Suffering for the sake of the gospel...

 

Do we need to suffer for the sake of the gospel and if so why?

 

Count it all joy when we fall into diverse trails of any kind. A totally foreign statement to our natural understanding, something we despise and look to avoid at all costs, until God gives us spiritual to see the purpose behind it all. A new perception behind the purpose of suffering become a way of life. But only when we yield to the Word of God. There is absolutely no hardship in the life of a Christian that isn’t working for good, moulding and fashioning the Christian into a better image of their Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, when they learn to “let go and let God” work in their lives. This is such a beautiful truth when objectified that it silences the gainsayers. Every second of your pain in suffering is producing a peculiar type of grace in your lives, it doesn’t matter if it is cancer, HIV, or any other life threatening illness or any form of smear;  it’s all working together for good. John Piper tackles this and affirms that we can’t see what it’s doing in our lives, in other words we won’t understand it, and yet we should understand it if we learn to feast on scripture. The Bible is full of these types of encouragements; “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2) and “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”  (1 Peter 4:1-2) - Suffering of any kind drives us towards the will of God in our lives. However, although all types of suffering works out for our good. When we learn or have to learn in the way I have learnt so many valuable lessons through rebellion and folly, when we suffer because we are dull of hearing. This is not really our objective, BUT GOD! Who is rich in mercy travels the extra mile even in our comatose states, He disciplines his children because of His great love. We serve an awesome God! We strive under the grace of God to appropriate this truth into our lives; “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2: 20-21) -  Even the tragic loss of a child, as painful as that may be, when we focus on the end game, it’s our Heavenly Father who is glorified, isn’t that what we all want the most, don’t we want to bring glory to our God? “As it’s working an eternal weight of glory for you.” (John Piper) - Suffering allows us to realise and embrace this, without it, we remain self-absorbed individuals.  It’s how we respond to the trial that needs toil. Grace must be entwined into our faith and in turn that produces a beauty beyond comprehension, it gives us endurance, it’s like an energy bar or a protein shake for the bodybuilder. We know that the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven and He is now seated at the right hand of God. Here is an example that got Gods attention, do you remember Stephen and the way the mob stoned him? Here is that account; “Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:54-60) – I could spend time unpacking this account but I don’t think it is needed, I will just highlight some of the key points that I want you to consider.

 

Regardless of where we are steered, whatever comes across our paths in the form of tribulation and the diverse suffering we face as Christians, its working towards our eternal inheritance, bless the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen and Amen! Our mantra must shift as we thank God that we are considered worthy enough to be counted amongst those who have suffered for the sake of the gospel. It’s all about being conformed to the will of God and we must learn to leave behind the thinking’s of the world’s perceptions. Quotes like, “you deserve to be happy” and the like impregnate the brains of those perishing. What they mean by those types of statements.  We are entitled to happiness around our selfishness which is always tainted with the stain of sin. God teaches us that suffering eradicates our self-centeredness.  

 

Let me conclude like this, Stephen fell asleep, look at the text, in other words he move from this life into the next, death has been conquered by our glorious Saviour, and He conquered it through the finished work of the cross. We needn’t fear death, it should no longer have its claws in us. It’s our faith that feeds our hope, and one day we will be with our God to forever rule and reign with Him. The grander the suffering, the better the chance of those witnessing the travail have a chance of being saved. Saul a devout Jew who persecuted the Christian witnessed the stoning of Stephen and he later became known as Paul, the man God use more than any other apostle to bring us sound doctrine through his writings in Scripture.  

 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

 

Ps to suffer martyrdom for the sake of the gospel is truly a blessing and not a curse. For those who God has taken and will still lead down that road, their reward is waiting for them in heaven.

Essential Doctrines

Apathy will never be an excused when it comes our eternal destinies. Hence the warnings in scripture, this is why we must not simple glean over them but rather study them in depth and learn from them. Use the lessons behind such caveats to shape our decisions. And such a caution as this one that the Lord Jesus gives us, is crucial and we must gather from it to equip ourselves for what lies ahead; “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7: 13-14) – There is a narrow and a wide gate and the Christian needs to ensure that they can differentiate the wide from the narrow and then to enter the correct gate, period!

