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Showing posts with label Meditation. Show all posts

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Celebrate Freedom Discipleship Course - Lesson 6 - Worship

Due to the fact that my household would be a bit too busy with Christmas Eve preparations, we made the decision to postpone our normal Bible Study with the Cincotti's until next week.  

But because I try to provide some form of encouragement for the path of Christian Discipleship "24/7", I have decided to launch the next lesson of the Celebrate Freedom Discipleship Course.  

As I stated previously:  "I developed the Celebrate Freedom Discipleship Course in 2020 as part of my master’s thesis in Christian Counseling to “fill in the gaps” of the Christian Twelve Step/Celebrate Recovery – Teaching Curriculums by introducing concepts of Christian Discipleship that I found important in my walk of faith and in my recovery over alcohol, drugs, sex addiction, and food addiction."

We hope it encourages you to follow Jesus and to overcome any hurts, habits, and hang-ups that still persist in your lives. 

God Bless You All,

M.T. Clark

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Listen to the podcast: Celebrate Freedom Discipleship Course - Lesson 6 -Worship - Podcast

Or Watch it on YouTube: 


Celebrate Freedom Discipleship Course 

Lesson 6: Worship

Discipleship Principle 6 – Our lives are to be an expression of our love for the Lord, a continuous act of worship. Our hearts of stone must be turned to flesh and beat to know and love the Lord more and more.  

In John 4:23-24 Jesus says But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

A major problem with the body of Christ is the twofold problem of ignorance and or a lack of application of the disciple’s call to worship.  The life-transforming power of worship cannot be understated as it can break down the barriers between knowing God intellectually and knowing and loving God experientially.  A life of worship is living in the context of our faith, where we rejoice over being rescued and given a new and eternal life that we get to experience here and now.

This lesson’s purpose is to encourage followers of Jesus Christ to use their lives as an act of worship and a continuous expression of our love for the Lord.

In Matthew 22:37 tells us, Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment.

Community Worship – The Local Church

Hebrews 10:24-25 says “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

The most obvious act of worship is to attend the worship services at a local church.  Church services contain elements of prayer, praise, and scripture reading as the purpose of Christians gathering together is to give worship and glory to God and to instruct, encourage, and motivate the body of Christ to follow Christ’s example.

The church teaches Christians how to offer continuous worship to the Lord with their lives by teaching its members how to approach God, know Him, praise Him, and communicate with Him. Prayer, praise, and Bible study are disciplines that Christians can take outside of the four walls of the church building into their private lives and the community at large.  Our community gathering is to serve the purpose to worship the Lord and to encourage one another in doing so.  Regular attendance and support of the local church are necessary components in our lives of worship. While we tend to focus on our individual journey and relationship with God, in no way should membership to a local church body be forsaken. Engagement in the local church is the primary way to learn, grow, and mature in our Christian faith.

Individual Worship - Our Daily Practice – Disciplines and Demeanors.

Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

While church services may be once or twice a week, we are to worship the Lord continuously with our very lives. A daily practice of worship and communion with God is our reasonable service and is the foundation for a deep personal relationship with the Lord. If our attention and hearts are directed to God, we are blessed by His presence, guidance, strength, and love.  Our daily practice of worship will go beyond traditional Christian disciplines as we mature in the love of the Lord.

Psalm 95:6 says:  Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

Colossians 4:2 tells us to “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

Prayer – From silent prayers to simple conversations with God, our first act of worship is to communicate with God. Our faith in God is demonstrated through our regular communication through prayer: making our needs and thoughts known, offering our observations, and petitioning the Lord on behalf of others. The more we pray to the Lord the deeper our relationship with Him becomes as we place ourselves humbly before His presence in reverence and love.

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In John 6:63, Jesus tells us: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”

Bible Study – Whether integrated into prayer or studied separately, a time to read and reflect on the word of God is one of the most effective ways to know the heart of God and to hear His voice as He reveals Himself through His word. Our lives are transformed by integrating His wisdom into our lives. To read, to understand, and to be changed by His word is the full intention of Bible study.

Hebrews 4:12 tells us “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Walk – As we go about our day and walk through this life, we worship God and express our love for Him through our demonstration of our Identity in Christ through the way we live.

·       We Give Thanks.  Our worship of God begins and continues each day with a regular practice of gratitude where we give thanks to the Lord for the blessings in our life and the things we encounter, remembering His provision and His protection. 

·       We Meditate – We remind ourselves of our salvation and freedom in Christ and renew our mind with God’s word as we shape our thoughts, attitudes, and actions to be consistent with our new life and thus join in harmony with God’s will and ways for our lives.

