Fresh Speaking
(Nancy's notes from Lord's Day fellowship, Feb. 21, 2010)
I am glad you young people are with us today. We are all in something together. Something exciting! We need a hunger and a seeking to serve the Lord however He chooses.
Prov. 8:23,30-36 Christ, as the Son of God, was set-up for eternity. He is the Fathers daily delight! We are the Sons delight! We are so important. There is work going on and the Son is the center.Eph 1:4 He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world - We have been predestinated! What was in the Fathers heart was the Son. What is in the Sons heart is us - as the new creation. Eph 2:10 WE are His masterpiece - His workmanship.
What was in the Fathers heart, was included in the Sons heart. This is what was so pleasing to the Father. We are His multiplication. One seed fell into the earth and died - producing many seeds. He brought many sons into glory. Out of His death and resurrection, we declare Him - express Him. The Father is so delighted because the Son caught what was in His heart. Our place is so delightful. So wonderful. He saw the treasure and sold all. He abandoned Himself to the Fathers will. We must see ourselves as high. Isa. 53 - He produced us to extend His days. We are His seed. We are His workmanship. He birthed us to be the extension of His days - to live His Life! We are all called. We are the offspring of the Son. We must see how much we count to Him. His delight is in us!
In Rev. we are included. We are there in Gods heart. Feelings of hunger and of guilt are of the Lord. No feeling means we are dead. We are being kept by the Lord. Feelings of inadequacy and guilt are good. The Son delights in us with great expectation!
John probably would feel guilt. Not so much seemingly came out in his life. He didn't develop according to his expectation and eventually he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos. Nothing so "grand" came out of his life. Just love the brothers. What is this?
John was in spirit on the Lords day. My testimony is a lot better than his. In his mind he probably didn't feel he was so much. He was a faithful slave. A slave writing to other slaves. Not so grand. We need to come as slaves. We need to repent and seek Him. Out of a healthy word, there is an effect in us. An expression, a testimony of Christ. We need to have the word of God in our mouth and in our heart. To bear a testimony of the Lord. Blessed are you if you hear these words and keep them and live them. We are privileged to hear this. The Lord still has a generation to speak this to.
Rev. 1:9 I John, your brother. Wouldn't you just love being a brother to John? So simple. He's our brother. Fellow partaker in tribulation and kingdom and endurance. John was included in the suffering for the kingdom. He was exiled. This was all for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. What makes the Lord happy is our knowing Him. John got to know who God is. John had a seeking, knowing heart. He got to see how God appeared to the 7 churches. We are partakers with John in tribulation, the kingdom and in endurance. - This is in view of the churches. God was caring for the churches, and so was John, and so are we! The word is living and operative, even in this age. This word is to us!In His right hand He holds 7 stars. These are 7 messengers. Each church had a messenger, and John saw them as 7 stars! These were hungry, seeking ones who found a way to get to John, to get the message to bring to the churches. We are fellow partakers, seekers, stars - messengers of Christ.
Our list of failures is longer than our list of successes. In this country our "poverty" is equal to the life of a king in some other countries. We live in the apex of luxury. Wow! To be able to come to the word for the kingdom! To have a life that matches Him! If the Spirit is convicting, this is a good thing. It is for a reason. It is too easy to slip into Laodicea. Our life of luxury makes it easy to fall into a lukewarm situation. It is good to realize where we are. Balaam, Jezebel, etc. - all these have an effect on us. Our mind is saying to go to the Lord, yet we have no strength so we turn on the TV instead.
What the Spirit is speaking applies, no matter where we are. When we are encouraged, we encourage others. A star is not a star for itself, but for others. What is a star that doesn't shine anymore? A black hole? Others should be effected by us. In going to Africa, I go with encouragement and strength from my wife and from all the saints. We are fighting the same battle both there and here.
(Jo Ann's notes from Lord's Day fellowship, Feb. 21, 2010)
Lord, we offer our lives to You.
Search our whole heart and keep us true.
Anoint our eyes and light the way,
You have given us an open door,
The Key of David is with You.
David, just as he was, had a desire to build a house for God.
-- our very existence is a dwelling place for God
-- the church is for this an expression of God
-- how should I live before you, if my very existence is for You?
Randy will be leaving for Uganda on Tuesday, February 23rd for a couple of months. He explained that it is Debbie's heart to go and the Lord's heart is to go. He is glad to do this and does not want anyone to think of him as "more special" than anyone else in the church. He is a product of the church in Willoughby, so that is what he is bringing to the saints in Uganda.
Proverbs 8:23
I was set up from eternity, from the beginning, before the earth was.
Proverbs 8:30-36
Then I was by Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing in Him, Rejoicing in His habitable earth; And my delight was in the sons of men. Now therefore, my sons, listen to me; For blessed are they who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise; And so not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my doors, Waiting at my doorposts. For whoever finds me finds life, And will obtain favor from Jehovah. But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All who hate me love death.
Jesus is David, a man after God's heart to build a house for God.
Jesus was God's delight and we are Christ's delight.
Jesus is the master workman, (the merchant who found the pearl of great value.) We the saints, the church are worth it. Jesus was "all in" to give all he had, to be cut off from his generation. He picked up on (knew) the Father's heart out of death and resurrection -- the seed (Christ) desired more sons (saints) -- born again out of death and resurrection.
Isaiah 53:10-11
But Jehovah was pleased to crush Him, to afflict Him with grief. When He makes Himself an offering for sin, He will see a seed, He will extend His days, And the pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in His hand. He will see the fruit of the travail of His soul, And He will be satisfied; By the knowledge of Him, the righteous One, My Servant, will make the many righteous, And He will bear their iniquities.
God expected good works from Christ and He expects good works from us to extend his days to satisfy God's desire. We are the result/offspring of the Son and delight God through the Son.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them.
Randy shared a story with the young people about when he was nineteen and confronted by his "then girlfriend" and her family. His faith was so strong that he was peaceful in the face of this confrontation and this girl's attempts to hurt herself because of his speaking and strong feeling for the Lord. He knew he had nothing to fear, that the Lord would not allow her to be hurt, because it would have crushed his confidence in the Lord. After things calmed down (the girl did not hurt herself), the girls brother challenged Randy about how he could be so peaceful during the incident. Randy indicated that God's word and his faith in His word had reassured him. The brother challenged, "Where in the Bible does it say that?" Randy handed the brother the Bible, said read this, and find it for your self. The Bible was opened to Jeremiah 1:8
Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you, declared Jehovah.
Randy asked, after spending so many weeks in Revelations:
-- How many of us feel hungrier for the Lord's Word?
-- How many of us feel guilty or frustrated because we are not in the Word more?
-- Who feels hungry and guilty but are not doing anything about it?
That is God moving in us! If we were dead, we would not feel guilt or frustration! We are here, being kept by the Lord! Hallelujah! We are not dead in Spirit!
John may have felt he did not develop according to his potential, no great doctrine came from John he was in spirit on the Lord 's Day, he loved the Lord and loved the brothers seemingly not so great. Even Paul may have felt short To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given Ephesians 3:8
John comes from a slave (from prison on Patmos) to a slave (seven small churches in Asia, today they are only crumbled foundations) a proper, healthy connection with the Lord.
John was simply a slave, on an island, separated because his life was a testimony to Jesus.
-- he was a testimony of Jesus
-- the Word of God in a living way
We can be simple like John
- read the Word of God
- fear the Word
- keep the Word
We (the church in Willoughby) are privileged, we are in spirit!
Revelation Chapters 1 2
John is a brother, writing to brothers (fellow partakers), sharing:
the kingdom God's ruling,
endurance included in the suffering for the churches and
separated on an island because his life was a testimony of Jesus.
What makes God happy is that:
-- John knew Christ.
-- John's heart was for the seven churches, because God's heart is for the seven churches.
The words to these churches are for us, today.
Revelation 1:16a And He had in His right hand seven stars;
Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands; The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Seven stars were brothers, who came to receive the message John saw them as stars. Brothers hungry and seeking, traveling to the island, where John was, to get the message from John for the churches.
You are a star/messenger cooperating with God that God uses to share his message to others, affecting others.
When we look at our lives and see that, we do not leave much time for Christ. We experience guilt and feel convicted this is good! Repent, make straight the way of the Lord, be hungry, and seeking. It is good to realize where we are we (individually/personally & corporately as the church) are, open to hear the Word of the Lord. In the earth/world we loose our strength. We can be encouraged and strengthened that we are in a good place and there should be others we share with/affect as messengers.
Oh Lord, let us receive your Word, let us be sharing ones, to go along with what you are doing.
Lord keep us hungry, able to hear, speak, and share Your Word.
Thank you Lord that we hear you speaking, share with others your messages and the Spirit is seen through the churches.
(Continue this week in Revelation 3:14 22 Laodicea)
(Mike Li requested that some of us share what touches us about the seven churches by jotting down small points, that a group could get together and share these points at a meeting so that we all may become messengers to the church.)