Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Blessed Resurrection to you! Today's Word of Faith is He is risen just like He said!

What an awesome scene the scripture unveils to us in Matt.  28:1-10! Two Marys have come to visit the tomb, and they are met with the strange occurrence of a violent earthquake, caused by an angel coming down from Heaven. He single-handedly rolls away a stone that I would imagine was intended to be too heavy to be moved by ordinary men! Too heavy for men to break in, and to heavy for anyone hiding inside with the corpse of Jesus to escape. 

On top of that, after rolling back the stone the angel simply sat on it! The scene is incredible! The guards are so shaken by the dazzling presence of the angel that they are horrified to the point of paralysis! And then the angel says to the women, "Do not be afraid. I know who you're looking for, but He is not here. The Jesus you saw crucified has risen, just as he said." He then invites them to see for themselves, and to then go quickly to tell his disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead and was going ahead of them into Galilee!" It was as if the angel had played a game of tag and cried, "You're it!" "Now I have told you," he said. The angelic messenger had passed on the good news to the first human carriers of this message. 

The two unsuspecting women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, when suddenly Jesus meets them and greets them! Not a ghost, nor a vision, they both clasped his feet and worshiped him. Jesus repeats the instruction, "Do not be afraid..." They were to tell the disciples to meet the Risen Lord Jesus the Christ in Galilee.

If we were to consider all the horrors that we witness on almost a daily basis, we would find ourselves afraid or numb and so desensitized to the pain of our existence that we wonder if we're really still alive. But as Jesus said to the two Marys, he now says to us, "Don't be afraid my sisters and brothers, I have risen just like I said I would! I have kept my promise to neither leave you nor forsake you!" Jesus tell us by application in John 10:10, "I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." The limitations of our finite existence that often caused us to feel vulnerable, insecure, even helpless have been dealt with by our awesome savior!

 So this morning we come to celebrate the fact that Jesus the Christ has already proven through His resurrection that He has no limitations.The reality for us is that when we put our trust in God through Jesus Christ, we also have no limitations, because the Word of God is true. It is secure and firm. We can stand upon the promises of God. As the Apostle Paul was inspired to write, we truly "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." Philippians 4:13

And as our focus remains heavenward this morning we encounter the greatest witness of the certainty of God's Word. God the Father had a righteous requirement for the sin of mankind that he knew mankind could not meet! So he sends his Son, who is fully God, to be born of a virgin woman, who is fully human so God’s righteous requirement would be filled by the one who would be born into this world sinless, fully God and fully Man! His Word declares that "His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways far beyond our ways!" The God we serve is limitless! Now the Son – the second person of the Trinity, the Logos, or the Word made flesh – Jesus the Christ showed us the way to live a life without limits, as he lived a sinless life, performed miracles, as he healed the sick, raised the dead, fed multitudes with two fish and five loaves of bread, and gave sight to the blind to prove that he was the Christ – not only sinless, but blameless – Jesus is Out of the box, because there is no box that can contain the creator of all that is. Limitless, because He defines the limitations of every created thing. 

If that wasn't enough he showed us the greatest love ever known in that while we were yet sinning,and lavishing in our own personal boxes, amassing chasm after chasm for ourselves, Jesus paid a sin debt with his life that he didn’t even owe, because we owed a sin debt that we couldn't even pay – Hallelujah! On the Cross of Calvary Jesus pronounced the boundary line of our delusion! He declared that enough is enough! Jesus drew the line and declared that death would be given a final death blow, that nothing would be able to separate us from relationship with the Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!  

So when the enemy thought he had succeeded in putting Christ in a box by the hands of religious Pharisees and the government of Rome, after seeing what they perceived to be a lifeless shell placed in a borrowed tomb. After covering the body with 100 pounds of spices and oil drenched linen. After rolling a huge stone that took several men to put it in its place. After putting Caesar’s seal on the tomb, punishable by death if touched. 

Early one Sunday morning – three days after they buried him in borrowed tomb, Jesus the Christ breached the binds of death, and GOT UP AND LEFT THE TOMB! He performed what most thought was impossible! And the profundity of it all is that, because Jesus Got out of the box, because Jesus exceeded our expectations, because Jesus moved beyond the fathomable, you and I can get out of the box, we don't have to be afraid anymore, you and I can exceed our expectations, you and I can move beyond the fathomable, you and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!!! Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! "We don’t have to slay any lamb anymore! We don’t have to sprinkle any blood on the door. Someone has taken the place of the lamb. His name is Jesus Christ the Great I AM!!!"

