GREENE STREET LETTERS: Doing HIS Stuff!

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Doing HIS Stuff!

Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations....
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you....
I am with you always, even to the end of the age....

If you've spent any time at all in church, you are very familiar with the "Great Commission". A flinging out of the church after Christ ascended back to heaven.
He called us "Salt" in Matthew 5, and then commanded us to not live our lives in the "salt shaker a.k.a. the church, but rather to be "Shook" out so that we can carry on his mission here on earth.

Interesting term, "Teaching them to observe".
Observer does not mean "Watch"...It means DO!
We observe the holiday of Christmas. But in our observation we rip open packages to see what presents we've been given. There is an active participation on our part. So when we teach others to observe what we've been taught by Christ, there is a "Doing" on their part in the kingdom work of God. Of course logic dictates that we have been participating in the work first.
Healing the sick....
Casting out of demons....
Feeding the poor....
Visiting those who are in prison....
And....
Wait for it...
Here comes the big one that scares the church to death...
Raise the dead..
"Do you really believe that, Michael?"
Sure do.
Hasn't happened for me yet, but believe me I've prayed for it to happen.
I do know this...
If I don't pray...
Then no one gets healed...
No demon is removed from a person's life...
No one IS raised from the dead.

All of these behaviors I've listed this morning is a part of the kingdom work Jesus has called every believer to enter into.
The main reason folks don't is that no one has ever told them they could...or shown them how.
John Wimber, founder of the Association of Vineyard Churches, lived his life under the phrase..."Everyone gets to play" by this he meant that Kingdom work is not reserved for a select few who have attained a holiness that the common believer could never reach. Wimber truly (and I do also) believed that if you are born again, then the Holy Spirit of God has been deposited inside you to aid you, direct you, and empower you to do the works of Christ.
Sounds strange to some who may be reading this posting, but believe me...
It has become a vital part of my relationship with Jesus...this "Doing the Stuff" as Wimber called it.

Below is a short video of John talking about "Doing the Stuff".
Enjoy...
God on you...
mbb

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Looking At The World Through Cracked Lens

As ol' Paul wrote in his Corinthian letters.."We see in part and we know in part." Now what piece of this bit of wisdom do we not get? I wish to not run around acting and trying to be some sort of Biblical G00-Ru (I meant to spell it wrong). Or a sage of sages.

I simply want to be able to communicate some of what God has given to me. Why? Do I think what I get is better than what you may have received from Him? Nope. But I do think encouragement comes when we share our daily story of struggle and victory in an effort to encourage each other.

Thanks for letting me share.

Time to soldier on..

mbb

Our Statement of Faith

We believe that God is the eternal king. He is an infinite, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love. From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit equal in power and glory. we believe that God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with Himself and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan, our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin, sickness and God's judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic hosts gained access to God's good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam's original sin. Human beings are born into sin, subject to God's judgment of death and captive to Satan's kingdom of darkness. We believe that Jesus, God's Son, was sent to this world, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary, fully God and fully man in one person. He is humanity as God intended us to be. Jesus was anointed as God's Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, ushering in God's kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead. Jesus' atoning death on the cross took God's judgment for sin which we deserved as law-breakers. Jesus' resurrection and ascent back to heaven opened the door for those who received salvation to begin a relationship with God.

Little Nets Into Deep Waters

Fishing nets were designed for one purpose only. To catch fish. Nets are no good if they stay on the boat. Nets serve no purpose if they are never used. I think maybe God sees us this way. We are all created for a purpose (by the way, the creator gets to define what our purpose is). Any other use besides the one we were created for does us no good. But when the creator places His hands upon us, casting us out into those scary, dark places with deep waters, it is then we can see the reality of our purpose. He knew there would be a catch waiting for us. I think I will be the net God has called me to be.

The Twelve Steps

As a community of people in recovery, we affirm that our higher power is Jesus Christ. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Just as God told the children of Israel He was going to give them a promised land, He has revealed to us that He desires to give us a "Promised Life." When Israel got to the promised land, God instructed them to go and in a possess it, fight for it and claim it. In recovery, the 12 Steps are the directions given to us on how to fight, possess and claim this promised life.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Doing HIS Stuff!

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD