Conference yukon::christian_v7

    I heard his teaching a few weeks ago, and took some notes.. but this 
    is great. Thanks.
    
    Joe

    
    Rebecca, I just wanted to reply to your input per Dr. Charles
    Stanley. I have watched him for quite a number of years when first
    introduced to his ministry from a church member. Coincidently, I was
    viewing him last week when he spoke on "Spiritual Growth". In fact I
    copyied down all him topics and added my own comentations to be inputed
    on our church newsletter "The Evangelist". I often watch other TV 
    ministers of faith and also subscribe to his pamplet monthly along with
    the "The Plain Truth" from the WorldWide Church of God.
    
       I believe God works in many churches and many denominations and try
    not to judge but to align myself with the truths taught there which of
    course comes only from God's Word.
    
       I have been a Christian for 10 yrs or so, I'm 49 yrs old, married,
    and have two children - Boy 21 yrs and a girl 15. My daughter has been
    coming to church with me while the rest of the family don't
    participate. I just wanted to give you a little on my since this is
    the first time I have applied in the Christian notes.
    
       I believe so strongly in your topic - Obedience to God and our Lord
    Jesus Christ. I try to live the faith as Jesus would want us to live.
    Truly being obedient to HIS word and do the best we can with what HE
    gives us and listening to the Holy Spirit to direct our lives.
    
       Thanks for the input and may the Lord hold you in the palm of HIS
    mighty Hand.
                                            Love in Christ,
                                                Dave

    Thanks for sharing this Rebecca! It's a good reminder - sometimes its
    difficult to wait on the Lord, but wise!
    Deborah

I had a rare treat to have breakfast with my father this morning.  He is
up in Nashua on District business and so we went out.  I listened as he
spoke of things on his mind, several of which was a special speaker he
had had at his church on the campus of Eastern Nazarene College.  I don't
remember the name of the man, but the words I had this morning were 
oh-so-much more nourishing than the IHOP breakfast.  I want to try and
share some of this with you.

He said this man (who is an Indian) related that he was told by God to preach 
on the street corner.  "What?" (Our natural reaction, wouldn't you say?)

"I can't do that."

"Why not?" was God's response.

"I would feel foolish."

"You are foolish.  But you would be more foolish not to do as I ask."
  (Mind you, the way this was communicated was more matter of fact 
   than a threat, for in love there is no threat; even the "threat of
   hell is a matter of fact to God's holiness, but I have diverged.)

The man said he would do what the Lord asked and that he would
go to a street corner, close his eyes and sing, and if there was 
anyone attracted by his song, he would witness to them.
So he went to a strret corner and closed his eyes and began to sing.  
When he opened his eyes, a crowd had gathered.  He didn't know what to 
say.  So he said what he could and grabbed his satchel and made
his way through the crowd.

"That wasn't bad." came God's reply.  "I want you to do it again tomorrow."

The man related that the next day a man grabbed him by the arm and asked
to be told more of what he heard the previous day.  The man said oddly,
"Now this man had no business being saved."

(I don't know what was meant by that but I assume that he meant that one
who is so steeped in something else - Marxism, religion, or what-have-you
is not one who comes inquiring of the Lord.)

---

My father rounded out some of these stories by summarizing that it is
not up to us to accomplish anything for God because God accomplishes
it all.  We are simply obedient to his word.  It didn't even matter
whether anyone was saved by this street corner experience, but that
God's Word will accomplish something and that we merely agree to live
out His Word in obedience, or reject His Word in disobedience.

I'm not sure I've passed this truth on well.  But I wanted to try and get
some of the thoughts down and out.

I have more, unrelated yet related stuff coming.

Mark

    I understand it Mark.
    
    As an aside, thank God for the father He has given you!  Many of us
    know nothing of such a father and desire such from our fathers.  Even
    though I'm without, I rejoice that you are not!
    
    jeff

RE: .4

Mr. Metcalf, sir,

With all the grief I have given you over un-important matters, I have but
one word to describe what you expressed in .4:


    			Eloquent!

Best regards,
Joe

John 11
        25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:
        he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
        live:
        26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
        Believest thou this?

