FOR WHAT PURPOSE DID CHRIST COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN?

For what purpose did Christ come down from Heaven? Answer: “That He might destroy sin, overcome death, and give life to man.”

Along with this pregnant statement we must quickly add yet another great quote: “Man had been created by God that he might have life. If now, having lost life, and having been harmed by the serpent, he were not to return to life but were to be wholly abandoned to death, then God would have been defeated, and the malice of the serpent would have overcome God’s will. But since God is both invincible and magnanimous, He showed His magnanimity in correcting man, and in proving all men, as we have said; but through the Second Man He bound the strong one, and spoiled his goods, and annihilated death, bringing life to man who had become subject to death. For Adam had become the devil’s possession, and the devil held him under his power, by having wrongfully practiced deceit upon him, and by the offer of immortality made him subject to death. For by promising that they should be as gods, which did not lie in his power, he worked death in them. Wherefore he who had taken man captive was himself taken captive by God, and man who had been taken captive was set free from the bondage of condemnation.”

The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers, which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil. This victory does not end with the triumph of Christ over the enemies, which had held man in bondage; it continues in the work of the Spirit in the Church.

Therefore, the gift of the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of continued and future glory – the central and crucial point is the victory of Christ over the hostile powers of the enemy through His death and resurrection empowers us today to live victoriously.

Bishop Quintin

You don't have to be "just right" to Pray!

People want to pray and yet they run from prayer! Attracted to it, understand the need for it and yet can't seem to find the time or the real desire to actually participate in prayer! We believe we should pray, we even want to pray and yet there seems to be huge rivers to get across before we can pray.

We often times are not aware of why we don't or can't pray! Work and all the other obligations of life seem to stand in our way, but those are really only smoke screens to the real issues. Our busyness does not keep us from eating or sleeping or playing!

Perhaps one of the reasons is that we think we have to have everything "just right" in order to really pray. We assume that prayer is something to master. When in reality we are only and always only beginners.

Jesus reminds us that prayer is like a little child coming to his or her parents. Our children ask us for some of the silliest things. We are always glad that they ask, it implys that they trust us for anything.

God is just like that, he is pleased merely because we trust him for our lives. What I am trying to say is that all that is needed is child like faith, who comes just as we are into the very presence of God and honestly reveals one's true self. We merely bring ourselves to God just as we are warts and all. Like little children before a loving father, we open our hearts and make our requests known.

Simply begin with where we are: our families, our jobs, our friends, our church, our nation, etc. To simply believe that God can reach us and bless us in the ordinary issues of life is the stuff of prayer. The only place that God can really bless you is where you are right now, because that is the only place we are.

I want to encourage you to pray not when you have it "just right," but rather as a little child who knows Daddy cares. Secondly, simply start where you are right now! You will soon realize that God is not merely a part of your life, but that we are part of His life. You will realize that you are having a divine conversation with God and that He is working in the very ordinary simple areas of your life.

Dear God, I am coming to you this morning with my simple concerns right now in this moment of life. As best as I can I am coming to you with these concerns. Thank your sharing your life in the midst of my life. --- Amen

A CALL TO PRAYER!!!

As I prayed this morning I realized just how God's heart is an open wound of love. He absolutely aches over our distance and preoccupation with other things. He longs for us to draw near to him. I truly believes that he grieves that perhaps we have forgotten Him. I sense that He weeps over our obsession with all the "muchness and manyness". I believe He longs for our presence more than we long for His.

I hear His heart beating for us to return.... return home. We are called to live in His "divine embrace." On the cross he opened wide His arms so that we could come to Him. It is far too easy to be caught in a country of noise, busy with the call to success! But this country leads to frustration, fear, confusion, and ultimately disappointment. We are all called to live within His embrace! That is our home!

THE DIVINE EMBRACE

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hand in love, may bring those who do not know you into the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen
(The Book of Common Prayer, 101)

He has invited us to come right into the very heart of His Presence! We do not need to be shy or intimidated. We have been given free access into the family room, the kitchen, the dining, the study....the bedroom; He has invited us into His home and we have free run of the whole house.