·       We Repent – We worship God by speaking the truth and progressively turning from our old ways. We consider our old ways to no longer be a part of who we are. We recognize that we have been given the power to overcome and need only utilize it by living according to our new life in Christ. Our old habits are surrendered for a higher call and a higher purpose. We admit to the harmful effects our habits inflicted on our minds, bodies, and our relationship with God and others. Instead of fondly remembering our old habits, we examine them with the light of truth and expose the darkness, desperation, and futile nature of how we were seeking happiness and fulfillment without God.

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·       We Love - Our successful adaptation of our identity in Christ cannot be simply the product of mental ascent or a work of cognitive therapy alone.  We must love the Lord for who He is and for What He has done for us. If our actions are motivated by love and a desire to express our love for God, we will grow because we are acting and thinking in a way that is approved by Him. While we will never be able to earn God’s love, we will accept the fact that we are worthy of His love because He said we are.  If we are worthy, the Lord has given us the power to express our worthiness through thought and action. We can change because of the love we have received.  As we grow, we share the love of God we have received with others by sharing our hope and through performing good works motivated by love. As we progress and have the revelation of our ability to love Him, we begin to proclaim our love mentally or verbally to God continuously.

·       We Forgive.  Having been forgiven of everything we have ever done; we obey the word of God and forgive others as an act of worship. We let go of our hurt and offense. Our default response becomes forgiveness. While we can protect ourselves and advocate for what is right, we will forgive because we have been forgiven. We forgive others the worst because we are not the judge, God is.  He will repay. We instead forgive and pray for the transgressor to come to know God’s love and forgiveness and to repent.  Forgiveness is a spiritual discipline that requires practice. As we learn to forgive the small things that pop up in our daily experience moment to moment, we will gain the skill of forgiveness. 

While we are not saying we must forgive everything done against us in the past immediately, we are setting ourselves on a course to realize that goal. The goal of peace can be reached through forgiveness.

Work  

1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us….  whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Our work is another place where we can worship the Lord and give Him glory. Wherever we are in our professional lives, we are to worship the Lord by representing the kingdom of God to the best of our abilities through our work performance. While there may be limits to outright evangelism at work, everyone at your place of work should know that we are Christian. While we are there to work, moments of personal conversation should be utilized to give our testimony of God’s goodness, the truth of Jesus Christ, and to encourage others to follow Him.  When co-workers encounter loss or disease, we need to offer our prayers and hope. Our conduct should represent that of a servant: performing our duties morally, faithfully, and to the best of our abilities.

The Garment of Praise – Bridging the Mind and Heart 

Isaiah 61:3 tells is “To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

The remedy for the”spirit of heaviness” or lack of affection for God is to worship the Lord through praise.  Those whose faith is in their head can use the key of praise to experience the truth of God’s love in their hearts and to transform their relationship with God.

Ephesians 5:18-20  tells us “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,  speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,  giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

This verse reveals the spiritual reality that our worship of God with praise and thanksgiving is directly related to the infilling of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God.

Earnestly seeking the Lord through praise can open up a whole new dimension to one’s faith as the Holy Spirit will bring joy and revelations of Biblical truth in the midst of genuine enthusiastic praise.  Praise takes the power of the spoken word of God and brings it up a notch as the word is lifted in exaltation to the Lord. During praise, the Holy Spirit will bring into remembrance moments from your journey in Christ and will encourage and exhort you to keep going and to take steps in new directions.   

Psalm 9:1-2  I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. Sing to the Lord

Scripture repeatedly commands us to praise the Lord with song indicating a loud and lively expression of our praises. These verses indicate that praise can and should be done as a private individual practice.  If we are timid or concerned with what others will think of us when we worship, we can eliminate those concerns by praising the Lord in the privacy of our homes where we can prepare our favorite songs and praise the Lord completely uninhibited. We can even take our individual praise on the road with us and sing to the Lord in the car as we commute throughout our day. God is always with us, so it is appropriate to sing His praises whenever the opportunity arises.  Our lives should be a continuous soundtrack of praise to the Lord.

Praise as an individual practice draws you into a deep relationship with the Lord as you are continuously bringing the presence of the Lord into your environment as you bring honor and glory to Him.  Praise also lifts our spirits by keeping our spiritual eyes on the Lord and it renews our mind as we are proclaiming our identity in Christ with a musical demonstration of our faith. With every song of Praise we are binding ourselves to the Lord and reminding ourselves that we are experiencing our new life in Christ and that our membership in the kingdom of God is an undeniable fact as our fruit of praise shows that the Lord has our heart.

Psalm 149:3 says “Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.”  

