Continuing in the Grace of God – Purity 1190
Purity 1190 11/04/2023 Purity 1190 Podcast
Purity 1190 on YouTube: Coming Soon!
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the sun over a well-travelled white
sand beach with blue-green surf delivering white foam waves comes to us from
Bonnie Schultz who shared several tranquil beach photos on social media yesterday,
presumably from a beach near her home in Navarre Florida.
Well, it’s Saturday and I share Bonnie’s photo
because of its simple beauty and because those footprints in the sand remind me
of the poem “footprints” or “footprints in the sand”, whose authorship is a controversy
-with at least three people claiming it as their own (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footprints_(poem)). I won’t share it on the blog today but will
spoil the ending. The poem ends with the Lord explaining that the times that
our pathway in the sand of our journey through life, seems to only have one traveler
are NOT the times “we were all alone”, but were the times that HE carried us!
It’s a beautiful poem, but the fact that there seems
to be an argument over who wrote it has soured it for me. It’s tragically
ironic that a poem that is supposed to be about our relationship with God would
be a cause for strife.
So as an alternative to footprints, I will share:
Psalm 119:133-135 (NLT2)
133 Guide my steps by your
word, so I will not be overcome by evil.
134 Ransom me from the
oppression of evil people; then I can obey your commandments.
135 Look upon me with love; teach
me your decrees.
Yes, Lord guide us, love us, and teach
us your ways.
Recently, I have been reflecting on some
recent interactions I and some of my Deeper Walk prayer minister colleagues
have had with people we have been ministering to. In our cohort, we are all currently meeting
together to discuss our “prayer ministry project”, where each of us is putting
our training into practice and giving each other advice and encouragement as we
describe our sessions. As we discussed the results of our prayer ministry work,
I pondered the reasons why some of our clients seemed to benefit greatly from
prayer ministry and others seemed to be making little or no progress.
In prayer ministry, there are three
parties: the prayer minister, – the receiver – or client, and the Lord. And as
a prayer minister, I will be the first to admit that “the prayer minister”
doesn’t do much. Don’t get me wrong. It’s
important to have a knowledgeable and faithful facilitator who knows the Lord
and who is kind, patient, and caring and who can help guide the “meeting” between
the Lord and the client, but as I say to
my clients after successful sessions – “The work in prayer ministry is all
happening on your side of the table and I’m just here to watch what the Lord
does.”
Jesus said in
John 15:5 (NLT2)
5 “…
For apart from me you can do nothing.
And I know His words are true, Without
a relationship with Jesus, God the
Father, and the Holy Spirit, we do nothing.
And I think that is the key to
whether or not a prayer ministry session will be “successful”. What I bring to the table as a prayer
minister isn’t going to vary much from session to session. I know what I know in terms of prayer
ministry practices, and I will listen for what the Lord has to say in each
given situation but unless the “Lord speaks”, my spiel is more or less the same
– I lead people through the Steps to Freedom in Christ or follow the guidelines
of “REAL Prayer” and try not to “push” or “pull” a prayer ministry session into
any particular direction. As a counselor
or life coach, I would confront clients and pursue certain agendas to address
situations for specific results, but in prayer ministry, we step back and let
the client go where the Lord leads them.
So if a client is holding back
or doesn’t want to “go there” with certain areas of their life, I don’t push
it, and the Lord is gentle and loving enough to walk clients to the places they
are ready to go to.
And that’s where I believe the
success of prayer ministry lies in the client. What a client “receives in
prayer ministry” is wholly contingent on what they “bring to the table: in
terms of their faith, their willingness, their knowledge, and their
relationship with God.
If your prayer ministry client doesn’t
know who they are in Christ, know God experientially, doesn’t trust that God will help them, or isn’t
willing to repent, forgive, or commit themselves to follow the Lord, you won’t
see much happening on their side of the table.
It’s perhaps the most troubling
aspect of our faith, why do some Christians have joy and others seem to be
grumpy and struggling through life?
In our discussions, the insight
that we gleaned about difficult prayer sessions or limited results was that the
client lacked in one of these areas.
Although their presence at a prayer ministry session would make one
believe they had a measure of faith, the areas they were not making progress in
indicated they may not have much of a relationship with the Lord. They may not have had much of a revelation of
God’s love, grace, or presence. While they may have believed in their minds,
there didn’t seem to be much belief in their hearts.
In my morning Bible study, I was reading through Acts 13 with John MacArthur’s
commentary and was convinced that this issue has been with the body of Christ
since the beginning. In Acts 13, Paul
delivers a gospel message at a synagogue and the text tells us:
Acts 13:42-45 (NIV2011)
42 As Paul and Barnabas were
leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these
things on the next Sabbath.
43 When the congregation was
dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and
Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of
God.
So it sounds like Paul and
Barnabas really made some head way in bringing the gospel! But what happened
when they went back?
44 On the next
Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
Great!
45 When the Jews saw the
crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was
saying and heaped abuse on him.
Unfortunately, even though some of the
Jews may have agreed with much of what Paul had said the previous week, that synagogue
rejected the gospel, leading to Paul to declare in the following verses that he
would take the message to the Gentiles.
Hey, you can’t win everybody, but the
thing that struck me about this passage this morning was John MacArthur’s
commentary on verse 43’s phrase “continue in the grace of God” where he
writes.
“Those who are truly saved persevere and
validate the reality of their salvation by continuing in the grace of God (cf.
Jn 8:31; 15:1–6; Col 1:21–23; 1Jn 2:19). With such encouragement, Paul and
Barnabas hoped to prevent those who were intellectually convinced of the truths
of the gospel, yet had stopped short of saving faith, from reverting
to legalism rather than embracing Christ completely.”
I was struck by this because I think it
really points out the difference between Christians that know their freedom and
those who don’t. I think that Christians
who struggle “are intellectually convinced by the truths of the gospel” – and whether
they are saved will be determined by the Lord – but they don’t seem to have
embraced Christ completely.
A disciple of Jesus Christ learns from
him, surrenders to His teaching, and applies it to their lives. They fully embrace Christ and make living
for Him their purpose in life. They seek the Lord’s wisdom and presence and
seek to make Him known. They repent of
their sins and are actively engaged in becoming more and more like Jesus. They
read the Bible continuously and seek to represent God’s kingdom wherever they
go. Their identity in Christ is the most important thing about them. They know
and continue in the grace of God. And their
lives are spent walking in the Spirit and in experiencing the joy of the Lord
as
Acts 13:52 (NIV2011) tells us
52 And the disciples were
filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Hearing about my colleagues’ clients who “didn’t seem
to be into it” or who “still struggle with…” , confounded my mind and hurt my
heart because they seemed not to know the Lord at all. My advice to these
people would be to “surrender!” or to “seek the Lord” or “Forgive!” or “to repent” or “ Trust God” – but
I know those are empty words to those who believe “intellectually” or who may
have even had an emotional moment of salvation but who have not “continued in
the grace of the Lord” enough to become a disciple who has completely embraced
Christ, and who is filled with the Holy Spirit and joy.
If you don’t know the joy of the Lord, I am fully
convinced that you haven’t encountered Him or know His grace, or you haven’t answered
His call to follow Him. You’ve held
back. You haven’t pursued Him in His word. Or you have hardened your heart to repent
or forgive others. You haven’t
completely embraced Jesus and surrendered your life to Him as Lord.
The original disciples – the Apostles – were willing
to die for their faith because they knew Jesus was God. Think about that. God.
Jesus is God. And ultimately, all paths will lead to a moment where you must
answer the questions – Did you believe in Him? Did you follow Him? Did you
continue in the grace of God and completely embrace Him?
If you “know” Jesus is God – why wouldn’t you, completely
surrender to Him?
The most important thing in life, the only thing that
will matter, the only thing that will stand is our relationship with God and
our faith in Jesus Christ – how can we hold back on that?
Let me encourage you to seek Him, to follow Him, and
to continue in the grace of God so you can live and know His truth and His joy
that lasts forever.
——————————————————————————————–
For
those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide,
I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By
John G. Kruis.
(
While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google
search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s
work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This
morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Children.
Genesis 17:7 (NIV2011)
7 I will establish my
covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants
after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your
descendants after you.
Today’s
verses are the first of two scriptures that fall under the second point of our
counseling reference guide resource’s section on Children.
2. Children of believers belong to God and
are in his covenant.
Today’s verse speaks of
the everlasting covenant that God offers to His people. And it is every Christian’s hope that their children
will know the Lord and follow them into God’s kingdom.
Unfortunately, we can’t believe
for our kids. I can’t give my kids the experiential
knowledge of God that I have encountered in my life. While I can tell them to “do what’s right”
and to “trust in Jesus”, they have to make that decision for themselves.
God’s covenant is
available to our descendants so we should do our best to give them an
inheritance that will endure forever and teach them of the inestimable value of
a life spent living in God’s kingdom.
——————————————————————–
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we are sharing from A. W. Pink’s – The Arthur
Pink Anthology – a collection of A.W.
Pink’s tracts brought together in one book and dispersed here on the blog for
your encouragement.
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available online
for free as a PDF at many sites, but printed copies of collections of A.W.
Pink’s books are available for purchase wherever Christian books are sold.
The Arthur Pink Anthology – 2
Another Gospel – Part
3 of 5
The success of an
illegitimate coiner depends largely upon how closely the counterfeit resembles
the genuine article. Heresy is not so much the total denial of the truth as a
perversion of it. That is why half a lie is always more dangerous than a
complete repudiation. Hence when the Father of Lies enters the pulpit it is not
his custom to flatly deny the fundamental truths of Christianity, rather does
he tacitly acknowledge them, and then proceed to give an erroneous
interpretation and a false application. For example: he would not be so foolish
as to boldly announce his disbelief in a personal God; he takes His existence
for granted and then gives a false description of His character. He announces
that God is the spiritual Father of all men, when the Scriptures plainly tell
us that we are “the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26), and
that “as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God”
(John 1:12). Further, he declares that God is far too merciful to ever send any
member of the human race to Hell, when God Himself has said, “Whosoever was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire” (Rev. 20:15).
Again; Satan would not be so foolish as to ignore the central figure of human
history—the Lord Jesus Christ; on the contrary, his gospel acknowledges Him to
be the best man that ever lived. Attention is drawn to His deeds of compassion
and works of mercy, the beauty of His character and the sublimity of His
teaching. His life is eulogized, but His vicarious Death is ignored, the
all-important atoning work of the cross is never mentioned, whilst His triumphant
and bodily resurrection from the grave is regarded as one of the credulities of
a superstitious age. It is a bloodless gospel, and presents a crossless Christ,
who is received not as God manifest in the flesh, but merely as the Ideal Man.
In 2 Corinthians 4:3
we have a scripture which sheds much light upon our present theme. There we are
told, “if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god
of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should
shine unto them.” He blinds the minds of unbelievers through hiding the light
of the Gospel of Christ, and he does this by substituting his own gospel.
Appropriately is he designated “The Devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole
world” (Rev. 12:9). In merely appealing to “the best that is within man,” and
in simply exhorting him to “lead a nobler life” there is afforded a general
platform upon which those of every shade of opinion can unite and proclaim this
common message.
Again we quote
Proverbs 14:12—“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death.” It has been said with considerable truth that
the way to Hell is paved with good intentions. There will be many in the Lake
of Fire who commended life with good intentions, honest resolutions and exalted
ideals—those who were just in their dealings, fair in their transactions and
charitable in all their ways; men who prided themselves in their integrity but
who sought to justify themselves before God by their own righteousness; men who
were moral, merciful and magnanimous, but who never saw themselves as guilty,
lost, hell-deserving sinners needing a Saviour. Such is the way which “seemeth
right.” Such is the way that commends itself to the carnal mind and recommends
itself to multitudes of deluded ones today. The Devil’s Delusion is that we can
be saved by our own works, and justified by our own deeds; whereas, God tells
us in His Word: “By grace are ye saved through faith … not of works lest any
man should boast.” And again, “Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy He saved us.”
A few years ago the
writer became acquainted with one who was a lay preacher and an enthusiastic
“Christian worker.” For over seven years this friend had been engaged in public
preaching and religious activities, but from certain expressions and phrases he
used, the writer doubted whether this friend was a “born again” man. When we
began to question him, it was found that he was very imperfectly acquainted
with the Scriptures and had only the vaguest conception of Christ’s Work for
sinners. For a time we sought to present the way of salvation in a simple and
impersonal manner and to encourage our friend to study the Word for himself, in
the hope that if he were still unsaved God would be pleased to reveal the
Saviour he needed.[1]
—————————more
tomorrow————————
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, “Freedom in Christ” series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
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These teachings are also available on the
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Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and
to be encouraged.
My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian
encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ), her
Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on
Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
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