Once again this is a Wednesday morning and your letter prompts and compels me to have this written conversation. Michael, know that I apologize for missing your most recent telephone calls but as you mentioned my schedule can be somewhat demanding.

Frankie Banks, a member of our Peter’s Rock Christian Fellowship (PRCF) family was released after a long stint. Frankie’s story reveals he was at San Quentin at San Francisco for many years. He touched down in Nashville about twelve days ago and the Lord has been using me to assist him in his acclimation. Let us rejoice with Frankie realizing our breakthrough is near…. Glory. He is comfortably housed and has managed to get his necessary identification and is now gainfully employed. He has attended church with me for the past two weeks and is making preparation to enter into the new members class at Word Of Faith Christian - Nashville.

My brother I write you this information requesting your prayers for his continued strength and to share the praise report of the workings of our mighty God…to Him is all Glory, Honor, and Praise. I encourage you to continue to press in with prayer. It pleases me that you are committed to a prayer vigil knowing that

these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (I Jn 5:13-15).

I too am grateful for the support you are receiving from your family. The institution of family was God’s idea; in His infinite wisdom He knew the benefit family would have for us inspite of and despite of ourselves. I applauded your reunification.

Brother Michael, do you understand that God is not moved by our need; instead He is moved by your faith? Too often we go to God like beggars attempting to move His hand on our behalf only to discover our petition does not manifest. If God was move by needs then there would be no “famine “ in Africa, there would be no homelessness in America, there would be no need to steal, rob, etc. All our needs would be met because they exist…No, No, and a thousand times No.

Lets take a Bible look at this notion. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is (exist), and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek (inquire of Him).

When we pray we must pray from a position of FAITH not a position of NEED. We should go to God as a covenant partner not a consumer in need. .

Recently during my intimacy with God I was lead to

Philip. 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,

I heard Holy Spirit say to me first, what pleases God is my Worship, secondly my ability to rejoice in Christ and thirdly my refusal to have confidence in my flesh.

I. What Pleases God is My Worship:

Because God is a Spirit and Iam His son, then I too am a spirit. John teaches me that the only way I can worship Him is in the spirit. To worship God is to have intimacy with Him. That is to get to know Him fully. I desire to know Him like he knows me. I am convinced as I continue my quest to know Him I can access all that he has for me. To worship Him is to know him like a waiter in a restaurant awaits the patron’s next command, such that it can be immediately satisfied with a good attitude…not grudgingly but because I realize I am doing that which I was created to do. .

Worship requires an object. God becomes the object of my faith, hope and love. I place my trust in His abilities and my desires are accompanied by an expectation that they {my desire} shall be fulfilled. I worship Him because God is love (1Jn 4:8). I know that through a heart of sincere worship God is more than willing to provide me the partition I ask because they are in agreement with His best for me. The Psalmist says it this way, Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Glory to God! Worship is expressed with passion through commitment and leads to intimacy . Worship fosters our covenant relationship and motivates us to love. I become one with the Father as I seek His presences in worship. Worship causes me to lose sight of time as I plunge into eternity.

Brothers, I challenge you to meditate on the finish works of the cross. We must become a consumer of the works of the cross and not of material things. We must appreciate His crucifixion, His death, His burial, His resurrection and His Ascension into heaven where He sits on the right hand of the father in intercession for us. Because the lord Jesus died on the cross- we have forgiveness of sin. Because the Lord Jesus rose from the dead- we have new life. Because the Lord Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of the father-we have received the outpoured spirit. Remission of sin is not based on my ability, but on the Lords crucifixion. Regeneration is not based on my ability, but on the Lord’s resurrection. The endument with the Holy Spirit is not based on my ability, but on the Lord’s exaltation. Hallelujah!

