"For in him we live, and move, and have our being..."

A New Day

2012-01-25T12:47:00.000-08:00

Podcast from Sunday's Message,

"A New Day"

http://web.me.com/scottaphillips/Site/Podcast/Entries/2012/1/25_A_New_Day.html

Summarize

The exodus

The Wilderness

The Jordan

Crossing Over into a New Day

Living in the Wilderness was a Journey of Survival. Walking into the Promise-land was an Adventure into Revival.

The Miracles of the Wilderness were miracles of subsistence.

Water, Bread, Meat, Shade, Heat....

THe Miracles on the other side of Jordan were miracles of conquest.

To go into the promise land, you must understand that It is a conquest into the promises of God.

Entering Into the Promise Land.

Phase 1

Parted Jordan, Rock Altars,

Fresh Circumcision

Phase 2

1. Jericho

2. Defeat @ AI

3. Exposure of Achan's Sin

4. Victory @ AI

5. Altar Built - The Reading of Moses Law

Phase 3

THe Deception - Making Peace with the Enemy

Phase 4

Confrontation / Confirmation / Conquest

A Land that Flows with Milk and Honey

It flows with milk and honey. Milk represents the basic necessities for growth and strength. Honey represents the extra sweet things that God gives when we endeavor to push forward into His will.

You must milk the cows... and rob the bees.

You Must understand, you measure your own victory.

Not alone.

Joshua 5

13And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

14And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?

15And the captain of the LORD's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

John 3:1-5

Nic was living under, even a teacher and enforcer of the OLD covenant.

Armed with Promise, Driven by vision, with the Angel Armies of God walking with you.

It is a New Day.

However He was looking into the eyes of the maker of a New Day.However He was looking into the eyes of the maker of a New Day.

A people that were subject to Rome.... were looking for a kingdom.

Jesus promised him.... A New Birth will give you vision and access to the Kingdom.

The Old Covenant was a Religion of Rules

The Old Covenant was a Religion of Washings

The Old Covenant was a Religion of Days

The Old Covenant was a Religion of External Measurement

The New Covenant is an Experience....

It is governed by a with Jesus Relationship.

John 10:10

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The New Covenant is an Experience ....

You Must Rob the Bees and Milk the Cows.

It is a daily journey of faith.

There is an opportunity of Dynam

Dunamis (Ancient Greek: δύναμις) is the scholarly term for the philosophical concept of potentiality and actuality.

Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The New Day it is before us.

Facebook Religion is Vain

2012-01-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

How many's relationship walk matches thier religious talk?

Facebook Religion is vain. What people think of you in a virtual community really don't matter a bit. Pure religion is doing what is right, saying what is right and living what is right. Those things don't translate to Facebook real well, but they make a good life.

My goal, is that my walk would match my talk. Living a christian life is one of simplicity. It is not about the flash in the pan or the excitement of a moment, but it is just being real... and that real is goodness, peace, purity and kindness.

Abraham, Noah, Enoch walked with God. It was not a race, but a pace. It was not a goal, but a journey. Everything good in the life of a christian is about enduring, patiently, consistently doing what is right, when wrong would be more convenient or easier.

The Word of God speaks of those who serve him with thier mouth, but thier heart is far from him. How poignant this assessment is to this current generation. So many know the vocabulary of the righteous, but seem to be illiterate of the true christian ethic.

We must not be so concerned what our facebook status is, as we are concerned about how our status is with His word and what we know it says we should do in our lives.

Selah

Prayer - Pray - Praying

2012-01-10T18:36:00.000-08:00

"Despite this "information age" we live in, prayer is still the best, most effective form of communication."

I read this on Facebook today and what follows is my rambling thoughts on prayer.

Prayer

There is no app for that.
You cannot download it from iTunes.
You can't buy it from Amazon.
UPS does not deliver it.
Personal effort is still required.
There is no automation, recording, multi-tasking, copy and pasting.

Prayer is today what prayer was in days gone by.

Before email.

Before pagers.

Before telephones.

Before telegrams.

Before the pony express.

The very same process that was prayer six thousand years ago is what it is today.

Adam did it.

Enoch did it.

Noah did it.

Abraham did it.

Moses did it.

Prayer is more than information sharing. Prayer is communication from the soul of humanity into the domain of the divine.

The only interface, the only connection that connects the hurts, dreams and supplication of men and women is transmitted to the holy spirit is simple.

Prayer is communing with God.

There is no set position. There is no prescribed words or rituals. Prayer is as much an attitude as it is a posture.

Prayer is talking, sharing, pouring, crying, giving and surrendering our lives to God.

Prayer requires intent. It does not happen on accident.

Prayer requires focus. It does not happen naturally.

Prayer requires effort. It does not happen automatically.

If you were to analyze the lives of the righteous souls in scripture you can boil down prayer to a few basic things required to be successful.

Humble, Honest, Willing, Obedient and ....

One last thing about prayer. Writing about it don't equal it. Talking about it is not the same as. Preaching about prayer does no equal it.

The one thing you must do with prayer is pray.

Pray in the morning. Pray in the noonday. Pray always.

Getting Up, Sitting down, eating, driving, meetings, relationships....

Pray.

Thinking about prayer makes me realize, I need to go pray.

Praying

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

The Spirit of Excellence

2012-01-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

The Spirit of Excellence

In my study of the Book of Daniel. It seemed that highlighted in the text was this trait attributed to Daniel, that being that he had an excellent spirit.

I began to look deeper into this and found that this was said of him specifically on a number of occasions and I knew that I had found something worth looking into a little deeper.

To diagnose the characteristics of a person with an "Excellent Spirit", let us look and see what the scripture show us about Daniel.

He Refused to Compromise

The First Time we meet him is in the first chapter of the Book of Daniel. We are confronted with the situation and circumstance of the environment that he finds himself in. He is a Jew living in Babylon that has been made a Eunuch. He and many others have been carried away from Jerusalem and will for the rest of their days serve at the desire of the King of Babylon. This is far from Ideal. When confronted with what is expected of them, they refuse to compromise. In a situation that would seem they are defeated, still they maintained their integrity.

When the Chips were down, he stood up.

The second chapter we are confronted with the fact that he along with the rest of those who were gifted and respected in the Kingdom were going to be sentenced to die. Rather than just resign and give up, he stands up and takes it upon himself to be a tool God can use in this circumstance.

Friends of Common Faith with Integrity.

It seems that though Daniel and his friends were not the only Jews in Babylon, they were the only ones that stayed true to their God and the worship to him. When faced with the ultimatum of bowing to pressure or dieing for God... they stood true and were a testimony to the power of people standing up for what is right even when there is a high personal cost involved. This is the kind of friends Daniel Had.

Stayed True when Persecution Came

Daniel being of an excellent Spirit was honored above everyone else. Envy and Jealousy are the product often in this situation and he found himself the target of everyone in power. However even in this situation, being a man of an Excellent Spirit continued in the dedication and devotion of a Worshiper of Jehovah. He continued to pray three times a day... and God honored him and lifted him up and bestowed an even greater level of favor. All while silencing those who chose to try to destroy him.

These are just a few of the attributes that defined this man with an Excellent Spirit. May we all strive to have that kind of spirit and attitude.

Excellence!

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

www.newbirth.us

Personal Revival

2012-01-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

If anything lies within our domain to determine, it is this particular element of faith. Revival of in our personal life can be determined by us alone. No doubt a revival in our family can spark our faith and even more so a revival at the church, however a personal revival can be had at anytime that we choose to pursue it with focus.

A picture of a personal revival is recorded in the book of Isaiah. We read the prophet recorded an experience he had in the sixth chapter of his book. We find that in a year where mourning and sadness was in the Kingdom, he saw the Glory of the Lord. Further we see that he explained in glorious detail a vision of the Lord, angels in worship and a very personal exchange that took place.

The first step towards a personal revival is that you choose to see the Lord rather than allowing the current climate and condition of your world. You must lift up your eyes unto the Lord and see Him and quit worrying about all of the other situations around you.

When the King died... I saw the King of Kings.
When I lost my job.... I saw the Lord as my provider.
When my family was in an uproar... I saw the Prince of Peace.

As we continue reading, we find that at this heavenly vision Isaiah the prophet uttered a seemingly spontaneous declaration of the state of himself and those he whose burden he bared.

" ⁵Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips:"

I find it interesting first of all that he identified his personal state of his condition was one of uncleanness, unworthiness. It is worth considering as well that he did not identify his hands as being unclean nor his heart or mind, but his lips and the lips of his people being unclean. Why his lips?

I reference for you what the scripture says, "by our words we are justified and by our words we are condemned." Nothing sets the direction of our life than our conversation, specifically the words that we speak. Like a yoke on an airplane our lips and mouth set our direction and attitude more than any one thing.

At this admission of iniquity he witnesses and experiences something special.

" Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."

When we recognize our sin in the presence of God, we have opened the door for the Lord to do what only he can do. We find that a burning, living coal from the Altar is taken and touches his mouth and a proclamation of cleansing is made over his life. Wow. Think about it.

We find at this point of cleansing, it is no longer him confessing his shortcomings, but we find he is made aware of the purpose of God. When we get honest with God and experience the grace he can give us we enter into a place where we can perceive what is important to the Lord and his plan.

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."

What do you do when you know what is in the heart of God?

I will tell you what you will do when you have set your heart to seek the Lord.

When you have found the mercy of God transform your condition and began to understand what God wants.

You will cry out even as Isaiah did, "Here am I; send me."

Personal Revival will always result in your being a part of God's solution to your world.

That is my focus this week. I am seeking, searching, praying and asking the Lord to give me a personal revival.

To renew my faith.

To renew my vision.

To renew my burden.

to renew my understanding.

That I can with a fresh passion cry unto the Lord,

"Here am I; Send Me."

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

www.newbirth.us

Presence

2012-01-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11

One of the greatest pursuits you can involve yourself in, focus upon, is to decide to be in the presence of the Lord.

Presence

We find this word for the first time very early in scripture.

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8

There is something powerful that will transpire when we exercise our choice to walk in obedience to the word of God. Just as the choice caused Adam and Eve to flee from the presence of God, when we make a conscience choice to obey God, we are running for the presence of God.

We must understand, that God is a Spirit.

God is an omnipresent, or a presence that is everywhere at all times. So no matter where we may be, we are very near his proximity. So our being in his presence is more a matter of awareness than a journey of miles.

Paul said it this way,

"That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:" Acts 17:27

In another place he wrote it this way.

"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:8-10

I know that this scripture has been misused, however there is a proper understanding of this scripture and to read it and receive it is powerful.

When, with purpose and focus a person decides to seek the Lord, We will find Him.

Today I have felt a special closeness and awareness of the presence of the Lord. What a privilege to have an opportunity to fellowship with the God of eternity.

To feel the reality and to know that this is simply a moment of what eternity will hold for those who will will believe and obey Jesus Christ!

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips
www.newbirth.us

Acts 3:19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 1:9
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

Psalm 51:11
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Psalm 100:2
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

1 Corinthians 1:29
That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Fearless Faith

2011-12-31T08:05:00.000-08:00

FAITH

I have been listening to a Church History Class on Itunes U. In the middle of the course, one lesson is about Luther.

In the early moments of my morning, I began to listen to this lesson. The professor made this statement of Luther, "He lived his life constantly under the threat of death after the morning of October 31, 1517. He learned to live beyond fear"

Living without Fear

Fearless Faith

This could be said of any Bible character.

They faced death and in that encounter, they learned how to live.

Scripture tells us, "Fear hath torment."

However when a person has seen beyond death and knows there is a greater promise waiting, everything looks different.

It is then that under the shadow of death, he can shine so brightly. He has eclipsed the fear and began walking in the light of faith. In the ultraviolet light of faith, everything looks right. The blues can be brighter blues and the joys can be greater joys. We can weep with them that weep and yet rejoice with them that rejoice. Faith does not remove the pain, but faith removes the fear

Perfect love casteth out all fear.

You see this in writing of Paul, John and in the words of Jesus.

These men were not afraid. What would happen if you were not afraid?

I have felt this thought gnawing on the edges of my mind for months. However in hearing the description of Martin Luther, it was like I found the focus and what had been blurry and without form, I saw in a moment what the Lord has been speaking to me.

"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

Matthew chapter 6 verse 21 till the end of the chapter, this is what Jesus was teaching. Not to live reckless. But when you have surrendered completely to righteousness and committed everything to him, why walk and live with fear as your companion, when faith should be?

What if today you began to live this year with single focus.

You chose to allow your life to become aligned with God.

If you need to forgive, do it.
If you need to humble yourself, do it.
If you need get baptized.
If you need the Holy Ghost.

Most need to just stop entertaining the doubt and unanswered questions and simply choose to believe.

Don't you realize that living between two opinions is stealing what could be a life of abundance. Rather than chewing on the past and it's bitter juices flavoring your perspective... spit it out.

And let us consume the Word of Faith. Faith can do more than move mountains; faith can make you a better person.

Micah 7:8
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

I am not afraid of falling. I am not afraid of the dark. I am not afraid of hell. I am not afraid of death.

The Lord will pick me up. The Lord will be my light. I have been redeemed from the pits of hell, I have been saved from the fear of death.

No Fear. Look at what was experienced by the people who stepped into the light of faith.

If you think and reflect on the lives of the people that we read about in scripture and from which our examples to which we strive to follow, to a man, to a woman they faced the valley of decision.

Will you be afraid or will you have faith.

David, it manifested as a lion or a bear or a giant.... And it was in the crucible of trouble that a timid soul caught fire and a light burned through him and we behold his witness these many centuries later.

You look and the examine so many of these heroes of faith show us the way to live life to the fullest is to live life to the faithest. When you live by faith, you are living life on full.

It is that moment when your life collides with God's purpose that your body and life becomes full of and bathed in light. To put on the Armor of Light.

No greater flame ever burned than when the life of man becomes united with the Light of God.

What got the attention of Moses... A Bush that burned, yet was not consumed.

John Wesley was asked the question, “How do you gather a crowd?” He quickly

responded, “I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn!”

The Mayan calendar ends in 2012. We have been inundated with the idea the world might end in 2012. Radio programs, newspaper articles, television shows and even hollywood movies have been produced predicting the end of the World.

I have been asked on many occasions, what I thought of that. My thoughts today is simply,

2012 will be a year of great and terrible things. Every year is. It is all a matter of perspective. The day when it started raining for the first time. The world ended. It was a great day for some and a terrible day for everyone else.

Noah moved with faith and built an Ark. It was a great day, because he found out his faith could float. He found out his faith did not leak. He found out his faith was right. He and his family found refuge in a faith he built for a rainy day.

This year, We are not going to listen to the naysayers.

Living Without Fear!

Fearless Faith

Finally,

Jesus final words to the Apostles,

And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Jesus looked into the eyes of his expectant disciples and told them... I have given you what you need to die a witness of my power. He told them... I have given you what you need to be a Martyr for me.

These men turned the world upside down.

Did they suffer trouble? Did they face obstacles? Yes.

But to a man, we see they were not afraid.

Fearless Faith

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

www.newbirth.us

Ester, a young woman who had every excuse stepped into the light of faith and trusted her life to God and did right.

Deborah was needed to encourage Barak to do what God wanted and together they sang a song of victory.

The answer of the hebrew boys, "We are not careful to answer thee oh King..."

^{Hebrews 11}
¹³These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Matthew 6

²¹For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
²²The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
²³But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
²⁴No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
²⁵Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
²⁶Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
²⁹And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
³⁰Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
³⁴Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

The Day After Christmas

2011-12-27T05:54:00.000-08:00

The single biggest event to have ever happened in the history of Judiasm is arguably Acts 2. No doubt the coming of Christ and his ministry were undeniably an earthquake on the timeline of history, however the biggest event was the conclusion of that event.

The coming of Christ plus His death plus His resurrection equaled Pentecost. Pentecost was a culmination of all the things that had transpired previously.

So what do you do after a big event?

When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart. ~ Howard Thurman

We just have finished the biggest holiday in America. The grocery stores shut down, Walmart shuts down, the railroad even shuts down.

After everyone has went home, what should we do?

Do what the spirit teaches us. We see the example of it’s calling in Acts 3.

When it was time to pray, they went to prayer. In the journey to prayer an amazing miracle took place.

Let us walk toward and walk in prayer.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

Acts 3

1Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

2And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

3Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

4And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

5And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

6Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

8And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

9And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

10And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

In a moment I saw the world in a different way.

2011-12-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

In one minute and twenty eight seconds, I saw the world in a different way.

The day after Christmas, I received a voicemail. In one minute and twenty eight seconds, I felt the presence of the Lord just rain on my soul. What was said, were healing words. Encouragement, appreciation and love. It was as if my mind had shifted and I saw things in a different way.

On Saturday night, Christmas eve, I opened a letter, hand written from a dear saint that has visited our church twice over eight years that lives many hours away. In that letter, carefully and beautifully written were words communicating prayer, encouragement and a number of scriptures. I refolded the pages and put them back in the envelope and felt great appreciation someone took the time and thought to share that moment with me.

A few years ago, one Saturday morning the phone rang. I could not find a cordless, so I walked and picked up a corded phone beside the bed. What I found on the other end was a pastor from a neighboring town. We did not communicate often, so his call was not a normal thing. His words were not complicated or deep. "Hey Brother, how are you today?" I responded, "I am fine, how are you?" His response was simply, "I was praying this morning and I thought of you while I prayed. I just wanted you to know that the Lord is with you." In just a few minutes we said goodbye and I hung up the phone. I remember a great sense of appreciation for God and this person. There was peace found because of a shared moment.

My life has been filled with small moments, exchanges, impartations. Individually, they might not seem like much, but in those moments it could have been the difference.

Paul in his theological masterpiece of the letter to the Romans we find special commendations about and for a singular lady.

Romans 16
I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

Phebe had been given a blank check by the Apostle Paul. Whatsoever business she hath need of you, take care of her because she has been a blessing to so many people.

We find again Paul commends a man and blesses his house, his family because of the ministry of encouragement.

2Timothy 1:16-18
The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found [me].
The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.

In all the ministry endeavors that we involve ourselves in, one does not have more eternal impact than the simple act of taking a moment to share words, healing words and allowing your presence to be the spirit of God with flesh to provide peace to a saint of God in a time of hardship.

The Power of a Moment.

"For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." Mark 9:41

The Ministry of Encouragement effects this world and the world to come.

In one minute and twenty eight seconds, you can help someone see the world in a different way.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips
http://www.newbirth.us

The stuff the future is made of.

2011-12-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

The stuff the future is made of.

Dreams, Visions, Promises, Desires, Burdens, this is the stuff the future is made of.

Most of the time ...Most of us, it is a still small voice, an urging, a feeling that motivates our walk and life of living for God.

At other times, he speaks through Prophecy, Dreams, Visions... insights we feel quickened when the Word is going forth.

At other times there is something that is birthed in us as a desire... a burden.

Divine designs born in the minds of mortal men.

What happens when we put our promises together? The magnetic pull and the miraculous multiplication that can transpire when we will allow our promises to come together.

It was a tradition in days gone by that a young girl would have a hope chest. In it would be stored the dreams of a future wedding, husband, home and children. It was more than just a box with stuff in it, it was a place where dreams lived.

Many times in our walk with God, we find where we receive things from God and we put hold them in our being, and we cherish them. However, life can cause us to forget or become weary in the wait.

Paul gave timothy some very important instructions and this is what we must do continually in our vigilant stand for God and the testimony he has given us. The message he has entrusted us to spread.

^"18This charge and admonition I commit in trust to you, Timothy, my son, ^[a]in accordance with prophetic intimations which I formerly received concerning you, so that inspired and aided by them you may wage the good warfare,
    ¹⁹Holding fast to faith (^[b]that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence) and having a good (clear) conscience. By rejecting and thrusting from them [their conscience], some individuals have made shipwreck of their faith." 1 Timothy 1:18-19

The stuff the future is made of is the substance that connects the temporal now to our eternal tomorrow.

Martin Luther King is famous for the speech he gave at the Lincoln Memorial. We see in living form how a singular man came to represent the hopes of a generation. These hopes were for the justice and equality in this world for all men.   Nothing can diminish this gracious paradigm that finds it's roots in a God point of view.

However today, we face an even greater inequality. An inequality that is not measured in money or access or treatment. But a condition that effects not just the here and now, but the forever eternal.

When God filled you with the Holy Ghost, you recieved a prophetic promise that has unspeakable power to release a person into the place of destiny and transformation. Jesus took the priesthood out of a man, out of a tribe, out of a nation and opened the door that all men might be ... that all men and women might be Kings and priests unto God.

Ye shall receive power to become his Witness's.

A supernatural power like nothing that can be generated or competed with in this world.

A power brighter than any darkness
A power stronger than any force
A power with more liberty than any bondage
A power with the keys to every lock

And when we realize...

Our problem is not what we don't have, our problem is we don't know what we already have.

The stuff ... we got the stuff to change the world.

Dreams, Visions, Desires, Burdens, Promises, Prophecies

It is through these that we stand on the battlefield of ideas and cry aloud, and spare not ...

To preach the truth,

To Spread the Gospel,

The stuff of Miracles.

Joy in our hearts, peace in our homes, purpose in our families and righteousness in our lives.

These are the greatest miracles that happen for those walking in this world.

What it takes to accomplish this, the substance, the stuff...

You have it already, remember, stir up, bring to the front and walk forward into this new year with a renewed faith in an old Promise.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

www.newbirth.us

Exodus 25:8-10

King James Version (KJV)

⁸And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
⁹According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

The Fifth Gift of Christmas

2011-12-09T07:46:00.001-08:00

One of the most memorable songs that we hear and sing at christmas time is the Twelve days of Christmas. Within that song, a part of that song is most memorable...

"Five Golden Rings"

With vibrato and flourish, we are reminded of a reason that this song has made it's way into our holiday traditions.

When contemplating this, this fifth gift of Christmas, I could not help think of this song.

Five is the number of Grace.

No doubt grace is something we receive from God. The only way we can give Grace to God, is the grace we give to others. I propose to you that really the best way we reflect our devotion to God is how we treat others.

Give grace to those around you, is a gift that you give to God.

Grace and Peace be unto you!

The Fourth Gift of Christmas

2011-12-08T07:59:00.001-08:00

The Fourth Gift of Christmas

When one endeavors to list the things we can and should give to God, it is challenging to narrow it down, because the truth of the matter, he is worthy of our all. So this is not a way of enumerating down to a few things we need to give God. The purpose is to specifically analyze some things we need to be sure we are giving Him. When we are giving him our all, be sure we are giving him everything including the things he is asking for.

The Fourth Gift of Christmas is where the wise men started with the encounter with Jesus.

True Worship

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him" Matthew 2:11

Worship is the natural response of a seeking soul when they experience the presence of God.

We see this response throughout scripture.

The first time we find this word in scripture is the portion that tells us about the time when God asked Abraham to take his son, his only son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice. When God asked him to do this, early the next morning we see him beginning his journey to a place of special significance. When they arrive close, he speaks to his servants. At a place of surrender and sacrifice consider the words of Abraham.

"And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." Genesis 22:5

We find the ingredients of true worship in this story.

It is obedient wiliness to do the hard things God asks of us. However in this place of sacrifice, Abraham speaks words of faith concerning that which God is asking him to give up. "I will be coming back with my promise."

Worship is on the Fathers wish list. Jesus expressed this known desire of heaven in his conversation with the samaritan woman.

^"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." John 4:23

True Worship!

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

True

alēthinos

1) that which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true genuine

a) opposite to what is fictitious, counterfeit, imaginary, simulated or pretended

b) it contrasts realities with their semblances

c) opposite to what is imperfect defective, frail, uncertain

2) true, veracious, sincere

1st Gift of Christmas http://inbythroughhim.blogspot.com/2011/12/seven-gifts-of-christmas.html

2nd Gift of Christmas http://www.inbythroughhim.blogspot.com/#!/2011/12/second-gift-of-christmas.html

3rd Gift of Christmas http://inbythroughhim.blogspot.com/2011/12/third-gift-of-christmas.html

The Third Gift of Christmas

2011-12-07T06:29:00.001-08:00

When the wise men came to Jesus, they presented him three things from their treasures.

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

What can we give God, a God who has everything?

1. Faith
2. Virtue
3. Commitment

Commitment is the third gift to give Christ at Christmas.

The wise men demonstrated this kind of characteristic in that they traveled a great distance and searched diligently for him. This characteristic is even more important after we find the Lord.

How many have given up in the heat of the day, fled in the day of battle and walked away when the hard times came? There is tremendous value in commitment.

The gift of a made up mind.

When we make a vow and enter into covenant with God, we have won the greatest battle we will face. Until you make that clarion call of commitment, the enemies number one effort is to get you to give up and walk away. But when you have settled in your mind and the minds of others, I will die for this, in this .... no greater gift can we give the Lord than for us to be wholly committed to him.

Why do marriages fail today? Because one or both of the participants forget what marriage is. It is a commitment. It is a vow. It is a promise. It is a covenant that must not be broken. "To love honor and cherish till death do we part." However we live in a fickle and fair weather world that has lost it's understanding that the only things that count are those things you can count on.

"..the only things that count are those things you can count on."

If there is anything that we must be committed to, it must be our whole hearted commitment to the Lord.

That commitment will effect everything else in our lives. There will be corresponding commitment that are a part of that. Our commitment to the house of God. Our commitment to the ministry God has placed in our lives. Our commitment to living for God and being who and what he has called us to do.

The Bible tells us that when Jesus returns he is coming back for those who are called, chosen and faithful. We know the scripture says it this way, "For many are called but few are chosen." This scripture in Revelations takes it one step further. It is not enough to be called and chosen, but you must be faithful.

Every promise in the book of Revelations is for a specific group of people.

It is not for those who have faith. It is not for those who have desire. It is not for those with good intentions. The promises of God are for those who overcome.

One of the greatest gifts you can give God is the gift of commitment. To renew, reaffirm and revisit the altar of surrender and pray even as Christ prayed in the Garden, "Not my will, but thine be done."

The wise men came and worshipped Jesus and opened unto him their treasures. Let us open ours up and give him what he can not give himself.

Merry Christmas Jesus!

My Faith, Virtue and Commitment!

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

http://www.newbirth.us

The Second Gift of Christmas

2011-12-06T07:52:00.001-08:00

Part 2 - The Seven Gifts of Christmas

What do you give a God who has everything?

The next gift following our gifting our faith to God.

Virtue

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." James 1:27

Virtue is the good we do that no one can applaud or award. James highlights what is valuable to God.

The Greek word translated religion is thrēskos, meaning worship, discipline as offered to God.

So pure Religion is defined here as helping those who can not help you. Blessing those who can not bless you. We see the cult of personality many people have. They have preacher religion and they desire to be seen as a preachers friend. That in and of itself is a good thing. However, we must not leave the other undone. We must recognize our attitude toward others is a reflection to the condition that resides inside us.

You can put a new paint job on a car, but if it is on blocks and does not run, your paint job did not do you any good.

God Desires for us to have, possess individual virtue that can effect the lives of others. The testimony of Cornelius, the first Gentile Christian is that he gave God a gift that he honors. Notice what it says of him,

"[A] devout [man], and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway."

He gave God what God desired and God in turned filled he and all his house with the Gift of his Holy Spirit.

The final component in this admonition, instruction from James is one that must not be left undone.

"and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

Don't play with sin. Don't dabble in the dirty ways of compromise. You can do all sorts of community projects and good works to the needy, but if you miss this third part of the equation, you have missed the point.

Worshiping a Holy God is about keeping yourself holy.

"If your character and reputation met in an alley would they recognize each other."

Don't let your good be evil spoken of.
Protect the reputation of Jesus by doing what Jesus would do. If you say you are a christian, be like Christ. In Business, relationships and conduct.

It is hard to prove a negative. You can not prove what you never did.

Someone can accuse you have stealing cookies out of the cookie jar. You can not prove you did not steal cookies. You only have your word and your reputation. I have heard people say, "I would never do this or that." However if you look at all the compromise they have allowed to take place in their lives, you realize... "If they will do that, whats a cookie?"

Virtue

"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue;" 2 Peter 1:5

The Wise Men while worshipping opened up their treasures.

Let us open our treasures up and Give God of our Faith and Virtue this Christmas.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

Greek Words Translated to Virtue in New Testament

Virtue - aretē

1) a virtuous course of thought, feeling and action

a) virtue, moral goodness

2) any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity

Virtue - dynamis

1) strength power, ability

a) inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth

b) power for performing miracles

c) moral power and excellence of soul

d) the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth

e) power and resources arising from numbers

f) power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts

The Seven Gifts of Christmas

2011-12-05T10:52:00.001-08:00

A central part of the christmas story we find in scripture is the wise men that traveled to worship the future King of the Jews. On the way from the meeting with Herod to Bethlehem they saw the star over where Jesus was. They rejoiced with great joy and went into the house where Jesus was found and fell on the ground and worshipped Him.

Notice the scripture says immediately after this worship.

" and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh."

So often we consider this season of giving to our family and friends.

In this gift giving season, many will write out a list things they are asking for. Let me propose to you, that Jesus has a list of things he would like to receive this Christmas. Specifically from you he would like to receive.

What are some gifts we can give at christmas to Christ.

The Seven Gifts of Christmas

A gift is giving someone something we know they want.

First Gift of Christmas To: Jesus From: Me

Faith

Faith is one of the most precious things that we enjoy. This singular component is what can connect this world to the world of the spirit and ultimately the realm of eternity. This substance that originates from God, finds it's virtue when we connect our faith with the source. It is the ultimate re-gifting of a thing. When we exercise our will to give, to invest, to choose to believe in and trust in God.

By investing the full measure of Faith in God, we have given Him something that holds great interest and appreciation in Him, by Him. Jesus wept at the unbelief of people in the Gospels.

The incredible blessing of our Giving our faith to Christ, is that we find ourselves in a circle of return that never ends. As long as our faith is engaged, this virtue is enjoyed.

The divine exchange enjoyed when Giving God what He wants, he gives us what we do not deserve. When we give him our faith, he opens the treasure room of his kingdom. Will you give your faith away to he that he came to redeem your soul.

"Lord I believe."

A declaration that can transform your life.

"Lord Use Me to do Great Things."

2011-12-04T05:57:00.001-08:00

"Lord Use Me to do Great Things."

Easy for you to say. We through the lens of history and context we see the visitation of Mary and all that transpired as beautiful. But think for just a minute, the visitation of the Angel, though it was glorious was a hardship.

She being pregnant before her marriage to Joseph was a tremendous shame. Joseph considered putting her away and only an Angelic visitation prevented that. Not long after the birth they were warned of the coming infanticide upon the town because the king was not going to let the future leader live. So they rushed and stayed in hiding in Egypt for two years till Herod died.

Then in his days of ministry, the accusations, the persecution and ultimately betrayal. Those were the longest days in Mary's life. To know, to see her miracle be rejected by her people, to be sentenced to the most cruel death by the leaders of her religion. Then imagine seeing him hang on the cross.... till he died.

It is all so nice and tidy in our minds, but imagine Mary's experience with the promise was with much sorrow.

The promise God sends our way is often not nice, tidy and trouble free. You may feel great sense of purpose when the promise of God comes to you, but let me tell you with my short experience, the promise of God comes with a cost.

We can look at the great lives and ministries that have brushed our lives and we can say, "Oh to have that ministry." "To preach, to pray, to effect lives.... "

It is easy for you to say. No greater man ever lived than Jesus, not a man ever lived with greater promise or prophecy concerning ministry. Consider him.

We live in a world of false perceptions. We are shown these modern day Balaams who for profit preach and musicians and singers base where they worship and perform on the price of bounty given them. Bigger stage, more fame ... as stepping stones to earthly success. Each of these are sadly pawns wrapped up in deception of self worship and their end will be no different than those who went before them.

If you find yourself in conflict while doing what God has put in your heart to do, don't measure yourself by others. Don't judge a thing before it's time.

Mary could have despaired while in Egypt. Mary could have lost hope when the stone was rolled over the tomb of her promised son. But wait. We see her at the tomb. We see her in the upper room. We know that Mary lived to see the victory in all the trouble.

It is easy to say, harder to live... but worth it all.

It will be worth it all. Keep on doing what God has said no matter the struggle, hardship or sacrifice. Consider Him. He did it all because He saw what was beyond the current circumstances. Don't get distracted by what you see right now. Lift up your eyes and see.

When you see it, you can one more time say it.

"Lord use me to do great things."

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips
www.newbirth.us

I had this thought last week and wanted to write it down, thought it might bless someone.

Rejoice in every day.

2011-12-03T08:35:00.001-08:00

I heard a radio broadcast the other day and Richard Branson was being interviewed. He is a celebrity of sorts in the business world having made billions of dollars in a number of different business endevours.

The commentator asked him about the current state of the world economy. His response was something akin to, "People need to quit being afraid and start living their lives and the economy will turn around. As long as there is fear the economy will suffer."

I immediately was reminded of this scripture.

"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." Proverbs 11:24

How true is this scripture to apply to every part of our lives. Wealth and blessing is a product of our sharing, spreading, sowing, scattering if you will our virtue as seed and see that blessing multiply and return unto us.

Rather than writing more, let me share a scripture passage.

Ecclesiastes 11

¹Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

²Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

³If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

⁴He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

⁵As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

⁶In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

⁷Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:

⁸But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all

Live in Faith and see what blessings abound.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Empty Pockets

2011-12-03T07:28:00.001-08:00

A daily ritual that I practice everyday. Ritual and habit have brought me, taught me, "You must empty your pockets." If you were to ask my wife, she would not know that this is a ritual because she no doubt has found many things still in my pockets that were missed in my process.

How do our pockets get so full?

A receipt here, a business card there, change from a purchase, a nail found in the parking lot, a note jotted down...

The daily ritual begins when we start with empty pockets and we begin loading them as we walk out the door. We have our keys, pocket knife and some change left from the day before and we go to fill our pockets again.

No doubt we give no thought to what will be in our pockets, but none the less we go like a miner looking for gold and we without thought decide to snag and keep and collect things to be sorted, saved and sifted later.

My wife will attest that I am not very good at throwing things away. I hold on to every scrap of paper that comes through my hands and will toss them in a basket without a whole lot of thought with the idea, I might need this later. If it were not for her diligent assistance of decluttering my basket, my house would be a collection of my daily collections.

How many things do we hold on to that would have been better if we had never kept. If we could forgive, release and walk away without holding on to the evidence. Not just in our pockets, but in our minds and memories?

How could we retrain ourselves not to hold on to things that add nothing to us. Holding on to things that cost us dearly in the commerce of life and the scrap is an unneeded burden. You can not get a tax deduction, nor claim it on your expense report. It is simply the cost of doing the business of living.

My prayer this morning,

Lord help me empty my pockets and not load them today with things that add nothing to me.

The Evolving Nature / Character of a Disciple

2011-12-01T09:43:00.001-08:00

This is a message I shared on Wednesday night 11/30/11. The audio for this can be found here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tir7m_GEyo

The Evolving Nature of a Disciple

To demonstrate this principle I would like to highlight for your consideration the John, the brother of James. We are able to see the evolving perception of this man who would be the lens from which we gain incredible insight and understanding concerning God and his nature.

1. John the Son of Thunder

2. John the brother of James

3. John the disciple

4. John the Beloved

5. John the Apostle

6. John the Revelator

His father was loud, his mother was presumptuous and add to him his brother and you get a picture of a prominent family.

His mother sought special positions for her sons, Jesus promised them, "You will drink of the same cup and be baptized with the same baptism, but where you fit in the kingdom is not for negotiating."

We See John Fishing, he left his nets.

We see John communing with Jesus.

We see John demonstrating a special care for Jesus.

We see John selected to care for the mother of Jesus.

We see John at the resurrection of Jesus.

We see John at Pentecost

We See John on his way to the Temple with Peter in Acts 3

He was the companion of Peter in Acts 4

He was sent with Peter to Samaria in Acts 8

We don't see him again in the book of Acts

John was with Paul in Galatia, referred to as a Pillar of the Church

It was not till later in his life and ministry that we find John the Apostle, writing.

The treasure of his treatise found in the Gospel of John.

The concern for the church in his Epistles of 1,2, 3 John.

However, it is the The Book of Revelations where we see John like no other place.

It is through this transparent soul that time, trouble and tribulation has cleared the patina of his character that he was entrusted to give us a glimpse, a vision of eternal consequence.

A Revelation of Jesus Christ.

And what a revelation it is.

We see his Person.... Jesus

We see his ministry.. Lamb

We see his eternity... God

We see his holiness...Bright as the son

We see his Concern...standing knocking

We see his Judgement.... Tribulation, Hell, Judgement

We see his Wisdom..... The beauty of his Plan.

We see the Revelation of Jesus Christ

Because of John.

Tonight, November 30, 2011 we hold in our hands the writings of John two thousand years later because he did not remain where he was, but he grew and became another, greater, improved, redeemed, purified person.

From Faith to Faith.

From Glory to Glory.

Ye are a living epistle, read and heard of all men.

Don't stop in your process.

You may fail. Get Back Up

You may sleep, wake up

You may struggle, tighten up

You may feel stagnate.... let the Holy Ghost quicken you.

Let us Strive ... for Transformation.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

www.newbirth.us

The Proof of Ministry

2011-11-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

Ministry

the joys

disappointments

mix together to make

a mixture that is like a desert at times

and like a bitter pill at others

the bitter times makes one hope for the sweet

and the sweet times are tempered by the bitter

How does one continue when there is a string of bitter?

There is a promise of the better.

Jesus, look at his experience of ministry.

Not long after his own rise of popularity, his cousin, his chief voice of confirmation, you could say his Pastor, the man that baptized him was not only imprisoned.. but beheaded. No doubt a premonition of the nature of the beast he was sent to slay.

Look, can you see those who were healed that never gave praise, those who heard the word and failed to do. Look at his hand chosen disciples, those he called and poured the virtue of truth into like precious vessels. All the time knowing what lay ahead of them.

Those he mentored and trained, to a man would be persecuted in unspeakable ways and all martyred save one, and not for lack of effort on the part of the force that resisted the preaching and work of the Kingdom.

Don't forget his own, from any earthly evaluation he was crucified by his target audience.

We often judge our effort by how many seem happy with our performance. How many showed up for a chicken dinner or the glimmer of a promise of some sort of relief from their immediate dilemma of pain and problems.

But wait, God's judging of our ministries and our lives is not on a single event, but these are but grains of sand that run through our lives.

It is hard for us to judge the significant moments.

Often the bitter are the very making of the miraculous and the sweet are just the cotton candy assuage our momentary feeling.

Look at the catalogue of Pauls travels and what does he share to speak of his qualifications?

He points at his challenges.

Where we would point to our offerings and attendance numbers,

Where we might hang our trophy bucks and park our bass boats,

and proclaim our great numbers of those who were baptized, paul turns our sense of values on their heads.

Paul substantiates his Apostleship in his trouble.

His dark and trying experiences were all the confirmation he needed to provide the impetus to continue to drive him to the next point on the map of God's purpose.

Trouble, heart break was all he needed to know he was doing what he was supposed to do.

It is in this paradigm of thinking where this rings true.

"So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

[Which is] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:"

Paul rejoiced in his disciples when he saw they endured trouble. Because nothing shows your commitment to Christ than your becoming great in the midst of terrible times.

In time, that which seems bitter now, will be sweet.

Diamonds are made under pressure and intense heat. The making of God's church and ministry is no different.

Press On. Pray On. Have trouble? Then you must be doing something right.

Enduring, Overcoming and Victorious

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

http://www.newbirth.us

2 Corinthians 11

²³Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

²⁴Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

²⁵Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

²⁶In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

²⁷In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

²⁸Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

³⁰If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.

³¹The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

³²In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:

³³And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.

Redefining the Defined

2011-11-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

Redefining the Defined

We understand that words lose and gain new meaning over time. In fact the way they are spelled and how they are spoken changes over time as well.

Every year there are words and phrases that catch new meaning from the culture. A few examples would be,

"Winning"

"Tweet"

As a person who has been young, you can look back at some ideals that you had at one time when you really knew very little of what was involved. As you grew in knowledge and years there was a shallow level of experience, and as time has went by your view of things may have changed or been perfected to a certain degree.

This can be a good thing.

This can be a bad thing.

Something being redefined based on understanding is what makes us tick.

We read out of the same Bible as the rest of the world, but because of what our growing appreciation of the Word of God and what it says, that appreciation has caused us to redefine what we believed on many things.

There was a time that many believed that if you were sprinkled as a child by a priest that that was a christian baptism. However as a person learns what baptism is in scripture, that rediscovering the true definition caused this subject to be redefined in ones mind.

You can look at religious history and see how this exposure to a biblical definition changed for many what they believed.

You see the Anabaptist began to be persecuted because they were baptizing in water by immersion and not using a priest nor was it sanctioned by the Catholic Church. The Catholics and Pope persecuted these people... but yet it continued, in fact multiplied.

You see this evolving of understanding causing the definition to be changed to the point that today thousands celebrate the true definition of Christian baptism. We see it defined is obeying and celebrating the original Christian demand by the first message presented by the one Jesus hand chose to establish his Church.

Acts 2:38 has become a Rallying cry... because New Testament Salvation has been Redefined back to it’s origin.

However our celebrating the redefinition, must remind us, that somewhere someone lost the original meaning and it became a meaningless tradition that was so marred and mangled by the philosophizing of men that it took hundreds of years and great persecution for people to finally come back to the original.

So...

What needs to be redefined to the original in our personal walk with God?

Is our lifestyle and conduct defined by the original pattern and spirit of scripture or are we guided by the misguided and being led blindly by those who do not even understand themselves?

We must strive that the definition of all things comes from the scripture and not some other persons opinion.

To allow HIS WORD to define me and everything around me.

I find my meaning,

In Him, By Him, Through Him

Scott A. Phillips

www.newbirth.us

Upside Down

2011-10-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

When something is turned upside down, it changes the environment, expectations and parameters. Our church just got a new sign. I inadvertently turned the letter box upside down. All the letters, dividers of letters found themselves scattered across the floor. What had been neat, alphabetical order was now radically changed.

"These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;" Acts 17:6

Turning the world upside down. What a phrase to describe what the preaching of the gospel and the conversion of souls produced.

What is transformation to God is disturbing to the natural order of things.

Where the preaching of the Gospel took place, those who were involved in spiritism, prostitution, drunkenness, partying were transformed. Those who profited from such enterprises were disturbed.

Imagine if in a period of a few weeks everyone stopped smoking, drinking, going to bars and involving themselves in lude and immoral things. There would be a lot of people unemployed, and they would be unhappy about it.

This transformation did not stop there, but proselyting was going on. Jews were becoming christians, worshippers of all manner of other gods were leaving the temples and becoming a part of this transforming power.

What did the world do in response?

Locked them in prison, stoned them, locked them up and did all they could to silence them to the point of killing them.

And yet it could not be stopped. Why?

The nature of the Gospel is radical transformation.

Repentance is to turn and go in the opposite direction.

Here is my thought.

To turn the world upside down, you must first turn something smaller upside down.

Turn Upside Down You

As an individual, you must be willing to radically change what is normal for you.

You must first turn over the order of your world and allow God to rearrange and maybe even mess up what you feel so comfortable with. What you trust in.

If you will allow God to do that for you on an individual basis, you could be the catalyst in your family. You could be the catalyst in your church.

New Wine in Old Wine Skins

You can not put what God is doing in the mold of what others have described as proper and convenient. So many people lose what God has done because they falsely believe that they can contain what God is doing in the traditions of men. While they feel burning inside of them, everything around them is trying to put it out. "Be quiet, proceed with wisdom and try to keep things in order." What happens is rather than the world being set on fire with Revival, that revival is snuffed out of the individual. They finally kicked the Apostles out of the Synagogues.

You could be the first domino to fall.

Let me warn you. People may not applaud or celebrate your transformation. They might resist you, laugh at you, try to stifle and silence you. However, it is the resistance the provides the contrast to the true supernatural nature of your change.

Do you want to turn the world upside down?

The established religious order will be challenged.
Tradition will be threatened.
Those in charge of maintaining order and decorum will be put on the spot.
And you will be pressured to put everything back like it was.

