GOT DATING QUESTIONS? God's Word has ANSWERS!

While this list is by no means a complete one, it will hopefully help people looking for basic answers on dating and marriage. At the request of one of our church's singles, I have compiled a list of questions and answers based on Scripture. Please let me know what you think and if you have a question that was not addressed on this list!
God bless.

QUESTION:
Why Date?

ANSWER: The Biblical Marriage Covenant between one man and one woman. An overall look at Scripture reveals that God operates in COVENANTS. Covenants are God's mode of operation.
So the marriage covenant is God's creation and foundation for oneness, companionship, for sexual fulfillment, and also for family and for nations.
Hebrews 13:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Note: "Bed" is "Koytay" in the Original Greek and refers to both the sexual union and also to cohabitation. (See Strongs Number G2845). Do you want God to bless your house and relationship? If YES, then Learn what the God's Word says about cohabitation here.

Gen 2:24 NKJV Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

QUESTION:
I DO desire/value God's Biblical marriage covenant. WHO should I date in order to work towards that goal?

ANSWER: Date someone who is like-minded, and of one faith according to Christ Jesus (not according to popular opinions or according to worldly standards.)

Romans 15:5 NKJV Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,

Philippians 2:2 NKJV fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Ephesians 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

QUESTION:
How do I know if I am in a good relationship, worth pursuing to marriage?

ANSWER: The answer here is 3-fold
1. They support your God-given geographic calling
2. They consistently demonstrate God's love as defined in 1 Corinthians 13.
3. They willingly and eagerly walk in agreement with you on the major issues.
1. They support your God-given local/geographic calling and are present/interested in it:
1 Corinthians 7:17 New King James Version (NKJV)

17 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. (note: the word "churches" here is plural, indicating that the calling is also geographic as well as vocational/ministerial).

2. They demonstrate GOD'S love (agape) as defined in 1 Corinthians 13. Agape love is FAR MORE than sexual interest or flirty feelings or even a general appreciation of each other. TRUE GOD-LOVE IS SACRIFICIAL.
Insert your interest's name into this passage where it says "love" or "charity" and you will gain new insight into your present dating relationship. Here's an example.

Original text:
1 Cor 13:4-7
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Now... try replacing the word "love" with your love interest's name and see if the statements in this passage remain true:

1 Cor 13:4-7 (personalized)
4 ____(your interest's name)_________ suffers long and is kind; _____________ does not envy; ________ does not parade himself/herself, __________is not puffed up;
5 _____________ does not behave rudely, _____________ does not seek his/her own, _____________ is not provoked, _____________ thinks no evil;
6 _____________does not rejoice in iniquity, but _____________ rejoices in the truth;
7 _____________ bears all things, _____________ believes all things, _____________hopes all things, _____________endures all things.

And if you are feeling extra brave, try inserting your OWN name to see if the statements remain true!

The ULTIMATE expression of LOVE is Jesus Christ, God's Son. Put Jesus's name into this passage and these statements are TRUE to the FULLEST EXTENT.

Finally, the 3rd part to this answer:

3. Do they walk in agreement with you on the major issues or in constant disagreement? If your date is constantly and eagerly walking in agreement about the general direction you both should take, then that is a good sign. Now I should add a disclaimer here: This AGREEMENT is about major life choices and lifestyles and faith. I am not saying you should date a yes-woman or a yes-man who NEVER disagrees on the smaller details. I would suggest that is a bad sign if they never express a difference of opinion on anything. They are not being open with you, if they always agree on small details with no expression of opinion. Be careful as that could become a problem within marriage. Instead, the type of agreement we are talking about here is directional and life-shaping agreement. Do you have to constantly drag/coax/convince them to walk with you/pray with you/read the Bible with you, OR do they come EAGERLY and WILLINGLY? 

In the book of Amos, God asks the question in a very simple way.