As we praise privately, we can even incorporate the joy of dancing for the Lord into our practice.  Dancing, raising hands, clapping, and stomping feet to music engage one’s entire body as an act of worship, exercising the body as well as the spirit.  For those too timid to ever dance in public, a private practice of praise allows us to pour out devotion to the Lord without limits. 

Psalm 34:3 says  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.”

Our private practice of praise prepares us for corporate praise. As we praise privately, we become more confident to join and to contribute to the enthusiastic praise at corporate gatherings. As we learn to unashamedly praise the Lord publicly, we become an encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ to do likewise.  While our praises are directed to the Lord, they become an object lesson to others that loud enthusiastic praise is an appropriate expression of our faith and we can rejoice in it together.  Our corporate praise edifies one another and brings us together as a community joined together by the love of God.

The Heart of the Matter

All the various ways to worship the Lord that we have presented are to be done with the “heart of worship” – with genuine heartfelt devotion and love for God, as a part of our daily Christian lifestyle.

Our faith is not a political ideology or a philosophy of living with its principles and precepts. Our faith is a relationship. It’s a love relationship and so the power of worship to transform us must be fueled by a love for God.

The defining characteristic of a Christian is the love we have for God and the love that overflows from that relationship to others. 

Wrap Up

As disciples of Jesus Christ, our worship goes beyond a weekly observance. Our lives become a continuous expression of our love for the Lord as we incorporate various Christian practices to maintain and mature our relationship with Him.  More than intellectual study or following a moral code of ethics, our lives of worship are a spiritual practice that seeks the infinite wisdom of the Lord not to know facts or to show ourselves approved but to familiarize ourselves with the One who first loved us. Our obedience to biblical principles isn’t done out of a fear of punishment or out of doing one’s duty as much as it is our heartfelt response to demonstrate our love and understanding of God.

The importance of a heart connection to our faith is what makes Christ’s burden a light burden as we can endure anything for the One we love. Praise as a private spiritual practice is recommended to bridge the mind and heart of faith together and to develop a deeper experiential bond to the Lord.  Regardless of which spiritual discipline we practice, His presence is experienced the more we seek Him with our hearts and minds, worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.  

 

Review and Examine.

1.    How can worship help us in our recovery or our Christian walk? 

3.    In what ways do we worship the Lord in a church service?

4.    In what ways can we worship the Lord in our daily lives?

5.    Why is praise an important spiritual discipline? In what ways can we praise the Lord?

6.    How can our work be used to worship the Lord?

7.    What is the most important part of your worship practice? Why?


 ------Join us next week for the next Celebrate Freedom Discipleship Course Lesson----

or

Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, and "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com. 

These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and 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)

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship


Tuesday, June 20, 2023

"What choo talkin’ about quiet time?” - 28 Day Joy Challenge – Day 17 – Purity 1073


 

“What choo talkin’ about quiet time?” - 28 Day Joy Challenge – Day 17 –  Purity 1073

Purity 1073 06/20/2023 Purity 1073 Podcast

Purity 1073 on YouTube:



Good morning,

Today’s photo of the setting sun, the sky, and the surrounding shoreline fauna reflected in the waters of Portsmouth Harbor comes to us from Pastor Andy Elmes who shared this scene on social media back on June 16th. Andy has been busy doing kingdom work, as always, recently crossing to this side of the pond to evangelize at tent meetings down in the Kingston NY area, as if leading Family Church and Forge Ministry School weren’t enough already!  But even busy kingdom warriors need to stop every once in a while to appreciate the beauty around them to remember just who it is they are working for.  

Well, It’s Tuesday and even my day job checks are provided for by a fortune 500 telecommunications company, and I certainly am grateful for that job and what it provides me with,  my passion is to encourage others to seek the Lord and His will for their lives to not only discover their Freedom in Christ but to find their kingdom purpose as well.  

Now before you freak out and worry about having to sell all your earthly possessions and quit your day job to go into full time ministry as a traveling evangelist or to be a street preacher and wandering ascetic, unless that’s what the Holy Spirit is telling you to do, just relax and before you do anything drastic. Go to the Lord in prayer and ask for His wisdom and guidance to show you the way you should go.

While we shouldn’t “quench” the Spirit by denying the Lord’s call into service, we should count the costs and be sure that we are prepared to take on what we are thinking about walking into.  Of course we have to be discerning in this regard, we don’t want to be so humble that we deny that we are adequately equipped to do anything and also we don’t want to spend endless hours of preparation and remain idle.  

