The Greatest Father

The Greatest Father

The account of Abrahams life has always been a source of inspiration and awe for me. Have you ever thought about the story as it may apply to your life. The modern day church is not modeled on this kind of a life and certainly not focused on the dedication and principles behind and throughout this event in Abrahams life. 
At an age that most people would be hoping to retire and wind things down in life, Abram is given a promise from God. The one thing he has desired his whole life would be granted straight from God. A son would be born to him and his wife Sarah. God goes to the extent of changing Abrams name to Abraham and his wife is to be called Sarah, a blessed women.
Abraham has to wait again for God to provide what he has promised. Abrahams attempts to "help"god are disastrous and cause division in his family and conflict for his wife. Abraham continues to believe for Gods Promise even after this monumental mess up.
For 10 years Abraham and Sarah wait and then just as God had said his son Isaac is born. What a blessing and what a joy for them both. Abraham is 100 years old and still faithful and blessed. Years pass and one day God speaks to Abraham and says,"Take Isaac your Son who I gave to you as a blessing and as a promise and take him with you to sacrifice him". 
Can you even begin to imagine what was going through Abrahams mind. Abraham doesn't hesitate, he didn't waver, he simply acted in obedience to God request. He took his son and set out to 
make a sacrifice.
It is so easy to follow God and praise him when it benefits us, when we get something out of it BUT that's not actually the Gospel message. It has sadly become a "Christian misconception" peoples sit and judge and say if someone is going through a tough time, that they must have sin in their life. ****NEWS FLASH*** we all have sin in our lives. 
Equally errant is the concept that if I am successful somehow I am more blessed and favored by God then others.
Abraham was called by God "Faithful and Righteous" and he certainly had his share of suffering and trials. It was through the trials and suffering that he learned to trust God, (That's called growing your faith).
In todays world Isaac would be taken away and put in Children's Services and Abraham would be locked up for child abuse.
Living a life that pleases God is not about Prizes and Favor (sorry) It is about Worshiping God and being obedient to Him, no matter what is asked of us. Abraham, through his obedience and faith didn't just become the father of Isaac but became the father of a two nation and thousands of years latter that promise and those nations live on.

Abraham, Father of the year.
Happy Father's Day

Stephen Alexander

Building the House of God

Rise & Build Sunday

Why Build the Church??


Haggai 1
New International Version (NIV)

*Some have a heart for themselves, to build THEIR kingdumb.

It is all about the builders glory (Selfish, self promoting)


it is no better then the sticks and straw it is made of. One day it will fall and it will be as if it never existed


it is build on sinking sand

*Some have been given the desire to build THE Kingdom of God.

It is not about the builders glory but to Glorify the King!

Matthew 6:¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy,and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


It is eternal


It is bright


Its is powerful


Healing, Teaching, Salvation, Life Anointing are all found in this House!


It is the House of The Most High God!


Matthew 7:The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

*Building a house on Long Island (Story)

1987 Hurricane Gloria visited Long Island



When you are building the House of the King, every brick has to be the best.
Only the best will do, honor God in Building His house!

Is Love Enough?

Is Love Enough, that's the Question?

I have grown tired of hearing the modern day Pharisees, as they spout off about the "weak and shallow" message being conveyed today. A message focused on "the hope" and "the love of God". That preachers need to dig deeper and hold the line on the "serious Gospel message". 

Perhaps I'm just having a tough week and I should cut them some slack but I believe they are completely wrong and more importantly I believe that it is the cynical and legalistic "theology" of our more conservative brothers that is destroying and distorting the true message of our Lord and Savior. 

John 3: ^16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (From "the Message")

Can this be said any more clearly? God sent Jesus to reconnect with Man and set us free!

I am amazed at the lack of real life experience that so few of these Pharisees possess. Smothered in degrees, up to their eyeballs in Academia, completely out of touch with the modern man and his challenges and struggles. How can they begin to understand what people need to hear from God and their local church?

It is hard to believe sometimes that we are reading the same Bible and have arrived at such different and opposing conclusion.

If the modern day church wants to reach the modern day man, we need to become sincere and passionate about telling people how much God loves them, why He loves them and why they should get to know Him.

Read Luke 10: 25-37, The Good Samaritan, and consider the church today.

Tell someone how much God loves them, tell them of your relationship with the one and only God in Heaven. Tell them about the creator of heaven and earth and how, before He spoke a single star or planet into existence He thought about them, He designed them, He loved them!

(Ephesians 1)

Never grow tired or weary of telling people of Gods love for them, it is the strongest rock, the greatest and most profound truth of all Scripture.

Love People!

.

Consecration

Isaiah 6

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

I live a life of contradictions, in order to find peace I must go to war. In order to rest, I must fight. When life seems crazy and out of control, it is actually the most right and inline with Gods plans.

I am almost never satisfied living to survive, just praying enough and eating enough of the Word to get me by. I have a ferocious appetite to do the work of the Kingdom and nothing else on earth will satisfy.

Isaiah SEES God and instantly knows he is in way over his head. He is blown away at the sight he sees, angels are worshipping God all around him. Then he realizes he is just a sinful man and he is standing in the presence of a Holy God. He thought for sure he was going to die but God had brought him to the very spot he was standing and at that very moment for a reason.

Isaiah had the heart of a servant and had done all he could to honor God with his life. Just when he thinks his life is over, God gives him a new life and another opportunity to serve Him.

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

Isaiah jumps at the chance to serve and please God.

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

It is only when we come to the edge of losing everything that we learn the true value of anything. It is then that we understand what God wants from us. It's not cash, its a spirit of generosity, He doesn't need our strength, He needs us to have the heart of a servant.

Will you say, "Here I am Lord, send me!"

Consecrate your life to God,

Consecration: dedicated to a sacred purpose.

The River of Life

The River of God

**NOTE words in Orange are part of the message from 6/5/11

When we are “Born Again” we experience a period of time I refer to as “The Honeymoon Period”. Everything is wonderful, we are passionately perusing God in search of a lasting relationship.

When we accept Jesus into our life as our Savior we wind up with areas that once housed sin and need to be replaced with Holiness and Consecration. These area can become deserts, spiritual waste lands if we don’t allow the Spirit of God full access into our lives.

John 7:37 Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[c] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Revelations 22: 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal Pure, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

A River brings life and sustenance, wherever it flows. Life is possible in the middle of a desert if there is a water source. A River is a FLOWING source of water & life.

The River of God is the flowing power of the Spirit of God. The River of life is located in the “middle of the great street of the city”.

The spirit of God must reside in the very center of our hearts. When that happens in our life we produce fruit all the time ( the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month).

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

A desert is parched, scared earth, it is a dry hardened place (legalistic, critical) When the spirit of God flows through your life, you produce good fruit, your fruit is sweet and beautiful. People are attracted to the beauty in you that comes from your relationship with God. Hardened and Baren places are made soft & fruitful again when The spirit of God flows through your life. Healing comes, chains are broken, you are set free.

Letting Go

Gen:22: 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.

We all want Gods blessing and favor over our lives, God wants our obedience and faithfulness. When we walk with God we need to truly be filled with faith and trust that God is not a man, His work is true and He can not lie. When God says hHe will bless your life He means it. It is up to us to trust Him.

God has a distinct way of doing things in our lives. First God wants us to trust Him, then he blesses your life with incredible blessings. After a short season of blessing God will require something from you, often the very blessing He has given you. This is where most people loose the plot, confusion sets in and pride has an opportunity to mess with your head. How can God ask you to give back what He promised to Give you.

The answer is actually very simple, "Because God wants to give you more".
Greater Blessing, Greater Anointing, Greater Gifts,
It is a test to see if you love Him because of Who He is or What He does.

We must be willing to loose it all if we are ever going to be able to handle the massive blessing God wants us to be able to deal with. When we let go of things we hold dearest to us God pours out great blessing in those very areas. When we hold tightly and with hold from God we cheat ourselves out of Gods blessing over our lives.

Abraham was willing to sacrifice the thing that was dearest to him and that which was the absolute promise of God over his life, His only Son Isaac. Because he didn't with hold anything back, God blessed him even more then he could ever contain.

Let go of your stress and worry, trust God with your life. He is a big God and He can handle anything you need!
Have a great week!

Fasting Guidlines and Suggestions

ʻI humbled my soul with fastingʼ Psalm 35:13.

What is Christian fasting?
The Bible speaks of fasting as abstaining from food for a time in order to grow spiritually, glorify
God, enhance our spirit, receive healing, and grow our prayer life. Fasting is not a way to get
God to do what we want; fasting changes us, not God. It is more about denying our natural
appetites and raising our spiritual appetites. (See Isaiah 58:6-12)
Redeem the time
Where possible, the time that is not spent on eating (or whatever else you choose to fast from)
is spent on your relationship with God, prayer, reading the Bible and seeking the Lord.
Types of Fasting
Food (full or partial fast), Media (TV/radio/music), or other things that are a sacrifice for you
(things like internet surfing, Facebook, computer games, shopping).
Food Fasting Options
• Fast from one, two or all meals in the day.
• Fast from ʻbetween mealʼ snacks and ʻafter mealʼ desserts.
• Fast from particular food or drinks e.g. meat, dairy, coffee, tea, alcohol, chocolate.
• Fast from solids, so that you are on a liquid fast, drinking juices,soups, smoothies.
• A ʻDanielʼ fast: as found in the book of Daniel 10:3 – where he ʻate no choice food, no
meat or wine touched my lips.ʼ Fast from delicacies, stick to fresh fruit and vegetables.
• 5 Food fast: Eating nuts, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, red meat.
Fasting tips
• Plan your fast. Pray and ask God for protection, strength and wisdom during your fast.
Look ahead, you may have to rearrange your schedule or change your grocery list.
• Consult your pastor or leader about what is appropriate for you.
• Start small. As with anything, fasting requires practice to become better at it. Set yourself
a challenging but realistic goal.
• Begin and end well. When fasting from food, the meals before and after the fasting period
should be smaller and lighter than usual. End your fast gradually.
• Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration.
Some warnings
• Fasting from food is not to be taken lightly. If you are new to fasting food please consult
your doctor and pastor regarding the length of time and what food you should abstain
from.
• We always recommend consulting your health care professional and pastor or leader for
advice before undertaking any food fast.
• Do not fast from water.
• Do not fast from red meat if you are inclined to anaemia.
• Also, fasting from food is unwise if you are diabetic, hypoglycemic, prone to migraines,
pregnant, taking medication or recovering from sickness. If you have any doubts/
questions, please talk to a health care professional.
• Fasting is entirely voluntary.

The Place

Genesis 28: 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, [f] though the city used to be called Luz.

Here not there, There not here? If you are a numbers crunching kind of person, the difference between one place or another may be insignificant. You could plant a church anywhere and meet the needs of people of that city or town however that is not the attitude needed to plant a church.

Many today view church planting as a mathematical equation, add 10 people + 1 building + 8 crock pots + $$$$ = church planting success.

Jacob says, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
The place God shows you will be clear, you will know it when you see it. It will be a special place and God will get you there, one way of another, He will show you the city that is a Gateway to heaven.

I am certain that you have a list of places you would like to plant a church, Hawaii, Fiji, Jamaica, Malibu, Sydney, Venice the list could go on, all beautiful and wonderful places. The place God has placed in your heart will become more beautiful then any of these others.

I was absolutely sure I would never move to North Carolina, don’t get me wrong the beaches are amazing and I like to visit the mountains but I could never move to NC. I have lived on Long Island, NY for 40 yrs. and everyone from NY knows that if you move south and you are under the age of 60 you move to NC. In case you are wondering, if you are older then 60 you move to Florida, probably “the Villages”. I thought, “why would I want to move to a new place with the same people?”

In 2003 God began to press upon me to move, many other factors in my life began to support this “feeling”, however family was just starting to settle in to our home on Long Island we lived in a beautiful town near the Northshore, tons of wonderful friends and two great churches we loved and were close to. (Christian City Church, L.I. and Manhattan)
In June 2006 I took a quick trip to Raleigh, NC to check the place out, we moved into our new home in October the same year.
In February 2009 we planted C3 Church, Raleigh, God has a way of revealing a “place” to you.

I have shared this little story of my journey to illustrate that the plans God has for you are bigger and more outrageous than you can imagine, if your heart is set on following God then you will never be disappointed in the places he calls you to. It fact you will fall in love with them.

“The Place” is part of the call of God, it is a much a part of the planning and purpose as the anointing and person who does the planting. Set your heart to hear God heart concerning “The Place”.

No need to stress about the place God has called you, you will know it, its smell, its feel, the people, the atmosphere even the challenges. God has spent your whole life preparing you for that city and that city is waiting for you!

Have an amazing week,
Ps Stephen Alexander

www.c3ral.com

There is no better way to discover if you are called to plant a church or be part of a church plant then to actually jump in to an active plant. If you are thinking about planting a church, I want to extend an opportunity to you to join us for a week and see first hand what goes into this incredible undertaking. If you are a pastor or wanting to be part of a plant, email me or call. It’s an incredible life!

C3triangle@gmail.com
919-355-8305 (yes I will really answer)

To the Death

Be Strong and Courageous!

The Lord says this over and over to Joshua, finally in Joshua 1:9 He says; Have I not commanded you, Be strong and Courageous, do NOT be fearful or discouraged for the Lord your God is with you WHERE EVER you go.

I have read this scripture thousands of times (literally), it is my life scripture. I read it, I study it, I pray about it, I teach on it, I dream about it, I talk to God endlessly about it and still I have so many questions about this moment in time.

So public and pressure filled, being thrust into the spotlight, not number 2 any longer now number 1. No one to turn to but God, no one else has the answers he needs.

Read this scripture and you will likely get the wrong idea about Joshua. You could think he was fearful and timid, an insecure man, maybe he looks hesitant and slow to act but you would be wrong, very wrong.

Joshua, much like Moses and David, Elijah and Elisha, was a man of action; his hands were covered with the blood of the enemy’s of the kingdom of God. He was a brilliant commander of military strategy and commanded hundreds of thousands of men into battle and to victory.

Joshua is what I refer to as a “ to the death companion”, I am endlessly searching for the Joshua’s God has placed around me. He will never leave your side, come good or bad, in victory and defeat, he is your closest confidante.

You will find in life, depending on what you do or how wealthy you are, certain people will gather around you and assure you that they “have your back” and they mean well. The amazing thing about Joshua was he didn’t just say to Moses I have your back in a battle but Joshua went out and Battled for Moses. He fought his fights. This allowed Moses to do his job
Moses job was to talk to God and seek direction, lead the Nation of Israel and pray.

Exodus 17:11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
Jesus went to the cross for each of us, He has fought all our fights, He has endured all our pain, He has paid the price for our sin.
Jesus “has your back” and is your “to the death companion”

Live a life of Strength and Confidence; God is with you wherever you go!
Live your Best Life Today!

Job requirements?

One day about 18 years ago I was sitting in my living room reviewing a class I wanted to offer to our church. A Parenting Seminar for parents of young children, I have always wanted to share what I have learned about parenting with other parents to help them to be the best parents they can be.

I will never forget this one idea that was presented by child psychologist Dr Kevin Leman. He said “You are required to have a license to drive a car to sell insurance and practice law but not to be a parent, one of the most important jobs on the planet”
He quietly presents a serious question. Should there be a requirement to be a parent? A more direct question should be, how do you prepare someone who is about to become
a parent?

I have been asking myself the past few days, should there be a requirement to be able to call yourself a Christian. This is of course an impossible question, no answer is right or wrong and it is unenforceable on every possible level.

However think for just a moment how low is the bar set?

What should be the standard required to EARN the title ”Christian”?
What do you think?

Your family is Christian?
You believe in God?
You pray?
You read the Bible?
You are “Saved” ? (You have invited Jesus into your heart and have excepted the gift of salvation)
You attend church?
You tell others about your relationship with God?
You attend Bible College?

I hope you are thinking about your relationship with God, what does it look like.
You and I have been given an important job. It is both incredibly simple and very complex at the same time.

The simple - Deliver a message to the world.
The complex – Understand the message we are to deliver

Our message is this “God loves you and forgives you”. Jesus left no question of his intent in John 12: 47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
Also John 3: 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

No matter where you fall in the list above, this is your message to the world. Jesus loves you. It’s the perfect message, it fits everyone you meet. It is the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus our Christ.
Just keep saying that over and over, then start praying about that over and over.
Jesus loves you!

See you in Church!

Ps Steve

Thanksgiving Newsletter

		Hello Church: We wanted to send a huge prayer for an amazing Thanksgiving to you and your family. Of all the many things I am Thankful for, one of the things I am most thankful for is you. Without you Christian City Church, Raleigh would not be possible. Thank you all for your time and support of the incredible work that was begun in Raleigh, NC We look forward to seeing everyone in church this week, I am believing this week is going to be an amazing breakthrough week as we wrap-up the series on faith. We will be setting time aside during service to pray for people this week, if you know of anyone in need of healing this is going to be a fantastic opportunity to invite them to church. I hope this helps as we push into God and seek His will and purpose for His church and our lives.
		FOOD DRIVE
		Hey Guys one quick reminder for this coming Sunday be sure to bring your cans of non-perishable food for the Eastern Carolina food bank, we are connecting with Guitar Center to help those in need.
		FREE GIVE AWAY
		We are giving away an Ipod NANO Video to a visitor from the month of November. Bring your friends and make sure to register them as first time guests and you both can win a brand new Ipod Nano Video. We will be giving away our first Nano in December.
		FREE MUSIC If you have not yet logged onto www.C3Worship.com and check out the Free Music and videos, as well as New Original Music from C3 Worship Leaders around the world
		We look forward to seeing you this Sunday at 11am Have a great week, see you in church!
		Please pass this on to friends and family that may not be on our email list yet.
		Visit www.c3ral.com for more info about C3 Church and where we are headed