October 2022

4 – Why the Bible is critical to your survival

By / New Christian Helps / 6 minutes of reading
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The Bible is the inspired Word of God, totally true and absolutely reliable. Which makes it the final authority for Christians. Above all else, the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. This is why we refer to the Bible as God’s Word. The Bible instructs us in all areas of life. For nonbelievers, the Bible presents God’s law, causing them to identify sin and then discover the gospel. God’s Word directs God’s children and guides them into God’s way of life as it transforms their attitudes, speech, and actions to be more like Jesus Christ.

The Bible is God’s only written message to mankind, for all of time. It is made up of 66 books, all written by men as they were led by God to write (2 Timothy 3:15-17). When first written, the Bible did not contain any mistakes and it has only one true meaning as intended at the time of writing (John 17:17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). The Bible is able to meet a person’s every spiritual need as they read, believe, and obey it (Proverbs 2:1-10).

David speaks of the supremacy of God’s Word many times as he tells of its greatness, …you have exalted above all things your name and your word (Psalm 138:2b). The Lord places His Word above all else, therefore it is worthy of our highest attention and diligent study.

The Bible is:

  • Perfect (Psalm 19:7, Proverbs 30:5)
  • Inerrant, that is, it’s without error (Psalm 119:138, 144)
  • Authoritative (Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 33:9,119:4)
  • Eternal, it stands throughout all ages, and is just as relevant and applicable today as it was when written (Isaiah 40:8, Psalm 119:89, 160).
  • Immutable, that is, it’s unchanging (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, Hebrews 6:17-18).

We can rest assured in God’s Word because God remains faithful to His Word and fulfils all His promises. Through His Word He makes it possible for us to know Him.

IT IS ESSENTIAL TO READ GOD’S WORD
God’s Word tells us that when we put faith in Jesus Christ, we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and we are born-again, which means we are spiritually regenerated (John 3:3, Titus 3:5).  Spiritually, immediately following salvation, we are like an infant who needs to begin to grow to maturity. God’s Word is the spiritual food for our new lives. The Word of God tells us; like new born babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1 Peter 2:2).

The milk referred to here is the Word of God, the Bible.  We need to read this regularly, meditate on it, and obey it. This is basic for Christian growth and maturity. Without it we will remain as spiritual babies and never grow. 

The Christian life is a walk with the Lord, that’s why God’s Word is described as: A lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105). 
The Bible is our Creator’s handbook.  It gives us instruction, plus it helps us understand God and who we are from His perspective.  It shows us how to please God in every area of our lives and how best to serve Him. God speaks to us through the Bible and He guides us as we read and meditate on it.  Therefore, take time to read and study God’s Word daily.

REASONS WE NEED TO KNOW THE WORD OF GOD

  • It makes us wise (Psalm 119:98-104).
  • It gives us the light of understanding if we receive it (Psalm 119:130).
  • It gives us peace and prevents us from stumbling (Psalm 119:165).
  • It builds us up and gives us an inheritance in Jesus (Acts 20:32).
  • It enables faith (Romans 10:17).
  • It teaches us, gives encouragement, and enables hope (Romans 15:4).
  • It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in right living (2 Timothy 3:16).
  • It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12).
  • It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

WAYS TO KNOW THE WORD OF GOD
HEARING:            For example, take time to attend Bible teaching/preaching, listen to recorded Bible teaching, through personal or group Bible reading, and gospel witnessing.

READING:            When we read we need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us understanding.  It can be helpful to follow a Bible reading plan, attend a Bible teaching Home Group, or get in a Discipleship relationship.

STUDYING:          Aim to study your Bible.  Once again, ask God to bring an older Christian into your life who will be willing to disciple you. It may be helpful to follow a Bible study lesson. Write key notes into your Bible so that you can relive the learned truth repeatedly. Write down anything that God reveals to you. God wants to build your knowledge of Him, but you should be able to remember and share with others whatever God reveals to you.