There are seven words that communicate the good news of this passage, however we often miss four of them. The angel declared, "He is Risen... just like He said." The angel was reminding us that this resurrection moment was never supposed to be a surprise to anyone! Jesus said in the book of John in the 10th chapter, "I am the Good Shepherd, and I lay down my life for my sheep... No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." The angel was sent on a mission to remind them of what Jesus said, because it illustrates and thus confirms the divine authority and trustworthiness of Jesus the Christ!

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ declares that only He who created life, can resurrect it after death. The resurrection declares that Jesus is LORD! He has risen from the dead - just like He said - and he is LORD! Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! So be not afraid my sisters and brothers. Our Jesus is alive and well!

The resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike any other religion, Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same. His Word is good! All other religions were founded by men and prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we take comfort in the fact that our God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. Even the grave could not hold our God. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven alive and well, and interceding for you and for me. His power is available for you and I to walk in victory! Truly we have no limits through Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior, and our Redeemer. Hallelujah to the Risen King! 'Til the next time, may the Lord God bless you real good!

Blessed Resurrection,
Pastor B.
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word

Scriptural focus: Isaiah 60:1-6, Micah 5:1-2, Daniel 4:9, Daniel 5:7-11, Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV), Numbers 24:17

1. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2.  saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." 3.  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.' " 

With so much happening in the world, it becomes easier and easier to “lose sight” of the things that really should capture our focus as the people of God. So many things vying for our attention. What is the next big thing? When will the job market improve so that I can purchase the next big thing? With so much violence taking place, are our families safe? Safe from the criminals? Safe from those who are sworn to protect us? In times like these we need to check our anchors, and make sure that we’re sure of this one thing: There is a God who sits high and He’s looking low, and He has all power – in His hands! That means He has the final word! Hallelujah!

So our focal point for the next few moments, and I pray more and more for the rest of our lives, is the A.H.A. moment. As an acronym in this sermon, it stands for Ascending to a Higher Awareness of God. It is what many understand as an Epiphany. It is a moment of divine manifestation – when God reveals to mankind some part of God’s nature, person, or purpose. The word epiphany has Greek origins from the word epiphaneia, and it originally meant an extraordinary appearance, also transliterated “fantasy from beyond.” It is also defined as the moment when a profound thought suddenly comes to you like, (SNAP) “I COULDA HAD A V8!” And this is the season when the church, universally, observes the day of Epiphany as the time that Christ was revealed to the gentiles through the wise men also known as the Magi. We celebrate the belief that through the birth of Christ, God has entered into our plain of existence in a tangible way, and thus into our lives.

The questions that arise through God’s Word today is, “Where do we search for profound moments of inspiration, illumination and revelation?” “Do we seek out the light of God or does the Light of God seek us out?” “Where do we see God to be present among and in us? What are the signs of the sacred among us? It is through that exploration, that spiritual journey, that we consider the AHA/Awakening Moment, Season of Discovery.

It is important to note that the shepherds and the wise men were two separate groups of people with two different purposes in this story. The coming of Christ was first revealed to the Jewish world through the shepherds who received the angelic announcement, an epiphany of their own, and ran to the stable to see for themselves. We often confuse the wise men with the shepherds largely due to the sensationalism of the Nativity Account, but it was through the wise men that Christ was revealed to the Gentiles.

The journey of the Magi – called the “wise men” of this account, translated from the Persian word magoi from which the word “magicians” is derived, they began with a few men who were dedicated to the task of looking up, over and beyond the resources that were within their reach. Many theologians believe these wise men from the East were descendants of the Magi of which Daniel was the (Rab-Magus in Aramaic or) Chief Magi. It is said that many of them were knowledgeable of the Hebrew Scriptures and traditions; honorable astrologers who watched the stars, yet it seems that many of them were not fully aware that someone greater beyond the stars was watching them. Someone who could supernaturally place a Star in the midst of the constellation and cause it to shine more brightly than any other. Someone who knew how to get their attention! Someone who knew how to speak in a language that they could
and would respond to. How many of you believe that God knows how to get your attention! And that my brothers and sisters is the spark that lights the flame of an AHA Moment.

An AHA Moment is an opportunity presented by God to Ascend to a Higher Awareness in God. It does not begin with us. God is the initiator and God seals the deal.  Jesus said in Rev. 22:13 that, “I am the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end.” The writer of Hebrews was inspired to write in the 12th chap. and the 2nd verse, “Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecting finisher of our faith. And so as God illuminated the coming of Christ, it warranted a response from those who were called for such a time as this to reveal the arrival of the Christ to the gentiles.