Amos 3:3 (NKJV)
3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

If you cannot agree on which direction to take in life, that is an indication that maybe you need to release this relationship. BUT if you are in agreement on which direction to walk in, then you may have the beginnings of a proper foundation for Biblical Marriage as instituted by GOD!
- - - - - -

Question: Do I have to get married or can I remain single?
Answer: Read Paul's Holy Spirit-inspired advice about singles and married folks. He really gives a solid set of guidelines, and leaves the choice up to each believer as the Lord leads them. Singleness has its advantages and so does marriage.
So I recommend you read all of 1 Corinthians chapter 7 to get a fuller insight into God's heart. One thing God did not intend is for two people to remain unresolved (as in dating, but not progressing toward marriage). The marriage covenant, according to God, should be the end-result of successful dating/courtship.
 If a couple is stuck in their relationship, due to practical, geographic, or spiritual disagreements they may need to spend some time with the Lord and reevaluate their relationship. Let the Holy Spirit shed the light of God's WORD on your situation. Be ready for the TRUTH. Be ready to get HONEST with the Lord and with each other. Truth and Grace together will bring PEACE in Christ, even if it means dropping a dating relationship. As painful as that can be, it will save the couple from an even worse marriage. So no, you are not obligated to date. But if you do, be sure to date God's way, with pure Biblical standards and marriage as the goal.  

Key verses from 1 Corinthians 7.

8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 
9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

32 But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 
33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 
34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 
35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

So there is nothing wrong with choosing not to date. Some people find contentment in singleness as they walk with Jesus and serve Him in the Call. The CALL is the main point of 1 Cor. 7. (See 1 Cor 7:17-24). Indeed, the ability to remain single for a season may allow a Christian believer to serve Jesus without additional distractions.
- - - - -
QUESTION: How do I know if my relationship is of God, or not? What if God isn't in it, and I am just being led by human emotion?

ANSWER: The Holy Spirit teaches us dynamically every day as we pray and listen and read the Word. This is all through Jesus Christ. 

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Note here that the SOUL/psyche (human mind, will, and emotions) is divided from the human SPIRIT (pneuma). God's Word does the dividing here. By reading the Word and letting the Holy Spirit HELP you understand it at this present time through a living and dynamic relationship to Jesus Christ, you will start to be able to sort out the difference between your emotions and God's Truth. God's word will help you see if your emotions for a person are in line or not. Emotions can be a wonderful thing. We need them in order to have a fuller relationship with our partner. But we must learn to submit our souls to the Spirit of God first. We follow the Spirit over the emotions. This is a core part of discipleship. 

The Word (our Lamp: see Psa. 119:105) has a way of cutting through the emotions and the soulish issues to get to the core of a relationship. We live and walk by the HOLY SPIRIT, not by the SOUL.

Romans 8:1 NKJV 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.

 Please PRAY about everything and seek God on your own. This article is NOT professional counselling advice and is only meant to be a Bible study tool to help bring clarity and light. 
But any decisions you make are between you, the Lord and the person you are currently dating. 


So these are some basic questions and answers to help you on your journey in the often-confusing, often-unclear world of dating. The Bible is our LAMP from the Lord God, and the Holy Spirit is our HELPER to HELP us bring much needed CLARITY. May the Lord give you Biblical SUCCESS in love and dating and marriage (if you should choose to pursue it)!

God bless you on your walk in Jesus!

Pastor Curtis
Mar 24 2019 2:26pm EST

The Faithfulness Principal: My Story An Example

Let me show you a truth found within a parable of Jesus: The "Faithfulness Principal".

Matthew 25:21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

The principal Jesus is teaching in this parable is that God rewards the good and faithful servant. Faithfulness in a few things leads to responsibility and rulership over more things. Do you want responsibility? God wants to bless you with it. But He wants you to prove yourself with faithfulness in a few things before He gives you more things.

