A response from a GFI friend: "Good morning to the great folks at Grace Fellowship. I listened to the testimony of the gentleman who spoke at the banquet last week, and was truly blessed. It is so encouraging to see the evidence of our Lord's working in the lives of pastors. We live in a day that the congregation of believers desperately need to hear the Lord speaking thru the shepherd. God's spirit going forth with power and life, how that is needed in the organized church. Thanks for sharing the testimony."
Monday, April 30, 2012
Testimony of Pastor Dan Riley
Pastor Dan Riley Spoke at a recent ministry event. He shares about the revitalization God has been providing through Dan appropriating his death and resurrection with Christ! The testimony is online by video here: https://vimeo.com/41020227
Monday, April 23, 2012
Coals of Fire
Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19b-21
Most, if not all, of us have a built in mechanism of self defense. The story is told of a girl who carried with her a little black notebook. People wondered what was in the book. Finally, she admitted that in the little notebook were the names of people who had done her wrong and their names stayed in there until she "paid them back."
In the passage quoted above, God demands that we do just the opposite. Does anyone have the spiritual ability to follow those instructions? Until Jesus made possible the New Covenant with believers, following those commands was impossible. Even the Jews living out the old covenant could not have obeyed that commandment. In Psalm 41:10, the psalmist cried out to God concerning his enemies: "But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them."
Through Jesus, God gave us the New Covenant which lifts us above the lifestyles of those under the Old Covenant. Someone has said, "Every command in the Bible is a promise." That is, under the New Covenant of grace, there are no commands that we cannot keep—not in our own strength but in the strength of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
The door is open for us to experience the super-natural life of grace that God has made possible for us when we live out our oneness with Christ—when we experience our spiritual crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
Most, if not all, of us have a built in mechanism of self defense. The story is told of a girl who carried with her a little black notebook. People wondered what was in the book. Finally, she admitted that in the little notebook were the names of people who had done her wrong and their names stayed in there until she "paid them back."
In the passage quoted above, God demands that we do just the opposite. Does anyone have the spiritual ability to follow those instructions? Until Jesus made possible the New Covenant with believers, following those commands was impossible. Even the Jews living out the old covenant could not have obeyed that commandment. In Psalm 41:10, the psalmist cried out to God concerning his enemies: "But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them."
Through Jesus, God gave us the New Covenant which lifts us above the lifestyles of those under the Old Covenant. Someone has said, "Every command in the Bible is a promise." That is, under the New Covenant of grace, there are no commands that we cannot keep—not in our own strength but in the strength of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
The door is open for us to experience the super-natural life of grace that God has made possible for us when we live out our oneness with Christ—when we experience our spiritual crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
- David Kuykendall
www.livingbygrace.org
Monday, April 2, 2012
Heaven: You’re Already There!
The Lord Jesus Christ offers you a future and a hope beyond this present life. He instructs you to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9–10). It's plain to see from this Scripture passage that God wants you to get in on heaven now. Therefore, He urges you to pray for His heavenly kingdom to come on earth. The destiny that God offers is heaven, for here as well as the hereafter.
In Christ, you have a new destiny! If you have invited Jesus Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords to come and take up residence in you, then heaven is your destiny, and it begins now! You can realize this by allowing Him to reign supreme in you here on earth, just as He reigns supreme in heaven.
It sounds good to me! Heaven—that's my kind of place, both now and forevermore. The difference is one of perspective. Whether in the body, or out of the body—either way it's grounds for rejoicing. It's all a matter of how you look at it. The truth is that because you are in Christ, you already are there—in heaven, that is. You just can't see it yet. Remember, according to Ephesians 2:6, you are seated with Him in the heavenly realm now. Therefore, heaven is not an escape from, but rather an extension of the life we have right now, right here on planet earth.
What most of us fail to realize is that the One we are going to be with when we die, is the same One who is with us now while we are alive. You need to understand that heaven is here—as well as there—because heaven is where the Lord is. It is the exclusive abode of God. Exclusive? Absolutely! Heaven is His space—His and His alone.
However, since you are one with Christ, and Christ is in the heavenly realm, that means you are with Him in heaven now, even as He is here within you now. Christ expressed His desire for us to abide in the heavenly realm in John 14:2–3. "I go to prepare a place for you. . . . That where I am, there ye may be also." Since Christ is in you, then heaven has come down, and glory has filled your soul. You have heaven in your heart!
For those of us who are in Christ, heaven is both a future residence and a present reality. At the moment, we have dual citizenship. As long as we remain alive, we are citizens of our country here on planet earth. Although we are still in the world, we are no longer of it (John 17:16). Therefore, because we are now in Christ, we are also citizens of God's heavenly kingdom. "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). Heaven is your dwelling place too!
Excerpt from Introducing The New You © 2005 by Dr. Lewis Gregory
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