HOW TO RENEW OUR MINDS (Part One)

 

AIM:    To help us understand why our minds need to be renewed and how we can renew our minds

TEXT:   Rom 12:2, Eph. 4:23

Memory Verse:  “and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind” - Rom 12:2a              

INTRODUCTION

With the mind, we exercise the power of reasoning, conceiving ideas, and judgment. Man is a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body, and the mind is the centre of the soul; the centre of our intellect, reasoning and emotions and the place where decisions are made. The fight between the spirit and the flesh for who gets control over the man takes place in the mind; our minds determines our lives (Prov 4:23; 23:7, Mat 12:34-35, Mat 15:18-19).

Our minds have been programmed with natural "established attitudes", including beliefs, thoughts, ideas, opinions, convictions that we have concerning ourselves, others, objects, activities, and even God and these have been formed through the influence of parents, educational system, society (books, television, movies, etc.), religious training, personal experience, etc.

When we got born again, our minds did not get born again; only our spirit. There is therefore need for constant renewal of our minds, to put off the garbage in our thinking and put on the mind of Christ. In this study, we will look at how we can renew our minds to conform to the mind of Christ.

DISCUSSIONS

·         Characteristics of a mind that needs to be renewed – a mind that needs renewing is;

§  A depraved/reprobate mind (immoral, does things which are not proper) - Rom. 1:28

§  A mind set on the flesh and not subject to God’s Law - Rom. 8:5;7, Eph. 2:3

§  Haughty - Rom. 12:16

§  Blinded by unbelief - 2Cor. 4:4

§  Corrupted from simplicity and purity in Christ - 2Cor. 11:3

§  Futile (incapable of producing results, useless, not successful, not worth attempting)- Eph. 4:17

§  Set on earthly things - Phil. 3:19

§  Alienated and an enemy of Christ - Col. 1:21

§  Vainly puffed up - Col. 2:18

§  Defiled - Titus 1:15

§  Mention others

·         Characteristics of a renewed mind – a renewed mind is;

§   Steadfast, stayed/focussed on God - Isa. 26:3

§  One that loves the Lord - Matt. 22:37

§  The mind of Christ - I Cor. 2:16, Phil. 2:5

§  One that meditates on Godly things - Phil. 4:8

§  Set on heavenly things - Col. 3:2

§  Contains the laws of God - Heb. 8:10; 10:16

§  Girded for action - I Pet. 1:13

§  Mention others

To be continued.....

The Regenerated Mind

 

Excerpts from the message

The regenerated Mind – 21^st September 2014

Isa 26:3

Our mind is the centre of our thoughts. Thoughts are very powerful, and they are more than just imaginations; they can either deliver to us a glorious life or keep us on the sideline of life (Prov 23:7). The problems we have in the world today are as a result of our mind/mentality (thought pattern); what we think in our mind is what our lives reflect. The boundary of our blessings is determined by the extent of our vision, thoughts, etc; Success and failure in life starts from our minds (Prov 4:23).

The regenerated mind is one that has been transformed, trained, and programmed to reflect Christ and the victory we have in Him through a constant and persistent focus, meditation, profession and practice of our faith in Christ.

Characteristics of the Regenerated Mind (Isa 26:3, Rom 12:2, Phil 2:5-8, 1Cor 2:16)

·         It is stayed and focussed on God

·         It sees with eyes of faith

·         It is constantly being renewed by the word of God

·         It does not accommodate fear

·         It trusts in God

·         It is always courageous

·         It thinks and talks positive

·         It births excellence and all round success

·         It is creative and produces solutions

·         It loves God and hates sin

·         It loves unconditionally

·         It is lead by the Spirit of God

If our lives must change, then our mindsets about our lives must change. We must take God’s word concerning our circumstances, meditate on it until it becomes a mindset and we begin to live it out. It is our duty to renew our minds and transform our lives by our continued meditation on God’s word (Phil 4:7-8, Rom 12:1); God’s word must form our thoughts (Josh 1:8).

