Post by Watchman on Nov 27, 2005 15:10:51 GMT -5
Jesus said: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). The “fruits” or results of God’s Holy Spirit working in our lives show whether or not we are truly Christian. Jesus explained the most important thing for a Christian to do when He said: “'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 22:37–39).
For the true Christian, God becomes the center of everything. The genuine Christian is really God-centered. He will want to please God in all his thoughts and actions. He will constantly remember that God is his Father and that Jesus is his Savior, his High Priest and his living, active Head. Therefore he will not be looking for clever trick arguments to “get around” keeping God’s commandments or His inspired Holy Days. Rather, he will “feed” on Christ by constantly studying and drinking in the inspired Word of God, the Bible ( John 6:56–57). He will learn the habit of seeking God in earnest prayer as Jesus did (Mark 1:35). In all of this, he will learn to “walk with God”—to have his thoughts and actions more in tune with God and Christ every day of his Christian life. A genuine Christian will also be led by God’s Spirit to “love his neighbor as himself.” He will strive, with God’s help and guidance, to be kind, loving and giving. The real Christian will seek to live by Christ’s instruction: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). A genuine follower of Jesus will strive to be a “giver”—to help, serve, encourage and lift up his fellow human beings. And he will put his whole heart into helping to give God’s precious Truth to others. As Daniel wrote: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).
In his own life and personality, the Christian will, more and more, manifest the spiritual “fruit” that Paul described: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:” (Galatians 5:22–23). Through Christ’s Spirit living within him, the true Christian will demonstrate love—a sincere, outflowing concern for all men—and warmth and affection for all those around him. And the true Christian will always have a deep and abiding love for God and for Christ His Savior. He will appreciate forever the fact that Jesus Christ came down to this earth to suffer, to shed His blood and to die in order to reconcile us with God. So the genuine Christian will have an everlasting feeling of love and loyalty to Jesus Christ! Furthermore, true Christians will experience inward joy and peace, which are priceless. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. ” (Philippians 4:7). And all Christians will grow in the spirit of kindness, longsuffering, goodness and gentleness that the above passage describes. Another vital fruit is faith—the spiritual strength to trust in God and demonstrate commitment to that trust in every area of life. As King David was inspired to state: “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11–12).
The final fruit of the Spirit is self-control—the spiritual strength to master one’s sins and lusts in order to obey God. Again, if you truly surrender your heart, mind and will to God, accept Jesus Christ and are baptized in His name, you are promised the power of the Holy Spirit to give you this kind of strength and self-control. Paul wrote to Timothy: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Through God’s Spirit, He gives us the power to obey His commandments. And our obedience shows that we have that Spirit. As John wrote, “ And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” (1 John 3:24). John also states: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. ” (2:3–6).
As we know, Christ set us an example—by keeping the fourth commandment and all of His Father’s commandments (John 15:10). But we should not expect “perfection” in our lives all at once! We have learned that we are to “grow in grace and in knowledge.” The true Christian life is one of overcoming and growing to become more like Jesus Christ—even in our innermost thoughts and desires. But for the true Christian, the magnificent future makes all the trials, tests and “growing pains” more than worth it (Romans 8:18).
Keep Your Eyes on the GOAL If God has called you to true understanding and you grasp what you have been learning, you have undoubtedly been called to become a son or daughter of God (2 Corinthians 6:18). The meaning and ultimate purpose of your calling is awesome. For as you daily yield your thoughts, your time, your energy and your very life to letting Jesus Christ live His life in you, you will be building more and more of the very character of God. Month by month and year by year, you will be learning to think, act and live like Christ Himself. Finally, at Jesus Christ’s return to this earth as King of kings, you will be either resurrected or changed from flesh into spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). As a Spirit-born child of God, you will then join with Jesus Christ in ruling the nations of this earth (Revelation 2:26) and in bringing the entire world genuine peace and joy at last! In your own right, you will then be glorified as a ruling member of the Kingdom or Government of God. The Apostle John writes: “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2). In the resurrection, the true saints will be fully like Christ. They will be offered the awesome opportunity and responsibility to help rule the cities and nations of this earth. The Apostle John was inspired to reveal to us the “prayer of the saints” in Revelation 5:9–10: “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’” The saints will then have glorified spirit bodies that will enable them to do the job. For they will never become tired, never become sick and never die! Composed of spirit, filled with drive, energy and joy, the resurrected saints will live forever in the very Family of God. For they will have surrendered to let God build within them the very wisdom and character of Christ in order to assist Him in ruling this entire world and even judging angels! Thus John continues: “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
All of us who understand God’s Truth have every good reason to want to yield to the God who made us, accept His Son as our Savior and Lord, surrender our lives to live by every Word of God, keep His commandments, allow him to build within us His character and so prepare for the soon-coming Kingdom of our God to be set up on this earth! GLORY!!!!