This is what they did to the Apostles. However, they refused to compromise the truth for those who wanted to maintain the status quo.

Put Your head in the carpet, rather than the clouds.
Humble yourself and turn from every way that is not pursuing God.
Turn yourself upside down and see what God does.
Let us together fast and pray and seek God.

My Prayer,

Father,
What can I do to upend the prescribed order of my situation in such a way that You would be glorified? That truly You would be first, front, center and celebrated above all else.

In Jesus Name!

Turning myself upside down!

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips

http://www.newbirth.us

It's Your Move

2011-10-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

Message from October 9, 2011.

It's Your Move

2011-10-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

These are notes I used for the message I preached @ NewBirth on 10/9/11 on Sunday Morning. The video will be posted.

God is focused on the individual.

God’s Work of Salvation is available to all, but is done on an individual basis.

We see many of God's principles of God are universal and these things apply to all.

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."John 3:16

Universal Availability

God’s Focus is on the Individual. When we become a part of the whole, we enter into the promises of the whole through our individual participation.

Lets consider two stated realities of God's nature.

The Omnipresence of God - God is everywhere

The Manifest presence - God shows up and Miracles, Signs and Wonders happen.

There is something we can do that will like a magnet cause the reality of God be drawn to it like a magnet.

God is not a respect of persons.

God is not impressed with your pedigree.

God is not impressed with your degree.

God is not impressed with your status.

God is not following you on twitter and he is not reading your updates on facebook.

He may know all these things, but God is not impressed with the things that impress us.

God is not impressed with Authors who write books, because he is THE WORD.

God is not impressed with Artists who can paint, Because he Created everything with his thoughts spoken.

God is not impressed with Architects, because he is the LOGOS, he is the Ultimate Plan.

God is not impressed with birth order.

God is not impressed with Racial makeup.

God is not impressed with stature.

God is not impressed with intellectual quotient

God is NOT a Man...

God became a Man to save Man, but God is a Spirit.

That spirit is every where, he is omnipresent.

The Spirit of God is EVERYWHERE

Acts 17:18-31

However there is something we can do that will cause his SPIRIT to become concentrated in such a way where he will move.

THE MANIFEST PRESENCE OF GOD

There are some things that apply to everyone.

But everything about God does not apply to everyone.

God Loves everyone, but God is not going to save everyone.

God is not moved by need, God is moved by faith.

God is not moved by attendance, God is moved by participation.

God is not moved by our awareness, God is moved by our respect.

Luke 11

Jesus gives us a template of prayer. This template is one of importunity. A pattern of urgency. It demonstrates that receiving something from God is a combination of faith and importunity.

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Faith and Diligence

We live in a physical world and are working in the Kingdom of the Spirit.

Faith is the Currency of the Kingdom...

But diligence is the grease in the kingdom of this world.

2 Peter 1:5-7

5And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Diligence is to this physical world, what faith is in the kingdom.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Should Not is different Shall Not

Should Not. Every person that expresses faith in Jesus, Should not Perish. But we all know there are a lot things that happen that should not.

Should Not

Unmarried people should not have sex.

Married people should not have sex with people they are not married to.

People should not lie.

People should not wear immodest apparel.

Should

Men should marry women.

Children should obey and honor their parents.

Christians should pay tithes.

Everyone should be at church on Sunday morning.

Everyone should have a hope church.

Everyone should be faithful.

Men should lift up holy hands without wrath or doubting.

Husbands should love their wives and treat them like Jesus treats the church.

Wives should submit and respect their husbands.

John 3:16 gives us insight into the nature of our world and the Will of God.

We see Jesus, he was the Manifest Presence of God. He was the WORD IN THE FLESH.

However his deity did not negate the nature of this realm. To open the Door from this realm, to HIS REALM... his FLESH was going to be the doorway.

He was the WAY.

He was the TRUTH.

He was the LIGHT.

And in this... we see the way.

We see the Truth.

We see the Light.

Jesus is the Author and the Finisher of our Faith.

What happens in between the beginning and the End is on you.

GOD IS LOOKING AT YOU.

Manifest Presence

Luke 8

42For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.

43And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,

44Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

45And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

46And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

47And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

48And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Everyone was around him... pressing him... but they did not touch him.

God is not moved by need, God is moved by faith.

God is not moved by attendance, God is moved by participation.

God is not moved by our awareness, God is moved by our respect.

Mark 6:4-6

4But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

5And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

6And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

Matthew 11:12

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

TO Force ones way into a thing.

You must be presumptuous....

If it going to happen to anybody... it is going to be me.

Mark 7

25For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

26The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

28And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

29And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

30And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Steve Jobs is dead

2011-10-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

I was standing at the front door of the church about ten minutes before we were to begin and a man walked in and said, "Did you hear, Steve Jobs is dead?" The next time I heard this was my oldest son, Keaton and he remarked, "Steve Jobs is dead."

When I got home and opened up my computer I saw that the headlines on the leading news sights were all wallpapered with pictures of Steve Jobs standing with his creations of technology. One man and his vision single handedly changed the world we live in on many fronts.

I am not sure that any other CEO of an American company would have caused such a ripple. How did he do it in this day and age? What about him created such a stir?

I don't know that I can capture this answer in this blog post. I will summarize by highlighting three statements.

1. A creative genius that had the ability to take away the mystery in technology and make it simple.
2. He had an understanding that keeping a secret stirs peoples appetite for the unknown.
3. He knew how to use words to sell.
4. He knew people would pay more for a better product.

Oh, see, there I went and gave you four. Steve Jobs would have probably made it one statement.

I think the general feeling in those around me at his death is the sorrow of what could have been. What technology has been stolen from our future when this genius was claimed by death so soon.

The impression that settled down on my thinking as I reflected on the passing of this man was this.

"Steve Jobs is dead and you're not."

You're not dead. There is still something inside of you that must be born. There is still a song in you that must be written. There is still a book in you that is yet to be written. There is still something wonderful to be created that has not flowed out of you.

Your not dead, shake yourself.
Your not dead, wipe the cobwebs out of your brain.
Get up out of your dark room of inactivity and dream.

Steve Jobs is Dead, but you are not.

I found a quote from him that seemed to put a frame around this little thought that I had.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry."

(Struck me Funny, the compiler of this quote, honoring the man of simplicity, they could not just stop at five or ten, there had to be 11.)

You are alive. Act Like It. Live.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott A. Phillips
www.newbirth.us

The 11 Best Steve Jobs Quotes
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/05/the-best-steve-jobs-quote_n_997300.html#s338875