Fellowshipping & Praise the Lord with Doc329 (23)

[doc329]

In a day and a society where right from wrong, sin from righteousness, good from evil, is no longer clear, even confused, Christians need all the more to be able to distinguish between them. But, as this passage points out, this ability does not come naturally. We need to hone it by constant use of Scripture and the constant submitting of ourselves to solid teaching about righteousness.

Do not underestimate the need for "constant." Somewhere along the line we have concluded that we don't need that much church.
We don't need to go to Bible studies so often.
We can get away with reading and studying our Bible periodically rather than daily.
The result of such perverted thinking is weak, immature Christians who cannot tell the difference between right and wrong, who should be teaching others rather than having to be taught the "elementary truths of God's Word all over again." (Hebrews 5:12)

We cannot remain infants. We cannot use the ignorance of immaturity as an excuse for unchrist like attitudes and actions when we should know better.
We need to be eager learners, hungry for solid food.
Now is the time for us to leave immaturity and go on to maturity through the constant use of God's Word and subjecting ourselves regularly to sound Biblical preaching and teaching.
This is our responsibility! This is our need! "And God permitting we will do so." (Hebrews 6:3)

 

[doc329]

What has God asked you and me to do? Has He given us a super sized task that will require His talents to accomplish it? Is He concerned more about failure or success?
The apostles did not take the message to the whole world. They took it to the limit of their ability and time in their life. Did God see them as failures?

Sometimes I face opportunities that scare me. I see challenges that make me realize I can only complete them with the help of God.
I am aware of the "work of the kingdom" that needs to be accomplished that is impossible for me. However, these challenges will only be faced if I summit myself to God and allow the talents He has given me to produce.

Christianity has set a goal of reaching every man, woman and child with the gospel. This is a huge goal! It is God size!
It can only be completed if every Christian uses the talents God has given them and begins to use those talents.

Iv'e met people who gave me a big laugh and said, "It is only a "pipe dream"
and won"t cooperate with the rest of us to help complete the job.
Iv'e seen others who seem to have very limited resources and talents that are doing everything in their power to help complete that goal.

What has God asked us to do? What talents has He given us? What talent do you have that could be used in your church, on the job, or with neighbors to do more of God's work?
Are we hiding the talent God has given us? Do we have it buried in the dirt?
Are we so afraid of failure that we don't do everything we can?
God did not give us talents to cause us to fail! He gave us exactly the right amount of talents to accomplish His work.

If we have buried our talent, or hidden it away in a closet somewhere, let's dig it out and begin to use it for the glory of God.
God wants to work in us and reward us for what is produced.
God wants to accomplish His work.

Let us be about our Father's business.

 

[doc329]

As sons of God we ought to be concerned about our Father's business.
The Lord Jesus in His humanity as a boy said,"I must be about my Father's business."
Well, I have become a son of God - not like the Lord Jesus, but I've become a son of God through faith in Christ
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that (do no more nor less than) believe on his name." (John 1:12)

Now that I am a son of God I am interested in my Father's business.
By the way, are you interested in your Father's business?
And the main business is getting out the Word of God.
But, we need to recognize that we need the grace of God to do the business of God - as well as every facet of our lives as His children.

Perhaps you are thinking that you are disappointed with yourself.
If you are, that means you must have believed in yourself. You should not have.
You are to walk by the grace of God - "We walk by faith and not by sight."
Or perhaps you are discourage. If you are, that means you do not believe God's Word and way of blessing.
You really thought you could do it your way, and now you are discourage.
Or, you might be saying,"I hope I can do better in the future.
The you do expect to get some good out of the old nature!

My friend, be strong in the grace of God

 

[doc329]

Psalm 126:5,
"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."

"God has said, 'He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.'
"There is nothing that tells so much as the tears, in Christian work. You see a man praying, the tears rolling to the ground. See a man weeping over his children, until you would think his heart would break. You are moved looking at him. Everybody that sees it is moved, and to the extent that we are moved to pity and compassion for the people, they are moved toward God, but when your tears are dried up, the people may perish and die, and go to hell around you and you don't seem to know it.

"Every man who has religion is sowing in tears. He is reaping in joy.
The man that does one does the other. God says so. You can get thawed out, and softened up, and your heart so melted that you feel you are running into liquid, and would melt away with sorrow for souls, with love and compassion for the lost ones.

"A young man got upon the platform to tell his experience. He laughed and cried, and cried and shouted and told that God had mercy on him, and that he wanted everybody to come.That would move anybody.
Oh, brother, it's the tears. It's the burden and the compassion about it, the tender feeling we have for the people. It's the sorrow we have because men are not saved. It's the heavy burden we feel, and we get no vent from it only by tears, and in active service, to rescue the perishing, and care for the dying, and snatch them in pity from sin and the grave.

"When you have the real love of Jesus, you want everybody saved.

 

[doc329]

1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

If I’m going to live a life of sinlessness then I must follow in the path of the cross which is the path of suffering in the flesh. As we enter into baptism intelligently, we know that we have entered into a mind change. My mind is now no longer geared to please me.
My mind is now to be the mind of Christ so that I will suffer always the dying of Jesus in the body. Jesus suffered for us in the flesh, not just at the cross. He suffered in the flesh all the way along. That is what he is asking and inviting us to enter into.
That is the life of a Christian, the path of the cross.

This is the reason why true Christianity doesn’t exist much today. People are still hanging onto to some shreds of self-aggrandizement. They want to feel good. To follow Jesus in the cross doesn’t feel good. The moment you convey the messages to people around, they want to argue it. They don’t want to accept the concept. Who in their natural mind would choose such a course? It is something that is foreign. If you choose Jesus and his kingdom, you choose a life of sacrifice and suffering.

Luke 9:23 And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

 

[doc329]

We can have the salvation of God in our families, but we must believe for it, live for it, and have a continual abiding faith and trust in God. We must subdue a hasty temper, and control our words; and in this we shall gain great victories. Unless we control our words and temper, we are slaves to Satan.
We are in subjection to him. He leads us captive. All this jangling, and unpleasant, impatient, fretful words, are an offering presented to his satanic majesty.

And it is a costly offering, more costly than any offering we can make to God, for it destroys the peace and happiness of whole families, destroys health, and is eventually the cause of forfeiting an eternal life of happiness.
The restraint God’s word imposes upon us is for our own interest. It increases the happiness of our families, and all around us. It refines our taste, sanctifies our judgment, and brings peace of mind, and in the end, everlasting life.

Under this holy restraint we shall increase in grace and humility, and it will become easy to speak right. The natural, passionate temper will be held in subjection. An indwelling Savior will strengthen every hour.
Ministering angels will linger in our dwellings, and with joy carry the tidings of our advance in the divine life heavenward, and the angel will make a cheerful, happy record.

 

[doc329]

1John 5:19
And we know that we are of God,
and the whole world lieth in wickedness.​

Every man must particularly apply to himself the general
promises, that we may certainly persuade ourselves, that
whereas all the world is by nature lost, we are freely made
the sons of God, by the sending of Jesus Christ his son to
us, of whom we are enlightened with the knowledge of the
true God and everlasting life.​

 

[doc329]

It says that on the cross Jesus died so that we can live. It teaches that because of Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection three days later, we need not fear death.
God's Word proclaims the wonderful, truth that whoever puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ, "..will not perish but have everlasting life."(John 3:16 )

1 Corinthians 15:21 says, "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a Man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."
This understanding is what inspired Paul to write, "Death where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Cor. 15:55)
You see, the cross forever freed us from the fear of death. From the perspective the cross gives us, death is only gain.

A prominent citizen in town was dying. As he lay in his lovely home, the best doctors surrounding him, he whispered, with a note of despair, "I'm leaving home, I'm leaving home." Across town there lay another person who was also on her deathbed. Her modest home was just a shack. She had no doctors tending to her as she faced death. But, in her eye there was a gleam. Before she died she was heard to say, "I'm going home. I'm going home."

The difference between these two perspectives was of course that the poor woman was a Christian. Long ago she had "clung" to the Cross of Christ. We do the same because what happened on that cross 2000 years ago frees us from the fear of death.

But it frees us from something else. It also frees us from the fear of life. You see before Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, mankind was in bondage to sin-a truly terrifying way to live.
Before we became Christians every moment of every day we were powerless when it came to withstanding the temptations that come with living in a fallen world. But the cross changed all that.

As Paul writes in Romans 6 - "For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died had been freed from sin.
Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace."

 

[doc329]

There is a difference
By forgiveness the sinner may be reinstated in the confidence of Him whom he has wronged;
By justification he is declared righteous according to law, and thereby commended to the confidence and respect of all men.

Justification is our position through the wonderful grace of God, and by virtue of the finished work of Christ, which is imputed to all who believe.
All that He is, is reckoned to us who are in Him.
We are not merely forgiven, great and wonderful as that act of love and grace would be; but we are dealt with as though we had never sinned.

Instead, therefore, of the law being against us, as we deserve, it is on our side, defending and protecting us. Our salvation actually rests on law.
We may claim it as an absolute right. And all this because of God's infinite grace: because, in the person of Jesus, He has perfectly met, and satisfied, the claims of His holy but broken law.

 

[doc329]

Some of the sweetest and most meaningful music we know today has come from those that have experienced the greatest sorrow. They could not explain it with words, so they expressed it with song. Music flows from the soul. There is mystery and meaning in music that could never be expressed in any other way. The oppressed will walk on in faith, singing. Their song is medicine for their wounds and relief for their suffering.

Singing can open the well of tears and pour out the contents of the soul. Poetry has been a blessing to all cultured people and singing has blessed the holy people of God.
Many have known the blessed experience of being made happy as they sang. Many times it is best to utter the dark feelings of this life in a song rather than uttering them to each other.
As we seek relief in our singing, we are drawn to worship. The things we just can’t understand will seem to vanish as we open our heart to God through our song.

 

[Qvashti]

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
-- Psalm 19:14


God does so much for us. He is the Strength and Promise that
under girds our lives. He is the One who has saved us from sin and
death. Our worship comes from our gratitude for what he has done,
recognition of who he is, and anticipation of what he is going to
do. But worship can never be compartmentalized to just fit into
church places or quiet times. Worship involves every aspect of
life. That is why it is so important for us to tune the words of
our mouths and the motives of our hearts to God's will and work.
Then private worship, whether alone in quiet or in a group with
Christians, becomes the tuning time for our hearts and lives so
that our public worship, our lives lived out in the world, will
play the song of God to a world who has not yet heard his tune.



O Holy and Almighty God, I want this day to be a day of worship
and honor to you. May my life praise you: not just in thought, not
just in words, but also in action. In the name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.

amen

 

[doc329]

Thank the Lord that His word is given to others, but there is a lesson here. The Gospel should be spread not simply as a duty, or to fulfill a responsibility, but with deep caring for souls.

Many present the Gospel in a 1-2-3 mechanical approach.
That is one reason so many converts show no evidence of salvation. They accepted the concept of salvation, but not the person of Christ.

True witness is one that shows caring and compassion. People are not interested in some mechanical and logical presentation of the Gospel.
A true witness does more than show the unsaved the need in their lives. Salvation should be presented as not just simply a ticket to get out of hell. A true witness shows the love of God and shows how God's love has been given to them.
Further it shows that same love to others that Christ showed to us.

Our preaching and teaching should show the compassion of God towards us and we should show that we are appreciative of God's love. Many people are not strong witnesses for the Lord and do not show God's love to others, because they are not truly grateful to the Lord.
One thing that is the result of receiving God's love is we have the ability to show it to others and feel close to other people.

 

[doc329]

The Christian man has the promise, that everything that comes to him is a promise of the divine goodness and heavenly faithfulness.

He has bread to eat;
That's the sign, a token, that God is giving him each day, daily bread; he's in the loving care and protection of God.
The water that he drinks, God takes it out of the river of life and it's a sign of everlasting blessedness.
And the clothes that he wears, these are tokens of the heavenly garments that someday He shall give us in glory.
He sleeps at night under the divine protection and love. He falls into affliction: “In the world ye shall have afflictions: be of good cheer; I have overcome the world…
If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.”

Everything that comes to the Christian man is a promise that God shall keep us; is taking care of us, loving us.
And everything that comes to the ungodly man is just a harbinger, a promise of an ultimate condemnation yet to come.
Oh, Lord, how Christ changes a man's life.

 

[doc329]

The Divine life within us comes from God, and is entirely dependent upon Him. As I need fresh air to breathe, as the sun sends down its light, so it is only in direct living communication with God that my soul can be strong.
I must every day have fresh grace from heaven, and I obtain it only in direct waiting upon God Himself. Begin each day by tarrying before God, and letting Him touch you. Take time to meet God.

Let your first act in your devotion be setting yourself still before God. In prayer, or worship, everything depends upon God taking the chief place.
I must bow quietly before Him in humble faith and adoration, speaking within my heart: God is. God is near. God is love, longing to communicate Himself to me. God the Almighty One, Who worketh all in all, is even now waiting to work in me, and make Himself known. Take time, till you know God is very near.

When you have given God His place of honor, glory, and power, take your place of deepest lowliness, and seek to be filled with the Spirit of humility. As a creature it is your blessedness to be nothing, that God may be all in you.

Accept and value your place in Christ Jesus. God delights in nothing but His beloved Son, and can be satisfied with nothing else in those who draw nigh to Him.
Enter deep into God's holy presence in the boldness which the blood gives, and in the assurance that in Christ you are most well-pleasing. In Christ you are within the veil. You have access into the very heart and love of the Father.
This is the great object of fellowship with God, that I may have more of God in my life, and that God may see Christ formed in me. Be silent before God and let Him bless you.

 

[doc329]

As we know, being housed in sinful flesh isn't all that it's cracked up to be and it would be far better to go right to heaven at the moment of our salvation; but that isn't the case, it's not going to happen. Therefore, since we have to live on this earth until Christ calls us home, we should make the most of it.

This is what Paul tells the Philippians he is going to do as long as he has the breath of life in his lungs. He states that by living he is able to produce fruitful labor.
In other words, he is going to continue doing the work of the Lord and putting Christ on display until he reaches the point of death. Paul is not doing this for selfish reasons, but to benefit other believers, allowing them to progress in the faith and have a greater confidence in Christ

As long as we're living and breathing, we should strive to live like Christ and progress in the faith, both for ourselves and others. Like Paul, our motivation for continuing on is growth.
We should desire to see ourselves grow on a daily basis as we study the Word, have intimacy with the Father, and live it all out.
It doesn't end there though because we should also be taking everything that we've learned and teaching it to others also so that they can grow and mature in their faith.
This is the heart of what Paul is talking about. Sure, he's ready to be in heaven, but he's going to be productive for as long as he's here, both in his own walk and in aiding the walk of others

 

[doc329]

I would like you to think for a moment of the one person you know better than anyone else.
When you think of this person, ask yourself if that person could describe you using the words we just read. Often the person that is closest to us is our spouse. After spending years together, spouses often begin to think like one another. They will often know what the other person is thinking just by seeing a certain facial expression. They know what the other person is going to say even before it is said. But no matter how well someone knows you, they will never know you as well as God knows you.

God knows our every action of every minute of the day and night. He knows every word that we shout, He knows every syllable that we whisper, and He even knows every thought that we think! God knows everything about us. He knows everything about our past, and He even knows our future.

God's omniscience serves us in two ways. First, it serves as a warning to us when we are tempted into sin. One of the most dangerous aspects of sin is the thought that we can do it and get away with it. There are many things that we won't do just because we think people may find out we have done it. But that same sin becomes much more tempting if we are sure that no one will know we did it. That doesn't make it right, but it does make it that more tempting.

While we may be able to hide our sin from others here on earth, we are reminded that we can't hide anything from God. He knows every dark deed we have ever done. He knows our sinful heart even better than we do. So instead of thinking that we can hide our sin from God, we should instead confess our sins before God, remove ourselves from the temptations which cause us to continue in those sins, and turn to God in repentance, pleading for His forgiveness.

While serving as a warning of our sin and our need for God's forgiveness, the omniscience of God should also serve as a comfort for the repentant child of God. Since God knows everything about us, we can also take refuge in the knowledge that God can and will sustain us during difficult times.

 

[doc329]

Christians know that the Bible teaches a wonderful thing.
It says that on the cross Jesus died so that we can live.
It teaches that because of Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection three days later, we need not fear death. God's Word proclaims the wonderful, EMANCIPATING truth that whoever puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ, "...will not perish but have everlasting life." ( John 3:16 )

1 Corinthians 15:21 says, "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a Man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."
This understanding is what inspired Paul to write, "Death where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?
Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Cor. 15:55)
You see, the cross forever freed us from the fear of death. From the perspective the cross gives us, death is only gain.

A prominent citizen in town was dying. As he lay in his lovely home, the best doctors surrounding him, he whispered, with a note of despair, "I'm leaving home, I'm leaving home."
Across town there lay another person who was also on her deathbed. Her modest home was just a shack. She had no doctors tending to her as she faced death.
But, in her eye there was a gleam.
Before she died she was heard to say, "I'm going home. I'm going home."

The difference between these two perspectives was of course that the poor woman was a Christian. Long ago she had "clung" to the Cross of Christ.
We do the same because what happened on that cross 2000 years ago frees us from the fear of death.

But it frees us from something else. It also frees us from the fear of life. You see before Jesus died on the cross of calvary, mankind was in bondage to sin-a truly terrifying way to live. Before we became Christians every moment of every day we were powerless when it came to withstanding the temptations that come with living in a fallen world. But the cross changed all that. As Paul writes in Romans 6

"For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died had been freed from sin. Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace."

Thanks to the cross of Christ we have access to God's power...power that enables us to say NO to sin. Through His death Jesus freed us from its tyranny and made it possible for us to pursue holiness and righteousness. We can at last be all that God intends us to be. We can now experience "...life in all its fullness."

 

[doc329]

Then live for Christ. I wish every Christian in the world would rise up as Matthew did and follow Jesus in a life of service.
The trouble today is that we want to see God's Kingdom advanced, but we want someone else to do the work.
Sure, we need to win souls, but let someone else do it. We need to have Sunday School, but let someone else teach the classes.
Do you know that Satan shouts with joy when Christians go to sleep and quit serving Christ.

God had only one Son and He made Hm a preacher. There has never been a preacher like Jesus. He preached the gospel of the Kingdom in all their cities and villages and synagogues. And when He looked upon the multitudes of people, His heart went out in compassion to them, for He saw them as sheep, having no shepherd.

When we look upon a large crowd, we have a different reaction.
We feel its vast overpowering strength. We say, how great, how strong, how mighty. But when Jesus looked upon them He said, how sad, He saw people, but He also saw their enemy, Satan.
He saw them not as a mass of humanity, but as lost souls going over the brink into eternal death. Then He said, the harvest is plentiful, but the harvesters are few.
The same condition exist today all over the world. The majority of the people are unsaved, they are walking the way of the world which leads to destruction.

Why? Because the labors are few
Do we obey His instructions to pray for labors?
Or have we become so indifferent to the world needs that we are content just to keep a little work going on for God in our community?
Some have prayed about this matter and God has said to them, why don't you go yourself? A they have gone to the ends of the earth caring the tidings of salvation to dying multitudes.

If we will be true and faithful to Christ, if we pray, work, witness and give, maybe in heaven they will come up to us and thank us for telling them of Jesus.
Then the music will be sweeter and the mansions more beautiful and the streets of gold brighter, and the vision of Christ more entrancing.

The question I leave with you today is this!
What are you doing for the Savior who has done so much for you?

 

[doc329]

We, as Adam's descendants, continue to believe that we can live independently of God, doing what we please.

We are like children who live in their father's house, enjoying their father's provisions while saying: "I can take care of myself.
I don't need my father's help nor guidance. I will live as I please."
Unless children are repeatedly reminded to be grateful, they are prone to take their fathers' provisions for granted. Many children only realize this obvious truth when they face problems that they cannot handle.
Others only realize this much later, when they themselves become parents. A child who tries to live independently of his parents will be unsettled - especially when he faces problems. Such a child will also not enjoy the full benefits of his childhood.

Our dependence upon God is far greater than our dependence upon our parents because God not only provides what we have but also what we are (Colossians 1:16,17).

 

[doc329]

O God, by Your Holy Spirit You inspired Your word; and so, O God, by that same Spirit we ask that You would open our eyes to understand the truth of Your word, and by Your Spirit that You would apply that truth to our own hearts and lives, that we might respond trusting and obeying the word of God.
These things we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.