03 Preface

Preface This volume has been developed out of a burden to see vital gatherings of God's people established in these last days. The time of pressure and persecution that is coming worldwide will be such that it will demand the unity of the true body of Christ. For in the Gospel of Matthew it is declared by our Lord, Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. This truth of persecution is biblical and repeated often in the scriptures. Some specific goals for writing this book are, To assist true believers and biblical churches in preparing for coming persecution by assembling in smaller groups. To encourage true believers to leave churches that no longer teach the whole word of God and to gather as believers under the headship of Jesus Christ. To provide a manual of biblical principles and guidelines for gatherings of believers. To unify believers who have been separated by various denominational issues within a gathering under the headship of Christ. God is desiring to bring great glory to His Son through the body of Christ or gatherings of true believers on the earth. The scriptures declare that the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come. This preaching and spreading of the Gospel will not be done by the ingenuity of men but by the working of the Spirit of God. God is raising many servant leaders to shepherd His church in these end times. Yet most will not be men of renown or of prestige. God is raising up many obscure godly servants who share the spirit of the true shepherd to call for the gathering of His body in our day. The vision of this book is for gatherings of believers in local areas under the headship of Jesus Christ to assemble even with just two or three other believers. The name the Lord gave us for this burden is Gospel Fellowships. You are free to use that term to associate what God is doing in your area in response to this book. We do not consider ourselves or this book to be an authority but rather seek to provide simple guidelines to help those who will hear the voice of God and gather with like-minded believers to accomplish God's eternal purpose in the earth. Many brethren have given their time and consideration in making this book more readable and a reflection of the mind of the Lord. We truly believe this effort has been a collective effort of the body of Christ and a concern of many, not just of a few brothers and sisters in the body. Therefore, we pray that this book can be received by many more in the body of Christ. The appendices contain, among other resources, some longer transcribed sermons of consequence preached in the last decade that reflect the Lord's heart towards the gathering of believers. There are over 1,000 footnotes in this volume, mostly scripture references. The references are not exhaustive but they are more than sufficient to be a help to believers. We encourage you strongly to look up many of these verses as you go through the Principles book. May God Himself unify the people of God by His Spirit for encouragement and strengthening in these last days. Holy Father, we desire to see Your Son glorified and lifted up in our midst. We are every day humbled to be children of Yours and to be a part of Your body, the Church. We are tired of seeing what men can do in Your name and our burden is to see You do a fresh work of Your Spirit to allow many more to become disciples of Jesus Christ. Please, Lord, breathe upon Your servants. Give us renewed commitment to carry the cross and follow You in the narrow way that leads to life. May we be full of Your love by the Holy Spirit for others and look for a wonderful end times expansion of Your kingdom into the entire world. We ask that You would do these things and much more for the glory of Your Holy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.