For the true Christian, God becomes the center of everything. The genuine Christian is really God-centered. He will want to please God in all his thoughts and actions. He will constantly remember that God is his Father and that Jesus is his Savior, his High Priest and his living, active Head. Therefore he will not be looking for clever trick arguments to “get around” keeping God’s commandments or His inspired Holy Days. Rather, he will “feed” on Christ by constantly studying and drinking in the inspired Word of God, the Bible ( John 6:56–57). He will learn the habit of seeking God in earnest prayer as Jesus did (Mark 1:35). In all of this, he will learn to “walk with God”—to have his thoughts and actions more in tune with God and Christ every day of his Christian life. A genuine Christian will also be led by God’s Spirit to “love his neighbor as himself.” He will strive, with God’s help and guidance, to be kind, loving and giving. The real Christian will seek to live by Christ’s instruction: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). A genuine follower of Jesus will strive to be a “giver”—to help, serve, encourage and lift up his fellow human beings. And he will put his whole heart into helping to give God’s precious Truth to others. As Daniel wrote: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).
In his own life and personality, the Christian will, more and more, manifest the spiritual “fruit” that Paul described: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:” (Galatians 5:22–23). Through Christ’s Spirit living within him, the true Christian will demonstrate love—a sincere, outflowing concern for all men—and warmth and affection for all those around him. And the true Christian will always have a deep and abiding love for God and for Christ His Savior. He will appreciate forever the fact that Jesus Christ came down to this earth to suffer, to shed His blood and to die in order to reconcile us with God. So the genuine Christian will have an everlasting feeling of love and loyalty to Jesus Christ! Furthermore, true Christians will experience inward joy and peace, which are priceless. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. ” (Philippians 4:7). And all Christians will grow in the spirit of kindness, longsuffering, goodness and gentleness that the above passage describes. Another vital fruit is faith—the spiritual strength to trust in God and demonstrate commitment to that trust in every area of life. As King David was inspired to state: “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11–12).
The final fruit of the Spirit is self-control—the spiritual strength to master one’s sins and lusts in order to obey God. Again, if you truly surrender your heart, mind and will to God, accept Jesus Christ and are baptized in His name, you are promised the power of the Holy Spirit to give you this kind of strength and self-control. Paul wrote to Timothy: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Through God’s Spirit, He gives us the power to obey His commandments. And our obedience shows that we have that Spirit. As John wrote, “ And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” (1 John 3:24). John also states: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. ” (2:3–6).
As we know, Christ set us an example—by keeping the fourth commandment and all of His Father’s commandments (John 15:10). But we should not expect “perfection” in our lives all at once! We have learned that we are to “grow in grace and in knowledge.” The true Christian life is one of overcoming and growing to become more like Jesus Christ—even in our innermost thoughts and desires. But for the true Christian, the magnificent future makes all the trials, tests and “growing pains” more than worth it (Romans 8:18).
Keep Your Eyes on the GOAL If God has called you to true understanding and you grasp what you have been learning, you have undoubtedly been called to become a son or daughter of God (2 Corinthians 6:18). The meaning and ultimate purpose of your calling is awesome. For as you daily yield your thoughts, your time, your energy and your very life to letting Jesus Christ live His life in you, you will be building more and more of the very character of God. Month by month and year by year, you will be learning to think, act and live like Christ Himself. Finally, at Jesus Christ’s return to this earth as King of kings, you will be either resurrected or changed from flesh into spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). As a Spirit-born child of God, you will then join with Jesus Christ in ruling the nations of this earth (Revelation 2:26) and in bringing the entire world genuine peace and joy at last! In your own right, you will then be glorified as a ruling member of the Kingdom or Government of God. The Apostle John writes: “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2). In the resurrection, the true saints will be fully like Christ. They will be offered the awesome opportunity and responsibility to help rule the cities and nations of this earth. The Apostle John was inspired to reveal to us the “prayer of the saints” in Revelation 5:9–10: “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’” The saints will then have glorified spirit bodies that will enable them to do the job. For they will never become tired, never become sick and never die! Composed of spirit, filled with drive, energy and joy, the resurrected saints will live forever in the very Family of God. For they will have surrendered to let God build within them the very wisdom and character of Christ in order to assist Him in ruling this entire world and even judging angels! Thus John continues: “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
All of us who understand God’s Truth have every good reason to want to yield to the God who made us, accept His Son as our Savior and Lord, surrender our lives to live by every Word of God, keep His commandments, allow him to build within us His character and so prepare for the soon-coming Kingdom of our God to be set up on this earth! GLORY!!!!