Living in God's presence

Praise be to our living God who was and IS and is to come!

2010 has arrived and we are excited about what God is doing and will do this year! If yesterday's meeting was a taste of what lies ahead, then this year is going to be awesome! The Lord spoke to us about how He wants us to be a people of His presence and this is what He showed us:

1. If we only focus on the future, we lose our awareness of what is happening in the present.
2. God wants His people to abide in His presence and be aware of what He is doing in the present.
3. The believer can lose his awareness of the presence of God when he becomes more concerned with procedure or wrong priorities or God's promises or problems rather than God's presence.
4. A religious people are more concerned about procedure than God's presence. Luke 1:10,21; John 5:39,40
5. The believer must be careful not to prioritise working for God above seeking His presence. Luke 10:38-42
6. The believer must be careful not to focus on God's promises more than His presence. Exodus 33:1, 12-15; Acts 1:4,14
7. The believer must be careful not to be more concerned with problems than His presence. 1 Ki. 19; Gen. 31:20-23; Acts 16:25, 40

In response to God's Word to us, we spent time entering His presence and enjoying true fellowship with Him.

In the evening we had another opportunity to minister God's presence to the poor and needy at our monthly homeless mission.

Quote of the week:

"The Lord replied, ' My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.' Then Moses said to him, 'If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.'" Exodus 33:14,15

_________________________

Changing the culture

Glory to the King of kings!

It has been another awesome week with God! The Lord is imparting more and more spiritual revelation to us in our meetings and we are excited about our King and His Kingdom and the life-changing truth He is making known to us by His Spirit!

On Tuesdays we meet for Bible study and prayer and at present are studying the letter to the Romans and receiving powerful insight into God's Word. At our weekly prayer meeting, the Lord is showing us how to use His Word to worship Him and how to pray over our own lives and intercede for one another as well as the Church, the city and whatever else the Holy Spirit leads us to pray over!

The women and the men meet on Thursdays and Fridays respectively and have wonderful times of fellowship with God and one another. The youth (IMPACT!) meet on Saturdays at Subzone in central Frankfurt and are influencing the city with their presence and joy!

Yesterday the Lord continued to speak to us about Kingdom Culture and this is what He showed us:

• Culture is a way of life that is determined by what influences you and the convictions you have.
• Influence is what we allow to flow into our lives that affects us.
• Convictions are the unshakable, compelling and conquering beliefs we have that affect our way of life.
• There are 3 approaches to living in a foreign culture:

1. Cultural Chameleons: someone who is able to adapt and conform to whatever culture they find themselves in. This person simply allows the culture they're in to influence them so that they become one with the culture.
2. Cultural Cliques: someone who joins others of the same culture and isolates him/herself with them to form a seperate culture within the culture they are living in.
3. Cultural Conquerors: someone who influences and changes the culture in which s/he lives because of the unshakable, compelling and conquering convictions s/he has.

Looking at 1 Thess. 1:3-10 we saw that the Thessalonians were cultural conquerors because of the unshakable (1:6), compelling (1:3) and conquering (1:8,9) convictions (1:5) they received by the Holy Spirit.

Kingdom culture is a way of life that is determined by Kingdom influence and Kingdom convictions!

We praise God that He has given us everything we need to live Kingdom culture and to conquer the kingdom of darkness with Kingdom convictions. Hallelujah!

Yesterday evening we had another wonderful opportunity to put our convictions into action as we ministered to the poor and needy with God's love. Many came and entered into Kingdom Culture as we served them and fed them and simply enjoyed God's presence and love together with them.

Quote of the week:

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2 (emphasis mine)

___________________________

Times of refreshing!

Glory to God!

We are living in "times of refreshing" (Acts 3:19,20) and we are excited about what God is showing us and doing with us. Hallelujah!

The Lord is speaking to us about walking in His truth and "possessing the land." This is what He revealed to us yesterday as we looked at Joshua 6 & 7:

In order to "possess the land" or walk in God's promises/truth,

1. The believer must hear from God - God's Word/truth is the foundation of faith! Joshua 6:2
2. The believer must believe God's Word and receive it by faith.
3. The believer must realise God's Word by speaking it and acting on it. Joshua 6:6,7
4. The believer will then "possess the land" and walk in God's truth. Joshua 6:20
5. The believer must dwell in the land as s/he continues to walk in the truth. Col. 1:21-23

The obstacles to "possessing the land" are when,

1. The believer doesn't base his or her faith on God's Word but on his or her own thinking. Joshua 7:2-5
2. The believer doesn't trust God's Word and therefore does not believe the truth.
3. The believer does not realise the truth but trusts in a stronghold that is not built on the truth. 2 Cor. 10:3-5
4. The believer gives in to fear.
5. The believer walks in disobedience.

Therefore, in order for the believer to dwell in the land or walk in the truth,

• The believer must let the truth remain in him/her. Col. 3:16; John 15:7; 1 John 2:14
• The believer must make the truth his/her stronghold. Psalm 91:1-4 (KJV)
• The believer must continue in the truth by being rooted and built up in it. Col. 2:6,7

God wants His people to walk in times of refreshing as they take hold of His truth by believing it, receiving it, realising it, possessing it and continuing in it.

We praise God for His revelation to us so that we can walk in times of refreshing! Hallelujah!

Yesterday evening we had another awesome opportunity to minister to the poor and needy in Frankfurt as we served them, loved them, encouraged them and simply brought them in touch with God's Kingdom. Praise God!

This Sunday we are looking forward to celebrating our 2nd birthday and we praise God for His faithfulness to us! All glory belongs to Him!

Exciting upcoming events:

17 May: Joseph and Gheeta Komanapalli of Hermon Living Water Ministries will be visiting KLF
22 & 23 May: Bengt Wedemalm will be leading KLF's Training Days on Walking in the Supernatural
24 May: Gayle Claxton of Voice in the City will be ministering to KLF
31 May: KLF's first meeting at the Christliches Zentrum Frankfurt at 3pm

Quote of the week:

" He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Psalm 91 (KJV)

__________________________________________

A lifestyle of faith

Praise be to the King of kings and Lord of lords!

The Lord is continuing to grace us with His wonderful presence in our meetings and He is speaking very clearly to us about spiritual love (agape). We believe that God is preparing us for greater spiritual breakthrough as we learn to truly love one another and be united in spirit.

Yesterday the Lord showed us the following:

1. Agape (spiritual love) comes "from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 1 Tim. 1:5
2. Sincere faith means a faith that is genuine, real and without hypocrisy.
3. Faith is not only hearing the Word (James 1:22) nor is it just believing (James 2:19) and neither is it just confession or proclaiming truth (Luke 6:46).
4. Sincere faith is always accompanied by action!
5. Faith is a lifestyle because of God. Rom. 12:1,2
6. Our faith is tested, tried and tempted continuously. James 1:2
7. Every test, whether we are confronted by the flesh/ self-centredness (Gal. 5:16-25), the world (1 John 2:15) or the Devil (Matthew 4:1-11) requires a faith response - choosing to God's will or one's own will or the world's way or the Devil's way!
8. Our lives consist of taking faith initiatives and giving faith responses.
9. As we are faithful in the small tests, God will entrust us with greater opportunities to do His will and glorify Him! Luke 16:10

Faith is a lifestyle because of God!

We are very excited about new opportunities to serve the poor and needy in Frankfurt and it is wonderful to see the whole Body get involved in some way, demonstrating agape love. We therefore minister to the needy on the first Sunday of every month and on the fifth Sunday (when there is one).

Quote of the week:

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors." James 1:2,3 (The Message)

_________________________

Honouring God with the Grace of Giving

Glory to God!

More and more people are attending our midweek meetings and being abundantly blessed! Our Tuesday prayer meeting was very powerful; the women are exploring FAITH on Thursdays; the men were encouraged at Men's Prayer Breakfast and IMPACT! went to a concert together on Friday and had a great time with their new youth leader, Alexander Blair.

Yesterday's meeting was very special and a lot of fun. The Lord is speaking to us about honouring Him and yesterday we looked at how we honour God with our finances. This is what He showed us:

1. Many Christians live according to the Law or even the absence of the Law - they are legalistically motivated by what is and what is not permitted instead of living according to the Father's heart. John 5:39,40
2. A legalistic and religious mind-set seeks to live according to what is and what isn't said in the Bible instead of finding out why it is said.
3. People who treat God legalistically live according to the Letter rather than the Spirit or the heart of God. 2 Cor. 3.6
4. Christians who ask the question, "Do I need to tithe and how much should I tithe?" reveal a legalistic approach to God! Their giving is motivated by what is and what isn't required in the Bible.
5. The correct question to ask is, "How can I honour God with what He has given me and how do I reveal the heart of God with my giving?" This question reveals a giver who is motivated by the heart of God rather than the law or the absence of the law!
   

We honour God with the grace of giving as we reveal in the natural what we believe we have received in the spiritual. Rom. 15:27

• The Lord then showed us that to live by the Spirit or the heart of God is to be enthusiastic (possessed by God) and to take initiative. 2 Cor. 8:3,4,16,17; 9:1,2

After God's Word to us, we collected money from young to old to bless one another with and to reveal the heart of the Father. There was much rejoicing as people received a blessing and as we celebrated God's abundant generosity towards us. Hallelujah. Our desire as God's people is to be a people after His own heart who know the heart of the Father and who make His heart known with a spirit of generosity!

In the evening we had the privilege of serving the needy as we blessed them with physical and spiritual food, love, worship in song and a spirit of generosity. Glory to God!

We are looking forward to this Saturday as people from all over Germany and other nations will gather together in Frankfurt for the Jesus March. Our worship team will be involved and we're excited to be part of an event that will lift the name of Jesus and exalt Him!

Quote of the week:

"But just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us - see that you also excel in this grace of giving." 2 Cor. 8:7

___________________________

1st Birthday!

Glory to God!

Yesterday we celebrated our first year together. We praise God for His faithfulness and His favour and for all He is doing in and through us as His people. Hallelujah!

The Lord is speaking to us about suffering and what it means to suffer for remaining in Him; for responding by the Spirit and for risking for His glory. Looking at Acts 3:1-16; 4:13-20, the Lord revealed to us that the believers risked for God's glory by stepping out in faith for the sake of others and for God's glory because they were courageous (Acts 4:13). We then saw that they were courageous because:

• They were connected to Jesus (Acts 4:13)
• They were compelled (Acts 4:20; 2 Cor. 5:14)
• They were convinced (2 Cor. 4:13; 5:14)
• They were competent (Acts 3:12; 3:16; 2 Cor. 3:4-6; 1 Cor. 1:25-31)

In the evening we provided spiritual and physical food for the poor and needy and rejoiced in God's provision in giving KLF a gift of opportunity to glorify His name! Thank you Lord!

We praise God for an awesome first year. The Lord is fulfilling the vision He gave us right from the beginning and we are excited to keep in step with Him as we know where we're headed if we keep up with Him! Hallelujah!


Quote of the week:

"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life." 2 Cor. 3:6

__________

Good News!

Glory to God in the highest!

Yesterday we had a special time reflecting on God's Gift to mankind. We were reminded that there is a huge difference between a gift and a reward and that in Christ, the Lord freely offers to save us from the kingdom of darkness so that:

1. we can live in the Kingdom of God (Col. 1:13,14)
2. we can be free from the power of sin (Rom.6:7)
3. we can be free from sickness - spiritual, emotional and physical (Luke 4:18)
4. we can be free from the power of Satan (Luke 4:18)
5. we can be free from the influence of the world (1 John 5:4,5)
6. we can stand in God's grace and favour (Rom. 5:2; Luke 4:19)

Glory to God for his indescribable gift to us! (2 Cor. 9:15)

The Lord also reminded us that,

to be saved is to abide in Jesus, submitting daily to His Lordship as our King.

Yesterday evening we had the joyful and very moving privilege of being part of a Christmas dinner that was organised for the needy. A hotel provided a three course meal and service and over 100 needy people had more than enough to eat. Four churches joined together to make the evening a very special time indeed as we united in purpose and spirit to reach the spiritually and physically poor! Everyone received a filled and wrapped shoe box with all sorts of necessities and goodies as well as a gift from the hotel that provided the meal. The hotel also assured us of their commitment to provide next year's Christmas dinner and we are certain that it will need an even larger venue to cater for all those who will come. The Lord's love, peace and favour were upon us and it was wonderful to see many of our regular people there who attend KLF's soup kitchen and to see how pleased they were to see our familiar faces. I praise God for the relationships that are being formed - the Lord is building His Church!

Quote of the week:

"God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life." 1 John 5:11,12

____________

Changing the Valley of Weeping!

Glory to God! Yesterday the Lord spoke to us through Psalm 84:6 where it says,

When they walk through the valley of weeping,

it will become a place of refreshing springs.

The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.

It's on God's heart that we be a people who change their environment - a people who walk through the place where there are people in need and turn it into a place of refreshing springs; springs of Living Water where people are healed, saved and delivered and where there will be a rich harvest of lives made whole.

Yesterday evening we did our first soup kitchen in the Gutleut church, just around the corner from Frankfurt's main train station. Although we are an English-speaking church, our desire is to build God's Kingdom and so it's on our hearts to minister to anyone in need with His presence, power and love. So everything was done in German, from the worship in song and the message for the people, to the conversations we had with these precious souls. About 60 needy people came - people without jobs, without money, without food, without clothes, without homes and without hope. The Lord blessed our time together richly as we entered into His presence to meet with Him and hear from Him through His Word. The Lord spoke to us about how significance, security and acceptance are only found in Him and 4 people responded to the Father's invitation to receive His unconditional love and become His children. Hallelujah!

There was a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere throughout our time together and many simply didn't seem to want to leave because they were enjoying themselves so much. Everyone left full - full of food, full of love and full of peace. Thank you Lord! We look forward to the 8th of July when we get to do it all again! The Lord is changing the valley of weeping into a place of refreshing springs!

Quote of the day:

"There is no unemployment in the Kingdom of God !"