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Our Faith... The Church with Answers Teaching the uncompromised word, living faith ministries / our working vision / community door
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Who we are... What we believe... |
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"WE ARE A SERVANT CHURCH, A FAMILY CHURCH AND A TEACHING CENTER TAKING THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST TO OUR COMMUNITY, OUR NATION, AND OUR WORLD!"
see our WORKING VISION! |
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"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, |
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This is a haunting question! It haunted me when I read it in 1984. I felt God was asking me personally, "When I return, will I find faith in the earth, or will faith in Me be gone?" What a discouraging moment it would be for Christ to return to His own and not find even one person who still believed in Him! Since there so many "Christians" in the earth today some may find this question irrelevant. I don't believe it is! And this is the mission, the mandate of Living Faith Ministries! REGARDLESS OF WHAT MAY HAPPEN THERE WILL BE A LIVING FAITH ON THE EARTH WHEN CHRIST RETURNS! Thus our name, Living Faith Ministries! In Luke 19:41-46, Jesus, approaching Jerusalem, stopped and wept over the city, because He knew what was ahead of Him. His own people, some of those whom he traveled with that called Him, "Lord," that had seen the miracles, the sick healed and the dead raised to life, and heard His messages about the kingdom of God would betray Him over to the crowd which would eventually crucify their own Messiah. Are we in a position today where we think this could not be a similar situation for our society? The people of Jesus' day did not know the time of their visitation! If we miss our day of visitation what shall our end be? JESUS HAS COME TO MAKE PEACE! HE HAS REMOVED THE WALL THAT HAS SEPARATED GOD AND MAN! Jesus said, "This is eternal life, that they (those who respond to God) may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." John 17:3. In Luke 19, Jesus went on to say, "MY HOUSE IS A HOUSE OF PRAYER, BUT YOU HAVE MADE IT A DEN OF THIEVES." A den of thieves refers to people who desire to receive from God without giving to God! A people without faith in God! A poverty spirit is always wanting someone to do something for you, rather than expecting God to do something through you! They are people who have replaced a faith in God with a faith in the promises of God. The problem with this kind of faith is that when God's promises don't come to pass according to our expectations, we lose our faith in God! If our faith is in God the promises always work! Israel believed in the Promised Land, they didn't believe God's ability to give it to them! Israel believed in the promised Messiah, but they crucified the Christ God sent to them! They didn't believe God! On His way to Jerusalem, the city of God, Jesus went to a fig tree expecting fruit. When He found none, Jesus cursed the fig tree. In Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple, expecting fruit and finding none, He drove out the money changers, because they had made the house of God a "den of thieves"! (Mark 11:11-20) When Jesus cursed the fig tree it withered and dried up from the roots! From the inside out! When there is no life within, everything withers up! Praying the Word of God, waters our roots! this is our prayer "Thy will be done, Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven." The fig tree represents Israel, God's people! It can also represent the Church! The fruit that God is expecting from His people is the work of our faith! Without faith it is impossible to please God! Without works, faith is dead! Luke 18:6-8 says, "Shall not God avenge HIS OWN ELECT which cry day and night (i.e. PRAYER!)" WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMES, WILL HE FIND FAITH IN THE EARTH? WILL JESUS FIND THOSE WHO CALL ON HIS NAME BEARING FRUIT OR TAKING UP SPACE? WHAT KIND OF FRUIT IS GOD LOOKING FOR? The first type of fruit God is looking for are the souls of people! Matthew 9:35-38. The second type of fruit is us doing the will of God! Jesus said, "My meat (i.e. nourishment) is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." John 4:34-38. How do we grow spiritually? We grow as we do the will of Him who sent us! Men always say, "It's not time for fruit! It is three months before the harvest is ready!" Jesus says, "Lift up your eyes, the wheat is white for harvest." Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." God is glorified when we bear fruit! When you are out of God's will you become listless, tired, despondent BECAUSE ALL THAT YOU THINK ABOUT IS YOURSELF! "YOU" CONSUME ALL OF YOUR TIME! Jesus is essentially telling us "I SENT YOU TO REAP!" Proverbs 11:30, "THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A TREE OF LIFE; AND HE THAT WINS SOULS IS WISE!" Psalm 1, "he who delights in the law of the Lord SHALL BE LIKE A TREE PLANTED BY THE RIVERS OF WATER, THAT BRINGS FORTH ITS FRUIT IN HIS SEASON!" When God gave me the Scriptures for Living Faith (Mark 11:12-20, Luke 18:6-8) He also gave me a vision for the church,
The symbol of Living Faith is a tree with three roots and three branches which represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These represent our dependency upon God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as well as God's trinity flowing through our lives! The fruit on the tree represents souls, the works of our faith. There are seven fruits representing completeness, for we desire to be found complete when Christ returns!