Think of a train. Our church meets on the second floor of a building and on the ground floor is a train station known as GO Transit. The GO train consistently picks up passengers on that platform based on a planned schedule. That requires discipline to keep up with. What good is a train which never shows up on time, or does not show up at all? You will get very few passengers that way. But a faithful train means MORE passengers will come to trust in and rely on that train over time. The same is true in our lives, especially as leaders in the church. We must prove ourselves as dependable based on God's schedule. We are to be good and faithful servants. Goodness ONLY comes from God. Only God is good. (Mat 19:17; Mar 10:18; Luk 18:19) And God sent His Perfect sinless Son, Jesus Christ. In order for us to be saved from the wrath of God to come, we must be washed in the blood of Jesus and forgiven by Him for our sins. We don't work for it, we cannot earn our way to heaven. Jesus did all the work that was necessary for our salvation already. Now we just need to call on Jesus and believe He died for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead. Call Jesus Lord and then obey Him. After being saved by grace (not works), we then practice right living from a regenerated spirit in the Holy Spirit. Faithfulness comes from consistently applying your efforts and time to the things of the Lord, where-ever He calls you. In order to hear God's Call, you must KNOW Him. You must have RELATIONSHIP to Him. Religion does not cut it. Only a living relationship to God through Christ will enable you to have the spiritual EARS to HEAR the Spirit of God calling you. That is what it means, in essense to be a "good and faithful" servant. Our goodness comes from God alone, not ourselves. There is nothing good in ourselves. But when Christ enters us, we are covered and cleansed and made "good" by His grace! And our faithfulness is the result of a Holy Spirit-empowered life... a new nature given to us by Christ! (2 Cor. 5:17)

Within this parable is the truth of faithfulness, or as I am calling it, the "Faithfulness Principal". Faithfulness leads to MORE. It is not the other way on. God does not reward you with MORE, then expect you to start practicing faithfulness. No. God instead gives you a little, and then lets you practice consistent responsibly stewardship (faithfulness). God WANTS TO GIVE YOU MORE!!! He loves to give His born-again children more blessings, more rewards, and more responsibility. But it must be on HIS TERMS, using His Faithfulness Principal.

This faithfulness principal is true not just for eternity, where we get an eternal reward, but it works in this life too, over a period of time. Listen to Jesus' response to Peter's statement:

Mark 10: 28-31

28 Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” 29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s,

30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

So by forsaking yourself and the world, and following Jesus faithfully, you get rewards and responsibilities both NOW (in your present life) and in ETERNITY.

Just don't overlook the fact that Jesus says that the NOW rewards of serving Him will also come with persecutions. And also remember that when we are promoted in this life or the next, we should accept it with HUMILITY because Jesus says many who are first shall be last and many who are last shall be first. So keep yourself humble before Jesus and His family.

I got MORE responsibility (as a youth pastor first and then as an assistant pastor) because of faithfulness. God graciously empowered me. The BIBLICAL PRINCIPAL is this: Faithfulness Results In More Responsibility. Some people look at my faithful attendance in church and say I'm consistent because I am a pastor. No... I am sorry, but no. If I was not faithful FIRST, I would never have become a pastor at all! I follow Jesus' pattern. My life is an example of it. The Faithfulness Principal is true!

I am an assistant pastor today BECAUSE I am faithful (by the Lord's Grace). Pastoring came only after I was proven faithful for 4 years at the same church, with consistent attendance and genuine, consistent evidence of Christian lifestyle and practice.

SO, needless to say, In order to be faithful you have to be ALL IN. There is no such thing as half-hearted faithfulness. God is only interested in WHOLE-HEARTEDNESS.

And whole-heartedness leads to consistency in all things.

Consistency in prayer. Consistency in worship. Consistency in the Word. Consistency in obedience to the Spirit. Consistency in relationship to Jesus (Christianity is not merely a set of religious rules. It is a relationship). Consistency to God's family, the local church.

It always begins with faithfulness to the Lord's Call. And it doesn't happen over night.

Me, I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit 19 years ago, that I cannot be a "hermit Christian" any longer. I became a born-again Spirit-filled believer at age 6. My mother led me to the Lord, and I still remember that night. I was also raised in church and taught the Bible by my parents, especially my dad (who has now gone home to rejoice with Jesus). But when my parents stopped attending church in my youth, so did I. But the early memories of confessing my faith as a child in church still live on in my mind quite vividly. And I remember from a young age what a Spirit filled church was like. Those experiences laid in my heart dormant, but present. I became a hermit for my teen years. I loved the Lord, but was no longer going to church, no longer getting the spiritual support I so clearly needed from a spiritual family. 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

1 Corinthians 16:16 that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us.

Then, I learned in college the hard way that Christians aren't meant to be alone. I had no elders to be accountable to so I got into some entrapments. God delivered me from them thanks to my natural father being able to hear from the Spirit of God and pray for me and also with me. So after graduating with a diploma in Applied Photography, and being set free, I got back to my home town. Then God led me to my current church. I just came in off the street, walked into the Tannery Mall (a four-storey multi-use marketplace building) and discovered a church. The door was locked, and there was no service running at that moment. But God impressed me that I should return there for a Sunday service. It said "full gospel Christian Fellowship" in the window. That triggered a memory: I remember years ago asking my dad what kind of Christians we were: he said we are Full Gospel Christians. So even though my parents did not attend (except for a couple of special visits) I do owe it to my parents for raising me right and for arming me with the right understanding of Scripture.

So I did return a couple of weeks later, and started attending on my own every week, in the year 2000. I was a young man at the time, in my 21st year of life.

Eventually, because I kept showing up, the leaders saw potential in me and gave me something to do in the church. Faithfulness breeds opportunity. One thing led to another and I trained and studied under the lead pastor. I was involved in youth ministry in 2001. Later in 2001 I became a Bible teacher, following a lesson plan for adults.

Then in 2003 I was sponsored by my pastor for credentials. I was made into a pastor by my church in 2004. At the time I was "Youth Pastor".

Since then the Lord performed a MIRACLE and PRESERVED me in the Call to Ministry. I endured abandonment and loss over the years. I endured friends walking away. I was the only one in my family to walk this particular ministry path.

It could have been very lonely for me if it wasn't for God's gift in my life. God has gifted me with the ability to always know He is near. I am not worthy on my own, but He never leaves me. That's His awesome GRACE (unmerited favour).

I have never felt that God is absent. Instead, I have this awareness of God's rich presence. God is with me. Thank you Jesus for this precious gift!!

And because of Him, Jesus Christ, I am able to stand. I have no strength on my own. I still fall and faulter and God is always there to lift me up and get me going forward again. Jesus is faithful. I learned faithfulness from Jesus.

So by standing all these years, I have become an Assistant Pastor (since 2012) who teaches adults on Tuesday night services, teaches youth on Sunday mornings, and leads worship with digital piano and voice three times a week. I even train spiritual children in ministry, and they help me on the worship team on Sunday mornings!

I am grateful and humbled that God could use someone so imperfect as me. Yet His blood and Spirit makes me perfectly complete and His process over time makes me mature.

So, almost 19 years later, I am still in the church, and there is NO QUESTION that God has called me and established me. I have proven myself in Christ. Thanks and glory be to God alone for establishing me and keeping me.

You CAN be faithful too as God's principals for Biblical Christian living are not subject to favourtism. You CAN become a pastor if the Lord calls you to it, and you apply yourself. He gives His Spirit freely to those who are born again (John 3:3). By His Spirit, you can do whatever it is that God calls you to do. (1 Cor 7:17)

Faithfulness is what God rewards. Faithfulness in Christ's strength will lead you to your destiny, no matter what it is. It may not be pastoring. It could be some other place or position in the church and marketplace and home. But whatever it is, you need to apply yourself consistently to it, and don't expect grand results or instant change.

Faithfulness is continuing with nothing ever seems to change.

Faithfulness is continuing even when family, lovers or friends abandon you over God's calling.

Faithfulness is continuing because you know God called you to it. Obedience to Christ is key.

