Spiritual Believer and Spiritual Church

1 Corinthians 3:16
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
We are the temple. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. The church of Jesus Christ is one body with many members, ordered in such a way that, through the one Spirit, believers may be built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. Christians are called to a committed fellowship of believers.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Be careful how we "define" poor from the Bible.

Poor as Jesus explained:
Like David, we weep and mourn about our sins. When a person expresses pain and sorrow he releases a pressure valve that releases the burden of pain and stimulates the healing process. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says that "godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

What kind of poverty is God is talking about? In Matthew, as Jesus began preaching, He started with "salvation" first of the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." God doesn't bless people just because they're poor. People that are blessed are people who REALLY understand their spiritual poverty, that they understand the bankrupt condition of their soul. They understand that they have absolutely no resources with which to buy God's favor except God's GRACE. Those who understand God's GRACE, they understand that salvation is not by works, good deeds, righteous acts, ceremonies, ritual, religious thoughts, feelings, or anything like that.

Poor as Paul explained in Timothy:
Widows receiving honor are qualified as "widows indeed." The Greek term (ontos) translated "indeed" means "in reality" or "in point of fact." The fact is they are alone and therefore in need of financial support. "Widows indeed" is qualified by the Greek term translated "desolate" (ontos; v. 5), which means "having been left alone." It indicates that no one is able to help her. Christian widows left alone are to receive "honor" (Gk., timao, "to revere" or "value"), if they meet the qualifications that Paul listed for the Church to follow. In the Old Testament, we are minded that we are NOT to "take advantage of a widow or an orphan" (Exodus 22:22). 1 Timothy 5:16 "If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need." Many times, many widows are lonely and it is a local Church's job to watch them and help them. James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Local Churches are not to:
1. be predators of widows... Mark 12:40 They devour widows' houses
2. overlook the widows.....Acts 6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

We are to help the elderly with their day-to-day living and make sure they have enough funds to live on until God calls them home. Church leaders are to look after the spiritual welfare of the church, to make sure no overseers are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and to disciple those less mature or disadvantaged as they grow in Christ. We are to make sure they are living within their means so the Church won't be burdened down the road when they run out of money using this verse an example in 1 Timothy 5:16. If a widow or retired elderly do not have a family to watch them, it is a local Church's job to oversee they are being taken care of. The church will need to exercise wisdom to determine which needs are real ones and must be committed to widows who genuinely need assistance, whatever the cost might be. Even when widows have financial resources, the church needs to come alongside with encouragement, love, and support in every way possible.

The Apostles (not just Paul) are reminding others "Remember the poor widow who gave her all? Remember to SERVE them".

When God choose (elect) people to glorify Him, we might want to look at this example that have been written in the OLD and NEW Testaments. In Exodus 9:16 "But I (God) have raised you (Pharaoh) up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." In the New Testament, Romans 9:17 "For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.' " Romans Chapter 9 is an INTERESTING chapter. Paul asked this question in verse 22: What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? Its interesting that God have chosen specific people He will use to glorify HIM. Another example is Judas. In short, one concept of Election is this: God uses Good and BAD for his own purpose.

Another concept of "election" related to LOVE is in spiritual gifts: The idea of the spiritual gifts is simply that the Lord uses that gift in a unity, in a unifying way. God will use our spiritual gifts by His Spirit as He wills. 1 Corinthians 12:18-20 "In fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body."

Therefore when we are discussing "heart, election and love", the bottom line to UNDERSTAND David's heart have been repeated many times in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 13:5 says "Love does not act unbecomingly" which means a Christian should demonstrate godly love and have real credibility. I often use my role-model, David, who was never perfect and was a sinner as I am but at the same time, God announced that David was after God's heart. "David son of Jesse is a man after my own heart, for he will do everything I want him to do." Acts 13:22 & 1 Samuel 13:14 (NLT). God meets us in our heart rather than our mind therefore we need to focus on the "heart of the matter". Reading 1 John 3:16, This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

One good example of David's love:
David's best friend, Jonathan son of Saul had a son named Mephibosheth who was lame in both feet. What did David do with this young man? Read 2 Samuel 9

I will quote 3 verses of the chapter:
Quote:
"Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."

Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"

Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons.

To love God from my heart is this: I should be aware that my practice as a Christian is where God will meet me in the core, which is in my heart. Do I really glorify God in my heart? Is Jesus my Lord of my heart? Like David's experiences, God meets me in my heart rather than my mind therefore I need to focus on the "heart of the matter". Scriptures: In Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." (NLT). Jesus said: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." Matthew 22:37 The Lord said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord don't make decisions the way you do. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person's thoughts and intentions(heart)." 1 Samuel 16:7

To love is the more I know about God, the more capable I am of loving and adoring and praising Him. The more I know about God, the more ready I am to believe Him for everything, because I know Him.

Something to Ponder in your heart:
2 Peter 1
3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Not everyone can be John the Baptist, Not everyone can be Billy Graham. Everyone have their own spiritual gifts as God given them. When we look in the mirror, we are the part of the spiritual Church that we are in harmony with other believers in Christ. The idea of the spiritual gifts is simply that the Lord uses that gift in a unity, in a unifying way. God will use our spiritual gifts by His Spirit as He wills. That if we have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make our joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Philippians 2:1-2).

We all are different. People are different and people have different needs. There are many Christian cultures because there are Christians who will follow their conscience, feelings, beliefs and personal worship preferences. This is between God and each individual believer(s). It is important to remember that we ALL are different and in each of our Christian experience, there is no pattern or formula for identical Christian experiences. God has a plan for EACH of US when we are serving Him. We cannot and should not try to be exactly like each other in their Christian faith and life. I know about "myself and my relationship with God" so that testifying my own experiences to others who are facing similar as I did.

Understanding what God's will is and how to submit......


I often ask yourself, "What does God's Word say about it?" If it says anything, obey that (1 John 5:3). If it says nothing, you have freedom and do not need to fear missing God's will or sinning against Him (Romans 14:2-6, 22).

So, I follow this concept if I make decisions:Its like this, in Proverbs 21:1
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Understand that wisdom, I can choose to serve God as I see fit in my heart, mind and soul however God may change my decision as He directs me to another direction. This proverbs have a HUGE impact in my life:
Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart."

God's will is revealed in the New Testament:
Saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9)
Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:17-18)
Sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)
Submissive (1 Peter 2:13-15)
Suffering ( Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12)

Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

A church is an assembly of believers and is made up of real spiritual people. When we look in the mirror, we are the part of the spiritual Church. If the people are submitting to the Holy Spirit, who will give them fruit. Not the Church organization, nor the Bible nor Tradition. That if we have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make our joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Philippians 2:1-2). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).

Many people are forgetting the REAL purpose of the CHURCH. We should all take a long hard look at what things we consider to be important. It appear that most of us are in an agreement that "Church, Tradition and Bible" are important. One thing we forget is God. Worship is to be personal, in spirit and the focus should be on GOD only. Worship to me is DAILY and Sundays are my worship with my fellow believers. When we worship in Church, we focus on God and no one else. When we worship God in image, we are to "Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy." (Psalm 99:9).