The key to this home, this heart of God, IS PRAYER! I realized this morning that the distractions of this country, this life many times keep us from reaching the safety of the Father's Embrace. Many times we don't pray except in times of anguish or terror. But never mind. I want to tell you that Abba's arms are open wide this day for you!

I also realized some of you may not even believe in prayer! You've tried to pray but it proved to be a disappointment or it left you disillusioned. You didn't seem to have faith or for that matter any feeling what so ever! I want to encourage you.... the Father has both for you.

Perhaps you are just hurt, wounded by the injustices of life. You've been wronged! And you simply avoid prayer because it just hurts too much! His arms are still open to you too!

Maybe, you have prayed for years and the words just seem cold, and empty! You just don't see the results like you used too. It's OK His arms are still open!

I want to encourage you this morning that the Father wants you to come into His "Divine Embrace." We are to live within His arms! Prayer is all about knowing His Love and responding to that love by climbing into His arms on His lap and hearing His heart beat for you! Prayer is all about "intimacy." It is all about "relationship."

IF THE KEY IS PRAYER -- THEN THE DOOR IS JESUS CHRIST.

Jesus is the doorway into the Father's Embrace! Prayer is the key to that door! We no longer have to stand outside --- we are no longer barred from the Presence of our Father. We... you and I can enter into the very Presence of our God through the doorway of Christ!

Prayer is the communion between the Holy Spirit and Jesus! The Holy Spirit leads us through the doorway of Christ right into the arms of the Father. When we don't know how or what pray it is the Holy Spirit who helps us and sustains us and guides us into and through the door of Christ.

The Holy Spirit sheds and stirs the very love of God in our hearts. Effective prayer is merely the response of lovers! "He prayeth well, who loveth well" (Samuel Coleridge).

I am simply saying perhaps you need to stop and turn from all the distractions and calls of the world around and listen to the love that is crying deep within. Go ahead respond to that cry... for it is the cry of God, the cry of your Father who longs for you presence. He aches for you!

Go ahead you can pray, you can love, can rest in His Embrace today!

I found this video very interesting! To realize that even those who don't believe in God pay attention to those who believe enough to share their faith. I wonder if we believe enough to realize that others need to hear what we know to be the truth.

Like the man said, "if you saw a truck that was about to hit someone you would push them out of harms way." Real Love, Real Faith must witness!

We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation. (2 Cornithians 6:1-2).

We have received His Grace and part of our response is to care about others enough to offer them the same Grace! Somewhere along the way it appears as though sharing our faith has become "embarrassing." Or at the very least culturally and socially unacceptable.

If we truly believe in heaven and hell, we must share the "good news" with all people. I want to encourage you to share your faith with others. This is a great week to do it... !

We are remembering His death, burial and resurrection this very week. Please care enough to share His - Story with others.

ITS ABOUT YOUR FAITH

It's all over the news! I'm sure you've heard! The greatest problem in America, issue of this election is the economy! Well that is not true! It is not about the economy, IT'S ABOUT YOUR FAITH!

Peter said, "that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 1:7).

From the very beginning of the church we have been persecuted for our faith. The enemy has tortured and killed many of the believers in an attempt to cause others to stop believing. Some were crucified upside down, others were fed to lions, some were even burned at the stake. And yet the church held firm to the "faith which was once and for all handed down to the saints" (Jude 3). Yes they had to "contend for the faith," and it is not different from today.

The enemy did not want the Twin Towers or New York City. The enemy did not care about the 3000 plus people in those towers. The enemy wanted to terrorize the rest of America in to giving up. Terrorism is the very strategy of the enemy. He will attack your house, your finances, your health, all in an attempt to get you to stop trusting in God.

