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Read the Bible and obey it. Read the New Testament so you can learn Jesus' teachings for yourself quickly. The 4 Gospels! Also read Proverbs which is Wisdom to walk with God! Wisdom for LIFE.
Do good things, avoid bad behavior! Listen to God and seek Him daily. Love people.
Romans 13:9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Those who obey get the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
Do good things, avoid bad behavior! Listen to God and seek Him daily. Love people.
Romans 13:9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Those who obey get the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
Surrender yourself first - and that means allowing him to now put into and take out of your life that which is for his purposes for you. You give up the right to yourself. And then you accept what comes your way knowing that Jesus is behind it and will use it. You also surrender in the sense that you confess your helplessness to save yourself through your own behavior - that you take his gift to you (through the cross) of his righteousness and grace. Most of all his forgiveness.
When you surrender yourself, you receive Christ through his Spirit living now in you. You have now the power to live as he directs. Through daily prayer, ask for guidance and knowledge of the truth in all situations. Follow his commandment to love God with your whole heart. You now live to express his nature through every action you do. And that means you will be loving others too. Be that "fragrance" to the world of Christ through your behavior and words.
You really no longer live for yourself - you live for HIM.
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FreeNChrist
Guest
How much does the vine life do towards producing the fruit? Everything. How much does the branch do to help? Nothing. How much must the life of the Holy Spirit do in you? Everything. How much must you do to help? Nothing. Just as Christ in His death and resurrection did everything for your justification, and you did nothing, but simply accepted the benefits of a work finished nineteen centuries before you were born so Christ in you must do everything for your sanctification, and you must do nothing, but simply accept the benefits of a work which He will complete as surely as He has begun it.
"But," you ask," must I not do anything? " No, nothing. " Oh, but now you are going too far. You can't carry things to that length. Of course I must do something. Mustn't I read my Bible and pray; mustn't I witness for Christ; mustn't I surrender everything to Him; mustn't I do good works whenever I get the opportunity?" Do you know what you are like? You are like a branch saying, "It's no good you telling me that I mustn't do anything in order to produce fruit. That's going too far. Of course I must do something. Mustn't I produce fruit?" I should say to that branch, "Yes, of course you must produce fruit, but you'll never produce fruit by trying to. It is not the fruit you need to be concerned about, but the life. If once you have got that, the fruit will come all right." And so I reply to you, Yes, of course you must read your Bible and pray and witness and do good works; of course you must surrender completely to Christ, but don't you see, all these things are part of the fruit. You cannot do them by trying to do them; you can only imitate them; you can only be like a branch tying on artificial fruit, because it does not understand that real fruit must be the result of the vine life within. Leave the fruit for the moment. Apart from Him you can do NOTHING; and prayer and witness and surrender are all included in that "nothing." Every single bit of fruit has to be the result of the life of Christ in you. It is the Life you need to be concerned about; if you have got that, the fruit will surely follow.
So leave the fruit just now. Forget, just for the moment, about the need for Bible reading, prayer, witness, and all the other things, and concentrate your thought on the Life which must be the source of all these things. That Life is Christ in you. He lives in you by the Holy Spirit. He waits and longs to do His perfect work in you. He cannot do it while you try to do it for Him. Is that what has been wrong with your Christian life-you have been trying to do His work for Him? You have read the Bible and tried to understand its meaning. You have succeeded in getting quite a lot of it into your head, and perhaps can give very nice addresses from it, but it does not live to you. You have tried to pray, but it has been a burden, and you know little of real fellowship with God. You have witnessed but there has been little power. You have tried to surrender everything to God, but more and more you are finding that your sinful heart does not want His will. You are trying to do His work for Him; that is your trouble. You have taken upon yourself the responsibility of a work for which He wants you to cast the responsibility on Him. It is His work to make His Word live to you, to open the eyes of your understanding to behold wondrous things out of His law. It is His work to witness with your spirit that you are a child of God, till prayer becomes to you the glad fellowship of a child with an infinitely loving Father. It is His work to give you power for service, filling you with Himself, and making perfect His strength in your weakness, so that, as you lean on His strength, things happen as a result of your witness that are worthy of His power. It is His work to bring you to that complete surrender which He requires, shining the light of His Presence upon the things displeasing to Him, filling you with His love till you see that it is best for Him to have His way with you. This is all His work. You cannot do it for Him. You cannot in any way prepare yourself for His working. You must stop your futile efforts and look for Him. He is in you, God's full provision for all you need. He waits to do His work, if you will let Him. He will work so surely, so wonderfully, if you will give up your feeble trying and cast yourself on Him. He will perfect the work which you cannot even begin. Will you not look to Him now, tell Him that you are not going to interfere with His working any more, and ask Him to complete in you the work which He has begun?
