Our Dwelling Place

Glory to God!

Yesterday the Lord spoke to us about living as His hidden ones and making Him our Dwelling Place. This is what He showed us:

• The believer's life is hidden with Christ in God. Col. 3:3
• Just as the branch is joined to the vine, so the believer is joined to God in Christ. John 15:5; 1 John 4:15
• Jesus commands the believer, however, to remain in Him. In other words, to make God his Dwelling Place. John 15:4; Psalm 90:1; 91:1
• King David's greatest desire was to live in the presence of the Lord all the days of his life. Psalm 27:4-5
• God is calling His people to make Him their dwelling place and wants the Church to not just visit His presence but dwell in Him.Those who dwell in God are the habitation of God. John 15:4
• The hidden ones of God make God their Home.
• A home is a place where one finds rest, gets cleaned, is protected, is fed, is clothed, is challenged, has responsibilities, and can be oneself. 
• Those who dwell in the Lord receive revelation of the depth of the love of God; find refuge in God; feast on the abundance of His house; drink from God's river of delights (eden); know God as their source for life and see the Unseen Real in His Light. Psalm 63:7-9

God's hidden ones dwell in Him.

We praise God for His revelation to us and for His amazing invitation for us to make Him our home! Hallelujah!

Upcoming events:

4 May: Pastoral Training Day for the whole church @ KLF (Salzschlirferstr.15) from 10:00 - 16:00.

"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you." John 15:4 (MSG)

Producing Lasting Fruit

Glory to God

At our last two Sunday meetings, the Lord spoke to us through Alexander Blair and Suzette Hattingh about intimacy with God and preparing for Christ's return. The Father is drawing His people closer to Him and calling the Church to be emptied of herself and filled with Him in preparation for her Bridegroom.

Yesterday the Lord spoke to us about the believer's need to abide and receive. Looking at John 15:1-17, the Father showed us our need as branches joined to the Vine, to abide in Him and to receive from Him in order to bear lasting fruit. He revealed to us that when His Word challenges us we respond in four ways:

1. We ignore the truth and reason that it doesn't mean what it says. This response leads to deception.
2. We give up any responsibility to fulfill God's Word, reasoning that it is impossible for man to fulfill it so God must do it all. This response leads to passivity.
3. We try our best to fulfill God's Word in our own strength and try to earn God's approval. This response leads to legalism.
4. We accept God's Word as the truth and seek His enabling grace to fulfill His Word in our lives. This response leads to fruitfulness.

The Lord showed us that when His Word offends the believer it is because the believer is still trying to fulfill God's will in his own strength and doesn't trust God to enable him to fulfill His Word (John 6:60-69). It is therefore in remaining in Christ and learning to receive from Him that the believer is enabled to produce lasting fruit. The believer cannot do it alone and God will not do it for him. However, when the believer learns to depend on God and find the grace needed, he will produce lasting fruit (Heb. 4:16). Faith alone does not lead to living a holy life but it positions the believer to receive the grace to produce the fruit of righteousness and holiness. God wants His people to seek His face and allow Him to transform them from glory to glory (see Psalm 27:4,8; 34:5; 63:2,3; 2 Cor. 3:18, 4:16-18; Numbers 6:24-27).

Upcoming events:

4 May: Pastoral Training Day from 10:00 - 16:00 @ Salzschlirferstr.15.

25 May: Global Outreach Day. Click here for more info...

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4

Passion

Glory to God!

Yesterday we celebrated the glorious resurrection and victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The presence of our risen King was tangible as we worshipped Him and partook of His his body and blood together. The Lord then spoke to us about His passion for His creation and what He has put in place for man to be reconciled to Him. The Father showed us that He has placed His Son as our perfect High Priest at His right hand so that man can draw near to Him in worship and serve the living God. Looking at the letter to the Hebrews we noted the following:

• Jesus is our perfect High Priest who meets all our needs. Heb. 7:26-28
• Jesus is our compassionate High Priest who is able to sympathise with us. Heb.4:15
• Jesus is our permanent High Priest whose ministry lasts forever. Heb. 7:15-19
• Jesus is our faithful High Priest who is always merciful and never gives up on us. Heb. 2:14-18
• Jesus is our interceding High Priest who lives to stand in the gap for us. Heb. 7:24,25
• Jesus is our powerful High Priest who is able to save us completely. Heb. 7:25
• Jesus appears for us in God's presence in heaven. Heb.9:24
• God has provided the blood and a perfect High Priest so that we can draw near with confidence and complete trust in Christ's finished work and His perfect priesthood. Heb. 10:19-25

We then drew near to God the Father and experienced an overshadowing of His fatherly love and acceptance as He ministered to us. Hallelujah!

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:19-23