Welcome to The Sisterhood Hub! The Hub is where I share insights, resources, and reflections that have deepened my faith and strengthened my Christian walk. My hope is that you find encouragement and inspiration, be uplifted and challenged as you navigate your own journey. The Hub is dedicated to empowering women to embrace their God-given identity, rooted in the love, grace, mercy, truth and sacrifice of our Lord, Saviour, and soon-coming King, Jesus Christ. May this be a source of strength and renewal, fostering your self-worth and guiding you to live out your faith authentically. Together, let us walk confidently in our callings, trusting God every step of the way. May our lives reflect humility, integrity, and reverence for Him, as the Holy Spirit leads us to live fruitfully for His glory. The mission is to parade God’s love by sharing the gospel, writing, engaging in outreach and missionary work, distributing Christian resources, and serving communities both locally and internationally—as a pro-life advocate, committed to the sanctity of life from the womb to the tomb and beyond the grave, in both the physical and spiritual realms, as every life matters. Blessings, Lori 💕
As we begin a new year, it is good to think seriously of the priorities we should be having this year in our spiritual life. Here are a few suggestions.Consider them seriously – and pray that they will all be fulfilled in your life. May the Lord help you.“Whatever your blunders or failures, you can make a new beginning with God now, as you begin a new year.”
1. Make a New Beginning: In Luke 15, in the story of the prodigal son, we read that the father brought out the best robe for a son who had failed him so badly. This is the message of the gospel: God gives His very best even to those who have failed. They can make a new beginning because God never gives up on anyone. This is a great encouragement for those who failed in the past. Whatever your blunders or failures may have been, you can make a new beginning with God now, as you begin a new year.
2. Be disciplined: In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul says, “God has given us a spirit of power, love and of discipline”. The Spirit of God gives us power, love for others and enables us to discipline ourselves. Whatever experience of the Holy Spirit you may have had, if you don’t allow the Holy Spirit to discipline you – to make you spend your timeand your money in a disciplined way, and to discipline your speech, you will never be what God wants you to be. The greatest servants of God in the history of the church were men and women who allowed the Holy Spirit to discipline their lives. They were disciplined in their sleeping habits, in their eating habits, in prayer and in study of the Scriptures. They were disciplined in putting God first above all their earthly desires. Many Christians remain satisfied with having received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and they imagine that everything in their lives will flow smoothly thereafter. But you need to be disciplined too if you are to fulfil God’s will for your life in this year.
3.Keep the fire burning:Timothy had faith and spiritual gifts and yet Paul reminds him of this, “I want to remind you of the spiritual gift you received when I laid hands on you” (2 Timothy 1:6). The Holy Spirit is not a spirit of timidity. Paul urged him to stir up that gift and to kindle it afresh, to keep the fire burning. From this we learn that even though Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11), we still have to do something to keep that fire burning at all times. God lights the fire. We have to keep supplying the fuel – a life totally surrendered at all times to God’s will. Don’t imagine that just because God anointed you once, that you can now relax and say, “Once anointed, always anointed”. That is as great a fallacy as saying, “Once saved, always saved”. I have seen people who were genuinely anointed by God who are spiritually dead one year later. The fire is gone. Worldly interests and pride have come in and taken the fire away. They are now running after money and a comfortable life – and have lost the fire of God. That is sad and a great loss for the kingdom of God. So, Paul told Timothy, “That fire that came upon you, keep it afresh, keep it burning. It is up to you now. If you don’t keep it burning it will die out. Keep it burning by keeping a good conscience, by studying the word of God, by humbling yourself constantly, by seeking God wholeheartedly, by staying away from the love of money, and from arguments with others and from anything that will quench this fire.”
4. Make steady spiritual progress: In Hebrews 6:1–3, we are exhorted to press on to maturity. Think of pressing on to maturity like climbing a mountain (of say, 10,000 meters). Jesus has already reached the top. When we are born again, we start at the foot of this mountain. Our goal is to follow Jesus and to press on towards the top, no matter how long it may take. Then we can say to our younger brothers and sisters, “Follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1), even if we have climbed only 100 meters. Spirituality is not something that comes through one encounter with God. It is the result of choosing the way of self denial and of doing God’s will consistently day after day, week after week and year after year. It was the consistent denial of His own will that made Jesus a spiritual man. And it is the constant denial of our self-will that will make us spiritual too. In 1 Timothy 4:15, Paul urges Timothy to “take pains with these things.” A businessman takes a lot of pains to earn money and to establish his business firmly. If you are serious about the Christian life, you will also take a lot of pains to study the Scriptures, seek for the gifts of the Spirit and cleanse your life from everything impure. One translation of this verse reads, “Be absorbed in them.” When you are absorbed with these things your progress will become evident to everybody. Be so absorbed with Jesus Christ and His Word that the temptations of this world don’t attract us so much. And we won’t be chasing after the many things that worldly people chase after. If you live an “absorbed” life like that, you will make progress constantly. Every year you will be a better Christian and a more effective servant of the Lord.
5. Be an overcomer: In Hebrews 12:1-3, we are exhorted to run the race with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. We look up to Him and run this race. We don’t stand still. The race of faith is something in which you can’t stand still. The time is short and so you have to run. If you fall down, get up and continue running. There are many runners who have fallen down in a race, who got up, continued to run, and still came first. So, don’t get discouraged if you fall down sometimes in your walk with the Lord. Don’t lie there. Get up, confess your sin, and continue to run. Look at Jesus who endured the cross and ran till the end of His life. When many enemies oppose you, think of Jesus Who had so many enemies opposing Him (Heb.12:3). You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood like He did, in striving against sin (Heb.12:4). Here we see that Jesus strove against sin. In other words, His attitude toward sin was, “I would rather shed My blood than commit sin.” If you have the same attitude – that you would rather die than commit sin – you too will be an overcomer. When you are tempted to tell a lie, if you say, “I would rather die than tell a lie”, you will be an overcomer. When you are tempted to cheat a little bit to make more money, if you say, “I would rather die than cheat even a little”, you will be an overcomer. When you are tempted to lust after some woman and you say, “I would rather die than lust”, you will be an overcomer. That is the secret of living the overcoming life.
6.Be secure in the love of God: The words “He will rest in His love” in Zephaniah 3:17 have been translated as: “He is silently planning for you in love”. Do you realize that every single thing that God allows to enter your life comes from a heart that is planning for you in love? Every trial and problem that comes into your life has been planned for your ultimate good. If you believe Romans 8:28, you will never again be afraid of people or of circumstances, for the rest of your life. You will not live in fear that you might have an accident, or die of cancer, or be harmed by anti-Christian fanatics, or any other fear – because your heavenly Father controls everything and everyone.
We desire that you will have a truly blessed year of spiritual progress.
————
**Copyright – Zac Poonen. No changes whatsoever are to be made to the content of the article without written permission from the author at cfcindia.com / Photo by Brett Jordan at pexels
The really good news is that, to start a house church, you can lay down the burdens of planning how to cope with buildings, programs, and outreach strategies. You don’t have to be an impressive leader (though you probably will have some leadership gifts). To start a house church, you simply need to open your home to friends and neighbours and take things one step at a time.
Pray First!
The first step to starting a house church is to pray. House-church ministry must be birthed in prayer. Though it is a simple step, without prayer and God’s leading, we invite trouble. Starting a house church cannot be just a good idea; it must be a God idea. If you feel that you are called to start a house church, gather a few like-minded people together and begin to pray so that you can receive a strategy from God. Many house churches have false starts that are directly linked to a lack of prayer.
Taking time to pray gives God the opportunity to work in our hearts and purify our motives. When house churches start up because of a reaction to something we don’t like about the established church, the house church’s identity is built from rebellion and discord. Healthy house churches, on the contrary, must begin with God’s leading and a desire to reach those who don’t know Jesus. What a person sows, the Bible teaches us, he also reaps. Therefore, if you begin a house church because of an offense toward an existing church or leader, you will sow the seeds of fault-finding and pride in the church you are creating.
Along with prayer, it is also important to look to the local Christian community’s leaders for spiritual guidance and advice as you launch a new church. From day one of the Lancaster Micro-Church Network, we have cultivated relationships with established believers in our local community and beyond to answer questions and explain to them the concept of micro-church. A wise Bible teacher once said, “Lone rangers get shot out of the saddle.” We agree. Healthy house-church movements are not exclusive groups who refuse to be accountable. Vibrant micro-church networks are spiritually connected to leadership in the Body of Christ.
Know Whom You Are Called to Reach
Every micro-church should know whom they are called to reach. Here’s a great suggestion from Tony and Felicity Dale, who together started a successful network of house churches in Texas:
Draw together people from your circle of influence. We had a number of business associates who were not Christian, but whom we had come to know pretty well over a period of months or years. We asked a dozen of them to join us in a study of business principles while enjoying pizza in our home, using the book of proverbs as our textbook.
