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Weekly Reminder...
The Weekly Reminder is an informative tool to help people who read it consider what the man of God has said. This weekend’s articles are based on what was heard on February 7 & 8, 2009 in the Westbury assembly.written by Br. Samuel Philogene
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (1 Corinthians 12:27). The church of Jesus Christ is dominated to be His body where Jesus is the Head. We are the members of the Body. The Body of Jesus Christ is not a religious organization like others in the world but it is a group of people called out from the world and brought together by the blood of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 53:6, Jean 11:49-52). So as a body we learned how we have to work together in the same spirit, in on accord. There is no way we can build something for God with different spirits but we have to be led by the same spirit to build the house of the Lord. There is no division in the body but all members are set in their place by God to help the body. In Romans 12:4-8, we see that the church is like our natural body with different members and different offices working together for the good of the whole body. So as a child of God, a member of His Body we have to acknowledge that we are different, we all don’t have the same ability so we all can’t occupy the same office for if the eyes want to be the speaker how would we see (1 Corinthians 12:17).
We’ve been taught that we have to be humble enough to understand our limits and not try to do something that God hasn’t called us to do. In the parable of the talents we can read “and unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability” (Matthew 25:15). Jesus as the Head of the church learned to be what the Father wanted Him to be, He made Himself of no reputation, He didn’t want to be equal with the Father (Philippians 2:5-11). If today we want to build something for God we have to be like Jesus, to be humble and stay where God has put us. The body has many members, they need each other to grow together; so we need each other, admonishing one another this is the only way to be the Body of Jesus Christ. We have to learn to serve one another, to respect one another, to obey one another; the eye can’t do and will never do the job of the mouth and so on.
God knows our potential so He placed us in the body where He knows we will be helpful. Problem starts in the church when we think we can do someone else’s job, like the pastor. Sometimes the Devil tells us that we could do better than the man of God or other saints in the church but this is not so. We have to stay where God placed us and not try to do like Uzzah who when trying to prevent the ark of God from falling died under the wrath of God (2 Samuel 6:6-8). We can learn from this judgment of God, even though Uzzah was trying to do something good that the best intentions in the service of God can’t by themselves bring blessings but they have to be done according to the principles and rules set forth by the man of God. So let us do what we have been called to do, let us be what we have been called to be and God in due time will bless us. We’re not helping the church by trying to do something else or to be someone else.
One of the amazing things in God and what makes me love God more and more is that He never asks us to do something and leave us empty-handed but He always gives us all the tools and capacity to achieve everything (2 Peter 1:3). To effectively work together in one accord Br. Antoine gave us the way in Colossians 3:7, how we must put away the old man and all his deeds like anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy and filthy communication out of your mouth. Those things will hinder us from working together, our pride has to be put away and we must know that we can achieve everything when we work together. With humility we will be able to work together, we will know our place in the body and will stay there. May God help us as a body, the Body of Jesus Christ, to put away the flesh and put on the new man so we will be able to work where God has called us to edify the church.
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written by Br. Jean Leonidas
We found out this past weekend the purpose of the spirit of God in the church. God sent forth His spirit in order for the church to operate according to His will. The messages that were brought forth reminded us that God is able to bring us together and lead us to do His will. The scriptures says in Philippians 2:13 "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure", this means by the operation of His spirit, God is able to put the desire in us to do what He wants.
Two weeks ago Br. Antoine gave us a message showing us that the Devil is able to use us to do evil deeds. Last weekend we heard another message showing us that God sends forth His spirit to the church to lead the church into all truth in doing good deeds. We are not able to do anything to please God on our own because we are of the flesh. The scripture plainly states "God is a spirit and those that worship (do anything for Him), should do it in the spirit and in truth"(John 4:24). Br. Antoine did a wonderful job showing us that God must put His spirit in us in order to operate within His will while we are in the church. He went over 1 Corinthians 12:1-25, speaking about the body having different members. He said the members here are the saints in the church and the body is the whole church as a whole. In verse 4 it states that these members can have different gifts but it is the spirit that is doing the work. As God sends forth His spirit on the church, each person is benefited from that gift and is able to operate in the way God wants them to. It can be the gift to prophecy or healing, but the important thing is when these gifts are put together, they are for the edifying of the church.
Br. Antoine was also emphasizing on the church coming together in everything. He said only the spirit of God can make us be one because without the spirit of God, it would just be flesh and blood at work. He quoted Colossians 3:4-14, where it shows us the difference between the flesh and the spirit at work. The apostle Paul was comparing the flesh as the "old man" and the spirit as the "new man". Paul said in Colossians 3:5 concerning the old man "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry". But in verse 12 and 13 he says, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another", concerning the new man. Br. Antoine explains this new man is after the image of Christ but the old man is after Adam. God’s spirit should be what is leading us in order to obey His commandments and make us able to operate thru the gifts that He has giving us. Everything we do should be done thru the spirit of God. If we find ourselves doing something whereby we are obtaining glory for own selves then that is not of God but of the Devil. When we do something thru the spirit then we are able to go back and thank God because of our own selves we could not have done it. 1 Corinthians 4:7 states "For who maketh thee to differ from another and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"
I am happy we are not just limited to the gifts of the five full ministry as quoted in Ephesians 4:11, but I am able to seek God for other gifts like cleaning the church, shoveling the snow, testifying, giving a helping hand to the less fortunate or anything that is within the will of the Lord to edify the church. We don't have to be one of the five full ministry in order to edify the church. Now the unemployment lines are full out there, people can't find a job to earn a living financially but as for the church, God always has an opening for anyone to edify His Body. May God help us to unite our gifts into edifying the Body of Christ.
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written by Br. Samuel Damus
We were called to live for God. To live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. It is the will of God that we are all perfect (Matthew 5:38). We were chosen from this world, a long time ago to do good works (Ephesians 1:10). Jesus sanctified Himself for our sakes leaving us an example of how we should walk in the Lord. His job while He was here on earth was to keep God’s church sanctified and cleansed from the world. In keeping the commandments of God they were sanctified and in keeping the commandments were they made one with Christ and God (John 14:23). It is this oneness that the church of God needs to hold fast to in this present day.
When Jesus prayed He said, “I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are” (John 17:11). The Lord has provided for His church to be kept sanctified so that we are not lost. The Lord has provided the Holy Spirit that we may be “guided into all truth” (John 16:13, 14). He also “gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” to perfect the saints (Ephesians 4:11). These men of God being led by the spirit of God are giving us words that we need to hear today and to heed to make our salvation sure. The church which operated in the day of Pentecost was a full and functional church; they were full of the Holy Ghost and the word of God and they worked daily to keep their former evil practices out of their lives.
A full and functional church is not one that has a pastor, deacon, choir, band, treasury, etc… alone. These positions in the church are all needed but a fully functional church is one that has all of its members working to keep the unity because this is the will of God. A true man of God will utter the same words that Paul uttered, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3). And saint taking into account the precious blood of Christ that was shed so that we should stop living in sin as we were before Christ called us out of the world will begin to practice holiness (Colossians 3:7-10,12-14).
Let us make no mistakes, we have built the temple, our house of worship and prayer and now it is time to work together to build the church. Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). Let us pray God for the desire to work; every member of the church using their gift to edify each other. Getting rid of our former evil habits and practicing those things that are holy so that we as individuals may be sanctified and that the world may witness God’s ministry working in us. This will also help strengthen the body of Jesus Christ which is God’s will (Ephesians 4:12). I hope that upon reading this that you will consider what was written and that you are moved to do your part to show that the blood of Christ was not shed in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1).
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