What is a Glorious Church life?

[countmeworthy]

In a nutshell......it's what we make it to be. You can take lemons & make lemonade but if a person does not add sugar, the lemonade is going to taste sour.

In these last days, life is more challenging for the world. It's getting darker & scarier to many..and we, the saints in Christ Jesus may not be of the world but we're in it.

With gas prices are rising, I've been telling the Lord to keep my gas tank full so I don't have to spend money filling the gas tank.

Hey! The Lord tells us to ASK and we SHALL receive, right? Delight in Him and He promises to give us the desires of our heart! (Psalm 37:4) So why not ask & believe?

When people ask me how I am, I reply I AM BLESSED and HIGHLY FAVORED!

That always gets heads turning. :-)

I sometimes bless people by telling them "The Lord bless you and keep you. May He shine His lovely Face upon you, encamping His angels to watch over you and protect you in all your ways."

People like being blessed and we don't bless enough. The more we bless, the more we are blessed. The more we are blessed, the more we tell people what Great things God is doing in us, through us and for us.

Sometimes people see the JOY and Blessings of God permeating us & are automatically drawn to us.

That's MY experience anyway.

But I got here by practicing and practicing and proclaiming the Blessings & Favor of God over me......even in my darkest hours, I'd give Praise & Glory to the LORD.....just like Paul & Silas did while bound and chained up in the dungeon. Those guys had blood all over their bodies, knats, flies, stench of the worst kind, possibly rats running around & not to mention the excruciating pain they were enduring while they were chained up. But amidst all that pain & suffering they made a JOYFUL NOISE unto the LORD! And at the midnight hour, the angel of the LORD came to set the captives free!

Imagine that!

I've done the same thing. In the midst of my personal emotional & physical sufferings with tears in my eyes, I've given PRAISE & GLORY to the LORD.

Man........does it ever go against our mental way of thinking!

But you know.......the Lord has richly blessed me with inner JOY and more. I LOVE talking about How GREAT our GOD is! What is impossible with man is MORE than possible with God.

For me......this is what the Glorious church life is.

However, as I tell my friends....a professional athlete does not wake up one day and find him/herself a bonifide athlete with stellar accomplishments.

Listen to the testimonies of Professional Tennis & Basketball players who make the sport appear so effortless. They'll ALL tell you they have been practicing their sport since they were able to hold a ball in their hands.

If they don't practice & play every day, they get restless & if they let it go too long, they become rusty & when they get back into the swing of things, their practice & playing time is more labored.

This is a universal principle & it applies to our spiritual life as well.

I ain't just 'preaching/teaching' something I've read. All the day long I am Praising our GOD. I pray without ceasing pray. I pray for the Lord to gather His saints together and to be one with each other and with the Son just as the Son and the Father are One...for How Good and how Pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is there that the Lord commands the Blessing even life forever more.

I pray for the LORD to tear down the walls of division..to crush the spirit of competition among His people. I pray for the unbelievers to enter the Kingdom of God QUICKLY as time is running out and the door of the Ark is about to be shut once again..for the LORD JESUS is QUICKLY coming for HIS BRIDE.

OH COME QUICKLY PRECIOUS JESUS.....for the Spirit and the BRIDE say "Come."

Notice what the WORD says...the Spirit and the BRIDE say 'Come'. It doesn't say......the Spirit and the CHURCH say "Come."

Something to think about...... :-)

So KEEP looking to JESUS the Author & Perfector of our Faith everybody! Keep running the race with endurance. We're almost there & He's at the Finish line cheering us on along with a great cloud of witnesses!!!!!!!

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!

[aron]

I read a story the other day about an American Football player named Brett Favre. He had a great career and retired last year to much fanfare. But a couple of months go by and he gets restless, he wants to throw footballs to the cheer of the crowd. He's old (by football standards), gray and grizzled and lame. But he wants to throw footballs again. That's all he's been doing since he was knee-high to the proverbial grasshopper.

The team doesn't want him back. They had the parade, the speeches, and now they want someone younger, stronger, faster. But he still wants to play. So the Green Bay Packers are in the unenviable position of telling one of the greatest NFL players to take a hike. Doesn't look good. They want to win but he, unfortunately, wants to keep playing.

Well, I'm like Brett Favre; I was born to do one thing. "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Blessings and honor and thanks and praises and glory to Him who was, and is, and is coming! Amen, amen, amen!" That's my destiny, my calling. To praise God, to bless, and to be blessed.

The way to be counted worthy in that day, is to count HIM worthy today! And we do this with our lips, praising in the midst of a dark place. The darker it is, the louder we praise!

Remember the blind man by the side of the road? As Jesus and the crowds drew near, he kept making a fuss, and people kept saying "Shh!" "Stop it!" "Quiet!"... But he cried out all the louder....

Our situation may try to close our lips of praise, but that means God wants us to cry out all the louder...

Praise Him. Thanks for your sharing, cmw.

[countmeworthy]

Originally Posted by aron

I read a story the other day about an American Football player named Brett Favre.......
The team doesn't want him back. ...
Well, I'm like Brett Favre; I was born to do one thing. "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Blessings and honor and thanks and praises and glory to Him who was, and is, and is coming! Amen, amen, amen!" That's my destiny, my calling. To praise God, to bless, and to be blessed.

The way to be counted worthy in that day, is to count HIM worthy today! And we do this with our lips, praising in the midst of a dark place. The darker it is, the louder we praise!

Our situation may try to close our lips of praise, but that means God wants us to cry out all the louder...

Praise Him. Thanks for your sharing, cmw.

And THANK YOU Aron for reading my post.

I too have read about Bret Favre. What a hard thing he must be going through. First-people couldn't get enough of Bret in his hey day. People were singing the praises of Bret Favre...wanting to touch his shirt, his helmet, his football..an autograph.

And now.....they're throwing him away.

I believe I read somewhere Bret & his wife are saved. I hope so for they will get the comfort and strength from our LORD as they draw near and dear to HIM.

You are absolutely correct Aron.....to be counted worthy is to count HIM WORTHY 24/7! WORTHY IS THE LAMB to be Honored..to be PRAISED..to be GLORIFIED!

The more we give our Precious LORD Praise, Honor and GLORY with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving, He BLESSES us with JOY unspeakable full of GLORY! It is something we cannot explain with words.

And the more we Praise Him with a pure heart and confess Him with our mouth, our cup overfloweth. It runneth over. It spills over to people around us and they get a TASTE of HIS GOODNESS..HIS GLORY!!!

PRAISE YOU JEEEEEEEEESUS!!!! Praise YOU LORD JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU LORD JESUS!!!!!! GLORY TO YOUR HOLY NAME!!! Forever and EVER.......!!!!!
He is soooooooo AWESOME!! Thank YOU LORD JESUS. THANK YOU for all that you are doing through us..for us and in us!!!

Awwwwwwwwwwe. I'm in heaven right now. :-)))))))

[Guest1]

I was there at Elden Hall in Los Angeles... We were high school kids and we used to come about 10-15 of us from LaCrescenta.. North Glendale.. and we would sit unreligously on the front row .. lol... then after we turned 18 we 'moved in'.. Marshall Davis, Colleen Moy(Giddens),Charlie Hagens, Steve Allbright and many of our friends.. after 2 years started 'migrating' to Indianapolis,Indiana..Chicago, IL.....then to Anaheim....then La Crescenta (young peoples church).. then to the Valley 1 year

.. but as I wrote in my other post.. I never could experience Christ as my Life.. it was all religion to me.. I memorized alot of scripture .. prayreading 24/7 .. living and working with the 'saints'..meetings 24/7.. conferences and I thought I was exercising my spirit.. but after 10 years ..one night in the Valley at the Lord's table the Lord told me not to partake.. and I moved out of the 'sisters' house'..my best times were cleaning the meeting hall in Chicago at least there some were real and had real fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ..

It took me a long time to get back to the Lord.. but He is Faithful..and he brings us to Himself and His Word.. He is our Rock..Bless His Holy Name..
His Word is living and operative and we can live by Christ.. Glory to God

[aron]

Wow. I just read Brad Barber's testimony for a second time. I have been thinking about it all day.

Can you imagine, out of 40 young men 18 of them gather and pray for the going on of one of their own, who has just suffered such a devastating loss? Brad says the presence of the Lord was there, and I can believe it. That, my friends, is an "assembly", that is "Glory in the Church". When a random and seemingly disparate group of people can drop all the differences and gather in the Lord's name, and together beseech Him, extoll Him, praise and thank Him, and call upon Him for further salvation and provision and the going on of one of their own, that is "the kingdom and the power and the glory", forever and ever amen.

And part 2 of the story, when the local LSM "facilitator" decries any experience apart from the aegis of Lee to be "of Satan", and the young brother says, "thank you very much, goodbye" and walks out. Wow. Very dramatic, very arresting. Even humorous, in a dry, Isaiah/Paul kind of way. Brad, wherever you are out there, amen, brother. Peace to you and thanks for taking a minute to share part of your story.

God is wonderful. Praises and thanks and honor and glory to Him forever and ever amen.

[Guest1]

Originally Posted by aron

Wow. I just read Brad Barber's testimony for a second time. I have been thinking about it all day.

Can you imagine, out of 40 young men 18 of them gather and pray for the going on of one of their own, who has just suffered such a devastating loss? Brad says the presence of the Lord was there, and I can believe it. That, my friends, is an "assembly", that is "Glory in the Church". When a random and seemingly disparate group of people can drop all the differences and gather in the Lord's name, and together beseech Him, extoll Him, praise and thank Him, and call upon Him for further salvation and provision and the going on of one of their own, that is "the kingdom and the power and the glory", forever and ever amen.

And part 2 of the story, when the local LSM "facilitator" decries any experience apart from the aegis of Lee to be "of Satan", and the young brother says, "thank you very much, goodbye" and walks out. Wow. Very dramatic, very arresting. Even humorous, in a dry, Isaiah/Paul kind of way. Brad, wherever you are out there, amen, brother. Peace to you and thanks for taking a minute to share part of your story.

God is wonderful. Praises and thanks and honor and glory to Him forever and ever amen.

amen..amen...

[djohnson(XLCmember)]

Do you know why James Barber moved from the valley to OKC? I heard from a very reliable source the following scenario:

There was a good work esp among the youth in the valley and Barber was very happy to be there but he started commenting on Philip Lee implying he was "the fly in the ointment". Soon thereafter he was "asked" to move to OKC and essentially was "put out to pasture" i.e. even though after his arrival the church there grew due to his ministry he never really wanted to leave L.A.

[Cal]

I recall James saying in a meeting that the Lord led him to go to OKC. I clearly recall him saying that he realized that Oklahomans were "his kind of people," meaning they were culturally similar to his roots. He seemed quite excited about moving there.

[Guest1]

Originally Posted by Igzy

I recall James saying in a meeting that the Lord led him to go to OKC. I clearly recall him saying that he realized that Oklahomans were "his kind of people," meaning they were culturally similar to his roots. He seemed quite excited about moving there.

this sounds much more like the real thing..

[djohnson(XLCmember)]

Here is a quote from Brent Barber about it:

"I only know the scandal in terms of how it affected my dad and it pretty much ruined his life as he was never the same after getting booted from hall 2 and sent out to pasture. He made the best of it and cultivated something good in OK, but his spirit and heart were broken after he lost all the young people in LA. I am not laying any of that at anyone's feet but the politics that Lee used to decimate his rivals and smear anyone who threatened his primacy. You only have to look at what happened ten years later with John Ingalls and Al Knoch to know that he never changed his MO of scorched earth."

[Thankful Jane]

Originally Posted by djohnson

Here is a quote from Brent Barber about it:

"I only know the scandal in terms of how it affected my dad and it pretty much ruined his life as he was never the same after getting booted from hall 2 and sent out to pasture. He made the best of it and cultivated something good in OK, but his spirit and heart were broken after he lost all the young people in LA. I am not laying any of that at anyone's feet but the politics that Lee used to decimate his rivals and smear anyone who threatened his primacy. You only have to look at what happened ten years later with John Ingalls and Al Knoch to know that he never changed his MO of scorched earth."

I can confirm this having heard about Lee's bad treatment of James directly from Virginia (about 10 years after he died). I can't remember the details now of the story about how James ended up in OKC, but I remember that it was not a result of his burden, but Lee's directive.

She said Lee was very abusive and that his treatment of James tore him up because James looked to him like a father figure. She and the boys hated to see him go to a training in Anaheim because of the state he would be in when he returned, after having been mishandled (she said "abused") by Lee while there. She said the family usually took the brunt of his upset. This information was shocking to me.

Thankful Jane

[Guest1]

Originally Posted by djohnson

Here is a quote from Brent Barber about it:

"I only know the scandal in terms of how it affected my dad and it pretty much ruined his life as he was never the same after getting booted from hall 2 and sent out to pasture. He made the best of it and cultivated something good in OK, but his spirit and heart were broken after he lost all the young people in LA. I am not laying any of that at anyone's feet but the politics that Lee used to decimate his rivals and smear anyone who threatened his primacy. You only have to look at what happened ten years later with John Ingalls and Al Knoch to know that he never changed his MO of scorched earth."

can i ask a stupid question.. you told me that you are only an observer.. and were not in the lc.. how do you get all your info.. are you here by proxy for someone.. and can you verify the source.. where did you get the quote from Brent Barber.. i do believe it because Jane confirmed via Virginia.. (still hearsay though)

[Guest1]

Do you know why James Barber moved from the valley to OKC? I heard from a very reliable source the following scenario:

There was a good work esp among the youth in the valley and Barber was very happy to be there but he started commenting on Philip Lee implying he was "the fly in the ointment". Soon thereafter he was "asked" to move to OKC and essentially was "put out to pasture" i.e. even though after his arrival the church there grew due to his ministry he never really wanted to leave L.A.

i am sorry to break this to you.. .. i guess you didnt know that he died from cancer.. Virginia and the twins to okc.... James really loved the Lord.. he was so real.. i personally never heard one thing negative about another brother or sister come out of his mouth.. i never heard the above story...

God's Blessings