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Learnings from FA and Real-Life Application Examples [message #1702]

Sun, 27 April 2008 14:31

capturedbygrace
Messages: 41
Registered: April 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Member

I would like to start to talk and hear about specific learnings we've gotten from FA--not for persuasion or debate, but very practical "what we got that helps our lives today." If this fits better elsewhere, please "move me." I think we will need all the wisdom we've gleaned in the days to come and it would be a tremendous help to me to know what you-all have learned and seen since. --Is anybody willing to explore this topic with me?

First off, I'm not "cutting church." We're in upheaval--Assembly of God pastor repented of keeping God at a distance in Oct 2006, drew close, God revealed to him total surrender message, he started preaching it and doing what God said moment by moment, and we've gone from 130 members to 30 members, had to move out of our building, and are finally beginning to relate to each other outside of the "structure." It's fantastic...new agenda is believe God to deepen our relationships with Him and as an outgrowth of that, in the body. Getting ready to make time for waiting on God as a body...learn to flow together by His Spirit...but right now only meet Friday or Sunday nights for a small group meeting (we were out of the building as of two weeks ago). So...here I am.-How does this relate to the subject at hand? I know without FA learning I probably wouldn't be open to such, and would be "open to flakey." Also I'm very well aware that without much agony, soul-searching and healing I couldn't be making use of what I've learned (or even perhaps recognize what I'd learned that was good). Be that as it may...

Here's what I wrote someone recently that I received (revised for this forum):

First let me say that I am very grateful for all the good I got there. Faith Assembly is where I learned God could do anything, and that He cares about all that concerns me. It is where I learned that God heals, and He has healed me and preserved me through prayer and faith many times. (At the same time, I have fallen flat on my face in this area as well, both there and since at times, which has given me great grief...but I'm still working out my salvation with fear and trembling, and revel in the wonderfulness of the truth that "Jesus [still] loves me this I know... .")

This is where I learned that God does not want me in debt--that debt binds someone to the world system. There too I fell flat on my face once-for a long time. - God is birthing something in us, and I think most of us go into captivity in "Egypt or Babylon" at one time or another. If not, we may be captive to pride that we haven't fallen. Rolling Eyes

- Because of that, I repented and learned to seek Him about everything, asking Him, "What's the strategy?" when something would otherwise make me go into debt. Because of that, I've also had to continually trust Him that He won't allow a situation in my life that would cause me to sin about debt or anything else (lead me not into temptation, Lord, and please deliver me from evil).

I learned at FA to have a kingdom perspective--that this life is a training, testing and proving ground and that my reasonable response to His love and grace is (Rom 12:1-2) to present my life as a living sacrifice (though not a fleshly martyrdom) in His service.

I heard Br. Freeman state that God through Jesus calls and will empower me to live above the law on an even higher plane. God captured my heart when I heard that He could even help a marriage betrayed by adultery--by bringing the offended party to forgiveness. I have meditated on that long and hard, friends, for that is to me a huge miracle--of the human spirit. That God could so get us past our flesh...He is wonder-full.

That understanding and hope helped me much when my former husband divorced me in 2004. I asked God to help me, to give me His love for him. (Without His love for him, it wasn't possible to come to forgiveness for him.) My wonderful Lord did.

Then when he remarried two and a half years or so later, God told me to pray for his new wife. I was so devastated, I really didn't want to, and came to God reluctantly, confessing that I didn't want to and asking Him to will and do of His good pleasure in me as I brought her in obedient, listening prayer to His throne. I watched God take a hard obedience and soften my heart and give me His view of her (He loves her!), and from there grant me grace to forgive her. God has since inspired heart-felt prayers for her. He has also reminded me not to take His place as Father and judge--reminding me that He is not pleased when His sons and daughters look too eagerly to judgment and rejoice at the fall of their enemies.

From Faith Assembly I have learned about what God intends for His people - I have received that God wants me personally to be a 100-fold fruit bearer, and keep crying out for Him to continue tilling the ground of my heart. The Lord has led me to pray for Him to lead me into the Eph 2:10 works He has ordained for me, and that He show me where and how to labor so I can bear fruit that remains.

Lastly for now, Faith Assembly taught me what God intends for His body--and I have continued praying over and seeking that ever since. I am looking for the Bride of Christ to be revealed in all her glory--which is but a reflection of His matchless beauty.

God bless you, friends...any other sharers?

Broken vessel in training: Pressing on to experience the fullness of Acts 17:28: For in Him we live, and move, and have our being...

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