He wants you to stop believing in Jesus Christ. He wants you to give up! It is not about the economy it is all about our FAITH! Peter probably understood this better than any of the other disciples. The Lord spoke to him and said, "I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail" (Luke 22:32). And the Lord is praying for us right now! We cannot stop believing God now.

Our faith is not based on the stock market or who is in office. Our faith is in Jesus Christ and His love for us. Our faith is not based on our religious piety or performance. No, our faith is based on His relationship with us. A relationship that He initiated and that He maintains. It is not about our doctrinal stand but rather about our intimacy with Him.

Paul encouraged Timothy, "For this reason I suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know in WHOM I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day" (1 Tim. 1:12). Paul explained his ability to suffer because I knew in WHOM he believed. Many people are trying to survive on the basis of what they believe rather than on WHOM they believe.

Peter says, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake in Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13). The enemy has always tried to cause us to give up by attacking us, but we must not stop having faith in God! In fact this is the time to "stir up our Faith." In fact we must guard our faith.

Our faith is not in the economy, but in the God that raises the dead! Our faith is not in any government but in God's Kingdom. Even Jesus warned us of how Satan would come to steal the word that was sown in our hearts. He even told us that many would hear the word with joy, but because they had "no root in themselves" they would not be able to endure (Mark 4).

We must build our faith! St. Jude, who encouraged the believers to "contend for the faith" gives us some great insight into how to stay strong in the Faith.

Jude 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

You certainly don't hear a lot of conversation today about the Holy Spirit. The fact is that the Holy Spirit was sent to us to fill our lives with the very knowledge and presence of Jesus. Jesus is the very basis of our faith. If we are to be strong in Faith we must rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to us in the midst of the world in which we live.

I want to strongly encourage you to make your self available to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds us, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26).

We are living in a world that is trying to steal our faith! We must lean not to our own understanding but in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct our paths (Pr. 3:6).

I want to encourage you to tune in to my web cast of last Sundays message I truly believe it will help you to rescue, recover and restore your Faith.

Unconditionally

Pastor Quintin

EXTREME MENTAL MAKEOVERS

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious -- the best not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse." Phil. 4:6-8.

What we fill our minds with is very important. The world around us wants to fill our minds with uncertainty and fear. We cannot allow that to happen. Each of us our responsible for what goes into our minds. I want to encourage each of you to focus on what God has spoken to us. As we fill our hearts and minds with His Words we can be sure that God will give us His Peace.

In a world where there is chaos and confusion we can walk in His Peace and manifest His Presence to others around us.

WHY CHURCH

Many times I have been asked what is the use of going to church, what good does it do me, what will I get out of it? It is like being asked what is the use of getting married, what good does it do me? If I answered such a question by saying, “Well, it is very useful to get married! You have someone to do the housework, the shopping, cook the meals, etc.,” it would clearly be a false view of marriage. No woman wants to be merely a housekeeper, kept because of her functionality. There is only one supreme reason for getting married—for love’s sake, for the other’s sake, for mutual love, self-giving, a longing for intimate communion, and sharing everything.
So in Christian worship, we worship God for God’s sake; we come together for Christ’s sake, motivated by love. An awareness of God’s holy love for us, revealed in Jesus Christ, awakens in us a longing for intimate communion—to know the love of the Father and to participate in the life and ministry of Christ.
Love always implies a communion between persons. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is a community of Love! God is Love! The Church (those adopted into the Father’s family of love) gathers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—in love; to commune with the God of love and each other. We were created for communion – to be “co-lovers.” We are to find our identity, our fulfillment in this community of love—our true “being” is in “being-in-communion” with God and one another, sharing in God’s love for the world as “co-lovers.”
So, what is the use of going to church, what good does it do me, what will I get out of it? I discover who I am by realizing “whose” I am! I develop who I am by living in this community of love! I am deployed (or sent) into the world as a living expression of the God who is love!
Only as I commune with God in His “body” (the church) do I truly become the “image” of who He created me to be. Only in this atmosphere of love, THE BODY OF LOVE, can I really come to my fullest and highest potential in Christ.