 

Here are some essential doctrine that I believe will help us stay on the right road. Obviously we need the grace of God to get us home and one of the functions of God the Holy Spirit is to lead us into all truth and I trust this will help…

   

·    The Essential Doctrines we need to latch onto to ensure we are on the right road, which in turn leads to our salvation.

·    We need to be truly saved, we can’t attach ourselves onto an organization that miss these essential doctrines.  That is where we will fall into the devil's playground. It is obvious many are being swept up by his trickery. The way many are disregarding the Word of God and referring to it as dated. 

·      It’s no use getting bent out of shape on the application issue behind baptisms. Some sprinkle, whilst others submerge. Or structure and the way churches are run and then lastly, the way people differ on spiritual gifts and their methodology behind their application and the technique they use is not an essential doctrine that is needed to be saved.

 

SO WHAT IS ESSENTIAL - WHAT MUST WE EMBRACE WITH BOTH ARMS TO ENSURE SALVATION? We cannot miss these truths. As John MacArthur calls it the “drivetrain” behind Essential Doctrines. I like that!

 

1.   The Word of God, the Holy Bible and the authority it carries, we must believe that it is inherent, if we land on questioning its authority, then we are playing into the hands of Satan. Just like they did in the Garden of Eden. It’s crucial we embrace the voice of God, through the written Word. This is where we find safety. – What if I don’t understand or I can’t relate to certain aspects of the scriptures? God has graciously afforded me freedom in this area of my life and I hope it will free you, if I don’t understand or feel something is harsh, I rest in the fact that God knows what He is doing and I believe what has been penned, even if I can’t get my head around it, end of story!  Romans chapter 9 a case in point, as I struggled with this chapter for a very long time. I don’t try and understand it on a carnal level, if it is to be discerned spiritually; “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8: 6-8) - With this understanding and my application to it, I can honestly say that the Spirit of God has settled me on this topic and I am at peace. The Bible and only the Bible is the revealed Word of God and this is the first essential we must embrace. I want us to consider what is attacked the most in the Christian world, is it not the Word of God? It certainly is! Why? Bring doubt into what has been penned and what happens? It undermines people confidence in God. Satan’s objective from the beginning. I trust this point is clear. We need to latch onto the Word of God with all we have.  

2.    We must get to grips with the God’s nature, any god outside the trinity is a false god. We know that God is a triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they all have their specific roles in our salvation. One in nature, three in person, and this is the true God revealed in scripture. It's the first essential that has already been discussed that prove this, it’s the Word of God through the Bible which communicates these truths. The Father as the creator and the giver of life, the Son as Redeemer, the Spirit, the power behind salvation and sanctification. This must be our understanding of God. We also have to believe these truths about Christ, He was born of a virgin and that He is God and Man, 100% God and 100 % man; that’s who he claimed to be in scripture and that is who He is. He live a sinless life and died in place of others, His death was substitutionary. He also rose from the dead endorsing God the Father confirmation in His son’s sacrifice. His resurrection by the Father proves the validation for all those who have and will still repent and cry out to Jesus for their salvation. We also believe in His ascension into heaven and that he will return again to fetch His church.

3.   We must believe that salvation is by faith in Christ alone and by grace, it is a gift from God! We cannot earn it by our own works. In other words our own effort will never save us or get us to heaven.

 

Let me conclude like this; we start with a true understanding of the Bible, it is the unadulterated Word of God. The true understanding of God the trinity and the roles HE (three in one) plays in our salvation. These are the essential doctrines that we must make our own to stay on track and make it to heaven. The rest will be sorted by God when we are with Him in heaven.

 

To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Praise!

 

(2 Samuel 22:4) “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.”

 

What in your life is worthy of praise? Is it your bank balance or could it be your children’s achievement. Maybe your position as the owner of a conglomerate and the power you now wield is your claim to fame. There is much to do about nothing when we consider what is worthy of praise, if it falls outside of the scope of God’s provision for mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is worthy of praise. Why? Because no one else has it in their power to pardon your sin. This is a phenomenal achievement, He alone has paid the price for the repentant sinner. We have it in our power to forgive one another, but that forgiveness as liberating as it can be, will not stand the test of eternity. David gives us some insight to this, may we have ears to hear what the Spirit is teaching us. His sin had snowballed out of control. That is what sin does if left unchecked. He had impregnated a married woman and was now trying to cover it up, he went as far as ensuring the death of her husband. He had arranged that Uriah the Hittite, an honourable man, who had chosen to rather sleep on the steps of the king’s palace than return to his wife while his companions were at war. This is turn, squashed David’s plans for his cover up. He then sent a message to his head General, Joab and it reads like this; “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”  And all because he felt he needed to hide his sin, sin will remained buried, but only for a season. David’s plans apparently worked out, however, only until the prophet Nathan confronts him and eventually says; “You are the man!”  Guilty of treason. God had exposed David’s sin and it was now out in the open. An example of what we will all have to face when we stand before the judgment seat of God and make no mistake that day is coming for the unbeliever. It’s not our sin that God is ultimately offended by, obviously God hates sin, as it falls outside of everything He is. But rather our response to it that moves God towards a favourable outcome for the sinner. It’s the love of God that forgives us. When David’s sin was brought into the light, his immediate reaction was to own it, and then repent. God has afforded all the same privilege, we can confess and find forgiveness for our sins in and through the finished work of the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished that for us all. But only those who respond favourably will find forgiveness for their sins, whilst all the others, which will be many, will be judged for theirs.

 

Those who reject Him and refuse to pay Him homage in this life will stand before a Holy God and give an account of their lives and every secret sin will be brought to the surface and judged. God is love, but I tell you this it is a fearful thing to fall onto the wrong side of His judgments. The cost is unthinkable, but think we must, whilst we have breath to implement His truths into our lives, it is imperative we take every opportunity to make straight our crooked paths and that can only ever be achieved in and through the finished work of the cross.

 

David sinned against so many people to cover up his iniquity, but look at his response to it in the Psalms; ​ “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” (Psalms 51: 1-4) – We need God’s forgiveness for our sin, without His endorsement we will suffer the fate of the devil and his angels, the Lake of Fire will be their final destination. Why? Because of their sin, in other words, their rebellion against God’s order.  

 

This is the reason for my applause, I will call upon the name of the Lord, He is worthy to be praised, hallelujah and Amen! He has saved me from a catastrophic dilemma, praise his name. Christian we have been born for such a time, it is time for us to dig our heels in and be countered. Where will you stand on this? Will you buckle to the pressure of society and the whimsical clattering voices that shout compromise is love or will you boldly come forth and be amongst the number who cries out in love to those lost and tainted by the wolves in sheep’s clothing; “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”  (Matthew 7: 13-14) - Our lives must be all about the will of God the Father and not our selfish wants, we must learn to “let go and let God”, as it will certainly be worth it all, when we make it to heaven and see Him in all His splendour, what a day that will be, even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

 

Even the lessons we are taught in life, through the natural, help us understand that anything worthwhile comes at a cost. We must decrease so that God can increase. We must learn to depend solely on the finished work of the cross. We must throw all our eggs into one basket, and that basket must be the Lord Jesus. There can be no hedging of bets when it comes to the eternity. One foot in the world and the other in the church is simply not good enough.

 

The storm is coming and those not built on the Rock, will be swept away.

 

Look to Jesus and LIVE!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Faith biblical formula

 Faith, an essential, for the Christians walk, why? Without faith it is impossible to please God. Nevertheless, we need to understand how to apply it correctly if we are to ever please our heavenly Father.  Faith could refer to, confidence, trust, reliance, conviction, belief or assurance to name but a few of its replacements. The tricky part when applying ourselves to faith correctly is the slant so many have on the subject. It is imperative that we understand the biblical truth behind faith and we must find the grace to apply it correctly. God has given his children access into His storerooms of grace, it is freely available and its doors are never shut.

 

Let’s explore biblical faith with the intent of keeping it simple; what is the definition of faith? (Hebrews 11:1) “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction (or evidence) of things not seen.”  Faith is an individual’s pledge, believing in a hope that they will eventually receive, even though it is unseen to the naked eye. The danger behind faiths entrapment is this, because faith is an immaterial substance it allows the gainsayer to throw extra goodies into the mix that they feel will tickle people’s ears to get them racing down the rabbit hole. Their strength lies with people's will to satisfy their sensual desires, in other words, if it appeals to us and offers worldly benefits, profits for us in this world, then it is swallowed hook, line and sinker, but only by those who are carnally minded. The babe in Christ is in danger and we need to protect them from such poison, whatever a baby gets their hands on, goes straight into their mouths.

