Ministering To The Lord

Why do we as Believers meet together in a local assembly? What is our purpose for coming together once or twice a week to meet in the house of God – the church? What is purpose of having church? We would probably get many different answers to this question if we were to ask Christians. A lot of times we have the idea that church is a place I can come to find answers to my questions and solutions to my problems. After all God is always there to help me in my time of need right? Yes, it is true that church is a place where we can come to meet with God and receiver from Him, but is that all there is to it? Does God want something from me?  The Bible says in Acts 13:1-2 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” I want us to notice the purpose of these ministers of God coming together. It didn’t say they were in need of help. It didn’t say they wanted to ask God for something. No, it said they MINISTERED to the Lord. What does it mean to minister to the Lord? If you look up the word in your Greek concordance, you’ll find it literally means worship and praise. So they came together and worship the Lord. They wanted to bless God for who He is. I think many times we have our ideas of church mixed up. We shouldn’t just come to the house of God for us, but we should be coming for God. And not just because we are “putting our time in for the week” but because we genuinely want to love on Him and tell Him how much He means to us. Ministering to the Lord takes the focus off of me and puts it in the right place, the place of Heaven.  And as we do this, God in His goodness, turns around and pours out His blessing. Remember again why they met together in our scripture, they met for the purpose of honoring God – ministering to Him. The scripture goes on to say the Holy Ghost gave them some answers as they did this. The answer came in His presence which is where everything we need is found.

By: Steven Overbaugh

Spirit Filled Life

Ephesians 5:18 says, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” We know that Paul the apostle wrote this to the church at Ephesus by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So we can be sure that what was written for them and to them is for Believers today. (The Words of God never will become old fashioned or out dated). We can therefore clearly see that this is Gods will for us that we live our lives full of His Spirit. In fact if you back up to verse 17 we can see this, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” The problem with many in the church today is that they don’t know or understand what the will of the Lord is for them. We can see right here that it is GODS WILL that is be full of His Spirit during this time. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? The simplest way to put it is, to be filled with all that He is. In others words full of everything He says I should be in His Word. Full of joy, peace,  love, boldness and fire, thanksgiving before Him, etc. When I’m full of His Spirit, I see things differently. I have a different outlook on the life I’m living around me. Paul said, don’t be drunk with wine. Or we could say don’t fill yourself up with the world and what it has to offer. The world will never satisfy or complete. But you are complete in Him! Hallelujah! The scripture says that the worlds wine is excess or waist full. It’s a waist of time. It wont change the problem, it only takes your mind off of it temporarily, but when you come to, your issue is still staring you in the face. But when your full of His Spirit, You not only have peace in the situation, but the situation is changed! Glory to God! Be filled with the Spirit! Remain full of His Spirit and you will have joy unspeakable and peace everlasting! The Bible says in Psalms 16:11, “In His presence there is fulness of joy!” Well the presence of God dwells in you! You have His Spirit in you! Live full of Him! 

BY: Steven Overbaugh

Abiding In The Vine Part 4

We all choose to abide in something. All of us make decisions in our day to day lives to attach ourselves to something or someone. Whether we are conscious of it or not, all of us are affixed somewhere. And what we are yoked up to determines how our lives will look. In other words our lives are a replica of the thing with are abiding in. Consequently if its not the Lord Jesus, then peoples lives are dissatisfied and miserable because God has made us with a need for Him that only He can fill. Have you ever played with a wooden puzzle board before? (I’m sure we all have as kids). It’s kind of like trying to fit a triangle block into the spot made for a square, no matter how hard you try to make it work, it will never fit correctly. Same is true here, Jesus said I AM THE TRUE VINE. You can try to fill your life with everything in the world or just learn now that only God is a perfect fit. Abide in Him. Jesus taught us how to live a successful life. He identified that He is the Vine and the source of our lives. He instructed us to abide in Him in order to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. We can enjoy life and have God’s best! We rise above all the circumstances of life and come through with victory every time! Even in our prayer life, we can have the guarantee that our prayers are made effective according to verse 7. It all comes back to abiding in the Vine. And thanks be to God, our Father in Heaven is glorified in it! He isn’t glorified in the defeat and struggle of His children. He is putting them through hardships in order to teach them a lesson of humility. No Father God is glorified when we bear much fruit and enjoy the victory. The Bible says in James 1:13, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man.” Verse 17 goes on to say, “Ever good and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning.” So God is the giver of good gifts! Hallelujah! And I partake of those good things He HAS provided for us when I abide in Him. Of course I’m going to struggle as long as I choose to stay apart from the vine. I make it hard on myself and no one is to blame but, me. The good news is, its so easy to repent and start living for Him again and start aiding in Him and His love. See as long as I choose to remain out in the cold spiritually away from God and His church, then I will feel unloved rejected (which I a lie from the enemy). However the moment I run back to the Father, His mercy and love is there to meet me!

