Part 11 in a series of Sunday posts celebrating the glorious Truth we believe as Christians. The readings are quoted from the Elder Affirmation of Faith, of my church, Bethlehem Baptist (Pastor John Piper). I’m doing this because every few weeks our congregational reading is an excerpt from this document, and every time we all read aloud the truths we confess, my soul rejoices. I pray these posts will aid you in worshiping our Lord on His day.
Living God’s Word by Meditation and Prayer
We believe that faith is awakened and sustained by God’s Spirit through His Word and prayer. The good fight of faith is fought mainly by meditating on the Scriptures and praying that God would apply them to our souls.
We believe that the promises of God recorded in the Scriptures are suited to save us from the deception of sin by displaying for us, and holding out to us, superior pleasures in the protection, provision, and presence of God. Therefore, reading, understanding, pondering, memorizing, and savoring the promises of all that God will be for us in Jesus are primary means of the Holy Spirit to break the power of sin’s deceitful promises in our lives. Therefore it is needful that we give ourselves to such meditation day and night.
We believe that God has ordained to bless and use His people for His glory through the means of prayer, offered in Jesus’ name by faith. All prayer should seek ultimately that God’s name be hallowed, and that His kingdom come, and that His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. God’s sovereignty over all things is not a hindrance to prayer, but a reason for hope that our prayers will succeed.
We believe that prayer is the indispensable handmaid of meditation, as we cry out to God for the inclination to turn from the world to the Word, and for the spiritual ability to see the glory of God in His testimonies, and for a soul-satisfying sight of the love of God, and for strength in the inner man to do the will of God. By prayer God sanctifies His people, sends gospel laborers into the world, and causes the Word of God to spread and triumph over Satan and unbelief.
*Taken from the Bethlehem Baptist Church Elder Affirmation of Faith, paragraphs 11.1 – 11.4. You are free to download the entire affirmation [pdf] complete with Scriptural proofs for the above statements.
Whoever, maybe you, Bob, or some blogger wrote this above or quoted from the book quoted above:::>
Part 11 in a series of Sunday posts celebrating the glorious Truth we believe as Christians. The readings are quoted from the Elder Affirmation of Faith, of my church, Bethlehem Baptist (Pastor John Piper). I’m doing this because every few weeks our congregational reading is an excerpt from this document, and every time we all read aloud the truths we confess, my soul rejoices. I pray these posts will aid you in worshiping our Lord on His day.
Living God’s Word by Meditation and Prayer
We believe that faith is awakened and sustained by God’s Spirit through His Word and prayer. The good fight of faith is fought mainly by meditating on the Scriptures and praying that God would apply them to our souls.
I would say Paul the Apostle believes it too as I as well:::>
Act 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Act 20:29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
Act 20:30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Act 20:31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
Act 20:32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Who and what guards us from these two, wolves and selfishly guided misguided ones but God and the Word of His Grace which He continually makes available to us night and day and forever for building us up and sanctifying our souls/psuches!
And look to God and His Word of Grace here:
Php 4:9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Php 4:10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
Php 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
Php 4:12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Php 4:14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
Now I could point to other places but enough is enough also to say, WITHOUT GOD according to Him, [The Blessed Holy Ghost] and WITHOUT GOD’S WORD OF GRACE according to Him, [The Blessed Holy Ghost] we would be living in a fantasy world full of demons and governments that bring about NO PEACE.
As the poster says, KNOW PEACE or you will have no PEACE.
And how, pray thee tell, does one “go about it”, ah, “knowing” PEACE?
Well, ever heard of the doctrine of Election?
God chose you and me, we did not choose Him. God first loved us and gave us a demonstration of that Godly LOVE long before us that we too would forsake all others for this one great PEARL/LIFE/ZOE/LIFE/ZAO.
1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life/ZOE, because we love/AGAPAO the brothers. Whoever does not love/AGAPAO abides in death.
1Jn 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life/ZOE abiding in him.
1Jn 3:16 By this we know love/AGAPE, that he laid down his life/PSUCHE for us, and we ought to lay down our lives/PSUCHES for the brothers.
Note well these three verses. The Words love and life are different in verses 14 and 15 than in verse 16.
Apparently John and Paul were learning from the same God and the same Word of His Grace as they both point to Life with God and one another here on earth and Life with God and one another there in Heaven when we leave here for there.
How we misguide one another when we do not rightly divide the Word of God’s Grace!
Ask yourself, “WHY ARE THEY COMING BACK TO ME?” Is it because of “me” or because the “Holy Ghost” is doing something in the relationship between you and me?
Again, we are called to serve not be served. We are called upon to wash the feet of others.
Paul says it well here too:
Rom 1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you–
Rom 1:12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Consider the Apostle’s understanding about who strengthens who?
If the relationships you are building one with another are not for one another’s mutual encouragement by the Faith once delivered to the Saints and they are not being built up, I would say you probably are not, yourself, spending enough time with God and the Word of His Grace, but quite possibly spending time with some others instead?
Jesus Christ, He was predestined and foreknown before They said:
Gen 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
And as 1 John points, He came and laid down his Life/psuche for us so that we would have a “standard” to become and lay down our lives/psuches for one another, ah, the Holy Christian Church, one another.
To the world we warn.
To one another, the Holy Christian Church, we lay our life/psuche down that they might be built up!
Just as Paul said:
Act 20:32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
None of us is able to “build” one another up. No, no we are not! That’s the mystery!!
It is no longer I who do it but God and the Word of His Grace do it for you working through me. It’s Him Who does the building up of one another; to the world, a word of warning; to the Holy Christian Church purchased with the precious Blood of the Lamb, a Word of Grace and Mercy and Peace!
God speed then!
Michael
Brother, I left a comment on your KJVO Debate site no realizing I was logged into WordPress under my work username (stgroup). Anyway, I love both sites and am excited about reading through them. I want a better understanding of why IFB’s are changing to reformed doctrines. I personally came from an Evangellical church and found an IFB church when I joined the Military. I liked the focus on soul winning and serving Christ, but am now meeting more and more ex-IFB’s. I’m hoping your site will shed some light on these issues for me. thanks for what you do!
By the way, what is the best post or group of posts to read to understand where you are coming from?
Michael,
Thanks for your thoughts. I was quoting from our church’s elder affirmation of faith.
Blessings,
Bob Hayton
DG Scott,
Thanks for dropping by. I do hope you’ll be helped here.
For starters, you could read “my story” (it is a tab at the very top). Or you could peruse through articles from “fundamentalism” or “IFBx” which you can select under the categories section on my sidebar. There are other issues which get their own category: music, KJV-only, and etc.
If you read “about this blog” (click on the “About” tab at the top), that might help also.
I’m hoping eventually to come up with a plan for people who want a quick overview, and want to make my site easier to navigate. The “Topics” tab will eventually be used for that.
Feel free to email me as well: bob hayton @ gmail . com
(Just remove the spaces)
Blessings in Christ,
Bob Hayton