Saturday, July 20, 2013

Having A Real Hunger for the Holy Spirit Baptism

 It was asked of one brother that travels amongst the house Churches in the Chinese Church and speaks with the underground leaders, “How do the Chinese choose the leaders?” The answer was simple; the brother responded: “Whoever is the hungriest after God, they are the leaders.” Such a need is present in our time for more leaders who are hungry for the Lord and baptized in His Holy Spirit. There is a vast difference between one that seeks the Baptism of the Spirit simply for power and one that seeks to know the Lord intimately and desires to be His vessel, fully surrendered.

One seeks God for what he can get, the other seeks Him for what he can give. There is a crying need to see believers seeking God for God Himself and nothing else.

Jesus Christ spoke of these whom God the Father seeks who will worship Him in Spirit and truth. One who worships God only out of obligation and reward is not a true worshipper. God is making a separation in the end times of those who are serving Him for their own selfish desires from those that have the true bridal love for Jesus Christ. This Bride will be endued with power from on high having her vessels full of oil when the Bridegroom comes.

One of the greatest reasons that God hesitates to pour out His Spirit on His Church is that we will not cherish the blessing. When someone has gone without food for many days a simple piece of bread is enjoyed immensely and cherished. In the same way God requires us to have a hunger for the things of God, and to pray and wait on Him. Such waiting and hungering after God produces in us a respect and value for the gift He is giving.

from: http://gospelfellowships.net/principles-book/

Unselfish Love is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit Baptism

The Holy Spirit is given by the grace of God, it is not earned by righteous deeds. Yet, God does require an obedient heart which desires God’s will and not its own. Some are just looking to get the power of the Spirit for their own purposes, their own kingdoms, their own ministries.

So may we be renewed in our hunger and desire to wait before the Lord for this precious infilling of the Spirit of Christ. The true Baptism of the Spirit is given through personal abiding relationship with God. It is not something apart from this. We need to be like a child before a Father and have that simple dependence and faith. God is always more willing to bless us than we can imagine. The qualifying evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a life of unselfish love and exaltation of the person of Jesus Christ.

“Many millions of Christians around the world, after being baptized in the Holy Spirit, have experienced a new dimension of power, particularly when witnessing to the unsaved. They found that their words were more convicting, and that they sometimes quoted Scriptures they didn’t realize they knew. Some found themselves called and specifically gifted for a certain ministry, such as evangelism. Others discovered that God used them as He willed in various supernatural gifts of the Spirit. Their experience is thoroughly Biblical. Those who oppose their experience have no Biblical basis for their opposition. They are, in fact, fighting against God.”