"Work on then Lord, till on my soul
Eternal light shall break,
And in Thy likeness perfected,
I satisfied shall wake."
An exert from THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, By: David Tryon
"But," you ask," must I not do anything? " No, nothing. " Oh, but now you are going too far. You can't carry things to that length. Of course I must do something. Mustn't I read my Bible and pray; mustn't I witness for Christ; mustn't I surrender everything to Him; mustn't I do good works whenever I get the opportunity?" Do you know what you are like? You are like a branch saying, "It's no good you telling me that I mustn't do anything in order to produce fruit. That's going too far. Of course I must do something. Mustn't I produce fruit?" I should say to that branch, "Yes, of course you must produce fruit, but you'll never produce fruit by trying to. It is not the fruit you need to be concerned about, but the life. If once you have got that, the fruit will come all right." And so I reply to you, Yes, of course you must read your Bible and pray and witness and do good works; of course you must surrender completely to Christ, but don't you see, all these things are part of the fruit. You cannot do them by trying to do them; you can only imitate them; you can only be like a branch tying on artificial fruit, because it does not understand that real fruit must be the result of the vine life within. Leave the fruit for the moment. Apart from Him you can do NOTHING; and prayer and witness and surrender are all included in that "nothing." Every single bit of fruit has to be the result of the life of Christ in you. It is the Life you need to be concerned about; if you have got that, the fruit will surely follow.
So leave the fruit just now. Forget, just for the moment, about the need for Bible reading, prayer, witness, and all the other things, and concentrate your thought on the Life which must be the source of all these things. That Life is Christ in you. He lives in you by the Holy Spirit. He waits and longs to do His perfect work in you. He cannot do it while you try to do it for Him. Is that what has been wrong with your Christian life-you have been trying to do His work for Him? You have read the Bible and tried to understand its meaning. You have succeeded in getting quite a lot of it into your head, and perhaps can give very nice addresses from it, but it does not live to you. You have tried to pray, but it has been a burden, and you know little of real fellowship with God. You have witnessed but there has been little power. You have tried to surrender everything to God, but more and more you are finding that your sinful heart does not want His will. You are trying to do His work for Him; that is your trouble. You have taken upon yourself the responsibility of a work for which He wants you to cast the responsibility on Him. It is His work to make His Word live to you, to open the eyes of your understanding to behold wondrous things out of His law. It is His work to witness with your spirit that you are a child of God, till prayer becomes to you the glad fellowship of a child with an infinitely loving Father. It is His work to give you power for service, filling you with Himself, and making perfect His strength in your weakness, so that, as you lean on His strength, things happen as a result of your witness that are worthy of His power. It is His work to bring you to that complete surrender which He requires, shining the light of His Presence upon the things displeasing to Him, filling you with His love till you see that it is best for Him to have His way with you. This is all His work. You cannot do it for Him. You cannot in any way prepare yourself for His working. You must stop your futile efforts and look for Him. He is in you, God's full provision for all you need. He waits to do His work, if you will let Him. He will work so surely, so wonderfully, if you will give up your feeble trying and cast yourself on Him. He will perfect the work which you cannot even begin. Will you not look to Him now, tell Him that you are not going to interfere with His working any more, and ask Him to complete in you the work which He has begun?
"Work on then Lord, till on my soul
Eternal light shall break,
And in Thy likeness perfected,
I satisfied shall wake."
An exert from THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, By: David Tryon
If you are like I or any other who is overjoyed in having come to know Jesus, when you first read how you could be after coming to Jesus Christ in spirit and truth, you begin by comparing yourself to the Apostles and all the truly Holy people of the Bible. You will never measure up to this.
Meditate a moment on this, there is probably no one going to church or in the Christian forums these days who is prophesied in the Bible, not even I! Amazing, right?
Now we must read the teachings of Jesus Christ and try our best to truly hear every word He teaches, and then, He being our Example, we ought to try to worship Him with our lips while doing all we are GIVEN to be as He when He walked this, His earth. You know that Jesus Christ was perfect for us all, so remember to always accept this truth, otherwise you are not accepting His Sacrifice, so do not ever even begin to think you will be like He was when He walked this age. Knowing this, yo u know you will fall short of that Example while doing your very best to follow It. The rest is covered through faith by the grace that comes with accepting His Sacrifice for all us sinners.
I had the same conflict when I fist was convinced by the Holy Spirit way back when, 1969. Everyone touches on this. As long as you and Jesus know you are doing your best, you will be just fine. Do not judge anyone, not even yourself, for you were not the One Who died to earn this privilege that was His in the first place, and He desires to forgive and not to condemn, so now it is up to you (to all of su) to forgive ourselves and keep the faith in His mercy. He also desires mercy and not sacrifice.
You are in the good family now, so look to Jesus and try to treat all with the respect described to give in the Word of god......God bless you....
Meditate a moment on this, there is probably no one going to church or in the Christian forums these days who is prophesied in the Bible, not even I! Amazing, right?
Now we must read the teachings of Jesus Christ and try our best to truly hear every word He teaches, and then, He being our Example, we ought to try to worship Him with our lips while doing all we are GIVEN to be as He when He walked this, His earth. You know that Jesus Christ was perfect for us all, so remember to always accept this truth, otherwise you are not accepting His Sacrifice, so do not ever even begin to think you will be like He was when He walked this age. Knowing this, yo u know you will fall short of that Example while doing your very best to follow It. The rest is covered through faith by the grace that comes with accepting His Sacrifice for all us sinners.
I had the same conflict when I fist was convinced by the Holy Spirit way back when, 1969. Everyone touches on this. As long as you and Jesus know you are doing your best, you will be just fine. Do not judge anyone, not even yourself, for you were not the One Who died to earn this privilege that was His in the first place, and He desires to forgive and not to condemn, so now it is up to you (to all of su) to forgive ourselves and keep the faith in His mercy. He also desires mercy and not sacrifice.
You are in the good family now, so look to Jesus and try to treat all with the respect described to give in the Word of god......God bless you....
R
ramx2016
Guest
Agreed. Use the OT for reference if needed, but ALL you need is in the NT.
Through Scripture. Read and study Scripture and pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance. It's the renewal of your mind of spiritual things. Memorize Scripture, meditate on Scripture, and think on these things. I know personally, when I don't, my thoughts will wander to places I should never go.
This comes to mind:
[34] But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad'ducees, they came together.
[35] And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him.
[36] "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
[37] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
[38] This is the great and first commandment.
[39] And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
[40] On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." Matt 22:34-40 RSV
To submit to Jesus is to put all of your trust in Him. And so if He tell your to love your enemies and not holding onto any animosity towards them, then you have submitted to Him. And so whatever that He has told you to do, you will do it without any hesitation at all, but that if you believes in Him.
[h=2]sub·mis·sion[/h] (səb-mĭsh′ən)n.1. The act or fact of submitting to the power of another: an army laying siege to a town to compel its submission; adog bowing its head in submission.
2.a. The act of submitting something for consideration.
b. Something so submitted: read three fiction manuscripts and several other submissions.
[Middle English submissioun, from Old French submission, from Latin submissiō, submissiōn-, a lowering, fromsubmissus, past participle of submittere, to set under; see submit.]
Answer: In all the New Testament incidences where the word submit occurs, the word is translated from the Greek word hupotasso. The hupo means "under" and the tasso means "to arrange." This word and a root of it are also translated by the words subject and subjection. The word's full meaning is "to obey, put under, be subject to, submit oneself unto, put in subjection under or be under obedience or obedient to." The word was used as a military term meaning "to arrange troop divisions in a military fashion under the command of a leader." This word is a wonderful definition of what it means to "submit" to God. It means to arrange oneself under the command of divine viewpoint rather than to live according to one's old way of life based on a human viewpoint. It is a process surrendering our own will to that of our Father's. How are we to submit to God?
Answer: The Bible speaks often of a contrite heart. In Isaiah 66:2, the Lord says, “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” And in Psalm 51:17, David writes, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Contrition is spoken of as something God likes, and it is linked in these verses to humility, brokenness, and a healthy fear of God’s Word. So what exactly does it mean to be contrite?
According to the International Bible Encyclopedia, “A contrite heart is one in which the natural pride and self-sufficiency have been completely humbled by the consciousness of guilt.” The Hebrew and Greek words often translated “contrite” actually mean “crushed, crippled, or broken.”
What does it mean to be contrite? What is contrition?
Jonah 3:5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Matthew 9:15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Matthew 12:41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented ( they had humble themselves ) at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Surrender may be a bad phrase, its more a case of inviting him into your life. The Holy Spirit isn't an overwhelming force, but a still small voice that integrates into your conscience. Its called the Comforter (John 14:26), because it gives you a clear sense of right from wrong, and always guides you towards the Truth. When we resist the unction of his Spirit, we cease to grow, so its essential to constantly bury ourselves in his word and in prayer. Growth is not measured by accomplishment or achievement, but rather a willingness to take up your cross and follow his example (Matthew 16:24), and coming to the realization that all wisdom comes from Him (Proverbs 2:6).
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them" (Hebrews 10:16).
C
coby
Guest
Are you baptized in the Holy Spirit?
Pray a lot. Get to know who you are in Christ. He'll tell you not to say something bad for instance or He tells you to pray for your friends and family and then you learn to listen to Him.
Pray a lot. Get to know who you are in Christ. He'll tell you not to say something bad for instance or He tells you to pray for your friends and family and then you learn to listen to Him.
Sometimes, maybe not always, but sometimes when one feels a bit overwhelmed by the slings and arrows of the enemy I am made to feel uplifted when I think of the words of the psalmist saying,
"Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for His mercy endures forever."
Thanksgiving is praise.......praise God, amen.
"Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for His mercy endures forever."
Thanksgiving is praise.......praise God, amen.
C
coby
Guest
Pray often and read, study and meditate in the Scriptures (and start alining your life to them), chill out and get on with your life and let the Holy Spirit carry you onto perfection...1Thess 5v17, 1Peter 2v1-3...
You can find a few simple studies Here, Here, Here, Here, Here and Here that will help you...
QED!
C
Chuckt
Guest
Usually God only goes my way if I'm going His way.
I started doing evangelism as a young person and preached on message boards that had few Christians.
When you don't have answers and you are working the pages of the Bible then you start to show God that you're serious.
When you let your heart be his heart and teach only what he is saying then maybe He has reason to help.
His mission is for Christians to go into all the world and to preach the gospel so if you or I don't do that, God can use someone else.
I started studying from four different teachers on the radio who were teaching verse by verse and somehow the pastors were giving every answer to people who had questions for me and it was timely and I probably spent 20 hours a week studying scripture.
So usually when I don't know what to say, I leave this room and take a walk and let scripture come to my remembrance because then I'm putting out the distractions so that I can listen to the word of God from my memory. And other believers have the holy spirit too so I'm listening for the word of God and I'm reading academic Christian books and I try to read books from the scholars and occasionally I get heretical books and some of them are studied and know the debate and give away knowledge that other people argued that I can use later.
D
Depleted
Guest
And, judging from the amount of questions you're asking you didn't heed this advice.
And, because of that, you will atrophy more than grow, until you take the advice offered. It happens to me on here too, and I'm older in the Lord than you are.