If you start answering the call daily, weekly, on a regular basis in obedience to the Holy Spirit, then God CAN and WILL use you too! God rewards faithfulness and anyone off the street can start being faithful, in God's Spirit, for the Holy Spirit has no limits. I am living proof of God's faithfulness principal.

God bless you! Pastor Curtis

Assistant Pastor Church On The GO .ca

Feb 3 2019 2:45pm EST

Act Like Men

1Cor 16:13 ESV Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Jesus reinforced true manhood. I have been teaching my youth/spiritual kids in church, who are preteen/adolescent boys, that Jesus did not lose anything of what the Father gave Him. So we as men must not lose what God gives us, including physical belongings. My class has a habit of misplacing things so I am aiming to teach them responsibility on the most basic levels. I plan to share this passage with them next Sunday.

-----------Luke 22:35-38 New King James Version (NKJV)

Supplies for the Road

35 And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?”

So they said, “Nothing.”

36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. 37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”

38 So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”

And He said to them, “It is enough.”

------------
There are many many things I do not know. I have no idea how to repair a car, fire a gun, or hunt for game. The last time I went fishing was about 34-35 years ago. Good thing that is not what makes a man a man. One thing I do know, is how to be a man of God... Leading, teaching, learning, confronting and pushing through obstacles. I am sure of who I am. I act like it.

My identity is attached to Jesus the MAN of GOD.

My personal story is one of manhood reinforced by Jesus.

My story, by God's grace: I followed God's call, not a woman. I was willing to face abandonment from a former wife and a lack of physical intimacy in order to obey Jesus Christ. I lived alone as a husband doing God's work, when my exwife had chosen to leave and forsake me. Jesus never forsook me and I was and am a Victor. By the way, I don't have a wife now. That former woman, she is NOT my wife. If anyone refers to her, please refer to her as the ex or as a "former wife". Because guess what, I am not married now and she is not my wife. God says the same thing in Hosea 2:2. (Hosea 2:2 "she is not my wife".) My past is in the past, and I refuse to let anyone resurrect my past. I am in the blood of Jesus, a fully formed and fully functioning man of God who has made God first. My future is bright and powerful in Christ. This is my present reality. My divorce is part of my testimony but it does not define my identity.

I endured spiritual threatenings, spiritual intimidations, and turned those spiritual threats and intimidations into opportunity in order to get breakthroughs and promotions and raises.

I stood for God's Word when other Christians were tempted to bend the Word of God. That required me to put the desires of the body on hold. I lovingly confronted them with truth when the time was right (because I value their life and love them in God). I endured loss of friendships and comrades because of this.

I submit to Godly authority, as instituted by God and I am accountable to these authorities (in church and in the marketplace). My own authority in Christ stems from submission to authorities in the marketplace and church.

And I am even brave enough to attempt to reach out to women of God to see if something might work in the future. But I never rely on women to complete me. I am already healed, complete and whole in Christ.

Women of God, if you are not ready to walk this path with me, you don't need me as a husband.

True Men of God follow Jesus and trust in God.

Men use their strength for GOOD.

Men are prepared in advance for sudden threats and emergencies.

Men honour the generations that came before them and the generations coming after them.

Men are organized and use all the tools and bags needed to be prepared. (Anyone who knows me knows I am ALL about carry bags/shoulder bags/knapsacks!! :)

Men will defend the weak with force/violence when necessary and courageously diffuse tense situations without force when possible.

Men are often the first to act. They don't wait around for others to see if they are going to do it.

Men are lovers. They love God and they love people in gentleness and truth.

Men are fierce defenders of their loved ones and principals.

Men have boundaries. They will not accept touch from women who are overreaching and crossing personal boundaries.

Men respect women. They view them as equal in value yet unique in function and ability. They are counterparts, co-regents in Christ, joint heirs with Jesus.

Men are not daunted by the threats of circumstance (I would know). Indeed I would suggest that danger is actually a male motivator. It fuels us to arise.

