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The Reign of the King

12/1/2014

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Christ is the King of Glory!
7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” 1 Samuel 8:7-9

Grace and peace saints of God. Today and everyday we celebrate the Reign of the King - Jesus the Christ. As we proclaim the doxology, "Christ has died. Christ has risen! Christ will come again," we are reminded that the King of the Universe who clothed himself in humanity and dwelt among men, the King who died for our sins and rose to justify us with all power in his hands, the King who ascended unto the Father and now sits at his right hand interceding for us even now, the King - alive and well is returning again to reign for all eternity. Jesus is the King who was and is, and is to come.Rev. 1:8  Jesus is the King whose kingdom shall have no end. Luke 1:33, Isaiah 9:7

This means that no matter what we're facing, no matter how catastrophic thing may appear, God is in control! Somebody ought to say amen right there! We serve the Almighty, Everlasting  God, the Ancient of Days! The God we serve is the only one who can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ask or think! Eph. 3:20  Yet in all of his power and might, we like the people in today's reading find ourselves thinking that we can do better for ourselves than the creator of all that is.

The Word of God declares in the 24th Psalm that "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness therof; the world and they who dwell therein. For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." vs. 1-2 Straight from the mind and heart of God we were created with purpose embedded in the very fabric of our being. To express the glorious splendor of an awesome God; as we engage a spiritual relationship with God and God's creation, God is glorified and his people edified! All under the reign of the King.

The people of Israel had seen neighboring nations come against them led by a man who they had made their king. They had watched as others engaged in what appeared to be an honor and privilege of serving a man who would govern over them. He would make rules and regulations and tell them how they were to live; what they should and should not do, and what they could and could not own. They had watched a people who were obliged to give their sons and daughters to be servants and soldiers for the king.

God's people were not satisfied with the one true King of Kings, and I wonder in the reign of the one and true king we serve, King Jesus, if we have learned very much from Israel's experience, or are we the same. Jesus has told us through the council of his word, to tend after those who are sick and shut in, to visit those who are imprisoned, and care for those who suffer without food or clothing, (Matt.25:40) and yet many of us who say we are the King's subjects and servants continue on as if it's not our concern. Oh yes, we thank God for sparing us from imprisonment, famine, and homelessness, all from the comfort of our homes and church assemblies. But are we the slightest bit concerned about the reign of the King.

The prophet John the Baptist and Jesus Christ himself proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Both speak to the reign of God, also articulated as the righteous rule of the one true King. The statement itself announced that the current domain, as the people had known it, was under new management. In the righteous rule of the King of Kings, the one who "came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly," (John 10:10) we are given principles of the King that will enable us to engage victorious living! That is the wonder of God's Word! We weren't left to try to figure it out all by ourselves, and yet we still try.

And as Christians, as citizens of the King's domain, we find ourselves frustrated and feeling busted and disgusted trying to live in accordance with the will of God, trying to live victoriously and failing miserably, because we try to do it our own way. God tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. God tells wives to submit to their husbands as to the Lord. Eph. 5:22, 25  Yet we find in this day and time that the divorce rate is just about as high in the church as it is in the secular world! And as I witness the challenges in the lives of my brothers and sisters, and yes even in my own walk, I am reminded of the spiritual struggle that remains in our flesh that desires to exalt itself over the will of God. To dare say, indirectly, but just as boldly, "I want another king!" Even worse, "I want to be the king!" In the midst of the trials and tribulations that are meant to stretch us and not to destroy us, we say to ourselves, "God you just don't understand! So it seems I'll have to take this matter into my own hands."

But in reality it is us who don't understand. Under the reign of the King, God has a system that guarantees our victorious success! It is a system where we fully rely on Christ himself and not on ourselves, because on our best day we could never do what Christ has already done for us and what his Holy Spirit is doing for us even now! When we repent of our sins, and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord (King, Overseer, Ruler), and savior, God seals us with his Holy Spirit and enables us with the grace to be victorious! This grace is an unmerited favor! We don't deserve to live, but Jesus has already paid our debt - already taken our punishment of death. This grace is however, also an enabling power to live in a "new and living way." It is the power to think as the King thinks. It is the power to do as the King would have you to do - live as the King would have you to live, and yes love as the King would have you to love! This grace brings the joyous privilege of being able to proclaim, "Greater is He who is in me, than he that is in the world!" 1 John 4:4

May we be those who will truly live in the Reign of the King - "Not by might, not by power, but by His Spirit says the Lord of hosts." Zech. 4:6   And the people of God said - Amen.

In His Service,

Pastor Emery B. Barber
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship


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Word of Faith: Completely New for the New Year

12/31/2011

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Twelve months completes the cycle of one year. Twelve hours encapsulate the day and the night. Twelve tribes of Israel. Twelve Judges, Twelve Apostles. Twelve foundations in the new Jerusalem. Twelve gates to the Holy City. Such an overwhelming pronouncement of twelve that symbolizes completion, fulfillment, and establishment. 

