At the Bottom of It All

At the Bottom of It All

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. (Ephesians 1:4–5)

The experience of Charles Spurgeon is not beyond the ability of any ordinary Christian.

Spurgeon, who lived from 1834 to 1892, was a contemporary and friend of George Mueller and Hudson Taylor. He served the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London for over thirty years as the most famous pastor of his day. 

His preaching was so powerful that people were converted to Christ every week. His sermons are still in print today and he is held up by many as a model soul winner. 

He recalls an experience when he was sixteen that shaped his life and ministry for the rest of his days. 

When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. 

I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths [the doctrines of sovereign, overcoming grace] in my own soul — when they were, as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron, and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown, on a sudden, from a babe into a man — that I had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, that clue to the truth of God. 

One weeknight, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher’s sermon, for I did not believe it. 

The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a moment — I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so?

Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, “I ascribe my change wholly to God.”

What about you? Do you ascribe your conversion wholly to God? Is he the bottom of it all? Does this cause you to praise the glory of his sovereign, overcoming grace?

NEVER RELY ON YOUR EFFORTS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY MAY 13, 2021.

SUBJECT: NEVER RELY ON YOUR EFFORTS!

Memory verse: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might not by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4 vs 6.)

READ: Galatians 3 vs 2 - 6:

3:2: This only I want to learn from you; Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of Faith?

3:3: Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 

3:4: Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

3:5: Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3:6: Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 

INTIMATION:

Are you struggling with changes that need to be made in your personality? Do you ever get frustrated and confused, trying to believe and have faith and confess and do all the right things to bring about change in yourself and your life, yet it never seems to happen? You wanted to change everything you saw wrong about yourself and life, but for some reason you just couldn't do it. 

Most believers will blame the devil. They will spend better part of their time binding and casting the devil away, instead of turning to the Lord for help. I have learned that the Lord constantly requires us to turn to Him. Why? Because when we do anything apart from Him, we take the credit and glory that rightfully belonged to Him. For this reason He will frustrate any of our own efforts to do things outside of Him. Jesus said, "...For without Me, you can do nothing." (John 15 vs 5).

Only God could bring about changes that you desire in your life. It is only through God’s Spirit that anything of lasting value is accomplished. But your duty is to ask in faith. Turn to the Lord sincerely on a regular basis and say, "Father, I can't help myself. I am coming to You like a little child. I am totally helpless. I lay this whole situation before You, asking for Your grace. I don't deserve Your help, Father, but You are my only hope. Please do for me what I can't do for myself."

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul reminded the believers in Galatia that they received the Holy Spirit—the custodian of the power of God (the grace of God) and that power of God was responsible for meeting specific situations in their lives. And this is because they heard the word of God, believed it and it worked in their lives. He made them realize that it was not as a result of obeying the law and doing its works. Therefore, it would be foolish of them, haven begun their new life spiritually with the Holy Spirit, will want to reach perfection by their dependence on their weak human efforts and ability, which is also impossible.

That God who supplies them with His Holy Spirit and works powerfully and miraculously among them, never did that on grounds of their doing what the law demands, but because of their believing in, adhering to, trusting in Him, and relying on the message of Christ they heard. Then finally in verse 5, he concluded by asking them, "Does God supply your every need and work miracles among you because you keep the law perfectly or because you put your entire faith and trust in God, and the message you heard?" They received the Lord by faith, but were trying to perfect themselves by depending on their own flesh, trying to change themselves and their lives by human effort rather than by trusting in Him. 

Now, effort has a place in the Christian life. It does has a part to play. But even then, anything done outside the grace of God will have no real lasting effect. God has not left us alone in our struggles to do His will. He wants to come alongside us and be within us to help. God gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. The secret to a changed life is to submit to God’s control and let Him work. Always ask God to give you the grace to do His will. 

In Philippians 1 vs 6, the Bible says, "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." It is God who has begun this good work in us. He started it, and He is going to finish it. He is working within us right now, developing, perfecting and bringing to completion the good work which He initiated. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12 vs 2).

Since He is the only One who can do that, you and I can relax. The pressure is off us, because the work is the Lord's, not ours. It is for this reason that Jesus urged us thus; “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11 vs 28 - 30). Obviously, His burden is light and His yoke easy. While we relax, we must do our part, and our part is to believe in Him, love Him, and obey His commands! And he who loves Him will be loved by His Father, and He will also love you and manifest Himself to you (John 14 vs 21). 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your love and faithfulness upon my life. Give me the grace to rely solely on You in every circumstances of my life, knowing that by my strength I cannot prevail, but by Your strength I can do all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

CARNAL MIND VERSUS SPIRIT MIND!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY MAY 12, 2021.

SUBJECT: CARNAL MIND VERSUS SPIRIT MIND!

Memory verse: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8 vs 6.)

READ: Romans 8 vs 5:

8:5: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, things of the Spirit.

8:6: For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

8:7: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8:8: So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

INTIMATION:

I prefer looking at our memory verse from the Amplified Version of the Bible. It says, "Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin! both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. (Romans 8 vs 6.)

According to this verse, this is not one mind, but two minds. There is the mind of the flesh, and there is the mind of the Spirit. That does not mean you and I have two brains, it simply means that we receive information from our natural mind (which operates without the Holy Spirit), and we get information from our spirit mind (through which the Holy Spirit communicates directly to us). According to the Scripture, we are not to be led by our carnal mind, but by the Holy Spirit Who indwells us. (Romans 8 vs 14; Galatians 5 vs 18.) The Holy Spirit is the only One who knows the mind of God, and is the revealer of the truth (John 16 vs 13). 

Before Christ came, we all were students of the carnal mind—the mind of the flesh, and were dominated by our sinful nature. But Jesus came and offered us a way out, and once you say yes to Him, He enters, and lives in you through His indwelling Holy Spirit, and makes His mind available for your inquest. The Holy Spirit begins His work by directing you according to the ways of God. But it takes your willingness and sensitivity to receive from Him.

In First Corinthians 2 vs 16, the Bible says, "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ." This Scripture tells us that because the Holy Spirit lives in the believers, we have the mind of Christ. The problem is that although we have the mind of Christ and know the Word of God, we don't listen to our spirit which is being enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Instead, we listen to our natural mind which relies strictly on sense and reason without the Holy Spirit.

In every situation of life, our head will be trying to give us information. It will be yelling at us so loudly that if we don't turn our attention to our spirit we will never hear what the Lord is saying to us in that situation. That is why we must learn to live out of our spirit and not of our head.

We all have two huge vats of information within us. One is carnal information that comes off the top of our head—sensual knowledge which is always at the fore. The other is spiritual information which wells up out of our heart—rooted in our inner being. The carnal information is likened to a muddy, and polluted water, while the spiritual information is likened to clean drinking water. It is up to you to decide which source you are going to drink from.

Some people try to drink from both sources. That's what the Bible calls being ‘double-minded’ (James 1 vs 8.) Do you know what it means to be double-minded? It means that your mind is trying to tell you one thing, and the your spirit is trying to tell you just the opposite. Instead of saying, "I'm not going to believe that because it's a lie," you get in a cross-fire, going back and forth between the two thoughts.

You see, evil spirits constantly bombard us with negative thoughts. If we receive them and dwell on them, they become ours because the Bible says, “For as he think in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23 vs 7). If we accept the lies of the devil as reality, then they will become reality to us because of our "faith," our “belief” in them. That is why in moments of worry, stress and turmoil we have to simply take the time to turn to our inner man, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and say, "Lord, what do You have to say about this?" If we listen in faith, He will speak to us and reveal to us the truth of that situation.

If we are ever going to live the happy, victorious and successful Christian life the Lord wills for us, we are going to have to decide which fountain of information we are going to drink from. We are going to have to learn to live out of our spirit, and not out of our head.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so good that You never left us helpless, but gave us the Holy Spirit that abides with us forever. Give me the grace to always be attentive and sensitive to receive and follow His leading at all times, that I may live as You want, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Why We Should Love Our Enemies!

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27)

There are two main reasons why Christians should love their enemies and do good to them.

One is that it reveals something of the way God is. God is merciful.

He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:10) Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

So, when Christians live this way, by God’s power, we show something of what God is like.

The second reason is that the hearts of Christians are satisfied with God and are not driven by the craving for revenge or self-exaltation or money or earthly security.

God has become our all-satisfying treasure and so we don’t treat our adversaries out of our own sense of need and insecurity, but out of our own fullness with the satisfying glory of God.

Hebrews 10:34, “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property [that is, you didn’t retaliate against your adversaries], since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” What takes away the compulsion of revenge is our deep confidence that this world is not our home, and that God is our utterly sure and all-satisfying reward. We know that we have “a better possession and an abiding one.”

So, in both these reasons for loving our enemy we see the main thing: God is shown to be who he really is as a merciful God and as gloriously all-satisfying.

The power to be merciful is that we have been satisfied with God’s mercy toward us. And the ultimate reason for being merciful is to glorify God, that is, to help others magnify him for his mercy. We want to show that God is magnificent. We want our love, by God’s mercy, to make God look great in the eyes of man.

Go on to the Meal!

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8)

To you who say you have never tasted the glory of God, I say, you have tasted many of its appetizers.

Have you ever looked up at the sky? Have you ever been hugged? Have you ever sat in front of a warm fire? Have you ever walked in the woods, sat by a lake, lain in a summer hammock? Have you ever drunk your favorite drink on a hot day or eaten anything good?

Every desire is either a devout or a distorted enticement to the glory of heaven.

You say you haven’t tasted God’s glory. I say, you have tasted the appetizers. Go on to the meal. Go on to God himself.

You have seen the shadows; look at the substance. You have walked in the warm rays of the day; turn and look at the sun itself — yes, through the protective and sharpening lens of the gospel. You have heard echoes of God’s glory everywhere; tune your heart to the original music.

The best place to get your heart tuned is at the cross of Jesus Christ. “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). 

If you want the most concentrated display of the glory of God, look at Jesus in the Gospels, and look especially at the cross. This will focus your eyes and tune your heart and waken your taste buds so that you will see and hear and taste the glory of the true God everywhere.

That is what you were made for. I plead with you: don’t throw your life away on shadows. God made you to see and savor his glory. Pursue that with all your heart and above all else. You have tasted the appetizers. Now go on to the full banquet.

GOD IS AT WORK IN YOU TO PLEASE HIM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MAY 11, 2021.

SUBJECT: GOD IS AT WORK IN YOU TO PLEASE HIM!

Memory verse: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2 vs 13.)

READ: Hebrews 13 vs 20 - 21:

13:20: Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

13:21: make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

INTIMATION: 

To please God is to do His will; to walk in accordance with His precepts. It’s on this pivot that all pertains to life and godliness revolves. Jesus clearly expressed this fact when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to you” (Matthew 6 vs 33). Every kingdom has a king, and the words of the king is law in the kingdom, and must be obeyed for a favorable and peaceful habitation of the kingdom.

God has not left us alone in our struggles to do His will—to obey His laws. He wants to come alongside us and be within us to help, hence His gift of the Holy Spirit—our Helper. God gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. As a believer, you are not left to your own resources to cope with problems. God created you for His specific purposes that are predetermined by Him, even before the foundation of the world. Consequently, only Him can work out His plan and purpose in you. 

In Ephesians 1 vs 11, the Scripture says, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” God is sovereign and in control of all things. He works all things in us according the counsel of His will; ‘His counsel stands, and He does His pleasure’ (Isaiah 46 vs 10). God’s purposes for the believers cannot be thwarted, no matter how hard Satan tries, or what he brings our way.

Godhead—the Trinity, in union with one another, is at work in the world, and in every believer. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit never work independently of the other. The will of the Father is accomplished by the Son with the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit. Thus, anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior is secure in God’s promises, even the promise of everlasting life with Him. 

God’s work for us began when Christ died on the cross in our place. His work in us began when we first believed. Now, the Holy Spirit—our Helper—lives in us, enabling us to be more like Christ every day, helping us accomplish the will of God for us. This is the Christian growth and maturity that began when we accepted Jesus, and continues until Christ returns to perfect us and take us home to the Father.

Sometimes, by human assessment, you feel as though you aren’t making progress in your spiritual life, especially when sometimes you fall into sin. But be of good cheer, it is a gradual process that will only come to perfection when Christ returns to take us to the place He has prepared for us in His Father’s house where there are many mansions. 

All that is required of the believer is to believe Him and keep His commandments. The same commandments He has sent an Helper—the Holy Spirit to help you in your weaknesses.  God works in us to make us the kind of people that would please Him, and He equips us to do the kind of work that would please Him. Yours is to yield to the total control of the Spirit that His fruit will be fully manifested in you—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In the real sense of it, He does all things. What a benevolent Father!

Now, look at this Scripture, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1 vs 6.) Be confident that when God starts a project, He completes it! God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us grow in grace until He has completed His work in our lives. Never let your shortcomings, and your feeling of incompleteness, or distress becloud you of God’s promise and provision.

Prayer: Abba Father, I surrender my total being to you. Work Your work in me that I may attend perfection at the coming of Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

DISCOVER GOD’S PURPOSE IN LIFE FOR YOU!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MAY 10, 2021.

SUBJECT: DISCOVER GOD’S PURPOSE IN LIFE FOR YOU!

Memory verse: “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." (Jeremiah 10 vs 23.)

READ: Psalm 139 vs 15 - 18:

139:15: My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

139:16: Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

139:17: How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

139:18: If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

INTIMATION: 

God created all things for His specific and specialized purposes. These specific purposes are His thoughts for each and everything He created. God has His reasons (known to Him alone) for creating you a female or male, a black or white, English, French or African, short or tall, and even, the reason of creating at that time in history. He has His reasons for creating the animate and inanimate objects. According to Scripture, God’s purpose for creating you is predetermined even before you were formed in your mother’s womb. Your days, as willed by God, and the details of your life, according to His thoughts and purposes, are already written in His book.

God is absolutely organized, and never does anything accidentally. When you consider the complex web of the world structures; the galaxies and all other creations coexisting without interference with each other, you will acknowledge the mightiness and uniqueness of His wisdom. He never makes mistakes. He has a reason for everything He created, and are designed with specific purposes in His mind. Therefore, to lead a purposeful life is to live in accordance with your God’s predetermined purposes for you.

How then do we find out our God ordained purposes in life? It’s only by going back to the Creator and enquiring from Him. God gave man specific mandate after creation to, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Genesis 1 vs 28). God has given us the mandate to be productive, reproduce in large number, keep refilling the earth, overcome and bring it into submission, and have sovereign rulership over all things that move upon the earth. Within this sphere of authority given to man, are specific responsibilities to us individually, and collectively. 

God has ordained everyone for specific purposes, and consequently, equipped everyone with the necessary powers, skills and talents to serve Him accordingly. Therefore, for a purposeful living, in line with the will of God, we must be guided by Him who created all things, prearranged, and preordained them to serve His predetermined purposes. To effectively access the information requires our fellowship with Him; total obedience and commitment to Him and His laws; being guided by Him in all your ways. And only in so doing can anyone be assured of receiving a good assessment of haven walked in line with God’s preordained purposes for you.

God wants to help you carry out His Will for you. He allows us participate with Him in carrying out His will. Your task is to give your best effort in the work that needs to be done. It’s for this reason He sent us an Helper—the Holy Spirit who counsels, comforts, intercedes, advocates, strengthens, stands-by, encourages, and empowers us at all times if you turn to God and obediently do His bidding.

Apart from Jesus Christ, none has served out 100% of God’s purposes for them in their lives. God had series of disappointments from His trusted servants, who grossly failed Him one way or the other in the process of achieving His purposes for them. Great multitude of people have gone through life not serving their God’s ordained purposes at all, and many are still going in such direction, and many will eventually be gone that way. Many scratched the surface, and are gone. The question now is, “Do you know your purpose in life?” “How far and how well have you served your purpose?” The ultimate assessment is with God, and that will be at the appointed day of judgement! But before that day, in your honest and sincere reflection into your life, where do you categorize yourself as to belong? It’s a self-assessment that requires an urgent answer. The time is short, and the time to make amends is now! 

Prayer: Abba Father, without You I am nothing, and can do nothing to serve Your preordained purpose in life for me. Show me the path of life for me that I may walk in it, and obtain Your approval for the crown of life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!