Yes, we may be completely honest and correct about our self-assessment that we don’t know enough about our faith to be some convincing apologist, but if that’s the case I would point out that means we have to “get equipped” by knowing what we believe and why we believe it and to live by it. 

Also I would remind those who feel ill equipped to speak on matters of faith that the best evidence for God that we can give to others is our own story of how we came to know the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it has impacted our lives.  Instead of starting some theological debate, tell people what the Lord has done in your life.  

That’s what I do. 

But don’t get it twisted, that’s not all I do.  

Since it took most if my life to know the truth and to surrender to the Lordship of Christ and because I lived such a secular life, when I came to faith I had an equal desire to be sure that what I believed was “real” and that if I was a Christian now, I wanted to be a “real Christian” with the way I live my life.  Needless to say, I had a lot to learn about God’s kingdom and even more to unlearn from my exposure to the world, sin, and false religious and philosophical systems.  

So I sought the Lord. I pursued Christian knowledge and training. My past time is reading Christian books, listening to Christian teachings, listening to Christen music, and spending “quiet time” enjoying the Lord’s presence and talking to God where I could develop my relationship with Him.  

And that brings us to our current series where I am walking through the 28 Day Joy Challenge, (https://4habits.org/) because we are encouraging ourselves and others, you, to “find peace” in our lives by increasing our capacity for joy and by building our emotional resilience through simple practices of quieting and appreciation.

The 28 Day Joy challenge is based on Dr. Marcus Warner & Chris Coursey’s latest book, The Four Habits of Joy-Filled People, and you can sign up to take it for free, and purchase a variety of books from Warner and Coursey on topic of Joy, by going to https://4habits.org/.  

So let’s jump into Day 17, which will direct us to breathe and sigh?

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Day 17 - Calming the Stress

 

Welcome to Day 17 of the 28 Days to Joy Challenge!

Today’s Encouragement:

As you take a moment to breathe deeply, you can feel your mind and body relax, which can change the course of your day. Learning to be quiet and still is a gift worth giving to yourself.

Today’s Practice: Exercise 17

Our practice today is breathing in an intentional way to calm our bodies.

- How This Exercise Will Benefit You:

Research shows the following breathing exercise is one of the best ways to calm down when stress levels are running high.

- Exercise Steps:

Find a comfortable spot and begin by inhaling deeply and quickly two times in your nose, then exhale out of your mouth with a sigh as you breathe out. Take one deep breath in through your nose, followed by a quick follow-up inhale through your nose, then you breathe out with a sigh of relief. Try this for three minutes. Notice how the breathing exercise impacts you.

Have fun with this exercise. We pick up tomorrow with more joy practice!

One of the principles I have learned as a disciple of Jesus Christ that I try to live by is to always tell the truth.  So I have to tell you the truth about today’s joy practice, I found it difficult!

Okay, I have to admit that while I may have been born and raised in NY state, I feel that part of me is from Missouri – the “show me” state – because I am not adept at or have assurance I am doing things correctly when I am handed written instructions.   And when I saw the instruction to “deeply and quickly two times in your nose, then exhale out of your mouth with a sigh as you breathe out.” I thought I understood them and gave them a try.  I can do almost anything once after all – so Okay – InHale, Inhale – and sigh as you exale.  But wait.. “quickly and deeply?” I don’t know if I can do that! I can inhale deeply or I can inhale quickly, but both? 

Listen, you can’t have it both ways.  Do you want the inhales to be quick or deep? Because if I do them deep, it won’t be quick and if I do that quick they won’t be deep!  And sighing?  DO you want me to audibly sigh? Should I give out some long groan, so “you” or I know I am sighing?  

And then I realized that the instructions had more!  

Take one deep breath in through your nose, followed by a quick follow-up inhale through your nose, then you breathe out with a sigh of relief.”  

Is this a clarification? Or a follow up instruction.  

Am I taking two quick and deep inhales through my nose and breathing out with a sigh, FOLLOWED by One long inhale through my nose, followed by a quick follow-up inhale, and breathing out with a sigh of relief – and do I do that with my nose or mouth?   

Are the 2 breaths – one long and deep and one short- quick and deep? Or what? 

While I wasn’t quite sure if I was “doing it right”.  I figured the idea was to take a deep breath in and just when you thought you couldn’t breathe in any more – to take another breath in to completely fill your lungs capacity – before one long exhale of relief with accompanying sigh.  

So I decided to “go with that” and attempted to do this strange labored breathing practice – like taking a “second sip” after you have had your fill – for two to three minutes. 

And in all honesty, I think you could say I failed.  I mean I did it, but I was exhausted when the timer read 1:51,  and persisted for another minute.   I felt spent!  Although, I guess I was getting more air with that double inhale, I felt like I got less and was tired afterward.  