 

Christian this is what we must chase with all we have, we must search out God’s grace to implement this truth into our lives…

 

But before we get there, let’s use a secular example to highlight the point. A spaceship needs fuel to propel it into outer orbit. It’s not as if the head engineer sends out a jerry can on the back of a truck to the nearest gas station. That they would never do, they search out the best of the best when fuelling the rocket. It’s make up consist of a complicated concoction which in turn enables a rocket to get the best propulsion possible. The best of the best for the best results, with no cost spared.

 

Why then would we as Christians settle for anything less? Here is the formulae; Faith + the Word of God = evidence of the hope to come. When we value the voice of God and apply it into our lives even if we don’t really understand, let’s face it, some truths are hard to swallow, but swallow we must, if we want to be recorded it the record books of faith.

 

Faith not fed by the word of God will only ever produce pseudo faith. Why? Because if God voice is not behind our faith how will that benefit us in the ages to come? It wont!

 

I don’t know about you but I am looking for the faith that will glorify my heavenly Father, and bring praise to my glorious Saviour. Any other types of faith I want absolutely nothing to do with.

 

The writer of Hebrews has this to say about true faith; (Hebrews 11: 13-16) “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

 

My encouragement to all would be feast of the Word of God, God’s voice, given freely, is available to all in and through the written Word, the Holy Bible.  Avoid myths and the static from all the opinionated voiced of today, there is so many channels with so many blinkered ideas that it’s easy to get lost in the mayhem of it all. But as for you Christian; “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5)

 

Let me leave you with this encouragement, let us look to Moses’ example and learn from it; (Hebrews 11: 24-25) “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”  

 

Be blessed Christian in the finished work of the cross

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone         

The divide

The divide between judgment and truth, to find the balance without compromise is an art in itself. Where there is truth in our society there will always be those looking to tarnish it with lies, sadly, it is the way of the fallen world. So from the outset please forgive me if my delivery seems harsh, however the reality of the feud of today is real and it would be unwise for us to bury our heads in the sand. I have a heart for the lost, the wayward sheep, those who have missing in action. I was amongst that number for a very long time, but God who is rich in mercy and through a series of painful corrections brought me to me senses, thank you Father God! I may be HIV positive, have a leg shorter than the other with a hip now failing due to a head-on collision. Nevertheless, the discipline of God’s action into my life has saved me and if I was given a choice, I would have it no other way.  It’s hard to articulate the depths He was willing to travel to rescue me, a life of total debauchery, wine, woman and song; with drugs a common requirement to escape the reality of it all. Hence the reason for my autobiography, which is available on the Amazon platform in the form of an electronic book, it is called Destroy and Deliver Synopsis for anyone who is interested. 

 

The mercy and grace of God is not lost on me, I have understood that boasting of any form has been excluded, it’s the goodness of God, alone that saves. Let these words infiltrated you mind and bless you richly; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2: 4-9)

 

In any warfare there always has to be an opposing force, for the Christian it is no different, the battle is fierce and it often comes from within. We have been warned, in the last days people will gather teachers to themselves; “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2Timothy 4:3-5)

 

Without any other influence for now, please consider where we stand on this, is it obvious? Or is this a reference for another time? We will explore this train of thought a little further in upcoming posts.

 

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Life's Journey

(Philippians 4:7) “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – is this your reality?

 

The journey of life, when does it begin, at conception or when we breach our mother’s womb? Regardless of where you land on this, the truth of the matter is we exist and therefore get to an age where we have to start making informed decisions for ourselves. We all have a story to tell and at the end of the day we all have to work it out. Life can be confusing at times, the pressure this generation faces is immense and growing up in this digital age can be harsh. Online bullying and the like, but God has made a way for you to escape the onslaught.

