City of Refuge Fellowship

In John 8 Jesus said to those who believed in Him, “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” We here the last phrase quoted often, “The truth shall set you free”, but it seems to me that the emphasis of Jesus’ statement is not merely on the truth but our knowledge of it. Later in the book of John, Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” So to use Henry Blackaby’s words, “Truth is a person.” Jesus is not merely talking about truth as a principle, a doctrine or a fact, He is referring to Himself as the truth. So His words here are that if we will know Him we will be free.

Freedom from what? The Greek terminology here means freedom or liberty from the dominion of sin. The knowledge of Jesus, even more specifically, a relationship with Jesus creates the reality of our freedom from the dominion or reign of sin. The reality is that many of us, as born again believers in Jesus are free from the dominion of sin, we have been set free by the work of Jesus on the cross, but there is a dramatic difference between being legally free (in the eyes of God our Judge) and living in freedom. I believe that true freedom comes when we believe who Jesus is and who Jesus says that we are because of His great love and work on our behalf. The Apostle Paul wrote that righteousness was imputed to us apart from our works and also that God did not impute sin against us but rather reconciled us to Himself through Jesus. Isaiah 61 says that “He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” We are free, we are righteous, we are holy not by our efforts to push back the flesh and behave righteously but by Jesus’ work on our behalf and God’s choice to impute or credit righteousness to us through Jesus’ work.

I believe today, that if you and I will believe fully in the truth of Jesus’ work for us that we will trust in God’s righteousness in our lives. It is not our behavior that makes us righteous but rather it is our faith in the righteousness of God applied to us that changes our behavior.  Before you and I can ever live lives of truth we must know the truth and from that knowledge, from that relationship freedom will pour out. Knowing Jesus is being righteous, not by our works on His behalf but because of His works for us.

We have set aside every Tuesday as a day of prayer for our National leaders: President Obama, the Senate and the Congress. Each week we present a specific focus, birthed from Scripture, that we can agree and pray together.

Our National Leaders will be steadfast; firm in purpose, resolution, faith, unwavering, persistent, loyal supporters of Christ that will endure strain. We pray that they will be on guard, standing firm in the faith; men and women of courage and strength. I Corinthians 16:13

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

Therefore, I will exhort that first of all supplication, prayers, intercessions, and giving thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.  I Timothy 2:1-3

Jesus faced more rejection than anyone that ever walked the earth before or since. He was rejected by the religious, by leaders, by friends and neighbors, by His brothers and even one of His apostles. In the midst of all of this rejection He was constantly at peace in the perfect confidence that He was loved by His Father. I believe that Jesus’ life teaches us that we will face rejections in life but we don’t ever have to be overwhelmed by them. How was it that Jesus was able to never lash out, to never give in to depression or temptation and even to make Himself available and attractive to the members of society that were also facing rejection? He valued the presence, voice and love of His Father more than anything else in this world. We have the same opportunity today. We are not doomed to be overcome by the rejections of this world and this life, we can be healed, we can be restored, we can be increased and we can overcome; not by building up walls or getting tougher but by being fully convinced of the love of God and fully yielded to walking in that love for ourselves and everyone else around us. I pray today that we will all overcome the rejections of this life and embrace the eternal acceptance of our Heavenly Father. His love endures forever.

We are less than two months from this year’s Kid’s Day event. It will be held on Saturday, August 7th from 10:00-2:00 at Mitchell Field in Burlington. We are hoping to expand on last years event and have some great things planned. If you would like to help out please contact Melissa at melissa@cityofrefugefellowship.org. Our next volunteers meeting will be on Sunday, June 27th after our morning service. We also have a great new opportunity that we will be announcing this Sunday, June 20th.

Sometimes in life we chase a specific goal or dream so hard that we forget why we ever started chasing. There are moments, maybe even seasons in which we are overcome by determination for a prize that we start to overlook the path that leads to the anticipated outcome. There is something wonderful about focused determination but I believe we have to always be conscious of the purpose of our desire, the reason that we are driven, the promise that started the process or at least the calling that began the journey. It is a healthy thing to stop from time to time and to search our hearts and be sure that we have continued to seek and chase after God and not replaced our worship of Him with a drive to fulfill His promises in our lives.

There is a scene in the book of Exodus that has always baffled me. Moses was called up to the mountain to meet with God, to receive the law and all of God’s instructions for His people, the Bible says that he was with God on the mountain for 40 days. At some point during that time the people gathered together and decided that Moses might never come back and so they had to do something. The interesting thing to me is that they did not replace Moses, they replaced God. Moses was their link to God, so if Moses was absent then they assumed that God was absent as well. They had never appreciated or even realized God’s presence in their own lives, they had only viewed it from a far through Moses’ life. Moses was absent, so God was absent as well, that was what they believed.

The people of Israel went to Aaron, Moses’ brother, and the high priest and said “Make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” In the span of nearly 40 days Israel had replaced God in their hearts; as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” The part that is telling is that believed they needed “gods that shall go before us”. They were still concerned with the promise of God, even though they were willing to replace God Himself. Their attention was not on God but on “a land flowing with milk and honey”. They had not understood that the “promised land” was a gift that would flow from relationship with God, they had believed that the land, the promise, the outcome was where they had to focus their attention, their affection and their efforts. I believe that they got tired of standing still and waiting for Moses and God. They came to a conclusion that we will never get to where we want to be by standing still and so they were ready to move. “God helps those that help themselves”, right? You have to do something at some point, don’t you? How long should we wait before we take action?

You may be familiar with the rest of the story; just in case you are not I will give a brief synopsis. Aaron took gold from the people and formed it into a golden calf. He then set the idol before Israel and they had a celebration where they danced and sang, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.” God saw what was happening and sent Moses down from the mountain to deal with the people. God told Moses that He was going to destroy Israel and start over with him and start a new nation. Moses was not flattered by this opportunity, he interceded, he pleaded with God not to do this thing but to keep His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Israel. God heard Moses; He received His intercession and said He would not destroy Israel. Moses came down from the mountain and found the people still celebrating this new god. He became enraged, he threw down the tablets of stone that God had written His law on, breaking them into pieces, then he took the golden calf and burned it, then ground it to dust, put it in water and made the Israelites drink it.

The next day Moses went back to the presence of God and pleaded with God to forgive the people. Remember, Moses did not take part in this sin, but he was so concerned with the people, he was so full of mercy and the heart of God that he actually prayed, “If You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” Moses did not plead for his own good but for the good, the mercy and the forgiveness of others. This is the heart of intercession, the heart of true leadership and I believe, the heart of one that has been with God. God then tells Moses, “Go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you.”  

I would imagine that to many people, myself included, these words from God would have been music to our ears. A giant sigh of relief to find out that God was not going to remove the promise from our lives. I know a lot of people that live in fear of sinning to the point of having God remove a calling, a promise or a dream from them. We seem to almost be obsessed with destiny so much that we have missed out on what our destiny actually is. Moses understood something that I need to grasp more firmly. Moses returned to God and said, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Moses wanted God’s presence more than he wanted the Promised Land. Moses was willing to live in the middle of nowhere as long as God lived there with him, but he would not move to a better spot if it meant God was not going with them. I’m not sure when it happened, but Moses was much more interested in being with God than He was with fulfilling his destiny. I believe what he understood was that his purpose could only come to pass if he lived his life in God’s presence and that his destiny was not leading Israel to a distant land but leading them to lives lived in the presence of God. Our destiny is not the fulfillment of a specific assignment; it is to be found in a surrendered love relationship with Jesus.

What are you chasing after today? If your life came down to one thing would you long for your “Promised Land” or God’s presence? You may argue that you cannot have one without the other, that may be true, but I will tell you this, God’s presence is not found in the fulfillment of dreams and promises, it is found by those that diligently seek him, with all of their hearts. David, one of the greatest men the earth had ever seen, King of Israel, great warrior, man of wealth and honor wrote, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life”. “The house of the LORD” means God’s presence. David had wealth, honor, respect, everything that the human heart longs for. David had seen the fulfillment of God’s promises, He had experienced God’s provision, protection and purpose, in the midst of it He was not satisfied with what God had done, He longed for God’s presence. I believe we are currently experiencing an epidemic of people chasing promises but neglecting God’s presence. I know that I have fallen into this trap. Our flesh and the enemy of our souls convince us that to chase your destiny is the same as chasing after God, it is not! If you and I will hunger and thirst for God then we will be filled with Him, with His presence and then He will fulfill His purpose for our lives. I believe that God is faithful and that He fulfills everything that He promises, but the path to that fulfillment is in His presence.

I recently heard Mike Bickle say that establishing a 24 hour a day house of prayer and worship was not his dream, it was his assignment. He said that his dream was and continues to be to live in an anointing that continually connects his heart to the heart of God. What are you dreaming of today? What are you striving for? What are you chasing after? If it is a dream, a purpose, a plan or a promise then your longing may be misplaced. Moses wanted the Promised Land, he wanted to see the fulfillment of the journey, but he wanted to be in God’s presence more. The amazing thing about all of this is that the way to get to your purpose is to dwell in God’s presence. The way to walk in the fulfillment of promises is to seek God and God alone. To go back to David’s words in Psalm 27, if you and I will long for “One thing” we will receive everything. If we will seek God and His face, then not only will we dwell in His presence, but from His presence everything that God has ever purposed, ever planned, ever dreamed and ever promised will all come to pass. Today I encourage you to consider what you are chasing and if it is anything other than God Himself, stop the chase and sit with God, sing His praises, listen to His voice and drink deep of His presence. In His presence is fullness, not only of joy, but of everything that He has chosen to pour out.

We have set aside every Tuesday as a day of prayer for our National leaders: President Obama, the Senate and the Congress. Each week we present a specific focus, birthed from Scripture, that we can agree and pray together.