HOW TO WAIT UPON GOD

 

AIM: To help us understand how to hold on to God and what to do while waiting on Him.

TEXT: Psa 27:14, Isa 40:31

Memory Verse: “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” – Psa 27:14.

INTRODUCTION

There are sometimes that we pray for something and it manifests immediately and there are some times that we pray for something and it may take some time before it manifests. The fact that it doesn’t manifest immediately doesn’t mean you don’t have faith, so don’t be thrown off balance.  To wait upon God is not to just sit there doing nothing. Faith is a profession. Faith without works is dead. To wait upon God is to stay in faith. There are things to do to stay in faith and there are things to do because you have faith.  We wait by keeping our eyes on God, Psa.123:2. We keep seeing (present continuous) what God is saying to us about our desire. Faith starts with God. We have to be convinced that what we desire is the Will of God for our lives. Desire changes into faith when you are convinced it is God’s Will and you receive God’s Word about that situation. Until you have received God’s Word or His promises about the situation you have not started waiting. We also have to do God’s Will to receive His Will. Do the things you know that the Word of God says about that thing that you desire.

DISCUSSION

1.      Reasons God allows us to wait

·         To train and prepare us (to get us ready) - Exodus 13: 17

·         To test us (our obedience and loyalty to Him) and strengthen our faith - Deut. 8:2, James 1:2-4

·         Mention others:

2.      What to do while waiting on God: GROW YOUR FAITH

·         Be Thankful (count your blessings) and be joyful - Psalms 103:1-5, Neh.8:10, Rom.4:20

·         Be Patient (have a good attitude while waiting). God’s Word is like seed that needs to be planted and allowed to grow - Heb.12:1.

·         Keep walking in love: Gal.5:6,

·         Keep your eyes and mind on God’s Promises: - 2Cor. 1:20, Isa.26:3.

·         Remain committed to God (serve Him) - Exo 23:25, Deut.28:1-2.

·         Do all to stand (what God Word says), then stand – Eph 6:10-14.

·         Mention others:

CONCLUSION

One major sign that you are waiting on God is that you will keep renewing (increasing in) strength, Pro 24:10, Isa 40:31. Keep reminding yourself that you are not alone. Don’t lose your confidence. There is great reward in waiting on God, James 5:11, Hebrews 10:35. Do not Fret (worry, get uptight, stress out) - Psalms 37:7-9, Prov. 19:2. Do not Faint and complain (give up, lose hope) - Num 14:1-4, Gal 6:9, Luke 18:1-8. Do not Forget – Psa. 103:1-5; 106:7-13

Holding Firmly to the Unfailing Promises of God

Excerpts from the message

Holding Firmly to the Unfailing Promises of God – 14^th September 2014

There are indeed a lot of promises from God towards us. God has given us a lot of promises (assurances in His word of things He will do and things He has done) and often times we find ourselves waiting and sometimes even doubting if these promises will ever manifest.

When we talk about the promises of God we talk about the unfailing commitment He has given to us through revelation from His word (Deut 28:1-14). There is nothing we need in life that God has not provided for; everything that we need in life, He has made provision for (2Pe 1:3). The problem is we do not believe the word of God enough so that when we are confronted with challenges we do not run to Him. The first person we consult when we go through anything should be God; whether things are going on well with us or whether things don’t seem to be working and His word doesn’t seem to be finding expression in our lives.

Areas where we need to hold onto God’s Promises

·         Security and Protection (Gen 15:15, Jer 29:11, Psa 118:17) – A lot of believers are so much afraid so that any little thing startles/scares them, and this is because they do not know that the very life they live was given and is secured by God. The only way we will not be moved by the circumstances around us is when we hold on to God’s word. God has guaranteed us protection so that when we go through the land, the air, the sea, because we serve Him and because we have a firm hold on His word, our security and safety is assured. We need to align our mind with God’s word and remind ourselves that He is faithful to bring to pass what He has promised. God will do unusual things to ensure the security and protection of His people (Exo 13:21)

·         Encouragement (Psa 40:1, Psa 128:2) – God wants us to know that when we are discouraged over the happening of things around us, we should hold on to Him. We should lift up our eyes to Him (Psa 121:1) and wait patiently on Him. No one waits on God patiently and doesn’t get a reply; when we cry unto Him, He hears us and at the right time, He shows up.

·         Peace in the Midst of Trouble (Isaiah 26:3; 43:1-4) – When we go through trouble and turbulent times, God has assured us that provided our minds are stayed on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace. God wants us to get to a level where by because we know the God we serve, it becomes impossible for us to be influenced negatively when we are going through troubles. Our boasting and trust should be on Him and Him alone (Psa 20:7); the right attitude when we go through troubles and turbulent times is to trust that God will keep us in perfect peace. Our confidence should be like those of the three (3) Hebrew boys (Dan 3:16-18), so that we are ready to hold on to God until He shows up. He who has called us is faithful (1Th 5:24).

·         Stable Marriage (Gen 2:18) – God is interested in our marriages and has promised us a stable home, so that when we experience turbulent times and challenges in our marriages, we should always look up to Him; God understands and He wants us to have peace in our home. There is a blessing of favour that goes with marriage (Pro 18:22), and that is what He has assured us of.

·         Healing for sicknesses and diseases (Hos 6:1, Isa 53:5) – It is not God’s will that any be sick in His house, but if any is sick, He has made provision for complete and total healing and all we have to do is hold on to Him and trust Him for our healing.

God wants us to hold onto His promises; He has a lot in store for us and He wants us to cultivate the habit of always running to Him and trusting Him to be true to His word. Be it for security and protection, encouragement, peace, good health, a stable marriage and so much more. He has made provision in His word, and all we have to do is hold onto Him and trust Him to come through for us.

DEVELOPING OUR COMMITMENT TO GOD

AIM: To help we understand different ways by which we can serve and be committed and how we can develop our commitment to God

TEXT: Roman 12:1

Memory Verse:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Roman 12:1 – KJV

INTRODUCTION

If we take a look at our lives we’ll discover that there’s this tendency for us to be more committed to other things than we are to God. Commitment simply means devotion and faithfulness, and often times we tend to devote/spend more time on other things (loved ones, TV, phones, computers, jobs) than we do with God.

Two things drive commitment; they are “Love” and “Duty”. When we are committed to something or someone, it is either as a result of our love for that person/thing, or our sense of duty towards it and in the case of our commitment to God, it is both. This means that though our commitment to God is borne out of our love for Him, it is also our duty.

In this study, we’ll be looking at different ways by which we can serve and be committed to God, how we can develop (increase) our commitment to Him and some of the benefits of commitment to God.

 

DISCUSSION

1.      Areas by which we can be committed (devoted, faithful) to God as well as develop our commitment to Him

·         Our personal fellowship (Roman 12:1, Luke 10:40-42) – to be committed to God is to spend time with Him (studying His word, praying, fellowshipping with Him) not just because we love Him but also because it is our duty. To build our committed to God, we must spend time with Him.

·         Giving (Rom 12:8, 2Cor 8:7; 9:12-13) – to be committed to God is to be committed to giving for His course. It is a proof of how much we love and are devoted to Him. Giving is also a way we can develop our commitment to Him.

·         Service in God’s vineyard (Rom 12:7-8, 1 Cor.12:28) – this includes joining a unit in your local church, having a sense of responsibility knowing that you are part of the body of Christ. Look for a need and meet it, knowing that there is work to be done. To be committed to God is to be committed to the work in His church be it music (1Chr.15:16-22, 6:31-35), Exhortation (Rom 12:8), Administration (Rom 12:8, 1Cor 12:28), Ministering Help (Act 9:36-39, Rom 12:7; 16:1-2), etc.

·         Witnessing (Mark 16:15, 2Cor. 5:18-20) – soul winning is our duty; we are called to witness. God is committed to soul winning and if we are committed to God then we must be committed to soul winning. This is another way we develop our commitment to Him.