from: http://gospelfellowships.net/principles-book/

DON'T LOSE YOUR FIRST LOVE - BY BOBBY MCDONALD

In Revelation 2:1-7, Jesus has a word for the church of Ephesus.  This was a church that had the privilege (a few decades earlier) of having the apostle Paul stay with them for 3 years (Acts 20:31).  Now, several years later, Jesus commends them because they persevered through some very hard times (Rev 2:3), and were strict on evil men/false teachers and they preserved good doctrine (v 2, 6).  Yet, all of this was useless because they had forgotten the greatest commandment – to love God with all their heart (Matt 22:37).
But I have this against you, that you have left your first love (Rev 2:4).
Despite all the good teaching, the history of fellowship with godly apostles, and the difficult trials that they successfully endured; they still lost their longing for God.  This tells me how seriously I must aim to maintain my devotion to the Lord.
Recently I had a point where I felt myself growing cold toward my First Love. When I realized this, this verse came to mind (Rev 2:4), but I forgot what Jesus had said to the Ephesian church after verse 4.  I knew that Jesus did give them some direction on exactly what to do.  Since I couldn't remember what it was, I turned to Revelation 2 and read the solution that Jesus gave in the next verse:
Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent. (Rev 2:5)
This verse tells me that if I lose my first love, I need to remember where I’ve fallen from, and do the things I used to do – back during times when I’ve truly longed for Him more than I currently do.  I picture it as a married couple who remember back to the early days when they would desire to spend all their time together, hold hands as they walked down the street, and talk to each other about anything and everything.   Similarly, I can remember many of the times I had with God in the early days - how eager I was to get away from the ‘rat race’, and just spend time with Him.  I realized that these were the "deeds" that Jesus was referring to - the effortless passion and choices to be in fellowship with Him that I had in the early days.
I never want to lose that hunger for God.  So I must take Jesus’ advice and repent and remember where I’ve fallen from.  I need to “do the deeds I did at first,” coming back to the basics – being a child who is needy for his Father and longing to be with Him.  Every believer should be like a child in this way, but over time we must learn to do it with consistency.  Children often have a wonderful eagerness, but a terrible inconsistency because they are immature.  Maturity is marked by consistency.  My desire is to always maintain the eagerness of a little child who is attached to his Father and always wants to be around Him, but also to have the consistency of a mature adult.
Another thing that I realized is that distraction plays a huge part in keeping my love for the Lord stoked.  The moment I start to become too interested in something else, it distracts me from what’s really important.  If the devil can’t make us fall into situations that are sinful, he’ll prod at us with worldly activities and cares which are lawful, but not profitable - to the point that we are overindulging and totally distracted from the things of God.
These are the thorns that Jesus talked about that choke the word (Matt 13:22).  And these surprisingly are not always just obvious things like worshiping sports or becoming obsessed with work or some hobby (though these can be thorns as well for some people).  In my experience they can even be seemingly profitable things like becoming so caught up with studying certain things in the Bible - like the end times, apologetics, politics, or prying into certain other mysteries that God chose not to reveal to us (Deut 29:29).  I remember hearing about groups of people who would have debates on such pointless issues like how many angels could fit on the head of a pin!  Maybe it seems like godly debate because ‘angels’ are in the bible and we can feel godly talking about them, but the devil knows the answer to this question much better than us, and it did NOTHING to preserve his love and loyalty to God!
We also can be people who can have “Christian” distractions, who are caught up with serving in some areas (music, ministry, etc).  These are wonderful things, but they can make us lose our first love if they are not put in second place where they should be.  The story of Martha and Mary clearly teaches this to us (Lk 10:38-42).  Any distraction that draws us away from simple longing for God should be cut back, or taken out altogether until we can be disciplined enough to be rooted and grounded in God’s love most of all.
I also wanted to make it clear that we do not measure our love for God primarily by our emotional feelings for Him.  Sometimes we may experience feelings of euphoria for our Lord, where we are determined by the grace of God to give up everything for Him.  Other times we may weep bitterly in prayer or during a song.  It’s true that we may have emotional extremes when seeking God, but we all know from experience that it’s only a matter of time before these emotions calm down.  It’s not that emotional feelings for the Lord are bad… it’s just that they are unreliable.  If I choose only to follow God when I’m on an emotional high, I will have a very pitiful Christian experience.  It will be similar to the Israelites in the wilderness who wanted to follow God at certain times, and then at other times they desired to go back to Egypt and back into slavery!  So our emotions should not define our love for God, but the bible does tell us what real love for God is:
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.  (1 John 5:3)
What does keeping God’s commandments have to do with loving God?  For many years this was confusing to me because I noticed that I could often obey God without even thinking about Him.  I realized that it’s possible to obey God’s commands simply because I know it’s the right thing to do.  So how can we tie in our obedience of God's commands with our love for Him?
Recently God has given me some light on this, and it has changed my view of sin and obedience.  He has allowed my heart to see more clearly that even though Christ paid for every one of my sins on the cross, sin still grieves Him and causes Him pain whenever I commit it.  Every sin that is committed (breaking God’s commands) is so evil to God that it deeply hurts Him and grieves Him (Ephesians 4:30).  Jesus suffered the wrath of God on the cross, so that He could forever take on the punishment that I deserve.  But God still deeply grieves even today every single time I sin.  Sin was not free 2000 years ago, and sin is not free now!  It hurt Jesus when He was on the cross, and it still hurts God today every time we sin.
I can know my love for God is pure when I don’t want to grieve Him.  Thus, my love for God is defined by me having a hatred of sin, which is a desire to not grieve God even one bit.  Real love is choosing rather to suffer ourselves, than to let the Object of our affection suffer instead (our Lord).  This is exactly what Jesus said His love was like: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
  • I'd rather take the pain that comes with denying my self-will and not getting my way, than to grieve God.
  • I’d rather hold my tongue and let my ego be killed, than to lash out in anger and gain some satisfaction in my flesh, but cause God to grieve at the same time.
  • I’d rather do work which I’m not required to do and be a servant cleaning up someone else’s mess, rather than rebel against my co-workers and have an “it’s not my job” attitude.  A little bit of extra work may make me tired, but I should prefer that to disappointing my Father in Heaven.
God suffered and gave up what was most valuable to Him for me.  And I want to give up something of value to Him.  From God's Word, I see that what is of real value to God is to choose to suffer in the flesh myself (by not getting my way) so that God can be glorified.
So as individuals and as a church, let us have the same attitude as David who had the right heart when he said, “I won’t give to God that which costs me nothing.” (2 Sam 24:24).

Sunday, July 14, 2013

How God will be always near to you?

Psalms 34:18a - The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

If Jesus want to be near always then just be brokenhearted always. Brokenhearted because of my sin, unChirstlikeness, mourning because I am not like Jesus in many areas.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Living for the Glory of God - Zac Poonen

In the prayer that the Lord taught His disciples to pray, the very first request is, "Hallowed by Thy Name." This was the primary longing in the heart of the Lord Jesus. He prayed, "Father, glorify Thy Name," and chose the way of the Cross since that was to the Father's glory (Jn. 12:27-28). One supreme passion governed the life of the Lord Jesus - the Father's glory. Everything He did was for the Father's glory. There were no separate sacred and secular compartments in His life. Everything was sacred. He made stools and benches for the glory of God as much as He preached and healed the sick for the glory of God. Every day was equally sacred to Him; and money spent on the necessities of daily living was as sacred as money given to God's work or to the poor.
Jesus lived in perfect rest of heart at all times, because He sought only the Father's glory and cared only for His Father's approval. He lived before the face of His Father and did not care for the honour or praise of men. "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory," said Jesus (Jn. 7:18).
Jesus waited on His Father to receive His plan, and also waited on the Father for the power to carry out that plan, so that He did all the will of His Father in the power of God. But that was not all. Jesus went to prayer after some of His greatest achievements - to give the glory to His Father. He offered up the fruit of His labours as a sacrificial offering to His Father. He neither sought honour for Himself, nor received it when it was given Him (Jn. 5:418:50). When His fame spread far and wide, He retired to the mountains to glorify His Father (Lk. 5:1516). He was determined never to touch that glory Himself. The result of such an attitude consistently held, was that at the end of Jesus' life on earth, He could honestly say, "Father I have glorified You on earth" (Jn. 17:4). He had come to earth to glorify the Father as a man. He lived each day with that as His aim. He prayed earnestly that the Father alone would be glorified, whatever the cost to Him. And He finally died that the Father would be honoured and exalted and glorified on earth as He was in heaven.
Jesus so sought the glory of God that He Himself was quite prepared to pave and prepare the way for His apostles to do something greater than He ever did, after Him (Jn. 14:12). This greater work was, no doubt, the building of the church, with the members therein becoming one as the Father and the Son are one (Jn. 17:21-23). During Jesus' lifetime on earth, not even two of His disciples had become one as the Father and the Son are one. They all sought their own. But after the day of Pentecost, many of His disciples have become one as He desired. This was the greater work. Jesus paved the way for others to do a greater work. He died and laid the foundation and His disciples built on that.
There was no self-interest in Jesus. It did not matter to Him if someone else got the credit for what He did, provided the Father was glorified. It is this spirit that has to animate us, if we are to minister life to the church, the Body of Christ, today, and if we are to build it, to the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Jesus lived so utterly and totally before the Father's face alone, that He did not care to be vindicated before those who crucified Him, after He rose from the dead. In the eyes of the world and the Jewish leaders, Jesus' ministry was a total failure. If Jesus had been soulish, He would have longed to go back and present Himself before those leaders after His resurrection to confound them and to vindicate Himself. But he did not do that. He presented Himself after the resurrection, only to those who believed on Him. The Father's time for the vindication of Jesus had not yet come - and Jesus was prepared to wait. That time has still not come.
Jesus is still misunderstood in the world, and most people consider His life to have been a failure. He began life (as a man), in the ignominy of a cattle food-box and ended His life on earth in the humiliating death on the cross, with two criminals of the worst order. And that was the last that this world saw of Him. Jesus was quite prepared to appear a failure before men, provided the Father was glorified. He did not live or serve, to be admired by men, and therefore one day the Father will vindicate Him publicly with great glory and honour; and in that day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord - but even that will be for the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11).
And so the question that we must ask ourselves is: AM I LIVING AND LABOURING FOR THE GLORY OF GOD ALONE?


http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/word_for_the_week.php?display=04_02&year=10

How we know whether we are building Babylon or Jerusalem?

