Changing the culture

Glory to the King of kings!

It has been another awesome week with God! The Lord is imparting more and more spiritual revelation to us in our meetings and we are excited about our King and His Kingdom and the life-changing truth He is making known to us by His Spirit!

On Tuesdays we meet for Bible study and prayer and at present are studying the letter to the Romans and receiving powerful insight into God's Word. At our weekly prayer meeting, the Lord is showing us how to use His Word to worship Him and how to pray over our own lives and intercede for one another as well as the Church, the city and whatever else the Holy Spirit leads us to pray over!

The women and the men meet on Thursdays and Fridays respectively and have wonderful times of fellowship with God and one another. The youth (IMPACT!) meet on Saturdays at Subzone in central Frankfurt and are influencing the city with their presence and joy!

Yesterday the Lord continued to speak to us about Kingdom Culture and this is what He showed us:

• Culture is a way of life that is determined by what influences you and the convictions you have.
• Influence is what we allow to flow into our lives that affects us.
• Convictions are the unshakable, compelling and conquering beliefs we have that affect our way of life.
• There are 3 approaches to living in a foreign culture:

1. Cultural Chameleons: someone who is able to adapt and conform to whatever culture they find themselves in. This person simply allows the culture they're in to influence them so that they become one with the culture.
2. Cultural Cliques: someone who joins others of the same culture and isolates him/herself with them to form a seperate culture within the culture they are living in.
3. Cultural Conquerors: someone who influences and changes the culture in which s/he lives because of the unshakable, compelling and conquering convictions s/he has.

Looking at 1 Thess. 1:3-10 we saw that the Thessalonians were cultural conquerors because of the unshakable (1:6), compelling (1:3) and conquering (1:8,9) convictions (1:5) they received by the Holy Spirit.

Kingdom culture is a way of life that is determined by Kingdom influence and Kingdom convictions!

We praise God that He has given us everything we need to live Kingdom culture and to conquer the kingdom of darkness with Kingdom convictions. Hallelujah!

Yesterday evening we had another wonderful opportunity to put our convictions into action as we ministered to the poor and needy with God's love. Many came and entered into Kingdom Culture as we served them and fed them and simply enjoyed God's presence and love together with them.

Quote of the week:

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2 (emphasis mine)

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More than conquerors!

Glory to God!

The Lord is speaking to us about Kingdom Culture and this is what He showed us yesterday:

Culture is a way of life that is determined by what influences us and the convictions we have.

• Our way of life is everything we are and do that is determined by what influences us.
• Influence means "flow in" (Latin) and applies to that which flows into one's life that is affecting one's way of life - the way we think, behave, speak, dress, etc.
• Our way of life is also determined by the convictions we have.
• Convictions are the unshakable, compelling and conquering truths that determine one's way of life.
• Conviction = belief (Acts 28:24)
• Convictions are only convictions when they are affecting one's way of life. "Convictions" that are not determining one's way of life, are just opinions and not convictions.
• Convictions are unshakable. James 1:5-8
• Convictions are compelling. 2 Cor. 5:14
• Convictions conquer. Rom. 8:37,38

Kingdom Culture is developed as the believer is consistently influenced by the Kingdom and convictions are established that are based on Kingdom Truth.

To help determine what is influencing you and what convictions you have, check out the "Defining Kingdom Culture" worksheet here...

This Sunday we will be ministering to the poor and needy at our monthly Homeless Mission where we seek to build God's Kingdom by revealing His nature and releasing His power. Hallelujah!

Quote of the week:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more thanconquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39 (emphasis mine)

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We're back!

Glory to the King of kings!

We're back! 33 of us attended this year's Faith Camp in Peterborough, England where between 5000 to 6000 people gathered together for a week of camping, worshipping, teaching, fellowship and lots of fun! We had a brilliant time and have returned filled and excited about what God imparted into our lives and is going to do this next half of the year! See pictures here...

On Saturday many believers joined together from Frankfurt and many other cities in Germany to march for Jesus at the annual International Jesus March. It was another great opportunity to proclaim the name of Jesus over our city and demonstrate the unity of the Church in seeing Jesus glorified in our city and country!

It was wonderful to meet again yesterday after our two week summer break. We are excited about how God confirmed at Faith Camp what He has been saying to us previously and we are confident that we are continuing to walk according to His will and purpose for us. Yesterday the Lord spoke to us about Kingdom Culture and this is what He showed us:

1. The Kingdom of God is a present reality that is being established on earth as it is in heaven, now! Col. 1:15; Matthew 13:11,41; Luke 12:32; 17:21
2. Believers are "sons of the Kingdom." Matthew 13:38
3. Believers are responsible for producing the fruit of the Kingdom. Matthew 21:43

The Kingdom of God is like yoghurt...

