A Spiritual Symphony

"I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one."
JOHN 17:23

When a symphony performs, each musician has something different to
contribute. The title of each piece of music is the same, but there
are many different parts that make up that one piece. A musician
may be an extremely talented soloist, but playing in harmony with
others requires a great deal of practice, preparation and group
rehearsal. It also requires each musician to submit to the
direction of the conductor. If that means playing "second fiddle"
then so be it. Working together takes time and patience - two
things that most people do not have an abundance of.

I trust you can see that even in this simple illustration, pride,
egotism, and an unwillingness to work with others disqualifies even
the greatest musicians from becoming viable members of a symphony.
Christ, the Master Conductor, seeks a spiritual harmony among all
His disciples: "that they all may be one... that they also may be one
in Us" (John 17:21).

beginning and Ending in HIM

"'I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'Who is and
Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty.'"
REVELATION 1:8

Jesus is the Alpha from Whom all things in God are initiated, and
Jesus is the Omega unto Whom all things of God find their purpose,
their meaning, and their reason for being. Everything begins in
Christ, and everything ends in Christ. He is the Beginning as well
as the End.

Real spiritual growth occurs when we realize that God has only one
goal for us, and that is the full, mature, complete, and
experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ. To the extent that we
discard "things" and become focused wholly on Christ, to that
extent we will make progress.

Disciple making Movements

Hello Friends, We have been rereading the parables of the Kingdom and revisiting Church Planting Movements (the book & a free PDF booklet are available at www.churchplantingmovements.com). David Garrison lists 10 characteristics of most church planting movements and you might be interested to note that David's background and context is Southern Baptist.
1/ Climate of Uncertainty in the Culture
2/ Insulation from Outsiders
3/ High Cost of Following Christ
4/ Bold, Fearless Faith
5/ Family Based Conversion Patterns
6/ Rapid Incorporation of New Believers
7/ Worship in the Heart Language
8/ Divine Signs & Wonders
9/ On the Job Leadership Training
10/ Missionaries Suffered

It would seem that where believers have the least ability to exercise political power such as in China or in Iran, the Kingdom is multiplying the most rapidly. Where believers are forced to invest in prayer and people, the Kingdom advances. Where believers have the most freedom, the Kingdom is not advancing or at least not advancing as rapidly. Do we abuse freedom when we invest in programs, buildings & expressions of political power rather than prayer and people?

Does the Kingdom grow best when the illusion of power is taken from us? When it must grow from the heart and cannot be imposed from above? When the seed in the heart becomes the man in the field and then fills the earth? Do we understand the Kingdom as growing from the inside out rather than top down?

Testimonies from Iran speak of the believers there not only pursuing the family based conversion patterns but going out in public and praying the prayer of Luke 10 to be led to a person of peace. There if you talk to the wrong person about Jesus and that could mean prison. Speak to the one prepared by the Holy Spirit and tears come to their eyes. They are ready to hear and respond to Jesus.
Your brother
Steve








www.harvest-now.org

An Unavoidable Spiritual Law

He must see that everything God has done, everything God is doing,
and everything God will do is for the purpose of INCREASING Jesus
and DECREASING everything that is not of Him.

This principle is so powerful that it makes no difference if you
agree with it, understand it, believe it, or like it. He MUST
increase; therefore, He WILL increase and HE IS increasing. At the
same time, I MUST decrease, therefore I WILL decrease, and I AM
decreasing. This is a spiritual law, and it is working as we speak.
For the Christian who is seeking first the Kingdom of God and His
Righteousness this is wonderful news. For selfish, carnal
Christians it is a frightening thing, this talk of losing your life
and taking up your Cross and denying yourself. That is why you hear
so much about spiritual power and so little about spiritual
brokenness.

How To Always Be Blessed

"Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed
them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and
likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. They... filled twelve
baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which
were left over by those who had eaten."
JOHN 6:11,13

The issue is never what we have or what we are doing, but rather,
do we have the Lord's blessing?

With the Lord's Blessing we have Infinite Supply. Practically
speaking, it means instead of trying to convince the Lord to bless
what I want to do or what I think needs to be done, I should find
out first what the Lord wants to BLESS and do THAT instead.
Remember, "He Himself knew what He would do." (John 6:6). Thus, we
pray, "Not my will, but Your Will be done; not my kingdom, but Your
Kingdom come." And then we enjoy the Lord's Blessing on our work.

United in Resurrection

"If we have been united with Him in
a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him
in a resurrection like His."
ROMANS 6:5 ESV

If we share in His death then we will share in His life. How could
it be otherwise? What is true of the Vine is true of the Branches
that are part of the Vine. It would be impossible for the Vine to
be raised while the Branches that are part of the Vine remain
buried. So long as the Vine and the Branches are one, they share in
both the suffering and in the glory that is revealed afterwards.

In the same way, when God made us one spirit together with Christ
on the Cross, His intention was for us to experience both the
Crucifixion and the Resurrection. So Paul says that if we suffer
with Him, then we will reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12). Again, we
see the purpose of the Cross. If we refuse to join Him in suffering
then we cannot hope to join Him in ruling. If we refuse the
Crucified Death then we cannot have the Resurrected Life.

No Other Way To Be Saved

"Narrow is the gate and difficult
is the way which leads to Life."
MATTHEW 7:14

The Narrow Gate refers to salvation. We know that a gate is an
opening, or a door that one passes through. It is an entrance into
something. Jesus said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he
will be saved" (John 10:9). Here, Jesus connects the Door, or the
Gate, to entering in through Him to be saved. This is the Narrow
Gate. Why is it narrow?

The Bible says of Jesus, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for
there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we
must be saved" (Acts 4:12). To insist that there is no salvation
apart from One Man is, in the eyes of the world, rather
narrow-minded. But we insist upon it because it is true. Jesus says
the Gate is narrow. We must go in through Him. God requires all men
to enter in through Christ in order to be saved. There is no way to
appropriate the Victory of the Cross without entering in by the One
Who was crucified for us.