failure to do so can lead to deception and hypocrisy! When the believer ignores the weeds in his life and doesn't act on God's Word (James 1:22-24), he begins to walk in denial and will ultimately walk in darkness, unable to recognise the weeds in his life. Those who know about the weeds in their lives and pretend to walk in righteousness, not only walk in denial but live hypocritical lives.

God is concerned about the garden of the believer's heart! He desires to enter the garden of the believer's heart and "taste its choice fruits" (see Song of songs 4:12-5:1). Through faith in Christ, the believer receives a new heart, cleansed and purified by the blood of the Lamb. God has done everything for the believer to produce good fruit - that which the Spirit produces and not the works of man. God therefore expects every believer to produce the aroma of a good attitude of the heart and the fruit that proceeds from the heart that is filled with God (see Isaiah 5:1-4 and John 15).

We praise God for His revelation to us and for helping us to live in love as we devote ourselves to God's presence, people and purposes!

Yesterday evening we had another opportunity to bless the poor and needy in Frankfurt at our monthly soup kitchen. We had a great team that not only served the people but spent time with them to hear their story and encourage them in love.

This week we are hosting a series of God encounter meetings with Dr Richard Maybery from Cape Town, South Africa. This Healing Presence Seminar will help people encounter God's healing presence, receive healing and be equipped to heal others. Click here for more information...

Quote of the week:

"My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit...What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?" Isaiah 5:1,2,4

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