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.

Be encouraged

Be Encouraged!

Philippians 2

¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

If we want to be encouraged, we need to encourage others. Lift up your brothers and sisters in Christ and those who have yet to meet Him.

When we encourage others we are fulfilling one of your greatest jobs as believers. You will be filled with fresh oil from heaven when you pour out love and encouragement on others.

Take hold of the day and be purposeful to encourage and love people in your world, the world is waiting for someone just like you to love them!

Have a blessed day, you are an awesome creation of the Living God and He loves you. Invite someone to Easter Service they will come!

Have a great day!

Ps. Steve

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)