 

The message of salvation is timeless and on offer to all who cry out to Him. The brilliance of God on display in and through the finished work of the cross. Has the Lord Jesus Christ touched your life in a way that no one can rob you of the experience or is the concept of His redeeming work just pie in the sky? Do you have a form of godliness but deny the power of it all? In other words do you claim to be a Christian but you live no differently to everyone else. Do I? I am not exempt from the very same question. What about the “peace of God that surpasses all understanding?” If not, today may just be your day, for me it happened what seems a lifetime ago, I was 22 years old when God brought me to a place of understanding. Understanding what? Well, I understood that I had been lied to for so many years, 22 to be exact! Adults don’t give teenagers of today enough credit to reason correctly, but I say, we all have the ability to aim from a very young age when it comes to our understanding of the deeper meanings of life. I can remember asking myself the question what is the meaning of life and demands like what about heaven and hell. A dearth, a spiritual blindness for 22 years and then it happen, God opened my eyes and then I knew, all my questions found answers. God gave me the eyes of faith to see into the unseen. Every con I had been lured into prior to this event I could now see the way they had been set up for entrapment; wine, women and song had driven me into the person I had become. Enough was the cry! I had come face to face with Jesus Christ, the One who died for me. He had saved me from a path of destruction, I could see! Everything had now fallen into place and I understood. That moment I will never forget and I treasure it deep within the clevises of my heart. Thank you Jesus for opening my eyes and saving my soul. Do you know what I am speaking about, have you had a similar experience? Let me leave you with this thought, it’s not enough to believe in God, even the demons believe and tremble, they know the power He wields. Has our relationship with the Lord Jesus brought about a change in the way we live our lives and is it obvious to all?

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

The Parable

“And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” (Luke 8: 9-10)

 

Firstly we need to understand what a parable is, it is allegory to get a point across and it the case of the Christian to give them insight into a truth that the unbeliever will miss, when exposed to the same story. Ingenious if you ask me, God is phenomenal in the way He weaves His brilliance into society. This is why we need to be born again, the time where we receive His Spirit to see and understand correctly. It unlocks the secrets of heaven. Think on it like this, a 3D movie need 3D glasses to clasp the full experience, so too everyone who claims to be a Christian, must be born again, traditional Christianity, those born into Christian organisations from birth, those who are Sunday church goers, cannot rely on their parents teaching to get them you heaven, or to rely on our christening as a baby, we all need to be born of the Spirit to see and understand Spiritual truths; “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – There needs to be a precise event in their lives when this happens, it must be an undeniable experience.  

 

As the walls close in, I am reminded that we who belong to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are a people with great hope attached to our faith. And it is crucial that we are constantly reminded of this hope, for without it we will perish, no differently to a seed backing in the sun or settling amongst the thorns with no hope of producing the fruit required. Useless and forgotten. Although that seed came from the same bag bought by the farmer to plant and then to reap his harvest, it never takes root and dies, the cares of life become too much to handle. It’s the faith of the Christian that must feed our hope. Just like the rich soil nourishes the seed and water then allows it to germinate into a fully grown plant that brings forth much fruit.

 

Life and then some looks to interfere with the process, if we fall privy to its deceit. The cares of life has this intention; “And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” (Luke 8:14)

 

The Christian has been given sight by the great I AM, God has equipped us with great insight, and the doors of eternity are open to the believer. However, because it is so far removed from our natural understanding, we need a looking glass to see clearly, and our great Saviour has afford us the privilege, but in order to access those binoculars we must tap into faith and hope. It’s the nocks and the disappointments of life that looks to shift our gaze, but it’s the Word of God that realigns our rudders to see them for what they are, an experience to help us squeeze and hold onto our Saviours finished work even tighter. James actually takes it a step further, he instructs us to count in all joy when we are faced with various trials. It’s like a long distance runner, he must train in order to gain the stamina for an upcoming marathon. Christianity is a marathon and not a sprint, we too need the pressure of various trail to build our stamina, it produces a steadfastness. A determination to stay the course. However when the trail is viewed through carnal eyes, we will be swallowed up.

 

Let me concluded with this truth; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) – You see how faith and hope work together to trim our sails and even though the battle is fierce, we know in whom we believe. Our God will get us home, and just in case we think the cup we need to drink is too much to handle, read the rest of Hebrews chapter 11 and it will soon become obvious that what most of us face is trivial in comparison.

