God's love!

Praise be to our God of grace and love!

On Friday KLF met for a powerful evening of prayer and worship as we stood in the Truth and established Christ's lordship in our lives and in our city. We had an awesome time praying the Word and proclaiming the Truth as the Holy Spirit led us. We were particularly blessed to have Phil Gorman visit us from Harpurhey Community Church in Manchester who joined KLF's worship team leader, David Rowe in leading us in worship. It was a brilliant evening and the presence of God was wonderful. You can find the teaching notes from the evening on "Ready 4 Battle?" here...

On Saturday KLF and Treffpunkt Leben organised a Narnia Party for children to have an alternative to the halloween parties held over the weekend. We believe that the Church should provide godly alternatives and initiatives to bring Life to the world rather than be a condemning voice that just criticizes and judges the world! The theme was C.S. Lewis' Narnia story and all the games, costumes and activities revolved around the first Narnia film. The party was a great success and the children (and adults) were richly blessed.

Yesterday's meeting was very powerful once again as the Lord gave us an even deeper revelation of His love. Already during worship in song, God was working deeply in us to bring healing and affirmation to His children as He revelaed more and more of His love to us. The Lord then spoke to us about what salvation is and this is what He showed us:

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church." Eph. 5:31,32

• The marriage vow can be compared to the believer's confession of Christ that both lead into a covenant - an agreement between two parties to remain faithful to one another.
• The marriage relationship represents the relationship God has with His children.
• In light of how the marriage relationship can be compared to the believer's relationship to Christ we can note the following:

1. A marriage relationship is not based on a marriage contract alone! It would be ridiculous to say that a couple is married that live their lives independently and seperately. The person who continues to live his or her life apart from, and independently of his or her spouse and says s/he is married is deceived.
2. A marriage relationship is not based on fulfilling "marital rules." It would be ridiculous to base one's marriage on trying to fulfill certain marital rules. The couple that lives by following marital rules to maintain their marriage lives a life that is conditional and is not based on love.
3. The marriage relationship is a covenant of unconditional love. The covenant is made on the basis of love and the fulfillment of that covenant is a relationship based on unconditional love.
4. Therefore, "to be saved" is to enter into a covenant of unconditional love with God in Christ.
5. Salvation is therefore the fulfilling of that covenant of unconditional love through the believer's union with God in Christ Jesus.
6. The believer's relationship to God is therefore not based on a formula, nor on living under law, but it is based on being united to God in Christ because of our dependence on His love for us and remaining in His love.
7. The believer is saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8) - in other words, we are saved by trusting and relying on God's unconditional love for us and abiding in that unconditional love (grace = undeserved gift of love).
8. Salvation is union with God in Christ Jesus and is based on love.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:10

Yesterday evening we had another opportunity to demonstrate God's love to the world as we spent some time with the homeless and needy. It is such a blessing to be able to pass on what we have freely received. Hallelujah!

Quote of the week:

"We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:13-16 (emphasis mine)

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Living the Truth

Glory to God!

It has been another exciting week! God is making Himself known to us more and more so that we can know Him more and make Him known more! Hallelujah!

Yesterday the Lord spoke to us about how "the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15), is to prophetically demonstrate the truth by standing firm in it and living it! The Lord showed us how the enemy tries to move the Church away from the truth in order to be able to do his work (see 1 Tim. 4:1-5). If the enemy manages to get believers to move out of grace and into independence and self-righteousness (trying to accomplish righteousness apart from God) then he will have room again to accuse the believer. When believers continue to stand in grace (Rom. 5:2), the enemy has no opportunity to accuse because the believer stands in Christ's righteousness. Every teaching that moves believers out of grace must be rejected as it is false teaching that comes from "deceiving spirits and things taught by demons" (1 Tim. 4:1).

God wants the Church to have full revelation of what He has freely given her. 1 Cor. 2:12; Eph. 2:7; Col. 1:6!

The Lord then immersed us into the truth as we received revelation of what happens to person who has faith in Jesus Christ. Looking at the letter to the Colossians, the Lord showed us the following:

If you have faith in Christ Jesus (1:4)...

• you have been qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 1:12
• you have been rescued from the dominion of darkness. 1:13
• you have been brought into Christ's kingdom. 1:13
• you have been redeemed. 1:14
• you have forgiveness of sins. 1:14
• you have been reconciled to God. 1:21
• you are holy. 1:22
• you are without blemish. 1:22
• you are free from accustation. 1:22
• Christ is in you, the hope of glory. 1:27
• you have received in Christ all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 2:3
• you have received Christ. 2:6
• you have received fullness in Christ. 2:10
• you were circumcised in Christ. 2:11
• you were buried with Christ. 2:12
• you were raised with Christ. 2:12
• you were made alive with Christ. 2:13
• all your sins are forgiven. 2:13
• you have been set free from the law. 2:14
• you have been set free from the power of the enemy. 2:15
• you have triumphed over the enemy. 2:15
• you are connected to the Church of which Christ is the Head. 2:19
• God causes you to grow in Him. 2:19
• you died with Christ to the pattern of this world. 2:20
• you have been raised with Christ. 3:1
• your life is hidden with Christ in God. 3:3
• Christ is your life. 3:4

Since you are in Christ and Christ is in you...

• you are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. Eph. 2:6
• you are seated with Christ "far above all rule and authority, power and dominion." Eph. 1:20,21
• The Church, which is His body, is the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. Eph. 1:22,23

Salvation is therefore union with God in Christ Jesus!

We praise God for His revelation to us by His Spirit, who leads us into truth and reveals the Father and the Son to us. Hallelujah!

God's revelation to us is equipping us to stand firm in the truth and establish Christ's lordship in the city of Frankfurt. This Friday we will be meeting together for an evening of worship and prayer to proclaim Christ's supremacy over this city and over this nation. On Saturday we are joining TPLF for a Narnia party for kids aged 6 - 12 years to provide an exciting alternative to halloween! On Sunday we will have another opportunity to share God's love with the homeless and needy.

Quote of the week:

"...God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming agaes he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in the kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Eph. 2:6,7

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