Every day pride in performance
battles with the humility of neediness for the self-view of your heart; takes
grace to know you need grace. Paul Tripp
Every day love of the world and
love for your Lord battle for the allegiance of your heart. Only grace can
deepen your love for Jesus
You have to share your faith in
such a way that people will wish that it is true. Tim Keller
It’s said there’s 3
qualifications for a pastor: the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, &
the hide of a rhinoceros.
Charles e Whisnant October 25,
2012
CHRISTIANS NEED TO LEARN HOW TO
KEEP BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
CHRISTIANS NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DARE LIVE THE CHRISIAN LIFE WITH
PURPOSE.
YOU ARE TODAY WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN
BECOMING IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. YOU ARE
TODAY WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING TOWARD THE LAST FIVE YEARS. Charles T. Jones
What is your five year plan as a
Christian? To the average Chrisitan they
have no clue. They just live one day at a time with no though of growing in
grace. They go to church, hear the sermons,
go home and have no thought about what they have just heard. They have not learned to apply the principles
of the Word of God into their lives. They have not learned to live life God’s
Way. Doing the Lord’s Work in the Lord’s
Way.
Dare to Live With Direction.
They just don’t listen.
They may hear the sermon but they don’t listen to obey.
I used to go to workshop
meetings when I worked at Hillcrest Heath Care in Fredonia Kansas, and the purpose
was to help us be better workers. Most
of the people who went were really not wanting to learn how to be better
workers. They believe they were already good workers and didn’t need any
help. And that seems to me much of what
members of the church think. “Why is the
preacher preaching on this subject, I don’t see any relevance in it for me at all.”
As I have often said, “Every sermon I preach has a message
that will help us become the kind of Christian God wants us to be. Every sermon I study from Romans or Luke or
Isaiah will give me
insight into the mind of Christ.
Develop a mind of Christ likeness in living as a
Believer.
John MacArthur says:
by John MacArthur
You probably know
that most people in America and many more worldwide identify themselves as
Christians. But how many of them can explain and defend the gospel, articulate
basic biblical theology, or live lives that support the claims of their faith?
The tragic fact is that compared to the vast number of people who claim to be
Christians, very few are actually growing to be more like Christ.
That process of
spiritual growth is called sanctification, and it’s a vital part of every
believer’s life. For the past several weeks, we’ve been looking at some
popular, purported methods of sanctification—commonly called spiritual
formation—and weighing them against the biblical models for spiritual growth.
As we near the end of this series, I want to highlight some basic, clear
teaching from Scripture about the nature of sanctification and help you
properly evaluate your own spiritual growth.
It’s important to
distinguish what sanctification is and is not. It is not simply
feeling closer to God or experiencing His presence. It’s not a collection of
secret insight and personal encouragement from Him to you. And it’s not a vague
sense of subjective spirituality—in fact, it’s not measured, engaged, or
informed by your emotions or feelings at all.
True sanctification,
according to Scripture, is the process of God’s transforming work in your life.
In the moment of your salvation, you are declared justified by the Lord through
the sacrifice of His Son and freed from the guilt of sin. From there,
sanctification frees you from the pollution of sin, helping you destroy sinful
patterns and relinquish your former wickedness.
And just as with
salvation, sanctification is not accomplished by our will or actions—it’s the
work of the Lord in the lives of His people. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul prayed
that the Lord would complete His sanctifying work in their lives.