MEDITATING:      This is taking a verse, or verses, and spending time prayerfully contemplating and reasoning through the passage while making application to your life.  Ask yourself questions like:

  • What does this passage say about God?
  • Is there something God says is true of you?
  • Take note of how God sees you?
  • Is there a command to be obeyed?
  • Is there a sin identified that you should turn from?
  • Spend time talking with the Lord about what you’ve been meditating on

MEMORISING:    Memorise Bible passages for the following reasons:

  • To use when being tempted. I have hidden your word is my heart that I might not sin against you – is what David said in Psalm 119:11.
  • To help you remember lessons learned from Scripture.
  • For use when meditating without a Bible.
  • For quoting to others, including witnessing to nonbelievers.
  • For quoting when praying.

God wants us to know Him and His will correctly (John 17:3).  That is why we should study the Scriptures to understand the intended meaning.

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth, Your Word is truth.
Truth is God’s revelation given through the Scriptures by prophets of the Old Testament (Hebrews 1:1) and the disciples and apostles of the New Testament.

Galatians 1:11-12   I want you to know brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something made up.  I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13).
The Bible doesn’t specifically describe truth in a form of a definition in any one given passage.  But throughout the Bible it does deal with specific attributes, standards, and the origin of truth.  In fact, in Scripture we find only two forms of knowledge, TRUTH and ERROR.  Truth originates from God (Exodus 34:6, Psalm 96:13, James 1:17-18) while error and wrong attitudes originate from Satan and human wisdom (John 8:44, James 3:15, 1 John 4:1, 4-6).

It is God’s design for your life that you develop your faith and grow your trust in God’s Word by placing your confidence and reliance in the Bible. This growth is accelerated by regarding His Word as authoritative, absolute, and literal truth.  Your relationship with the Lord will flourish as you discover more of Him through His revelation of Himself in the Bible.

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple (Psalm 19:7). The law of the Lord (The Bible), is uniquely able to revive you through the work of regeneration carried out in your spiritual heart. Likewise, the statutes of the Lord (The Bible), equips you by producing wisdom. Wisdom, in itself, is the actual applying of the Scriptures to every area of your life. Therefore, it is imperative that you regularly store up God’s Word in your heart.

Feel free to check out other resources at focusbiblechurch.com
If you would like to ask a question, please use the “Contact Us” page on our web site, https://focusbiblechurch.com/contact-us/

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3 – Strength to live for Jesus Christ

By / New Christian Helps / 10 minutes of reading
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After a person responds to God through faith in Jesus Christ, the immediate challenge is living an obedient, victorious Christian life. The ability to live such a life does not come from our efforts, our abilities, or our determination, even though they may play a part.

The immediate question which arises is: If I can’t live an obedient life in my own strength, is it even possible? The answer is YES! 

God, in His goodness, has provided a way to live a life pleasing to Him and satisfying to us. The answer is to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, which we shall explore by answering the following 3 questions:

  1. Who is the Holy Spirit?
  2. What is our relationship with the Holy Spirit?
  3. What role does the Holy Spirit play?

1. Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is not some vague influence, or an inane force without intelligence. HE IS A PERSON.  This means He is knowable; He can communicate, and He can make Himself real to us.  As such, He has all the characteristics of personhood. We cannot necessarily see Him, but He is real and has great impact upon our lives.

The Holy Spirit is God. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, now the Lord is the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third equal member of the threefold Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

Like God the Father and God the Son, the Holy Spirit is:
ETERNAL:   With no beginning and no end (Hebrews 9:14)
OMNIPRESENT:   Present everywhere (Psalm 139:7-8)
OMNISCIENT:   All knowing (1 Corinthians 2:10)
OMNIPOTENT:   All powerful (Job 33:4; Luke 1:35)

2. What is our relationship with the Holy Spirit?
He spiritually renews us
Titus 3:5 He [God] saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 

At the time of salvation, it was the Holy Spirit who performed the invisible operations of spiritual rebirth, that is, the spiritual washing of our sin and inner renewal. This is what Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:1-8. The unseen working of the Holy Spirit is impossible to predict or dictate. He, being God, works in agreement with God the Father and Son to make a believing sinner a new person in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When we confess our state of sin before God, believing that Jesus took our judgment in our place on the cross, and we confess Jesus to be Lord (Romans 10:10), the Holy Spirit renewed.