When Jesus asks, |
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Our tenants of Faith
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1. WE BELIEVE in the divine inspiration, inerrancy and authority of the
Old and New Testaments. [II Timothy 3:16-17; I Peter 1:23-25; II Peter 1:21;
Hebrews 4:12] |
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What does it mean to be called a "Fundamentalist?
While the term is thrown around quite loosely today, it originated from a
conference of American ministers in Niagara. The following is an articulation
of their faith.
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE FAITH The "Articles of Belief" which appear here are reproduced from December, 1913, number of "The Christian Workers Magazine." They were also published in the January 1914, issue of the "Moody Church Herald," with the exhortation that they be "carefully preserved and frequently pondered." It was never more important than now that God's, people be thoroughly grounded in the fundamental doctrines of the Word and it is therefore earnestly recommended that these Articles be made the basis of prayerful and painstaking study--at the family altar, in the secret place of prayer, or by groups or classes--taking one Article at a time, day by day or week by week, and looking up not only the references, but others also on the same subject. In this manner the child of God may learn to "rightly divide the Word of Truth," fortifying himself against heresies and those doctrines and under the Holy Spirit, (having a basis for a victorious life in Christ--a life of prevailing prayer, of bearing fruit, and of winning souls. The following is the paragraph by which the Articles were editorially introduced in "The Christian Workers Magazine."
"Twenty-five years ago, more or less; the Bible conference held at
Niagara every summer, was the greatest gathering of the saints of God on
this continent. This was not because of the large numbers in attendance,
the men and women there never counted numbers, but because of the quality
of teachers and the motive that actuated the gathering. There have been
Bible conferences since, all stimulated by this one, and supposed to be
patterned after it, but they have been like so many steepings of the same
tea. With a few exceptions, the latest are so weak in comparison, that
neither the color nor the taste remain. Those were the days of Brookes
and West and Parsons and Erdman and Moorehead and Nicholson and Needham
and Gordon. O, what discussions were held in those days! How the Lord
Jesus Christ was exalted, how the Holy Spirit was honored, and how the
Bible was expounded! The bread of life broken and distributed at the
Niagara Bible Conference is feeding the children of God in this land to
this day. At one time the gathering put forth a declaration of belief,
which is invaluable as a statement of doctrinal truth, and which through
the kindness of Rev. W. J. Erdman, D. D., for years its official secretary,
we are privileged to present to our readers in this issue."
ARTICLES OF BELIEF So many in these latter times have departed from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; so many have turned away their ears from the truth and turned unto fables; so many are busily engaged in scattering broadcast the seeds of fatal error, directly affecting the honor of our Lord and the destiny of the soul, we are constrained by fidelity to Him to make the following declaration of our doctrinal belief and to present it as the bond of union with those who wish to be connected with the Niagara Bible Conference. I. We believe "that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God," by which we understand the whole of the book called the Bible; nor do we take the statement in the sense in which it is sometimes foolishly said that works of human genius are inspired, but in the sense that the Holy Ghost gave the very words of the sacred writings to holy men of old; and that His Divine inspiration is not in different degrees, but extends equally and fully to all parts of these writings, historical, poetical, doctrinal, and prophetical and to the smallest word, and inflection of a word, provided such word is found in the original manuscripts: 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 2:13; Mark 12:26, 36; 13:11; Acts 1:16; 2:4. II. We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in thre persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, and worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence, and obedience: Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 5:3, 4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:4-6. III. We believe that man, originally created in the image and after the likeness of God, fell from his high and holy estate by eating the forbidden fruit, and as the consequence of his disobedience the threatened penalty of death was then and there inflicted, so that his moral nature was not only grievously injured by the fall, but he totally lost all spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, and subject to the power of the devil: Gen. 1:26; 2:17; John 5:40; 6:53; Eph. 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 5:6; 1 John 3:8. IV. We believe that his spiritual death, or total corruption of human nature, has been transmitted to the entire race of man, the man Christ Jesus alone excepted; and hence that every child of Adam is born into the world with a nature which not only possesses no spark of Divine life, but is essentially and unchangeably bad, being enmity against God, and incapable by any educational process whatever of subjection to His law: Gen. 6:5; Psa. 14:1-3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9 John 3:6; Rom. 5:12-19; 8:6,7. V. We believe that owing to this universal depravity and death in sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again; and that no degree of reformation however great, no attainment in morality however high, no culture however attractive, no humanitarian and philanthropic schemes and societies however useful, no baptism or other ordinance however administered, can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven; but a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Ghost through the Word, is absolutely essential to salvation: Isa. 64:6; John 3:5, 18; Gal. 6:16; Phil. 3:4-9; Tit. 3:5; Jams. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23. VI. We believe that our redemption has been accomplished solely by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin, and made a curse, for us, dying in our room and stead; and that no repentance, no feeling, no faith, no good resolutions, no sincere efforts, no submission to the rules and regulations of any church, or of all the churches that have existed since the days of the Apostles, can add in the very least to the value of that precious blood, or to the merit of that finished work, wrought for us by Him who united in His person true and proper divinity with perfect and sinless humanity: Lev. 17:11; Matt. 26:28; Rom. 5:6-9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18,19. VII. We believe that Christ, in the fullness of the blessings He has secured by His obedience unto death, is received by faith alone, and that the moment we trust in Him as our Savior we pass out of death into everlasting life, being justified from all things, accepted before the Father according to the measure of His acceptance, loved as He is loved, and having His place and portion, as linked to Him, and one with him forever: John 5:24; 17:23; Acts 13:30; Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:4-6, 13; 1 John 4:17; 5:11, 12. VIII. We believe that it is the privilege, not only of some, but of all who are born again by the Spirit through faith in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, to be assured of their salvation from the very day they take Him to be their Savior; and that this assurance is not founded upon any fancied discovery of their own worthiness, but wholly upon the testimony of God in His written Word, exciting within His children filial love, gratitude, and obedience: Luke 10:20; 12:32; John 6:47; Rom. 8:33-39; 2 Cor. 5:1, 6-8; 2 Tim. 1:12; 1 John 5:13. IX. We believe that all the Scriptures from first to last center about our Lord Jesus Christ, in His person and work, in His first and second coming; and hence that no chapter even of the Old Testament is properly read or understood until it leads to Him; and moreover that all the Scriptures from first to last, including every chapter even of the Old Testament, were designed for our practical instruction; Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 17:2, 3; 18:28; 26:22, 23; 28:23; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11. X. We believe that the Church is composed of all who are united by the Holy Spirit to the risen and ascended Son of God, that by the same Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, and thus being members one of another, we are responsible to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, rising above all sectarian prejudices and denominational bigotry, and loving one another with a pure heart fervently: Matt. 16:16-18; Acts 2:32-47; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:20-23; 4:3-10; Col. 3:14,15. XI. We believe that the Holy Spirit, not as an influence, but as a Divine Person, the source and power of all acceptable worship and service, is our abiding Comforter and Helper, that He never takes His departure from the Church, nor from the feeblest of the saints, but is ever present to testify of Christ, seeking to occupy us with Him, and not with ourselves nor with our experiences: John 7:38, 39; 14:16, 17; 15:26; 16:13, 24; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:9; Phil. 3:3. XII. We believe that we are called with a holy calling to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, and so to live in the Spirit that we should not fulfill the lusts of the flesh; but the flesh being still in us to the end of our earthly pilgrimage needs to be kept constantly in subjection to Christ, or it will surely manifest its presence to the dishonor of His name: Rom. 8:12, 13; 13:14; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:1-10; 1 Pet. 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9.
XIII. We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death immediately pass into His presence, and there remain in conscious bless until the resurrection of the body at His coming, when soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in the glory; but the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power:
Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil 1:23; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6:7;
Rev. 20:11-15.
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Living Faith
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