Paul tells us because of the “finished works” of Christ Jesus (Romans 6:4-10)

Glory!!!!!!!!!! Because of the finished works of Christ Jesus, sin has neither penalty nor power over us. We are dead to sin and alive to God (Rom 6:2). As I mediate on the finish works of Christ I get excited as I receive the freedom He appropriated for me. Meditating on the works of Christ reveals the foundation for what and why we believe that Jesus is the ONLY way (Jn 6:14).

The opposite of a life in the spirit is a life in the flesh. Paul exhorts us to walk not after the flesh but in the spirit. We must understand that we are a triune being; I am a spirit, I have a soul and I live in a body. My spirit is who

I am- remember God is our Father and because he is our Father we must be what he is- If He was an apple then I would be an apple seed in route to becoming an apple…just like my Father, because he is a Spirit so am I. Paul exhorts the church at Rome to walk after the spirit and not after the flesh; Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:6-8 for to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. [7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. [8] So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Here Paul tells us that a walk in the flesh cannot please God and is an enemy (enmity) of God. The flesh is our unregenerate sin nature inherited from Adam. We would be a fool to have confidence in anything or anybody that is an enemy of God. For that reason alone Paul says that we can’t please God when we trust in our flesh. How do we trust our flesh ….a thousands ways with each falling under the categories of lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life (see Gen 3:6, Matt 4:3,6,8). Separate from the Spirit of God my best thinking, my best feeling and my best behavior can at best produce death. There is no life apart from Christ Jesus--Amen. Too many Christian walk around claiming to be “walking in the Spirit” when according to God they walk as “carnal as corn is kernel”. Matthew 7:23 and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Worship, rejoicing in Christ Jesus and having no confidence in the flesh allows us to be sensitive to the unction of Holy Spirit, positioning us to pray from a posture of FAITH not a posture of NEED. Like any other relationship we develop, the more time we spend with Him in worship the more intimacy or knowledge we will have of Him. We need to go to God as a covenant partner not a consumer… we should see ourselves as a son (sonship) not a sharecropper.

Consider this, say a man had a wife and several sons but he had no land of his own to farm. He also had no money with which to buy land , so he makes a proposal to “sharecrop” an unused 100 acres. The agreement would be something like this, “I will do the work of clearing the land of stones, removing the tree stumps, burning off the thorns and brambles and plowing the ground. If you will provide the seed, then I will sow the ground and do all of the work to bring in a harvest. I will give you the crop when it comes in except for enough to provide for the needs of my family.”

This is what I understand to be traditionally called “sharecropping”. It is usually set up on a percentage basis, with the owner of the land getting the majority of the crop. After all the tenant is providing nothing but labor.

We as members of the kingdom of God are not sharecroppers. We are apart of a “family business”. You could say “God and Sons Inc.”, implying that while we are God’s servants we are also His sons. I and my brothers labor in our Father’s field to reap the harvest with eternity in mind. We use all that He has provided for us in the way of our talent, ability, equipment and finances to labor in the fields we are heir to in order to reap the harvest of eternal souls that is His desire. As sons, we do not work individually for profit, No, this is a family business. We labor in the fields and we all eat from the same dinner table (GRACE). We are all free to eat as much as we want from the table which our Father has provided for us. Looking at my example it is important to notice that the amount of food that each son eats is not proportional to how much he individually produces in the fields on a given day. What I mean is this; each son has a different talent and ability. One son might h ave the ability to run the combine that harvested the wheat. Another son might have lesser ability and his job is to simply grease the wheels of the combine. The son who drives the combine did not get five pieces of fried chicken while the son who greased the wheels only gets one. No as long as each of them carries out their respective assignment in the field with diligence, they all get to eat freely as much as they desire from the dinner table. Regarding God’s provision for serving sons, there is to be equality. Each of them is free to eat as much as he wants. There is no shortage of their Father’s grace. The table is abundantly supplied for all of them.

Their respective talents and abilities do not determine how much they can eat from the table. No, their respective talents and abilities determined the level of their stewardship in the fields. There is no doubt that the level of responsibility is greater for the son who drives the combine than the level of responsibility for the son who greases the wheels.

