An undeniable truth of scripture is the necessity to discipline ourselves spiritually. Spiritual disciplines are very difficult because they are contrary to our fleshly nature. Gal 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. If we never wrestle to be spiritually disciplined then we will remain ineffective servants of Christ, and unhappy Christians. While it is true that Christ has won the victory for us, and that even our sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit, it is equally true that God holds His children responsible to discipline themselves unto holiness- Heb 12:14 “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord”.

Paul gives us to two major reasons for the need of spiritual discipline. First, it holds a promise in this present life. Anyone who has been a Christian very long knows how quick things like joy, peace, and even assurance of salvation erode, when prayer and bible study are lacking. Yet on the flip side, when we spend much time in prayer and in the scriptures, we sense God’s presence in a wonderful way- Ps 16:11 In Your presence is fullness of joy. We also are much more spiritually equipped for things like evangelism and ministry to the saints, whenever we have been living spiritually disciplined lives.

Paul’s second reason to be spiritually disciplined, is it holds out a promise for the future life. The bible very clearly teaches us that what we do on earth will eternally effect our state of being in heaven. The parable of the talents in Matt. 25, and the fact that we are to store up treasures in heaven point to this truth. Although Paul does not tell us what it is, he is clearly teaching that if we labor to benefit our spiritual lives now, we have a promise that it will profit us when we get to heaven!

 

Definition- Genuine biblical humility is derived from a true sense of one’s depraved and wretched condition, in the light of being saved by the grace of God.

HUMILITY– …the habitual frame of mind of a child of God is that of one who feels not only that he owes all his natural gifts, etc., to God, but that he has been the object of undeserved redeeming love, and who regards himself as being not his own, but God’s in Christ. He cannot exalt himself, for he knows that he has nothing of himself. The humble mind is thus at the root of all other graces and virtues. Self-exaltation spoils everything. There can be no real love without humility. “Love,” said Paul, “vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up” (1 Cor 13:4). As Augustine said, humility is first, second and third in Christianity. (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) 

 

1. Christ is the Christian’s supreme example- (*Turn to Philippians 2:3-8)

Matt 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.. NASU

 

2. Biblical Examples-

King David– 1 Sam 24:14 “After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea? NASU (Humility is produced by understanding your low position)

Isaiah- Isa 6:5 Then I said,” Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” NASU

(Humility is always produced when one has a close encounter with God)

John the Baptist- Mark 1:7 And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. NASU

 

3. Humility is a fruit of the Spirit- Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. KJV

 

4. Humility is a natural outflow of the genuine Christian- (*Turn to Matt. 25:37-40)

 

5. Complete Humility is the evidence of the truly repented sinner seeking salvation-

Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. KJV

 

6. Humility is derived from living in the light of what the scripture declares about our own goodness- Ps 16:2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”  Ps 39:5 Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. NKJV

 

7. Humility is also derived from our own inability to change our helpless and worthless state-

 Isa 64:7 There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; NASU

Rom 3:11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. NKJV

 

8. Humility is the key to keep your feelings from being hurt, and to keep you from  looking foolish before others- Prov 11:2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom. NKJV 

 

*Genuine Humility is only known through having experienced the humbling experience of salvation. Then the battle to fight pride begins!!!!

Alpheus

Check this out!

 

http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=3630

 

Heb 11:13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. NASU

  

The heros of the faith all had one thing in common- they were strangers in this world. A stranger is one who feels out-of-place because they are not at home. Everyone else looks content and happy to be where they are, but your not because your are still not in your own home.

This is the way it is for all Christians in this life. We occasionally lose focus on this for two reasons:

 Sometimes we are too content with our lot now. That is, because things are for the most part okay in our lives, we really have no real longing for heaven. Our longing to be in glory with Christ is numbed by the cares of this world. Remember that Abraham was a wealthy man, never the less “he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

The second condition that makes a Christian ripe for forgetting he is a stranger is tribulation. When we are going through a time of testing, many times our turmoil is the result of being discontent with our lot. That is, something is not the way we would like it to be. We need money, we need better health, we need more love, we need something in order to be content. This search for the “something else” can blind us to the fact the we are strangers in this world. It is here we remember the Apostle Paul. While he was in prison for Christ sake, he did not look to temporal freedom to make him happy, but he looked to the eternal freedom which comes in the next world- Phil 1:23 “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;…” NASU (Also read 2 Cor. 4:16-18)

Paul understood so well the thing we must always remember about our being strangers here now- 

2 Cor 5:1-2  For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven NASU

 

Alpheus

Matt 26:41  ” Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  NASU

 

We need a revival of real prayer in the Church. We live in a day when we are so busy with good things we have failed in our duty to do the best thing. The Church is powerless because she is prayer less. The Church is prayer less because she is living in unbelief.  Prayer seems to be such a burden, and to the flesh it most certainly is! However, it is a burden we must overcome or we will remain weak and impotent in the cause of Christ in our generation.

 

Prayer is so contrary to our inward feelings. We pray and don’t feel like we have the right things to say, or we don‘t know what to say at all. Prayers are short, shallow, and to be honest sad.

Monotony has killed prayer. We here the same lingo and the same forms, and consequently our hearts fade. We draw near with our mouths but our hearts are far from God. Where is the passion? Where are the cries of Zion for God’s help? Where are those moaning petitions for God to act in our day? Where are the Jacobs who would wrestle with God until He answers?

 

*May I suggest a few causes and a few remedies-

 

A. The causes- 1) Preoccupation with the things of the world- (Self, money, work, toys, sports, etc)

                     2) Shallow Bible Knowledge- (Sunday School has turned into psychological feeding frenzies, instead of doctrinal soul feeing bible studies)

                     3) Unregenerate Church Membership- (Many have joined the visible Church by praying a prayer, but have never joined Christ Church by Bible Repentance and Faith)

                      4) A disdain for any authority in the Church – (Solo Christianity is the theme of the day. Everyone already knows it all, and there is no longer a need for pastors and teachers called of God.)

                      5) Laziness- (The flesh is weak. It loves to play but it hates to pray! Prayer is a labor which is harder than plowing fields and chopping wood!)

                      6) Pride

B. The remedies- 1) Repent of prayerlessness

                          2) Stop worrying what others think- (In other words, worry about what God thinks about your prayers and not man! Always be remembering WHO you are talking to!)

                          3) Learn how to pray! (If the disciples of Christ needed to be taught so do we! Study the scriptures and learn how the people in the Bible prayed)

                          4) Learn to suffer and sacrifice- (Genuine prayer will always come with a cost to our fleshly appetites! Doing with less TV, less play, less computer, less sleep, etc)

                           5) Meditate on the fruits of prayer- (Seeing God do mighty things through prayer is great fuel for praying!)

 

*WOW! That was so easy for me to write! Oh that God would grant me the grace to be the first to apply it to my own life!

 

Alpheus

How does unconditional election encourage evangelism? Simply put, if God did not divinely call sinners to salvation (His elect), no one would ever be saved. Since man is born in sin, dead in sin, and lost in sin, he can do nothing to add to, or earn his salvation. So when we share the Gospel with sinners we know that they have no power to save themselves. Therefore, our hope is that God will give spiritual life to those to whom we preach. If He does not give spiritual life, no amount of exegetical, hermeneutics, or fanciful oratory can do the convincing!

John 6:63  ” It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing
 
John 5:21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. NASU

 

Alpheus

One of the greated problems people in this world have with believing in God, is explaining the existance of “evil”. If God is all powerful than why can’t He do something about it? If He is so loving, wouldn’t He want to?

Here is an article that gives great insight upon the subject-

http://covenant-theology.blogspot.com/2009/08/problem-of-evil-answered.html

Alpheus

Acts 11:21 – “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.”

 

       In my last post I spoke of the primary source God uses to build His Church. It is the Word of God! Reading through Acts you discover where the word was preached the number of disciples grew.

 

However, I left out a very important component to this church growth movement. “The Hand of the Lord was with them!” It must also be with us as well. Study, preach and proclaim God’s word with all your might, yet unless the hand of the Lord is with us, we labor in vain. Thus, with the preaching we must pray ferevently that the hand of the Lord would be with us in the proclaiming of His word.

 

Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Ps 127:1 KJV

Alpheus