·         Faith and obedience to God’s word (Heb.11:6, 1Sam.15:22) – it is not possible to be committed to God and not trust Him. Without faith we cannot please Him; our service to Him must be based on faith and obedience. To be committed to God is to be committed to His word by trusting Him and doing what He says. The spirit of faith is “believing” and “taking a step” (speaking). To develop our commitment to God, we must learn to trust Him and obey. 

·         Holiness (1Th 4:7, Rom 6:19; 12:1) – just like witnessing, holiness is also a call and our duty to God. We are to offer our bodies to Him, holy. To be committed to God is to be committed to holiness, and one way to develop our commitment to God is to be committed to being holy. Our bodies must become slaves to holiness.

·         Mention others – Punctuality, doing the work and doing it well, gaining knowledge, etc.

CONCLUSION

A few benefits of our being committed to God are seen in the following scriptures; Exo 23:25, 1Cor 15:58, Heb 6:10. God is not unrighteous; He will definitely reward your labour of love in His house.

The Power and the Practice of Faith

Excerpts from the message

The Power and the Practice of Faith – 24^th August 2014

The Sin of not believing God (Jn 16:7-9)

Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes He will reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgement; and He explained further that the world will be reproved of sin by the Spirit because they do not believe. The greatest sin on earth is to not believe God; and what He is saying to us. Perishing and condemnation in life is not just a function of sin (wrong doing) but a function of “not believing” in God and His Word/Jesus Christ (Jn 3:16-18). God hates to be doubted; Zechariah’s punishment was as a result of unbelief (Luke 1:20). God did not allow the Israelites enter His rest because of unbelief; because they doubted Him. We should be afraid of doubting God (Heb 4:1-3).

The Faith Mix (Heb 4:1-3)

God’s word will only benefit/profit those who mix it with faith (Heb 4:1-3). Mixing God’s word with faith (the faith mix) is similar to the “cake mix”. The fact that one has the ingredients for making the cake does not mean it is ready; the ingredients have to be mixed together and put in an oven. The same way God’s word must be mixed with faith (by believing, speaking, etc until faith is stirred up in our hearts). We miss many blessings and the manifestation of God because of our wrong attitude to the word of God; the reason God’s word does not manifest in our lives is because we do not complete the process. We should labour to enter God’s rest lest we make the same mistake the Israelites of old made (Heb 4:11). The reason the Israelites could not enter God’s rest was unbelief; hence our labour is a labour to believe God (looking into God’s word, believing and speaking), and we should not be discouraged by the delay. Our labour is not one of works but one of faith.

The Righteousness of Faith (Rom 4:1-3)

Righteousness is by faith and of faith, not works. Abraham believed God and it was counted to Him as righteousness. Christ became sin so that we can become the righteousness of God (2Cor 5:21). Our righteousness is not of works but of faith; faith in Christ Jesus and it is this consciousness that gives us boldness to come to God’s throne (Prov 28:1, Heb 4:16). There is righteousness without the LAW; it is the righteousness of God which is by faith in Christ Jesus (not by keeping the LAW) unto all and upon all who believe (Rom 3:20-22). The promise does not come by keeping the LAW, but by the righteousness of faith (Rom 4:13). We do not receive God’s promise by the works of the LAW, but by faith in Christ Jesus. There is simplicity in God and His word, and the power is in the simplicity (2Cor 11:3).

The Spirit of Faith (2Cor 4:13)

The Spirit (attitude) of faith is to believe and speak. Moses described the righteousness of the LAW as “failure in one is failure in all” and that it is based on works (what we do); the righteousness of faith however SPEAKS, and it does not speak works (what we need to do) rather it speaks the Word. Salvation (Christ coming into our situation) is by believing with our heart and confessing with our mouth; believing what God is saying and confessing it with our mouth – engaging ourselves in the “faith mix” (Rom 10:1-11). The spirit of faith is to believe and to speak. We are righteous when we believe. Believing gives us “power to become” (Jn 1:12). The way to receive power is by believing, and we release that power by speaking. Whenever we speak God’s word (give voice to His word) Angels attend to it as though it is God speaking (Psa 103:20). We believe and we take corresponding action. Just as works without faith is dead works, faith without works (corresponding action) is dead faith. 