See Daniel 4:30 - The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ 

This is Babylon (My Plan, my power, my majesty). Glorying in what I have done.
Jerusalem is all about God's plan, God's power and God's Majesty.


(Encouraging everyone to listen this sermon)

Glory Of God - Zac Poonen

God IS Love. It is not that He just acts lovingly. He IS in His very essence LOVE. The glory of God as seen in Jesus, manifests this clearly. Jesus did not just perform acts of love. He went about "doing good" (Acts 10:38). But that was because the love of God flooded His whole being. Love has its origin, like holiness and humility, in our inner man. It is from the innermost being of the Spirit-filled man that the rivers of life flow (Jn. 7:38,39). Our thoughts and attitudes (even if never expressed) give an odour to our words and actions and to our personality. And others can easily detect this odour. Words and acts of love count for nothing, if our thoughts and attitudes to others remain selfish and critical. God desires "truth in the innermost being" (Psa. 51:6). The glory of God was seen in Jesus' love for all men. Jesus never despised anyone for his poverty, ignorance, ugliness or lack of culture. He specifically stated that the whole world and all that it contained was not as valuable as one human soul (Mk. 8:36). That was how He valued men. And so He delighted in all men. He saw men deceived and bound by Satan; and He longed to set them free. So great was this longing born of love, that He was willing to pay the ultimate price to free men from sin's grip over their lives. And because He was willing to die for men to save them from their sins, He earned the right to preach against sin forcefully. We have no right to preach against sin, if either we have not judged that sin in our own flesh and overcome, or if we are unwilling to die (if need be) to save others from the sin that we preach against. This is what it means to "speak the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15). Because He bore the cross daily, Jesus was never irritated with anyone, however crude or stupid he might be. The slowness of others never got on His nerves, nor did untidiness, disorderliness and carelessness in others, ever make Him impatient. The perfect man can easily bear with imperfect people. Only imperfect people find the imperfection of others to be intolerable! Patience is one of the greatest manifestations of our love for others.
Consider the glory of Jesus' love, in His speech. Jesus never belittled others or passed remarks or jokes about them that hurt them. He never made any subtle wounding statements. He never discussed the shortcomings of His disciples behind their backs. It is truly amazing that in three years, He never exposed Judas before the other eleven disciples - for even at the last supper, the eleven could not guess who was going to betray their Master. Jesus used His tongue to encourage and admonish others, thereby making His tongue an instrument of life in God's Hand. He used His tongue to speak soothing words to the weary (Isa. 50:4), and also as a sword to cut down the proud and the haughty (Isa. 49:2). How greatly encouraged the Roman centurion and the Syrophenician woman must have felt when they heard Jesus praise them for their faith, publicly (Mt. 8:1015:28). The sinful woman who was praised for her love (Lk. 7:47) and Mary of Bethany who was praised for her sacrificial offering (Mk. 14:6) would never have forgotten the words of Jesus. How strengthened Peter must have been through Jesus' assurance that He would pray for him (Lk. 22:32). Just a few words, but what strength and encouragement they conveyed. Many others must have heard words from Jesus' lips that lifted their weary spirits, for it says in Isaiah 50:4 that Jesus listened daily to His Father's voice so that He might have an appropriate word for the weary souls that came across His path each day.


Peter described the ministry of Jesus as "going about doing good" (Acts 10:38). Truly, this summed up His life. He was not just a good preacher, nor was He just interested in winning souls. He loved the total man, and did good wherever He went, both to the bodies and the souls of men. His enemies, taunting Him, called Him, "a friend of tax-collectors and sinners" (Lk. 7:34), and that was exactly what He was, a friend of the most despised people in society. Jesus had taught His disciples that "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35), and demonstrated by His life that the happiest and most blessed life that a man can live on this earth is one lived totally for God and for others, where he gives himself and his possessions to bless others. Jesus lived so utterly for God and for others that, even when dying, He found time to lead a thief to salvation. Hanging there on the cross, He was unmindful of His own sufferings and of the jeerings and hatred of others, and was more concerned that those who crucified Him should have their sin forgiven (Lk. 23:34). Jesus always overcame evil with good. The floods of the hatred of others could not quench the flaming fire of His love (Song 8:7). This is the love that He gives us by His Spirit whereby we can love one another even as He loved us (Jn. 13:34,35Rom. 5:5). Thus we too shall manifest the divine nature.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

What is the effect when Holy Spirit comes inside of us ?

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, [h]the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. - Zech 12: 10