By: Steven Overbaugh

Abiding In The Vine Part 3

Looking again at our opening Scripture, John 15:1, Jesus said “I Am the true vine.”  You know, there are a lot of things in this world that try to be “the vine” in our life aren’t there? People, places and possessions all try to be the source of our life. They try to be our identity or be the place where we find happiness and a sense of completion. They try to satisfy even our needs. Consequently they try to become number 1 in our life. Jesus said I Am the TRUE VINE. Basically saying, I am  your TRUE source. I Am your TRUE life. I alone can satisfy your needs and desires. I Am to be number 1. I love how He said TRUE vine. All the things of this world can’t even come close to satisfying us. Jesus said I Am the true or genuine source. He and He alone can fill you. If we as the branches are going to live a long joyful, purposeful life, then we must stay connected to the true vine and not have our attention divided or our heart on other things.

The Bible says in 1John 2:15 “Love not the world neither the things that are in the world.” For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world.” And the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

 

By: Steven Overbaugh

Abiding In The Vine Part 2

As we looked at John 15, we see that Jesus calls for us to Abide in Him. The question we have to ask is, what does that look like? How do I abide in Jesus? There are different ways we can do this and of course the Word instructs us in this. Lets look at a few of them:

 1.) We abide in Him through spending private time in the Word and prayer. Designating time out of our day for Him. Develop a life of prayer.

James 1:25, Joshua1:8

2. We abide by having public time with Him and His Body – the Body of Christ.

Hebrews 10:25

3. We abide by being doers of His Word and not hearers only. Walking and living in the Love of God is being a doer of the Word.

James 1:22

4. Continually adjust your life to your moral compass which is your spirit. Presenting your body a living sacrifice before Him.

Romans 12:1-2

We could go into details, but remember that abiding in Christ is not complicated. It takes purposefully, aggressively and intently going after God. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Notice the verse starts off talking about what your part is. It our responsibility to draw to God. Our part comes first. See, God already made the first move, (reached out first) by sending His Son Jesus. Now it is our time to reach out to Him. So by drawing close to Him, we are abiding in Him and His Word.

By: Steven Overbaugh

Abiding In The Vine

According to John chapter 15, we are called to abide in the vine, which is Jesus Christ. Abiding in Him basically means to remain attached to Him or we could stay closely connected to Him. As Believers, if we are going to look like, talk like and act like the Lord Jesus, then it is vital that we spend time with Him. I like to say, we need to invest in the relationship. If you think about your own personal life and the relationships you have with others, those relationships are only made strong through investing time with them. You can’t only have a short five minute “talk” with your husband or wife once or twice a week and expect the marriage to be healthy. In the same way with God, if we only pick our Bible once a week for a few minutes, then we cant expect to grow in and with the Lord. I’ve heard it said, many Christians give there body three hot meals a day, seven days a week, but they only feed their spirit man one cold snack a week. We can’t expect to bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God and see His blessings flowing through us if we act like that. No friend, Jesus said “ABIDE IN ME.” that means that I have to put some effort forth doesn’t it? I have to be diligent to invest my time with the Lord. To sit at His feet and learn of Him, as it says in Matthew 11:28. As we do, we will see our lives change and be conformed to the image of Christ and His blessings will be evident all around us.

 

By: Steven Overbaugh

Your True Identity (part 8)

2Corinthians 5:21 says  “For He (God) has made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.”

Have you ever had the enemy come at you with his lies and deceit, telling you that your are nothing more than a sinner and failure. Especially when you make a mistake he comes to you with condemnation and fear. The Word of God say in Revelation 12:10, that he is the accuser of the brethren. Its at times like these we must stand up to him, not in our own ability, but in God’s ability and in His righteousness which He has given to us. The Bible says “we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ” (2Corinthians 5:21). I want to point out that you are still righteous even in the midst of making a mistake. You still have a relationship with your Heavenly Father in the midst of sinning. Righteousness isn’t taken from me in a moment of weakness. I am who I am because I am in Christ. We need to get the attention off of us and onto the ability of Christ! Jesus’ blood is more than enough for you and me. Do we make mistakes from time to time, yes. Should they keep us down in the dirt? No! Righteous men and women fall sometimes, by they get up again(Proverbs 24:16)!

So the next time the devil comes at you trying to beat you down with condemnation, resist him and tell him to GREATER TRUTH of God’s Word!  1Jonh 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.”

Final, this scripture is very powerful describes just how great our Heavenly Fathers love is toward us. I would like for you to read Romans 8:33-39. (I also encourage you to look these scriptures up in your own Bible. When you take the time to study it out for ourselves, deeper revelation of Gods Word comes.)

Romans 8:33-39 “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.³⁴ Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?³⁶ As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

 

Your True Identity (part 7)

2Corinthians 5:21 says  “For He (God) has made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.”

Righteousness is an amazing gift from God. A gift we receive by simply putting our faith in Jesus Christ! Our Heavenly Father has made the plan of redemption so simple yet so powerful. I don’t have to work to be in right standing with God. My best efforts are useless compared to His righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 says, “All our righteousness are like filthy rags.” We will never be able to pay our own debt! However, I love the “but God” of the Bible. God made a way for me and you to come back into union with Him. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works less any man should boast.” Boast in what? Boast in his own efforts and best works. Stop trying to make it to God on your own! Stop putting your confidence in your ability to live right and holy. Start relying on God’s grace and strength and begin to see your self from a different place- the place of righteousness. Now by no means does this mean that we can live any way we want to live. When we became a child of God we put away the “old man” forever! No longer do I live a double standard life! I live unto God! Romans 6:1 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” Verse 12 says, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” You the spirit man, the real man on the inside is supposed to control the flesh and renew your mind to the Word of God! notice your mind is your POSSESSION. You are a spirit, your have a soul, you live in a body. Righteousness is WHO YOU ARE. Let God’s righteousness effect the rest of you. Renew your mind to God’s Word, control your body and don’t let it do the things it wants to do and you will see victory in your life every time!

Your True Identity (Part 6)

2Corinthians 5:21 says  “For He (God) has made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.”

Relationship vs. fellowship. There is a difference. If we mess up and make mistakes from time to time relationship with God does not cease to exist. If you had an argument with you mom or sibling, you  don’t cease to have a relationship with them do you? At the end of the day you still love them because they are your family. It is the same with our Heavenly Father. If we sin, relationship is not broken. You did not cease to be a Christian or child of God. Fellowship is what has been broken. Fellowship can be thought of in simple terms as communication. If you ever had fight with a relative, maybe somebody said some things that cause you two to go your separate ways for a time. However when you get ahold of your emotions, you go and mend everything. Well our God is waiting to mend things with us! Our Heavenly Father made us for fellowship and desires to have that with us everyday. So we need to see things from a different perspective, the Bible perspective. God wants to fellowship with me! God isn’t keeping you out in the dog house until you feel bad enough. No! God wants to restore you and strengthen you! It is our own human spirit – the voice of our conscience that convicts us. The Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead, who lives in us, is there to help pick us up and comfort us! John 14:16 says He is the COMFORTER. In my own personal experience I have found Him to be very good at too. So when you mess up, confess it to God, run to God, come boldly to His throne of grace to obtain MERCY and GRACE to help in time of need(Hebrews 4:16)!

Your True Identity (Part 5)

2 Corinthians 5:21 says  “For He (God) has made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.”

Christ came to restore righteousness to all men. Restore all that was lost and stolen. Man was made to rule and reign in life. Humanity was made to fellowship with the Creator of the universe  from a place of right standing. We were made in the image of Almighty God!   Remember back in the book of beginnings how it all began for man? In Genesis 1:26        God said “Let us make man in our image after our likeness.” So you see we were made to be like God. The Lord breathed the breath of life into Adam and made him to be as close to Himself as it was possible to make a being. Man is not an animal. He didn’t come from the apes. No, man is a being made in the image of God. If you continue reading the book of  Genesis we find out the satan came to deceive Adam and Eve right out of their position. They didn’t have to yield, but they chose to of their own free will. (You see, man has a free will given to him by God). Man chose to turn over his position, authority and dominion to satan by sinning. By doing so, it caused him to lose his righteousness and freedom. With sin also comes feeling of guilt and shame. Sin conscience replaced righteousness. Man fell from the place God intended for him to live. However we can rejoice for Jesus! Thank God that wasn’t the end of us. Our Father God had a plan of redemption. Jesus came to restore righteousness to humanity! Romans 5:19 says, ” For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Jesus Christ set aside His glory and became a man. By His redemptive work on the cross, we are made righteous if we choose to accept Him as Lord and savior. I’m so grateful that the  Gospel is so simple yet powerful! I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ!