Submit, Then Resist

"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore
submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
JAMES 4:6,7


So many times we try to resist, but we are defeated. Why? Simply
because we attempt to resist the devil before we have first
submitted ourselves to God. There is a proper order that must be
observed without fail.

First, we must understand the principle of God resisting the proud
but giving grace to the humble. This is the foundation of
everything we do. Second, the word "therefore" signifies that those
who learn this principle will act upon it accordingly. If they
understand the truth just stated, they will submit "therefore" to
God. Third, as a result of their submitting to God, they will find
the devil flees whenever and wherever they offer him resistance.

The word "flee" means "to run away in terror." How wonderful! How
delicious to see the devil running from us in terror, instead of
the other way around!

Source: "Embrace the Cross" by Chip Brogden

INHERITING THE EARTH

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
MATTHEW 5:5

The idea of the meek inheriting the earth is found throughout the
Book of Psalms. When someone is poor in spirit and mourns over his
own sins and the sins of others, pride and arrogance are
eliminated. A person who knows he is no better than the rest will
not be easily lifted up above his brothers and sisters. But this
meekness does not imply lack of power, or spineless passivity. It
is power, but it is power under the control of love and without the
poison of self-interest and self-seeking.

To have power, and to use that power only for the good and
well-being of others, is meekness. Jesus perfectly demonstrates how
power that operates through meekness cannot be quenched, whereas
temporal power and people who play politics always come to a bad
end.

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.