Attitude Part 03
On the Radio, we were able to listen to the message from Attitude Part 02 during our time of prayer and Sunday-school. And now, we are continuing with part 03. In the first week, we talked about our attitude and our attitude towards God and His word. God's word represents His declaration of our dependence on Him. As Christians, we have said, "Lord, I surrender all, I give my life to you," and we also say, "Lord, make me, break me, mold me, shape me," and we declare, "Yes, Lord, yes, yes, yes, I want to do what you want me to do." These are sentences and paraphrases of songs we have sung.
With this understanding of our commitment to God's word and our declaration of dependence, we see a common thread throughout this first message and the series: the word of Proverbs 13:13 (TLV), which says, "Whoever despises instruction will pay a penalty, but whoever respects a mitzvah will be rewarded." The Amplified Bible translates it as, "Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself, but he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] is rewarded." Or in the paraphrased version of the Living Word Bible, "Despise God's Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed."
We discovered that many people might think they don't despise God's word, but in reality, they have an aversion to it or don't take it seriously when it comes to following God's instructions and behaving according to His will. We found that as modern Christians, we often have a pick and choose attitude towards God's word, missing out on the blessings attached to following His commandments.
The Bible gives us the promise that if we follow God's commandments, we will be blessed. However, if we neglect His commandments, we will miss out on these blessings. To illustrate, we can compare it to a coach, trainer, or referee instructing us to run ten rounds around the field before training. If we ignore the instruction and run fewer rounds, we face consequences like not being allowed to play on the next game day. Our teammates, who follow the instructions, improve their stamina, strength, and endurance, while we suffer physical consequences like weight gain, weakened muscles, decreased stamina, and lack of motivation.
The moral of this story is that following God's commandments leads to blessings like a stronger, leaner, and healthier life. Ignoring His commandments leads to negative consequences such as deteriorating health, decreased stamina, laziness, and even depression.
It is crucial to follow God's Mitzvot, and the text promises, "YOU WILL BE REWARDED." Some Christians argue that living in the season of grace with Jesus means they don't have to follow the Ten Commandments or God's will. However, as we discussed, this is a misconception. Even if we keep the Sabbath, we often fail to keep it holy, engaging in ungodly activities like watching TV or shopping.
We concluded that as Christians, we must avoid a pick and choose attitude towards God's word. Instead, we should embrace it wholeheartedly to receive the blessings that God wants to share with us. Throughout our discussions, we also saw how much God loves us.
John 3:16-18 (TLV)
16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not put his trust in the name of the one and only Ben-Elohim.
God provided His Son to the world to find its way back to Him, to place its trust in the name of the Son of God, Ben-Elohim. Yeshua, Jesus showed us the way to God the Father, He showed us His love for His and your Abba in being in continuous obedience to His will, His Mitzvah, even into His death.
We continued in this second week by looking at the 4 different attitudes of the people who call themselves Christian. We stated them as four levels of being on fire for the Lord. If you have missed the message, then I would highly recommend reading the text or even better, ordering the message on CD because you will get so much more than just the text.
- Zealously on Fire through the Holy Spirit, guided by God, each and every day decisions have already been made.
- Wanting to live a life for God and active in His Word, but burning low, with some hard decisions to make now and then.
- Too much to do, too much work, and too many decisions to make, just cannot have all that can and cannot control now, it is too limiting. The fire is nothing more than smoldering coals with some hiss now and then.
- The last attitude we talked about, I would say; "Fire, what there is fire, where is the fire, oh my Gooooooodddddddd, fire, call 911, fire, oh my, oh my, fireeeeee."
Today we continue, looking at our attitudes toward God and His attitude toward us with the scripture in hand, being on fire for God in the Holy Spirit.
To answer how this is possible, I would like to use the words of the great Chinese evangelist Watchman Nee. He writes in "The Spiritual Man" volume 2 Part 4 about the Spirit in chapter 1. And I paraphrase because I admit it is not truly easy reading.
As most believers today, we lack the knowledge about the existence of the human spirit. Many are unaware that beside their mind and emotions, they have a spirit. Even when many have heard of this spirit, many of them consider their minds and emotions as the will of the spirit.
Wow, that sounds familiar, isn't it? Okay, let's continue.
This ignorance affects the cooperation with God, the control over self, and the war against Satan, which all require the work of the spirit. It is very, very important to recognize that a spirit exists within the individual, something extra beside thoughts, knowledge, and the imagination of our mind. Something that goes further than affection, the sensation, and the pleasure of emotions, something that goes beyond desire, and the decisions and the actions of our will.
The spirit and the soul of those who are not saved are fused together, and in that, they do not know of the existence of a dead spirit. On the other hand, they are very much aware of the very strong sensations of their soul in love, lust, and so many more emotions, which also clearly foolishly continue after they are saved.
This is why so many believers sometimes walk in the spirit and sometimes in the flesh even though they have received spiritual life in the Holy Spirit. The level of ignorance towards the demand, the movement, the supply, the sense, and the direction of the spirit concerning the way the Spirit operates hinders the growth of the Holy Spirit in the believer. It hinders the victory over sin, and many are lured into the so-called "Spiritual" Bible knowledge with their minds or the burning sensation in the bosom, or in their lives with that creating this with their own willpower instead of feeding the Spirit of God.
This is why every sinner must be born again in Christ. We must be born from above because our spirit is a fallen spirit and bound to death. As soon as the sinner believes in our Lord Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, Jesus the Christ, he is born again. God grants him His uncreated life so that the sinner's spirit will be made alive again. God's regeneration starts from within and works out to the whole body. Unlike Satan's, whose work starts on the outside with attacks moving in deeper and deeper until all is lost.
As it is written in Ezekiel 36:26 and in John 3:6, the born-again person will receive a spirit that is made alive, the word says, "A new spirit I will put in you" - "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." That new life, this new spirit, has its focus on God. It is not what we previously possessed; it is what is regenerated by God and in that, it belongs to God as we read in 2 Peter 1:4, and with the words of 1 John 3:9, it "Cannot sin." But our spirit, with whom it is fused, is still able to sin and in need of being made Holy (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Watchman Nee "The Spiritual Man" V.2 P.2 Chapt. 1. This is why even the most zealous Christian will be able to fall back but is then able to stand back up again and say yes to God. The fire in his/her life grows stronger and stronger each day. This is what we talk about so frequently and then still not enough, that which we call Progressive Sanctification. This brings me to share with you one more time those great words from the letter to the Romans.
Romans 12 (TLV)
Be Dead to Self
1 I urge you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, acceptable to God—which is your spiritual service. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think—but to use sound judgment, as God has assigned to each person a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many parts in one body—and all the parts do not have the same function— 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Messiah, and everyone is a part of one another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace that was given to us—if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; or the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who gives, in generosity; the one who leads, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy—detesting what is evil, holding fast to the good. 10 Be tenderly devoted to one another in brotherly love; outdo one another in giving honor. 11 Do not be lagging in zeal; be fervent in spirit. Keep serving the Lord, 12 rejoicing in hope, enduring in distress, persisting in prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the kedoshim, extending hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you—bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be proud, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own eyes. 17 Repay no one evil for evil; give thought to what is good in the eyes of all people. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in shalom with all people. 19 Never take your own revenge, loved ones, but give room for God’s wrath—for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” says Adonai. 20 Rather, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For by doing so you will heap coals of fire upon his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
I pray that with the words we heard from Watchman Nee and with the words of the letter to the Romans, we now have a clearer understanding of what it means to be dead to self, so that we are able to grow more and more the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 (TLV) 22
But the fruit of the Ruach is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control—against such things there is no law.
The more we are filled with the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the Ruach Ha'Kodesh, the more we will see this fruit in the lives of the Christian, in which we are changed from a Christian with a lowercase 'c' to a Christian with a capital 'C,' a follower of the Messiah, a Messianic believer with a capital 'M' instead of a lowercase 'm.'