I guess I can admit that the exhales and sigh were indeed a relief and I felt a little more relaxed after this practice – but the weirdness of breathing in twice seemed disconcerting and may be a little taxing on my body and mind.  

So I followed up this practice, with some good old fashioned deep breathing – not too long or too short – and certainly not quick – and quieting to recover before going into the rest of my “quiet time”.  

Quiet Time? “What choo talkin’ about quiet time?

Yeah that’s a pet peeve of mine, that phrase – because my time of Bible study, prayer, and meditation may have moments of silence and an overall sense of peace but I would never describe them as “quiet” – as a conversation is always under way.  I’m either asking, seeking, knocking, or listening to what the Lord says. 

I guess that phrase quite time bothers me because it sounds “ultra spiritual” and implies an attainment of some perfect state of blissful peace.

 “Did you enjoy your quiet time with the Lord, MT?  “No?” I guess you haven’t attained sainthood like the rest of us… poor you!”

That’s why I call my time with the Lord a “daily spiritual practice” – because it’s practice there is no implication that I am trying to attain some “perfect state” – that I don’t have to worry about “doing it right”.   I just come before the Lord, thank Him for what I have, what He has done, and who I am in Christ,  ask Him for help,  and consider and listen to what He has to tell me in His word and in my spirit.  It’s an interactive experience and the last thing I want it to be is quiet.  There is a conversation happening here. There is a relationship here and it is simple and honest and free of any expectations or  spiritual posturing.   

So what about you? Do you think you can follow today’s joy practice? Will it lead you to rest and relief?  Will you do it right?   

Well trust me, our relationship with the Lord is not about doing everything right, if it was God would have never chosen imperfect men to be a part of His kingdom.   So don’t freak out like I did. Try the practice and if it works, it works. The idea is to calm ourselves and if today’s techniques doesn’t do it for you, do what does. Simple resting and breathing at a comfortable pace is acceptable. 

The idea is to come into peace and experience the basic joy that comes with living with God’s perspective – that we can find peace right now in simple practices of quieting and appreciation and it’s all because God knew what He was doing when He created us all.

 

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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 NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is:

John 1:12 (NLT2)
12  But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Today’s verse assures us that we who have believed in Christ and accepted Him as our Lord, have received the right to become children of God. 

We are adopted by faith in Jesus into God’s royal family and we should rejoice and seek to represent the kingdom.  We are new creations in Christ and accepted has God’s chosen children.

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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 continue sharing from  The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

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 $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3)  

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

9 -The Work of the Spirit

Total Depravity Apart from the Spirit

Of course if men are only partly depraved (which is really the belief today of the vast majority of preachers and their hearers, never having been experimentally taught by God their own depravity), if deep down in their hearts all men really love God, if they are so good-natured as to be easily persuaded to become Christians, then there is no need for the Holy Spirit to put forth His Almighty power and do for them what they are altogether incapable of doing for themselves. And again: if “being saved” consists merely in believing I am a lost sinner and on my way to Hell, and by simply believing that God loves me, that Christ died for me, and that He will save me now on the one condition that I “accept Him as my personal Savior” and “rest upon His finished work,” then no supernatural operations of the Holy Spirit are required to induce and enable me to fulfill that condition—self-interest moves me to, and a decision of my will is all that is required.

But if, on the other hand, all men hate God (John 15:23, 25), and have minds which are “enmity against Him” (Rom. 8:7), so that “there is none that seeketh after God” (Rom. 3:11), preferring and determining to follow their own inclinations and pleasures. If instead of being disposed unto that which is good, “the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11). And if when the overtures of God’s mercy are made known to them and they are freely invited to avail themselves of the same, they “all with one consent begin to make excuse” (Luke 14:18)—then it is very evident that the invincible power and transforming operations of the Spirit are indispensably required if the heart of a sinner is thoroughly changed, so that rebellion gives place to submission and hatred to love. This is why Christ said, “No man can come to me, except the Father (by the Spirit) which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44).

Again—if the Lord Jesus Christ came here to uphold and enforce the high claims of God, rather than to lower or set them aside. If He declared that “strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it,” rather than pointing to a smooth and broad road which anyone would find it easy to tread. If the salvation which He has provided is a deliverance from sin and self-pleasing, from worldliness and indulging the lusts of the flesh, and the bestowing of a nature which desires and determines to live for Gods glory and please Him in all the details of our present lives—then it is clear beyond dispute that none but the Spirit of God can impart a genuine desire for such a salvation. And if instead of “accepting Christ” and “resting upon His finished work” be the sole condition of salvation, He demands that the sinner throw down the weapons of his defiance, abandon every idol, unreservedly surrender himself and his life, and receive Him as His only Lord and Master, then nothing but a miracle of grace can enable any captive of Satan’s to meet such requirements.[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

(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com. 

These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

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)

For those who require the assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge     

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship


[1] Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Focusing on What You Do Have! Lie Down and Just Breathe - 28 Day Joy Challenge – Day 15 – Purity 1071


Focusing on What You Do Have! Lie Down and Just Breathe - 28 Day Joy Challenge – Day 15 –  Purity 1071

Purity 1071 06/17/2023 Purity 1071 Podcast

Purity 1071 on YouTube: Coming Soon!

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the light of the setting sun pouring through a massive cloud formation over Hallett Cove in South Australia comes to us from Dave Baun Photography (https://www.facebook.com/DaveBaunPhotography) who shared this heavenly scene back on April 17th commenting at the time: “Since I was stuck in the car for last night’s sunset, here’s one from not long ago.”  Well, I don’t know what the sunset that Dave missed may have been like, but I love the fact that he decided to get over whatever disappointment he may have felt by sharing what he was able to capture previously! Rather than lamenting over his missed opportunity, Dave focused on what he did accomplish and shared a photo that may have otherwise been put aside unseen.  Just like how his photo highlights how something good (the sun light) overcomes something we would consider not so good (that huge cloud formation is rather dark and foreboding),  Dave’s decision to share this photo (something good) overcame the “something bad” of Dave’s missed opportunity.

 Well, It’s Saturday and even though the local forecast in my neck of the woods states a 90% chance of showers for today (something we could see as bad) ,  I, like our friend Dave, am going to focus on the “something good” of a couple of days off of work in the presence of my beloved wife – that I do have – and not let what could be disappointing circumstances of the weather steal my peace or temper the joy I can have over all the things I have been blessed with that are unaffected by the current or forecasted atmospheric conditions.  

While a trip to a local beach to go swimming doesn’t seem to be in the offering today, there are options out there – museums, art galleries, malls, - for indoor activities if we feel the overwhelming urge to “DO SOMETHING” or we could decide to rest and rejoice over the humble comforts of home and recharge our batteries by “Doing Nothing”.  

At this early hour, I don’t know if we will do Something or Nothing with our day, but regardless of where the day takes us, I can already report that the day has been a success because of the things I “do have” and “did do” this morning.  

As I am always “selling” or encouraging all who read or hear these messages- I stress the importance of a DAILY SPIRITUAL PRACTICE – a time of prayer, meditation, and Bible Study with the Lord – that can give you peace and joy every single day.   I have already prayed, read a chapter of the Bible (I usually do two, but I am in the New Testament now and I don’t want to skim through the teachings and life of Jesus too quickly!) reminded myself of who I am by  reading, proclaiming, and meditating on  the Who I am in Christ List and the Overcomer’s Covenant, and practiced a little bit of gratitude – so I am “feeling pretty good” as I have grounded myself in the truth of who God is, what He has provided, and who He has made me to be!

I also gained a measure of peace with a few minutes of quieting and focusing on my breath.

And that brings us to our current series where I am walking through the 28 Day Joy Challenge, (https://4habits.org/) because we are encouraging ourselves and others, you, to “find peace” in our lives by increasing our capacity for joy and by building our emotional resilience through simple practices of quieting and appreciation.

The 28 Day Joy challenge is based on Dr. Marcus Warner & Chris Coursey’s latest book, The Four Habits of Joy-Filled People, and you can sign up to take it for free, and purchase a variety of books from Warner and Coursey on topic of Joy, by going to https://4habits.org/.  

So let’s jump into Day 15, which will direct us to kick back, relax, and just breathe.  

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Day 15 - Just Breathe

 

Welcome to Day 15 of the 28 Days to Joy Challenge!

Today’s Encouragement:

The first few times you practice calming your mind and body, it is not unusual to have racing thoughts and increased anxiety because you are not used to being still. Hang in there! It will get easier with practice as you figure out what works for your mind and body to be more peaceful.

Today’s Practice: Exercise 15

Today we will practice breathing and noticing what helps us more effectively quiet and rest.

- How This Exercise Will Benefit You:

One overlooked aspect of growing more joy is resting. Rest grows our capacity, so we increase our joy levels.

- Exercise Steps:

For this practice, grab a book and find a quiet spot where you can lie down. Place the book on your stomach and breathe deeply in a way that makes the book rise and fall. Try to rest and breathe for three to five minutes. You can even play relaxing music if you like. Notice how it feels to quiet your body and breathe deeply.

Have fun with this exercise. We pick up tomorrow with more joy practice!

When I read today’s joy practice instructions I was taken back a little as I had to decide how exactly I was going to do this. In fact, I have to honestly confess I had a moment’s temptation to pretend we did it or to alter the instructions!

You see the instructions tell you to “lie down” and while I could easily do that on my bedroom floor or in my bed at River House,  things at my countryside home are a little different.  I do my prayer, Bible Study, meditation, and blog in the cramped confines of the office space that TammyLyn arranged for me to have in the small room off of the master bedroom that served as her closet before I came along.  While I guess it would have been physically possible to lie down on the floor, I have done it before, its current state is a little overcrowded and so I was left wondering if I was actually going to do today’s practice as instructed or not!

I contemplated just slipping into bed again next to TammyLyn for the 5 minutes of focused prostrated breathing but feared that I may disturb her sleep or end up falling asleep with her. 

I contemplated using the couch in the living room, but that area of the house is seldom used and is sometimes a way station for “the things being organized” or waiting to be given away, and there are two child gates – stacked one on top of the other to keep the pets out of that room and off the furniture and I didn’t know what the state of the living room was ( a quick check later revealed it is quite “ocupado” with some stuff) and I didn’t want to deal with the child gates to gain access anyway.  

But because I want to be true to the 28 Day Joy Challenge- by actually doing the practices, I decided to just grab a pillow and my phone as a timer and lay down on the kitchen floor to “get er done” and that’s what I did.    

Although I initially wondered whether I would be able to get any peace lying on the kitchen floor, I just followed the instructions. I grabbed a book – The Joy Switch by Chris Coursey, as a matter of fact, put it on my stomach, and just focused on my breath and the book going up and down with my rhythmic respirations.  I remember losing focus once with some distracting thought that I can’t recall but after that I just relaxed and “just breathed”.  

My mind was clear, my body relaxed, as I kept my attention on my breathing. It was a peaceful easy feeling for sure but after a time I wondered “how long has it been” and checked my phone to discover that I had elapsed the 5 minute mark by 17 seconds!  I felt good over successfully completing today’s challenge and even contemplating pushing it into “extra innings” by lying back and doing a few more minutes but decided against it because I wasn’t too comfortable on the kitchen floor but fIeared that I might fall asleep all the same.  Plus I hadn’t done my Bible study yet and wanted to get back to Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount where I had paused yesterday.  

But I can say? Today’s joy practice of “just breathing” was a success and I was glad for the 5 minutes of peace.  

So what about you? Are you actually going to lie down and just focus on your breath like the instructions tell you?  

It may seem silly, but there is no benefit to just “understanding” that focusing on the breath or taking deep breaths can help you to relax, give you peace, and increase your capacity so you can increase your joy levels,  to realize those benefits you actually have to do the exercises.  

So let me encourage you to actually do what the instructions tell you to do and be diligent to complete the 28 Day Joy challenge because the work you do today may very well help you to establish the habits of being a joy-filled person and give you an enduring sense of peace and joy that stays with you regardless of which way the wind blows with the weather or the circumstance of your life.   

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verses are:

Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT2)
7  “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Today’s verses are the words of Jesus that encourages us to be persistent in our relationship with the Lord by assuring us that if we believe and keep seeking the Lord’s will for our lives by asking, Seeking (HELLO), and knocking we will receive, find, and have everything we need opened up for us.   

Hey quick – walking in the Spirit report- as I have indicated in the past, my blog isn’t really planned out in advance, and I often find it interesting of how the content of the message and the things that come up from the various resources I share just seem to naturally flow together.  As I shared above, my personal Bible Study has led me through the entire Old Testament and has me in the beginning of the New Testament.  And even though I didn’t mention it yesterday – I studied Matthew 6 – and yesterday’s verse of the day from the NLT promise book for Men – was Matthew 6:33 where Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to us.   And today – I studied Matthew 7 and today’s verses are Matthew 7: 7-8! Which tells us again to Seek the Lord.  

Some would say that this confluence of my personal Bible Study, with the randomly selected verses from our devotional resource, and the continuity of the message of these subsequent verses,  would indicate that we are “tracking with the Spirit!”   Just saying, when these little “coincidences” happen we should be encouraged and know that because our Sovereign God is moving all things towards His purposes, we just might be doing something right, as it seems that God is bringing common themes together to get our attention and to let us know that He is with us, and we appear to be with Him!  

We stress seeking the Lord on this blog. In fact my wife’s podcast (which is currently on hiatus because of her schooling to become certified as a Special Educations Teacher) is called Ask, Seek, Knock, and so is the FB community (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) that she created where we share our encouragements.

