Seek First the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness
Matt 6:33
"MY BELOVED BRETHREN... BE YE
STEDFAST, UNMOVEABLE, ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK... FOR AS MUCH AS YE KNOW
THAT YOUR LABOUR IS NOT IN VAIN IN THE LORD. 1 COR
15:58
In this issue:
* Spring Campus Preaching
* Encouragements to un-answered prayer
* Updates
"'Not called!' did you say?
'Not heard the call,'
I
think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go
and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened,
agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by
the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house
and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there.
Then look Christ in the face — whose mercy you have professed to obey — and tell
Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march
to publish His mercy to the world.
~William
Booth, founder of the Salvation Army
We at FBF would like to Thank you again for your prayers and encouragements as the Teams in East, Central, South and Western Africa are experiencing many advances and serious revival that continues in the East and Central sections... all Glory to God! East India continues to open up new territories with the Gospel, and the Open Air preach continues in the US. All teams are training new recruits at this time. We thank the LORD for the good work of participating with His Kingdom advance... and with all His Church Bride who is eagerly awaiting His soon return. This is the hour for all of God’s children to ‘rise up’ for the gospel of Jesus Christ! It’s TIME to do all we can in Christ. His return is more certain than ever before! Amen.
The focus of
the Pastoral Letter (PL) is along the lines of generally edifying and
encouraging Preachers to establish more of Christ in our lives, promoting the
Kingdom of God where ever we go, Establishing God fearing Churches, mission
updates (Africa, India, US), missions reports, focus points, teaching,
exposition, a short list of mail-ins (with some excerpts). We are committed to
the Great Co-Mission for all, as being salt and light are not an option in the
church of Jesus Christ. Matt 5:13-16 ... We continue to bless all those who are at
work in the advancement of the Kingdom of God... for Jesus sake. We continue to
call all men to Jesus, and to the simplicity of Christ that we find in the Book
of Acts Church... to His Glory and Praise!
Acts 2:42, 46-47, Mark
16:15-16
May the LORD
leave His richest blessings upon each one of you as you Press On with
Jesus!
Celebrating Passover Week
Remembering the Resurrection
SELECTED BIBLE VERSES
FOR JESUS’ RESURRECTION
The Victory in
Jesus
And though they found
no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And
when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the
tree and laid him in a sepulcher.
But God raised him from
the dead:
And he was seen many
days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his
witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the
promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us
their childre,m in that He has raised up Jesus again: as it is also written in
the second psalm, “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” and as
concerning that He raisded him up from the dead, now no more to return to
corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
Wherefore he saith also
in another psalm, “ Thou shall not suffer thin Holy One to see corruption. For
David, after he had served his own gereation by the will of God, fell on sleep
and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption. But... He whom God raised
again saw no corruption. Praise the Lord! Acts 13:28-37
Jesus’ Burial
Luke 23:50-56 Now there
was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had
not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of
Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked
for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it
in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was
Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with
Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in
it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the
Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
The tomb was
sealed and at the demands of the chief priests and Pharisees, Pilate
approved a guard of Roman
soldiers. (Matthew 27:62-66)
• The sealing
involved a cord that passed around the stone, and that was attached to the rock wall with sealing
wax that had been impressed with an official Roman seal.
• The seal and the
guards became a means to provide positive confirmation of the
resurrections
reality.
The Empty Tomb
Before daybreak on the
day following the Sabbath, a party of women assembled with the intention of further
caring for the body of Jesus.
• There were three
women involved: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and
Salome.
• They planned to
bring spices to apply to the body.
• Apparently the women
did not know that the tomb had been sealed and placed underguard.
Mark 16:1-4 When the
Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought
spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day
of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they
asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the
tomb?” The three women were no doubt delightfully surprised to find their
problem of access to the tomb solved;
• The stone had
already been rolled away.
Luke 24:2-9 They found
the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of
the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed
like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces
to the ground, but the men said to them,
“Why do you look for
the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he
told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be
delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be
raised again.’”
Then they remembered
his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the
Eleven and to all the others. Mary Magdalene took pains to seek out Peter and
John first of all and she breathlessly blurted out… “They have taken my Lord
away from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him!” (John 20:2)
All four of the
Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John speak of the fact that the stone was
rolled away.
• Many folks have
pointed out that the tomb was opened, not to let the body of Jesus out, but to
let the world see in.
It took the power of
God raise Jesus from the dead… because we believe the Scriptures as it is
written.
• In the Apostle
John’s account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection he states, “But these are
written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John
20:31)
The Resurrection of
Jesus
The significance of
Jesus’ resurrection is beyond imagination.
• It is pivotal in the
Christian faith.
The Apostle Paul argues
in his Epistles that our faith in God and hope of resurrection rests entirely on
the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• If Christ did not
rise, then our hope is lost and he is dead and under the same judgment we
are.
• Paul pointed out,
“And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are
still under condemnation for your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17)
• Paul wrote, “If only
for this life we hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1
Corinthians 15:19)
Because he arose, we
can believe Jesus when he said that… all will rise again.
… John 5:28-29 “Do not
be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will
hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and
those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
What then is the shape
of the believer’s hope? The Bible speaks explicitly, decisively.
• Physical death is
the separation of the body from the soul.
• Resurrection
reunites body and soul.
• It is not merely the
bringing back to life of a corpse, but rather the re-creation of the body to
make it fit for eternity.
Jesus’ resurrection is
evidence that God’s intention for humanity includes a life that extends beyond
the earthly years.
• In the New
Testament we discover resurrection is to an endless life, in a transformed
state of being, passing beyond the power of death and decay.
The Apostle Paul points
out that Jesus “through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the
Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4)
• The resurrection is
proof of all of Christ’s claims and a solid foundation for our faith.
• His resurrection is
the guarantee that the death that grips the human race because of Adam has been
conquered and that Risen Life is now man’s destiny in Christ Jesus risen Lord
and Saviour.
Hebrews 7:24-25 …“that because Jesus lives
forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely
those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede
for them.”
• Jesus resurrection is the key to
fulfillment of all the Old Testament and New Testament promises about the
future. OT and NT hinges upon the cross... and points to the resurrection life
beginning with the First Fruits of Christ Jesus, who broke the chains of
Death... which no longer has a hold on Him.
The Apostle Paul made the resurrection of
Jesus Christ the essential foundation of the message that he preached saying,
“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
(1 Corinthians 15:14)
The Bible reveals that after he rose from the
dead Jesus appeared on 10 occasions to his disciples and to other of his
followers for a period of 40 days.
• 5 times on the Resurrection day and 5
specific additional appearances. There may have been numerous other times of
fellowship between Christ and his apostles during the forty-day period between
the Passover Resurrection and the ascension of our Lord to heaven recorded in
Acts 1:9.
• In the Book of Acts, Luke simply indicates
that his disciples repeatedly saw Jesus over a period of 40 days, teaching them
“concerning the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3)
• The appearances included a large assembly
of more than 500 of Christ’s followers on a mountain in Galilee.
The Scriptures are the true history of Jesus
Christ… the Savior of the world—Messiah.
• Our Father in heaven really wants us to
know him in Holy Fellowship—“Now this is eternal life; that they may know
you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John
17:3)
The Apostle Paul wrote this… Now let me
remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you
before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this
wonderful Gospel. And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe
it—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first
place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed
on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was
buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures
said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was
seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are
still alive, though some have died by now. Then he was seen by James and later
by all the apostles. Last of all, I saw him, too, long after the others, as
though I had been born at the wrong time. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NLT)
THE BLESSING
Without any doubt... the stone has been
rolled away, and the Saviour of the world has risen and then returned to
heaven. We have this testimony of hundreds of eye witnesses that were there,
who knew Jesus, heard Him teach an preach, who walked with Him, and ate with
Him. Now it is time to prepare to meet that same Jesus in His 2nd coming... to
end this world of sin and death, and restore it to the Eden He first created...
that all who are called to the first resurrection may live upon it in peace and
joy perpetually... with Jesus/ Yahoshua... King of Kings and LORD of
Lords.
Now the penalty of sin, the power of sin and
the presence of sin has been fully atoned for... He paid the whole price! It
now is up to us to walk in the great Grace of it... as overcomers to His great
work.
Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in
me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I
have overcome the world.” All Praise unto our Great God and
King!”
May we always remember that for 'SO GREAT A SALVATION'... it took 'SO GREAT A DEATH' on the part of The spotless Sacrifice... Jesus Christ/ Yahushua Ha Meshiach.
May we always remember that for 'SO GREAT A SALVATION'... it took 'SO GREAT A DEATH' on the part of The spotless Sacrifice... Jesus Christ/ Yahushua Ha Meshiach.
The Campus Preach – Spring
Faithfulness in un-answered prayers
Even unto death.
Encouragement
for prayers to our Father:
Our obedience to God is more
important than preserving our lives. If God uses the experience of death to
deepen our trust in Him and strengthen our obedience to Him,then it is important
that we remember that the world’s goal of preserving one’s own physical life at
all costs is not the highest goal for a Christian. Obedience to God and
Faithfulness to Him in every circumstances if far more important. This is why
Paul could say “I am read not only to be imprisoned but even to die at Jerusalem
for the name of the Lord Jesus” [Acts 21:13, 15:11].
He told the Ephesian Elders, “
I don’t account my life of my value nor as precious to myself, if only I may
accomplish my course and the Ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to
testify to the Gospel of the Grace of God” [ Acts 20:24].
It was this conviction that obedience to God is for more important than the preservation of life – that gave Paul courage to go back into the city of Lystra after he had just been stoned and left for dead [Acts 14:20] and then return there again.
Shortly thereafter [Acts 14:21 – 22]. He endured many sufferings and dangers [1Cor. 11:23 – 27]. Often risking his life, in order to obey Christ fully. Therefore he could say at the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the Faith” [2Tim 4:6-7]. This some conviction empowered old Testament Saints to accept martyrdom rather than sin.
It was this conviction that obedience to God is for more important than the preservation of life – that gave Paul courage to go back into the city of Lystra after he had just been stoned and left for dead [Acts 14:20] and then return there again.
Shortly thereafter [Acts 14:21 – 22]. He endured many sufferings and dangers [1Cor. 11:23 – 27]. Often risking his life, in order to obey Christ fully. Therefore he could say at the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the Faith” [2Tim 4:6-7]. This some conviction empowered old Testament Saints to accept martyrdom rather than sin.
“Some were tortured refusing to accept, that they might rise again to a better life”
[Literally, that they might
obtain a better resurrection, [ Heb 11:35]
This conviction also gave Peter and other Apostles courage, when
facing the threat of death, to say “We must obey God rather than Men”
[Acts 5:29]. Certainly this was the point of Jesus’ command to the
Church at Smyrna, Be faithful into death and I will give you the crown
of life” [ Rev. 2:10]. We also read that there will be rejoicing in
heaven when the faithful Saints have conquered the devil “ by blood of
the lamb and by the word of their testimony for they loved not their
lives even into death [Rev. 12:11].
Finally my Dear Brother, when we face unanswered prayer, we join the
company of Jesus who prayed, Father, if you are willing, remove this
cup from me nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done [Luke 22:42].
We join also the company of Paul, who asked the Lord “three times”
that his thorn in the flesh be removed, but it was not. Rather the
Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made
perfect in weakness” [ 2 Cor. 12:8-9].
We join the Company of David, who prayed for his son’s life to be
saved, but it was not, so he “went into the house of the Lord and
worshiped’ and said of his Son, but he will not return to me” [ 2 Sam.
12:20 – 23].
We join the Company of the Martyrs throughout history, who prayed for
deliverance that did not come, for they “ Loved not their lives even
onto death” [Rev. 12:11]
I remain yours in Christ,
Bro Wachana – East Africa/ Uganda
East Africa Regional - Bro James
Encourages Bro Robert on the loss of his father
give update on missions activities... Rift valley
Security concerns along border of Somalia
Open Air preachers as bomb targets
Dear Brother Robert,
We have been praying for you during these trying moments for you sincerely
it has been like a prayer and fasting for God to give you a deep heart to accept
and understand where our father has gone. We will also go there one time. I am
very excited the lord Jesus i am preaching and speaking about has prepared for
me a wonderful mantion there so that that when i go there shall be great joy and
trumpet for the victor. Pleased to hear from you it has been as well very busy
today we have about seven communities in the rift valley were holding a peace
initiative forum which very important most of this communities were the worst
hit during post election violence which broke here in Eldoret and there is need
for healling which can olso be achieved by the blood of the lamb the only son of
God Jesus Christ.
We had also the mandate to pray for our country at this time
of electioneering mood. Many this year has started happening and these blasts by terror
groups who have ended up hunting for churches and ministers for open air
declaration like us who takes the bull hor and ministers in the market places
when these people hears something like this they come with bomb and blast our
preaching venue to retaliate the war which Kenya now is at war with Somali
insurgent Al sha baabs. Last sunday the two blasts from these groups took place in
Mtwapa and tononoka ground places which set set for prayers and proclamation
crusades a part from these recently two bomb blasted in the city centres of
Nairobi.
Keep praying for us please i will try for tomorrow to keep my lines on to
received from your call even through still in prayers.Thank you Brother.
Yours in the Lord.
Brother James.
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Many Preachers/ Pastors distribute
the PL and Teachings
Uganda Bro David Odong, appreciates the FBF web site. / makes copies
for distribution
TO FBF East Africa Regional.
Greetings Brothers in
the name of Jesus Christ, let me hope you are
doing very well in the work of
FBF. I am very glad to hear about the
website, I have been reading it for 2
years, it is a true message from
God.
This message has so far gone
very far up to Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea
and Congo and other parts are very
deep in the village are not excess
to computers, so I just photocopy and send
message from your website,
therefore where things have reached needs to see
you physically and
they are calling me to visit them, so I am planning to
borrow money to
come to Kisumu to see you physically. I am flying from Arua
to Kampala
then from Kampala I will use bus to Kisumu. I will reach you when I get to
Kisumu town.
May God bless you brothers.
I
remain senior Pastor David O
Much emphasis is given by our LORD and the
Apostles in their teaching on the importance of the PREACHING or DECLARING the
Gospel of Jesus Christ! It is the POWER of God on earth as given to men (Rom
1.16)... as it provides the most coverage in every area.
The words used for PREACH, PREACHING carry
with it the Open Air Proclamation just as a TOWN CRIER! It is never a 2 eay
conversation... but a DECLARATION TO ALL! The Church Bride of Christ is to be
the VOICE of the Bride and the Bridegroom in this untoward
generation.
It has been, and remains the privilege of
this ministry to expose men to this dimension of the Gospel as prescribed by our
LORD JESUS CHRIST! May we present the Truth in Love... as Jesus did.
Amen.
Mark 16:15-16, 1:14, Matt 9:35, 24:12-14,
Luke 4:18, 4:43, 24:47,
Acts 5:42, 10:42, 1 Cor
1:18
FBF Admin Staff, Bro Robert
edit
FBF - Sons of thunder -
Time for Christ
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~ we welcome
all your comments and inquires ~
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