Like many saints of old they obediently heeded a call to step out on faith, to Ascend to a Higher Awareness of God, not as a vain act of, “Hey look what I’m doing,” but as an act of worship of a King they longed to know. Right here. Right now, in the common places of our lives, God has illuminated himself to call us to a higher place of praise, a deeper level of worship, and a greater level of accountability and service! God is calling us to action! But how will you respond? When God initiates the varied AHA Moments of your life, he can take you from glory to glory dependent on your response. Will you ignore what the Spirit of the Lord is revealing to you right now? In this season? Or will you respond and move as God leads you to move? The Magi responded with a faith that moved them to action!

It is believed that the Magi traveled from Persia in the East, passing through Jerusalem where they inquired about the birth of the King of the Jews. The very inquiry of the Magi was an Epiphany - a moment of revelation for King Herod which must have insulted, as well as infuriated Herod the Great. He was served notice that Jesus, the Bread of Life, had come to the Bethlehem, the House of Bread in Judah the land of Praise, to take His place as King. It meant that someone greater than Herod the greater had arrived! When you begin to heed the call of God to seek something and someone greater than yourself, everybody is not going to be happy about it, but we must be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord no matter what the cost.

Like Abraham, they set out on a journey, not knowing where it would take them (Hebrews 11:8). They did not know how long the trip would be when they decided to follow the star that appeared in the East. They didn’t know how they would be received in the faraway foreign land. They didn’t even know what the King would look like; nor did they know when or if they would return home. Yet they, like Abraham, chose to make the journey.

Following the light of God toward the fulfillment of our purpose is a journey of similar faith. We often feel that we don't know where our journey will lead us, and we certainly never know what we will find along the way. We do, however, know that God goes before us, and is with us, and that the journey is not in vain.

As I close, I’d like to share three responses from the example the Magi provide in today’s scriptural reflection that we should consider as we prepare for the AHA moments yet before us.  

First, keep looking up, heavenward, seeking the face of God. Solomon was inspired to write in Proverbs 3:5,6: Trust in the Lord … Trust denotes a leaning forward, and a placing of your weight on the one that you are depending upon to see you through. You’re not leaning or depending upon your own understanding, but you’re leaning on God! Saint’s we have to acknowledge Him in all our ways! When our money gets funny and our bills are due, we have to keep looking up! When the vicissitudes of life overwhelm us, don’t give up - we have to keep looking up – heavenward! When the doctor pronounces a final word prognosis over our health situations, we have to seek out God’s Word, and trust that God will direct our paths!

Secondly we must be relentless in our pursuit of divine connection with God and the things of God.
Jesus said in John 14: “I am the true vine. You are the branches. If you abide in me, you shall produce much fruit!” If you want to be productive and successful in the pursuits you engage next year, you have to abide in Jesus! We have to stay connected! That means we have to take action! We have to pursue the things of God relentlessly as the Magi did. They had caught a glimpse of the prophetic, and didn’t give up until they possessed what God had for them! What God has for you is for you! Don’t give up! Pray without ceasing. Study God’s Word, and take your cues for life and living from God. Let God’s Word be the basis of every decision you make now and in the years to come. Let God’s Word be a lamp unto your feet, and a light unto your path! (Take time to be holy.)

Finally, worship the King with your gifts. Acknowledge the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords as Fine Shining Gold tried by the fire whose luster and brilliance causes others to seek out the King to Worship. As frankincense in your priestly role, let your worship of God be a sweet aroma unto the Lord as the flavor of God’s favor. Present your gifts unto God as Myrrh that you may be used as a covering fragrance for those who are preparing to die that they might live in Christ.

May this season of awakening, this AHA moment of reflection be a time of discovering or rediscovering God's love for all of us, as we truly “trust God to empower and lead us to where God wants us to be.” (Because if Jesus leads us to it, it will indeed be a place of abundant blessings.) And as we engage the All Encompassing Light of the world, may we move with an ever-increasing confidence along the path that only God can illuminate for us, all to His majestic glory, and our good. Hallelujah! Amen.

In His Service,
Pastor Emery B. Barber
Faith Works

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

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret? 

Love

31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

The Body of Christ

One Body – the representative body was a unification of Jews and Gentiles

Many Parts - Arms, shoulders…

Every part of the body has a purpose – the heart pumps blood…

Each part created to serve God – wholeheartedly - with everything that is in us.