Our National Leaders will be God’s people and He will be their God; He will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Him forever so they will not depart from Him. Jeremiah 32:38-40

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

Therefore, I will exhort that first of all supplication, prayers, intercessions, and giving thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.  I Timothy 2:1-3

This Friday night, June 11th is our next Community Worship Night. We will be meeting at the Knights of Columbus, located at 366 East Broad Street at 7:00 for a time of corporate worship. Please come out and bring a friend with you to enjoy God’s presence and hear His heart for us and our community.

There are times when life is difficult. I can’t think of anyone in Scripture that gives us a clearer example of not only the difficulty of life but also how to overcome that difficulty and follow Jesus fully. Paul tells us that he was shipwrecked three times, beaten with rods, stoned, beaten with lashes, put in prison, left hungry and rejected by his own people and Gentiles alike. When he was first saved and filled with the Holy Spirit Jesus told Ananias of Paul, “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Paul’s suffering or difficulty was not a form of punishment for his prior deeds persecuting the church, it was a part of his calling. Paul was going to go where no one else had ever gone, he was going to impact cities and cultures with the Gospel and there would be resistance from people, there would be rejection by leaders but there would also be a response from the kingdom of this world. Paul’s difficulty was a part of his calling.

Your difficulty may be different than Paul’s today, but I am confident of this, it has been allowed by God because if you will yield to Him, this difficulty will make you stronger. God has great purpose in all that He does and all that He allows into our lives. I believe that difficulty is no different, it serves a purpose from God. Today we will explore three of those purposes: difficulty build strength, difficulty builds trust and dependence and difficulty builds intimacy. The keys to walking in the fulfillment of purpose are trusting God, is wanting Him more than anything else and being convinced that He loves us. By the time Paul was nearing the end of his life he had endured more than most of our lives combined and yet he was more content than ever before. He told the Philippians that he now counted everything as loss compared to knowing Jesus. What I believe Paul was telling us was that his life was no longer controlled by what went on around him or even to him, he was now completely led by the presence of Jesus, each day, each victory, each trial and each difficulty were all the same, they all led him nearer and nearer to Jesus.

David wrote in Psalm 27:4 “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple.” David, like Paul had endured difficulty, and in the midst of it he came out with a new thought, “I only want one thing and that one thing I will seek with all of my life, to be in God’s presence.” I ask today, what would change if you and I only wanted “One thing”? How would your life be different if you chose to seek after and long for Jesus alone rather than Jesus in the midst of everything else you want? That is the goal I am praying for today, I want “One thing”, I want to seek God and His presence and let all of the rest be added or subtracted by His hand. I have come to believe that the key to overcoming difficulty is delight, if we will delight in the presence of God, He will give us the strength to look past difficulty and see His face. If I have His presence, I have all that I could ever need.

We have set aside every Tuesday as a day of prayer for our National leaders: President Obama, the Senate and the Congress. Each week we present a specific focus, birthed from Scripture, that we can agree and pray together.

Our National Leaders will seek to please the LORD in all their ways and He will make even their enemies at peace with them. Proverbs 16:7

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

Therefore, I will exhort that first of all supplication, prayers, intercessions, and giving thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.  I Timothy 2:1-3

Scripture teaches us very plainly that we “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Viewing our stumbles, our weakness and our times of doubt as failure is a dangerous thing because it creates separation and isolation within us. During the Last Supper Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the next morning. Of course Peter refused to accept or believe this bit of prophesy, he was confident in his faith and sure that even if everyone else left Jesus, he would stay, even if it cost him his life.  

The piece that I believe we often miss is found in Luke 22. Luke writes the details of Jesus’ announcement to Peter a bit differently. He says that Jesus called to him, “Simon, Simon! Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to ME, strengthen your brethren.” At the same time that Jesus is telling Peter about the temptation that is coming, He also tells Him that He has prayed. Even more, if you look closely, you see that Jesus is letting Peter know that he will give in to this temptation but that He has already created a way for Him to return and continue to be useful by strengthening his brothers. Too many times we view being weak as being a failure. Peter was weak that night, and yes, he denied Jesus three times, so in that instance we could say that he failed, but the reality is that Jesus already knew Peter’s weakness and He prayed not merely that Peter would overcome that particular temptation but that Peter would not allow his faith to fail after he gave in to temptation. The enemy of our souls wants us to believe that each temptation is an overwhelming life or death situation, but Scripture says that with each temptation that Satan brings to us, God, at the same time brings us a way of escape. This means that each temptation is an opportunity not to prove ourselves to God but to look to Him for the help that He has promised to provide.

Peter gave in to the temptation of fear that night and it broke his heart, but what we see is that it did not change Jesus’ love or plan for his life. The same is true for you and I today. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy when they say that you have now been excluded that you have failed too much or too many times, listen to the calm and loving voice of Jesus, “when you have returned”, he started planning Peter’s return long before Peter ever was tempted to sin. He does the same for you and me, trust in the perfect grace of Christ, it has the power not to merely forgive you once, but to forgive you once and for all. We must continue to follow Jesus along His path of righteousness, even in the midst of failure, He is not sending us away, He is planning and providing for our return.