1. Yoghurt is a live culture that gives life to the "dead" milk it is immersed in. Similarly we have received Kingdom culture that has given us life that enables us to impart life. 2 Peter 1:3,4
2. Yoghurt changes the appearance of the milk it is immersed in. Similarly we are changed by Kingdom culture and are responsible for developing Kingdom culture wherever we are so that a visbile change in appearance is achieved (behaviour, attitude, etc). Matthew 5:13-16
3. Yoghurt restricts the growth of food poisoning bacteria. Similarly Kingdom culture will restrict the work of the devil's kingdom!
4. Yoghurt produces a characteristic flavour in the milk. Similarly Kingdom culture has a particular flavour that must be produced in us and wherever we seek to develop Kingdom culture.
5. Yoghurt is produced in a sterile container. Similarly Kingdom culture is developed in vessels that remain pure and holy!
6. Only 10% yoghurt culture is needed to change milk completely into yoghurt. Similarly only a few who carry Kingdom culture can influence many to produce Kingdom culture. Matthew 13:31-33
7. The Yoghurt/Milk mixture needs to incubate until it is set. Similarly believers must continue to develop Kingdom culture until there is visible change.
8. The yoghurt that has been developed can be used to make more yoghurt. Similarly Kingdom culture can be multiplied but it must be made from an orginal "batch." The believer must develop his own Kingdom culture directly from the Source and not try to copy another culture.

As sons of the Kingdom of God, we are called to produce the fruit of the Kingdom now as we allow God's Kingdom (His rule and reign) to transform us, and as we reveal and release God's Kingdom through us, to produce Kingdom culture wherever we are (home, church, work, world, etc)!

This Friday and Saturday, we have the privilege of having pastors Les and Dot Mitchell from Kingdom Faith London with us. They will be teaching us on prophetic intercession as we learn to pray God's will on earth as it is in heaven. Both meetings will be held at Treffpunkt Leben (Kurfürstenstr.14, Frankfurt-Bockenheim) at 7.30pm and 6.00pm respectively.

Quote of the week:

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit." Matthew 21:43

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Kingdom Culture

God you are amazing!

Yesterday's meeting was awesome. The Lord is continuing to bless our meetings with His presence, holiness and glory. He is encouraging us to draw nearer and nearer and to ascend His hill with clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-5) to receive a greater revelation of His glory.

KLF's youth group, IMPACT!, performed a fun sketch for the children, demonstrating that even though Christians are like aliens and strangers in this world, they are a lot of fun and very special indeed.

The Lord then spoke to us about what it means to live like strangers in this world (1 Peter 1:1, 17; 2:11). He showed us that you belong to a country or culture different to the one you are living in because:

• You were born in a different country
• Your parent/s have a different nationality to the country you are living in
• You grew up in a culture different to the one you're in now

Similarly, the Christian is a stranger in this world because:

• The Christian is born in the Kingdom of God
• The Christian has a heavenly Father
• The Christian has a different culture to the culture of this world

The Lord then showed us that there are three ways to respond to living in a culture not your own. One can either conform to the culture one is in, or one can isolate oneself from the culture one is in and be peculiar, or one can influence the culture one is in. Consequently, the Lord showed us that:

• The Christian must not conform to any culture - neither of this world nor of any christian culture! James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17
• The Christian must not isolate himself from the culture of this world. Luke 10:30-37
• The Christian is called to influence the culture of this world with Kingdom culture. Matthew 5:13-16; 13:33; 1 Peter 2:11

Kingdom culture is derived from the Source and not from another culture!

When believers adopt a christian culture instead of deriving a Kingdom culture from first hand revelation, the Church becomes weak and reveals a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Tim. 3:5)!

We praise God for His powerful Word to us and for the way the Holy Spirit worked among us yesterday, moving people to surrender their lives to the Lord (some for the first time - hallelujah!) and to repent of conforming to, and isolating themselves from, the culture of this world. The Lord filled His people with a fresh passion to seek His face in order to be creators of Kingdom culture. Thank you Lord!

This coming Sunday KLF will be celebrating her 1st birthday and we are looking forward to a great time of worship, thanksgiving and fellowship!


Quote of the week:

Kingdom culture is the product of spiritual revelation.

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