        39 Jesus said, Take ye away he stone. Martha, the sister
        of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he
        stinketh; for he hath been dead four days.
        40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou
        wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
        41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the
        dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father,
        I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
        42 And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because
        of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe
        that thou hast sent me.
        43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice,
        Lazarus, come forth.
        44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot
        with graveclothes; and his face was bound about with a
        napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Ezekiel 37
        3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
        And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
        4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and
        say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
        5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will
        cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live;
        6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh
        upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you,
        and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
        7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied,
        there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came
        together, bone to his bone.
        8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up
        upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was
        no breath in them.
        9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy,
        son of man, and say to the wind, thus saith the Lord God;
        come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these
        slain, that they may live.
        10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath
        came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet
        an exceeding great army.

We don't like to think of ourselves as dry bones, yet we are no different
than Israel in Ezekiel's time:

        11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the
        whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried,
        and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts.

The Word of God spoke the universe into being.  The Word of God brought
everything from nothing.  The Word of God was obeyed by a dead man who was
beginning to rot.  The Word of God was obeyed by a valley of dry bones.

We walk around and think we have life, but we are dead, dead, dead in our
sins, until the Word of God is obeyed. "He that believeth in me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live."

Lazarus, who by this time stinketh, obeyed the word of God, because he
believed in God and heard the Word of God.

Can a dead man hear?  Hearing the Word and obeying it is belief. God's Word
causes life.  God calls us out of our white-washed tombs.  God calls us out
of unbelief and death and by His Word we can live.  Without His Word, we
are no better than dead men and dry bones.  So even if we are now dead,
dead, dead in our sins, hear the Word of God:

"He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."

    re .8
    
    > .....Hearing the Word and obeying it is belief....
    
    Thanks for entering that.  I have been struggling with this lately.
    What is belief?  Knowing intellectually and in your heart are 
    two different things.  The heart makes you act on it - i.e. true
    belief, intellectual acknowledgement is just that - knowledge,
    understanding something, but not necessarily doing anything about
    it.  Faith without works is dead.
    
    What is the difference between belief and faith, if any?
    Sometimes I'm afraid that I don't have the faith of a mustard seed....
    I just finished writing in another note about living by your feelings,
    but when the feelings (which I think should be there) aren't....
    Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief....
    
    Sorry if this doesn't make any sense....I know what what's in my
    heart, I just can't seem to put it into words.
    
    
    Karen
    
    

>    Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief....

This prayer is always answered.  If we do not receive help, then perhaps
we didn't believe all that much.

As to faith, it is the belief in something invisible (not seen) but 
believed as though it were. 

And Hope is similarly like it as the certainty of something that will
occur (such as the second coming of Jesus Christ and heaven) even though
it is not yet come to pass.  It is not a wishing that it will occur.
It is a *certainty* that it will occur.

Karen, I thought you made a lot of sense.  'believe' doesn't describe the 
depth of the belief.  Whether it's head or heart.

I understand hearing + believing which leads to action = faith.

The believing which does not lead to action is mere knowledge, which has 
not become life-changing.

Romans 14:23b says "Everything that does not come from faith is sin."

Galatians 5:6b "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself 
		through love."

We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).  - I believe we are
learning to do just that all our lives.  The vision for the faith walk 
grows - just when we think we've got it right, another window of faith 
opens which throws us right back into questioning Him...  I rather thinik 
that's what He's aiming at - us to ask Him; keep in touch with Him, instead 
of working by rote....  Relationship, instead of rules.  Isn't He lovely!?

�    but when the feelings (which I think should be there) aren't....

That's when we say "I know that He is faithful, though I can't feel it; I
*want* to do 'A', but I know He want me to do 'B'."  And faith chooses 'B',
because His way is greater than our way,  It's like Hezekiah in 
2 Chronicles 32:31 - God left him to test him, to see if he reacted in a way
to glorify God or a way to glorify man.  As it was, he still had something
to learn there. 

- living out Romans 3:4 :
	"God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar..."

�    Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief....
	- I believe that prayer touched the LORD's heart....  And was 
	  significant enough to be recorded...

						God bless
								Andrew

    Gee, I dunno if this applies... but I just entered 91.7 and now am
    wondering if it should have gone here????
    
    Although the purpose of talking about obedience in that topic was to
    how to grow desire... which I think comes through obedience
    *sometimes*, not all the time.
    
    Nancy

    I am reading Genesis 22: 1-18 at my Church's Easter Vigil (one of the
    readings being read).  You want to know about obedience?