As we approach 2012, I pray that we are postured to enter what I believe the Spirit of God has decreed as a season of Kingdom Establishment. A mandate for the people of God to walk in that which is Completely New, where old things are passed away, and all things become new! Viewing life through the lens of a new paradigm. Living according to the Kingdom Agenda. Blessed with the benefits that a new beginning in Christ brings. It is imprinted in the Word that God gave to us.

It is time to stop imitating holiness, and just "be" holy. As we enter this season saints, don't "resolve" to be holy, transformed, renewed, refreshed. God calls us to "be" holy as God is holy. When we do so, not by might or power, but by His Spirit, blessings will overtake us. If you have not yet done so, surrender to the Kingdom mandate: Be not conformed to this world any longer, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God.

We have made beautiful music to the glory of God and for the good of others. But the best is yet to come! Just wait and see! But don't wait as the world waits. Wait as we are called to wait in the Kingdom! As those who find strength and renewal as we wait on the Lord! As those who find themselves mounting up with wings as eagles! As those who run, but never get weary; as those who walk (no matter how far the path, no matter how steep the slope) and never faint.

Blessings for the Completely New in 2012,

In His Service,

Pastor Barber
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word

Emery B. Barber is a founding Pastor of FaithWorks Christian Fellowship of Jamaica, NY, and co-author of the web devotional and devotional book, Words of Faith for FaithWorks Christian Center, International. As a Creative Media Consultant he provides training and services in various areas of digital marketing collateral with a special calling to Creative Worship Media.   

FaithWorks Christian Fellowship | Engaging Worship, Declaring Praise, and Proving God at God's Word | Join Us

                                          © 2012 Faith Works Christian Center. All rights reserved.





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Word of Faith - Truly Blessed

2/14/2011

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In the 5th chapter of Matthew we find Jesus teaching a multitude that has engaged his new ministry. These are those who have responded to his call to "repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand." These are they who are eager to find their place in the Kingdom - in the presence of what ultimately is to be the new world order. Jesus starts this teaching  with a series of pronouncements of blessings. Please read the scriptures to see them at length. Today we glance at the first one. "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

While Jesus may have been speaking to many who were disenfranchised in many ways, he is deliberate in speech to say, not poor, but poor in spirit. Poor in spirit speaks of one who is not just humble, but humbled. It means they have been through a process that has brought them to a place of emptiness before God. It is the realization that on one's best day they could never do for themselves what God can do for them, with them, and through them. Jesus the Christ pronounces blessing on this characteristic as part of a larger composite. For though one may find themselves in this place and posture now, it becomes part of the vehicle that guarantees one's inheritance in the presence of the Lord where there is fulness of joy and at His right hand pleasures evermore. Ps. 16:11
Prodigal Son, Allen-Aaron Hicks
He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 What a blessed place to be - in the secret place of the Most High, abiding in His shadow. The question today is how do we get to this blessed place where we can declare that we are truly blessed. Allen-Aaron Hicks depicts imagery of this blessed experience in his painting about the story of The Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. This young man has gone through the process that has ultimately brought him to the place we are reflecting on today - poor in spirit. He has taken his inheritance and wasted it. He finds himself alone, broke, and broken in far country that is caught up in the midst of famine. He comes to himself as he is eating with the pigs, and realizes that the servants of his father's house eat better than what he is currently experiencing. He realizes he has missed the mark in his own strength, trying to follow his own way, and he relents. And he repents - that is, he decides to turn from his sin which has taken him to such a low place that he can hardly stand himself, and "return to the high place" in his father's house.  Not as a son, but as a servant - poor in spirit! When we're poor in spirit, we are not so concerned about our place and position in the house of God. We are grateful just to serve there - poor in spirit! The father who has been waiting for him, receives him with open arms - not as a servant, but as a resurrected son! He clothes him and holds a feast for him among his people.

You may find yourself in a low place right now, wondering how you got there, or why you never realized your position before now. Stop wondering and repent. Return to the High Place through Christ Jesus. Do it now. There is a high place promised to those who will humble themselves before the presence of an awesome master.  May we follow the example given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and say, "Master, I have sinned against you and you alone. Forgive me, and make me a servant in your Kingdom." May the Joy of the Lord and the Peace of his Presence be yours.

In His Service,
Pastor Barber
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word

Emery B. Barber is a founding Pastor of FaithWorks Christian Fellowship of Jamaica, NY, and co-author of the web devotional and devotional book, Words of Faith for FaithWorks Christian Center, International. As a Creative Media Consultant he provides training and services in various areas of digital marketing collateral with a special calling to Creative Worship Media.

   FaithWorks Christian Fellowship | Engaging Worship, Declaring Praise, and Proving God at God's Word | Join Us

                                             © 2012 Faith Works Christian Center. All rights reserved.


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    Emery and Stephanie are 
    the founders of Faith Works Christian Fellowship, and pastors of branch of Shepherd's House Open Bible Church, Brooklyn. They are also the authors of the Words of Faith Devotional Series.

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