Eldress

When a person losses his first love they lose the zeal for God. The time once spent in pray, fasting, and studying the word of God lessen, They no longer possess the desire to gather with other believer that once have and if they are present it is in body only for the mind is else where.They have more desire for the things of this world than for the things of God. They not longer desire to let the world see Christ in then but speak, act, and look more like the world. Instead of coming out from among them they fit in with them (you can see no difference). You can regain personal intimacy with God when we heed the Holy Spirit's warning that we have strayed away and repent Like David, when we realize our sin we must ask God to forgive us of our sin and to create within us a clean heart and renew us with a right spirit.

How can pride in our own righteousness and religious achievements actually get in the way of knowing Christ When we get puffed up in pride and righteousness indignation we set ourselves up for failure for we begin to think it is about us and our achievements and forget that it is all about Jesus Christ. We tend to forget that our righteousness is but as filthy rags in the sight of God and that pride cometh before a fall. It is not because of anything we have accomplished that we are who we are but because of His grace and mercy. If it had not been for the saving grace of Jesus Christ we would still be in our same sinful state. And it is the Holy Spirit that is keeping us for we are not able. We must remember to humble ourselves before God that He might do a work in and through us. Yes, it has happened to me. I had to remind myself that I could do nothing without God and without Him I am nothing; but, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

What does it mean to be in Christ? We have been delivered from darkness and placed in the kingdom of God's beloved Son through the redemption from and forgiveness of our sins. He has sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. This union is important because we are in Christ now. He is righteous and we share in His righteousness. We are one with Christ; we are heirs and joint heirs with Christ.

How did Jesus demonstrate the importance of humility and forego his rights to do God's will? Jesus demonstrated the importance of humility in order to do God's will when He told God to prepare Him and body and He would go down and redeem mankind. He understand that this meant leaving all the comforts and rights He enjoyed in Heaven where there was no sin to come down to a world filled with sin, to become a sin offering that would bring sinful mankind back into a right standing with God .Even though this meant died a shameful death on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus was will to do this for man. When we exalt ourselves rather than being exalted by the spirit we set ourselves up for failure or defeat. When God exalts us He provides everything needed to succeed in whatever error He has exalted us. In other words He will not let you fall. When we try to exalt ourselves by our action some may call it pride but I call it stupidity..We can do all thing thru Christ who strengthens us but when we try to do it on our own we are sitting ourselves up for failure.

Paul is an ambassador in that he has been sent as a representative of Christ charged with testifying to the gospel of God's grace. Even though I may not be an apostle, I too have a message to carry and share testifying to the gospel of God's grace. I may be the only Bible some people will ever read therefore I should make sure that people do not see me but the Jesus that is in me. My walk and my talk must be in alignment. Sharing my testimony is important in my ambassadorship because when spoken thru the power of God and the Holy Spirit it could cause other to believe in God and repent of their sins.

What does praise and thankfulness have to do we faith? Praise and thankfulness is the language of faith. When we deliberately offer praise and give thanks in the midst of our circumstances instead of worrying it show that we have faith in God's word and are standing on His promises. Sadness and anxiety can not co-exist with praise and thankfulness. When the world sees us giving forth praise and thanksgiving in the midst of life's storm it signifies that their is something different about us. Praise and thankfulness are powerful weapons in our warfare because not only do they get God's attention but they confuse Satan.

How do you think anger and unforgiveness give Satan an opportunity to damage you? Forgiveness is a spiritual weapon against Satan. When we fail to forgive Satan use our unforgiveness bind us up in anger so that we become spiritually cripple and unable to pray as we ought. Paul warns us not to give the devil a foothold in our life by holding on to anger, grudges, hurts, and wrongs done to us for when we do we give Satan the internal platform from which to operate. He can continually operate from within because our heart in filled with unforgiveness. The most difficult person for me to forgive is me. My unforgiveness is my damaging to me than the person who hurt me because it hinders my relationship with God. The scripture tells us that God will not dwell in an unclean temple so if unforgiveness (sin) is present God's spirit is not and neither is the Holy Spirit.

What are Satan's chief tools to keep people under his control? He blinds the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of Christ. They can not comprehend the gospel therefore it doesn't make sense to them. He deceives them with lies because he is a lair and the father of lies. Roaring like a lion he instills fear in the hearts of the unbelievers. Why is sharing and preaching of the gospel so threatening to him? Because Satan understands that when the gospel is sharing under the power of God and the Holy Ghost the truth of the gospel will free the people from their sins and from his authority. It will dispel the darkness and the lies that keep people in bondage thus freeing them from his authority. Why do you think it is so difficult to share you faith or preach the word outside the church? Because we are not wrestling with flesh and blood but against the powers of this dark sinful world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms; unseen forces to which we are no match without the power of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

An understanding of God's pure grace fits together with ides of predestination in that the Bible tells us that our lives are pre-determined by God before we were born. It also tells us that no one come to Jesus Christ unless the Father draws him. Since God has predestined our lives and no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him then God must need to provide us the faith need to accept the grace given by His son Jesus Christ. A belief in predestination might makes us lazy with regards to evangelism because we may conclude that all our efforts are in vain without God's intervention. If God supplies both grace and faith what is there for us to do. Our job is to spread the good news. Yes we are needed. Our job is to explain the plan of salvation not execute it. We are to be His mouth piece here in the earth. Roms.10:13-14a "For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?"

Grace is simply unmerited favor. We did nothing to earn it neither is there anything we can do to earn it. Legalism and works to please God or not compatible with grace because these things do nothing to change the heart. The heart remains self-centered and self serving. The grace that God bestows changes the heart which should be reflected in our actions and attitudes afterwards. Faith which is essential to our salvation is also a gift from God. John 6:44 says "No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him". In other words, unless the Father grants us the faith to believe we cannot receive.

The essential demand of the Judaizers was that the Gentiles had to be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses to be saved. It contradicted the idea of salvation by grace in that it required something than confession with thou mouth and belief in thine heart. It is a gift and a gift merely requires acceptance of it. The danger of excessive legalism in our Christian congregation is that one would be led to that they must perform some physical act or deed to be save which is just the opposite of what is taught in the Good News. If we could perform some physical deed and be saved then Jesus' death was for naught.