Go for the Enduring

Hebrews 13:14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

Psalm 107:7 He led them also by a straight way, To go to an inhabited city.

Hebrews 12:16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person, as Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright.

Presently there is a vile, profane & perverse teaching pointing people to perishing cities and perishing goods of this world. Though there are many voices against this, the protesters themselves does not know what the alternative is.

No matter how less our spiritual knowledge is let us trust God to lead us by the straight WAY and gain enduring possessions

Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

2 Corinthians 4:18 we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Excerpts from “The Ultimate Intention” (2) – by Devern Fromke

“The question is: what is the yardstick for measuring whether we are fulfilling or falling short of God’s purposes? We can only be in full harmony with the Father as we are dedicated to a living for the same thing: HIS ULTIMATE INTENTION.

It is imperative to recognize that the Father has purposed at least three things FOR HIS SON. Let us see the several phrases which, when pieced together, give us the full picture of this intention.

(1) Paul speaks of “my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4). What was that mystery? It was that the Son might have a corporate Body through which to express Himself. It is this mystery of Christ in you—the means by which God’s glory shall be manifest in every believer. (Col. 1:27).

(2) Again, it is the Father’s intention that His Son shall be the Head of this Body, the altogether pre-eminent One who expresses not only Himself, but the fulness of the Godhead. Thus the Father and the Holy Spirit also are revealed and expressed throughout the whole universe by the lives of His many sons. (Col. 1:18).

(3) Further, the Father has intended to make Him (the Son) to be the center and gathering point for all things in heaven and earth—”to sum up all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10). All things were not only created “by Him,” but “FOR HIM” (Col. 1:16).

What a glorious unveiling—almost beyond our comprehension. To think that the Father hath purposed in Himself to make Christ the center of His working. The altogether lovely One, His Son, is to have the pre-eminence.

Knowing this ultimate intention for the Son we can better understand the Father’s intention for His many sons who make up Christ’s Body.

Now we can recognize that whatever comes short of revealing that which the Father ultimately intends for His Son is just short—it needs to be rectified, brought into harmony. Looking out from His Father-heart we now have the ultimate yardstick by which we can measure things which fulfill or fall short of the Father’s intention. Everything that harmonizes with this has His approval.

To some it may seem strange that the Father would dedicate Himself to such an end. Yet, that is what He has purposed in Himself from the counsels of eternity past. But let us remember, the eternal Son and His Body of rectified sons are destined to live for one thing: The most complete and supreme honor, glory, pleasure and satisfaction which they can bring to the heavenly Father. So while the Father is concerned for His Son, the Son is also concerned for the Father. As we shall see in the coming lessons this is the divine rule of action which governs all heaven. ” (Chap. 6, pgs. 49-50)

 http://christcenteredchristianity.com/authorexcerpts/devern-fromke/excerpt-from-the-ultimate-intention-2-by-devern-fromke/

Excerpts from “The Ultimate Intention” (1) – by Devern Fromke

“I believe the hour has come when God is initiating another major recovery. This time it is not just a truth, but the restoration of something so imperative that it will give the ultimate perspective to all truth.” (Preface, pg.9)

“Believers may not often realize it, but even as believers we are either centered in man, or centered in God. There is no alternative. Either God is the center of our universe and we have become rightly adjusted to Him, or we have made ourselves the center and are attempting to make all else orbit around us and for us. When the truth dawns, we are amazed to discover how the snare of making all things to revolve around man has been the bane of most of our preaching and teaching. This is true even of the area of teaching which is considered to be of the deeper life emphasis. As long as men are victims of this wrong philosophy and approach to truth, they cannot avoid reckoning from a self-center. When the center is wrong, then everything in our reckoning is wrong. It is my prayer that in these pages the reader will discover the lost coin of truth and be prepared to take what may seem like drastic measures in accepting a new center, where the whole conception of the Christian life is changed from man-consciousness to God-consciousness; from man as the center to God as the center from which all truth is seen. ” (Preface, pg.10)

http://christcenteredchristianity.com/authorexcerpts/devern-fromke/excerpts-from-the-ultimate-intention-by-devern-fromke/

John Piper - Wealth is Almost Always a Curse, Not a Blessing

Man's way vs God's way to accomplish things

Devern Fromke contrasts Man's way with God's way to accomplish things.
This is a warning to people who have a vision of God's way willingly submitting to blind leaders in an ecclesiastical setup.
It also talks about three types of authority:

1. Positional
2. Experential
3. Inward wrought by God

A Classic sermon indeed for all the new generation believers who want to build God's church and kingdom.

 http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=1653&commentView=itemComments

No other foundation but Jesus

From email:

Hi Friends,

In this age of man centered gospel preaching, influenced by humanism, here is a Christian classic that will let us look at all things in a God centered way.
 

http://coursematerials.vision.edu/le504/no_other_foundation.pdf

From all the conversation I am having with individuals who are genuinely frustrated with the humanistic gospel characterized by prosperity preaching, noisy excitement, and shallow positive confession denying reality I feel in the next 20-30 years people will walk out of the New Generation Denominational Churches just as they walked out of the Old Generation Denominational Churches.

Already our New Generation Churches are filled with discontented people desperately seeking for spiritual reality. In some New Generation Churches the blasphemous teachings of the "Shepherding Movement" which was the cause of major spiritual abuses and family splits a few decades back is being revived to threaten people into unscriptural and unconditional submission. But this effort will fail utterly after a small period of success. As God's remnant could not be threatened into submission to semi-scriptural/non-scriptural teachings by the Old Denominational Churches the Holy Spirit will save them from the clutches of the New Generation Churches as well for God is not a respecter of persons.

The time is coming when the remnant will say.

^"let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he ( Jesus ) bore. For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come."

as written in Hebrews 13:13-14

love

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=345&forum=35

Does God care about our happiness?

 

It is not that most of us believe that "God is not interested in our happiness".

But it is true that when trials and burdens increase in our lives we are often tempted/forced to think whether God really cares about our happiness at all.

And there are scores of wolves prying out for such genuine suffering souls in the Christian circles to sell their perverted gospel of easy success and happiness for money by compromising their commitment to Christ. 

They encourage the people to follow the way of Esau and to sell their birthright for one morsel of food ( Hebrews 12:16 ). They encourage the suffering to follow after the earthly things and glory rather than wait for the Glory from God with patient endurance ( Romans 2:7 ).

They encourage people to go in debt using their credit cards against scripture teaching ( Romans 13:8 ).

They have a heart trained in covetousness and they like wise corrupt their listeners. ( 2 Peter 2:14 )

The apostle Paul showed us an example on how to live through the trials and troubles in our lives.

⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
¹¹ Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. ¹² So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
¹³ But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”^{[a] 14} We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,^[b] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. ¹⁵ All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are^[c] being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 

 ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

                                                                                                          2 Corinthians 4:8-18

1. He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
   He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
   To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
   To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
2. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
   When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
   When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
   Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
3. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
   Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
   Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
   The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
4. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
   His power no boundary known unto men;
   For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
   He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

                                                                     Annie J. Flint

 'God is more concerned about your holiness than your happiness'

                                                                                      A W Tozer

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

                                                                     Hebrews 12:10

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

                                                                    Hebrews 12:11