Immersed in God!

Glory to God!

We are excited about what God is doing! He is drawing people together from different nations and from different socio-economic circumstances and building a church that is learning to live in the fear of the Lord. Consequently, a Kingdom culture is being developed that manifests God's Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven and is marked by His presence, power and love! Hallelujah!

Yesterday the Lord spoke to us from Psalm 61 and He showed us how the Psalm reveals the principles of living in the fear of the Lord as He has been teaching us.

Godliness

• We rely on God by living from God to be like Him. Gal. 5:22,23; 1 Cor. 1:30
• David sought the Lord because he depended on God completely. Psalm 61:1-3
• The believer must seek God to be filled with the knowledge of Him rather than the influence of the world!
  

Fellowship

• We respond to God by living because of God in obedience to Him out of our fellowship with Him. 1 John 1:5-2:6; Psalm 139
• David lived in fellowship with God and out of an intimate relationship with Him. Psalm 61:4-7
• God wants His children to not only know Him but also experience Him!
• Secret areas in our lives will hinder intimacy with God.
  

Co-labour

• We revere God by living for God and doing what pleases Him. 2 Cor. 5:14,15; Rom. 12:1
• David lived to do God's will and to please Him out of His intimate relationship with God. Psalm 61:8
• A desire to do the will of God to please Him must come out of the believer's intimate relationship with God and not in order to grow in intimacy with God.

Using the analogy of being at a public pool to describe the Church, God showed us the following:

• There are those who go to the public pool just to be noticed and seen and never get into the water. These people are at the pool to be seen rather than to experience being in the water.
• There are those who go to the public pool to spend the day relaxing on the grass but only occasionally get into the water. These people experience a measure of being in the pool but will leave the place if the weather is not suitable to stay.
• There are those who go to the public pool to swim and be immersed in the water. Those who are in the water are not concerned about what the circumstances are like above the water!

God wants us to be immersed in His presence
so that we experience Him
and live beyond our circumstances!

Many lives were touched again and some people gave their lives to the Lord and some recommitted their lives to Him. These are exciting times! We praise God for "arresting" us until we all understand what it means to live in the fear of the Lord and walk in it!

Quote of the week:

"I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. For you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name." Psalm 61:4,5

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Called to Greatness!

Glory to God!

As the Lord continues to speak to us about the nature of the Church, He is showing us what it means to be the children of God and He is giving us a greater revelation of who He is as our God and Father.

God's Word for KLF this year is from Isaiah 61:1-3 and Acts 2:42-47 and we are excited to see how God is bringing it about as we move with Him. Yesterday the Lord spoke to us about how the Church is called to greatness and this is what He showed us:

• Jesus was sent to reconcile man to God so that he would reveal the glory of God and be "a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour." Isaiah 61:1-3
• God set apart a people for Himself who would reveal His greatness to the nations (Deut. 4:6-8) and to the spiritual realm (Eph. 3:10)!
• God's people are great because they are one with their great God. 1 John 4:4&15; 2 Peter 1:4
• God wants His people to change the way they think about themselves and to align their thinking with the way God thinks about them. Jer. 1:6,7
• Jesus did not reprimand His disciples for desiring greatness but for the way they thought they would achieve it! Matthew 20:20-28
• Many Christians are confined by their small-mindedness but God wants His people to look to Him and be delivered from the limitations of human reason, the natural, and wrong thinking. Jer. 33:1-3; 2 Cor. 4:18; Col. 3:1-3
• The Church needs revelation of her identity in Christ or she will be ineffective on earth. Unless the people of God recognise their greatness (importance, significance, worth) in Christ, they will walk in false humility and veil the splendour of their God (Is. 61:3). The Church is the revelation of the glory of God! 2 Cor. 3:18
• True humility is to not thinking less of oneself but thinking of oneself less!
• God wants to encourage His people to walk in greatness and to be an encouragement to others. For this very reason, the Holy Spirit was given so that we would no longer be orphans but be encouraged as the Sons of God. John 14:15-20
• The work of the Spirit, as the Comforter and Encourager, is to build up and encourage the Church. 1 Cor. 14:3,26,31; 2 Cor. 1:3-5

The Church is called to greatness and to be the revelation of the Father's greatness. Only in the realisation of her greatness in Christ will she be an influence and an encouragement to the saints and the lost.

After our evening meeting we had another wonderful opportunity to minister God's love to the poor and needy at our monthly soup kitchen. We sang Christmas carols and had a Christmas celebration with over 80 hungry people. It was very special and many were blessed not only with a small gift, the Word of God and food but with the love and presence of God.

Next week KLF is having a family Christmas celebration and we are looking forward to a great time together with a lot of fun and food. Everyone is welcome to join us. Check here for more info...

Quote of the week:

"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." Eph. 3:10 "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jer. 33:3

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The Gospel

Praise be to God!

The Lord is blessing us with spiritual revelation that is transforming us and reviving us. Hallelujah! This afternoon the Lord spoke to us about His righteousness and this is what He showed us:

The problem

• God's righteousness is divine.
• God's righteousness is unattainable by human effort.
• Jesus revealed the standard. Mt. 5:20; 5:48
• There is no one righteous. Rom. 3:9,10,20
• Man's nature determines his righteousness.
• Man has a sinful nature because of Adam's disobedience and not because man sins. Sin is the fruit of the sinful nature. Rom. 5:12-18
• Man is by nature an object of wrath because of his sinful nature. Eph. 2:3
• Legalistic righteousness cannot attain God's righteousness. Phil. 3:3-7

The solution

• The Gospel is the good news that God's requirement for righteousness to be reconciled to Him is fulfilled in Christ by grace through faith and not by works or human effort. Rom. 1:16,17
• The Gospel reveals "righteousness apart from works." Rom. 3:21-26
• Christ is our righteousness because He fulfills the righteous requirements of the law in us. 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 8:3,4
• God's righteousness is a gift and not a reward. Rom. 4:4,5; 5:17
• Faith in Christ means submission to God's righteousness. Rom. 10:1-3

The problem of self-righteousness

• Jesus dealt severely with the self-righteous religious leaders.
• Trying to earn God's righteousness "sets aside God's grace." Gal. 2:21
• Self-righteousness makes one legalistic, judgmental, mean and miserable.
• The "offense of the cross" is based on the fact that the flesh, rooted in pride, does not want to "simply" believe but wants to be involved in earning righteousness. Gal. 5:11

The benefits of submitting to God's righteousness. Justification.

• Because we have received God's righteousness we are justified. Rom. 5:18,19

Access to God.

• Because we are justified we have access to God. Eph.2:18

Union with God.

• Because we are righteous in Christ we are reconciled and joined to God. Rom. 5:10,11,17,20,21; Eph. 2:5; 2 Cor. 5:18-21

Sealed with righteousness.

• Because we are righteous, we are sealed with righteousness. Rom. 4:11

Object of blessing.

• Because we are righteous we are objects of blessing. Eph. 2:3-9

Grace can reign.

• Because we are righteous grace can reign. Rom. 5:21; Gal. 3:1-5

God is glorified.

• Because God has made us oaks of righteousness, we are planted by Him to reveal His glory. Isa. 61:3

We praise God for this awesome good news of the gift of God's righteousness given to all who believe in Jesus.

This week 2 of our leaders will be attending the Kingdom Faith leaders' conference which is always an inspiring and exciting time and strengthens our covenant relationship with KF.

This Saturday the women are meeting together with God and one another as they "taste and see that the Lord is good."

Quote of the week:

"They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour." Isaiah 61:3

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Redemption

Praise be to God!

The Lord is giving us greater depth of insight into His vision for KLF this year and beyond. Meditating on Isaiah 61:1-3, He is showing us the true nature of His redemptive purposes which the Father fulfilled in Christ (Mark 10:45) and has anointed the Church to continue (Acts 1:8; 2:3). Jesus, the Anointed One, not only paid the price by dying on the cross to redeem mankind from slavery to the kingdom of darkness, but His whole life was redemptive. As Jesus walked on this earth, He lived to reveal the Father's redeeming heart (John 13:14-17; Acts 10:38). All Christ's words and actions were a revelation of the Father's heart to bring man back to the Father and to bring mankind into fullness of life. Jesus demonstrated a redemptive life by laying down His life for others to come into fullness of life. Likewise the Church has been anointed to live redemptively by laying down her life for others in order to bring them into fullness of life (2 Cor. 5:20,21; 1 John 3:16).

The Church has been anointed to be redemptive!

The Father showed us that it is only as the Church receives revelation of His passion to redeem man to Himself that she will live redemptively and reveal His heart as Jesus did.

This week we are looking forward to having Mike Vickers with us who has a powerful ministry walking across nations with a cross, impacting countries with God's presence and sharing God's love with those he encounters on the way. For testimonies about his ministry click here...

Quote of the week:

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Cor. 5:18

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