There were no rules to our discussion; everybody’s opinion was valid and there was no such thing as a wrong answer. Gradually we introduced prayer and worship and over the course of a year, every one of them became a Christian. They formed the nucleus of our original house church.
When the first micro-church in the Lancaster Micro-Church Network started in our (Larry’s) home a few years ago, we asked God for pre-Christians or new believers to join us—we also asked for labourers to help in the endeavour. However, we ran into some immediate problems. First of all, lots of believers wanted to come and check it out. Some of these Christians were looking for the latest Christian fad. They liked the idea that the micro-church met on a Wednesday, not a Sunday, and that it met in a living room, not a sanctuary.
But we were not starting something new for the sake of starting something new! Since we had a mandate from the Lord to reach new believers, we asked inquiring Christians not to come to our meetings. Having too many older Christians in the group would make the pre-Christians feel uncomfortable.
Jim Petersen, in his book Church Without Walls, clearly describes what can happen if a “migratory flock from neighbouring churches” invades a new church simply because they are curious:
I have a friend who was a part of a team that set out to start a church. The congregation was divided into house churches, each of which was assigned an elder who helped shepherd the members of that house church. Centralised activities were kept at a minimum for the sake of keeping people free to minister to their families and unbelieving friends.
The weekly meetings were dynamic. I will never forget the first one I visited. People of all sorts were there, from men in business suits to ponytails. Many were new believers. The Bible teaching was down to earth, aimed at people’s needs. I loved it.
So did most everyone else who visited. The word got around and soon the migratory flock from neighbouring churches came pouring in. Their needs consumed the energies of the leaders of this young church. Their wants gradually set the agenda. The inertia of the traditions of these migrants engulfed this very creative effort and shaped it accordingly.
So what’s the problem, we ask? The problem is that the vision that original team had for taking the church into society through the efforts of every believer was frustrated.
My wife and I knew that the vision the Lord had given to us to reach a new generation had to be safeguarded in the early days of our new micro-church network, and the young leaders of our network wisely set clear perimeters. They asked God to bring pre-Christians, new believers, and labourers—and the Lord honoured their request.
The Size of the House Church Matters
Quite soon, my wife and I had a second problem in our home-based micro-church. The pre-Christians attending invited their friends, and within 6 months of starting, we had 50 people in our living room on a given night. It was way too large!
It is wise to keep the number of people to between 6 and 12. From my experience, groups less than 6 strong tend to dwindle and be lacklustre because of the decreased number of relationships and interactions possible. However, groups over 12 tend to lose intimacy and every-member participation. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that rapid church planting movements today reproduce small house churches numbering between 10 and 30 people.
Frequency of Meeting
House churches should meet at least once a week to maintain a sense of connectedness. Again, though, we must emphasise the importance of flexibility. Some micro-churches meet at the same location every week, while others move the meeting place by rotating turns in members’ houses. Some groups meet more frequently, others less often. Some house churches meet during the week, others on weekends.
It is crucial that meeting together is an expression of the members’ desire to build community together—not just a religious duty to add more meetings to their already busy lives. If gathering together is done around food and for the purpose of fellow-shipping, it is more natural. Choose times that are convenient for everyone involved and then make an effort to connect with the other members (even just by phone or e-mail) outside of official meeting times. Building a spiritual family takes more than an hour or two one night a week!
Meeting Components
One thing is certain about house-church meetings: they should not be a smaller scale duplicate of a typical Sunday morning meeting. A house-church gathering should not look like an “escaped meeting captured by a living-room,” as one young man described house churches that do little more than replicate and repeat the traditional church service format: worship, teaching, prayer.
Instead, we have learned that there are often four basic components to a micro-church gathering: eating, meeting, small groups, and “the meeting after the meeting.
Although eating (usually a meal) is one of the elements of a house-church gathering, sometimes there may not be food. One week the house church may help someone trim their shrubs and have a time of prayer afterwards, and the next week they may come together for a whole smorgasbord of worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship. Every week should be fresh and informal as people meet to discuss the life of Jesus and life with Jesus.
