Tree of Life

Christian
Felloutship East

509-51,8-8942 or 509-879-9113
"A word

fitly

spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silaer" ProTterb 25:1L

Ir'/ewsletter
Today's mninstream Christian church in all its effirts to be a light to this fnllen zuorld and in its nttempt to fulfll the "Great commission" hss made things only

For the most part the populnr church and its major denominntions and factions haue attempted to build akingdom fuGod upon the earth. We nre not cnlled to be kingdombuilders; but faithful men and Tt)omen like Abraham utho
zL)orse.

for a city nlready prepnred in the heaaens for us. "For he looked for a city uthich hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Hebreuts 11:10). This is a kingdom thst hns been wniting for us to enter into since before the zuorld was euer formed, the foundations of the utorld. "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:" (Mattheru
Iooked

25:34). Hoztteuer, this kingdom is chiefly not sn outzunrd work, but an inutnrd formation in our humnn spirits joining us to an unseen heaaenly kingdom, This is our Lords Gospel andblessed Rest rLle are to enter into, r.uhich Moses runs not able
to sttain since he wss the embodiment of the

law.

Hotueu)er, loshua (lesus) spoke

of

this rest that awaits the children of God, this ute must striae to enter

into. "For ute

which hnae belieaed do enter into rest, as he snid, As I haae sTr)orn in my utrath,

if

they shall enter into my rest; although the works ntere finished from the foundation

0f therl)orld" (Hebrews4:3). Thisheaaenly callingtorestinncompletedworkhns

been a snare that mnny a well-intentioned Christian has fallen

into. Do you not

recall the scripture that says that in six dnys God created the heauens and the enrth and on the seuenth day He rested from all His works, they were finished! lesus Himself stepped out of eternity and said, "I haae glorified thee on the earth:
haue

"When lesus therefore had receiaed the ainegar, he said,It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gaae up the ghost" (Iohn 19:30). The rest 7r)e are to enter into is a Person and a Kingdom the man Christ lesus. This kingdom has been prepared in God's henrt and mind before the frst blade of grnss grew on the face of the earth. This kingdom awaits and is already completed; Tr)e can add nothing to it!
We cannot lay one stone nor hang one door upon her wnlls this house and kingdom

finished the utork u:hich thou gaaest me to do"

(f ohn 1-7:4).

isbuilt without our hands. "For ute know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolaed, we haae a building of God, an house not made utith hands, eternal in the heAztens" (2 Corinth 5:1-). Being a light to a fallen world can only come by being joined to the True Light of the world. "In him was life; and the life utas the light of men" (lohn 1-:4). "I am the light of the zaorld; he that followed me shall not walk in darkness, but shall haae the light of life" (Iohn 8:12). We must be careful not to be producing our own
artificial light source unless rne are found reprobates. We as the church are only to abide in the One who is the Light and who shallbe our eternal Light source, And, to those whose names are written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from thn foundntions of the zoorld. We, God's building are not to imitate God's glory (lesus), but ute are to reflect His beauty in heaaenly places in Christ lesus.

ln His

seruice,

Pastor Douglas Smith

]esus Christ is Lord!!!