They learn not to take these things personally but instead use the ingratitude or ignorance of the world to fuel their own excellence and good work.

Men don't rely on others (women, peers, or corporations) for their identity. They rely soley on their Saviour and God, the Lord Jesus Christ who tells them who they are in Christ. Men of God, you are complete in Christ (Philp. 2:10).

Men are true to morals and God's principals. They do not hesitate to repent and turn from sins... and they practice right living as much as they can.

Men of God live in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God sent by Jesus Christ.

Men are hard to offend. They already know who they are and are not fooled by hot-air-filled ramblings by armchair "experts".

Men act and prove what they say and believe.

And it's time for us to follow Scripture which says: 1Cor 16:13 ESV Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

God bless.

Be encouraged!

Pastor Curtis

Tue Jan 15 2019 2:54pm EST

New Vision This Morning: The Mountain Guide

This morning, at church I was part of our regular Sunday morning worship service. I led some worship and the youth actually participate on worship team using conga drums and a keyboard. I have been training these particular students/spiritual children in prayer, the Word and in music for the past 4 years, now almost 5.
 Well today, we finished the worship and went into our youth class and prayed. And the youths took turns praying in Jesus Name for many important things including the ability to guard against temptation and asking for God's will to be done. Then I started to pray aloud, after they finished. And as I prayed, it was as if the Holy Spirit started playing a mini picture in my head and started narrating that picture through my lips. I was amazed at what I was seeing in my mind and what was beng uttered out of my mouth! The Lord Jesus truly does teach us all things by His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is such an important person... I could not function or minister or live without Him.

So in this prayer a mini vision unfolded. And amazingly, my spiritual children could see a glimpse of it too in their own minds.... I was amazed. 

Here is what I saw:

It actually was a picture of a mountain. I saw myself walking up the mountain path and the guard rail was on the side of the narrow path up the mountain. But instead of leaning on the railing, seeing how close to the edge I could get, I was following my mountain guide who was just up ahead, and we were tethered together, like a mountain climbing team. So it's like the Lord is saying we need the guard rail, the ten commandments, but we should not be testing them, coming too close to edge of the path. Instead we should cling to our Guide, Jesus, who has already been up the mountain and has already fulfilled all the law and the prophets. We cling to The LIFE, Jesus Christ, instead of to the rules (guard rail). Yet we still remain safe within the guard rails and we leave them in place and do not trespass those boundaries. But our true safety is in being tethered to the Man, The Last Adam, Jesus and following His lead. We are not being led by the railing, or moral rules (as important as they are), we are being led by a PERSON with whom we are are IN RELATIONSHIP. Our Lord Jesus is the Mountain Guide who succeeds Moses and surpasses Moses in glory and is leading His team up the Heavenly Mountain of New Jerusalem (not natural Jerusalem). This is shown to be a current daily reality. New Jerusalem is a present truth ! And we are overcoming all mountainous obstacles on the path. 

And we are going up higher in Jesus. 
We are pressing on in Him, so that we may KNOW Him more and KNOW His resurrection power!! We are going to reach our DESTINATION and live forever with the Lord Jesus! 

He is guiding us there today and every day, up the narrow way, that winding spiraling mountain path! And it was amazing that my youth were able to catch a glimpse of it as well as I prayed! God is so good. 

I think a good passage for that would be Heavenly Mount Zion, New Jerusalem. Read Hebrews 12:22-24. That whole chapter compares the old mountain (Sinai and the law) with the New Mountain (New Jerusalem and the Spirit of Life in Jesus). I encourage you to study this chapter and let the Holy Spirit speak to you in Jesus' Holy name.

Bless you!
Happy New Year 2019!!
Pastor Curtis
Sun Jan 13 2019 3:11pm EST

The Firstfruits of Coregency Restored

In the beginning, God designed men and women. They were different in function yet complimentary. And most importantly, they were coregents- joint rulers, equal in authority. God never makes mistakes. He does not have or need a "plan B". His one and only plan was to sanctify for Himself a Holy Nation of kingly priests... men and women who believe Jesus and follow Him and enjoy coregency. Adam and Eve, despite losing their coregency because of their rebellion, did not hinder God's plan.

Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.

Mankind's Sin ruined coregency, and made it necessary for God to institute headship. Sin is the reason we have headship in place.

Jesus RESTORES to us what Adam and Eve had lost. Why? Because Jesus PAID for mankind's sin on the cross! He ERADICATED sin by His PURE and HOLY BLOOD!

DID YOU KNOW?

Jesus' sacrifice restores The Edenic Paradise and the coregency of men and women together!

In this life, in Christ, we are now experiencing the firstfruits of paradise and coregency. In other words, we can commune with God (as did Adam and Eve) heal the sick, exercise spiritual authority under Christ's authority, preach the word, exercise spiritual/prophetic gifts in the churches, etc. THAT is a taste of paradise. That is our current New Testament reality in the Spirit.

When Jesus returns in His Glory, we will see the FULL REVELATION of paradise and coregency restored!

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Revelation 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Note: (us means men and women)

Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Men and women will rule equally on the earth with Jesus! Training for that day begins TODAY!

Also, Jesus is our Tree of Life, and He is in the midst of the paradise. When we receive the spirit of adoption into our hearts, we receive Jesus... we receive a piece of paradise inside of us.

Revelation 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

Out of that paradise flows rivers of living water.

John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Where are you seated today in Christ? You are seated in a place of heavenly paradise! It's present truth.

Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Romans 8:23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

Through Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, we experience the firstfruits of power, coregency, and the firstfruits of paradise.

We get the firstfruits of the Spirit of God in coregency and paradise TODAY in Christ, and we get the full harvest at His return!

James 1:18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

So as we struggle along in the reality of life, with a body that is groaning, and with circumstances that seem contrary to paradise, we must walk by FAITH in Christ, not by SIGHT, and realize that this is not the full measure of the Paradise, or the Kingdom of God- this is just the foretaste. We as men and women in Christ are being restored to joint rulership... the very same authority of coregency that Adam and Eve had BEFORE sin came along. God's perfect plan is proceeding smoothly. So the headship principal is still necessary to this day, because of sin. Such a principal was instituted by God in order to keep order in a sin-infested world full of selfishness and betrayal and rebellion. Men sin and fall short. Women do also. But Jesus restores and saves us BY GRACE through FAITH! (Eph 2:8) So we know that coregency is not possible in a sin-filled house with a sinful man and a sinful woman who hate God. BUT what of TWO MATURE BELIEVERS who follow Jesus and love Him and obey Him in humility? Out of their heart, is a flowing river. In their hearts is Eden. In their soul is a source of paradise... the Lord Jesus Christ's Spirit!! Where there is a married couple, two mature and redeemed spouses, who are standing together, they should realize that there is now a Biblical and current shift towards coregency- what God always intended for us. Sin is the whole reason why Eve was required to submit to Adam's headship. But Jesus has paid for sin and now is the time for us to arise to the next level and gradually shift back toward coregency. This does not mean we eliminate man's authority in the house... no not at all.... and again, this is just a foretaste, and all of this is a process. We will all make mistakes here and there. So take courage! Keep following the authority of Jesus, and learn to use the authority He gives both men and women in the home and in the marketplace and in the church! It will not happen all at once, but now is the day to start our journey which is only possible thanks to Jesus. This is not a call for men to step DOWN as leaders, but rather a call for both men and women to RISE UP TOGETHER and claim what Jesus gives to them, the original Edenic model of coregency. That is our destiny in the new heaven and new earth. Today is the day to start our training for heavenly coregency!

Today is the day to start enjoying the firstfruits, and to prepare for the coming Return of Jesus which will usher in the full harvest and full realization of that paradise and coregency.

-PC

12:39am EST

Tue. Dec 18 2018