Oasis Covenant Fellowship » pastorrobb

What Do I do About Fasting Brochure

pastorrobb — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:11:43 +0000

Here is the brochure we have at church on fasting. I thought this would be a good place to start before all the other information

FASTING BROCHURE

Pastor Robb

Wrestling Before God

pastorrobb — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:41:17 +0000

Today’s devotion by Oswal Chambers has some great perspective on “wrestling with God” I pray that all of us (especially me) can confine our wrestling to the things that keep me from knowing God in a deeper way. Here’s the article:

You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn’t meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (see Genesis 32:24-25 ). Don’t become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” ( Romans 8:37 ). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my prayer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness— “take up the whole armor of God . . . .”Always make a distinction between God’s perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God’s perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . .” ( Romans 8:28 )— to those who remain true to God’s perfect will— His calling in Christ Jesus. God’s permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, “Yes, it is the Lord’s will.” We don’t have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God with things. Beware of lazily giving up. Instead, put up a glorious fight and you will find yourself empowered with His strength.

Lord, remind us of our fellow Saints in the battle. You designed us for fellowship and to help one another in these struggles. Amen

Family Meeting

pastorrobb — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:10:21 +0000

What a blessing today was for Oasis Covenant Fellowhship. The meal was good, the fellowship was awesome, and it was our first family meeting. It is such a joy to be around saints that are in one accord for the glory of God! The pupose of this post is to thank you all for your graciousness today and to invite your thoughts about the meeting. Some interesting ideas were shared and this blog might open up more thoughts towards future ministry. So……..let’s hear it!

A conference blessing

pastorrobb — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 03:38:30 +0000

Tonight Eric, Laura, Harold and I attended the evening session of the Sovereign Grace Leadership Conference in Gaithersburg, MD. R.C. Sproul shared a powerful message on the transfiguration of Jesus as told in Matthew 17. I must confess that my only previous experience with hearing Dr. Sproul was through some Sunday school tapes years ago. Those tapes portrayed a deep thinking, but rather dry teacher of God’s Word. Tonight, I saw a mature man of God who is still passionate about the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. To hear his portrayal of the holiness of the transfigured Jesus on the mountain with his disciples is to be awestruck with humility. That God would clothe himself in human form and endure for us the torture of the Cross pierces my heart. Sproul used beautiful imagery and timely humor to peal away layers of truth, while he continually displayed his passion for God’s grace. It was wonderful to see the serious teacher from the tapes come alive in person with such a zeal for Christ. He was the perfect compliment to his friend and host, C.J. Mahaney. Mahaney is an emotional and charismatic lover of Christ. Their personalities are so completely different, yet their affection for one another is clear. What a beautiful pair of Kingdom lions these men are. They remind me again how God perfectly uses a diverse body of saints to minister His Word to all peoples (Rom 12:4-8). Tomorrow’s schedule is impressive, but will be hard pressed to match tonight’s wonderful display of God’s grace. I can’t wait…..

Robb

A God Appointment

pastorrobb — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 03:33:29 +0000

All of us have had them. Those chance meetings with strangers that turn into opportunities to share our faith. Today, the Lord offered this blessing as I purchased a cell phone at an out of town mall. The gentlemen in the kiosk is on a work visa from India. He shared some thoughts about his long hours of work, his concern about providing for two kids in college, and ultimately his experiences with the Christian faith. This man was clearly seeking a deeper relationship with the Christian God to whom he was introduced several years ago. I was encouraged that he believes in Christ for his salvation. Our conversation was precious as the Lord continually offered me the admonition to listen and an occasional encouragement from the Word. However, our time together left at least two important concerns to pray for.

First, his interest in Jesus Christ has caused a natural separation from his cultural community. To share a religious experience with his friends includes services that acknowledge thousands of gods. Praise God that he sees the truth found in our Lord Jesus. However, the separation of lifelong cultural and social experiences can be devastating. He reminded me of the sacrifices of the early disciples who left friends and family to pursue Christ. My conversion caused some natural separation, but not the outright rejection that many experience. I had the wonderful opportunity to pray with this man in the mall for God to increasingly reveal Himself. We talked for over an hour as he continually asked for “just a few more minutes” around the interruption of customers. Praise God for his hunger!

My second concern was for his initial introduction to Christian salvation. Some time ago, a local pastor took an interest in my friend and discussed the benefits of following Christ. He appreciated the time and kind words offered, but was later disillusioned and offended when the pastor pressed the issue of “making a decision” for Christ. What a perfect reminder of our approach to evangelism. How easy we can fall into the trap of the “decision” being the goal. I thank God that he calls us into into His Kingdom by His perfect timing (Eph 1). The pastor was certainly an instrument to building this man’s faith and interest, but ”saving faith” came later after much consideration and increased learning. I hope you will join me in praying for other Christians to build into his life through love and discipleship.

Today’s God appointment was another reminder that we have endless opportunities to encourage others in their faith at every level. Like all of us, my new friend yearns for a faith community that loves him while encouraging his spiritual growth. I pray our young church remains faithful to this principle as God builds His Kingdom. As we love and disciple one another, His light will shine in a dark world and add saints to the Kingdom.