—Larry Kreider and Floyd McClung; excerpted from their book Starting a House Church (Regal Publishers, 2007) / Picture by Fauxes at pexels / By Small Groups
This inspiring documentary presents the events of Gladys Aylward’s life. Gladys was a commoner from a poor family in London, barely five feet tall, who worked as a maid, in a kitchen and other odd jobs to make ends meet. She was considered ordinary in every way, as there was nothing to distinguish her amongst her peers, but it was this very woman the Lord picked up, this empty and open vessel, God filled and used for His honour and glory, to be a blessing to the Chinese people and spread the good news of the gospel, as it’s not our ability the Lord wants, but our willingness and AVAILabilty, “use me Lord, send me!”
Gladys was rejected from the CIM (Chinese Inland Missions) because she couldn’t keep up with the academic studies. The CIM was set up by none other than Hudson Taylor to train new missionaries. Gladys was sure the Lord had called her and was not deterred. She needn’t have worried for she was in good company with others that had gone before her; people like Peter, Andrew, James and John lowly fishermen whom Jesus chose to be His disciples, who also in their day would’ve been rejected from the Bible colleges! But it’s these unlearned people that the Lord picked up and used. People wondered how these so called simpletons, knew and did the things they did. It was obviously all God’s doing, He had quickened their spirits, given them wisdom, guidance and much grace. He opened the doors He wanted opened, and closed the doors He wanted shut, and showed them favour. He doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called! So not one could ever touch His glory.
God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts, as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, ‘But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame. What the world thinks is worthless, useless, and nothing at all is what God has used to destroy what the world considers important. God did all this to keep anyone from bragging to Him.’ To help us remain humble in our endeavours may we never forget that, all good gifts are from above, given to us by our loving Father. What is it we have that the Lord didn’t give us? Let us pray that the Lord will keep us humble like the examples of Godly men and women who have gone before us, such as Gladys.
Gladys Aylward’s biography can be found on Amazon:
During the 47 years that I have been a born-again Christian, I have learnt some important truths that have encouraged me and given direction and purpose to my life. I share them here with you with the hope that they will be an encouragement to you as well.
1. God Loves Us As He Loved Jesus
“Thou didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me” (John 17:23).
This is the greatest truth that I have discovered in the Bible. It changed me from an insecure, depressed believer to one who has become totally secure in God and full of the joy of the Lord – always.
There are many verses in the Bible that tell us that God loves us, but only this one that tells us the extent of that love – AS MUCH AS HE LOVED JESUS.
Since there is no partiality with our heavenly Father in the way He loves any of His sons, He will certainly be willing to do everything for us His sons, that He did for His firstborn Son, Jesus. He will help us as He helped Jesus. He will care for us as much as He cared for Jesus. He will be as interested in planning the details of our daily life as He was in planning Jesus’ life. Nothing can ever happen to us that will take God by surprise. He has already planned for every eventuality.
So we need no longer be insecure. We have been sent to earth with as definite a purpose as Jesus was.
All this is true for you too – but only if you believe it.
Nothing works for the one who does not believe in the Word of God.
2. God Delights In Honest People
“If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 Jn.1:7).
To walk in the light means first of all, that we hide nothing from God. We tell Him everything, exactly as it is. I am convinced that the first step towards God is honesty. God detests those who are insincere. Jesus spoke against hypocrites more than He spoke against anyone else.
God does not ask us to be holy or perfect first of all but to be honest. This is the starting point of true holiness. And from this spring flows everything else. And if there is one thing that is really easy for anyone of us to do, it is to be honest.
So, confess sin immediately to God. Don’t call sinful thoughts by “decent” names. Don’t say “I was only admiring the beauty of God’s creation” when actually you lusted adulterously with your eyes. Don’t call “anger” as “righteous indignation”.
You will never get victory over sin if you are dishonest.
And don’t ever call “sin”, “a mistake”, because Jesus’ blood can cleanse you from all your sins, but not from your mistakes!! He does not cleanse dishonest people.
There is hope only for honest people. “He who covers his sin will never prosper” (Prov.28:13).
Why did Jesus say that there was more hope for prostitutes and for thieves to enter God’s kingdom than for religious leaders (Matt.21:31). Because prostitutes and thieves make no pretense of being holy.
Many young people are turned away from churches because church-members give them the impression that they themselves have no struggles. And so those young people think, “That holy bunch of people will never understand our problems!!” If this true of us, then we are unlike Christ Who drew sinners to Himself.
This is why God gives man total freedom – both before and after conversion, and after being filled with the Spirit.
If we are like God, we also will not seek to control others or pressurise them. We will give them freedom to be different from us, to have different views from ours and to grow spiritually at their own pace.
All compulsion of any sort is from the devil.
The Holy Spirit fills people, whereas demons possess people. The difference is this: When the Holy Spirit fills anyone, He still gives that person freedom to do whatever he wants. But when demons possess people they rob them of their freedom and control them. The fruit of being filled with the Spirit is self-control (Gal.5:22,23). Demon-possession however, results in the loss of self-control.
We must remember that any work that we do for God, that is NOT done cheerfully, joyfully, freely and voluntarily is a dead work. Any work done for God for a reward or for a salary is also a dead work. Any money given to God under pressure from others has no value at all, as far as God is concerned!!
God values a little done cheerfully for Him far more than a great deal done under compulsion, or done merely to ease one’s conscience.
4. Holiness Comes By Looking Unto Jesus
“Let us run the race….looking unto Jesus” (Heb.12:1,2).
The secret of godliness is found in the Person of Christ Who came in our flesh (as 1 Tim.3:16 makes very clear) – and not in the doctrine that Christ came in our flesh. It is through His Person and not through a doctrinal analysis of His flesh, that we become holy.
Any amount of self-effort will never make a sinful heart holy. God has to do a work within us, for that to happen.
Holiness (eternal life) is God’s gift – and it can never be attained by works (Rom.6:23). The Bible states that God alone can sanctify us (make us holy) entirely (1 Thess.5:23 says that so plainly that no-one can mistake it). Yet multitudes of believers are struggling to deny themselves in order to be holy. They become Pharisees instead.
“The holiness which is no illusion” (Eph.4:24-Philips) is attained by faith in Jesus – in other words by “looking unto Jesus”.
If we keep looking only at a doctrine we will become Pharisees. The purer our doctrine, the greater the Pharisees we will become.
The greatest Pharisees I have met on earth were among those who preached the highest standards of holiness through self-effort!! We have to be careful that we don’t end up as one of them!
What it means to look unto Jesus is very clearly explained in (Hebrews 12:2). First of all we are to look at Him as One Who lived on earth “enduring His cross” daily – “tempted in all points as we are and yet without sin” (Hebrews.4:15). He is our Forerunner (Hebrews.6:20), in Whose footsteps we are to run. Secondly, we are to see Him as the One Who is now “at the right hand of the Father”, interceding for us and ready to help us in every trial and temptation.
5. We Must Be Continually Filled With The Holy Spirit
“Be (being) filled with the Spirit” (Eph.5:18 – Literal).
It is impossible to live the Christian life, as God wants us to, if we are not continually filled with the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to serve God as we should without being anointed with the Spirit and receiving His supernatural gifts. Jesus Himself needed to be anointed.
The Holy Spirit has come to make us like Jesus in our personal lives as well as in our ministry (See 2 Cor.3:18).
God fills us with the Spirit in order to conform us to the likeness of Christ in our character, and to equip us to serve as Jesus served.
We do not have the same ministry that Jesus had, and so we won’t be able to do what Jesus did in His ministry. But we can be as fully equipped to serve God as Jesus Himself was – to fulfill OUR OWN ministry.
All that is required is an adequate thirst and faith, on our part, for rivers of living water to flow out through us (John.7:37-39).
We must earnestly long for the gifts of the Spirit if we are to have them (1 Cor.14:1). Otherwise we will never have them.
A church without the gifts of the Holy Spirit is like a man who may be living but who is deaf, blind, mute and lame – and therefore useless.
6.The Way Of The Cross Is The Way Of Life
“If we died with Him, we shall also live with Him” (2 Tim.2:11)
There is no way for us to have the life of Jesus manifested in our body other than by accepting death to our Self-life in all the situations that God plans and arranges for us (2 Cor.4:10,11).
We must “consider ourselves dead to sin” (Rom.6:11) in all situations, if we are to overcome sin. We must “mortify the deeds of the body through the Spirit” if we are to live (Rom.8:13). The Holy Spirit will always lead us to the cross in our daily life.
We are sent by God into situations where we are “slaughtered the whole day long” (Rom.8:36) and “delivered to death for Jesus sake” (2 Cor.4:11). In such situations, we must accept “the dying of Jesus” (2 Cor.4:10), so that the life of Jesus may be manifest in us.
7. Man’s Opinions Are Fit Only For The Garbage Bin
“Stop regarding man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?” (Isa.2:22)
When a man’s breath leaves his nostrils, he is no better than the dust that we walk on. So why should we value man’s opinion.
If we are not rooted and grounded in the fact that the opinions of ALL human beings put together are only fit for the garbage-bin, we will never be able to serve the Lord effectively. If we seek to please even one man, we cannot be servants of Christ (Gal.1:10).
Every man’s opinion is worthless compared to God’s opinion. One who is convinced of this will thereafter seek only God’s approval over His life and ministry. He will never seek to impress people or to justify himself before them.
8. God Detests All That This World Considers Great
“That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).
The things that are considered great in the world, not only have no value in God’s eyes, but are actually an abomination to Him.
Since all worldly honour is an abomination to God, it must be an abomination to us too.
Money is something that everyone on earth considers valuable. But God says that those who love money and long to get rich will suffer the following eight consequences sooner or later (1 Tim. 6:9,10). (a) they will fall into temptation; (b) they will fall into a trap; (c) they will fall into foolish desires; (d) they will fall into harmful desires; (e) they will plunge into ruin; (f) they will plunge into destruction; (g) they will wander away from the faith; (h) they will pierce themselves with many sorrows.
I have seen this happen again and again to believers everywhere.
One of the main reasons why a prophetic word from the Lord is hardly ever heard these days in our land, is because most preachers are lovers of money. Jesus said that the true riches (the prophetic word being one of them) would not be given by God to those who were unfaithful with money (Luke.16:11). This is why we hear so many boring sermons and so many boring testimonies in church-meetings and conferences.
9. Nobody Can Harm Us Except We Ourselves
“Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?”(1 Pet.3:13)
God is so powerful that He makes ALL THINGS work together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose – that is, for those who have no ambition on earth outside of His will for their lives (Romans 8:28). One who has selfish ambitions cannot claim this promise. But if we accept the will of God totally, we can claim this promise every minute of our life on earth. Nothing can harm us.
Everything that others do to us – good or evil, accidental or deliberate – will go through the filter of Romans 8:28 and will come through working for our very best – conforming us each time a little more to the likeness of Christ (Rom.8:29) – which is the good that God has planned for us. This filter works perfectly every single time for those who fulfill the conditions listed in this verse.
Further, (1 Peter 3:13) tells us that no-one can harm us if we are “zealous for what is good”. Unfortunately this is not as well known a verse as Romans 8:28 is. But we must popularise it now.
However, this promise too is applicable only to those who are zealous to keep their hearts good towards all people. It will be impossible for any demon or human being to harm such a believer.
So whenever any Christian complains that others have harmed him, he is indirectly admitting that he does not love God, is not called according to God’s purpose and has not been zealous for what is good. Otherwise, whatever those others did to him would have only worked for his good, and then he would not have had any complaints at all.
Actually, the only one who can harm you is you yourself – by your unfaithfulness and your wrong attitudes to others.
I am 66 years old now and I can honestly say that no-one has ever succeeded in harming me in my entire life. Many have tried to do so, but EVERYTHING they did only worked for my very best and for the good of my ministry. So I can praise God for those people too. Those who have opposed me have been mostly so-called “believers” who have not understood God’s ways. I am giving you my testimony only to encourage you to believe that this can be your testimony too – always.
10. God Has A Perfect Plan For Each Of Our Lives
“We are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph.2:10).
Long ago, when God chose us in Christ, He also planned what we should do with our earthly lives. Our duty now is to find out that plan – day by day – and to follow it. We can never make a better plan than God’s.
We must not imitate what others do, for God’s plan for each of His children is different. God’s plan for Joseph, for example, was for him to stay in the palace in Egypt and to live in great comfort for the last 80 years of his life. On the other hand, God’s plan for Moses was for him to leave the palace in Egypt and to live in great discomfort for the last 80 years of his life – in the wilderness. If Moses had followed Joseph’s example, through the love of comfort and ease, he would have missed God’s will for his own life.
In exactly the same way today, God may want one brother to live all his life in comfort in the U.S.A., and another brother to toil all his life in the heat and dust of North India. Each must be convinced about God’s plan for his own life instead of comparing his lot with that of the other brother and being jealous of him and criticising him.
I know that God called me to serve Him in India. But I have never demanded that anyone else should have my calling.
We will, however, never be able to find God’s will, if we are seeking our own honour or if we love money or comfort or the approval of men.
11. Knowing God Intimately Is The Secret Of Being Strong
“The people who know their God will be strong” (Dan.11:32)
Today, God does not want us to know Him second-hand through others. He invites even the youngest believer to know Him personally (Heb.8:11). Jesus defined eternal life as knowing God and Jesus Christ personally (John 17:3). This was the greatest passion of Paul’s life and must be our greatest passion too (Phil.3:10).
One who desires to know God intimately, will have to listen to Him always. Jesus said that the only way man could keep himself spiritually alive was by listening to EVERY word that proceeded from God’s mouth (Matt.4:4 ). He also said that to sit at His feet and listen to Him was the most important thing in the Christian life (Lk.10:42).
We must develop the habit that Jesus had, of listening to the Father from early morning every day (Isa.50:4), right through the day; and then to be in a listening attitude in the hours of night when we are asleep too – so that if we ever wake up from our sleep at night, we can say, “Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening” (1 Sam.3:10).
Knowing God will make us overcomers in all situations – because God has a solution for every problem that we face – and if we listen to Him, He will tell us what that solution is.
12.The New Covenant Is Far Superior To The Old Covenant
“Jesus is the Mediator of a better covenant” (Heb.8:6).
Many Christians do not know that there is a fundamental difference between the old and the new covenants (Heb.8:8-12). The new covenant is as much superior to the old, as Jesus is to Moses. (2 Cor.3and Heb.3).
Whereas the old covenant could purify only a person’s external life through the fear of judgment and the promise of reward, the new covenant changes us from within, not through threats and promises, but through the Holy Spirit giving us the nature of Christ – a nature that is totally pure and loving.
There is a vast difference between a pig being kept clean through being restrained by chains (fear of punishment under the Law), and a cat that keeps itself clean because that is its inner nature. That example illustrates the difference between the two covenants.
13. We Are Called To Be Rejected And Persecuted By Men
“All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Tim.3:12)
Jesus told His disciples that in the world they would face tribulation, (John.16:33); and He prayed to the Father NOT to take His disciples out of the world (John.17:15). The apostles taught believers that only through much tribulation they could enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:23).
Jesus said that if people had called the Head of the house Beelzebul, the members of His household would be called by worse names (Matt.10:25). It is thus that we know we are faithful members of His household. Some of the names that I have been called, by other “believers”, have been: “Devil”, “Son of the Devil”, “Evil spirit”, “Antichrist”, “Deceiver”, “Terrorist”, “Murderer”, and “Diotrephes”. It has been a great honour to be identified thereby as a part of Jesus’ household. All who serve the Lord faithfully will experience this.
Jesus also said that a true prophet would not be honoured by “his own relatives” (Mk.6:4). Jesus Himself was not accepted by His family members. Every true prophet of God will be rejected and dishonoured by his own relatives, even today. In the same way, a true apostle will also be “slandered and treated as the scum of the world and the dregs of all things” (1 Cor.4:13). Suffering and rejection have always been the appointed lot of God’s greatest servants.
The teaching that the church will be raptured before the “great tribulation” is a popular one with most believers because it comforts their flesh to hear it. But Jesus made it very clear in (Matthew 24:29-31) that He will return to take His elect only AFTER the great tribulation.
THERE IS NOT A SINGLE VERSE IN THE ENTIRE NEW TESTAMENT THAT TEACHES THAT THE CHURCH WILL ESCAPE THE GREAT TRIBULATION BY BEING RAPTURED OUT OF IT. This doctrine was invented by man in England in the mid-1800s.
We must now prepare the church in our country for persecution.
14. We Must Receive All Whom God Has Received
“God has placed the members in the Body just as He desired…that there should be no division in the Body” (1 Cor.12:18,25).
God has raised up men at different times in different lands to restore a pure testimony for Him. But after those men of God died, their followers have made their groups exclusive and cultistic.
But the body of Christ is larger than any group. And we must never forget that. The bride of Christ is found in many, many groups today.
So we must seek for fellowship with all whom the Lord has accepted, even though we may not be able to work together with many of them, because of differences in interpretation of the Word of God.
15. We Must Treat Every Human Being With Dignity
“With our tongue, we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way” (James 3:9,10).
Any word or action that degrades a human being is never from God. It is always from Satan who forever seeks to demean and degrade people.
We are commanded to speak “with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet.3:15) to all people – whether they be our wives, our children, younger people, beggars or enemies.
All men must be treated with dignity. For example, when giving a gift to a poorer brother, we must do so, without robbing him of his dignity as a human being. We must be his brother and not his benefactor.
16. We Must Reveal Our Financial Needs Only To God
“God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil.4:19).
Full-time Christian workers must trust God for all their financial needs and must reveal those needs only to Him. God will then prompt His children to supply their needs. They must not live “by faith in God and hints to other believers”, as many live today.
“The Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (1 Cor.9:14).
So those who serve the Lord full-time are permitted to receive gifts from other believers. But they must never receive a salary. There is a vast difference between gifts and a salary. Gifts cannot be demanded, whereas a salary can be demanded. Here lies the cause for the backslidden condition of most Christian churches and institutions today.
We must however, never receive any gifts for our personal or family use from people who are poorer than us. If such people give us gifts, we must either give the money away to someone poorer than them or put the money into the offering-box for the Lord’s work.
Here are “TEN COMMANDMENTS” on money that all full-time workers will do well to take heed to: 1. Never make your financial needs known to anyone but God (Phil.4:19). 2. Never accept money from unbelievers (3 John 7). 3. Never expect any gifts from anyone (Psa.62:5). 4. Never allow anyone to control you or influence your ministry by giving you money. 5. Never accept money from those who don’t receive your ministry. 6. Never accept money for your personal or family needs, from anyone poorer than you. 7. Never be dependent on any man for your financial needs. 8. Never handle God’s money in a way that would cause others to suspect mishandling (2 Cor.8:20,21). 9. Never be excited when you receive money. 10. Never be depressed when you lose money.
Conclusion
I hope these truths will not only encourage you, but liberate you as well. If you are serious about your walk with the Lord and your ministry, you should take all these truths seriously in your daily life.
————
**Written in 2005. Copyright – Zac Poonen. No changes whatsoever are to be made to the content of the article without written permission from the author at India.com / Photo by Baskin Creative Studios at pexels
The Church needs the power and filling of the Holy Spirit
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is pictured as oil. The oil made the lampstand burn in the tabernacle. The priests needed to make sure that the oil was always there.
You know that in the parable that Jesus spoke about his second coming, it was the lack of oil in the lamp that prevented some virgins from being ready. They were virgins. They were all virgins. It’s not five virgins and five harlots. All ten had a lamp that was burning. We know that all ten had lamps that were burning because when the bridegroom came at midnight what the foolish virgins said was: Our lamps are dying out. It’s not that they were never burning. External light speaks of what Jesus said: Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works (your external works) and glorify your Father in heaven. Lamp speaks about our external testimony. Here are virgins that had a good external testimony like most people in the church. But among virgins with a good external testimony, five were not ready for the coming of Christ because they lacked something.
Five of them, in their garments, maybe in a pocket in their garments, they had a hidden flask of oil. That was the only difference. They had a hidden life which the other five didn’t have. That is what ensured that their lamps would still be burning when the bridegroom came. So what the Lord was emphasizing there was their hidden life before God.
External testimony does not necessarily make us ready for the coming of the Lord.
He answered and said to those five virgins in Matthew 25:12: “I do not know you” . What does that mean? It means “I do not have that intimate, personal relationship with you”.
Knowing is used in the Old Testament for the most intimate relationship in marriage. Adam knew his wife. It speaks of that close, intimate relationship between a husband and wife. Spiritually, it speaks of a close, intimate relationship with Jesus.
In secret and private, Adam knew his wife. Others knew their wives. It is always in private and secret. It is that secret of Jesus knowing me spiritually, very intimately. Jesus could say like: You did a lot of things for me but I didn’t know you intimately. You didn’t have an intimate walk with me in secret. So Jesus said: Be on the alert.
This light is also described in Revelation 1. He said: The lampstand is the church.
The ultimate goal of the Lord and of the Holy Spirit is to bring together a whole lot of people who are gripped by the challenge of this inner life and who want to have a vessel or flask full of oil and to bring them together and make them one in a church and not just as individuals who have an inner life. There were five wise virgins and they were meant to be one. This is a picture of a church. There were a number of people who had this inner life who were together ready for the coming of the Lord and that is God’s ultimate goal.
The ultimate goal of God in this day and age is to build a church. Not a bunch of holy individuals, even if they have an inner life, who float around but holy individuals who come together, five of them or ten of them, wise virgins with flasks of oil in their hidden life, who come together and are a corporate testimony for the Lord. The main thing that the Church needs is that flow of oil that keeps it burning all the time.
The Sisterhood Hub 