Why we should look to be Pleasing to God....

Why we should look to be

Pleasing to God

“..⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ ..”

(2Peter 1: 5/8)

   So what does it really mean ‘to be pleasing to God’? Grace, can cover a multitude of actions, some of these are shown in the above text, with actions such as. . .Virtue ~ Knowledge ~ Self-Control ~ Perseverance ~ Brotherly Kindness ~ Love. . . WOW, this could not be made more clear. God will never surely ask anything of us without first giving us the tools, to enable us to complete what He has asked.

   What I find sad as well as somewhat misguided, is that most of our Christian lives, and most of Religion, and most Church’s, is they define ‘Grace’ as unmerited favour and love, which is not only just wrong but totally incomplete. Surly as Christians we have to stand in the fullness, so ‘what is Grace’? Such is the immense meaning, that, God’s unmerited favour and love, Well Grace is God’s unmerited power. This in turn gives us empowerment also enablement to face what God has in store for us to do.

   So what had the ‘paralytic’ man ever done to receive God’s unmerited power and grace here in . . 

".. For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. ." (Mat 9: 5/8)

   Because of the a fore mentioned, we now need to talk of God’s ‘empowerment’ that had/has never earned God’s strength. Paul went before God to talk of the ‘thorn’ in his side. The thorn in his side, was actually Satan/devil, as it was distracting Paul from his work. God turned around to Paul and said . .”.. My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). . God in that instant showed Paul that  . .

 ‘..His grace is in His strength, His empowerment and

ability is all Paul/we will ever need in our lives..’

   In Latin there are a couple words that put together many of us know of may be a slightly different meaning, they are . .

o   Carris ~ means ‘Grace’

o   Carris-ma means ‘anointing’

. .today we think of Charisma to meaning..

1.compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others. "he has tremendous charisma and stage presence"

synonyms:

charm, presence, aura, personality, force of personality, strength of character, individuality; More

2.a divinely conferred power or talent.

   Next time you use the word ‘Charis-ma’, stop and think is being ushered. To say that this person has ‘Grace’, without empowerment, can never be done as God empowers us with His Grace. You can’t be a Farmer without a tractor. It would be silly to be a farmer without one! To talk of Grace, then you must talk of ‘blameless-Grace’. No matter whichever way around, when you talk of one, inadvertently you talk of the other.

‘Grace should be the divine influence on your heart, 

and it’s reflection on your life.’

    God gave us ‘His’ Grace to reflect upon others, and NOT hold to it, hide it up our jumpers. Just like a lighthouse we should be forever letting it shine bright. Grace should always be seen and reflected near and far no matter of life’s storms, we must always let it shine brightly through us.

When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. (Act 11: 23)

   It’s time to prick up your ears, because these next 4 examples of how God’s Grace will ‘produce proof’ in our loves. . .

o   God’s Grace will produce infallible proof

o   God’s Grace will produce infallible proof of healing

o   God’s Grace will produce infallible proof of soundness

o   God’s Grace will produce infallible proof of deliverance

. . . always bear in mind that the Grace of God is actually an untapped force that will do more than just affect our standing with God,  by crediting us full righteousness. Grace can also affect our spiritual experience.

   In fact we see that, Grace is marked by God’s enabling work within us, to overcome our helplessness. . .

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.  (Hebrews 12 : 28)

. . . In other words, this passage tells us that we can’t serve God with reverence & fear, without Grace.

   For when comes the time that God tells/instructs to something, He won’t do unless He has already given us all the sufficient Grace to help us. This goes for every time God has us to something that requires us to do acceptably serve Him, or God will ensures He gives us an abundance of Grace to help us through the trails along the way.

Here comes the simplest part, you would think

   If we try to do what God wants of us then prepare.  Because under their own steam, we are but fools. If I wanted to take my car 200 miles down the road, and only expect you to give ‘Grace’ in the form as fuel/gas. You surly would not ever try and push the car up & down dales, surely that is just idiotic. God’s Grace is freely given out to help, Grace may be used to cover up our past sin, just as Grace is used to empower us to NOT sin any more. . .

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2: 6)  

. . . just try and walk as Jesus walked, we’re going to fail all day long .

   Now comes the most difficult part of this, in that to succeed we need not only God’s empowerment through Grace, we must believe and have faith of your success. It’s like making a fruit loaf but you never used the fruit, well it’s just going to fail.

# AM I GETTING THROUGH YET? #

We can only ever come by faith more than our

Own ability

   You are going to fall flat on your face, relapse, when you really try and stop taking drugs, or, watching porn, and your sins are doomed. Why? Because you are not really empowered by God’s Grace. God does mean you are exempt from pleasing God. There is how ever a big difference between God being pleased with us being saved/born-again, and God somehow being happy with our behaviour.

   In Jesus prayer for ‘all’ believers, describes how deep God’s true love is showed. . . I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  (John 17 : 23). . .If only believers, and those that don’t, could only grasp this. God loves us in the same measure that He does Jesus. So many miss this very special message, God there for is only pleased by our behaviour that shows goodness to our neighbour. You see our Heavenly Father love is always unmerited, but, at the same time His pleasure in us will not always be unmerited.

So my ending though is this. . .

‘You can’t earn His love

But rather

You can please Him’

In Loving Memory 

Annie McCrea

28th December 1931

to

30 September 2017

Gone home to be with our Heavenly Father, 

and with loved ones waiting for her there

Fruitfulness

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Fruitfulness

Here are 4 ways on how become more fruit in your lives

for Christ, even if you’re not yet saved

Ø Before fruit there must be life

Ø There must be an entire commitment to the conditions

Ø Fullness must come before Fruitfulness

Ø The character of the fruit

1)               Before fruit there must be life

John 15  ⁵ “.. I am the vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for

without Me you can do nothing ..”

   As time goes on there are things that Christians tend to forget. Christ is saying here is the He would hope we would open our eyes to stir up emotion. He wanted to remind us, that, He is the true Living One, and has come that we may life, (more abundantly).

   This going to sound, silly, but if want a nice fresh apple/pear you don’t look upon a dead tree, would you? So why not have a true living God that would dwell within you. For, with Christ Jesus in our lives, you would be able to do things otherwise you wouldn’t normally be able too.

   A soul dead in sin … “..you who He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sin..” (Eph 2 v1) … can never bring forth the fruits of righteousness. There must be a planting in Jesus Christ first.

“.. You must yield yourselves unto God, as those that are

alive from the dead ..” (Rom 6 v13)

   The fruit of the ‘self-life’ is corrupt, so there for you must crucify the flesh with all its lusts, thus growing in the knowledge of God. This kind of whole hearted surrender to the grace and the power of the spirited God open the way into the heart, and life so God can enter in the works mightily. 

2)              There must be entire surrender to the new conditions

   So what does it really mean to ‘Entirely surrender’? Well, if the roots of the tree does not reach out and spread into the new soil, into which it has been re-planted, then the tree will not prosper and grow into a fine specimen. In Philippians chp’s 3 9 & 10, Paul refers to  “..being found in Him..”, the source of life eternal, he then goes onto to also say “..That I may know Him..”, a growing acquaintance with Him. The branch must be entirely passive to the power of the vines.

“..present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead,

and your members as instruments of righteousness

to God ..” (Romans 6 v13)

   Tell me, I hear you scream at the monitors. Well, it so because we must crucify the flesh unto its lusts, then and only then can we grow in full knowledge of God. We can’t have an air of arrogance though, or prepare for a stumble after stumble, that is until we have an air of humbleness. Once we rid ourselves of this arrogance, then we wil ready for our whole hearted surrender unto the grace and power of the spirit of God, this will lead the way into the heart and life so that God can enter in and work mightily within us. Further ways can be found in …

3)              Fullness must come before Fruitfulness

   In all life there a natural order of events. A gun dog must be trained from a puppy to not be scared of all the bangs from the guns, shouting & noise, and to watch for the right bird falling from the sky, then go and to fetch it on command. So it is the growth of the trees, in that the branch will not bear fruit until it has been filled to over flowing with sustaining sap. Just like a cup will not over flow, that is until it has been filled up.

 “.. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water ..”  (John 7 v38) . . .

 . . . If the rivers are to flow out of us, then the unfailing spring must rise up like a torrent and then fill all within. We must take care though; a sloppy and dissatisfied heart will always produce only a poor and dissatisfying testimony for Christ our Lord. It is no good standing up and saying ‘the Lord saved me from drink’, only to then go out after and by a bottle wine/spirit! You are only fooling yourself, and making a joke of your testimony. For sure all those you told about being saved won’t ever take you seriously ever again. Though fear not all is lost, just you are going to have a fight on your hands, take comfort as you will have our Lord Jesus there to help you in becoming strong.

   If the roots of our being are spread next to the river, by the way of our Holy Spirit, then we shall not cease from yielding fruit.

  

“..For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which

spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when

heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be

anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease rom yielding

fruit ..”  (Jeremiah 17: v8) 

4)              The character of the Fruit

“.. Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine ..”   (Ezekiel 47 v12)  

This following part has 2 part to it …

      i.            It will be new fruit

   ii.            It will be new fruit according to the nature of the tree

     i.            So it will be New Fruit

   The first statement is ‘It will be new fruit’. Here we are told, if we regenerate, replace old branches for new, in doing so we will grow stronger. To stand still after I was saved is actually sin in its self. We were saved to spread the Word, to spread His seed/Word, in time to spread out and help many to glory.

   The second part is ’It does not belong to the unregenerate man’. No one wants to be so hard hearted that you be saved ‘cause a friend is saved’, only to stay as you were before. How do you expect to grow, if you don’t put off your old ways, and you will never grow new fruit, because of it? It’s not the fruit of the flesh, and not the outcome of an energetic self-life.

  ii.            It will be new fruit according to the nature of the tree

    When gathering fruit, like you would not look for Figs in the midst of thorns, Or, gather grapes in the middle of the thistles, would you? Gods fruit cannot be held back because the fruit “.. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness ..”  (Galatians 5 v22). But not the fruit of the Christians, the fruit of the spirit, as we can see, is just the likeness of Christ.

 

   You have now become partakers of the divine nature. As a result of the living Spirit, moving sap, with so the image and the characteristics of Christ are wrought in the believers by the living, moving spirit within.

    

 So surely it is the work of God, and evidence of a soul being full possessed by Him. Now I'm sure there is more than one among you who thought this 'Possessed by Him sounded ever so 'demonic-supernatural'. Well, No & Yes. OK stop scratching you heads or you'll have no hair left. No - our Lord is by no means demonic, but, Yes - our God is the only one true supernatural, after all He made the Heavens & Earth, so He could not be Human.

   Where there is the indwelling of the Spirit, there must be infestation of the Christ likeness. It was once said, sadly I know not by whom, that 'Death is the way to life and fruitfulness’.

“.. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone, but if die it bring forth much fruit ..”

John 12 v24  - King James version

Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon 5 v8&9

“.. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick! ⁹ What is your beloved
More than another beloved, O fairest among women?
What is your beloved More than another beloved,
That you so charge us? ..”

    When constructing a Sermon or a short bible study, like this one you need to read either side of the verse to see the context the verse you want to use is based on. While I included verse 8 it is only verse 9 I’m high lighting. But, though it would help you see the context of verse 9. So whilst being lead I came across this I thought I would show that each verse contains far more than you think.

To the Artist He is the altogether lovely one

To the Architect He is the chief corner stone

To the Astronomer He is the Son of righteousness

To the Baker He is the living Bread

To the Banker He is the hidden Treasure

To the Biologist He is the Life

To the Carpenter He is the Rule

To the Doctor He is the great Physician

To the Educator He is the great Teacher

To the Farmer he is the Lord of the Harvest

To the Geologist He is the Rock or Ages

To the Horticulturist He is the True Vine

To the Judge He is the Righteous Judge

To the Juror He is the True Witness

To the Jeweler He is the Pearl of Great Price

To the Editor He is the Good Tidings of Great Joy

To the Philosopher He is the Wisdom of God

To the Printer He is the True Type

To the Sinner He is the Lamb of God

To the Christian He is the Son of the Living God Saviour, Redeemer and Lord.

  So the next time you look at a verse stop and ask God what is trying to show/teach you. 

You Should Love Your Neighbour....

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You Should Love Your Neighbour

Leviticus 19 v18   “. .You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord. .”

Mathew 5  v43/4   “. .You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. .”

Romans 13 v8/9   ^{“. .}  Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. .”

   Definitions are important such as. . .Who is your neighbour?. . . Do you know them?. . . What it is to love your neighbour?

   Why all these questions I’ve bombarded with from the start? It happened one day whilst Jesus was on His travels that a man tried to catch Jesus out by asking Him ‘Who is your neighbour?’ We all should know the answer to this question, if not please look up the parable of ‘The good Samaritan’.   

  So who is your neighbour? Well, they are not restricted to those live on either side of us. A good neighbour is one who by-chance happens to be near to you in need of distress or danger. They may be the worst people in the world, out lawed/ cast by their sins. But if they are near to us and are need of help, they are our neighbour, the very same person the commandment bid us to love.

   We would be willing to love our neighbours more if only we could choose them, but, unfortunately we cannot. With love and affection we must let God choose the particular neighbour He wants us to love. So again ‘Who is our neighbour’? No matter what they have done to you, no matter you anger ~ hatred you may feel, yet loving will/has to be the hardest feeling we must show them. We could do almost anything else short of loving unpleasant neighbours.

   Here are some verses that best express those feeling that cores around our bodies. .

“Dear Lord will it not do if we return wrong for wrong?

Neither love nor hate, but love ~ O’Lord our souls

Are far from strong and love is such a tender,

home nursed dove ~ How can we Lord, our enemies

bless and love

Fasting! How one could fast and pray!

One could most pathetically pray. But love our enemies?

Dear Lord is there set unto the easier way.

Some way through Churchly service song or psalm

Ritual grand to reach Heavens calm”.

   We need to take note that ’Love’ is the word and no matter your version of the Bible it will never change that .No matter how disagreeable ~ unlovely ~ unworthy our neighbours for the time may be still the commandment persistently and relentlessly say to us . . Leviticus 19:34  “. .Thou shalt love him as yourself. .”

   Remember, our neighbours are about us, all the time, needing our love, will you give unconditionally, the next time they call for help. May be unknown to us they continually touch our lives.  There for we must guard our every look/word or act, unless we will badly hurt/offend some sensitive spirit.

   Always try and remember others have feelings to. Sadly knowing this some will continually say words and do things that will cause pain.

“True love is thoughtful”

   We ought to be mindful and train our hearts to be the most sense of kindness, that we may never, even in jest, give pain to another human being. Our neighbours have hearts, and we owe to every one of the . . .

Ø (From) the beggar we meet on the street

Ø The poor wretch we find crawling in the mire of our bins.

Ø The enemy who flings insults in our force

Ø Everyone we owe the love, that is thoughtful, gentle and gives no hurt.

  

Charles Kingsley has been attributed in saying the following.. (Which could have come right out of Proverbs or Psalms?)

Ø Never seek to hurt anyone’s self-respect

Ø Never trample on anyone’s soul, (though it may be lying in the mire any way).

      Who knows, for that spark of self-respect is it’s only hope, it’s only chance, the last seed of better life, the voice of God which still whispers to it. You are not what you ought to be. You are still Gods child, still an immortal soul, you may rise and conquer yet, and be a man yet, after the likeness of God who made, and Christ who died for you. Oh why crush that voice in my heart. If you do crush their spirit/soul, the creature is lost, and lies where he or she falls never to rise again.

   We should all, train ourselves to such regard, to have a reverence for human life, that we should never hurt the heart of one of God’s creatures, not even by a disdainful look.

   A common phrase that gets banded about is ‘If only I knew’. So if we did know the story behind someone’s life, the hidden loads they have to carry day-in & day-out, often even carrying someone else’s as well, whilst all the time never letting be seen the cracks be seen. Yet also never letting be seen the unhealed sore in their heart, surly then we would have been more gentle with them.

   Life is hard for most people; certainly have enough without us adding to its burdens by our censoriousness, our charity, our jeering and our contempt towards them.

There is a Hymn that goes . . .

Is it worth that we jostle a brother,

Bearing his load on the rough road of life?

Is it worth that we jeer at each other’

In the bleakness of heart that we war to knife?

God pity us all our pitiful strife,

God pity us all we jostle each other.

God pardons us all for the triumphs we feel.

When a fellow goes down ’neath’ his load on the

Heather pierced to the heart. Words are keener than steel

And mightier for woe than for veal.

Were it not well, in this brief journey

On over the isthemus, down into the tide.

We give Him a fish instead of a serpent

Ere folding the hands to be and abide

For ever and aye in dust at his side?

   It is a sad state of affairs but all the more true, in that, many of us neglect and fail in our ‘love duties’, as much as the hurts we give others. How many would walk in ‘cold’ silence beside those whose hearts are aching or breaking, and not saying the warm rich words of love we might say and which would give so much comfort?

   If only we would open our eyes we could see those who are hungry, and the master is saying unto us ‘give ye them to eat’. Are we really withholding from them what we might give, they are starving when they might be filled. The thing is, I’m sure we don’t mean to be so neglectful towards them. In this moment many don’t realise how lucky a position they are in. To be such a blessing to those in need of such kind words of reassurance.

It touches our influence; we must not do that which

will hurt him or cause him to stumble.

   To wrap up this ‘Life’s Lesson’, all this has it’s important bearing on missions. We owe love to the perishing ones far and near to whom we may carry or send the gospel of salvation.

   Our miss conception about who is our neighbour, does not stop or limit to who live next door. When ’Thy neighbour’ is in fact any man woman or child, of whatever condition, character, Nation or even religion, whom God place us near to them in need.

   Am I finally getting through to the most stubborn of you, is that penny actually dropping? All that said, there is a brotherhood in Christ that is closer still. Christ our Lord has called us to be nice to ‘all men’, especially to those who are of the household of faith. I don’t mean just to the one’s own Church.

   There was a man who went up in a balloon, said that as he arose the fences that divided the country into fields & farms faded out, until he saw only one great, wide beautiful landscape of meadows and of fields and forests with winding stream and river shining rich in loveliness beneath the pure skies. So as we sawed nearer to God is love and faith and Christian experience.

The fences that divide our great ‘Church’ into ecclesiastical farms and pasture fields grow smaller and smaller until at last they vanish altogether, and we see only one wide Holy Church.

   The accidents of denominationalism are but of minor importance is comparism with the love of Christ ~ The Cross ~ The Bible ~ The Sacraments and of cause Heaven, which we  have in common. We all should learn to love one another as Christians. Love will soon break down the hardest of fortifications. We all need to learn to comfort one another and help each other on the way home.

Each giving to others need,

Each helping to the others best

& blessing each other as well as the rest.

For together we can be one