There have been many messiahs, and still, people designate individuals as being the messiah or the new messiah, but there has only been one Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, Jesus THE Messiah.
Being on fire in the Holy Spirit means to have a continuous focus on improving our lives to live it closer and closer to God, progressive sanctification. Yes, I understand, sometimes it is three steps forward and falling one or two steps back, but surely, and slowly moving upward, bound for Glory.
The part that will make it so very personal for each and every one of us is, how much do you walk in obedience to His word? How much do you seek out His word? How much of this word have you found to be altered by man to progress a political agenda? How much of God's truth have you allowed to enter your life? Are you receiving all the blessings that God has prepared for you, or are sitting on the sideline while the super bowl is played out?
Yes, indeed, the super bowl, because there is no other game planned after this one anymore, this is it, a win or a lose. Do you get the most out of this game? What do you do with the talent that God has given you?
Matthew 13:1-9, 13, 14 (TLV)
Simple Stories, Profound Truths
1 On that day, after Yeshua left the house, He was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered around Him; so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to spread some seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some seeds fell by the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil. They sprang up immediately because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they had no roots, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew and choked them out. 8 But others fell on good soil and were producing fruit. They yielded a crop—some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
13 For this reason, I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 “And in them, the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing but will never understand; you will keep looking, but will never see.’”
Jesus did not live by the words of what we call the New Testament; Jesus lived by the words of the Torah and what we call the Old Testament. As so many of you know, I really don't like this distinction because it is all one testament, one testimony of God's love for mankind.
Jesus shows us that the words of the Kingdom of God, eternity with Him, are foretold and fulfilled in the words of prophecy. This is why He then follows up with the disciples and explains to them;
Matthew 13:18-23 (TLV)
Parable of the Sower Explained
18 “You then, hear the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one having been sown along the road. 20 “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 Yet he has no root himself but lasts only a short while, and when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 “But the one sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word; and the worries of the world and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 “Now the one sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands. He indeed bears fruit, yielding a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”
Those who have not received Christ as their Lord and Savior also do not experience that regeneration of the spirit and the fusing with the Holy Spirit and thus indeed hear the word, but are unable to receive it in any form of soil in which it might be able to grow.
Those who have received the spirit but have not received the full awareness of the state of their own spirit and are still much moved by self are like the seeds on the rocky ground. People that have received the words of Proverbs 13:13 but still say, "Oh no, 10 rounds, that is not for me, I'll wait for later." Those people that as verse 22 says, "the one who hears the word; and the worries of the world and the seduction of wealth choke the word." Those people are unfortunately so many that are what we call backslidden and are so concerned by the world that the fruit and expansion of the Kingdom become smothered.
These are the people that run off to the restroom and come back at the last moment and run only the first or the last two rounds, and with that are smothered by the weeds, or with other words, are back on the bench.
The last group of people is what this is all about, those that are on Fire in the Holy Spirit. Those that say, "Oh my Lord, I'm oh, ahhh, hmmm, Lord, I don't know how, but I did it, ten rounds, pffff, I never thought I would make it, ohhh, hmmm, aahhh, but Hallelujah I did it. Thank you, Jesus, Philippians 4:13, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Amen."
Oh, Hallelujah, Glory to God!
As we saw in the first week of our mini-series on receiving the blessings of God, we walk in obedience, live life in integrity, and trust Him with all that we have in our lives.
Proverbs 3:11-12 (CEB)
11 Don’t reject the instruction of the Lord, my son; don’t despise his correction. 12 The Lord loves those he corrects, just like a father who treats his son with favor.
Now, let's read Proverbs 3 verses 1 to 10, which truly state our motto of life: "In All You Do, Praise The Lord." These verses provide us with four key words that will bring forth the best in each and every one of us who is walking and moving in His word, in each and every one of us on Fire in the Holy Spirit, and in His name.
Proverbs 3:1-10 (TLV)
In All Your Ways Acknowledge Him
1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my mitzvot. 2 For length of days and years of life, and shalom they will add to you. 3 Let kindness and truth never leave you— bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will gain favor and a good name in the eyes of God and man. 5 Trust in Adonai with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear Adonai and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. 9 Honor Adonai with your wealth and with the first of your entire harvest. 10 Then your barns will be filled with plenty, your vats will overflow with new wine.
Obedience – "My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my mitzvot." (Vs. 1) – In order to practice obedience to God’s Word, we must first know what God’s Word says. As we read the Bible and learn more about God, we can begin to keep His commands in our hearts and know them. Then, when we know God's commandments and their meaning for our lives, we are able to eventually get better and better at obeying Him. As a result, His commands will, "For length of days and years of life, and shalom they will add to you." (Vs. 2) give a better, healthier, longer, more peaceful, and blessed life.
Integrity – "Let kindness and truth never leave you— bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." (Vs. 3) Relationships are more important than anything else in this life. A relationship with God first, and then with other people, is the key to our existence as a human being; no person is created to live their life in complete isolation. When you act in love and faithfulness, you build your integrity and positively impact all of your relationships. As a result, "Then you will gain favor and a good name in the eyes of God and man." (Vs. 4)
Trust – "Trust in Adonai with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding." (Vs. 5) God wants us to trust in Him and rely on Him in everything we do, instead of trusting and relying on ourselves. When you trust God with all of your heart, you will learn to trust in Him in good times and bad. And as a result, "He will make your paths straight." (Vs. 6)
Discernment – "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear Adonai and turn away from evil." (Vs. 7) Most of us do know the difference between right and wrong. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit convict us of sin in our lives and show us the things we need to change, repent of, and should avoid. As we turn away from evil and move closer and closer towards God, "It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones." (Vs. 8)
Giving – "Honor Adonai with your wealth and with the first of your entire harvest." (Vs. 9) – When we give God the "firstfruits of our crops," we are giving Him our best in terms of our time, money, and talent. We honor Him when we have a generous heart and give God the best that we have to offer. As we say it so many times, giving the best for the Highest. As a result, "Then your barns will be filled with plenty, your vats will overflow with new wine."
When we follow God’s principles, God's commandments, God's Mitzvot in our lives, we can, no, I need to say, we must prepare ourselves to be ready and receive His mighty, wonderful, and glorious blessings. Oh, Hallelujah! He loves us so much more than we can possibly imagine, and He wants nothing more than to extend His blessings upon our lives, to provide us with happiness, no, not just happiness, but real Joy as we read in Galatians 5, which comes from the Holy Spirit.
God wants us to receive a complete and great level of fulfillment in this life, but we have to do our part. Praise Him for His goodness and for His grace today, and thank Him for all of your blessings already received and the ones yet to come. Walk in His Light and in obedience to His word.
Okay, then let's read it one more time together, those words of promise for all that walk in obedience to His word.
Proverbs 13:13 (TLB)
"Despise God’s Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed."
Amen!
Note: This article is rewritten from the sermon notes, this is not a transcript nor a written out sermon. We believe that it is the Holy Spirit that speaks through the preacher and it is that Holy Spirit that convicts and leads to what the congregation needs to hear.
God Bless you.
Pst. Chris.
Sermon Notes by Pastor Christiaan J. de Ruiter are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Note: The content provided here represents the foundational notes for a sermon or teaching, and should not be misconstrued as a complete transcript or a fully articulated sermon.
It is our profound belief that the Holy Spirit operates through the preacher, guiding and inspiring the delivery to resonate with the needs and convictions of the congregation.
These notes typically form the basis for a 30 to 45-minute sermon or teaching, allowing the Holy Spirit's guidance to shape the specific message and application to the gathered believers. The essence of these teachings is not merely in the written words but in the inspired delivery and connection with the congregation, led by the Spirit.