Some parts work behind the scenes You can’t see the heart, but it is crucial to the function …

Other parts are louder and more obvious Everyone can see the mouth, or certainly hear it…

When parts stop functioning – the body is a system of parts that depend upon each other…

The entire body suffers

You are the eyes … God may have called you to be a watchman in the ministry, discernment…

The ears – discernment or the gift of listening to others and counseling…

The hands – the ministry of helps. God may have called you to assist in the work of ministry…

The feet – to be a stander in the house of the Lord in prayer and spiritual warfare for the saints.

And the mouth – to forth speak the Word of God or to prophesy, or sing His praises…

Of Christ

You Are the Body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.

The question that God presents to us today is, “Are You Living Your Part?” Have you submitted to the move of the Holy Spirit to be used in the Body of Christ for the Glory of God and the Upbuilding of the Kingdom of God.

Not just in the church, but outside of the church. Because since we are baptized by One Spirit into One Body, we serve One Lord. Our outside of our assembly is to preach the truth in Love. “There is no other name under Heaven by which anyone may be saved, except the name of Jesus the Christ.” 

The world may call it arrogant, ignorant, or intolerant, but because it leads those whom God has called us to love, as he loved us out of the darkness and into the marvelous light, So Be It! Jesus said if I be lifted up from the earth, I’ll draw all men unto me.” God has baptized the people of God by the Holy Spirit into One Body. May the redeemed of the Lord be empowered today in the name of Jesus Christ by the Power of the Holy Spirit to say it’s so in thought and Word and Deed. AMEN.

In His Service,
Pastor E. Barber


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Excerpt from Words of Faith, by Emery & Stephanie Barber

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord! The theme for today’s Word of Faith is “Go Tell It!” 

Spirit of the Living God is one of my favorite hymns. “Fall afresh on me.” What a blessed privilege to serve the true living God! I wonder if anybody still believes that it’s good news that Jesus the Christ is alive and well. Yes Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, but he rose on the third day with all power in his hands, and with that power he declared us “not guilty” before the divine court. And that gives us the blessed privilege of everlasting life with Christ if we accept God’s free gift! That’s not just good news, that’s great news! It’s such great news, we just have to go and tell it!

But I can’t help, but wonder if those who say that they have heard the good news, and say they believe it is true - really do. The price of gas goes down a few cents and your friends are knocking down your door to tell you about it. Your favorite department store has a sale and you can’t wait to show off what a great buy you acquired.

In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus has an encounter with a stranger. This stranger – the woman of Samaria, later finds out she is with the Son of God! The Messiah has come and is standing before her, impacting her life and look at her response. Rather than stand there and bask in the glow of his presence, currently all her own, she has to run and go, and tell it.

People hear good news, and they go and tell it, whether they believe it’s true or not. We have experienced the miraculous move of God in our lives and we keep it to ourselves, like hidden treasure. My brothers and sisters, God wants us to go and tell it! Tell the good news!

After Jesus had risen from the grave, before his ascension, Jesus Christ proclaimed in the 28th chapter and the 19th verse of the book of Matthew, “All power and authority has been given me in Heaven and Earth, go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations.” He goes further to say baptize, and teach them to obey all I have commanded.

Beloved, we’ve been given a tall order by the Savior of our souls. But the joy of it all is that we are not called to do it alone. Jesus ends the great commission with, “Be sure, I am with you always, even to the end.”

If there was a plague in the land, and you knew where to find the antidote, would you keep it to yourself or would you share it? Christ calls us to share the antidote to the plague of sin with our families, friends and yes - even strangers. Jesus is the answer! May we be so inspired – so compelled to move in love for our God and mankind that we would obey the call and go and tell it!

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.

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

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

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Word of Faith - The Light of the Word
 
It's a new year filled with the potential to fulfill all of your goals. But what is your strategy? What route will you take? King David was inspired to write in the book of Psalms, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path." He knew that whatever plans he made, and whatever steps he took to fulfill them had to be guided by the illuminating light of the Word of God.
 
We need to be aware that the same holds true for today. Every answer to every question we may have in life can be found in the counsel of God's Word. That means we must study the Word of God in order to apply it to our lives. When we apply God's Word to our lives we give glory to God - or prove the steadfastness of God's plan for our lives, and encourage others to do the same.
 
As you make plans for the future - this week, this month, this year and beyond, let the light of the Word of God direct and illuminate your path.
 
Walking in the Light of God's Glory, Pastor Barber

FaithWorks Christian FellowshipProving God at God's WordEmery 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.