Life is all about the decisions we make.
When I was 20 years old I made a life changing decision to give up a summer job as a lifeguard, and traveled to Ohio against my parent’s wishes to take a Bible class. From that class I learned God’s Word and chose to confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead.
What made the difference and confirmed my new birth experience was speaking in tongues. This incredible manifestation cemented in my heart that I was a son of God, filled with the gift of holy spirit.
What made the difference for the Apostle Peter from being behind closed doors for fear and denying the Lord Jesus Christ several times during His trials leading up to His crucifixion? Being filled with the gift of holy spirit and speaking in tongues on the Day of Pentecost.
We all have made decisions in our lives that have drastically affected our lives. What makes the difference for us now is the decision to become sons of God with power.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. II Timothy 1:7.
God encourages us since “we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
Utilizing the spirit of Christ within by speaking in tongues much and using the other manifestations will make a spectacular difference in our lives.
Agape,
Bob
Galatians 6:8:
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELF
As I reflect back on my earlier years, I remember the constant encouragement I received to make a name for myself. From friends to coaches and educators, they all desired for me to look within myself and draw out all my talents to be a success. Find your niche in life. Develop your passion for seeing yourself the very best.
I certainly bought in to this as a young person, for I desired to succeed in life. But something happened when I was 20 years old in college. I found the Word of God and the message of deliverance through the person of Jesus Christ.
What Jesus Christ accomplished for mankind is monumental. He alone brought redemption to a lost world. He alone provided a name beyond any other name, and certainly He made a name for himself as well as a name for us who choose to use it.
Philippians 2:9, 10, 11:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We chose to use the name above all names in our life. And by choosing Jesus Christ, we are making a name for our self. It is not about me now. It is about Him – the Lord Jesus Christ. We mold our life around Christ. We have His DNA. Now our passion is to hold forth the Lord Jesus Christ and magnify His name
Hebrews 13:20, 21 : Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Agape,
Bob
I believe what I am going to share with you is worth your undivided attention. Please think about it.
An activity that every Christian accepts and adheres to in varying degrees is prayer. This mode of communication is what we do to connect with our Heavenly Father, Who happens to be the Creator of the Universe and you and me.
Prayer is mentioned throughout the Bible many hundreds of times. Every person of note in the Bible embraced prayer passionately. Here are a few:
“Abraham prayed unto God...” Genesis 20:17
“Moses prayed unto the Lord...” Numbers 11:2
David prayed: “...for unto Thee will I pray.” Psalm 5:2
[Jesus] “went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12.
It is quite obvious that a successful Christian walk is impossible without having a vibrant prayer life. As we saw in the above verse, Jesus Himself lead a dynamic prayer life. Great men of God also valued prayer:
“I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men too preach.”
Charles Spurgeon.
“Prayer is not learned in a classroom but in the closet." E. M. Bounds
“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Martin Luther King Jr.
The greatest thing anyone can do for God or man is pray.” S. D. Gordon
We have established the dynamics of prayer—for without it our Christian walk is empty and with it our fellowship with the Father flourishes. Now, I would like for you to think about the two different modes of prayer.
The Bible teaches there are two ways to pray. They are both important, but I trust you will see that one would be more advantageous in connecting to God our Father.
I Corinthians 14:14 & 15a:
For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also:...
When we pray in the spirit – speaking in tongues, think about who really is that spirit in us. It is the Christ in you. It is the Comforter, as well as the spirit of truth referred to by Jesus in the book of John. When you speak in tongues the perfect spirit from God prays perfectly. God gave us this exhilarating means of magnifying Him (Acts 10:46).
God wants us to pour our hearts out to Him in prayer. Since our Father has provided us a unique and perfect way to talk to Him, why not speak in tongues much.
When you speak in tongues you are not speaking unto men, but unto God (I Corinthians 14:2). How much are we praying in the spirit? Should speaking in tongues be our primary means of prayer? Think about it!
Agape,
Bob
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit [speaking in tongues], and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
“Really!” “Oh, come on now! No way does God spend time talking with me.” This prevailing attitude seems to be man’s normal expectation when it comes to hearing from God.
“God has much better things to do than to speak to little ole me.” Does He? We are the purpose of all that He has created. He paid a dear price in the death of His Son so that we could have a relationship with Him via the spirit. Don’t you think the Father would utilize that spirit to communicate with us?
Consider why He “invented” speaking in tongues and used it to introduce the new birth realities on the Day of Pentecost. “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God” (I Corinthians 14:2a). Now we can pray in the spirit for the first time, which is talking to God. Would the Father not reciprocate by speaking to us via the other manifestations of the spirit such as word of knowledge and word of wisdom or in spirit action?
We should be expecting to hear from our Heavenly Father. Remember when Jesus shared with His apostles on several occasions about the coming “comforter?” This comforter was the gift of holy spirit that came for the first time on the Day of Pentecost. In John 14:26 we see how involved the “comforter” which is the spirit, would be in the believer’s life: “he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
We need to tune in to God’s frequency. How do we do that?
The other day I was driving my car and trying to find KJOY, a popular Christian radio show. I was all over the dial until I finally hit upon it. Once I knew the right frequency number it was easy to find.
While searching for my radio station, what I heard most was static. We need to be able to clear out the static, so we can hear the Father.
Our Heavenly Father wants to work with us. He really does! “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” Philippians 2:13. If this is the case then He will be talking to us. All we need to do is keep an ear out for Him as we walk by the spirit.
Bob Lindfelt
When I think about faithfulness two godly men in the Bible come to my mind, Moses and Jesus Christ. Of course there are thousands in the Word of God but these two are my favorite.
Moses was "faithful in all mine house" (Num. 12:7). Moses obediently did all God asked of him. Moses was meek towards God...which was quite different from the Israelites with him. They were meek one day, grumbling the next, and idolatrous soon after. Moses did not allow the people's attitude to deter his own obedience. He was imperfect as we all are but he consistently did God's will the best he could.
Jesus Christ is our premier example of faithfulness. He always did the Father’s will and spoke God's words never his own. He had only one desire, "...not my will, but thine, be done.--Luke 22:4 Jesus always obeyed his Father that’s why he could be our perfect sin offering.
We too can develop that character of faithfulness towards God and man by feeding our hearts with God’s Word and obeying it. Being a doer of the Word and not a hearer only is the pattern of a faithful man.
I have personally known a faithful man in the flesh for over 42 years that is my husband Bob Lindfelt. The reason I am sharing this is on June 8th he will be celebrating a milestone in his life, his 70th birthday and 50 years of being born again and a faithful minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He has proven himself to be a faithful minister from the East Coast accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at East Carolina University at 20 years of age to coming to the West Coast starting with his service in the Marine Corps to being a faithful pastor for over 48 years in Bristol, England, Indiana, Boston, MA and San Diego ministering to believers teaching, preaching and living the gospel. He has been a faithful steward of the things God has given him. His heart and drive has been the caring for and feeding of God’s people especially encouraging them to walk in all the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit.
"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful."--1 Cor. 4:1,2
His passion for helping people drove him to publish a book in 2002 called, Speaking in Tongues: A Biblical Perspective that has blessed people around the globe and in 2013 he wrote a second edition to make it even clearer how important our communication with our Heavenly Father is.
Our children, their spouses, our grandchildren, the household of believers and I would like to invite you to a special Sunday morning fellowship at Pt. Loma Assembly (3035 Talbot Street San Diego, CA) on June 18, 2017 at 10:30 am to celebrate his life and faithfulness. If you cannot physically attend we would be honored if you would send a card or note to bless him and remind him of your time together, a testimony or an encouraging word.
You can email a note to me at
God has truly put our lives together for a purpose to love and serve Him together and we are thankful for each one of you. Today we have over 700 people receiving the Bless Net. Praise the Lord!
Thank you for you faithful stands on God’s Word and in His love and grace we eagerly await the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Joyfully in Him,
Jeanie Lindfelt