  But the reason we stress asking, seeking, and knocking is because we have discovered the truth of these verses.  When we ask, when we seek, when we knock, we have received, found, and had doors open to us – in amazing ways.  

I don’t point people to the path of Christian Discipleship because we should all be “good little boys and girls and “do what is right”.  I mean, we should, but the reason we do what is right, is because of our interactive relationship with the living God!  We are in relationship with God – there is asking and receiving, seeking and finding. We ask and He answers. He leads and we follow.  

And notice above that I didn’t say that He will give you everything you “want”, but did say that “we will receive, find, and have everything we need opened up for us”  when we are persistent in following Him.  

So be persistent, ask, seek, and knock – and “do it again” – and wait and see what the Lord will do in your life when you love Him and trust Him enough to seek Him and follow where He leads.

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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 continue sharing from  The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

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 $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3)  

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

9 -The Work of the Spirit

The Spirit’s Operation in the Non-elect

Let us, then, now point out a few of the Spirit’s general and inferior operations in the non-elect, as distinguished from His special and superior works in the redeemed.

1. In restraining evil. If God should leave men absolutely to their own natural corruptions and to the power of Satan (as they fully deserve to be, as He will in Hell, and as He would now but for the sake of His elect), all show of goodness and morality would be entirely banished from the earth: men would grow past feeling in sin, and wickedness would swiftly and entirely swallow up the whole world. This is abundantly clear from Genesis 6:3, 4, 5, 12. But He who restrained the fiery furnace of Babylon without quenching it, He who prevented the waters of the Red Sea from flowing without changing their nature, now hinders the working of natural corruption without mortifying it. Vile as the world is, we have abundant cause to adore and praise the Holy Spirit that it is not a thousand times worse.

The world hates the people of God (John 15:19): why, then, does it not devour them? What is it that holds back the enmity of the wicked against the righteous? Nothing but the restraining power of the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 14:1–3 we find a fearful picture of the utter depravity of the human race. Then in verse 4 the Psalmist asks, “Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.” To which answer is made, “There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous” (v. 5). It is the Holy Spirit who places that “great fear” within them, to keep them back from many outrages against God’s people. He curbs their malice. So completely are the reprobate shackled by His almighty hand, that Christ could say to Pilate, “thou couldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19:11)!

2. In inciting to good actions. All the obedience of children to parents, all the true love between husbands and wives, is to be attributed unto the Holy Spirit. Whatever morality and honesty, unselfishness and kindness, submission to the powers that be and respect for law and order which is still to be found in the world, must be traced back to the gracious operations of the Spirit. A striking illustration of His benign influence is found in 1 Samuel 10:26, “Saul also went home to Gibeah: and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God (the Spirit) had touched.” Men’s hearts are naturally inclined to rebellion, are impatient against being ruled over, especially by one raised out of a mean condition among them. The Lord the Spirit inclined the hearts of those men to be subject unto Saul, gave them a disposition to obey him. Later the Spirit touched the heart of Saul to spare the life of David, melting him to such an extent that he wept (1 Sam. 24:16). In like manner, it was the Holy Spirit who gave the Hebrews favor in the eyes of the Egyptians—who hitherto had bitterly hated them—so as to give earrings to them (Ex. 12:35, 36).

3. In convicting of sin. Few seem to understand that conscience in the natural man is inoperative unless stirred up by the Spirit. As a fallen creature, thoroughly in love with sin (John 3:19), man resists and disputes against any conviction of sin. “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh” (Gen. 6:3): man, being “flesh,” would never have the least distaste of any iniquity unless the Spirit excited those remnants of natural light which still remain in the soul. Being “flesh,” fallen man is perverse against the convictions of the Spirit (Acts 7:51), and remains so forever unless quickened and made “spirit” (John 3:6).

4. In illuminating. Concerning Divine things, fallen man is not only devoid of light, but is “darkness” itself (Eph. 5:8). He had no more apprehension of spiritual things than the beasts of the field. This is very evident from the state of the heathen. How, then, shall we explain the intelligence which is found in thousands in Christendom, who yet give no evidence that they are new creatures in Christ Jesus? They have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit (Heb. 6:4). Many are constrained to inquire into those scriptural subjects which make no demand on the conscience and life; yea, many take great delight in them. Just as the multitudes took pleasure in beholding the miracles of Christ, who could not endure His searching demands, so the light of the Spirit is pleasant to many to whom His convictions are grievous.[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

(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com. 

These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

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)

For those who require the assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge     

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship


[1] Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).