Living in the Kingdom XIV

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Kingdom_livingWednesday 01/06/16

 

Series: Living in the Kingdom XIV

Message – Unified in Purpose V

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As we are living in the kingdom, our pursuit of being unified in purpose with God requires faith and patience. As we ended our service on Sunday we illustrated these points with a chapter out of Jesus’ life found in Matthew 26:36-46 & Luke 22:39-46,

 

Matthew 26:36-46,

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” (37) And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. (38) Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” (39) He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (40) Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? (41) Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (42) Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” (43) And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. (44) So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. (45) Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. (46) Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

Luke 22:39-46,

“Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. (40) When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (41) And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, (42) saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (43) Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. (44) And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (45) When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. (46) Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

After a simple review, we began illustrating the principle of consistency in earnest prayer, simply by working through Psalm 27.

Effective prayer starts with faith and ends in faith

 

Because David had experienced God in his life many times before, David had a basis for trusting God in general – even when he had not yet heard God speak to Him specifically in the present.

Psa 27:1-4,

“A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? (2) When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. (3) Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. (4) One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.”

 

Psa 27:4  I have asked one thing from the LORD; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the LORD and seeking Him in His temple.

Psa 27:5-8,

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. (6) And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. (7) Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. (8) When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

Psalms 27:8

When You said, seek My face,…. To seek the face of the Lord is to seek His person and manifest presence to enjoy his gracious presence, and the light of his countenance, not being content with bare attendance in His temple or church or religious observances like bible study or praise and worship without it; it is to seek the Lord Himself, and communion with Him in the revelation of His glory. The right way of seeking the Lord is in and through Christ, Who is our acceptance before God and our access to Him and fellowship with Him. To do this not as a religious exercise or as a means TO an end but rather AS THE END in itself and that with ALL the heart and soul – this is done by his Spirit moving upon their hearts, and inclining them to it, as the rest of the verse indicates

 

my heart said unto thee, thy face, Lord, will I seek: it is an encouragement to believers to seek the Lord when he calls them to it; for it is a command with promise, that they that seek and keep on seeking WILL find.

 

This speaks to our hunger. How much does your heart long for communion with Him. Are we like the sons of Korah who exclaimed “As the deer pants in dry thirst for the waterbrooks so my soul pants for You oh God!”

 

Jesus promises – Blessed – fortunate and enviable are those who hunger and thirst for right standing with God because they will be filled to the full and overflowing.

 

And blessed are those whose hearts are pure for they will SEE HIM!

Psa 27:9-14,

“Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. (10) When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me. (11) Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. (12) Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. (13) I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. (14) Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”

Vs 10 then the Lord will take me up; like a person foundling in the street, and these are the ones David is likening himself with. In the Talmudic language, it is called “persons gathered up”; and so the words may be rendered here, “then the Lord will gather me” -meaning – into His arms and bosom, and under the wings of His protection, and at last to Himself in glory.

Faith and patience in adversity

1Samuel 30:6,

“Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.”

Seeking God’s face with faith and patience in the midst of adversity is perhaps one of the greatest proofs of our trust in Him.

It is much easier to trust God when things are easy or when the stakes are not very high, but in the life of David we OFTEN see him trusting God in the most difficult and life threatening situations.

David had led the great arm of Israel away from Ziklag and into battle. During this time, the Amalekites saw the city was unprotected and so took it with relative ease – carrying off the wealth, women and children of the city and burning it’s buildings to the ground.

Upon returning to Ziklag the warriors of Israel wept over their great loss – for their wives and children – until they had not more tears to cry. Then one by one the men’s hearts turned against David. Was it not his fault for leading us away from our families and homes in the first place…and they began to talk of stoning him to death.

This was a grave site indeed, but instead of allowing his heart to be overwhelmed with fear, guilt of shame – David strengthened himself in the Lord.

He sought His face FIRST THEN HIS DIRECTION! Upon hearing God’s word, David and the warriors of Israel pursued the Amalekites and recovered ALL!

So you can readily see that seeking God’s face, pursuing His heart and THEN His counsel is both honorable and effective. We serve and are children of a GREAT God, and He desires intimate union with us – NOT just in fact, but in experience. Our hearts need never fear, but as Christ told us, we ought always to seek God in prayer and never loose heart!

Blessings! 

 

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Attendance at our church will NOT even be mentioned nor will money.

If you have been spiritually fed by this ministry and wish to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but all outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

 

Blessings!

 

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!

2 Comments

    • So glad to hear from you! Teri told me you had listened to one of the messages. Hope you learned and were encouraged by it!

      Blessings!

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