Russellville Christian Center

Come Up Higher 9/21/25 Susan Allen Matt 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.   Amos 8:11  NASU "Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord God, "When I will send a famine on the land,  Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the Lord.   Matt 5:1-KJV  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   BLESSED- supremely blest (Strong’s Concordance) some translations say HAPPY or Fortunate  Amp:  with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions   POOR IN SPIRIT- a place of realizing OUR DEPENDANCE and NEED for our SAVIOR as opposed to the BE NOT ATTITUDE in 2 Tim 3 of LOVERS or our OWN SELVES   Luke 18:15 KJV And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.   Matt 18:1 KJV At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.   Phil 3:4-ESV - though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.    

Faith That Changes Things Faith and Wisdom 6/1/25 We should not judge The Word of GOD by our circumstance but, judge the circumstance by the WORD of God   Do not let circumstances determine our steps of faith but let WISDOM determine our steps of faith.   FAITH AND WISDOM ARE FRIENDS FAITH and KNOWLEDGE DON’T HAVE TO BE ENEMIES “Faith does not have to be “kept in the dark” because faith is not hindered by the knowledge of the circumstance. ….Faith allows us to be aware of the problem without being obsessed by the problem.” Philip Steele- Every Day is a Faith Day   Mark 9:17 kjv 17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. HE USED the INFORMATION  WISELY   WHEN you gain information…seek God’s wisdom Faith and common sense don’t have to be enemies, if doing what you know to do, doesn’t contradict the wisdom of FAITH   -When you are given information concerning a circumstance take that to God in prayer: James 1:5-AMP  If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. 7 For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, 8 [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]. Read out of the Renner Interpretive Version