We need to know what God is saying concerning our situation, believe it, and speak it (take corresponding action). God has revealed a new way to experience His power and His glory; and it is by faith in Christ Jesus. The power and the practice of faith is “believing” and receiving the power to become, and releasing that power by speaking. God’s word will profit us when we mix it with faith.

THE TRUTH ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS

Excerpts from the message

THE TRUTH ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS – 20^th August 2014

Prov 28:1

The righteous are as bold as a Lion and God wants us to come boldly to His throne of grace (Heb 4:16). Many times however, we run away from God when we are supposed to be running towards God, and one of the reasons for this is our consciousness of our righteousness/right standing before God. One of the definitions for righteousness is our ability to stand before God without a sense of guilt and one of the things that righteousness does for us is that it gives us boldness before God.

Two types of Righteousness

There are two types of righteousness;

·         Human righteousness (Our righteousness)

·         God’s righteousness

Human Righteousness (Isa 64:6)

Human righteousness is man’s definition of righteousness which is like filthy rags before God. This means that in God’s sight, even a seemingly perfect man is still very dirty before God. After the fall the man, the natural man became so corrupted that even a perfect natural man is still very unclean before God. If God should count iniquities, then none will be left standing (Psa 130:3) and God wants us to know that no matter how perfect a man is, he/she cannot meet up to God’s standard of righteousness.

 God’s Righteousness (Rom 10:1-3)

God has His own type of righteousness and it is different from man’s own. Paul says that because Israel was ignorant of God’s righteousness they were trying to establish their own; they were trying to establish the filthy rag that God wants to get rid of. The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ from faith to faith (Rom 1:16-17), and it is not something we do/work for but a gift to be received (Rom 5:17). A gift is not something we work for or spend money or effort on; rather it is something we receive free of charge. Righteousness is a gift and not a reward for doing right. God’s kind of righteousness is so great that we cannot work for it, so He gives it to us as a gift. Many times, our definition of righteousness comes from our keeping the LAW but many were called righteousness even before the LAW came. In Gen 6:9, the bible refers to Noah as a perfect man, same with Lot (2 Pet 2:7) and Enoch (Gen 5) and these are men who lived without the LAW. There is a righteousness apart from/without the LAW (Rom 3:21;28).

Rom 4:3-5

A man is called righteousness because of his/her faith in God. God’s type of righteousness is so great it cannot be attained; it is a gift that can only be received by believing in God. We therefore need to renew our minds; to stop thinking we are not righteous because we are not obeying certain laws, and to start knowing that we are righteousness because we believe in God. If one works for something, then what he/she receives is no longer by grace but a debt being paid; but if one doesn’t work but believes in God who justifies the ungodly (declares them not guilty), it counted to him/her as righteousness (Rom 4:4-5). God justifies the ungodly (2Cor 5:19) and the reason He does this is because He has changed their nature. He treats us according to what He has done for us already in Christ Jesus. God condemned the innocent (Jesus Christ) to justify the ungodly. God hates sin so much that He allowed His son to die on the cross, but it is also a testament of how much He loves us by allowing Christ to die in our place. We can never attain righteousness on our own. We must believe God and receive the gift of righteousness for us to overcome sin in life.

The Root of our Righteousness (Rom 7:1, 6:5-7;14)

The LAW has dominion over a man as long as he lives; when he dies he is freed from the law. As believers, we have died with Christ and hence free from the LAW. The reason God justifies us is because we have died with Christ. Real righteousness just like sin is not of works but of nature (Rom 6) so the same we became sinners because of Adam, we became righteousness because of Christ. Real righteousness is given by God and with it comes the ability to live right. Until we receive God’s righteousness we will not have the ability to live right; and we are righteous by our faith in Christ. Christ didn’t just pay for the punishment of sin but also for the power of sin to be broken in our lives.

(Rom 4:5-6, 8:3-4)

God imputes righteousness in our spirit (by our faith in Him), and by this righteousness we are able to live right. We have the righteousness of God and we are as righteousness as God (2Co 5:21).

As believers, God will be unrighteous if He punishes us for sins because Christ has received the punishment for sins. But should we decide to continue in sin, we will be destroying our souls, getting mature in sin and trapping ourselves, and the reason we will be destroyed is not because God did not make provision for our salvation, but because we took undue advantage of God’s mercy; using God’s grace as an excuse for misbehaviour. Christ has paid for our sins, all we have to do is receive God’s gift of righteousness and reign in life (Rom 5:17). We are righteous not because we keep the LAW but because we believe in Christ.

God Remembers

 2 Kings 20:1-7

Hezekiah was a man that knew God: A man who was so honoured by God that he was made aware when it was time for him to die. One of the challenges we have in the present day Christianity is that we have become so familiar with God so much that we do not take God into account in our affairs. Our commitment and service to God has been so much overlooked so that we now compromise God’s time for our personal business. We do not live with a daily consciousness of God in our lives hence unlike Hezekiah, we are not aware of things happening around us. We need to examine our commitment to God. 

God does not forget; He remembers. All we have to do is search ourselves and find out what we can challenge God with. When we do not give God our best, we cannot confidently and boldly ask from Him. Hezekiah knew his God; that He is a God who remembers and doesn’t forget. God will hear the cry and fulfil the desires of those that fear Him (Psalm 145:18-19). Things change when we cry out, and we cry out to God because of our commitment. Nothing we do for God is wasted; and we do not need to wait for earthly commendation. 

God answers us because He remembers the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That things are not the way we want them to be does not mean that He has forgotten about us, all we have to do is call on Him (Jer 33:3), and recognise Him as the only solution.

Three Lessons from the life of King Hezekiah

1. He has a relationship with God

2. He was diligent before God

3. He prayed and cried 

Exo 23:25-26, Deut 7:12-15, Deut 28:1-14, Exo 15:26 – God has given us great promises, but these promises are for those who are committed and diligent in seeking and serving Him. we need to rededicate ourselves to God and recognise Him as our helper and our influence.

Excerpts from the message

Faith for Holy Living

If we must have victory over sin or any other thing we need to have victory over (our focus for this message is sin but the principles of this message can be applied to everything we want to overcome or have victory over in our lives), there are things we need to know. The righteousness of works begins with what we need to do, but the righteousness of faith begins with what we say. The righteousness of faith speaks (Rom 10:5-10). So there is something we must know first, believe and then act on. So for our victory over sin (faith for holy living), there are things we need to know which will ultimately lead to the things we need to do (speak) by faith.

Things we need to Know

-          We are righteous - Rom 5:19, 2Cor 5:21. To overcome sin, we need to have a righteous spirit and a consciousness of our righteousness.

-          We are dead to sin – Rom 6:1-11. We need to take into account (program it into our minds) that we are dead to sin. When we know this, the power of sin is broken over lives and as we declare it we experience the power of it (that we died with Christ).

-          We can overcome sin but not by our power. Many people feel it’s impossible to overcome sin, and one of the lies the devil has spread in our generation is that “nobody is perfect” which has given many an excuse to sin. Christ has perfected us (Heb 10:14), and we can overcome sin but not by our power. We have victory over sin, not by our power, but in Christ Jesus. It is by the Spirit of God we put to death the deeds of the body (Rom 8:13).  Flesh in the bible sometimes refers to our ability and to fall from grace is to depend on one’s ability (Gal 5:4). In Christianity, from start to finish, it is God’s power and ability.

-          The Cross gives us victory over our Lusts. The origin of temptation is our lust (James 1:13-15) and the reason something can tempt some people and not tempt others is because others do not have lust for that thing. Lust is a work of the flesh (same way the Spirit produces gifts in us), and everyone is tempted when he/she is drawn by his/her lust. The reason why even Christ was tempted was because as a man, He had a natural affinity “lusts” for the things He was with but He did not yield to the lusts. The only way we will not yield to our lusts is by the Cross. Jesus said to deny ourselves, take up our Cross, and follow Him; our lust is an opportunity to show God how much we love Him by taking up our Cross and following Him. Victory over our lusts comes in our bid to please God by denying ourselves, taking up our Cross and following Him.

-          Praying and Studying the Word of God builds strength into our spirit – 1Jn 2: 12-14. Strength comes from the word of God abiding in us, and with that strength we are able to overcome. Jesus said to watch and pray so that we don’t fall into temptation (Matt 26:41), meaning that watching and praying helps us develop strength (grace) to overcome. If we want to overcome and be strong spiritually, we must study God’s word and pray.

-          We need to know what the bible means by the salvation of our souls and the destruction of our souls. In James 1:21, we see that the word of God is able to save our soul; but is our soul not saved already? In Psalms 23, the psalmist said “He restoreth my soul” and in Prov 6:32 the bible says that whoever commits adultery destroys his/her soul. We therefore need to understand what salvation and destruction of our soul means because sin has consequences and one of the major consequences of sin is that it destroys our soul. Sin subtracts the glory of God from our soul (Rom 3:23) especially when we continue in it. Continuing in our lust, allowing it to have dominion over us leads to sin and continuing in sin, allowing it to have dominion over us leads to death (James 1:15). If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father so we repent immediately and retrace our steps; but if we continue in that sin, it destroys us and we walk in darkness. To walk in darkness is to progress in evil while to walk in the light is to progress in good. Knowledge of the salvation and destruction of our souls can provide motivation for us to overcome sin.  

Things we need to Do

-          To hate sin (Rom 6:23). We need to decide whether we want the wages or the gift. As we walk in sin we receive the wages (death – disconnection from God) and separation from the life God wants us to live. We need to hate sin; it is not enough to love righteousness, we need to also hate iniquity (Heb 1:9). If Joseph had yielded to Potiphar’s wife he may never had known what he lost. That is what sin is doing to people today. We need to hate sin.

-          To take positive action like walking or running away (James 2:17). The fact that we have confess is not enough; we must be ready to forsake (Prov 28:13). If we don’t want to sin, we must take necessary steps like praying and studying the word and flee all appearances of evil. It also helps to have someone that we can be accountable to like a spiritual authority, since sin strives on secrecy (James 5:16). We must be ready to take action.

-          Lay aside weights (Heb 12:1). Weights refer to the things that put pressure on us to sin. One of the ways to show that we are willing to forsake sin is to lay aside weights; to have personal disciplines. We must leave those environments that encourage us to sin.

-          Reach out to God for His grace, strength and wisdom in the time of temptation. We can overcome but not by our own strength so we must come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace (Heb 4:16). We must not wait till the situation is over and come to God for mercy; we must reach out to God in that situation and not depend on our own ability.

-          Speak and declare God’s word, and do what God’s word asks us to do. Running away is one of the things God’s word wants us to do and we cannot be speaking God’s word and be doing what God’s word asks us to do. Jesus overcame by saying “it is written”.

-          Praying and studying the word of God (Matt 26:41, 1Jn 2:12-14). We must pray and study God’s word before, during and after the temptation.

When we talk about God’s grace people often misunderstand it to think that God is permitting us to sin which is very wrong since we are dead to sin. There is grace for victory over sin and that is our focus. We can overcome sin, but not by our power. by the cross we have victory over our lusts.

Excerpts from the message

The Rain of God’s Grace – 31^st August 2014

Different definitions exist for grace, one of which is ‘unmerited favour’. Grace however can also be defined as the kindness of God that brings us mercy, favour, and ability.

Rom 4:16

It is of faith, so that it might be by grace. Salvation through faith is an act of grace in itself. God decided to bless everybody in the world through Abraham by making salvation through faith. Keeping the law was always an issue for man. The law was not meant to make man righteous; it was to show man that he needed God to be righteous. Hence God allowing people to be saved by believing is an act of grace.

Why did God choose Abraham – Josh 24:1-3

Abraham’s father was an idol worshipper, and we can assume that he was possibly worshipping other gods with his father. God calling Abraham therefore was an act of grace; Abraham was called by grace not because of anything he was or he did. The same way God called Abraham, He is calling us also whenever we hear the Gospel. By hearing the Gospel, we are being called to obtain the glory of Christ (2Thess 2:14). God calls us to obtain the glory of Christ; one major purpose of grace is to glorify His name; to give us glory in Christ Jesus and glorify His name. The reason God gives us abundant grace is so that people will thank Him. He wants to manifest His grace in our lives so much that people will glorify His name for it (2Cor 4:15). The purpose of grace is for God’s name to be glorified and this is why He longs to manifest His grace in our lives. He called us so that through our lives people will praise Him for how great His grace is (Eph 1:6; 2:4-7). He wants to use us to show off.

Grace for All

By the grace of God He called Abraham, but He has changed the plan; the call is now to everyone. The initial call was to Abraham and His seed (Christ), but God started with his physical seed (Isaac, Jacob and all his children) and only the Israelites had the blessing. Now however, the call has been extended to everyone and the blessing is for all who are children of Abraham through Christ (Gal 3:13-14). Grace is now for all through Christ, and all is blessed with Abraham through faith in Christ (Gal 3:26-29).

Mercy, Favour and Ability

Mercy is not receiving deserved punishment, negative treatment or penalty, Favour is receiving something good that we do not deserve and Ability is capacity to function beyond our normal ability; Favour is external while Ability is internal. The grace of God manifests in these three dimensions. God does not just have mercy on us; He gives us Ability to overcome sin and manifesting the gifts of the Spirit is also as a result of His Ability. In Gen 20:1-18, we see the grace of God in all three dimensions. Abraham was not killed after he lied to Abimelech because of Mercy; he received what he did not deserve because of favour - Gen 20:14-16, and in Gen 21:1-3, we see divine ability at work. They were able to perform beyond human ability because of the grace of God.

Grace comes by the Promise

Grace comes by promise; Abraham received the grace of God by the promise (Rom 4:13). The promise is God’s declaration of what He wants to do. The declaration of His ability and His will. The fall of man came about by a promise and in the same way the rise of man comes by a promise. Grace came by the promise of God, and in our lives we receive God’s grace by His promises. God gives us grace when we listen and hearken to His promises (Isaiah 55). When God is speaking to us He is giving us grace, and just as rain helps plants to grow and bear fruits, God’s word will build our lives and make us receive our inheritance (Acts 20:32). Grace comes by the promise.

Heb 6:11-19

We get the rain of God’s grace by His love and His promises. His promises are based on His love for us, and the oath is what Christ did on the cross. When Christ was dying on the cross, He was using His blood to sign the contract and confirm the oath. An oath empowers a promise, and the reason why God’s promises will not fail in our lives is because Christ has settled it. If God’s promises fail, then Christ died in vain. Our consciousness of God’s love attracts His promises into our lives. Get into God’s presence and receive His promises. The gospel is the gospel of grace (Gal 1:6, Acts 20:24), and whenever God is speaking to us, He is releasing His grace to us. In 2Kings 3:9-24 God showed great grace to the three kings in that they received abundance of water, and the water also aided in the destruction of their enemy. But if Elisha did not get into God’s presence and received His grace, they would have remained there.

Faith comes by us hearing His word, and as we declare it, by His love and His promises we receive the rain of His grace. By faith we have access into the race of God, and He will manifest His grace in our lives when we hold on to His promises. Because of Christ we are qualified for God’s grace, His grace is already raining. All we have to do is receive.