The Powerful Word of God

I really enjoyed last night's fellowship, where the few of us were able to pray and cover each other and nourish each other with the Word. Glen wanted to hear if we had any New Year Resolutions, and I shared my principle in which I would try and be faithful to in the year. 

Last year I tried to fit prayer into my day. This year, I mean to fit my day into prayer. There are blessings when we pray fervently, when we go before our Father and seek to know and spend time in Him. 

The Word has to become important to us, for we are those who stand on the Word of God. We hold on to it as our Truth, our food and our guide. We submit and subject ourselves to the living powerful Word. The Book of Hebrews speaks on how potent the Sword of the Spirit is.  

Hebrews 4

¹² For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Today's study,

Clothe Yourselves With the Lord Jesus Christ instead of (rather than) thinking of how to gratify desires of the sinful nature. - Romans 13:14

We are to go away from observing the desires of the flesh and giving heed to what we feel we would do better with and please our hearts. These things are often harmful things.

We are to put on His humility, His love for God and for men, His attitudes, His devotion to prayer, His obedience to the Father, and His virtues of compassion, patience, gentleness. 

Philippians 2

¹ If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 ⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

We who have been united with Christ, we who have been comforted by His deep love for us, we who have fellowship, if we have any tenderness and compassion, then we should be like-minded as Christ.

We are to always be concerned with Christ; He is the author and perfecter of our salvation. 

We must have the same love for God and for men, we need to examine our own motivations. 

How much of self is in there, where we work for "myself" and no one else matters? In humility we must not consider ourselves better than others. We should also look out for the interests of others, building up and feeding others. 

We should be more and more humble, more and more obedient, at the cost of injustice, at the cost of painful death, humiliation, torture in the example of our Saviour. The Son of God left His place of glory and let unclean men execute Him. He lived in complete obedience to the Father all His earthly life.  His priority on earth, His food was to do the will of the Father. 

This is the Christ we must be like; we are meant and enabled now, to be like. 

We must be conscious that the putting on of Christ and being like-minded as Him is continuous and life-long. We may not put off Christ at any point in time. It is to become a stronger and better fit. 

I am an observer of Christianity in Singapore today and also elsewhere in the world. Can I match the work being done in these lands and in these ways to be for the Kingdom of Heaven? 

I am concerned that mainstream Christianity may not be the narrow way at all, that it could really be the easy, comfortable broad way to destruction that we may cruise along. 

What are Churches like to today:

- The reverence for God is low.

- Holiness is low, sin is tolerated and not dealt with. 

- There is a lot of flashy spiritual experience and demonstration, but no lasting fruit and no resultant holiness. 

- There is less of the Word and less knowledge in the congregation.

- There is no strong and deep concern for the poor and the homeless. 

- The love for money is preserved and is fed. 

- There is no impact on the world, no power, no fruit. 

God seeks to purify His people for Him. 

Titus 2

 ¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

God's purpose for us is very clear in verse 14. It is a simple way to check ourselves and our concerns and directions. We are supposed to be a different people, shining stars who may show others that there is a way to be saved, and there is a Name by which they may be saved. We should do good to others, not just ourselves!

My point is not a condemnation or to usurp the Spirit's work in conviction. Rather I want to question and identify this mismatch with the power of the Word and the Gospel and how transformative it is. 

The Gospel is not an upgrade to make you a better human being. It is to completely overhaul one person, because he is completely faulty, he needs more than new parts. He needs a new heart, a new mind and a new spirit. If a person is properly changed by God's Spirit, he is a new creature, and he will be more and more godly and less and less of the old himself.

My knowledge and my understanding is for the glory of Christ, not myself. When I start to think I am better, I begin to displace other men in my mind with my own increasing self importance. I am delighted I may share, but I realize I may have more material to be proud in these instances.