To whom much is given, much is required, but both of their assignments are absolutely necessary. The combine will eventually become useless unless the wheels are greased. As long as each of the sons does their job with diligence, there is absolutely no difference between them when it comes to their right to freely partake of all they desire from the table that has been provided for them by the Father.

Notice that the sons of “God and Sons Inc.” and the sharecroppers are doing the exact same kind of work. But the difference is the sharecropper and his family don’t get to eat from the table of grace. That table is reserved for the “family”. The sharecropper is working for profit, in a sense, and he will always have to eat the fruit of his own labor. His own sowing and reaping from the hundred acres. He will never own the land. He is not an heir. He is, to a certain degree, simply a hired servant. When he “sows“, he does so with his own “personal profit” in mind. This is precisely the attitude that Jesus did not want his disciples to have.

We must not become sharecroppers in our thinking when it comes to our worship, our perception of Christ and our confidence in the flesh (fleshly abilities) nor our giving. We must not lose the revelation that we are sons…. thus the family of God who is simply being about our Father’s business. We must not depart from the grace of being sons and heirs, co-laboring in the Father’s fields with our brothers to bring in the harvest with a single mind and a single purpose. We must not forget that sons get to eat freely from the family dinner table which the father provides. Jesus has plainly told us how to receive from our Father’s table of grace.

Doesn’t that sound a lot like, “Father, pass the mashed potatoes, please? A son, in any family, would not hesitate to make such a simple request. Jesus wants us to have the same attitude as sons of our heavenly Father. What do you need? Ask, Jesus said!!! He did not say go and “sow first” and then the Father will “pay” you in proportion to your sowing. No, a thousand times NO! we are sons, laboring in our Father’s fields of our own free will (free will worship). It is our father’s great delight to meet all of our needs. There are no limits to His bountiful supply as we learn to worship Him in the spirit, rejoice in the works of Christ and have no confidence in our flesh (our own abilities).

In conclusion, unlike the sharecropper we should know that it brings our father pleasure to make available his table of grace where we reap the fruits of Christ’s labor. We can not afford to depend on our abilities to prosper spirit , soul or body. We must allow our free will worship to be our access to the Father’s table where we can find strength in a time of trouble. Having a knowing that we are suppose to be at the table prepared by our Father where we can rejoice in His plan of salvation ,restoration and redemption for all of His sons. Brothers, we will never in our own righteousness be able to appropriate and claim the benefits of the cross . No matter how long I work the fields, what my individual abilities are or how much material goods I manage to obtain, if I see me as a sharecropper and not a son of God I can never have that which God has for me through Christ Jesus.

Think about it ,there is a vast difference in the thinking of a sharecropper towards his employer verses a son towards his father. The sharecropper’s relationship, financially, with the owner is based on his performance. The son’s relationship, financially ,with the father is based on his “inheritance”. The sharecropper is paid in exchanged for his labor. The son receives freely from his inheritance because he is a member of the family business; God and Son’s Inc.. God has called us to be His sons are you behaving like a sharecropper?

About the Founder:

Just Joking!!!!

An Audience With the Pope A man who is an avid golfer finally gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an audience with the Pope. After standing in line for hours, he gets to the Pope and says, "Holiness, I have a question that only you can answer. You see, I love golf, and I feel a real need to know if there is a golf course in heaven. Can you tell me if there is?"

The Pope considers for a moment, and says, "I do not know the answer to your question, my son, but I will talk to God and get back to you. "The next day the man is called for another audience with the Pope to receive the answer to his question. He stands before the Pope, who says, "My son, I have some good news and some bad news in relation to your question. The good news is that heaven has the most fabulous golf course that you could imagine and is in eternally perfect shape."

"And what's the bad news?" asks the man.

"You tee-off tomorrow morning," the Pope replies.

Editor's Note: