I have been listening to a sermon series by John Piper called Battling Unbelief. It has been very challenging and encouraging (when I say encouraging I don't mean what our culture so often means, I mean putting courage in your heart to keep climbing). He says that faith is not to be a looking backwards, (for example looking back to the cross) but it is a looking forward and believing the promises of God. He talks about the countless number of Americans who say, "I believe Jesus died for my sin and God raised him from the dead" yet it makes absolutely no difference in their life. They do not live a life of faith in God.
Therefore, when I read todays, Daily Light, reading I saw God reinforcing what Pastor John has been preaching. Here is what I read,
"And [Abraham] believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was 'counted to him as righteousness.' But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.
"For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. - 'The righteous shall live by faith.'- Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. - Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. - 'For nothing will be impossible with God.'...'And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."
Gen. 15:6. Rom. 4:20-24. Rom. 4:13. Rom. 1:17. Heb. 10:23. Ps. 115:3. Luke 1:37, 45.
Finally, let us fight the good fight of faith; for he who called us from darkness into his glorious light is faithful to all his promises! Let's be believers!
Friday, March 24, 2006
Friday, March 10, 2006
Be Filled With The Spirit
How many times have you heard people say, "Our church is spirit-filled," or "that person is spirit-filled?" What is usually meant is that the person speaks in tongues or the church has expressive worship. Yet the Bible does not define spirit-filled in this way. So, what is evidence of a spirit-filled church or a spirit-filled person? Jesus said "Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit , nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16-20).
I would like to suggest you look for the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." For example, in Ephesians 1:15 Paul is convinced of the Ephesians having the Spirit becuase he has heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints. Therefore, let us be filled with the Holy Spirit and love one another. We love because He has loved us. Let us obey Christ and love our enemies, love the outsider, and love the foreigners in our midst. Let us love one another. "This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience-it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary , it shares the joy of those who live by truth. Love knows no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) Without love we are sounding brass and a clanging cymbal. Oh Great God of Mercy look upon us and forgive us of our lack of love and wash us and fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may love with your love that passes understanding.
I would like to suggest you look for the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." For example, in Ephesians 1:15 Paul is convinced of the Ephesians having the Spirit becuase he has heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints. Therefore, let us be filled with the Holy Spirit and love one another. We love because He has loved us. Let us obey Christ and love our enemies, love the outsider, and love the foreigners in our midst. Let us love one another. "This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience-it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary , it shares the joy of those who live by truth. Love knows no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) Without love we are sounding brass and a clanging cymbal. Oh Great God of Mercy look upon us and forgive us of our lack of love and wash us and fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may love with your love that passes understanding.
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