He lives in the body of every believer
1 Corinthians 6:19   …your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.
Again, it was an invisible action that took place, and we most likely had no physical realisation of the Holy Spirit entering us. From that point onwards, the Spirit of God carries out His service from within. Where we go, He goes. What we do, He does with us. From within, He knows us intimately and feels all that we feel. Therefore, the sole ownership of our body has been relinquished, as we have been purchased by God with Christ’s death. The Holy Spirit is our personal, resident, heavenly owner.

He is the seal (security) of the believer
Ephesians 1:13 You also were included in God when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of  your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
Paul tells the Ephesian Christians that at the moment in which they believed in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit not only entered them but sealed them. Meaning, believers are safe and secure in an unbreakable relationship with the Lord. Jesus explaining to His disciples about those who believe in His said, I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand (John 10:28-29).

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who actualizes the working of God the Father and Jesus Christ within every believer. There is no falling out of Christ, no deconversion, and no undoing all that God has accomplished in salvation. The Holy Spirit is the constant guarantee of God’s fulfilled purpose in us. 

3. What role does the Holy Spirit play?
God the Holy Spirit has many critical functions within the believer’s life. He patiently leads and matures us in Christlike development. Therefore, He is best experienced as we are filled (Controlled) by Him.
Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead be filled with the Spirit. (Debauchery is excessive or riotous living).

In the original Greek language of the New Testament, the word “filled” means, “being kept filled.”  That tells us that it’s a moment-by-moment state of mind and will. It’s our new attitude as a Christian, to be daily filled, controlled by the Lord who is the Spirit within us. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to live in willing surrender to His control of our lives. This means our thinking, speech, and actions, will be in alignment with the Bible, which the Holy Spirit wrote (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Below are a few ways in which the Bible guides us concerning our living. If we follow these guidelines, we will in effect, be living a Holy Spirit filled life.

  • Keep a clean record with God of your sins. Turn your back on recurring sins that hold you back in your Christian life (2 Timothy 2:21; 1 God 1:9).
  • Daily surrender your body and mind to God’s transformation (Romans 12:1-2).
  • Hunger after a life of righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
  • Bathe yourself in the Word of God (Colossians 3:16).
  • Consciously live daily for the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:17). Regardless of life’s circumstances or events, live in each moment knowing that the Spirit of God is within you, participating in that moment.

4. Evidence of a Spirit filled life
We will show the Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

A Spirit filled Christian is often easy to pick in a crowd. Their life will be characterised by the qualities listed above. These are the observable expressions of the Holy Spirit’s activity in a believers’ life. They are unmistakable because they are so different to the norms of this world.

Sometimes, with the busyness of life, plus the difficulties and distractions of life, it can be easy to think independently God. Over time, as we walk with the Lord and develop Christian disciplines, those moments become less frequent. It is the Holy Spirit who progressively enables those disciplines to grow us towards maturity in Christ. So, as time goes by, our relationship with the Holy Spirit strengthens as we spend time in God’s Word and walk in obedience.

We will be worshipful
Ephesians 5:19-20   Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord God.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of God dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

When a believer has God’s Word richly (abundantly) indwelling them, they will be controlled by God’s Spirit. God’s Word dwells richly when we regularly read and study the Bible with an intentional attitude of surrendered listening. The primary goal of Bible reading is to explore and discover God more! It’s really about our attitude as we read God’s Word. While there will be times when we quickly read through a passage, there should also be regular times when we read slowly and thoughtfully, pausing to pray as we read. Other times it’s beneficial to listen to others read, or even listen to an audio Bible.

The Holy Spirit can then produce His fruit in our life that flows out of the influence of His written Word. When we observe this happening, our response will be thankfulness and praise to our heavenly Father for all of life. Sadly, the reverse is true also. If we are not residing in God’s Word, we will fail to express the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and we won’t be marked by thankfulness.