 

Thank you Father God for this reminder, I needed it, please give me and whoever else is in need of a special measure of your grace and the strength to find it, praise your name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Fruits of repentance

(Romans 8: 7-9) “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

To have our minds conditioned to the way of the world is a hostile action against God. Hostile is a strong word, it could be interpreted as aggressive, argumentative, antagonistic, and unreceptive. It really means someone who is against God's will. The question we need to ask ourselves is how does my mind operate? What actually fuels it and makes me the person I am? Once we allow the Holy Spirit of God to work his brilliance, revealing certain truths about our characters, that place which leaves us unembellished before our God, striped of all self-justification which allows our sin to breathe and live on. It’s only in this state that we can truly seek God’s face to intervene in our lives. There are obvious times in this world when we are so blinded by our sin that God steps in and disciplines us, and thank God for that. However, we must all arrive at a place of understanding. A time in a believer’s life when we consciously play our parts in this tremendous relationship with our heavenly Father. A time when we need to stand up and be counted. An obvious deduction concerning the shift of our thought process, not living life as we did yesterday, but with an intentional will to find grace to change the way we process information. Until this happens, we will never shake the mould of society. The war is fierce and it was never intended to be any different. Christianity isn’t for the Pliable. We all fail in different areas of our lives, this by design, which keeps us humble. But to live as if one does not need the will to find grace to overcome those obstacles in our lives, makes us no different to the drug addict or the alcoholic. Escapism for the Christian is a “no go zone”. And yet I know I am guilty as charged, forgive me Father God.

We must get this into our minds; “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,”  - As believers born of God, although we live in a flesh and blood body we are not under the governance of our flesh, we are to live in the Spirit which is fuelled by faith. Our faith must drive us to live here, period! If not then we need to ask ourselves this very serious question; “if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”  We all like to acknowledge and believe that God is on our side. Even the unbeliever has a hope that it will end well. That inherent thought powered by deception, a trigger mechanism that believes it will happen to others and we will be safe.   There is a very stern warning in the text, without the Spirit of God in us, we do not belong to God. This is an obvious deduction and plainly declared in the transcript. “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”  

 

Before we disregard Paul's teaching, as it were for our neighbour, let us seek God’s face for our lives. Let’s seek the Spirits help to see ourselves as we are. Once He obliges and His work is done we can then actively look to strengthen our feeble knees and find grace to help in time of need.

 

There is a way we can test where we stand before our God and our commitment to Him. Sin will always look to accuse others and excuse ourselves. But the Spirit of God is not subject to that type of manipulation, praise God for that. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”  - How do we test our involvement with God’s call upon our lives? – Here it is, the fruits of repentance reveals a truth that we cannot deny; “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.” (2 Corinthians 7: 10-11)   

 

Do we have a godly grief to our failures or a worldly sorrow to them? A simple question that strips us to our core. The one produces repentance whilst the other carries with it a death sentence. It the godly grief that now drives the Christian, it’s the Spirit of God that compels us to through faith and by grace to act differently. This truth is obvious for the believer at salvation, the day God opens the eyes for an individual for the very first time and the way their lives change, it is an undeniable truth. What I want us to examine is what has happened since then and how does compromise now dictate? 

 

Let us now unpack the fruits of repentance and what I lives should look like, and if not, we know what needs to happen. We need to fall to our knees and earnestly cry out to Jesus.

 

There are seven fruits of repentance; Earnestness (seriousness), eagerness (enthusiasm) to clear yourselves, indignation (anger or annoyance), fear (anxiety), longing (desire or a craving), zeal (fervour), punishment (retribution or as the KJV puts it, revenge – retaliation)! All of these descriptive words give us insight to the way our minds are conditioned and how serious we are with our God. They all play their part in our retaliation against the world and its entrapment. A measure for us to evaluate our spiritual standing before a Holy God. God willing, I will look to unpack this with more proficiency in the next post.

 

If God if for us who can be against us, but we need to be real and here is what the Spirit is saying to the churches, what can I take from this? We must see our need and only then will we be compelled to cry out to Jesus for help. Help us Father God come to our senses is my prayer, Amen and Amen!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone