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Sunday, July 4, 2021

Bible Study with the Cincotti's - Division - 07/04/2021


 Today's Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti. 07/04/2021


Listen to our Bible Study discussion at:  Listen to today’s Bible Study Discussion Podcast

Division

 

Jesus said, “...Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.” Lk. 11:17

 

Perhaps the most widespread complaint of our contemporary society is against divisiveness. Unfortunately, the repulsion toward divisiveness never seems to compel anyone to flip to the other side; even for a brief visit.

 

Paradox of the Christian faith:

         The Word of God compels us toward unity. See Ps. 133,                 “Behold how good and pleasant it is when brethern                   gather together in unity.

         Yet the Word of God is divisive, Heb. 4:12, “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…”

 

There is such thing as good division and bad division.

God will never allow us to be unified in our unrighteousness.

 

We turn to the Old School Master to get a snapshot of this.

         Read I Kings 11:1-13 and 12:1-24

 

This was a significant turning point for the Children of Israel. Back in I Samuel we see how the band of eleven tribes, plus Levi, became unified under the leadership of the prophet Samuel, but then demanded a king (I Sam. 8). The nation remains unified under the reign of Saul, David, and Solomon, but then divides under the reign of Rehoboam. This occurs roughly between BC 1051 and 931

 

Important Note: This division was orchestrated by God I Kn. 12:24

         This is similar, in pattern, to the Tower of Babel; Gen. 11:7

 

We would consider is “good division” when righteousness separates, or divides from unrighteousness.

         II Cor. 6:14,15 “...what fellowship has righteousness with               lawlessness? And what communion has light wit                       darkness?          And what accord has Christ with Belial?

 

We may consider the Reformation, and the American Revolution as examples of good division.

        

         Church; Strong’s G1577, “ekklesia” – called out

 

An example of bad division can be found in I Cor. 1:10-13

         vr. 13, “Is Christ divided?”

 

Divisiveness for the sake of pride, or gain on the part of both parties, wherein no righteousness precipitates out is bad division.

 

In our currant state of over thirty thousand Christian          denominations, it seems likely that righteousness may,      somehow gotten lost in the shuffle.

In Isa. 58:12, the foreshadowing of Christ is called, “the Repairer      of the Breach.”

 

Col. 3:14,15 “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts”

Eph. 4:2,3, “bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the pond of peace.”

 

Wesley said, “Orthodoxy, or right opinion, is, at best, a very slender part of religion. Though right tempers cannot subsist without right opinions, yet right opinions may subsist without right tempers. There may be a right opinion of God without either love or one right temper toward Him. Satan is proof of this.”

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Spotify Update Announcement


 Spotify Update Announcement Podcast

Hello Spotify users!

 

I am happy to announce that I have finally resolved my technical difficulties and the mt4christ247 podcast is now being successfully uploaded to Spotify.  Gong forward Spotify users will be able to be receive encouragement for the path of Christian Discipleship, learn from our past and future discipleship classes, and enjoy our past and future Bible Study Discussions with Arthur and Suzanna Cincotti.    

I am uploading my original “Spotify trailer” next and then will proceed to upload all of the episodes of our Victory over the Darkness Discipleship Class, the past episodes of our current Bondage Breaker Series, and all of the past episodes of the Bible Study with the Cincotti’s series.  

As for our past Daily Encouragements – Our Purity Series – I have decided to leave those in the past – and will not be uploading the archives and don’t plan to do so in the future. 

If you absolutely need to know what you are missing – All of the Purity Series will be available at Podbean.com for download.

Also all the content featured on the mt4christ247 podcast is also available to view and listen to at https://www.mt4christ.org/.

I am new at the podcast game and didn’t realize that some streaming services required the use of MP3 files, but I have taken corrective action to meet those requirements in the future to open as many avenues as I can to share the good news of Jesus Christ and the empowered life that results from living by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.  

It is my prayer that Christians know and experience their freedom in Christ and that more people come into God’s kingdom and discover the abundant life that God wants us to live by living a life of Christian Discipleship.

It’s Independence Day weekend in the U.S., and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my freedom in Christ than by making our freedom message available to more people! 

Thank You for Listening. Let your freedom in Christ reign!  And God bless you all!  

 

 

Our Independence Day: Real Freedom in Christ - Purity 461


Our Independence Day: Real Freedom in Christ

Purity 461 07/03/2021  Purity 461 Podcast

Good morning  

Today’s photo of a towering cloud rising into the blue skies over, and reflected in a pond on, the grounds of the Byodo-in Temple in Kahaluu, Oahu, Hawaii comes to us from a friend’s recent visit to the most recent addition to the union that is our United Sates. This scene is beautiful but has some ominous undertones if you consider the context of world history and the spiritual realities that surround the replica of the Japanese temple and the shape of that cloud.     

As my fellow Americans and I celebrate our Independence Day this weekend, we are often reminded that freedom isn’t free and a mushroom shaped cloud over the grounds of a Japanese Buddhist Temple can remind us of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the extremes that can be required to secure freedom and peace.  Our country’s history is written in the blood of those who paid the ultimate cost to win and maintain our freedom.  Freedom can come at a terrible cost and the suffering can be far reaching as the hell of war consumes the just with the unjust, the innocent and the guilty.

Unfortunately, evil forces continue to thrive in our world and the sacrifices of human lives in maintaining and securing our freedom is still a present-day reality as our armed forces are still deployed in various parts of the world in the name of freedom and securing our country’s interests.   

So is freedom worth the cost? 

Absolutely. The evil regimes that have been vanquished in the past and the atrocities that occur when totalitarian governments go unchecked show us that our freedom as a country is worth dying for.  So this weekend, Americans should celebrate their freedom and remember how precious it is.  

Likewise in spiritual realm, our freedom was paid for by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross.   Because of Christ’s sacrifice, all who place their trust in Him receive eternal life and freedom from the kingdom of darkness.  

Christians are freed through faith in Christ from sin and death.  No matter what they may suffer on earth, they are secured in God’s love.

Just as Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union in 1959, I sometimes I feel like the newest Christian to join God’s kingdom in 2010.  

Today’s photo taken on the grounds of a Buddhist temple, remind me of the spiritual darkness that I was living in for years before I discovered that the true path to enlightenment doesn’t lead to some mystical state of self-actualization above heaven and hell, it leads to a covenant relationship to the Creator of all things through faith in Jesus Christ.   

I was a practicing Buddhist for five years before the Lord used a “chance” encounter with a radio gospel message that told me of the Lord’s love and forgiveness and delivered me from a religion that had no God and who’s tenants were based on the individual’s efforts to become godlike and act as a savior for all sentient beings.

 I often tell people if you want to know where the god is in Buddhism, just take a look at the one sitting on the meditation cushion.  As selfless as Buddhist practitioners profess to be, their aspirations are to attain godlike insights and power and to rescue the world themselves by breaking through to the other side of a state they call nirvana.  

Unfortunately, Buddhism and every other world religion that doesn’t recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior is, by definition, antichrist.  Satan and his spiritual forces of darkness seek to take mankind with them on the road to perdition and influence men to worship any and everything other Jesus, who suffered, died, and was resurrected to prove that He is the Son of God and to pay for the sins of the world.  

Freedom from sin and death only come through Jesus Christ.  So as we celebrate our Independence from foreign powers here on earth, Christians should also celebrate their independence from the Satanic forces that previously enslaved them by proclaiming their total dependence on the grace of God and by sharing the good news that Christ’s sacrifice provides for our ultimate and eternal freedom and is available to anyone who puts their faith in Him.

     

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV)
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 

Today’s verse reminds us that the Lord is fearsome and awesome to behold and that those who dismiss the things of God are foolish.  

Okay I have heard several messages regarding this verse where the authors made great efforts to assure their listeners that they needn’t be afraid of the Lord and that the fear of the Lord is better understood to mean reverence or respect. 

The Hebrew word for fear in this passage, yir'â, does indeed have these definitions in Strong’s Concordance.  So they are correct. We are to have the utmost respect and reverence for the Lord our God.

So definitely maintain that respect and reverence for the Lord and demonstrate it by using His wisdom and instruction that is found in the Bible to guide your life.   If you don’t respect the Lord and utilize His wisdom and instruction you, as this verse says, are a fool.  

So why is it so foolish to despise the Lord’s wisdom and instruction?  

Well let’s take a look at the first few definitions from Strong’s concordance for “, yir’â,, the word for fear that is apparently the beginning of knowledge.  

The first few definitions are the following: “fear, terror, an awesome or terrifying thing”.

You see, the reason why it is so foolish to despise the wisdom and instruction of the Lord is because there are fearful, awesome, and terrifying consequences in store for those who do.  

The wisdom and instruction of the Lord would lead us to place our faith in Christ.   If we despise that wisdom and don’t make Christ our Lord and Savior, the word of God tells us that we will share in the suffering of the second death in the lake of fire for all eternity (Matt 25:41, Rev 20:10,14-15,21:8).  

If we don’t place our faith in Christ, we face God’s wrath.  Hear that: God’s wrath, not Satan’s wrath.  Satan is not the king of hell. He is just another prisoner waiting for his final judgement along with all other unbelievers (Rev 20;10). 

The reason why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge is because a healthy fear of the wrath of God will bring us to faith in Christ and save us from eternal suffering and punishment.   Likewise, a healthy fear of God’s chastisement will also cause us to turn from our lives of sin and to choose to live a righteous life and enjoy the benefits of the fruit of the Spirit.  

So please respect and revere the Lord God almighty by living according to His wisdom and instruction, but please let’s keep it real by recognizing that if is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31) when you don’t have a covenant relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ.  

So enjoy the freedom we have in Christ and be sure to share the good news that God has made a way for all to avoid His wrath and to experience a new life here on earth and forever with Him. 

As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. 

 Today we continue with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory Over the Darkness, beginning Chapter 6.

 As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $15.00:

The Essence of Faith

Faith in God is indispensable to the Christian life. The author of Hebrews capsulized it by writing: "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Believing who God is, what He says and what He does is the key to the kingdom of God.

Consider how important the concept of faith is. You are saved by faith (see Ephes. 2:8, 9), and you "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). In other words, faith is the basis for our salvation and the means by which we live. If we are going to continue living free in Christ, we need to keep in mind three simple faith concepts.

1. Faith Depends on Its Object

The truth is, everyone lives by faith. The only difference between Christian faith and non-Christian faith is the object of our faith. The critical issue is what you believe or who you believe in. Telling people to live by faith is invalid if they have no understanding of the object of their faith. You can't have faith in faith. Faith has no validity without an object.

The truth is, we live every moment of every day by faith. However, some of our faith objects are valid but others aren't. For instance, suppose you are driving a car and see a green light. You would probably drive through the intersection without giving your action a second thought, and you would do it by faith. First, you believed the light was red in the other direction even though you couldn't see it. Second, you believed the drivers coming from the other direction saw the red light and would stop. That is a lot of faith, but if you didn't believe that, you wouldn't go through too many intersections or you would proceed very cautiously. We trust people or things that have proven to be reliable over a long time period.

What happens when the object of your faith proves unreliable? You give up on it—maybe not immediately, but how many failures would you tolerate before saying never again? Once faith is lost, it is very difficult to regain. Your ability to believe isn't the problem; it is the object of your faith that has proven to be untrustworthy.

If you have had a few auto accidents as a result of careless drivers, your ability to trust other drivers may be seriously shaken, and rightfully so. That is why our relationships are so fragile. One act of unfaithfulness can all but destroy a marriage. You can forgive your spouse and commit yourself to make the marriage work, but it will take months and even years to gain back the trust that was lost. You would be foolish to trust someone or something that has proven to be unreliable.

The most accepted faith object by the world's population is the fixed order of the universe, primarily the solar system. You set your watch, plan your calendar and schedule your day believing that the earth will continue to revolve on its axis and rotate around the sun at its current speed. If the earth's orbit shifted just a few degrees and the sun appeared two hours late, the whole world would be thrown into chaos. So far the laws governing the physical universe have been among the most trustworthy faith objects we have.

The ultimate faith object, of course, is not the sun, but the Son, because "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). The fact that God is immutable is what makes Him eminently trustworthy (see Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6). God cannot change, nor can His Word. "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). This eternal consistency is why God is faithful and why we can put our trust in Him.

2. How Much Faith You Have Is Dependent Upon How Well You Know the Object of Your Faith

When people struggle with their faith in God, it is not because their faith object has failed or is insufficient. It is because they don't have a true knowledge of God and His ways. They expect Him to respond in a certain way or answer prayer a certain way—their way, not His—and when He doesn't comply they say, "Forget you, God." The problem is not with God. He is the perfect faith object. Faith in God fails only when people have a faulty understanding of Him.

If you want your faith in God to increase, you must increase your knowledge of God. If you have little knowledge about God and His Word, you will have little faith. If you have great knowledge of God and His Word, you can potentially have great faith. Faith cannot be pumped up by coaxing yourself, If only I can believe! If only I can believe! You can believe because belief is a choice we all have to make.

Any attempt to push yourself beyond what you know to be true about God and His ways is to move from faith to presumption. You choose to believe God according to what you know to be true from His Word. The only way to increase your faith is to increase your knowledge of God, who is the believer's only legitimate faith object. That is why Paul wrote that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).

The only limit to your faith is your knowledge and understanding of God, which grows every time you read your Bible, memorize a Scripture verse, participate in a Bible study or meditate on His Word. Can you see the practical, tangible potential for your faith to grow as you endeavor to know God through His Word? It is bound only by the infinite nature of God! I doubt there is a Christian alive who has lived up to his or her faith potential based on what he or she already knows to be true.

It is important to know that God is under no obligation to humankind. We can't maneuver or manipulate God through prayer. He is under obligation to Himself and to remain faithful to His covenant promises and His Word. We have a covenant relationship with God that we can count on being true. If God declares something to be true, you simply believe Him and live according to what is true. If God didn't say it, no amount of faith in the world will make it so. Believing doesn't make God's Word true. His Word is true; therefore we believe it.

Let me illustrate how our faith grows. When my son, Karl, was a toddler, I would stand him up on the table and encourage him to jump from the table into my arms. He would waver in unbelief for a moment and then fall into my arms. Then I would stand back a little bit farther, which made the step of faith a little bit bigger. Then one day I took him outside and put him on the limb of a tree and encouraged him to jump. This was a greater leap of faith, but he did it. As he continues to climb the tree of life, however, can I always be the ultimate object of his faith? There was a time when Karl thought I could answer any question and defeat any foe.

We have an obligation as parents to do more than lead our children to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to help them understand their spiritual identity and heritage. The ultimate object of their faith changes when they become children of God. I can't go everywhere my children go, but God can and He does.

3. Faith Is an Action Word

When I was encouraging Karl to take a step of faith, did he believe I would catch him? Yes. How did I know he believed? Because he jumped. Suppose he wouldn't jump. Suppose I asked Karl, "Do you believe I will catch you, Karl?" and he answered, "Yes," but never jumped.

Does Karl really believe I will catch him if he doesn't jump? According to James, that is just wishful thinking. He says, "Faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, 'You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works'" (James 2:17, 18). In other words, really believing will affect one's walk and one's talk. If we believe God and His Word, we will live accordingly. Everything we do is essentially a product of what we have chosen to believe.


Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.

---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------

 

God bless you all!

 

Join our “Victory over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” 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, and Audible.com. 

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

Friday, July 2, 2021

Alexa: The Voice of the Enemy? - Purity 460

Alexa: The Voice of the Enemy?

Purity 460 07/02/2021   Purity 460 Podcast

Good morning  

Today’s photo of Gouverneur beach’s white sand and aqua waters under a blue sky with a cloud formation that looks like a “happy face” comes from my brother’s wife as they are vacationing in Saint Barthelemy with friends.    Maybe I am just seeing what I want to see with that happy face in the clouds, but I couldn’t think of a better photo to share to bring us into what I pray will be a happy Independence Day weekend for all.  

As I have stated before I firmly believe that, because God is sovereign over all time and space, the Lord puts signs and wonders in our everyday experience to encourages us and to give us peace and joy.  If we live our lives by faith and keep our perspective on the things above, we will have experiences that will reveal the Lord’s care, concern, and love for us.    

However, there is also a kingdom of darkness to contend with. Our lives of faith aren’t necessarily going to be all God and angels.  The spiritual forces of darkness are opposed to us as scripture reveals that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  

Last night I taught from chapter 6 of Neil Anderson’s The Bondage Breaker, and I was reminded that our evangelistic efforts to bring people in the kingdom must be supported by prayer.   I know that most Christians understand that we are to pray that the lost would come to have faith, but Anderson pointed out that our prayers for the lost may need to be “in the Spirit” in terms of aligning with the word of God.   

I know when I lose focus I tend to offer a lot of general prayers for people that come to my attention even though I understand that we should be specific in our petitions.  We do this for two reasons:

1.    So we will be asking for the exact needs of those we are praying for in hopes of a solution to their particular problems.

2.    So, we can know whether the Lord answers our prayers.

Anderson pointed out that in our evangelism we may need to pray specifically for two things:

1.    For the spiritual eyes of those outside of the faith to be opened.  

2.    To bind the demonic forces of darkness that are holding the lost in bondage.

In my prayers for those outside of the faith, I often phrase my prayers to request that the Holy Spirit come and open the eyes of the spiritually blind to see the truth of the gospel, but I really haven’t prayed for the enemy to be bound and to release those he has captive.  

So this morning, I decided to start praying with commands to bind Satan and his spiritual forces that may be holding specific people in bondage.   And when I did, I got an unexpected response.

In the midst of praying out loud about binding the enemy, I was interrupted by a voice that that “I don’t know that”

Alexa in my Amazon Echo chimed in during my prayers for deliverance.  To my knowledge, I didn’t say anything remotely like Alexa to prompt her participation, but her response was in opposition to what I said.   

I didn’t think much of it, so I continued in prayer.  Suddenly my “older” I-phone – that doesn’t have cell service and that I just use for music- sprang to life – and said, in Alexa’s voice: “The enemy by blah blah blah is whatever, and I cannot purchase it on this device”..

This took me by surprise, so I told Alexa, on my phone – which I never use to talk to Alexa, to stop it.  To which she said something like “I can’t do that.”   

What? 

Well after that I finished my prayers without further interruption.

As I write this I was trying to remember everything Alexa said and decided to check the history through the Alexa App on my phone.   It may surprise you that the dialog from Alexa during my prayer session wasn’t listed in the history.  Also now my Echo is having trouble connecting  to the Wi-Fi that is operating without interruption!  

So do I believe the enemy decided to voice their opposition through my electronic devices? 

I know it’s a possibility and the fact that the responses were timely and appropriate to the situation, added to the disruption in the service of the echo, along with no history of the responses in my phone are too much for me to dismiss. 

The enemy has caused disruptions in my sleep and dreams as of late and I have had some other suspect things happen that could be from the demonic realm, so I think this is just more of the same.   

So am I afraid? Will I stop teaching about the enemy’s tactics or stop proclaiming the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

No, because I am a born-again child of God through my faith in Jesus Christ, I know that I have the Lord’s protection and authority to deal with anything demonic or otherwise that comes my way.   The benefits of my covenant relationship with the Lord far outweigh any troubles I may experience along the path of Christian Discipleship.  

So stand strong in your faith, if we are in Christ we have all power and authority over the forces of darkness and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us to lead us in the way we should go as we cultivate the fruit of the Spirit.      

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Romans 13:11 (NLT2)
11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Today’s verse reminds us that time is of the essence in terms of our repentance.

The “This” in the phrase “This is all the more urgent” is referring to the previous verses that are expounding the need to turn from our sins.  Scripture makes many references to the fate of those who sin as those who will face God’s wrath and as those who have no part in the kingdom of God.

The Apostle Paul doesn’t know the condition of the hearts of those who will read his letter to the Romans or who will hear this message and he is stating in no uncertain terms that people need to come to Christ and demonstrate their faith in the Lord by turning from their sinful ways.   

As Christians we are to be examples of the grace of God by the transformation that occurs when we go from death to life by placing our faith in Christ.   The “day of our ultimate salvation”, when Christ returns or when we join Him victoriously in eternity, is closer every day. 

The Apostle Paul is warning those outside of the faith to come to Christ and at the same time is encouraging those who have placed their faith in Jesus to turn from the darkness of their former ways and to start representing the kingdom of God by conforming to the image of Christ.         

So if you have areas of sin you still struggle with, wake up to your salvation and ask for the Lord to grant you the grace of repentance and begin the work of renewing your mind to live according to God’s ways.   

When we live by faith, we turn from sin and turn towards God.  The further we walk away from our former darkness the more we grow the fruit of the Spirit and experience the peace, love, and joy that comes from our harmonious relationship with the Lord that only comes through faith in Jesus Christ. 

 

 As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. 

 

Today we continue with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory Over the Darkness, beginning Chapter 6.

 

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $15.00:

Chapter 6

The Power of Believing the Truth

Nearly 60 years ago outside Nashville, Tennessee, a little girl was born with major health problems that left her crippled. She had a large, wonderful Christian family. While her brothers and sisters enjoyed running and playing outside, she was confined to braces.

Her parents took her into Nashville periodically for physical therapy, but the little girl's hope was dim. "Will I ever be able to run and play like the other children?" she asked her parents.

"Honey, you only have to believe," they responded. "You have to trust in God because with God all things are possible."

She took her parents' counsel to heart and began to believe that God could make her walk without braces. Unbeknownst to her parents and doctors, she practiced walking without her braces with the aid of her brothers and sisters. On her 12th birthday, she surprised her elders by removing her braces and walking around the doctor's office unassisted. Her doctors couldn't believe her progress. She never wore the braces again.

Her next goal was to play basketball. She continued to exercise her faith and courage—as well as her underdeveloped legs—and tried out for the school basketball team. The coach selected her older sister for the team, but the courageous girl was told she wasn't good enough to play. Her father, a wise, loving man, told the coach, "My daughters come in pairs. If you want one, you have to take the other also." Reluctantly, the coach added the girl to the team. She was given an outdated uniform and allowed to work out with the other players.

One day she approached the coach. "If you will give me an extra 10 minutes of coaching each day, I'll give you a world-class athlete." He laughed, then realized she was serious. He halfheartedly agreed to give her some additional time playing two on two with her best friend and a couple of boys. Before long her determination started to pay off. She showed tremendous athletic skill and courage, and soon she was one of the team's best players.

Her team went to the state basketball championships. One of the referees at the tournament noticed her exceptional ability and asked if she had ever run track. Of course she hadn't! The referee, who also happened to be the coach of the internationally famous Tiger Belles track club, encouraged her to try running. So after the basketball season she tried out for track. She began running and winning races. She also earned a berth in the state track championships.

At the age of 16, she was one of the best young runners in the country. She went to the Olympics in Australia and won a bronze medal for anchoring the 400-meter relay team. Not satisfied with her accomplishment, she worked diligently for four more years and returned to the Olympics in Rome in 1960. There, Wilma Rudolph won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and anchored the winning 400-meter relay team—all in world-record times. She capped the year by receiving the prestigious Sullivan Award as the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Wilma Rudolph's faith and hard work had paid off.

When you hear inspiring stories of faith such as Wilma Rudolph's, do you sometimes wonder, Is faith really the critical element that allows some people to rise above seemingly incredible odds and achieve things others cannot? Can faith also do great things for me?


Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.

---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------

 

God bless you all!

 

Join our “Victory over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” 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, and Audible.com. 

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

 

 

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Bondage Breaker Lesson 6


 Listen to Lesson 6 of the Bondage Breaker Discipleship Class

The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google, Amazon, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Apple Podcasts and at Audible.com.    See Podcast Links and Subscribe! 

 
Thank you for listening - please share this information - people need to know the truth of who they are in Christ and the reality of the spiritual war we are faced with.   

If you would like our class materials sent to you at no cost, contact us at mt4christ247@gmail.com 

The Pathway to Happy Valley - Purity 459

The Pathway to Happy Valley

Purity 459 07/01/2021  Purity 459 Podcast

Good morning  

Today’s photo comes to us from Dave Baun Photography as our friends Down Under got a case of “Go fever” when they took to their bicycles.  Intending to take a relatively short ride to McLaren Vale, they pushed the envelope and completely circumnavigated the entire Onkaparinga River National Park area by taking a long route back that took them to the outskirts of Happy Valley on their journey home.

They documented their route on the Strava app, that runners and cyclists us to track their progress. The Strava App was also how Dave, a yank from Pennsylvania, met the love of His life, Liisa, half a world way in South Adelaide Australia where they married and now reside.  Who knew that God would use a cycling app to bring two people from different countries together in the happy valley of marriage!  If you want to see the wedding video, look in the archives of the mt4christ dot org blog.  

Today’s is Thursday and I shared Dave’s photo to share his amazing love story once again, but I also shared it because his photo, taken somewhere along that 81-kilometer bike ride, that’s 50.3 miles for those of us in the US, features a pathway.  As is my habit I share photos of pathways on Thursday because I teach a Christian Discipleship class at Rock Solid Church tonight and I wish to encourage others to join us on the pathway of Christian Discipleship.    If you are not local to me, you can always listen in to the classes on the mt4christ247 podcast.    

I wasn’t always on this path of Christian Discipleship myself as I didn’t truly make Jesus my Lord and Savior until I was 38 years old. Since than I have discovered that the answers to all of life’s questions are in God’s Word and that peace beyond understanding and circumstance is possible through faith in Jesus Christ Alone.

In Christ, we are given victory over sin and death the moment we are saved but we will not experience our victory unless we pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus. We need to renew our minds and live our lives by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to experience the limitless joys of our freedom in Christ.   

Nobody is perfect of course, so we have to learn how to live by faith. We must understand what that means and begin to practice what we profess in our daily lives. The Lord knows that I have learned with a lot of trials and a lot of error, but I know now that when you surrender your ways and ideas about life for God’s wisdom and ways the result is an abiding peace that comes from your harmonious relationship with Him.      

So set out, or continue, on the path of Christian Discipleship by renewing your mind with God’s word and by implementing the Lord’s ways for your life. When you do that, you will discover that the Lord will lead you out of the pits of confusion, fear, and darkness and bring you to your own happy valley.      


This morning’s meditation verse is:

1 Peter 4:14 (NKJV)
14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

Today’s verse reminds us that the Christian path is not always an easy one, but it also assures us that the opposition we face honors God.   

To reproach means to address someone in such a way to express disapproval or disappointment. When you leave the kingdom of darkness behind by making Jesus your Lord and Savior, you can expect reproach and possibly from the people closest to you in your life.  

When you turn to God and turn from your sin, you become a light in the world that exposes the darkness of others. Your vocal expression of your faith and your mere presence become a source of conviction for those who are outside of God’s grace or who are not living according to God’s ways.  

If you haven’t suffered the loss of relationships because of your faith, you must have been the black sheep surrounded by Christians because for most people who come to faith in Christ and who share the gospel with those around them broken friendships and family discord are common.  

Christ said that the world hated Him so it will also hate His followers. He also promised that His disciples would be persecuted.  The martyrdom of the Apostles and countless saints, aka believers, from antiquity until now testifies of the truth of Christ’s warning.   

So are we to lash out when people reproach us? 

No, as 1 Peter 4:14 indicates the reproaches we receive may be seen as blasphemy for those who speak ill of us, but they are evidence that the Spirit of God resides in us. 

Christ’s disciples are to be known by our fruit and one of the fruits of the Spirit is patience.  We will have to have patience as we face reproach and persecution, but we can have a measure of joy in our sufferings by the fact that it confirms our faith in Christ, and it glorifies God.  

Christ went to the cross for the glory set before Him. The Apostles rejoiced as they were counted worthy to suffer persecution for the sake of Christ.  Likewise we should take any reproaches directed at us as an assurance of our faith and with a compassionate heart towards those who disparage us because they are blind to God’s goodness and are in grave danger on the road to perdition.    

So take the reproaches that come your way, thank God you are His, and in return speak the truth in love that has the power to save.

As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. 

 

Today we continue with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory Over the Darkness, continuing Chapter 5.

 

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $15.00:

Being Led by the Spirit

We are also being "led by the Spirit" (Romans 8:14). The Lord used another metaphor to describe our relationship with Him. He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep of His pasture. Sheep need to be shepherded. I know because as a farm boy in Minnesota, I had the privilege to be a shepherd of sheep. In the spring after the snow melted, we would herd the sheep along the roadside for them to eat the fresh green grass. We had to keep them moving or they would eat until they bloated and died. We chased them from the back, just as an Australian sheep dog barks at the heels of the sheep.

While studying in Israel, I watched a shepherd tend his flock on a hillside outside Bethlehem. The shepherd sat on a rock while the sheep grazed. Then he stood up, said a few words to the sheep and walked away. The sheep looked up and followed him. Unlike my experience of chasing the sheep from the back, the shepherds of Israel lead from the front even to this day. Suddenly, the words of Jesus in John 10:27 took on new meaning to me: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Paul said, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14).

The Proof Is in the Fruit

How can you know if you are walking according to the flesh or according to the Spirit? Take a look at your life. "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, . . . and things like these" (Galatians 5:19-21). These deeds are spiritually dead acts which do not reflect the life of Christ. So if people have outbursts of anger, are they living according to the Spirit? Can they blame someone else for their outburst of anger? No, that is a deed of their flesh. Jesus said, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man" (Mark. 7:20).

We must learn to have enough self-awareness to know when we are living according to the flesh and to assume responsibility for our own attitudes and actions. We need to walk in the light and learn to confess our sins, which means to consciously agree with God. When a deed of the flesh becomes evident, mentally acknowledge that to God and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit. The more you practice that simple little discipline, the more you will live according to the Spirit.

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22, 23). Notice it said fruit, not fruits of the Spirit. Fruit comes from something that is living. It is the result of abiding in Christ and the ultimate expression is love, which is the character of God. "We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16).

 


Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.

---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------

 

God bless you all!

 

Join our “Victory over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” 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, and Audible.com. 

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

 

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship