Christian Meetings are places to Meet with the Living God

We have a great rest and happiness when as a Church we simply are the body and allow Jesus to be the glorious Head. The Head is able to direct the body as it wishes and so it should be with our Assemblies. The Lord should be able to direct us easily through His Holy Spirit without complaints and contention. Opposition and disobedience grieve the Holy Spirit.

We have the example of the Apostle Paul and others in Antioch who were waiting before God with prayer and fasting, and then the Holy Spirit spoke to give them orders. This should serve as our example that God wants to continually give orders to the Church by the Spirit of Christ so that we can fulfill His good pleasure and will.

So therefore, to look to Jesus Christ as the active present Head of the Church will bring much fruit to God.

If we accept God’s heart and direction, to look to Christ and not men, then division, competition, debating and strivings would surely cease as Jesus Christ Himself is put in His rightful place.

When we are gathering in meetings we are gathering together to commune and meet with the Godhead. Meetings of believers are not merely for knowledge and good fellowship. Rather the most important aspect of meeting is to meet with the living God. Do we come to our gatherings with this focus and prayer? It is very helpful to prepare one’s heart with the Lord in prayer and confession before coming to a gathering of believers. So when at the gathering there will be a purity of spirit and a hunger in the hearts of the saints to meet with God. Such, hungering after God is necessary and important to obtain the full blessings in Christ Jesus. There is such great blessing He wants to pour out on His Church if we would allow Him to.

We must also not just treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a truth or principle but a very person of God. A personal vital relationship with Him will result in a healthy believer who will have a bright burning first love relationship with Jesus Christ. Thus the desire of such believers will be to exalt the Lord as the Head of the Church in every gathering of believers.

from: http://gospelfellowships.net/principles-book/

"Where 2 or 3 are gathered, I am in the midst of them."

Christian gatherings are only as healthy as the individual relationships with the Lord. If the individual relationships are actively fellow-shipping and abiding in Christ then the gathering will be focused on Christ and much edification will come by the Spirit of God as He conducts His Body like an orchestra. The "sounds" will all harmonize and no clanging will be heard.

There is no such thing as a one man orchestra. Every "instrument" is important and yearns to be heard at the right time. The Holy Spirit does everything "decently and in order" and there is never any confusion. The Body when beholding the Conductor, produces a pleasing sound.

I would like to know who wrote these teachings because they not only have the doctrine down but also the practical application, and this only comes from a deep abiding relationship with Jesus Christ and total dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

This to me is very refreshing, because I believe that Home churches that are meeting not out of rebellion to authority or have an axe to grind, but really are seeking the Lord and being led by the Spirit is the scriptural model for meeting.

Dear Brother,

There have been many brethren involved with the compiling of the Principles volume, myself and brother Edgar are 2 of the main editors but many others had a part over 100, and the writings are from many brothers put together.

You can download the entire Principles volume in different ebook formats for free and paperback here: http://gospelfellowships.net/principles-book/

Yes, Amen God has fellowships and meetings of His body that meet together for the right reasons and God willing our prayer is that many new fellowships in homes will begin.

And it is very important to let the House Churches be independent expressions of the Lord and not make the same mistakes as men did in the past and try to "organize" them, bringing them under one name. They are already under ONE NAME, the Name of Jesus Christ.

I am reading the Starfish Manifesto by Wolfgang Simpson. Again, this work is the compilation of hundreds of saints.

http://paul-timothy.net/pages/cpm/starfishmanifesto_simson_2008.pdf

The important thing I try to remember about reading any works that are a compilation of works regarding the church is that if the teachings do not conform you to godliness then you should not receive it. We are not to be conformed to men's ways but rather to Jesus Christ.

There are many Holy Spirit inspired thoughts in both Gospel Fellowship Principles and Starfish Manifesto and those are the ones that should be concentrated on. It is a good benefit to read the wisdom of others, but much more important to experience organic fellowship for ourselves.