The Holy Spirit intercedes with the Father on believer’s behalf
Romans 8:26 …the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

There are often times in our Christian walk, when words fail us in our prayers. We may be grieved and can’t find the words to express our pain. Maybe we are so excited about something that our words are jumbled. Or maybe we simply can’t find the right words to explain to God what we are feeling in our hearts. Whatever the case, God the Holy Spirit, who lives within us and knows our hearts perfectly, takes our case to our heavenly Father. There in the throne room of God Almighty, the Holy Spirit accurately and intimately presents our inner most thoughts and feelings to the Father with a divine language that we can only recognise as groaning.

This intimate service that the Holy Spirit offers on our behalf picks up where our words fail. There are no human words or vocal sounds that can compare to this loving communication between Spirit and Father in our place.

The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to believers
1 Corinthians 12:4, 11 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit …All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as he determines.

At the time of salvation, the Holy Spirit placed within each believer a gift, which is a blending of spiritual abilities uniquely designed for each believer. While your gift may include some of your natural abilities and talents, your gift will be used by God for the blessing of others.

Over time you will recognise acts of service that you want to do and which you enjoy doing. Added to that will be the people you serve will comment on how blessed they are by your service. This can be a good indication of your spiritual gift.

The New Testament lists a few such gifts as a guide. Our gift is not intended to be ignored or left dormant. Rather, the Holy Spirit has graciously provided our gift to be used for the betterment of others, never for self-gratification.

Romans 12:6-8   Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

The Holy Spirit teaches and reminds believers of Jesus’ words
John 14:26   But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name [Jesus’] will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit always seeks to bring the words, the example, and the teachings of Jesus into believer’s lives. The Holy Spirit does this primarily through the written Word of God. This is why personal Bible reading and study is so important. Second, the Holy Spirit uses gifted Bible teachers to accomplish this in your local church (Ephesians 4:11-14). Third, the Holy Spirit achieves this through faithful believers who actively make disciples of others (Matthew 28:19-20). Fourth, the Holy Spirit achieves this through faithful Christian parents who teach God’s Word to their children (Deuteronomy 11:19).

The Holy Spirit strengthens believers
Ephesians 3:16   according to the riches of his glory he [God] may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

This ministry of the Holy Spirit generally operates through the believer’s motives and desires, causing determined faithfulness and courage in their service for God. However, at times, as required, the Holy Spirit will dramatically elevate a believer’s strength to meet the needs of extraordinary circumstances. Again, Holy Spirit strength is internally integrated in such a way that much of the time Christians simply think their strength was what they felt like doing.

Memorise Romans 12:1-2  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.  (2)  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Feel free to check out other resources at focusbiblechurch.com 
If you would like to ask a question, please use the “Contact Us” page on our web site, https://focusbiblechurch.com/contact-us/

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2 – Why am I now a Christian

By / New Christian Helps / 11 minutes of reading
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As Christians, it’s important for us to understand why God gifted us with salvation? Understanding the purpose for your salvation will help motivate you to follow Jesus faithfully and obediently.

We suggest pausing throughout this lesson to read the Bible passages that are referenced but not quoted. By doing this you will maximise the impact of God’s Word in your life. Also, write extra notes that will help you to remember the lessons learned. It is also helpful to highlight verses in your Bible that impact you. We suggest using coloured pencils or a fine-tipped pen. As a secondary tool, a Bible App can be helpful also.

Some common questions new Christians ask:

  • Was salvation simply so I could receive eternal life and carry on living the way I want?
  • Does salvation mean that God works all things for my enjoyment in this life?
  • Now that I’ve said the sinner’s prayer, does that mean that I go to heaven following a life of doing as I please and God giving me everything I ask for?
  • Does being a Christian mean that I have to give up things I really like?
  • Now that I’ve confessed to being a sinner, will God take all my problems away?
  • Does God have a purpose for me as a Christian?

These questions are clearly answered in the Bible. However, the most important question in the above list, is the last one; “Does God have a purpose for me as a Christian?” In this lesson we shall focus on answering this single question.

The answer is YES! God has a definite purpose for you now that you are a Christian. Salvation is simply the beginning of your adventure with Jesus Christ. In fact, God’s purpose for you existed long before you were even born.

God determined from eternity past for you to respond favourably to Him through putting faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Consequently, you believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit and became an expression of the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13-14). That has always been God’s unchanging purpose for your life in Christ. Everything about you, including your strengths and weaknesses, along with any future struggles or problems, have become a living, breathing, moving, public statement of his glorious grace (Ephesians 1:6).

This means, everything that makes you the unique person that you are, is intended by God for living out the loving grace of Jesus Christ. Our purpose as Christians is for God to get all the recognition, all the thanks, and all the glory for what He has done and continues to do in our lives.

Believers in Jesus Christ are his [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). Long before we showed any interest in Jesus, the Lord was arranging good works that He wanted us to be busy with following salvation. Nothing could be left to chance, and nothing could be left to our questionable motives when it comes to our Christian works.

The apostle Peter explains that believers in Jesus are a people for his [God’s] own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Because we belong to Jesus, we tell others how excellent Jesus is. Therefore, we are careful not to allow ourselves to become distracted because it is our aim to please him in all areas of life (2 Corinthians 5:9).

If you have entrusted your life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, there are three basic stages of life which God has planned for you in advance.

God planned your salvation
King David observed that the Lord created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). You were not an accident. Even if your parents did not plan your birth, God did. God was in control of your life from the very beginning within your mother’s womb. The earthly circumstances of your inception were reasoned through and measured by God. Your inception did not escape God’s attention, no matter what the circumstances were. We are the product of God’s will, even if we do not understand how this can be, God states this as fact.

Earlier David said of God, you hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me (Psalm 139:5). You see, David understood that it was God who invisibly moved his life into the right places and connected him to the people of God’s choice. Despite David’s wrong decisions at times, and his periods of resistance, God did everything necessary to get David to where God wanted him.

Likewise, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). God was graciously working on our salvation long before we realised what was going on. You and I contributed nothing to our salvation. Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ… (Ephesians 2:5). Salvation was always outside of our grasp or control. Here we see God’s patient and determined grace at work. God never gave up on us, even though there would have been many times when we would have rejected Him.

Because we sinners were dead in the trespasses and sins of our lives (Ephesians 2:1), we were not able to choose to believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. You see, dead people don’t think, and they don’t realise that they are dead, because they are dead. They don’t desire to be alive because they are unable to reason their way out of being spiritually dead. So, God steps in and works on our behalf to make it possible for us to believe. Every intricate phase of coming to faith in Jesus was accommodated by God. Yet, we think that we did it; we reasoned through it, we chose to exercise our will to believe, and we repented. We did it. Correct! Which is precisely what God wanted and God enabled you and I to do. This is why God gets the praise!

Jesus explained to His disciples that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father (John 6:65). Did I not choose you? Jesus told His disciples (John 6:70). You are a gift from God the Father to God the Son, chosen by God Himself.

But here is an even more wonderful thing that stretches our minds past our ability to fully understand. God did this by giving us the required faith so that we could believe in Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Because you and I were dead in sin, and dead people have no faith, God graciously gifted us with the faith that we needed for us to believe in the Lord Jesus.

God left nothing to chance when it came to getting dead sinners to receive eternal life. In John 1:12-13, Jesus tells us that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

  • We chose to receive Jesus through believing in Jesus – that was our responsibility.
  • It was Jesus who entitled us, He gave us the right to be born again (John 3:3) into God’s family as God’s children.
  • Salvation was not the result of our human will, or of our human efforts, but it was an act of God’s will.
  • It was Jesus who made it possible for God’s will to be done in our sinful lives.

If you picture in your mind, God’s will and your belief working together it will help you to grow in appreciation of how the Lord accomplished your salvation. God made it possible for you to believe in harmony with His plan for your salvation. God was engaged with you to produce the outcome of your surrendered belief in Jesus as Lord and forgiver of your sin. This was God’s determined intention for you all along.

To use a human illustration, imagine two gears spinning. If we move those two gears towards each other until they touch, there would be lots of noise, sparks, and broken pieces flying off as they crashed. That’s what God’s will and our disbelief would have been like if God did not arrange everything that was needed for both to work together.

Now, imagine those same two gears being meshed in synchronisation before they begin to spin. The outcome is obvious. They work together in perfect harmony while rotating. No crashing, just harmony. In this illustration, God is the one who precisely knows everything that is happening with both parties. While we, with extremely limited understanding, only perceive our side of the events.

This simplistically illustrates God’s ingenious and gracious nature. He graciously brings His control into sinful mankind by enabling sinners to intelligently express faith through their individual characters as they willingly believe in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. They do this without realising that they are believing in conjunction with God’s will for them. Later, they look back, and see how God was working in their lives all along and they were simply following His lead.

God planned your life for usefulness
As mentioned earlier in Ephesians 2:10, Paul explained that we are his [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. While good works do not provide our salvation, they are the product of salvation. Jesus says in John 15:8, by this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Our good works give evidence of Christ being active in our lives.

The Lord intends us to walk with Him each day as willing and obedient participants. God wants us to live in such a way that we express the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), doing good works produced by Christlike character, as opportunity permits.

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps (Proverbs 16:9). We plan our lives, sometimes other people attempt to alter our plans, and even unexpected circumstances may affect our plans. But it’s God who determines and adjusts the outcome and the long-term results of our plans to fulfil His will and maximise our eternal blessing.

The apostle Paul even acknowledges God’s purposes in the painful times of life (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4). No circumstance in your life is wasted by God as He joins His purposes with the events of your life for His glory. Included in this is our capacity to serve Him through the daily events and relationships of life. Paul instructed Timothy that through God’s Word, believers are equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Without realising it, through your ordinary day to day life, it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He is partnered with you constantly for His pleasure and your blessing. He has calculated all the possibilities and even made allowances for your weaknesses, mistakes, and failings. He does this for the purpose of keeping His plans for your life on track, even if we cannot see it at the time. Every day, every event, every relationship, has purpose and meaning, therefore, they all have value.

In God’s kindness, He has connected you with Christian friends who will be able to assist you to grow in your Christian life through the pleasant and difficult times. Together, you will be a comfort and a strength to each other as you walk the life of faith together. Study the Bible together, pray together, worship together, fellowship together, and serve together. All these will become the source of usefulness with meaning and value in your Christian life.

God planned your heavenly home
Romans 8:30 tells us that those whom he [God] predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. God’s intention is to get you to heaven. No matter what happens in this life, believers have the hope of heaven and God is committed to getting us there.

The believer’s heavenly destination is as certain as their salvation. It is God alone who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy… (Jude 1:24). As with all of us, there will be difficult times in life when you will struggle, but Jesus Christ is the one who gives you the inner strength to continue to the end of this earthly walk. His purpose is to introduce you into heaven with great joy as God’s child who has been cleansed and prepared by Jesus Himself.

Jesus explained it this way to His disciples, this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:40). No-one can take Jesus’ gift of eternal life from you. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand (John 10:28-29). Christian, you are safe in Jesus Christ! Both God the Father and God the Son have a firm grip on you. Both Father and son are determined to use all their power to get you into their heavenly presence. Nothing can change that!

Conclusion
We have thought about some big things in this lesson. While we trust God’s Word completely, we ask that the Lord grow our understanding of how these truths work out in our lives, so, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Why am I now a Christian?

The answer is, to bring God pleasure and glory!

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God of Pleasure

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

It continues to be an irony of this age; although there is so much suffering and deprivation around the world, the world remains hedonistic. Being self-indulgent and pleasure seeking is the god of so many, for which they are willing to sacrifice so much. Those who pursue pleasure without restraint tend to see God as boring and lifeless, one who robs mankind of fun. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Mankind is only capable of pleasure because he was created in the image of God who, likewise, experiences pleasure (Gen 1:27).

God’s point of difference is that He does not sacrifice holiness to experience pleasure. Participation in sin is never Yahweh’s path to enjoyment. Psalm 5:4 declares, You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil does not sojourn with You. Holiness is the cornerstone of everything God is and does. Holiness is the foundation on which His pleasure stands. Moses testified of the LORD, …who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:11).

The greatest thoughts any Christian can have, are how to glorify God and bring Him pleasure. This was the very purpose of our spiritual rebirth into Christ. In fact, God went to extraordinary lengths in predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:5). Believers are the direct result of God’s will and God’s pleasure. What a wonderful and reassuring thought. While the devil mutters his lies of self-importance and discontentment with life, Yahweh proclaims that you are the materialisation of His pleasure. So, the Almighty moved heaven and earth to accomplish your salvation, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Nothing was left to chance or to our fleshly wills.

John 1:12-13 states that all who did receive him (Jesus), who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. This spectacular truth should lift us above the mondain, above the superficial, and above the frivolous and depressing thoughts of this world. Understandably then, the LORD takes pleasure in his people; He adorns the humble with salvation (Psalm 149:4).

Living in the sweetness of knowing that Jesus Christ has enlivened your capacity to glorify God and bring Him pleasure should direct our hearts to living which exemplifies Christlike character. David prayed, I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness… (1 Chronicles 29:17). Like David, our righteous living in Christlike character is a source of pleasure to God.

God’s Word is not shy in explaining that believers get pleasure when they give God pleasure. So, we make it our aim to please him (2 Corinthians 5:9). Therefore, we are to walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord (Ephesians 5:8-10).

Here we should pause, bringing together two great truths for His glory and our blessing.
1) As a Christian, you exist because God acted to make you an expression of His glory and pleasure.
2) As a Christian, you live as an expression of, and for the purpose of, radiating God’s glory for God’s pleasure.
In these two truths we find our joy, our pleasure, and our contentment, which is in Christ. Here, there is fulfilment in life, and a satisfaction that lifts us above the difficult events and the perplexing pains of life.

God of Pleasure Read More »

Fear to awe to joy

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

Humanly speaking, understanding how fear of God can produce joy is bewildering. Yet, in Christ, that is precisely the result of our relationship with the Saviour. In a prophetic Psalm, David looks forward to Christ who would bridge the chasm between fear of God and joy in His Son. Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him (Psalm 2:11-12 NIV).

These two verses reveal the two sides of fearing God which operate together to produce our awe of Him. And it is our awe of Him that produces our joy, satisfaction, and hope.

Our fear of the Lord begins to grow as we see that the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation (Jeremiah 10:10). God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day (Psalm 7:11). As we learn more of God’s holiness, we discover that our sin arouses His wrath. We, like Israel, do wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger (2 Kings 17:11). Compared to Yahweh’s ultimate holiness, mankind is found to be severely lacking. In mankind’s natural condition there is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands (God); there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away from God (Romans 3:10-12). Our sin is offensive; therefore, God declares the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). When God awakens us to this reality, we are rightfully terrified of Him because His justice demands hell, and we are powerless to do anything to rectify our situation.

From a negative stance, fear of the Lord begins to rise in our hearts as we acknowledge God’s greatness, His holiness, His wrath, His justice, and His absolute authority over us. This fear becomes the seed of awe. There is a dual awakening taking place within us; God’s majestic greatness and our sinfully helpless minuteness. This is the heart of what David meant when he said, serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.

But that still leaves us short of awe that produces joy towards God. Again, David prophetically speaks to this. His strange saying, kiss his son, points us to God’s Messiah Son, Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can quench God’s indignation against our sin (1 John 4:10). Only Jesus can turn us from God’s destruction through granting us faith and repentance (Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:25). This is because only Jesus Christ has suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit (1 Peter 3:18). Only Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24). In Christ we are healed of the worst disease of all, the sickness of sin. And here is our joy of appreciation. We take refuge in Jesus Christ where there is forgiveness (Colossians 1:14), and we are so glad that God has made a hiding place for us in His Son.

Awe of God grows out of a healthy fear of taking Him for granted or misrepresenting Him. Awe is maximized when we realise the blessing of God’s grace, because it is so undeserved, yet given so freely in Jesus Christ.

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