The MEANS of religious growth - Part 4

The MEANS of religious growth

The words of James must never be forgotten: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). This is no doubt as true of growth in grace, as it is of everything else. It is the "gift of God." But still it must always be kept in mind that God is pleased to work by means. God has ordained means as well as ends. He that would grow in grace must use the means of growth.

This is a point, I fear, which is too much overlooked by believers. Many admire growth in grace in others and wish that they themselves were like them. But they seem to suppose that those who grow are what they are by some special gift or grant from God and that, as this gift is not bestowed on themselves, they must be content to sit still. This is a grievous delusion and one against which I desire to testify with all my might. I wish it to be distinctly understood that growth in grace is bound up with the use of means within the reach of all believers and that, as a general rule, growing souls are what they are because they use these means.
Let me ask the special attention of my readers while I try to set forth in order the means of growth. Cast away forever the vain thought that if a believer does not grow in grace it is not his fault. Settle it in your mind that a believer, a man quickened by the Spirit, is not a mere dead creature, but a being of mighty capacities and responsibilities. Let the words of Solomon sink down into your heart: "The soul of the diligent shall be made fat" (Prov. 13:4).

a. One thing essential to growth in grace is diligence in the use of private means of grace. By these I understand such means as a man must use by himself alone, and no one can use for him. I include under this head private prayer, private reading of the Scriptures, and private meditation and self–examination. The man who does not take pains about these three things must never expect to grow. Here are the roots of true Christianity. Wrong here, a man is wrong all the way through! Here is the whole reason why many professing Christians never seem to get on. They are careless and slovenly about their private prayers. They read their Bibles but little and with very little heartiness of spirit. They give themselves no time for self–inquiry and quiet thought about the state of their souls.

It is useless to conceal from ourselves that the age we live in is full of peculiar dangers. It is an age of great activity and of much hurry, bustle and excitement in religion. Many are "running to and fro," no doubt, and "knowledge is increased" (Dan. 12:4). Thousands are ready enough for public meetings, sermon hearing, or anything else in which there is "sensation." Few appear to remember the absolute necessity of making time to "commune with our own hearts, and be still" (Ps. 4:4). But without this, there is seldom any deep spiritual prosperity. Let us remember this point! Private religion must receive our first attention, if we wish our souls to grow.

b. Another thing which is essential to growth in grace is carefulness in the use of public means of grace. By these I understand such means as a man has within his reach as a member of Christ’s visible church. Under this head I include the ordinances of regular Sunday worship, the uniting with God’s people in common prayer and praise, the preaching of the Word, and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. I firmly believe that the manner in which these public means of grace are used has much to say to the prosperity of a believer’s soul. It is easy to use them in a cold and heartless way. The very familiarity of them is apt to make us careless. 

The regular return of the same voice, and the same kind of words, and the same ceremonies, is likely to make us sleepy and callous and unfeeling. Here is a snare into which too many professing Christians fall. If we would grow, we must be on our guard here. Here is a matter in which the Spirit is often grieved and saints take great damage. Let us strive to use the old prayers, and sing the old hymns, and kneel at the old communion rail, and hear the old truths preached, with as much freshness and appetite as in the year we first believed. It is a sign of bad health when a person loses relish for his food; and it is a sign of spiritual decline when we lose our appetite for means of grace. Whatever we do about public means, let us always do it "with our might" (Eccl. 9:10). This is the way to grow!

Andrew Murray, The School Of Obedience

c. Another thing essential to growth in grace is watchfulness over our conduct in the little matters of everyday life. Our tempers, our tongues, the discharge of our several relations of life, our employment of time—each and all must be vigilantly attended to if we wish our souls to prosper. Life is made up of days, and days of hours, and the little things of every hour are never so little as to be beneath the care of a Christian. When a tree begins to decay at root or heart, the mischief is first seen at the extreme end of the little branches. "He that despises little things," says an uninspired writer, "shall fall by little and little." That witness is true. Let others despise us, if they like, and call us precise and over careful. Let us patiently hold on our way, remembering that "we serve a precise God," that our Lord’s example is to be copied in the least things as well as the greatest, and that we must "take up our cross daily" and hourly, rather than sin. We must aim to have a Christianity which, like the sap of a tree, runs through every twig and leaf of our character, and sanctifies all. This is one way to grow!

d. Another thing which is essential to growth in grace is caution about the company we keep and the friendships we form. Nothing perhaps affects man’s character more than the company he keeps. We catch the ways and tone of those we live and talk with, and unhappily get harm far more easily than good. Disease is infectious, but health is not. Now if a professing Christian deliberately chooses to be intimate with those who are not friends of God and who cling to the world, his soul is sure to take harm. It is hard enough to serve Christ under any circumstances in such a world as this. But it is doubly hard to do it if we are friends of the thoughtless and ungodly. Mistakes in friendship or marriage engagements are the whole reason why some have entirely ceased to grow. "Evil communications corrupt good manners." "The friendship of the world is enmity with God" (1 Cor. 15:33; James 4:4). Let us seek friends who will stir us up about our prayers, our Bible reading, and our employment of time, about our souls, our salvation, and a world to come. Who can tell the good that a friend’s word in season may do, or the harm that it may stop? This is one way to grow.

e. There is one more thing which is absolutely essential to growth in grace, and that is regular and habitual communion with the Lord Jesus. In saying this, let no one suppose for a minute that I am referring to the Lord’s Supper. I mean nothing of the kind. I mean that daily habit of communion between the believer and his Savior, which can only be carried on by faith, prayer and meditation. It is a habit, I fear, of which many believers know little. A man may be a believer and have his feet on the rock, and yet live far below his privileges. It is possible to have "union" with Christ, and yet to have little if any "communion" with Him. But, for all that, there is such a thing.

The names and offices of Christ, as laid down in Scripture, appear to me to show unmistakably that this communion between the saint and his Savior is not a mere fancy, but a real true thing. Between the Bridegroom and His bride, between the Head and His members, between the Physician and His patients, between the Advocate and His clients, between the Shepherd and His sheep, between the Master and His scholars, there is evidently implied a habit of familiar communion, of daily application for things needed, of daily pouring out and unburdening our hearts and minds. Such a habit of dealing with Christ is clearly something more than a vague general trust in the work that Christ did for sinners. It is getting close to Him and laying hold on Him with confidence, as a loving, personal Friend. This is what I mean by communion.


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The MARKS of Religious Growth - Part 3

J. C. Ryle, Grow in Grace

Let me take it for granted that we do not question the reality of growth in grace and its vast importance. So far so good. But you now want to know how anyone may find out whether he is growing in grace or not? I answer that question, in the first place, by observing that we are very poor judges of our own condition and that bystanders often know us better than we know ourselves. But I answer further that there are undoubtedly certain great marks and signs of growth in grace, and that wherever you see these marks you see a growing soul. I will now proceed to place some of these marks before you in order.

a. One mark of growth in grace is increased humility. The man whose soul is growing feels his own sinfulness and unworthiness more every year. He is ready to say with Job, "I am vile," and with Abraham, "I am dust and ashes," and with Jacob, "I am not worthy of the least of all Your mercies," and with David, "I am a worm," and with Isaiah, "I am a man of unclean lips," and with Peter, "I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Job 40:4; Gen. 18:27; 32:10; Ps. 22:6; Isa. 6:5; Luke 5:8). The nearer he draws to God and the more he sees of God’s holiness and perfections, the more thoroughly is he sensible of his own countless imperfections. The further he journeys in the way to heaven, the more he understands what Paul meant when he says, "I am not already perfect," "I am not meet to be called an apostle," "I am less than the least of all saints," "I am chief of sinners" (Phil. 3:12; 1 Cor. 15:9; Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 1:15). The riper he is for glory, the more, like the ripe corn, he hangs down his head. The brighter and clearer is his light, the more he sees of the shortcomings and infirmities of his own heart. When first converted, he would tell you he saw but little of them compared to what he sees now. Would anyone know whether he is growing in grace? Be sure that you look within for increased humility.

b. Another mark of growth in grace is increased faith and love towards our Lord Jesus Christ. The man whose soul is growing finds more in Christ to rest upon every year and rejoices more that he has such a Savior. No doubt he saw much in Him when first he believed. His faith laid hold on the atonement of Christ and gave him hope. But as he grows in grace, he sees a thousand things in Christ of which at first he never dreamed. His love and power, His heart and His intentions, His offices as Substitute, Intercessor, Priest, Advocate, Physician, Shepherd and Friend, unfold themselves to a growing soul in an unspeakable manner. In short, he discovers a suitableness in Christ to the wants of his soul, of which the half was once not known to him. Would anyone know if he is growing in grace? Then let him look within for increased knowledge of Christ.

c. Another mark of growth in grace is increased holiness of life and conversation. The man whose soul is growing gets more dominion over sin, the world and the devil every year. He becomes more careful about his temper, his words and his actions. He is more watchful over his conduct in every relation of life. He strives more to be conformed to the image of Christ in all things and to follow Him as his example, as well as to trust in Him as his Savior. He is not content with old attainments and former grace. He forgets the things that are behind and reaches forth unto those things which are before, making "Higher!" "Upward!" "Forward!" "Onward!" his continual motto (Phil. 3:13). On earth he thirsts and longs to have a will more entirely in unison with God’s will. In heaven the chief thing that he looks for, next to the presence of Christ, is complete separation from all sin. Would anyone know if he is growing in grace? Then let him look within for increased holiness.

d. Another mark of growth in grace is increased spirituality of taste and mind. The man whose soul is growing takes more interest in spiritual things every year. He does not neglect his duty in the world. He discharges faithfully, diligently and conscientiously every relation of life, whether at home or abroad. But the things he loves best are spiritual things. The ways and fashions and amusements and recreations of the world have a continually decreasing place in his heart. He does not condemn them as downright sinful, nor say that those who have anything to do with them are going to hell. He only feels that they have a constantly diminishing hold on his own affections and gradually seem smaller and more trifling in his eyes. Spiritual companions, spiritual occupations, spiritual conversation appear of ever–increasing value to him. Would anyone know if he is growing in grace? Then let him look within for increasing spirituality of taste.

e. Another mark of growth in grace is increase of charity. The man whose soul is growing is more full of love every year—of love to all men, but especially of love towards the brethren. His love will show itself actively in a growing disposition to do kindnesses, to take trouble for others, to be good–natured to everybody, to be generous, sympathizing, thoughtful, tender–hearted and considerate. It will show itself passively in a growing disposition to be meek and patient towards all men, to put up with provocation and not stand upon rights, to bear and forbear much rather than quarrel. A growing soul will try to put the best construction on other people’s conduct and to believe all things and hope all things, even to the end. There is no surer mark of backsliding and falling off in grace than an increasing disposition to find fault, pick holes and see weak points in others. Would anyone know if he is growing in grace? Then let him look within for increasing charity.

f. One more mark of growth in grace is increased zeal and diligence in trying to do good to souls. The man who is really growing will take greater interest in the salvation of sinners every year. Missions at home and abroad, efforts of every kind to spread the gospel, attempts of any sort to increase religious light and diminish religious darkness—all these things will every year have a greater place in his attention. He will not become "weary in well–doing" because he does not see every effort succeed. He will not care less for the progress of Christ’s cause on earth as he grows older, though he will learn to expect less. He will just work on, whatever the result may be—giving, praying, preaching, speaking, visiting, according to his position—and count his work its own reward. One of the surest marks of spiritual decline is a decreased interest about the souls of others and the growth of Christ’s kingdom. Would anyone know whether he is growing in grace? Then let him look within for increased concern about the salvation of souls.

Those high–flying religionists, whose only notion of Christianity is that of a state of perpetual joy and ecstasy, who tell you that they have got far beyond the region of conflict and soul–humiliation, such people no doubt will regard the marks I have laid down as "legal," "carnal" and "gendering to bondage." I cannot help that. I call no man master in these things. I only wish my statements to be tried in the balance of Scripture. And I firmly believe that what I have said is not only scriptural, but agreeable to the experience of the most eminent saints in every age. Show me a man in whom the six marks I have mentioned can be found. He is the man who can give a satisfactory answer to the question: "Do we grow?" Such are the most trustworthy marks of growth in grace. Let us examine them carefully and consider what we know about them.

We do not grow in grace unless we have learned to make obedience our own, like true soldiers of Christ and respond to everything in our lives like one who is not above the Master. 

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The Reality Of Religious Growth - Part 2

Grow in Grace part 2
J.C. Ryle
....

One principal ground on which I build this doctrine of growth in grace is the plain language of Scripture. If words in the Bible mean anything, there is such a thing as growth, and believers ought to be exhorted to grow. What says Paul? "Your faith grows exceedingly" (2 Thess. 1:3). "We beseech you . . . that you increase more and more" (1 Thess. 4:10). "Increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). "Having hope, when your faith is increased" (2 Cor. 10:15). "The Lord make you to increase . . . in love" (1 Thess. 3:12). "That you may grow up into Him in all things" (Eph. 4:15). "I pray that your love may abound . . . more and more" (Phil. 1:9). "We beseech you, as you have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God, so you would abound more and more" (1 Thess. 4:1). What says Peter? "Desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby" (1 Pet. 2:2). "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18). I know not what others think of such texts. To me they seem to establish the doctrine for which I contend and to be incapable of any other explanation. Growth in grace is taught in the Bible. I might stop here and say no more.

The other ground, however, on which I build the doctrine of growth in grace, is the ground of fact and experience. I ask any honest reader of the New Testament whether he cannot see degrees of grace in the New Testament saints whose histories are recorded, as plainly as the sun at noonday. I ask him whether he cannot see in the very same people as great a difference between their faith and knowledge at one time and at another, as between the same man’s strength when he is an infant and when he is a grown–up man. I ask him whether the Scripture does not distinctly recognize this in the language it uses, when it speaks of "weak" faith and "strong" faith, and of Christians as "new–born babes," "little children," "young men," and "fathers"? (1 Pet. 2:2; 1 John 2:12–14.) I ask him, above all, whether his own observation of believers nowadays does not bring him to the same conclusion? What true Christian would not confess that there is as much difference between the degree of his own faith and knowledge when he was first converted, and his present attainments, as there is between a sapling and a full–grown tree? His graces are the same in principle; but they have grown. I know not how these facts strike others; to my eyes they seem to prove, most unanswerably, that growth in grace is a real thing.

I feel almost ashamed to dwell so long upon this part of my subject. In fact, if any man means to say that the faith and hope and knowledge and holiness of a newly–converted person are as strong as those of an old–established believer and need no increase, it is a waste of time to argue further. No doubt they are as real, but not so strong; as true, but not so vigorous; as much seeds of the Spirit’s planting, but not yet so fruitful. And if anyone asks how they are to become stronger, I say it must be by the same process by which all things having life increase—they must grow. And this is what I mean by growth in grace.

I want men to look at growth in grace as a thing of infinite importance to the soul. In a more practical sense, our best interests would be met with a serious inquiry into the question of spiritual growth.

a. Let us know then that growth in grace is the best evidence of spiritual health and prosperity. In a child or a flower or a tree we are all aware that when there is no growth there is something wrong. Healthy life in an animal or vegetable will always show itself by progress and increase. It is just the same with our souls. If they are progressing and doing well, they will grow.

b. Growth in grace is one way to be happy in our religion. God has wisely linked together our comfort and our increase in holiness. He has graciously made it our interest to press on and aim high in our Christianity. There is a vast difference between the amount of sensible enjoyment which one believer has in his religion compared to another. But you may be sure that ordinarily the man who feels the most "joy and peace in believing" and has the clearest witness of the Spirit in his heart is the man who grows.

c. Growth in grace is one secret of usefulness to others. Our influence on others for good depends greatly on what they see in us. The children of the world measure Christianity quite as much by their eyes as by their ears. The Christian who is always at a standstill, to all appearance the same man, with the same little faults and weaknesses and besetting sins and petty infirmities, is seldom the Christian who does much good. The man who shakes and stirs minds and sets the world thinking is the believer who is continually improving and going forward. Men think there is life and reality when they see growth.

d. Growth in grace pleases God. It may seem a wonderful thing, no doubt, that anything done by such creatures as we are can give pleasure to the Most High God. But so it is. The Scripture speaks of walking so as to please God. The Scripture says there are sacrifices with which "God is well pleased" (1 Thess. 4:1; Heb. 13:16). The husbandman loves to see the plants on which he has bestowed labor flourishing and bearing fruit. It cannot but disappoint and grieve him to see them stunted and standing still. Now what does our Lord Himself say? "I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman." "Herein is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples" (John 15:1, 8). The Lord takes pleasure in all His people, but specially in those that grow.

e. Let us know, above all, that growth in grace is not only a thing possible, but a thing for which believers are accountable. To tell an unconverted man, dead in sins, to grow in grace would doubtless be absurd. To tell a believer, who is quickened and alive to God, to grow, is only summoning him to a plain scriptural duty. He has a new principle within him, and it is a solemn duty not to quench it. Neglect of growth robs him of privileges, grieves the Spirit and makes the chariot wheels of his soul move heavily. Whose fault is it, I should like to know, if a believer does not grow in grace? The fault, I am sure, cannot be laid on God. He delights to give more grace; He "has pleasure in the prosperity of His servants" (James 4:6; Ps. 35:27). The fault, no doubt, is our own. We ourselves are to blame, and none else, if we do not grow.

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Grow In Grace - Part one

By J.C. Ryle

"Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18).
The subject of the text which heads this page is one that ought to be deeply interesting to every true Christian. It naturally raises the questions: "Do we grow in grace?" "Do we get on in our religion?" "Do we make progress?"

To a mere formal Christian I cannot expect the inquiry to seem worth attention. The man who has nothing more than a kind of Sunday religion—whose Christianity is like his Sunday clothes, put on once a week, and then laid aside—such a man cannot, of course, be expected to care about growth in grace. He knows nothing about such matters. They are foolishness to him (1 Cor. 2:14). But to everyone who is in downright earnest about his soul, and hungers and thirsts after spiritual life, the question ought to come home with searching power. Do we make progress in our religion? Do we grow?

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The question is one that is always useful, but especially so at certain seasons. A Saturday night, a communion Sunday, the return of a birthday, the end of a year—all these are seasons that ought to set us thinking and make us look within. Time is fast flying. Life is fast ebbing away. The hour is daily drawing nearer when the reality of our Christianity will be tested, and it will be seen whether we have built on "the rock" or on "the sand." Surely it becomes us from time to time to examine ourselves and take account of our souls? Do we get on in spiritual things? Do we grow?

The question is one that is of special importance in the present day. Crude and strange opinions are floating in men’s minds on some points of doctrine, and among others on the point of growth in grace as an essential part of true holiness. By some it is totally denied. By others it is explained away and pared down to nothing. By thousands it is misunderstood and consequently neglected. In a day like this, it is useful to look fairly in the face the whole subject of Christian growth.

As we consider this subject, I want to make mention of the reality, the marks or signs, and the means of growth in grace. I do not know you, into whose hands this text may have fallen. But I am not ashamed to ask your best attention to its contents. Believe me, the subject is no mere matter of speculation and controversy. It is an eminently practical subject, if any is in religion. It is intimately and inseparably connected with the whole question of sanctification. It is a leading mark of true saints that they grow. The spiritual health and prosperity, the spiritual happiness and comfort of every true–hearted and holy Christian, are intimately connected with the subject of spiritual growth.
 
1. The REALITY of religious growth
That any Christian should deny the reality of religious growth is at first sight a strange and melancholy thing. But it is fair to remember that man’s understanding is fallen no less than his will. Disagreements about doctrines are often nothing more than disagreements about the meaning of words. I try to hope that it is so in the present case. I try to believe that when I speak of growth in grace and maintain it, I mean one thing, while my brethren who deny it mean quite another. Let me therefore clear the way by explaining what I mean.
When I speak of growth in grace, I do not for a moment mean that a believer’s interest in Christ can grow. 

I do not mean that he can grow in safety, acceptance with God or security. I do not mean that he can ever be more justified, more pardoned, more forgiven, more at peace with God, than he is the first moment that he believes. I hold firmly that the justification of a believer is a finished, perfect and complete work and that the weakest saint, though he may not know and feel it, is as completely justified as the strongest. I hold firmly that our election, calling and standing in Christ admit of no degrees, increase or diminishing. If anyone dreams that by growth in grace I mean growth in justification, he is utterly wide of the mark and utterly mistaken about the whole point I am considering. I would go to the stake, God helping me, for the glorious truth, that in the matter of justification before God every believer is complete in Christ (Col. 2:10). Nothing can be added to his justification from the moment he believes, and nothing taken away.

When I speak of growth in grace, I only mean increase in the degree, size, strength, vigor and power of the graces which the Holy Spirit plants in a believer’s heart. I hold that every one of those graces admits of growth, progress and increase. I hold that repentance, faith, hope, love, humility, zeal, courage and the like may be little or great, strong or weak, vigorous or feeble, and may vary greatly in the same man at different periods of his life. When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this—that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual–mindedness more marked. He feels more of the power of godliness in his own heart. He manifests more of it in his life. He is going on from strength to strength, from faith to faith and from grace to grace. I leave it to others to describe such a man’s condition by any words they please. For myself I think the truest and best account of him is this—he is growing in grace.

Part 2 tomorrow

Satan's Activities & Christianity

I was reading a sermon yesterday from a very well known Pastor. He first came to my attention a few years ago when I found one of his sermons on surrender, so once in a while I will check him out. Yesterday I decided to read one of his sermons─by the way I am a sermon freak, my favorite pass time is between my Bible and listening to sermons─it did not take me long to be disappointed. I could not understand how this pastor managed to take the subject in question and put a slant on it in this way. The whole sermon which was about six pages, was filled with examples of how Satan tempts us to make us feel we are not good Christians, he whispers words in our ears to cause us to be depressed by telling us things like we are not growing, he makes us doubts ourselves and so on. What made the sermon reeks was the fact that it was for people who on the outside appeared to be seasoned Christians. But I was to some extend relieved to see that the sermon was written in 1999 and I know for sure this pastor has grown so much more in the Lord.

The truth is that Satan is relentless, he is a coward, he is annoying, he has no shame, he is a liar, he is a trickster, he is a pest, he has audacity, you name it and Satan is it. But a lot of time we accuse Satan and it is not even his doing, it is our own. Very often we are so busy accusing Satan, we do not even stop to examine ourselves from God’s perspective to understand what is happening to us might not have anything to do with Satan but God,  trying to shake us up out of our lethargy. I learned the difference, through a vision I had in the middle of a worship service; the Holy Spirit showed me in a vision, the difference between living in Him and living outside of Him. It was amazing to see Satan sitting there as if he was waiting for me, but he also knew he no longer had access to me as long as I was in Him. Since that day, I learned to see Satan for who he is and I learned to see myself according to my identity in Him and I stop being afraid of Satan as well. As I exited the vision, I came out of it totally equipped with new power and new authority over Satan and I also understood he was more afraid of me than I was of him. Through the vision that lasted about five minutes I got so much out of it that it might have taken me years to learn.

I also learned how we misunderstand Satan’s work, and how much we waste time chasing after Satan when often, the problem lies with us. Make no mistake about what I am saying, Satan is extremely powerful, the meanest, the most egotistical and merciless being that ever existed. But, when it comes to true Christians, Satan is like a tiger with no teeth and not even paws to scratch us.  That brothers and sisters is the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. MY LORD, THE MASTER OF MY LIFE, MY SAVIOR, MY REDEEMER, & MY ALL!  As I learned to stop seeing Satan at every corner and learned to focus on my walk with Him I realized many times we attribute those things that come to mind about our Christian walk, they are not Satan’s doing. Often it’s about the darkness of our own hearts. Sometimes it is also God’s way of trying to reach us to help us because we are not walking with Him the way we should. While we are taught to attribute and dismiss those kinds of thoughts to Satan, I have learned to turn it around. I reasoned with myself in this way: If indeed the God I serve is stronger than Satan, if indeed my true goal with all my heart is to find Him by any means, then I have nothing to fear. I learned to stop for a while and examined in the light what has been attributed to the devil whispers and at the end of it, I found it was the Holy Spirit’s voice that was so far away, I was not used to it. It was muffled through all my misunderstanding, my busy mind, my head knowledge etc.

When I stopped dismissing his 'accusations', my only goal was to confront him and let him know once and for all that I had a plan for my life which involved following hard after God, and he was not part of my agenda, so bark another tree. I found out two main things: one is that often, we confuse the devil and the Holy Spirit when we are not used to communicating with Him. It turns out there is a drastic difference between the Holy Spirit and the devil communication to us. Even when Satan’s disguises as the angel of light to dupe us, he still cannot match the Holy Spirit sweetness, subtlety, imprint,  godly peace and God’s Word.  The second thing was that, God was very concerned with the fact that I was not growing and I was not on schedule with His plan. Yes He was concerned with the fact that I have been a Christian for few years yet, my understanding and knowledge of Him did not exceed a new born baby’s stage walk.  So the voice that was telling me I was not right with Him was indeed the Holy Spirit’s voice trying to get my attention.

Should you fear Satan? Of course you should fear him with everything that you are. But understand that if you call yourself Christian, Satan’s power on you is the equivalent of who you are in Him. So, if you still live life like a Christian who is saved in his sin instead of being saved from sin, then, be very afraid of him. If you feel you are not ready to live under the light of God some part of you truly enjoys the dark, be very afraid of him. If you feel you are not ready to leave double mindedness behind, yes be very afraid of him. If you have been a Christian for a few decades now, yet you find yourself seeking for the truth, yes be very afraid of him, because you should have found the truth already so that you can start walking with Him. I guess I do not have to continue, you see where I am going with this. Everything we do to cover up our lack of wanting to go forward with Him, all the lies we tell ourselves to avoid the true Christian walk, we only fool ourselves not God, neither Satan.  We alone pay the price.

Satan is the father of lies, so he knows when we lie to ourselves to avoid true Christianity. While Satan cannot know what we are thinking he knows what occupies our days, he knows how much love we have for Him. He knows our excuses; he can see our pride, stubbornness, ignorance, arrogance, lack of obedience to Him, our self-willed and our resistance to the truth of God. He knows when we left the real path of Christianity to make up our own footprints, to find little shortcuts to reach Him, etc. I noticed there is a group of people in the Church who actually live in Satan’s den, yet they have no idea. These are the Christians who have been desensitized in their sin, Satan has subdued them. They are so deep in bondage, their consciences have been seared by their sins, yet they have that false assurance, and they are usually the first one to talk about God’s love as being the solution for everything, as if His love overrides the cross.  I know a couple which the Church felt was elder material, yet they could not understand why I have acquired that bad habit of letting people like Oswald Chambers, Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, J.C.Ryle, A. B. Simpson, Moody,  etc,  sucked me into looking for a deeper Christianity in Him. To top it all, I was told that I am missing the fact that Salvation is by grace and I am confused.

Try to be in my position for a minute or two, I am in front of these people, I can see so deep into them that they have never made it to experience true Christianity inwardly, along with their grown up children that are in the same boat as they are. The whole family is about superficiality and rituals. They also have years of missions under their belts and title in the Church to prove they understand things better than I. (All man made of course) How do you answer someone who just utters something so ridiculous, so stupid, so void of spirituality, so void of Christ and the Holy Spirit? The only thing that sustains this couple is the lie they tell themselves.

 It is painful to interact with them, because I sometimes hate the fact that I can see so clearly with the eyes of my heart that they are living in Satan’s den, yet they have no clue. They are so deep in there you can’t do anything to pull them out. They have called themselves Christians for so long, Satan has done such a great job of subduing them in bondage, and they have been desensitized they are no wiser. It is strange how this couple has no fear of Satan at all, when in reality they should be deeply disturbed.  This is also an example of Satan’s audacity and he will never stop trying, because I could see behind the stupidity of those words, Satan made a feeble attempt to reach me through them. 

The moral of the story is that the blood of the lamb has power beyond what we can dream of. We should not be looking for Satan in every corner, but we should be very careful when like fools or like some of today’s unbelievers we find we are not worrying about his existence at all. 

By the way, this is coming from someone who once believed the devil was  some kind of  myth and also a joke.  When I became a Christian, all of the sudden I acquired such a fear of the devil that it paralyzed my mind and walk with Him.  

What Is Faith

 I found one of Spurgeon sermon which explains to us what faith is.

I am grateful for all the hits the post dated December 10 titled “Faith” has received and all the emails I received from all of you. Don’t you think for a second that I am not grateful even if I did not send an email back or visit your page back to write a thank you note. I would be careless in my ministry if I did not follow up with more details on what Spurgeon meant. You see, while I was sitting in the pews with some sort of idea in my mind that I too, was a believer, God got hold of me and brought me to a place where I became truly born again. But, I was not always a true convert because I had my idea of what believing meant, and that salvation is by grace, it is free and that’s all there is to it. While it is true, it is that simple and that’s all there is to it, but I did not know, even though I was part of a  big Church, no one ever told me that what the word “faith” amounted to in my life was extremely important to God, until He got hold of me.

There is a story about faith all over the internet, at one point I saw the name of Randall Price attached to it.  I like it because this is exactly what it feels like when God decides to test your faith. The story goes this way: “There was once a famous daredevil named Blondin who regularly thrilled audiences by walking a tightrope stretched across Niagara Falls with a man riding on his shoulders. One day just as he was about to start across, he asked a man in the audience if he believed that he could do it. “Yes,” the man replied you can do it! He then asked him if he were sure that he could do it. ‘Yes, I’m really sure that you can do it!” “Good,” said Blondin, “because my regular man isn’t here today and I need you to ride over on my shoulders.” Now the man was faced with the real issue of faith - he had said that he had believed, but was he willing to stake his life on it? You see, faith is not faith until it's all you’re holding onto.”

While faith is a gift from God and we receive it through grace, but if there is one thing certain about God is that He will always, always, always test your faith. Even when He increases it for you, He once again puts you through the process of testing. When God tests your faith, it also feels as if what’s happening to you should be happening to someone else. When we look at the Israelites and how miserably they failed to the point where they died in the wilderness, we tend to separate ourselves from them and like to make ourselves believe that would not happen to us and we would have trusted God. At the end of the day, while we will not all have the same amount of faith, we got to at least past the first test He put us through.

Christianity is a mess because like the Israelites most of us fail over and over again. We want Christ as our Savior, but, we don’t want to hear about Him being the Master of our lives. We want to know nothing about surrendering to Him, but like Spurgeon said “Again: without faith it is impossible to be saved, and to please God, because without faith there is no union with Christ. Now, union to Christ, is indispensable to our salvation….Union with Christ is, after all, the great point in salvation.” We never quite grasp, that accepting Christ as the Master of our lives and totally surrendering to this life is part of what it means to be the grain that fell on the good soil, it surrenders to the soil, embrace it, dies and take root.  Somehow we managed to separate that from His grace.

One of the major differences you see in the Church is that those who have gone forward with God to receive the proper faith, by His grace of course are most of the time, filed under “false prophets”. Once we do that, we wash our hands and feel free to continue our empty walk. We do not recognize the false prophets are those who tells us that going forward with God to pass from rootless, to rooted in Him is also a work of grace. Even though Paul spent a lifetime telling us “just that,” we continue, even though we cannot truly explain three quarters of the verses in the Bible, vis as vis salvation by grace. But, through the eyes of those who have been with Him and appropriated true faith most of those verses make sense. And we know those verses applied to all of us Christians.

Spurgeon must have at least a dozen sermons on faith and they are anywhere from 12 to 20 pages long. This particular sermon is 19 pages and I felt it was important that I share his view as to what it means to have faith, as a follow up. In his sermon on faith, Spurgeon explained that true faith that brings salvation must possess three things “knowledge, assent and affiance to the truth” without all three we do not have faith. I wish I could say he is wrong, but that’s the faith I learned from God as well. The third part the Puritans called “affiance to the truth” is simply the testing part, that when we go through it with flying colors, faith is then imparted to us, only then, we own our faith.

I will leave you with Spurgeon Sermon Titled  “FAITH:”

"Without faith it is impossible to please God."—Hebrews 11:6.

I shall endeavour to pack my thoughts closely this morning, and be as brief as I can, consistently with a full explanation of the theme. I shall first have an exposition of what is faith; secondly, I shall have an argument, that without faith it is impossible to be saved; and thirdly, I shall ask a question—Have you that faith which pleases God? We shall have, then, an exposition, an argument, and a question.

I. First, for the EXPOSITION. What is faith?
The old writers, who are by far the most sensible—for you will notice that the books that were written about two hundred years ago, by the old Puritans, have more sense in one line than there is in a page of our new books, and more in a page than there is in a whole volume of our modern divinity—the old writers tell you, that faith is made up of three things: first knowledge, then assent, and then what they call affiance, or the laying hold of the knowledge to which we give assent, and making it our own by trusting in it.

1. Let us begin, then, at the beginning. The first thing in faith is knowledge. A man cannot believe what he does not know.  That is a clear, self-evident axiom. If I have never heard of a thing in all my life, and do not know it, I cannot believe it. And yet there are some persons who have a faith like that of the fuller, who when he was asked what he believed, said, "I believe what the Church believes." "What does the Church believe?" "The Church believes what I believe." "And pray what do you and the Church believe?" "Why we both believe the same thing." Now this man believed nothing, except that the Church was right, but in what he could not tell. It is idle for a man to say, "I am a believer," and yet not to know what he believes; but yet I have seen some persons in this position. A violent sermon has been preached, which has stirred up their blood; the minister has cried, "Believe! Believe! Believe!" and the people on a sudden have got it into their heads that they were believers, and have walked out of their place of worship and said, "I am a believer."…

2. But a man may know a thing, and yet not have faith. I may know a thing, and yet not believe it. Therefore assent must go with faith: that is to say, what we know we must also agree unto, as being most certainly the verity of God. Now, in order to faith, it is necessary that I should not only read the Scriptures and understand them, but that I should receive them in my soul as being the very truth of the living God, and I should devoutly with my whole heart receive the whole of the Scripture as being inspired of the Most High, and the whole of the doctrine which he requires me to believe to my salvation. You are not allowed to halve the Scriptures, and to believe what you please; you are not allowed to believe the Scripture with a half-heartedness, for if you do this wilfully, you have not the faith which looks alone to Christ. True faith gives its full assent to the Scriptures; it takes a page and says, "No matter what is in the page, I believe it;" it turns over the next chapter ands says, "Herein are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable do wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their destruction; but hard though it be, I believe it." It sees the Trinity; it cannot understand the Trinity in Unity, but it believes it. It sees an atoning sacrifice; there is something difficult in the thought, but it believes it; and whatever it be which it sees in revelation, it devoutly puts its lips to the book, and says, "I love it all; I give my full, free and hearty assent to every word of it, whether it be the threatening or the promise, the proverb, the precept, or the blessing. I believe that since it is all the Word of God it is all most assuredly true." Whosoever would be saved must know the Scriptures, and must give full assent unto them.

True faith gives its full assent to the Scriptures; it takes a page and says, "No matter what is in the page, I believe it;" it turns over the next chapter and says, "Herein are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable do wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their destruction; but hard though it be, I believe it." It sees the Trinity; it cannot understand the Trinity in Unity, but it believes it. It sees an atoning sacrifice; there is something difficult in the thought, but it believes it; and whatever it be which it sees in revelation, it devoutly puts its lips to the book, and says, "I love it all; I give my full, free and hearty assent to every word of it, whether it be the threatening or the promise, the proverb, the precept, or the blessing. I believe that since it is all the Word of God it is all most assuredly true." Whosoever would be saved must know the Scriptures, and must give full assent unto them.

3. But a man may have all this, and yet not possess true faith; for the chief part of faith lies in the last head, namely, in an affiance to the truth; not the believing it merely, but the taking hold of it as being ours, and in the resting on it for salvation. Recumbency on the truth was the word which the old preachers used. You will understand that word. Leaning on it; saying, "This is truth, I trust my salvation on it." Now, true faith, in its very essence rests in this—a leaning upon Christ. It will not save me to know that Christ is a Saviour; but it will save me to trust him to be my Saviour. I shall not be delivered from the wrath to come by believing that his atonement is sufficient, but I shall be saved by making that atonement my trust, my refuge, and my all. The pith, the essence of faith lies in this—a casting one-self on the promise. It is not the lifebuoy on board the ship that saves the man when he is drowning, nor is it his belief that it is an excellent and successful invention. No! He must have it around his loins, or his hand upon it, or else he will sink. To use an old and hackneyed illustration: suppose a fire in the upper room of a house, and the people gathered in the street. A child is in the upper story: how is he to escape? He cannot leap down—that were to be dashed to pieces. A strong man comes beneath, and cries, "Drop into my arms." It is a part of faith to know that the man is there; it is another part of faith to believe that the man is strong; but the essence of faith lies in the dropping down into the man's arms. That is the proof of faith, and the real pith and essence of it. So, sinner, thou art to know that Christ died for sin; thou art also to understand that Christ is able to save, and thou art to believe that; but thou art not saved, unless in addition to that, thou puttest thy trust in him to be thy Saviour, and to be thine for ever. As Hart says in his hymn, which really expresses the gospel—

"Venture on him, venture wholly;
Let no other trust intrude;
None but Jesus
Can do helpless sinners good."

This is the faith which saves; and however unholy may have been your lives up to this hour, this faith, if given to you at this moment, will blot out all your sins, will change your nature, make you a new man in Christ Jesus, lead you to live a holy life, and make your eternal salvation as secure as if an angel should take you on his bright wings this morning, and carry you immediately to heaven. Have you that faith?

This was part of Spurgeon sermon #107 which was delivered on on Sabbath Morning, December 14, 1856, at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.

True Loyalty to God

2 Chronicles 16:9

                                  

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

 Some translations instead of 'devoted servant' say: those that are “blameless” some translate into those that are “loyal”, others “those committed” etc. But no matter the translation, the end result is that you have been set apart and taken into His purpose.

This verse is one among many in the Scriptures where we are called to be completely devoted to Him. Our commitment to Him, to the Kingdom, commitment to His Word, and His plans for Salvation is of the utmost importance to God. He wants faithful followers willing to serve Him. We are not talking about doing things for Him which is what we Christians we tend to think of when we talk about serving God. We first serve God through having our heart and soul totally dedicated to Him, and for His glory. We serve Him and fulfill the chief mandate we were created for, when we can offer ourselves up willingly to become all that He wants us to be as He lives His life freely through us.

Living a committed life in Him brings a full understanding of what He meant by: love the Lord your God with all your might, with all your strength, heart soul  and with everything that you got (my interpretation of the first commandment.) It is a life where this world has nothing on you, and nothing that can interest you. False prophets cannot sway you because you can see them coming a mile away. It means you left behind double-mindedness; you have chosen to live in the light of God and your allegiance to His truth is unmovable. It also means you have no need to seek for the truth anymore because not only you have found the truth but you are living in oneness with the truth. So, not only your life has become a piece of the truth, but you are on your way of being absorbed by the truth

I find when you are totally loyal to God; you are useless to some extend to other people. Not because you are out of touch with people around you, but because your mind is set on one thing and one thing alone “God”. While you are willing to hang around with friends, but if their focus is not on God, before long you feel it is such a waste of time.  You also get on their nerves easily because all your conversations lead right back to God. Not like a Bible Thumper but, when you have experienced what it means to be violently detached from the world (inwardly) and you have learned to cultivate the mind of Christ, you do not do it on purpose because it feels as if all your default programming has been rewired, or rewritten. So, no matter how and what people around you try to do to lure you into useless and mundane conversations to pass the time, your “new” default programming won’t take it in. I talked about that in my book “Apprehended & Apprehending,” because I have learned over times that default programming comes from living in oneness with Him.

This is extremely important. Right at the onset of my wilderness time with Him, He made it clear to me that loyalty was the key to this relationship He was leading me to. Loyalty puts you in a position to find the truth. And finding the truth is at the very basis of your Christian walk with Him. I remember in the middle of my wilderness wanderings, right after I experienced “regeneration” which was a first for me, (I also talked about regeneration in my book) the  Holy Spirit in His grace taught me how great it was to be freed from the law. He waited for me to enjoy my new freedom from the law, (it was so liberating) and three days after, He taught me that my new freedom from the law comes from the fact that I have found Him, and now, I am more accountable than ever, and I am held at a higher standard to the law just for having found the truth. Because He is the Law, He is the truth. 

My point is, in the Christian walk, all of it is merged together. It is not a question of a little bit of salvation here, a little bit of holiness, a little bit of discipleship here and there. Nothing stands on its own. All of God’s Word is put together to weave this life as one piece of cloth which could represent your own life with Him, but as a corporate people, He is building a big, beautiful multi-coloured and strong tapestry. If you are lucky enough to know Him personally, you realize the tapestry has been originated and is being held together in the hands of God the Father. 

My book Apprehended & Apprehending is available at Amazon for $5.95